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on Payment Systems and Financial Technology |
| By: | Simplice Asongu (Yaoundé/Cameroon); Jacinta Nwachukwu (Preston,United Kingdom) |
| Abstract: | The overarching question tackled in this paper is: to what degree has financial development contributed to providing opportunities of human development for those on low-incomes and by what information technology mechanisms? We systematically review about 180 recently published papers to provide recent information technology advances in finance for inclusive development. Retained financial innovations are structured along three themes. They are: (i) the rural-urban divide, (ii) women empowerment and (iii) human capital in terms of skills and training. The financial instruments are articulated with case studies, innovations and investment strategies with particular emphasis, inter alia on: informal finance, microfinance, mobile banking, crowdfunding, microinsurance, Islamic finance, remittances, Payment for Environmental Services (PES) and the Diaspora Investment in Agriculture (DIA) initiative. |
| Keywords: | Finance; Inclusive Growth; Economic Development |
| JEL: | G20 I10 I20 I30 O10 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:18/040&r=pay |
| By: | Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania) |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews what cryptocurrencies are, and it frames them within the context of historical monetary experiences and contemporary monetary economics. The paper argues that, as pure duciary private money, cryptocurrencies are a bubble without a fundamental value and that they will not provide, in general, optimal amounts of money or deliver price stability. Nevertheless, cryptocurrencies can play a role in improving the current means of payments and in disciplining central banks into providing better government-run duciary monies. |
| Keywords: | Private money, currency competition, cryptocurrencies, monetary policy |
| JEL: | E40 E42 E52 |
| Date: | 2018–09–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pen:papers:18-023&r=pay |
| By: | Ruolan Wang (Laureate Online Education in partnership with the University of Liverpool); José Reis-Jorge (Laureate Online Education in partnership with the University of Liverpool); Lucilla Crosta (Laureate Online Education in partnership with the University of Liverpool); Anthony Edwards (Laureate Online Education in partnership with the University of Liverpool); Mageswary Mudaliar (Laureate Online Education in partnership with the University of Liverpool) |
| Abstract: | Our paper aims to explore how the doctoral students made use of digital technologies - Social Media (SM) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools - in the thesis stage of their fully online doctoral studies and what impact those tools had on their studies. Data were collected from an online survey (n=28) and a series of semi-structured interviews (n=9). The analysis of the survey data informed the qualitative phase of data collection. Both survey and interview data show a similar pattern of digital technologies uses in which for our participants SM tools far outpaces the usages of AI tools. We argue that the unique characteristics of the online doctoral students might have determined the popularity of some digital tools. The study findings help us to better understand students digital experience as both individuals and learners. |
| Keywords: | Online doctoral studies, doctoral students, EdD programme, digital tools, social media, artificial intelligence |
| JEL: | I23 |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:itepro:8010380&r=pay |
| By: | Marvin Aron Kennis |
| Abstract: | This research aims to identify how Bitcoin-related news publications and online discourse are expressed in Bitcoin exchange movements of price and volume. Being inherently digital, all Bitcoin-related fundamental data (from exchanges, as well as transactional data directly from the blockchain) is available online, something that is not true for traditional businesses or currencies traded on exchanges. This makes Bitcoin an interesting subject for such research, as it enables the mapping of sentiment to fundamental events that might otherwise be inaccessible. Furthermore, Bitcoin discussion largely takes place on online forums and chat channels. In stock trading, the value of sentiment data in trading decisions has been demonstrated numerous times [1] [2] [3], and this research aims to determine whether there is value in such data for Bitcoin trading models. To achieve this, data over the year 2015 has been collected from Bitcointalk.org, (the biggest Bitcoin forum in post volume), established news sources such as Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, the complete /r/btc and /r/Bitcoin subreddits, and the bitcoin-otc and bitcoin-dev IRC channels. By analyzing this data on sentiment and volume, we find weak to moderate correlations between forum, news, and Reddit sentiment and movements in price and volume from 1 to 5 days after the sentiment was expressed. A Granger causality test confirms the predictive causality of the sentiment on the daily percentage price and volume movements, and at the same time underscores the predictive causality of market movements on sentiment expressions in online communities |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1811.03146&r=pay |
| By: | Kapil Sharma (Delhi Technological University) |
