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Presently, research and development (R&D) and innovation have been discussed in diverse ways. However, the nexus of subsidy was relatively unexplored in emerging economies. Furthermore, the effects of age are observed to be inconclusive. Considering 1272 selected Chinese manufacturing firms over the period 2007–2017, we employ fixed effect models to examine the effects of Subsidy on R&D and innovation and whether age was a moderating factor. Consistent with the sandwich theoretical proposition, this article found that there exists a significantly transitive relationship between government subsidy, R&D, and innovation. Whereas young firms perform better in the short-term, state-owned firms outweigh the private ones in performance. Subsequently, age alternatively moderates the R&D and innovation relationship from the perspective of subsidy. Though subsidy is a short-term determinant of R&D, it has a long-term relationship with innovation. In contrast, R&D and innovation have short-term effects based on lag computations. Overall, our findings suggest that government subsidy plays a crucial role in R&D and innovation for emerging markets. We discuss our results within the theoretical frameworks of sandwich, the economics of subsidy, and behavioral theory of R&D.

Purpose The aim of this study is to test the effects of an electronic screening and feedback tool and training for primary care clinicians on care and adolescent health behaviors. Methods We conducted a stepped-wedge cluster randomized trial with six clinics randomly assigned to sequential crossover from control to intervention periods with clinician training between periods. Adolescents (ages 13–18) with a well visit during the control periods (n = 135) received usual care, while adolescents during the intervention periods (n = 167) received the electronic screening and feedback tool prior to their well visit, with results sent to their clinicians. Adolescents completed surveys at baseline, 1 day, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. Linear mixed effects models were used to examine associations between outcomes and treatment, controlling for time as a fixed effect and clinic as a random effect. All analyses employed intent-to-treat analyses and utilized multiple imputations for missing data. Results Adolescents who received the intervention had a higher rate of counseling for their endorsed risk behaviors during the well visit (45% vs. 33%, Wald’s T = 2.29, p = .02). There were no significant intervention effects on adolescent satisfaction with the clinician or perception of patient centeredness. The intervention was associated with a small but statistically significant reduction in overall risk score relative to control at 3 months (−.63, 95% confidence interval [−1.07, −.19], Cohen’s d = .21), but not at 6 or 12 months. Conclusions The results suggest that electronic screening and feedback may be associated with small reductions in risk behaviors at 3 months but that changes do not persist at longer term follow-up.

This paper empirically examines the nexuses between SMEs governance mechanisms [board size (BS), board composition (BC), chief executive officer duality (CEOD), chief executive officer tenure (CEOT), board meetings (BMET), gender diversity (GEND), firm size (SZ) and firm age (AGE)] and business performance (BP) [ROA and Tobin’s Q]. The study deployed panel data multivariate regression via fixed effect for its analysis. By using annual reports of 124 Ghanaian SMEs selected on the basis of data availability, covering 2010-2019, the paper explored SMEs governance-performance-connexion by following the methodologies of researchers/scholars in extant literature. Findings/Results indicates that, there exists positive relationships among CEOT, BMET, SZ and AGE and BP. Nevertheless, BS, BC, CEOD and GEND depicted negative relationships with BP. Findings showed there are mixed results vis-à-vis governance mechanisms and BP. Findings further connote that; Ghanaian SME sector have distinctive attributes and may respond differently to governance mechanisms. Stakeholders will be abreast of the happenings in the Ghanaian SME sector for improved governance mechanisms. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge in extant literature on corporate governance and BP in the SME sector from an emerging economy’s perspective.

Objective. Delirium is a temporary neuropsychiatric syndrome characterized by fluctuations in cognition and attention. Delirium is one of the most common complications seen in old individuals after orthopaedic surgery. With a high incidence, the clinical picture of delirium increases the length of hospital stay and increases healthcare-related costs. This study has aimed to systematically review the national and international studies that investigated the risk factors leading to delirium in geriatric patients after orthopaedic surgery and to perform a meta-analysis using the data reported by those studies. Materials and Methods. A preliminary literature review was performed on six databases. The following English keyword combinations were used including 'Orthopaedic Surgery', 'Geriatrics', 'Elderly', and 'Delirium'. The results of trials were evaluated with random or fixed effect model according to the heterogeneity. Statistical evaluation was performed by using Comprehensive Meta Analysis version 3 programme. Results. The total sample size of the studies included in the analysis was 892. In geriatric patients; who had undergone orthopaedic surgery and developed delirium, the random-effects model revealed a high-level, in the positive direction, and statistically significant (p

Population aging has become a global challenge. Drawing data from Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey 2008, 2011, and 2014, this study examines the effect of informal care receipt on functional limitations and depressive symptoms among older people in China using lagged fixed effects model. Our findings suggest that receiving informal care is significantly associated with a slower functional decline. We also find that this effect varies across different income groups. The protective effect of informal care is more pronounced among older people with higher income compared to those with lower income. We do not observe any significant associations between receiving informal care and depressive symptoms of older people. This study highlights a pressing need for the Chinese government to establish a comprehensive long-term care system.

Generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) combined with the L1 penalty (Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator/LASSO) is called LASSO GLMM. LASSO GLMM reduces overfitting and selects predictor variables in modeling. The aim of this study is to evaluate the model's performance for predicting Covid-19 patients with certain congenital disease that require ICU based on the results of blood tests laboratory and patient’s vital signs. This study used binary response variables, 1 if the patient was admitted to the ICU and 0 if the patient was not admitted to the ICU. The fixed effect predictor variables are the results of blood tests laboratory and patient’s vital signs. The random effect predictor variable is patient's congenital disease. The result showed that the average of accuracy and AUC from LASSO GLMM is more than the average of accuracy and AUC from LASSO GLM by using 5% level of significance. Respiratory rate and Lactate show a significance effect to predict the ICU needs of Covid-19 patients. The random effects patient's congenital disease has significance effect at 5% level of significance. It means that the ICU needs for Covid-19 patients varies among patient's congenital disease. We can conclude that GLMM LASSO with the random effect of patient’s congenital diseases has better modeling performance to predict the ICU needs of Covid-19 patients based on the results of blood tests laboratory and patient’s vital signs. The results of this modeling can quickly detect Covid-19 patients who need the ICU and can help medical staff use ICU resources optimally

The economic development aimed at improving people’s welfare often ignores the negative impact of the surrounding environment. The high use of energy aimed to increase the national income of the five ASEAN members hurts the environment by increasing CO2 levels in the air. This research aims to analyze the effect of CO2 emissions, coal consumption, electricity consumption and deforestation on national output in five ASEAN members. The variable used in this research is national output as the dependent variable and CO2 emissions, coal consumption, electricity consumption and deforestation as the independent variables. This research uses secondary data. The data is the panel data of five ASEAN members (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Myanmar) from 2002 until 2018. The research method in this time is panel data regression, using Fixed Effect Model. This research shows that in five ASEAN members from 2002 until 2018, CO2 emissions harm national output, coal consumption, and electricity consumption positively affects national outcome, while deforestation does not affect national output.

