Effects of the 2008 Financial Crisis on developing Asia's Economic Growth

The aim of this paper is to study macro aspect of the virulent impacts of the 2008 financial crisis on Asian developing economies. To do this, we apply the Pedroni panel co-integration technique developed to examine the long-run relationship between economic growth, exports and inward FDI on a sample of selected Asian developing countries over the period 1995-2008. Our main finding is that FDI inflows and exports exert a significant and positive impact on developing Asia's economic growth. The 2008 global financial crisis is, therefore, likely to have a significant effect on developing Asia's economic growth through two main transmission channels - FDI and exports channels.Financial crisis, Exports, FDI, Economic growth, Developing countries.

Does trade integration matter for reducing intra-regional disparities? ASEAN evidence from a panel co-integration approach

Needless to say, it is necessary to study the relative scales of the trade creation effect and the trade diversion effect to evaluate success of ASEAN trade integration and to determine whether or not the intra-bloc trade share is appropriate as an indicator of the progress of reducing intra-regional disparities in ASEAN. Therefore, this paper first uses descriptive statistics and some key indicators to track the progress in economic growth and in trade integration that is the main pillar of building ASEAN Economic Community. Second, we make an attempt to provide answers to the question of whether trade integration matters for reducing intra-regional disparities among ASEAN member states over the period 1995-2007. We perform the panel co-integration method developed by Pedroni (1999) that allows for heterogeneity across ten ASEAN countries. Our major finding shows that trade integration, which is captured by intra-regional exports and imports flows, is appropriate as an indicator of progress of reducing income disparities in the ASEAN zone. Finally, applying the General Method of Moments (GMM) estimation, we also find that deepening of intra-regional trade integration creates more trade flows among ASEAN member states without diverting trade flows with non-members.Growth, Trade Integration, Intra-regional disparities, Co-integration, ASEAN

Energy management systems and market value: Is there a link?

This paper aims to advance in the knowledge of the economic impacts of ISO 50001 certification on firms' performance. The study hypothesizes that ISO 50001 is associated with improvements in market value of firms. We employ, on one hand, event study methodology for a sample of 40 companies listed on different stock exchanges. On the other hand, we use market reaction to the announcement of ISO 50001 as a proxy for changes in firm performance. We reveal that market reaction to the adoption of ISO 50001 is negative but statistically insignificant. However, this result is not suggesting that getting ISO 50001 is a bad investment, but rather that inflated expectations of financial performance improvement due to the adoption of ISO 50001 has still been unfounded

Does trade integration matter for reducing intra-regional disparities? ASEAN evidence from a panel co-integration approach

Needless to say, it is necessary to study the relative scales of the trade creation effect and the trade diversion effect to evaluate success of ASEAN trade integration and to determine whether or not the intra-bloc trade share is appropriate as an indicator of the progress of reducing intra-regional disparities in ASEAN. Therefore, this paper first uses descriptive statistics and some key indicators to track the progress in economic growth and in trade integration that is the main pillar of building ASEAN Economic Community. Second, we make an attempt to provide answers to the question of whether trade integration matters for reducing intra-regional disparities among ASEAN member states over the period 1995-2007. We perform the panel co-integration method developed by Pedroni (1999) that allows for heterogeneity across ten ASEAN countries. Our major finding shows that trade integration, which is captured by intra-regional exports and imports flows, is appropriate as an indicator of progress of reducing income disparities in the ASEAN zone. Finally, applying the General Method of Moments (GMM) estimation, we also find that deepening of intra-regional trade integration creates more trade flows among ASEAN member states without diverting trade flows with non-members

Globalisation versus Informality: Evidence from developing countries

A number of theoretical studies have tended to trace the nature of globalization process' impacts (mostly characterised by trade opening) on informality, while relevant empirical literature has been not well developed. The paper aims to fill this knowledge gap by shedding further light on the linkages running from globalisation to informality in developing countries. Moreover, in this study, globalisation is characterised not only by trade integration but also by other globalisation aspects, such as social globalisation, financial globalisation and so forth. To achieve the main objective, we employ the Bayesian statistical techniques, which allow one to determine, from a large set of different globalization indicators, a subset of indicators most likely to influence the size of informality. Our finding reveals that the indicators with consistently high inclusion probabilities are trade integration, trade reforms, de jure financial openness and social globalisation. On the other hand, many covariates found significant in previous empirical studies are not robust to including in informality modelling

Financial Development, Financial Openness and Trade Openness: New evidence

Employing the Pedroni co-integration technique and the GMM estimator, this paper aims at investigating the possible connection between financial development, financial openness and trade openness in twenty-nine Asian developing countries over 1994-2008. Firstly, we find a bidirectional causality between trade openness and financial development/openness. Secondly, the relationship between financial development and financial openness is heterogeneous across different measures. Finally, this paper provides a complementary contribution to earlier studies as asking for the question of whether the inclusion of financial crisis in estimated models can change the nature of the relationship between financial development and both types of openness

A modelling study of environmental fate and effects of oil leakage from abandoned wells

