沙特阿拉伯纺织品服装合格评定技术指标比对研究

本文梳理沙特阿拉伯《纺织产品技术法规》关键技术指标,分通用要求、标签要求和安全项目要求与我国强制性标准进行对比,针对超过我国的要求进行重点风险提示,为企业组织生产和出口贸易提供指引。     

Factors affecting undergraduates' commitment to career choice in the hospitality sector: Evidence from Saudi Arabia

Little is known about the factors underlying students’ commitment to career choices in the hospitality industry in non-western contexts. This research explores the drivers of commitment to career choice among undergraduates studying hospitality in Saudi Arabia. Employing the Social Cognitive Career Theory, this research examines commitment to hospitality career against personal and contextual variables, together with two control variables of (i.e., “year of study” and “industry experience”), expected to influence students’ career decisions. From a valid sample of 227 students, it was found that “self-interest,” “outcome expectations,” “the nature of working environment,” “the nature of working day,” “nepotism (wasta),” “industry experience,” and “year of study” were the best predictors of students’ commitment to career choice; in contrary, “social status” and localization (saudization) of workforce were not significant determinants. Implications of the findings and avenues for future research are also discussed.     

An analysis of the cost-effectiveness of switching from biphasic human insulin 30, insulin glargine,or neutral protamine Hagedorn to biphasic insulin aspart 30 in people with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Aims:

The aim of this analysis was to assess the cost-effectiveness of switching from biphasic human insulin 30 (BHI), insulin glargine (IGlar), or neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH) insulin (all?±?oral glucose-lowering drugs [OGLDs]) to biphasic insulin aspart 30 (BIAsp 30) in people with type 2 diabetes in India, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia.

Methods:

The IMS CORE Diabetes Model was used to determine the clinical outcome, costs, and cost-effectiveness of switching from treatment with BHI, IGlar, or NPH to BIAsp 30 over a 30-year time horizon. A 1-year analysis was also performed based on quality-of-life data and treatment costs. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were expressed as a fraction of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, and cost-effectiveness was defined as ICER <3-times GDP per capita.

Results:

Switching treatment from BHI, IGlar, or NPH to BIAsp 30 was associated with an increase in life expectancy of >0.7 years, reduction in all diabetes-related complications, and was considered as cost-effective or highly cost-effective in India, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia (BHI to BIAsp 30, 0.26 in India, 1.25 in Indonesia, 0.01 in Saudi Arabia; IGlar to BIAsp 30, ?0.68 in India, ?0.21 in Saudi Arabia; NPH to BIAsp 30, 0.15 in India, ?0.07 in Saudi Arabia; GDP per head per annum/quality-adjusted life-year). Cost-effectiveness was maintained in the 1-year analyses.

Conclusions:

Switching from treatment with BHI, IGlar, or NPH to BIAsp 30 (all?±?OGLDs) was found to be cost-effective in India, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia, both in the long and short term.     

Market volatility and illiquidity during the COVID-19 outbreak: Evidence from the Saudi stock exchange through the wavelet coherence approaches

The aim of this paper is to examine the explanatory power of realized volatility on the illiquidity in Saudi stock market during the COVID-19 outbreak. To achieve this objective, we consider the Wavelet Coherence approaches as empirical tools to investigate the combined effect of realized volatility and COVID-19 counts on the market illiquidity across frequencies and over time space by taking in account the number of infected cases in Saudi Arabia and over the World, and the number of death cases in Saudi Arabia as well as over the World. Our study reaches two main findings. First, the preliminary results reported by the ARDL bound test as a benchmark model showed significant long-run and short-run effects of the market volatility on illiquidity in contemporaneous and lagged manner. Second, the wavelet coherence analysis tools exhibited important results: (i) the wavelet coherency between illiquidity ratio and realized volatility in Saudi Arabia appear highly pronounced over all time horizons. (ii) PWC plots showed a significant mutual effect between liquidity risk and realized volatility when eliminating the effect of local COVID-19 cases. (iii) MWC plots highlighted that the response of the market illiquidity index to both the amplification in confirmed local cases (resp. international confirmed cases) and the stock market volatility appear significant in the short and middle horizons.     

