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The purpose of this study is to provide an empirical analysis of the impact of external debt on total factor productivity (TFP) and growth along with the TFP channel through which external debt affects the growth of heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs).

This study uses panel data econometrics; basically, the seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) and alternative non-linear (panel threshold) models. For robustness check, it also uses panel-corrected standard errors, feasible generalized least squares and SUR (using alternative variables).

External debt significantly reduces both TFP and growth. Besides, it confirms that the relationship between external debt and TFP and gross domestic product growth is non-linear. Further external debt can affect the growth of HIPCs through the TFP channel. However, the threshold model result reveals weak evidence of threshold values although there are some threshold values of 67 and 54 for TFP and growth models, respectively.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on most concerned countries (HIPCs) that shows a detailed and complete analysis of the TFP channel and the impact of external debt on growth. Thus, it provides appropriate and sound policies that consider the unique characteristics of the countries. Unlike most previous findings, this study does not support an inverted U-shape relationship between external debt and growth. Further, it provides insights into the relationships among TFP, external debt and growth. Moreover, it considers basic panel econometric tests like cross-sectional dependence, uses a non-linear simultaneous equations model along with the alternative non-linear model and is supported by different robustness checks.

The purpose of this study to investigate the sensitivity of stability and insolvency of the Tunisian financial banking with respect to banks’ specific factors as well as to the macroeconomic conditions (including gross domestic product growth, inflation rate, foreign direct investment [FDI], EXRate, INT and unemp) during 2005–2014 period covering 2011 Tunisian revolution.

The variables of interest the financial institution stability which is measured by Z-score and solvency indicators that are determined by the capital adequacy ratio (CAP) and deposits to assets (DTA). This study seeks to assess the linkages among them (causality, magnitude and duration) that may shed some light on the micro-financial vulnerabilities that are associated with the macroeconomic environment and the monetary authority policy. To do so, this study considers two models: a panel vector autoregressif-X model for the tri-variate vector (Z-score, DTA, CAP) estimated by a system generalized method of moments after a forward mean-differencing and a dynamic seemingly unrelated regression model for the bi-variate vector (Z-score, DTA) estimated by 3LS.

Results say that there is a uni-directional contemporaneous negative relationship from stability to insolvency. Stability evolution can be attributed to both macroeconomic conditions and banks’ specific factors, whereas insolvency is attributed only to banks’ specific factors. Stability was found to increase when growth rate and FDI rise, whereas instability increases when interest rate rises, exchange rate depreciates and if inflation is high. Stability increases also when CAP increases. However, compared to conventional banks (CBs), Islamic banks (IBs) are found to be more solvent than CBs, and more stable post 2011 Tunisian revolution.

As fluctuation in inflation and exchange rate could lead to high interest rates and hence decreases the stability of the financial sectors, Tunisian monetary authority is advised to practice low interest rate policy.

This paper attends not only to compare the response of stability and insolvency to the effect of exogenous variables (macroeconomic and financial factors) in Tunisian banks but also to detect short run and long run feedback effects between dependent variables as well as to investigate whether IBs and CBs present evident heterogeneity of stability and insolvency evolution in relation to 2011 Tunisian revolution.

In this paper we investigate the influence of institutional investors on share prices using data from companies quoted on the Athens Stock Exchange. For finance theorists the value of an investment, real or financial, is a function of its expected benefits and the riskiness of these benefits. Whatever influences are exerted by the structure of equity ownership are diversified away by efficient risk‐averse investors. Managerial and agency theorists argue that the particular ownership structure may have an effect on share value or returns. Their arguments are based (mainly) on the consequences of the separation of ownership from control. In addition to traditional methods of estimation we have used Chamberlain’s (1982) multivariate panel data estimator, which allows for arbitrary patterns of error autocorrelation and parameter temporal behavior. Among all alternative methods of estimation used, only this one produced a statistically significant and econometrically well specified relationship between share prices and institutional shareholdings.

This article deals with how to test for and evaluate interdependence among control practices in a management control system using structural equation modeling. Empirical research on the levers of control (LOC) framework is used as an example. In LOC research, a path model approach to interdependence has been developed. The appropriateness of this approach is evaluated, developed, and compared with the correlation of residuals approach (seemingly unrelated regression) implemented in the wider complementarity literature. Empirical examples of the different models are shown and compared by using a data set on LOC of 120 SBUs in Sweden. The empirical results show that modeling interdependence among control practices in a management control system as non-recursive (bi-directional) paths or as residual correlations evidently affects the conclusions drawn about interdependence in terms of both presence and magnitude. The two models imply different views on how to conceptualize interdependence and are not statistically and empirically comparable. If using non-recursive path models, several model specification issues appear. To be able to identify such models, this needs to be carefully considered in the theory and research design prior to data collection.

