Tae Yong Jung

Capital Structure and Investment Financing of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Vietnam

Abstract Insufficient sources of internal financing and inaccessibility of external financing are acknowledged as crucial constraints on new investment for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study examines how capital structure is related to investment decision for SMEs in Vietnam. In particular, we investigate the effect of capital structure on the decision to seek new investment as well as the choice of its financing sources. The main results reveal that SMEs with high financial leverage tend to engage more in seeking new investment. Moreover, empirical results demonstrate that among SMEs seeking new investment, those with higher financial leverage are more likely to choose external financing rather than internal financing. These results confirm the dynamic feature of the pecking order theory in the context of SMEs’ capital structure in Vietnam.

Assessment of the vulnerability of industrial parks to flood in South Korea

Since recently, the potential of torrential downpour is increased and the flood damage shows increasing trend, in this study, the method to assess the flood vulnerability was established for the industrial parks, which is the driving power of the economic growth in Korea, and the results were analyzed. The vulnerability of each industrial parks was analyzed using three indicators: climate exposure, sensitivity and the adaptation ability, and the indicator value was calculated by selecting the proxy variable by each indicator. Amongxa0the primarily indicators, the final indicators were selected through the site investigation and in-depth interview. The vulnerability assessment was performed not only for the present but for the future (2020s, 2050s and 2100s). In the analysis results, Ulsan Mipo National Industrial Park was the most vulnerable for the present but in 2020s, Gwangyang National Industrial Park and Myeongji-Noksan National Industrial Park in 2050s and 2100s were assessed as most vulnerable. In the results of flooding vulnerability assessment, south coast industrial parks are the most vulnerable regionxa0during baseline and future. In addition, such industrial parks mostly built in the early phase of industrialization and they have advantage in import and export but were represented to be highly vulnerable due to aged infrastructures. In the industrial parks, as the enterprises are concentrated, it is easy to exchange the information and logistics, but the damage of natural disasters due to flooding can be aggravated due to the characteristics of the concentration. Actually, there are some cases that the industrial parks and the enterprises received the flooing damage in the highly vulnerable area by the torrential downpour. In this study, the vulnerability assessment was performed for the flooding damage by the torrential downpour for the industrial parks and the potential that the this study can be used as a useful decision-making tool in deciding the priority of adaptation ability was confirmed.

Low carbon scenarios and policies for the power sector in Botswana

ABSTRACT The Government of Botswana has pledged a nationally determined contribution (NDC) as a commitment to the Paris Agreement. For the power sector, the NDC states that the government expects renewable energy (RE) to meet 25% of peak electricity demand by 2030. However, due to high initial cost of RE technologies, the government plans to maintain a coal-based power system in the future. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine Botswana’s national plan from an economic perspective, using scenario and cost analysis, to explore the possibility of the power sector’s low carbon transition in the light of Botswana’s NDC. Five scenarios are designed to reflect a range of investment cost changes of RE technologies. While most scenarios only achieve 19% (P3, P4 and P5) and 54% (P6) of the NDC’s power sector target, the P7 scenario far exceeds the goal by achieving 188% of the NDC target. Furthermore, as the difference of levelized cost of electricity among the scenarios is minimal, the P7 scenario is the most attractive pathway for the government. Even for other scenarios, the government should still deploy the suggested capacity of solar photovoltaic (PV) as it is both economically and socially beneficial in the long term. However, in these cases, the government’s political will to meet the NDC’s power sector target and to promote the solar PV industry will be critical in designing future power sector policies. Key policy insights Model results show coal as the cheapest resource for electricity generation in Botswana up to 2030, but the cost competitiveness of solar photovoltaic (PV) against coal will continue to increase over time. It is economically and socially beneficial to adjust the current national plan and substitute some share of coal with solar PV in the future energy mix. Government support is critical in achieving the power sector’s NDC target, as cost reduction of solar PV alone does not guarantee success. Encouraging independent power producers (IPP) with financial support mechanisms would be a suitable business model for developing the renewable energy industry.

Estimation of the cost of greenhouse gas reduction in Korea under the global scenario of 1.5 °C temperature increase

ABSTRACT This paper assesses the feasibility of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Korea to pursue efforts to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, as considered in the Paris Agreement. Economic cost, risk and possibility of climate commitment are examined using different burden-sharing schemes and using a computable general equilibrium model based on assumptions of future socioeconomic conditions. Four scenarios are used for 2050, including a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) extended scenario and one of almost zero emissions. Then, the simulation results are analyzed under different scenarios, including several policy implications. In order to meet a goal of zero emissions around 2050, the use of fossil fuels for power generation should be replaced with renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind and hydro. The results show that, regardless of the scenario of burden-sharing schemes using the global carbon budget, the Korean economy can bear the marginal cost of a GHG reduction, ranging between USD 100 and 350 in 2050, compared to the NDC extended scenario. It is evident that without a transformative change in the Korean economic structure and energy systems, the cost of reducing GHG emissions will be enormous.