Robert C.M. Beyer, Milagros Chocce and Martin Rama
The purpose of this paper is to present a new data set of comparable employment indicators for South Asian countries, constructed from more than 60 primary data sources from 2001…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a new data set of comparable employment indicators for South Asian countries, constructed from more than 60 primary data sources from 2001 to 2017.
Design/methodology/approach
The main contribution of the paper is to curate the information provided by individual respondents to censuses and surveys, in a way that is consistent across countries and over time. The usefulness of the data set is illustrated by conducting a rigorous assessment of employment characteristics, of changes in employment over time and of the short- and long-run relationships between economic growth and employment growth in South Asia.
Findings
The exercise shows that agriculture still employs the majority of the working-age population across the region and, except in Sri Lanka, more than half of the employment is self-employment or unpaid family work. The paper also shows that employment rates are generally decreasing in South Asia, and that in some countries female employment rates are falling rapidly. Seasonal growth patterns are shown to affect the composition of employment, while non-seasonal changes in short-run growth affect the overall level of employment. The paper estimates that, in the long run, one percentage point growth of gross domestic product has led on average to a 0.34 per cent increase in employment.
Originality/value
This paper provides a new employment data set for South Asia, a rigorous assessment of employment trends and changes and an analysis for relationship between economic growth and employment (both quarterly and long-run).
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Scott Beyer, Luis Garcia-Feijoo, Gerry Jensen and Robert R. Johnson
The purpose of this paper is to analyze security-market returns relative to the political party of the president, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, the year of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze security-market returns relative to the political party of the president, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, the year of the president’s term, and the state of political gridlock. Contrary to prior studies, which evaluated the influences separately, the authors jointly evaluate these variables.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis supports the notion that security returns are significantly related to shifts in Fed monetary policy, political gridlock, and the year of the presidential term; however, returns are generally invariant to the president’s political party affiliation. Overall, the findings suggest that investors should focus less attention on the party of the president and instead more closely monitor Fed actions.
Findings
It appears that political harmony should be welcomed by equity investors, but not debt investors. Finally, regardless of the political outcome, if the past serves as a guide, investors may have to wait until year three of the next presidential term to enjoy the fruits of the current political season.
Originality/value
The academic literature is rich with studies that consider the aforementioned political effects and the influence that monetary policy have on the markets. To date, however, these factors have not been jointly considered when examining returns. This paper considers several dimensions of the political landscape – the party of the president, the presence or absence of political gridlock, and the presidential term cycle effect – in conjunction with Fed monetary policy in examining long-term security returns. By examining the relationship between security returns and both political and monetary conditions, the authors provide robust evidence regarding the relationships.
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Gordon Müller-Seitz and Jörg Sydow
Purpose – The aim of this study is to inquire into the circumstances and mechanisms that drive temporary systems to become permanent organizations.Methodology/approach – This…
Abstract
Purpose – The aim of this study is to inquire into the circumstances and mechanisms that drive temporary systems to become permanent organizations.
Methodology/approach – This study is based on a retrospective longitudinal case study (1980–1995) and informed by research on organizational path dependence. Our research object is SEMATECH, the leading global semiconductor manufacturing consortium.
Findings – This longitudinal case study of the research and development consortium SEMATECH shows how and under what conditions a project, once its initial objective had been achieved, managed to turn itself into a permanent organization, that is, it terminated its institutionalized termination. Based on our findings, we argue that the postponing of this specific project's institutionalized termination can be understood by adopting a path dependence perspective that allows for the capturing of self-reinforcing processes to account for the stability of the (once temporary) system.
Originality/value of the paper – In this chapter, we question the certainty put forward in organizational studies of projects concerning the ephemeral nature of projects due to their built-in termination mechanism.
Francisco J. Alatorre earned his law degree in Mexico, where he also practiced law before emigrating to the United States in 1991. He completed his Ph.D. degree in Justice Studies…
Abstract
Francisco J. Alatorre earned his law degree in Mexico, where he also practiced law before emigrating to the United States in 1991. He completed his Ph.D. degree in Justice Studies in 2011, and he is now Assistant Professor of Criminology at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico. His dissertation research involved a study of undocumented immigrants in Arizona.
