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The present study aims at using a broader data set and longer time frame coupled with a relatively rigorous and robust methodology to examine the effect of real exchange rate volatility on foreign direct investment (FDI) in a small and developing country such as Ghana.

Time series data covering the period 1970‐2002 were used. ARCH and GARCH models were employed for the determination of real exchange rate volatility, and co‐integration and ECM were used to determine both the short‐ and the long‐term relationships.

The study showed that the volatility of the real exchange rate has a negative influence on FDI inflow and that the liberalization process has not led to a greater inflow of FDI in Ghana. It is also revealed that while both the stock of FDI and political factors are likely to attract FDI, most foreign investors do not consider the size of the market in making a decision to invest or otherwise in Ghana.

The main contribution of the study is its departure from the use of ratios in examining the effect of real exchange rate risk on FDI to a more rigorous and robust methodology, coupled with the fact that studies of this nature are virtually non‐existent in Ghana.

Draft regulations published for consultation by the government under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 would create statutory rights of action for loss suffered as a result of regulatory breach by banks and insurers, and would extend such rights to cases where an authorised firm exceeds the scope of its regulatory permission. Although the effect may, in many cases, be to impose strict liability in a wide range of cases, no case has been made out to justify the expansion of statutory civil liability in the financial services sector.

The purpose of this paper is to present a “human ecology economics (HEE)” framework for understanding economic growth and development challenges in Eastern Europe.

The HEE approach relies on evolutionary and complex systems processes; it expands the field of ecological economics by incorporating interdisciplinary material from the humanities; and it allows a long‐run perspective with a focus on sustainability of human systems. Using this framework and primary research from Hungary, Estonia, and Azerbaijan, challenges to Eastern European development are identified.

The main limit to Eastern European sustainable development is not “production capital”, i.e. the availability of natural resources, fixed human‐made capital, and intermediate consumption, but instead shortages of “transaction capital”, i.e. “social capital, informational capital, and financial capital.”

Rigorous analytical models of, and precise predictions of, change in the human ecology are at present not possible using evolutionary and complex systems approaches; however, Eastern Europe can be fruitfully studied through the HEE approach, and certain simulation methods and lessons from recent history are suggested.

Greater support for various kinds of transaction capital is recommended, including for social and communication networks, for information exchange between small and medium size businesses, for innovation and creative learning by doing, for financial intermediation, for better inter‐party cooperation at the national level, etc.

The need for greater social cooperation, including a reduction in discrimination exercised by dominant individuals or groups, arises as a more important pre‐condition for sustainable economic growth than is commonly believed.

Scholars, policymakers, and practitioners might appreciate the more comprehensive interdisciplinary framework for understanding economic growth and development challenges in Eastern Europe, especially the role played by intangible belief systems, social agreements, and levels of cooperation.

This research aims to evaluate the factors that influence logistics outsourcing, including the impact of logistics outsourcing on measuring companies' logistics performance. This research provides interactions among the various factors (constructs) such as “financial”, “collaboration and process characteristics”, “external influencer”, and “logistics performance”.

To investigate the interaction between the constructs, structural equation modelling is proposed to understand what the relevant criteria are while outsourcing logistics. Data were acquired from surveys conducted with 129 managers from Brazilian companies in the industry sector.

The factor “collaboration and process characteristics” is what most influences the “logistics performance” of companies, highlighting the importance of managing contractors; and the “financial” factor also contributes to the logistic outsourcing decision.

Some limitations of this study need to be clarified. First, the model could test the moderate and mediate aspects by using variables inspired on RBV and TCE. Second, the sample is relatively small and restricted to the Brazilian industries' case, although the results may be useful for other countries in the world. Third, the responses represent viewpoints of the people who work in the companies. To address this issue, the authors asked respondents to fill out the questionnaire from the perspective of the organisation.

Most 3PL come from developed countries and find different requirements in Brazil. Then, this new knowledge may help 3L providers better understand the needs of the local or foreign companies that operate in the local market. The measurement model may also help to construct a new organisational process, as it sheds light on the main elements necessary for gathering logistics performance outcomes.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, the literature lacks studies on the interaction among these logistics outsourcing constructs, mainly in emerging markets where significant growth opportunities have led to logistics activities being outsourced. The literature that examines the impact of these constructs on logistics performance is also limited. Therefore, this research contributes to providing a model that measures these impacts according to the company's point of view.

