10.18639/MERJ.2018.04.652725
Review Article
May 04, 2018
This research seeks to analyze the effects of the Mexican trade balance on the basis of the Mexico-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement period 2005-2017. The research question is, What are the effects of the Mexican trade balance during the period 2005-2017 in terms of Mexico-Japan Economic Association Agreement (AAEMJ)? The research method used is empirical-analytical and documentary. It is observed that the AAEMJ has strengthened the economic relationship between both countries; however, it has a trade deficit with Japan of 12 million dollars, and the growth of imports is due to establishment of Japan’s foreign direct investment (FDI) in Mexico. Mexican exports need support and development programs.
10.18639/MERJ.2018.04.646193
Original Research Article
Apr 30, 2018
This paper examines the impact of CITIC Securities (CITICS)’ insider trading on five state-owned banks’ stock returns in China. We first conduct a structural Vector Autoregression model together with Granger causality to investigate the response of banks’ returns to that of CITICS. Next an Exponential Generalised AutoRegressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity process is employed to capture the volatilities of stock returns, and therefore investigate the response of five banks to that of CITICS. The dataset for three months after the scandal is obtained and the estimation results show some significant coupling effects do exist within stock returns of financial sector in stock market as well as within their volatilities. The core findings in this study suggest that Chinese stock prices could reflect all relevant information available from past changes in the share price as well as publicly available information. To some extent, China’s stock market is semi-strong efficiency, implying the quality of investors’ rationality and providing regulators with empirical evidence to policy-making.
10.18639/MERJ.2018.04.523634
Case Study
Feb 14, 2018
With recent downsizing of talented professionals and the power of globalization to provide opportunities for more underdeveloped countries, the gig economy is a source of influence in today’s generation of professionals. Online outsourcing media have shown to be valuable resources for companies who need a specific set of skills for a limited period. This case study evaluates Upwork.com, one of the leading freelance websites in the gig economy; this article provides insights on how others should evaluate the power of this new economy in terms of opportunities for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and freelancers. Upwork has led the pack by providing a flexible platform for freelancers worldwide, including coders, writers, and web developers, putting businesses in touch with reasonably priced workers. The study begins by exploring the attributes of the gig economy. Data collection is achieved through qualitative analysis. The application of these conclusions could increase the survival rate of new freelancers on Upwork.com and in the gig economy. The study is significant because this research widens contemporary assumptions about strategic thinking for individuals engaged in e-commerce.
10.18639/MERJ.2018.04.eS1BAI
Special Issue
Jan 30, 2018
The Second World War was responsible for the creation of two multilateral financial institutions because of the abolition of the gold standard. The war had created two sets of global problems: first, problems of world trade and currency issues; second, how to reconstruct the world economy ravaged by the Second World War. Accordingly, multilateral institutions, namely, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank), were established on July 24, 1944. They started functioning in 1945. For creating multilateral institutions for solving trade and currency issues, 44 nations had gathered at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire, United States. The primary objective of establishing the IMF was to foster global monetary cooperation among the member countries on the one hand and on the other hand to create a conducive environment to facilitate trade and currency issues. Since its inception, the IMF has been playing a positive and constructive role in the promotion of world trade and solving balance-of-payments crises, particularly in developing economies. More than 73 years have elapsed, and the world economy has been witnessing radical changes in terms of contents and role. However, the IMF has not caused any change in its structure, management, and functioning. Therefore, the countries across the world have started raising their voice to bring the considerably required reforms in the 73-year-old Fund.
