Higher Education Efficiency and Quality

The efficiency and the quality of higher education institution was assessed with the use of process approach. The efficiency of the higher education institution was determined on the basis of a combination of typical financial measures, taking into account costs incurred in the process of didactics and research, and expenditures (measured by current liquidity, stock turnover, receivables and liabilities ratios) necessary for schools to maintain financial liquidity. As measures of quality, related to statutory tasks of the university, the factors determining graduates’ situation on the labour market as well as patents obtained as a result of research conducted by university were adopted. Applying measures of quality enabled the researcher to obtain a more comprehensive dimension of the universities’ efficiency, while proving the fact that financial measures alone may distort the actual picture of efficiency or even lead to erroneous conclusions. It can be hypothesized that in the case of a higher education institution that pursues its statutory goals of providing knowledge to the public by conducting didactics and research, the concept of efficiency should combine financial and qualitative dimensions. The results obtained in the study using the DEA method allow the researcher to determine the situation of the university for the period covered by the study.

The Importance of the Integrative Relationship Between Cause and Effect Analysis and The Sustainable Balanced Scorecard in Solving Problems of Economic Units

The aim of the research is to highlight the complementarity between cause-and-effect analysis and the Sustainable Balanced Tag Card. The problem with the research is that economic units are poorly aware of the theoretical and philosophical foundations of cause-and-effect analysis and their importance in costing and solving administrative problems and inadequate attention to financial and non-financial measures. In order to achieve the objective of research and test its hypotheses, the Wasit Textile and Weaving Plant of the State Company for the Textile and Leather Industries, located in the centre of the Wasit prefecture, has been selected as a centre for research. Its performance has been evaluated and a model has been presented to solve the problems it faces through a cause-and-effect analysis scheme with a sustainable balanced tag card (SBSC) that details all environmental and social aspects, both quantitative and financial. A set of conclusions has been reached, the most important of which is that the cause-and-effect relationship is not just a correlation, but a reasonable relationship between the level of the activity and its costs, because it gives analysts and managers confidence in the relationships repeatedly estimated in other sets of data, The identification of cost guides gives managers a vision of several methods they use to reduce costs and the quantity of routers, and the sustainable balanced labeling card uses both financial and non-financial performance measures to bridge the gap arising from the use of financial measures only, as well as to measure and improve performance , The economic unit wishing to take advantage of the characteristics of the adopted economic unit strategies that are relevant to each dimension of the sustainable balance tag and its drawbacks should be careful not to reduce the costs of products or services on an ongoing basis, and focus not only on reducing costs, but also on providing distinct products and services that meet

Risk Factors of Financial Exploitation Versus Scam

Financial exploitation (FE) perpetrators are usually seen in a position of trust, such as family members or friends, whereas perpetrators of scam tend to be unknown individuals. Few empirical studies have examined victim risk factors, and this study aimed to systematically compare risk factors of FE versus scam. One-hundred-and-ninety-five adults (ages 18-89) were recruited to complete a 60-minute survey and interview at Purdue University in Indiana (n1=97) and Scripps College in California (n2=98). Risk factors assessed included cognitive tasks (overall cognition, memory, and executive decision), socio-emotional questionnaires (depression, resilience, ostracism, and social integration), financial measures (numeracy, objective financial knowledge, retirement worries, and financial well-being), physical health and demographics (age, gender, education level, marital status, ethnicity). Additionally, participants reported experiences of FE and scam, including (1) the 11-item short-form Older Adult Financial Exploitation Measure, (2) seven questions on scam from the Health and Retirement Study, and (3) likelihood to contact a scammer after reviewing lottery scam materials. The three dependent variables were log-transformed before OLS regression models were built. Each dependent variable was associated with different risk factors. Lower standard of living (p=.02) and ostracism (p<.05) independently predicted FE. Lower physical health (b=-.02, p=.003) was the strongest predictor of scam, with lower level of financial well-being (p=.02) serving as an independent predictor. For lottery scams contact likelihood, ostracism (b=.04, p=.005) and being male (b=-.23, p=.04) were the strongest predictors. Since risk factors differed between FE and scam, prevention and intervention programs should target the unique profiles of risk factors for each.

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF NON-BANK FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN BANGLADESH

NBFIs play an important role in economic development through ensuring proper mobilization of funds in Bangladesh. This study represents a comparison of nine NBFIs operating their business in Bangladesh within the period from 2016 to 2019 through using financial ratios and other measures. To analyze the financial performance this study has used ratio analysis, such as ROA, ROE, ROCE, Institutional size/ Total assets and total equity etc. The outcome of this study says that for generating return the NBFIs performance based on efficiency ratio is different from the performance based on liquidity ratio, capital ratio and other financial measures. This study suggests to NBFIs to be more conscious about loan selection and establish a brand image through providing more efficient services. It also suggests the NBFIs to finds more income generating areas to be more competitive. In the coming years NBFIs will have more prospects that will ensure the economic development of our country.

Inventing hell: how the Ethiopian and Eritrean regimes produced famine in Tigray

It has been a year since a devastating war broke out in the Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia, where hundreds of thousands of Tigrayan civilians are killed, millions internally displaced and tens of thousands have fled to seek refuge in neighboring Sudan. An alarming development linked to this war is the manmade famine in Tigray that now threatens the lives of the millions of civilians who survived the horrific atrocities during the war. This piece is an attempt to explain why millions of Tigrayans from all walks of life face famine and concludes that famine was from the start an end goal of the Ethiopian and Eritrean regimes and they employed different tactics to ensure that it unfolds the way it does now. Among others, the tactics include (1) the systematic looting and destruction of Tigray’s basic economic infrastructures, (2) implementation of different financial measures to deprive people in the region of access to cash, and imposition of a complete siege that hindered access to supplies including lifesaving humanitarian assistance.

