Fundraising Behaviors of Listed Companies in Vietnam: An Estimation of the Influence of Government Ownership

This study investigates the capital structure and investment activities of listed companies on the Hanoi Securities Exchange and the Ho Chi Minh Securities Exchange in Vietnam. Estimation analysis using panel data covering the four-year period 2006-2009 revealed the following results. (1) Standard corporate financing theories such as trade-off theory and agency cost theory could be appropriate for explaining the capital structure of listed companies in Vietnam. (2) Compared to the fundraising activities of the companies analyzed by Nguyen (2006) and Biger et al. (2008), the fundraising activities of the listed companies were better explained by standard agency cost theory. (3) There are differences between the determinants of long-term fundraising and short-term fundraising of listed companies in Vietnam. (4) The fundraising determinants of state-controlled companies are different from those of other companies; state-controlled companies have an advantage in tapping external debt funds, and their incentive to reduce their tax payments by debt financing is weaker. (5) The companies listed on the Ho Chi Minh Securities Exchange depended less on debt financing than those listed on the Hanoi Securities Exchange. (6) Listed companies in Vietnam face weak incentives to reduce their tax payments by debt financing because the effective corporate tax rate is low. These results imply that the economic reforms (“Doi Moi”) implemented by the Vietnamese government, which aims to create an economic system based on market mechanisms, have achieved some of their goals in terms of fund mobilization and corporate financing. However, our estimation study illustrates several limitations of economic reforms, such as the opaque relationship between state-controlled companies and government banks, financial restrictions on investment activities, and inactive investment of companies that are state-controlled or listed on the Ho Chi Minh Securities Exchange.Corporate Finance, Capital Structure, Transition Economy, Vietnam

Relationship Between SBA Loans, Personal Capital Finances, Government Regulations, and Business Profitability

Women-owned small businesses have grown 58% between 2007 and 2018. Some female owners of small businesses lack strategies to obtain financial capital to continue growth and raise profitability for their businesses. The purpose of this secondary data analysis was to examine the relationship between access to sources of financial capital, government regulations and business profitability. The resource-based theory was the theoretical framework for this quantitative ex-post facto study. Archival data from the 2016 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs were collected. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression. Results of the multiple linear regression analysis indicated a full model, containing two predictor variables (2, n = 3233). The results revealed a statistically significant relationship among financial capital, government regulations, and business profitability, F (2, 3285) = 5.812,

Illiquid oceans : the risk of liquidity shortages for the expansion of offshore wind energy in Germany

The German transition to renewable energies has so far been an example of a successful energy transition of a major economy. Even though this transition is criticized for being only a half-hearted solution, it is an important example of the attempt of a major economy to transit towards renewable energies and is therefore worth studying in its own rights. Thus, my aim in this thesis is the identification of obstacles on the pathway towards renewable energies to contribute to a more stable transition to a fossil free economy, as one of the most urgent issues of our time. This research is relevant to the broader question, of whether it could be a suitable strategy to reform the energy sector without reforming related sectors such as the FS. Focusing on the financial basis of the renewable energy transition, I claim that the German transition is at risk, as its financing relies on the unstable financial system. Private capital sources are expected to finance most of the necessary investment in renewable energies. Those capital sources, however, are volatile and instable, as described by Minsky’s instability hypothesis, which was supported by the strong evidence of the latest financial crisis. I analyse the financial basis of the German energy transition from a structural as well as a discursive dimension. Both dimensions are consistently embraced by the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis, as developed by Fairclough, which I apply in my research. I use offshore wind energy as a case which allows me to conduct an in depth problem analysis. My structural analysis clearly showed strong financial linkages between the financial system and key companies operative in the energy transition. Standing on the shoulders of Minsky’s instability hypothesis, I follow that those linkages destabilize the energy transition. My discursive analysis pointed to a lack of problem awareness amongst the key agents of the energy transition. Thus, also the importance of risk mitigation is hardly emphasized in their discourse. The problem of financial instability of the German transition to renewable energies demands a problem awareness that results in further research and ultimately structural changes. Acknowledging the interconnectedness between the energy and the financial system is a first step in finding holistic problem solutions. On this note, my research puts sustainability into a new light: By tackling sustainability problems, all connected systems can be changed for a better. It is time to end thinking in trade-offs

Econometric analyses of microfinance credit group formation, contractual risks and welfare impacts in Northern Ethiopia