10.18639/MERJ.2017.03.520596
Original Research Article
Nov 30, 2017
Youth-development funds play a great role in availing resources to the youth so that they can start their own enterprises with an aim of being self-reliant. The government of Kenya through the youth enterprise fund finances viable youth enterprises in the country. Despite the effort made by the government in the provision of funds, the youth-owned enterprises continue to perform poorly. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of access to Youth Enterprise Development Funds on the financial performance of youth-owned enterprises in Kirinyaga County. The specific objectives are to determine how the type of enterprise, ease of accessing funds, credit offered, and interest rate relates to the profitability of youth-initiated enterprises. The significance of the study is to generate knowledge and information on the influence of youth enterprise development, assist the policy makers, and program implementers, which is useful to students in this field of business as the findings will form bankable empirical literature. This study is based on permanent income theory. The target population was 525, and a sample of 225 was chosen using a stratified sampling method to achieve a representative sample from the chosen geographical areas of the study. Data were analyzed on the SPSS software for both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings showed a p-value of 0.0232 for the type of enterprises, 0.0243 for the ease of accessing funds, 0.0214 for the credit offered, and 0.0244 for the interest rate. This showed that the relationship between the dependent and independent variables was significant. The presentation was undertaken using frequency tables and charts. The recommendations are that there is a need for enhancement of access to credit to youth-owned enterprises so that they can become more profitable.
10.18639/MERJ.2017.03.520597
Original Research Article
Nov 27, 2017
Globally, unemployment and underemployment of persons with disabilities is a major concern. A World Bank report shows that 20% of the world’s poor are persons with disabilities, 60% of them living in developing countries, such as Kenya. Lack of inclusion, and not disability, contributes to this poverty. Despite the existence of several disability legislations, unemployment of persons with disabilities still remains a challenge. The objective of the study was to establish the extent to which disability legislation awareness influences employability of persons with disabilities in Post-Secondary institutions in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. The research used staff from five post-secondary institutions that were selected using proportionate stratified random sampling technique while five Human Resource Managers were selected using purposeful sampling. The study adopted descriptive research design. Questionnaires were used to collect data and Cronbach alpha coefficient employed to test reliability. Collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science. The assessment of the influence of disability legislation awareness on employability of persons with disabilities was established through a multiple regression model. The study findings established that the organizations hardly conducted capacity building for staff on disability legislation, there was little or nonexistence of disability policies in the institutions. Moreover, respondents were unaware of how to handle persons with disabilities at workplace. The study concluded that legislation awareness influences employability of persons with disabilities positively because it assists employers develop compliance toward disability inclusion in workplace.
10.18639/MERJ.2017.03.520618
Original Research Article
Oct 30, 2017
This is the first study to investigate the psychosocial impact of demonetization of 2016 in India in two opposing strata of women in the context of their social backgrounds. It provides valuable insights into the social behavior of women before, during, and after demonetization. It attempts to analyze the reasons behind the observed social behavior as well. This study demonstrates that irrespective of the social strata, difficulties encountered by women in the aftermath of demonetization were similar in the community surveyed but responses appeared to be dictated by social background and awareness. In addition, this study underscores a need for greater awareness creation with respect to various social schemes launched by the government among the women, particularly those working in unorganized sector for their greater financial inclusion.
10.18639/MERJ.2017.03.458935
Conceptual Article
Aug 30, 2017
This paper presents a conceptual framework for the socioeconomic transition of regions. It was developed in and for the region of Lusatia, which faces the challenge of becoming more entrepreneurial in order to maintain and regain economic strength. Based on theories of entrepreneurial ecosystems and structuration as well as on extensive practical experience, a mid-level framework for describing and fostering regional change is derived.
10.18639/MERJ.2017.03.456827
Original Research Article
Aug 18, 2017
The part played by non-prime household loans in improving the lives of many people who cannot afford collateral globally cannot be ignored. Many Microfinance Banks in many economies worldwide have tried to maintain the Grameen Bank Model of granting microloans, mainly non-prime household loans. However, the credit risks associated with this initiative hamper the pace at which the granting of this credit facility is expected to grow. This study intends to explore the relationship between the post loan disbursement allocation and the performance of non-prime household loans in the Microfinance Banks in Kenya. The theory associated to this study is the Credit Risk Theory. This theory, which is regarded as credit structural theory, was developed by Merton in 1972. The descriptive survey research design method was applied, and the sample size was 150 respondents. The data-collection tool used was a questionnaire. A logistic regression analysis was conducted for the purpose of predicting non-prime household performance in the Microfinance Banks using training budget, recoveries budget, percentage of training budget, and percentage of recoveries budget as predictors. The Wald test shows that training budget, recoveries budget, and percentage of training budget were good predictors, making a significant contribution to prediction. The percentage of budget on recoveries was not a significant predictor. The Microfinance Banks should enhance the performance of non-prime household loans through capacity building to the borrowers and educate the borrowers on dangers of enforced loan recoveries. The government, through the Central Bank of Kenya, should have a training policy for the Microfinance Banks so that they can enlighten the borrowers on proper financial management to avoid conflicts with borrowers during loan recoveries.
