Foreign capital inflows, economic growth and stock market capitalization in Asian countries: an ARDL bound testing approach

This study investigates the effects of foreign capital inflows and economic growth on stock market capitalization in 18 Asian countries by using the panel data from the period of 2000–2010. The ARDL bound testing cointegration approach confirms the valid long run relationship between the considered variables. Results indicate that foreign direct investment has significant negative and economic growth has significant positive relationship with the stock market capitalization, whereas, the results of workers’ remittances is found insignificant in long run. The error correction model confirms the significant positive relationship of economic growth and workers’ remittances while, FDI has negative and significant impact on stock market capitalization in short run. Results of causality test based on Toda and Yamamoto (J Econom 66: 225–250, 1995) show the bidirectional causal relationship of foreign direct investment and economic growth with stock market capitalization. However, no causal relationship is found in between workers’ remittances and stock market capitalization. It is suggested that investor should not idealize the inflow of workers’ remittances to invest in Asian stock markets in long run. Simultaneously, size of the economy is a better leading indicator for Asian stock markets. On the other hand, inflows of FDI may mislead the investor to invest. Investor should keep on eye whether FDI come in the competition of domestic market or not? If this happens so investor should not invest in the stock market of host country.     

Asymmetric impacts of disaggregated oil price shocks on uncertainties and investor sentiment

This paper aims to examine short- and long-run asymmetries in the impacts of disaggregated oil price shocks on economic policy uncertainty, stock market uncertainty, treasury rates, and investor (bullish and bearish) sentiment in the US. To this end, we use a nonlinear auto-regressive distributed lag cointegration approach, which allows us to capture both positive and negative disaggregated oil shocks. We find that oil demand shocks are the main drivers of both measures of uncertainty, while oil supply shocks affect treasury rates. However, both oil demand shocks and oil supply shocks affect investor sentiment, with certain differences in the effects of positive and negative shocks. The overall effects of both oil demand and supply shocks—whether positive or negative—are stronger in the long-run than in the short-run. Additionally, we apply rolling causality and reveal evidence of a rather homogenous causal flow from disaggregated oil shocks to the variables studied, particularly around global stress periods. Our findings have implications for asset pricing and portfolio risk management and suggest policy formulations that differentiate between disaggregated positive and negative oil price shocks.

     

Examining cross-cultural compatibility of high performance work practices

This paper examines the relationship between high performance work practices (HPWPs) and cross-cultural dimensions to debate the effectiveness of HPWPs in cross-cultural settings. Using systematic review, 140 articles were identified on HPWPs and cross-cultural human resource management. Synthesizing the two literature areas results in four key findings. Many HR practices labelled as HPWPs are affected by national cultural dimensions. Also, several practices labelled as HPWPs have not been a part of the cross-cultural HR literature, and that limited studies in both area focus on the impact of cultural compatibility on outcomes. Finally, a few selected cultural dimensions have dominated the cross-cultural HR literature. Thus, more work is needed to: understand the role of national culture on effectiveness of HPWPs; increase coverage of HPWPs in the cross-cultural HR literature; understand the impact of cultural compatibility of HR practices and HPWPs on outcomes; and, incorporate additional cultural dimensions in future work.     

TTIP – Probleme und Chancen

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is the most important trade policy decision that European leaders have faced in many years. The new generation of free trade agreements, including TTIP, aim at deep economic integration. Thus, they are essentially focused upon the removal or alignment of standards, regulations and administrative procedures that impede international trade and investment. Therefore, TTIP goes beyond the dimensions of traditional preferential trade agreements in the sense that it not only concerns tariffs and non tariff barriers to trade in goods, but it also concerns trade in services and the foreign investment environment. Regulatory cooperation under TTIP might thus well extend into core domains of public policy, including health and food safety or environmental regulation. Regulation, however, confers both benefits and costs to society. A proper assessment of TTIP must therefore also consider the benefits of regulation to society and must embed regulatory cooperation between the EU and US into a firm democratic framework. The potential of such an agreement is substantial, due to improved market access, regulatory cooperation and greater global reach, while the downside risk is limited. While some of the arguments critical of TTIP are justified, others seem rather excessive and seem intent on stirring up unnecessary anxiety among the population. An objective and constructive discussion is crucial to ensure that the needs of the population are heard during the negotiation process and that an agreement capable of achieving majority support can be concluded. The debate over TTIP has to consider not only the economic effects of increased trade but also the legal and political dimensions of the trade agreement.     

Challenges and Insights from South Asia for Imagining Ethical Organizations: Introduction to the Special Issue

Journal of Business Ethics - South Asia is a region that two billion world citizens call home. It connotes not only a geographical place but a discursive space that, despite its heterogeneities of...     

Consensus Modeling with Asymmetric Cost Based on Data-Driven Robust Optimization

Group Decision and Negotiation - The robust optimization method has progressively become a research hot spot as a valuable means for dealing with parameter uncertainty in optimization problems....     

Child malnutrition in developing economies: a case study of Bangladesh

The study investigate the impact of socioeconomic factors on malnutrition in children (under 5 years) using Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. The urban and rural areas are separately probed for stunting, wasting and under-weight children. The analysis revealed that birth-interval, mother’s education and wealth index reduce the malnutrition in children for urban and rural household, while duration of breastfeeding and lower BMI of the mother increase the malnutrition in both urban and rural areas. Wealth index is more effective in rural areas as compared to urban ones. The male children are more likely to be malnourished in urban areas but female children are more likely to be malnourished in rural areas. The primary level of education of the women has no significant impact on nutritional status of children in urban as well as in rural areas. It has important policy implications that at least secondary level of education should be part of the education policy of Bangladesh. The incidence of diarrhea enhances the probability of stunting and wasting in both urban and rural areas of Bangladesh. From the policy perspective mother’s education and birth-interval are required for achieving the nutrition status of children. For the long-run the socioeconomic status of the household expressed by wealth index is needed. The duration of breastfeeding needs to be reduced by initiation of the supplement food.     

Tourism development and environmental degradation in the United States: evidence from wavelet-based analysis

The recent literatures indicate that the tourism development (TD) has significant influence over the environmental degradation of both high-tourist-arrival and low-tourist-arrival countries. This study investigates the empirical influence of TD on environmental degradation in a high-tourist-arrival economy (i.e. United States), using the wavelet transform framework. This new methodology enables the decomposition of time-series at different time–frequencies. In this study, we have used maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform (MODWT), wavelet covariance, wavelet correlation, continuous wavelet power spectrum, wavelet coherence spectrum and wavelet-based Granger causality analysis to analyse the relationship between TD and CO₂ emission in the United States by using the monthly data from the period of 1996(1) to 2015(3). Results indicate that TD is majorly having the positive influence over CE in short, medium and long run. We find the unidirectional influence of TD on CE in short run, medium and long run in the United States.