Key words Microfinance, joint liability, contractual risk, group formation, risk-matching, impact evaluation, Panel data econometrics, dynamic panel probit, trend models, fixed-effects, composite counterfactuals, propensity score matching, farm households, Ethiopia. Lack of access to credit is a key obstacle for economic development in poor countries. The underlying problem is related to information asymmetry combined with the poor’s lack of collateral to pledge. New mechanisms in microfinance offer ways to deal with this problem without resorting to collateral requirements. The objective of this thesis is to examine the mechanisms of providing credit through microfinance and assess the long-run borrowing effects on household welfare in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian environment provides a suitable setting to examine these issues. To meet this objective, two unique data sets - a five-wave panel data on 400 and a cross-sectional data on 201 households - from northern Ethiopia are used. Borrowing decision is first conceptualized using a dynamic stochastic theoretical framework. Two types of risks involved in joint liability lending are incorporated, i.e., risk of partner failure and risk of losing future access to credit. Empirical analysis using recent dynamic panel data probit techniques show that these contractual risks indeed impede participation in borrowing. The impediment is higher for the poorer, and for new than repeat participants. Second, group formation is analyzed within the framework of alternative microeconomic theories of joint liability where the commonly held hypothesis that groups formed are homogeneous in risk profiles is tested. Empirical results reject this hypothesis indicating that the formation of heterogeneous risk profiles is an inherent feature in group formation and repayment. In fact, there is evidence that borrowers take advantage of established informal credit and saving, and other social networks, which also suggests that group formation outcomes vary depending on underlying socioeconomic contexts. Third, the impact of long-term borrowing on household welfare is assessed from the dimension of intensity and timing of participation in borrowing. Panel data covering relatively long period enabled to account for duration and timing concerns in program evaluation. Recent parametric and semi-parametric panel data techniques are innovatively employed to mitigate participation selection biases. Results from both approaches indicate that borrowing has increased household welfare significantly: the earlier and more frequent the participation the higher the impact partly due to lasting effects of credit. This also suggests that impact studies that are based on a single-shot observation of outcomes and that do not account for the timing and duration of participation may underestimate microfinance credit impacts. </p

Measuring banking efficiency in the pre- and post-liberalization environment : evidence from the Turkish banking system

The authors examine banking efficiency before and after liberalization, drawing on Turkey's experience. They also investigate the scale effect on efficiency by type of ownership. Their findings suggest that liberalization programs were followed by an observable decline in efficiency, not an improvement. During the study period Turkish banks did not operate at the optimum scale. Another unexpected result was that efficiency was no different between state-owned and privately owned banks. Banks that were privately owned or foreign owned had been expected to respond better to liberalization, because they were smaller and more dynamically structured, but they were no more efficient than state-owned banks. One reason for the systemwide decline in efficiency might have been the general increase in macroeconomic instability during the period studied.Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Financial Intermediation,Economic Theory&Research

Re-examining the Determinants of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises’ Performance Profitability and Growth: A Case of Ghana

Abstract This paper looks at the effects of the six main independent variables (sources of finance, social capital, ownership type, government policies, age and size, and human capital) on the main dependent variable (performance profitability and growth) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana (the context for the project). The thesis is in three (3) parts. Project One (1) is the thematic literature review of the independent and dependent variables in this study. The review introduces the literature on the characteristics of SMEs in Ghana, and refers to SMEs in the developed world in order to compare the contributions and characteristics of SMEs worldwide. Information about the Ghanaian economy is provided, in order to set the context of the study. In addition, project one reviews the manufacturing and hospitality sectors and notes reasons for which they are the focus of this project. It ends with a presentation of summary of the review. Within this paper, the terms ‘firm’, ‘organisation’ and ‘enterprise’ are used interchangeably. Project Two (2) is concerned with the methodology. It is a cross-sectional study and uses interview for data collection. It emphasises the descriptive nature of the work, the suitability and importance of all the necessary processes like snowball technique, sampling methods, and data analysis. Nvivo 8, a computer assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) is the primary software that is used for the analysis. Project Three (3) is the result of the study. It exposes the impermeable wall separating lenders and Government and SMEs as the former lack better knowledge of the latter. The reluctance of SMEs to outsource funding is consistent with the pecking order theory because of the negative consequences of borrowing on their performance profitability and growth. Unclear, unhelpful and unsuitable government policy framework has led to eschewal of such policies by SMEs. Social and human capitals affect the performance of the SMEs. Good social networks benefits SMEs as they reduce operating costs. Skilled and highly educated employees create positive value in the companies. The study is critical of the style of ownership structure of most SMEs. The “more is better” is very simplistic as age and size had mixed effect on SME performance profitability and growth in the study

The impact of malaria among the poor and vulnerable : the role of livelihoods and coping strategies in rural Kenya

Includes bibliographical references.The thesis set out to explore how households cope with the costs of malaria and the implications of malaria cost burdens for household livelihoods and vulnerability. It uses a conceptual framework that takes a holistic approach to understand vulnerability and the link between malaria and livelihood change. In order to investigate these issues, the study was designed to meet five main objectives: to improve the understanding on the economic burden of malaria; to identify factors that make households vulnerable to the costs of malaria; to identify and explore coping strategies; to understand the role of health care providers in aggravating cost burdens and; to inform policy debates on how to improve access to effective malaria treatment and protect households from high illness costs

The entrepreneurial and management cultural transformation in independent Estonia

Abstract available: p.i