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While in the early part of the nineteenth-century Jamaica was one of the world's leading sugar producers, the abolition of slavery, the flooding of sugar markets with cheap European beet sugar, and the equalization and finally elimination of sugar import duties across the British empire led to a need for more efficient ways to produce sugar. However, it has been widely noted that Jamaica sugar estates were late in adopting more efficient production techniques, arguably due to inadequate financing. This paper investigates what role the destructive forces of hurricanes may have played in inducing Jamaica to finally modernize its sugar production. To this end, we combine a geo-referenced exhaustive data set of Jamaican sugar estates with a measure of localized hurricane damage constructed from historical hurricane tracks over the period 1882 to 1930. Our econometric analysis shows that hurricane strikes increased the probability that a surviving estate upgraded its sugar processing technology, particularly when the price of sugar was high and the price of the other main exporting crop (bananas) was low. Additionally, while a government hurricane loan programme working through local loan banks did help plantations to adopt new machinery, this depended on the damage not being too large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We find the Small Business Administration's disaster-relief home loan program denies significantly more loans in areas with larger shares of minorities, subprime borrowers, and higher income inequality. We find that risk-insensitive loan pricing, a feature present in many regulated and government-run lending programs, is an important driver of these disparities in access to credit. The differences in denial rates are disproportionately high compared with private-market lending and government-insured risk-sensitive loan pricing programs. Thus, despite ensuring "fair" prices, the use of risk-insensitive pricing may lead to "unfair" access to credit. This paper was accepted by Victoria Ivashina, finance. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.03199. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine the association between mobile payment usage and financial anxiety and explore the mediating role of financial behavior. Moreover, this research also compares the moderating effects of financial education and financial knowledge. Design/methodology/approach: A sample of 18,584 consumers from the 2021 National Financial Capability Study in the USA was analyzed. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to explore indirect associations between mobile payment usage and financial anxiety. Two undesirable financial behaviors, overspending and overindebtedness, were used as mediators between mobile payment and financial anxiety. Moreover, multi-group analyses were conducted for two financial knowledge groups and two financial education groups to examine the heterogeneity. A robustness test is employed to ensure the reliability of the results. Findings: The SEM results showed that the positive association between mobile payment and financial anxiety was mediated by overspending and overindebtedness in a parallel multiple mediation relationship. In addition, financial knowledge moderated the relationships between financial behaviors (overspending or overborrowing) and financial anxiety, while financial education moderated the associations between mobile payment use and overspending and between overspending and financial anxiety. Research limitations/implications: This study is limited by its use of cross-sectional data, which restricts conclusions on causality and temporal dynamics. Additionally, the study does not account for the potential bidirectional relationship between financial anxiety and mobile payment usage, which warrants further exploration. The mediating variables examination focus mainly on overspending and overindebtedness, suggesting the need to explore other factors like budgeting and saving. Finally, the study's findings may not generalize to other populations, highlighting the need for research in diverse cultural contexts. Practical implications: Consumers should be cautious of increased financial anxiety linked to overspending and debt. Platforms can help by enabling spending limits, sending alerts and providing detailed expenditure analysis. Stricter controls on loans and government regulations may also be needed to curb overindebtedness. Additionally, financial knowledge does not mitigate these risks, so even knowledgeable users should be cautious. Financial education programs should address debt management alongside overspending to provide a more comprehensive understanding of financial well-being. Originality/value: This study explored the association between mobile payment use and financial anxiety and how undesirable financial behaviors like overspending and overindebtedness mediate this process. Furthermore, multi-group analyses were employed in financial education subsamples and financial knowledge subsamples. Based on the findings, implications were discussed for individual users, government regulation and education programs of mobile payment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on the financing of smaller innovative firms has established that being small per se creates problems in accessing finance, but being small and innovative adds another layer of difficulty. This new research explicitly questions whether the Covid-19 crisis has added to the debt access problems of an already disadvantaged group of firms. Using a unique Covid-19 period dataset of 9000 UK SMEs, we find that the most innovative firms had the highest demand for loans during the Covid-19 crisis and evidence that those firms trying to introduce new products and services faced more severe borrowing constraints. As the vast majority of Covid-19 loans in the UK were government guaranteed, we also find that several classes of innovative firms found it more difficult to access government supported loans. It was also not the case that those most impacted by the crisis had the most privileged access to government loan schemes despite a greater need for liquidity. These findings have potential implications for financing innovative firms in the post-Covid-19 world, such as proposing a specific innovation loan guarantee scheme with higher than conventional guarantee rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agricultural sector is a crucial component of Palestine's economy, contributing 6.5% to the GDP. The Jordan Valley, known for its fertile land and underlying eastern groundwater basin, is the focal point of