Linking Social Development with the Capacity to Carry Debt: Towards an MDG‐Consistent Debt‐Sustainability Concept

Owing to concerns among low‐income countries that the new debt sustainability framework of the Bretton Woods institutions may lock them into a so‐called ‘low debt‐low growth’ scenario, the United Nations has called for a more MDG‐consistent debt‐sustainability concept. This article shows that there is a robust relationship between achieving the Millennium Development Goals and having a higher capacity to carry debt. It then discusses options for modifying the current debt‐sustainability framework, and suggests that including progress made in achieving the MDGs in determining borrowing limits would be a first step towards adopting such a concept.     

The Effect of a First Born Child on Work and Childcare Time Allocation: Pre-post Analysis of Australian Couples

This paper uses Australian data from a national representative sample of Australian couples having their first child. Using data from before and after the birth of the child on a range of variables, including economic resources, gender attitudes, workplace flexibility, and availability of non-parental childcare, we first model the factors are associated with the decision to remain in work or not after the birth of the first child. The main finding here is that childbirth has a major impact on mothers’ paid work-time, whereas for fathers it has very little impact. Factors that are related to a mother’s decision to remain in work or not include the absolute (but not relative) pay of each parent, the father’s workplace flexibility, and paid parental leave available to the mother. We then model the factors that govern, for those mothers remaining in paid work, how much paid work they undertake. We find that changing employers is related to mothers’ work hours, as are absolute post-birth salaries, as is the relative pay of each partner. As with the decision to work or not, the availability of paid parental leave to the mother is significantly related to the amount of work-time for those mothers that do continue to work. Similarly, the use of external childcare is positively associated with maternal work hours. Finally, we model the factors that determine childcare time allocation and find that for neither parent do pre-birth economic resources significantly affect childcare time, once a decision about basic work patterns has been made. Gender role attitudes affect childcare time decisions, unlike work time decisions.     

The Eric Garner Case: Statewide Survey of New York Voters’ Response to Proposed Police Accountability Legislation

The Eric Garner case was unique because this police-induced death was caught on video from before the moment of physical confrontation. A mixed-methods representative household survey and Garner's arrest video were used to determine NYS voters’ opinions (n = 119) about police indictment and Governor Cuomo's request for expanded authority. Respondents were asked whether the officers should face indictment, shown the arrest video, and then asked again about indictment. Prior to the video, a majority of respondents (n = 86; 57.4%) believed involved officers should have been indicted. After viewing, the proportion increased by 13.7%. A majority supported Cuomo's call for expanded authority to appoint a special prosecutor in cases where police are involved in civilian deaths. Study limitations include prior exposure to the footage and a low response rate. NYS voters generally supported Cuomo's proposal for appointing a special prosecutor; however, a quarter of respondents disagreed with the method of reform and expressed a: 1) preference for every case to go to trial; 2) preference for a case-by-case basis; or 3) distrust in state-appointed special prosecutors. This research could inform discussions regarding proposed system reforms. Future research with a less well-circulated video is needed to determine the extent to which videos of police-induced deaths affect public opinion.     

CEO characteristics and firm valuation: a quantile regression analysis

This study investigates the effects of three highly-visible CEO characteristics on firm valuation. Using a sample of 2702 observations for Australian firms over the period 2001–2011, we find that CEO age is uniformly associated with lower firm valuation. CEO tenure is also associated with lower valuation, but more significantly so in the higher quantiles of firm valuation, that is for firms with high-growth opportunities. In contrast, CEO duality is found to be beneficial only for firms with high-growth opportunities. Overall, the study highlights the contingent relationship between CEO characteristics and firm valuation.     

