The Linkage between Chittagong Stock Market and Dhaka Stock Market

This paper aims at determining the relationship between the two domestic stock markets of Bangladesh – the Chittagong Stock Market (CSE) and the Dhaka Stock Market (DSE). The daily stock price indices that represent the performance of the two stock markets are collected. In order to find out the interdependent relationship, the Engle-Granger Cointegration test, Granger Causality test, Impulse Response Function, and Variance Decomposition Analysis are employed in this paper. The main finding of this study is that both the stock markets are related in the long run. However, there is a one-way short-run effect from the DSE on the CSE market. The CSE market quickly responds to the shock in the DSE market. But, the DSE market is not responsive to the CSE market. The variance decomposition analysis shows that most of the shocks in the CSE market are explained by its own market. On the other hand, a small number of shocks in the DSE market are explained by the CSE market as well as its own market.

Equality without equity: The gender pay gap at the National University of Colombia

The National University of Colombia boasts a clear and egalitarian salary regime for its academic staff. Apart from rules concerning maternity and paternity leaves, which follow national Colombian legislation, the Academic Personal Statute is completely free of gender-based norms. Salaries are assigned through a points system that considers training level, productivity, and academic rank. With this in mind, one might expect to find egalitarian male and female salary conditions free of the gender-related gaps existing in other, more arbitrary private work environments. In this article, we present the results of a variance decomposition analysis of the gross salaries of all full-time professors and report the existence of an unadjusted gender pay gap of 0.12 and adjusted or unexplained gaps of 0.07-0.09 obtained through a Mincer earnings regression and a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition. Partial correlations between these gaps and the different factors that come into play are examined and analyzed. The high impact of professors’ research track record on their salaries appears as the main contribution to the gender differences. It seems plausible that the crucial need for time to dedicate to research opens the window to the patriarchal society to permeate the otherwise egalitarian salary regime of the University, especially for the highest range of salaries corresponding mainly to male full professors who are very active in research.

Analisis Pengaruh Kebijakan Bank Konvensional terhadap Tingkat Keuntungan Bank Syariah

Perkembangan perbankan syariah di Indonesia sangat pesat beberapa tahun belakangan ini. Namun, market share perbankan syariah masih jauh di bawah harapan. Kajian-kajian teori sebelumnya menyatakan bahwa lingkungan persaingan antar bank, dalam hal ini bank konvensional dan bank syariah, sangat mempengaruhi kinerja bank syariah. Penelitian ini ingin mengetahui bagaimana pengaruh kebijakan bank konvensional yang digambarkan dengan tingkat suku bunga (SB) terhadap keuntungan bank syariah yang digambarkan dengan Return on Assets (ROA). Metode analisis yang digunakan adalah Vector Autoregressive (VAR) dengan tambahan analisis Impulse Response Function (IRF) dan Variance Decomposition Analysis (VDC). Hasil analisis menggunakan VAR (1) menyatakan bahwa terdapat pengaruh negatif signifikan pada ) jika terjadi shock pada tingkat suku bunga tabungan bank konvensional (SB). Kondisi ini sejalan dengan hasil penelitian Haron dan Ahmad (2000); Haron (2004), serta Zainol dan Kassim (2012) yang mengemukakan bahwa apabila tingkat suku bunga tabungan bank konvensional meningkat, maka nasabah bank syariah akan beralih ke bank kovensional yang dianggap memberikan keuntungan lebih besar, sehingga keuntungan bank syariah mengalami penurunan. Hasil ini menunjukkan bahwa tidak semua konsumen bank syariah merupakan konsumen yang loyalis, perbankan syariah dituntut bertindak rasional, yaitu dengan cara menetapkan tingkat bagi hasil yang kompetitif terhadap tingkat suku bunga bank konvensional.

Impact of Regional Air connectivity on Regional Economic Growth in India

In this study, we have used the panel data of 15 federal states to evaluate the empirical linkages between regional economic growth, air transport traffic, and surface transport indicators. There is a dearth of academic articles focusing on inter-dependence between these factors in the context of India. Pedroni panel cointegration, FMOLS, panel VECM causality techniques, and variance decomposition analysis have been used to evaluate dynamics between the three variables. The evaluation of linkages between the regional air connectivity and the regional economic growth holds practical implications since it forms the basis of various policy and regulatory measures instituted in the Indian air transport sector. The bidirectional relationship between air transport and surface transport indicators calls for making multi-modal studies by experts as guiding force behind planning processes instead of relying purely on bureaucratic consultation.

Changes in resting state functional connectivity associated with dynamic adaptation of wrist movements

Dynamic adaptation is an error-driven process of adjusting planned motor actions to changes in task dynamics. Adapted motor plans are consolidated into motor memories that contribute to better performance on re-exposure to the same dynamic condition. In parallel, dynamic perturbations can be compensated for by alternate motor control processes, such as co-contraction, that contribute to error reduction. Whether these control strategies share the same neural resources for memory formation is unclear. To address this gap in knowledge, we used a novel fMRI-compatible wrist robot, the MR-SoftWrist, to identify neural processes specific to dynamic adaptation and subsequent memory formation. Using the MR-SoftWrist, we acquired fMRI during a motor performance and a dynamic perturbation task to localize brain networks of interest. Resting state fMRI scans were acquired immediately before and after task performance to quantify changes in resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) within these networks. Twenty-four hours later, we assessed behavioral retention of training. A variance decomposition analysis was used to isolate behavior associated with adaptation versus alternate error reduction strategies. Immediately after the dynamic perturbation task, rsFC significantly increased within the cortico-thalamic-cerebellar network of the trained wrist and decreased interhemispherically within the cortical sensorimotor network. These changes were associated to behavioral measures of initial acquisition and retention, indicative of memory formation. Variance decomposition analysis revealed that increases within the cortico-thalamic-cerebellar network were associated with adaptation, while interhemispheric decreases in rsFC within the sensorimotor network were associated with alternate error reduction processes.

