Bio
Demis Hailegebreal Hailu is affiliated with Dongbei University of Finance and Economics and Jimma University in Ethiopia. He has published research in the areas of Insurance and Financial Risk Management, Economics and Econometrics. He holds a role as a PhD candidate and Lecturer and has participated as both an author and reviewer for academic journals.
Experience
Jimma University
0 - 0 • Department of Banking and FinancePhD candidate, Lecturer
0 - 0 • Accounting schoolEditors Role
Reviewer
GJMBR
0 - PresentResearch
Financial Slack and Firm Performance: Evidence from Africa
This study explores the relationship between financial slack and firm performance using a sample of firms in African countries. This study employed a split sample analysis to unmask the real picture of slack and performance nexus. We also used a baseline sample (using 923 firms) analysis to show how the result is ambiguous. By using 530 African firms (212 high and 318 low financial firms), this study found that while high available slack has adverse effects, low available slack has a favourable impact on firm performance. However, the study confirms while high potential slack has a positive influence, low potential slack hurts African firms' performance. These results depicted that while agency theory offers a strong prediction when dealing with high available slack,
Financial Slack and Firm Performance in Africa: The Mediating Effects of the Banking Sector and Stock Market Development
Organizational theory claimed favorable effect of slack on performance and the agency theory; supported an adverse influence of slack on performance. This study explored the association between the financial slack and the financial performance of firms in Africa. This study further rexamined the mediating effect of the banking sector and the stock market development on the slack-performance nexus. While the firm performance is measured as the return on assets (ROA), and return on sales (ROS), the slack components are categorized as available, potential and recoverable slacks. We used firm-level data from 457 firms in 13 African countries from 2006 to 2015. The finding of this study supported the organizational theory that favors a positive effect of slack on performance. The result of mediation analysis shows that both the banking sector and the stock market development have no strong mediating effect on the slack-performance relationship of firms in Africa. This study finally offers micro and macro level policy implications.
Macroeconomic and Firm Specific Determinats of Profitability of Insurance Industry in Ethiopia
This study was conducted on the determinants of profitability of Ethiopian insurance industry. The study attempts to examine the firm specific factors which are age of company, size of company, leverage ratio, liquidity ratio, premium growth, technical provision, underwriting risk, solvency, reinsurance dependency and tangibility of assets and macroeconomic factors; GDP and Inflation on profitability of Ethiopian insurance industry. Nine insurance companies from the total of 17insurance companies established before 2008 were included in the study. Secondary data that was collected from the financial statements (Balance sheet and income statements) of insurance companies; and annual reports of National bank of Ethiopia are the major sources of data for this study. This study found that under writing risk, technical provision, leverage and inflation have negative and significant effect whereas premium growth, age of the company, solvency ratio and GDP have statically positive and significant relationship with the profitability of Ethiopian insurance industry. However, the study found that liquidity, re-insurance dependency, tangibility of assets and company size have no significant effect on the profitability of insurance industry in Ethiopia.
