Keywords: collateral; diversification; default systemic risk; merchant bank; CoCos
We study the impact of collateral diversification by non-financial firms on systemic risk in a generalequilibrium model with standard production functions and mixed debt-equity financing. Systemic risk comes about as soon as firms diversify their collateral by holding claims on a big wholesale (merchant) bank whose asset side includes claims on the same producer set. The merchant bank sector proves to be fragile (has a short distance to default) regardless of competition. In this setting, the policy response consisting in official guarantees for the merchant bank liabilities entails considerable government loss risk. An alternative without the need of public sector involvement is to encourage systemically important merchant banks to introduce a simple bail-in mechanism by restricting their liabilities to contingent convertible bonds. This direction of regulatory policies can be particularly relevant for containment of systemic events in globally leveraged economies serviced by big international banks outside the host country regulatory control.
More...Keywords: financial crisis; mark-to-market accounting; procyclicality
The main objective of this chapter is to provide an analysis on whether mark-to-market accounting magnifies financial crises. Even though the results of numerous studies on this topic offer various conclusions, the majority of them conclude that fair value accounting, or mark-to-market accounting, does not cause financial crises. Most studies that had similar conclusions dealt with the 2006-2008 period, whereas we focus our research on period from 1881 to present day. Primarily, we will point out the historical context of the implementation of mark-to-market accounting and consequences it had. We consider the long term relationship between United States (US) GDP and the S&P 500 index values and key historical developments to conclude that implementation of mark-to-market accounting contributes to creating of asset bubbles and assets over estimations. Even though mark-to-market accounting does not cause financial crises, it does magnify fundamental procyclicality which is inherent in efficient markets.
More...Keywords: entrepreneurial ecosystem in Lebanon; entrepreneurship; start-ups; incubator organizations,; economic development
The following article describes the EES in Lebanon as an example of a country in development. Worldwide, and especially in the developing world, economies face major challenges regarding the alleviation of poverty and unemployment (Naude 2010). Here, the demands for entrepreneurial projects that help stimulate growth and forward the economic development process are very high (Ho and Wong, 2007). Still much of the literature in entrepreneurship addresses the context of advanced economies. However, the majority of people live in a developmental context and nearly half of them are below the poverty line (ILO 2012). Thus, it is important to pay closer attention to entrepreneurship in developmental contexts which typically face great institutional weaknesses and constraints.
More...Keywords: crowdfunding; equity-based crowdfunding; innovative start-ups
The needs of strategic services, prevalence of investments in intangible assets and difficulty in finding the financial resources to support the development plans are the main factors that hinder recourse by start-ups to traditional sources of financing, getting them to refer to specialized investors, typically, venture capitalists, who request, in addition to financial resources, also financial services, like guarantees, and strategic services, for example, for internationalization, promotion, and so on.In the United States, an alternative form of financing to the specialized investors has become popular: crowdfunding. This is financing in various forms by a multitude of subjects. In Italy, even responding to the constraints laid down by the MiFID regulations, but only nation in Europe, the Legislators have qualified the phenomenon of start-up and regulated the equity-based crowdfunding as an alternative method that allows enterprises to intercept equity from the savings.The aim of this chapter is to establish whether the Italian start-ups consider the equity-based crowdfunding favorably for their needs of financial resources and other services, and if this attempt by the Legislators to regulate a typically informal phenomenon can be considered effective. In addition to providing a framework of the structure and financing strategies for innovative start-ups, this chapter will also allow understanding what are the prospects and limits of crowdfunding developing in Italy. Specifically, whether the current legislative regulation may be a model to be exported to other countries.
More...Keywords: Western Balkans; Albania and EU;
Albanian Institute for International Studies (AIIS) conducted a survey with Public Administration, Media, Local NGOs and Business groups in Tirana. The aim of the survey was to assess perceptions of and knowledge on European Union and EU integration for Albania. These groups were chosen because they are both immediately responsible for and directly affected by the integration process. // The most obvious finding of the survey was the overwhelming support for Albania’s membership into EU in all the above-mentioned categories. The support levels were very close to 100 % with almost all respondents answering that they would vote for Albania’s membership into EU in a referendum on this issue. The figures speak for themselves; 96.43% in the Media Category, 96.91 % in Businesses and 99.38 % and 100 % in Public Administration and Local NGOs respectively. The high level of support for Albania’s EU membership was also reflected in the fact that respondents in all categories thought that strengthening relations with EU should be the most important priority of the Albanian Government.
