Paper Title: The Effects of DR-CAFTA in Nicaragua: A CGE-Microsimulation Model for Poverty and Inequality Analysis
Author (s) : GIULIA COLOMBO
Abstract
This paper develops a CGE-microsimulation model for the economy of Nicaragua, following the Top-Down approach (See Bourguignon et al., 2003). The reform is simulated first at the macro level with the CGE model, and then it is passed on to the microsimulation model through a vector of changes in such variables as prices, wage rates, and unemployment levels. The approach facilitates development of two models (CGE and microsimulation) separately. It enables us to use behavioural micro–econometric equations instead of more difficult introduction fully integrated model. The top-down approach appears to be particularly suited to the policy reform. We have simulated the model in order to incorporate Free Trade Agreement of Central America with the USA which is mainly a macroeconomic reform; it has important effects on the distribution of income. With this model, we study the possible changes in the distribution of income arising from the free trade agreement with USA. The analysis finds only small changes both in the main macroeconomic variables and  the distribution of income and poverty indices.
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Paper Title: Credit Risk Modeling Through Distance to Default
Author (s) : ARYA KUMAR, ANJALI MEHTA
Abstract
The banking sector acts as an engine of growth and as a catalyst in the process of development. The increasing need for a fast, responsive and efficient risk management is imperative because of various rapid changes in factors emanating from macroeconomic environment. The paper discusses the technique of Distance to Default, which quantifies the deviation of a firm from default. The concept is used to calculate the probability of default (PD) for a borrower, as explained in Merton model or asset valuation model. The paper also includes a simple approach to estimate the expected loss from the borrower in a given holding period by calculating loss given default (LGD) from the asset coverage ratio of the firm and using the PD values estimated as an input. Model can be used as an effective tool for risk management of credit portfolio in banks.
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Paper Title: Inter-Regional Variation of Household Consumption Pattern
Author (s) : PRASANT SARANGI, BIJAYA KUMAR PANDA, PRADEEPTA KUMAR SARANGI
Abstract
There is renewed interest all over the world in the studies of household consumption pattern. Household budgets have often been studied for a variety of purposes such as constructing cost of living indices, demand forecasting, analyzing consumption and demand patterns, measuring absolute poverty, disparities in level of living. The study is based on cross-section household budget data of 600 rural and urban households of Orissa collected by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in its 55th round (1999-2000).
For comparing consumer behaviour in rural and urban Orissa, ten functional forms of Engel curves have been used. Of these, Linear (L), Double-Log (DL), Exponential (EX) and Parabolic (P) functions have been chosen for thirteen broad food and non-food items of household consumption. The Engel function best-fit the data. The parameters of Engel function are estimated by Weighted Least Square Method (WLS) for analyzing inter-regional variation of   consumption pattern.
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Paper Title: Impact of FDI Inflows on Indian Economy during Post-Reform Period
|Author (s) : PRIYANKA MAHAJAN, PARAMJIT NANDA
Abstract
In an interdependent, open and competitive world, no country can succeed in isolation or without remaining in touch with rapidly changing pattern of financial flows across countries. The world financial markets have been continuously, dramatically and unprecendently more open since 1990’s. In a global economy, characterized by competitive environment, the role of foreign capital in the economic development of a country cannot be ignored. There has been hardly any country in the world which has not been dependent upon foreign capital in the form of foreign direct investment(FDI) and portfolio investment(FPI) during the course of its economic development(Tripathi,2006). From the point of view of development, FDI is considered to be more important than FPI. Since FDI has a direct bearing on crucial development issues such as employment opportunities, growth and export competitiveness. Thus, FDI is a vital need for an economy to complement its domestic investment (Pradhan, 2005).
