World Index Research Articles

Evidence for disrupted gray matter structural connectivity in posttraumatic stress disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by atrophy within the prefrontal–limbic network. Graph analysis was used to investigate to what degree atrophy in PTSD is associated with impaired structural connectivity within prefrontal limbic network (restricted) and how this affects the integration of the prefrontal limbic network with the rest of the brain (whole-brain). 85 male veterans (45 PTSD neg, 40 PTSD pos) underwent volumetric MRI on a 3T MR. Subfield volumes were obtained using a manual labeling scheme and cortical thickness measurements and subcortical volumes from FreeSurfer. Regression analysis was used to identify regions with volume loss. Graph analytical Toolbox (GAT) was used for graph-analysis. PTSD pos had a thinner rostral anterior cingulate and insular cortex but no hippocampal volume loss. PTSD was characterized by decreased nodal degree (orbitofrontal, anterior cingulate) and clustering coefficients (thalamus) but increased nodal betweenness (insula, orbitofrontal) and a reduced small world index in the whole brain analysis and by orbitofrontal and insular nodes with increased nodal degree, clustering coefficient and nodal betweenness in the restricted analysis. PTSD associated atrophy in the prefrontal–limbic network results in an increased structural connectivity within that network that negatively affected its integration with the rest of the brain.

Economic freedom–growth nexus in European Union countries

ABSTRACTThis study examines the economic freedom and economic growth nexus in a panel of 28 European Union countries. We investigate the relationship between growth and different components of economic freedom, measured in five major areas of the Economic Freedom of the World index. The aim of the article is to assess which aspects of economic freedom – and to what extent – contribute to economic growth in the EU. Our empirical analyses suggest that the results are sensitive to the method of estimation. Using the Generalized Method of Moments estimator which allows addressing endogeneity, we found a positive relationship between economic growth and four of the five aspects of economic freedom: security of property rights, quality of monetary policy, freedom to trade and regulatory policies.

E-Readiness of India with Reference to National e-Governance Plan

days, Indian Government is coming up with the formula of 'minimum government and maximum governance'. This means providing a citizen centric and transparent but fast and simple governance which is only possible through the extensive use of information technology and leveraging digital government. In this direction, India has been harnessing the benefits of ICTs through their intensive program of National e-Governance Plan in 2006 with its 27 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs). The present paper is an attempt to evaluate India's e-readiness through different world class reports and indexes, and compare the status with the world leader to find out the areas of concern as the obstacles and challenges for being e-ready. The paper further describes the initiatives taken by the govt. of India to overcome these issues. Keywords-Readiness, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), e-Governance.

Factor Endowments, the Rule of Law & Structural Inequality: Testing the Engerman-Sokoloff Hypothesis

This paper provides an empirical test of the Engerman-Sokoloff hypothesis that factor endowments influenced the development of the rule of law, which in turn has shaped the income distribution. Using a measure of the suitability of land for growing wheat relative to sugarcane as an instrument for the rule of law, as measured by area 2 of the Economic Freedom of the World index, we estimate the potential causal impact of the rule of law on the long-run net income inequality. Conditioning on geography, ethnolinguistic fractionalization and legal tradition, the rule of law exerts a negative impact on inequality that is both economically and statistically significant. The results are robust to additional control variables, two alternative measures of the rule of law, an alternative instrumental variable, and the exclusion of strategic country samples and outliers.

Give Me Liberty and Give Me Control: Economic Freedom, Control Perceptions and the Paradox of Choice

We explore the relationship between individual control perceptions and the degree to which a country’s institutions and policies are consistent with the principles of economic freedom. Using data from the World Value Surveys and the Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) index, we find that people living in more economically free countries are more likely to perceive greater control over their lives. This effect is not diminishing at higher levels of economic freedom. One possible channel that explains this relationship is the perception of procedural fairness and social mobility. Decomposing the EFW index, we further find that limited government, sound money and regulatory freedom are all positively associated with control perceptions.

