Low Level Of Investment Research Articles

A tale of two reforms: Telecommunications reforms in Mexico

The telecommunications industry in most parts of the world experienced a round of market-led reforms in the early 1990s. After a period of sustained development in the sector numerous countries are moving toward government-led network deployments. Even though it may appear as if the pendulum swung back to the previous 1990s period of government-led development, this paper argues persistent regional disparities in access and adoption of new technologies generated a need for public action in the second reform. By analyzing the Mexican case and comparing the policy choices in each one of the reforms, this paper sheds light on how particular policy decisions in the first reform generated inefficient market solutions and were key in creating a perception of the need for stronger public action. In both reforms, the policymaking process was carried out by a small elite that negotiated its contents behind closed doors. Paradoxically, within the transition to democracy, in the second reform, the leaders of the major political parties established a closed-door agreement. Even though the 2013 telecommunications reform improved the status quo, it did not decrease market concentration and, once again, we face low levels of investment and high levels of digital exclusion. By reconstructing the policy decision process in each reform, this paper argues that the closed-door policy choices taken, which were the result of the interaction of political actors with their own agenda and interests, hampered the most efficient solutions.

Regulation, Innovation, and Systems Integration: Evidence from the EU

Energy systems integration (ESI) provides a holistic view of the electricity, gas, and heat sectors, which allows the identification and delivery of system solutions that lead to an overall cost efficiency while granting the reliability of the energy system. In this paper, we search for evidence of investments in ESI in the EU to assess whether policymakers are incentivizing its adoption adequately. To do so, we examine how innovation is being fostered in the energy sector in six EU countries by looking at the incentives provided by each country’s regulatory system. We look for evidence on investments in ESI-enabling technologies or ESI projects. We find a variety of approaches towards incentivizing innovation, which range from regulation-driven to government-driven ones. Preferences for different technologies emerge on a per-country basis. Nevertheless, what appears as most striking is the low level of investments throughout the six countries, both for ESI-enabling technologies and ESI projects. Although ESI’s role in the EU’s green transition has been recognized, there is still a need for technological and policy solutions to foster its adoption.

The Link between Short-termism and Risk: Barriers to Investment in Long-term Infrastructure Projects

We study how investments that require long-term financial commitments are affected by undiversifiable, uninsurable risk in the economic environment in the context of investor preferences characterized by decreasing absolute risk aversion and a desire for consumption smoothing. In our setting, if funds are committed long-term, they become unavailable in the short-term resulting in an increased exposure to shocks before maturity of the investment. Coupled with decreasing absolute risk aversion, this leads to an endogenous discounting of long-term projects. High perceived risk in the economic environment leads to low levels of long-term investment (short-termism). We also explore policy measures that can support long-term investment, in particular, during times of increased uncertainty.

Additional Education In The Context Of Modern Art Market Development And The Formation Of Strong Cultural Brands

This article is devoted to the issue of promoting strong local cultural brands in the art market by means of additional education programs. Globalization, increased competition in the global market, high economic and political risks, and development and implementation of strong cultural brands strategy provide opportunities to improve global competitiveness of local destinations. However, the art market in Russia is underdeveloped. Thus, it requires additional education programs. Social marketing education programs, aimed at the promotion and development of the Russian art market, are in fact being implemented. According to foreign examples, the development of the art market (in terms of image) is worthwhile for the state. However, the lack of information and understanding about the transactions in the art market contribute to a low economic level of investment in this area in Russia. Therefore, we cannot significantly influence the cultural brand of the territory. The authors offer a model for positioning additional education programs to break through in the art market, which can help to identify effective promotion strategies and significantly improve the effect of state support for such programs. This model can help local decisionmakers avoid the high risks that come with implementing additional education programs. The authors of the work studied the positioning of additional education programs in the framework of the art market based on a modified Cagan-Vogel matrix. In addition, typical examples of programs from various areas are examined to identify the advantages of these programs that successfully influence the development of the art market and how they strengthen the cultural brand of their territory.

