FDI IMPACT ON HOST COUNTRY'S MARKET CONCENTRATION AND PROFITABILITY

This research attempts to examine the effect of foreign direct investment and profitability (price cost margins) on market concentration in 26 CEE and CIS countries. The hypothesis whether FDI and profitability make market concentration increase or decrease is tested using instrumental variables (IV) methods (business environment indicators are treated as instruments) in order to ensure that the possible endogeneity problem between FDI and concentration is elimi nated

The design, construction and monitoring of a complex urban excavation in stiff Oxford Clay

This paper describes the design, contruction and monitoring of a complex urban excavation in stiff Oxford Clay. The project was novel for its complex curved basement excavation in stiff UK soil and the use of the observational method to optimise design and construction. One of the key challenges of the construction works was to prevent damage to adjacent structures, including the historic Savile House building built in 1897, which directly abutted the east wall of the excavation and the Civil War ramparts, which abut Mansfield College. Therefore, lateral wall movements, building settlements, heave and prop loads were closely monitored and constantly accessible to the site team through an innovative geotechnical monitoring dashboard manageable by way of mobile devices. The monitored behaviour of the piled retaining wall system proved to be very stiff and measured movements of both the retaining walls and nearby buildings were all within calculated design thresholds. The observational method enabled the site team to omit temporary steel propping for the double basement, which resulted in significant savings in costs, time and embodied carbon dioxide. The present monitored data provide a valuable frame of reference for future basement construction in Oxford Clay

Three-dimensional finite element analysis of a complex excavation on the MIT campus

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-133).Large excavation projects in urban areas are complex geotechnical problems when it is necessary not only to ensure the stability of the excavation and support system, but also to minimize impacts on adjacent buildings and structures. These problems require more comprehensive analyses that represent the four-dimensional (space-time) processes associated with performance of the excavation support system. The goal of this research is to evaluate the use of three-dimensional finite element analysis in Plaxis 3D 2011 to simulate ground deformations, pore pressures, and diaphragm wall deflections for the very well instrumented excavation for the basement of the Stata Center on the MIT campus. The model predictions are compared with the field measurements that include vertical inclinometers, settlement points, magnet extensometers, and piezometers. The Ray and Maria Stata Center building at MIT was designed with a basement for underground parking requiring a 42 ft deep excavation. The excavation was supported by a perimeter diaphragm wall that formed part of the permanent structure and extended 45 ft into a deep layer of underlying Boston Blue clay. The diaphragm wall was braced by a combination of prestressed tieback anchors, preloaded raker and corner bracing support elements. The control of ground movements was a critical aspect of the subsurface design due to the close proximity of the excavation to the historical MIT Alumni swimming pool building. This study has shown that the three-dimensional finite element analysis can be effectively used for such a complex excavation project and is capable to achieve reasonably consistent predictions of wall deflections, ground movements, and pore pressures for tieback, cornerbraced, and raker supported diaphragm walls despite of simplifications in the base case model. The simulation has also captured the three-dimensional effects causing the induced ground deformations to be smaller near the corner areas. Further numerical analyses are now needed to assess the importance of soil constitutive behavior on the observed field performance of the support system for the Stata Center basement.by Zhandos Y. Orazalin.S.M

Assessing the development effect of governance

This research attempts to examine the development effect of governance (through exogenous variables) applying instrumental variables estimator and two-stage least squares methods building on cross-sectional regression analysis using data for 64 countries. Governance as measured by governance effectiveness in the model specified in the paper plays important role for economic outcome. The evidence for a positive causal relationship of governance and development has been provided in the paper. The results obtained are consistent with the empirical findings of Kaufmann and Kraay (1999) who found large and highly significant positive effects of governance on per capita incomes on larger sample

Board Gender Diversity and Carbon Trade Finance: Evidence From Multinational Corporations on the Role of Institutional Quality and Cultural Environment

This study investigates whether board gender diversity influences carbon trade finance and ultimately achieves decarbonisation targets. Using a dataset of 5198 firm-year observations from 336 multinational corporations (MNCs) spanning 42 industries and 32 countries over the period 2006–2022, we employ panel regression analysis to uncover key insights. Our findings reveal that although board gender diversity is positively associated with carbon trade finance, a critical mass of at least four female board directors is necessary to exert significant influence. Our results highlight the critical role of institutional factors, such as high control of corruption, strong voice and accountability, government effectiveness and a strong rule of law, in enhancing the impact of board gender diversity on carbon trade finance. Additionally, cultural environments play a pivotal role in shaping the relationship between board gender diversity and carbon trade finance. Our main conclusions are robust across alternative measures and validated using two-stage least squares and propensity score matching techniques. We contribute to the literature on board gender diversity and carbon trade finance by empirically demonstrating the role of (in)formal institutional factors that influence the effectiveness of female directors in achieving sustainability outcomes. The findings offer valuable policy and practical implications for managers, regulators and stakeholders, shedding light on the interplay among board gender diversity, carbon emissions management, and the governance and cultural contexts at the country level

ASSESSING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF KAZAKH ECONOMY: DOES INDUSTRIAL-INNOVATIVE STRATEGY IMPROVE THE COMPETITIVENESS?

