Institutional Set-up Research Articles

Fiscal Response to Terrorism in Pakistan: The Role of Institutions

This study empirically estimates the fiscal consequences of terrorism in Pakistan by using annual time series data from 1984 to 2016. By employing the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique, the study has gauged the impact of terrorist incidents on two important facets of fiscal policy, namely, tax revenue and defense spending. The results reveal that terrorism has detrimental ramifications for fiscal policy in Pakistan. Specifically, on the one hand, an increase in terrorist incidents tends to bring a fall in tax revenue while on the other hand, they induce a rise in defense outlays, thus deteriorating both fronts of the fiscal position. Notably, the moderating role of institutional quality appears significant and indicates that institutional quality has not only a significant direct impact on fiscal policy, but it also helps in completely mitigating (reducing) the harmful impact of terrorism on defense spending (tax revenue) in Pakistan. These findings suggest that there is a need to take appropriate steps for strengthening institutional setup to control the fallouts of terrorism on fiscal behavior of the government of Pakistan.
 Keywords: Terrorism; Tax Revenue; Institutional Quality; ARDL
 JEL Classification: E62; H2; E02; H5; F35

Another game in town: Spillover effects of IPOs in China

We investigate the stock price reactions of industry competitors to IPOs in China. Contrary to findings in the U.S., we document a positive valuation effect of Chinese IPOs from 2002 to 2013. This finding is robust to alternative rival definitions, investor reaction measurement, and sample selection criteria. Based on the existing theories and institutional setup of the Chinese stock market, we propose three non-competing hypotheses: the signaling hypothesis (i.e., IPOs could convey positive industry-related information), the collusion hypothesis (i.e., rival firms can benefit from the increasing likelihood of collusion), and the substitution hypothesis (i.e., rival stocks can substitute for IPO stocks as an appealing investment). With a series of tests, we demonstrate that the substitution hypothesis can explain this phenomenon. Furthermore, we find that the spillover effects of IPOs decline with the increase in investment choices after 2014.

One step forward, two steps back: the ambiguous role of Germany in EU Asylum policies

ABSTRACT Drawing on the Core State Power framework, this paper assesses Germany’s ambiguous role in EU asylum policies from signing of the Maastricht Treaty to the present. It demonstrates that Germany has neither taken on the role of a leader nor pursued any consistent course regarding the institutional setup or content of EU asylum policies. However, this does not mean that Germany does not have any preferences in this area. Overall, German governments have supported whatever policy would decrease the country’s share of asylum-seekers vis-à-vis other European countries, in order to achieve two core goals: first, to avoid the material costs resulting from high numbers of asylum-seekers, a preference that is common among state elites; and second, to avoid audience/electoral costs resulting from the comparatively restrictive preferences of the public, especially when these are mobilised by right-wing populist parties.

The Political Legitimacy of the Healthcare System in Portugal: Insights from the European Social Survey

This article investigates the political legitimacy of the health care system and the effects of austerity on the population’s welfare, paying particular attention to Portugal, a country severely harmed by the economic crisis. Based on analysis of data collected from the European Social Survey on 14,988 individuals living in private households during the years between 2002 and 2018, the findings of this study aim to analyze the social and political perception of citizens on the state of health services in two distinctive periods—before and after the economic crisis, according to self-interest, ideological preferences, and institutional setup as predictors of the satisfaction with the health system. The results demonstrate a negative attitude towards the health system over the years, a consistent drop during the financial crisis period, and a rapid recovery afterward. The research also shows that healthcare evaluations depend on the perceived institutional effectiveness in the citizenry’s eyes. The more the citizens perceive the government as effective and trust-worthy, the more they are satisfied with the health system. Also, differences in healthcare evaluations among social groups were felt unequally: while vulnerable citizens were more affected by the Government’s plan of austerity measures for health reform, healthcare evaluations of better-off social groups—younger individuals, those with higher incomes, higher education, and better health status—did not decline. This study contributes to the academic debate on the effects of austerity on the population’s welfare attitudes and highlights the need to examine the different impacts of reforms introduced by the crisis on social groups.

