Panel Study

The literature contains abundant studies empirically and theoretically discussing the factors affecting level of inflation prevailing in a particular country. One of these factors is the usage of information and communication technology (ICT) which is represented by different indicators (e.g., computer use, internet use, cellular phone subscription, fixed broad band etc.) in empirical analyses. In this study we investigate the role of internet use on inflation by using five distinct inflation indicators and our sample is constituted by an unbalanced data for OECD countries. It is hypothesized that an increase in internet use will help to reduce inflation. Estimation results gathered from multivariate panel regression analyses support our hypothesis. According to the results, there is a statistically significant negative association between internet use and inflation in all models utilizing five different proxies for inflation except one model. Since the finding remains valid almost in all models, we can say that our results are robust with respect to different measure of inflation.

The purpose of this Thesis is to study theoretically and empirically the sustainability of Islamic Banking system. In order to do so, a literature review is undertaken firstly to show that, in practice, Islamic Banks lose their distinctive features and tend to resemble conventional banks. Indeed, these banks which tend to deviate from Profit and Loss Sharing (PLS) paradigm and have an elusive contribution to sustainable development are not close to people and do not ensure a good governance. Thus, Islamic Banks could not be considered as sustainable.
Secondly, we focus on the social utility of Islamic banking system by taking the Tunisian case as an example. We explore the prerequisites that should be observed to implement this system in Tunisia and we study private agents' and entrepreneurs' potential demand of Islamic banking products and services by analyzing the results of two Surveys. According to our results, Islamic Finance is perceived as a seductive phenomenon. Nevertheless, the development of this industry appears to be difficult because it requires a sound knowledge of its products by corporate decision makers of the Tunisian companies and households, skilled and trained human resources in Islamic Finance and the implementation of an appropriate and dedicated regulation to this finance. Therefore, all stakeholders should collaborate in order to ensure the establishment of a sustainable Islamic banking system in Tunisia.
Thirdly, we study empirically the sustainability of these banks at macroeconomic level by estimating a dynamic panel model approach as developed by Arellano and Bover (1995)  and by Blundell and Bond (1998) which assesses the impact of the development of this system on long-run macroeconomic growth. We find that the business conditions of Islamic banks in the host countries cannot establish a relationship between Islamic finance development and economic growth through Schumpeterian hypotheses.
Finally, we examine the sustainability of Islamic banking system at the microeconmic level by attempting to assess the performance of Islamic banking taking into account the fulfillment of Shariah objectives and the satisfaction of all stakeholders, namely Regulators, Civil Society, Customers, Employees, Managers, Shareholders and  Shariah Advisers. To do so, we develop an overall index baptized Shariah-Compliant Performance Index (SCPI) by aggregating all appraised performance scores using multi-attribute utility theory. Our findings show that all studied Islamic Banking groups do not perform well. Therefore, none of these banks is sustainable and hence achieves Maqasid Al-Shariah.

Under Housing NSW’s Living Communities Project, the southwestern Sydney suburb of Bonnyrigg, NSW, is being transformed from a socio-economically deprived neighbourhood dominated by public housing into a mixed tenure community. Learning from other neighbourhood renewal projects in Australia and overseas, Housing NSW is committed to better understand how the residents of renewal areas are affected before, during and after the renewal process. This is particularly significant for three reasons. First, the Bonnyrigg Living Communities Project will be the first of its kind in Australia to be delivered through a Public Private Partnership model, involving a consortium of five public, private and non-profit partners. Second, it is also significant given the long timeframe (30 years) of (re)construction and tenure transfer to and management by the non-profit partner, St George Community Housing Association, reflecting diversification of public housing provision and the rise of the community housing sector in Australia. Third, there will be a sizeable increase in housing density, where expected population will increase from the current 800 households to more than 2,000, with much of the detached houses that now dominate the suburb replaced by triplexes and four-unit apartment blocks. With these major changes anticipated, three monitoring mechanisms were devised to review the progress and outcomes of Bonnyrigg’s renewal program. This paper showcases one of these mechanisms, a longitudinal outcome based research on changes (whether actual or perceived) to the quality of life and life chances of current and future residents. This longitudinal research, which commences in mid-2011, will be comprehensive by taking a resident panel approach, involving one-fifth of the suburb’s households, and spanning a minimum of five years. An oft excluded though highly perceptive group of residents – children and teenagers – are also included as part of the research in order to gain insights into the longer-term impacts of the neighbourhood’s renewal.

The first part of the paper describes the science framework of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) that forms the basis for assessing scientific literacy over a person’s lifespan. The framework and its definition of scientific literacy are influenced by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and by the German educational standards for the end of Grade 10. All of these sources claim that scientific literacy is important for everyone: It forms a basis for general education, has to be applicable to everyday situations and is a source for lifelong learning. Thus, the contexts and components providing the foundation for item development and for measuring scientific literacy had to be chosen accordingly. This paper presents a selection of contexts and content areas that meet this demand and that, at the same time, allow NEPS to be theoretically and methodologically linked to other national and in...

In this study, we explore the impact of ICT penetration on tax revenue. We test the hypothesis that ICT penetration contributes to increase in tax revenue by examining an unbalanced panel data set including the period 1990 to 2013 and using four ICT penetration indicators and three tax revenue indicators. Our largest sample includes 157 countries. We identified highly statistically significant positive correlation between ICT penetration and tax revenue by using univariate and multivari-ate time effect models. This finding is statistically significant and valid for four ICT penetration indicators and three tax revenue indicators. Our results suggest that ICT penetration increases tax revenue across countries between 1990 and 2013, controlling for other factors that may contribute to increase in tax revenue.

