Are microfinance institutions resilient to economic slowdown? Evidence from their capital ratio adjustment over the business cycle

Prior studies using pre-crisis data concluded that microfinance institutions are resilient to economic crises. However, some recent studies indicate that the microfinance sector is becoming part of the global financial system and microfinance lending activities are now vulnerable to economic and financial crises. Capital being a key resource to support lending, this paper analyzes the cyclical behaviour of capital ratio using an international sample of microfinance institutions from 2001 to 2014. We uncover a negative relationship between their capital-to-assets ratios and business cycle indicators. This relationship mainly concerns regulated institutions, comprised mostly of profit-oriented MFIs, and is driven by both asset-side and capital level adjustments. We identify the lending channel (loan-to-assets ratio) as the main mechanism to explain these cyclical variations. Our findings are consistent with the “procyclicality” of capital regulation documented extensively in the banking literature. Hence, macro-prudential regulation for MFIs should target regulated and profit-oriented MFIs.     

探讨基础设施PPP项目的全生命周期的动态项目管理

当前,PPP模式不仅在我国基础设施建设中发展前景良好,同时在很多国家得到了广泛应用。相比传统的工程项目建设模式,PPP项目具有风险因素复杂和风险较大的特征,因此,PPP项目的成功会在很大程度上受动态项目管理的有效性影响。对项目管理来说,尤其是动态项目风险管理,应贯穿于PPP项目的全生命周期,而只有实现全生命周期的动态风险管理,才能使PPP模式在我国基础设施建设领域中成功利用。     

A new monthly chronology of the US industrial cycles in the prewar economy

This article extends earlier efforts at redating the US industrial cycles for the prewar period (1890–1938) using the methodologies proposed by Bry and Boschan (1971) and Hamilton (1989) and based on the monthly industrial production index constructed by Miron and Romer (1990) and modified by Romer (1994). The alternative chronology detects 90% of the peaks and troughs identified by the NBER and Romer (1994), but the new dates are consistently dated earlier for more than 50% of them, especially as regards the NBER troughs. The new dates affect the comparison of the average duration of recessions and expansions in both pre-WWI and interwar eras. Whereas the NBER reference dates show an increase in average duration of the expansions between the pre-WWI and interwar periods, the new dates show evidence of shortened length of expansions. However, the new dates confirm the traditional finding that contractions lasted longer in the post-war period than during the pre-war period.     

The impacts of student and life satisfaction on tourism students’ perceived sense of belonging

This study explores how tourism students’ satisfaction with their lives and academics affect their sense of belonging within their school communities. The primary supporting research was conducted using a questionnaire, which 285 students in Akdeniz University’s Faculty of Tourism answered. The mean scores of the two scales (life satisfaction and sense of belonging) and the dimensions of student satisfaction were used to conduct multiple regression analysis. The results suggest that two aspects of student life (teaching staff and school management vs. student support and counseling) and life satisfaction had a direct correlation with students’ sense of belonging.     

家庭生命周期与旅游态度的关联研究——以长沙市居民为例

家庭是旅游态度形成的最重要环境背景,也一直是旅游活动的重要组织单元,探究家庭生命周期与旅游态度的关系意义重大.文章依据已有研究成果,建立家庭生命周期模型,制定旅游态度量表,以问卷工具面向长沙市居民进行调查,获得基础数据,运用因子分析得到了追求享受、强调卫生、看重设施、向往体验、关注身心健康等5个方面的旅游态度主成分,通过验证性因子分析后,再用相关分析、多元回归分析探究家庭生命周期与旅游态度5个主成分的关系.结果表明,随着家庭生命周期的演进,人们愈发追求享受、看重设施、关注身心健康.无巢期人群看重设施和关注身心健康的表现低于其他阶段人群,空巢期人群追求享受的表现高于其他阶段人群,空巢期、鳏寡期人群关注身心健康的表现高于其他阶段人群,满巢期人群向往体验的表现高于其他阶段人群.     

The contribution of vacations to quality of life

The contribution of vacations to people’s life satisfaction and Quality of Life (QOL) has recently attracted substantial attention among tourism researchers. Yet, most QOL scales do not include vacations: 7% explicitly measure vacations whereas 42% only include items relating to vacations within the broader Leisure domain. Leisure and vacations, however, differ substantially in nature with leisure referring to regular home-based activities and vacations being infrequent leisure activities away from home. As a consequence of the common amalgamation of vacations with leisure, there is limited knowledge about the specific contribution of vacations to people’s QOL. The present study (1) presents empirical evidence for the contribution of vacations to QOL, (2) determines the extent of this contribution, and (3) investigates variation in the extent to which vacations contribute to the QOL of different people. Results indicate that vacations contribute to the QOL of the majority of people, are as important a QOL domain as Leisure and People, and that QOL means different things to different people at different points in their life, representing an individual and dynamic concept.     

Promoting quality-of-life and well-being research in hospitality and tourism

There is an increasing interest in quality-of-life/well-being research in hospitality and tourism. The goal of this paper is to further promote the development and use of quality-of-life/well-being concepts in the discipline by reviewing seven major theories of quality of life and well-being (and their application in hospitality and tourism based on the research that I and my colleagues have conducted over the years) and suggesting future avenues of research. The theories discussed are self-congruity theory, self-expressiveness theory, bottom-up spillover theory, leisure benefits theory, goal theory, need hierarchy theory, and broaden-and-build theory.     

Progression,Stability, or Decline? Sociological Mechanisms Underlying Change in Specialization Among Birdwatchers

Using a panel of American birdwatchers collected in 1997 and 2002, we tested the extent to which birdwatchers progressed over a five-year period. The impact different career contingencies and life course events had on predicting change in birdwatchers' behavior, skill, and commitment was also examined. Findings indicated that although progression characterized some birdwatchers' participation, involvement by others was better characterized by stability or decline, which was true for each of the indicators used to measure specialization. Career contingencies and life course changes had only a moderate influence on predicting change in the specialization indicators over time. Support from family members and retirement were the best predictors of change in specialization.     

Cultural Consonance in Leisure,Leisure Satisfaction,Life Satisfaction,and Self-Rated Health in Urban Taiwan

The purpose of this study threefold: to determine whether a shared cultural model of the importance of a set of leisure activities to a good leisure life existed in urban Taiwan, the degree to which cultural consonance in leisure mediates the relationship between leisure constraints and leisure satisfaction, and the degree to which leisure satisfaction affects life satisfaction and self-rated health. Results indicate that a cultural model of the importance of leisure activities to a good leisure life existed among sample members. Second, higher levels of self-reported participation in leisure activities that are culturally agreed upon as more important for a good leisure life are more strongly associated with leisure satisfaction than are activities culturally agreed upon as less important. Finally, leisure satisfaction strongly predicts both life satisfaction and self-rated health.     

Perception of tourism development and subjective happiness of residents in Mashhad,Iran

Tourism development affects various aspects of a populace’s life, such as environmental, social, economic, and other areas. This study examines the effect of perceived tourism development on subjective happiness and quality of life among residents of Mashhad City, Iran. A sample size of 384 residents completed a survey. Data analysis was performed using WarpPLS. Results indicated that tourism development had an effect on the residents’ subjective happiness and quality of life (QOL) and the effects of social and micro economic factors on the residents’ subjective happiness and the effects of cultural, environmental, and macroeconomic factors on the resident’s QOL.