Investments In Physical Assets Research Articles

Antecedents of Export Performance of Food and Beverages MSMEs in India

The Food and Beverages (F&B) sector has evolved as a sunrise sector of India. It is gearing-up its business at a rapid rate after the pandemic shocks. India is one of the largest foods producing nation in the world but due to its perishable nature the surplus food articles are converted to processed food and beverages products and exported to other countries. Even though the sector has good prospects to grow and attract foreign investment but most of the enterprises are micro, small, and medium. However, MSMEs are performing better in food and beverages exports. The present study has empirically investigated the export antecedents of India’s F&B MSMEs by using Random Effects Tobit Model in a firm level dataset. The study also analyzed the region-wise F&B export performance. The findings reveal that F&B industry is highly labour-intensive which requires more capital investment in physical assets like plant and machinery, cold storage facilities, warehousing, packing and packaging centers and so on. To stimulate the export performance, the F&B firms require to enhance the labour productivity by investing on the employees’ welfare and training activities as well as create awareness among them about the rules and regulations of WTO and FAO like food standard and safety regulations and packing and packaging standards etc. The region-wise analysis indicates that in F&B exports the Northern and Eastern regions have performed better whereas the North-Eastern region is more oriented towards the domestic market rather than the export market.

Investment, innovation activities and employment across European regions

This study examines the effect of various forms of investment expenditure (gross fixed capital formation, R&D and European Structural and Investment Funds) on employment across NUTS2 European regions from 2000 to 2016. We find that the effect of R&D is heavily conditional upon regional characteristics. Only in NUTS2 regions with medium to high levels of innovation is R&D likely to generate employment. Gross fixed capital formation is labour friendly, but less so in highly innovative regions. Accordingly, the more that European regions shift closer to the world's technology frontier, the more that R&D expenditure, rather than investment in physical assets, will be capable of generating positive employment externalities. Amongst European Structural and Investment Funds, we find an especially significant effect for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (in the more developed regions) and the Cohesion Fund.

Decoupled net present value: protecting assets against climate change risk by consistently capturing the value of resilient and adaptable investments

ABSTRACT There is growing awareness that traditional valuation methods based on discounted cash flows using constant risk-adjusted discount rates struggle to account for climate-related risks when assessing long-term investments in physical assets and infrastructure. Worst yet, such methods fail to consider numerous financial benefits accruing from investment in resilience and adaptation, categorizing such expenditures as sunk costs that reduce investors’ returns. Such traditional valuation methods encourage investors to postpone or forgo entirely investing in resilience and adaptation. The decoupled net present value (DNPV) method incorporates risk and risk-reduction measures into project valuations in clear and compelling financial terms. By quantifying both (i) risk exposures of assets to hazards and (ii) the reduction of such exposure through up-front investments, DNPV recasts the financial impact of risk-reduction measures. Thus, the benefits of risk-reducing investments such as adaptation and resilience can be fully valorized in project-level accounting, removing a significant barrier facing such investments today.

Digital multinationals for engaging foreign direct investments in digital economy

There has been a trend towards digitalization in all areas of life, including the economic sphere, for a last decade. More and more countries are becoming oriented towards the development of digital economy and digitalization of foreign economic activities. The role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in boosting the digital economy is analyzed in this article. Digital multinational enterprises play the main role in FDI attraction. The development of multinationals is characterized by a new round of transition to the digital economy, which is changing the way of doing business and orienting businesses towards the accretion and use of digital platforms, technologies, solutions and related products and services. Digital multinationals began to enter foreign markets with little to no investment in physical assets. The ratio of the share of foreign sales to the corresponding share of foreign assets (FDI lightness index) for the top-100 digital multinationals in digital solutions segment is raising. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a catalyst for the digital economy. Nevertheless, governments trying to create favorable environment in the country for FDI attraction should be guided by strategic rather than tactical national interests. States should favor investment in digital economy with goal-oriented approach. Investment policies must resonate with the country’s competitive advantages – human capital, business ecosystem, technological capabilities. ASEAN case is explored in this article.

