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1 – 10 of 10This paper primarily aims to review and analyze a new model for Islamic finance based on Laurence J. Kotlikoff's idea of limited purpose banking (LPB). In addition, this paper…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper primarily aims to review and analyze a new model for Islamic finance based on Laurence J. Kotlikoff's idea of limited purpose banking (LPB). In addition, this paper aims to highlight, explain and discuss various aspects of LPB and how it suits the original aspirations of pioneer writers in Islamic finance.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on an extensive literature review, this paper aims to highlight, explain and discuss the reform of the Islamic finance industry based on Kotlikoff's model of LPB.
Findings
Based on a modified LPB model, Islamic financial institutions could be established to provide specific services with clear aims and objectives. These LPB Islamic financial institutions would operate in a similar way to LPB.
Research limitations/implications
As there is no perfect plan, the proposal of this paper is far from being perfect and is open to discussions and improvements. The paper will, hopefully, spark off quite a discussion on the topic; may result in a better understanding of the model; and provide some alternative solutions to the current structurally ill financial system.
Practical implications
The paper provides some practical ideas for a better implementation of Shari'ah principles in financial intermediation of the Islamic financial system.
Originality/value
Kotlikoff's LPB proposal for reforming the financial system is new and has been directed to the conventional financial system. This paper represents the first attempt to apply his proposal to the Islamic finance industry.
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Siong Choy Chong and Usman Olakunle Balogun
This paper aims to describe the development and prospects of an Islamic finance professional programme structure (IFPPS).
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the development and prospects of an Islamic finance professional programme structure (IFPPS).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is conceptual in nature. It begins with a review of issues leading to the development of IFPPS by the Finance Accreditation Agency (FAA). The process of developing the IFPPS is then delineated, followed by discussions on its intended benefits, the challenges encountered, as well as ways the issues and challenges can be addressed.
Findings
The benefits of IFPPS to different stakeholders are highlighted, with consideration given to its strategic roles in addressing the issues and challenges put forth.
Research limitations/implications
Because this paper focuses on the conceptual development of IFPPS, its actual application will further reinforce its value. The outcomes will be presented in the form of case studies in a subsequent publication to contribute to theory and practice.
Practical implications
Having a knowledgeable and skilled workforce through continuous learning and development is key to sustaining the growth of the Islamic financial services industry (IFSI). One possible way is through the adoption of a unified structure, such as the IFPPS which links quality learning to competencies of IFSI practitioners. In addition, the IFPPS possess characteristics which could potentially serve to facilitate the development of sectorial-based national qualifications framework for Islamic finance, making harmonisation in terms of the design, development, delivery and assessment of different learning programmes and qualifications possible.
Originality/value
A uniformed structure that guides learning and development of practitioner-based Islamic finance programmes is long overdue. With the rapid growth of the IFSI, coupled with the concomitant need for a competent workforce to meet business requirements, the time has come for the development of the IFPPS for the IFSI. The development of IFPPS represents the first of its kind for the IFSI. Once the professional qualifications standards are fully developed and implemented, it is expected to bring enormous benefits to different stakeholders involved in Islamic finance learning and practice.
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The purpose of this paper is to propose a new measure of earnings management flexibility based on the limits of the allowable set of accruals, prior discretionary accruals used…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a new measure of earnings management flexibility based on the limits of the allowable set of accruals, prior discretionary accruals used, and the reversal rate of these accruals.
Design/methodology/approach
Quarterly financial data from Compustat for the period 1990‐2009 were used to construct the flexibility measure. Then the author examined how well this measure captures flexibility by investigating its effect on a firm's probability of meeting analysts' forecasts.
Findings
The results show that this flexibility measure better captures the firm‐specific flexibility than that of Barton and Simko which captures mainly the difference in flexibility across industries. Further, the positive effect of their measure on a firm's probability of meeting/beating analysts' forecasts is not observed in the extended sample period.
Practical implications
The flexibility measure proposed here can assist investors, analysts, or researchers to compare earnings management flexibility across firms in the same industry, which is useful in evaluating the quality of a firm's financial reports, stock picking or credit granting decisions.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the earnings management literature by incorporating both the variation in flexibility used and that in flexibility limits. Second, evidence in this paper suggests that while financial benefits motivate managers to undertake earnings management, flexibility determines the extent of earnings management they can undertake. Third, this study points out that the unreversed discretionary accruals impose a constraint on the level of discretionary accruals a manager can incur in the current period, and hence have an indirect influence on current reported earnings.
