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Economic problems of the system of education were the object of interest of classics of economic science – A. Smith and A. Marshall – who viewed education as a source of public capital, and acquired skills and competences – as a part of national wealth. These ideas were further developed in the theory of human capital by T. Schultz, G.S. Becker, G. Psacharopoulos, P. Teixeira, and R. Solow. At that, specifics of modernization economic processes in the sphere of education, peculiarities of modern functional and financial state require conceptual consideration and provision of development of working mechanism of effectiveness of spending assets of endowment funds. The purpose of this paper is to determine the mechanism of effectiveness of spending assets of endowment funds on the basis of mathematical models.

The paper offers a mechanism of determination of effectiveness of spending of endowment funds.

Effectiveness of an endowment fund’s effectiveness depends on the results of fund-raising activities, supporting relations with donators, and financing of targeted programs and directions of activities. This information is key information during the determination of results of endowment fund’s activities for current and potential donators. That is why it should provide reports in the order of formation of endowment, received revenue from trust management, and direction of usage of revenues from endowment, for which a donator has given his assets, on a regular basis.

In the modern system of higher education, the issue of search for new sources of financing for the purpose of improvement of quality of education and educational process, growth of wages of academic staff, attraction of foreign lecturers and specialists with practical experience of work from various spheres of production, and increase of stipends of the best students remains actual. The paper offers a mechanism of determination of effectiveness of spending of endowment funds.

Impact investment is an emergent field worldwide and it can play an especially important role in Africa. The aim of this study was to examine how impact investors in South Africa manage the tensions between financial returns and social impact.

The research was based on 15 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in the impact investment community in South Africa to understand the related challenges, trade-offs and tensions.

There are two opposing views expressed as to whether the tensions between financial return and social impact result in trade-offs. It is proposed that impact investors embrace this duality and seek to approach it through a contingency and a paradox view. The tensions can be approached by focussing on values alignment, contracting processes, engaged leadership and sector identification. The authors integrate the findings into a proposed framework for effective tension management in an impact investment portfolio.

This study was limited to selected South African interviewees. It would be valuable to extend the study to other African countries.

The issue of values alignment between investors, fund managers and investee firms is an important finding for practice. As is the four-part iterative framework for sensing the operating environment, defining impact, organising internally and defining the investment approach.

This study contributes empirical evidence to scholarship around organisational tensions, especially work in hybrid organisations. It affirms the value of a nuanced application of paradox theory. It examines these tensions through the lived experience of impact investing professionals in an emerging market context.

A study by the OECD in 2001 indicated that the UK had one of the strongest links between social deprivation and educational underachievement. This article uses original analysis to report a close correlation over the period 1997‐2001 between educational achievement in the London boroughs and various indicators of the extent of social deprivation in those boroughs. When the data are further disaggregated in terms of “inner” and “outer” London locations of those boroughs the so‐called “cycle of deprivation” hypothesis is supported still more strongly. The article goes on to discuss the implications of these results for broader policy issues such as central government use of the “standards fund” to target finance to the more deprived schools and the recently announced government decision to appoint a commissioner to improve standards in London schools.

Sees the objective of teaching financial management to be to help managers and potential managers to make sensible investment and financing decisions. Acknowledges that financial theory teaches that investment and financing decisions should be based on cash flow and risk. Provides information on payback period; return on capital employed, earnings per share effect, working capital, profit planning, standard costing, financial statement planning and ratio analysis. Seeks to combine the practical rules of thumb of the traditionalists with the ideas of the financial theorists to form a balanced approach to practical financial management for MBA students, financial managers and undergraduates.

Over recent years an increasing amount of funds has been committed to mergers and acquisitions in the UK. Expenditure rose nearly tenfold from £2.3bn in 1983 to £22.1bn in 1988. This surge in spending has continued despite fears over economic trends, both domestic and international, and shocks in financial markets, notably the global col lapse in share values of October 1987. This monograph is essentially concerned with the events up to, and including, the first three quarters of 1989, ie, a period of two years after the crash of October 1987. Whilst the financing of mer gers and acquisitons activity is a fast moving arena, it does seem to be an opportune time to review developments to date and, tentatively, to suggest future trends in this sphere.

This paper aims to identify criteria for the better targeting of public funding for private social activities and organizations. As a starting point, it proposes that financing strategies can characterize organizations which are positioned on a for-profit/non-profit continuum. The paper then analyses how far the effectiveness of public support systems depends on recipients’ general financing strategies.

The study is based on data from a standardized small-scale survey. The analysis applies latent class analysis for the creation of a meaningful organizational dimension and applies them in an ordered logistic regression.

Despite their variety along a for-profit/non-profit continuum, organizations in the sample can be described by three meaningful dimensions, and the focal role of organizations’ financing strategies can be confirmed. Repeated project-based public support might create a harmful dependence on this kind of funds. To be effective, it needs to be targeted at nascent socially effective organizations with non-solvent clients.

Recognition of different financing strategies as meaningful characteristics of organizations with consequences for their long-term development is of direct practical relevance for a better design and targeting of financing systems in general and public support systems in particular.

Although the focal relevance of financing for the characterization of (social) organizations has been stressed before, the paper is able to operationalize the idea and to demonstrate its value in an application to the evaluation of project based support.