 During the last decade, major developing countries, including India, began to integrate much more with the global economy. With the greater participation of Indian economy, with the rest of the world, India has experienced large inflows of investment from abroad which has transformed the local economy into an export led growth wonder. FDI also brings with it expertise which is important for economic development as the capital itself. It is in this backdrop, this paper seeks to examine the trends in the level of FDI inflows and examines the impact of FDI on economic growth of India after economic reforms. The paper has been divided into three sections. Section I reveals the trends in sectoral composition of FDI inflows in India; Section II examines the impact of FDI on various macroeconomic indicators of Indian economy and Section III gives conclusions and policy implications.The data relating to various aspects of FDI inflows and macroeconomic indicators has been taken from various issues of Economic Survey, Government of India, EPW Research Foundation and SIA Newsletters (various issues). The study undertakes post-reform period(i.e. from 1991-92 to 2005-06) which has been further sub-divided into two cumulative sub-periods i.e.(1991-99 and 2000-06). To know the impact of FDI inflows on various macroeconomic indicators, linear regression analysis has been used. The study reveals that the changes in Indian economic policies in general and FDI policies in particular have succeeded in attracting FDI inflows significantly to meet the capital needs of the country. But FDI approvals declined in later years of reform period while ratio of inflows vs. approvals showed a tremendous increase in later years of reform period. The changes in sectoral distribution of FDI inflows in India also reflects the success of a selective regime. Data reveals that to a large extent, the government managed to direct foreign investment to technology intensive sector, electrical equipments sector and service sector which is consistent with the needs of a developing country. If we consider the top investing countries in India for FDI inflows, the study depicts that Mauritius and U.S.A. are the two top investing countries in India after the reform period. Regarding the regional distribution of FDI inflows, it has been revealed that distribution of FDI inflows in India is quite uneven. Top five states considered have accounted for nearly 49 percent of total FDI in India. Hence wide differences exist among states of India with respect to FDI flows. Regarding the impact of FDI inflows on various macroeconomic indicators, study shows that on the positive side, impact of FDI is substantially high on GDP,GDS, foreign exchange reserves, exchange rate and income terms of trade. On the negative side, its influence is more on inflation rate which shows that FDI affects the variations in prices in Indian economy. In short, we can presume that India is by and large a beneficiary of the inflows of FDI after the reform era. The estimated significant coefficient of the lagged FDI values also emphasized the dependence of FDI inflows on the economic growth. With the continuance of present trend, it could be possible for Indian economy to achieve desirable growth in the future. Mere growth in GDP cannot be considered to be the only measure of the impact of FDI inflows. If we expect the impact to be positive, there must be desirable changes in the levels of employment generation, productivity and competitiveness of domestic firms in addition to the growth in the levels of GDP . Besides this, regulatory reforms should be established which requires a specific legal group, who could draft a new law for promotion of FDI and its national treatment.
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Paper Title: Do Bullion Prices and Share Prices Move Independently? An Empirical Study of Optimal Portfolio
Author (s) : AMIT KUMAR CHAKRABARTY
Abstract
The Paper deals with the relationship between bullion market and share market and the significance of the relationship. If a risk-averse investor intends to invest his total wealth in both the markets proportionately, what will be the percentage (weight) of investment in bullion market and share market and what shall be the minimum-portfolio-risk? These questions have been investigated. Regression Coefficient has been computed to test the volatility of sensex prices with respect to bullion prices. Percentage change in sensex prices, caused by changes in bullion prices and percentage of variance (risk) in returns on shares are analysed. The percentage of return on shares when bullion market earns nothing has also been determined. The study attempts to establish the hypothesis that there exists no significant relationship between bullion market and share market. It concludes that risk-averse investors tend to invest maximum proportion of their total wealth in bullion market and only the residual is invested in share market with a view to control the portfolio-risk.
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Paper Title: Management Education: Keys for Creating Value 
Author (s) : AMARJEET MALHOTRA, LOKESH JINDAL
Abstract
Effectiveness of Management Education is influenced by such factors as Education Policy of the Government, Socio-cultural practices, Economic condition of the Country, Role of public and private sectors in education and Professional efficacy of the educator. This paper attempts to address the most important and very direct factor of the efficacy of educators. Teaching management requires subject expertise, specialized skills and sense of responsibility for the pupils’ welfare. Since management education prepares corporate managers, the teacher should not only know the current business practices but he/she should also perceive the future changes. This paper identifies a set of professional characteristics of teacher of management ought to possess. These are presented in a schema of three facets: Skill (Subject knowledge, Teaching skills and Continued upgrading of knowledge), Concern for Others (Student-Teacher relationship, Colleague Relationship, Professional Commitment and Concern for Self Improvement along with Professional Autonomy, Self Organisation and Compatible Remuneration. The empirical part is based on 55 educators in management which brings out the professional characteristics of management educators. All the nine variables under three heads have been presented in a simplified form that are expected to lead to high professionalism.
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Paper Title: Business Communication a Paradigm Shift in Pedagogy, Delivery, Evaluation and Feedback
Author (s) : P.S. BAJAJ, MONICA GUPTA
Abstract
Globalization is the key that releases many locks and is also a lock which requires many keys to unfasten it. The impact of globalization is two fold – multicultural workforce and global market. As educators, our endeavor is to equip the students with the skill and ability to address these issues with confidence and finesse. When we design the curriculum of business communication for MBA/PGDM students, multiple elements enter as variables. The intake of most of the reputed management institutes is from all over India and a few foreign students. The acumen and degree of fluency with English language of these students is highly diversified. The course design should have inbuilt absorption for these differences. This paper intends to evaluate the existing curriculum of business communication and suggests modifications to make it more suitable for the ever evolving business environment. The paper evaluates and suggests strategic course outline based on market need based practical inputs. The traditional manner of teaching is inadequate for the dynamic and ever evolving course on business communication. It delves into the delivery mechanism with a difference. It is imperative to measure the effectiveness of the course in ensuring development of communication skills in conjunction with industry requirements. The course needs to be continuously reinforced on the basis of feedback received from students and industry. It develops the feedback and evaluation system’s pedagogy to include both students and industry. The course, once developed, should be continuously evolving with the changes in business environment and business structure. In view of this, the paper also suggests a curriculum updating mechanism – Kaizen Teian.