Design of PLC Based Automated Food Processing Machine

Ever-changing work expects technological advancement in all the tasks carried out by humans. Cooking is one such process, which is presently majorly carried out by human beings. Though a lot of automation has been happening in the area of food processing, involving a larger quantity of food production in a commercial or institutional setup. But very less automation is adapted in domestic or household cooking. In the proposed work, we propose to manufacture a system involving computers and electro-mechanical components for cooking two of the most widely consumed Indian delicacies Dosa (Pancake) and Idli (Rice cake). Reported work discusses the detailed mechanical fabrication of the device, including the process of automation implemented on Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). A detailed comparison is tabulated comparing the similar product to highlight the working of the proposed system

The institutional role in oil revenue‐economic growth nexus in Nigeria

AbstractThe mixed empirical findings from the previous studies that examined the impact of oil revenue on economic growth in oil‐rich countries have raised a lot of questions as to why oil revenue has not produced the expected growth effect in some of those countries. One of the factors responsible for such a phenomenon is the poor institutional quality that characterises some of these countries. Given this, this study investigates the role of institutional quality in oil revenue‐economic growth nexus in Nigeria over the period of 1984–2018. Using ARDL as an estimation method, our results show that, irrespective of the choice of oil revenue and economic growth variables, oil revenue is still indispensable to economic growth in the short run and the long run. However, interacting each of the institutional quality variables with real oil revenue and oil rents yields mixed empirical findings. Although some of the interacting variables produce positive effects on economic growth in both runs, the positive effect of some become insignificant and even turn negative in the robustness analysis. With the interaction of overall institutional quality index with oil revenue, oil revenue worsens economic growth in both runs. Given these results, it is suggested that government should improve institutional apparatuses in the country.

The political economy of euro area sovereign debt restructuring

The establishment of a sovereign debt restructuring mechanism (SDRM) is one of the important issues in the academic debate on a viable constitution for the European Monetary Union (EMU). Yet the topic seems to be taboo in official reform contributions to the debate. Against this backdrop, the article identifies the SDRM interests of key players, including the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Central Bank and national governments. The empirical section takes advantage of the recently established EMU Positions Database. The findings confirm political economy expectations: Low-debt countries support an EMU constitution that includes an insolvency procedure whereas a coalition of high-debt countries and European institutions oppose it. The analysis points towards a possible political-economic equilibrium for coping with sovereign insolvencies: an institutional set-up without an SDRM and with hidden transfers. Recent European fiscal innovations in response to the Covid-19 solvency shock confirm this prediction.

Ownership structure and corporate financial performance in an emerging market: a dynamic panel data analysis

PurposeThis study examines the impact of ownership structure on firm financial performance, for 146 manufacturing firms listed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) for the period 2003–2012.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical background of the present study is based on the agency theory. Ownership structure is measured by institutional shareholdings, insider shareholdings, foreign shareholders and government shareholdings, while return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), market-to-book ratio (MBR) and Tobin's Q (TQ) are used as proxies of corporate financial performance. The dynamic panel generalized method of moments (GMM) method is employed to cater for the issue of endogeneity.FindingsWe find that institutional ownership exerts a significant positive impact on ROE and MBR, which suggests that institutional investors play a significant role in improving the financial performance of the sample Pakistani. Furthermore, the results reveal a significant positive relationship of insider ownership with ROA, ROE, MBR and TQ, which is consistent with the prediction of agency theory that concentration of insider ownership aligns the interest of shareholders with those of the managers and hence improves performance. A significant positive association of government shareholdings with ROA and ROE was also found. Therefore, policymakers may encourage government ownership in firms, which can help to improve corporate financial performance.Originality/valueThe present study contributes to the existing literature on ownership structure and corporate financial performance in an emerging market like Pakistan. It is worth mentioning that the institutional setup and corporate governance structure in Pakistan is yet at an evolving stage. Findings of this study may provide useful insights to corporate managers and investors about the relationship between ownership structure and financial performance of firms from the manufacturing sector in Pakistan.

