Economic Efficiency Of Fadama Telfairia Production In Imo State Nigeria: A Translog Profit Function Approach

The study delved into economic efficiency analysis of Fadama Telfairia farmers in Imo State, Nigeria. Specifically, it identified the production systems; estimated the economic efficiency and their determinants. A multistage random sampling technique was adopted in the selection of 40 Fadama Telfairia farmers from each of the three agricultural zones of the State. A well-structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio - economic characteristics and other relevant variables. Descriptive statistics, which subsume frequencies, means and percentages, were used in the analysis of data on socio – economic characteristics cum production systems. Economic efficiency was analyzed using Translog stochastic profit function. The Maximum Likelihood Estimation Technique was employed in estimating the function while t-test statistic was employed in testing their determinants. With respect to production systems, majority (63.33%) of Fadama Telfairia farmers practised mixed vegetable production while 36.67% adopted sole Fadama Telfairia cropping system. The profit level was influenced by fertilizer price, wage rate and farm size while efficiency was found to be influenced by age, farming experience, membership of cooperative societies, farm and household sizes. The mean economic efficiency was 0.57 and as such, the average Fadama Telfairia would require a cost saving of 42% in order to attain the profit status of the most economically efficient farmer in the sample. Given the fact that ample opportunity exists for improvement in their efficiency, introduction of birth control policies and reviews of Land Use Act of 1990 are among policy options suggested by the study.economic efficiency, Fadama, stochastic frontier, translog

THE INFLUENCE OF INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEM EFFECTIVENESS, COMPENSATION COMPLIANCE, AND INFORMATION ASYMMETRY ON THE TENDENCY OF ACCOUNTING FRAUD (A CASE STUDY ON SEHATI CREDIT UNION)

A cooperative is a governmental organization established to enhance economic growth and national unity. As the development of the law on cooperatives, the present and developing institutions similar to Savings and Loan Union is called Credit Union. A cooperative is very vulnerable to the risk of loss. Insecurity is possible because of the tendency of accounting fraud. Some things that can affect the tendency of accounting fraud are internal control, compliance compensation, and information asymmetry. This research aims to determine whether there is any influence of internal control system effectiveness, compensation compliance, and information asymmetry on the tendency of accounting fraud. The research uses the quantitative method, and the research subject is Sehati Credit Union. The research data consist of primary and secondary data, especially the purposive sampling data which are collected from 36 respondents. Whereas, the data analysis technique uses multiple regression analysis using SPSS 21 software for Windows. The research concludes that the effectiveness of internal control system has a partially positive significant influence on the tendency of accounting fraud, compensation compliance has a partially negative significant influence on the tendency of accounting fraud, and information asymmetry has a partially positive significant influence on the tendency of accounting fraud. It means that the effectiveness of the internal control system, compensation compliance, and the information asymmetry have significant influences on the tendency of accounting fraud.

Rural Reform and Fiji's Indigenous Sugarcane Growers: An Application of Stochastic Frontier Analysis

We examine the performance of Fiji's indigenous sugarcane growers, measuring their technical efficiency using a stochastic frontier production function. Of particular interest are the cooperative or communal farming structures among new entrants into Fiji's sugar industry. These structures are emerging in response to government rationalisation policies in agricultural support-from individuals to groups-and the growing emphasis from the indigenous community on economic activity to reflect community requirements, values and imperatives. Our study finds that growers who are members of a cooperative group have higher levels of technical efficiency than growers who live in villages and that their performance is on par with galala or independent growers. Group structures are used as vehicles to centralise management decision-making and pool resources, thereby overcoming experience and capital accumulation constraints. The research also shows that these structures provide a vital mechanism for aligning cultural values and legitimising individual economic activity that has communal benefits. This finding is not only important for Fiji's struggling agricultural sector, it points a way forward for other South Pacific island nations and other countries where agricultural intensification is carried out on communally owned land

iTETRIS: An Integrated Wireless and Traffic Platform for Real-Time Road Traffic Management Solutions