FINANCIAL ASSURANCE ASPECTS OF THE TOURISM SECTOR DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE IN THE CONDITIONS OF COVID-19

The research deals with the state of the tourism sector of Ukraine under current conditions. The main funding sources for tourism entities have been considered. The financial measures taken by Ukraine and neighboring countries for overcoming the consequences of the pandemic in the tourism sector have been summarized. The importance of effective financial initiative support in the above-mentioned area has been substantiated. Several financial tools that should be used for the development of the tourism sector in terms of the pandemic are presented. The financial instruments of tourist activity stimulation are singled out: direct financing (public funding instruments) and indirect financing (fiscal incentives, state property rent relief, rate of tourist tax, etc.). The main destructive factors of the tourism sector development have been determined, which include: the lack of systematic state support for the tourism entities development under current conditions; a significant level of the tourism sector shadowing; misuse of funds from the land tourist tax; unsatisfactory condition of tourist facilities; worn-out infrastructure in most regions, etc. The following measures are needed to be implemented to improve the effectiveness of financial instruments for tourism development: the creation of an attractive investment climate in tourism; development of tourist infrastructure; intensification of public funding for tourism and the efforts of local governments to identify internal reserves for funding; intended use of funds from the land tourist tax; use of the potential of the public-private partnership mechanism at the local level; intensification of cooperation with non-governmental institutions, including foreign ones, which are interested in the implementation of tourism development programs, etc. The introduction of anti-crisis key factors, systematization, and consistency in the implementation of the above-mentioned measures will help to stabilize the development of tourism entities in the shortest possible time and achieve a level of economic efficiency and balance between security, public health, and economic interests. Keywords: pandemic, tourist activity, financial instruments, tourist tax, incentives. JEL Classification L83, G19 Formulas: 0; fig.: 1; tabl.: 0; bibl.: 14.

Non-financial performance measures and pay-performance sensitivity

Purpose This study aims to examine whether chief executive officer (CEO) pay-performance sensitivity to shareholder wealth is related to the use of non-financial performance measures in incentive contracts. Design/methodology/approach Using hand-collected performance measure data in a sample of S&P 500 firms across the period 1994–2010, this study investigates the sensitivity of CEO bonus and cash pay to shareholder wealth of firms that use non-financial performance (NFPM) measures of varying types and contractual weights in their bonus contracts along with financial measures (NFPM firms) in comparison to that of firms using financial measures only (FPM firms). Findings This study finds evidence that the pay-performance sensitivity is stronger in NFPM firms than in FPM firms. These results are driven by the use of CEO individual goals and operational efficiency. Furthermore, when using environmental, social and governance factors, the pay-performance sensitivity is stronger in terms of accounting performance only. This study also finds that using NFPM enhances pay-performance sensitivity more as their contractual weights increase and as financial risk increases. Practical implications These findings are important to stakeholders, and especially regulators in understanding incentive effects of alternative performance measures. This study also sheds light on what types of non-financial measures are better in helping firms align CEOs’ incentives to shareholders’ interests. Originality/value This study contributes to prior research on benefits of non-financial information within the context of executive compensation. This study presents original results about the effects of contractual weights of non-financial measures and financial risk on CEO pay-performance sensitivity. This study also presents new insights regarding how different types of non-financial measures affect CEO pay-performance sensitivity.

Project Similarity Bias and Variance Neglect in Forecast Metric Evaluation

Business executives often have to allocate resources across very dissimilar projects. They use financial measures, such as Net Present Value (NPV) that simplify this difficult comparison because they aim to be equally applicable to any kind of project, but these measures vary in their reliability. Psychological research suggests that comparing alignable objects will be easier than comparing non-alignable objects (Markman & Gentner, 1993; Markman & Medin, 1995). However, it is unclear how alignment might moderate people’s use of financial measure such as NPV. We found that laypeople accommodate their use of a financial measure (NPV) based on its reliability (as explicitly described in the introduction to the task) when allocating resources to a set of alignable projects, but use it regardless of reliability when allocating to a set of non-alignable projects. However, when NPV reliability information was presented numerically using ranges, participants’ allocation did not depend on the ranges—participants used NPV even when they had an opportunity to use the intrinsic features of the project. Overall, however, participants relied on NPV more when projects were low in alignment than when they were high in alignment. The result with numerical reliability was replicated with Masters of Management students. Our results demonstrate that considering dissimilar choices may hinder people’s ability to evaluate their importance, and that people might not be using useful variance information in their decisions.

The impact of the pandemic on he development of women’s entrepreneurship in the Republic of Kazakhstan

The consequences of the declared pandemic, which led to the COVID–19 outbreak, a year later showed changes in almost all areas, especially in such areas as health, economy, education, business, etc. The purpose of the study is to consider the impact of the pandemic on the development of women’s entrepreneurship in Kazakhstan, what consequences women’s business faced, what measures were taken and how effective they were, including measures of state support for entrepreneurship in general. If in 2019 there was a difference in the financing of projects headed by women and men (the gender gap in funding in 2019 was almost 80%, and in 2020 – 96%), then the preliminary situation for 2020 shows that the crisis is equally felt by both men and women entrepreneurs. Given that while there are some operational data for 2020, it is difficult to immediately determine which of the economic measures were the most effective, which were less effective, and this is due to the fact that the pandemic period is not over, and their effectiveness depends on the epidemiological situation in the regions of the republic. In general, the measures are ineffective for reasons of insufficient awareness of small and medium-sized businesses, not falling into the category to which these or other measures apply, or the measures provided were not sufficiently significant in comparison with the losses. Government support measures taken by countries include a wide range, but the most effective financial measures.