Comparative Study of Corporate Governance Guidelines in SAARC Countries

To control the opportunistic behavior of a human being is a very difficult task. In agency theory, the principal delegates decision making to the agent. Delegating decision-making authority can lead to loss of efficiency and, consequently, increased costs. These costs are called agency costs. Sound corporate governance is essential to coordinate interests among all parties' relationship for sustainable development and growth of a company. The study is aimed at comparing corporate governance scenario in Bangladesh and three other countries and to identify the areas that need further improvement in order to ensure better governance, reliability, transparency, and accountability. This study is basically exploratory in nature. Strength areas of our corporate governance code are the specification of board size, restriction of no. of independent directorship, the shareholding of independent directors, and the quorum of the audit committee. But the major weakness areas are the non-specification of no. of committee act as member and Chairman by one person; lack of training of BOD; lack of evaluation of BOD, CEO and Independent directors; non-inclusion of employee participation, whistleblower policy, voting right, remuneration and Nomination Committee. These findings will help regulators in taking corrective actions for better performance and favorable treatment of all stakeholders. Keywords: Corporate Governance, Board of Directors, SAARC, Agency Theor

Firm Investment & Credit Constraints in India, 1997 – 2006: A stochastic frontier approach

We use the stochastic frontier approach to estimate the impact of firm characteristics on investment decisions of Indian firms during the 1997-2006 period. The use of the stochastic frontier approach allows us to define the (unobserved) optimum investment that is consistent with a firm‟s characteristics such as the Tobin‟s q during each firm-year, and then estimate the deviation from this unobserved optimum in the form of an (investment) efficiency score that varies between zero and one. This deviation is interpreted as the degree of credit constraint, and we are also able to estimate the impact of firm characteristics such as leverage and business group affiliation on the degree of credit constraint via their marginal effects. Our results suggest that the degree of credit constraint of an average firm increased over time during the sample period, despite significant reforms of the Indian banking sector by the turn of the century. We also find that the degree of credit constraint decreases with cash flow and assets, which is consistent with the available literature. Further, there is a threshold effect of leverage, and the degree of credit constraint is greater for highly leveraged firms. Finally, we find that the beneficial impact of business group affiliation on the degree of credit constraint decreases over time, and is eliminated by the end of the sample period.Investment, Credit rationing, Imperfect information, Stochastic frontier analysis

Impact of Corporate Governance Mechanisms on Firm’s Performance: A Study on Listed Conventional Banks

This study examines the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on firm’s performance on listed conventional banking companies at Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). Based on existing empirical studies, five key attributes of corporate governance (board size, the proportion of independent directors on board, the proportion of female directors on board, institutional ownership and size of audit committee) have been selected to identify their influence on firm’s financial performance. Tobin’s Q (a market-based performance measure) and Return on Asset- ROA (an accounting based performance measure) consider as financial performance measures. Using OLS as a method of estimation, the results provide evidence of a significant negative relationship between the performance of the firm and the proportion of independent directors on board as well as size of the audit committee. The result also provides evidence of a significant negative relationship between Tobin’s Q and institutional ownership but a positive and insignificant between ROA and institutional ownership. Furthermore, there is a negative relationship between the proportion of female directors in board and the performance of the firm but is not significant. Board size as predictor variable is negative and insignificant with Tobin’s Q.  JEL Classifications: G 21, G 3

Effect of short-term educational intervention on complementary feeding index among infants in rural Bangladesh: a randomized control trial

Background: Timely, adequate and appropriate Complementary Feeding (CF) is essential for the growth and cognitive development of infants, but until today, evidence-based information is scarce in terms of impact evaluation of CF index (CFI). The study aimed to examine the effect of the short-term intervention of promoting CF practices on the nutritional status of infants in rural Bangladesh. Methods: An educational-intervention study followed a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design (NCT03024710). Mothers and family members in the intervention arm received intensive counselling on CF through community health workers (CHWs), whereas existing healthcare services were received in the comparison arm. The study was carried out in the rural Matlab sub-district of Bangladesh between April 2011 and March 2013. In the specified study areas among 360 mother-infant pairs systematically assigned into intervention group and comparison group. Short-term educational intervention on CF was provided for the intervention group and existing services were un-intervened for the comparison group. The outcome of interventions was evaluated after the implementation period using Generalized equation estimation model. Results: At baseline, the study participants were not different except mean height (p = 0.04), weight-for-age Z score (WAZ) (p = 0.03) and religion (p = 0.04) in between two groups. The mean CFI was significantly higher at intervention area than the comparison and higher category of CFI (score 10 or more) was significantly higher at intervention area than comparison. After adjustment, one-unit CFI increased height-for-age z score by 0.07 units and decreased WAZ by 0.13 units in the intervention group but not significantly changed observed at comparison group. Conclusion: Guided short-term nutritional intervention and developed CFI indicated a significantly better score in intervention area than comparison groups and would be a well adaptable tool for future studies

