scholarly journals Dangerously informed: Voter information and pre-electoral violence in Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inken von Borzyskowski ◽  
Patrick M Kuhn
Keyword(s):  
Positive Association ◽  
Institutional Constraints ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Campaign Strategy ◽  
Electoral Violence ◽  
Voter Information ◽  
Good Proxy ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Election Violence ◽  
The Impact

A considerable literature examines the effect of voter information on candidate strategies and voter–politician interactions in the developing world. The voter information literature argues that information can improve accountability because more informed voters are harder to woo with traditional campaign tools, such as ethnic appeals and vote-buying. However, this literature has largely ignored the reaction of political candidates and thus may reach conclusions that are overly optimistic regarding the impact of information on electoral accountability. We argue that voter information can increase electoral violence in developing countries where politicians face fewer institutional constraints on their campaign tactics. When violence is used as a campaign strategy, more informed electorates are more at risk because they are harder to sway through alternative campaign techniques. Using data from 35 African countries, we show that respondents receiving their news predominantly from newspapers are a good proxy for informed voters because they differ in terms of their political attitudes from respondents consuming no news or receiving it via other channels. Combining the geo-coded survey data with pre-electoral violence event data, we find a robust positive association between newspaper readership and fear of and exposure to campaign violence. This finding contributes to the micro-foundations of election violence and adds a cautionary note for voter information programs.

scholarly journals Women’s Agency in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia: The Role of Parenthood and Education

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Friedrich ◽  
Henriette Engelhardt ◽  
Florian Schulz
Keyword(s):  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Married Women ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Women's Agency ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Panel Surveys ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Women’S Agency ◽  
Using Data

Abstract Women in Middle Eastern and North African countries continue to report low levels of agency, despite their increasing educational attainment and declining fertility rates. We address this paradox by considering how women’s agency is linked to parenthood in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia and how this association is moderated by their level of education. We study three dimensions of instrumental agency: involvement in decision-making, financial autonomy, and freedom of movement using data for married women aged 18–49 from the Integrated Labor Market Panel Surveys: Egypt 2012 (n = 7622), Jordan 2016 (n = 4550), Tunisia 2014 (n = 1480). Results from multivariate regression models of these different dimensions demonstrate that married women who are mothers generally exhibit higher levels of agency than their counterparts who are childless, though this does not hold for every dimension and the strength of the association between parenthood and agency differs by dimension and country. We find a notable exception to this pattern of positive association in the Egyptian sample: parenthood decreases agency among Egyptian women with post-secondary education. Our results suggest that parenthood may only increase women’s agency in settings with deeply entrenched patriarchal norms that imply little education for women.

Corporate disclosure and foreign share ownership: empirical evidence from African countries

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 417-444
Author(s):  
Godfred A. Bokpin ◽  
Zangina Isshaq ◽  
Eunice Stella Nyarko
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Corporate Disclosure ◽  
Statistical Relation ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Share Ownership ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Corporate Disclosures

Purpose – The study aims to seeks to ascertain the impact of corporate disclosure on foreign equity ownership. Corporate disclosures are important to for stock markets because it is an activity that mitigates information differences between company insiders and outsiders. Design/methodology/approach – Corporate disclosures assume an even greater important when company outsiders are not domiciled in the same country as the company and the company insiders. In this study, the relation between foreign share ownership and corporate disclosures using data on Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria is examined. Findings – The consistent results in this study are that foreign share ownership is positively related to firm size. A negative relation, however, between foreign share ownership and corporate disclosure is found, but this turns out to be related to disclosures about ownership, while disclosures on financial reporting and board management have a positive and insignificant statistical relation taking into account unobserved country, time and firm effects. Further analysis shows that corporate disclosures are very persistent and negatively related to lag foreign share ownership. No consistent statistical relation is found between disclosure and market-to-book values as a proxy for investment opportunities. It is recommended to African-listed firms to pursue adoption of high-quality financial reporting standards and to increase their reporting on board management. The study also recommends that the African Government weighs the benefits of detailed ownership disclosures. Originality/value – The study utilises frontier market data to complement existing literature on how corporate disclosure and transparency influences foreign investors decision to invest in Africa.

scholarly journals The Impact of Net-Migration on Total Fertility Rate in Sub-Sahara African Countries: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Muhammed A. Obomeghie ◽  
Idris Abubakar ◽  
Yerima Isah Abdulrahman
Keyword(s):  
Total Fertility Rate ◽  
Time Series Data ◽  
Migration Policy ◽  
Fertility Rate ◽  
Series Data ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Net Migration ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