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Phong Hoang Nguyen and Duyen Thi Bich Pham
The paper aims to enrich previous findings for an emerging banking industry such as Vietnam, reporting the difference between the parametric and nonparametric methods when…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to enrich previous findings for an emerging banking industry such as Vietnam, reporting the difference between the parametric and nonparametric methods when measuring cost efficiency. The purpose of the study is to assess the consistency in issuing policies to improve the cost efficiency of Vietnamese commercial banks.
Design/methodology/approach
The cost efficiency of banks is assessed through the data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). Next, five tests are conducted in succession to analyze the differences in cost efficiency measured by these two methods, including the distribution, the rankings, the identification of the best and worst banks, the time consistency and the determinants of efficiency frontier. The data are collected from the annual financial statements of Vietnamese banks during 2005–2017.
Findings
The results show that the cost efficiency obtained under the SFA models is more consistent than under the DEA models. However, the DEA-based efficiency scores are more similar in ranking order and stability over time. The inconsistency in efficiency characteristics under two different methods reminds policy makers and bank administrators to compare and select the appropriate efficiency frontier measure for each stage and specific economic conditions.
Originality/value
This paper shows the need to control for heterogeneity over banking groups and time as well as for random noise and outliers when measuring the cost efficiency.
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Ovidiu Ghita, Dana Ilea, Antonio Fernandez and Paul Whelan
The purpose of this paper is to review and provide a detailed performance evaluation of a number of texture descriptors that analyse texture at micro‐level such as local binary…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review and provide a detailed performance evaluation of a number of texture descriptors that analyse texture at micro‐level such as local binary patterns (LBP) and a number of standard filtering techniques that sample the texture information using either a bank of isotropic filters or Gabor filters.
Design/methodology/approach
The experimental tests were conducted on standard databases where the classification results are obtained for single and multiple texture orientations. The authors also analysed the performance of standard filtering texture analysis techniques (such as those based of LM and MR8 filter banks) when applied to the classification of texture images contained in standard Outex and Brodatz databases.
Findings
The most important finding resulting from this study is that although the LBP/C and the multi‐channel Gabor filtering techniques approach texture analysis from a different theoretical perspective, in this paper the authors have experimentally demonstrated that they share some common properties in regard to the way they sample the macro and micro properties of the texture.
Practical implications
Texture is a fundamental property of digital images and the development of robust image descriptors plays a crucial role in the process of image segmentation and scene understanding.
Originality/value
This paper contrast, from a practical and theoretical standpoint, the LBP and representative multi‐channel texture analysis approaches and a substantial number of experimental results were provided to evaluate their performance when applied to standard texture databases.
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Quang Thi Thieu Nguyen, Ly Thi Hai Ho and Dat Thanh Nguyen
This study aims to investigate the effect of digitalization on bank profitability among Vietnamese banks.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effect of digitalization on bank profitability among Vietnamese banks.
Design/methodology/approach
The research employs fixed-effects regression on a panel data of 32 banks in Vietnam during the period 2010–2021.
Findings
The study reveals a positive impact of digitalization on bank profitability. The result is robust to different measures and empirical settings. Not surprisingly, small banks and banks with high percentage of state ownership experience lower profitability than their peers. However, digitalization helps improve the profitability of these banks. This study explains the effect by showing that digitalization significantly reduces bank cost in terms of cost to income ratio and increases bank non-interest income through diversification into non-traditional products and services. In addition, the current stage of bank digitalization in Vietnam does not reduce banks’ employment costs since it requires staffs to support and operate the new system.
Practical implications
The research findings are motivations for bankers and policy-makers in designing appropriate strategies toward digitalization. Investors can also consider highly digitalized banks as valuable investment.
Originality/value
This research extends the current literature on the relationship between digitalization and bank profitability, with a focus on commercial banks in Vietnam. Given the high involvement of the government and the dominance of several large banks in the banking system, the study also explores whether the effect of digitalization on bank profitability varies with the bank’s size and state ownership. Last but not least, the channels in which digitalization affects bank profitability are also examined.