Collaborative Mobility: Common Features in a new Generation of Mobility Business Models

Mobility has been massively disrupted by new-generation telecoms and mobile apps, which allow an optimised utilisation of both transport means and infrastructures. When it comes to this kind of mobility, transport authorities and ‘traditional’ transport planning can only do little. Citizens step in and fill in the gaps at the local level by co-creating mobility solutions: private and commercial vehicles, tracking and geo-location capabilities, smart communication devices, a transportation infrastructure grid. Without additional investment in physical assets for marginal uses of the infrastructure, and without adding more vehicles to the streets, it becomes possible to ‘kick start’ a new mobility ‘metabolism’ through collaborative solutions that concatenate several ‘sharing’ approaches: car-pooling, car-sharing, crowd-parking, bike-sharing, cargo-pooling, data-sharing.In sum, new technologies can bridge social capital and citizen power with the valuable aspects of free market economics. In addition, crowd-sourcing mobility solutions make economic sense and bring democratic thinking and environmental conscience.

Results of Implementing Less-Favoured Area Subsidies in the 2014–2020 Time Frame: Are the Measures of Environmental Concern Complementary?

This article collated and interpreted data on land-based measures and capital investments support in Central Europe. Data collection is essential, due to more EU funds being distributed after 2020. Most evaluations focus on outcomes of agri-environmental measures within the most populous Member States. Unlike previous work, empirical data was hereby assessed on the public support of three measures of environmental concern to farmers (less favored area measure, capital investments, and agri-environmental measures). The study examined whether public goods are complementary. A prevailing focus was on spending for the farms in less favored areas, now renamed Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC). Cluster analysis was employed for seven countries out of 105 rural development programs (RDPs). The Countries include Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The average share of the wider ANC measures was 0.31 of the total public funds. Within Central Europe, Hungary sets aside the smallest share (0.17), whereas the Czech Republic and Austria introduced a slightly larger share (0.51). All RDPs identified Capital Investments in physical assets as one of the significant measures. The study found that public goods for biodiversity and landscapes were entailed in the ANC measures, although the extent of measure complementarity across all regions will require further investigation. Finally, unresolved questions about expenditure are highlighted.

Just-in-Time system in terms of real options

The value creation process in a company and the competitive position are critically influenced by corporate resource allocation and proper valuation of investment alternatives. After the Second World War, capital budgeting and strategic planning emerged as two complementary but different systems for resource allocation. The real options approach developed in the ’80s may provide a useful tool for making a connection between capital budgeting and strategic management. Real options are implicit managerial and operating flexibilities embedded in many non-financial assets and liabilities. In a wider sense: “A real option is the investment in physical assets, human competence, and organisational capabilities that provide the opportunity to respond to future contingent events” (Kogut-Kulatilaka, 2001). This paper shows that Just-in-Time (JIT) system as management philosophy can be regarded as a knowledge-based or capability-based implicit strategy rather than a simple, easy-toimitate best practice approach. Moreover, implementation of JIT can be considered as a strategic investment. The presentation focuses on how the relation among strategic investments, developed technological systems and corporate strategy can be expressed through the real options view.

English

Access to finance by farmers is recognized as a tool for poverty eradication in developing countries, where the majority depends on agriculture for survival. This study sought to establish strategies for enhancing farmer access to bank credit as prescribed by the lenders themselves. A structured interview guide collected primary data from a sample of 12 registered commercial banks in Zimbabwe, which were analysed by thematic analysis. Human capital formation activities that enhance agricultural production and business management knowledge were proffered as key strategies for stimulating bank credit access. On and off farm investments in physical assets were also suggested to equip farmers with productive assets for enhancing viability and loan repayment ability, and to fulfil stringent collateral requirements by banks. Social capital formation activities through building relationships that enhance farmer knowledge were also perceived as key for enhancing credit access. Therefore, policy should subsidize farm infrastructural development initiatives by farmers and intensify agricultural extension services for enhancing farmer knowledge. Farmers should pursue personal development programs in agricultural production and business management, and create farmer-based organizations for sharing risk and knowledge. Banks are encouraged to adopt locally adaptive lending models to meet the farmers halfway.   Key words: Bank credit, credit constraints, creditworthiness, CAMPARI, investments, human capital formation, physical capital formation, social capital formation.