| Abstract: | This paper aim is to study the process of real time bidding or real time auctions for online digital advertising. Real time bidding drives the focus of bidding strategy from the user's profile by calculating a bid for each impression in real time. Real Time Bidding uses computers and multiple software?s which implements multiple algorithms to display ads per impression via real time auction. It has been seen that by taking different parameters (e.g. conversion rates for a targeted audience), those account for varied prices at different market segments or pricing schemes. The data mining model implemented is the Statistical Arbitrage Mining (SAM). The campaigns use the CPA (cost per action) method on the meta-bidder to accomplish CPM (cost per mille-impressions) ad inventories paradigm thereby reducing the advertiser?s risk. In SAM, trying to seek the optimal bidding price to maximize the expected arbitrage net profit is the net goal. A modern portfolio base is implemented to manage the risk. The Expectation - Maximization (EM) fashion is used to estimate the profit of each campaign and thereby maximize it. By using this, the meta-bidder successfully catches the statistical arbitrage opportunities in RTB. Also using the concepts of finance, the calculation of risk is done for each campaign. |
| Keywords: | Expectation - Maximization; Bidding; Statistical Arbitrage Mining |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:8209594&r=pay |
| By: | Vuillemey, Guillaume |
| Abstract: | I study the real effects a contracting innovation that suddenly made financial markets more complete: central clearing counterparties (CCPs) for derivatives. The first CCP to provide full insulation against counterparty risk was created in Le Havre (France) in 1882, in the coffee futures market. Using triple difference-in-differences estimation, I show that central clearing changed the geography of trade flows Europe-wide, to the benefit of Le Havre. Inspecting the mechanism using trader-level data, I show that the CCP was instrumental both to mitigate adverse selection issues and to solve a "missing market" problem. Increased risk-sharing possibilities enabled more gains from trade to be realized. The successful contractual innovation quickly spread to new exchanges. |
| Keywords: | Central clearing; Contracts; incomplete markets; International trade |
| JEL: | F14 G23 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:13230&r=pay |
| By: | Sarah Ranjana Güsken (Institute for Management Cybernetics at RWTH Aachen) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the requirements of German, owner managed grocery retailers when expanding their business model by including online platforms to their distribution channels. Fourteen guided interviews with German grocery retailers were conducted, focusing on the status quo of their business models as well as their individual needs when it comes to online distribution. The contribution with this paper are twofold. First, we provide practical insights from real case studies in the way business models from small and medium enterprises in grocery retailing are structured. Second, we point out technological and non-technological requirements when small grocery retailers try to change their business model concerning to the engagement in online platforms. The paper finishes with suggestions on opportunities how to address these requirements. |
| Keywords: | Business Model Innovation, Business Models, Platform Models, Case Study, Retail, Grocery Retail, Retailer Requirements, Online Grocery Retail |
| JEL: | O32 O33 O52 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:ibmpro:6810206&r=pay |
| By: | Leonardo Bursztyn (University of Chicago and NBER); Stefano Fiorin (University of California, San Diego); Daniel Gottlieb (Washington University in St. Louis); Martin Kanz (World Bank and CEPR) |
| Abstract: | We study the role of morality in debt repayment, using an experiment with the credit card customers of a large Islamic bank in Indonesia. In our main treatment, clients receive a text message stating that “non-repayment of debts by someone who is able to repay is an injustice." This moral appeal decreases delinquency by 4.4 percentage points from a baseline of 66 percent, and reduces default among customers with the highest ex-ante credit risk. Additional treatments help benchmark the effects against direct financial incentives, and rule out competing explanations, such as reminder effects, priming religion, and provision of new information. |
| Date: | 2018–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hku:wpaper:201855&r=pay |
| By: | Stavins, Joanna (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston) |
| Abstract: | We estimate a two-stage Heckman selection model of credit card adoption and use with a unique dataset that combines administrative data from the Equifax credit bureau and self-reported data from the Survey of Consumer Payment Choice, a representative survey of US consumers. Even though the survey data from the borrowers vary somewhat from the data provided by the lenders, the results based on the merged data are qualitatively similar to those based exclusively on self-reported surveys. This finding suggests that if administrative data are not available, it might be sufficient to use survey data to estimate consumer behavior. We find that credit card revolvers have lower income and are less educated than other cardholders. Although consumers who carry credit card debt might be liquidity constrained and not have cheaper borrowing alternatives, the high cost of paying off credit card debt could exacerbate existing inequalities in disposable income among consumers. |
| Keywords: | credit card debt; consumer payments; consumer preferences |
| JEL: | D14 E21 G21 |
| Date: | 2018–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedbwp:18-7&r=pay |
| By: | Asongu, Simplice A; Odhiambo, Nicholas M |