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In this chapter, Natascha Hofmann discusses the policy measures for improving the (education) situation of Roma in Europe. It concentrates on the post-war turning points and…
Abstract
In this chapter, Natascha Hofmann discusses the policy measures for improving the (education) situation of Roma in Europe. It concentrates on the post-war turning points and corresponding discourses before reviewing aims, outcomes and legacies of the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–2015 proclaimed by the European Union (EU). According to Hofmann the past decades reveal a shift in the discourse of how Roma living conditions and perspectives are perceived in Europe. Reasons for that can be seen in processes referring to fields of bottom-up movements of Roma organisations, top-down approaches of the EU and its member states, shifting borders and the implementation of human rights. Outcomes of the Decade of Roma Inclusion show the importance of educational achievements, but also the importance of educational work of mentors and mediators within the communities and within the regional and national societies. Regarding the bottom-up movement of Roma organisations there seems to be a generation change not only regarding educational achievements but also by dealing with being visible as Roma and by promoting new narratives of being Roma.
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In this chapter, Natascha Hofmann discusses the policy measures for improving the (education) situation of Roma in Europe. It concentrates on the post-war turning points and…
Abstract
In this chapter, Natascha Hofmann discusses the policy measures for improving the (education) situation of Roma in Europe. It concentrates on the post-war turning points and corresponding discourses before reviewing aims, outcomes and legacies of the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–2015 proclaimed by the European Union (EU). According to Hofmann, the past decades reveal a shift in the discourse of how Roma living conditions and perspectives are perceived in Europe. Indications that underpin that argument can be found in processes referring to fields of bottom-up movements of Roma organisations, top-down approaches of the EU and its member states, shifting borders and the implementation of human rights. Outcomes of the Decade of Roma Inclusion show not only the importance of educational achievements, but also the importance of educational work of mentors and mediators within the communities and within the regional and national societies. Regarding the bottom-up movement of Roma organisations, there seems to be a generation change not only regarding educational achievements, but also by dealing with being visible as Roma and promoting new narratives of being Roma.
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In this chapter, the author analyses the education situation of Sinti and Roma in Germany and calls for a ‘Dawn of Learning!’ The author asks: Who is learning (from whom and for…
Abstract
In this chapter, the author analyses the education situation of Sinti and Roma in Germany and calls for a ‘Dawn of Learning!’ The author asks: Who is learning (from whom and for whom)? What is learned? What has to be learned? To answer these questions firstly the author describes the social and legal situation of the Roma minority in Germany then analyses their attainment in the German education system. With the help of two studies (Hundsalz, 1982; Strauss, 2011) the author demonstrates that educational attainments of German Sinti and Roma had significantly increased over time. Then the author emphasises the importance of mentoring programmes – involving Sinti and Roma as educational mentors – especially for their important role in the integration process. Lastly, the author shows the results of her own study aimed at revealing correlations of education and integration opportunities of Roma youth, with or without a limited residence permit in Germany (Hofmann, 2011). The question: What has been learned – so far? The author answers as followed: A dawn of learning for mutual respect and appreciation can be seen. The question: What has to be learned? The author’s answer: she wishes for a common aim of our learning processes to be a conscious and respectful handling of diversity which allows differences but focuses on common ground as a starting point for social negotiation to shape the society in which we want to live – on regional, national and European grounds.
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Tuan Quoc Le, Ha Ngan Duong and Phuong Thanh Nguyen
This paper aims to investigate the decisions of listing for Vietnamese banks and the impact of listing on bank performance.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the decisions of listing for Vietnamese banks and the impact of listing on bank performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal data set of 30 commercial banks in the period of 2006–2018 with various univariate and multivariate tests is used.
Findings
This study found that listing is positively associated with bank profitability. The results are consistent even after the control for potential endogeneity problems by propensity score matching methodology and Heckman selection bias models. Further analysis suggests some new alternative channels for the positive impact, namely, the increased quality of information disclosure, technological development and income diversification of commercial banks after listing.
Practical implications
Hence, this paper provides recommendations and policy implications for regulatory bodies regarding the listing of commercial banks in Vietnam.
Originality/value
The contributions to the literature are three-folds. First, this study contributes to a strand of literature on the impact of going public [initial public offering (IPO)/listing] of financial institutions on their performance. While the literature on non-financial firm performance post-going public is ample, few have directly considered the IPO/listing of banks and other financial institutions. Second, in further looking at the impact of listing on bank performance, this study also sheds some light on the new possible channels of the effect and provides evidence of new channels. Then, last but not least, the case of Vietnam could possibly yield interesting results for a transitory stock market. From the evidence, the recommendations and policy implications for a listing of Vietnamese banks are provided.
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