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Book part
Publication date: 9 February 2024

Attilio Trezzini

Hazel Kyrk’s contribution is the most advanced formulation of the economics of consumption as a social phenomenon, an approach to the analysis of consumption that, originated from…

Abstract

Hazel Kyrk’s contribution is the most advanced formulation of the economics of consumption as a social phenomenon, an approach to the analysis of consumption that, originated from Veblen’s theory, was developed in the US in the early 20th century. This approach was part of a wider stream of empirical analyses of consumption expenditure that had begun more than a century earlier.

Along with elements that can be traced back to the neoclassical tradition, in Keynes’ analysis of consumption, we find original elements. The dependence of consumption expenditure on the level of income, which is essential for asserting the principle of effective demand, can also be found in a long tradition of empirical studies. In qualifying this relationship, Keynes uses theoretical elements echoing key insights of the economics of consumption as a social phenomenon. There is no documentary evidence that Kyrk or the economics of the social relevance of consumption came to Keynes’ attention. It is possible, however, to develop reasonable speculative considerations to argue a link between Keynes’ elaboration and both the empirical literature on the determinants of consumption and the economics of consumption as a social phenomenon.

Details

Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology: Including a Symposium on Hazel Kyrk's: A Theory of Consumption 100 Years after Publication
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-991-8

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 19 January 2024

Richard P. F. Holt

Abstract

Details

Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology: Including a Symposium on John Kenneth Galbraith: Economic Structures and Policies for the Twenty-first Century
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-931-4

Article
Publication date: 4 July 2023

Neeraj Jain and Smita Kashiramka

This study aims to investigate the effects of peers on corporate payout policies in one of the largest emerging markets – India. It also examines the motives for mimicking payout…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the effects of peers on corporate payout policies in one of the largest emerging markets – India. It also examines the motives for mimicking payout decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample is composed of 3,024 non-financial and non-government firms listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) for the period 1995 to 2020. To encounter the endogeneity problem, the instrumental variable technique based on peer firms' idiosyncratic risk is used to estimate the effects of peers on firms' payout policy. To define peer reference groups, the authors use the basic industry classification of the firms.

Findings

The results indicate a significant positive impact of peers on firms' dividend policies in India. A firm with all dividend-paying peers is more likely to declare dividends than the one with no dividend-paying peers. Further, peer effects are found to be more pronounced amongst larger and older firms, thus supporting the rivalry theory of mimicking.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, the present study is the first of its kind that attempts to understand peer effects on payout decisions in an emerging market India, that offers a unique institutional setting. Moreover, the authors extend the existing literature by investigating the peer effects on a firm's payout policies considering various firm-level characteristics, such as growth opportunity, cash holding, financial constraint and profitability, which previous studies have not taken into consideration. These results provide additional insights into the heterogeneity and motives behind peer effects.

Details

International Journal of Managerial Finance, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1743-9132

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 19 January 2024

Steven Pressman

Economists usually shy away from talking about power. They assume an economy comprised of many small and medium-sized firms, each competing for consumer dollars. This circumvents…

Abstract

Economists usually shy away from talking about power. They assume an economy comprised of many small and medium-sized firms, each competing for consumer dollars. This circumvents the problem of economic power. John Kenneth Galbraith, however, refused to ignore power. It stood at the center of his economics, and he saw it as a key reason the US economy thrived in the years following World War II (WWII). This chapter examines Galbraith’s changing views regarding economic power. American Capitalism explains how countervailing power, or power on the other side of the market, solves the problem of economic power. In The New Industrial State, scientists and educated managers within the firm (the technostructure) mitigate the negative consequences of economic power wielded by large firms. The Affluent Society and Economics and the Public Purpose look to the government as the main check on corporate power. It does this through labor legislation or programs such as the New Deal and Fair Deal. This chapter then evaluates the different solutions Galbraith proffered to the problem of economic power. It contends that Galbraith got three things right when analyzing economic power. First, we no longer live in a world of scarcity due to oligopolistic firms. Second, capitalism was different in the post-WWII era because the US economy thrived and gains were shared widely. Third, Galbraith understood that power was unequally distributed – both between the public and private sectors and within the private sector itself. On the other hand, Galbraith was overly optimistic in believing the market economy or the public sector could counter corporate power.