| Abstract: | This study assesses linkages between social media and governance dynamics in 49 Africancountries for the year 2012. The empirical evidence is based on ordinary least squares andquantile regressions. Ten bundled and unbundled governance dynamics are used, notably: (i)political governance (entailing ???voice & accountability??? and political stability/no violence);(ii) economic governance (involving regulation quality and government effectiveness); (iii)institutional governance (comprising the rule of law and corruption-control) and (iv) generalgovernance (entailing political, economic and institutional governance). Social media ismeasured with Facebook penetration. The findings show that Facebook penetration ispositively associated with governance dynamics and these positive nexuses differ in terms ofsignificance and magnitude of significance throughout the conditional distribution of thegovernance dynamics. |
| Keywords: | Governance; Social media; AfricaGovernance; Social media; Africa |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uza:wpaper:25008&r=pay |
| By: | Marko Van Deventer (North-West University) |
| Abstract: | A widespread search of four large online academic databases, namely Sabinet Reference, EBSCOhost, Google Scholar and Emerald showed no evidence of a validated attitudes-towards-personal-financial-planning scale within the South African context. To fill this gap in the literature, the aim of this study was to describe the process undertaken to validate attitudes towards personal financial planning as a 13-factor structure within the South African context. The study followed a descriptive and single cross-sectional research design and used a survey self-administered questionnaire to collect the required data from a convenience sample of 334 Generation Y students registered at the campuses of two Gauteng-based public South African universities. The data analysis techniques comprised Pearson?s product-moment correlation analysis, multicollinearity analysis, reliability measures and confirmatory factor analysis using the maximum likelihood method. The findings of the analysis validate that the proposed measurement model of utility and trust in mobile banking is a 13-factor structure that consists of attitudes towards mobile banking, perceived ease of use, perceived behavioural control, perceived self-efficacy, trust in mobile banking, perceived integrity of the mobile bank, perceived relative advantage, perceived compatibility, behavioural intention to use mobile banking, perceived structural assurance, perceived information quality, perceived system quality and subjective norms. In addition, the measurement model revealed evidence of internal-consistency reliability, composite reliability, construct, convergent, discriminant and nomological validity. Furthermore, the measurement model displayed no evidence of multicollinearity between the factors and the goodness-of-fit indices produced by AMOS suggested a well-fitting model. |
| Keywords: | Utility; trust; mobile banking; confirmatory factor analysis; South Africa |
| JEL: | G20 M31 O30 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:ibmpro:6809984&r=pay |
| By: | Valerio De Stefano; Antonio Aloisi |
| Abstract: | This report maps a kaleidoscopic array of platform-mediated working arrangements, by clustering the findings into three main subsets (passenger transport services, professional crowdsourcing, on-demand work at the client’s premises). Many initiatives taken by the European institutions and aimed at promoting decent work in the collaborative economy are analysed including (i) the European Commission’s Communication 356/2016, (ii) the principles enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights, and (iii) the ruling by the European Court of Justice on the nature of the service provided by Uber. After exploring the existing legal framework in several European countries, this study goes into the issue of the legal status of platform–based or –mediated workers by analysing what is at stake in pending litigations on the proper classification. In the end, this report is meant to contrast the sense that new realities of work have outgrown legal concepts. The application of existing regulation must be reinforced, in order to avoid the risk that platform workers are considered by default as falling in a normative vacuum. In the end, creating a level playing field between the traditional and the digitally-enabled companies is the only way to reap full benefits of the on-going digital transformation. |
| Keywords: | Digital labour platforms, gig workers, collaborative economy |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc112243&r=pay |
| By: | Baubeau, Patrice; Monnet, Eric; Riva, Angelo; Ungaro, Stefano |
| Abstract: | Despite France's importance in the interwar world economy, the scale and consequences of the French banking crises of 1930-1931 were never assessed quantitatively due to lack of data in the absence of banking regulation. Using a new dataset of individual balance sheets from more than 400 banks, we show that the crisis was more severe and occurred earlier than previously thought, and it was very asymmetric, without affecting main commercial banks. The primary transmission channel was a flight-to-safety of deposits from banks to savings institutions and the central bank, leading to a major, persistent disruption in business lending. In line with the gold standard mentality, cash deposited with savings institutions and the central bank was used to decrease marketable public debt and increase gold reserves, rather than pursue countercyclical policies. Despite massive capital inflows, France suffered from a severe, persistent credit crunch. |
