Remittances and output in Bangladesh: an ARDL bounds testing approach to cointegration

Although the relationship between remittances and output is still inconclusive in literature, most studies find that remittances have a positive effect on output in the long run. Contrary to this conventional direction of causality from remittances to output, our study finds that output alone determined long-run movements in remittances in a positive direction in the Bangladesh economy over the last 35 years from 1976 to 2010. We use the autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration to explore this long-run relationship. Surprisingly, remittances do not appear to be a long-run forcing variable to the explanation of Bangladesh’s output over the same period. While examining the channels of this output–remittance mechanism remains an area of research for the future, we hypothesize that the rise in remittances in response to increased income occurs through higher import demand and greater investment opportunities. This finding implies that Bangladeshi policymakers can influence remittances through national output in the long run.     

Institutional determinants of inward FDI: Evidence from Pakistan

FDI has been growing at a spectacular pace all over the world and emerging countries have been successful in attracting more FDI compared to developed countries. Institutional factors are becoming more important as determinants of inward FDI for emerging markets. However, research in this area is inadequate and also incosnsistent in terms of findings. In this paper, we have examined the institutional determinants of Pakistani FDI inflows and also examined the relative importance of those factors. The paper has found that certain institutional determinants such as size of the government, legal structure and strong property rights, freedom to trade and civil liberty have strong positive effect on FDI inflows. Among the institutional variables, regulation has been found to be most important to influence inward FDI flow to Pakistan. The paper has also found evidence that there was a structural break in FDI flows in Pakistan which coincides with market liberalization programme in early 1990s. This confirms the effectiveness of conducive institutional environment to attract foreign investment. Moreover, we have found that military government is more successful in attracting FDI compared to democratic government in Pakistan.     

The internationalization of an Arab bank: The case of Ahli United Bank of Bahrain

Ahli United Bank of Bahrain (AUB) has “leapfrogged” over early stages of internationalization by means of multiple rapid acquisitions of competitors. Use of this high‐cost, high‐risk strategy is well known among companies with the resources to invest in international expansion, but its application has not yet been studied in depth among companies based in the Middle East. This theory‐driven case study examines the growth record of AUB, its place in the regional banking industry in the Gulf, and its successful internationalization as an Arab bank. The article concludes with a detailed assessment of managerial and theoretical implications arising from the case study, and proposes further research to understand better the process of internationalization by companies expanding from a base in the Middle East. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Problem directors on the audit committee and financial reporting quality

The objective of this paper is to examine empirically the consequences for financial reporting quality of having audit committees that include problem directors, that is, directors with prior involvement in corporate bankruptcies, major accounting restatements, or other accounting scandals. An ordinary least squares regression model is used to examine the association between problem directors on the audit committee and financial reporting quality as proxied by accruals and real earnings management. Results reveal that there is a positive association between the presence of problem directors on the audit committee and real earnings management, and this association is more pronounced in cases where those problem directors have been involved in prior instances of accounting restatements and fraudulent reporting practices.     

Explaining the trends in the UK cross-border mergers & acquisitions: An analysis of macro-economic factors

Most of the growth in international production over the past decades has been via cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBM&As). Yet prior studies examining the trajectory of cross-border M&A activities as an entry mode of FDI have focused on industry and firm level factors. Dunning (2009) emphasised the importance of macroeconomic variables which may explain foreign direct investment and called for more research to improve our understanding on the effects of macroeconomic variables. Building on prior studies, this study attempts to investigate the role of macroeconomic influences on CBM&As activities in the UK over the 1987–2006 period. This study finds that GDP, exchange rate, interest rate and share prices have significant impact on the level of outward UK CBM&As. On the other hand, GDP, money supply and share price have statistically significant impact on the UK CBM&As inflows.     

Young Consumer's Green Purchasing Behavior: Opportunities for Green Marketing

This study aims to identify the key antecedents that influence young Indian consumers' environmental attitudes, which indirectly affect their green purchasing behavior. A model is proposed to test the impact of factors affecting environmental attitude and green purchasing behavior. A convenience sampling method was employed to obtain 730 usable responses from young students. The study explores the hypotheses that altruism, interpersonal influence, and environmental knowledge of young consumers affect their environmental attitude. A path analysis shows that environmental attitudes of young consumers affect their green purchasing behavior, demonstrating the attitude-behavior model. The article concludes by presenting theoretical and practical implications for future research in environmental psychology.     

On the causal nexus of remittances and poverty reduction in Bangladesh

The aim of this article is to investigate the causal relationship between remittances and poverty reduction in Bangladesh over the period 1976 to 2010. This issue is of fundamental importance for the developing economy of Bangladesh. We apply newly developed methods by Hacker and Hatemi-J (2006, 2012) that are based on simulations and are robust to the violation of statistical assumptions especially when the sample size is small, as is the case in this article. Our estimation results reveal that causality nexus of poverty and remittances is bi-directional. We also find that the causal impact of poverty reduction on remittance is stronger than the reverse impact. This finding implies that Bangladeshi policy-makers can influence remittances through poverty reduction in the long run.     

Leader power and subordinates' organizational commitment and effectiveness: Test of a theory in a developing country

This study tested the relationships of bases of leader power (coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, and referent) to subordinates' organizational commitment and of power bases and commitment to subordinates' effectiveness (performance, conformance, dependability, and personal adjustment). Two hundred fifty employees and their supervisors from three banks in Bangladesh were individually interviewed to fill out the Rahim Leader Power Inventory, Organizational Commitment Questionnaire, and Minnesota Satisfactoriness Scales, to measure power, commitment, and effectiveness, respectively. Two stepwise hierarchical regression analyses showed that legitimate and expert power bases were positively associated with commitment. Coercive power was negatively associated with effectiveness and expert power was positively associated with the same. Implications of the findings for international managers working in developing countries are discussed. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.