An integrative analysis of external debt,capital accumulation and production in Latin America,Asia-Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper estimates the nexus of inter-relationships between public and private external debts accumulation, capital accumulation and production with panel data for the period 1970–1988 from highly indebted developing countries clustered into three distinct regions: Latin-America, Asia-Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa. The simultaneous equations' estimation results indicate that the full effects of the public and private external debts on GNP are small and of an opposite sign, whereas an increase in the GNP level raises substantially the public and private external debts. These findings support Bulow-Rogoff's (1990) proposition that the external debts of developing countries are not a primary cause of economic slowdown.     

Credit programs for the poor and the health status of children in rural bangladesh*

The impact of participation in group‐based credit programs, by gender of participant, on the health status of children by gender in rural Bangladesh is investigated. These credit programs are well suited to studies of how gender‐specific resources alter intra‐household allocations because they induce differential participation by gender. Women's credit is found to have a large and statistically significant impact on two of three measures of the healthiness of both boy and girl children. Credit provided to men has no statistically significant impact and the null hypothesis of equal credit effects by gender of participant is rejected.     

Which Dimension of Corporate Social Responsibility is a Value Driver in the Oil and Gas Industry?

The oil and gas (O&G) industry suffers from a negative perception of poor sustainability. O&G companies are therefore engaged in several socially sustainable activities related to community development and environmental protection. This article determines whether the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) are equally value‐additive to O&G companies. We measure the company‐specific level of CSR activities from the information provided in the annual financial reports of O&G companies and determine the effects of CSR dimensions on firm value. We find that CSR enhances firm value of O&G companies. While social activities such as employee well‐being and community development are key value‐drivers, environmental and economic sustainable activities have an insignificant impact on the market value of O&G companies. Copyright © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd     

Attention to social comparison information and brand avoidance behaviors

This research links brand avoidance behaviors to attention to social comparison information (ATSCI). We posit that high (vs low) ATSCI consumers will suffer from more social-evaluative uncertainty, i.e., more uncertainty regarding others’ reactions to their brand choices. To alleviate this problem, high ATSCI consumers will avoid distinctive or conspicuous brands and brand icons that might draw the attention of others, playing safe in their brand choices, rather than risking social disapproval. Two preliminary studies provide support for the theoretical assumptions, confirming that ATSCI is positively associated with brand consciousness, brand social-evaluative uncertainty, and brand avoidance motivated by social-evaluative concerns. Study 1 examines brand identification and shows that although high and low ATSCI consumers identify themselves with equally prestigious brands, the former avoid identifying with distinctive brands. Study 2 demonstrates that unlike their low ATSCI counterparts, high ATSCI consumers avoid conspicuous brand logos even in the case of highly prestigious brands.     

Exclusivity and exclusion on platform Markets

We examine conditions under which an exclusive license granted by the upstream producer of a component that some consumers regard as essential to one of two potential suppliers of a downstream platform market can make the unlicensed supplier unprofitable, although both firms would be profitable if both were licensed. If downstream varieties are close substitutes, an exclusive license need not be exclusionary. If downstream varieties are highly differentiated, an exclusive license is exclusionary, but it is not in the interest of the upstream firm to grant an exclusive license. For intermediate levels of product differentiation, an exclusive license is exclusionary and maximizes the upstream firm’s payoff.     

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.     

An examination of the effects of partitioned country of origin on consumer product quality perceptions

This paper deals with the effects of partitioned country‐of‐origin associations on consumer product quality evaluations. The main objective of this research is to examine the cognitive processes by which country‐of‐origin information influences the consumer's evaluation of a product. To study the psychological process by which the country‐of‐origin associations are integrated in the formation of related behavioural deliberation, a hypothetical structural model was developed. The model contains seven theoretical constructs, i.e. country of design, perceived product sophistication, country of assembly, perceived manufacturing excellence, country of parts, perceived product quality and perceived product design. Data were analysed via structural equation models using Analysis of MOment Structures (AMOS) 5.0. Results show that countries that already have positioned themselves around a reputation for technological innovation related to product development and manufacturing may expect consumers to transfer those associations to new products from the country.     

Media preferences among young consumers in Bangladesh: a multidimensional approach

Generally, preference toward an advertising media is judged by company-driven effectiveness assessment parameters such as reach, frequency, sales and return on investment. This paper, on the other hand, by using structural equation modeling offers a three-dimensional 20-item ‘media effectiveness assessment model’ based on the quantitative judgment of young consumers. After that the preferences of male and female consumers toward seven different media with respect to the assessment criteria of the model have been captured and compared. Item-wise results of the study show that radio received highest priority by male consumers, whereas, TV and newspaper are the second priority. Female respondents on the other hand put highest preference toward magazine followed by radio. Popularity of radio among young consumers is noticeable. Dimension-wise comparisons revealed that men and women consumers preferred radio and billboard, respectively as the best media for ‘customization’ ability. However, for advertisement ‘positioning’ men and women prioritized TV and magazine, respectively. Finally, billboard and radio were found to be most ‘interactive’ as opined by male and female, respectively. The methodology of this study is based on 783 samples collected from the young executives (both male and female) of Bangladesh during September–November, 2014.