Academic Journal of Economic Studies

21-28

Authors: Fulgence Dominick Waryoba

This paper analyzes buoyancy and elasticity estimates of different tax items on import base. Using the Divisia Index approach, the buoyancy estimates have been used to estimate elasticity estimates. The findings reveal positive buoyancy and elasticity estimates. Since the Divisia Index values are positive but less than unit, their logarithm values are negative, making the discretionary portion of the buoyancy estimate to be negative. The negative discretionary portion of the buoyancy estimates resulted into higher values of elasticity compared to buoyancy estimates. The government should broaden the tax base, reduce tax rates and reduce tax exemption in order to improve revenue collection without resorting to higher tax rates. With lower tax rates and higher penalties on tax evasion and tax avoidance, higher government revenue can be realized to meet growing government expenditure.

40-49

Authors: Cristian - Marian Barbu

This article analyses the fact that, although the budgetary and fiscal measures are the main leverage by which the government influences the Romanian economy, and their adopting and implementation should be based upon an analysis of their impact on medium term, theoretically and practically, and time is needed to understand and accommodate them in the business plans, the transparency and predictability requirements, which are vital for any stable economy, are still hard to fulfil. In Romania, very often, out of various reasons, mainly political, the economic policy decisions rather deepen the cyclic tensions of economy instead of attenuating them. The consecutive increases of the minimal wages have been done at a fast pace, which has not been supported by the appropriate evolution of productivity.

54-59

Authors: Alin Eliodor Tănase, Traian Ovidiu Calotă, Florin Răzvan Oncioiu

This article focuses on the impact of the new standard IFRS 16 Leases on the companies’ key performance indicators. The magnitude of this impact could be said to change depending on the usage density of the lease in the companies and also depending on the sector they are in. The results show that future transactions may be influenced by IFRS 16 such as sale and leaseback, acquisitions and mergers, and lease vs. buying.

68-73

Authors: Osa Abraham Ehiorobo

This paper evaluates privatization of public enterprises in Nigeria with a view to determining whether it is a mere recipe for sleaze or that it impacts positively on national development. The study examines the efforts made by both the federal and state governments in Nigeria to divest their interests in running businesses which are assumed to be better handled by private investors. The paper compares privatization in some other countries to assess how the programme is being handled and the kind of results they deliver with a view to replicating such measures in Nigeria. The research made use of a qualitative approach through intensive content analysis. Data for the study were obtained from books, journal articles, published materials from the internet and other public sources. Findings from the study reveal that privatization of public enterprises which is supposed to provide revenue to the government through the sale or concession of such corporations, improve operational efficiency as well as save costs from poor non-regenerative investments have neither helped to improve government revenues nor impact positively on the lives of Nigerians.

82-88

Authors: Ana Maria Ifrim, Iuliana Camelia Stoenică, Anca Gabriela Petrescu, Florentina Raluca Bîlcan

The complexity of economic life in terms of competition imposed by the market economy increases the role of information in decision making. Its quality depends on the quality of current future innovative decisions taken and thus results. Based on the literature review, various innovation activities can be analysed along three dimensions: targets (the focus areas of eco-innovation: products, processes, marketing methods, organizations and institutions); mechanisms (the ways in which changes are made in the targets: redesign, alternatives and creation); and impacts (effects of eco-innovation on the environment). This paper examines whether using eco-innovation is an opportunity to increase the competitiveness of SMEs at a European level in the following areas: agriculture, manufacturing, environmental industries and construction. The results show that eco-innovation is therefore a powerful instrument, combining reduced negative impact on the environment with a positive impact on the economy and society.

94-104

Authors: Rahmad Hidayat, Isfenti Sadalia, Khaira Amalia Fachrudin

Shariah financing has also various kinds of agreement. Its fund has be distributed to low risky sector in order to produce the optimal income in the preparation of Bank Sumut UUS for spin off in 2018. The objective of the research was to analyze the influence of Third Party Fund and CAR on Financing and the influence of Third Party Fund, CAR and ROA as well as to test the significance of Non Performing Financing as the moderating varable on ROA. The sample of the research included 5 (five) Branch Offices on Bank Sumut UUS by taking the annual final statements from 2010 until 2015. The instruments used were regression method of panel data, regression method of moderating and path analysis using EViews software. The Third Party Fund did not have any significant influence on ROA with financing as the intervening variable, and neither did CAR on ROA with financing as the moderating variable, had insignificant influence on ROA statistically. Moreover, the Third Party Fund, CAR and Financing had insignificant influence statistically at significant level 5% on ROA with Non Performing Financing as the moderating variable. The implication of this research was that Bank Sumut UUS had to pay attention to the financing risk to make optimal profit s well as micro an macro economic factors for financing provided for productivity an consumer.