Criterial assessments of investment security of the national economy

The article summarizes the scientific interpretations of the essence and analytical support of investment security concept. It is determined that it is a component of the country national security. Trends in stimulating of investment activity growth are determined by the systematization methods based on materials from foreign experience (favorable tax regimes, tax holidays, government participation in providing innovative scientific developments, grants, subsidies, etc.). It was revealed that the limited financial resources encourages to a balanced approach in terms of financing innovative projects and requires the validity of the vector of their involvement in the territories of Ukraine. The regional structure of investments in fixed assets in Ukraine for the period 2014–2018 is analyzed for studying the processes of their concentration. The conclusion is made about the sustainability of innovation activity processes in the context of the territorial direction and, accordingly, the provision of security levers in this area. Investment activity calculations by regions of Ukraine made it possible to distinguish three regions by the value of the correlation coefficient – with the highest, medium and low levels of investment. Based on the interval distribution of the average share of investments (selected according to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine), a grouping of regions by the investment activity level is carried out. This allowed us to conclude about the uneven distribution of investment resources and, simultaneously, about a high level of investments concentration in fixed assets in certain regions. It is proposed to distinguish investment security criteria by the levels of the national economy (macro indicators) and by individual segments of the economy (industry-specific indicators). This will provide an information base for analytical assessments of long-term strategies building in the field of investment activity regulation in Ukraine.

Financialisation and the ‘supply-side’ face of the investment-profit puzzle

The high level of profits along with low levels of gross physical investment has been characterized as a puzzle in heterodox economics. One of the most extended answers at the firm level is that changes in corporate governance have altered the objectives of the firm toward profits, rather than growth. However, once it is acknowledged that investment becomes the basis upon which companies supply commodities as well as compete with other firms, an ever decreasing rate of investment should not be compatible with permanent high levels of profits. This is what we call the ‘supply-side’ face of the investment-profit puzzle. The article builds on the post-Keynesian theory of the firm and its investment decision and explores different answers already linked to the financialisation literature such as changes brought about by production outsourcing, increased market power, the attack on labor conditions and financial accumulation. Once these solutions are critically assessed, an extension to the theory is proposed in order to show that firm’s profitability has been detaching from its physical investment decisions.

Exploring product–service systems in the digital era: a socio-technical systems perspective

PurposeIn the age of Industry 4.0, digital advancement is reshaping manufacturing models towards product–service systems (PSS). The drivers, readiness and challenges to move to a PSS model are not well understood, and the exploitation of the digital era presents the gap of this research.Design/methodology/approachThe research was conducted using semi-structured interviews in six manufacturers. Two forum debates were also conducted to supplement and validate the findings.FindingsSocial and economic motivations rather than environmental considerations were driving the change to PSS. Digital technologies could be an important driver if manufacturers reached a certain PSS maturity level. A high level of technical readiness was offset by a low level of social investments and the strategic development of human resources. Value co-creation was a main challenge though manufacturers had the advantage of digital connectivity, which indicated new human requirements; the greater the enabling power of digital technologies, the greater the need for advanced human skills.Practical implicationsHuman resource management has underpinned lean models; yet, the role of employees within PSS is underdeveloped despite the impact of staff in exploiting digitalisation and value co-creation. A “learning organisation” and socio-technical fit are required for the “diffusion of innovation” of PSS.Originality/valueThis research attempted to explore drivers, readiness and challenges for PSS from a socio-technical systems (STS) perspective. Three levels of PSS maturity with STS features were derived from the research, providing guidance for manufacturers.

A reassessment of stock market integration in SADC: The case of Namibia

ABSTRACTA major feature of development policy modelled on neoclassical notions of financial market integration is that a wide array of smaller markets can benefit from integration by pooling resources and attracting foreign capital to supplement otherwise low levels of domestic investment. However, evidence from Namibia and South Africa suggest that the smaller markets become regulatory price-takers and to maintain the benefits from integration, face prohibitively high costs. We find evidence that the current policy initiatives of regional integration impose costs on smaller, less developed exchanges, which are ultimately borne by local firms seeking cost-effective sustainable external finance.

‘Simple’ surface-fire heat treatment significantly improves silcrete flake quality and flaking efficiency

Intentional stone heat treatment is a key marker for prehistoric behavioural variability. Yet, the relationship between differences in heat-treatment strategies and variations in stone tool-making processes remains heavily debated and poorly understood. We report on two experiments testing wood fuels and heating strategies applied to silcrete nodules from ~60 km south of Diepkloof Rock shelter in South Africa with early evidence for intentional silcrete heat treatment. We flaked the heated silcrete nodules to maximize miniaturized flake production. The resulting cores and flakes were compared in terms of their utility (flake cutting edge to mass) and cutting edge quality (cutting edge angles) in addition to quantifying woody residues and heat induced fracture rates. Our results show that ‘simpler’ surface-fire heat treatment strategies provide significant increases in miniaturized core utility and flake quality over unheated silcrete nodules. Some of these effects were obtained without more specialized knowledge than is required to maintain fires for cooking and other utilitarian purposes. Our results show that rapidly heating silcrete to modify rocks for miniaturized stone tool production is efficient at relatively low levels of technological investment.

