DETERMINANTS OF THE FUNDING VOLATILITY OF INDONESIAN BANKS: A DYNAMIC MODEL

Illiquidity is at the core of the various currency and banking/financial crises of the 1990s. In the wake of the Asian crisis of 1997/98 the term "systemic liquidity" has been coined to refer to adequate arrangements and practices which permit efficient liquidity management and which provide a buffer during financial distress. A constructed balance-sheet-based variable that captures the essence of the risk from systemic liquidity is funding volatility ratio, FVR. Using data covering January 1990 to July 2003 and employing cointegration techniques, this study attempts to quantify the purported link between FVR and the measurable determinants of a balanced liquidity infrastructure for Indonesia, the country that suffered the most from the Asian crisis. A good fit is obtained for the dynamic regression model and estimates of short-run and long-run impacts and elasticities are computed. FVR is shown to be increasing in the rupiah-US dollar exchange rate, the Jakarta stock market index, interest rate and the number of banks, and decreasing in capital:asset ratio and foreign liabilities: total asset ratio. The best option for lowering the FVR in the short run is increasing bank capital; over the long term enduring increases in foreign-currency accounts and reduction in the number of banks seem to hold the best prospect for lowering the FVR.autoregressive distributed lag model, cointegration, funding volatility ratio, systemic liquidity, Financial Economics, C22,

Investigating changes in the microstructure of calcified tissues using Raman microspectroscopy and chemometrics : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Chemistry at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand

Bone fracture is a growing health concern in medicine. Current clinical assessment methods for bone fracture risk are bone mineral density (BMD)-based, as bone quantity is the only aspect of bone strength that is most readily measured in clinical practice. On their own, these framework methods can not exactly predict the likelihood of individuals to fracture, since bone strength and health are influenced by both quantity and quality; it is a multi-factored probability. A sounder understanding of both facets of bone strength would expedite more accurate fracture risk assessment. Better prevention and treatment of orthopaedic diseases now rest on a greater understanding of bone quality and its underlying factors, since bone quantity has historically received more research attention. One route to confront this challenge in progressing comprehension of the underlying mechanisms of bone quality is to use animal models of human bone diseases like osteoporosis and osteoarthritis (OA). Given that any atypical chemical alterations to bone’s main components are reflected in its microstructure, and therefore contribute to the development of various bone diseases, there is increasing interest in how molecular-level changes to bone affect overall bone quality. Molecular vibrational spectroscopy is often used as a tool in disease diagnosis, as any diseasecausing chemical alterations may be identified and monitored; it also holds the potential to enable prediction of any further complications. As Raman spectroscopy is not as watersensitive as infrared is, it is highly beneficial for characterising biological specimens. Bone tissues and other biological specimens are inherently intricate, as would be the chemical information collected from them; multivariate statistical analysis is required to aid in the simplification, extraction, and classification of these large volumes of chemical information collected. This cataloguing of the actual variation of bone tissue’s chemical information would improve understanding of how damage affects the interplay between bone’s various micro- and macrostructural aspects. Principal component analysis (PCA) – one such dimensionality-reducing statistical technique – was conducted on Raman spectral data collected from two separate sets of equine bone specimens: fracture-prone third metatarsal (Mt3) and induced osteoarthritic (OA) carpal joint sections. The results from both aggregated data sets suggested that some localised microstructural differences were detectable – especially within parts of the subchondral bone. What was unclear, however, was the likely cause of these differences. These differences could potentially be highlighting areas of hypermineralisation or some organic matrix degradation within fracture predilection sites or OA-induced sites that may well be indicative of early development of orthopaedic diseases like osteoporosis or OA. Some of the common questions the PCA results raised were the extent of similarity between individuals with respect to the organic matrix component, and the extent of heterogeneity between individuals with respect to the mineral component. In order for any potential predictions to be applicable, addressing the multi-level nature of the multivariate spectral data obtained would be the first step in preparing this type of work for further validation and classification. Widening the scope of data analysis might then help in clarifying the classification of the spectral data. If not already available, condensed, fibre optic-style instrumentation might enable trialling of this technique in a practical, clinical setting. If it is practically feasible, instrumentation that even combines the two vibrational spectroscopic techniques in tandem with chemometrics to provide simultaneous groups of data from samples, could also be developed