More...In the following text I’ll try to do the impossible: review Yugoslavia from the perspective of “memory studies” – currently a very invigorating interdisciplinary branch at the productive intersection of historical anthropology, the sociology of time, cultural studies and transition studies. Already at the outset, one encounters a series of problems. Namely, which Yugoslavia to review? The Yugoslavia from the time of the Karađorđević dynasty (1918–1941)? Tito’s (1945–1991) or Milosevi ’s (1992–2006) Yugoslavia? Should all three be reviewed at once? What kind of memory will be considered: collective or personal? Cultural or political? Or memory based on memoirs – that much-loved but factually unreliable literary form? Will the subject-matter be based on offcial, that is, institutionalized memory, or unoffcial, minority memory: established or subversive? Oral, written, recorded, engraved in monuments and memorials, or memory on the Internet, in the social media? Memory from first-hand or second-hand accounts or those passed-on, retrieved, “inherited”? And should these include the subjects of nostalgia and anti-nostalgia, bitter-sweet, heavy and traumatic memories? Retro and reproductive cultures, which in current cultural forms elicit traces of memory of previous times? Spontaneous amnesia or its opposite – contrived and systematic amnesia? Memories as a means of emancipation?
More...Keywords: European Territorial Cooperation; Cohesion Policy; Regional Development Policy; European Structural Funds; European Union
The main purpose of this article is to bring more light on the concept of territorial cooperation, based on analysis of the concept of international cooperation between states, like a fundamental principle of international law, and to demonstrate the important role of the regional development policy in strengthening the "European construction" and especially the harmonization of relations between EU states. Article also seeks the implementation and evolution of these European policies in Romania, and how much our country is involved in attracting European funds.
More...Keywords: Central Europe; deterrence; NATO; nuclear weapons
The Polish Institute of International Affairs is pleased to present the report The Future of NATO’s Deterrence and Defence Posture: Views from Central Europe, published as part of a partnership with the Nuclear Security Project. The report includes contributions of experts from Central Europe and the United States, it was edited by Łukasz Kulesa, head of the Non-proliferation and Arms Control Project at PISM. The year 2012 saw the completion of the Deterrence and Defence Posture Review (DDPR), which was mandated by the 2010 NATO summit in Lisbon. This process involved a comprehensive re-examination of the utility of the main elements of NATO’s posture: nuclear weapons, missile defence capabilities and conventional forces, as well as arms-control and disarmament issues. Using the DDPR as the point of departure, the report is meant to provide an analytical glimpse into the future—the next decade of the functioning of NATO’s deterrence posture, as seen from Central Europe. It concentrates on the regional perceptions of the security environment and threats, the assessments of the credibility of NATO’s policy, and the way forward. Taken into account the perspective of a turbulent decade in which the viability of NATO’s defence and deterrence posture will be subjected to external and internal pressures, understanding the concerns and viewpoints of Central Europeans would help in charting the right course for the Alliance.
More...Keywords: Russia; Ukraine; Europe; EU; politics; manipulation; information; communication; media; values;
Since November 2013, when the uprising of the Ukrainian nation set in motion a wide spectrum of events and political process, researchers and policy makers have been questioning the reasoning, consequences, and international implications of those political processes, as well as their impact on the future of the international political environment. This study, Redefining Euro-Atlantic Values: Russia`s Manipulative Techniques, is not one of the many investigations published in recent months focusing on Russian information warfare in Ukraine. It is not a study about them. This is a study about us, namely, the ‘transatlantic community’—a community we consider to be based on democratic values. This study seeks to answer an essential question: how can it be that countries, which enjoy leading positions in terms of prosperity, freedom, solidarity, innovation, economic competitiveness, and seemingly unlimited normative power based on the long-standing democratic traditions have neglected or ignored (intentionally and unintentionally) the manipulative redefinition of their core democratic values. By allowing our core democratic values to be deconstructed and reconstituted by values derived from an authoritarian regime makes Western society vulnerable to influence. Russia’s international ambitions are not based on conquering new territories, but on creating mental landscapes susceptible to political manipulation. Russia’s foreign policy goals with regard to the West are clear: ‘to weaken the West economically, to split it politically, and to establish Russia as the hegemonic power on the European continent’1 . Extensive material resources are unnecessary; individuals and societies that question themselves are decisive ‘weapons’ in the battle for influence. Transitioning out of the international relationships that dominated during the Cold War was an eye- and mind-opening exercise for both governments and societies. Most of the countries that left the Soviet bloc, including the Baltic States, joined those that are based on democratic values; however some keep their old values, fashionably redressed in a style called ‘sovereign democracy’.
