Imhotep Alagidede

By Maurice Omane-Adjepong, Imhotep Paul Alagidede and John Bosco Dramani

The COVID-19 pandemic has in its short existence caused economic downturn and affected global markets. As would be expected, the occurrences of global crises or shocks often heighten uncertainties in international markets and increase correlations among them. Yet, not much is known of the actual impacts of COVID-19 on the behavior of global markets. This piece attempts to investigate whether the COVID-19 crisis has had any impact on the interrelationship structure of international markets using the cross-wavelet squared coherence and a dynamic wavelet correlation technique. It emerges that co-movements of the pairwise series become stronger (0.70–0.89) during the heightened periods labeled as epidemic and pandemic phases of COVID-19, than that of the periods that mark the pre-COVID-19 era (−0.49–0.36), hence announcing the influence of the crisis and eroding prospect of benefiting from a hedge instrument and/or a diversifier. Again, we observe that stock market-Global REITs have been the most influenced pair, showing significantly peaked co-movements (0.63–0.87) during the distinct phases of COVID-19. We attribute these developments to the loose monetary and financial measures implemented by central banks of the world. The findings hold important implications for economic and financial actors regarding diversification, hedging, and investment risk management.

Part of the book: Wavelet Theory

By Winsome Mashele and Imhotep Paul Alagidede

Trends of women accessing senior manager roles in corporate South Africa have made considerable gains, and although some women have managed to crack the glass ceiling which has hindered their full participation in economic life, true gender equality is yet to be achieved. Sometimes, what seems like a wonderful opportunity to climb up the corporate ladder is an ascent that leads you to the top and pushes you over the edge. But what happens when women do manage to get to the top? The study investigates the concept of the glass cliff by interrogating its existence and looking further into the implications of the phenomenon. A qualitative research methodology was employed, and data collected through semi-structured interviews from a total of 15 participants. The research suggests that for women managers it is important to understand when, why, and how glass cliff appointments are likely to occur and elaborates on strategies for eliminating the glass cliff. The study goes further to make suggestions to policy makers about the importance of understanding the impact of the choices made by women seeking management positions and provides insights regarding how women feel about taking these precarious manager roles. This chapter aims at contributing to this under-researched area from a South African perspective.

Part of the book: Leadership