Social behavior practices for child protection and well-being among low-income urban households in Bangladesh

The main objective of this study was to explore the status of social behavior practices for child protection and well-being among low-income urban households in Bangladesh. This study used a survey method, and data were collected through a face-to-face structured interview from 378 low-income household heads from 12 wards (Konabari and Kashimpur) of Zone 5 of the Gazipur City Corporation. Results found that the current status of the presence of child protection services is very low (in many cases, this number is zero except children having birth registered). A significant number (55%) of them were married between 15 and 19 years. The study found a low level of access on the components of social behaviors where around 50% to 60% caregivers stated 4 benefits of key behaviors, necessity of hand washing after defecation and before and after taking a meal, the age of boys and girls to get married off, and know the effect and consequences of child marriage. The chi-squared tests confirmed extremely high significance in almost all of the components. Findings will be an important guideline for the policymakers, child service practitioners, and human rights workers.     

A right to live: girl workers in the Bangladeshi garment industry

According to a survey conducted in 1989, there are 772 approved and registered garment factories in Bangladesh. These factories employ approximately 300,000 individuals, 90% of whom are women. A more recent estimate in a Bangladeshi newspaper, however, posits that up to five million people are directly or indirectly dependent upon the garment industry. Many of the women who work in Bangladesh's garment factories are under age 15 years. In some countries, such as the US, the employment of such young individuals constitutes a violation of child labor laws. Therefore, under the Harkin Bill, the US will no longer import garments produced by children younger than age 15 years. Many garment workers under age 15 years have already been put out of work or will soon be terminated. The authors explain that while the intent of the Harkin Bill may be to protect children, it is difficult to adopt the moral high ground in a poor country like Bangladesh. Regardless of one's age in Bangladesh, having a job may be the only way to survive. No job often means no food or shelter. The authors discuss women in the garment industry, one girl's case, alternative employment opportunities, and the future.     

Impact study of volatility modelling of Bangladesh stock index using non-normal density

This article examines a wide variety of popular volatility models for stock index return, including the random walk (RW), autoregressive, generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH), and asymmetric GARCH models with normal and non-normal (Student's t and generalized error) distributional assumption. Fitting these models to the Chittagong stock index return data from the period 2 January 1999 to 29 December 2005, we found that the asymmetric GARCH/GARCH model fits better under the assumption of non-normal distribution than under normal distribution. Non-parametric specification tests show that the RW-GARCH, RW-TGARCH, RW-EGARCH, and RW-APARCH models under the Student's t-distributional assumption are significant at the 5% level. Finally, the study suggests that these four models are suitable for the Chittagong Stock Exchange of Bangladesh. We believe that this study would be of great benefit to investors and policy makers at home and abroad.     

Asymptotic estimate of variance with applications to stochastic differential equations arises in mathematical neuroscience

Matrix representation of a limit of variance for circular process is given. It is shown that the variance is asymptotically measured by the decrease in spectral energy in one step of a Markov chain. Then we apply this result to a stochastic differential equation with parametric noise (which arises in mathematical neuroscience) and demonstrate how the results can be used to analyze propagation of a signal in sound mechanism.     

Job stress, satisfaction and mental health of factory workers in Bangladesh

The present study examined the relationship between job stress, job satisfaction and mental health, and attempted to assess the effects of job stress on different parameters of satisfaction and mental health in the context of two groups of Bangladeshi factory workers. There were 26 subjects in a 'high stress' group and 33 in a 'low stress' group. Individual data were collected by using the Stress and Arousal Checklist, the Job Satisfaction Scale, the General Health Questionnaire, absenteeism by sick leave, a self-esteem at work scale and heart rate monitor. Chi-square and t-tests were applied in the analyses of these data by group. The results, quite expectedly, showed that a greater number of high stress subjects were dissatisfied and had poorer mental health than low stress subjects. The results also showed that low stress subjects were significantly more satisfied and possessed better mental health than the high stress subjects. It would appear that the experience of stress plays an important role in determining the quality of working life of Bangladeshi factory workers having similar consequences in terms of health and well-being to those observed in developed countries. The dynamics of absenteeism in Bangladesh are discussed.