Adjustment speed towards target capital structure and its determinants in Pakistan

This study investigates the dynamism of the capital structure of the non-financial listed firms in Pakistan for the period from 2003 to 2012. Specifically, the main objectives of the study are to estimate the adjustment speed towards target capital structure, determining the factors affecting the adjustment speed towards target capital structure, and identifying the factors affecting the target capital structure. Firm specific and country specific factors are used to investigate the determinants of adjustment speed and target capital structure. Difference Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) is used as the estimation technique to avoid the endogeneity and serial correlation problems. The study confirms the existence of optimal capital structure for Pakistani non-financial listed firms, and concludes that firms make full adjustment towards optimal capital structure in 1.46 years to 2.03 years, depending upon the proxy of target debt used. Similarly, factors affecting adjustment speed towards target are also found to be dependent upon the proxy of debt used. Firms’ profitability, stock market development, and distance are found to be relatively consistent determinants of the adjustment speed. Firm and country specific factors affecting target capital structure are also found to vary across the proxies of debt used. However, tangibility, earning volatility, cash, and industry median leverage appear consistently and significantly affecting the target leverage. Interest rate, the only country specific factor, is found to affect target debt when total liabilities to total assets and total debt to total assets are used as measure of the debt. This study contributes in the existing literature of the capital structure by providing evidence regarding the existence of target capital structure in Pakistan. In addition, this is the first attempt that estimates the adjustment speed towards target capital structure, and identifies factors affecting adjustment speed towards target capital structure for Pakistan using four different proxies of leverage

Firm and macroeconomic determinants of debt: Pakistan evidence

This study investigates the role of firm specific factors, macroeconomic factors, and firms’ heterogeneity in determining the debt levels of non-financial listed firms of Pakistan. Study implies static panel data modeling using pooled OLS and fixed effect regression as estimation techniques, with two different proxies of debt. Profitability, tangibility, and size of the firm appear to affect debt level significantly across different proxies and different estimation techniques. Interest rate and inflation are significant determinants of debt in fixed effect estimation. Study also confirms the existence of firm specific influence on debt

Histomorphometric Effcets of Oral use of Tobacco in Testes of Offsprings of Swiss Albino Mice

Objective: To study the gross micro structural changes in the testis of the offspring of Swiss albino mice exposed to oral use of tobacco during pregnancy. Study Design: Experimental Duration and Setting of Study: This study was conducted from July 2017 to December 2017 at Isra University Hyderabad  Methodology: ­­20 female albino mice were mated. After confirmation of pregnancy by vaginal plug they were divided into two groups; experimental A and control B of 10 each. Experimental mice of group A were given 5% tobacco in their chow diet and0water ad libitum; however, control group B were given only normal chow0diet and0water0ad libitum. After 15 days of birth the 10 male offsprings each of control and experimental mice were randomly selected. Their initial and final body weight was recorded.  They were sacrificed0by cervical dislocations and0their testes were taken away for further gross & histological0analysis.  Results: Noticeable changes were observed in the body weight and weight of testes. The mean initial weight of experimental male offspring was found to be 1.76 ± 0.33 g, while in control group it was 2.60± 0.45 g. The final weight in experimental offspring was 9.38± 0.59 g and in control group it was 12.75±0.96 g.  Statistically the difference of body weight in offspring was found to be significant (p value <0.05). The testes weight was markedly decreased in experimental group as compared to control group.  The mean testes weight in experiment group was recorded as 0.03 ± 0.004 g however in control group it was recorded as   0.07 ± 0.004 g. Simultaneously, 5 micro structural variations were also observed in the testes of off-springs of mice. In0the0experimental group0of off-springs, very few0layers and decreased number of spermatocytes were noticed in seminiferous tubules of 9 testes.  Sperm degenerative changes, cellular inflammation and mild to massive hyalinization were noticed in 9, 6, and 9 testes of experimental group respectively. Loss of architecture of seminiferous tubules in 8 testes as well as destruction of the basement membrane in 7 testes were also observed in experiment group testes. However, the decreased number of spermatocytes in only 1 testes and mild hyalinization in 2 testes of control group were observed. Conclusion: The consumption of smokeless tobacco has vital effects on the body weight, micro structure  and weight of testes of offsprings of mice given with cellular injury of seminiferous tubules especially decreased sperm count, cellular inflammation, destruction of basement membrane as well as massive hyalinization. &nbsp

