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1 – 10 of over 12000Mohamed E. Ibrahim, Saad A. Metawae and Ibrahim M. Aly
In recent years, a sizeable amount of research in finance and accounting has been devoted to the issue of bond rating and bond rating changes. A major thrust of these research…
Abstract
In recent years, a sizeable amount of research in finance and accounting has been devoted to the issue of bond rating and bond rating changes. A major thrust of these research efforts was to develop and test some prediction‐based models using mainly financial ratios and their trends. This paper tests the ability of statistical decomposition analysis of financial statements to predict bond rating changes. The results show that the decomposition analysis almost does not beat the a priori probability model and is no better than multiple discriminant analysis using simple financial ratios. One important piece of information for participants in debt markets is the assessment of the relative risk associated with a particular bond issue, commonly known as bond ratings. These ratings, however, are not usually fixed for the life of the issues. From time to time, the rating agencies review their ratings of the outstanding bond issues and make changes to these ratings (either upward or downward) when needed. Over the years, researchers have attempted to develop and test some prediction based models in order to predict bond ratings or bond rating changes. These prediction models have employed some variables that are assumed to reflect the rating agency decision‐making activities. Although the rating process is complicated and based mainly on judgmental considerations, Hawkins, Brown and Campbell (1983, p. 95) reported that the academic research strongly suggests that a reliable estimate of a potential bond rating or rating change can be determined by a few key financial ratios. Information theory decomposition measures have received in recent years considerable attention as a potential tool for predicting corporate events, namely corporate bankruptcy (e.g., Lev 1970; Moyer 1977; Walker, Stowe and Moriarity 1979; Booth 1983). The underlying proposition in these studies is that corporate failure, as an event, is expected to be preceded by significant changes in the company's assets and liabilities structure. Although the event of bond rating changes is different from the bankruptcy event in terms of consequences, one can still propose that a bond rating change, as a corporate event, is also expected to be preceded by some significant changes in the company's assets and liabilities structure. Therefore, the decomposition analysis may have a predictive ability in the case of bond rating changes. The purpose of this paper is to empirically test and compare the classification and predictive accuracy of the decomposition analysis with the performance of a multiple discriminant model that uses financial ratios and their trends in the context of bond rating changes.
Presents a review on implementing finite element methods on supercomputers, workstations and PCs and gives main trends in hardware and software developments. An appendix included…
Abstract
Presents a review on implementing finite element methods on supercomputers, workstations and PCs and gives main trends in hardware and software developments. An appendix included at the end of the paper presents a bibliography on the subjects retrospectively to 1985 and approximately 1,100 references are listed.
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Fareed Shareef, Muhammad Junaid Khawaja and Toseef Azid
Since the pristine works of Schultz (1961) and Becker (1964, 1975), the concept of intergenerational transmission has constantly been in the front line of discussion among the…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the pristine works of Schultz (1961) and Becker (1964, 1975), the concept of intergenerational transmission has constantly been in the front line of discussion among the social scientists to divulge the sources and channels through which diffusion of socio-economic status can take place across the generations. The purpose of this paper is to explore the intergeneration links via monetary channels through decomposition technique.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sample of 613 households selecting through systematic sampling from Multan district (Pakistan). Making a three tier analyses, i.e. simple, sequential and double decomposition, the findings of the models support the hypothesis of the study that children of high-income parents also fall in high-income groups.
Findings
The simple decomposition analysis using education as the pathway factor reveals that parental income is pivotal in determining the education and ultimately the level of their child’s income. The sequential analysis incorporates occupation and depicts a positive association between the offspring education and occupation. In the double decomposition analysis, the direct component reveals that even among those children with the same level of education, higher parental income is linked with the better occupational achievements, whereas indirect component explains the impact of parental income on occupation via education of the children. In other words, it explains the degree to which children with higher family income acquire more education and consequently get better jobs.
Research limitations/implications
In Pakistan like the other developing countries nationwide surveys are not conducted at the government level.
Practical implications
This study is providing the guideline to the policy makers for the formulating their policies for developing and managing the human capital.
Social implications
The findings of this study are useful for reducing the inequality in the society.
Originality/value
This is an original and first time it is going to be conducted in a country like Pakistan
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Victor Rudakov, Margarita Kiryushina, Hugo Figueiredo and Pedro Nuno Teixeira
The aim of the research is to estimate the level of the early career gender wage gap in Russia, its evolution during the early stages of a career, gender segregation and…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the research is to estimate the level of the early career gender wage gap in Russia, its evolution during the early stages of a career, gender segregation and discrimination among university graduates, and to identify factors which explain early career gender differences in pay. Special emphasis is placed on assessing the contribution of horizontal segregation (inequal gender distribution in fields of studies and industries of employment) to early-career gender inequality.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a comprehensive and nationally representative survey of university graduates, carried out by Russian Federal State Statistics Service in 2016 (VTR Rosstat). The authors use Mincer OLS regressions for the analysis of the determinants of gender differences in pay. To explain the factors which form the gender gap, the authors use the Oaxaca-Blinder and Neumark gender gap decompositions, including detailed wage gap decompositions and decompositions by fields of study. For the analysis of differences in gender gap across wage distribution, quantile regressions and quantile decompositions based on recentered influence functions (RIFs) are used.
