Suchergebnisse

This study examines the role of globalization on terrorism in 51 African countries for the period 1996-2011. Four terrorism indicators are used, namely: domestic, transnational, unclear and total terrorism. Political, economic, social and general globalisation variables are employed and the empirical evidence is based on Fixed Effects regressions and Generalised Method of Moments (GMM). Whereas the FE regressions are overwhelmingly not significant, the following findings are established from GMM estimations. Political globalisation increases both domestic and transnational terrorism. Social globalisation and general globalisation increase transnational terrorism. Economic globalisation reduces domestic terrorism. Political globalisation, social globalisation and general globalization positively affect unclear terrorism. Social globalisation has a positive impact on total terrorism. Possible channels and policy implications are discussed.

This study investigates government quality determinants of ICT adoption using Generalised Method of Moments on a panel of 49 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries for the period 2000-2012. ICT is measured with mobile phone penetration, internet penetration and telephone penetration rates while all governance dimensions from the World Bank Governance Indicators are considered, namely: political governance (consisting of political stability and "voice & accountability"); economic governance (entailing government effectiveness and regulation quality) and institutional governance (encompassing the rule of law and corruption-control). The following findings are established. First, political stability and the rule of law have positive short run and negative long term effects on mobile phone penetration. Second, the rule of law has a positive (negative) short run (long term) effect on internet penetration. Third, government effectiveness and corruption-control have positive short run and long term effects on telephone penetration. Institutional governance appears to be most significant in determining ICT adoption in SSA.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of capital structure decisions of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana. The issue is very relevant considering that SMEs have been noted as important contributors to the growth of the Ghanaian economy.Design/methodology/approachRegression model is used to estimate the relationship between the firm level characteristics and capital structure measured by long‐term debt and short‐term debt ratios.FindingsThe results of the study suggest that variables such as firm's age, size, asset structure, profitability, and growth affect the capital structure of Ghanaian SMEs. Short‐term debt is found to represent an important financing source for SMEs in Ghana.Originality/valueThe findings of this study have important implications for policy makers and entrepreneurs of SMEs in Ghana.

PurposeThis study seeks to assess how the adoption of corporate governance structures affects the performance of SMEs (small to medium‐sized enterprises) in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachRegression analysis is used to estimate the relationship between corporate governance and ownership structure and performance.FindingsThe results show that board size, board composition, management skill level, CEO duality, inside ownership, family business, and foreign ownership have significantly positive impacts on profitability. Corporate governance can greatly assist the SME sector by infusing better management practices, stronger internal auditing, greater opportunities for growth and new strategic outlook through non‐executive directors. It is clear that corporate governance structures influence performance of SMEs in Ghana.Originality/valueThis paper provides insights on the effects of corporate governance and ownership structure on the performance of Ghanaian SMEs. The paper also shows the implications of SMEs gaining access to finance as a result of adopting a good governance system.

The study explored the determinants of small and medium-sized nontraditional exporters' choice of type of finance (formal or informal). The empirical results revealed a negative relationship between age and formal finance, suggesting that newer firms depend more on formal finance and less on informal finance. In addition, the study found positive and significant relationships between formal finance and size and growth of the firm. This suggests that larger and high-growth firms require more funds to finance their expansion and growth opportunities and therefore employ formal finance. Finally, the results of the study also indicated that the proportion of formal finance increases with increasing international activities, suggesting that, as firms engage more in international business, they employ more formal finance and less informal finance. Recommendations are made in this regard.