World Bank Report Research Articles

Financial Development, Financial Market, and Financial Institutional on International Trade in Developing Eight Countries

This study aims to analyze the effect of financial development, financial market, and financial institutional on international trade in developing eight countries, with foreign exchange reserves, foreign direct investment, and real gross domestic product as control variables. This research includes descriptive quantitative research. The population used is eight developing countries. The data in this study is secondary data sourced from World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports observation period from 2011 to 2020. The research model uses the panel data regression analysis method (Ordinary Least Square) through the Eviews 10 program. The results show that financial development has a positive and significant effect on international trade in D-8 countries, while financial markets and financial institutional have a significant negative effect on international trade in D-8 countries.

The Role of Remittances, Financial Inclusion and Governance on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

The goal of this study is to analyse the role of financial inclusion, governance, andremittances on growth in Sub-Saharan African countries (SSA), as well as themoderating influence of the role of financial inclusion on the remittances-growth nexus,using panel data spanning 1996–2020. Data were collected through secondary sources,including World Bank and IMF reports for the period 1996–2020. By using a principalcomponent analysis method, we constructed composite FI indexes to measure the degreeof FI. Cross-sectional dependence, slope homogeneity, and pooled mean grouping (PMG)are employed to evaluate the stated objectives. The study findings showed thatremittances have a significant positive relationship with economic growth, and thatpositive financial inclusion moderates the remittance-growth nexus in SSA countries.Given the findings that the level of governance has an adverse influence on growth, hencestakeholders should improve financial infrastructure, which provides the underlyinginstrument for financial inclusion, and protect customers by instituting controls andprocedures for reporting, fairness, and resorting to SSA countries. Governments shouldalso promote the larger global remittances agenda, which includes leveragingremittances for better consumer and business financing, and exposure to global financialmarkets through refinancing and the issue of diaspora bonds.JEL Classifications: C1; F6; G2; O4

Macro-economic Variables and Bank Performance in Nigeria: Fourth Republic Perspective

Purpose: The vagaries of the macroeconomic variables make the business environment unpredictable, and this often portends mammoth implications for various businesses, primarily critical businesses such as banking, which the successive governments within the Fourth Republic have strived to protect jealously. Therefore, this study assessed the impact of macroeconomic factors on the performance of Nigerian banks from 1999 to 2021.Methodology:Data for the study period came from the World Bank reports and the CBN and SEC Statistical Bulletins. An ARDL (Autoregressive Distributed Lag) model was employed to evaluate the data.Findings: Lending interest rates had a negative and statistically insignificant impact on the performance of Nigerian banks with a coefficient of -0.0422 (p-value = 0.3860 & gt; 0.05), in contrast to the unemployment rate, which had a negative but statistically significant impact with a coefficient of -0.0534 (p-value = 0.0012 & gt; 0.05).Implication:Lending interest rate and unemployment rate impeded banks' performance, gross domestic savings, GDP per capita income, and exchange rate facilitated banks' performance in Nigeria.

Effect of Determinants on Financial Leverage in FMCG Industry: An Empirical Study of Capital Structure Prior to COVID-19

FMCG stands for fast-moving consumer goods industry, also known as consumer packaged goods, which refers to an industry engaged in the production of packaged food, cosmetics, household goods and other readily consumable items. This industry’s main characteristics reveal frequent purchases by consumers, high inventory turnover and a short shelf life. The FMCG industry is the fourth-largest sector in the Indian economy. This study is aimed at understanding the capital structure financing and investigating the relationship between the capital structure determinants and financial leverage of NIFTY FMCG companies from the year 2000 to 2018, prior to the COVID-19 breakdown health emergency. It has been stated in the World Bank report for 2019 that India is the seventh largest consumer market in the world, which includes elements like private consumption, investments and exports, thus encouraging the study of the capital structure of FMCG companies to be conducted. It is postulated that the capital structure determinants are profitability, growth opportunity, size, risk, non-debt tax shield, liquidity and asset structure. It is believed that liquidity is expected to play an important role as a capital structure determinant. Thus, an approach is developed to investigate the impact of capital structure determinants on the debt ratio of FMCG firms in the light of capital structure theories.