Ecological deterioration, air pollution, and resource depletion have shrouded the vast regions of China, raising widespread concerns about the sustainable development of the domestic economy. Although financial agglomeration has become a pivotal approach for China to realize green transformation, there is a lack of evidence against the causal correlation between financial agglomeration and sustainable development of the regional economy. To fill this gap, using the data of 29 provincial capital cities in China spanning from 2009 to 2019 and adopting individual time bidirectional fixed effect model, IV-GMM approach, and alternative modeling techniques, this paper investigates the impact of financial agglomeration on sustainable development of the regional economy for the first time. The results indicate that there is a significant positive correlation between financial agglomeration and the sustainable development of the regional economy. Financial agglomeration facilitates the improvement of regional energy efficiency, and the latter further mediates the relationship between financial agglomeration and sustainable development of the regional economy. In addition, the empirical results also demonstrate that the higher the economic policy uncertainty, the weaker the positive relationship between financial agglomeration and energy efficiency. The present study is of great significance for China to implement energy-saving and emission-reduction tasks and achieve sustainable urban construction.

Sektor tersier merupakan sektor lapangan usaha yang menghasilkan produk berupa jasa. Sektor tersier sendiri telah mendominasi perekonomian di Indonesia. Perubahan struktural ekonomi menuju sektor tersier diperkirakan mampu memengaruhi pertumbuhan ekonomi sehingga dilakukan penelitian untuk menganalisis pengaruh sektor tersier terhadap pertumbuhan ekonomi provinsi-provinsi di Indonesia. Analisis yang dilakukan membagi provinsi-provinsi di Indonesia menjadi Kawasan Barat Indonesia (KBI) dan Kawasan Timur Indonesia (KTI). Metode yang digunakan adalah analisis data panel Fixed Effects Model dengan estimasi Feasible Generalized Least Squares. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pada KBI maupun KTI, sektor tersier yang dijelaskan oleh produktivitas tenaga kerja dan share tenaga kerja memiliki pengaruh positif terhadap pertumbuhan ekonomi. Variabel lain yang digunakan yaitu belanja langsung pemerintah memiliki pengaruh positif terhadap pertumbuhan ekonomi serta laju pertumbuhan penduduk memiliki pengaruh negatif terhadap pertumbuhan ekonomi. Peningkatan produktivitas sektor tersier dan tenaga kerja sektor tersier dapat dilakukan sebagai upaya peningkatan pertumbuhan ekonomi.

Understanding the main factors influencing energy intensity in China is important to reduce total energy consumption and protect the environment. Based on the OECD–WTO Database of Trade in Value-Added, we subdivide the secondary sector and employ the LMDI method to analyze how much changes in industrial structure and intra-industry energy intensity contribute to the overall change in energy intensity. The results prove that the change in intra-industry energy intensity is the main factor that influences the overall change in energy intensity in recent years. Furthermore, we use firm-level energy consumption data that cover various regions, scales and kinds of energy consumption, and employ firm fixed effects regression to analyze intra-industry influencing factors and find that the scale effect exists for coal, oil and electricity efficiency; foreign-invested firms have lower energy intensity; and firms in coal-rich areas have higher coal intensity. Our results show that if firms’ energy intensity decreases to the level of firms with lower energy intensity within the industry, total energy consumption will decrease considerably without changing the output or industry structure. This paper will give implications for developing countries, where it is difficult to make industrial structural changes to reduce energy consumption.

Purpose The association between air pollutant (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and O3) concentrations and daily number of COVID-19 confirmed cases and related deaths were evaluated in three major Iranian cities (Tehran, Mashhad, and Tabriz). Methods Hourly concentrations of air pollutants and daily number of PCR-confirmed cases and deaths of COVID-19 were acquired (February 20th, 2020 to January 4th, 2021). A generalized additive model (GAM) assuming a quasi-Poisson distribution was used to model the associations in each city up to lag-day 7 (for mortality) and 14 (for morbidity). Then, the city-specific estimates were meta-analyzed using a fixed effect model to obtain the overall relative risks (RRs). Results A total of 114,964 confirmed cases and 21,549 deaths were recorded in these cities. For confirmed cases, exposure to PM2.5, NO2, and O3 for several lag-days showed significant associations. In case of mortality, meta-analysis estimated that the RRs for PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and O3 concentrations were 1.06 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.13), 1.06 (95% CI: 0.93, 1.19), 1.15 (95% CI: 0.93, 1.38), and 1.07 (95% CI: 0.84, 1.31), respectively. Despite several positive associations with all air pollutants over multiple lag-days, COVID-19 mortality was only significantly associated with NO2 on lag-days 0–1 and 1 with the RRs of 1.35 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.67) and 1.16 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.31), respectively. Conclusion This study showed that air pollution can be a factor exacerbating COVID-19 infection and clinical outcomes. Actions should be taken to reduce the exposure of the public and particularly patients to ambient air pollutants. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40201-021-00736-4.

In many developing and emerging economies, better employment opportunities in the non-farm sector have increased rural wages due to labour shortages during the peak agricultural season. Increasing wages often cause a substitution of labour for mechanical power, but extensive use of labour-saving technologies may cause labour displacement and have serious equity concerns. Using the household and individual fixed effect estimation approach, this paper analyses the relationship between different types of farm machines and labour requirements in India. The results suggest that a unit increase in the level of farm mechanization increases the demand for hired labour by 12%. Moreover, we find that the level of farm mechanization has a positive effect on women’s participation in farm work, while it decreases the probability of children participating in agriculture-related work. Disaggregated analysis based on types of farm machinery suggests that water-lifting equipment, draft power and tractors increase the probability of male household members working on their farms, while all types of farm machines, except tractors, have a positive effect on female farm labour participation. We also find that the effect of farm mechanization on the demand for hired labour decreases as the size of the farm increases.

Labour force participation rate (LFPR) is always a concern in economic view in Malaysia. This research study on how the labour force factors will affect the LFPR according to gender perspective for every state in Malaysia from the year 2011 to 2016. Static Panel Data analysis were used in this study. By using Fixed effect model (FEM), outside labour force, non-married, secondary, and tertiary education level have inverse relationship with male LFPR, while the marital status of labour force has positive relationship with male LFPR. Next, for the effect of determinants and characteristics of labour force on female LFPR, Random effect model (REM) was used. The model shows that unemployed, widowed status, outside labour force, and marital status have an inverse relationship with female LFPR. Meanwhile, non-formal education level, tertiary education level, and age group between 40-64 have positive relationship with female LFPR. In conclusion, it is important to understand the LFPR according to gender in Malaysia because it will shape the comparative advantage and describes the situation of Malaysia’s labour market. This study provides an overview of labour force in Malaysia using an appropriate statistical modelling known as panel data approach.