Details

Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology: Including a Symposium on John Kenneth Galbraith: Economic Structures and Policies for the Twenty-first Century
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-931-4

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 September 2023

Olumide O. Olaoye and Mulatu F. Zerihun

The study investigates the effectiveness of government policies to mitigate the impact of a pandemic. The study adopts the small open economy of Nigeria for the following reasons…

Abstract

Purpose

The study investigates the effectiveness of government policies to mitigate the impact of a pandemic. The study adopts the small open economy of Nigeria for the following reasons. First, Nigeria is the largest economy in SSA. Second, Nigeria was also significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed the time-varying structural autoregressive (TVSVAR) model to control for the potential asymmetry in fiscal variables and to control for the shift in the structural shift, following a macroeconomic shock. As a form of robustness, the study also implements the time-varying Granger causality to formally assess the temporal instability of the variable of interest.

Findings

The results show that an oil price shock is an important source of macroeconomic instability in Nigeria. Importantly, the results indicate that the effects of fiscal policy are strongly time varying. Specifically, the results show that fiscal policy helps to stabilize the economy, (i.e. they help to reduce inflation and spur output growth) following macroeconomic shock. Further, the Granger test shows that fiscal policy helped to spur growth in Nigeria. The research and policy implications are discussed.

Originality/value

The study accounts for the time-varying effects of fiscal policy.

Details

African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-0705

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Book part
Publication date: 19 January 2024

Alexandre Chirat, Basile Clerc and Richard P. F. Holt

In 1979, Galbraith wrote a manuscript titled “The Social Consequences of Inflation and Unemployment and Their Remedies.” The manuscript was found in the John Kenneth Galbraith…

Abstract

In 1979, Galbraith wrote a manuscript titled “The Social Consequences of Inflation and Unemployment and Their Remedies.” The manuscript was found in the John Kenneth Galbraith Personal Papers at the John F. Kennedy Library. The reasons for Galbraith to write the article might appear at first glance to be purely contextual. At the macroeconomic level, the United States was experiencing stagflation, a situation unseen since 1945, resulting in double-digit inflation rates and high unemployment. A policy debate was going on about the Phillips curve and whether there is a trade-off between inflation and unemployment. Milton Friedman challenged the Keynesian analyses of the Phillips curve in the mid-1960s (Friedman, 1977). Galbraith’s 16-page draft manuscript provides us an incisive summary of Galbraith’s views about the causes of stagflation and what can be done about it. He provides us with an alternative to the neoclassical synthesis of Samuelson and Solow and the neoliberal thinking of Milton Friedman and F.A. Hayek.

Details

Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology: Including a Symposium on John Kenneth Galbraith: Economic Structures and Policies for the Twenty-first Century
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-931-4

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 February 2024

Harshani Shashikala Wijerathna, Niluka Anuradha and Roshan Ajward

This study aims to explore the relationship between institutional and macroeconomic factors and corporate financial flexibility while also investigating the moderating impact of…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the relationship between institutional and macroeconomic factors and corporate financial flexibility while also investigating the moderating impact of selected board governance mechanisms on this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample of the study comprises 174 firms listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange for a period of eight years, from 2014 to 2021. Data were collected from secondary sources, and both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used for analyses.

Findings

Corporate financial flexibility is notably affected by profitability as an institutional factor and by gross domestic product growth rate and banking sector development as macroeconomic factors. Furthermore, the relationship between a company’s profitability and corporate financial flexibility is found to be moderated by selected board governance mechanisms. However, these governance mechanisms do not influence the relationship between corporate financial flexibility and other institutional factors (i.e. other than profitability) and macroeconomic factors considered in this study.

Originality/value

This study adds a fresh perspective to the existing body of knowledge in the field of corporate finance by emphasizing the interaction effect of board governance mechanisms on the association between macroeconomic and institutional variables and financial flexibility of firms. The findings are expected to be useful for business decision-makers in managing their corporate financial flexibility effectively and maximizing the use of their financial resources.

Details

Journal of Asia Business Studies, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1558-7894

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 18 March 2024

Sean Gossel and Misheck Mutize

This study investigates (1) whether democratization drives sovereign credit ratings (SCR) changes (the “democratic advantage”) or whether SCR changes affect democratization, (2…

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates (1) whether democratization drives sovereign credit ratings (SCR) changes (the “democratic advantage”) or whether SCR changes affect democratization, (2) whether the degree of democratization in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries affects the associations and (3) whether the associations are significantly affected by resource dependence.

Design/methodology/approach

This study investigates the effects of SCR changes on democracy in 22 SSA countries over the period of 2000–2020 VEC Granger causality/block exogeneity Wald tests, and impulse responses and variance decomposition analyses with Cholesky ordering and Monte Carlo standard errors in a panel VECM framework.