10.18639/MERJ.2017.03.463579
Original Research Article
Aug 16, 2017
Household loans remain the engine to productivity and economic growth globally. Non-prime household loan is essential, because it enables the borrowers with no collateral to access credit from Microfinance Banks. The survival and sustainability of non-prime household loans globally is therefore significant. Credit risk however remains the main deterrent of the soundness of Microfinance Banks. This leads to the poor performance of microfinance institutions in many economies in the world. Several countries globally are making inroad in reducing the credit risks, which lead to the poor performance of Microfinance Banks. It is still unknown why the credit risk affects the performance of non-prime household loans in the Microfinance Banks domiciled in Kenya. The reason for conducting this study is to determine the level at which the third party loan guarantee and the performance of non-prime household loans relate to the Microfinance Banks in Kenya. Particularly, this study is to determine how the amount secured by guarantee, recoveries from guarantors, percentage of loan secured, and percentage recoveries from guarantors relate to the performance of nonprime household loans in the Microfinance Banks in Kenya. The population was 516 senior management employees of the banks. The researcher conducted a multiple regression analysis for determining the relationship between the amount secured by guarantee—recoveries from guarantors, percentage granted, and percentage recoveries—and the performance of non-prime household loans. The R and R2 were used for determining the strength of the relationship and the coefficient of determination at 0.05 level of significance of variables. The result of this study reveals that there exists a strong relationship between the dependent and independent variables, thereby contradicting the null hypothesis, which states that the relationship does not exist. The percentage of the recoveries from the guarantors over the total recoveries did not have a strong relationship and was not significant. This study recommends the enhancement of the loan guarantee processes to reduce high loan default geared toward good performance of this loan so that it can be accessible to many people.
10.18639/MERJ.2017.03.472524
Original Research Article
Aug 14, 2017
The issue of assessment of absolute and comparative sustainability of major governing structures in agrarian and farming industries is among the most topical issues for researchers, farmers, investors, administrators, politicians, interests groups, and the public worldwide. Despite this issue, practically there are no assessments on the sustainability level of the major types of Bulgarian farming enterprises in the conditions of European Union Common Agricultural Policy implementation. This study applies a holistic framework and assesses the absolute and comparative sustainability of major governing structures in Bulgarian farming industry—unregistered holdings, sole traders, cooperatives, and companies of various types. In this paper, the method of the study is outlined, the inclusion of a novel “governance aspect” of sustainability is justified, and the overall characteristics of the surveyed farming enterprises are presented. Then, the integral, governance, economic, social, and environmental sustainability of the farming structures of different juridical types is assessed. Next, the structure of farming enterprises with different sustainability levels is analyzed. Finally, the conclusion from this study and the directions for further research and amelioration of sustainability assessments are presented.
10.18639/MERJ.2017.03.456843
Review Article
Jul 04, 2017
Financial inclusion has been recognized as a poverty reduction tool, and many economies have taken it up as a national agenda. To achieve the expected levels of financial inclusion, governments have worked with financial intermediaries to reach the expected target group, the unbanked poor. As per the financial intermediation theory, the role of financial intermediaries is to minimize the information asymmetry in the financial system. To enhance financial inclusion, many countries and financial institutions have embraced information and communication technology (ICT). ICT has been recognized as a tool that has worked greatly toward enhancing sharing of information at a low cost and that has thus helped in improving financial inclusion. Though many countries have achieved high levels of financial inclusion through ICT, the levels of poverty have not declined. It was thus important to establish the relationship between ICT, financial intermediation, and household investment. This study methodology was a review of the literature on financial inclusion, financial intermediation, ICT, and household investment. From this study, it was noted that ICT is helping in financial intermediation and thus more people can access financial services. Unfortunately, the levels of ICT capability among the poor are low, and in that case, the poor are not able to utilize financial services offered through ICT platforms to undertake household investment. This is the reason as to why, despite the high levels of financial inclusion, the poor still remain poor. This study recommends that the government should ensure that the levels of ICT among the populace are high. Financial institutions on the other hand should provide financial services with more user-friendly platforms.
