Research
Student’s Intention to Conduct Research Studies: The Case Study of Final Year Undergraduates in the Department of Finance, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
This research attempts to answer the question “Do undergraduates have an intention to do research?†The study took place at the Department of Finance, Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, and the respondents are the final year undergraduate of the department. Following theoretical findings of Sachithra (2015), and Pacifica and Thomson (2011), the study looked at the attitudes of students in doing research within the degree program and the gender differences in the preference for doing research. The quantitative approach is the methodology adopted and used a questionnaire as the data collection tool, and it consists of both open and close-ended questions. Percentage analysis and coding are the main analytical tools used for analyzing data, and supplemented by graphs, charts, and tables. Findings reveal that students’ attitudes have a significant impact on their intention to do research. Further, gender difference too affects whether students intend to do research. In conclusion, it can be stated that the male students have a higher preference to do research than female students and the intention to do research varies with the degree program the students follow along with their preferred job in the future.
The Relationship Between the Stock Market and Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) in Sri Lanka aEvidence from VAR and Co-integration Analysis
The low level of savings in developing countries like Sri Lanka is a major reason for the slower economic growth, In order to enhance domestic investment and accelerate growth a country needs to find the capital required. Consequently most of the countries turned to foreignsources of financing during the transition from a centrally planned to a marketeconomy The dominant form of foreign capital inflowswas foreign direct investments (FDI), which, due to theircharacteristics, may have many positive effects on the host economy. The objective of this study is to explore the existence and characteristics of both thelong- and short-term relationships between FDI and the stock market in Sri Lanka. This study used quarterly data for FDI and Stock Market Trading Volume From 1994,Q1 to 2017 Q2. Unit root tests indicated a Vector Auto Regression Model and it was run with two lags. Wald Tests and Granger Causality tests were carried out. Findings indicated uni-directional causality from Stock Market to FDI. This implies that policy makers must aim at developing the stock market for a resulting increment in FDI flows to the country.
