The plague of privatization: A futures analysis of the zombification of education

The article re-imagines the current developments of Swedish education into a possible future. Historically, education was organized and funded by the state; however, reforms towards privatization in the 1990s implemented school choice, private schools and a tax-financed voucher system with the option of turning profits on education. A new judicial decision enforced the withholding of data on private ownership and economic spending in education from the public, as transparency was deemed to damage the competitiveness of private schools. Hence, generating profits and business advantage are prioritized over public interests as the organization and provision of education is progressively shaped by privatization. These changes are what prompted us to consider ‘what if all education was privatized’? The first part of the article reviews important developments in public education towards privatization and introduces our theoretical framework. The second part draws on aspects of speculative fiction in a dystopian scenario of an imagined educational apocalypse. The scenario starts in contemporary times and ends in 2121 where the education system is dominated by a financial conglomerate called Nescience Ltd. In this technologically advanced society, artificial intelligence systems have replaced educational institutions and teachers. Expensive tuition and fees have made people indebted to Nescience while learning is transformed into the manufacturing of alienated labourers. To understand these economic transitions and the position of Nescience as a knowledge provider in the future, we use the concept of ‘zombification’ to theorize the infection of privatization in the educational sector.

https://www.asianinstituteofresearch.org/JEBarchives/Comparison-Between-Risk-and-Return-of-Financial-Conglomerates-in-Indonesia%3A-Vertical%2C-Horizontal-and-Mixed-(TOPSIS-Analysis)

Financial conglomeration in Indonesia is a unique form because Indonesia has three financial conglomeration types that existed. There are vertical, horizontal, and mixed types. In fact, many countries are implementing vertical financial conglomerates because the supervision is easier to carry out than other types. This study tried to compare the performance of vertical, horizontal, and mixed financial conglomerates. Is it true that a vertical financial conglomerate is the best financial conglomerate compared to a horizontal and mixed one with the TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) analysis? This study used return indicators and risk indicators to measure financial conglomerates' performance in the banking industry. The results showed that vertical financial conglomerates were the most superior compared to horizontal and mixed financial conglomerates. It might be attributed that vertical financial conglomerates usually have the same activities and have an explicit direct relationship between the parent company and subsidiary company so as it is more easily to supervising.

Financial Conglomerate Affiliation, Insurance Companies’ Performance, and Risk

This study analyzes the relationship between financial conglomerate affiliation, insurance companies’ performance, and risk. For verification, a univariate analysis was conducted using a propensity score matching technique and an ordinary least squares regression model was estimated. As a robustness check, the Heckman two-stage regression model, which is known for correcting self-selection bias, was also estimated. The main results are as follows. First, as a result of belonging to a financial conglomerate, insurers’ profitability and simple equity ratio are significantly lower than that of stand-alone insurers, while revenue volatility and insolvency risk are significantly higher. Second, statistically significant negative relationships among insurance companies’ profitability, earnings volatility, and insolvency risks are greater if they belong to a mixed conglomerate rather than a financial holding company. Finally, the results reveal that this negative effect is caused by the adverse impacts of equity investments of affiliates owned by insurance companies belonging to mixed conglomerates. These findings indicate that the expansion of affiliates’ shareholding by an insurer can increase fluctuations in the insurer’s earnings by transferring the change in management performance, consequently increasing the risk of insolvency as measured by the Z-score.

Determinants of Solvency in Selected CEE Banking Sectors: Does Affiliation with the Financial Conglomerate Matter?

The aim of this paper is to describe the development of bank solvency in six selected Central and Eastern European countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia) and to find out if the share of equity in total assets is influenced by the affiliation of banks with financial conglomerate or if other determinants are more important. The data cover the period from 2011 to 2017. The highest level of capital buffers hold Serbian banks, solvency of Croatian and Slovenian banks is below average. The results of the panel data regression analysis showed that the affiliation of banks with financial conglomerate does not statistically significant affect the simplified solvency ratio in these selected CEE countries. Instead, some bank‑specific and macroeconomic factors matter. Especially important is the lagged value of bank solvency. Among other factors, bank profitability and liquidity, quality of its loan portfolio and size of the bank, as well as the economic cycle and price of credit and debt were significant for some countries.