Volume 10 (2021): Edition 1-2 (December 2021)

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of effective teaching methods on learning outcomes in elementary schools in rural India. Particularly, this paper studies an innovative learning enhancement program called “Parrho Punjab” launched in 2007 in the Indian state of Punjab. Using cross-sectional data, the effect of the “Parrho Punjab” program on third to fifth grade children’s learning levels in basic mathematics is evaluated. This study develops combined research designs of propensity score matching technique and the difference-in-differences (DID) method. In a first step, propensity score matching technique is applied to create a synthetic control group that is as similar as possible to the treatment group in terms of pre- “Parrho Punjab” characteristics. The difference-in-differences approach is then used to estimate the effect of the program on third to fifth grade children’s learning outcomes in basic mathematics. The results indicate a positive and significant effect of the program on children’s learning outcomes in basic mathematics, underscoring the importance of effective pedagogy in enhancing learning outcomes. Combining propensity score matching with the difference-in-differences approach, this study addresses the problem of unmeasured confounding. The DID approach will produce misleading conclusions in the presence of bias due to unmeasured confounders. To the best of my knowledge, previous studies using a DID method for examining the impact of effective teaching strategies on student learning outcomes in India have not made such attempts to address the problem of confounding bias.

Migration has for a long time been a significant source of revenue for a huge number of persons in the Republic of Niger. In order to improve their families living condition, a great number of young people in Niger follow the migration path. In 2019, a total of 293 million U.S. dollars has been sent by migrants to their family members in Niger (World Bank, 2019), that is 3% of Niger GDP. The study used various time series econometric techniques including unit root test, Engle-Granger cointegration test, vector equilibrium correction method and some diagnostic tests on the residuals to inspect the connection between remittances and economic growth in Niger. The empirical results showed that there is the existence of a long run relationship between remittances and economic growth in Niger. The error correction term’s coefficient shows that about 51.62% of the discrepancy between long run and short run is corrected with a yearly data suggesting an acceptable rate of adjustment to equilibrium. Also, in the short run ceteris paribus a 10% increase in the remittances would lead to 2.03% increase in Niger Gross Domestic Product.

Since the smartphone market is an oligopoly market structure, consumer purchase intention is usually driven by brand preference. This research analyses the customer-to-customer market of second-hand smartphones, pointing out how the brand factor affects the consumers’ purchasing behaviour. It is found that the recovery value and life cycle of Apple smartphones are higher and longer than those of other brands. Moreover, the recovery value of other brand smartphones is significantly driven by the debut date of the Apple smartphones, implicitly forming a consumption cycle. In addition, through machine learning models, the predictability for the recovery value is able to reach 93.55%.

Immigration in Romania is a scarcely studied topic, mainly because the impact of this phenomenon is low. Romania is primarily known due to its history of emigration. This paper is a preliminary analysis of the way both temporary and permanent Romanian immigration changed at the NUTS 3 level during the 2015 migration crisis and due to COVID-19 pandemics. Internal migration was also included as the analysis was based on a component of the MASST model on in-migration, but with respect to NUTS3 level migration. The results obtained were statistically significant for the temporary migration and permanent migration. The refugees’ crisis had a direct influence on permanent migrants, while the COVID-19 pandemic left its mark on temporary migration, leading to an increase in the number of temporary migrants.

Accounting conservatism is necessary for more reliability and verifiability in financial reports. Studies have reported mixed results concerning the comparative level of conservatism across countries, especially the celebrated comparison between the common law and code law countries. Therefore, this study is an attempt to reinvestigate accounting conservatism in French and UK companies, using 110 French companies and 105 UK companies during the period 2011-2019. Accounting conservatism was measured depending on the asymmetric accruals-to-cash flows because it does not rely on market information and its fluctuations. The results document a greater level of conservatism in UK companies compared to French companies, which confirms the findings of several previous studies concluding that companies in common law countries are more conservative than those from code law countries. The results of this study have many implications for different parties affecting the financial information environment, especially auditors who must continuously monitor conservatism practices in financial reports to maintain an adequate level.

The expansion of annual capital budget over the years without a corresponding increase in the volume and quality of infrastructural development in Nigeria has been attributed to those factors assumed to have great impact on the economic performance of the country. This study examined the effect of selected economic factors on the size of construction sector expenditure in Nigeria using economic data from 1981-2020. It employed econometrics statistics. The result revealed that there was a long-run co-integration among the variables with ARDL bound estimate values of F-stat. (7.40) and t-stat. (-6.56) respectively. These are higher than both the lower and upper bound critical values at 1%, 2.5%, 5% and 10% respectively. The result further revealed that exchange rate, oil prices, population, trade openness, foreign direct investment, unemployment rate, public debt and real GDP were important determinants of the size of construction sector expenditure in Nigeria. It also revealed that construction output, inflation rate, government revenue and taxation had trivial determinants due to issues relating to policy, management and execution of capital budget. The study suggested that government should make and implement apposite policies, and be diligent in allocation and management of public fund to ensure a sustainable economy through infrastructural development.