High School Rank in Math and English and the Gender Gap in STEM

Using unique data on preference rankings for all high school students who apply for college in Ireland, we investigate whether, conditional on absolute achievement at the end of high school, within school-cohort rank in English and math affects choice of college major. We find that higher rank in math increases the likelihood of choosing STEM and decreases the likelihood of choosing Arts and Social Sciences. Similarly, a higher rank in English leads to an increase in the probability of choosing Arts and Social Sciences and decreases the probability of choosing STEM. The effects of subject ranks on STEM are larger for boys than girls while there is no evidence of a gender difference in the effect of subject ranks on Arts and Social Sciences. We also find that English and math rank can explain about 4% of the gender gap in the choice of STEM as a college major and 9% of the gender gap that is not explained by absolute achievement. Overall, the tendency for girls to be higher ranked in English and lower ranked in math within school-cohorts can explain about 10% of the difference in the STEM gender gap between mixed-sex schools and same-sex schools and about 25% of the difference that is unexplained by absolute achievement. Notably, these effects occur even though we control for an extensive set of measures of absolute achievement at the end of high school, and the institutional setup implies that within-school rank plays no role whatsoever in college admissions decisions.

Nietzsche

As diversas técnicas de memória têm privilegiado a constituição de um aparato institucional. O projeto nietzschiano de transvaloração dos valores se impôs contra estas disposições da memória, para tanto, opera num movimento inverso, pela promoção de técnicas que privilegiem a dissolução da memória em esquecimento. De modo a enfraquecer o aparato moral institucional e fortalecer o projeto de valores que privilegiem a vida e suas disposições anímicas. Contudo, vigora neste projeto nietzschiano uma aporia: a de permanecer na esfera da afirmação da técnica. Se, por um lado, Nietzsche questiona todos os mecanismos técnicos, a saber àqueles relativos aos estabelecimentos de ensino por outro, ele não ultrapassa esta esfera, afirma a técnica através dos mecanismos do esquecimento, ao questionar as técnicas de memória. Em que medida os escritos de Nietzsche inspiram uma reflexão profícua para pensar a técnica e sua aplicação à memória?

A Review Characterizing 25 Ecosystem Challenges to Be Addressed by an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management in Europe

The impacts of fisheries on ocean resources are no longer considered in isolation but should account for broader ecosystem effects. However, ongoing ecosystem-wide changes added to the inherent dynamics of marine ecosystems, create challenges for fisheries and fisheries management by affecting our ability to ensure future fishing opportunities and sustainable use of the seas. By reviewing a corpus of fisheries science literature, we contribute to informing managers and policymakers with considerations of the various threats to fisheries and the marine ecosystems that support them. We identify and describe 25 ecosystem challenges and 7 prominent families of management options to address them. We capture the challenges acting within three broad categories: (i) fishing impacts on the marine environments and future fishing opportunities, (ii) effects of environmental conditions on fish and fishing opportunities, and (iii) effects of context in terms of socioeconomics, fisheries management, and institutional set-up on fisheries. Our review shows that, while most EU fisheries are facing a similar array of challenges, some of them are specific to regions or individual fisheries. This is reflected in selected regional cases taking different perspectives to exemplify the challenges along with fishery-specific cases. These cases include the dramatic situation of the Baltic Sea cod, facing an array of cumulative pressures, the multiple and moving ecosystem interactions that rely on the North Sea forage fish facing climate change, the interaction of fishing and fish stocks in a fluctuating mixed fishery in the Celtic Sea, the bycatch of marine mammals and seabirds and habitat degradation in the Bay of Biscay, and finally the under capacity and lack of fundamental knowledge on some features of the EU Outermost Regions. In addition to these ecoregion specific findings, we discuss the outcomes of our review across the whole of European waters and we conclude by recognizing that there are knowledge gaps regarding the direction of causality, nonlinear responses, and confounding effects. All of the challenges we identify and characterize may guide further data collection and research coordination to improve our fundamental understanding of the system and to monitor real changes within it, both of which are required to inform an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM). An European EAFM could build upon an array of management measures currently tailored for fisheries management only, including promoting funding interdisciplinary research and ecosystem monitoring. Such integrative management should reduce uncertainties in environmental, social and economic trends, and lower the risk for disruptive events or ecosystem effects with far-reaching consequences, including a shift toward less productive marine ecosystems.

