Daniela Olo, Leonida Correia and Conceição Rego
This paper aims to find out what conditions are needed to enhance higher education curricula towards employability from the perspective of different stakeholders in the graduate…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to find out what conditions are needed to enhance higher education curricula towards employability from the perspective of different stakeholders in the graduate labour market.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical study was developed, using a qualitative approach, based on semi-structured interviews with higher education institutions (HEIs) and labour market players, in the north region of Portugal. The data were analysed through content and descrip\tive analysis with NVivo.
Findings
The results show a set of constraints that hinder the match of higher education curricula with employability, namely, (1) the weak connection between HEIs and employers and (2) the curricular structure, which is characterised by a heavy theoretical component and a weak approach to the soft skills required by the current labour market. Possible solutions, with implications for educational policy, are given throughout the study.
Research limitations/implications
The geographical scope and the nature of the study suggest that some precautions are required when generalising results. However, the literature on other areas in Portugal strengthens the findings and compensates for the sample's limitations.
Originality/value
This study combines the perspectives of the different individual stakeholders involved which, when taken as a whole, provide some recommendations for tailored curricula towards employability. Other studies in Portugal address each of these issues individually, without a connection between all the different perspectives.
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Daniela Olo, Leonida Correia and Maria da Conceição Rego
The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether there is an adjustment between the Portuguese higher education supply and the needs of the labour market.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether there is an adjustment between the Portuguese higher education supply and the needs of the labour market.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical study is performed, using a quantitative approach, relating the job offers for graduates registered at the employment centres and the number of graduates by higher education institutions (HEIs) in Portugal, at an aggregate level and NUT II regions, by areas of education and training, over the 2003–2018 period. To understand how job offers and graduates are correlated, bilateral Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were calculated.
Findings
The results show that, in large groups of educational areas, exists a match between the higher education supply and the labour market needs, with an emphasis on the fields of “social sciences, business and law”, “engineering, manufacturing and construction” and “health and welfare”. However, at a more disaggregated level, a mismatch in the sub-areas of “teacher training and education science” and “computing” was found since labour market needs are much greater than graduates by HEIs and the two variables are moving in opposite directions.
Practical implications
The study has revealed important aspects that the educational policy should take into account in order to create the conditions for a gradual adjustment to the labour market needs. Also, the results demonstrate that some measures should be taken in short/medium term to avoid problems in the medium/long term.
Originality/value
One implication of this empirical study was the elaboration of a correspondence table to standardise the data analysis units from two different sources. As this correspondence did not exist prior to this study, this output is a relevant contribution to the research field. Another important contribution is the demonstration of a mismatch in some educational sub-areas that deserves special attention from educational policymakers.
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Fabrizio Rossi, Robert Boylan and Richard J. Cebula
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between financial decisions and ownership structure by using the control contests on a sample of Italian listed…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between financial decisions and ownership structure by using the control contests on a sample of Italian listed companies.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis adopts a balanced panel data set of 984 firm-year observations for the period of 2002-2013, with estimation using a generalized method of moments.
Findings
The results appear to confirm both the hypotheses of the alignment of interests and the entrenchment effect. The entrenchment and alignment effects are not found to be alternatives but rather are found to co-exist. The presence of a coalition of minority shareholders acts as a tool to control agency costs, particularly when the coalition is instrumental in the contestability of corporate control.
Practical implications
These findings suggest that minority shareholders may have a larger impact than previously identified by strategically aligning with other shareholders to form coalitions. This study provides several practical implications. First, dividend payout is not necessarily a good instrument to control and monitor agency costs. This is because the payout can be used to expropriate benefits from the minority shareholders. Second, high ownership concentration does not always reduce agency costs. Third, a non-collusive coalition can be more useful in the monitoring of agency costs than other tools, such as the debt level.
Originality/value
This study shows that there is considerable value to the firm when individual blockholders come together in a contestable environment and become instrumental in making business decisions. The results support the contention that contestability is an excellent deterrent to dampen the expropriation of benefits to minority shareholders. This study also provides evidence that cash holding can be a good substitute for dividends and debt in the effort to limit agency costs.
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Nadia Basty and Ines Ghazouani
This study investigates how bank competition affects financial stability and whether government intervention contributes to shaping this relationship in North African countries.
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates how bank competition affects financial stability and whether government intervention contributes to shaping this relationship in North African countries.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of the literature on the subject was conducted, combined with an empirical analysis that used a two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) and a sample of 45 banks operating in North African countries over the period 2005–2019.
Findings
The findings reveal a quadratic relationship between competition and banking stability in North African countries. Competition–stability view and competition–fragility view could be applied at the same time for North African banks. Additionally, in this context, results highlight a negative impact of government intervention on financial stability in a competitive financial sector. North African banks operating in a high government intervention quality environment tend to engage in high-risk investments. Robustness checks with alternative measures of competition and banking stability also show consistent results.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that the North African context has been explored to determine the role of the quality of government intervention in the relationship between competition and banking system fragility. This paper seeks to cover the shadow field in existing literature through further new information. Thus, it contributes to the emerging market banking literature by showing that both high and low levels of competition can improve financial stability in North African countries. Moreover, it expands its contribution by displaying the moderator effect of intervention quality on the bank competition–stability relationship.