Based on the data regarding the renovation of the toilets of 30 provinces (municipalities) in rural China from 2005 to 2017, this study utilized a two-way fixed effect model to empirically test the impact of access to sanitary toilets on health, which include intestinal infectious diseases (consisting of hepatitis A, dysentery, and typhoid) and child mortality (consisting of perinatal mortality, infant mortality, and the mortality rate of children under 5). This study attempted to assess the health outcomes of the "toilet revolution" in rural China. The results showed that: (1) Access to sanitary toilets effectively reduced the incidence of hepatitis A and dysentery. For every 1% increase in the rate of access to sanitary toilets, the incidence of hepatitis A was reduced by 5.6%, and the incidence of dysentery was reduced by 36.5%. (2) Access to sanitary toilets does not significantly reduce child mortality. (3) There are obviously regional differences in the impact of access to sanitary toilets on the health outcomes. The renovation of sanitary toilets has shown the most significant effect on reducing the incidence of intestinal infectious diseases in the central region as well as the effect on reducing child mortality in the western region. It is implied that the health outcomes of China's "toilet revolution" may provide supporting evidence and experience for other developing countries and regions in implementing toilet renovation projects.

Summary Background Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic. Studies reported dyslipidemia in patients with COVID-19. Herein, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of published articles to evaluate the association of the lipid profile with the severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients. Methods PubMed/Medline, Europe PMC, and Google Scholar were searched for studies published between January 1, 2020 and January 13, 2021. Random or Fixed effects models were used to calculate the mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Statistical heterogeneity was assessed using Cochran's Q test and I2 statistics. Results This meta-analysis included 19 studies. Of which, 12 studies were categorized by severity, 04 studies by mortality, and 03 studies by both severity and mortality. Our findings revealed significantly decreased levels of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the severe group when compared with the non-severe group in a random effect model. Similarly, random effect model results demonstrated significantly lower levels of HDL-C and LDL-C in the non-survivor group when compared with the survivor group. The level of TC was also found to be decreased in the non-survivor group when compared to the survivor group in a fixed-effect model. Conclusion In conclusion, the lipid profile is associated with both the severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients. Hence, the lipid profile may be used for assessing the severity and prognosis of COVID-19. Prospero registration number CRD42021216316 .

The purpose of this paper is to examine the widely believed beating capacity of actively managed funds during the market downturn. This popular hypothesis has been tested with the performance of Indian Equity Mutual Funds during the pandemic period. The conditional alphas are estimated using lagged instrumental variables with the fixed effect/LSDV estimator and the sys-GMM estimator in contrast to the OLS estimation from a sample of 1271 schemes for 5 months from 1st March 2020 to 31st July 2020. The study’s findings indicate that the actively managed Indian mutual fund co-moves with the market and does not possess the ability to beat the market. The major implication comes from the application of fixed effect and GMM estimators for the performance evaluation of Indian Mutual Funds’ during the crisis period, and it serves the investors in deciding the profitable investment opportunities., Highlights The paper examined the ability of actively managed funds to beat the market downturnThe study applied Sys-GMM and LSDV/fixed effect models for estimating the performance alphaThe actively managed Indian mutual funds do not possess the ability to outperform the market

This paper explores the effect of birth weight on a series of anthropometric outcomes among children. We use a panel of individual-level data from 39 developing countries covering the years 1999-2018 and attempt to solve the Endogeneity using mother fixed effect and twin fixed-effect strategies. The results suggest that improvements in birth weight result in statistically and economically significant improvements in children’s anthropometric outcomes. An additional 100 grams birth weight is associated with a 0.43 and 0.25 units increase in weight for age percentile and height for age percentile, respectively. The links are stronger among low educated mothers and poorer households. The observed protective effect of birth weight on infant mortality suggests that the true effects of birth weight on children’s outcomes are larger and that the estimated effects probably understate the true effects.

Both exports and imports are one of the important strategic axes of Egypt's economic development plan, Exports are an important source for foreign exchange, and imports are a source of goods that domestic production cannot cover. And According to the direct correlation and the impact of both exports and imports on the Egyptian economy, and According to the importance of the continuous and periodic evaluation of foreign trade to highlight the most important effects of the surrounding changes on it, The research problem is based on an assessment of Egyptian trade with the most important partners in light of the exchange rate change and in the form of the following question: Are exports and imports between Egypt and its most important partners reaching their desired levels? Does the exchange rate have an effect on it? So that the objective is to compare the actual situation with the forecast for both exports and imports, whether at the country level or for the average years for the two periods (2013-2015, 2017-2019) (Before and after exchange rate change). The research was based on data for 20 countries in the case of exports, 33 states in the case of imports as the most important business partners with Egypt, the gravity model has been used with the use of the estimation method for mixed data and the use of the Hausman test to prefer between the two random and fixed effects models.

Climate change has consequences and influences on agricultural productivity, especially in tropical areas such as Indonesia. Agricultural produce contributes to the level of Gross Domestic Product. Climate change is a challenge for the environment that has the most extensive impact on the economic, natural resources, and agricultural sectors, even as a concern for climate change on agricultural production. So it is needed to discuss climate change which has an impact on various sectors, especially the economic sector. This research was carried out during 2016-2018 using all provinces in Indonesia. This study uses panel data regression method, and the chosen model is the Fixed Effect Model (FEM) by displaying the effects of each region. The results of this study show that R-squared value is 0.990095 which means that 99% of independent variables collectively determine the value of GDP. Meanwhile, changes in temperature, increased rainfall, and increased air quality index partially have no effect on GDP. Only the extent of agricultural land area partially has a positive effect on GDP .