More...Keywords: SMEs; Economic Development; Bank finance;
Bank finance has been found as an important source of funds for most firms in Ghana. The study assessed the impact of GCB SME LOAN on the activities of Small Scale Industries. The study used primary data which were designed and administered to SMEs customers of GCB and staff of GCB. A sample size of 170 made up of 20 staff of GCB bank and 150 owners of SME customers who deal with the bank and have benefited from the SME LOAN SUITE. The study concluded that with the use of GCB SME LOAN, there has been improvement in the profits of both the customers and bank. Also, the study identified four main challenges which were; increased in the amount of money, reduce interest rate, advertisement and extend the period of bridge loan that militate against the GCB SME LOAN of GCB bank. It was recommended that since GCB bank is contributing more to SMEs, they should give in their best to increase the amount of the loan and to extend the period of bridge loan to help boost their outreach.
More...Keywords: Lexicon of YU mythology;Yugoslavia;popular culture;communism;myths;symbols;memory;yugo-nostalgia
For some time now Poles seem to be increasingly more interested in the Yugoslav popular culture which has thus been gaining its own experts as well as lovers in Poland. It is undoubtedly associated with the development of studies in fields such as (Southern) Slavonic and Balkan Philology as well as with increasing historical, politological, ethnological and anthropological research into the past and present of the post-Slavic area, including cultural, social and political issues. Leksikon YU mitologije (The Lexicon of YU mythology), published in 2005 in Serbian (Belgrade) and distributed more widely in Croatia, is a unique work in the field of cataloging and recognizing phenomena of popular culture of Yugoslavia. This impressive book edited by Iris Adrić, Vladimir Arsenijević and Djordje Matić several years after the break-up of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) is the result of work of many professional lexicographers and even a larger group of amateur lexicographers representing different nationalities. It is also the realisation of a design of Dubravka Ugrešić, Dejan Kršić and Ivan Molek dating back to 1989, a few years before the fall of SFRY. The thoughts on some of the content contained in lexicon is to provide not only an opportunity to look at the selected phenomena of popular Yugoslav culture in the communist period. It is also intended as a contribution to reflection and discussion on the relationship of these phenomena with the identity of the Yugoslavs over their current functioning, hence “life after life”), and finally on the determinants of the process of the creation of certain specific images of collective memory, among which one should mention “yugonostalgia”, which is one of the most important imperatives of participation of many authors of the lexicon
More...Keywords: migration; human mobility; governance; discrimination; human rights;
Human mobility is the human face of globalization, the cement that links human communities across the globe and a highly relevant political issue increasingly controversial in many societies in the face of mounting pressures. The main drivers behind human mobility across and within borders are related to the three Ds, Demography and demographic gaps; Development failures and poverty; Democratic and governance failure associated with human rights violations. Moreover, mobility is both a consequence and a cause of human insecurity. On the one hand it is a response to a deregulated globalization that produces increasing inequality and human insecurity but, on the other, mobility itself is increasingly associated with higher levels of human insecurity in the absence of a robust system of international protection.
More...Keywords: ESP; teacher development; tertiary education; in-service training
The present paper examines the needs and expectations of academic ESP (English for Specific Purposes) teachers towards professional development in the context of Polish tertiary education. Quantitative and qualitative data provided by 82 respondents representing tertiary education institutions in Poland was examined and described. ESP teachers were asked about their experience and expectations regarding the following four areas of potential development: language competence, field-specific knowledge, knowledge of ELT (English Language Teaching) methodology and knowledge of ESP methodology. The results of the present study are to a large extent consistent with the wider literature on the subject. The main themes emerging from this research are: respondents’ strong interest in professional development, focus on skills specifically related to ESP in favour of those of EGP (English for General Purposes), lack of satisfaction with regard to availability, relevance and quality of formal in-service training, especially training related to ESP instruction. Additionally, it was noted that ESP teachers frequently recognise their lack of specialist knowledge as a long-standing, daunting problem. It was concluded that ESP teachers need and expect formal assistance related to their everyday teaching practice.
