scholarly journals Dimensionally Decomposed Development and Happiness

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Muharrem Burak ÖNEMLİ
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Least Squares Method ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Special Treatment ◽  
Economic Prosperity ◽  
Reverse Causality ◽  
Financial Flows ◽  
Sustainable Environment ◽  
Average Happiness

The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare the relative effects of different developmental dimensions on happiness. However, such an attempt requires an approach that divides the phenomenon of development into building blocks. In this respect, this study focuses on the dimensions of economic prosperity, good governance, education, health, the sustainable environment, gender equality, trade and financial flows, and mobility. Following the general trend in the literature, the relations between the country's average happiness levels calculated from microdata and the development indicators compiled from the World Bank data were analyzed using the least-squares method. In this analysis, Box-Cox transformation was used to ensure that the dependent variable, the average happiness levels, showed normal distribution. Our study reveals that all dimensions have the expected effects on happiness. However, the economic prosperity, sustainable environment, and government efficiency dimensions create the top three blocks of development that have the most significant impact on life satisfaction, respectively. On the other hand, the effects of the remaining aspects on happiness seem relatively minor. Additionally, handling the reflection of the mobility dimension on happiness deserves special treatment since the association between net migration and happiness is most likely tend to indicate a reverse causality, unlike the migration stock and life satisfaction relation.

scholarly journals Does the Prevalence of Obesity Affect the Demand for Soft Drinks? Evidence from Cross-Country Panel Data

2022 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 938
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Ferretti ◽  
Michele Mariani ◽  
Elena Sarti
Keyword(s):  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Least Squares Method ◽  
Soft Drink ◽  
Soft Drinks ◽  
Market Demand ◽  
Reverse Causality ◽  
Soft Drink Consumption ◽  
Variable Approach ◽  
Prevalence Of Obesity ◽  
The Impact

The impact of soft drinks on obesity has been widely investigated during the last decades. Conversely, the role of obesity as a factor influencing the demand for soft drinks remains largely unexplored. However, understanding potential changes in the demand for soft drinks, as a result of changes in the spread of obesity, may be useful to better design a comprehensive strategy to curb soft drink consumption. In this paper, we aim to answer the following research question: Does the prevalence of obesity affect the demand for soft drinks? For this purpose, we collected data in a sample of 97 countries worldwide for the period 2005–2019. To deal with problems of reverse causality, an instrumental variable approach and a two-stage least squares method were used to estimate the impact of the age-standardized obesity rate on the market demand for soft drinks. After controlling for several demographic and socio-economic confounding factors, we found that a one percent increase in the prevalence of obesity increases the consumption of soft drinks and carbonated soft drinks by about 2.37 and 1.11 L per person/year, respectively. Our findings corroborate the idea that the development of an obesogenic food environment is a self-sustaining process, in which obesity and unhealthy lifestyles reinforce each other, and further support the need for an integrated approach to curb soft drink consumption by combining sugar taxes with bans, regulations, and nutrition education programs.

scholarly journals Illicit financial flows and foreign direct investment in developing countries

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 442-447
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Innocents Edoun ◽  
Alexandre Essome Dipita ◽  
Dikgang Motsepe
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Interest Rates ◽  
Tax Evasion ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Transfer Pricing ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Financial Flows ◽  
Illicit Financial Flows

Africa is facing a number of challenges that are negatively affecting socio-economic development at all levels of governments and local governments are expected to play a leading role for Africa’s development. One of these challenges are illicit financial flows that are perceived by many as a crime against Africa’s transformation. The continent is losing billions of dollars every year because of tax evasion, corruption and inappropriate transfer pricing and maladministration. With tax being one of Africa’s main sources of revenue, current and past researches revealed that, illicit financial flows (IFFs) cripple African Governments tax base as a results of capital outflows and lack of good governance. This situation obviously is a challenge for Africa’s development as governments struggle to finance structuring projects and this in turn compels these governments to seek funds from international organisations at very high interest rates. It is also important to reveal that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rapidly grew after the Second World War with the intention to maximize profit on investment in less developed countries and specifically in the African continent. In competing in Africa, most multinationals main objective is to pay less tax, make extensive profits and transfer the proceeds to their country of origin. This subsequently gave rise to illicit financial flows in Africa where the continent is losing billions of dollars. Past studies equally revealed that, Africa’s revenue could increase between 55 and 65%, if appropriate mechanisms of monitoring the flows were in place. This study therefore is based on the premise that, tax evasion, illicit financial flows, corruption and abusive transfers pricing are all factors that affect Africa’s development. Using appropriate method of inquiry, this study wants to demonstrate the presence of FDI’s in Africa as a modus operandi behind tax evasion. It also using the “Appropriability Theory” to explain the rationale for FDI in Africa.

