Luan Thanh Nguyen1, Tuyen Quang Tran2 and Hang Minh Tran3
Ethnic minorities in Vietnam account for only 15% of the population, but their poverty levels total more than 70% of the national poverty rate. Foreign aid has been an important financial resource supporting the socioeconomic development of ethnic minorities in Vietnam. Based on the empirical research in ethnic households conducted in nine provinces throughout the country, the effect of foreign aid on household income was estimated using the OLS regression model. The results show varying effects in the magnitude and significance among different ethnic groups. Specifically, aid has significantly improved the livelihood of the Cham and Xtieng populations, whereas the results for the Hmong population are detrimental. Consequently, it is suggested that aid and the ethnic policy should be reconsidered in order to reduce inequality among ethnic groups.
Stevan Luković
The retirement savings process for the members of a pension fund involves regular contribution payments made by a member and/or his employer, and the investment earnings generated by following an investment strategy. After the Global Financial Crisis, the aspect of value preservation has become particularly important to members of a pension fund, thus affecting the selection of an investment strategy. In face of increasing fluctuations on the financial market, static lifecycle strategies have become an unsatisfactory solution for members of a pension fund given the absence of a response to shocks on the financial market. In the paper, a comparative analysis of the performance of dynamic and static lifecycle strategies is carried out using bootstrap resampling in order to simulate investment returns and VaR indicators so as to assess the risk of an adverse financial outcome at retirement. The results of the analysis indicate the fact that dynamic lifecycle strategies generate more favorable financial results than static lifecycle strategies do, with a slightly increased likelihood of generating extremely unfavorable outcomes.
Edesiri Godsday Okoro1 and Confidence Joel Ihenyen2
Regardless of the viewpoints of prior studies on earnings management, no study has been carried out on whether earnings management exerts pressure on firms’ return on assets and equity, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa in a single study. Drawing inferences from the existing earnings management models, a dissimilar model of earnings management, unlike those used in prior studies, which may match the peculiarity of Sub-Saharan Africa is developed in this paper. The data used were obtained from the Stock Exchange database of Sub-Saharan African countries by employing the fixed and random effects statistical technique. Using the proposed earnings management model, the study finds the intriguing results that may contribute to knowledge and magnify the literature that, notwithstanding the fact that earnings management exerts significant pressure on firms’ performances, it is even more so deemed as high in South Africa, only to be followed by West Africa, and low in East Africa. Interestingly, the study finds that the size of a firm plays a vital role in moderating the nexus between the earnings management and performances of Sub-Saharan African firms.
Cheng-Wen Lee1 and Andrian Dolfriandra Huruta2,3
In this paper, the effects of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and exports on economic growth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Plus Three countries are explored. The panel data of a total of 13 countries pertaining to the period from 2008 to 2018 were analyzed. Based on the result of the Lagrange Multiplier (LM) test, the data fit to the random effect model. In a similar fashion, the Wald test suggests that there is no endogeneity problem in the given model. Furthermore, the results of the Hausman and Chow test also indicate that the random effect model is the most effective model to describe the effects of FDIs and exports on economic growth. The results prove that FDIs positively impact economic growth. In addition, exports also have a positive and meaningful effect on economic growth. Overall, the paper empirically confirms FDI-led growth and export-led growth. To conclude, the findings indicate the fact that FDIs and exports are crucial for boosting the economic growth of the ASEAN+3 countries. The ASEAN+3 region remains quite an attractive destination for international companies around the world when FDIs and trade are concerned.
Edvard Jakopin
Structural changes in the economy directly affect macroeconomic and financial stability, income growth, productivity and economic efficiency, social inclusion, and the improved quality of life. The global contraction in 2020, caused by COVID-19, the deepest since the Second World War, will cause a great global economic reset, extreme poverty will increase, and the biggest permanent loss will be in human capital. The biggest consequences for the Serbian economy will be a slowdown in structural reforms. The key performance of the economy in the conjunctural period was positive and affected the growth of the resilience of the economic system, but the research showed that the implemented structural reforms were insufficient and slow, that the old problems are still the causes of low competitiveness. In the context of new reform challenges, the focus of activities needs to be shifted towards creating a stimulating environment for the development of domestic entrepreneurship and the growth of private investment in order to increase trust in the entrepreneurship-institution relationship.
Vlastimir Leković
We hereby inform our domestic academic community and the foreign academic community that the Economic Horizons scientific journal, which is published by the Faculty of Economics of the University of Kragujevac, has been referenced in the Scopus Base since October 2020 after many years of its pre-evaluation and final evaluation by the Scopus Content Selection and Advisory Board. The fact that the journal is referenced in Scopus, one of the most referenced scientific journals bases, has enabled the scientific papers published in the Economic Horizons to be considerably more visible, which is of exceptional importance not only for the Journal, but for the authors of the published journals as well.
Vlastimir Leković
Mladen Krstić1 and Ksenija Denčić Mihajlov2
The role of the Government in the implementation of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) concept into the business policy in the field of recycling in the Republic of Serbia is analyzed in this paper, with a special overview of the End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycling. The research has shown that quite different government approaches to these two independent waste streams are the most responsible for the differences in the amount of the recycled products in the analyzed period. The fact that the so-called self-regulatory CSR observed in the recycling of the used cars in the previous period caused a substantial reduction in the volume of official car recycling is pointed out herein. This indicates that, although car recycling is a financially profitable investment, it is not enough to motivate potential investors to carry out this process through official waste streams in compliance with regulations. On the other hand, in the field of e-product recycling, CSR facilitated by the government has further motivated investors, resulting in an increased amount of recycled e-products.
Goran Nikolić1 and Predrag Petrović2
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts a gradual slowdown in the, otherwise strong, growth of the Chinese economy in the first half of the 2020s, and the anemic growth of the Western economies: the US and, especially, the EU27. Given the practical (and symbolic) importance of reaching ‘the number one economy’ status, the primary objective of the paper is to estimate the GDP (and the GDP PPP) of the observed economies over the next decade. The main contribution and finding of this paper is the estimation of future GDP trends for the US, China and the EU27 in the period 2025-30, based on the previous trends and the IMF 2020-24 projections. China’s economy will become globally leading in 2029-2030. The basic research hypothesis is proven, given the fact that a change in the global economic position implies significant geopolitical consequences. Namely, while the US will almost certainly remain the leading global power in the 2020s, with the EU still continuing to focus on itself, China’s economic growth will have rising global consequences, fueling the move towards the dispersion of authority. This conclusion is in line with the claims of the majority of the relevant authors who emphasize the increasingly limited possibility of the US unilateral actions.
Ebiaghan Orits Frank
This research is aimed at assessing the conceptual linkages between the qualitative characteristics of useful financial information defined by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and ethical behavior within informal institutions. Derrida’s deconstruction theory was employed to carry out a diagnostic content analysis of the chapter two of the IASB’s 2018 financial reporting conceptual framework. The findings arising from the study reveal salient conceptual linkages between the fundamental (primary) and enhancing (secondary) qualitative characteristics and biblical ethical constructs, such as objectivity, equity/fairness, accuracy, neutrality, humility, trust, honesty, responsibility, open accountability, public trust, discipline and diligence. Consequently, the study recommends the inclusion and teaching of these ethical constructs in the curricula of tertiary and professional accountancy programs so as to churn out intellectually sound and morally balanced accounting professionals, who will prepare and present decision-useful financial statements with a high sense of moral and ethical responsibility.