Financial Characteristics Research Articles

Food and Housing Insecurity Among Social Work Students

We know little about social work students’ experience with financial hardship, especially food and housing insecurity, during their academic programs. This knowledge gap is problematic because food and housing insecurity negatively impact student success. In response, we surveyed 125 social work students of a public, Midwestern U.S. university in 2019 to investigate students’ experience with food and housing insecurity, as well as the factors associated with food and housing insecurity. We conducted descriptive and multivariate analyses, finding that 56% of students reported food or housing insecurity. Student financial characteristics, such as filing a FAFSA and taking out loans, were associated with food and housing insecurity. Students who identified as female and nonbinary were more likely to experience housing insecurity. Finally, we found that food and housing insecurity were each associated with lower reported grade point averages. Suggestions for intervention include schools of social work offering paid practica and emergency funds as well as advocating for improved student loan forgiveness programs at the national level.

An Analysis of Community-Level Socioeconomic Status Effects on Pricing Transparency and Variability of Hand Surgery Procedures.

The hospital price transparency final rule requires hospitals to publish pricing information about provided items and services by means of 2 methods: (1) a comprehensive machine-readable file and (2) a display tool of selected shoppable services. Using machine-readable files on hospital websites, the authors examined trends in pricing transparency and variation in association with community-level socioeconomic factors for 3 common hand surgery procedures among Association of American Medical Colleges-affiliated hospitals. Available discount cash prices and payer-specific negotiated prices for CPT codes 64721, 26615, and 25111 were recorded. Multivariate analysis was used to stratify hospitals into 2 groups based on their area's median household income, percentage uninsured, and geographic practice cost index practice expense scores. Generalized linear mixed effects modeling was used to evaluate price variability against community-level financial characteristics of the patient population. Of hospitals that met selection criteria, a majority did not display discount cash prices and payer-specific negotiated prices for the 3 procedures. Hospitals in lower-income areas and areas with a higher percentage of the uninsured tended to charge a higher average payer-specific negotiated price for CPT code 25111. They also tended to have greater variation in payer-specific negotiated prices than hospitals found in higher-income and lower-percentage-uninsured areas. This study demonstrates that considerable pricing variation and incomplete transparency exists for CPT codes 64721, 26615, and 25111 among Association of American Medical Colleges-affiliated hospitals. Patients in lower-income and higher-percentage-uninsured areas are more exposed to a higher variability and average of negotiated prices than those in higher-income areas, which may translate to higher out-of-pocket costs for those with higher coinsurance and less socioeconomic prowess.

Islamic Financial Characteristics and the Sustainability of Islamic Banking in Indonesia: Challenges and Opportunities

This research aims to examine the implementation of Islamic finance in Islamic banking in Indonesia based on the characteristics of Islamic finance, namely Tauhid (Monotheism), Adl (Justice), Nubuwwah (Prophethood), Khilafah (Stewardship), and Ma’ad (Afterlife). This study also aims to serve as a means for the Indonesian public to obtain information related to the application of financial systems in Islamic banking. The researcher employs a qualitative research method, using secondary data sourced from literature, including journals, articles, documentation, written texts, and relevant materials related to the research topic. The results of this study indicate that Islamic banks indeed practice their activities in accordance with Sharia regulations. The five values or characteristics of Islamic finance serve as the main foundation in its implementation. Firstly, in the concept of Tauhid, leaders consistently maintain their devotion to Allah. Moreover, Islamic banks make all policy decisions based on the Qur'an and Sunnah (traditions of the Prophet). Secondly, in terms of Adl, this principle is evident in the implementation of Islamic banking contracts, which do not prioritize personal gain in their collaborations. Thirdly, the principle of Nubuwwah, which prohibits monopolies and encourages cooperation in community building, aligns with one of the practices of the Prophet Muhammad during his time. Fourthly, Khilafah, through the practice of Islamic banking involving zakat contributions from its activities, demonstrates that Islamic banks in Indonesia do not forget their obligation to contribute to a just economy. Lastly, Ma’ad; Islamic banks always consider the ultimate outcome of their activities, as everything they undertake will be rewarded or punished in accordance with their deeds.