Funding Challenges Facing SMEs’ Growth in Lebanon

Building the capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises is at the heart of the concerns of modern economies. These types of enterprises are the engine of growth through the creation rate, explained by the low level of investment they require, the level of job creation and the low level of technology that gives them adaptability to Changes. In most developing countries, the problem of funding is common for SMEs. The funding challenge is the main barrier to the growth of SMEs, either due to lack of internal or external funds or due to the difficulty of the processes to be followed for loans’ approval. What is most worrying in Lebanon is that SMEs are fundamentally opportunities to get out of underdevelopment. Today, banks are finding it extremely difficult to finance SMEs in terms of the problems of informalities, weak guarantees and low capitalization. SMEs represent a significant share of banks' customers; that is why banks need to give more attention to the SME sector, seeking to meet at its best their needs and expectations. A survey was carried out on a sample of 110 Lebanese SMEs working in different regions in Lebanon and in various sectors. In addition to the questionnaire, we met qualified bankers from the five top leading banks in Lebanon to highlight lending requirements and procedures, risk assessment and management, approval and rejection decisions related to loans. As a result, limitation of access to funds were mentioned with different ways of solutions, requesting a real support and cooperation between actors: public authorities, central bank, financial institutions and SMEs.

Disclosure of Investment Information in a Vertically Related Industry

This study investigates the strategic disclosure of a downstream firm’s information regarding cost-reducing investment in a vertically related industry. Disclosing information affects an (common) upstream firm’s input price (i.e., vertical strategic effects) and a rival downstream firm’s output level (i.e., horizontal strategic effects). We show that the downstream firm is willing to withhold its information as the products become more differentiated because the horizontal strategic effects decrease with the products differentiation degree. This implies that non-disclosure, rather than disclosure, can convey an aggressive investment (i.e., lower marginal costs) to a rival downstream firm when the products are sufficiently differentiated. Moreover, we show that the downstream firm may disclose its information and pursue its investment at a minimum level when the products are extremely differentiated. In this case, they desire to reveal high marginal costs (i.e., a low investment level) to the upstream firm to reduce the input price, regardless of horizontal market competition.

Financial Fragility in Retail-NBFCs

This study examines the financial fragility of the Retail Non-Banking Financial Companies (Retail-NBFCs) sector. We show that the liquidity crunch in Retail-NBFCs stemmed from their over-dependence on short-term wholesale funding from Liquid Debt Mutual Funds (LDMFs) and the low level of high-quality liquid investments in the LDMF sector. While such reliance worked well in good times, it generated significant short-term debt rollover problems for Retail-NBFCs during times of stress. The key reason for the inability of Retail-NBFCs to roll over commercial paper was the transmission of systemic risk from Retail-NBFCs to the LDMF sector. Anticipating defaults by Retail-NBFCs, mutual fund investors exited from the LDMF sector. The low levels of high-quality liquid assets in the LDMF sector were insufficient to withstand the concerted redemption pressure by investors and made the LDMF sector reluctant to roll over short-term debt of Retail-NBFCs. We develop a robust tool (Health Score) to estimate financial fragility in a Retail-NBFCs and find that it can predict the constraints on external financing (or rollover risk) faced by these firms.

Are Supporting Sectors of the Creative Industries Inferior? Current study from Slovakia.

The aim of the contribution is to analyse the current state of the supporting sectors within the creative industries, to identify and quantify the role of the supporting sectors in the Slovak economy. In the European union, there are huge expectations associated with the creative industries. Based on the following findings, we can conclude that the low level of external investments is caused by the low possibility to get the loans. There is no relation between the regional density of supporting sectors’ enterprises and the economic results reached by these regions.