Social trust, institutional and political constraints on the executive and deregulation of markets

Social trust is frequently claimed to be conducive for economic reforms. Likewise, the scope of policy liberalization is influenced by the political power structure as manifested in institutional and political constraints on the executive (IPCE). However, social trust and IPCE are possibly intertwined in their effects on economic liberalization. This paper empirically explores the relationship between social trust, IPCE and the scope of economic deregulation as measured by the first difference in the regulation subindex of the Economic Freedom of the World index. The results provide evidence in favor of a positive association of social trust with deregulation and of a negative association between institutional or partisan veto-points and deregulation. Yet, according to our analysis IPCE are an obstacle for economic deregulation only in relatively low trusting environments and social trust unfolds a particular strength as driver of deregulation with increasing levels of IPCE.

Aiming for zero: what makes nations adopt carbon neutral pledges?

Amid widespread inaction in the face of the looming threat of climate change, the leaders of nine nation-states have opted for a bold, seemingly anomalous, course of action by making national carbon neutrality pledges. Because prior research has focused on why states fail to curb emissions, there is a paucity of research on why some states take a different path by committing to drastic emission reductions. This research aims to help fill that gap. First, a content analysis of 252 newspaper articles reveals that New Zealand made the first pledge and eight other states have followed. Second, fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis is used to compare political and social conditions in states with carbon neutral pledges to conditions in a randomly selected group of states without such pledges. Pledge states, compared to non-pledge states, have better governance scores on world indices, an abundant presence of global environmental NGOs, and smaller populations. Pledge states also have lower levels of income inequality (measured by Gini coefficients) than non-pledge states. I argue that these conditions (effective governance, abundant NGOs, small population sizes, and egalitarian class structures) facilitate collective action, and thus enabled some states to make carbon neutral pledges.

A currency preferential approach to international equity investment

We propose a Timex strategy for reducing the foreign exchange risk associated with international equity investment, pertaining to countries with currencies correctly or undervalued by the standard of PPP. The performance of Timex is examined from the perspectives of eight developed nations with long histories of free-floating currencies. Based on the data from 1986:Q1 to 2014:Q4, we find unambiguous evidence for the superior performance of Timex in the foreign exchange market. Compared with the passive diversification strategy and the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) World index, Timex offers higher total returns and risk-adjusted total returns when rebalanced every 6 or 12 months for investors based in all eight countries under study. When rebalanced at a 3-year interval, Timex outperforms the passive diversification and the MSCI World index for five and all eight countries, respectively.

Valuing Freedom and History in the Middle East

This paper qualitatively compares Mazinani’s model for the measurement of freedom, the called Full Freedom model, with the Human Development Index (HDI) and the Freedom of the World Index (FWI) and examines the advantages and disadvantages of using this model for the measurement of freedom in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The particularity of historical trajectories in the MENA will be held against the HDI and FWI. Then, shortcomings in Mazinani’s model for the measurement of freedom will be assessed in relation to this model’s dependency on its two competitors.

Asymmetric Information and Corporate Social Responsibility

This article addresses the question whether companies benefit from their commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR). The authors argue that firms which score high on CSR activities build investor confidence and find evidence that they benefit from lower information asymmetry. The authors measure information asymmetry by insider trading, which is defined as the trading of a company’s shares by corporate insiders who have an information advantage with the aim to reap gains or avoid losses. Using a sample of U.S. firms listed in the MSCI World Index during the period 2004 to 2013 and the firm- and industry-level CSR rating from Global Engagement Service (GES), the authors show that insider transactions in firms with a high score on CSR activities lead to lower abnormal returns. This investigation extends current literature on the business case for CSR by explaining the influence of CSR activities on asymmetric information.

Asymmetric Information and Corporate Social Responsibility

This article addresses the question whether companies benefit from their commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR). The authors argue that firms which score high on CSR activities build investor confidence and find evidence that they benefit from lower information asymmetry. The authors measure information asymmetry by insider trading, which is defined as the trading of a company’s shares by corporate insiders who have an information advantage with the aim to reap gains or avoid losses. Using a sample of U.S. firms listed in the MSCI World Index during the period 2004 to 2013 and the firm- and industry-level CSR rating from Global Engagement Service (GES), the authors show that insider transactions in firms with a high score on CSR activities lead to lower abnormal returns. This investigation extends current literature on the business case for CSR by explaining the influence of CSR activities on asymmetric information.