A STUDY ON WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS- THE CHANGE MAKERS

India of its total population has almost 48% of Women. Their contribution in economic growth is 38%. As per the World Bank report, there are 25% to 33% of Women entrepreneurs in the world. They play a vital role especially in developing countries to attain socially balanced economic growth. In India they, from all age groups and backgrounds are persistently breaking stereotypes and reshaping business. There has been constant rise in self-employment since its independence. Various facilities such as technology, network availability and communication all over the world pave way for them both online and offline digital world. Digital media helps in enhancing market strategies to get their creative ideas reach every nook and corner. This study shall throw light on what women entrepreneurship are, challenges they encounter, qualities essential for them to be successful, initiatives taken by government to help them break glass ceiling and suggest measures to promote them.

Best Management Practices for Sustainable Agriculture

The present estimate of the number of people on Earth is 8 billion, but by the middle of the century, it is predicted to reach 9 billion. Simultaneously, the cultivable farm land is being lost to expanding urban areas, industrialization and climate change. The recent World Bank Report estimated that to feed 9 billion people, food production needs to scale up by 70% by 2050. In the present context, the significance of sustainable agriculture is crucial in ensuring the sustenance of the population and mitigating the adverse effects of climate change. Environmental protection, resource conservation, soil fertility maintenance and improvement are the key goals of sustainable agricultural practises. Sincere efforts have been taken to discuss the various sustainable agriculture methods and practices in this assessment.

ANALISIS PENGARUH PENGANGGURAN, FOREIGN DIRECT INVESMENT (FDI) DAN MANUFAKTUR TERHADAP PERTUMBUHAN EKONOMI DI INDONESIA (PERIODE TAHUN 2016-2021)

Several economic theories can explain economic growth, but what is popular to explain the relevance of the relationship between economic growth, Foreign Direct Investment, Manufacturing and Unemployment is the neoclassical theory where capital flows "downhill" from rich countries (capital abundance) to poor countries (capital scarce). So that all countries can access the same technology and produce similar goods, while the difference in per capita income reflects the difference in the rate of return on capital, new investment will be made in poor countries. On the other hand, the Heckscher-Ohlin model explicitly predicts capital flowing from countries with low interest rates to countries with high interest rates (Pogoda, 2012).
 After the 1997-1998 economic crisis, in 1999 Indonesia became a member of the G-20 making it a middle income country. More than two decades, Indonesia is in the middle income trap. Within the limits of this study, data were taken for 2016 – 2021, where foreign direct investment, manufacturing and unemployment had an effect on economic growth in Indonesia. As quoted in the World Bank report, Indonesia's per capita income was recorded at US$3,870 in the 2020 World Bank report, making it a lower middle income country. However, in 2021, in a World Bank report, Indonesia's per capita income recorded US$4,140, returning to the upper middle income country class.

Innovative Solutions for Economic Growth: Exploring the Impact of Economic Freedoms on Foreign Direct Investment Attraction

Abstract Economic freedoms are essential for the growth and development of countries, but their distribution varies across nations, resulting in differences in economic growth. This study aims to explore the impact of economic freedoms on economic growth, measured by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow, by examining the influence of institutional quality. Economic freedom indicators were obtained from the 2022 report by the Heritage Foundation, and GDP per capita and FDI indicators were sourced from the World Bank report. This study employs multivariate regression analysis to investigate the relationship between economic freedoms and economic growth. The findings suggest that economic freedoms have a positive effect on both GDP per capita growth and FDI inflow. Government integrity was found to be the primary indicator for GDP per capita growth, while Business freedom was identified as the key factor in attracting FDI. The implications of these results are significant, as they can inform policy decisions aimed at improving the standard of living by increasing GDP per capita and creating employment opportunities through FDI.

Formation and characterization of leaf waste into organic compost.

In solid waste management, pollution-free disposal of leaf waste in urban areas is still not standardized and adopted. According to the World Bank report, 57% of wastes generated in South East Asia are consisted of food and green waste, which can be recycled into valuable bio-compost. The present study shows a method of leaf litter waste management by composting it using essential microbe (EM) method. Different parameters, such as pH, electrical conductivity, macronutrients, micronutrients, and potentially toxic elements (PTE) were measured at zero to 50 days of composting using appropriate methods. The microbial composting was shown to mature within 20 to 40 days, and its maturity could be evaluated by the attainment of stable pH (8), electrical conductivity (0.9 mS/cm), and C:N ratio ≥ 20. The analysis was also performed on other bio-composts viz. kitchen waste compost, vermicompost, cow dung manure, municipal organic waste compost, and neem cake compost. The fertility index (FI) was evaluated based on six parameters viz. total carbon, total nitrogen, N ratio, phosphorus, potassium, and sulphur contents. The PTE values were used to calculate their clean index (CI). The results showed that leaf waste compost has a higher fertility index (FI = 4.06) than other bio-composts, except the neem cake compost (FI = 4.44). The clean index of the leaf waste compost (CI = 4.38) was also higher than other bio-composts. This indicates that leaf waste compost is a valuable bio-resource with high nutritive value and low PTE contamination, with a favourable prospective to be used in organic farming.

