درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

In this paper, we address the question that does FDI alone affect economic growth or interaction of FDI and human capital is required to boost economic growth. We develop the model with an expanding variety of products. We estimate the model using some advanced tests utilizing data on FDI flows from developed countries. We find stronger complementary effects between FDI and human capital on the productivity growth rate instead of having them as separate variables. This result is consistent with the idea that the flow of advanced technology brought along by FDI can increase the growth rate of the host economy only by interacting with that country's absorptive capability. JEL Classification: F21: O49

The overall objective of this article is to analyze critically the legal instruments that regulate decommissioning of onshore and offshore platforms in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry vis-à-vis other jurisdictions such as USA, UK, and South Africa with a view to making requisite recommendations for improvement in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry. These recommendations are made against the backdrop of Nigeria’s experience of militancy in the Niger Delta Region between 1999 to 2015 which were necessitated by the complacency and poor or no Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) mechanisms of the multi-national companies in the Region and weak oil and gas legislations in Nigeria. It is palpable that the militancy was engendered by political, religious, ethnic, and more importantly, economic reasons. The economic reason was anchored on 5 decades of irredeemable ecological devastation of the region by the oil companies exploration and exploitation activities. To this end, this work recommends that a comprehensive legal framework on decommissioning is urgently required to be enacted due to the fact that the 170 petroleum platforms in the Niger Delta Region are nearing their useful lifetime.

The banks’ response to their changes in leverage ratios is examined and evaluated in this paper. This reaction can be interpreted as if the coefficient of total debts to equity (lev1) and total assets to equity (lev2) are positive as anticipated in the banking network of Iran. The paper uses data from 31 Iranian banks’ annual databases during the course of 2006-13 in order to estimate an empirical panel data model of banks’ balance sheet adjustment. We identify the leverage ratio degree to show that both equity and liabilities tend to adjust to move leverage positively without considering the state of the Iranian economy. On the other hand, the index of leverage coefficient conditioned by the state of the economy is negative which replicates that banks tend to experience a negative impact of leverage on the return to equity as a result of cost push due to higher ratio of assets to equity in the bust and inappropriate return on investment. Furthermore, the non-performing loans ratio coefficient is negative and significant which proves that one percent increase in the nonperforming loans has led to a less than one percent decrease in the return on equity ratio as expected, but the total loans to total deposits ratio depicts a negative-significant coefficient which denotes the higher non-performing loans have caused that loans ratio increase will not necessarily give rise to higher returns for the banks. Besides, the leverage ratio (lev2) is positive as expected and banks gain higher returns through higher leverage. However, the leverage measure’s coefficient conditioned by the state of the economy (dummy) is negatively significant owing to cost push from lower return on investment and higher ratio of assets to equity in the bust. JEL Classifications: C23, E32, E44, E51, G21, M20

Financial sector is one of the most influential sectors in economic activities. Empirical and theoretical studies conducted in recent years have also confirmed the significant role of financial institutions in economic growth. Additionally, trade and financial liberalization policies have been particular concerned with strategic policies in developed and developing countries. According to dynamic panel data (DPD) and by means of generalized method of moments (GMM) during 1990 to 2008, this study has investigated effects of trade and financial liberalization on financial development of MENA member countries. Empirical results imply that trade liberalization and financial liberalization have influenced separately financial development, while due to inefficiency of financial institutions in providing appropriately financial resources, conducting both liberalization simultaneously has had an unexpected negative effect on the financial development in the region. JEL classification: F19, G29

Governments always affect the economic environment as legislators in the field of business. The economic conditions governing the market and business require different conditions and contexts for decision making and corporate execution practices. Companies and managers administering them under environmental conditions, achieve their goals by employing various earnings management methods. Hence, the present study examines the effect of governments’ economic performance on the earnings management methods used in listed companies of Tehran Stock Exchange (2004-2016) for a sample of 16 industries and 271 companies. To test the hypotheses, multivariate regression model was used. The results showed that during the research period, companies managed earnings, and while more than 70% of companies used the accrual earnings management method, there was a relationship between annual economic indicators and real earnings management, and the change in general level of prices and the political connections of states have affected the relationship. Also, the accruals-based earnings management method occurred independent of annual economic indicators and there is a significant relationship between governments changes and earnings management methods.