Impact of Corporate Governance Mechanisms on Firm’s Performance: A Study on Listed Conventional Banks

This study examines the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on firm’s performance on listed conventional banking companies at Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). Based on existing empirical studies, five key attributes of corporate governance (board size, the proportion of independent directors on board, the proportion of female directors on board, institutional ownership and size of audit committee) have been selected to identify their influence on firm’s financial performance. Tobin’s Q (a market-based performance measure) and Return on Asset- ROA (an accounting based performance measure) consider as financial performance measures. Using OLS as a method of estimation, the results provide evidence of a significant negative relationship between the performance of the firm and the proportion of independent directors on board as well as size of the audit committee. The result also provides evidence of a significant negative relationship between Tobin’s Q and institutional ownership but a positive and insignificant between ROA and institutional ownership. Furthermore, there is a negative relationship between the proportion of female directors in board and the performance of the firm but is not significant. Board size as predictor variable is negative and insignificant with Tobin’s Q

Effect of birth weight on adulthood renal function: a bias-adjusted meta-analytic approach

While the association between low birth weight (LBW

Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and associated factors among mothers in rural Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

This article was published in International Breastfeeding Journal [© 2014 BioMed Central Ltd.] and the definite version is available at: https://internationalbreastfeedingjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1746-4358-9-7Background: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) means that the infant receives only breast milk for the first six months of life after birth. In Bangladesh, the prevalence of EBF remained largely unchanged for nearly two decades and was 43% in 2007. However, in 2011, a prevalence of 64% was reported, an increase by 21 percentage points. The reasons for this large change remain speculative at this point. Thus to investigate the issue further, this study was conducted. The objective was to assess the prevalence of EBF and associated factors among mothers having children aged 0-6 months in rural Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Mirzapur Upazilla (sub district) among 121 mothers of infants aged 0-6 months. Eligible mothers were identified and randomly selected using the demographic surveillance system's computerized database that is updated weekly. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for interviews that inquired information on socio-demographic characteristics, obstetric, health service, breastfeeding related factors (initiation of breastfeeding, prelacteal feeding and colostrum feeding) and economic factors. EBF prevalence was calculated using 24 hour recall method. In multivariate analysis, a logistic regression model was developed using stepwise modeling to analyze the factors associated with EBF. Results: The prevalence of EBF in the last 24 hours preceding the survey was 36%. Bivariate and multivariate analysis revealed no significant association between EBF and its possible predictors at 0.05 level of alpha. However, there was some evidence of an association between EBF and having a caesarean delivery (OR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.21, 1.06). In multivariate analysis, type of delivery: caesarean (AOR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.19, 1.03) and wealth quintile: richer (AOR = 2.40, 95% CI: 0.94, 6.16) also showed some evidence of an association with EBF. Conclusion: The prevalence of EBF in Mirzapur (36%) is lower than the national figure (64%). Prelacteal feeding was not uncommon. These findings suggest that there is a need for breastfeeding support provided by health services. Hence, promotion of EBF during the first six months of life needs to be addressed and future breastfeeding promotion programmes should give special attention to those women who are not practicing EBF.Publishe

Evaluating adherence to government recommendations for post-exposure rabies vaccine among animal-bite victims: A hospital-based study in Bangladesh.