The aim of the study is to empirically analyse the impact of netmigration on total fertility rate in Sub-Sahara African countries using data from Nigeria. The rational for the study is under-scored by the need for Sub- Sahara African Countries to have a balanced fertility rate that will enable them to achieve their desired economic growth and development, a situation which their current fertility rate cannot sustain; partly due to the migration activities of its working population. Secondary time series data on targeted variable covering the period from 2000 to 2016 were collected and analysed using econometric packages. Findings show that net-migration impact on total fertility rate positively in Nigeria. It is recommended that government should evolve and maintain a balance migration policy that will help to reduce the current high fertility rate through a cultural re-orientation of Nigeria communities which still places preference on large families.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP: EVIDENCE FROM AFRICA

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (03) ◽  
pp. 2050015 ◽  
Author(s):  
FOLORUNSHO M. AJIDE
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Inclusive Development ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Physical Infrastructure ◽  
Entrepreneurial Development ◽  
The Impact

Closing the infrastructural gaps and fostering the entrepreneurial processes are considered the key to reduce African unemployment and boost productivity to achieve inclusive development. Therefore, investment in infrastructure is crucial for creating a conducive entrepreneurial environment. In this paper, we provide a contribution for this purpose, by evaluating the impact of infrastructure on entrepreneurship in a panel of twenty African countries for a period of 2006–2018. Consistent with previous studies, we find that infrastructures play a significant role in improving entrepreneurial development. In specific, we show that transport, electricity, water and sanitation facilities, ICT and broadband infrastructures have a positive and significant effect on entrepreneurial startups in Africa. Our reports show clearly there is a positive association between infrastructures and entrepreneurial startups at a one percent significance level. These findings are robust to alternative estimation. It points out that physical infrastructure is more relevant in the case of less developed countries in promoting entrepreneurial development.

scholarly journals Defence Spending and Economic Growth: Re-examining the Issue of Causality for Pakistan and India

1995 ◽  
Vol 34 (4III) ◽  
pp. 1109-1117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rizwan Tahir
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Growth Models ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Defence Spending ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

What is the impact of carrying a heavy defence burden on the country’s economic development and growth? Views expressed in the literature1 argue that national defence is a consumption good which reduces economic growth by reducing saving and capital investment. A number of empirical studies have investigated the possible trade-offs between defence spending and other government expenditures like health and education. Empirical evidence concerning the relationship between defence spending and economic growth for developed countries is not inconsistent with the view that defence reduced the resources available for investment and hurts economic growth. See, for example, Benoit (1973). The evidence for developing countries, however, has not been entirely consistent or conclusive.2 Benoit (1978), using data on 44 less developed countries (LDCs) for the period 1950–65, found a strong positive association between defence spending and growth of civilian output per capita. Fredericksen and Looney (1982), using data for the period 1960–78 on a large cross-section, concluded that increased defence spending assists economic growth in resource-rich countries and not in resource-constraint ones. Using a sample of 54 LDCs pertaining to the period 1965–73, Lim (1983) found that defence spending hurts economic growth. Biswas and Ram (1986) in a sample of 58 LDCs for time-periods 1960–70 and 1970–77, using conventional and augmented growth models, concluded that military expenditures neither help nor hurt economic growth to any significant extent.

scholarly journals Remittances, Remittance Concentration, and Volatility: Is Africa Different from the Middle East?

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Amr Hosny
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Nominal Exchange Rate ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Gdp Growth ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Real Gdp ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

This paper makes a new contribution to the empirical literature on the macroeconomic consequences of remittances using data over 1970-2015 period for 56 African and Middle Eastern countries to study the impact of (i) large remittance inflows and (ii) high concentration of origin of remittance on the volatilities of real GDP growth, exports-to-GDP ratio, nominal exports growth and nominal exchange rate depreciation. We find that (i) large remittances can reduce all types of volatility, especially in African countries, and (ii) high remittance concentration, by itself, has been associated with higher volatilities in African but not Middle Eastern countries, and that having both high remittances, but also high concentration aggravates all types of volatility in both regions, although results for the Middle East are not always conclusive.

