The Effect of Military Expenditure on Economic Growth and environmental quality in Uganda.

This research aims to empirically investigate how military expenditure (ME) relates with economic growth (GDP) and environmental quality (CO2) in Uganda from 1990-2022 using a flexible autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model and Toda-Yamamoto Granger causality test. The results showed that in the long run, ME is positively related to GDP but the result is insignificant. However, in the long run, the effect of ME on CO2 is positive and statistically significant. Furthermore, the short run effect of ME on GDP is negative but insignificant while on CO2, the effect of ME is positive and significant. Additionally, the causality test results revealed a unidirectional causality running from ME to GDP and ME to CO2. Also, a bidirectional causality flows from population growth (PG) to GDP and CO2 while a unidirectional causality flows from gross capital formation (GCF) to GDP and CO2. From these results, Uganda policymakers should encourage military spending since it yields a positive effect on economic growth but should keep in mind of the environmental quality to align with Sustainable Development Goal 13. However, other sectors of the economy like education, agriculture should not be abandoned

Effect of Capital Structure on Organizational Performanceof Selected Firms in Ghana

One significant decision which impacts on the continued existence of a business firm is its capital structure decision. The finance mix of a business organisation is characterised by external influences, interest and complexities which can impact on the financial performance of the business organisation. This study investigated the impact of capital structure on the performance of selected manufacturing companies in Ghana. Data from the annual reports of the manufacturing firms listed on the Ghanaian stock market from 2011-2021 were employed and analysed using Panel regression technique. Return on Asset (ROA) was employed to represent performance of the listed companies while short-term debt, long term debt, leverage, size and liquidity ratio represented the independent variables for capital structure.     Findings from the study suggest Long-term-debt-ratio has a positive and significant relationship with the financial performance of the listed firms, short-term-debt-ratio has a positive and insignificant relationship with the financial performance of the selected firms, Leverage was observed to have a negative and insignificant influence on the financial performance of the firms, firm size has a direct yet significant influence on the financial performance of the selected firms and liquidity ratio (LR) of the firms suggest a positive and significant influence on financial performance of the firms. There should be close supervision on the debt composition of the listed manufacturing firm’s capital to curtail potential bankruptcy and credit risks exposure

Analyzing The Determinants and Stability of Non-Performing Loans at Indonesian Private Commercial Banks

This study examines the determinants and stability of Non Performing Loans at private commercial banks in Indonesia during 2003-2021. The determinants of NPL included are both internal and external factors. The internal factors are credit growth and lending rate while the external factors are production index as proxy for GDP, exchange rate and inflation rate. Stability test is added to the analysis. This study defines stability of NPL function as the stability in regression coefficient and the stability in the intercept over time. Taking aggregate monthly NPLs at private commercial banks in Indonesia from 2003 to 2021 this study finds that loan growth has a negative impact while lending rate has a positive impact on NPL. Regarding to external or economic variables, exchange rate and inflation show a negative effect on NPL while Index production has no effect on NPL. Regarding the stability test, this study finds that the regression equation on NPL show a structural change over time. The intercept also differs over years during the study period

Corporate Governance and Sustainability Reporting : A Literature Review

AbstractPurpose - These research objectives to get an overview of the corporate governance's impact on sustainability reporting through a systematic literature review.Methodology - The review method was conducted qualitatively through SLR in mapping existing research, with a sample of 62 articles published in 2012-2020.Findings - The findings provide three categories for how corporate governance affects sustainability reporting. Board characteristics consist of 5 variables (board size, board independence, board meeting, CEO duality, CSR committee), board diversity consists of 7 variables (community influential member, board age, board expertise, board incentives, board education, board nationality and gender diversity), and the audit committee characteristics  consists of 4 variables (audit committee expertise, audit committee size, audit committee independence, audit committee meetings).Research limitations – Since the subject of the study is major corporations, the findings cannot be generalized, however they will be the same for other study subjects like micro, small, and medium-sized businesses.Originality - The research focuses on how corporate governance affects sustainability reporting and generates a thorough report on the predictor variables of sustainability reporting and its measurements in order to shed light on future sustainability reporting aspects

Analysis of the Ideal Sukuk Structure from the Perspective of Maqasid Sharia of Wealth (Indonesia Case)

