社会资本视角下农村基础设施管护效果影响因素分析——基于甘肃省9个市县的实证研究

以甘肃省9个县市的调查数据为基础,将社会资本划分为社会参与、社会规范、互惠网络三个维度,运用结构方程模型,来探讨三个维度对农村基础设施管护效果的影响。结果表明:(1)社会规范对农村基础设施管护效果显正向影响。(2)互惠网络对农村基础设施管护效果显负向影响。(3)社会参与对农村基础设施管护效果的直接影响不显著,但通过社会规范及互惠网络间接产生影响。(4)就总效应而言,社会规范对农村基础设施管护效果的影响要大于社会参与及互惠网络产生的影响。     

Putting the Cart before the Horse? Re-Examining the Relationship between Domestic Savings and Economic Growth in Selected Sub-Saharan African Countries

In addition to the standard Granger causality, this paper employs the Toda–Yamamoto approach and instantaneous causality test to examine the causal relationship between domestic savings and economic growth in 10 sub-Saharan African countries utilizing time series data. Findings from both the standard Granger causality and Toda–Yamamoto approach are consistent and robust only in five countries where domestic savings and economic growth are completely independent in three countries. For the remaining two, causality runs from savings to growth. However, for the other five countries, findings produced from both causality tests are grossly inconsistent and mixed leaving us under a quandary although the Toda–Yamamoto test is often reliable on account of its ability to avoid misleading results associated with the asymptotic nature of the standard Granger causality test. Our findings further reveal an instantaneous unidirectional causality from domestic savings to economic growth for only Benin, Mali, and South Africa suggesting that savings-led growth is rapid for these countries. We conclude based on our findings that the myriad of ‘evidence’ in earlier studies on savings-growth causality should be treated with caution given that methodological differences can produce misleading results with the potential of misdirecting policy.     

Why Do Property‐Liability Insurers Destroy Liquidity? Evidence from South Africa

This paper examines liquidity creation behaviour in the property‐liability insurance market in South Africa. Using annual data on 76 insurers from 2007 to 2014, the paper employs the three‐stage approach to estimate liquidity creation. The results suggest that property‐liability insurers are characterised by liquidity destruction by transforming liquid assets in cash and investable securities into illiquid reserves liabilities. The findings also indicate that the R1.32 billion in liquid assets were transformed into illiquid reserves liabilities in 2014, an increase from the R700 million liquidity de‐created in 2007. The increases were mainly driven by large insurers which accounted for about 70% liquidity de‐created. The results of panel regression analysis provide evidence in support of the “risk‐absorption” hypothesis which argues that high levels of capital increases liquidity creation. In addition, size, leverage and reinsurance were also identified as the firm‐level factors that explain liquidity creation. The policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

Loss reserving behaviour in insurance markets: Evidence from Mauritius

This study examines determinants of loss reserves among a sample of 14 general insurance companies in Mauritius from 2008 to 2015. The paper documents evidence that on average, technical reserves account for 45.41% of total assets, made of 19.79% in unearned premiums and 25.62% in outstanding claims. Using panel regression techniques, the findings suggest that general insurers manipulate their earnings through reserve provisions to smooth income and tax considerations. In addition, underwriting risk and reinsurance increases technical reserves, whereas market concentration induces high provisioning for outstanding claims. Policy recommendations for industry regulations are discussed.     

Explaining Bank Productivity in Ghana

The objective of this paper is to examine productivity changes among Ghanaian banks. The Malmquist productivity index is employed to estimate total factor productivity changes and its components on a panel of 18 banks from 2003 to 2011. The results indicate that productivity growth was attributable to the catch‐up effect of efficiency changes. We also find productivity growth across three categories of bank size to be driven by efficiency changes. From a panel regression analysis, we identify size, concentration, income diversification and risk as the factors that explain productivity differences among Ghanaian banks. Recommendations for improving bank productivity are derived from the results. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Credit card ownership and usage behaviour in Saudi Arabia: The impact of demographics and attitudes toward debt

Because of the Islamic prohibition of interest, in Saudi Arabia, there has long been a debate about the acceptability of owning and using credit cards. Available industry statistics, however, suggest that card ownership and usage may be on the rise. In this study, we empirically examine the extent and nature of credit card ownership and usage in the country, and how these are impacted by consumer demographics and attitudes toward debt. Using data from a structured survey, we find inter alia that credit card penetration in the country is relatively low, female Saudis are more likely than males to own the cards, card usage tends to be selective, attitude toward debt is a significant determinant of card ownership but not usage behaviour, and evaluation of card attributes is fairly positive among cardholders. Theoretical, managerial, and public policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

Non-Interest Income and Bank Efficiency in Ghana: A Two-Stage DEA Bootstrapping Approach

This paper examines the effect of the inclusion of non-interest income on efficiency and economies of scale of Ghanaian banks in a two-stage analysis. The data envelopment analysis technique is employed to estimate efficiency scores with and without non-interest income of 26 Ghanaian banks from 2003 to 2011 in the first-stage analysis. In the second stage, a truncated bootstrapped regression is estimated to examine the effect of contextual variables on bootstrapped efficiency scores. The findings indicate that the exclusion of non-interest income as output variable leads to the under-estimation of efficiency scores. From the second-stage regression analysis, we find a curve-linear relationship between bank size and efficiency to suggest that bank efficiency increases as size also increase due to economies of scale but only up to an optimal point after which inefficiency sets. Market concentration, leverage, and loan loss provisions are also identified as the other significant determinants of efficiency. Policy implications for improving bank efficiency are discussed.     

Dominance of hybrid contratum strategies over momentum and contrarian strategies: half a century of evidence

Financial Markets and Portfolio Management - The possibility of combining the ranking period logic of contrarian (momentum) strategies with the holding period logic of momentum (contrarian)...     

Consumer attitudes towards debt in an islamic country: managing a conflict between religious tradition and modernity?

Saudi Arabia is an important country in the Islamic world, and Islam prohibits the payment and receipt of interest, a key component of modern commercial bank loans. Yet the levels of commercial bank lending in the country for private non‐commercial purposes has been rising sharply for the past decade. This study seeks an explanation for this increase by examining the nature of consumer attitudes towards debt in the country, and whether the increasing levels of consumer debt can be explained by existing positive debt attitudes. Using data from a convenience sample of consumers in the major cities of the country, the study finds general debt attitudes to be surprisingly positive, though tempered by the consumption purpose for which the debt is acquired. However, the positive attitudes are unrelated to actual debt acquisition. Rather, socio‐demographic differences in attitudes are similar to those reported in the literature. Attitudes are generally more positive among young, highly educated Saudi males than other socio‐demographic groups. This suggests a possible struggle to manage a conflict between the Islamic prohibition of interest‐based borrowing and demands of the modern economy.