The Assessment of Three Measures (101, 103, 302) Under the National Plan of Agriculture and Rural Development of Kosovo

Summary Subject and purpose of work: Agriculture has historically been an important sector in Kosovo’s economy however the biggest challenges are migration, land fragmentation, and access to market and finance. Support from the Government of Kosovo for the agriculture and rural development sector is based on the ARDP 2007-13 and includes direct support measures that strongly correspond to Pillar I measures under CAP and rural development support measures similar to CAP Pillar II. The objective of this paper is to assess three measures (101,103,302) under the national plan of agriculture and rural development of Kosovo. Materials and methods: Measure 101, “Investments in Physical Assets in Agricultural Holdings” fruit sector, grape sector. Measure 103, “Investments in physical assets concerning the processing and marketing of agricultural and fishery products”. Measure 302, “Farm Diversification and Business Development”. Results: Results showed support is increased which directly affected new job creation however this should continue with increasing the budget as these measures affect the rural economy directly by creating jobs contributing to sustainable agriculture and reducing migration. Conclusions: The most important measure in terms of budget allocation and number of projects implemented was Measure 101. The largest number of beneficiaries from measure 101 originated from the Prizren and Prishtine Region.

Studies on the Current Stage of the Investments Made for the Development of Storage Capacities of Field Crops Production, Through the Sub-Measure 4.2 of the "National Program for Rural Development 2014-2020", in the South-West Region Oltenia

The National Rural Development Program is a program coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in consultation with the representatives of the organizations, organizations and social partners that have activity in this field and approved after mediations with the European Commission, being structured in measures aimed at supporting and developing rural area in Romania. Sub-measure 4.2. - "Support for investment in the processing / marketing and / or development of agricultural products", falls within measure 4 - Investments in physical assets. This sub-measure aims to improve the competitiveness of primary producers by better integrating them into the agri-food chain through quality schemes, increasing the added value of agricultural products, promoting local markets, short supply circuits, producer groups and interprofessional organizations, facilitating diversification, setting up small businesses, and creating jobs. This study aims to analyse the absorption of European funds in order to modernize the storage capacities, field crops production in the S-W Oltenia Region, in the period 2015-2017, their impact on the local economy. In this paper, it is proposed to follow the dynamics of the financing of projects for the modernization of grain storage capacity by sub-measure 4.2, at the level of the South-West Oltenia Region, which have an eligible value of 8,521,062 €, and the public value is of 4,260,529 €, in relation to nationally funded projects with an eligible value of 105,057,929 €, and the public value of 55,435,303 €.

Graphical analysis for overall effectiveness management: A graphical method to support operation and maintenance performance assessment

AbstractThis article presents a graphical tool for the monitoring of performance indicators called GAOEM (Graphical Analysis for Overall Effectiveness Management). GAOEM comprehends the main indicators of maintenance and operations management, and it constitutes an adaptation of the overall effectiveness index. GAOEM facilitates control and analysis by using specific indicators in a graphic panel, designed for industries with high investment in physical assets. It also facilitates an efficient reading and interpreting of the data, enriching the analysis, the search for phenomena of interest and improvement opportunities to support the decision making.GAOEM requires 3 categories of input data, which are interventions data, time data, and production/process data. With this information, the basic performance indicators are calculated, being these indicators fundamental for the control and monitoring of the performance level. Later, these indicators will be the basis for calculation of both partial and total performance.GAOEM can be used as a diagnosis, analysis, control and monitoring tool for the indicators of interest at a strategic level, as well as a tool for searching of phenomena typical of a specific stage of the life cycle of assets and also of those conditions resulting from improper operation and/or maintenance, identifying their root causes.

Criteria for determining primary forest traffic infrastructure network density – examples of the most common cases

In any planning, so even when planning the network of forest roads, it is an imperative to know the existing situation, and to have a detailed and accurate insight into the existing forest road network of the forest area in the process of opening, usually enabled by the forest traffic infrastructure registry. To validate the quantity of the existing forest traffic infrastructure (road density), it is necessary to precisely and unambiguously define the criteria for determining the density of existing forest traffic infrastructure. In Croatian forestry, the currently valid criteria for determining the density of primary forest traffic infrastructure are defined by the »Technical Requirements for Economic Roads« (Šikić et al. 1989), which are summarised in the Forestry Management Regulations (NN 111/06, NN 141/08) and (NN 79/15). The criteria mentioned are insufficiently precise and unclear, which leaves the forestry experts to make a series of subjective decisions in calculating the density of primary forest traffic infrastructure. To avoid/reduce any subjectivity, to obtain objective data and to make comparability of the calculated primary traffic infrastructure density of different management units, a set of completely criteria have been developed that will serve to accurately, objectively and transparently determine primary forest traffic infrastructure density. The criteria have been developed and described in detail in the Form for the Effectiveness Study of Primary Forest Road Traffic Infrastructure, an integral part of the Bylaw on measure implementation M04 »Investments in physical assets«, by-measure 4.3 »Grant for investments in development, modernization and customization of agriculture and forestry«, operation type 4.3.3. »Investments in forest infrastructure« from the Program of Rural Development in the Republic of Croatia in the period from 2014 to 2020 (NN 106/15, 65/17). The most frequent/characteristical examples of the application of criteria in determining the primary forest traffic infrastructure density are presented in the paper based on orthophoto maps together with photographs (image part of the primary forest traffic infrastructure registry from case studies).