this study. This research assesses governmental support as perceived by civil society organizations (CSOs), with an emphasis on the need for tailored lending programs. The study employs a descriptive-analytical methodology, utilizing questionnaires distributed to 20 CSOs. The findings suggest that effective lending programs should be coupled with agricultural guidance and consider seasonal production and marketing to enhance loan repayment feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the relationship between finance and growth using a sample of 275 Chinese cities from 2009 to 2018. We exclude bank loans to local governments through the local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) and construct a better financial development index which measures the level of loans extended by banks to enterprises and households. We find that financial development in the form of a higher loan‐to‐GDP ratio leads to lower economic growth. This negative relationship between finance and growth may be attributed to various mechanisms, including discrimination in bank lending, housing market bubbles, and an imbalance in growth between real and financial sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Horticulture, a beacon of resilience, is essential for bolstering the economic stability and competitiveness of regions. This article sets out to gauge the current state of horticulture in Transcarpathia and explore avenues for its fortification, drawing from the experiences of European countries. The study's methodology is rooted in scenario modelling, trend assessment, and forecasting of horticulture development, leveraging the comparative experiences of European countries. The research results underscore the efficacy of automated systems and storage infrastructure in horticulture, as observed in Transcarpathia, Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, and Germany. The findings reveal that agricultural technologies can boost the yield of fruit and berry crops by 20% through enhanced fertility of sown areas. Despite the significant setbacks inflicted by the ongoing war in Ukraine, the horticultural sector has shown remarkable resilience, a testament to its strength and adaptability. One of the critical consequences of the war was a 27% reduction in capital investment in Ukrainian agriculture - from UAH 68 billion in 2021 to UAH 49.6 billion in 2022. The war has led to the loss of controlled territories and the destruction of the infrastructure that supports the agricultural sector. The article proposes strategies to enhance horticultural practices, advocating for corporate sector involvement and government support for lending. The practical significance of the work lies in formulating recommendations for implementing effective horticultural methods adapted to local conditions. Further research on horticultural practices should focus on improving sown land with the latest tillage tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the determinants influencing the likelihood of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries seeking assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF, as a global institution, aims to promote sustainable growth and prosperity among its member countries by supporting economic strategies that foster financial stability and collaboration in monetary affairs. Utilising panel-probit regression, this study analyses data from thirty-nine SSA countries spanning from 2000 to 2022, focusing on twelve factors: Current Account Balance (CAB), inflation, corruption, General Government Net Lending and Borrowing (GGNLB), General Government Gross Debt (GGGD), Gross Domestic Product Growth (GDPG), United Nations Security Council (UNSC) involvement, regime types (Closed Autocracy, Electoral Democracy, Electoral Autocracy, Liberal Democracy) and China Loan. The results indicate that corruption and GDP growth rate have the most significant influence on the likelihood of SSA countries seeking IMF assistance. Conversely, factors such as CAB, UNSC involvement, LD and inflation show inconsequential effects. Notable, countries like Sudan, Burundi, and Guinea consistently rank high in seeking IMF assistance over various time frames within the observed period. Sudan emerges with a probability of more than 44% in seeking IMF assistance, holding the highest ranking. Study emphasises the importance of understanding SSA region rankings and the variability of variables for policymakers, investors, and international organisations to effectively address economic challenges and provide financial assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the dynamic role and contributions of various financial institutions and government agencies, highlighting their lending schemes in supporting the growth of small-scale women entrepreneurs in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Using an empirical research approach, data were gathered from the districts of Tirunelveli, Theni, Virudhunagar, and Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu, and Mandya, Udupi, Bagalkot, and Raichur in Karnataka. A structured interview schedule and stratified random sampling method yielded samples of 463 women-led SSIs from Tamil Nadu and 423 from Karnataka. Statistical analyses, including percentage analysis, rank tests, chisquare tests, and t-tests, reveal variations between small-scale women entrepreneurs across both states regarding awareness and satisfaction with the diverse lending schemes provided by financial institutions and support agencies. Findings show that many entrepreneurs have accessed financial assistance through these schemes and express high satisfaction. Overall, both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka report strong fulfilment with the general services offered. It is recommended that government agencies actively monitor the effectiveness of training programs to ensure they reach and benefit the intended women entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the world's highest road traffic injury rates, and rates are increasing as the continent develops and mobilises. However, roads are a cornerstone of economic development, and so governments across the continent - supported by development partners - invest heavily in developing their road networks. No government or lending institution wants people - above all children, who are among the most vulnerable road users - to be injured or killed on the roads they finance and build. Making roads safe is not a controversial proposition. The challenge lies in changing the existing practices that allow high-risk roads to be built. This paper looks at a program, 'Safe Schools Africa', which seeks to address