Objective The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and associated public health measures have influenced all aspects of life for children and families. In this study, we examine changes in children's behavioral health and families' well-being at the start of the pandemic. Method We used longitudinal data on 2880 children from 1 US state collected over 3 waves to compare family and child well-being before and after a state-wide stay-at-home advisory set in March 2020. We descriptively examined levels and changes in 4 child behavioral health outcomes (externalizing, internalizing, adaptive, and dysregulated behaviors) and 4 family well-being outcomes (parental mental health, parental stress, parent-child relationship conflict, and household chaos) across the preshutdown and postshutdown periods. Fixed effects regression models were used to predict within-child and within-family differences in preshutdown and postshutdown outcomes. Results Fixed effects analyses showed children's externalizing (0.09 points; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.05-0.13), internalizing (0.04 points; 95% CI, 0.01-0.08), and dysregulated (0.11 points; 95% CI, 0.06-0.16) behaviors increased after the shutdown, whereas children's adaptive behaviors declined (-0.10 points; 95% CI, -0.15 to -0.05). Parental mental health issues (0.22 points; 95% CI, 0.17-0.27), parental stress (0.08 points; 95% CI, 0.03-0.12), parent-child relationship conflict (0.10 points; 95% CI, 0.04-0.16), and household chaos (0.10 points; 95% CI, 0.05-0.14) all increased relative to preshutdown levels. Conclusion Many children experienced declines in behavioral health and many families experienced declines in well-being in the early months of the public health crisis, suggesting the need for family-focused and child-focused policies to mitigate these changes.

Despite a large number of studies examining the relationship between corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) and corporate financial performance (CFP), the literature remains inconclusive. Moreover, most of the studies are conducted in the context of American and European firms and remain scarce in the context of developing economies. To bridge this significant gap, this study attempts to investigate the strength of the relationship between CSRD and CFP of Indian firms. The study uses ESG (environmental, social and governance) score as a proxy for CSRD and investigates its relationship with both market-based and accounting-based financial performance measures for Indian companies. Both aggregate and disaggregate analyses based on industry type are carried out. The study includes a sample of 287 companies from the financial year 2014–2015 to 2018–2019 and employs panel data regression using pooled ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed effect and random effect model. The findings indicate that CSR disclosure has varying effects on CFP metrics. For industries—consumer goods, consumer services and heavy engineering, CSRD is positively associated with CFP, while for healthcare and energy and utility firms, the relationship between CSRD and CFP is negative. Overall, the type of industry, as well as the type of financial performance indicator, shows varying CSRD–CFP dynamics. The relevance of this study lies in the increasing importance of social responsibility and the growing contribution of emerging markets in international business. The study offers implications to assist policymakers, regulators and corporate managers in better understanding the CSRD–CFP structures in the context of a developing economy.

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of family ownership on cooperative research and development (R&D). Drawing on the ability and willingness paradox framework in family business research, the authors suggest that family ownership influences cooperative R&D via two opposing mechanisms: power concentration and wealth concentration. It also deepens the current understanding of the boundary conditions of informal institutions for the impact of family ownership on cooperative R&D by investigating the moderating role of political ties.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyze a panel of 610 Chinese manufacturing family firms and 2,127 firm-year observations from 2009 to 2017. Fixed effects regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses, with the two-stage Heckman model to address sample selection bias.FindingsThe research findings indicate that family ownership has an inverted U-shaped relationship with cooperative R&D and political ties moderate the relationship in such a way that the inverted U-shaped relationship will be steeper in firms with more political ties than in firms with fewer political ties.Practical implicationsFamily ownership influences firms’ cooperative R&D through the positive effect of power concentration and the negative effect of wealth concentration. Family owners should, therefore, take advantage of concentrated power, for instance, by adapting quickly and committing sufficient resources to cooperative R&D opportunities, while controlling path-dependent relationship development caused by concentrated family wealth. The effect of political ties on the relationship between family ownership and cooperative R&D is found to be a double-edged sword.Originality/valueThis study extends the ability and willingness paradox framework and provides novel insights into cooperative R&D in family businesses by integrating power concentration and wealth concentration associated with family ownership. Moreover, this study provides a contingency perspective and introduces the moderating role of political ties in shaping cooperative R&D in family firms.

We analyze the relationship between corporate social responsibility and the stock market performance in the post-global financial crisis period. A new measure of social responsibility by Thomson Reuters, called the ESG Combined Score, is used. As a novel feature of our analysis, socially responsible engagement is divided into the strategic activities closely related to the examined companies’ core business and the remaining secondary activities. The results of the fixed effects regression show a positive and statistically, as well as economically, significant impact of the strategic activities on the corporate stock market performance of companies. This impact is up to 103% higher compared to the secondary activities. The empirical results suggest that if companies aim to increase their share prices via the corporate social responsibility channel, they should strategically select their socially responsible initiatives.

PurposeThis paper presents three models of funding health care in 130 developing countries, based upon a public system, a private system and personal remittances.Design/methodology/approachThe authors trace the funding of health from foreign aid to health funding and health outcomes in the public system, foreign direct investment to health funding in the private system, and personal remittances to health outcomes. This is followed by panel data, fixed effects models subjected to 2-, 3- and 4-stage least squares regressions.FindingsFindings from the first model were that aid in the form of Technical Cooperation Grants funded Infrastructure. Infrastructure Spending due to aid funds Government Health Plans, which reduced the Incidence of Tuberculosis, which in turn reduced Undernourishment and increases Life Expectancy. Other positive health outcomes included reduced Birth Rate and reduced Maternal Mortality. In the second model, Foreign Direct Investment increased Female Employment and GDP per Person, funding Private Health Plans, which increase Life Expectancy, reduced Undernourishment, increased Skilled Care at Birth, increased the Number of Hospital Beds, reduced Maternal Mortality and increased the Birth Rate. In the third model, Remittances influenced both Out-of-Pocket Medical Expenses and Private Plans.Social implicationsPublicly funded programs may be directed to nutrition, increasing life expectancy. Private funding may be directed to improving maternal conditions, with remittances removing the liquidity constraints.Originality/valueThis paper is the first attempt to trace health funding from its sources of foreign aid, foreign direct investment and personal remittances using three separate paths.

Objective Large reductions in inpatient length of stay and inpatient bed supply have occurred across health systems in recent years. However, the direction of causation between length of stay and bed supply is often overlooked. This study examines the impact of changes to inpatient bed supply, as a result of recession-induced healthcare expenditure changes, on emergency inpatient length of stay in Ireland between 2010 and 2015. Study design We analyse all public hospital emergency inpatient discharges in Ireland from 2010 to 2015 using the administrative Hospital In-Patient Enquiry dataset. We use changes to inpatient bed supply across hospitals over time to examine the impact of bed supply on length of stay. Linear, negative binomial, and hospital–month-level fixed effects models are estimated. Results U-shaped trends are observed for both average length of stay and inpatient bed supply between 2010 and 2015. A consistently large positive relationship is found between bed supply and length of stay across all regression analyses. Between 2010 and 2012 while length of stay fell by 6.4%, our analyses estimate that approximately 42% (2.7% points) of this reduction was associated with declines in bed supply. Conclusion Changes in emergency inpatient length of stay in Ireland between 2010 and 2015 were closely related to changes in bed supply during those years. The use of length of stay as an efficiency measure should be understood in the contextual basis of other health system changes. Lower length of stay may be indicative of the lack of resources or available bed supply as opposed to reduced demand for care or the shifting of care to other settings.

