Business Groups in Thailand: Before and after the East Asian Financial Crisis

This paper investigates how business groups in Thailand had evolved since the 1950s. We argue that political connections and foreign capital among other factors were contributable to the emerging of Thai business groups. The business groups that owned banks developed fast during the late 1980s and the early 1990s until the financial deregulation, and the establishment of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, and the Bangkok International Banking Facilities. After that the groups that do not own banks have expanded rapidly. We find that the ownership and board structure of the listed firms that belong to the top 30 business groups were not affected by the crisis. Compared to the pre-crisis period, the leverage ratio for the business groups firms has increased while the profitability has declined during the post crisis of 1997-1999. Restructuring appears to work well among group firms since it has helped improved industry-adjusted operating performance of the firms.Business Group, Corporate Governance, Ownership Structure, Restructuring, East Asian Financial Crisis

Did Families Lose or Gain Control after the East Asian Financial Crisis?

This paper investigates the ownership and control of Thai public firms in the period after the East Asian financial crisis, compared to those in the pre-crisis period. Using the comprehensive unique database of ownership and board structures, we find that the ownership and control appear to be more concentrated in the hands of controlling shareholders subsequent to the crisis. Interestingly, even though families remain the most prevalent owners of Thai firms and are still actively involved in the management after the financial crisis, their role as the controlling shareholder becomes less significant. In addition, our results show that direct shareholdings are most frequently used as a means of control in both periods. Pyramids and cross-shareholdings, however, are employed to the lesser extent following the crisis.Ownership, Controlling Shareholder, Corporate Governance, East Asian Financial Crisis, Thailand

CEO Characteristics and Corporate Financing in Thailand

Previous financial crises have cast some doubt about the risk-taking behaviors of top executives. This study investigates the impact of CEO characteristics on corporate financing behaviors after the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Sample firms are non-financial listed firms on the Stock Exchange of Thailand between 2001 and 2005. We use the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method on pooled cross-section and time-series data controlling for year and industry effects. CEO characteristics are classified into three groups—biography, network and incentives—based on the upper echelons, resource dependence and agency theories, respectively. According to the upper echelons theory, the education of CEOs has an impact on strategic choices. The result shows that CEOs with postgraduate education choose a higher level of financial leverage. Based on the resource dependence theory, networks ease difficulties to access to external resources. We find that politically connected CEOs can finance higher debt, compared to non-connected CEOs. Our findings also support the agency theory. We find that family CEOs use more debt possibly to maintain their voting power. Overall, our research shows that CEO characteristics affect financing decisions. From lenders’ point of views, some attributes of CEOs may reflect better repayment abilities of firms, thus encouraging lenders to provide higher loans. Our study also suggests that to thoroughly investigate the significance of CEOs in shaping corporate strategies, wide aspects of CEO attributes should be considered

Thailand’s Student Loan Fund: An Analysis of Interest Rate Subsidies and Repayment Hardships

This paper presents analysis of the implicit subsidies and repayment hardships of Thailand’s Student Loan Fund (SLF). Comparisons are made between the current SLF with alternative similar schemes, assuming different rates of interest and loan repayment periods. We find that the implicit interest rate subsidy is about 66 per cent, with much of this being due to the fact that the scheme charges only a 1 per cent per annum nominal interest rate. The repayment hardships, measured as the proportion of a graduate’s income allocated to servicing the debt, are around 4 and 3 per cent, for female and male graduates earning average incomes by age. However, these increase to 12 and 10 per cent for female and males whose earnings are in the bottom deciles. The current SLF is generous in terms of repayment hardship for the borrowers. However, the scheme appears to be unsatisfactory in terms of the extent of implicit subsidies.can generate a large (non-marginal) switch to home production and the ensuing deadweight losses are large. Using a cross-country panel, we find that gender differences in labour supply responses to tax policy can explain differences in aggregate labour supply and years of education across countries.student loans; higher education financing

BOARD DIVERSITY, NETWORK AND FIRM VALUE

Using a large sample analysis of Thai listed firms, we address an important question. Do board diversity and network add value to firms? This article extends the debate on the benefits and costs of board diversity and network and their effect on the broader picture of corporate governance. Moreover, this article sheds light on the necessity of applying the resource dependence theory in research about boards of directors, in addition to the agency theory. We find that diversity in age and study majors are positively related to Tobin’s Q ratio, while diversity in educational levels leads to lower firm value. Our results suggest that boards with diverse age groups and study areas might generate useful advice and complement each other; however, those with diverse educational levels might create costs due to possible conflicts and a lack of coordination and communication. In addition, the results show that alumni networks have a positive effect on Tobin’s Q ratio. The findings further suggest that an alumni network is significant to firms because it could help firms obtain external resources. Overall, our research provides significant findings for policy makers to widen viewpoints about corporate governance practices and human resource development in emerging countries

