Impact of the IMF Loan Program on Macroeconomic Performance and Social Protection in Egypt 2016/2019

This paper briefly investigates the impact of the participation of Egypt in the IMF loan program in November 2016 on Egyptian macroeconomic performance and social protection. It uses the “before-after” approach to measure the changes in the macroeconomic variables. All the variables are measured by using descriptive analyses. It was found that the effects of the IMF program were positive and the macroeconomic performance along with social protection programs have significantly improved

Mind the Gap of Inequalities Between and Within Countries

"Mind the gap!" is an expression meaning a visual or audible warning phrase to take caution while crossing the gap between the train door and the platform. The subject of this paper is to highlight the existing inequalities, even the case of East-West, and the necessity that, by political will and concrete economic and social measures, not only by warnings, mitigate these disparities for the benefit of the parties concerned. This means that, through continuous political awareness of these inequalities, paying attention to this scourge of today’s world and implementing such measures in order to ensure a strategic game type win-win. The methods used in this paper are represented by primary data collected from international reports and situations about the status of today’s world countries and national analyses published. All these data and information become base for the analyses of this issue and the emergence of valuable recommendations, rather than conclusions, regarding the counterbalance East and West, apart from the famous and classic example of  David Ricardo regarding the theory of the international trade between the rich and developed North and the poor and underdeveloped/developing South, in Europe and the world. Awareness, alertness and prompt responses to all challenges and a balanced development type win-win, here they are the keys for a modus vivendi and sustainable evolution

How Nestle Applied Shared Value Creation in Agriculture Sector to achieve Sustainable Agriculture and Make more Profit «Nestle Model»

This paper explains how Nestlé used the shared value concept to make agriculture more sustainable and achieve more profit by creating business value. Based on qualitative research, we use a case study approach to investigate the idea of shared value in achieving sustainable agriculture. We analyzed Nestlé programs in three areas: rural development, environmental sustainability and the Water field. We found that applying the shared value concept by nestle make agriculture more sustainable and leads to business value

Application of Convex Optimization Results of DE FINETTI’s Problem for Proportional Reinsurance (A Case Study of CAARAMA Insurance Company in Algiers)

This research aims to find the optimal retention level for a proportional reinsurance treaty based on the results of the convex optimization developed in De Finetti's model. The latter makes it possible to determine the level of retention that achieves the expected profit by the insurer while minimizing claims volatility. The convex functions appear abundantly in economics and finance. They have remarkable specificities that allow actuaries to minimize financial risks to which some institutions are exposed, especially insurance companies. Therefore, using mathematical tools to manage various risks is paramount. To remedy the optimization problem, we have combined the probability of failure method with the (De Finetti) model for proportional reinsurance, which proposed a retention optimization process that minimizes claim volatility for a fixed expected profit based on the results of the non-linear optimization

Performance of Mutual Funds: A Comparative Study of Prominent Multi Capital and Large Capital Funds

The purpose of this paper is to compare the performance of prominent multi capital and large capital funds. We examine the performance of 10 prominent funds under both the selected categories has been analyzed during the period of study from 2013 to 2018. Their performance has also been compared against the two most diversified benchmark indices of India such as BSE 200 and Nifty 500. We have also attempted to find out whether there is any considerable difference in the performance of the two categories of funds or not. To do so, we employ a One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for the comparison of mutual funds as an econometric methodology for a period of study from 2013 to 2018 for a sample of 20 Indian mutual funds. From the empirical findings, we find that the mutual fund schemes under both the categories such as Multi Capital Funds and Large Cap Funds have generated good returns over the period and that too with reasonable risk. Therefore, it is very safe to conclude that they are a good investment option for an investor. In terms of the performance of these mutual funds, the average monthly returns generated by the funds in each category are numerically different, but this difference has not been found statistically significant.  At the same time, there is no significant difference between these funds and NIFTY 500 as well as these funds and BSE 200 in terms of their returns

The Impact of Tourism Industry on Economic Growth: The Case of Algeria (Cointegration & Causal Analysis)

This research paper aims to analyze the relationship between tourism and economic growth in Algeria from 1995-2018. To this end, an economic model was estimated according to the econometric methodology (cointegration relationship test, vector error correction model (VECM), and the Granger causality test). The results showed that the number of tourists has a negative impact on economic growth in Algeria, which means that Algeria depends on other variables to increase economic growth, such as oil revenues