Establishing The Relative Competitiveness Of South African Banking Shares: A Kalman Filter Approach

<p>It is argued that the Basel III Accord will undermine the ROE of South African banks, and with the downgrading of South African banks during August 2014, will force investors to revaluate South African banking shares as attractive investment options. However, results from the Sharpe and Omega ratios, based on returns forecast using the Kalman filter, accentuate the likelihood that the South African industry can still be expected to be a competitive and feasible investment option after the downgrade. Evidence suggests that Capitec Bank Holdings Limited and Standard Bank Group Limited will perform the worst of all the South African banks, whereas FirstRand Limited, Investec Limited, and Barclays African Group will exhibit more promise in the future, outperforming world indices, such as the DAX, FTSE 100 and the S&P 500.</p>

Bank Systematic Risk and Basel III Regulatory Announcements: International Evidence

This paper examines the impact of five distinct Basel 3 announcements had on systematic risk levels of 122 internationally active banks in 37 countries over the sample period 2007-2013 using an extension of the Wagster (1996) market model. We extend the prior literature with methodology that captures the market reaction to banks’ systematic risk both from the relevant domestic country index and the World MSCI index as well as compared the responses of globally systematic important banks (G-SIBs) with other international banks. The G-SIBs in the sample had a higher level of systematic risk than their non-G-SIB counterparts throughout the sample period. Both groups showed a decrease in systematic risk in response to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision 2009 consultative document and also its 2013 liquidity revisions, but more so for the G-SIBs. In contrast, no change to systematic risk is found for the 2010 official Basel III release. Systematic risk increased against the country indexes for the 2011 G-SIB consultative document, more so for G-SIBs and for the official document release later in 2011 the G-SIB banks risk change with the world index. Finally, the systematic risk of the G-SIB and non G SIB banks both reduced significantly for the Basel III liquidity revision in 2013.

Russian institutional development: challenges to inbound investments and implications for government policymakers

This paper sets out to contribute to the literature by investigating the institutional arrangements facing investors in Russia, the extent to which they had been reformed, and the resultant impact on the willingness of foreign-owned TNCs to commit inbound foreign direct investment (IFDI) to this high-risk transition economy. The degree to which institutional factors explain Russia's persistent underperformance in terms of IFDI is assessed through the review of the academic literature and other documentary sources. Making use of the corruption perception index, ease of doing business, world governance indicators and index of economic freedom (IEF) data, we analyse the provenance of Russia's IFDI-related institutional reforms since the late 1990s until the end of 2013. Given the international isolation of Russia after its annexation of the Crimea and the collapse of the oil price, the paper argues that in order to achieve a sustainable economic development, the Russian Government must implement substantial shifts in the design and functioning of its national institutions.

EVALUATION OF THE MODERN TENDENCIES IN THE UKRAINIAN STOCK MARKET DEVELOPMENT

The purpose of the article is to research and critically evaluate the features of functioning and development the stock market in Ukraine. The main point is to substantiate modern tendencies and to find ways of more efficient development of the Ukrainian stock market. Methodology. The research is based on the analysis of the important aspects which characterize stock market development. They are the volume of trading activity that was done on stock exchanges, level of market capitalization, economic concentration, price policy on market services, and control over the insider information use and manipulation identification. Results. On the basis of volume of trading activity that was done on stock exchanges, features of stock market structure are determined. Comparative analysis between the stock market capitalization level of Ukraine and average world index of stock market capitalization is done. The level and dynamic of economic concentration is defined. Features of competition between Ukrainian stock exchanges are analyzed. Great attention in research is paid to problems of control over the insider information use and principles of manipulation identification by stock exchanges. Value/originality. The research showed that main amount of trading operations was done in “shadow” stock market, capitalization level decreased and stock market in Ukraine does not meet international standards of transparency. Further research should be focused on problems of ensuring the effective implementation of the basic principles of competition between market participants. Main point is to provide law mechanisms to increase transparency level of the national stock market and to increase share of organized stock market in Ukraine.