This article assesses the competitiveness of the national economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan (by region) for the period of implementation of the industrial-innovative development strategy. Assessment method uses the index method to construct an aggregate index of competitiveness of the region by the aggregation of a number of different social and economic indicators. Calculations were carried out similarly to the methodology of the ratings of countries. The main feature of this method is to bring the different indicators (percent, absolute value, etc.) to one dimension in the range [0; 1]. Research results show that the level of the competitiveness in the Republic of Kazakhstan in general remains very low except in the capital city Astana and the former capital Almaty where competitiveness relatively higher but still it is in the middle of the range [0; 1]. Findings show that although Astana and Almaty are not industrial areas, but these areas have a relatively higher level of innovation and research. As a result, the combination of the existing infrastructure and industrial resources with innovation increases productivity in the region, which finally improves the quality of the life in the region. This means that the industrial-innovation factors are the basis for improving competitiveness. But, compared to the industrial and infrastructural indicators, innovation factors are more related to competitiveness. Overall, the industrial-innovative development affects the competitiveness of the region, which later forms the country's competitiveness

Assessing the development effect of governance

This research attempts to examine the development effect of governance (through exogenous variables) applying instrumental variables estimator and two-stage least squares methods building on cross-sectional regression analysis using data for 64 countries. Governance as measured by governance effectiveness in the model specified in the paper plays important role for economic outcome. The evidence for a positive causal relationship of governance and development has been provided in the paper. The results obtained are consistent with the empirical findings of Kaufmann and Kraay (1999) who found large and highly significant positive effects of governance on per capita incomes on larger sample

Social networking site use, personality, user habit, and subjective wellbeing: a Kazakhstani pilot study

Considering the prevalence and increased use of online social networking sites (SNSs), the present study investigated the association between visiting SNSs and users' subjective wellbeing. Data were collected from 251 participants and were analyzed using partial least square-based structural equation modeling. The findings showed that there was no significant direct influence of SNS use on users' subjective wellbeing. Additionally, the study found a significant mediating influence of passion on the association between SNS visits and subjective wellbeing. Moreover, the study did not find any significant negative mediating impact of obsession with SNS visits and association with subjective wellbeing. Among various personality traits, openness to experience had a positive moderating impact and neuroticism had a negative moderating impact on the association between SNS visits and subjective wellbeing among SNS users. The study provides implications for managers and parents regarding improved SNS use and increased subjective wellbeing

Essays on Corporate Carbon and Climate Change Accounting: Governance, Sustainability, Disclosure, and Performance

This thesis focuses on corporate governance, climate change mitigation, corporate carbon performance, sustainability practices, biodiversity disclosure, and financial performance of top global companies. It consists of the introductory chapter, three empirical papers, and the concluding chapter. The first paper examines the relationships among process-based corporate climate change initiatives (PCCCIs), outcome-based corporate carbon performance by emissions (OCCPE), and market value (MV) and investigates the moderating role of a board sustainability committee (BSCOM). The results reveal that higher levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are negatively associated with MV, whereas PCCCIs are positively related to MV. The results also show that the presence of BSCOM has a positive impact on MV, but does not seem to improve OCCPE. Further, the findings indicate that increased levels of GHG emissions have a positive relationship with PCCCIs, and this relationship is reinforced by the presence of BSCOM. The second paper investigates the effects of climate change innovation (WCCIN) and sustainability reporting practices (SRPR) on the level of biodiversity disclosures (WBDDE) and tests whether corporate governance quality (CGOVQ) and actual carbon performance by emissions (ACCP) influence these impacts. The results show that greater commitment to WCCIN and improved SRPR are positively associated with WBDDE. The results also reveal the moderating effects of CGOVQ and ACCP on the WCCIN—WBDDE and SRPR—WBDDE links differ between the United Nations members that ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity and the USA that did not ratify. The third paper explores the impact of board gender diversity (BGEND) on corporate carbon emissions (CPEMS) and investigates whether a board-level policy on gender diversity (PBGEN) moderates this relationship. The results show that BGEND results in a significant reduction of CPEMS. Further, the results suggest that the negative impact of BGEND on CPEMS is intensified when PBGEN is present. From the critical mass perspective, the findings also suggest that corporate boards should consist of at least two female directors to reduce CPEMS. Finally, the findings reveal that the relationships among BGEND, PBGEN, and CPEMS differ among countries with gender quotas, countries with governance codes, and countries without quotas and codes.Keywords: Corporate governance, climate change initiatives, financial performance, sustainability practices, biodiversity disclosures, and carbon performance