the challenge of ensuring that the existing road procurement, design, and construction systems and practices consider the specific road safety requirements of school children. The program ensures that provision is made to safeguard school children and other vulnerable road users in the design and construction of new and rehabilitated roads used by this group. Safe Schools Africa is operated and administered by the FIA Foundation and Amend. The FIA Foundation and Amend work together on advocacy and project identification, while Amend carries out the community engagement and technical engineering services and manages the logistics of project delivery. The paper will examine examples of the ongoing application of 'Safe Schools Africa' on donor-financed projects in Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia and share some lessons learnt to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the Belt and Road (B&R) initiative was put forward in 2013, China has signed cooperation documents with more than 150 countries and more than 30 international organizations. The Chinese government and banks have lent a large amount to B&R countries for infrastructure development, and China's foreign contracted projects and trade with these countries have increased significantly. However, many B&R countries face severe debt repayment problems, and China has actively engaged in debt relief. To avoid debt crises, China needs to adopt new B&R development strategies, including putting B&R development firmly on commercial principles, reducing government loans to B&R countries and restructuring debt, expanding trade with B&R countries, increasing imports from debtor countries, and encouraging private enterprises' direct investment in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the relationship between Hofstede national cultures and de jure central bank independence. We propose theoretical hypotheses to explain how cultural dimensions determine central bank independence and test these hypotheses using an international dataset. We find that two cultural dimensions, namely, individualism and uncertainty avoidance, are significantly related to central bank independence. Central bank independence is higher in collectivistic and uncertainty avoidance countries. We further reveal that these cultural dimensions affect central bank independence in different ways. Individualism and uncertainty avoidance are related to independence in policy formulation and limitations on lending to governments. Although power distance and masculinity are insignificantly related to total central bank independence, they affect independence in objectives, policy formulation and limitation on lending to governments. Our results are robust through a series of checks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Adolescent phase is a very crucial period in one’s life, much emotional and psychological support is needed for an adolescent to bloom into a responsible adult. But unfortunately adolescents do not get the support or they fail to seek support due to lack of awareness. Government of India, to address this issue has established dedicated adolescent friendly health services (AFHS). This study estimates the utilisation of adolescent friendly health clinics in a rural area of Maharashtra. Aims: Aim is to the study the utilisation of adolescent friendly health services and its various determinants in a rural area of Maharashtra. Objectives: Objectives of this study were to assess the sociodemographic profile of study participants, to study the utilisation of adolescent friendly health services among them and to determine the factors associated with utilisation of adolescent friendly health services. Settings and Design: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 290 late adolescents from a rural area of Maharashtra from October 2022 to December 2022. Methods and Material: With the help of data from Gram panchayat about residing adolescents in the rural field practice area of tertiary care hospital, all late adolescents were included in this study after obtaining informed consent. Data was collected with and Statistical analysis was done using ‘Open Epi Info’ software. Results: Out of 290 adolescents, 35% (102) were aware of adolescent friendly health clinics (AFHS), 20% (58) utilised AFHS, the significant sociodemographic components for utilisation were found to be females (AOR: 2.161,95% CI: 1.088-4.295), Bauddha religion (AOR: 2.465,95% CI: 0.585-10.383), socioeconomic class I and II- B.G Prasad classification (AOR: 1.544,95% CI: 0.786-3.030), higher secondary education (AOR: 8.025,95% CI: 1.434-44.916) and Government schooling (AOR:0.389,95% CI: 0.080-1.889). Conclusions: Though initiatives are taken from the Government to lend a helping hand to the adolescents, awareness and utilisation seems to be minimal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Islamic Republic of Iran has different policies in economic, social, cultural, and international aspects since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. This new political economy has had many socioeconomic challenges for the Iranian people since its emergence. Recently, the government of Iran has focused on the Iranian banking system, especially the problem of a high rate of NPLs, and their relationships with the current socioeconomic problems of Iran. The purpose of this research is to explain the political economy behind the non-performing loans (NPLs) of the Iranian banking system. This research has a qualitative design as a content analysis of Iranian officials’ disclosures by triangulations of the country's leadership, governmental powers, and Iranian economic-politic pundits for 1961-2023. Our findings show that NPLs in the Iranian banking system have five feeding pillars: the government’s anomalies, foreign policies, economic identity, social anomy, and geographic demography of Iran. These pentagon pillars of the political economy increase socioeconomic pressure on Iranian banking systems to spend low-quality lending towards the government’s socioeconomic strategies. However, the political economy significantly disturbs the country’s small markets and fuels social crises. The results provide insights about why Iran doesn’t have a steady economic development yet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind energy production is growing rapidly worldwide in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, wind energy production is not environmentally neutral. Negative impacts on volant animals, such as bats, include fatalities at turbines and habitat loss due to land-use change and displacement. Siting turbines away from ecologically sensitive