Objective This study has 3 objectives: to examine the association between state-level firearm ownership and suicide among adolescents of high school age; to compare the strength of the firearm ownership−suicide association among adolescents relative to adults; and to evaluate the relationship between 11 child access prevention (CAP) laws and suicide. Method Using an ecological time series cross-sectional design, we modeled suicide rates from January 1, 1991, to December 31, 2017, as a function of household firearm ownership and states’ implementation of CAP provisions using fixed effect negative binomial models. Results There were 37,652 suicides among adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 years during the study period, and more than half of all suicides (51.5%, n = 19,402) involved firearms. Each 10 percentage-point increase in states’ firearm ownership was associated with a 39.3% (35.1%−43.5%) increase in firearm suicide, which in turn contributed a 6.8% (2.5%−11.1%) increase in all-cause suicide. The association between firearm ownership and suicide was approximately 2 times stronger among adolescents relative to adults. Policies mandating locks and safe storage were associated with a 13.1% (2.7%−22.3%) reduction in adolescent firearm suicide and an unexplained 8.7% (1.2%−15.7%) reduction in non-firearm suicide. CAP provisions were associated with reduced firearm suicide across the lifespan, but effects were stronger among adolescents. Conclusion There is an increased risk of adolescent suicide associated with household firearm ownership, and safe storage provisions are associated with decreased adolescent firearm suicide.

Purpose To assess whether intensive care unit (ICU) outcomes for patients not affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Retrospective cohort study including prospectively collected information of patients admitted to 165 ICUs in a hospital network in Brazil between 2011 and 2020. Association between admission in 2020 and worse hospital outcomes was performed using different techniques, including assessment of changes in illness severity of admitted patients, a variable life-adjusted display of mortality during 2020, a multivariate mixed regression model with admission year as both fixed effect and random slope adjusted for SAPS 3 score, an analysis of trends in performance using standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and standardized resource use (SRU), and perturbation analysis. Results A total of 644,644 admissions were considered. After excluding readmissions and patients with COVID-19, 514,219 patients were available for analysis. Non-COVID-19 patients admitted in 2020 had slightly lower age and SAPS 3 score but a higher mortality (6.4%) when compared with previous years (2019: 5.6%; 2018: 6.1%). Variable-adjusted life display (VLAD) in 2020 increased but started to decrease as the number of COVID-19 cases increased; this trend reversed as number of COVID cases reduced but recurred on the second wave. After logistic regression, being admitted in 2020 was associated with higher mortality when compared to previous years from 2016 and 2019. Individual ICUs standardized mortality ratio also increased during 2020 (higher SMR) while resource use remained constant, suggesting worsening performance. A perturbation analysis further confirmed changes in ICU outcomes for non-COVID-19 patients. Conclusion Hospital outcomes of non-COVID-19 critically ill patients worsened during the pandemic in 2020, possibly resulting in an increased number of deaths in critically ill non-COVID patients. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00134-021-06528-6.

Purpose To reconcile the existing contradictory conclusions on the relationship between cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and innovation, this paper aims to propose a theoretical model of the impact of cross-border M&As on technological innovation and explore the moderating role of institutional distance from the perspective of springboard theory and new institutional theory. Design/methodology/approach Through the use of the two-way fixed effect model and the U-test method, the authors test the hypotheses based on a sample of cross-border M&A events of Chinese manufacturing enterprises during the period from 2006 to 2019. Findings The research shows that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between cross-border M&As and technological innovation. Furthermore, formal institutional distance moderates the inverted U-shaped relationship in such a way that it reaches its turning point at a smaller scale of cross-border M&As, and the inverted U-shaped relationship is steeper when formal institutional distance is relatively high. The informal institutional distance moderates the inverted U-shaped relationship in such a way that it reaches its turning point at a larger scale of cross-border M&As and the inverted U-shaped relationship is flatter when the informal institutional distance is relatively high. Originality/value The research conclusions integrate heterogeneous views of the existing research, further clarify the influence mechanism and boundary conditions between cross-border M&As and technological innovation, identify the different moderating roles of formal institutional distance and informal institutional distance and enrich the literature on knowledge transfer and recombinant innovation during post-merger integration.

Business strategies play a vital role in a firm’s success but, if not properly executed, can lead to financial irregularities and mispricing, influencing the firm’s performance and leading to stock price crash risk. The present study examines the impact of a firm’s business strategy and market power on stock price crash risk. Following Miles and Snow’s (2003) model, we classify Chinese firms listed on the Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges into defenders (conservative) and prospectors’ (aggressive) business strategies over a period of 2006–2019. We employed industry and year fixed effects regression to show that prospectors who follow aggressive strategies are more prone to stock price crash risk than defenders who follow conservative strategies. Additionally, we show that firms with high market power also contribute to increased stock price crash risk. Our results are also robust to alternative control variables and different statistical models like the two-stage least squares method.

Public two-year colleges offer an entry point to postsecondary education for many Americans who might otherwise forgo college. Most students leave college without a credential. A growing body of research examines the returns to higher education among two-year college entrants but primarily focuses on returns to credentials. This study examines the returns to different types of credits, including academic, technical, and developmental credits. In a series of individual fixed effects models, we use state administrative data following a population of public two-year college entrants to understand which college credits yield the greatest returns and how returns to credits vary across degree attainment. Our findings illustrate that average estimates of the returns to credits obscure varied patterns of returns among two-year college students, where sub-baccalaureate credential recipients appear to experience different returns to academic and technical credits compared with their peers.

Introduction In the United States, the opioid epidemic claims over 130 lives per day due to overdoses. While the use of opioids in trauma patients has been well-described in the literature, it is unknown whether prescription opioid use is associated with mortality after trauma. We hypothesized that legally obtained prescription opioid consumption would be positively associated with injury-related deaths in the United States. Methods Cross-sectional time-series data was compiled using state-level mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Multiple Causes of Death database and prescription opioid shipping data to each state using the US Department of Justice Automated Reports and Consolidated Ordering System Retail Drug Summary reports from 2006 to 2017, with opioids shipped used as a proxy for local opioid consumption. Oxycodone and hydrocodone amounts were converted to morphine equivalent doses (MEDs). Our primary outcome was an association between MEDs and injury mortality rates at the state-level. We analyzed total injury-related deaths and subgroups of unintentional deaths, suicides, and homicides. We modeled the data using fixed effects regression to reduce bias from unmeasured differences between states. Results Data were available for all states and the District of Columbia. Opioid deliveries increased through 2012 and then declined. Total injury-related mortalities have been increasing steadily since 2012. Opioid MEDs did not show a consistent or statistically significant relationship with injury-related mortality, including with any subgroups of unintentional deaths, suicides, and homicides. Conclusion In every state examined, there was no consistent relationship between the amount of prescription opioids delivered and total injury-related mortality or any subgroups, suggesting that there is not a direct association between prescription opioids and injury-related mortality. This is the first study to combine national mortality and opioid data to investigate the relationship between legally obtained opioids and injury-related mortality. The US opioid epidemic remains a significant challenge that requires ongoing attention from all stakeholders in our medical and public health systems.