Converting Forests to Farms: The Economic Benefits of Clearing Forests in Agricultural Settlements in the Amazon

Agricultural expansion into tropical forests is believed to bring local economic benefits at the expense of global environmental costs. The resulting tension is reflected in Brazilian government policy. The national agrarian reform program has settled farm families in the Amazon region since the 1970s, with the expectation that they will clear forests in order to farm the land. On the other hand, recent Brazilian policy initiatives seek to reduce deforestation to mitigate climate change. We contribute to the policy debate that surrounds these dual goals for the Amazon by estimating the marginal effects of new agricultural land on the full income and assets of farm settlers over a 13-year period from 1996 to 2009. Using micro panel data from agrarian settlements where forest was being rapidly cleared, and controlling for factors that would otherwise confound the relationship, we estimate the effect of converting forest to agriculture on total household income to estimate the opportunity cost of conserving forest. Our measure of income reflects any re-allocation of resources by utility maximizing households and any productivity effects due to loss of forest ecosystem services. The estimated effect of new agricultural land on income is positive, but small relative to the income per hectare of previously cleared land. However, we show that income increases investment in physical assets, which raises households’ income generating capacity and future accumulation of assets. Thus, while there is only a small immediate income gain from clearing more forest, the long-term effects on wealth are still substantial. This demonstrates that given the right conditions, conversion of forest to agricultural land can be an impetus for asset accumulation by smallholders. It also highlights the importance of considering the indirect and long-term welfare benefits of new agricultural land when assessing the opportunity costs of forest conservation.

The link between economic and environmental performance of the top 10 U.S. ports

ABSTRACTPorts currently face increasing demands to address a variety of environmental issues and achieve sustainability objectives. Using insights from the resource-based view of firms, this study examines the link between economic performance (EP) and environmental performance (ENP) of the top 10 U.S. seaports. Geospatial modeling is used to capture pollution incidents that can be geographically dispersed; in addition, both a bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach and an undesirable DEA model are used to measure port ENP and EP. Our findings are in general consistent with assertions that positive EP can be attained in conjunction with good environmental practices. Ports’ capabilities of strategic capital investment in physical assets, collaborative interorganizational processes, and performance monitoring are essential, while they pursue both economic and environmental goals simultaneously.

Управление частными капиталами: арт-бэнкинг

Th e article is devoted to art-banking, which is understood as the range of services in the financial and consulting
 support of investments in physical assets with high intrinsic value, particularly in the works of art.

Impact of Agricultural Policy in Development of Agriculture Sector Within the Period of 1999-2015 in Kosovo

Agriculture sector represents one of the oldest economic branches, although the economics of agriculture represents a relatively new branch. In this regard the aim of this paper is to reflect on the issue based on sustainable and comparative arguments; furthermore, the paper aims to identify current disadvantage as well as opportunities for more sustainable agricultural development on the impact of subsidized fiscal policies in the future. Moreover, the effect of agricultural policy instruments on development of agriculture and agricultural income is likewise one of the purposes of this research. Given that agricultural policies play key role for the development of the poor countries, this has lead Kosovo towered listing agriculture development policies among the highest priorities of the political agendas. After the war, in Kosovo, agricultural sector has been neglected in terms of priorities in national development strategies, as well as in financial terms, since there had not been sufficient financial support provided. However, after a few years, recognizing the need of development of the sector as of priorities on poverty reduction, as well as on stimulation of the economic development, the sector has begun to be engaged in the national agendas. Meantime, this represents fundamental message of the World Bank, presented in the World Development Report (World Bank, 2008). In the case of Africa, the members of African Union agreed to allocate at least 10% of their budget to agriculture and rural development sector, and recently the G8 has scheduled to provide 1 billion Euros, as a support to African agriculture investments. In 2007, in Kosovo, grant scheme and subsidize (direct payments), has been accessed to the Agriculture and Rural Development Plan of 2007 -2013. Direct and indirect effects of these instruments on agricultural income / farms are poorly documented. This support was increased by the inclusion of other sectors and cultures until 2014, which includes the following measures: 1.Measure 101:“Investment on physical assets of agricultural economies ", 2. Measure 103:Investments in physical assets on processing and marketing the agricultural products, 3. Measures 302: Diversification of farms and business development. There is a lack of proper research, when the direct effects of the supportive measures on the agriculture and economic development are concerned.

