Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Véra-Line Montreuil Author-Name: Samir Amine Author-Email: samir.amine@uqo.ca Title: The Indicator of Employment Protection Legislation for Canada Abstract: Since the early 1990s, employment protection legislation (EPL) has become a concern for public policy makers in particular with respect to its impact on unemployment and productivity. This topic arose pronounced attention of international organizations. Indeed, these institutions have built analytical models to assess the strictness of EPL in different countries, but we find that these models are sometimes incomplete despite the abundance of information they provide. The purpose of this article is to propose the introduction of new elements to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) analysis model based on the Canadian experience. We, thus, propose to adjust the synthetic indicator of EPL for Canada taking into account local specificities not taken into consideration by the OECD. Keywords: Employment Protection Legislation, Synthetic Indicator, OECD, Voluntary Departure, Work-Sharing. Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 1-19 Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-15824 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2018-15-1/the-indicator-of-employment-protection-legislation-for-canada.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/the-indicator-of-employment-protection-legislation-for-canada File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:92 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Mirko Babanić Title: The Impact of Certain Psychological Factors of Investors and Managers on the Capital Structure Abstract: Psychology represents the basic requirement for the emergence of disciplines such as behavioral finance and behavioral economics. It has contributed to a better understanding of the behavior of economic actors under conditions of risk arising from the imperfections of cognitive abilities of human beings. Consequently, it is necessary to change the economic models based on mathematical laws in favor of descriptive models that consider the cognitive abilities of the human mind. The most common decisions that are being studied in the field of behavioral finance are the decisions regarding capital structure in companies. The methodology in this paper is based on the net operating income approach. This approach is analyzing the financial section of income statement that refers to the financial expenses of the companies. Financial expenses are assumed to be fixed, determining financial break even, as a consequence of use of financial leverage. The main task of this paper is to determine the impact of some psychological factors in the terms of capital structure and financial leverage, through two case studies of comparative analysis of income statements of the companies Puma and Adidas that will consequently affect the achievement of financial breakevens well as the profitability of the companies. Therefore it is possible to conclude that some analyzed psychological aspects in the process of financial decision making of investors and managers can influence the capital structure decisions, which can be a subject of further researches. Keywords: Biases, personal beliefs, capital structure, financial leverage, beta coefficient Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 20-37 Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-15647 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2018-15-1/the-impact-of-certain-psychological-factors-of-investors-and-managers-on-the-capital-structure.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/the-impact-of-certain-psychological-factors-of-investors-and-managers-on-the-capital-structure File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:93 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Yu Hsing Author-Email: yhsing@selu.edu Title: Test of a Quadratic Relationship Between Aggregate Output and Government Debt in Hungary Abstract: The study which applies extended model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply (AD/AS) and uses a quarterly sample during the period from 2001 (Q1) till the last quarter of 2015, has shown that real GDP in Hungary exhibits a bell-shaped quadratic relationship with government debt as a percent of GDP (DY), direct relationship with the real effective exchange rate (ER), stock market price (SP) and the real crude oil price (OP), and an inverse relationship with the real government bond yield (IR) and the expected inflation rate (EI). The critical value of government debt as a percent of GDP is estimated to be 69.22%, which is higher than the EU criterion of 60.00% but less than the threshold of 90.00% proposed by Reinhart and Rogoff (2010). Keywords: government debt as a percent of GDP, real exchange rates, interest rates, stock prices, oil price. Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 38-45 Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-15684 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2018-15-1/test-of-a-quadratic-relationship-between-aggregate-output-and-government-debt-in-hungary.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/test-of-a-quadratic-relationship-between-aggregate-output-and-government-debt-in-hungary File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:94 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Sudhanshu K. Mishra Title: A Simultaneous Equation Model of Globalization, Corruption, Democracy, Human Development and Social Progress Abstract: This study builds a simultaneous equation model that establishes interconnections among the measures of globalization, measures of democracy, human development, corruption perception index and per capita income, which in turn jointly influence social progress. The model has eleven equations in which the response variables and the predictor variables are log-linearly related. The empirical data used for estimation of the model pertain to the period 2006-2016 for 116 countries distributed over all the continents. The model has been estimated by the conventional Two-Stage Least Squares (2-SLS) and alternatively by a modified 2-SLS in which, at the second stage, Shapley value regression has been used to ameliorate the detrimental effects of collinearity among the predictor variables. The modified 2-SLS outperforms the conventional 2-SLS. The study finds that globalization positively influences and is influenced by democracy, human development and social capital. Globalization reduces corrupt practices and integrity promotes globalization. Democracy, social capital, human development and globalization affect social progress positively. It has also been found that trans-border personal connection, cultural proximity, democracy and social capital are elastic with respect to their predictors. Keywords: Globalization, democracy, social progress, simultaneous equation model, Shapley value regression. Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 46-82 Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-16414 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2018-15-1/a-simultaneous-equation-model-of-globalization-corruption-democracy-human-development-and-social-progress.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/a-simultaneous-equation-model-of-globalization-corruption-democracy-human-development-and-social-progress File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:95 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Dragan Ćoćkalo Author-Name: Mihalj Bakator Title: Improving Business Performance With Iso 9001: а Review Of Literature аnd Business Practice Abstract: This paper studies the impact of the ISO 9001 on business performance. In addition, the impact on business performance metrics is also investigated. These metrics are product, and service quality, customer satisfaction, financial performance, and operational performance. In the process of selection, 25 out of 110 papers were chosen for further analysis. The sum of samples is 6605. Therefore, the paper has moderate significance and moderate contribution in the domain of ISO 9001 certification. The key findings of this paper indicated that ISO 9001 certification can improve operational performance, customer satisfaction, financial performance, and overall business performance. However, negative impact of ISO 9001 on the mentioned constructs is also noted. For practical implication, companies may use this systematic review as a tool which may help in decision making regarding ISO 9001 standards certification or overall business performance improvement. Keywords: ISO 9001, impact, benefits, certification, performance. Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 83-93 Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-16145 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/improving-business-performance-with-iso-9001-a-review-of-literature-and-business-practice File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:96 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Akinwande A. Atanda Author-Name: Ibrahim Abidemi Odusanya Title: Income-Health Nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence From Heterogeneous Panel Models Abstract: An attempt is made in this research to examine the relationship between income and health by testing the Absolute Income-Health Hypothesis (AIH). The study primarily focuses on 34 Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries for the period of 2001-2016. The data for the study were mainly sourced from World Development Indicators (WDI) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Health Observatory Data Repository. Using heterogeneous slopes modelling set-up that incorporates series of non-stationarity, cross-section dependence, and group-specific trends, we failed to find evidence in support of the AIH. Our empirical outcome cast doubts on the robustness of previous studies that ignored such modelling attributes, while we deduced that methodology matters in analysing income-health nexus and testing the validity of the AIH for cross-section of countries. By contrast, we find income to be an insignificant determinant of health in SSA compared to health spending and improved sanitation. Keywords: Health, Income, Sub-Saharan Africa, Heterogeneous slope, Cross-section Dependence Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 94-109 Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-16293 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2018-15-1/income-health-nexus-in-sub-saharan-africa-evidence-from-heterogeneous-panel-models.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/income-health-nexus-in-sub-saharan-africa-evidence-from-heterogeneous-panel-models File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:97 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Dora Petronijević Title: Behavioral Economics: How Well Do Investors in Serbia Predict The Stock Prices? Abstract: The main goal of this paper is to investigate whether investors in Serbia can predict future stock prices. This research has been inspired by a number of similar researches conducted in other countries. The research has been conducted on two Belgrade Stock Exchange's indexes: BELEX 15 (represents the market movement of stock prices) and BELEX Sentiment (represents the aggregate investors’ predictions of future stock prices behavior). In methodological sense, this analysis was made by using Vector Auto-regression (VAR) model and Granger causality model. The results show that investors in Serbia are not very successful in prediction of future prices. The research also shows that investors have based their expectations on historical prices, which resulted in bad predictions. The results of this research are in cohesion with the previous researches conducted in other developing, transitional countries. Keywords: behavioral finance, irrational investor, prediction of stock prices, investor sentiment, market noise Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 110-122 Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-16665 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2018-15-1/behavioral-economics-how-well-do-investors-in-serbia-predict-the-stock-prices.