Master's thesis in Environmental EngineeringPotential environmental consequences of oil leakages are taken into consideration in the ongoing development of plug and abandonment (P&A) activities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The P&A on the NCS has been required to reach a “zero leakage” target, while environmental regulations and risk monitoring for permanent abandonment are still needed. Thus, a modelling study of fate and effects of oil leakage from abandoned wells is the topic of this thesis. The research covers an investigation into applicable models and scenario modelling of a theoretical oil leak case study on the NCS. Lessons from natural oil seeps are utilized to understand potential exposure and effects of the oil leakages. In order to estimate the chronic biological exposure and effects from continuous low-rate oil leakages, the modelling is executed via a software developed by SINTEF. An Environmental Impact Factor (EIF) tool is used to compute impacted areas and risks of different oil droplets. The results show that the smaller the droplets are, the greater the impact they have on the environment. EIFs or risks develop in time and become more stable over long periods, meanwhile impacted areas with risk > 5% become denser in a certain location of a few hundred meters from the release site. Chronic exposure and effects on organisms potentially occur with a steady state effect over a long period. Some unacceptable risks, which are exceeding the conventional accepted level of 5%, appear surrounding the release site, indicating a need of mitigation measures. Under variation of currents and winds, dilution, dispersion, evaporation, oxidation and biodegradation are parts of the influence processes on fate and effects of the oil leakage. Toxic hydrocarbons including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, naphthalene 1, C4 benzene and C7 to C9 saturates should be of concern regarding hydrocarbon contributions to risks.publishedVersio

Projekt pro provedení stavby bytového domu

Hanh Pham Thi Hong. The Detailed Design Documentation of Apartment Building. VŠB-TUO, 2018, 60 p + Contruction drawings. This thesis focus on detailing design for an apartment building in terms of primary architectural designs, main support structures, civil works. In addition, the mission includes: - Making BOQ – The bill of quantities of joinery elements, locksmith elements and plumbing elements, - Designing reinforced concrete foundations – Strip foundations The apartment building is supposed locating in Poruba, Ostrava, Czech Republic. It should take a long period of time to complete designing a building with all construction stages in fact. Thus, in this design document, all done works are considered at the prelimary approach. However, the primary stages during contruction process are mentioned and discussed in detailed ways in this thesis.Hanh Pham Thi Hong. Detailní návrhová dokumentace bytového domu. VŠB-TUO, 2018, 60 p + Konstrukční výkresy. Tato diplomová práce se zaměřuje na detailní návrh bytového domu z hlediska primárních architektonických návrhů, hlavních nosných konstrukcí, stavebních prací. Mimo to mise zahrnuje: - Provedení BOQ - Výkaz počtu kusů truhlářských prvků, zámečnických prvků a vodovodních prvků, - Projektování železobetonových základů - Základové pásy Bytová budova se nachází v Porubě, v Ostravě, Česká republika. Mělo by trvat dlouhé časové období dokončení projektování budovy se všemi stavebními stupni ve skutečnosti. V tomto konstrukčním dokumentu jsou proto veškeré provedené práce zohledněny v předběžném přístupu. Nicméně, primární etapy během procesu budování jsou zmíněny a podrobně diskutovány v této práci.225 - Katedra pozemního stavitelstvívelmi dobř

Does exchange rate policy matter for economic growth? Vietnam evidence from a co-integration approach

Both economic growth and exchange rate theories suggest that the exchange rate regime could have consequences for the medium-term growth of a country, directly, through its effects on the adjustment to shocks, and indirectly, through its impact on the important determinants of growth. It is, however, surprising that there was little empirical work investigating the indirect relationship between the exchange rate policy and economics growth in the case of a specific country. In a co-integration framework, our research attempts to fill the gap by econometrically investigating the possible impacts of exchange rate regime on economic growth through two main channels - Foreign direct investment (FDI) and Exports - in the case of Vietnam - a successful example of a transitional economy.Exports, Exchange Rate, FDI, Growth, Co-integration

Board and corporate social responsibility disclosure of multinational corporations

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the effects of board model and board independence on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure of multinational corporations (MNCs). Design/methodology/approach: The authors developed an empirical model in which CSR disclosure is the dependent variable and board model (two-tier vs one-tier), board independence (a proportion of independent directors on a board) and the interaction variable of board model and board independence together with several variables conventionally used as control variables are independent variables. The authors collated the panel dataset of 244 Fortune World’s Most Admired (FWMA) corporations from 2005 to 2011 of which 117 MNCs use the one-tier board model, and 127 MNCs use the two-tier board model from 20 countries. They used the random-effect regression method to estimate the empirical models with the data they collated and also ran regressions on the alternative models for robustness check. Findings: The authors found a significantly positive effect of a board model on CSR disclosure by MNCs. Two-tier MNCs tend to reveal more CSR information than one-tier MNCs. The results also confirm the significant moderating impact of board model on the effect of board independence on CSR disclosure. The effect of board independence on CSR disclosure in the two-tier board MNCs tends to be higher than that in the one-tier board MNCs. The results do not support the effect of board independence on CSR disclosure in general for all types of firms (one-tier and two-tier board). The impact of board independence on CSR disclosure is only significant in two-tier board MNCs and insignificant in one-tier board MNCs. Practical implications: The authors advise the MNCs who wish to improve CSR reporting and transparency to consider the usage of two-tier board model and use a higher number of outside directors on board. They note that once a firm uses one-tier model, number of IDs on a board does not matter to the level of CSR disclosure. They advise regulators to enforce an application of two-tier board model to improve CSR reporting and transparency in MNCs. The authors also recommend regulators to continue mandating publicly traded companies to include more external members on their boards, especially for the two-tier board MNCs. Originality/value: This paper is the first that investigates the role of board model on CSR disclosure of MNCs