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This paper aims to examine the effect of state ownership on bank performance for all banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries during the period 2003 – 2018, for two distinct banking systems: the conventional and the Islamic banking systems.

To achieve the goal of the study, this paper uses a mean t-test to examine the mean difference of the related variables for both banking systems, and a regression test (using the GMM method) to explore the effect of state ownership on bank performance.

The most important result of the analysis is that state ownership has a significantly positive influence on bank performance for conventional banks but not for Islamic banks, in the GCC area.

This study adds to the scarce related literature comparative empirical results with respect to the impact of ownership on the performance of two different banking systems: the conventional system and the Islamic banking system in the GCC area. This study is likely to have implications for policymakers in terms of developing rules relevant to the governance of GCC’s two banking systems that can help to support the stability of the whole banking sector.

This study strives to examine the relationship between bank capital and bank liquidity level considering the joint determination of both variables pointed out in the related literature. The evidence is from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. The theory of banking postulates that bank capital and bank liquidity are interrelated through various links. The study conjectures that large GCC banks do not have a concern with respect to liquidity due to the implicit guarantee of GCC wealthy governments to bank deposits.

The study sample is comprised of all chartered GCC conventional and Islamic banks. The study employs several on-balance sheet ratios to proxy for bank capital and liquidity as defined in the banking literature. It also employs a related econometric model that considers the simultaneity issue pointed out in the related literature.

The results of the study reveal that GCC banks react positively when facing illiquidity by strengthening their capital ratio. Further analysis reveals that only small GCC banks (conventional and Islamic) tend to increase their capital levels when facing a liquidity shortage, which confirms the study conjecture that larger GCC banks have no credible concern about their liquidity position. Employing an alternative measure of liquidity does not change the results. This finding supports the financial fragility structure and the crowding out of deposits hypotheses.

The study contributes to the literature by employing a novel estimation approach to explore the difference in results as the sample banks represent two banking regimes, the conventional banks as well as the Islamic banks. Also, the study implicitly suggests that further research in this area could support the need to impose minimum and globally uninformed liquidity standards on banks.

Self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) literature is characterized by a narrow definition of SIEs and a lack of distinction between SIEs and other groups of international workers. This situation leads to a lack of a clear definition of SIEs. To improve understanding of SIEs, a systematic literature review (SLR) was carried out to identify criteria that are used in SIE literature to define SIEs.

SIEs literature is characterized by a narrow definition of SIEs and a lack of distinction between SIEs and other travelers. This situation leads to a lack of a clear definition of SIEs. To improve understanding of SIEs, a SLR was carried out to identify criteria that are used in SIE literature to define SIEs.

This SLR identified 13 criteria that can be used to define SIEs, but further analysis showed initiative, push factors, possession of skills, motivation, employment terms, period of stay, mobility and legal employment status are the important criteria that can be used to define SIEs and differentiate them from other groups of international workers.

The findings of this SLR need to be interpreted in consideration of limitations. Some studies did not report home or host, while other studies grouped countries into regions. In other studies that used mixed samples of SIEs and other types of expatriates, the home or host countries of SIEs could not be distinguished. Although this SLR and previous works have attempted to clarify the concept of SIEs, there is a need for SLRs to clarify other groups of internationally mobile workers. There have been efforts aimed at bridging this gap, but there is a need for the use of SLR methodology and updating previous efforts.

This SLR has exhaustively reviewed existing literature on SIEs to identify essential criteria that can be used to differentiate and define SIEs. The review has demonstrated that existing criteria used to differentiate international mobile workers either exclude important criteria or include criteria that are not important. These limitations are overcome by developing criteria that differentiate various groups. These criteria are then used to develop a definition of SIEs, which the author believes adequately differentiates them from other groups of international workers.

Low power devices with switched-mode power supply represent harmonic generating apparatus in widespread use nowadays. The influence of personal computers (PCs), which affect the supply voltage, is considered. Harmonic level due to simultaneous PC operation is quantified by the total harmonic distortion of input current (THD _I ). The purpose of this paper is to propose a multi-parameter mathematical model for the THD _I calculation. The model is convenient for practical engineering application.

The model is derived using the measured and simulated data. The model coefficients are obtained in the least squares sense.

Mathematical modeling of THD _I is the least expensive and the most convenient solution for engineering application. The models proposed in the literature have many drawbacks, which motivated the authors to develop a more comprehensive solution. Grid stiffness, capacitance of PC power supply unit and PC cluster size represent the major parameters that affect THD _I , and as such they are taken into account in the proposed model. The influence of other existing parameters from both line and load side is also discussed and the reasons for their omitting from the model are explained. The model considers various PC configurations within the cluster and it enables the THD _I calculation for an arbitrary PC cluster size.

Due to its comprehensiveness and mathematical simplicity, the model is suitable for practical use, and its accuracy is verified through conducted measurements presented in the paper.

The proposed model is more comprehensive than the existing ones, and it overcomes their shortcomings. The THD _I calculation is simplified to the level of applying basic arithmetic operations only, without jeopardizing the accuracy. The validity of the model is supported by additional measurements carried out in sites characterized by grid conditions quite different from that used for model developing.

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between ownership structure (ownership concentration and ownership composition) and firm performance in Kuwaiti non-financial firms. To this end, it examines the relationship between firm performance and ownership concentration to determine whether the impact of this relationship is conditional on the nature of the large shareholders.

First, the relationship between ownership concentration and firm performance was tested using ordinary least squares regressions on 618 observations (103 listed firms) from 2005 to 2010; next, the ownership compositions were classified as institutional, government and individuals (families) and their impact on firm performance examined.

The overall concentration ownership by large shareholders showed no impact on firm performance. However, when the type of shareholders was introduced, only the government and individuals (families) ownership categories influenced firm performance. Therefore, certain types of shareholders are better at monitoring, and not all concentration by large shareholders is beneficial to Kuwaiti firms.

This study examined only one important aspect of the corporate governance mechanisms, namely, ownership concentration. Thus, further study may include other mechanisms such as board variables, role of debt and shareholders rights in examining the firm performance. This study is limited to the Kuwaiti environment, and thus, next step can be very useful in case of comparing ownership concentration in the Gulf Cooperation Council (Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia) or across different Arab countries.

The results of this study have important implications for the regulators in Kuwait in their efforts to increase the efficiency of the rapidly developing capital markets and in protecting investors and keeping confidence in the economy. They may mandate a corporate governance code to protect minority shareholders. Investors may use the findings to understand Kuwaiti companies. Such findings may assist them to diversify their investment portfolios.

This paper extends literature review by investigating the role of large shareholders in the context of a developing country that is characterized by high level of ownership concentration and weak legal protection for investors as well as the absence of code that organized the corporate governance practices.