10.18639/MERJ.2017.03.453170
Original Research Article
May 26, 2017
Journey from demonetization to digitalization is very hard hitting but not impossible. Recent demonetization in India on November 8, 2016, created lot of panic in the economy but also paved the way to digitalization. Cash crunch and availability of e-sources of transactions compelled many people to use electronic modes of payment. Credit cards, debit cards/RuPay card, USSD/UPI, Internet banking, mobile wallets like Oxigen, Paytm, Mobiwik, aadhar-enabled payment system, POS, and so on are few popular modes of electronic transaction, which are commonly used by the citizen. Digitalization will embrace higher transparency in monetary terms; low-cost maintenance; more convenience in use; and help in financial inclusion and weeding out black money and counterfeit money from the economy. But journey to a destination is always full of roadblocks, and similarly the journey of India toward a digital India is also full of hurdles like a huge illiteracy rate; low bandwidth; more unbanked areas; late adoption of technology; lack of full-time electricity; security concerns like hacking, cybercrime, and safety of personal details; and need for high investments. So, to defend the dream of a digital India, we have to develop well-defined strategies to coach people in using technology like focusing on customer education as well as employee education in technology by conducting workshops, presentations, enforcing strict cyber laws, use of local language, and developing user-friendly websites that leverage technology using the development of simple and smart digital tools, such as the use of a one-time password (OTP). The government has started Vittiya Sakharata Abhiyaan (VISAKA) and outreach campaigns like DigiDhan Abhiyan and so on to encourage people to adopt digital tools. Overall demonetization is greasing the wheels of digitalization and transforming India into Digital India.
10.18639/MERJ.2017.03.403737
Original Research Article
Apr 11, 2017
The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study, based on the theoretical framework of transformational leadership, was to examine the relationships between leadership style, organizational culture, and job satisfaction in the U.S. healthcare industry. The study addressed a problem faced by U.S. healthcare leaders, who are currently unaware as to how transformational leadership and organizational culture can impact job satisfaction in an industry with high burnout and low satisfaction levels. The following research questions for exploration are: (1) Is there a statistically significant relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction in the U.S. healthcare industry? (2) Is there a statistically significant relationship between organizational culture and job satisfaction in the U.S. healthcare industry? (3) Is the relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction in the U.S. healthcare industry mediated by organizational culture? Data to answer the research questions is from a collection through random sampling processes that resulted in a sample of 111 American healthcare employees and analyzed with Stata software. The main finding of the study was that an apparent effect of transformational leadership on job satisfaction disappeared when organizational culture variables are considered. The results suggest that healthcare organizations should attempt to move away from externally focused cultures in order to increase job satisfaction. Such a move could improve social outcomes by improving the quality of work for millions of stressed American healthcare employees.
10.18639/MERJ.2016.02.347338
Review Article
Jan 18, 2017
An organization is composed of a variety of human behaviors to reach common goals. The unity of behaviors forms a behavior model that determines the organization's performance. The organizational behavior model is helpful for knowing more clearly what an organization does. There are five (5) models of organizational behavior: autocracy, custodial, supportive, collegial, and system models. Every model has three impact elements, based on management orientation, employee side with three sub-elements, and performance results. To understand the organizational behavior model, it is important to put the model appropriate for an organization. The speech writing unit is an organizational line that often changes the leader. This study is an attempt to look at the right behavior model for an organization. To determine which one is more suitable to implement, every leader in the speech writing unit must consider all the basic elements of each model. The result is that a leader permanently implements no model. Every leader always changes their organizational behavior model according to the situation they face.