Economic Freedom, Investment Flexibility, and Equity Value: A Cross-Country Study

ABSTRACTPrior studies show that equity value has convex relations with earnings and book value of equity, respectively, due to growth and adaptation options (Burgstahler and Dichev 1997a; Zhang 2000). However, these studies do not consider the role of institutions in affecting firms' ability to exercise growth and adaptation options. In this study, we investigate whether these convex relations vary with the degree of a country's economic freedom, which may influence the frictions and costs of exercising these options. We develop four hypotheses: In countries with greater economic freedom: (1) a firm's capital investment in response to profitability is greater; (2) the relation between equity value and earnings, given equity book value, is more convex; (3) the relation between equity value and equity book value, given earnings, is more convex; and (4) the relation between stock return and profitability change is more convex. Using the Economic Freedom of the World index from the Fraser Institute, we test our hypotheses with data from 30 countries during the 2000–2010 period. The empirical results are consistent with these hypotheses. The effect of economic freedom that we document is distinct from the effects of GDP level and growth, legal origin, law enforcement, investor protection, and quality of accounting standards. Our results suggest that greater economic freedom enhances equity value through more efficient management of investment options.Data Availability: Data used in this study are available from public sources.

The Impact of Oil Price Shocks on the Stock Return in Emerging Markets: Evidence from the BRICS Group

This paper studies the relationship between oil price and financial market in the emerging economies. It employs the Vector Auto-Regression (VAR) analysis to estimate the impact of the oil price on the stock index's return in the BRICS group. Daily data was obtained from Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) World Index and BP for the oil price. The sample covers the period from 09/05/2005 till 30/03/2012.The results suggest that there is a significant interrelationship between the BRICS markets, except for South Africa, and the oil market. Oil prices do affect BRICS markets but to varying degrees. Brazil and Russia are more responsive to oil shocks in a positive way than the other markets in the study, on the other hand, the Indian and Chinese markets exhibit a negative response to oil shocks. As for the South African’s market, the response is small and slow.

The Wild Bunch! An empirical note on populism and economic institutions

The debate on populism has recently been revitalized by the rise of new political actors, especially in Latin America and Europe. Despite the renewed interest, the concept of populism remains vague, complicating any empirical investigation on its political and economic outcomes. Still, all populist politicians strongly emphasize the defense of the common man’s interest against those of privileged elites, suggesting that such governments will have notable implications for economic policy and institutions. Using a non-partisan indicator of populism, this paper seeks to assess the impact of populist policies on institutional change, as measured by the economic freedom of the world index. Results indicate that populist governments actively reduce economic freedom. In particular, they erode legal security, reduce freedom to trade, and tighten economic regulation. Findings expand on previous research with empirical methodology, questioning the importance of ideological orientation in some definitions of populism.

The dynamics of returns on renewable energy companies: A state-space approach

The renewable energy sector has accomplished remarkable growth rates over the last decade. This paper examines the dynamics of excess returns for the WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation Index, which lists firms in the renewable energy sector and is used as a global benchmark. We propose a multi-factor asset pricing model with time-varying coefficients to study the role of energy prices and stock market indices as explanatory factors. Our results suggest a strong influence of the MSCI World index and technology stocks throughout the sample period. The influence of changes in the oil price is significantly lower, although oil has become more influential from 2007 onwards. We also find evidence for underperformance of the renewable energy sector relative to the considered pricing factors after the financial crisis.

Structural connectivity analysis reveals abnormal brain connections in agenesis of the corpus callosum in children.

Structural connectivity analysis is an ideal tool to study connections in brain malformations. We aimed to characterize the topological network measures and study sub-networks in children with agenesis of the corpus callosum (AgCC). We hypothesized a more segregated structural network in children with AgCC. Structural connectivity analysis including topology analysis and network-based-statistics was applied in children with AgCC and age-matched controls. Probabilistic-tractography and brain segmentation into 108 regions were performed. For controls, structural connectivity has been analyzed after excluding the callosal connections ('virtual callosotomy'). Ten patients (six males, mean age 6.5 years, SD 4.5 years) and ten controls (mean age 5.9 years, SD 4.7 years) were included. In patients, topology analysis revealed higher clustering coefficient and transitivity and lower small world index and assortativity compared to controls. The bilateral insula were identified as hubs in patients, whereas the cerebellum was detected as a hub only in controls. Three sub-networks of increased connectivity were identified in patients. We found reduced global and increased local connectivity in children with AgCC compared to controls. Neural plasticity in AgCC may attempt to increase the interhemispheric connectivity through alternative decussating pathways other than the corpus callosum. • The structural connectivity analysis quantifies white-matter networks within the brain • In callosal agenesis there is reduced global and increased local connectivity • In callosal agenesis, alternative decussating pathways are used for interhemispheric connectivity.