The Endogeneity of Trading Volume in Stock and Bond Returns: An Instrumental Variable Approach

This paper investigates the joint determination of trading volume and returns. Our approach follows from the argument that trading activity depends on security returns, thus resulting in a reverse causality from returns to trading activity. Using exogenous instruments for security trading activity, we estimate a system of two‐stage simultaneous equations to better model the return‐volume relationship. Our results confirm that returns and trading volume are determined simultaneously in both stock and corporate bond markets and that conclusions about the direction and significance of causality between volume and returns can be reversed once one corrects for the endogeneity of volume.     

Corporate Internet Disclosure in the Arabian Gulf： An Empirical Examination of Determinants and Attributes

This paper investigates and reports on the extent and nature of corporate internet disclosure and the determinants of internet financial disclosure （IFD） by companies listed in three Gulf Corporation Council （GCC） countries. This paper uses data from 207 listed companies in Muscat Securities Market （MSM）, Dubai Financial Market （DFM）, and Qatar Exchange （QE）. Binary logistic regression analysis is used to examine the determinants of IFD. Kruskal-Wallis test is used to examine the differences in disclosure characteristics among the three countries. The results of this study reveal that firm size is the major factor influencing intemet financial reporting in the GCC. The results reveal that the three countries differ significantly in all the disclosure attributes with the exception of the existence of email link. This paper extends the stream of research that confirms the widespread use of internet in disclosing financial information. The results are consistent with previous literature that corporate size is a major determinant of internet financial reporting. This paper provides insights into corporate internet disclosure in the GCC that will benefit all stakeholders with an interest in corporate reporting in this important region of the world.     

The mystique of macro‐boycotting behaviour: a conceptual framework

In spite of the aim of the World Trade Organization and other international organizations to foster international trade and development by lessening protectionism agendas worldwide, there has been a rise in consumer‐boycotting behaviour at a macro level involving campaigns directed against foreign products from countries embroiled in conflicts in international relations, rather than against products from individual companies perceived to have engaged in a domestic egregious act. While campaigning at this level is becoming a more effective tool for consumer protest, as it negatively affects both the boycotted countries' macroeconomics and companies' micro‐competitiveness, consumer motivation to participate in macro‐level boycotts has so far been overlooked in the boycotting literature. This paper examines consumers' behavioural intentions to participate in macro‐boycotting campaigns within the context of an Arab country, which has recently witnessed a number of campaigns of this nature. Using the theory of planned behaviour, the findings of an exploratory qualitative study of Egyptian consumers offer insights into the motives and barriers to individual macro‐boycott participation. Findings are discussed together with managerial implications.     

A budget impact analysis of budesonide/formoterol in patients with mild asthma in Egypt

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study is to estimate the budget impact of budesonide/formoterol fixed dose combination (FDC) vs salbutamol, both used as needed, in mild asthma patients, from the perspective of the Health Insurance Organization (HIO).

Methods: A static budget impact model was developed to assess the impact of budesonide/formoterol FDC entry on HIO budget over a 3-year period in Egyptian settings. Direct medical costs, including the costs of asthma medications, exacerbations, and management of side-effects, were obtained from HIO cost data. Population data were obtained from the World Bank and supplemented with local studies, and the rates of exacerbations, adverse effects, and number of sick leave days were elicited from the SYGMA 1 trial. Scenario analyses from a societal perspective and deterministic sensitivity analyses were conducted.

Results: The total costs (drug and non-drug costs) for managing mild asthma patients from the HIO perspective were estimated to be EGP8.563 billion before budesonide/formoterol entry compared to EGP5.525 billion post-entry, leading to a total budget savings of EGP3.038 billion after 3?years. This total budget saving included an increase in drug costs (EGP104 million) and a decrease in non-drug costs (EGP3.143 billion). Drug costs were higher in the budesonide/formoterol group than in the salbutamol group, but this cost was offset by reductions in non-drug costs, resulting in a reduction in the total costs of healthcare resources. At the societal level, the total budget savings after including the indirect costs was expected to be EGP5.976 billion after 3?years of budesonide/formoterol entry.

Conclusion: Budesonide/formoterol in mild asthma instead of salbutamol produces better patient outcomes and decreases total costs, with increases in drug cost offset by reductions in non-drug costs due to fewer exacerbations. Budesonide/formoterol is a budget saving option for guideline-directed treatment, from the economic perspective of the payer and the health perspective of the patient.