Studies of entrepreneurial learning have shown a preference for learning from the business context and business relationships. Within this business context, larger organisations are focusing on their supply chains as a significant source of strategic advantage, impacting on the competences required by SMEs to meet expectations. Uses a supply chain competence map to investigate the level to which 39 manufacturing SMEs demonstrate the competences expected by suppliers. The research sample showed a high degree of external and supply chain orientation. Highlight the fact that, given the right support and a willingness to engage with the external business environment, supply chains offer an alternative development opportunity for SMEs. Moreover, it is a learning model that suits their preferred learning style. What is not clear is whether the customer organisations are willing, or able, to support that learning.

Sri Lanka with its rich cultural heritage has a resurgent economy. Despite tumultuous internal struggles, the Sri Lankan economy has shown resilience and has forged ahead showing a satisfactory rate of growth. Judging from the nearly 12 percent per year rise of tourism, and the increase in foreign investments by those who have studied the prospects, including investors from America, it could be safely concluded that Sri Lanka remains a land of opportunity.

The purpose of this paper is to review the laws in relation to the role of the securities markets in protecting small investors and examine legal cases that have recently been observed in this area.

A research-based qualitative analysis was undertaken to determine the governing authorities on the subject of international trade contracts globally. Various internet searches were conducted and information was collected to represent the subject at large and to the best and most current understanding. The information was assessed in its joined context to prepare recommendations for best practice.

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the rights of small investors in public shareholding companies are protected through many different legal stipulations that all must adhere to in order to offer stock. Through an examination of the laws of the UAE in relation to securities markets’ roles and responsibilities, a clear picture of protection is created that ensures small investors’ risks are minimized. In this regard, the UAE has implemented additional regulations in comparison to any other country as evident through the Doing Business Report (2014).

The review of available documents is limited to UAE and hence cannot be generalized into a broader context.

This paper work contributes the research about the existing conditions of securities markets of protected small investor in UAE stock exchange market as serious as that of protecting the national economy.

This paper analyzes the connection between black political protest and mobilization, and the rise and fall of a black urban regime. The case of Oakland is instructive because by the mid-1960s the ideology of “black power” was important in mobilizing two significant elements of the historically disparaged black community: (1) supporters of the Black Panthers and, (2) neighborhood organizations concentrated in West Oakland. Additionally, Oakland like the city of Atlanta also developed a substantial black middle class that was able to mobilize along the lines of its own “racialized” class interests. Collectively, these factors were important elements in molding class-stratified “black power” and coalitional activism into the institutional politics of a black urban regime in Oakland. Ultimately, reversal factors would undermine the black urban regime in Oakland. These included changes in the race and class composition of the local population: black out-migration, the “new immigration,” increasing (predominantly white) gentrification, and the continued lack of opportunity for poor and working-class blacks, who served as the unrequited base of the black urban regime. These factors would change the fortunes of black political life in Oakland during the turbulent neoliberal era.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of equity ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) for over 2,000 listed firms in China. The paper examines both the pattern of state ownership and the dynamics of stock returns and volatility. Firms under the control of SOEs dominate the Chinese stock markets and currently account for over three-quarters of total market capitalisation. Central SOEs are focused in strategic industries, while Local SOEs concentrate on pillar industries relating to consumer goods and services.

The authors obtain firm-level data from the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets and using panel estimation techniques examine the dynamics of returns, volatility and their relationship.

The authors report an increase in state control among listed firms compared to earlier reported figures. This is contradictory to the expectation of a lower state influence following China joining of the World Trade Organisation in 2001. In examining the behaviour of stock returns the authors find evidence of daily and monthly autocorrelations that are larger and of a different sign to that reported for western markets. The authors also report evidence of volatility persistence but little evidence of volatility asymmetry, again in contrast to that often reported for other markets. Finally, the authors find evidence of either no or a negative relationship between returns and volatility (risk) that differs from our usual view of risk aversion.

It is hoped, knowledge of these dynamics will increase the understanding of the Chinese equity market, which in turn is important for those engaged in international portfolio management and micro-structure modelling.