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/behavioral-economics-how-well-do-investors-in-serbia-predict-the-stock-prices File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:98 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Adis Puška Author-Name: Ilija Stojanović Author-Name: Sead Šadić Author-Email: sead23@gmail.com Author-Name: Haris Bečić Title: The Influence of Demographic Characteristics of Consumers on Decisions to Purchase Technical Products Abstract: The term consumer behavior has become very popular in recent studies. It is characterized by various processes, with consumers purchasing decisions being one of them. This paper explores the way in which demographic characteristics influence purchasing decisions with focus on technical products including household appliances, computers, TV sets and similar technical products that cost more than 400 BAM. The empirical study was conducted in the region of northeast of Bosnia Herzegovina and 192 respondents were included in the study to express their allegations of purchasing decisions. Factor analysis was used to identify broader constructors as a basis for observation of the variables. In total, six variables were identified. Based on the calculation of Cronbach's Alpha indicators, it has been established that there was a low internal affiliation of claims in two variables, upon what they were discarded. Thus, four variables were used to study purchasing decision-making. The results of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that gender, income level and employment status of the respondents significantly influence purchasing decisions among consumers. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) has further shown that females Under the age of 25 and whose income is less than 400 BAM with less than 25 years are generally dedicating to purchasing decisions. The empirical findings showed that the most satisfied with their purchasing decisions are male respondents, whose income varies between 400 BAM and 800 BAM and who belong to the category of students under 25 years. Keywords: consumer behavior, buying decisions, demographic factors, factor analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, analysis of variance Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 1-16 Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-16576 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2018-15-2/the-influence-of-demographic-characteristics-of-consumers-on-decisions-to-purchase-technical-products.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/the-influence-of-demographic-characteristics-of-consumers-on-decisions-to-purchase-technical-products File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:99 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Branimir Kalaš Author-Email: branimir.kalas@ef.uns.ac.rs Author-Name: Vera Mirović Author-Name: Nada Milenković Title: The Relationship Between Taxes and Economic Growth: Evidence from Serbia and Croatia Abstract: This study presents an empirical analysis of taxes and economic growth in Serbia and Croatia in the period 2007-2016. In order to identify the impact of tax forms on economic growth and their relationship, the authors decided to set up a panel regression where gross domestic product is the dependent variable, while corporate income tax, value added tax, social security contributions and excises are independent variables. The results of random effect model have shown that corporate income tax, value added tax and social security contributions have a positive impact on the gross domestic product, while excises affect the gross domestic product negatively. However, only value added tax has a statistically significant impact on economic growth in these countries, with each increase in revenue from this tax contributing to the growth of gross domestic product in the observed period. Keywords: taxes, economic growth, relationship,Serbia, Croatia. Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 17-28 Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-18056 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2018-15-2/the-relationship-between-taxes-and-economic-growth-evidence-from-serbia-and-croatia.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/the-relationship-between-taxes-and-economic-growth-evidence-from-serbia-and-croatia File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:100 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Adedayo Emmanuel Longe Author-Name: Kayode Daniel Ajulo Author-Name: Olawunmi Omitogun Author-Name: Emmanuel Olajide Adebayo Title: Trade, Transportation and Environment Nexus in Nigeria Abstract: This study investigates trade, transportation and environment nexus in Nigeria. The main objective of the study is to incorporate transportation activities and trade into the EKC model seeing transportation as an important factor that determines environmental degradation in Nigeria. Annual data from 1984 to 2014 is used in the study, whereas ARDL estimation technique was adopted to analyse the data. The results show that all the variables have a positive significant correlation with carbon emissions in Nigeria except trade that was negative and insignificant. According to ARDL estimates,trade, import transport services and GDP per capita have positive impact on CO2 emissions in the long-run while in the short-run, the result shows that trade, GDP per capita, energy consumption and transport services are capable of correcting about 74% deviation of carbon emissions back to long-run equilibrium. Based on the findings, drawn conclusion stipulates that energy consumption and trade are the main determinant factors that contribute to carbon emission and appropriate attention should be given to energy consumption by considering alternative efficient energy sources to curb the increasing emission in Nigeria. Keywords: trade, transportation, CO2, ARDL Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 29-42 Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-17360 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2018-15-2/trade-transportation-and-environment-nexus-in-nigeria.