Economics Finance

The regional integration agreements can be a strategy of trade diversion and thus we can say that there is a violation of the rules of free trade. By creating preferential rules which are inconsistent with the principles of the WTO, the strategy of regional integration can increase the risk of trade disputes with third party countries and can therefore generate a commercial environment full of threats and reprisals. Third countries, especially developing countries have small markets, may find themselves marginalized further when the members of the regional group adopt the principle of discrimination. The philosophy of the WTO paves the way for a transition from regional integration towards a multilateral integration. The question that arises is whether regional integration agreements meet this conception of the WTO or they represent a new form of protectionism hindering free trade. We know that the regional groups hold private information about the actions and decisions they adopt i...

This paper presents a graphical and descriptive analysis of the historical trends of the South African pension fund sector in order to provide insights and understanding of non-banking finance. Using a combination of secondary data and a desk review of existing literature, we provide in-depth analysis of the different types and number of pension funds, industry trends, policy reforms and legislative frameworks enacted by the South African government for the development of the sector. The study identified the evolution of the pension fund industry to be in four phases coinciding with different waves of industry policy reforms, namely: the infancy phase (1911-1958); institutionalisation phase (1959-1984); separation and continued separation phase (1985-1994); and corporatisation and amalgamation (1995-2015) The industry growth analysis indicated that a compounded annual growth rate of 14 percent is the highest annual growth over the past decade and this growth exceeds the global marke...

Several studies have established the predictive power of the yield curve in terms of real economic activity. In this paper we use data for a variety of E.U. countries: both EMU (Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain) and non-EMU members (Norway, Sweden and the U.K.). The data used range from 1991:Q1 to 2009:Q3. For each country, we extract the long

We examine if a gender gap persists in executive compensation and if the composition and the determinants of executive compensation for men versus women are the same for the S&P1500 listed firms during the period from 1992 to 2004. This analysis is also extended to high tech firms, where high scholarship is required both for male and female executives. The results reveal that the gender gap in executive compensation is reducing essentially after the year 2000. Also, the factors that explain the variation in executive compensation are not all the same for men and women. However, firms continue to pay women, who are considered more risk averse than men, a similar proportion of risky compensation components, such as stock options and restricted stocks, than they pay to men. In terms of technology firms, we find that the gender differences in total compensation are not statistically significant. Our study offers insight into recent data for executive compensation. The finding that the gender gap diminishes is a sign of a better functioning market for executives. Our findings could be potentially useful for compensation committees in order to develop compensation packages that take into consideration the degree of risk aversion in order to enhance performance. Compensation adjusted for risk aversion can produce a higher level of satisfaction for the employees and can lead to better performances. Future research should focus on international comparison of various dimensions of executive compensation.

This paper empirically examines the macroeconomic factors that affect the rental rates and selling prices of office space. The data are in the form of quarterly time series which are used for the period of 1996: 1 to 2012: 4 period. In addition, quantitative methods in the form of Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) are also used in this study. The results showed that there is a long-term relationship between macroeconomic variables with the rental rate and selling prices of office space. IRF and FEVD showed that the rental rates and selling prices responded permanently to the shocks that occured on macroeconomic variables. Moreover, the rental rate is predominantly influenced by the rental rate followed by the service sector employment, the selling price, exchange rate, inflation, interest rates and economic growth. Conversely, the selling price is predominantly influenced by the rental rate followed by service sector employment, the exchange rate, economic growth, the selling pri...

Housing cooperatives were introduced in Kenya in the early 1980s and currently there are 650 registered housing cooperatives which are affiliated to the National Cooperative Housing Union (NACHU). Official statistics obtained from the Ministry of Co-operative Development as at 2010 show 424 housing co-operatives as having been registered, 79 out of these being dormant, 16 having been liquidated and 329 active. This clearly indicates that some housing cooperatives have not achieved the objectives for which they were formed. This begs the question on Corporate Governance Practices have any effect on the financial performance of housing cooperatives in Kenya. A sample size of 59 housing cooperatives was used from a target population of 650 housing cooperatives. Random sampling technique was used to obtain the sample size and was derived using the Fischer formula: . Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient for accountability and financial performance was r = 0.366**, with probability value (p ...

Working capital management is the discipline of management which is inevitable in all walks of economic life whether in a household or in an enterprise, in the public domain or in private domain,profit oriented or not .The efficient working capital management is most crucial factor in maintaining survival,liquidity,solvency and profitability of any business organization. Moreover, an optimal working capital management positively contributes to the firm's value. Theprofitability and the efficiency of every sector in the nation have direct bearing on the prosperity of economy which can be primarily achieved through efficient working capital management practices. It helps in designing a framework to smoothen the financial constraints of business so as to make effective use of its resources.Keeping in mind the significance of working capital management an attempt has been made to examine its impact on the profitability of Indian automobile industry. The Indian automobile industry is...

Kenya has continued to experience increasing budget deficits. This is despite implementing various tax reforms. To finance the deficit, the Kenyan government should either raise more tax revenue or resort to borrowing. Domestic borrowing crowds out investment while external debt specifically non-concessional loans are tied to some unpopular conditions. The government has an option of considering non-concessional loans but this comes with a price of high interest rates and short payment periods. This means raising more tax with minimum burden is the best option. This study therefore seeks to investigate the responsiveness of Kenya’s tax system to GDP and Discretionary tax measures for the period between 1970 and 2018. Variables used in the study are integrated of order one. Johansen cointegration test reveals presence long run relationship thus informing the study to consider Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). The results reveal that Kenya’s tax system is inelastic but buoyant. Th...