The Impact of Market Knowledge Competence on New Product Advantage: Conceptualization and Empirical Examination

1998 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiger Li ◽  
Roger J. Calantone
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
New Product ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Market Knowledge ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Concept Definition ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

Although the role of market knowledge competence in enhancing new product advantage is assumed widely in the literature, empirical studies are lacking because of an absence of the concept definition. In this study, the authors conceptualize market knowledge competence as the processes that generate and integrate market knowledge. The authors test the conceptual model using data collected from the software industry. The findings show that each of the three processes of market knowledge competence exerts a positive influence on new product advantage. The results also reveal a positive association between new product advantage and product market performance. The findings regarding the antecedents indicate that the perceived importance of market knowledge by top management has the largest impact on the processes of market knowledge competence.

scholarly journals Beyond America: Cross-national Context and the Impact of Religious Versus Secular Organizational Membership on Self-rated Health

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 237802311879595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Upenieks ◽  
Steven L. Foy ◽  
Andrew Miles
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Level ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Values Survey ◽  
Organizational Membership ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Organizational Involvement ◽  
The Impact

Studies using data from the United States suggest religious organizational involvement is more beneficial for health than secular organizational involvement. Extending beyond the United States, we assess the relative impacts of religious and secular organizational involvement on self-rated health cross-nationally, accounting for national-level religious context. Analyses of data from 33 predominantly Christian countries from the 2005–2008 World Values Survey reveal that active membership in religious organizations is positively associated with self-rated health. This association’s magnitude is higher than the magnitude of associations between many memberships in secular organizations and health. The positive association between involvement in religious organization and self-rated health is moderated by national levels of religious pluralism such that positive associations are primarily found in nations high in religious diversity. These results replicated in a sample of 21 majority-Christian nations from the 2010–2014 World Values Survey.

The Impact of Alternative Telework Arrangements on Organizational Commitment: Insights from a Longitudinal Field Experiment (Retracted)

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Hunton ◽  
Carolyn Strand Norman
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Commitment ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Treatment Conditions ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Task

ABSTRACT: While the structure of telecommuting, or telework, varies across companies, most arrangements offer employees the option to perform their work responsibilities from various locations. A number of factors provide a compelling case for employers to consider such arrangements for their employees, such as motivating better performance and fostering commitment to the organization. Using data that were collected during the longitudinal experiment reported in Hunton (2005), the present study seeks to better understand how organizations might achieve these goals by examining the impact of alternative telework arrangements on the organizational commitment of employees and by evaluating the relationships among telework arrangements, organizational commitment, and task performance. Participants in three of the telework conditions exhibited significant increases in affective, continuance, and normative commitment, relative to a control group; however, in one of the telework conditions (working exclusively at home), organizational commitment was equivalent to the control group. While we postulated that participants with higher numbers of work location alternatives would exhibit greater increases across all three dimensions of organizational commitment, this expectation was only marginally supported. Finally, we report a positive association between organizational commitment and task performance across the treatment conditions and find that organizational commitment mediates the relationship between the telework arrangements and task performance.

scholarly journals Drivers of management accounting adaptability: the agility lens

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 262-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ogan M. Yigitbasioglu
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Production Economics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Status ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Management accounting practices are expected to adapt and evolve with changing information requirements. The purpose of this study is to determine factors that drive management accounting adaptability (MAA) in organisations using the agility lens. Design/methodology/approach This study identifies three factors that drive MAA through their support of agility. Specifically, the impact of top management team knowledge, team-based structures and information system flexibility on MAA is examined. The hypotheses are tested using data collected from an online survey of Australian and New Zealand companies. Findings The results support the proposed relations and explain a significant variance in MAA. Also, consistent with previous findings, a positive association between MAA and management accounting effectiveness was found. Research limitations/implications This study illustrates the value of using the agility lens in the context of management accounting change, which is under-explored in the accounting literature relative to other disciplines such as production economics. Practical implications This study recommends management to refrain from behaviour that encourages and maintains the status quo. Influencing the factors identified in this study can encourage more innovation in management accounting and improve adaptability when changes to organisational contingencies occur. Originality/value This paper explores and adopts the concept of agility to complement dominant theories in the management accounting change literature. The concept of agility is unpacked and applied to review existing literature to explain how management accounting may become more adaptable and open to evolving. The resulting model identifies factors that support sense-making and responding as constituents of agility. This study also extends a recent study by Yigitbasioglu (2016) on the link between information technology and MAA by building a more powerful model in terms of scope and explanatory power to explain the ability of management accounting to change over time.

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