Expertise and Subject Areas

The IGDR will seek to:

• Build research capacity in the area of Global finance and International Development in order to publish high quality outputs.
• Enhance, influence and inform practitioners and policy makers on the issues of finance and development.
• Establish a global reputation as a centre of excellence for developing innovative interdisciplinary approaches in development finance.
• Increase the level of local, national and international research collaborations with industry, academia and the policy community.
• Update and improve knowledge that informs the teaching and research in the areas of finance and development, microfinance, development studies, spatial economics and econometrics.

Impact

We publish high quality research in peer-reviewed international academic journals.

We provide reports for international development agencies, media, blogs and to full academic research papers.

We launched a web page based on our ESRC project, which will maintain a network of academics and students working on the issues of access to finance and research users in various organisations. The website has the latest set of outputs from the project and provided links to key out puts.

Publications and Outputs

Papers

• ROSCAs: Alternative Funding for Sustainable Enterprise
• Telling good stories – the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in moving sustainable development from story telling to action
• Sustaining Small and Medium Enterprises through Financial Service Utilization: Does Financial Literacy Matter?
• Struggles for Survival: Ethnic Women and Entrepreneurship in the UK
• Firm Size, Finance and Innovation: Country level study
• Microfinance: Sustainable Entrepreneurship and the Funding Gap
• Trust and the Demand for Personal Collateral in SMEs - Bank Relationships
• Sustainable entrepreneurship: The role of networking
• Access to Finance and Efficiency of Firms in Ghana

Events and News

Workshop on Sustainability and Social Enterprises

Alternatively labelled as fourth sector, hybrid organisations and social businesses, social enterprises choose to exist at the interface between for-profit and non-profit sectors, and use that position to address social and ecological issues while also striving for economic prosperity. These enterprises may be for-profit, non-profit, or both through multiple entities. Many forms of social enterprise are emerging across the globe, and experiences from UN Global Compact’s work suggests they have the power to bring key stakeholders together to develop innovative and entrepreneurial solutions to some of our most complex global challenges.

Join us to find out more about the growing trend in social enterprise, ask questions of experts working in the field, and gain insights from the latest research.

Date and time: 25th June, 2.00pm -5.00pm
Venue: Media Factory, Room 414
View brochure

To book: http://sustainabilityuclan.eventbrite.co.uk

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Distinguished Visitor Programme- Dr. Nardia Haigh

Public Lecture on Hybrid Organisations as Shape-Shifters: Altering Legal Structure for Strategic Gain by Dr. Nardia Haigh, College of Management, University of Massachusetts, Boston .

Date and time: Wednesday 18 June, 2014, 1.00pm-2.30pm,
Venue: Brook Building, BBOO8
View brochure

To confirm attendance, please send emails to: LBSADoffice@uclan.ac.uk

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Ethnicity, Business and Organisation Strategy

Dr. Ravi Raman, Director, Institute of Applied Manpower Research, New Delhi and Lancashire Business School
Date and time:16th April 2014; 1-2pm
Venue: Greenbank Lecture Theatre

Abstract: Questions of identity and ethnicity have recently received much attention within business studies. Business communities formed of caste or ethnicity has attracted attention from scholars who have shown that shared cultural values can account for an unusual degree of conformity of individual interests to group interests. It has also been pointed out that such conformity comes at the cost of suppressing new innovations or excluding talented outsiders. Aside from such issues connected with ethnicity and culture, another body of literature, exemplified by the work of Mancur Olson, has shown that any cartel could turn into an instrument for a type of collective action that redistributes social resources to the advantage of the cartel and the disadvantage of society at large. This seminar discusses the double-faced nature of ethnic cartels in particular, and of cartels in general by taking the case study of the United Planters’ Association of South India (UPASI) which started as a European body as an organisation strategy but gradually gave way to Indian business class under decolonising conditions out of necessity.

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Demutualization of Stock Exchanges: The Case of Istanbul Stock Exchange

Prof. Mehmet Sukru Tekbas, Istanbul University
Date and time: 26th March 2014; 13:00 – 14:00
Venue: GR355

Abstract: The key issues for consideration of the demutualization of Istanbul Stock Exchange will be discussed in detail, and the impacts of demutualization to the capital markets of Turkey will be extensively revealed in this presentation. Besides the case of demutualization of Istanbul Stock Exchange, demutualization will be evaluated by means of financial crises and questioned whether it is a solution for the impacts of financial crises to the stock exchange markets.

