The purpose of this paper is to re‐examine the effect of population ageing on private saving, taking into account the fact that ageing is brought about by not only rising old‐aged…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to re‐examine the effect of population ageing on private saving, taking into account the fact that ageing is brought about by not only rising old‐aged dependency but also expanding longevity.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses panel data of 22 OECD countries from 1961 to 2010. Linear and non‐linear panel regression methods are used. The study takes into account the time series characteristic of the data, such as the deterministic trend present in old‐age dependency ratio.
Findings
Longevity consistently has a significant positive impact on savings, while old‐aged dependency rate has no discernible impact once country‐specific time trends in the data are accounted for. The general finding within the literature where old‐age dependency exerts a negative impact on savings is sensitive to the manner in which the data is handled and/or the sample selected.
Originality/value
First, the authors jointly consider rising old‐aged dependency and expanding longevity on savings, thus avoiding potential omitted variable bias in previous studies. Second, they explore non‐linearity in the savings‐ageing relationship which was ignored previously. Third, they identify whether saving rate and demographic measures are sharing common stochastic trends or driven by individual deterministic trends to avoid spurious regression results.
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Amy Beech, Do Won Kwak and Kam Ki Tang
The purpose of this paper is to explore the interdependence between donor countries’ health aid expenditures. The specific form of interdependence considered is the leader effect…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the interdependence between donor countries’ health aid expenditures. The specific form of interdependence considered is the leader effect, whereby an influential country has a positive leverage effect on other donor countries’ aid expenditure. The opposite case of a free-rider effect, whereby a single donor country has a negative leverage effect on its peers, is also considered.
Design/methodology/approach
Focusing on the identification of the leader effect avoids the estimation bias present in the identification of the peer group effect, due to endogenous social effect. The empirical analysis focuses on Development Assistance for Health provided by 20 OECD countries over the period of 1990-2009. Aid commitment and aid disbursement are distinguished.
Findings
When aid dynamics, country heterogeneity, and endogeneity are accounted for, there is no evidence that the biggest donor – the USA, or the most generous donors – Norway and Sweden, exhibit any leverage effects on other donor countries’ aid expenditures.
Originality/value
This is the first paper to examine the leader and free-rider effects in health aid provision as previous studies focus on peer effects. Any evidence of leader or free-rider effects (or the lack of it) adds to the understanding of international political economy especially in the area of foreign aid provision.
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Kam Fai Dick Tam, Ching Yuen Chan, W.H. Ip and Chi Shing Jackson Tang
The purpose of this paper is to develop a cost effective ball grid array (BGA) workcell for solder ball attachment.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a cost effective ball grid array (BGA) workcell for solder ball attachment.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents the construction of a low‐cost high‐efficiency automatic ball attachment workcell. In fact, it is an economical means of simultaneous placement of all solder balls on BGA substrates containing multiple BGA units as well as singulated substrates. Common industry problems such as the effect of static charges, the solder ball oxidation, the missing ball, the extra ball, the ball alignment, the deformed ball and, etc. will be addressed and critical issues affecting yield will also be discussed in this paper.
Findings
BGA is a popular integrated circuit packaging that is often applied in laptop computers and other handheld electronic devices for the provision of a high‐connection count in a relatively small area. However, the cost of a market available BGA solder ball attachment workcell is very expensive and the flexibility in fitting various customized process is usually low.
Originality/value
The developed workcell cost is about half of the market available machines with similar specifications; the yield achieved is within three sigma confidence interval with competitive output rate. The maintenance and troubleshooting are easy since the machine was developed by the in‐house engineering team.
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This research outlines the Hong Kong film industry with examination of key actors, directors, films, and production companies within the martial arts genre of Hong Kong Action…
Abstract
This research outlines the Hong Kong film industry with examination of key actors, directors, films, and production companies within the martial arts genre of Hong Kong Action Cinema. Hong Kong Film Award winners and nominees, core films within genres, and core reference works both general and theoretical from experts in the field of Hong Kong martial arts film research have been highlighted. Web sites are suggested that provide reviews of Hong Kong martial arts films, biographical information on a variety of actors and actresses as well as comprehensive bibliographic information on select films. Also included are commercial Web sites that provide Hong Kong martial arts films.
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Fabricio Pini Rosales, Pedro Carlos Oprime, Annie Royer and Mario Otávio Batalha
The purpose of this paper is to identify the risks to which agrifood supply chains are exposed and to analyze how these risks impact the degree of coordination of the chain.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the risks to which agrifood supply chains are exposed and to analyze how these risks impact the degree of coordination of the chain.