Money Decentralization under Direct Democracy Procedures. The Case of Classical Athens

By analyzing the case of Athens during the Classical period (508-323 BCE) the main thesis of this paper is that under direct democracy procedures and the related institutional setup, a monetary system without a Central Bank may function relatively well. We focus on the following issues: (i) Τhe procedures of currency issuing in the Athenian city-state, (ii) why the Athenian drachma become the leading international currency in the Mediterranean world (iii) how and towards which targets monetary policy without a Central Bank was possible (iv) defining the targets of monetary policy and the mechanisms for its implementation (v) the role of money in the economy (vi) the issue of deficit spending (vii) the reasons of the replacement of the Athenian drachma as a leading currency by others from the Hellenistic period onwards (viii) the correlation of our findings regarding the decentralized character of monetary policy in Classical Athens to today’s realities, such as the issue of cryptocurrencies. Our analysis shows that monetary policy without a Central Bank was possible, with its foremost aim being the stability of the currency (mainly, silver coins) in order to enhance trust in it and so, make it an international currency which could outcompete other currencies. Since there was no Central Bank like today, monetary policy decisions were taken by the popular assembly of citizens in combination with the market forces themselves.

The Political Economy of Euro Area Sovereign Debt Restructuring

The establishment of a sovereign debt restructuring mechanism (SDRM) is one of the important issues in the academic debate on a viable constitution for the European Monetary Union (EMU). Yet the topic seems to be taboo in official reform contributions to the debate. Against this backdrop, the article identifies the SDRM interests of key players, including the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Central Bank and national governments. The empirical section takes advantage of the recently established EMU Positions Database. The findings confirm political economy expectations: Low-debt countries support an EMU constitution that includes an insolvency procedure whereas a coalition of high-debt countries and European institutions oppose it. The analysis points towards a possible political-economic equilibrium for coping with sovereign insolvencies: an institutional set-up without a SDRM and with hidden transfers. Recent European fiscal innovations in response to the Covid-19 solvency shock confirm this prediction.

The relative choice over destiny in a country’s long-run economic growth and economic affluence

This paper examines an in-depth and systematic review of why some nations are so rich, while others remain so poor taking into account temporal and spatial dynamics applied for economic growth covariants. Growth literature underscores direct and indirect causes for economic growth. Likewise, economic and non-economic dynamics are thoroughly examined for countries’ long-run economic growth and relative wealth accumulation. Endogenous growth theories emphasized that investment in human capital, innovation, and knowledge are major contributors to economic growth. Empirics confirmed that time-variant (such as well-established institutions and their prominent role in devising property rights and policies) gives more emphasis towards shaping a country’s long-run economic growth than time-invariant exogenous attributes (like geography). Meanwhile, some nations did not industrialize being geographically advantageous, and the location of the country does not exclusively determine the fate of the nation’s economic success. Moreover, state capacity is vital to determining relative wealth accumulation and economic prosperity. The incidence of routine war undermines the fiscal capacity and leads to an extractive form of government and weakens public and private investments, and this sets a country into undesirable outcomes. In a nutshell, time-varying attributes become more flexible to adjust the fate of countries’ economic growth and destiny. Furthermore, it requires an intense investigation of what governs a nation’s economic successes or failures focusing on country-specific concerns. It needs a close and continuous rectification to reconsider the country’s institutional setup and policy frameworks towards endogenously rooted economic growth and development for the relative economic affluence.

The Digital Markets Act – Institutional Design and Suggestions for Improvement

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is a major policy initiative to regulate platform gatekeepers in a more systematic manner than under competition law. This paper reflects on the institutional setup in the Commission proposal. While the DMA is well-designed, this paper recommends improvement in the following aspects: (i) matching the DMA’s objectives with obligations imposed on gatekeepers; (ii) facilitating co-regulation; (iii) streamlining the enforcement pyramid; (iv) emphasising the role of private enforcement; (iv) clarifying the role of competition law.

Trends in urban planning, climate adaptation and resilience in Zanzibar, Tanzania

Over recent decades, there has been substantial change in Zanzibar, due to, among others, global climate change impacts. The semi-autonomous polity faces challenges to foster resilient urban communities and planning for mitigation and adaptation to climate change, not least because of its island nature and rapid urbanization. This article addresses urban and environmental planning measures from 2010 to 2020 aimed at confronting the impacts of climate change and working toward resilience and adaptation in urban Zanzibar. The study was conducted between June and August 2020, and primarily involved a combination of desktop studies, online discussions, and virtual meetings with key actors in the land, climate, and disaster risk policy and governance aspects in Zanzibar. The review provides information on the current responses to policy, legal and institutional setup in terms of the key issues related to land use, climate and disaster risk reduction in Zanzibar. Thematic analysis was used to connect land-use planning, climate adaptation, and disaster risk reduction documentation of the situational assessment, determination and respective recommendations concerning land use and climate adaptation. It is argued that planning for climate change requires greater social will, financial investment, and the conversion of science to policy than currently exists in Zanzibar. Dynamic individual and governmental efforts and select community engagement are likely insufficient to produce resilience, as large-scale donor-funded climate adaptation interventions are largely top-down in orientation and often miss out on local community-oriented climate solutions. Smaller NGOs are more practical for understanding and addressing community-oriented priorities to support climate-resilient initiatives and enhance local livelihood priorities and participation against climate impacts, including natural disasters and everyday degradation. The article concludes with policy recommendations both specific to Zanzibar and relevant across the region.