Healthcare Financing and Health Outcomes: Analysis of Oil-Producing Countries in Africa

The study's primary concern is healthcare financing and health outcomes in the major oil-producing countries in Africa. We used the data sorted from World Development Indicators (WDI) to identify the effect of four different health expenditures on the rate of mortalities on maternal, under-five, infant, neonatal, and life expectancy at birth through random and fixed-effect models. This paper also takes cognizance of the environmental variable (pollution) common to the top 10 oil-producing countries in Africa. Our findings showed that high health expenditure from government, private and external sources improved health outcomes, while health expenditure from out of pocket is detrimental to health outcomes. Also, the environmental variable has a negative impact on life expectancy. The paper's outcome indicated a need to reduce environmental pollution, increase health expenditure from government, private, and external sources and reduce out-of-pocket payments in the selected areas

The Association between Board of Directors’ Characteristics and the Level of Voluntary Disclosure: Evidence from Listed Banks in Borsa Istanbul

The main aim of this study is to investigate the association between some board of directors' characteristics (board independence, board size, board meetings and role duality) and the level of voluntary disclosure in annual reports of listed banks in Borsa Istanbul. The deductive approach was adopted by developing hypotheses based on previous studies' relevant theories and findings. Also, the panel data strategy was applied to analyze the collected data from annual reports across five years (2013-2017). The univariate statistical analysis and the multivariate Feasible Generalized Least Squares regression model are used in this study. The results showed that board independence, board size and board meetings were positively and significantly associated with the level of voluntary disclosure, whilst role duality was negatively but not significantly associated with voluntary disclosure. The results also indicated that all bank characteristics were positively and significantly associated with the level of voluntary disclosure. Most prior studies on voluntary disclosure practices have been undertaken in developed countries, and a few of them have focused on voluntary disclosure practices in the banking sector for a number of years (longitudinally). There is a requirement for more empirical studies in this area to confirm or disprove the previous results. This study will add value to the knowledge in the disclosure literature by clarifying the relationship between the board of directors' characteristics and voluntary disclosure in the banking sector of developing countries

Psychological Contract Breach, Behavioural Work Outcomes, Organisational Identification, and Islamic Work Ethics: A Moderated Mediation Study

We investigated how organisational identification (OID) mediates the influences of psychological contract breach (PCB) on two work outcomes [organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and counterproductive work behaviour (CWB)], and how Islamic work ethics (IWE) moderated the PCB–OID relationship. We collected data from 256 Palestinian managers in Gaza Strip ministries using a self-report questionnaire; we employed Structural Equation Modelling in analysing the data using Smart PLS. Our findings reveal that OID mediates between PCB and the two work outcomes. Further, we show that IWE has no moderating influence on the PCB–OID relationship. Finally, the influence of PCB on the two work outcomes is insignificant

Long-Run Nexus of Tourism and Economic Growth in Sri Lanka: Empirical Evidence Using Cointegration Analysis

This study investigates the association between economic growth and tourism in Sri Lanka using cointegration analysis for the period 1980 to 2019. The analysis was performed using the Augmented Dickey-Fuller test, Philips-Perron test, Engle-Granger cointegration, and Granger causality tests. The results revealed that a long-run equilibrium relationship among variables while there is a disequilibrium in the short run. The estimated error correction term is theoretically acceptable and approximately 5 per cent yearly correction of its disequilibrium in the short run was found. Granger causality test presented a long-run unidirectional causality which is running from tourism to economic growth and thus findings confirm the tourism-led growth hypothesis in Sri Lanka tourism and development spectrum. Therefore, tourism has a significant positive impact on economic activities in the long run. Findings further emphasize that benefits of the economic development must be transferred to the further development of tourism to maintain a bilateral causality which is an important concept in this regard. It provides the rationale for the further development of productive policy strategies to attract more tourists to the country and upsurge visitor expenditures during their stay in Sri Lanka since Sri Lanka has significantly developed its accommodation capacities. Findings further reveal that the tourism sector must be developed parallel to the economic development to boost the growth through tourism. Therefore, all sectors, the government, private bodies, and voluntary organizations must become active partners in this endeavour, and policy implications need the focus of every aspect of enhancing tourism as a growth engine