Motivating nonexporters to go abroad: Investigating the role of government using evidence from a developing country

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Government export promotion programs enhance export intention of small and medium enterprises through boosting their managerial and relational resources. In Algeria, managerial and relational resources are the main drivers of export intention, whereas organizational capabilities have a limited influence. Export promotion programs increase firms’ managerial, organizational and relational resources. At the pre-export stage, informational programs are more likely to enhance SMEs’ export initiation than experiential ones

Cost structure and technical change in rural banking

Using the multi-product translog cost function, this paper examines the cost structure and technical change occurring within the novel Ghanaian rural banks. The results of the seemingly unrelated error components model indicate substantial unexploited economies of scale in individual products as well as in overall intermediation. There is presence of pairwise complementarity between loans and government securities and between deposits and government securities, but absence of pairwise complementarity between loans and deposits. Overall, capital-using and labour-saving technical change has occurred but efficiency loss in deposit mobilization outweighs the efficiency gains in government securities and lending activities; operation of agencies reinforces the overall efficiency loss. The rural banks must not be hindered from expanding, but in any growth strategy deposit mobilization should take a central position and the cost of operating agencies watched closely

New Zealand's old-age pension scheme and household saving

Purpose – The combination of low rates of private saving and projected increases in the fiscal burden of financing a public pension scheme for an ageing population poses a major policy challenge in New Zealand. Policy discourses espouse pension reform and the redoubling of household saving efforts. However, some of the policy options could have offsetting effects. To inform the debate with research findings, the purpose of this paper is to revisit the relationship between social security and household saving. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a constructed social security wealth (SSW) variable in a hybrid life cycle-permanent income consumption/saving model pioneered by Feldstein. Time series techniques are used. Findings – The results show that an increase in the constructed gross SSW variable boosts saving. This suggests that concerns with accumulating assets to match the length of the implicit life expectancy at the current pension eligibility age overwhelm the view that the pension benefit is an adequate substitute for household assets. The other findings are consistent with a priori expectations: increases in disposable income boost saving; there is a significant propensity to consume out of household net wealth; and inflation and unemployment engender significant precautionary saving. Practical implications – A policy to raise the retirement age may reduce the gross SSW and therefore the fiscal burden of the public pension scheme. However, in shortening the expected post-retirement period that households have to save for, the policy may also reduce the saving rate. Originality/value – Although the Feldstein approach has been used in studies in countries like Australia, Canada and the USA, a comparable study has not been undertaken in New Zealand. This study seeks to fill that void.Household saving, New Zealand, Pensions, Social security, Superannuation

DETERMINANTS OF THE FUNDING VOLATILITY OF INDONESIAN BANKS: A DYNAMIC MODEL

Illiquidity is at the core of the various currency and banking/financial crises of the 1990s. In the wake of the Asian crisis of 1997/98 the term "systemic liquidity" has been coined to refer to adequate arrangements and practices which permit efficient liquidity management and which provide a buffer during financial distress. A constructed balance-sheet-based variable that captures the essence of the risk from systemic liquidity is funding volatility ratio, FVR. Using data covering January 1990 to July 2003 and employing cointegration techniques, this study attempts to quantify the purported link between FVR and the measurable determinants of a balanced liquidity infrastructure for Indonesia, the country that suffered the most from the Asian crisis. A good fit is obtained for the dynamic regression model and estimates of short-run and long-run impacts and elasticities are computed. FVR is shown to be increasing in the rupiah-US dollar exchange rate, the Jakarta stock market index, interest rate and the number of banks, and decreasing in capital:asset ratio and foreign liabilities: total asset ratio. The best option for lowering the FVR in the short run is increasing bank capital; over the long term enduring increases in foreign-currency accounts and reduction in the number of banks seem to hold the best prospect for lowering the FVR