Size and Implication of Informal Economy in African Countries: Evidence from a Structural Model

This paper presents estimates of the informal economy in 41 African countries, including North Africa, Southern Africa, East Africa, Central Africa and West Africa during the period 2007–2013. Using a structural equation model with latent variables, the empirical results indicate that the average size of the informal economy in Africa (in% of formal gross domestic product) in 41 countries is 42.9%, 39.9% in 5 countries in North Africa, 40.02% in 11 countries in southern Africa, 43.24% in 6 countries of East Africa, 45.5% in 7 countries of Central Africa and 45.21% in 12 countries in West Africa. We suggest economic policy recommendations to solve the dilemma of the informal economy not only in the regions but also in different countries such as: identifying the causes of informality, the barriers to formalization and how to eliminate them; developing policies, procedures and institutions that can help informal activities meet market economy requirements, reforming legal systems and ensuring equal access for all; and finally, establishing affordable social benefits for workers.     

The extent of virgin olive-oil prices’ distribution revealing the behavior of market speculators

The major problem facing olive oil producers each winter campaign, contrary to what is expected, is not whether the harvest will be good or not but whether the sale price will allow them to cover production costs and achieve a reasonable margin of profit or not. The aim of this paper is to study the olive oil price formation mechanisms in order to learn about the traders’ behavior in the olive oil market. We econometrically study the price formation by implementing statistical models and we provide an economic explanation for the stylized facts detected in olive oil price series. For prediction purposes, we use the artificial neural network (ANN) approach. Our main findings indicate that the AR(1)-GJR(1,1) model and the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process with stochastic volatility succeeded to some extent in capturing the series stylized facts. The unstable participants’ behavior creates the volatility clustering, non-linearity dependent and cyclicity phenomena. By imitating each other in some periods of the campaign, different participants contribute to the fat tails observed in the olive oil price distribution. The best prediction model for the olive oil price is based on a back propagation ANN approach with input information based on discrete wavelet decomposition and recent price past history.     

ASEAN Plus Three Stock Markets Integration

This paper examines the role played by local and international factors in the international integration process to stock markets worldwide. Using a sample of ASEAN + 3 (Association of South East Asian Nations + China, Korea and Japan) during the period between 2000 and 2014, we identify the main factors that might influence regional integration of stock markets. We propose an advantageous econometric approach based on a conditional version of the Dynamic International Capital Asset Pricing Model (ICAPM) to explore major sources of time-varying risks. We specifically apply the multivariate BEKK-GARCH process of Cappiello et al. (Journal of Financial Econometrics 25:537–572, 2006) to simultaneously estimate the ICAPM for each country. The study puts in evidence that regional trade openness, regional and world industrial production, dividend yields and commodity prices are among the key determinants of regional integration in the ASEAN + 3 context whatever is the measure of exchange rate risk.

     

Conventional and Islamic Banks’ Performance in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries; Efficiency and Determinants

This paper investigates the cost efficiency levels of the banking sectors of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries for the period from 2001 to 2015 and provides a comparison of conventional and Islamic banks. We obtain measures of efficiency using a stochastic frontier model and the meta-frontier approach. The evidence demonstrates that Islamic banks are less efficient and have a weaker level of production technology than conventional banks. The cost efficiency of banks varies significantly across the six Gulf countries and over time. We adopt the results drawn from the meta-frontier model that allow to take into account the differences between the studied countries, and empirically examine the bank-specific, financial, macroeconomic, and political determinants of banking efficiency. The results provide evidence of the differential effects of the selected variables on the efficiency of conventional and Islamic banks. These variables affect the performance of the two types of banks in different ways and with different magnitudes.

     

The impact of terrorism on public debt in African countries

Given the increase in the number of terrorist attacks in African countries, a better understanding of the relationship between terrorism, the informal economy and public debt is essential for policymakers. The model is empirically tested for 47 countries during the period 1996–2015. We use ordinary least squares (OLS), random effects (ER) and system generalized method of moments (GMM). Three terrorism indicators are used: the uncertain, the domestic, and the transnational. The results confirm that the rise in terrorism and the informal economy lead to an increase in public debt. The results also show that the informal economy magnifies the effect of terrorism on public debt. In addition, the results suggest that a larger informal economy reduces income taxes and therefore increases public debt and the increase in public spending reinforces the effects of terrorism on public debt. The reduction of terrorism should therefore be governments’ primary political objective. Given the detected complementarity between terrorism and the informal economy, the reduction of terrorism would also reduce the size of the informal economy and the public debt. The reduction of terrorism will also minimize the harmful effects of terrorism on public debt through public spending.     

Benchmarking Banking Efficiency Using a Meta-Profit Function

Journal of Quantitative Economics - This paper applies the meta-frontier approach to investigate the profit efficiency level of the banking sector in the MENA region. This approach enables the...     

The role of green innovation and hope in employee retention

Green innovation is increasingly receiving attention in organisational behaviour and strategic management literature. However, understanding employee's preferences for organisations that have adopted innovative environmental practices have received little attention. This study tests a framework that examines the relationship between employees' preferences for innovative green organisations, hope, and intentions to stay. Data were collected from 403 employees in Australia. Results show that employees' preferences for green innovation drive the emotional state of employee hope, which has a positive effect on employees' intentions to stay with the organisation. This study offers implications for academics and managers, advancing the literature on green innovation, recruitment, retention, and organisational behaviour.