Financial characteristics of the Russian economy

Subject. This article characterizes the Russian economy in the financial aspect. Objectives. The article aims to describe the Russian economy from the financial perspective. Methods. For the study, I used a systems approach based on a statistical analysis. Results. The article reveals a decrease in long-term liabilities of the external debt of the Russian Federation and an increase in short-term ones, as well as the reason for this phenomenon. The article determines that the dynamics of exports of goods and services (received) and imports of goods and services (paid), primary and secondary incomes indicate an export-oriented model of economic development. Relevance. The provisions of the study give the expert community a real idea of the financial characteristics of the Russian economy.

The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Banking Industry

Industry 4.0, also known as the fourth industrial revolution, has altered society and the economy by introducing intelligent robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing enormous data sets, the Internet of Things (IoT), and 3D printers, among other scientific advances. To maintain competitiveness and keep up with global competition, it is vital to adapt to modern technology. The financial sector is a vibrant market with intense competition for products and services, and advancements in information technology have led to the development of highly valuable new technologies. This essay addresses the possible advantages of artificial intelligence in the banking sector. The study utilized a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) to evaluate the current literature on AI in the banking industry. The results of the SLR demonstrate that AI has been utilized in the banking industry in a variety of ways, including credit rating models and bank collapse prediction. In establishing credit card eligibility, logistic regression models were shown to be effective, with an accuracy rate of 80.43 percent. With a precision rate of 75.7% and a recall rate of 75.7%, artificial neural networks (ANNs) were shown to be the most accurate method for predicting bank collapse based on financial characteristics. Overall, the study indicates that AI has the ability to dramatically improve the banking business by enhancing efficiency, precision, and decision-making procedures. The study has limitations and potential biases, including the exclusion of non-English language articles and the possibility of a selection bias. To explore the full potential of AI in the banking business, additional study is required.

Dynamic connectedness between crude oil and equity markets: What about the effects of firm's solvency and profitability positions?

The paper aims to explore the presence of connectedness between oil price changes and stock returns of oil & gas sector. The analysis, adopting the connectedness approach developed by and the frequency connectedness developed by demonstrates a high level of connectedness, especially during the extreme economic meltdown. The short-term (1–5 days) level of total connectedness is substantially higher than the medium-term (5–30 days) and long-term levels (30–262 days). In addition, when examining the impact of the sectors' financial characteristics on the extent of the connectedness, we found that sectors with greater solvency position (lower debt to asset ratio and higher interest coverage) are less connected with the oil price changes. The impact of sector's solvency position on connectedness (between stock return and oil prices) is even more obvious for financially more open markets. Also, change in oil prices have a less impact on the returns of sectors with higher profitability ratios. The paper, therefore, brings several implications to both policy makers and investors.

Is Additional CEO Remuneration a Performance Driver? DAX CEOs Evidence

This study aims to understand the impact of the additional remuneration of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) over the mean remuneration of the board of directors on firms’ financial performance. The objective is to understand if the highest compensation of the CEO is a firm performance driver. In addition to the impact of total remuneration, the different remuneration components were split and analyzed. An unbalanced panel data of listed companies in DAX–Germany over the period from 2006 until 2019 is analyzed. Using dynamic methodology to estimate the models, the results show that higher additional remuneration positively explains higher firm performance measured using both accounting and market measures. The impact is also evident when additional remuneration components are analyzed. These results support the tournament theory, since when CEOs feel rewarded, they are more efficient in increasing the firm’s performance. Moreover, the firms’ financial characteristics, as well as macroeconomic factors, are also relevant to explaining its performance.

Aspects Regarding the Influence of Recent Crises on the Performance of Tourism Companies - Empirical Evidence

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an economic crisis with a global impact, affecting entities from many fields of activity, but particularly those from the production, transport, tourism, technological services sectors (Donthu & Gustafsson, 2020). Most countries have responded to this pandemic with travel bans, restrictions, and a series of health regulations aimed at managing the pandemic situation (Jones & Nguyen, 2021). The study aims to explore how and to what extent the capital structure and other financial characteristics of tourism organizations (one of the most affected sectors) influenced their financial performance during the 2007- 2008 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. In this sense, a sample represented by 15 organizations in the field of tourism, listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE), was subjected to analysis, the analysis period being 2007-2021. Ten independent variables were included in the study (cash ratio, current ratio, financial stability coefficient, debt-to-assets ratio, degree of coverage, total assets turnover, current assets turnover, accounts receivables turnover, cost to income ratio, and gross profit margin) from 2007-2021, for the evaluation of the capital structure and other financial characteristics of tourism organizations. After processing the data, it was found that the financial performance of organizations in the field of tourism is significantly influenced by the indicators of total asset turnover, debt-to-assets ratio, cash ratio, and financial stability coefficient.

