As most of the emerging-market economies, South Africa is facing turbulences in foreign exchange markets, which appear in the form of high volatility in prices of its domestic currency, the South African rand. The increased volatility of exchange rates in emerging markets is usually attributed to the smaller size of their economies and consequently the smaller size of the market for their currency. Under these conditions transactions have a greater impact on exchange rates than in larger and more mature economies.
Additionally, a generally higher risk of investment projects and macroeconomic, as well as political, stability are recognized as reasons for a higher variance in currency markets. Higher exchange rate volatility in emerging market countries is therefore an understandable expectation and reflects fundamental differences in the structure of economies.
It is well known that bankruptcy codes–the legal frameworks that govern financial distress and adjudicate the resolution of default on debt contracts–vary substantially across countries. In some countries, such as the UK, the code overwhelmingly favors debtholders, particularly secured debtholders. In others, equityholders are accorded substantial rights. For example, Chapter 11 of the US code allows the firm to suspend interest and principal payments on debt for at least 120 days during which equityholders have the exclusive right to come up with a proposal for reorganization.
The bankruptcy code is evidently itself a leading determinant of the costs of financial distress. As such, one might expect that equity and debt-friendly codes have very different implications for observed capital structures; for example, it appears plausible that “hard” bankruptcy codes (ones that favor debtholders) should lead to lower use of debt. A cross-country study by Rajan and Zingales (1995) offers mixed evidence on this. It finds that at an aggregate level, firms in Germany and the UK (two countries with debt-friendly codes relative to the US) are much less leveraged than US firms. However, the study finds that other G-7 countries too use more leverage than the UK and Germany (and as much or more leverage than the US), though their bankruptcy codes are not as equity-friendly as the US code.
This resource guide provides general information and guidelines regarding basic nutrition and common doctor prescribed diets. It is the supplement to the foundational training entitled Basic Nutrition and Doctor Prescribed Diets, which was developed by the DMRS.
The intended use of this resource guide is as a reference tool for those responsible for supporting persons in the community with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