Design/methodology/approach
The present investigation was executed in two steps. Initially, a literature review and interviews with slaughterhouse managers were carried out to identify the main risks to which agrifood supply chains are exposed. The second step consisted of a survey involving 66 Brazilian slaughterhouses to identify how the perception of risks influences the degree of coordination in the examined chains.
Findings
The study revealed that risks, transaction costs and creation of collaborative advantages are determining factors in defining the degree of coordination in the analyzed agrifood supply chains.
Practical implications
The results allow slaughterhouse managers to more easily recognize the risks to which the supply chains are exposed and evaluate in more detail strategies for relationships with their suppliers. These strategies may be able to avoid conflict and create value for the supplier by stimulating longer relationships and facilitating animal purchase transactions for slaughter. This can lead to quality improvements, lower costs and reduced risk.
Originality/value
Studies of risks in agrifood supply chains are rare in comparison with those developed in other sectors. The present investigation is innovative in identifying the main risks specific to agrifood supply chains and associating those risks with a degree of coordination that minimizes them.
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Dien Van Tran, Phuong Van Nguyen, Demetris Vrontis, Sam Thi Ngoc Nguyen and Phuong Uyen Dinh
Government employees must comply with policies on information security regulations, online security practices, social networking usage, internet addiction, online cyberthreats and…
Abstract
Purpose
Government employees must comply with policies on information security regulations, online security practices, social networking usage, internet addiction, online cyberthreats and other related habits. These activities are considered cybersecurity behaviors. Government social media (GSM) accounts are increasingly used to educate employees about cybersecurity risks. To support the effectiveness of cybersecurity practices in government organizations, the purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of GSM and organizational policy compliance on employees’ cybersecurity awareness, motivation and behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were obtained by administering a questionnaire survey to public personnel in Vietnam. A total of 330 valid responses were obtained, and the research hypotheses were tested using partial least squares–structural equation modeling.
Findings
First, cybersecurity awareness enhances information protection motivation and employee protective behavior. Second, GSM has positive impacts on cybersecurity knowledge and information protection motivation. Third, there is a strong positive association between information protection motivation and employee protective behavior. Finally, while organizational compliance significantly increases cybersecurity awareness, its impact on employee protective behavior is ind irect.
Originality/value
This research enhances the literature on the behavioral dimension of cybersecurity. The primary objective of this study is to assess the influence of cybersecurity awareness on protective behaviors rather than intents and attitudes alone. Furthermore, this research integrates protection motivation theory and cultivation theory to provide a more thorough assessment of cybersecurity awareness and protective behavior. By investigating the impact of GSM on the level of cybersecurity awareness among employees within government organizations, this study provides valuable insights into the efficacy of recent governmental initiatives aimed at fostering cybersecurity.
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Haiyan Jiang, Jing Jia and Yuanyuan Hu
This study aims to investigate whether firms purchase directors' and officers' liability (D&O) insurance when the country-level economic policy uncertainty (EPU) is high.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate whether firms purchase directors' and officers' liability (D&O) insurance when the country-level economic policy uncertainty (EPU) is high.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses D&O insurance data from Chinese listed firms between 2003 and 2019 to conduct regression analyses to examine the association between D&O insurance and EPU.
Findings
The results show that government EPU, despite being an exogenous factor, increases the likelihood of firms' purchasing D&O insurance, and this effect is more pronounced when firms are exposed to great share price crash risk and high litigation risk, suggesting that firms intend to purchase D&O insurance possibly due to the accentuated stock price crash risk and litigation risk associated with EPU. In addition, the results indicate that the effect of EPU on the D&O insurance purchase decision is moderated by the provincial capital market development and internal control quality.
Practical implications
The study highlights the role of uncertain economic policies in shareholder approval of D&O insurance purchases.
Originality/value
The study enriches the literature on the determinants of D&O insurance purchases by documenting novel evidence that country-level EPU is a key institutional factor shaping firms' decisions to purchase D&O insurance.
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Lawrence Wai‐Chung Lai and Pearl Yik‐Long Chan
This paper uses a probit model to analyse 100 observations in terms of three hypotheses about the formation of owners’ corporations in high‐density private housing estates in Hong…
Abstract
This paper uses a probit model to analyse 100 observations in terms of three hypotheses about the formation of owners’ corporations in high‐density private housing estates in Hong Kong within the context of Mancur Olson’s group theory. The findings do not reject the theory, revealing that it is more likely for an older urban estate with fewer owners to form owners’ corporations. The discussion includes a brief introduction to Olson’s group theory and the development of the probit analysis. Some speculative thoughts about public participation in local level urban management and planning are offered in the conclusion.