111-122

Authors: Elchin Suleymanov, Farhad Rahmanov, Cihan Bulut, Fakhri Hasanov

For Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan as Post-Soviet countries, oil exports are main revenues sources. These three resource rich countries implemented notable oil projects since independence and as a result acquired significant oil revenues. Due to major part of export goes to oil and relevant sectors; especially after 2000 these gained huge revenues are directed to solve main social and economic problems. Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan accelerated transition period through using oil revenues in their economies. But besides such positive effects of oil revenues, the phenomenon called "natural resource curse" in the literature has not skipped these three countries. Because of the similar structure of the economies and the fact that the petroleum revenues are locomotives of the country's economies, the steep decline in oil prices since 2015 has led to similar economic outcomes for all three countries, and has started to become a major threat. In this negative environment, real sector activities have suffered significant losses. Many financial institutions either have lived difficulties in maintaining their activities or have closed. The economy of the three countries began to narrow with the negativities in all sectors, especially in the service sectors such as finance and construction. In this study, the negative aspects and their effects of negativities were addressed and some proposals were given for economic activity of all three countries.

133-140

Authors: Francis Lwesya

This study examines the determinants of Leather and Leather products Exports in Tanzania. We apply Ordinary Least Square (OLS) analysis on time series data from 1980 to 2015. The findings show that export of raw hides and skins, and high costs of production are among the deterring factors to leather and leather products export in Tanzania. Export of raw hides and skins and costs of production recorded negative and significant relationship with leather exports. On the other hand, hides and skins collection recorded insignificant relationship while leather price in the world market had negative and significant relationship with leather exports. This suggests that other factors such as low quality of leather and leather products exported, inadequate capital investment, stiff competition with foreign companies for hides and skins and inadequate market information explain the state of current Tanzania’s leather exports. Thus, attracting local and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the leather subsector by providing friendly investment climate and addressing the supply side constraints will enable increased high quality leather and leather products diversification and exports.

153-161

Authors: Emmanuel Chinanuife, Paul Eze, Ozoemena S. Nwodo

The nature of Nigeria economy is such that borrowing has become the business of every government in power. Most often, in order to finance the deficit in the budget, the government would resolve to borrowing. However, there is growing concern on how long it would take Nigeria government to reduce the rate of borrowing. Some theorist argued that borrowing is not bad if borrowed fund is used productively. It is to this assertion that this study sorts to investigate public debt spiral and the level of public investment in Nigeria. Using quarterly time series data ranging from 1981 to 2016 and the ARDL methodology. The result showed that public debt has negative and statistical significant impact on public investment in Nigeria. That is, public debt crowds out public investment in Nigeria. The study therefore recommends among others that greater percent of public borrowing should be invested in order to reduce future borrowing in Nigeria. Also, the government should embark on internal borrowing instead of external to overcome exchange rate fluctuation problem.

174-182

Authors: Ernest L. Mramba, Ismail J. Ismail

The study was determined to look on the relationship between socio-economic determinants and blood donation in Tanzania. It involved a sample of 128 respondents in which binary logistic regression results showed sex of respondents, level of education and religious beliefs to have a positively relationship with blood donation at 1%, 10%, 10% level respectively, with p values of 0.007, 0.077, 0.094 as theory suggested. Health status, cultural beliefs, fear for HIV test results, and health insurance were negatively related with blood donation at 1%, 5%, 10%, 1% level with p values of 0.000, 0.011, 0.070, 0.012, respectively, as per assumption. However, age, strong social network at community, employment status, and level of income were not significant determinants. Conclusively, blood donation was largely determined by sex, level of education, health status, cultural beliefs, religious beliefs, fear for HIV test results and health insurance. To increase blood donation, females must be encouraged, emphasis on education, eradication of the myths and misconception about blood donation, partnerships between national blood transfusion and religious bodies, need for more community’s awareness about blood donation so as to alleviate unfounded fear (i.e. fear for HIV test results), need of improving health status of the people and donor recruitments programs strategies must be improved.

192-202

Authors: Aiwanehi Barbara Ofuani, Abdul-Hameed Adeola Sulaimon, Sunday Abayomi Adebisi

This research investigates corporate governance practices in Nigerian public corporations. It further examined how various sectors in the public service fared in respect of compliance with stipulated codes of corporate governance using six selected public corporations from six sectors as representatives. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI), National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) were chosen for this study. Data was collected through a self-administered structured questionnaire distributed to 450 respondents drawn disproportionately from the Lagos offices of the selected public sector establishments using a multi-staged sampling technique. 310 representing 68.9% returned were found usable. The results of the rank-order analyses of corporate governance practices in the corporations and Duncan’s Post-hoc tests showed that Nigerian Public corporations comply with the stipulated codes to a large extent though not completely and in varying proportions by each corporation. Factors like political influence, level of monitoring and evaluation and ethical issues were found to have effects on corporate governance practises in these corporations. It is therefore recommended that the level of political interference be minimal; units established within sectors to monitor and evaluate corporations and ethical issues tackled. Similar studies should be carried out in the other Nigerian public sectors untouched by this study.

213-220

Authors: Elena Bugudui, Ghenadie Ciobanu

Romania aims to make the digital economy a leading place in the new architecture of regional development. This will in fact contribute to the development of a high quality regional and local management that will be reflected in the activity of local and regional public institutions, in the development of SMEs in underdeveloped regions and will contribute to the creation of new jobs for young people and for other excluded social and informational groups. The use of new technologies leads to a profound change in the structure of the workforce. This paper presents the evolution of the employed population in the field of IT & C, with the presentation of the leaps made at the regional level in the period 2008 - 2016. The paper also presents aspects of Romania's position on the digital market of the European Union, highlights aspects of the impact of digital economy development, with a weight-of-GDP analysis at both national and developmental levels.