Sustainable Wireless Services With UAV Swarms Tailored to Renewable Energy Sources

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) swarms are often required in off-grid scenarios, such as disaster-struck, war-torn or rural areas, where the UAVs have no access to the power grid and instead rely on renewable energy. Considering a main battery fed from two renewable sources, wind and solar, we scale such a system based on the financial budget, environmental characteristics, and seasonal variations. Interestingly, the source of energy is correlated with the energy expenditure of the UAVs, since strong winds cause UAV hovering to become increasingly energy-hungry. The aim is to maximize the cost efficiency of coverage at a particular location, which is a combinatorial optimization problem for dimensioning of the multivariate energy generation system under non-convex criteria. We have devised a customized algorithm by lowering the processing complexity and reducing the solution space through sampling. Evaluation is done with condensed real-world data on wind, solar energy, and traffic load per unit area, driven by vendor-provided prices. The implementation was tested in four locations, with varying wind or solar intensity. The best results were achieved in locations with mild wind presence and strong solar irradiation, while locations with strong winds and low solar intensity require higher Caital Expenditure (CAPEX) allocation.

Moderating Role of Financial Characteristics in Sectoral Performance During the Period of Economic Disruption: Evidence from the Covid-19 Pandemic

Moderating Role of Financial Characteristics in Sectoral Performance During the Period of Economic Disruption: Evidence from the Covid-19 Pandemic

Methodology of Strategic Innovative Development of the Electric Power Industry of Eastern Siberia

As a result of a scientific study of the theoretical aspects of innovation, a strategic approach to innovation in an industrial corporation has been developed, based on the principle of humanizing innovation, which in modern reading should correspond to the principle of developing only those technical innovations that are focused on modernizing production and the social sphere, ensuring better working conditions, improving economic standards and quality of life. In addition, modern innovations must necessarily have the task of reducing the environmental burden, especially in places with maximum population density and in nature reserves. Based on the identification of the most important problems and restraining factors, the determination of promising directions for the innovative development of new electrification, as well as the analysis of the general economic, current and forecast financial characteristics of the area under study, the assessment of the market for electric filling stations, electrical equipment and activities for the provision of relevant services, an investment project was proposed to form a network of electric filling and repair stations and specialized infrastructure for the purpose of electrification of municipal transport.

Perspectives, risk factors, and coping mechanisms in patients with self-reported financial burden following lung cancer surgery

ObjectiveWe evaluated self-reported financial burden (FB) after lung cancer surgery and sought to assess patient perspectives, risk factors, and coping mechanisms within this population. MethodsPatients with lung cancer resected at our institution between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2021, were surveyed. Descriptive and multivariable analyses were performed to evaluate the association between clinical and financial characteristics with patient-reported major (“significant” or “catastrophic”) FB. ResultsOf 1477 patients contacted, 31.3% (n = 463) completed the survey. Major FB was reported by 62 (13.4%) patients. multivariable analyses demonstrated increasing age (odds ratio [OR], 0.92; 95% CI, 0.88-0.96), credit score >740 (OR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.14-0.60), and employer-based insurance (OR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.07-0.80) were protective factors. In contrast, an out of pocket cost greater than expected (OR, 3.63; 95% CI, 1.67-7.88), decrease in work hours (OR, 4.42; 95% CI, 1.59-12.25), or cessation of work (OR, 5.13; 95% CI, 2.06-12.78), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease diagnosis (OR, 5.39, 95% CI, 1.87-15.50), and hospital readmission (OR, 4.87; 95% CI, 1.11-21.42) were risk factors for FB. To pay for care, some patients reported “often” or “always” decreasing food (n = 102 [23.4%]) or leisure spending (n = 179 [40.7%]). Additionally, use of savings (n = 246 [62.9%]), borrowing funds (n = 72 [16.6%]), and skipping clinic visits (n = 36 [8.3%]) at least once were also reported. Coping mechanisms occurred more often in patients with major FB compared with those without (P < .001). ConclusionsPatients with resected lung cancer may experience major FB related to treatment with several identifiable risk factors. Targeted interventions are needed to limit the adoption of detrimental coping mechanisms and potentially affect survivorship.