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Decomposing Poverty Change: Deciphering Change in Total Population and Beyond

Dr. Srijit Mishra, Subir Chowdhury Fellow 2013-14 Asia Research Centre, London School of Economics and Associate Professor, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India
Date and time: 24th March 2014; 13:00 – 14:00
Venue: GR274

Abstract: In the understanding of decomposing poverty change, the existing studies focus on the growth effect and that of changes in inequality. In the literature on poverty decomposition this is further concealed by an implicit assumption that the growth effect can be captured by looking at the growth rate of mean income. To unravel this, as a first step the growth effect of mean income is replaced with the growth effect of total income and the impact of change in total population. These two along with changes in inequality form the three broader effects that can be computed in multiple ways depending upon the base period and the sequence of calculation. Changing the base does not alter the broader effects while specific attributions within each effect get interchanged. Finally, poverty change on account of the three broad effects of growth of total income, change in inequality and change in total population are shown as part of the within-group effect while change in population shares, which is different from change in total population, is a between-group effect. We provide empirical illustrations with data from India.

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Controlling for survivor bias in the acquisition premium in CEO pay

Dr. Swarnodeep HomRoy, Lancaster University.
Date and time: 12th March 2014; 13:00 – 14:00
Venue: GR347

Abstract: A large body of literature suggests that CEOs gain a significant pay premium for undertaking acquisitions and this leads to a popular perception that many mergers are carried out in an attempt to increase managerial compensation. We show that controlling for post-acquisition CEO turnover, the pay premium of acquiring CEOs falls by over 50%.This suggests there is a survivor bias in the previous estimates of acquisition premium. Given a smaller pay premium for undertaking acquisitions and non-zero risk of dismissal after the event, a risk-averse agent may not have misaligned incentives to undertake an acquisition to increase her own pay. Our results suggest that the agency problem in CEO compensation contracts may be mitigated by the threat of dismissal.

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Distinguished Visitor Programme- Daniel McMillen

As part of the Distinguished Visitor Programme, introduced by UCLan, the Lancashire Business School have invited Professor Daniel McMillen, of the University of Illinois (USA), to work with Dr. Philip Kostov of IGFD.

The aim of the programme is to promote world-leading research collaborations, through facilitating a short targeted visit to UCLan between 1st October 2013 and 31st March 2014.

Professor McMillen and Dr. Kostov will be working on spatial and quantile analysis.

Seminar

Prof Daniel McMillen "Assessments and Property Tax Variability: A Quantile Approach"
Wednesday, 6th November , BB008, 13.00-15.00

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Research Seminars

Research seminars 2012

Research seminars 2011

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African Development Finance Workshop- Conference Schedule

9th Annual International Conference on Public Policy and Management- Call for Papers

Courses and Postgraduate Study

Masters in Finance

Our Masters programmes in Finance cover a broad range of specializations.

MSc Finance and Management

PhD research

The Institute has a significant number of both full-time and part-time students carrying out research in various areas of accounting, finance and economics.

Yousf Almahrog: Earnings management and corporate social responsibility disclosure: A study of UK companies (Zakaria Aribi, Director of Study)

Zyad Marashdeh: The impact of corporate governance on the firm performance of Jordanian industrial and services companies during the period 2000-2010 (Philip Kostov, DoS)

Kennedy Ozo: Dividend Policy and Stock Market Reaction to Dividend Announcements in Nigeria (Thankom Arun, DoS)

Anup Raj (off-campus): The influence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on corporate branding of agribusiness firms in India (Andrei Kuznetsov, DoS)

The following students joined Lancashire Business School in 2013:

Deepak Joy will have one of the bursary fellowships from earlier this autumn on “Financial Inclusion in the UK” and Hamis Sinde, who will work on “Decentralisation Process, Cost Management Practices and Performance Measurement Regime in Tanzanian Local Government Authorities”.

Members

• Dr Zakaria Ali-Aribi
• Dr Samuel Annim
• Dr Philip Kostov
• Dr Mitchell J. Larson
• Dr Ravi Rama
• Christopher Kelsall
   

Associate Members

Abdullahi Giza Abubakar- An investigation concerning the perceptions of multinational oil companies on the prospects and challenges of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Nigerian oil and gas sector
This study is aimed at investigating the general perceptions of Multinational oil Companies on the factors sustaining Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, with the objective of developing a framework for examine the prospects, opportunities and challenges of MNCs in the Nigerian oil and gas sector in. Such challenges includes; corruption, insecurity, pipeline & oil theft and administrative mismanagement. The research also aimed at contributing to the literature on impact of selected determinant factors of FDI in the Nigerian oil and gas sector by examining formal guidelines and requirements in this regards, with the objective of developing a framework for assessing the factors sustaining, affecting/disrupting the productivity and performance of MNOC in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.

Amer Al Bkhetan- Efficiency and risk in European banking: a panel data evidence
This research aims to accomplish two main objectives. First, it aims to modify the functional forms applied to estimate technical efficiency in European banking using a number of quantified risk variables. Second, it aims to evaluate the sensitivity of estimates to the inclusion of the two risk factors: trading and default risks. Past studies tend to overlook a number of significant banking risks, such as trading, credit risks and market risks using simple measures (mainly risk ratios). This has led to restricting the estimated functional forms and eventually has produced misleading estimates. This research is focused on comprehensively accounting for risk in the analysis of efficiency. In this respect, it is perceived that this research will bridge a significant gap in the efficiency literature and improve the accuracy of banking efficiency estimates.

