Capital structure, product market competition and firm performance: Evidence from South Africa

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.This paper investigates the relationship between capital structure and firm performance, paying particular attention to the degree of industry competition. The paper applies a novel measure of competition, the Boone indicator, to the leverage-performance relationship. Using panel data consisting of 257 South African firms over the period 1998–2009, this paper examines the effect of capital structure on firm performance and investigates the extent to which the relationship depends on the level of product market competition. The results suggest that financial leverage has a positive and significant effect on firm performance. It is also found that product market competition enhances the performance effect of leverage. The results are robust to alternative measures of competition and leverage

Banking competition in Africa: Subregional comparative studies

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.This paper examines the extent of banking competition in African subregional markets. A dynamic version of the Panzar–Rosse model is adopted beside the static model to assess the overall extent of banking competition in each subregional banking market over the period 2002 to 2009. Consistent with other emerging economies, the results suggest that African banks generally demonstrate monopolistic competitive behaviour. Although the evidence suggests that the static Panzar–Rosse H-statistic is downwards biased compared to the dynamic version, the competitive nature identified remains robust to alternative estimators

Credit information, consolidation and credit market performance: Bank-level evidence from developing countries

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Paying particular attention to the degree of banking market concentration in developing countries, this paper examines the effect of credit information sharing on bank lending. Using bank-level data from African countries over the period 2004 to 2009 and a dynamic two-step system generalised method of moments (GMM) estimation, it is found that credit information sharing increases bank lending. The degree of banking market concentration moderates the effect of credit information sharing on bank lending. The results are robust to controlling for possible interactions between credit information sharing and governance

Assessing the Reporting System of Maternal Mortality: A Case Study of a Health Care Centre in the Asuogyaman District, Ghana

An estimated 287, 000 maternal deaths occurred worldwide in 2010, most of which were in low-income and middle-income countries and these were avoidable. Reduction of maternal mortality has long been a global health priority and is a target in the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) framework. The aim of this study was to access the reporting system of maternal death at a Health Care Centre in the Asuogyaman District, Ghana. In this study, we sought to employ both qualitative and quantitative methods using respondents from health facility as well as at the communities. This was carried out from May to Augusts 2004. Data were collected with the help of questionnaires interviews augmented by in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and personal observation. Results of the study showed that, majority (90%) of respondents were aware of the need for proper documentation of maternal deaths. However all the maternal death folders reviewed from the VRA Hospital revealed the absence of auditing of such records. It also became clear during the interviews that, some of the senior managers could not specify the appropriate procedures in proper auditing of maternal deaths as well as the correct time required for this exercise.  Much to our surprise, all the community based volunteers were aware somehow of maternal mortality audit.  On the issue of safe-motherhood training, the study showed that, majority of the respondents (80%) had been trained in safe motherhood techniques. These included (75%) of all the doctors and (65%) of all midwifes. Our findings was confirmed by the administrators of the Health Care Centre (VRA Hospital). Results of the study showed that, although majority of health care workers especially from the health care system in the district were aware of maternal death, there were no proper documentation of these. However from the point of view of some of the major findings it could be deduced that there were indirect reasons to conclude that the low maternal mortality in the district was related to poor records keeping of maternal death folders. Key words: Mortality, Safe-motherhood, OPD, Maternal, Pueperum, Pregnanc

Biostimulation of Immobilized Microbes in a Fixed-Bed Bioreactor towards Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Water Remediation Using Compost Tea and Egg Shell Powder

The need to satisfy the ever increasing petroleum demand coupled with the availability of enough crude oil reserves to meet demand for several decades to come makes petroleum contamination a globally important subject. Bioremediation has emerged as an efficient treatment option for the remediation of organic contaminants including petroleum owing to the failure of physico-chemical treatment options to address petroleum contamination. The current study targeted the application of compost tea (CT) and egg shell powder (ESP) solution at various levels as nutrient amendments/bio-stimulants for hydrocarbon-eating microbes attached to support media surfaces in a fixed-bed bioreactor system. CT and ESP were characterized to be rich in essential nutrients including N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na and C. CT and ESP application at four levels each recorded appreciable boosts in microbial numbers and TPH removal across applied levels. CT application recorded 23.49±2.20 to 29.36±0.79 % boost in TPH removal and 17.03±3.01 to 61.07±2.26 % boost in microbial mass. Boosts in TPH removal assumed the order 3200 ml 1600 ml 800 ml 400 ml. ESP application similarly recorded 27.56±2.62 to 29.57±0.90 % boost in TPH removal and 17.50±1.60 to 24.43±2.05 % boost in microbial mass. Recorded TPH removal boosts assumed the trend 20 g/l 10 g/ l 2.5 g/l 5 g/l

Credit information sharing and cost of debt: evidence from the introduction of credit bureaus in developing countries