This paper focuses on Ṣukūk issuance determinants in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Given the dual characteristic of debt and equity of Ṣukūk as well as their unique benefits of social responsibility, the author questions whether the theories of capital structure, the trade-off and the pecking order are able to well explain the Ṣukūk issuance.

First, the author verifies these theories using capital structure determinants and regresses the Ṣukūk change on these determinants. Second, the author tests the trade-off theory with the target debt model and third, verifies the pecking order theory using the fund flow deficit model.

The empirical results show that capital structure determinants fail to explain both theories. The author confirms that the Ṣukūk change is significatively linked to the deviation from a Ṣukūk target. So, issuing firms balance the marginal costs of Ṣukūk and their benefits of religiosity and social responsibility toward a target debt. The author finds no evidence of the pecking order theory.

This study contributes to corporate finance theory and corporate social responsibility. It verifies if capital structure theories proved in conventional financing can well explain Islamic bonds issuance given their social responsibility benefits.

Managers and investors would pay attention to the social factors explaining Ṣukūk issuance in their finance and investment decisions. They would be enhanced to use this financing tool knowing its social unique benefits. This also should encourage governments to enhance this socially responsible financing. Rating agencies would be motivated to evaluate Ṣukūk and firms would improve the quality and relevance of disclosure to get the best rating.

The author highlights the social factors explaining Ṣukūk issuance and enhances corporate social responsibility (CSR).

The author extends the few literature testing capital structure theories for Islamic bonds and highlights the specific social responsible features of Ṣukūk that would bridge their issuance to capital structure theories. So the author enhances the concept of Islamic CSR. Tying capital structure theories to CSR would also help developing Islamic finance theory as a unique social responsible framework.

This article seeks to examine approaches to combating the “scourge of international terrorism” by targeting the financial resources of terrorist organizations and their supporters.

The article begins with the disputed issue of how to define a “terrorist”, “terrorism”, “terrorist organizations” and “acts of terrorism”. In a global financial system, differences between the definitions of those terms could have significant implications because terrorists have the means and will to operate their financing infrastructure from the least effectively regulated jurisdictions. There are many methods by which terrorists finance both their organizations and specific attacks. By concentrating on three examples of recent terrorist activity, namely the 9/11 attacks in New York, the 7/7 bombings in London, and the transfer of funds from the “Union of Good” to Hamas to fund terrorist attacks in Israel by means of a certain charitable association, the article illustrates the problems facing legal regimes seeking to limit terrorist funding.

The article notes a broad convergence in the methods of those jurisdictions when combating the financing of terrorism.

The paper provides a discussion of financial resources of terrorism from a legal professional in an area where terrorism is a real danger.

Bringing more impact seems to be a real issue for social initiatives and organizations requiring the adoption of new approaches. The paper aims to define an integrated approach for building, maintaining and upgrading Islamic social finance and sustainable ecosystems.

The paper presents a conceptual framework based on case studies and literature review describing the methodology and the necessary steps to build sustainable ecosystems.

The paper shows the impact of building social finance ecosystems on tackling social issues. It emphasizes the idea that solving social issues is everybody’s business – from governments to businesses – and that those initiatives require sufficient Sharīʿah-compliant funding to achieve sustainability goals.

The paper does not focus on the Islamic world experiences in building ecosystems serving social causes.

The paper gives an overview on how collaboration between the different social oriented organisations can enhance the social impact of the different initiatives. The aim is to ensure adequate financing to all the ecosystem components during the whole lifecycle.

The suggested approach of building sustainable ecosystems can serve as a way to assess the existing social initiatives and practices to find relevant combinations targeting more impact.

In the social sphere, the idea of building ecosystems has been explored in different ways but never in a way that gathers all the components including finance providers, coordinators and the different types of initiatives. The paper adapts the ecosystem concept to the Islamic finance specificities.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the (three) critical issues that will need to be addressed in a post‐2012 (post‐Kyoto) global agreement on climate change, sets out the options and difficulties in relation to them, and outlines a way forward on each.

The paper assesses proposals for national and international mitigation already put forward both by negotiating countries and by academics.

Global mitigation efforts have so far achieved little and negotiations are currently deadlocked. This lack of progress has led to an proliferation of alternative policy proposals for an international agreement, but only those proposals which build on international agreements to date have at the current time any reasonable prospect of guiding global mitigation effort post‐2012. There are three main issues that will need to be addressed within that framework: emission reduction targets for developed countries; the nature and extent of actions to limit emissions growth in developing countries; and the funding of emission reduction efforts in developing countries. Using a number of explicit assumptions, the paper identifies likely ranges for emission reduction targets for developed countries and emission growth limits for developing countries. The best (worst) case involves developed countries as a group reducing 2020 emissions by 20 per cent (10 per cent) over 1990 levels, and developing countries limiting annual average emissions growth between 2012 and 2020 to 1.5 per cent (3.5 per cent) a year. This is estimated to give global emissions in 2020 in the range of 47‐53 Gt CO₂‐e. The bottom end of this range is consistent with the long‐term goal of stabilizing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the range of 550 CO₂‐e ppm, provided there is rapid adjustment post‐2020. Crucial to reaching a deal at the ambitious end of this range will be reform of the clean development mechanism, and a commitment by developed countries to large public funding in support of developing country mitigation.

The paper accepts the current negotiating framework, and provides a systematic and quantified treatment of the critical issues which arise within it.