GREEN INNOVATION ANDFIRM PERFORMANCE: THE ECOLOGICAL MODERNIZATION PERSPECTIVE

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (Number 1) ◽  
pp. 21-31
Author(s):  
Fadhilah Mohd. Zahari ◽  
T. Ramayah
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Business Strategy ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
Ecological Modernization ◽  
Economic Prosperity ◽  
Green Innovation ◽  
Sustainable Environment ◽  
Central Argument ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Economic Improvement

Green innovation is becoming an essential business strategy in the 21stcentury as it brings sustainable environment and economic prosperity hand in hand. Consequently, the impact of green innovation on firm performance has drawn enormous attention among the scholars for the past few decades, aiming at empirically justify the positive implications of being green in business. However, the analysis from the ecological modernization perspective remains limited, although the focus on preventive approach to achieve environmentaland economic improvement is the central argument of this theoretical lens. This study tackles the above issue by examining the performance outcomes of green innovation adoption in view of ecological modernization perspective. A quantitative, survey based study collected data from 130 Malaysian manufacturing firms, which was subsequently analyzed using SmartPLS 2.0. The findings generally corroborate the positive implications of green innovation on firm performance in the aspects of environment, economic and competitive advantage. Likewise, EM perspective fits in offering plausible insights of the findings, hence entails the alternative ground to be employed in other studies of the like.

Mandatory CSR expenditure and stock return

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 951-975
Author(s):  
Asit Bhattacharyya ◽  
Md Lutfur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Least Squares ◽  
Stock Returns ◽  
Least Squares Method ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Reverse Causality ◽  
Endogeneity Bias ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose India has mandated corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure under Section 135 of the Indian Companies Act, 2013 – the first national jurisdiction to do so. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of mandated CSR expenditure on firms’ stock returns by using actual CSR spending data, whereas the previous studies mostly focus on voluntary CSR proxied by CSR scores. Design/methodology/approach The authors estimate their baseline regression by using ordinary least squares(OLS) method. Although the baseline regression involving CSR expenditure and stock returns using ordinary least squares method are estimated, endogeneity and reverse causality biases are addressed by using two-stage least squares and generalized method of moments approaches. These approaches contribute mitigating endogeneity bias and biases associated with unobserved heterogeneity and simultaneity. Findings The findings document that mandatory CSR expenditure has a negative impact on firms’ stock returns which supports the “shareholders” expense’ view. This result remain robust after controlling for endogeneity bias and the use of both standard and robust test statistics. The authors however observe that this result holds for the firms with actual CSR expenditure equal to the mandated amount but does not hold for the firms with actual CSR expenditure greater than the mandated amount. Therefore, the authors provide evidence that CSR expenditure’s impact on stock returns depends on whether firms simply comply the regulation or voluntarily chose an amount of CSR expenditure above the mandated amount. Originality/value The primary contribution is to present a valid and robust evidence of negative effect of mandated CSR spending on firms’ stock returns when the mandatory CSR spending rule is already in place. This study contributes by examining the impact of mandated CSR spending on stock during post-implementation period (2015-2017), whereas other studies by Dharampala and Khanna (2018); Kapoor and Dhamija (2017); and Mukherjee et al. (2018) mainly examined the impact of legislation on Indian CSR. The authors use mandated actual CSR expenditure, whereas previous studies mostly focus on voluntary CSR proxied by CSR scores.

The Kids aren’t alright: the collapse of Kids Company

The Good Glow ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 97-120
Author(s):  
Jon Dean
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Symbolic Power ◽  
Special Treatment ◽  
Prime Ministers ◽  
Disadvantaged Children ◽  
Charismatic Authority

This chapter details the 2015 collapse of Kids Company, a leading charity for disadvantaged children in London. It examines the role of charisma within symbolic power, applying Max Weber's notion of charismatic authority both to charities as organisations and to charitable leaders. The collapse of Kids Company revealed its over-reliance on its closeness to people at the top of government, symbolic power, and the charismatic authority of its founder, Camila Batmanghelidjh, rather than good governance and strategic planning. Kids Company challenged those who would talk it down, and used its access to prime ministers in order get special treatment. The chapter then explores the notions of passion and professionalism within the charity sector; how these two concepts are often thrown into opposition; how charity leaders reflect on bridging this divide; and what the collapse of Kids Company has meant for their work.

scholarly journals Database Protection: Are Laws Threatening To Destroy Our Building Blocks Of Knowledge?