Bu çalışmada, Bilgi İşlem Teknolojileri (BİT) kullanımının yaygınlaşmasının vergi geliri üzerindeki etkisi araştırılmıştır. Bilgi İşlem Teknolojileri (BİT) kulla-nımının yaygınlaşmasının ülke vergi gelirinin artma-sına katkı sağlayacağı hipotezi 1990-2013 dönemini kapsayan dengesiz panel veri, dört BİT penetrasyon göstergesi ve üç ülke vergi geliri göstergesi kullanılarak test edilmiştir. Çalışmanın en büyük örnekleminde 157 ülke vardır. Tek ve çok değişkenli zaman etkisi model-leri kullanılarak BİT penetrasyonu ve ülke vergi geliri arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı pozitif korelasyon tespit edilmiştir. Bu bulgu, dört BİT penetrasyon gös-tergesi ve üç vergi geliri göstergesi için de istatistiksel olarak anlamlı ve geçerli bulunmuştur. Ülkeler arası araştırma sonuçlarımız, ülke vergi gelirlerinin artışına etki eden diğer faktörlerin kontrol altında tutulması koşulları altında, BİT kullanımının yaygınlaşmasının ülke vergi gelirlerinin artmasına katkı sağlayacağını göstermektedir.

Bridge employment refers to the workforce participation pattern displayed by older workers between their partial retirement and their complete withdrawal from the workforce. Based on Shultz’s (2003) model of antecedents and consequences of bridge employment, this article proposes a set of hypotheses, using SHARE panel data (N = 634) from Wave 1 (2004) and Wave 2 (2006). These data are analyzed via structural equation modeling (SEM), testing both a direct effects model and a partial mediation model. Results show that bridge employment quality partially mediates the influences of T1 antecedents on T2 consequences. The implications of this study are discussed at both the theoretical and practical level.

We examine the relationship between various indicators of female labor force participation and labor productivity. We test the hypothesis that labor productivity boosts as the female employment increases by exploiting a panel data set including the period 1985 to 2010 and 111 countries and using three labor productivity indicators and three female labor force participation indicators. We identified a positive correlation between female labor force participation indicators and labor productivity. This finding is statistically significant and valid for three different productivity indicators and three different female labor force participation indicators. Thus, the results suggest that female labor force participation increases labor productivity, controlling for other factors that may contribute to labor productivity.

Stage 8 of the German National Educational Panel Study focuses on the adult working age population in Germany and serves, in many respects, as a capstone for the National Educational Panel Study structure. Its main purpose is to collect data on adult education, on competence endowment and its development over the life course, and on returns to initial and adult education in a life-course perspective. The data includes a large number of theoretically informed determinants of adult education and competencies as well as information on how labor market and non-labor market outcomes are influenced by previous educational participation and competencies. With detailed information on learning environments at the workplace and in the household it will be possible to contextualize these determinants. The data allows immediate analyses of the adult population as well as the delivery of long-term perspectives on educational, occupational, and private life courses across various educational stages. Etappe 8 bildet mit dem Fokus auf die Population von Erwachsenen im erwerbsfähigen Alter in vielerlei Hinsicht den Schlussstein der gesamten Erhebungsstruktur des Nationalen Bildungspanels. Diese Etappe sammelt insbesondere Daten zu formalen, non-formalen und informellen Weiterbildungsaktivitäten, zur Entwicklung von Kompetenzen im Erwachsenenalter und zu monetären und nicht-monetären Bildungserträgen von Erstausbildung und Weiterbildung über den Lebensverlauf. Die Daten beinhalten eine Vielzahl theoretisch abgeleiteter Determinanten zur Erklärung von Weiterbildungsverhalten, von Kompetenzen sowie von spezifischen Erträgen innerhalb und außerhalb des Arbeitsmarktes. Diese Determinanten sowie das Weiterbildungsverhalten, die Kompetenzen und die Bildungserträge selbst können durch zusätzlich erhobene Informationen zu Lernumwelten am Arbeitsplatz und im privaten Haushalt kontextualisiert werden. Die Daten der Etappe 8 ermöglichen durch die retrospektive Erhebung detaillierter Bildungs-, Arbeitsmarkt- und Haushaltsinformationen unmittelbar zahlreiche Analysen über verschiedene Lebensphasen hinweg. Durch den prospektiven Charakter der Panelstudie können darüber hinaus in den kommenden Jahren weitere soziologische, ökonomische, psychologische und erziehungswissenschaftliche Theorien getestet werden.

Understanding the determinants of health expenditures is essential for a fair and effective utilization profiling, particularly in the setting of capitation rates in risk-adjustment models. The objective of the study was to examine the relative importance of determinants in predicting future health expenditures, using structural equation modeling. Based on Andersen's behavioral system model, individual determinants along with prior utilization and measures of health status from 1994 are evaluated in a longitudinal design for theirpredictive powerfor health expenditures in 1995. A total of 4,255 policy-holders enrolled in three health plans at Trigon BlueCross/BlueShield of Virginia who responded to a mail survey were included for analysis. Person-level annual charges for health services utilization were used as the dependent variable. Five health scales were excerpted from Health Survey SF-36 to represent an individual's health status. Excluding prior utilization in 1994, health status (gamma = -0.19, p < 0.001) and having diabetes (gamma = 0.08, p < 0.001) are two statistically significant predictors of health expenditures in 1995. Including prior utilization, both health status (gamma = -0.15, p < 0.001) and prior utilization (gamma = 0.15, p < 0.001) are the most important predictors, followed by having diabetes (gamma = 0.08, p < 0.001). Health status is a powerful predictor offuture health expenditures, even when prior utilization is controlled.