Volume 64 (2019): Edition 3 (December 2019)

The Nigerian stock market, prior to the 2007-09 global financial crisis witnessed growth but the market encountered sharp reversal from 2007 due to the global financial crisis. This study evaluates good and bad news on the Nigerian stock market with regards to the policy responses as a result of the meltdown. The study used the TGARCH, EGARCH and PGARCH models under three error distributional assumptions for data covering January 2010 to December 2016 using the All Share Index to generate the return series. Findings shows that good news impact return more than negative news of the same magnitude before the meltdown while bad news insignificantly impact return more than positive news after the meltdown. The study concludes that there is information asymmetry in the Nigerian stock market. Thus, it is recommended that on-line real time access to share price movement for investors should be introduced to improve liquidity level and enhance free flow of relevant securities information.

This paper contributes to the ongoing debate on the impact of public debt service on economic growth; and it provides an evidence-based approach to public policy formulation in Zimbabwe. The empirical analysis was performed by applying the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique to annual time-series data from 1970 to 2017. The study findings reveal that the impact of public debt service on economic growth in Zimbabwe is negative in the short run but positive in the long run. The results are suggestive of the existence of a crowding-out effect of public debt service in Zimbabwe in the short run and a crowding-in effect in the long run. In view of these findings, the government should consider fiscal and financial policies that promote a constant supply of long-term finance, long-term fixed investments, and extension of a government securities maturity structure so as to ensure sustainable short- and long-term public debt service expenditures. The study further recommends the strengthening of non-distortionary revenue mobilisation reforms to reduce market distortions and boost domestic investment.

This study examined the existence of corporate tax avoidance practices among the public listed firms in Nigeria. Secondary data were obtained from annual published reports from selected Nigerian firms listed in Nigeria stock exchange from 2006 to 2017. Panel Data analysis technique was used to analyse the effect of independent variables (Thin capitalization, Leverage, Firms Size, Transfer Pricing, and Intangible Assets) on dependent variable (Corporate Tax Avoidance). The result showed that thin capitalisation, firm size, profitability, leverages, intangible assets, and transfer pricing are significantly related with corporate tax avoidance. Thin capitalisation, profitability and transfer pricing are the primary driver of corporate tax avoidance. It is concluded that there are several corporate tax avoidance practices employed by Nigerian firms to aggressively reduce their corporate tax liabilities in Nigeria.

The association of market orientation and organisation performance has been the focal point of several studies that confirmed a positive relationship between the constructs. However, there is a lack of evidence in studies examining this issue within universities of technology (UoTs) in South Africa. Hence, the study was undertaken with the main objective of conducting an analysis on the dimensions of MARKOR scale of market orientation in the prediction of university performance within UoTs in South Africa. Both the resource based view theory and the dynamic capacity theory were identified as the foundation of the study. Considering the situational factors and the institutions’ environment, a non-probability sampling procedure was chosen. A convenience sample of 507 full-time employed academics within the six UoTs in South Africa, participated in a cross-sectional survey through a self-administered structured questionnaire. The factor analysis procedure resulted in the extraction of three primary dimensions, namely market information generation, market information dissemination and responsiveness. A conceptual research model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. Through multiple regression analysis, the results show that market information generation, market information dissemination and responsiveness are significant predictors of university performance. The findings contribute to an enhanced comprehension of the dimensions of MARKOR scale towards predicting university performance among UoTs in South Africa. The study provides possible recommendations and extends immensely the existing knowledge among researched concepts when measuring organisational performance.