BACKGROUND Nowadays, psychiatric morbidities are more and more common, which imposes huge social and economic burden on all countries across the world. Mental illnesses are found to be related to genetics. Over the past few years, a large number of risk genes and loci related to psychiatric morbidities have been reported. The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is one of the main candidates in neuropsychiatric genetics. However, different studies have shown inconsistencies regarding effect modification of BDNF polymorphisms on psychiatric morbidities. Therefore, in the present study, we aim to qualitatively and quantitatively summarize the relationship between BDNF single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and various psychiatric morbidities through a meta-analysis. METHODS PubMed, Web of Science and Embase will be searched using a specified search strategy to identify relevant studies up to April 2020. The meta-analysis will be performed on (1) allele model, (2) dominant model, (3) recessive model, (4) homozygote, and (5) heterozygote model. Sensitivity analyses will be conducted to explore the impact of individual studies on the overall result by evaluating the odd ratios (ORs) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) before and after removing each of the studies from our meta-analysis. Chi-square test will be used to determine whether the observed allele or genotype frequencies in the controls are consistent with HWE. The statistical heterogeneity will be verified by I statistics. The fixed effects model is needed to estimate the ORs and 95% CIs when there was no heterogeneity between results of included studies (I 50%). Publication bias will be evaluated with the use of Begg test and Egger test (P

This paper aims to provide evidence regarding the interpretation that test scores of a newly developed test instrument reflect learning progress in competence in sustainability management. As compe...

Purpose There was no previous firm-level empirical research to examine cross-sectional differences in climate financing. The purpose of this study is to determine the key elements of the climate investment decision by business management. The study also explores how politics and media influence corporate climate investment decisions. Design/methodology/approach The study incorporates a theoretical lens of institutional, stakeholder and media setting agenda to explain the relationship of climate finance with political connection and media influence along with other institutional and firm-specific variables. The sample of the study is collected from the financial sector firms that financed climate/green projects. In total, 178 firm-year observations are documented during 2014–2018. The unbalanced panel data model uses a fixed effect and a 2SLS regression model to test a set of hypotheses. The study uses several alternate methods to check and verify the reliability of the study. Findings The empirical findings show that climate finance is positively and significantly associated with Islamic Sharīʿah and media visibility, and negatively and significantly related to financial constraints. Moreover, the empirical results document that listing regulation has no significant influence on climate investment. The political connection plays a negative moderating role between media and climate finance. The result indicates that if a former or current politician is on the board, the media’s positive impact on climate financing diminishes. Practical implications The study has significant managerial implications especially to the regulatory bodies, business management and policymakers. The central bank in the developing countries needs to take into consideration the finding of the study promoting climate/environmental/green finance and investment. Islamic Sharīʿah promotes climate finance that would be a prominent indicator for Islamic financial institutions. Social implications Politics can deter positive decisions on climate financing such that it negatively influences the media’s role of a watchdog of the society in developing countries. Climate investment would be an important mechanism to reduce carbon emissions and environmental hazards and to solve many social problems. Originality/value The study provides first-ever firm-level evidence of the determinants of climate finance and investment that has a significant value in the area of climate change and green investment by the financial firms.

Background Dual contraceptive is the use of a barrier like condom along with any modern contraceptive methods which has double significance for the prevention STI including HIV and unintended pregnancy. The prevalence and determinants of dual contraceptive utilization described by different studies were highly inconsistent in Ethiopia. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence and determinants of dual contraceptive utilization among HIV positive women in Ethiopia. Methods International database mainly Pub Med, Google scholar, HINARI, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, AJOL was applied to identify original studies. STATA software version 14 was applied to analyze the pooled prevalence of dual contraceptive. I2 test statistics was computed to check the presence of heterogeneity across the studies and eggers test was used to identify publication bias. The pooled prevalence of dual contraceptive utilization was estimated by using a random effects model. The associations between determinants and dual contraceptive utilization were evaluated by using both random and fixed effect models. Result A total 9 studies with 9168 HIV positive women were enrolled in this study. The pooled prevalence of dual contraceptive utilization among HIV positive women in Ethiopia was 26.14% (95% CI 21.20–31.08). Disclosure of HIV status (OR = 4.18,95%CI:2.26–7.72), partner involvement in post-test counselling (OR = 2.31,95%CI:1.63–3.25), open discussion about dual contraceptive with partner (OR = 4.27 95% CI:1.69–10.77), provision of counselling on dual contraceptives by health care provider (OR = 4.47,95% CI:3.81–5.24) and CD4 count > 350 cells/ mm3 (OR = 3.87,95%CI:3.53–4.23) were among the significant factors associated with dual contraceptive utilization. Conclusion The overall prevalence of dual contraceptive utilization among HIV positive women was significantly low. Disclosure of HIV status, partner involvement in post-test counselling, open discussion about dual contraceptive with partner, counselling on dual contraceptive by health care provider and CD4 count > 350 cells/ mm3 were positively affect dual contraceptive utilization. This study implies the need to develop plans and policies to improve partner involvement posttest counseling, integrate the counseling and provision of dual contraceptive at ART clinic at each level of health system.

One of the main objectives of sustainable development is to improve living standards and obtain a friendlier business environment, by increasing their competitiveness and performance and the main goal of companies are to achieve a productive activity that ensures their short-term success, but also to pay attention to long-term survival. This analysis was performed to assess the influence of financial indicators of companies and their contribution on the sustainable development of the North-West region of Romania. The research follows the evolution of sustainable development and financial indicators of the sample of 37 companies listed on the BSE, with data collected from 2008-2019, covering the following sectors according to their BSE classification: manufacturing, trade, hotels, construction. In this paper is used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Among the qualitative research methods used it can be mentioned: observation, comparison and analysis of data. The econometric analysis is based on the estimation of a panel data regression technique and the decision between the random effects model and the fixed effects model was based on the Hausman test. The microeconomic indicators used to analyse the connection with the indicators of sustainable development of the North-West region of Romania are turnover, net profit and the average number of employees used as independent variables and the indicators selected based on information provided by the National Institute of Statistics for the North-West region, called Territorial Sustainable Development Indicators, are the following: Regional Gross Domestic Product, GDP per inhabitant, economically active population, the employment rate of the working age population, the job vacancy rate and the unemployment rate used as dependent variables. The results of the correlation analysis of the parameters showed a weak, insignificant influence between the financial indicators and the sustainable development indicators, the observed data do not allow the identification of a valid linear model.