Cost of quality modeling for maintenance employing opportunity and infant mortality costs: An analysis of an electric utility

ABSTRACTCapital investment in physical assets has increased over the years. With the increasing complexity and variety of assets, companies are highly dependent on assets performing at high efficiency levels. Equipment performance has become a crucial business factor that has led to a particular focus on the maintenance function. Maintenance is frequently perceived as a function having a poor rate of return due to difficulties in presenting its benefits in terms that management can understand. The cost of quality model allows translating the tradeoffs associated with the quality function into a financial language. This model has gathered importance with its cost categories (PAF: prevention, appraisal, and failure). Based on this model, the cost of maintenance (COM) model is proposed to emphasize the role of opportunity and infant mortality costs in maintenance. This model captures different cost components through the PAF categories, where each is compounded by direct, opportunity, and infant mortality costs. The COM model is employed to estimate maintenance costs of current transformers in a regional transmission division of an electric utility in Latin America. Results show that opportunity costs can account for more than 80% of total maintenance costs, and infant mortality costs can represent more than 15% of these costs.

IMPROVING OF THE INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES’ MANAGEMENT

At the present time it has become more difficult to acquire competitive advantages through an effective financial management and investments in physical assets. The company’s ability to mobilize and use intangible assets has acquired more importance. The vital role in long-term organization’s surviving is acquiring such factors as strategic management, measurement and management of business processes, corporate culture encouraging technological and organizational improvements and an ability to get new customers. In the article it’s shown the mechanism of the enterprise’s economical management, grounded the ways of management’s improving and the tools that allow connect strategy with business processes.

How long is a long-term-firm investment in the presence of governance mechanisms?

We examine the relationship between managerial myopia and three governance mechanisms: ownership concentration, short-term incentive plans and the market for corporate control. We first examine a number of measures for long-term investments in physical assets and show that the net depreciation rate of property, plant and equipment is a better predictor of a firm’s long-term investment horizon than alternative measures. We calculate ownership concentration using the Gini coefficient that measures the inequality in the distribution of a firm’s ownership. We also examine numerous measures to proxy for short-term incentive plans and the market for corporate control. Using detailed data on ownership and incentive plans, we then relate these governance variables to managerial myopia and show that concentrated ownership and the market for corporate control reduce managerial myopia whereas short-term incentive plans do not have a significant effect on managerial myopia. We also show that the market for corporate control is a more efficient governance mechanism than concentrated ownership. This implies that external governance mechanisms, such as takeover threats, successfully influence managers facing reputational concerns, which may have a substantial impact on firm value. In our robustness analyses, we apply a variety of techniques to control for omitted variable bias, measurement error and other sources of endogeneity that plague empirical studies on managerial myopia.

How Long is a Long-Term Firm Investment in the Presence of Governance Mechanisms?

We examine the relationship between managerial myopia and three governance mechanisms: ownership concentration, short-term incentive plans and the market for corporate control. We first examine a number of measures for long-term investments in physical assets and show that the net depreciation rate of property, plant and equipment is a better predictor of a firm’s long-term investment horizon than alternative measures. We calculate ownership concentration using the Gini coefficient that measures the inequality in the distribution of a firm’s ownership. We also examine numerous measures to proxy for short-term incentive plans and the market for corporate control. Using detailed data on ownership and incentive plans, we then relate these governance variables to managerial myopia and show that concentrated ownership and the market for corporate control reduce managerial myopia whereas short-term incentive plans do not have a significant effect on managerial myopia. We also show that the market for corporate control is a more efficient governance mechanism than concentrated ownership. This implies that external governance mechanisms, such as takeover threats, successfully influence managers facing reputational concerns, which may have a substantial impact on firm value. In our robustness analyses, we apply a variety of techniques to control for omitted variable bias, measurement error and other sources of endogeneity that plague empirical studies on managerial myopia.