We investigate the effect of credit information sharing on cost of debt, with particular focus on the introduction of credit bureaus in developing countries. Using a large dataset of firms from 28 developing countries over the period 2004-2019, we find that firms’ average cost of debt significantly declines following the introduction of credit bureaus. This finding is robust to an alternative measure of cost of debt, several firm- and country-level controls and to firm- and year-fixed effects. The reduction in cost of debt is more pronounced for less transparent firms and for firms domiciled in countries with weak institutional framework

Maternal Mortality, Proteinuria and Pregnancy Induced Hypertension: Case Study of a Regional Hospital in Brong Ahafo Region, Ghana

Globally, one of the public health problems confronting the medical community is maternal mortality. This study seeks to investigate the relationship between maternal mortality, proteinuria and pregnancy induced   hypertension among some pregnant mothers in Ghana. In this study, protein in the urine and blood pressure of some 450 pregnant women who visited the Hospital between January to December, 2015 were monitored. Retrospective data based on maternal death from January 2010 and December 2015 were also retrieved and analysed. This was augmented by interviewing 150 respondents (75 each from antenatal and postnatal section of the hospital) based on maternal health history, knowledge on PIH etc. The results of the study with respect to proteinuria and the blood pressure (BP) monitoring showed that, 36% of these mothers had traces of protein in their urine whiles 32 mothers out of 450 had elevated systolic and diastolic BP. The study also revealed, when data on maternal mortality and PIH of pregnant mothers were retrieved that, a total of 75, 439 (N=75,439) mothers attended the antennal section of the Hospital. Out of this, 139 of them (0.18%) died due to PIH. Maternal child bearing behaviour, nulliparity when analysed showed that, greater proportions of antennal (AN) mothers (32.00%) were nulliparous compared to their PN counterpart (0%) (p<0.0001).  Results of our study has shown that, maternal mortality due to PIH were high due to elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as high doses of trace amount of protein in pregnant mothers’ urine. Keywords: Nulliparity, Eclampsia, Maternal, Mortality, Antenatal, Postnatal

Influence of Brand Equity on Brand Trust: Mediation of Brand Reputation and Moderation of Social Media

The Present study aims to investigate the brand equity of the local as well as international fast food restaurants in the country of Ghana. Furthermore, the study investigates the particular brand association (B Ass.) and brand awareness (B Aw.) dimensions of the brand equity (BE). Moreover, the mediating role of the brand reputation (BR) examined in between dimensions of brand equity and brand trust (BT). In addition the moderating effect of social media also investigated. Study adopted the partial least square 3.0 for inferential statistics as well as structural equation modelling. The results of the study exhibited, that   brand equity has positive and significant influence on brand reputation. Moreover the positive and significant effects of social media on brand trust also notified in the study. In addition, the effect of brand awareness on brand trust partially mediated by brand reputation, while the association between brand association and brand trust is fully mediated. Furthermore, the moderating effect of social media (SM) on brand trust noted negative and significant. The outcomes of the scholarship add to advance indulgent of the multifaceted psychosomatic procedures tangled in purchaser selection standards for a fast food restaurants and service industry. Keywords: Brand Equity (BE); Brand Awareness (B Aw.); Brand Association (B Ass.); Brand Reputation (BR); Brand Trust (BT); Social Media (SM) DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-21-02 Publication date:July 31st 201

Governance structures and the compensation of powerful corporate leaders in financial firms during M&As

We examine the impact of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on the compensation of powerful corporate leaders [i.e., boards of directors, including Chief Executives Officers (CEOs), Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), and Board Chairs] of acquiring firms. Using one of the largest datasets on M&As, directors’ compensation, and governance to-date, consisting of a sample of UK financials (banks, insurance firms, private equity firms, and speciality finance firms) over a 13-year period, our results obtained by employing multivariate regression analyses show that acquisitions, on average, have a positive and significant impact on directors’ compensation. This effect applies to both powerful corporate executives (CEOs, CFOs, and all other executive directors) and other non-executive directors. However, the positive acquisition effect on top executive compensation is much higher in larger and more complex acquisitions. We also find that much of the acquisition-related pay raises is equity-based rather than cash-based. Finally, we find CEOs to be the top beneficiaries from acquisitions. We interpret our findings within a multi-theoretical framework that draws insights from agency, executive power, managerial talent, and tournament theories of top executive compensation

Corporate Multinationality and Acquirer Returns

This paper provides evidence on how corporate multinationality from the perspective of acquiring firms relates to M&A returns. Using multivariate regressions and a large dataset of over 6,000 M&As (both cross-border and domestic) by UK firms during 1987 to 2014, the paper finds multinationality to be associated with significantly higher short-run announcement returns and long-run operating performance. While the multinationality premium (higher M&A returns for multinationals) persists over time, it seems to be restricted to firms with superior resource/managerial capabilities and minimal agency problems. Finally, the multinationality premium appears to be driven by foreign acquisitions into advanced economies. The results are robust to correcting for sample selection bias and controlling for several firm and deal characteristics, as well as accounting for firm-, industry-, and year-fixed effects. Collectively, the findings imply that multinationality could be a source of value creation for acquiring firms, particularly in foreign acquisitions, which tend to be complex, and thereby, require superior managerial capabilities to succeed