Do political connections cause over-indebtedness? Empirical evidence from China’s listed construction firms

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between political connections and the over-indebtedness of firms in the construction industry. Furthermore, this study explores the moderating effect of corporate governance mechanisms with monitoring intent on this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses the data from China’s listed construction firms for the years 2010–2019 to run the fixed-effect regression. This study constructs the optimal capital structure mathematical model by following the trade-off approach.FindingsThe research results show that most of China’s listed construction firms are surprisingly over-indebted in the long run. This study affirms that political connections positively impact the over-indebtedness of China’s listed construction firms. However, corporate governance can alleviate the impact of political connections on the over-indebtedness of China’s listed construction firms.Originality/valueThere were limited studies to discuss the relationship between political connections and the over-indebtedness of construction firms, and no particular attention has been given to the moderating effect of corporate governance mechanisms on the relationship between political connections and over-indebtedness. Moreover, in calculating the over-indebtedness of China’s listed construction firms, this study considers the financial characteristics of China’s construction firms when building the mathematical model of optimal capital structure, which makes the calculation results of over-indebtedness closer to reality.

Financial Characteristics of Nonprofit Social Welfare Organizations in the US Health Care System

This cross-sectional study examines the purpose, revenues, profitability, and lobbying expenses of social welfare organizations in the US health care system.

Crypto-asset market development: the role of country’s institutional quality

PurposeCrypto-asset can be traded on many different exchanges worldwide with servers located in countries with different financial characteristics and institutional surroundings. Trading volume on these servers varies considerably regarding the server’s location, even though the prices do not differ greatly. Crypto-asset markets are poorly regulated and, as such, may leave a place for potential fraudulent activities and be linked to corruption. This paper aims to examine the role of country’s institutions in attracting Bitcoin traders.Design/methodology/approachAssuming heterogeneity between countries where crypto-asset exchange servers are located, the Pool Mean Group Estimator is used.FindingsResults indicate that, from institutional variables, corruption in the country attracts while internal and external conflicts repel investors. Additionally, the growth of global uncertainty and the decline in the local stock markets motivate investors to trade Bitcoin.Originality/valuePrevious research has empirically proved the importance of institutions’ quality for financial market development. This paper goes one step further and tries to empirically confirm the theoretical assumptions and investigate in detail the role of institutions in choosing servers in a particular country for Bitcoin trading.

A Financial Analysis of Domestic Firms With Highest Returns to Capital During the Worldwide Pandemic

This study analyzes the financial profile and risk-performance characteristics for the group of firms reporting the highest returns to total capital in the Value Line database during the worldwide pandemic. It compares the firms with a group selected randomly from the same industries to investigate if the firms reporting high returns to capital in such unusual economic environment have a unique risk-performance profile. This study tests if the group with the highest returns has a unique financial profile, and can the findings be validated without bias. If the answer is “yes,” then it would imply the financial profile may be used as a tool to predict if a particular company will maintain extraordinary performance in periods with similar market disturbances. As this study uses a new tool to analyze the financial characteristics of companies, it is a significant addition to the growing body of knowledge. Moreover, the tool used can also be applied by financial researchers, investors, and investment advisors/counselors in determining firm’s inherent values in such a unique environment.

Information sharing offices and economic growth in sub‐Saharan Africa

AbstractAlthough credit availability is essential for economic growth, the information asymmetry problem inhibits the credit creation function of financial institutions. Among other means, information‐sharing offices (ISOs) have been established, including private credit bureaus and public credit registries to provide information on the financial characteristics of citizens to reduce information asymmetry. From this background, this study used an explanatory research design with a longitudinal (panel) data approach to assess whether the coverage of information by ISOs affects sectorial and overall economic growth among sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries using the system generalized method of moments technique on data from 2005 to 2019. The results highlight that information coverage by ISOs enhances sectorial and overall economic growth by solving the information asymmetry problem. From the findings, governments in SSA countries are encouraged to support public credit registries to effectively perform their mandate while providing incentives to attract investments in private credit bureaus since they contribute to economic growth.