Does Railway Lines Investments Matter for Economic Growth?

The $20.81 trillion U.S. economy relies on a vast infrastructure network to thrive; however, empirical studies that examined that impact of infrastructure on economic growth in the U.S. are limited. This study’s principal objective was to examine the effect of railway lines on economic growth using annual data from 1980 to 2016 and cointegration analysis. The results showed a positive and significant impact of railway lines on economic growth in the long-run and short-run. The impulse response analysis indicates that shocks to railway lines initially cause GDP growth rates to increase and decrease continuously. The variance decomposition analysis also suggests that overtime, railway lines contribute largely to the variations in economic growth followed by inflation and population. This study’s outcome has important implications not only for the U.S. economy but also for developing and emerging countries. The results suggest that railway lines investments matter for economic growth in the U.S.

Fiscal Policy and Environment: A Long-Run Multivariate Empirical Analysis of Ecological Footprint in Pakistan.

Despite differences in carbon emissions shares and differences in ecological footprint patterns of each nation, these differences are guaranteed to show similar features in long run, thus making it a global issue.An increase in economic growth contributes to an increase in waste production with an impact on environmental degradation and climate change. An ecological footprint is a relatively comprehensive measure than previously used CO2 emission as an environmental proxy as it includes comprehensive multi-facets environmental indicators because ecological footprint includes built-up land, CO2 emission, cropland, fishing ground, grazing land, and forest products which has included all environmental dimensions. This research has focused to empirically investigate the long-run impact of fiscal policy on the ecological footprint in Pakistan keeping different socio-economic factors into consideration. Per annum, time-series data have been collected between 1976 and 2018. The Augmented Dickey-Fuller test has been employed to determine the unit root of the data. To investigate the long-run association between fiscal policy and ecological footprint, modern econometric techniques such as Johansen co-integration test, ARDL Bounds test, different diagnostic tests, and variance decomposition analysis are used. Johnson co-integration test depicts significant long-run co-integration between fiscal policy, ecological footprint, and its major socio-economic determinants in Pakistan. Conclusion of ARDL model shows that 1% increase in public development expenditures, total population, GDP, and energy consumption increase 0.19, 2.17, 1.16, and 2.17% ecological footprint respectively in Pakistan between 1976 and 2018 and vice versa. However, it is also derived that a 1% increase in public tax and non-tax revenue and public current expenditures (in health, education, and other social sectors) shrink 0.36 and 0.013% ecological footprint in the long-run in Pakistan. The stability, reliability, and credibility of the ARDL model are found correct based on different diagnostic tests. Variance decomposition analysis also depicts fiscal policy significantly cause ecological footprint in Pakistan.

Agricultural price transmission across space and time: The case of cowpea and yam markets in Nigeria

The transmission of price changes to markets has attracted renewed interest since the international food price spikes of 2007 to 2011. In response to this, this paper investigates the long-run behaviour of Nigerian cowpeas and yam tuber retail prices across space and time from 2000 to 2015. We employed the augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root test, the Johansen co-integration test, the Granger causality test, the vector error-correction model (VECM) and variance decomposition analysis. The Johansen co-integration test confirmed the presence of a long-run relationship across the markets, while the VECM revealed that the speed of adjustment to equilibrium after price shocks in the yam and cowpea markets varied across space (market) and period (time), with the food crisis in the period pre-2007 to 2011 fastest and the food crisis in the period 2007 to 2011 slowest. We are of the opinion that the presence of a long-run relationship in Nigerian cowpea and yam markets is a call for participants to explore opportunities for gainful trade.

Total Investment in Fixed Assets and the Later Stage of Urbanization: A Case Study of Shanghai

After more than 40 years’ opening-up and reform, China’s urbanization has entered a new type of urbanization. In order to reveal the rule of different infrastructure investments and urbanization relationships, this paper uses Shanghai as a case by applying econometric methods to study the detailed relationship between different indicators from 1990 to 2019. Firstly, we quantify that each variable has a long-term co-integration relationship with urbanization by co-integration test. And we found that the real estate is a main driving force of urbanization while the construction project investment plays an important role in promoting the urbanization rate in the studied period. Secondly, according to the Granger test, our study illustrates that each variable has a bilateral Granger relationship with urbanization while the urbanization rate has more Granger causality impact on the studied variables. Thirdly, based on impulse response test and variance decomposition analysis, we found that urbanization rate with other variables accounts for the majority of the percentage of impacts while the total investment in fixed assets and its three categories contribute a small amount to the urbanization rate. Finally, we propose policy suggestions to strengthen healthy urbanization development in Shanghai.