Wireless vehicular cooperative systems have been identified as an attractive solution to improve road traffic management, thereby contributing to the European goal of safer, cleaner, and more efficient and sustainable traffic solutions. V2V-V2I communication technologies can improve traffic management through real-time exchange of data among vehicles and with road infrastructure. It is also of great importance to investigate the adequate combination of V2V and V2I technologies to ensure the continuous and costefficient operation of traffic management solutions based on wireless vehicular cooperative solutions. However, to adequately design and optimize these communication protocols and analyze the potential of wireless vehicular cooperative systems to improve road traffic management, adequate testbeds and field operational tests need to be conducted. Despite the potential of Field Operational Tests to get the first insights into the benefits and problems faced in the development of wireless vehicular cooperative systems, there is yet the need to evaluate in the long term and large dimension the true potential benefits of wireless vehicular cooperative systems to improve traffic efficiency. To this aim, iTETRIS is devoted to the development of advanced tools coupling traffic and wireless communication simulators

Competition and Financial Stability in European Cooperative Banks

Cooperative banks are a driving force for socially committed business at the local level, accounting for around one fifth of the European Union (EU) bank deposits and loans. Despite their importance, little is known about the relationship between bank stability and competition for these small credit institutions. Does competition affect the stability of cooperative banks? Does the financial stability of banks increase/decrease when competition is higher? We assess the dynamic relationship between competition and bank soundness (both in the short and long run) among European cooperative banks between 1998 and 2009. We obtain three main results. First, we provide evidence in line with the competition-stability view proposed by Boyd and De Nicolò (2005). Bank market power negatively “Granger-causes” banks’soundness, meaning that there is a positive relationship between competition and stability. Second, we find that this fundamental relationship does not change during the 2007–2009 financial crisis. Third, we show that increased homogeneity in the cooperative banking sector positively affects bank soundness. Our findings have important policy implications for designing and implementing regulations that enhance the overall stability of the financial system and in particular of the cooperative banking sector

Uptake of inter-organizational IT systems in two Australian agricultural cooperatives: a match between business relationships and design features

In this paper we will advance a perspective that links business network analysis to interorganizational IT systems(IOS) uptake, starting with an analytic framework to characterize both different types of electronic business to business interactions (via the web) as well as the network of business relationships in which they are used. In order to see whether inter-organizational IT systems and business networks (mis)match they are compared on two dimensions: 'mode of interaction' (relational versus transactional) and 'nature of coordination' (emergent versus directive). The study analyses two Australian agricultural cooperatives 'Capgrains' and 'Bluegum'. The transactional focus and directive control of Capgrains' online ordering system did not match with the relational interaction and emergent coordination that was common in their network of business relationships, resulting in a mismatch and low level of use of the system. The Bluegum's group communication system much better matched with the business relationships in the cooperative and higher use of the IOS. Indicating a positive relation betweenmatch and uptake of the IOS

Bank institutional setting and risk-taking: The missing role of directors’ education and turnover

Purpose: This paper aims to analyze the relationship between bank institutional setting and risk-taking by exploring whether board education and turnover are drivers of the risk propensity of cooperative banks compared to jointstock banks. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a comprehensive dataset of Italian banks over the 2011-2017 period, we examine whether these board characteristics affect the risk propensity of cooperative and joint-stock banks. Bank risk is measured by the Zindex, profit volatility and the ratio of non-performing loans to total gross loans. Findings: The findings show that cooperatives take less risk than joint-stock banks and have lower board turnover and education. Furthermore, we find that while board education mediates the relationship between the cooperative model and bank risk-taking, we do not find evidence of board turnover. Thus, the lower educational level of cooperative directors contributes to explaining the lower risk-taking of cooperative banks. Implications: The findings have several implications. In terms of the more general policy debate, our results point to the need to strengthen the governance model for both joint-stock and cooperative banks while supporting the view that a more ad hoc perspective on the best models and practices for each type of institutional setting would be preferable. In particular, the study reveals how board education’s effects on bank risk-taking should be carefully monitored. Originality/value: Through a mediation framework, this study provides empirical evidence on the relationship between bankinstitutional setting (by distinguishing between cooperative and joint-stock banks) and risk-taking behavior by exploring the underlying mechanisms at the board level, which is novel in the literature