Commentary: Pediatric cataract management during the COVID-19 era.

Commentary: Pediatric cataract management during the COVID-19 era.

Attitudes and beliefs of patients and primary caregivers towards deprescribing in a tertiary health care facility.

Background:Good prescribing practices form the essence of drug therapy for better patient care. The major aim of better prescribing is to improve rational prescribing. Deprescribing gained momentum in recent decades.Objective:This study aimed to explore the attitude and beliefs of deprescribing among patients and their caregivers forming dyads in a tertiary health care facility.Methods:Cross-sectional, questionnaire-based prospective study done for two months. Attitude towards deprescribing was assessed by using validated rPATD (revised Patient attitude towards deprescribing) questionnaire. Cohen’s kappa coefficient was used to measure the agreement between the views of people and their caregivers forming dyads about medication cessation.Results:312 patients and caregivers (156 forming dyads) participated in the study. Among 156 patients, 25.6% were hypertensives & 21.2% had diabetes. 41.7% were between 36-50 years of age. Only 16.7% belong to the elderly age group. 2.5% were taking >5 medications. 43.6% of patients and 62.2% of caregivers were female. 51.3% of the patients were willing to stop one or more of their regular medicine(s) under the treating physician’s advice, but 62% were satisfied with their current medicine(s). 33.4% were reluctant to stop taking medicines for a long time.Conclusions:In our study, more than 50% of people and their caregivers were willing to try medication cessation under their physician’s recommendation. There was moderate agreement between patients and their caregivers in the trial of medication cessation. Thus, the results obtained from this study may help towards improving rationalized prescribing practices in the institutional setup.

Land Use, Land Cover Changes and Their Driving Force in Wombera District, Benshangul Gumuz Regional State, Ethiopia

Land use Land cover (LULCC) were analyzed for wombera district along agro-ecological gradients (lower, middle & higher) using a Satellite image of Landsat Mass, Landsat TM, Landsat ETM+, and Landsat OLI/TIRS of 1973, 1986, 2000 and 2016 respectively. After reconnaissance survey and field observations 402 individuals were selected. They were categorized into 6 groups of Key informants interview (KII) and 12 groups Focus Group Discussion (FGD) for structural and open ended questions. One hundred thirty two GPS data were collected using handheld GPS Garmin Global Positioning System for confirmations of accuracy assessment. Five direct and seven indirect driving forces of LULCC were identified for each corresponding agro-ecology gradients for each year. ERDAS version 15, excel, and ArcGIS 10.3.1 used for satellite image calibration and analysis. Maps of Forest, woodland, scrubland, grassland, farmland, water body, and settlement were created. The finding reveals that croplands, settlements, and grasslands are increasing. However, woodland and forest are decreasing from 1973 and 2016. Among the indirect driving forces, Socio-cultural practice and demographics imposed a higher impact in 1970; conversely, institutional setup and technological advancements contribute the highest effect in 2000 &2016. Among the direct or proximate causes, farming activity and fire contribute the highest impact in 1970 in the lower and middle altitude. Farming activities and logging had the highest impact on the higher altitudes during 1970s.

Self-employment and Subjective Well-Being

Self-employment contributes to employment growth and innovativeness and many individuals want to become self-employed due to the autonomy and flexibility it brings. Using “subjective well-being” as a broad summary measure that evaluates an individual’s experience of being self-employed, the chapter discusses evidence and explanations why self-employment is positively associated with job satisfaction, even though the self-employed often earn less than their employed peers, work longer hours and experience more stress and higher job demands. Despite being more satisfied with their jobs, the self-employed do not necessarily enjoy higher overall life satisfaction, which is due to heterogeneity of types of self-employment, as well as motivational factors, work characteristics and institutional setups across countries.