Expatriate compound living: an ethnographic field study

In certain countries, closed expatriate compounds have developed. They serve to provide resident expatriates and accompanying family members with a comfortable and safe environment. Unfortunately, not much is known about compound life since associated empirical research is scarce. Through ethnographic field-work methodology, including interviews and participant observation during a period of 3 months, this exploratory study investigated 16 Danish business expatriates of a large Danish corporation and their families living in the same compound in Saudi Arabia. They shared their spare time and the expatriates had the same working hours in the same subsidiary. Results show that a Danish national group was established and maintained. This in-group dominated life in the compound and at work it may have contributed to the perceptual bias and discriminatory behaviour demonstrated by the Danish expatriates in their management of the foreign national employees. Implications of these findings are discussed in detail.     

Estimating the household consumption function in Saudi Arabia: an error correction approach

ABSTRACT

We estimate a micro-founded life-cycle consumption model for Saudi Arabia over the period 1970–2017 using error correction model procedures. Dynamic adjustments are significant, and both income and wealth are found to have significant effects, with a long-run marginal propensity to consume out of the income of 0.95 and out of the wealth of 0.06. The sensitivity of consumption to income and wealth, as well as the estimated short-term effects of price and real interest rate, are consistent with the rapidly growing Saudi economy. By capturing the key determinants of the life-cycle model, our approach is useful for the design of macroeconomic policy. We estimate the impact of the recent VAT reform.     

Quality of financial reporting: evidence from the listed Saudi nonfinancial companies

This study assesses the quality of information disclosed by a sample of nonfinancial Saudi companies listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange. The study also compares the extent of corporate disclosure before and after the creation of the Saudi Organization of Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA). We classify information disclosed in the annual reports into three main categories: mandatory; voluntary related to mandatory; and voluntary unrelated to mandatory disclosure. The sample provided 63% and 66% of the total population of companies listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange in the years 1992 and 1999.In departure from most previous studies conducted in this area of research, we weighted the indexes of disclosure by the mean and median responses of seven users of the annual reports in Saudi Arabia. The results of both unweighted and weighted indexes are reported. The outcome of the analysis indicated a relatively high compliance with the mandatory requirements in all industries covered by the study, with the exception of the electricity sector. As for the voluntary disclosure, whether related or unrelated to mandatory disclosure, the analysis revealed that Saudi companies disclose information more than the minimum required by law. The level of voluntary disclosure, however, is relatively low. The analysis also showed that the creation of SOCPA has had little impact on corporate reporting in Saudi Arabia.     

Meat and fish consumption patterns in Saudi Arabia

This study analyses the demand for meat (beef, chicken and lamb) and fish in Saudi Arabia in a system-wide framework using data for the period 1985–2010. A preliminary data analysis reveals that, in Saudi Arabia, the relative consumption of beef, chicken and fish has a positive growth, while lamb has a negative growth. The average relative price growth rates of beef, chicken and fish are negative, while that of lamb is positive. The expenditure shares of beef, chicken and fish have increased while that of lamb has fallen. The estimation results of the demand system reveal that there is an autonomous trend out of lamb into beef, chicken and fish. The implied income elasticities indicate that beef, lamb and fish are considered to be luxuries, while chicken is a necessity. The demand for all meat products and fish are price inelastic. These elasticities are key inputs for policy analysts in terms of devising policies in relation to meat production, meat imports, taxation and food security issues in Saudi Arabia. The usefulness of the implied elasticities is demonstrated by simulating the consumption of beef, chicken, lamb and fish under various policy scenarios.     

Locating audit expectations gap within a cultural context: The case of Saudi Arabia

This paper offers an insight into the types of ‘audit expectations gap’ that exist within a cultural context. Specifically, it investigates if the business and social environment affect the perceptions of audit performance of users and auditors. Using a combination of mail questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, the study reveals the existence of a ‘performance gap’ with respect to the roles specified in the statutory pronouncements and those that can reasonably be expected of auditors in Saudi Arabia. The results further indicate the ‘performance gap’ arises from four factors in the environment within which auditing is practiced: licensing policy, recruitment process, the political and legal structure, and dominant societal values. Interview results reveal the influence of institutional and cultural settings on the audit expectations gap and indicate that the inclusion of Islamic principles in auditing standards and the code of ethics would help reduce the expectations gap that exists in Saudi Arabia.     

关于沙特麦加轻轨线岔调整的探讨

文章介绍了有关沙特麦加轻轨接触网线岔的调整标准,探讨了实施过程中的具体做法.