Pillion riders' cloth related injuries and helmet wearing patterns: a study of Lahore,Pakistan

This study aims at investigating the burden and pattern of clothing related pillion riders' injuries and their helmet wearing pattern in Lahore, Pakistan. Data were collected for nine months (July 2013 to March 2014), reporting 13,248 motorcycle related injuries, out of which 8751 (66%) cases were related to the clothing related pillion riders' injuries. Out of these injuries 10.30% were severe injuries which can be prevented or reduced by proper safety measure, e.g. wearing helmet. It was also found that most of the fatalities were not wearing helmet. Injuries due to wearing of loose fitting clothes and absence of helmet are not uncommon in Pakistan and other underdeveloped parts of the world. Such accidents may be reduced by creating awareness and safety sense in the riders, where use of safe dress and helmet should be encouraged in order to avoid such fatal damages.     

Meta-analysis of the impact of financial constraints on firm performance

A large number of studies have investigated the relationship between financial constraints and firm performance. However, due to heterogeneity in study design factors, such as choice of measures for constraints and performance, control variables, estimation methods and study sample, the empirical results have been mixed. To mitigate this issue, this paper reports a meta-analysis of the association between financial constraints and firm performance. To assess the overall direction of the relationship and the sources of heterogeneity, we apply meta-analytic methods to 26 studies (providing 189 effect sizes) on the association between financial constraints and financial performance in listed companies. Our result shows that, overall, there is a positive relationship between financial constraints and firm performance. In addition, meta-regression results suggest that return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) as measures of financial performance, and external finance and size as measures of financial constraints, have a significant negative impact on the relationship between financial constraints and firm performance relative to the mean impact on effect size. Similarly, all of North America and Asia as regional differences, control of size and corporate governance as control variables, and journal quality as strength of results, also have a significant negative impact. On the other hand, market value as a measure of financial performance, and the Whited & Wu index as a measure of financial constraints, have significant positive impact relative to the mean impact. Similarly, cross-country and Europe as regional differences, and publication status as strength of results, all have significant positive impact. Given that firm performance is of fundamental importance to investors, this study therefore helps researchers and policymakers to understand the variation in the empirical results on the impact of financial constraints.     

Evaluating the impact of Tax-for-Fee reform (Fei Gai Shui) on water resources and agriculture production in the Zhanghe Irrigation System, China

This article questions the effectiveness and viability of rural Tax-for-Fee reform (Fei Gai Shui) on water resources and agriculture production, taking the Zhanghe Irrigation System of China as a case study example. The Fei Gai Shui reform has been heralded as a possible solution for reducing the excessive fiscal burden on peasants. While the reform may achieve in relieving peasant burdens significantly, the initial impact of Fei Gai Shui on water resources and agricultural production indicate least satisfactory trends. The policy shows significant impact on rice yield and area. It might also have profound impact on cropping pattern but it has yet to be seen. Dependence on local water resources such as ponds show significant increase after Fei Gai Shui as it discouraged farmers to rely on regional water sources. Although the lower regional water use under Fei Gai Shui reduced the water charges paid by farmers, the savings were mostly offset by increasing pumping costs in accessing water from local ponds. Without any adjustments, the Fei Gai Shui is likely to cause serious predicament in agricultural sector. It is visioned that local water resources such as water ponds will continue to play an important role in sustaining agricultural production.     

Financial development and governance: A panel data analysis incorporating cross-sectional dependence

This study investigates bidirectional causality between governance and financial development using panel data of 101 countries from 1984 to 2013. The financial development–governance nexus is explored using econometric methods robust to cross-sectional dependence, and the relationship between different levels of development and openness is analyzed. Long-run equation estimates show clear evidence that financial development positively affects governance, and this positive impact is found to be robust to three different measures of governance. Further analysis shows that improving governance quality has a positive effect on financial development, while Granger causality tests demonstrate bidirectional causality between financial development and the governance measures. Finally, the impact of financial development on governance is dependent on a country’s level of development and openness. These findings underscore the crucial role of financial development in bringing about good governance reforms and economic growth that, in turn, can further develop the financial sector. As such, a symbiotic and synergistic relationship can persist between good governance, growth, and financial development. The findings provide significant motivation for policymakers to encourage openness and financial sector development to lift the standard of living, especially in emerging economies.     

Local human capital formation and optimal FDI

This paper lends both theoretical and empirical support to the notion of optimal foreign direct investment (FDI) levels. It does so by uncovering an inverted-U-shaped relationship between FDI and human capital formation. The optimality of a particular FDI inflow depends on the educational incentives induced by FDI on the local, heterogeneous population. Our estimates confirm the significance of a positive (linear) and a negative (non-linear) impact of FDI stocks on tertiary schooling, which are exclusively relevant in developing countries.     

The Pivotal Role of User-Friendly Food Label and Personality Traits on Intention to Consume Packaged Food Products

The objective of the present study was to examine the effect of friendly food labels on packaged food consumption intention. A questionnaire method was adopted for data collection. The data were collected from 14 Pakistani universities. The systematic random sampling technique was used to draw the required sample size. The sample size was 365, where 730 questionnaires were distributed among students of 14 universities to achieve the required sample. Findings disclosed that a friendly food label has a positive and significant relation with packaged food consumption intention. But in the intervening effect of personality traits between exogenous and endogenous variables, only three personality traits have positive significant mediation—extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness—whereas no mediation was found with neuroticism and agreeableness. Studies have unveiled the fact that there is need to investigate the decisiveness of personality traits for the selection of healthy food (Friedman & Kern, 2014).     

The Development of Accounting and Reporting in Ghana

In this paper, we examine the economic, political, and legal systems as well as the institutional factors that influence the accounting and disclosure practices in Ghana. The impact of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on disclosure is also investigated, as Ghana has recently completed full adoption. We find that the accounting and reporting practices are significantly influenced by legal, political, institutional, and economic factors and that the regulatory environment is neither effective nor efficient due to the weak monitoring and enforcement of compliance. Although there has been some recent progress, the Companies' Code, which is the corporate legal framework of Ghana, must be updated to reflect the dynamic nature of world operations. This study advances the course of standards setters, regulators, accounting practitioners, and policymakers to improve the corporate reporting and accounting practices. Urgent measures need to be undertaken to reform and build the capacities of institutions charged with the responsibility of regulating and monitoring Ghanaian accounting and reporting practices to ensure best practices and build investors' confidence.     

Independent directors and firm performance in family controlled firms: evidence from Indonesia

We analyse the relationship between board structure and firm performance in family‐controlled firms using a sample of Indonesian non‐financial companies. We find that the share of independent directors on the board has an insignificant relationship with firm performance. We suspect that the result is driven by the lack of institutional reforms in relation to the appointment of independent directors. Our analysis shows strong empirical support for the proposition that family control (family ownership and family involvement on the board) is negatively related to firm performance. However, the significant effect of family ownership disappears when family involvement on the board is taken into the model. This result indicates that family ownership is more detrimental to firm performance whenever the family is highly involved in control decisions. Our results suggest that Indonesia needs to implement governance reforms that prevent majority owners from exercising excessive control over firms.