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/trade-transportation-and-environment-nexus-in-nigeria File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:101 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Goran Anđelić Author-Name: Nenad Penezić Author-Name: Vilmoš Tot Author-Name: Marko Milošević Title: Inflation Rate Impact on the Share Returns of Real Sector Companies in Ap Vojvodina Abstract: Taking into account the current trends in the domestic financial market, the subject of this research is the analysis, testing and quantification of the inflation rate impact on the daily share returns of the real sector companies in AP Vojvodina. The aim of the research is to generate concrete, practically tested and quantified knowledge about the possibilities and efficiency of the GARCH models application to quantify the inflation rate impact on the share returns of the observed companies. The period covered by the survey is from 2006 to 2016 and it includes the real sector companies of AP Vojvodina whose shares are quoted within the stock exchange index BELEXline. The research results show the exact correlation between the daily return rates of the observed companies and the financial risk factor - the inflation rate. The results also show a positive impact of the variable inflation rate on the returns of companies NIS a.d (0.013876), Sojaprotein a.d (0.019167) and Vital a.d (0.051056), and a negative impact on the returns of the company Veterinary Institute a.d (-0.000183). The research results confirm the role and significance of the application of econometric models in order to quantify financial risk factors of returns from investment activities in the real sector companies of AP Vojvodina. Keywords: inflation rate, share returns, GARCH models, real sector, risk, investment Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 43-57 Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-17997 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2018-15-2/inflation-rate-impact-on-the-share-returns-of-real-sector-companies-in-ap-vojvodina.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/inflation-rate-impact-on-the-share-returns-of-real-sector-companies-in-ap-vojvodina File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:102 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Shahidul Islam Author-Name: Faruk Hossain Title: Constraints to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Development in Bangladesh: Results From a Cross-Sectional Study Abstract: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the significant contributor to the Bangladesh economy as they have the competency to create higher employment, improve local technology, and create ground for the future sustainable industrialization and corporate sectors. The aim of this study is to identify major constraints faced by the SMEs in Bangladesh. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Narsingdi Municipality, Bangladesh and social survey method was applied to collect the data. Two-stage cluster sampling method was utilized to select respondents and data were collected through face-to-face interview. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to determine significant constraints to SMEs. The study found that poor infrastructure and electricity supply are the main constraints to the development of SMEs. Limited access to credit, lack of proper business knowledge and plan, high domestic market competition, lack of skilled manpower and technology, and high cost of raw materials and equipment are the major constraints next to main constraint. Keywords: small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs),constraints, principal component analysis (PCA), Bangladesh Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 58-73 Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-17015 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2018-15-2/constraints-to-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises-development-in-bangladesh-results-from-a-cross-sectional-study.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/constraints-to-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises-development-in-bangladesh-results-from-a-cross-sectional-study File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:103 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Yinusa Olumuyiwa Ganiyu Author-Name: Ismail Adelopo Author-Name: Yulia Rodionova Author-Name: Olawale Luqman Samuel Title: Capital Structure in Emerging Markets: Evidence From Nigeria Abstract: This paper examines the impact of firm specific factors as determinants of capital structure choice of Nigerian firms based on the data of 115 non-financial firms listed on the Nigerian stock exchange, for the period 1998-2016.The study employed two-step system generalized method of moment in a dynamic panel framework. The findings of the study reveal positive relationship between profitability, firm risk, firm dividend and leverage. Asset tangibility, growth opportunities, size and age are found to be negatively related to leverage. The study therefore concludes that variables identified in the agency cost theory that provide explanations for capital structure of firms in the developed and some emerging countries, are relevant but not fully applicable in the Nigerian context. This study shows that managers tend to use more debt as they prefer higher free cashflow because it facilitates the consumptions of perks. The use of long-term debt may reduce the opportunistic behaviour of managers. Managers may strive to ensure debt repayment promptly to avoid bankruptcy which can be very costly for the firm, and managers may lose their job and reputation. Managers would prefer the use of less debt in firms where there are high growth opportunities. Managers of firms may prefer to employ less debt when they see that debt can restrict them to explore future opportunities because of the commitment and covenants associated with debt. Keywords: capital structure, agency theory, generalized method of moment, dynamic panel. Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 74-90 Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-17631 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2018-15-2/capital-structure-in-emerging-markets-evidence-from-nigeria.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/capital-structure-in-emerging-markets-evidence-from-nigeria File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:104