| Keywords: | banking panics; flight-to-safety; France; gold standard; Great Depression; Savings Banks |
| JEL: | E44 E51 E58 G01 G21 G23 G33 N14 N24 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:13287&r=pay |
| By: | Theodore Panagiotidis (University of Macedonia, Greece; Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis); Thanasis Stengos (University of Guelph, Canada; Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis); Orestis Vravosinos (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain) |
| Abstract: | We review the literature and examine the effects of shocks on bitcoin returns. We assess the effects of factors such as stock market returns, exchange rates, gold and oil returns, FED’s and ECB’s rates and internet trends on bitcoin returns. Alternative VAR and FAVAR models are employed and generalized as well as local impulse response functions are produced. Our results reveal (i) a significant interaction between bitcoin and traditional stock markets, (ii) a weaker interaction with FX markets and the macroeconomy and (iii) an anemic importance of popularity measures. Lastly, we reveal the increased impact of Asian markets on bitcoin compared to other geographically-defined markets, which however appears to have waned in the last two years after the Chinese regulatory interventions and the sudden contraction of CNY’s share in bitcoin trading volume. |
| Keywords: | bitcoin, cryptocurrency, exchange rate, returns, FAVAR, factor analysis |
| JEL: | G12 G15 |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rim:rimwps:18-39&r=pay |
| By: | Simplice Asongu (Yaoundé/Cameroon); Christelle Meniago (Sol Plaatje University, South Africa) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the persistence of software piracy with internet penetration vis-à-vis of PC users, conditional on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) institutions. The empirical evidence is based on a panel of 99 countries for the period 1994-2010 and the Generalised Method of Moments. The main finding is that, compared to internet penetration, PC usage is more responsible for the persistence of global software piracy. Knowing how technology affects the persistence of piracy is important because it enables more targeted policy initiatives. We show that the sensitivity of software piracy to IPRs mechanisms is contingent on the specific technology channels through which the pirated software is consumed. |
| Keywords: | Piracy; Business Software; Software piracy; Intellectual Property Rights |
| JEL: | F42 K42 O34 O38 O57 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:18/041&r=pay |
| By: | Hong, Suting (Shanghai Tech University); Hunt, Robert M. (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia); Serfes, Konstantinos (Drexel University) |
| Abstract: | We construct a two-period model of revolving credit with asymmetric information and adverse selection.In the second period, lenders exploit an informational advantage with respect to their own customers. Those rents stimulate competition for customers in the first period. The informational advantage the current lender enjoys relative to its competitors determines interest rates, credit supply, and switching behavior. We evaluate the consequences of limiting the repricing of existing balances as implemented by recent legislation. Such restrictions increase deadweight losses and reduce ex ante consumer surplus. The model suggests novel approaches to identify empirically the effects of this law. |
| Keywords: | Financial contracts; Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act; holdup; risk-based pricing; credit supply |
| JEL: | D14 D18 D86 G28 K12 |
| Date: | 2018–11–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedpwp:18-23&r=pay |
| By: | Decker, Frank; Goodhart, Charles A |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the theory of credit mechanics within the context of the current money supply debate. Credit mechanics and related approaches were developed by a group of German monetary economists during the 1920s-1960s. Credit mechanics overcomes a one-sided, bank-centric view of money creation, which is often encountered in monetary theory. We show that the money supply is influenced by the interplay of loan creation and repayment rates; the relative share of credit volume neutral debtor-to-debtor and creditor-to-creditor payments; the availability of loan security; and the behavior of non-banks and non-borrowing bank creditors . With the standard textbook models of money creation now discredited, we argue that a more general approach to money supply theory involving credit mechanics needs to be established. |
| Keywords: | balances mechanics; Bank credit; credit creation; credit mechanics; money supply theory |
| JEL: | E40 E41 E50 E51 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:13233&r=pay |
| By: | Scott R. Baker; Lorenz Kueng; Leslie McGranahan; Brian T. Melzer |
| Abstract: | When the zero lower bound on nominal interest rate binds, monetary policy makers may lack traditional tools to stimulate aggregate demand. We investigate whether "unconventional" fiscal policy, in the form of pre-announced consumption tax changes, has the potential to meaningfully shift durables purchases intertemporally and how it is affected by consumer credit. In particular, we test whether car sales react in anticipation of future sales tax changes, leveraging 57 pre-announced changes in state sales tax rates from 1999-2017. We find evidence for substantial tax elasticities, with car sales rising by over 8% in the month before a 1% increase in the sales tax rate. Responses are heterogeneous across households and sensitive to supply of credit. Consumers with high credit risk scores are most able to pull purchases forward. At the same time, other effects such as customer composition and attention lead to an even larger tax elasticity during recessions, despite these credit frictions. We discuss policy implications and the likely magnitudes of tax changes necessary for any substantive long-term responses. |