More...Keywords: Publishing market;book for children;intentional addressee
The introduction of the article presents the state of research on the book market for children and youth and the basic problems related to this issue. One of the types of non-mass publications cataloged for children and youth — the so-called picture books — was analyzed in more detail. A review of examples of the picture book implementation and selected strategies for displaying the text and its correlation with illustrative material are presented. Particular attention was focused on the problem of the intentional recipient and adult participation in the reading process of child inculturation.
More...Keywords: foreign market entry;emerging market;internationalisation of companies;social environment;business environment;Guinness brand;brand;Nigerian market;business sustainability;
1. Conceptual remarks. 1.1. Internationalisation—what is it? 1.2. External determinants of firm’s internationalization (social / cultural environment, legal environment, economic environment, political environment, technological environment). 1.3. Modes of foreign market entry. 1.4. The Uppsala model of internationalization. 2. The Guinness brand: Historical evolution and entry strategy into Nigeria. 3. Guinness Nigeria: Market share, portfolio and brand values. 4. Guinness Nigeria: Survival in Nigeria based on the chosen mode of entry and business sustainability strategy. 4.1. Foreign market entry mode and business survival of Guinness Nigeria. 4.2. Guinness Nigeria business sustainability strategy: A critical element for survival within the Nigerian business environment (product innovation and diversification strategy, leadership in alcohol in society, building striving communities, reducing our environmental impact). 4.3. Challenges to Guinness Nigeria’s continued survival in Nigeria.
More...Keywords: destination marketing; collaboration; branding;
The aim of the article is to discuss the role of SMEs in destination marketing activities. We consider in detail the main marketing activities in each stage of the marketing funnel and analyses the position of small businesses in these activities. The article also highlights the need for cooperation in the tourism businesses, but not necessarily in all activities and in all circumstances. The basic platform for cooperation are strategic business areas (SBAs) defined by Beritelli, Laesser and Bieger (2014), which integrate a comprehensive set of services and other elements of the destination. Collaboration within the SBA creates value for visitors. Analysis of the destination marketing funnel showed that the main areas of the SMEs cooperation include SBA brand building, internal marketing of destination, linking individual services or post-purchase services. A key prerequisite is the knowledge of visitors and the nature of their behaviour.
More...Keywords: wind power plants; perception; local level; Eastern Bohemia;
The paper aims to evaluate selected findings of a research regarding the attitudes of the inhabitants of East Bohemian municipalities (Anenská Studánka and Vítězná) towards the construction of wind power plants and the perception thereof. A survey was carried out among the inhabitants of the two municipalities, as well as nearby municipalities and guided interviews were conducted with their mayors. The two selected sites differ in population numbers, time of power plant construction, number and size of the turbines and form of financial settlement. In the case of Vítězná, the power plant in question was community-funded, meaning that a portion of the shares was offered to the inhabitants (a unique case in the Czech Republic). The results indicated that, over time, the attitudes and opinions of the respondents from all the municipalities concerned have shifted towards a more positive perception of wind power plants. They have, however, also become more polarized. Citizens’ movements against further construction have been created, even though it is currently not possible in the Czech Republic, especially given that the government has cancelled funding for the support of clean power. Respondents who were found to have the fewest issues with the wind power plants were younger than 30 years, graduates of secondary education and resided at a greater distance from the stations without having direct visual contact with them from their home.
More...Keywords: atlas; environment; tourism;
The main objective of this paper is to provide significant information on the development of selected phenomena interpreted in two original atlases – Atlas of life environment and health of the population of the CSFR (published in 1992) and Tourism atlas of the Czech Republic (published in 2006) since their release. These atlases were elaborated under the leadership of long-time employees of the ESF and in accordance with their domestic and foreign professional award (as evidenced by the many citations of both works) it can be classified as basic information resources for research and practice in given fields. Completely irreplaceable is then their role in evaluating the corresponding components of social development (with significant linkages especially to regional and environmental policy). It is also necessary to mention the benefits for the development of research methodology and interpretation of the results including the use of computer graphics.
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