Findings

The full sample impulse responses find that a SCR shock has a long-run detrimental effect on the democracy and political rights but only a short-run positive impact on civil liberties. Among the sub-samples, it is found that the extent of natural resource dependence does not affect the magnitude of SCR shocks on democratization mentioned above but it is found that a SCR shock affects long-run democracy in SSA countries that are relatively more democratic but is more likely to drive democratic deepening in less democratic SSA countries. The full sample variance decompositions further finds that the variance of SCR to a political rights shock outweighs the effects of all the macroeconomic factors, whereas in more diversified SSA countries, the variances of SCR are much greater for democracy and political rights shocks, which suggests that democratization and political rights in diversified SSA economies are severely affected by SCR changes. In the case of the high and low democracy sub-samples, it is found that the variance of SCR in the relatively higher democracy sub-sample is greater than in the low democracy sub-sample.

Social implications

These results have three implications for democratization in SSA. First, the effect of a SCR change is not a democratically agnostic and impacts political rights to a greater extent than civil liberties. Second, SCR changes have the potential to spark a negative cycle in SSA countries whereby a downgrade leads to a deterioration in socio-political stability coupled with increased financial economic constraints that in turn drive further downgrades and macroeconomic hardship. Finally, SCR changes are potentially detrimental for democracy in more democratic SSA countries but democratically supportive in less democratic SSA countries. Thus, SSA countries that are relatively politically sophisticated are more exposed to the effects of SCR changes, whereas less politically sophisticated SSA countries can proactively shape their SCRs by undertaking political reforms.

Originality/value

This study is the first to examine the associations between SCR and democracy in SSA. This is critical literature for the Africa’s scholarly work given that the debate on unfair rating actions and claims of subjective rating methods is ongoing.

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 February 2024

Hebatalla Atef Emam

This study aims to investigate the main drivers of private saving in Egypt (2005–2020).

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the main drivers of private saving in Egypt (2005–2020).

Design/methodology/approach

It employs an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach for quarterly data on private saving, lagged private saving, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth, public saving, inflation, real interest rate, money supply, current account deficit and unemployment.

Findings

Private saving in Egypt displays persistency and public saving depresses private saving in the short run and long run. Real interest rate, inflation and unemployment have negative and statistically significant impacts on private saving in the short run and long run. The current account deficit displays a negative effect on private saving but is significant only in the short run. Other incorporated variables, like real GDP and money supply, are not statistically significant. This could be attributed to the high consumption rather than saving motive of the Egyptian population and their tendency to rely more on other informal saving channels.

Research limitations/implications

Findings are of policy relevance as unleashing the determinants of private saving guides policymakers in formulating the appropriate sustainable development policies. It also assists in identifying the main obstacles hindering the promotion of private saving and hence major areas for policy intervention, like financial inclusion, poverty eradication, employment generation and structural reforms.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature: (1) it tackles private saving figure rather than aggregate saving figure that is covered by similar studies due to lack of consistent data, (2) given the relatively low quality, unavailability and inconsistency of data on private saving in developing countries, investigating the determinants of private saving should be carried out on an individual country basis which is done by this study, (3) this study fulfills the gap in literature related to the lack of up-to-date studies on private saving in Egypt and (4) it relies on quarterly data that could produce more reliable results.

Details

Review of Economics and Political Science, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2356-9980

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 April 2023

Philippe Grégoire, Melanie Rose Dixon, Isabelle Giroux, Christian Jacques, Annie Goulet, James Eaves and Serge Sévigny

Online investment platforms offer an environment that may lead some traders into excessive behaviors akin to gambling. Over the last decade, gambling behaviors associated with the…

Abstract

Purpose

Online investment platforms offer an environment that may lead some traders into excessive behaviors akin to gambling. Over the last decade, gambling behaviors associated with the stock market have attracted the attention of many researchers but the literature on the subject remains scarce. This study aims to present the results of live interviews with a sample (N = 100) of retail investors trading online, and contrasts trading habits with gambling behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants are divided in three groups according to their score on an adapted version of the Problem Gambling Severity Index (referred to as the PGSI-Trading), and their trading habits and behaviors are compared.

Findings

The authors find that traders with higher PGSI-Trading scores are more likely to display gambling-related behaviors such as trading within a short timeframe, being motivated by making money quickly and experiencing high sensations when trading.

Research limitations/implications

The sample is small but the authors proceeded this way in order to gather some qualitative data that would be helpful to clinicians in the Province of Quebec. The questionnaire used to classify traders at risk of being gamblers (PGSI-Trading) has not been validated.

Practical implications

The findings of this study will be helpful to clinicians who hwork with patients suffering from excessive online stock trading habits.

Social implications

Clinicians observe an increasing number of patients who consult with excessive stock trading habits. This study has brought new information allowing clinicians to better understand how gambling manifests itself on the stock market.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the trading habits of individuals classified in terms of their score on an adapted PGSI questionnaire.

Details

Review of Behavioral Finance, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1940-5979

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