Yousf Almahrog- Earnings management and corporate social responsibility: The case of UK
Revelations of massive accounting frauds involving large companies (e.g. Enron) have drown researchers’ attention to constrain opportunistic earnings management (EM) behaviour. Given that the financial transparency and accountability are principles of corporate social responsibly (CSR), a close examination of the role of CSR to constrain EM might be required (Chih et al. 2008). Therefore, very few studies examine the potential impact of CSR on EM. However, the findings of these studies are mixed and inconclusive. In addition, the previous studies are predominantly US based research where the litigation business environment, governance structure are perceived to be different, thus limit the generalizability of the findings to other countries (Toms and Wright 2005). The limitations of the previous study motivate the present study to investigate whether CSR impact EM in the context of UK companies. Therefore, the main primary research question is: “Does CSR constrain EM in UK companies?”

Rateb Mohammad Hamed Alqatamin- Forward-looking information and earnings management: the case of Jordanian listed companies
The study investigates the impact of CEO’s characteristics on the relationship between voluntary corporate disclosure of the forward-looking information (FLI) and earnings management (EM) practices in Jordanian listed companies. Considering, emerging nature of the market. Jordan suffers from a limitation of the research that focuses on EM and disclosure of FLI.

Nguyen Thuy Hoan- Stock market and economic growth in Vietnam
The stock market is a part of financial system having function to support the direct financing channel to the economy. It creates environment which is enable the firms to raise fund and trade their raising fund in form of stock trading. This study examines the role of the stock market in economic growth in Vietnam. The key objectives are: (1) To examine the relationship between the stock market development and economic growth in Vietnam and (2) To investigate the causality linkage between stock market development and economic growth in Vietnam.

Zyad Marashdeh- The effect of corporate governance on firm performance in Jordan
This study investigates the effect of the corporate governance on firm performance of the Jordanian industrial and services companies during the period 2000 to 2010. The study contributes to an understanding of how corporate governance operates in Jordan with regard to the effects of board size, management structure, CEO duality and ownership structure on the firm financial performance. The literature reviewed in the study on the corporate governance theories and the analyses financial performance of Jordanian firms provides a conceptual framework and a set of expectation to examine this relationship in the context of Jordan. The study is based on the three sets of data: (1) a sample of 115 firms listed in the Amman Stock Exchange; (2) corporate governance data collected from Osiris database; and (3) data generated through the annual reports of the firms. The empirical investigation reveals a mixed set of results. Board size was negatively related to firm performance, CEO duality tends to have a positive effect on the firm performance and foreign investors have a negative effect on Jordanian firms.

Bupe Joachim Mwakyusa- Determinants of access to and use of financial services; the case of Tanzania
Access to and use of financial services facilitates smooth of financial transactions, productive investment and management of risks. However, the degree of use of financial services is still very low in majority developing countries. Yet, it is unclear of what really determines the use of financial services. This study builds on behavioral finance theory to explore the factors that determine the usage of financial services by households in Tanzania.

Friday Kennedy Ozo- Dividend policy and stock market reaction to dividend announcements in Nigeria
The question of why companies distribute dividends to shareholders has puzzled financial analysts and academicians for several decades. Based on either a behavioural or empirical approach, studies have provided rationales to address the issue of why companies pay dividends and whether the market response to the announcements can be predicted. However, these studies have failed to resolve the dividend puzzle, as no single convincing explanation explains the observed dividend behaviour of firms. This thesis seeks to examine both behavioural factors that drive dividend decision and the impact of dividend announcements on the share prices of listed companies in Nigeria.

Additional Information

Contact Information

To find out more about the Institute, contact us:

Enquiries: igfd@uclan.ac.uk

Publications: TGArun@uclan.ac.uk

Address: The Institute Global Finance and Development
Lancashire Business School
Greenbank Building
University of Central Lancashire
Preston
PR1 2HE
UK

Tel: +44 (0)1772 894546/7 or +44 (0)1772 894678 or +44 (0)1772 894541/2

Related Projects

• Access to Finance: the role of agents
• Microfinance, Gender and Poverty in India, Ghana and Tanzania
• Microfoundations of Access to Finance
• Microfinance Regulation and Social Security
• Corporate Governance, Regulation and Development
• Combating Multiple and Overlapping Vulnerabilities: Microinsurance for the Poor in Sri Lanka
• Spatial quantile regression – specification, estimation and inference
• Comparison of strategy and performance of the Big banks in the UK
• Islamic Banking and Development
• Financial Exclusion in the UK