C.J. GOULD and B.T. STERN
The broad results of surveys on the ways in which Wellcome scientists handle foreign language technical texts are discussed. Areas of co‐operation between organizations leading to…
Abstract
The broad results of surveys on the ways in which Wellcome scientists handle foreign language technical texts are discussed. Areas of co‐operation between organizations leading to a reduction in costs and an increase in coverage are suggested with a view to Aslib acting as co‐ordinator and arranging discussions between interested parties.
Manisha Chakrabarty and Subhankar Mukherjee
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the patterns of convergence/divergence among the districts in India. Specifically, this paper…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the patterns of convergence/divergence among the districts in India. Specifically, this paper investigates if the impact is heterogeneous among different cohorts of districts (based on income distribution). The differential impact may lead to heterogeneous long-run growth paths, resulting in unbalanced development across regions within the country. A study of convergence can ascertain the possible trajectory of such development across regions. Investigation of this phenomenon is the primary aim of this study.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses the panel regression method for estimation. This paper uses high-frequency nighttime light intensity data as a proxy for aggregate output.
Findings
The authors observe a significant reduction in the convergence rate as a result of the pandemic. Across the cluster of districts, the drop in ß-convergence rate, compared to the pre-pandemic period, varied from approximately 33% for the poorer districts to close to zero for the richest group of districts. These findings suggest that the pandemic may lead to a wider disparity among different regions within the country.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature in the following ways. First, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the convergence rate. A detailed look into the possible disparity in convergence among various regions is critical because a larger drop in convergence, especially among the poorer regions, may call for policy attention to attain long-term equitable development. The authors perform this exercise by dividing the districts into four quantile groups based on the distribution of night-light intensity. Second, while previous studies on convergence using nighttime light data have used a cross-sectional approach, this study is possibly the first attempt to use the panel regression method on this data. The application of this method can be useful in tackling district-level omitted variables bias. Finally, the heterogeneity analysis using different quantiles of the distribution of night-light intensity may help in designing targeted policies to mitigate the disparity across districts due to the shock.
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COMPARISONS are often made between the way in which Britain utilises its manpower and the manner in which it is deployed by other major industrial nations. They are generally…
Abstract
COMPARISONS are often made between the way in which Britain utilises its manpower and the manner in which it is deployed by other major industrial nations. They are generally unfavourable to this country. To recognise the existence of a problem is wise; to devise means to overcome it, especially when it is of such magnitude, is even wiser.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of firm characteristics on forward-looking disclosure (forward-looking information (FLI)) within the context of integrated…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of firm characteristics on forward-looking disclosure (forward-looking information (FLI)) within the context of integrated reporting (IR). The study assesses the extent of FLI provided in integrated reports and empirically fills the research gap into the topics of FLI disclosed in the IR.
Design/methodology/approach
A manual content analysis is run to investigate the level and the topics of FLI in 282 integrated reports available in the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) website. A disclosure index composition consisting of 27 information items is developed from the list of content elements comprised in the Integrated Reporting Framework (IIRC, 2013). Three hypotheses are proposed and eight models are tested within a multivariate regression analysis in order to explore the effects of three main variables (firm size, profitability and leverage) on FLI.
Findings
The study confirms that firms are reluctant to provide FLI in integrated reports. The results show that profitability and firm size have a statistically significant relationship with the level of specific topics of FLI. Conversely, leverage is found to be insignificant in explaining the extent of FLI.
Research limitations/implications
To improve the reliability of findings presented in this study, several others may be conducted by inspecting more variables that may affect the extent of FLI or by increasing the number of companies included in the sample.
Practical implications
The results provide comprehensive insights into the current forward-looking disclosure practices of early adopters in integrated reports and can be a useful evidence for preparers of it. This paper has also practical implications especially for managers and regulators (e.g. IIRC) since it encourages further efforts to promote FLI if firms want that the disclosure offered in the IR is perceived as “informative” by their significant stakeholders.
Originality/value
The research adds to the prior disclosure literature concerning FLI since acquired results are ambiguous. There are a very restricted number of studies that have explained the variation of FLI in the light of firm characteristics and no study has analyzed this research topic within the context of IR.