Assessment of the efficiency of public education expenditure on literacy rate in Nigeria

Abstract. Bearing in mind the critical role of education in the development of human capital base of a nation, it is widely accepted that government has a major role to play in guaranteeing the provision of educational opportunities. Therefore, it is expected that adequate finance to the education sector would translate to improvement in educational outcome in the country. Motivated by this, the study reexamined the impact of government education expenditure on educational outcome in Nigeria from 1980 to 2018. The study adopted the Autoregressive Distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach in estimating the relevant relationship while the ECM captured the speed of short run adjustment to long run equilibrium. The result of the study showed a positive, but insignificant relationship between public education expenditure and educational outcome in Nigeria. Arising from the findings, the study recommends for an adequate and prudent financing to the education sector necessary to guarantee enhanced literacy rate in Nigeria.Keywords. Government education expenditure, Educational outcome.JEL. H52

Riba in Islamic finance: Some fresh insights

Abstract. In present-day Islamic finance, all forms of interest are considered riba, which is prohibited in the Qur’an. However, this definition of riba creates several problems in everyday business transactions. The Islamic financial institutions are obliged to adopt such operational procedures that closely resemble interest, the while they claim to be operating on interest-free basis. The paper delves into the Qur’anic text relating to riba and suggests an alternative understanding which can help resolve various controversies relating to riba and interest. It attempts to formulate a contemporary definition of riba which accommodates the current practice of Islamic financial institutions.Keywords. Riba in Qur’an, riba and interest, cash and credit prices, time value of money, riba and inflation, definition of riba, Islamic financial institutions.JEL. D64, E40, G21, Z12

Technological Parasitism

Abstract. Technological parasitism is a new theory to explain the evolution of technology in society. In this context, this study proposes a model to analyze the interaction between a host technology (system) and a parasitic technology (subsystem) to explain evolutionary pathways of technologies as complex systems. The coefficient of evolutionary growth of the model here indicates the typology of evolution of parasitic technology in relation to host technology: i.e., underdevelopment, growth and development. This approach is illustrated with realistic examples using empirical data of product and process technologies. Overall, then, the theory of technological parasitism can be useful for bringing a new perspective to explain and generalize the evolution of technology and predict which innovations are likely to evolve rapidly in society.Keywords. Measurement of technology, Technometrics, Technological evolution, Technological change, Coevolution, Nature of technology, Host technology, Parasitic technology, Technological parasitism, Technological innovation, Technological forecasting, Technology assessment, Technological progress.JEL. O32, O33

Mapping of multidisciplinary course in innovation designs

Abstract. The paper outlines the possible contents for a multidisciplinary course in Innovation Designs that covers topics like intelligent architectural design and its influence on local culture towards modernism while understanding social, economic and corporate reasoning with a nonlinear approach within Pakistani society. The paper aims to influence the creative mind within the participants who can be guided to think out of box ideas to carry out scientific and abstract reasoning needed for complexity solutions for myriad of social, economic, cultural and material innovation.Keywords. Multidisciplinary, Innovation, Innovation designs.JEL. O32, O33

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Multiple jobs holding and management of lecturers in Cameroonian state universities

Abstract. This article is a continuation of our previous works on the determinants of multiple jobs of lecturers in Cameroonian State universities. It lays particular emphasis on human resource management used in these universities. The methodology makes use of the logit analysis on survey data. The results obtained show that contrary to the theoretical and empirical literature, time constraint in the main job does not appear to be an important explanatory factor for the multiple jobs phenomenon. However, gender, the universities’ location, salary earned from secondary jobs and the holding of an administrative position in a university play a major role in explaining the phenomenon. This paper thus presents a certain interest linked to the specificity of these jobs (lack of monitoring, opportunism in behaviors, social pressures related to them) on the one hand, and the coaching of the human resource used on the other. Governmental incentive measures are proposed to limit this dual employment phenomenon which tends to deteriorate the quality of lectures provided.Keywords. Moonlighting, State University, Odds ratios, Logit model, Monitoring and Coaching tools, Cameroon.JEL. J50, J24, J31, J81, C35

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Green accounting: Developing versus developed economies

Abstract. Businesses and corporates have started to formulate strategies to opt for environment-friendly and green operations. The same has also conceived the idea of green accounting that emphasizes taking environmental factors into account of corporate financial consideration and reports. Less to date, have made a comparative review for those progresses of green accounting in the developed versus developing economies, and to offer insights for academics and practitioners. This article offered a compact discussion of this issue and provides suggestions to theory and practices.Keywords. Green accounting, Developing economies, Developed economies.JEL. C23, F62, N17

Rationality and capitalist schooling

Abstract. In the field of philosophy of mind, the concepts of rational behavior, rational choice theory, and instrumental rationality (the “practical reasoning” version of rationality) are important in trying to make statements and conclusions about human thinking and behavior in general. Rational choice theory is also considered a normative but not a descriptive or positive theory.  Much of economic theory is based on the principle that economic agents usually or always behave rationally in maximizing the benefits and/or minimizing the costs of their decisions.  Developments in behavioral economics over the last several decades have begun to question this principle with much of the questioning about rationality and rational behavior centering on whether individuals can correctly and adequately assess probabilities and risk/reward.  The inability to correctly assess risk/reward limits rational behavior and can yield sub-optimal outcomes for economic agents.  This exploratory paper examines the linkages between schooling in a capitalist society and limits on rationality in a monopoly capital economic system.Keywords. Behavioral economics, Capitalist schooling, Monopoly capital, Rationality, Rational choice.JEL. B51, I24

The impact of institutional entrepreneurship on value co-creation in long-term care context: A case study

Abstract. "Human-centered" is the core logic for long-term care development. Traditional though on value creation focuses on the financial profits generated in the transaction between product/service suppliers and customers. Differently, value co-creation emphasizes on collective creation of effective impacts (economic and social) via the knowledge and experiences exchanges between key stakeholders. Long-term care is a setting that deals both macro-level institutional and micro-level stakeholder behavioral concerns. The latter is embedded in the former; thus, it is critical to systematically discuss the influences of institutional change on the evolutionary value co-creation in long-term care context. The present article tries to search for theoretical essence and elements of value co-creation in long-term care, which is expected to be achieved jointly by service provider (the caring), receiver (the cared), the healthcare organization (e.g., hospitals), the government units, and other parties. Then the influences of institutional entrepreneurship’s changes on these theoretical elements of value co-creation would be discussed. The article sets to offer clearer understanding of what value co-creation is in the long-term care context and how institutional entrepreneurship can alter value co-creation. Implications for research, practices, and health policy were discussed.Keywords. Institutional change, Long-term care, Value co-creation.JEL. B14, B24, B51