Dr Justine Simpson

Corporate Governance, Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility brings together the three separate strands relevant to the new demands of organizational behaviour and reporting.

This study has analysed the implications of exchange rate depreciation for inflation and the trade balance of the United Kingdom in the context of Brexit. Employing a TVSVAR framework in which the sources of time variation were both the coefficients and variancecovariance matrix of the innovations on the data from Jan 1989 to Sep 2016, we found that the sharp depreciation of Stirling led to significant improvements in the external balance as well as steering inflation towards the target. The empirical evidence does not support the notion that the inflation targeting could lead to diminishing pass-through; in fact, there has been an increase in the responsiveness of inflation and trade balance to real exchange rate shocks. The findings have profound implications for the British economy in the Post-Brexit epoch.

Learning by doing is thought to be one of the most effective ways to learn (Lombardi, 2007).This article explores the findings of a small scale study on one module about whether pass rates and student satisfaction can be improved by introducing authentic learning methods into the class room. This involved changing the teaching and assessment methods used on a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) module (Accounting and Finance for Decision Making). The pass rates pre and post the changes were monitored and also the student satisfaction scores. Comparisons were made between the results three semesters prior and three semesters post the changes reviewing quantitative and qualitative data from 180 students. Leeds Beckett University has undertaken reviews of its undergraduate and postgraduate curricula and one of the key messages underlying university education at the Business School is that it needs to enhance employability. Therefore the consideration of using ‘authentic learning’ methods wherever appropriate would appear to fit in well with this strategy. The findings suggest that the introduction of authentic learning techniques make student learning from this sample more effective in terms of better pass rates and also that the students enjoy the learning experience more. The findings therefore bode well for the further use of authentic learning techniques in future teaching and learning activities and also support current literature in this area. The module continues to use the changes introduced and has experienced much higher pass rates and student satisfaction as a result.

The search for factors influencing prices of shares is one area of modern economic research that is being studied most intensively especially in view of recurring crashes in different capital markets. This study aims to establish factors that led to crash of prices of shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2008 as well as determinant of such prices in the emerging capital market. The research is based on regression analysis, analytical review of financial statements of some of the Companies quoted on NSE, and a survey of randomly selected investors in the market. The regression analysis shows that prices of shares on NSE largely depend on returns on other investment options and dividends. It further shows that contrary to a priori expectation, prices of shares are inversely related to exchange rate, and notably, output growth. Analytical review of sampled financial statements shows that prices of shares responded to the related entities’ earnings report as contained in the financial statements. It further shows the need to look beyond just the figures. Survey analysis re-affirms a strong relationship between dividend payment by the entities listed on the NSE and their share prices. It however, shows that financial position of the entities is not a significant factor impacting prices of shares in the market. The general conclusions of this study are that prices of shares in the market responded mainly to returns on other investment options and dividend payments by the quoted entities. This realization led to manipulations of financial statements and declaration of dividends even when the true state of affairs of the entities did not support same. It was the widespread of this practice aided by the weak regulatory environment and speculative buying of shares by unsuspecting investors that led to eventual crash in the NSE in 2008.

The introduction of direct subsidies to farming households and the development of farmer cooperatives has provided two important approaches to China’s twenty-first century food policy challenges. However, research undertaken largely separates and focuses on subsidies or cooperatives. This neglects their interaction and complementarities. This paper seeks to rectify this omission using a survey from 35 farmer specialized cooperatives (FSCs) and 561 farming households in 16 provinces, based on a two-stage treatment effect model. The findings suggest FSCs have become important organizations that improve farmers’ net income. Moreover, usage of agricultural machinery and direct subsidies also result in higher net income, though they have little impact on farmers’ machinery investment. The results provide an evidence source that contributes to debate concerning government subsidy policy. Policy may act more like an income transfer program, since it has little impact on farmers’ investment in agriculture. The study also highlights that there are complementary effects between FSCs and direct subsidies, and that China’s cooperative policy integrated with direct subsidies could be progressive.