Effect of Landlockedness on Receiving Tourism Income in SAARC Countries

This study looks into the economic-driven tourism growth hypothesis in the context of SAARC countries. It also investigates the effect of landlockedness on tourism income receipt. It is based on secondary data gathered from several World Bank Reports and economic surveys of respective countries. It made use of 169 data points from SAARC's eight member countries. The data from an unbalanced panel was used. It makes use of an exploratory and analytical research design. For the impact study of independent variables on dependent variables, descriptive statistics, panel unit root testing, panel quantile regression analysis, quantile process estimates, quantile slope equality test, and symmetric quantile test are used. The GDP has a positive impact on tourism income in SAARC countries. It is found that one percent increase in the median value of GDP, the tourism income is increased by 0.219 percent. The evidence has proved the economic-driven tourism growth hypothesis, particularly regarding SAARC countries. This highlights the need for tailored tourism initiatives aimed specifically at landlocked nations.

Impact of Resolving Insolvency on Entrepreneurial Activity in India

The main purpose of this study was to analyse the impact of resolving insolvency on entrepreneurial activity in India. The study is empirical in nature and used the secondary source of data obtained from World Bank Reports for a period of 10 years from 2010 to 2019. Resolving insolvency is an explanatory variable, and entrepreneurial activity is a dependent variable. The resolving insolvency was expressed in terms of time to resolve insolvency, cost of resolving insolvency, recovery of creditors’ claims and strength of insolvency framework. Similarly, entrepreneurial activity was expressed in terms of total business density, new business density and closed business density of limited liability companies in India. It was presumed that the dimensions of resolving insolvency would influence entrepreneurial activity positively in India in a probabilistic manner. Both descriptive statistical measures, such as mean, median and standard deviation, and inferential statistical measures, such as multiple correlation and regression models, were used for data analysis. Adjusted R2 was used to test the model fitness, and Durbin–Watson test statistic was used to know whether auto-correlation exists. Eviews Statistical Software was used for this purpose. The study concludes that resolving insolvency has a positive impact on entrepreneurial activity in India but is of insignificant nature in the short run. The study further concludes that there are chances for a significant impact of resolving insolvency on the entrepreneurial activity in India in the long run. The level of significance may be increased if the number of observations and explanatory variables increases.

Addressing practical challenge of using autopilot drone for asphalt surface monitoring: Road detection, segmentation, and following

According to the recent world bank report, around 80% of a life-cycle cost of a road is devoted to maintenance which includes monitoring and repair processes. To more effectively keep road serviceability, knowing the current status of road health is crucial. Typically, the monitoring processes are handled by human-intensive procedures. So, automating this task could lead to saving time and cost and also, improve efficiency. Although, this task has been optimized by Ground Vehicles further. Yet it lacks the disadvantages of human-intensive procedure. As they are still semi-manual, creates traffic issues, and not being eco-friendly or cost efficient. In recent years, UAVs have been successfully utilized to handle a wide range of labor-based tasks including road assessments. This paper presents a drone-based solution to automate road monitoring and segmentation as well as addressing the practical challenges of using drones for this purpose. To do so, a platform is developed that controls a drone through a road monitoring flight using computer vision-based techniques. The platform, rather than sending maneuvering commands to the drone during a flight starting from takeoff to landing, firstly could detect road boundaries by finding vanishing points, and secondly, could identify the dash lines and the center of the road. Finally, the captured road is segmented and labeled with the temporal and geographical information supplied by the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) of the drone. It has been tried to optimize the platform in order to handle all the processes in real-time while the UAV is following the road during a flight. To evaluate the proposed idea, the developed platform is tested in urban areas. The achieved results demonstrate how effectively could detect and segment a road in different environments using an off-the-shelf UAV. This platform could improve the automation of the data gathering process required in road maintenance.

