Structural Reform in New Zealand: A Review

This paper discusses the reasons for the change in economic policy direction adopted in New Zealand in 1984. The paper briefly outlines the economic history of New Zealand in the period from the early 1970's to 1996. The ultimate test of the success of the economic reforms is whether they have increased the growth rate of potential per capita output in the economy. I discuss the evidence on this hypothesis and conclude that the evidence does support the hypothesis of a structural change in this measure. Five of the major areas of reform are discussed, these areas are goods, capital and labour market liberalisation and the fiscal and monetary policy framework adopted in New Zealand.economic policy reform; New Zealand

Democratic Transition and Digital Media Activism in Africa: A Zimbabwean Case Study

The aim of this study was to discuss how digital media activism influences democratization and social change in African countries in democratic transition such as Zimbabwe. The dissertation was also aimed at examining the relationship between democratic transition and digital media activism in Zimbabwe before critically evaluating the significance and extent to which digital media activism impacts on the political public sphere in Zimbabwe in particular and Africa in general. The study is underpinned by a strand of multiple theoretical and conceptual frameworks. These include the Habermasian (1989) notion of the public sphere and Laclau and Mouffe’s (1985) concept of radical democracy. Laclau and Mouffe’s (1985) theory of radical democracy is an antidote to Habermas’s (1989) theorization of the public sphere. While for Habermas (1989), democracy is based on consensus, for Laclau and Mouffe (1985) radical democracy is deeply rooted in dissensus and conflict. This study argues that digital media provide communicative spaces for both consensus and dissensus. The dissertation also deployed the social constructivist approach to have a better grasp of how subalterns in African countries in democratic transition such as Zimbabwe appropriated digital technologies to create communicative ecologies for counter hegemonic narratives. There was a general consensus among the respondents on the potential of digital media activism in Zimbabwe as a communicative site of struggle for democratisation and social change. Most respondents noted the significant gains that had been made in recent years by hashtag movements like #ZimbabweanLivesMatter, #ThisFlag, #Tajamuka and social media influencers like the late UK-based lawyer and academic Dr Alex Magaisa and veteran journalist and award-winning film-maker Hopewell Chin’ono. However, the study found that although digital media activism in Zimbabwe has made some significant headway in recent years, the gains were not huge enough. This drawback was attributed to several inhibiting factors. Most respondents agreed that the general political environment in the country was not conducive to democratic change. In addition, there was a yawning gap between Zimbabweans in the diaspora and those inside the country in terms of access to digital media. Most respondents agreed that the majority of digital media activists were based outside the country where they enjoyed unabridged basic freedoms and cheaper internet tariffs in their host countries. On the other hand, digital media remained a preserve of a few urban and peri-urban citizens in Zimbabwe. Most Zimbabweans in the rural areas did not have access to digital technologies due to poverty. Generally, the findings showed that while digital media activism might have been more effective for Zimbabweans based in the diaspora, its impact, in some cases, was seriously constrained due to the absence of embodied activism. This study makes a significant contribution to the theory of political participation. It attempts to shed more insights on how citizens under authoritarian rule exercise their agency by deploying digital technologies as a site of struggle for democratisation and social change

Reward-to-risk ratios of funds of hedge funds

This chapter examines whether the fund of hedge fund portfolios dominate the U.S. equity and bond markets based on alternative measures of reward-to-risk ratios. Standard deviation is used to measure total risk and both nonparametric and parametric value-at-risk is used to measure downside risk when the reward-to-risk ratios are constructed. We find that the fund of funds index has higher reward-to-risk ratios compared to several stock and bond market indices. This result is especially strong when the risk measures are calculated from the most recent year’s data and is robust as the measurement window is extended to four years

Reward-to-risk ratios in Turkish financial markets (Türkiye finans piyasalarında getiri-risk rasyoları)

This paper investigates how reward-to-risk ratios compare among various government debt security (GDS) indices and sector indices in the Istanbul Stock Exchange. Risk is measured by either standard deviation or nonparametric and parametric value at risk. We find that the GDS indices have higher reward-to-risk ratios compared to the sector indices. GDS indices with longer maturities have lower reward-to-risk ratios and this reduction is especially pronounced when the ratios take downside risk into account. The reward-to-risk rankings for the sector indices are similar for each measure and the results are robust to currency conversion

Reward-to-risk ratios in Turkish financial markets

This paper investigates how reward-to-risk ratios compare among various government debt security (GDS) indices and sector indices in the Istanbul Stock Exchange. Risk is measured by either standard deviation or nonparametric and parametric value at risk. We find that the GDS indices have higher reward-to-risk ratios compared to the sector indices. GDS indices with longer maturities have lower reward-to-risk ratios and this reduction is especially pronounced when the ratios take downside risk into account. The reward-to-risk rankings for the sector indices are similar for each measure and the results are robust to currency conversion

