IMPACT : International Journal of Research in Business Management

9-22

Authors: Adolphus J. Toby & Deborah B. Peterside

This study analyzes the role of banks in financing the agriculture and manufacturing sectors in Nigeria from 1981 – 2010. Data were generated from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin (2010) and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential techniques. Two multiple regression models were estimated using the Software Package for social Sciences (SPSS). The tolerance values are greater than zero in the estimated models. The absence of multicollinearity among the independent variables (IVs) is further supported by an engenval that is less than 0.5. The descriptive results show that Nigeria’s commercial and merchant banks lagged behind in financing agriculture when compared to manufacturing. Average bank credit to agriculture, within the period, ranged between 9.0% and 10.1%. Average bank credit to the manufacturing sector ranged between 32.0% and 36.8%. Within the period, average contribution of agriculture to GDP was 33.5% while contribution of the manufacturing sector to GDP averaged 5.4%. The inferential results show a significantly weak correlation between commercial bank lending and the contribution of agriculture to GDP. However, there is a significantly positive correlation between merchant bank lending and agricultural contribution to GDP. The beta coefficient shows that agricultural contribution to GDP increased significantly by 48.22% with a 100% increase in merchant bank lending to agriculture. With a 100% increase in commercial bank lending, the contribution of manufacturing to GDP declined by 27.32%. However, the contribution of the manufacturing sector to GDP increased by 40.08% as merchant bank lending to manufacturing increased by 100%. There is also a significantly inverse correlation between commercial bank lending and manufacturing contribution to GDP. The model R2 shows that 23.04% of the variation in agricultural contribution to GDP is explained by an increase in bank lending to the sector. It also shows that 18.75% of the variation in manufacturing contribution to GDP is explained by a change in aggregate lending. The results, however, indicate that the role of banks in facilitating the contribution of the agriculture and manufacturing sectors to economic growth is still significantly limited. The rise of numerous public intervention funding programs in these sectors is evidence of the lagging banking intermediation. The growing risk aversion of Nigerian banks is indicative of the liquidity and funding shortages in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors. Monetary policy should, therefore, emphasize mandatory sectoral allocation of credit with appropriate incentives to boost the flow of bank credit to these sectors.

33-42

Authors: Ljupco Davcev & Nikolas Hourvouliades

The global economy crisis confirmed the need for development of the production sector in FYROM as a key element for decreasing the trade deficit. The effects of the crisis show that FYROM does not have economic structure capable for development without inflow of foreign capital. The question whether FYROM economic structure is compatible to current level of development and whether the country has sustainable economic development in the last ten to fifteen years should be answered negatively. In fact, the last economic crisis confirmed that the development model that FYROM applied is not sustainable. Although the privatization process finished, the private ownership and liberalization do not show the expected effects. The companies are not competitive in the international markets, and did not start to create new productive jobs in manufacturing and export oriented sectors. On a macro level, there has been a development model based on fixed exchange rate of the domestic currency and weak economy, chronic trade deficit and reliance on the foreign capital inflow. Obviously, the economic model should be changed. FYROM needs radical change of the economic policy, with fast restructuring of the economy and new economic and legal conditions for investments in manufacturing and other export-oriented economy sectors. All these should be done parallel to general development of infrastructure and human resources. In order to start the investment cycle, which will invoke faster economic development, there is a need for change in the economic structure, which can be analyzed by the structure of GDP, as the main macroeconomic aggregate in the economy.

53-62

Authors: Miniar Ben Ammar Sghari & Sami Hammami

For any developed country, an increase in the proportion of the elderly entails an increase in per capita health care expenditure. This is undoubtly true, given that individual health care expenditure is an increasing function of age. But what is the magnitude of this effect in comparison with other drivers of health care expenditures? In this paper, we use micro data to evaluate the respective effects of demographic change, changes in morbidity and changes in practices on the growth in health expenditure that occurred in developed countries. In addition, the distribution of health care expenditure over different age groups is analysed. The study shows that changes in population aging account for barely 13% of the total increase in health care expenditure and that it is the combined effect of changes in population aging plus the faster increase in health care expenditure per capita in older age groups that governs the development of an increasing concentration of health care expenditure to older age groups.

71-76

Authors: Mohammad Aslam Khan

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two – and only two – basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs.-"Peter Drucker" Difference between Entrepreneurship and Innovation An entrepreneur is a person who starts a new business. That's not necessarily innovative, but it can create new jobs and new wealth, so it is valuable. Sometimes, entrepreneurs create new businesses based on new ideas, either inventions or new innovations. However, a person running a McDonald's is also an entrepreneur, but not necessarily innovative. Innovation can happen in any organization, of any size. An innovation is a new idea that is put into valuable or profitable action. Innovation is a part of our daily life. An innovation can be created by an inventor who then licenses her invention to others to commercialize, or commercializes the concept herself as a small business person - in this case as an entrepreneur. An innovation can (and often is) created by a large organization to disrupt an existing market space or create an entirely new market (the iPod or Flip Video recorder are two good.

85-98

Authors: Ed. Priyadharshini & S. Sam Santhosh

Foreign direct investment in retail sectors is a burning issue in all parts of our country. Retail shops are more in south side of Tamil Nadu state and there is more families depend upon this retail shops as their only source. There are many shoppers doing retail for generations.