The role of subsidiaries in Global Value Chains (GVCs): an institutional voids perspective on LVC upgrading and integration

We explore the process through which MNE subsidiaries engage and retain a critical mass of small suppliers in Global Value Chains (GVCs) while addressing institutional voids in emerging markets. Using evidence from an interpretive inductive longitudinal case study in agribusiness, we draw on the GVC and institutional voids literatures to: (1) extend the GVC literature by offering a subsidiary-focused view of GVCs; and (2) demonstrate the dynamic process of void engagement through complementary institutional bridging activities. Our temporal sequencing of subsidiary institutional agency in response to different modalities of voids demonstrates a constellation of bridging activities that results from a dynamic interplay between voids and practice

RETIREES FROM PUBLIC SERVICE IN NIGERIA: A SURVEY

The proportion of the Nigeria’s population that is retired is large and growing, and the government face huge fiscal burdens because of promises it has made to provide income security (pension) to this set of people. Improving the adequacy and quality of pension is a priority for Nigerian government, because of the growing disenchantment by retirees over government delays to pay new improved pension schemes. The realization that effective policy and planning must take into account what pensioners want and are prepared to take is the impetus that the government is interested in meaningful life after retirement from public service. The paper aims at enriching our study course on planning for retirement, providing policy makers with reliable basis from the field that are useful for executive decisions, and to enrich would be retirees on what many retirees are experiencing and going through, to plan and save well during work life and to prepare for challenges ahead. Infact, life in retirement is not rosy and cosy for majority as pensioners face difficulties in getting their pays, arrears for months accumulated, government reluctance to implement the 148% increase and several other problems. In protecting the old and promoting economic growth, Nigeria needs to consider comprehensive pension reforms. The research team used direct (contingent valuation) surveys and ML –Censored Normal (Tobit) methods to estimate the number of retirees’ willingness to live meaningful life should the government pay them arrears and implement the increase package and other types of improvement. Clearly, the methodology produced some illuminating in sights into how to decide what level of service is appropriate for this segment of the society and how the improved services should be well implemented

Acute diarrhoea in hospitalized under-five children in Ilorin, Nigeria: Relationship between isolated enteropathogens and clinical outcome

Background: Acute diarrhoea due to different enteropathogens contributes significantly to childhood morbidity and mortality globally, despite the advances made in diarrhoea management via use of fluid therapy and zinc supplementation. Aim: To determine the prevalence of bacterial and viral etiology among children hospitalized with acute diarrhoea and the relationship with clinical outcome. Methods: A total of 135 children aged one to 59 months with acute diarrhoea were recruited in Ilorin, Nigeria. Stool specimens were investigated for three viruses (rotavirus, adenovirus and norovirus) and bacterial pathogens using immunochromatographic and conventional culture techniques respectively. Results: One hundred and twenty-two (90.4%) study participants had stools that yielded enteropathogens, while 13 (9.6%) had no isolates. Sixty-one (45.2%) children had a single pathogen isolated, while 61 (45.2%) had co-infections. The prevalence of viruses was 17.0% with rotavirus, adenovirus and norovirus detected in 10.3%, 3.7% and 3.0% respectively. Bacterial pathogens were isolated in 28.2% with Escherichia coli (14.1%), Klebsiella spp. (8.2%), Proteus spp. (3.7%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2.2%) detected as isolates. The duration of hospital stay, likewise the duration of diarrhoea were prolonged by the presence of an infectious aetiology and co-infections (p <0.001 and p =0.04 respectively). However, these clinical outcomes were not influenced by the type of bacteria/virus isolated nor the enteropathogens constituting co-infection (p >0.05). Conclusions: There was a high burden of infectious aetiology of childhood diarrhoea, with bacteria being the predominant enteropathogens isolated. The clinical outcomes of the children studied were influenced by the isolation of enteropathogens and the presence of multiple infections

DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTIVENESS OF THINK-PAIR-SHARE PROGRAMMING STRATEGIES, CONVENTIONAL METHOD AND LEARNING STYLES ON THE PROGRAMMING ACHIEVEMENTS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN IJEBU EDUCATION DIVISION, OGUN STATE

This work examined the effects of the think-pair-share programming strategy on students’ achievement in programming. It also determined the moderating effect of learning styles on students’ achievement in programming. The study adopted a pretest-posttest-control group quasi-experimental research design. One hundred and twenty-two (122) students offering computer studies in senior secondary 2 from the two purposively selected public senior secondary schools in Ijebu Education Division of Ogun State constituted the sample. Computer Programming Achievement Test (CPAT, r = 0.760) and Learning Style Inventory (LSI, r= 0.83) were used for data collection.  Data obtained were analysed through inferential statistics of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) using IBM SPSS Statistics 23. The finding indicated that the think-pair-share programming strategy significantly improved students’ achievement in the programming aspect of computer studies.  It was also found that learning style is not a strong factor in the learning of programming. The findings suggest that teachers should adopt the think-pair-share programming strategy in the teaching and learning of computer programming in senior secondary schools. It is therefore recommended that teacher education programme should include the strategy as one of the methods in the computer science methods courses to enable would-be teachers to master its nitty-gritty, since it worked in the senior secondary school. Also, the government and school authority should organize series of training through workshops and conferences to enable the teachers to acquire the skills to use the strategy.   &nbsp

Human Capital Development and Poverty in Nigeria, 1960 - 2009: An Econometric Assessment

This study examined the relationship between human capital development and poverty in Nigeria using data spanning 1960-2009. The human capital development variable was measured using conventional variables i.e. education and health, with government expenditures on education and health being used as the proxies. Other variables on  communication, transportation and utility were used as control. A readily available poverty measure, gross domestic product per capita was used to capture poverty status. This is based on the fact that poverty is mostly measured in monetary terms captured by income or consumption per capita or household in the absence of direct primary data observation. After carrying out the diagnostic tests, the cointegration analysis carried out proved that, to some extent, a cointegrating relationship exists between the poverty measure and human capital development indicators. However, the Granger causality estimation results show that both education and health expenditures are fundamental in reducing poverty level based on the uni-directional causality while no causality runs from poverty status to the indicators. Keywords: Poverty, Human Capital Development, Cointegration, Granger Causalit

ECB policy and Eurozone fragility: Was De Grauwe right?

Paul De Grauwe's Eurozone fragility hypothesis states that sovereign debt markets in a monetary union without a lender-of-last-resort are vulnerable to self-fulfilling dynamics fuelled by pessimistic investor sentiment that can trigger default. We test this contention by applying an eclectic methodology to a two-year window around Mario Draghi's “whatever-it-takes” pledge that can be understood as the implicit announcement of the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) program. A principal components analysis reveals that the perceived commonality in default risk among peripheral and core Eurozone sovereigns increased after the announcement. An event study reveals significant pre-announcement news transmission from Spain to Italy, France, Belgium and Austria that clearly dissipates post-announcement. Country-specific regressions of CDS spreads on systematic risk factors reveal frequent days of large adverse shocks affecting simultaneously those five Eurozone countries, but only during the pre-announcement period. Altogether these findings support the fragility hypothesis and endorse the OMT program