| JEL: | D12 E21 G01 G11 H2 H31 |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25212&r=pay |
| By: | Maximilian Goethner (FSU Jena); Sebastian Luettig (FSU Jena); Tobias Regner (FSU Jena) |
| Abstract: | Crowdinvesting emerged recently as an alternative way of funding for start-up projects. Our dataset consists of all pledges made at Companisto, one of the largest crowdinvesting platforms in Europe. Using cluster analysis based on individual investment histories, we find that crowdinvestors differ in their investment strategies and motivations. We can distinguish three types of crowdinvestors that vary in their response to project quality signals of entrepreneurs, project-related information reducing the degree of uncertainty and social influence by fellow investors: Casual Investors, Crowd Enthusiasts, and Sophisticated Investors. We conclude that crowdinvestors are anything but a homogeneous group. Instead, they are motivated by different factors and respond to different signals when making investment decisions. |
| Keywords: | Crowdinvesting, Entrepreneurial finance, New ventures, Cluster analysis, Social influence, Signaling |
| JEL: | G23 L26 |
| Date: | 2018–11–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2018-018&r=pay |
| By: | Saliha Ziam (TÉLUQ - Télé-Université - Université de Lille, Sciences Humaines et Sociales); Pierre-Emmanuel Arduin (DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management - Université Paris-Dauphine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Dargos Vieru (TÉLUQ - Télé-Université - Université de Lille, Sciences Humaines et Sociales) |
| Abstract: | As a strategic resource, knowledge must be shared across organizational structures in order to increase users' ability to retain it and re-create it. In an organizational context, hackers may convince individuals to share sensitive data with them through social engineering methodologies. This situation may generate dramatic information security issues given that individuals are unprepared to anticipate the security breaches that may emerge from their actions and the potential impact of these infringements on organizations. Based on a systematic literature review, this theoretical study proposes a framework that enables us to better identify the necessary skills users need in order to acquire and securely share sensitive knowledge in their work environment. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge sharing,Information and Knowledge System,Knowledge absorptive capacity,Security violation,User skills. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01896892&r=pay |
| By: | OGAWA Eiji; MUTO Makoto |
| Abstract: | Ogawa and Muto (2017a, 2017b) estimated time series of coefficients on five international currencies (the US dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen, the British pound, and the Swiss franc) in a utility function. We call the coefficients as utility of an international currency. The time series show that utility of the US dollar as an international currency has kept at the first position in the changing international monetary system where the euro created as a single common currency in European countries. On one hand, utility of the Japanese yen has been declining as an international currency. In this paper, we investigate what determines utility of the international currencies. We use a dynamic panel data model to analyze the issue with GMM. Specifically, liquidity shortage in terms of an international currency means that it is inconvenient for economic agents to use the relevant currency for international economic transactions. In other words, the liquidity shortage might reduce utility of an international currency. In this analysis we focus on liquidity premium which represents liquidity shortage in terms of an international currency. Our empirical results showed not only inertia in terms of change but also an impact of the liquidity shortage in an international currency on utility of the relevant international currency. |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:18077&r=pay |
| By: | Chika Yoshida (Bunkyo University) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this research is to confirm the possibility of personnel participation in a software development project remotely. Modern system development projects require secure specialist personnel with a wide range of technical capabilities to satisfy the diversified customer needs and the remarkable technological advancement. Nevertheless, many Japanese companies are oriented toward centralized development. There are limited people in the organization with the latest technology, and their work orientation is not uniform, making it difficult to realize intensive development. These trends are not limited to the IT industry. At the same time, the Japanese government recommends that companies adopt teleworking in order to provide flexibility to their employees and improve their quality of life. In research, teleworking has become a trend in current software development environments, confirming the possibility of distributed software development in the IT industry. Here, we propose a teleworking system configuration for such distributed development. |
| Keywords: | Revising Workflow, Software Distributed Development, Personnel, Remote Participation, Telework |
| JEL: | L86 D39 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:ibmpro:6810210&r=pay |
