Testing the uncertainty outcome hypothesis using data from second tier soccer in Ireland

This study estimates a demand relationship for second tier soccer in Ireland to test the uncertainty outcome hypothesis (UOH). Using data from three recent playing seasons, the UOH is found to be upheld. In addition, well-determined effects for fixture quality, recent team performance and travel distance between the competing teams’ stadia are also obtained.     

Improved cookstoves in Africa: Explaining adoption patterns

This article uses the case of 18 projects in 14 African countries to explore the adoption patterns of improved cookstoves and the factors that influence these patterns. Our results show that there is variation in the rate of adoption between countries and amongst rural and urban households. The combined effect of moderately good gross domestic product per capita, history of improved cookstove project implementation and adequate institutional support suggests that consumers in South Africa, Senegal and Lesotho tend to be more aware of the benefits of improved cookstoves and better able to afford them than consumers in countries such as Mali, Malawi and Mozambique. Within the countries, rural households seem to be less aware and capable of affording the stoves compared to urban consumers. These differences are a result of varying levels of income and literacy. The low literacy levels mean rural and mostly elderly individuals are less knowledgeable and appreciative of the benefits offered by improved cookstoves.     

Business and Human Rights in South Africa: An Analysis of Antecedents of Human Rights Due Diligence

The purpose of the present article is to analyse South African listed companies’ public reporting in order to contribute to our understanding of how and why companies consider human rights. The empirical analysis is placed in the context of the increasing prominence of human rights as a business issue, premised in part on the activities of the United Nations (UN) Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) on human rights and business. On the basis of a content analysis of the public reports of the top 100 companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), we test hypotheses focused on the antecedents of companies’ demonstrated human rights due diligence, with particular reference to assumptions or findings of the SRSG and institutional theory. Some of our results are unexpected: there is little influence exerted by the sector and size of companies in our sample, and there is also an unexpectedly insignificant impact of company participation in the UN Global Compact and the JSE Socially Responsible Investment Index. On the other hand, a key predictor of human rights due diligence is an explicit leadership commitment, and important roles are also played by government regulations and stock exchange listing rules.     

Competition and commercial banks risk-taking: evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa region

This study investigates the relationship between competition and the risk-taking attitude of banks. We test how this relationship manifests in the Sub-Saharan African(SSA) region’s commercial banks in light of the competition-fragility view, using the generalized methods of moments. We studied 440 commercial banks in 37 SSA countries over the period 2006–2015. The results provide evidence that supports a positive relationship between competition and banks’ overall risk as well as their credit risk but suggests that off-balance sheet risk reduces with competition. We, therefore, conclude that the propensity to undertake higher risk in a competitive banking environment largely accounts for fragility as argued in the competition-fragility view.