Econometrics

effects of microcredit on the social and economic conditions of borrowers in Bangladesh. The assessment was conducted by interviewing 555 microcredit borrowers from all over Bangladesh and across several rural and urban districts. In addition, econometric tools have been used to analyze the qualitative data from these interviews, in order to report effective results. The findings reveal that the impact of microcredit on empowering women and creating social change is unclear. To be specific, the…

Porter’s Hypothesis The traditional view among economists and managers concerning environmental protection is that it comes at an additional cost imposed on firms, which may erode their global competitiveness. Environmental regulations (ER) such as technological standards, environmental taxes, or tradable emissions permits force firms to allocate some inputs (labor, capital) to pollution reduction, which is unproductive from a business perspective. Technological standards restrict the choice of…

Wealth and income inequality is the greatest threat to organizations and workers in the 21st century. According to Thomas Piketty, wealth and income inequality is when “r>g, the rate of return on capital is greater than the rate of growth in an economy” (Piketty and Goldhammer, 2014). This leads to a slowdown in the countries growth, gross domestic product. According to the OECD, “Rising inequality in the two decades after 1985 shaved 9 percentage points off the UK growth between 1990 and…

As spoken by a preeminent American food writer, M.F.K. Fisher, “first we eat, then we do everything else.” Food is a basic necessity, that is demanded constantly around the globe, however its problems are often overlooked and reside behind a veil of industry. Through an analysis, of both industrial and small-scale agriculture, these two strategies of organization can be further examined; to evaluate the potential benefits and possible market failures from each of these different market…

The newsvendor problem is a mathematical model which is used to determine the optimal stock under uncertainty. In the following, the newsvendor context under cost minimization will be introduced. Let h be the unit holding cost respectively the unit overage cost (as we regard the pure cost context) and b the unit penalty of not serving demand (or unit backorder cost) respectively the unit underage cost. Then, the target inventory B is equal to the mean demand µ plus safety stock SS. The safety…

Fed Chair Yellen Begins Fight to Save Her Legacy During 2016, I have emphasised how difficult it would be for the Fed to wean the US economy off near zero percent interest rates. This is partly due to the globalisation of financial markets and that overseas economies are in no shape whatsoever to withstand higher interest rates. Meanwhile, in recent weeks, it has become increasingly evident that Fed Chair Yellen is keen to avoid her legacy being judged as a disappointment via her inability to…

Recently there has been a pervasive discussion about wage inequality, particularly raising the minimum wage. Many argue that fifteen dollars per hour or even the Presidents ten dollar ten cent minimum wage is too high with reasons such as small businesses will lose profit and close, people will have no incentive for higher education, and the overall elimination of jobs. Past arguments like these against minimum wage have been recycled since the passing of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.…

Did you know that 19.9 million people in the U.S, which makes up 8% of the population, consumed some sort of illegal drug in the past month? In the 1960’s, drugs became more popular among the youth as a sign of political opposition and rebellion. Due to this sudden shift in drug usage, the government demanded medical research to evaluate safety. On June 18, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs. He immediately imposed actions such as no-knock search warrants and mandatory…

reduces the ability of the host economy to take advantage of the potential spillover effects of FDI. This suggests an inevitable roles institutions or intermediaries play to lure foreign capital flows and for that matter economic growth as Shaw (1973) recognized the importance of institutions in enhancing capital accumulation and economic growth. Taking cues from Alfaro, et al (2004) and Shaw’s (1973) emphasis on the role of institutions in the growth literature, the general assertion remains…

Introduction The world is moving towards an integrated and independent global economy. We are moving towards a world in which cross-border trade barriers and investments have started to decline, distance as perceived is reducing due to the advancement in transportation and telecommunication, material culture is beginning to look similar all over the world and also national economies are becoming interdependent, integrated global economic system. This world is where the amount of goods and…