Credit risk,owner liability,and bank loan maturities during the global financial crisis

We relate credit risk and owners’ personal guarantees to bank loan maturities during the global financial crisis. The findings, which remain robust to reverse causality, show that firms rated as low risk, with a strong relationship with the bank, whose owners provided personal guarantees and with large loan sizes obtained longer maturities. Banks with larger nonperforming loans provided loans with shorter maturities. Firms with low‐ and high‐risk ratings that provided owners’ personal guarantees obtained longer maturities. These findings shed additional light on the relationship between risk and loan maturities and the role of personal guarantees in reducing information asymmetries.     

PDO Olive Oil Products: A Powerful Tool for Farmers and Rural Areas

Abstract

Nowadays, consumers’ quality awareness and health consciousness drive the agri-food market towards a consumer-response food market. As a result, many producers and firms in the Euro-Mediterranean countries have opted for several quality and origin assurance schemes. Among them, a prevalent role is played by the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) certification that constitutes a successful differentiation tool for agricultural products, and it is also widely used by Euro-Mediterranean olive oil producers due to effective contribution in promoting high-quality olive oil. After going through previous studies of PDO olive oil, this review paper investigates the general aspects and prospects of PDO olive oil products and EU relevant regulations, highlighting the socio-economic dimensions and impacts upon producers, consumers, and rural areas, and determining the gap between literature and practice with regards to PDO’s implementation and the expected benefits. Finally, the paper concludes with the main points and recommendations for further research.     

OPTIMAL DIVIDEND PAYMENTS WHEN CASH RESERVES FOLLOW A JUMP‐DIFFUSION PROCESS

We consider a model in which a firm faces two types of liquidity risks: a Brownian risk and a Poisson risk. The firm chooses a dividend policy to maximize shareholder value. We characterize the optimal firm value and we show that the optimal dividend policy is a barrier strategy: the firm keeps cash inside when the cash reserves level is less than a critical threshold and pays cash in excess of this threshold. We also analyze the problem of insurance against the Poisson risk. We find that it is optimal for the firm to buy full insurance when its cash reserves are above a critical threshold and not to insure otherwise.     

Does having more children increase the likelihood of parental smoking? Evidence from Vietnam

Evidence has shown that parental smoking can cause health problems for children. It might be expected that parents who are aware of the harmful effects of second-hand smoke will reduce their smoking, especially as they have more children. However, based on instrumental variable regressions using data from the 2006 and 2008 Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys, we find a strongly positive and significant effect of the number of children on the probability of tobacco smoking in households in Vietnam. An additional child increases the probability of tobacco consumption in the household by approximately 15%. These findings imply low levels of awareness of the harmful effects of second-hand smoke on children’s health in Vietnam, and indicate the need for policy action to disseminate knowledge on the harmful effects of smoking.     

Palestine's International Visitors Barriers: Case Studies of Bethlehem and Ramallah

This study investigated the demographic characteristics, the travel experiences and the intentions to revisit of international tourists to the cities of Bethlehem and Ramallah, which are located in Palestine. The study conducted a survey to collect data from 293 international visitors, 8 years after the second Palestinian uprising called ‘intifada’ began. The results revealed that the majority of the foreign tourists were Europeans who traveled for religious and spiritual purposes. Moreover, most of the tourists were willing to revisit Palestine. This study resulted in a comprehensive understanding of tourism characteristics under the current political circumstances of Palestine, leading to significant implications for tourism policy‐makers. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of destination attributes on Muslim tourist's choice

The success of marketing destinations for Muslim tourists could be guided by observing Islamic teachings in tourism activities. This study is a trial to explore which Islamic attributes of destinations could be used a base for tailoring Halal tourist packages. Qualitative data were collected by conducting two focus group discussions and fifty three interviews in Malaysia. Two major aspects are identified which may attract Muslim tourists. Some suggestions are also presented to satisfy Muslim tourists. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Government Transformation Programme of Malaysia: a successful approach to public service reform

The 2009 Malaysian Government Transformation Programme (GTP) could be useful as a model for reform given its positive impact on improving public services in targeted key result areas. This paper assesses the GTP's approach in the context of the wider debate on whether reforms should be based on best practices or whether they should be diagnostic or problem-solving in approach. The GTP's success was largely the result of blending both approaches. The GTP experience in Malaysia provides a number of insights and lessons for delivering intelligent reforms quickly and effectively.     

Mandatory disclosure,greenhouse gas emissions and the cost of equity capital: UK evidence of a U-shaped relationship

This paper examines the effects of disclosing greenhouse gas (GHG) information mandatorily on the cost of equity capital (COC) using a longitudinal unbalanced panel database of the United Kingdom's FTSE 350 firms for the period 2011–2016. We use a nonlinear panel quantile regression (PQR) model to examine the relationship between GHG disclosure (GHGD) and COC in the United Kingdom. This technique was supplemented by conducting a two-step generalised method of moment (GMM) estimation to address any concerns related to the potential existence of endogeneity problems. Our findings suggest that high-level GHGD appeared to be negatively associated with COC up to a certain level, which is known as the turning point; then, any increase in GHGD is likely to increase the COC. This means that the nonlinear association between GHGD and COC is evidenced in our study and takes a U shape. Likewise, our findings are associative of a moderating effect of the 2013 carbon disclosure regulation (CDR) on the GHGD–COC nexus. We argue that mandatory GHGD and GHG risk are linked so that those companies that are associated with higher GHG risk have a tendency to be better disclosers. Consequently, we urge regulators to design GHGD regulations in a way that mirrors corporate environmental risk and leads to a lower COC in order to align the interests of corporations with those of the society at large.