Findings
The study found significant gender differences in the early-career salaries of university graduates. Regression analysis confirms the presence of a 20% early-career gender wage gap. This gender wage gap is to a great extent can be explained by horizontal segregation: women are concentrated in fields of study and industries which are relatively low paid. More than half of the gender gap remains unexplained. The analysis of the evolution of the gender wage gap shows that it appears right after graduation and increases over time. A quantile decomposition reveals that, in low paid jobs, females experience less gender inequality than in better paid jobs.
Social implications
The analysis has some important policy implications. Previously, gender equality policies were mainly related to the elimination of gender discrimination at work, including positive discrimination programs in a selection of candidates to job openings and programs of promotion; programs which ease women labour force participation through flexible jobs; programs of human capital accumulation, which implied gender equality in access to higher education and encouraged women to get higher education, which was especially relevant for many developing countries. The analysis of Russia, a country with gender equality in access to higher education, shows that the early career gender gap exists right after graduation, and the main explanatory factor is gender segregation by field of study and industry, in other words, the gender wage gap to a high extent is related to self-selection of women in low-paid fields of study. To address this, new policies related to gender inequality in choice of fields of studies are needed.
Originality/value
It has been frequently stated that gender inequality appears either due to inequality in access to higher education or after maternity leave. Using large nationally representative dataset on university graduates, we show that gender equality in education does not necessarily lead to gender equality in the labour market. Unlike many studies, we show that the gender gap in Russia appears not after maternity leave and due to marital decisions of women, but in the earliest stages of their career, right after graduation, due to horizontal segregation (selection of women in relatively low-paid fields of study and consequently industries).
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Jiandong Chen, Yinyin Wu, Chong Xu, Malin Song and Xin Liu
Non-fossil fuels are receiving increasing attention within the context of addressing global climate challenges. Based on a review of non-fossil fuel consumption in major countries…
Abstract
Purpose
Non-fossil fuels are receiving increasing attention within the context of addressing global climate challenges. Based on a review of non-fossil fuel consumption in major countries worldwide from 1985 to 2015, the purpose of this paper is to analyze trends for global non-fossil fuel consumption, share of fuel consumption and inequality.
Design/methodology/approach
The similarities were obtained between the logarithmic mean divisia index and the mean-rate-of-change index decomposition analysis methods, and a method was proposed for complete decomposition of the incremental Gini coefficient.
Findings
Empirical analysis showed that: global non-fossil fuel consumption accounts for a small share of the total energy consumption, but presents an increasing trend; the level of global non-fossil fuel consumption inequality is high but has gradually declined, which is mainly attributed to the concentration effect; inequality in global non-fossil fuel consumption is mainly due to the difference between nuclear power and hydropower consumption, but the contributions of nuclear power and hydropower to per capita non-fossil fuel consumption are declining; and population has the greatest influence on global non-fossil fuel consumption during the sampling period.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this study is its analysis of global non-fossil fuel consumption trends, disparities and driving factors. In addition, a general formula for complete index decomposition is proposed and the incremental Gini coefficient is wholly decomposed.
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Monique Eissens-van der Laan, Manda Broekhuis, Marjolein van Offenbeek and Kees Ahaus
Applying “modularity” principles in services is gaining in popularity. The purpose of this paper is to enrich existing service modularity theory and practice by exploring how…
Abstract
Purpose
Applying “modularity” principles in services is gaining in popularity. The purpose of this paper is to enrich existing service modularity theory and practice by exploring how services are being decomposed and how the modularization aim and the routineness of the service(s) involved may link to different decomposition logics. The authors argue that these are fundamental questions that have barely been addressed.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors first built a theoretical framework of decomposition steps and the design choices involved that distinguished six decomposition logics. The authors conducted a systematic literature search that generated 18 empirical articles describing 16 service modularity cases. The authors analysed these cases in terms of decomposition logic and two main contingencies: modularization aim and service routineness.
Findings
Only three of the 18 articles explicitly addressed the service decomposition by reflecting on the underlying design choices. By unravelling the decomposition in each case, the authors were able to identify the decomposition logic and found four of the six theoretically derived logics: single-level process oriented; single-level outcome oriented; multilevel outcome oriented; and multilevel combined orientation. Although the authors did not find a direct relationship between the modularization aim and the decomposition logic, the authors did find that single-level decomposition logics seem to be mainly applied in non-routine service offerings whereas the multilevel ones are mainly applied in routine service offerings.
Originality/value
By contributing to a common understanding of modular service decomposition and proposing a framework that explicates the design choices involved, the authors enable an enhanced application of the modularity concept in services.
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Mayank Prakash and Kshipra Jain
The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to measure the health inequalities among malnourished children; second, to decompose the health inequalities to identify key…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to measure the health inequalities among malnourished children; second, to decompose the health inequalities to identify key socioeconomic predictors for child malnutrition; and third, to assess the change in the proportional contribution of key predictors over time.
