I study a sender-receiver game under verifiable disclosure wherein the sender wants to induce higher belief from the unbiased receiver/decision maker (DM). We compare the equilibria under two modes of communication: (1) DMNI, where the DM has no direct access to information; and (2) DMI, where the DM is also endowed with information acquisition capacity. Under either mode, when the sender exhibits sufficiently low cost in information acquisition, the game admits a unique unraveling equilibrium in which the sender always acquires and discloses information; when the cost is intermediate, the game admits multiple equilibria including the unraveling and a low-effort one as the only stable equilibria; when the cost is sufficiently high, the unraveling equilibrium disappears but the low-effort one remains. In addition, the cutoff to allow for a unique unraveling equilibrium under DMI is lower than that under DMNI and the DM may thus hurt from being endowed with information capacity because of equilibrium diversion.
Kenya recognizes the relationship between its emerging economy, energy, and the well-being of its citizens through the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Kenya’s Vision 2030 points to the huge contribution of energy toward strengthening adaptability, climate resilience, and good performance in different branches of the economy. The Kenya government has established different policies and laws in a bid to decarbonize the energy sector, and with a goal of attaining complete use of the national grid, 100 percent clean energy by 2030, common access to clean cooking, 2028, gearing towards reaching Net Zero in 2050. The Nationally Determined Contribution of the country is to significantly cut down greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030. Despite the development of these policies, the adoption of renewable energy sources among Kenyan households remains suboptimal, highlighting the need to examine the determinants of household choice of renewable energy sources. Therefore, this study sought to determine the factors influencing household choice of renewable energy sources in Kenya. A cross-sectional research design was employed in the study to assess and analyze the choice of renewable energy sources in the country. The study leveraged on secondary data from Multi-Tier Framework Survey conducted in 2016 – 2018 by the World Bank. Anchored on the Theory of Planned Behavior, the dataset provided the information required to examine the factors that influence household choice of renewable energy sources in Kenya. A logit regression model was used to analyze the study objective. Marginal effects were further computed to interpret the influence of explanatory variables on the probability of choosing renewable energy sources. The data was analyzed using STATA. The study found that attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, knowledge and perceived satisfaction were statistically significant in explaining the determinants of households’ behavioral intention to use renewable energy sources. The study recommends the National Government, government agencies, County Governments and non-governmental organizations to improve the affordability and accessibility of renewable energy technologies, strengthen public awareness and knowledge, and promote positive behavioral attitudes towards renewable energy adoption among households. Keywords: Renewable Energy, Behavioral Intentions, Household Choice, Kenya.
Socio-economic empowerment of women remains a central development concern, particularly for rural women whose ability to generate income, access markets, participate in financial systems and take part in household and community decision-making continues to lag behind that of their male counterparts and their urban peers. This study sought to analyze the effect of access to digital devices on the socio-economic empowerment of rural women in Kakamega County. The study was anchored on the Capability Approach Theory and supported by the Digital Divide Theory. Descriptive survey research design was used. The target population included 250 respondents from the rural women entrepreneurs, women farmers, community leaders and ICT extension officers in Kakamega County. Simple random sampling was used for rural women and purposive sampling for key informants, and a sample size of 154 respondents was determined using the Yamane formula. Descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Access to digital devices had a positive and significant correlation with socio-economic empowerment (r=0.517, p<0.001), and the regression results showed that access to digital devices (β = 0.279, p = 0.001) was a positive and statistically significant determinant of the socio-economic empowerment of rural women. The study concludes that access to digital devices has a positive and statistically significant impact on socio-economic empowerment of rural women in Kakamega County, and that even little improvements in device access can have a positive measurable impact on women's economic empowerment. The study recommends that the County government, in collaboration with mobile network operators, microfinance institutions and development partners, develop and put in place specific device financing/device subsidy programmes to boost the ownership of mobile phones and other digital devices amongst the rural women. Keywords: Access to Digital Devices, Socio-Economic Empowerment, Rural Women, Gender Digital Divide, Kakamega County, Capability Approach Theory
Ensuring reliable financial reporting hinges on highquality audits. However, the effective measurement of audit quality, due to the complexity of its key factors, presents a significant challenge, making it difficult to assess and improve audit practices. This study dives into this issue by exploring the audit quality oversight practices in North Macedonia, Slovenia and Estonia. The study applies the qualitative research approach, utilising existing literature, national audit regulations and aggregated inspection reports from these three countries. The core idea is to see how reported audit quality deficiencies could serve as a foundation for developing appropriate indicators to better measure audit quality. Our analysis revealed that audit quality deficiencies, as documented in the aggregated inspection reports, can indeed inform the creation of audit quality indicators that can facilitate the assessment of audit quality by the key audit quality oversight stakeholders, academicians, scholars and the general public, as users of audited financial statements. Further, these indicators hold the potential to enhance audit documentation and streamline the measurement of audit quality. Yet, our findings also underscore notable differences in audit regulatory frameworks and oversight practices across these countries, highlighting a clear need for future quantitative research to fully address these complexities. Ultimately, this research significantly advances the understanding of audit quality measurement. By proposing the use of reported audit quality deficiencies to develop audit quality indicators, the study lays a crucial groundwork for future quantitative research in the area of measuring audit quality. These future studies can then refine these audit quality indicators, leading to more effective audit quality oversight practices and, ultimately, more reliable financial reporting.
The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of key banking and macroeconomic indicators on the profitability of the banking sector in the Republic of North Macedonia. The study is based on a quantitative approach and uses secondary quarterly data for the period 2010–2024. The study elaborates the conceptual framework of profitability through the three basic indicators: return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE) and net interest margin (NIM) as dependent variables. Profitability is analyzed depending on internal bank specific factors as independent variables, such as capital adequacy (CAR), liquid assets (LA), loan to deposit (LTD), non performing loan (NPL) and macroeconomic variables such as economic growth (GDP) and inflation. Methodologically, the paper is based on a combination of inductive and deductive approaches, whereb general conclusions about the behavior of the banking system are drawn from specific empirical results, and then they are linked to the theoretical models SCP (Structure Conduct Performance) and ESH (Efficient Structure Hypothesis). The analysis applies descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression. The findings indicate that the hypotheses for liquid assets, loan to deposit, non performing loan and inflation are confirmed like crucial for the stability and efficiency of the banking sector. The regression results indicate that the profitability of banks in the Republic of North Macedonia is largely determined by internal bank-specific structural factors, while macroeconomic variables have a limited and indirect impact. Thus, the paper contributes to a better understanding of the stability and efficiency of the banking sector in small and open economies, offering a theoretical and practical basis for further research and the advancement of financial stability policies.