| By: | Mrinal Musib (National University of Singapore) |
| Abstract: | Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are rather a new phenomenon that has been possible due to the introduction and integration of technology into education to attain various learning objectives. Over the last 10 to 15 years MOOC?s have evolved at a phenomenal pace and are presently being offered by various commercial platforms such as Udacity, Edx and Coursera, and are being offered by expert faculty members from several leading educational institutions and universities. The initial objective of MOOC?s has been to make quality study materials accessible to anyone in the world at little or no costs, who has access to internet. In spite of the general acceptability and affordability of such novel platforms, their completion rate remains very low and is a huge concern. Typically 80-90% of the initially registered students eventually drop out due to various reasons. In this work we develop a four-pronged strategy on a Support-Trend-Expenses-Payout (STEP?s) that educators and MOOC developers alike may adopt and implement to stem and decrease this high dropout rates seen in MOOCs. |
| Keywords: | MOOCs, drop out rates, innovative pedagogy, learning objectives |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:6508341&r=pay |
| By: | Mishra, K. |
| Abstract: | Increasing agricultural efficiency via technology adoption is high-priority among development practitioners. One potential tool for furthering this objective is using drought index insurance to increase access to credit. Accordingly, the objective of this paper is to investigate whether coupling agricultural loans with micro-level and meso-level drought index insurance can stimulate the demand and supply of credit and increase technology adoption. To this end, in partnership with 14 rural banks and the Ghana Agricultural Insurance Pool, we implemented a randomized control trial in northern Ghana that targeted maize farmers organized in credit groups. Our empirical analysis indicates that on the demand side, coupling loans with micro-insurance increases the likelihood of loan application for female farmers, potentially because of the payouts being directly made to them and a lack of trust in the bank. In contrast, coupling loans with meso-insurance increases the likelihood of loan application for those farmers who place the highest trust in the bank. On the supply side, coupling loans with meso-insurance increases the likelihood of loan approval, but with a larger impact for males. Overall, our results indicate that insured loans hold significant promise for expanding credit access and technology adoption among smallholder farmers. Acknowledgement : This research was partly funded by a USAID/BASIS grant. We are grateful to the participants in the 2015 BASIS technical Meeting at UC Berkley and the PhD Seminar in Agricultural, Environmental, and Department Economics at the Ohio State University for their feedback. The usual disclaimer applies. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277089&r=pay |
| By: | Weng Ian Pang (Macao Polytechnic Institute) |
| Abstract: | Internet addiction refers to the act addicted to the Internet, over time will become a habit, overuse of the Internet that causes mental, social and physical problems, that is one of the network and social problems common in Macau. Adolescence is a critical period of time and gradually develop independently their personal health behavior stereotypes, their health behaviors and beliefs will form the future lifestyle. Internet users have the opportunity to lead to Internet addiction especially young people and students, more popular social concern. According to the theory of Bandura, self-efficacy of different people that feel, think and act differently. Bandura refers to high self-efficacy of young people appear less deviant behavior. Therefore, establish an educational intervention program to effect of adolescent?s self-efficacy of internet addiction. there enrolled 240 students, from grade 3 of middle schools to grade 3 of senior high school, of 5 schools located in Macau. This study assessed Self-Efficacy and internet addiction in these students using Ralf Schwarzer's General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Chen Internet Addiction Scale. Hopefully, the students are able to improve their self-awake of internet addiction. |
| Keywords: | self-efficacy, internet addiction and adolescent |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:8208804&r=pay |
| By: | Guillaume Rocheteau (Department of Economics, University of California-Irvine); Lucie Lebeau (Department of Economics, University of California-Irvine); Tai-Wei Hu (University of Bristol); Younghwan In (KAIST College of Business) |
| Abstract: | We introduce a new approach to bargaining, with strategic and axiomatic foundations, into models of decentralized asset markets. Bargaining with an agenda assumes that asset portfolios are partitioned into bundles sold sequentially, and encompasses both the Nash and Kalai solutions as special cases. Gradual negotiations are optimal for portfolio holders and, in general equilibrium, they raise social welfare by reducing asset misallocation. In the presence of multiple assets, our theory generates a pecking order, and di§erences in returns and turnover. We apply our model to the study of open-market operations and the determination of the exchange rate between (crypto-)currencies. |
| Keywords: | Decentralized asset markets; Bargaining with an agenda; Nash program; Rate-of-return dominance |
| JEL: | D83 |
| Date: | 2018–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irv:wpaper:181904&r=pay |