This research aims to test the influence of Third-party Funds (DPK), Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), Operational Income Operating Costs (BOPO), Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR), and Non-Performing Loan (NPL) on the Profitability (ROA) at Conventional Commercial Banks Books 3 which are listed on Financial Services Authority (OJK) 2014-2018 period. This research is using the purposive sampling technique to collect data population from financial reports Conventional Commercial Banks Books 3 which are listed on OJK 2014-2018 period with the number of samples used were 16 banks. The data were analyzed using panel data regression using the fixed effect model. Hypothesis testing uses F-test statistic, coefficient of determination test (), and t-test statistic. The results showed that simultaneously of the five independent variables studied, significant impact on ROA. And partially of the five independent variables studied, there are two independent variables that negative and significant influence on ROA namely BOPO and NPL. While three independent variables do not positive and do not significantly affect ROA namely DPK, CAR, and LDR. The Contribution of all independent variables is 89,7125% and the rest of the value 10,2875% can be explained by another variable outside this research model.

Research background: Risk-taking is the basis for sustainable development of enterprise. It was clear that the influence COVID-19 epidemic on the global market economy has increased operational risks for businesses. The semiconductor industry has high operating risks and financial risks. Moderate financial flexibility (FF) can improve the ability of semiconductor enterprises to acquire financial resources in real time, calmly cope with the impact of uncertainties in operation, improve investment opportunities, and enhance sustainable operation. It is therefore interesting to study the influence of FF on enterprise risk-taking (ERT). Purpose of the article: The aim of the contribution is to explore the effect of FF on ERT within Taiwan’s semiconductor industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic period, and investigate whether ERT varies with semiconductor industry characteristic. Methods: Data from first three quarters of 2020, from multinational semiconductor firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE), were collected and analyzed. Fixed effects regression with heteroscedasticity adjustment used to evaluate the influence of FF on the ERT of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. Furthermore, in order to corroborate and support the reliability of the results, this research also used the different measures of ERT and Quantile regression (median regression) in the research model to check the robustness. Findings & value added: Empirical results indicate that FF has a U-shaped effect on ERT for multinational semiconductor firms listed on the TSE, particularly within the integrated circuits (IC) manufacturing industry. Additionally, FF also has a U-shaped effect on ERT for the asset-light semiconductor and IC manufacturing industries. This article also suggests that for the asset-light semiconductor and IC manufacturing industries, the optimal inflection points are 1.1397 and 0.9729, respectively. Based on the consequences of this study, it is suggested that Taiwan’s semiconductor industry should reasonably maintain FF and focus on the liquidity risk management for the long term value added, even after the COVID-19 pandemic period. © 2021 Nicolaus Copernicus University. All rights reserved.

Policymakers often suggest that expansion of care in community settings may ease increasing pressures on hospital services. Substitution may lower overall health system costs, but complementarity due to previously unidentified needs might raise them. We used new national data on community and primary medical care services in England to undertake system-level analyses of whether activity in the community acts as a complement or a substitute for activity provided in hospitals. We used two-way fixed effects regression to relate monthly counts of community care and primary medical care contacts to emergency department attendances, outpatient visits and admissions for 242 hospitals between November 2017 and September 2019. We then used national unit costs to estimate the effects of increasing community activity on overall system expenditure. The findings show community care contacts to be weak substitutes with all types of hospital activity and primary care contacts are weak substitutes for emergency hospital attendances and admissions. Our estimates ranged from 28 [95% CI 21, 45] to 517 [95% CI 291, 7265] community care contacts and from 34 [95% CI 17, 1283] to 1655 [95% CI − 1995, 70,145] GP appointments to reduce one hospital service visit. Primary care and planned hospital services are complements. Increases in community services and primary care activity are both associated with increased overall system expenditure of £34 [95% CI £156, £54] per visit for community care and £41 [95% CI £78, £74] per appointment in general practice. Expansion of community-based services may not generate reductions in hospital activity and expenditure. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10198-021-01329-6.

The purpose of this paper is to find out whether financing in specific sectors increase bank liquidity risk and how this goes on with both Islamic and conventional banks. The paper used pooled regression, fixed effect model and random effect model decided on the basis of dummy joint significant test. The result shows that only financing concentration (SPEC) proved to have significant association with Islamic and overall banking sector for short run. And all other banks specific variables are unable to show a significant result. While the macroeconomic variable GDP and Inflation have a strong relationship in both long run and short run time period. This paper add value to the existing literature on liquidity risk under the new indicators issued by Basel III.

AIM The study assessed the association between boosting the workforce supply by types of long-term care services and in-home deaths among older people at the municipality level. METHODS A fixed-effect panel data analysis was conducted using administrative data for every 3 years from 2008 to 2014. The outcome was the proportion of home deaths, excluding those due to external factors, such as suicide or accident. The explanatory variables were the full-time equivalent numbers of care workers engaged in in-home services, day services, short-stay services, and long-term care facilities per 1000 population aged 65 years and older. Ordinary least squares estimation was conducted, with standard errors corrected for clustering at the prefecture level, adjusting the covariates. RESULTS Analysis included 1706 municipalities. One care worker increase providing day services per 1000 population aged 65 years and older was associated with a 0.09% increase in the proportion of deaths at home (95% CI: 0.008-0.17). Although statistically non-significant, the number of care workers providing in-home services was positively associated with the proportion of home deaths, whereas the number of those providing short-stay services and providing long-term care facilities and nursing home services were inversely associated with home deaths. CONCLUSIONS Given the increased number of care-dependent older people who opt to stay at home until death, and their informal caregivers who have the burden and stress of care, the findings suggest that policymakers should ensure that the number of care workers for day services is sufficient for supporting care recipients and informal caregivers. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2021; 21: 712-717.

This study investigates how two aspects of agricultural production diversity – farm production diversity and composition of production – relate to child height-for-age and weight-for-height in Ethiopia. We use longitudinal data on child anthropometric measurements, household farm production diversity and farm production composition from the Ethiopia Socioeconomic Survey for 2011, 2013, and 2015 available through the World Bank. Using longitudinal fixed effects models, we show that an increase in farm production diversity reduces the risk of chronic food insecurity (child height-for-age) but has no impact on acute measures of food insecurity (child weight-for-height). Results also suggest that, in a context of poor rainfall, more diversity in farm production can adversely impact child height-for-age, although livestock sales might mitigate that detrimental effect. These findings highlight the importance of considering the relationship between farm-level food production and child nutrition in a context of climate change.