Design/methodology/approach
The study has used data of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted in 1992-1993, 1998-1999 and 2005-2006. The information on anthropometric indicators for children below three years of age is provided; however the study is restricted to “weight-for-age,” as it is considered to be a comprehensive indicator of child nutritional status. In the first stage of analysis, health inequalities are measured among malnourished children using concentration indices (CI) for each round of NFHS. In second stage, the inequalities are decomposed to estimate the proportional contribution of socioeconomic predictors. In the third stage, change in the relative contribution of socioeconomic predictors over three rounds is assessed to suggest target-specific policies and programs.
Findings
The results highlight a slow decline of only seven percentage points in the proportion of malnourished children in India during 1992-2006. The increasing values of CIs from −0.13 (1992) to −0.18 (2006) demonstrates the concomitant rise in economic inequalities among malnourished children. The results of decomposition analysis point toward household poor economic status and mother’s illiteracy as the major contributor of inequalities during 1992-2006. During the study period, the economic status explained 50, 65 and 59 percent of inequalities, whereas mother’s illiteracy explained 40, 30 and 29 percent of inequalities, respectively. Overall, the contributors to health inequalities remained the same over time with a change in their relative contribution.
Research limitations/implications
The present study is focussed on three rounds of NFHS data conducted at different time period and so it has certain limitations which should be kept in mind while interpreting the results. The study has revealed mother’s education and economic status of the household as the major contributory factors toward child health inequalities. However, one should not forget that the level and quality of education has undergone tremendous change from 1992 to 2006 which the authors could not capture considering the availability of data in the form of years of schooling. Second, since the NFHS-1 has collected the information about the caste groups in only three categories, i.e. schedule caste, schedule tribe and others; the authors have to pool the other backward caste groups with the general caste groups. Third, the authors have used the broad classification of place of residence, i.e. rural and urban area to analyze the inequalities assuming the uniform level of development across the urban regions; however there exists huge disparities within urban areas which leave scope for further research. Fourth, though, the authors have estimated the wealth based inequalities, but NFHS does not provide the absolute level of wealth and so the authors have computed the proxy measure for wealth based on the household assets which has been extensively used in the field of research. Despite these limitations, the authors however believe that the present research work has appropriately decomposed the inequalities among malnourished children and have revealed the changes in the proportional contribution of socioeconomic factors over time.
Practical implications
The decomposition analysis brought into light that average health indicators are insufficient for determining the right approach to health intervention programs. Health policy interventions have to focus ideally on both health averages and within and between group inequalities based on varying contributions of socioeconomic determinants.
Social implications
Concentrated efforts along with the inter-sectoral concurrence, good nutrition governance, effective investment and unequal distribution of resources are pre-requisites to ameliorate the level and existing inequalities in child malnutrition in India.
Originality/value
The distinctiveness of this study can be primarily found in the use of all three rounds of NFHS data to estimate health inequalities among underweight children. The study has also decomposed the health inequalities to estimate and analyze the change in relative contribution of socioeconomic predictors for each round to facilitate the formulation of target-specific policies and programs.
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This chapter examines the impact of education on income inequality in 18 Latin American countries between 2000 and 2010. This period has raised interest in the academic community…
Abstract
This chapter examines the impact of education on income inequality in 18 Latin American countries between 2000 and 2010. This period has raised interest in the academic community because inequality has fallen across the region, after several years of consistent high levels. Employing the novel technique proposed by Firpo, Fortin, and Lemieux (2007), the author’s research provides a detailed decomposition of inequality. Three main findings emerge from the author’s results: First, the expansion of education increases inequality in six countries but reduces inequality in four countries. Second, the changes in returns to education are the driving component of the effects of education on inequality. Those countries where education contributes to a fall in inequality are those where the returns to education fell at the top of the income distribution. Third, the rise in the average years of education, considered alone, had an inequality-increasing effect in most of the countries under analysis.
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Amit Kumar and Mangey Ram
Ensuring safe operation of a urea fertilizer plant (UFP) is a vital aspect for its functioning and production. Clearly the safe operation of such systems can only be archived with…
Abstract
Purpose
Ensuring safe operation of a urea fertilizer plant (UFP) is a vital aspect for its functioning and production. Clearly the safe operation of such systems can only be archived with proper and effective maintenance scheduling and through controlling its failures as well as repairs of the components. Also for this, the concern plant management must have the information regarding the failures that affects the system's performance most/least. The objective of this study is to analyze mathematically the factors that are responsible for the failure/degradation of the decomposition unit of UFP.
Design/methodology/approach
The considered system has been modeled by the aid of Markov's birth–death process with two types of failures for its components: variable (which are very similar in practical situations) and constant. The mathematical model is solved by the help of Laplace transform and supplementary variable technique.
Findings
In the present paper, the availability, reliability and mean time to failure (MTTF) are computed for the decomposition unit of the UFP. The critical components that affect the reliability and MTTF of the decomposition unit are identified through sensitivity analysis.
Originality/value
In this paper, a mathematical model based on the working of the decomposition unit of a UFP has been developed by considering two types of failure, namely, variable failures rates and constant failure rates (which has not been done in the literature for the decomposition unit). Conclusions in this paper are good references for the improvement of the same.
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