The purpose of this study is to analyze the existing sukuk structure in Indonesia based on the perspective of maqasid sharia. Furthermore, the method used in this study is the quality supported by secondary data, namely financial statements and prospectuses of companies that issue sukuk. The companies sampled for this study were companies that issued sukuk, a total of 33 companies. The result of this study is that there are several outstanding sukuk, namely (i) Sukuk Ijarah I Angkasa Pura I Year 2016; (ii) Sukuk Mudharabah Lontar Papyrus Pulp & Paper Industry I Year 2018; (iii) Sukuk Ijarah I Moratelindo Phase II 2020; (iv) Sukuk Wakalah Medco Power Indonesia I Year 2018; (v) Sukuk Ijarah Berkelanjutan III Indosat Phase I Year 2019; (vi) Sukuk Mudharabah OKI Pulp & Paper Mills I Year 2021; (vii) Sukuk Ijarah Series III PLN Phase I Year 2018. This study concludes that the market, investors, Sukuk issuers, regulators, and other parties in the issuance of Sukuk, still consider that sukuk issuance is complex and not simple. In addition, community literacy over Sukuk is also still lacking

Aiding Fragility or Stability? The Impact of Foreign Assistance on Government Effectiveness and Violence in Afghanistan

This paper considers the response of two dimensions of stability—government effectiveness and level of violence—to the inflow of foreign assistance into Afghanistan. Novel econometric techniques—frequency domain causality and wavelet coherence analysis—are employed in analyzing time-series data covering the period 1995-2022. Firstly, it is confirmed that a virtuous cycle exists, in which the level of government effectiveness responds to the inflow of foreign assistance, and the inflow of foreign assistance in turn responds to the level of government effectiveness. Secondly, it is found that the nature of the relationship is positive, in which higher levels of foreign assistance inflows are correlated with higher levels of government effectiveness. Thirdly, it is discovered that foreign assistance inflows take the lead in this relationship, leading to the conclusion that foreign assistance inflows raise the quality of government effectiveness in Afghanistan. Finally, the results show that foreign assistance inflows significantly predict the absence of violence in Afghanistan. In summary, the findings suggest that foreign assistance can increase stability in Afghanistan by promoting government effectiveness

Investigating the World Trade of Natural Fibers

This study investigates the World international trade of jute, abaca, coir, kenaf and sisal products which is abbreviated as JACKS in the literature. The period we cover is 2003–2022 and the technique we use is descriptive analysis. The data collected is based on Harmonized System Codes and the proxy we used as JACKS is HS 53. At first, we handle the data of aggregated textile industry then we study JACKS. The results show that JACKS in the textile industry is not high but there are many researches about these products. We find that the main JACKS’ importer and exporter is China and its import and export values are increasing in the long term with some declines in the short term.

The Mediator Role of Artificial Intellıgence in the Influence of Corporate Strategies and Competitive Strategies on Company Performance

This study examines the mediating role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its effects on firm performance in terms of corporate and competitive strategies. The focus of this research is the finance and telecommunications sectors, as these are the most common and first areas to use digital technologies. Data were collected from 569 employee in these indutsries. Frequency distribution analyses, explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses, reliability analysis, correlation analysis and structural equation modeling were applied to the data. According to the findings of the research, corporate and competitive strategies have significant effects on AI and company performances. It has been determined that AI has a significant impact on company performance. In addition, the partial mediating effect of AI was found in the effect of corporate and competitive strategies on company performance

Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility Spending: A Study of Public Sector Organizations in Tanzania

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has today become an important phenomenon and most organizations spends substantial amount of funds on CSR activities. However, empirical evidence on what determine the amount spent on CSR activities by public water sector organizations in Tanzania is lacking. Thus, the current study focus on determining factors that influences CSR spending by public water supply and sanitation authorities in Tanzania. Quantitative data were collected from 2015 to 2019, and a Fixed Effect estimation technique with instrument variable was employed in the analysis. The study revealed that; the approved CSR budget size, revenue collection efficiency, financial leverage, and organization size significantly influence CSR spending. The study contributes to the existing CSR literature in the public sector, and provides inputs on policies formulation that aims to enhance CSR investment public sector organizations

The Relationship Between Employee Engagement and Job Satisfaction: A Study on Moroccan Companies

Employee engagement is declining, and employees are becoming increasingly disengaged. Engaged employees with a full workforce can mean the difference between a company's survival and success. Employee engagement and job satisfaction are two distinct constructs that have been discovered to be related, and the concept of employee engagement extends beyond job satisfaction. Various studies claim that employee engagement predicts job satisfaction, but other studies find that job satisfaction leads to employee engagement. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between employee engagement and job satisfaction. The study was conducted on 235 employees from various Moroccan companies. Primary data was collected using a questionnaire. A correlation analysis was used to determine the relation between employee engagement and job satisfaction. The results showed significant correlations between employee engagement and job satisfaction