The relationship between transformational leadership and job performance: an empirical investigation

The main objective of the present paper is to assess the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance empirically.The study was conducted in the banking sector of Pakistan focusing on six large banks.A total number of 308 responses were collected through survey questionnaire from the bank managers.The data was then coded into SPSS for early stage analysis such as data screening.This was followed through applying SmartPLS to analyze the data and the results have been presented in its standard reporting style.The findings revealed a positive relationship between transformational leadership and job performance in banking sector of Pakistan supporting the hypothesized relationship.Finally, the paper has presented a way forward for future research

Socio-Economic Impact of the Interest-Free Community Investment Fund: A Case Study of Rural Sindh, Pakistan

This study aims to measure the impact of an intervention, the Community Investment Fund (CIF), on the socio-economic life of rural women. CIF is a community-managed fund aimed at improving the living standards of women by empowering them to undertake income-generating projects to become financially more stable and self-governed in the Khairpur, Shikarpur, Kandhkot-Kashmore and Jacobabad districts of Sindh, Pakistan. This study used a quasi-experimental design approach that involved two groups, i.e., the treatment group (beneficiaries) and control group (non-beneficiaries). The sample size of this study was 708 respondents including the treatment and control group. The results of comparison of mean indicate that there is a significant difference between treatment and control group in terms of socio-demographic variables (including monthly income and consumption, saving amount, total asset value, an asset purchased value and household diet) and women empowerment’s indicators, thereby suggesting that CIF has resulted in women empowerment. Concerning the results of the poverty scorecard, the higher graduation of beneficiaries (treatment group) asserts that the intervention of CIF has also a positive impact on targeted beneficiaries. In particular, the findings indicate that 72% of beneficiaries (treatment group) have graduated from one poverty band to another higher band compared to 59.4% of non-beneficiaries (control group) in poverty score. In addition, the findings of the logistic regression analysis confirmed that participation in the CIF program empowers women beneficiaries. This study will support policymakers to further improve CIF so that it can become more effective and sustainable

Examining the absorptive capacity construct: A validation study in the Pakistani banking context

The psychometric properties of the Absorptive capacity construct have been assessed in this study in the context of Pakistan. A total of 201 bank managers were included in the survey. Data analysis using the Smart PLC 3.0 revealed that the scale has satisfactory level of internal consistency reliability, conversion validity and discriminant validity. The findings refer to the fact that the ACAP construct could be responsively used in measuring the absorptive capacity in the banking sector of Pakistan

Adjustment speed towards target capital structure and its determinants

This study examines the existence of the dynamism of capital structure in Pakistan for the period from 2003 to 2012, with specific objectives of estimating the adjustment speed and determining the factors affecting the adjustment speed towards target capital structure. Using difference Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) as the estimation technique, the study confirms the existence of optimal capital structure for Pakistani non-financial listed firms, and concludes that, depending upon the proxy of target debt used, firms make full adjustment towards optimal capital structure in 1.45 years to 2.25 years. Firms’ size, profitability, stock market development, and GDP are found to be relatively consistent determinants of the adjustment speed across different proxies of debt. This study contributes in the existing literature of the capital structure by providing evidence regarding the existence of target capital structure, estimating the adjustment speed towards target capital structure, and identifies factors affecting adjustment speed towards target capital structure for Pakistan using four different measures of leverage

IMPACT OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND FIRM-LEVEL CONTROL VARIABLES ON DIVIDEND POLICY OF SERVICE TRADE SECTOR OF MALAYSIA

This paper empirically investigates the impact of corporate governance factors (i.e. board size, board independence and CEO ownership) and firm-level control variables (i.e. firm size, firm growth and firm profitability) on the dividend payout policy among the service sector companies of Malaysia that are listed on Bursa Malaysia. Ordinary least square model was used to estimate the results. Sample consisted of 113 service sector firms from the period of 2009 to 2013. The results show that the profitable companies with large boards and less growth tend to pay higher dividends. Findings can be interpreted as that the profitable companies are sharing their profits with their shareholders in terms of dividends to give positive message to the market