Strategic Management as a vehicle for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development: An Empirical Study at a Municipality in South Africa

The exercise of strategic management is an essential aspect as it conjures up a glossy picture of the expectations of the public organisations. However, currently it lacks an intricate arrangement of formal and casual handling of work for it to yield maximum output in the sphere of South African municipalities. Although strategic management is not alien to the facilitation of municipalities’ development, the existing literature does not provide a rigorous and structured conceptualisation of strategic management in the context of sustainable socio-economic development of the municipalities. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore the significance of strategic management in sustaining socio-economic development at selected municipality in South Africa. The paper adopted exploratory research design and qualitative research approach. The target population was 26 municipal officials at the selected municipality. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. This study made use of the qualitative and in-depth interviews in collecting data. The findings indicated that the strategic management plays a significant in the governance of sustainable socio-economic development of the municipality. The results revealed that strategic plans of municipalities were properly implemented and managed. However, further analysis of data indicated that there were constraints that hamper the execution of plans which include inadequate resources, innumerable flaws on the performance management system, non-alignment of development programmes and unskilled personnel. In relation to practical implications, the management must ensure adequate finances and infrastructure are made available in order to execute the set strategic plans

A longitudinal high-risk study of adolescent anxiety, depression and parent-severity on the developmental course of risk-adjustment

Background Adolescence is associated with developments in the reward system and increased rates of emotional disorders. Familial risk for depression may be associated with disruptions in the reward system. However, it is unclear how symptoms of depression and anxiety influence the development of reward-processing over adolescence and whether variation in the severity of parental depression is associated with hyposensitivity to reward in a high-risk sample. Methods We focused on risk-adjustment (adjusting decisions about reward according to the probability of obtaining reward) as this was hypothesized to improve over adolescence. In a one-year longitudinal sample (N = 197) of adolescent offspring of depressed parents, we examined how symptoms of depression and anxiety (generalized anxiety and social anxiety) influenced the development of risk-adjustment. We also examined how parental depression severity influenced adolescent risk-adjustment. Results Risk-adjustment improved over the course of the study indicating improved adjustment of reward-seeking to shifting contingencies. Depressive symptoms were associated with decreases in risk-adjustment over time while social anxiety symptoms were associated with increases in risk-adjustment over time. Specifically, depression was associated with reductions in reward-seeking at favourable reward probabilities only, whereas social anxiety (but not generalized anxiety) led to reductions in reward-seeking at low reward probabilities only. Parent depression severity was associated with lowered risk-adjustment in offspring and also influenced the longitudinal relationship between risk-adjustment and offspring depression. Conclusions Anxiety and depression distinctly alter the pattern of longitudinal change in reward-processing. Severity of parent depression was associated with alterations in adolescent offspring reward-processing in a high-risk sample

'The risks of playing it safe': a prospective longitudinal study of response to reward in the adolescent offspring of depressed parents

BACKGROUND Alterations in reward processing may represent an early vulnerability factor for the development of depressive disorder. Depression in adults is associated with reward hyposensitivity and diminished reward seeking may also be a feature of depression in children and adolescents. We examined the role of reward responding in predicting depressive symptoms, functional impairment and new-onset depressive disorder over time in the adolescent offspring of depressed parents. In addition, we examined group differences in reward responding between currently depressed adolescents, psychiatric and healthy controls, and also cross-sectional associations between reward responding and measures of positive social/environmental functioning. Method We conducted a 1-year longitudinal study of adolescents at familial risk for depression (n = 197; age range 10-18 years). Reward responding and self-reported social/environmental functioning were assessed at baseline. Clinical interviews determined diagnostic status at baseline and at follow-up. Reports of depressive symptoms and functional impairment were also obtained. RESULTS Low reward seeking predicted depressive symptoms and new-onset depressive disorder at the 1-year follow-up in individuals free from depressive disorder at baseline, independently of baseline depressive symptoms. Reduced reward seeking also predicted functional impairment. Adolescents with current depressive disorder were less reward seeking (i.e. bet less at favourable odds) than adolescents free from psychopathology and those with externalizing disorders. Reward seeking showed positive associations with social and environmental functioning (extra-curricular activities, humour, friendships) and was negatively associated with anhedonia. There were no group differences in impulsivity, decision making or psychomotor slowing. CONCLUSIONS Reward seeking predicts depression severity and onset in adolescents at elevated risk of depression. Adaptive reward responses may be amenable to change through modification of existing preventive psychological interventions