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Paper Title: An Empirical Study of Diversity of Expectations among different Groups of Customers in Changing Retail Scenario
Author (s) : RAJU M. RATHOD, RAJNIKANT PATEL
Abstract
Retailing is one of the fastest growing areas in our country, witnessing rapid changes during last few years. India is having more than fifteen million retail outlets of all size and types. The study aims to study the customers’ expectations from retail outlets across the various cities of Gujarat and among the different gender, income and age groups. The study attempts to study the intensity of customers’ expectations for fifteen retail attributes. Study infers that the most important aspects of retailing, that should be taken into account while designing retail marketing strategy, are Good behaviour of personnel, Cleanliness within retail outlets, Availability of more product range (assortment), complete Information and Better display and arrangement of products.
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Paper Title: A Lean Approach to Improve Course Curriculum of MBA
Author (s) : A. K. DEY
Abstract
Application of a lean approach to continuously improve PGDM (or MBA) course curriculum at a private higher management institute has helped in creating more value for recruiters. Diversity of students, faculty, courses; time pressure to pack more than 30 courses within five months of projects, examinations, extra curricular activities; meeting expectations of students and recruiters, all these could be managed by critically examining all non value adding activities and, if possible, eliminating them or reducing their impact. Based on the following eight characteristics of lean system. Upgrade and maintain consistent high quality, Organize problem solving groups, Eliminate unnecessary steps (wastes), Standard work methods, Clarify process flows, Flexible workers, Responsive supplier network, and Good housekeeping, value adding activities were incorporated. Besides, activities that were adding only costs (no value for customers) were either restricted or completely eliminated. Improved quality of placements, measured by the increase in highest, average and lowest salary level of four batches of students, confirmed the positive outcome of the continuous improvement. Also, there is a marked decline in the number of recruiting companies required for a lot of 100 students. In the first phase, the approach of making lean was successfully applied to courses in operations management. Now, it has been extended to all courses in PGDM (or MBA).
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Paper Title: Entrepreneurship Education – Can B- Schools Meet the Fate?
Author (s) : SHEENU JAIN, PINKY KESWANI
Abstract
This paper examines the characteristics and role of the entrepreneur and differentiates it from entrepreneurship. It examines the challenges for business schools posed by the need to develop more enterprising individuals. It argues that the traditional education system stultifies rather than develops the requisite attributes and skills needed by entrepreneurs. The study proposes that, if entrepreneurs are to be developed, considerable changes are required both in the content and the process of learning. It emphasizes learning pedagogy. It suggests the need for a shift in the emphasis from educating “about” entrepreneurship to educating “for” it. But entrepreneurship is not to be equated with creation of new venture or small business management, as it is associated with creativity and change. The study proposes that educational institutions should change the process of learning to enable their students to develop their right mental capabilities required for entrepreneurship and analytical skills. Business schools need to weaken the impartation of thoughts so as to encourage and stimulate the entrepreneurial imagination.
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Paper Title: Measurement of Quality of Bank Service: Empirical Assessment of Three Groups of Banks
Author (s) : T. VANNIARAJAN
Abstract
Financial sector reforms and deregulation of banking sector in 1991 led to the emergence of new generation private sector banks and foreign banks with better technology and products. Consequently, the competition in banking has increased immensely and particularly at metro and urban centers. Delivering quality service to customers is a must for success and survival in today’s competitive banking environment. Provision of high quality services enhances customer’s retention rates and helps attract new customers. Hence, the study focuses on measurement of quality of service in three groups of commercial banks. Data for the study were collected from the customers of banks in Madurai city (Tamilnadu). The significant and positive service qualities of banks, influencing customer, satisfaction are Responsiveness, Tangibles and Empathy. The customers’ perception about various dimensions of service quality is not up to their level of expectation in all three groups of banks. Nationalised banks are lagging behind in all service quality factors compared with their counterparts of private banks. This requires a drastic change in outlook and the way in which the nationalized banks are functioning in this high volatile and competitive environment.