This study investigates the effects of  macroeconomic variables and their role in development of foreign exchange market. The foreign exchange market is the mechanism by which a person of firm transfers purchasing power form one country to another, obtains or provides credit for international trade transactions, and minimizes exposure to foreign exchange risk. The foreign exchange transaction i...

The Sukuk market has become the fastest growing segment of the Islamic financial services industry. Governments and other corporate entities have started tapping the local and international Sukuk markets in order to raise the required funds. The investor base is also expanding and Sukuk has now become a popular and obvious choice for retail investors in a number of jurisdictions. However, becau...

One of the steps called for in the fight against malaria is the removal of tariffs and taxes on insecticide-treated bednets (ITNs), netting materials, and insecticides, with a view to reducing the retail prices of ITNs and thus increasing utilization. In this paper we develop an approach for analysing the extent to which reform of tariff and tax policy can be expected to increase ITN purchases....

This paper presents empirical evidence that endogenous fixed costs play a central role in determining the equilibrium structure of the retail food industry. Using the framework developed in Sutton [Sutton, J. (1991). Sunk Cost and Market Structure: Price Competition, Advertising, and the Evolution of Concentration (MIT Press, Cambridge).], I construct a structural model of retail competition in...

Free sampling of information goods has become a common business practice in expectation of reducing consumers’ uncertainty of product quality and helping product diffusion, yet receiving limited investigation of how consumers process free sampling and online word-of-mouth (WOM) and its consequences on retail sales. In this research, we examine the impact of free sampling of information goods on...

Broiler meat can become contaminated with Campylobacter of intestinal origin during processing. The present study aimed to identify the prevalence of Campylobacter in broiler flocks and meat contamination at retail shops, and determine the influence of semi-automated and wet market processing on Campylobacter contamination of neck skin samples. Samples were collected from semi-automated plants ...

This paper aims to revisit the way that distributed energy resources (DERs) interact with the present structures of the Australian National Electricity Market (NEM), and consider opportunities to improve the interface between centralized and distributed resource operation and investment. The NEM was established with the stated aim of facilitating efficient operation of and investment in electri...

I estimate the pass-through of automotive fuel tax changes to nal consumer prices, while accounting for how much of a retail market is covered by a tax change. In Spain, retail taxes on automotive fuel have a state-speci c component. At state borders, then where local competition straddles multiple states a tax hike in one state only a ects the marginal costs of some stations in a market. I sho...

Future sustainable energy systems will need efficient, clean, low-cost, renewable energy sources, as well as market structures that motivate sustainable behaviors on the part of households and businesses. “Smart grid” components can help consumers manage their consumption only if pricing policies are in place that motivate consumers to install and use these new tools in ways that maximize utili...

The spectacular and unprecedented growth of FDI in the global economic landscape over the last two decades has made it an integral part of the development strategy of both the developed and developing nations. It acts as a major catalyst in the development of a country through up-gradation of technology, managerial skills and capabilities in various sectors. Rise in purchasing power, growing co...