Rabies is a fatal but preventable zoonotic disease with an approximately 100% case fatality rate. The most common way to contract rabies is through the bite of a rabid animal. Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) by vaccination and/or immunoglobulin therapy is the most effective measure for rabies prevention. The effectiveness of vaccination depends on the level of completion of vaccination. In Bangladesh, no previous studies were conducted to evaluate adherence to government recommendations for post-exposure rabies vaccine among animal-bite cases. We conducted a cross-sectional study to collect information about adherence to government recommendations for post-exposure rabies vaccine. A total of 457 animal bite victims were selected to collect data and follow up after one month of enrollment. The majority of participants (58%, n = 265, 95% CI: 53-63%) had a history of animal bites. Most of the participants (77%) were advised to receive three doses of vaccine and 100% of them completed 3-dose of vaccine. Among the 4-dose recommended group of participants (n = 105), 78% completed full vaccination. Of the 457 participants, 20% received post-exposure vaccine on the day of bite/scratch and the majority of the participants (66%, n = 303, 95% CI: 62-71%) received post-exposure vaccine on the day between the first and third day of bite or scratch. Increasing awareness of the importance of timely vaccination is the key to reducing the time gap between animal bites and intake of the first dose post-exposure vaccine

Feasibility and effectiveness of electronic vs. paper partograph on improving birth outcomes:A prospective crossover study design

BACKGROUND: The partograph has been endorsed by World Health Organization (WHO) since 1994 which presents an algorithm for assessing maternal and foetal conditions and labor progression. Monitoring labour with a partograph can reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes such as prolonged labor, emergency C-sections, birth asphyxia and stillbirths. However, partograph use is still very low, particularly in low and middle income countries (LMICs). In Bangladesh the reported partograph user rate varies from 1.4% to 33.0%. Recently, an electronic version of the partograph, with the provision of online data entry and user aid for emergency clinical support, has been tested successfully in different settings. With this proven evidence, we conducted and operations research to test the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing an e-partograph, for the first time, in 2 public hospitals in Bangladesh. METHODS: We followed a prospective crossover design. Two secondary level referral hospitals, Jessore and Kushtia District Hospital (DH) were the study sites. All pregnant women who delivered in the study hospitals were the study participants. All nurse-midwives working in the labor ward of study hospitals were trained on appropriate use of both types of partograph along with standard labour management guidelines. Collected quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS 23 statistical software. Discrete variables were expressed as percentages and presented as frequency distribution and cross tabulations. Chi square tests were employed to test the association between exposure and outcome variables. Potential confounding factors were adjusted using multivariate binary logistic regression methods. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional review board of the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b). FINDINGS: In total 2918 deliveries were conducted at Jessore DH and 2312 at Kushtia DH during one-year study period. Of them, 1012 (506 in each facility) deliveries were monitored using partograph (paper or electronic). The trends of facility based C-section rates was downwards in both the hospitals; 43% to 37% in Jessore and from 36% to 25% in Kushtia Hospital. There was a significant reduction of prolonged labour with e-partograph use. In Kushtia DH, the prolonged labour rate was 42% during phase 1 with the paper version which came down to 29% during phase-2 with the e-partograph use. The similar result was observed in Jessore DH where the prolonged labour rate reduced to 7% with paper partograph from the reported 30% prolonged labour with e-partograph. The e-partograph user rate was higher than the paper partograph during both phases (phase 1: 3.31, CI: 2.04-5.38, p < .001 and in phase 2: 15.20 CI: 6.36-36.33, p < .001) after adjusting for maternal age, parity, gestational age, religion, mother's education, husband's education, and fetal sex. CONCLUSION: The partograph user rate has significantly improved with the e- partograph and was associated with an overall reduction in cesarean births. Use of the e-partograph was also associated with reduced rates of prolonged labour. This study has added to the growing body of evidence on the positive impact of e-partograph use. We recommend implementing e-partograph intervention at scale in both public and private hospitals in Bangladesh. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03509103

A stochastic frontier approach to modelling financial constraints in firms:an application to India

We propose the use of stochastic frontier approach to modelling financial constraints of firms. The main advantage of the stochastic frontier approach over the stylised approaches that use pooled OLS or fixed effects panel regression models is that we can not only decide whether or not the average firm is financially constrained, but also estimate a measure of the degree of the constraint for each firm and for each time period, and also the marginal impact of firm characteristics on this measure. We then apply the stochastic frontier approach to a panel of Indian manufacturing firms, for the 1997–2006 period. In our application, we highlight and discuss the aforementioned advantages, while also demonstrating that the stochastic frontier approach generates regression estimates that are consistent with the stylised intuition found in the literature on financial constraint and the wider literature on the Indian credit/capital market