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of enterprise risk management (ERM) on financial performance and firm value, as well as the moderating role of environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. Design/methodology/approach The samples in this study are listed companies in the ASEAN 5 (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) during the years 2014–2018, with total observations of 680 firm-years. Fixed effect panel data regressions were used to test the hypotheses. The data was collected from Financial Report, Annual Reports and Thomson Reuters. Findings The results show that ERM has a positive significant effect on financial performance and firm value. This paper also finds that ESG has a significant moderating role in increasing the effect of ERM on firm value. Further, this paper divides the samples into sensitive and non-sensitive industries and find a significant moderating role of ESG performance on firm performance for sensitive industries. Originality/value Extant studies have not empirically examined the moderating role of ESG on the effect of ERM on firm performance and firm value. The findings have important implications in suggesting that firms need to analyze various threats and opportunities related to and ESG risks in achieving competitive advantage.

This research examines the effects of economic growth and energy consumption in the new developing economic block of Silk Road on carbon emissions (SERB). The energy consumption is further synthesized into renewable and non-renewable energy sources to distinguish their role in carbon emissions. This study considered panel data (1995-2014) of twenty-four middle-income countries along the Belt and Road initiative for empirical analysis. The fixed effect, random effect, and GMM methods were performed to confirm the cointegration relationship. Results highlighted the role of economic growth, renewable energy, and nonerasable energy on carbon emissions in the short and long run. Thus, it can be concluded that the newly emerging block resulting from Belt and Road initiative could get the maximum economic benefits of this project by using renewable energy sources. The new renewable energy projects may help increase clean energy and reduce carbon emissions in the emerging economic block due to the Belt and Road initiative.

In this paper, we investigate the impact of political representation in Congress in Brazil on the local provision of public goods and services. Relying on a fixed effects model, plus the fact that the electoral system generates some random variation in the political representation across terms and municipalities, we find a positive and significant effect of political representation on health and school outcomes. For instance, in health, the results indicate that one additional seat in Congress representing a municipality decreases the share of low birth weight newborns by 0.06 percentage points. When looking at school outcomes, the share of schools with access to the Internet increases by 0.63 percentage points. Moreover, the results suggest that ‘pork‐barrel’ politics is one potential mechanism explaining this improvement in the provision of public goods and services.

Working capital (WC) determinants play a crucial role in operating activities and corporate performance in a routine firm. This paper examines the influence of WC determinants on corporate performance employing a sample of thirty-one metal and mining firms listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), India for 10 years from 2010-2019. Pearson's correlation and fixed effect regression models were used to estimate the explanatory variables regression coefficients on the outcome variables. ROTA, ROEQ and ROCE variables were used to ascertain performance of sample firms and results revealed a significant negative influence of WC – inventory period (INVP) and accounts receivable collection period) on corporate performance (ROTA,ROEQ & ROCE). No significant influence was observed between Corporate performance (ROTA, ROEQ & ROCE) and account Payable (AP). Moreover, Control variables corporate size (CZ) results revealed significant negative influence on corporate performance (ROTA,ROEQ & ROCE), & Debt ratio(DR) result revealed a negative significant influence on ROTA, ROEQ .The result of sales Growth (SG) indicated a positive significant influence of corporate performance (ROTA,ROEQ & ROCE). From the result of this study, it has been inferred that by reducing the INVP & ARCP the management can enhance corporate performance & eventually creating value for firm's shareholders. Through a meticulous reduction of the inventory period (INVP) & account receivable collection period (ARCP), firms can demonstrate the effective and efficient utilization of financial resources, mitigating default & liquidity risk thereby enhancing its profit. Thus, systematic utilization of working capital elements positively influences firm's performance.

The current research aims to analyze the impact of institutional shareholding on the dividend payout policy of Islamic mutual funds in Pakistan and Malaysia. A sample of 185 Islamic funds, including 85 Pakistani and 100 Malaysian funds, is used for the analysis. The data for the analysis spans nine years, i.e., from 2010 to 2018. The analysis is carried out using the fixed effects regression and dynamic panel system GMM techniques. The results show that institutional ownership has a positive impact on the dividend payout policy of Islamic mutual funds in both countries, which is in line with the assumption of the agency theory. Therefore, asset management firms need to encourage higher institutional ownership to increase dividend payments. In this way, these firms would be able to attract a large number of investors.

Cross-border development is significantly influenced by global events, such as 1990s transformations, when different inland areas across the world became borderlands. Further, due to 2014 geopolitical changes, the Russian Federation had to establish a new institutional framework regulating the border regional development. The research aims to assess the impact of strategic factors on socio-economic development of these regions. For that purpose, we analysed 47 of 50 Russian border entities divided into two groups of old and new (established after the collapse of the USSR in 1991) border regions. We hypothesise that the factors considered as strategic in these territories manifest differently in old and new border regions. Empirical data, obtained from the Federal State Statistics Service and Unified Interdepartmental Statistical Information System, cover the period from 2000 to 2018. The simulation was conducted using the statistical package Stata 14. We analysed five groups of factors (transport infra- structure, small business, foreign trade, tourism, ecology) as well as corresponding indicators. Gross regional product per capita in comparable prices of 2018 was considered as a dependent variable. Then, we assessed three models explaining the impact of the examined factors on old and new border regions individually and in combination. For each model, pooled regression, as well as random and fixed effects models were constructed. Conducted simulations revealed that the fixed effects models best describe the analysed data. The research results confirmed the hypothesis, showing that transport infrastructure and tourism are more important for new border regions, while the factors of ecology, small business and foreign trade have a greater impact on the development of old borderlands.

This study aims to examine some factors affecting the financial performance of manufacturing companies in the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). This research uses data on the financial statements of 20 manufacturing companies listed on IDX in the period 20132017 and carried out share distribution facilities for their employees. This research model is a panel regression model done by testing the common effect model, fixed-effect model, and random effect model. Based on the Chow test and Hausman test, it is found that the best model in this study is the fixed effect model. The study results find that dividend policy, a share giving program to employees, and debt to equity ratio are significant factors affecting the financial performance of manufacturing companies in Indonesia. From these three factors, the debt to equity ratio is the dominant factor determining the financial performance of manufacturing companies, while investment decision does not significantly affect it. Future research studies can be carried out by focusing on other industrial sectors such as the Jakarta Islamic Index 70 and adding other macroeconomic variables.