This paper examines the possible impact of the role of microcredit in enhancing empowerment for married women in urban slums of Bangladesh. Based on our primary survey data collection, we constructed the women empowerment index and tried to examine relationship between microcredit and women empowerment. Three indices of women empowerment have been constructed: economic empowerment, non-economic empowerment and overall empowerment. Simple correlation analysis revealed that frequency of microcredit and amount borrowed through microcredit have high correlation with economic empowerment. Regression analysis shows that microcredit has significant positive impact on women empowerment even after controlling for other relevant variables.

Beta, as a measure of risk, is used by many investors and academicians for forecasting the expected earnings. Fama and French (1992) first used data of New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and National Automated Security Dealers Automated Quotes (NASDAQ) from July 1963 to December 1990 in the univariate regression model. They formed ten size-based portfolios and then divided each of these ten portfolios into ten sub-portfolios based on beta. They found that the size-beta portfolio returns show a negative relationship with portfolio betas. Hence, it was concluded that beta does not describe the average stock market returns. In the appendix of their paper they extended the time period to fifty years covering from 1941 to 1990 and arrived on the same results. Hence, it was concluded that beta cannot be salvaged. Many other studies arrived on similar conclusions using data from different countries. This paper is using the data of NYSE, AMEX, and NASDAQ following the methodology of Fama and French (1992), for a period of 28½ years from July 1964 to December 1992, arrived on the same results as those of Fama and French (1992) that beta does not describe the average stock market returns. After this, many other studied arrived on the similar conclusions in different markets from Latin America to Indonesia. In this paper we made slight adjustment to the data set by dividing the total time period into two parts based on market condition (bear and bull). Using the same model, we will show that beta is still alive, and it is more powerful than previously thought. This result shows that the conclusion of Fama and French (1992) are not the problem of beta, instead it is a problem of over aggregations.

The advent of web technology has revolutionized the business expansion process of commercial organizations from the conventional marketplace to modern online marketspace. This has further been accelerated since 2009 with the promulgation of the ‘Digital Bangladesh Vision 2021’ of the country. Thereafter, the supportive initiatives of the Government have increased the use of web technology among the mass people and the organizations irrespective of their nature of size and operation. The banks in Bangladesh have led this momentum by providing pleasant experience to the customers of this industry with necessary information and help, convenient and interactive service, immediate complaint resolution, prompt response to their queries, etc. As a result, the web based market of the banks has become fiercely competitive. The earlier research studies found that website management factors such as webpage loading speed, navigability, transaction privacy and security, user friendly design and the likes play very significant role in the effective management of web based services. However, very few studies focused on web based banking services. So, this indicates to the research problem since there is a research gap. This is because the current study will focus on the identification of the factors which have significant influencing role on the effectiveness of web based service management of the banking industry of Bangladesh. The current study is the combination of both primary and secondary data collection and their analyses in which, the primary data have been collected from a recent one (1) month survey on January 2017 over the sample size of 110 respondents who all are the customers of banking service using random sampling method through a structured and self-administered questionnaire based extensive survey comprising of open-ended and non-forced, balanced and odd numbered non-comparative itemized questions using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). The inferential statistical tools have been adopted to examine the role on the effectiveness of web based service management of the banking industry of Bangladesh.

This study examines the determinants of individual taxpayers’ tax compliance behavior in Sri Lanka under new tax laws enforced in 2018 using data collected through a structured questionnaire from a sample of 384 individual taxpayers in Sri Lanka. Findings derived through a regression analysis reveal a significant portion of individual taxpayers’ tax compliance behavior in Sri Lanka is explained by variables such as tax rate, fines and penalties and fairness and transparency of the tax system. It also found tax awareness and knowledge moderates the impact of the above variables on individual taxpayers’ tax compliance behavior. The findings imply that Sri Lankan government could raise tax rates and fines, and penalties to enhance individual taxpayers’ tax compliance behaviour. Strengthening tax awareness programmes would also increase the positive impact of tax rates and fines, and penalties on individual taxpayers’ tax compliance behaviour. This is the first study to examine determinants of individual taxpayers’ tax compliance behavior in Sri Lanka under the latest tax laws. The study also enhanced robustness of estimates of the impact of the determinants of individual tax payers’ tax compliance behavior on their compliance level in Sri Lanka by incorporating the moderating effect of tax awareness and knowledge.