This paper presents a model for the simulation of dynamic behaviours of a coupled magneto‐mechanical system. The magnetic equation is solved with the help of the finite element method. The local magnetic material saturation is considered. The moving band technique is used for accounting the movement. The magnetic torque of permanent magnet synchronous machine is calculated from the field solution according to virtual work principle and then introduced in the mechanical motion equation to calculate the shaft position. The complete differential equation system is solved with an iterative procedure.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the evolution of a company in Argentina with the support of the viable system model (VSM) and the Viplan method. This company had had a cybernetic intervention in the 1980s and in 2002 went out of business. The authors' purpose was revisiting the company with the lenses of current organizational cybernetics to find new insights from its history.

The history was constructed by one of the authors, who was a key player in the company. He also obtained the views of other people who had worked in the company. These data were assessed interactively by the two authors using the VSM and the Viplan method.

Though a functional application of the VSM may be helpful to highlight communication and information requirements, it yields limited insights about viability. It is the assessment of relationships within the organization and with environmental agents that offers more valuable results.

Often retrospective studies have limited value; it is easy to construct history to fit particular interests. However, the authors had very different backgrounds, one highly involved with the company's history, the other interested in clarifying the use of the VSM. The first wanted to provide an accurate history and the second insights to improve the application of the VSM.

The approach of the paper is focused on a particular and unique situation. Also the paper goes beyond the more traditional functional applications of the VSM. It is an application focused on people's relations and performance.

“It should also be noted that the objective of convergence and equal distribution, including across under-performing areas, can hinder efforts to generate growth. Contrariwise, the objective of competitiveness can exacerbate regional and social inequalities, by targeting efforts on zones of excellence where projects achieve greater returns (dynamic major cities, higher levels of general education, the most advanced projects, infrastructures with the heaviest traffic, and so on). If cohesion policy and the Lisbon Strategy come into conflict, it must be borne in mind that the former, for the moment, is founded on a rather more solid legal foundation than the latter” European Commission (2005, p. 9)Adaptation of Cohesion Policy to the Enlarged Europe and the Lisbon and Gothenburg Objectives.

This paper gives a bibliographical review of the finite element and boundary element parallel processing techniques from the theoretical and application points of view. Topics include: theory – domain decomposition/partitioning, load balancing, parallel solvers/algorithms, parallel mesh generation, adaptive methods, and visualization/graphics; applications – structural mechanics problems, dynamic problems, material/geometrical non‐linear problems, contact problems, fracture mechanics, field problems, coupled problems, sensitivity and optimization, and other problems; hardware and software environments – hardware environments, programming techniques, and software development and presentations. The bibliography at the end of this paper contains 850 references to papers, conference proceedings and theses/dissertations dealing with presented subjects that were published between 1996 and 2002.

The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the variables having an impact on profitability of public private partnerships (PPPs) in India using a balanced panel data of 171 unlisted PPPs from different infrastructure sectors such as road, power generation, real estate and ports.

Estimations were done using Arellano–Bond dynamic panel data estimation and seemingly unrelated regression models on a balanced panel data of 855 firm-years for 171 unlisted PPPs in India. To further test the estimation robustness, panel-corrected standard errors model was used.

The study findings indicate that in firm-specific factors, leverage, size, non-debt tax shield, growth and risk have significant positive impact on PPPs’ profitability, whereas in macroeconomic factors, only inflation has significant positive relationship. Although the relationship of all determinants is in sync with various theories and approaches, but these are not significant. Using the robustness test, the results are found to be robust and consistent with resource-based view and strategy-structure-performance approaches.

As PPPs are gaining prominence in the development of infrastructural resources, their profitability is of significant importance to drive private investments in infrastructure development, the identification of factors which determine profitability is critical for researchers, practitioners, policymakers and fund providers such as equity investors and debt providers.

The empirical literature on profitability determinants is focused on various sectors including small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) and micro firms, but to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study, in both developed and developing economies, to empirically investigate the determinants of profitability for PPPs.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent that interest subsidies have impacted on the total production of Swedish single‐ and multifamily houses. It also intends to examine whether tenure neutrality provision of interest subsidy that subsidy policy advocates was maintained.

Using a multiple regression of two models, a balanced panel data from 1975 to 2006 that consist of various related construction cost variables of all regions of Sweden will be analyzed. Instrumental variable (IV) and seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) will be utilized to examine the role of subsidy on housing production and tenure neutrality, respectively.

The results seem to indicate that a general subsidy is expected to be ineffective since it may increase the existing stocks of a low demand region but not the housing stocks of big regions where the demand is high. Moreover, a targeted subsidy may change the balance between different types of housings since lower construction costs due to the subsidy could favor the development of certain profitable housing types.

The paper tries to substantiate (empirically) the assertion that subsidy policies contributed both to the production of housing units in low demand regions and distortion of the preference of different tenures.