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Housing market is predominantly driven by supply and demand, and the measurement of housing supply plays a crucial role in understanding market dynamics. One such measure is the number of building permits (BPs) issued. Despite the importance of BPs as an economic indicator, direct links have yet to be drawn between BP and housing value index (HVI). The purpose of this paper is to establish links between HVI and BP.

Trials were conducted using data at the national, state and metropolitan statistical area (MSA) levels. For each trial, the Granger causality test was used first to identify causal relationships between HVI and BP. Subsequently, the vector autoregression model was implemented in an attempt to observe impulse–response relationships and to create a forecast for HVI.

Bidirectional causal relationships were observed between HVI and BP at the national, state and MSA levels. The number of issued BPs proves to be an indicator for HVI. Impulse response functions indicate that HVI responds negatively to an increase in BP in the short term of 4–7 months but positively to an increase in BP with a lag of 10–12 months.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first in the body of knowledge that establishes the number of issued BPs as an indicator for housing value. The results drawn using impulse–response function are also novel and had not been observed in previous studies.

The global financial crisis (GFC) of 2007–2008 had far-reaching consequences for the global economy, triggering widespread economic turmoil. We use the event-study method to investigate whether investors priced the effect of significant events before the Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy in European and Asia-Pacific banks. Abnormal returns on the event days range from −4.32% to 5.03% in Europe and −5.13% to 6.57% in Asia-Pacific countries. When Lehman Brothers went bankrupt on September 15, 2008, abnormal returns averaged the lowest at −4.32% in Europe and −5.13% in Asia-Pacific countries. The significant abnormal returns show that Lehman Brothers' collapse was a turning point, and investors paid attention to the precrisis events as warning signs of the oncoming crisis.

Private residential construction spending (PRRESCON) is an important indicator for assessing housing supply/demand and economic strength. Currently, there are no comprehensive studies on PRRESCON forecasting. This study aims to address the gap in knowledge by conducting a comprehensive exploration of indicators for PRRESCON using time series methods.

Granger causality test trials were conducted between PRRESCON and all of its potential indicators before the vector autoregression model was implemented. Extensive effort was exerted toward model interpretation in the form of impulse–response functions.

Impulse–response functions indicated that the escalation of labor supply, material/construction costs and issued building permits at any given time consistently had a positive impact on PRRESCON 10–11 months later, with a 95% confidence interval. Conversely, the unemployment rate and housing value escalations at any given time were found to have a negative impact on PRRESCON 10–11 months later in more than 95% of the instances. Furthermore, material/construction cost escalations at any given time were shown to have a negative impact on PRRESCON 7 months later in more than 95% of the instances.

Current forecasting literature on construction spending focuses exclusively on the parameter’s relationship with gross domestic product and the architectural billing index. This study reveals many additional indicators, many of which are directly related to the implementation of housing development projects. The paper is also the first in the body of forecasting literature, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to conduct impulse–response analysis on residential construction spending.

This case requires students to evaluate alternative dual-share-class corporate structures that allow companies and entrepreneurs to pursue profit with purpose. The case explores Impact Makers, an IT consulting company based in Richmond, Virginia. While original founders of the firm hold all voting rights, the cash flow rights belong to two nonprofits setting the stage for a Newman's Own model of management consulting. The case discusses whether and how the alternative corporate structure aids the firm's overall strategy to attract top-quality employees, pay them competitive salaries, and provide superior service to its clients while donating 100% of its lifetime value to charitable causes, largely through partnerships with various nonprofit organizations. More importantly, the case asks students to evaluate how such a dual-share-class and dual-purpose company can raise capital to fund continued growth.

The case opens with CEO Michael Pirron reminding himself of all the questions he had run through to execute a strategy to further grow Impact Makers' consulting business both through expanding a menu of services and through conquering new geographical markets. To do either, or both, the company needed a cash infusion. Internal cash was limited, as up to 40% of it flowed to charitable partners, demonstrating Impact Makers' commitment to its mission. Raising debt for a company without fixed assets was challenging and time consuming. Complicating it all was that being structured as a nonstock corporation rendered equity raising difficult. Could Impact Makers raise money to grow and stay true to community values at the same time?

The purpose of the paper is twofold: first, to observe the relationship between sale to list ratio (SLR)/ for-sale inventory (FSI)/ sale count nowcast (SCN) and real/nominal housing value, and second, to produce a handbook of empirical evidence that can serve as a foundation for future research on this topic.

This paper broadly compiles empirical evidence, using three of the most common causality tests in the field of housing economics. The analysis methods include lagged Pearson correlation test, Granger causality test and cointegration test.