The Role of Investment in Road Development in Egypt: دور الاستثمار في تنمية الطرق البرية في مصر

The paper illustrates the role of investment in the roads transportation sector development in Egypt. As the investments is considered an important source of external funding especially for countries that are characterized by low level of savings and investments like Egypt. As the country is seeking to attract many investments in order to work on the expansion and the construction of new urban communities and industrial centers. Egypt also is trying work on extending the roads networks between the different regions. The thing that made it a necessity for Egypt to attract the private investment sector as source to finance these investments in the transportation sector. To achieve the objective of the paper, both inductive and descriptive analytical approaches will be combined. The study concluded that there should be integration between economic activity plans and expansion plans in transport activities depending on the size of investment and also encourage the private sector to provide many investments to help the growth of industries, intensify investment and participate in the wheel of economic development. ، ، ، ، ، ،

Perceiving the Real Value: How Inflation Communication Affects the Attractiveness of Long-Term Investments

In retirement planning, the ignorance of inflation – so-called money illusion – can have severe consequences for future financial wellbeing. It thus seems important to make private investors aware of the divergence between future nominal wealth and real purchasing power. Surprisingly, existing research has hardly explored how different approaches to communicate inflation information affect behavior in long-term investment scenarios. To close this gap, we introduce a novel mechanism for experimental remuneration that mimics the divergence between nominal wealth and real purchasing power by a declining conversation rate. This mechanism allows to elicit investors’ unbiased preferences and to explore the deviations in informational settings that are more or less susceptible to money illusion. We predict that long-term investment products look overly attractive in conditions that foster the occurrence of money illusion and hypothesize that this bias is particularly strong for investment profiles with (nominal) money-back guarantees. The experimental data delivers only partial support for these predictions. Participants seem to understand that their attempts to adjust the long-term nominal returns for the annual inflation rate are susceptible to error. As a consequence they avoid extreme (high or low) investment levels and show an investment behavior that is not sufficiently sensitive to differences in the investment products’ (unbiased) attractiveness. We discuss policy implications and avenues for follow-up research.

Nest defense in the face of cuckoldry: evolutionary rather than facultative adaptation to chronic paternity loss

BackgroundRaising unrelated offspring is typically wasteful of parental resources and so individuals are expected to reduce or maintain low levels of parental effort when their parentage is low. This can involve facultative, flexible adjustments of parental care to cues of lost parentage in the current brood, stabilizing selection for a low level of paternal investment, or an evolutionary reduction in parental investment in response to chronically low parentage.ResultsWe studied parental care in Variabilichromis moorii, a socially monogamous, biparental cichlid fish, whose mating system is characterized by frequent cuckoldry and whose primary form of parental care is offspring defense. We combine field observations with genetic parentage analyses to show that while both parents defend their nest against intruding con- and hetero-specifics, males and females may do so for different reasons. Males in the study group (30 breeding pairs) sired 0–100% (median 83%) of the fry in their nests. Males defended less against immediate threats to the offspring, and more against threats to their territories, which are essential for the males’ future reproductive success. Males also showed no clear relationship between their share of defense and their paternity of the brood. Females, on the other hand, were related to nearly all the offspring under their care, and defended almost equally against all types of threats.ConclusionOverall, males contributed less to defense than females and we suggest that this asymmetry is the result of an evolutionary response by males to chronically high paternity loss in this species. Although most males in the current study group achieved high parentage in their nests, the average paternity in V. moorii, sampled across multiple seasons, is only about 55%. We highlight the importance and complexity of studying nest defense as a form of parental care in systems where defense may serve not only to protect current offspring, but also to ensure future reproductive success by maintaining a territory.

Understanding the role of social networking platforms in addressing the challenges of Islamic banks

PurposeCustomers are increasingly interested in reading discussions, experiences, recommendations and reviews on social media platforms related to services and products in which they are highly interested. The purpose of this paper is to find the availability of user-generated content (UGC) in the context of Islamic banks and how it can enhance the level of brand engagement and purchase intention of customers.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology for this research is designed by following the features of qualitative research methods and a social constructivism approach. Furthermore, non-directive and semi-structured in-depth interviews are constructed to accumulate research data from marketing teams and customers of Islamic banks. The respondents have been carefully chosen on the basis of purposive sampling and their level of awareness related to Islamic banks.FindingsIslamic banks are more frequently using traditional marketing tools that are unable to enhance levels of information among the targeted population and prove an expensive way of marketing. The findings reveal that Islamic banks lag behind in adopting the latest information exchanging technologies compared to conventional banking systems. A lack of skilled people, reputation and trust, lack of e-marketing strategy and lower levels of investment in social media platforms are major barriers to generate UGC, brand engagement and purchase intention among the targeted market of Islamic banks.Practical implicationsThe effective and competent use of various social networking platforms can enhance UGC related to Islamic banking products and services. UGC can generate interactive communication, services reviews, feedbacks, intention to purchase, social influence, social trust and positive customer perception among the targeted population of Islamic banks. The study has summarized and offered practical recommendations to show how Islamic banks can address challenges and enjoy a high level of profitability compared to conventional banking systems.Originality/valueThe present study uncovered the steps that must be taken by the top management of Islamic banks to enhance levels of awareness, online product reviews and recommendations, e-word of mouth and purchase intentions of the targeted market. The study enhanced understanding regarding how a higher level of investment in social networking platforms, safe and secure banking systems and skilled IT professionals can address the challenges of Islamic banks. Furthermore, these factors can create positive UGC, social influence, social brand engagement and purchase intention of customers in Islamic banks. These primary factors must be considered by Islamic banks to compete with conventional banking products and services.

