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Volume 1 Number 4 August 2015

Dealing with Ghana?s Winner-Takes-All Politics: A Case for Proportional Representation?


Authors: Ransford Edward Van Gyampo
Pages: 41-46
Abstract
This paper is the first in a series of publications aimed at provoking thought and discourse on issues relating to “Winner-Takes-All” politics in Ghana. It discusses winner-takes-all as an electoral formula and situates it within the context of winner-takes-all politics in Ghana. It highlights the dangers of Ghana’s winner-takes-all politics such as the marginalization of perceived political opponents and the feeling of exclusion from the governance process by those who do not belong to the government/ruling party. The paper argues further that winner-takes-all politics undermines the quest for national development, cohesion and the drive towards democratic maturity. In proffering policy recommendation, the paper critically examines Proportional Representation as one possible mechanism for ensuring inclusive governance and dealing with some of the challenges associated with winner-takes-all politics.

An Analysis of the Efficiency of Philippine Financial Institutions


Authors: HuiChen Chiang ; YihChing Tsaih
Pages: 37-40
Abstract
A non parametric analysis is performed in the banking industry in the Philippines. This study is of interest from several points of view. First, it is of use for those who are interested in understanding how Philippine banks performed prior and throughout the global financial crisis. The study will point to which banking models handled the financial crisis well. Secondly, this would be of interest for those who are interested in comparing and contrasting the performance of different types of banking models in the Asia Pacific. As more local banks consider expanding overseas, there are various options in terms of banking models to consider, branch to the subsidiary, commercial to universal,  each with its strict regulatory guidelines.  For a developing economy, such as the Philippines, we aim to show the impact of different models based on traditionally used inputs of measuring banking performance, and applying it to our non parametric model.  The study‘s conclusions point to the universal banking model is the most consistently efficient models of banking in the Philippines.