Who's on board? Influence of diversity and network of Thai boards of directors on firm value

Using a large sample analysis of Thai listed firms, we address an important question. Do board diversity and network add value to firms? This article extends the debate on the benefits and costs of board diversity and network and their effect on the broader picture of corporate governance. The sample period straddles 2001 to 2005, which allows us to examine board characteristics in response to the Asian financial crisis. We find that diversity in age and study majors are positively related to Tobins Q ratio, while diversity in educational levels leads to lower firm value. Our results suggest that boards with diverse age groups and study areas might generate useful advice and complement each other; however, those with diverse educational levels might create costs due to possible conflicts and a lack of coordination and communication. In addition, the results show that alumni networks have a positive effect on Tobins Q ratio. The findings further suggest that board networks could bring benefits to firms. An alumni network is significant to firms because it could help firms obtain external resources. It also provides significant findings for policy makers to design best practices of directors in emerging countries

Avaliação de Cursos de Aperfeiçoamento Profissional em Diagnóstico por Imagem na Odontologia: Formatos On-line e Híbrido

With all the major changes imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, new challenges have emerged for educational institutions to instruct health professionals. Consequently, they started to look for alternative ways to maintain the teaching-learning process. This study aims to assess the acceptability of a group of 42 students to change the teaching methodology applied in two professional development courses with different formats, one with fully on-line content (Digital Dentistry: Diagnostic Imaging) and the other hybrid (on-line and face to-face) (Computed Tomography: Knowing, indicating and interpreting). This work also proposed to evaluate the learning methodology, adaptations and changes in teaching methods during and after the critical period of the COVID 19 pandemic, as well as the impact on the productivity of courses. The present work was conducted through a cross-sectional observational study. Data were collected through the application of questionnaires. The results showed that remote and hybrid teaching are well consolidated, as they do not provide great interference in their routines and maintain the quality of teaching. It was concluded the importance of approximation in real time (synchronous activities) and in person regarding the content of practical activities and emphasizing the interaction of the educator and the student, in the information of the objectives to be achieved, contents and methods. Keywords: Blended learn. Distance education. Virtual learning environment. Diagnostic imaging.Com todas as grandes mudanças impostas pela pandemia de COVID-19, novos desafios surgiram para as instituições de ensino de formação e capacitação de profissionais de saúde. Consequentemente, estas passaram a buscar formas alternativas de manter o processo de ensino-aprendizagem. Este estudo tem como objetivo avaliar a aceitabilidade de um grupo de 42 alunos a mudança na metodologia de ensino aplicadas em dois cursos de aperfeiçoamento profissional na FFO-USP, com formatos diferentes, um com conteúdo totalmente online (Odontologia Digital: Diagnóstico por imagem) e outro híbrido (online e presencial) (Tomografia computadorizada: Conhecer, indicar e interpretar). Este trabalho também propôs avaliar a metodologia de aprendizado, as adaptações e mudanças de métodos de ensino durante e após o período crítico da pandemia COVID 19, assim como o impacto na produtividade dos cursos. O presente trabalho foi conduzido através de um estudo observacional com delimitação transversal. Os dados foram coletados através da aplicação de questionários. Os resultados encontrados demonstraram que o ensino remoto e o híbrido formam bem consolidados, por não proporcionarem grandes interferências em suas rotinas e manter a qualidade do ensino. Concluiu-se a importância da aproximação em tempo real (atividades síncronas) e presencial quando ao conteúdo de atividades práticas e ressaltando a interação do educador e o educando, na informação dos objetivos a serem atingidos, conteúdos e métodos. Palavras-chave: Ensino híbrido. Educação a distância. Ambiente virtual de aprendizagem. Diagnóstico por imagem

BOARD DIVERSITY, NETWORK AND FIRM VALUE

Using a large sample analysis of Thai listed firms, we address an important question. Do board diversity and network add value to firms? This article extends the debate on the benefits and costs of board diversity and network and their effect on the broader picture of corporate governance. Moreover, this article sheds light on the necessity of applying the resource dependence theory in research about boards of directors, in addition to the agency theory. We find that diversity in age and study majors are positively related to Tobin’s Q ratio, while diversity in educational levels leads to lower firm value. Our results suggest that boards with diverse age groups and study areas might generate useful advice and complement each other; however, those with diverse educational levels might create costs due to possible conflicts and a lack of coordination and communication. In addition, the results show that alumni networks have a positive effect on Tobin’s Q ratio. The findings further suggest that an alumni network is significant to firms because it could help firms obtain external resources. Overall, our research provides significant findings for policy makers to widen viewpoints about corporate governance practices and human resource development in emerging countries