10.28945/2486 ◽  
2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Alpert Gladstone
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Web Technology ◽  
Software Systems ◽  
Economic Prosperity ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Curriculum Model ◽  
Database Protection

This paper examines the various regimes that are used to protect databases to suggest that the continued progress o' science and technology that has enabled economic prosperity will be fostered by less regulation. The diversity between and within each of these regimes reflects fundamentally different views of intellectual property. Technology, specifically digitalization that has facilitated the creation, replication and easy dissemination of information has changed the value of information and threatens to create a striated society of information "haves" and "have-nots" due to enclosure mechanisms. As technology advances, the laws which we implement to build upon the existing intellectual property infrastructure must be developed with care to preserve the careful balance of the public good and private interest that has maintained the past 200 years of "progress of science and useful arts." The author suggests ways to structure a database to encourage or reward database developers while simultaneously fostering the advancement of science. Web Technology has changed conventional Information Systems (IS) and conventional Information Technology (IT) as we know it. There is no doubt that Web technology will provide the foundation for most future software systems. IS curriculum therefore needs to be brought up to date to reflect this reality. In this paper we update our earlier research leading to the design of a graduate model curriculum for Information Systems and describe a generic web-centric Information Systems Masters curriculum model. It is strong on web-technology and its goal is to produce students who are comfortable with both today's technology and technology of the future. Universities and colleges can adapt this curriculum model to design a new Masters in IS curriculum or simply to bring up to date any existing IS/IT curriculum. The model suggests new core concentration courses, and concentration electives.

Conclusions on Good Governance

2019 ◽  
pp. 270-280
Author(s):  
Henk Addink
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legal Concept ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Right

Good governance is a legal concept and a cornerstone of the modern state and presented in the book as the third cornerstone of a modern stone (alongside the rule of law and democracy). We concluded in relation to the development of the concept of good governance in part I that principles of good governance can only be legal principles when they have been somehow codified legal effect. The good governance principles became more concrete by enumerating six groups of principles (properness, transparency, participation, effectiveness, accountability, and human rights) which are found in many documents of national, regional, and international context. From the legal theory approach on good governance we discussed the character of these principles. In part II we specified the principles of good governance and starting with the principle of properness, which has also been developed under the name of the principle of natural justice. The second, the principle of transparency, is connected to the principle of participation which both have roots in the concept of democracy. The principles of effectiveness and accountability both have a relationship to the institutional structure and functioning. The last principle is the human rights principle which is linked to the rule of law but also to democracy. Several principles of good governance were already developed in regulations and in codes which are the building blocks for the development of the right to good governance. The implementation of good governance and the comparison between countries were explained in Part III. After that, the regional level was discussed—the European Union and the Council of Europe were chosen as models as far as it was comparable. The last chapter was about the implementation on the international level.

scholarly journals Policies for Happiness in the Global Village

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-53
Author(s):  
Bogdan Dima ◽  
Ştefana Maria Dima
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Social Utility ◽  
Public Governance ◽  
Global Village ◽  
National Wealth ◽  
Linear Interactions

AbstractThis article employs three different measures of life satisfaction viewed as proxy for social utility, in order to test for the possible non-linear interactions between the quality of public governance, as reflected by the World Bank indicators, and globalization, as captured by the KOF index, for a dataset of 99 countries for a time span between 2001 and 2010. We conclude that efficient and trustworthy public policies may enhance life satisfaction. Moreover, there may occur a synergy effect between ‘good’ governance and globalization (especially for those components describing social globalization), while there is no substitute for the failure of public policies, in terms of human development and growth (with the effects on human development being substantially more important than those corresponding to the increase in national wealth).

Segmentation of music festival visitors by values of hedonia, life satisfaction and eudaimonia

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-472
Author(s):  
Harriman Samuel Saragih ◽  
Novi Amelia
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Senior Executives ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Conceptual Foundation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Music Festival ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Case Research ◽  
Musical Event

PurposeWith the growing interest in eudaimonia in the past years and the need to better understand festival visitors' motivation in the context of music festivals, this study aims to propose visitor segmentation based on the values of hedonia, life satisfaction and eudaimonia.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis in this study employs a case research method that follows the abductive paradigm. The authors begin their conceptual foundation with a review of the literature on hedonia, life satisfaction and eudaimonia. The authors then use the preliminary conceptual foundation as the basis of rival analysis through a focus group and interviews with senior executives, government officials, communities and other related stakeholders. The authors also carry out an exploratory factor analysis to determine the building blocks of eudaimonic festival experiences. Last, using cluster analysis, the authors support their conceptual proposition from the initial qualitative inquiries.FindingsFrom the three studies that the authors performed, their findings suggest that, based on hedonia and eudaimonia, festival attendees can be divided into three distinct segments: (1) pleasure seekers (i.e. visitors who look for personal pleasure, enjoyment and affection), (2) playful learners (i.e. visitors who not only seek pleasure, but also consider the urgency to think about the need to grow as a person) and (3) transcendentalists (i.e. visitors who seek a balance of pleasure, escapism, self-reflection, personal meaning and impact through attending festival activities).Research limitations/implicationsThis study argues that the ideas of hedonia and eudaimonia are present in the context of the music festival. Theoretically, this paper suggests that festival-goers can be divided into three clusters based on the values of hedonia and eudaimonia: pleasure seekers, playful learners and transcendentalists. Practically, this study suggests that festival organisers should consider developing music concert events by taking into account the eudaimonic and hedonistic desires, intrinsically possessed by the festival-goers, which is expected to add value to the produced musical event.Originality/valueThis study is the first to present visitor segmentation in a music festival setting based on the values of eudaimonia, life satisfaction and hedonia.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document