TUNISIA: World Bank Report

Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical SeriesVolume 60, Issue 3 p. 24232B-24233A Policy and Practice TUNISIA: World Bank Report First published: 05 May 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6346.2023.11060.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article. Volume60, Issue3May 2023Pages 24232B-24233A RelatedInformation

MOROCCO: World Bank Report

Africa Research Bulletin: Economic, Financial and Technical SeriesVolume 60, Issue 2 p. 24194B-24194C Policy and Practice MOROCCO: World Bank Report First published: 05 April 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6346.2023.11011.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume60, Issue2April 2023Pages 24194B-24194C RelatedInformation

Russian-Ukrainian War and its Economic Implications on the Prices of Strategic Commodities.

Russia–Ukraine war has increased systemic vulnerabilities of the global economy. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the economic implications of the Russian-Ukrainian war (2022) on the global prices of strategic commodities. Strategic commodities were divided into three main types: energy commodities, food commodities, and mining commodities. According to World Bank reports, the monthly data of commodities prices from M05/2021 to M05/2022 has been used. In addition, a comparative analysis approach was used to compare the prices of commodities before and after the war. The study concluded that the Russian-Ukrainian war had a negative impact on the prices of energy commodities, especially crude oil, natural gas and coal. The results indicated that the Russian-Ukrainian war negatively affected the prices of food commodities such as wheat, maize and oil. The study found that some mining commodities such as aluminium, nickel and zinc were negatively affected by the war.

Actualization of the ecology state in the global context of contemporary events

The article highlights the relevance of the problem of the ecology of our time. When posing the problem, the main aspects that lead to the current difficulties with ecology are determined. The main problems that are already facing us because of climate change are indicated. The problem of using plastic, which fills most landfills with waste, is also considered. Based on these problems, it is proposed to determine the happiest countries in the world according to a rating compiled by independent contractors at the request of the UN. In this way, the main problems of the countries are deduced and summarized in comparative statistics based on unifying problems. The existing methods and technologies currently promoted by the world's leading countries in comparison with our country are also considered. Despite the fact that countries differ in geographical location, level of development, availability of natural resources, and other factors, they all face environmental problems. Climate change - global warming due to CO2 emissions - is one of the most common problems. The level of global warming of 1.5°C may soon be crossed, unless rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are made, we are doomed to global climate change in every region
 The world suffers from global climate changes, social segregation, lack of full implementation of recycling technologies, recycling of human life items, epidemics, financial crises, etc. Ukraine, before the above list, has been on the permanent fire for quite a long time. Despite the indescribable depth of the tragedy that Ukraine and Ukrainians are experiencing every day, we have the opportunity to create a completely new country, implement the best achievements, and most importantly, logically implement them in the local context, and not blindly copy them. The World Bank report published in its study a list of directions that the global community should pay attention to and take into account in its various developments.
 For Ukraine, the problems of eco-genocide, which are caused by hostilities on the part of Russia, are indicated and potential methods of their solution are considered.

Assessing Virtual Water Trade Balance of Agricultural Products (A Case Study of Mazandaran province)

According to World Bank Report (2021), the agricultural sector consumes 70 percent of global freshwater. Therefore, managing and exploiting water resources optimally as well as future planning in this sector is necessary. Limited access to water endowments, unequal distribution of water resources, climate changes and increasing global water demand have increased the importance of the issue. Aware of this situation, the main purpose of this study is to investigate the virtual water balance of selected agricultural products in Mazandaran Province with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in 2018. In this paper, by using CROPWAT and OPTIWAT software, first the water requirement of plants has been calculated and then, by processing the data of foreign trade of Mazandaran province with CIS, the trade balance of virtual water for selected agricultural products has been measured. The results of the present study show that the trade balance of virtual water in Mazandaran Province with the CIS in 2018 was 2816.76 million cubic meters, which indicates overall saved national water resources.The policy recommendation of this study is to pay special attention to virtual water and its combination in the upstream documents in order to conserve national water as well as social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Forest Governance in Nepal concerning Sustainable Community Forest Management and Red Panda Conservation

This paper investigates issues confronting forest management and sustainability, focusing on the governance of the community forest user group (CFUG) initiative in Nepal. The paper begins with a literature review to give a general overview of the historical and current situation of forest governance in Nepal. It explores the historical impacts of unsustainable logging in Nepal and the World Bank Report, which both investigated and explored avenues for improving the forest situation, including community forestry. The paper outlines the development of community forestry, the legislative, regulatory, and governance frameworks underpinning this unique system of community-driven forest management, and its relationship to sustainable forest management (SFM). SFM in turn has engendered a market for sustainably derived timber and labeling systems for ‘good’ wood. The paper continues by providing an analysis of stakeholder attitudes regarding the current forest governance situation in Nepal. Furthermore, it provides another small case study on how such standards might be applied in the local community context of protecting Nepal’s Red Panda while simultaneously delivering sustainable forest management and community development. It concludes with a discussion on the need for governance standards for forest management and community forestry in Nepal.