Causal relationships were observed between SLR/FSI/SCN and both nominal and real housing values. SLR and SCN showed positive long-term correlations with housing value, whereas FSI had a negative correlation. Adjusting the housing value with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to derive real housing values could potentially alter the direction of the causal relationships. It is crucial to distinguish the long-term relationship from temporal dynamics, as FSI displayed a positive immediate impulse–response relationship with nominal housing price despite the negative long-term correlation.

SLR/FSI/SCN are housing market parameters that have only recently begun to be documented and have seen little use in research. So far, housing market research has revolved around traditional macroeconomic indicators such as unemployment rate. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first studies that introduce these three parameters into housing market research.

Systems thinking calls for a shift of our mindset from seeing just parts to seeing the whole reality in its structured dynamic unity and interconnectedness. Systems thinking fosters a sensibility to see subtle connections between components and parts of reality, especially the free enterprise capitalist system (FECS). It enables us to see ourselves as active participants or partners of FECS and not mere induced factors of its production–distribution–consumption processes. Systems thinking seeks to identify the economic “structures” that underlie complex situations in FECS that bring about high versus low leveraged changes. A system is strengthened and reinforced by feedback of reciprocal exchanges that makes the system alive, transparent, human, and humanizing.

In Part I, we explore basic laws or patterns of behaviors as understood by systems thinking; in Part II we examine the basic archetypes or structured behaviors of systems thinking; in both parts we strive to see reality through the lens of critical thinking to help us understand patterns and structures of behavior among systems and their component parts. In conclusion, we argue for compatibility and complementarity of critical thinking and systems thinking to identify and resolve management problems created by our flawed thinking, and sedimented by our wanton assumptions, presumptions, suppositions and presuppositions, biases, and prejudices. Such thinking will also identify unnecessary economic and political structures of the self-serving policies we create, which imprison us.

The main purpose of this paper is to establish the mediating effect of credit counselling in the relationship between access to microcredit and survival of micro small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa post COVID-19 pandemic with data collected from rural Uganda.

Structural equation modelling (SEM) through SmartPLS 4.0 was used to generate the standardized parameters to test whether credit counselling mediates the relationship between access to microcredit and survival of MSMEs in developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa post COVID-19 pandemic with data collected from rural Uganda.

The SEM bootstrap results revealed that credit counselling enhances access to microcredit by 27% to promote survival of MSMEs in developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa post COVID-19 pandemic with data collected from rural Uganda.

The current study focused only on women MSMEs. Future studies may possibly collect data from all the MSMEs to draw better generalization of the findings within the sector.

The findings can help public finance policy to ensure provision of credit counselling to microentrepreneurs who borrow from different financial institutions to reduce the problem of loan defaults and delinquency rampant in lending. This could be done through conducting routine business education and counselling sessions for microentrepreneurs who often need credit to grow their businesses.

This study is amongst the first few studies to establish the mediating effect of credit counselling in the relationship between access to microcredit and survival of MSMEs in developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic with data collected from rural Uganda. There is a dearth in literature and theory on the rehabilitative and preventive role of credit counselling in reducing repayment defaults amongst borrowers within the credit market to spur survival of MSMEs seen as the main enabler of economic growth, especially in developing countries. In fact, credit counselling acts as a safety net by substituting financial literacy and education to solve the rampant problem of overindebtedness amongst borrowers who are debt illiterate within the credit market.

International evidence of corporate demand for ‘aesthetic labour’ has stimulated a growing and important literature on the strategic, commercial, legal, gendered and ethical aspects of this labour process (see Spiess & Waring, 2005; Warhurst & Nickson, 2009; Warhurst et al., 2000; Waring, 2011; Witz et al., 2003). There is some evidence to suggest that the growth in ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ strategies and practices by larger firms provides a level of recognition of the need to avoid discriminatory practices based on the physical characteristics of employees whether these be overt, structural or as a result of unconscious bias. It is argued that the emergence of ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ strategies are not just in response to regulatory demands or an enlightened ‘character over characteristics’ approach to hiring, but stems from a desire to meet contemporary Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expectations. In turn this corporate motivation is frequently driven by commercial concerns such as the need to attract and retain capital and talent.

In this chapter, the intersection of aesthetic labour, appearance-based discrimination, corporate Diversity and Inclusion strategies and CSR is explored. Through the examination of Fortune 500 ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ strategies and approaches to CSR, the intent behind the resourcing of ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ and its relationship to CSR is critically assessed. This critical assessment discloses both genuine efforts to reject unethical forms of ‘lookism’ or ‘appearance-based discrimination’ but also several contradictions. These include contradictions between the rhetoric of diversity and CSR and the continuation of aesthetic labour strategies for commercial advantage. Further, the research finds that the physical representation of ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ efforts are sometimes themselves exploited for commercial gain.