Survey and assessment of seabed resources from the Brazilian continental shelf by the law of the sea: From national to international jurisdictions

Known as “Blue Amazon”, the Brazilian Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ) has one of the richest marine ecosystems of the world with a huge potential of seabed resources. Focusing on the state of Brazil, the present study describes the state of the art of Brazilian maritime mining operations in the EEZ and areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BNJ), and further analysis it in the light of the main institutional arrangements and the compliance with the articles of The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) related to seabed resources. Thus, UNCLOS’ articles related to Brazilian seabed resources were evaluated for the EEZ and areas BNJ, as well as their resources and policies implemented for research, prospection and exploitation of them. In the period between 2000 and 2017, after 22 years of UNCLOS ratified in Brazil, most of these assessments were speculative and focused on the exploitation of seabed resources in the EEZ in the near future. Recent studies in areas BNJ showed, for the first time, the economic and political interest in exploiting the cobalt-rich crust (Rio Grande Rise) and polymetallic nodules (North Brazilian Chain). Despite the low levels of investment and technologies to explore huge depths in Brazilian EEZ and areas BNJ, the scientific programs and national policies pointed the resources of relevant mineral interest. Conservatively, the seabed resources of Brazilian EEZ and areas BNJ presented several peculiarities in the marine environment that demand certain instruments of mineral and environmental legislation be created in Brazil. Also, most of Brazilian programs and projects have few studies that focus on the impact of mining activities; instead, most focus on research and prospection to serve their scientific and economic interests. Special attention should be directed to seabed resources primarily for the South Atlantic, to establish a multi-use territory for present and future generations.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS AFFECTING POVERTY IN BALI PROVINCE, INDONESIA

ABSTRACT The issue of poverty is still a strategic development issue carried out by the Bali Provincial Government. The poverty reduction efforts have been carried out by the regencies/cities of Bali Province with various development programs, but the number of poor people still shows that there is a level of poverty inequality between regencies/cities in Bali Province. This study aims to examine and analyze the influence of social and economic factors on poverty levels in the Bali Province, Indonesia. The social factors in question are population density, unemployment rate, education, and life expectancy. While several economic factors studied included investment, income distribution, and contribution of the agricultural sector. The data in this study are panel data covering socio-economic data and poverty levels in nine regencies/cities in Bali Province during the period 2007-2017. Data analysis was carried out with a quantitative approach using panel data multiple regression methods and equipped with descriptive analysis. The results of the study showed that education, investment, and the contribution of the agricultural sector has a negative effect on poverty levels. Population density, unemployment rate, life expectancy, and income distribution has a positive effect on poverty levels. Suggestions to policy makers, first, the regencies with low investment levels (Bangli, Karangasem, and Jembrana Regencies) to make innovative breakthrough efforts to attract investors to invest according to the potential of each region to support the sustainable development of Bali; and second, the consistency of pro-poor principles of social assistance spending policies. KEY WORDS Poverty level, population density, unemployment rate, education, life expectancy, investment, income distribution, contribution of agricultural sector.

Built on Solid Foundations? Assessing the Links between City-Scale Land Titling, Tenure Security and Housing Investment

ABSTRACTThis paper interrogates the links between city-scale land titling, tenure security and housing investment, using a case study of the donor-funded Land Management and Administration Project (LMAP) in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. It finds that LMAP activities centred on titling in planned residential areas with ‘informal’ tenure, despite residents exhibiting strong pre-titling tenure security and substantial housing investments. In contrast, ‘informal’ self-built settlements with high tenure insecurity and low levels of investment were excluded from project activities. Resultantly, the project did not increase tenure security and investment for the most vulnerable urban dwellers. The paper discusses the reasons for the project’s shortcomings, revealing policy implications for city-scale titling projects, and speaking to wider academic debates on titling in urban areas.