areas and implementing measures to reduce fatalities are critical to protecting bat populations. Restricting turbine operations during periods of high bat activity is the most effective form of mitigation currently available to reduce fatalities. Compensating for habitat loss and offsetting mortality are not often practiced, because meaningful offsets are lacking. Legal frameworks to prevent or mitigate the negative impacts of wind energy on bats are absent in most countries, especially in emerging markets. Therefore, governments and lending institutions are key in reconciling wind energy production with biodiversity goals by requiring sufficient environmental standards for wind energy projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the optimal intertemporal liquidation strategies to meet the cash requirements of large institutional investors in the presence of permanent and temporary price impacts. We construct a two-period optimal liquidation problem tailored to investors with intertemporal cash requirements, such as pension funds that need to meet periodic payment obligations. We impose viable government loans that can be deployed by state-owned investors, thereby extending the existing literature, which has focused largely on the private sector. The optimal liquidation strategies from a broader perspective can be sorted into three types: preemptive, conventional, and deferred liquidation. The use of viable large-scale loans can be attractive as a buffer in intertemporal decisions. Proper consideration of the timing and amount for liquidation of institutional investors is necessary. This study has important implications for policy makers and can inform the design of strategies for managing the liquidity needs of large institutional investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the evidence of Russia's activity in Latin America and Africa, the paper explores the country's lending policies as part of the country's economic statecraft. Russia joined the group of countries that provide loans to other governments only quite recently, using the flow of resources from oil sales. As a latecomer, Russia and its companies target states with markets unoccupied by Western competitors. Russia even supports regimes with low credibility and provides them with political and economic support. Because of this high-yield but also high-risk strategy, it faces problems and losses in countries such as Venezuela or Libya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the relation between electoral politics and government small-business lending, employment, and business formation. We construct novel measures of electoral importance capturing swing and base voters using data from Facebook ad spending, independent political expenditures, the Cook Political Report, and campaign contributions. We find that businesses in electorally important states, districts, and sectors receive more loans following the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, controlling for funding demand and both health and economic conditions. Estimates from survey and observational data show that electoral politics and the allocation of government funds affect employment, small-business activity, and business applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the history of the Tasmanian Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee of Public Accounts which is one of the longest established public accounts committee in the Commonwealth. Topics discussed include the establishment of the committee in 1862, the scrutiny of local government loan applications for sundry works from 1876 to 1943, and auditor-general Frederick Batt's report and the 1948 constitutional crisis.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate the correlation between credit supply to government and credit supply to the private sector to determine whether there is a crowding-out or crowding-in effect of credit supply to government on credit supply to the private sector. Design/methodology/approach: The study used data from 43 countries during the 1980–2019 period. The study employed the Pearson correlation methodology to analyze the data. Findings: There is a significant positive correlation between credit supply to government and credit supply to the private sector. There is also a significant positive relationship between credit supply to government and credit supply to the private sector, implying a crowding-in effect of government borrowing on private sector borrowing. The positive correlation between credit supply to government and credit supply to the private sector by banks is stronger and highly significant in the period before the Great Recession, while the positive correlation is weaker and less significant during the Great Recession, and the correlation further weakens after the Great Recession. The regional analyses show that the positive correlation between credit supply to government and credit supply to the private sector by banks is stronger and highly significant in the African region than in the Asian region and the region of the Americas. Originality/value: There is no evidence on the correlation between credit supply to government and credit supply to the private sector during the Great Recession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between the Exchange Rate spill-over and Macro Economic Determinants in selected South Asian Countries (Afghanistan, India and Pakistan). The study employed 10 years of data from 2011 to 2021 of macroeconomic variables such as TIN- Total Investment, INF – Inflation, IMP – Imports, EXP – Exports, GTE – Government Total Expenditure, GNL – Government Net Lending, ER – Exchange Rate. The result evidenced that selected macroeconomic variables changes doesn’t have any connection in the changes of ER of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The ER changes are highly autocorrelated and act highly independence in the last ten years. Moreover, the depreciation of currency values replicates economic instability and drastically straight fall. Asian countries operating their currency based on a managed floating ER regime. It’s marking a market-determined ER regime of the currency with provision for timely intervention by the central bank. Managed float regime is an international financial environment in which ERs fluctuates from day to day, but central banks attempt to influence their countries’ ERs by buying and selling currencies to maintain a certain range. This study would be useful to the retail investors to speculate and arbitrage and (economic policy) policymakers to monitor, Forecasting and Simulation the ER movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]