The impact of taxi drivers’ characteristics on the propensity to do business: Case study from a sharing economy

This paper aims to quantify the impact of selected demographic, financial, and economic factors on the propensity to do business in the taxi sector of the sharing economy. The sample comprised 375 taxi drivers from the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic. Data were collected using the query method via a questionnaire in April 2022. The structure of the respondents is divided into shared taxi service providers (N = 294) and traditional taxi service providers (N = 69). The study selected 14 factors: demographic (4), financial (7), and economic (3). The SEM approach was applied to evaluate the hypotheses. Shared taxi providers have a stronger propensity to do business than traditional taxi drivers. Demographic characteristics of a traditional taxi driver are the most significant factors with a strong influence on the propensity to do business (βS = 0.525 &amp;amp;gt; βT = 0.425). On the other hand, the financial and economic characteristics of shared taxi drivers strongly influence the propensity to do business (βT = 0.565 &amp;amp;gt; βS = 0.212). The characteristics of the enterprise are on the verge of significance in relation to the tendency to do business with shared taxi drivers, as opposed to traditional taxi drivers. For traditional taxi drivers, there is a strong influence of the characteristics of the enterprise on the propensity to do business (βT = 0.476 &amp;amp;gt; βS = 0.026). This study contributes to understanding how participating in sharing economy may stimulate the propensity to do business.

Rent Seeking, Earning Management and Agency Cost: How Do They Impact Equity Value? Indian Evidence

The article examines the earning management and its nature of the non-rent seeking (NRS) and rent seeking prone (RSP) firms of India followed by their respective valuation implication in the light of agency cost. The various earning management components are estimated from the residuals of a series of regression models, and then compared based on categorization of NRS and rent seeking nature of firms. The robustness of the estimates is validated using various financial characteristics and a separate cross-sectional estimation model. Finally, the article uses ordinary least square (OLS) and 2 stage least square (2 SLS) regression models to find the impact of different earning management components on valuation of NRS and rent seeking firms in the backdrop of their differential agency cost. The results of the study suggest that the cash flow management by the NRS firms with lesser agency cost, is beneficial for equity valuation as the same might convey private information as to future operating cash flow, but accrual management by them impacts valuation negatively—due to information risk. For RSP firms with higher agency cost—cash flow management and cost of production management being opportunistic, inversely impact the equity value. The study provides insight as to how valuation gets impacted by different forms of earning management in presence of differential agency cost of non-rent and rent seekers in an economy where ‘cronyism’ plays a dominant role.

Research on the Impact of CFO Background Heterogeneity on IPO Under-Pricing

In the current market, IPO underpricing is widespread, which will bring a series of serious consequences to the company and the whole market. In the enterprise, the chief financial officer (CFO), as the financial core of the senior management, bears incomparable responsibilities for the enterprise finance. The role of the chief financial officer can be further reflected in the IPO process of the company. Generally speaking, the CFOs in different stages of listing are different, so their impact on IPO underpricing is also different. Based on this background, this paper takes the micro perspective of CFO's personal characteristics as the starting point to explore its impact on IPO underpricing rate. Firstly, this paper summarizes and introduces the relevant domestic and foreign research on the influencing factors of IPO Underpricing and the background characteristics of CFO. On the basis of understanding the research conclusions made by existing scholars, this paper considers the current market situation, studies relevant theories, considers the expected purpose, and puts forward a series of hypotheses combined with the existing results. Secondly, select effective indicators and models for empirical analysis to test the impact of the background characteristics of the CFO on the IPO underpricing range, and analyze whether the gender characteristics, educational characteristics and financial professional background characteristics of the CFO have a significant impact on the IPO underpricing range. Finally, according to the research results, this paper puts forward relevant suggestions to reduce IPO Underpricing and summarizes it.