Corporate Management,Industry Competition and the Sustainability of Firm Abnormal Profitability

This paper models the sustainability of firmabnormal profitability and uses theeffectiveness of corporate managementcapabilities as a test to examine its impact onthe sustainability of firm abnormalprofitability. The role of industry competitionas a moderator between the effectiveness ofcorporate management capabilities and thesustainability of firm abnormal profitabilityis also examined. Consistent with theresource-based view of the firm, we found thatthe effectiveness of corporate managementcapabilities positively influence thesustainability of firm abnormal profitability.This implies that corporate managementcapabilities are important contributors to theentire bundle of firm-specific resources andcapabilities which enable some firms togenerate competitive advantages that aresustainable. The effectiveness of corporatemanagement capabilities has a larger influenceon the sustainability of firm abnormalprofitability for firms in lowly competitive ormonopolistic industries than firms in highlycompetitive industries. The findings supportthe notion that not only do firm capabilitiesyield sustainable competitive advantages andabnormal profitability, but also industrycompetition reinforces the impact of firmcapabilities in yielding sustainable abnormalprofitability.     

Socioeconomic and Demographic Predictors of Potable Water and Sanitation Access in Ghana

Lack of access to potable water and good sanitation is still one of the most challenging public health concerns of the twenty-first century despite steady progress over recent decades. Almost a billion people globally lack access to safe water; over two billion live without adequate sanitation facilities. The challenge is even more daunting for Sub-Saharan Africa where coverage levels for both potable water and sanitation remain critically low. The urgent need to address the issue calls for adequate understanding of the socio-economic dimensions. Using the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, we investigated the socio-economic and demographic factors associated with access to potable water and improved sanitation facilities. Our generalized linear models reveal that income, education, household size, and region are significant predictors of improved water and sanitation access. Our discussion and conclusion sections highlight the implications of the study results for water policy formulation and implementation in Ghana, and broadly for other developing countries.     

Childbearing Behavior Before and After the 1994 Population Policies in Ghana

Due to the high population growth rate in the mid-20th century, the government of Ghana introduced population policies to reduce the growth rate. Encouraging girls’ education and increasing contraceptive use were the two main policy measures to reduce population growth. In order to get a clear picture of the childbearing dynamics of Ghanaian women in response to the population policy of 1994, we analyzed individual reproductive histories from 1969 to 2003 using 2003 Ghana Demographic Health survey data to disentangle patterns by parity, calendar period, and educational groups. Exponential hazard regression models were used to estimate the relative risk of births. We find some evidence of a critical juncture in fertility trends, particularly for the fifth child. In addition, higher parity transition rates continuously declined for women with secondary or higher education and these educational levels were achieved by a higher share of the population after the policy was implemented. The 1994 population policy was successful if only by virtue of the increasing number of women with secondary or higher education. Belonging to this group is not only associated with lower fertility, but this suppressing effect strengthened in the years following the policy implementation. We also suspect that the increasing similarity between women with no education and with primary education reflects the diffusion of contraceptive knowledge and norms related to childbearing. The educational reform and contraceptive initiatives did result in increased education and contraceptive awareness and are therefore beneficial programs.     

Exploring the Eligibility Criteria of the Child Support Grant and its Impact on Poverty

One of the most important policy objectives in the post-apartheid South African economy is to reduce poverty. Although economic growth and job creation are the preferred sources of alleviating poverty and inequality, social grant spending has contributed significantly to reduce poverty (Van der Berg et al. in Poverty trends since the transition: what we know. Stellenbosch Economic Working Papers: 19/09. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University, 2009). Recently proposals were tabled by the Department of Social Development of South Africa (Fin24 in R3.3bn plan to extend child support grant to 21. http://www.fin24.com/Economy/R33bn-child-care-grant-extension-to-21-on-cards-20150316. Accessed August 7, 2015, 2015) to extend the age eligibility of the child support grant (CSG) to 21 years (at the time of writing children aged up to 18 years are eligible). This sparked an interest to investigate the impact on poverty of changes to the eligibility criteria of CSG, as well as its fiscal implications. Using person and household data from the 2010/2011 Income and Expenditure Survey, various simulations are performed to assess the impact on poverty rates and changes to social spending, given the following changes: (1) if all age-eligible children applied; (2) if all beneficiaries received the grant amount for the full 12-month duration; (3) if the age eligibility criterion is extended; and (4) if the monthly child grant income amount is revised upwards. We also examine how changes in the eligibility criteria affect the income distribution.     

Short Notices

Michael Freeden, The New Liberalism: An Ideology of Social Reform (1978), xi+291 (Clarendon Press, Oxford, £10.00).

D. W. Howell, Land and People in Nineteenth‐Century Wales (1977), xv+207 (Routledge &; Kegan Paul, £6.95).

Murray Tolmie, The Triumph of the Saints: The Separate Churches of London 1616–1649 (1977), xii+251 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, £9.00).

George Huppert, Les Bourgeois Gentilshommes. An Essay on the Definition of Élites in Renaissance France (1977), xii+237 (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, £12.95).

Robert Currie, Alan Gilbert and Lee Horsley, Churches and Churchgoers ‐ Patterns of Church Growth in the British Isles since 1700 (1977), 244 (Clarendon Press, Oxford, £12.50).

D. Philips, Crime and Authority in Victorian England: The Black Country 1835–1860 (1977), 321 (Croom Helm, £8.50).

Brenda Swann and Maureen Turnbull, Records of Interest to Social Scientists 1919–1919: Employment and Unemployment (1978), v+590 (HMSO, paperback, £13.50).     

International joint venture partner origin,strategic choice,and performance: A comparative analysis in an emerging economy in Africa

This study examines the competitive strategic choices of international joint ventures (IJVs) and their performance implications in a low-income emerging economy in Sub-Saharan Africa — Ghana. Using the resource-based view of the firm, it is argued that IJVs with partners from emerging economies are more likely to pursue an efficiency-oriented business strategy to strengthen their strategic positioning, competitiveness and performance. Conversely, IJVs with partners from advanced industrialized economies would be more likely to pursue a market effectiveness-oriented strategy to strengthen their strategic positioning, competitiveness and performance. The findings from 76 IJVs offer support for the hypothesized relationships. IJVs with partners from emerging economies implementing an efficiency-oriented strategy of cost leadership outperform those with partners from advanced industrialized economies implementing the same strategy. In contrast, IJVs with partners from advanced industrialized economies implementing a differentiation strategy outperform those with partners from emerging economies implementing a differentiation strategy.     

Charts for finding upper percentage points of Student's t in the range .01 to .00001

The Bonferroni t-statistic is a versatile tool in multiple comparisons problems. The need for "oddball percentage points" may lead to extensive tables or heavy computation. Charts of t_p as a function of log p enable near two-decimal accuracy for any percentage point between .01 and .00001     

Resurgent ethno-nationalism and the renewed demand for Biafra in south-east Nigeria

The renewed demand for Biafra by Igbo people is a rejection of their post-war socio-political and economic condition in Nigeria. Through the processing of primary data, the paper examines this reinvention of Igbo nationalism. It looks at its linkage with the 1999 democratic transition in Nigeria, its implications and management by the government. The paper concludes that the renewed demand for Biafra is caused by perception of inequities and injustice in the distribution of power and resources among the Igbo. Hence a deliberate effort to correct these social problems can assuage ethnic tensions and presumption of political violence in Nigeria.