The impact of a professional upskilling training programme on developing teachers' digital competence

AbstractBackgroundThe emergence of remote teaching during the Coronavirus (COVID‐19) pandemic caused several gaps due to teachers being unprepared to teach online. Teachers did not achieve many digital competencies, resulting in an inability to facilitate the students' learning by using technology creatively to overcome challenges. Accordingly, developing teachers' digital competencies to facilitate the teaching and learning process will: positively impact students' innovative use of digital technology in completing their tasks; consequently, develop their digital competencies; prepare them for jobs that do not yet exist; and support them for unexpected challenges they might face.ObjectivesThis study investigates the impact of the upskilling training programme on developing teachers' digital competence, where the aim is to investigate if the teachers' digital competence has improved from the expected intermediate level stated by the World Bank Report in 2021, where strategies for the Digital Skills Action Plan were mentioned. For instance, strategy 2 “Reform of Digital Skills programmes” stated that students must acquire at least intermediate level of general digital skills. Strategy 3 “Enhance use of technologies in teaching and learning” aims to advance teachers' digital competencies to be above the intermediate level. Accordingly, the above average level was used in the hypothesis as a benchmark of the teachers' levels after attending the upskilling training programme. The upskilling training programme of this study is a 10‐week training session using blended learning approach with instructor leading. The training's long‐term goals aim to construct a higher level of competency in a set of skills, attitudes as well as knowledge, which include digital citizenship; communication and collaboration; critical thinking, problem‐solving, and decision‐making; creativity and innovation; using technology as a tool.MethodsA sequential mixed‐method approach using quantitative and qualitative data was used. An online survey with closed‐ended items was adopted to collect quantitative data from teachers. The qualitative data was collected through teachers' focus group discussions using the Zoom conference meetings platform. The participants are K‐12 teachers from a group of national charity schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Results and ConclusionsThe study results revealed that the upskilling training programme efficiently developed teachers' digital competence where they construct knowledge and skills. Teachers exhibit a positive attitude towards using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity, consequently developing their digital competence. As a result, this will also lead to the development of the students' digital competencies, where they will be able to overcome challenges they might face in this changing world, especially after the pandemic of Covid‐19, where there is reliance on the use of technology.TakeawaysThese findings aid in understanding the impact of the upskilling training programme on the development of the teachers' digital competence. Educators need to provide teachers with suitable online and face‐to‐face training that meets the teachers' needs. However, understanding the difference between upskilling and reskilling training programmes is vital to delivering training that develops the teachers' capabilities.

Financial inclusion and economic development: Turkey and Greece

Purpose- Financial inclusion means individuals and businesses have access to useful and affordable financial products and services to deliver their needs in a responsible and sustainable way. A financial sector is measured and compared on four main features; debt is the size of financial institutions, access is the access and use of financial services by the users, efficiency is the efficiency in the provision of financial services, and stability is the stability in the provision of financial services. The purpose of this paper is to measure the level of financial inclusion of Turkey and Greece from 2000 to 2020 and compare its relationship with the economic growth and income inequality of both countries. Methodology- The World Bank data covering the 2000-2020 period is extracted from Turkey and Greece from the world bank report. The whole financial system for both countries is defined as a combination of banks, nonbanks financial institutions, and stock exchange markets. The related indicators for each of the subsectors of the financial system are determined for banks, nonbanks financial institutions, and stock exchange markets. Thus, 32 indicators for banks, 6 indicators for nonbanks, and 16 indicators for stock exchange markets are determined for the financial inclusion index. All indicators are in percentages. All individual indicators are summed for the computation of subsectoral indexes and then the growth rate in each subsectoral indexes are computed. The growth rates of each subsectoral index are summed and weighted by the subsectoral asset sizes or trading volüme. Finally, the causal relationship between the financial inclusion index, Gini coefficient, Poverty Headcount ratio, and GDP per capita was examined. Findings- The average growth rate for the financial inclusion index for the 21 years is 2,83% for Turkey and 0,97% for Greece. According to the analysis, we found that the financial inclusion index Granger-cause GDP per capita, Gini index Granger-cause financial inclusion index and there is a bidirectional relationship between the financial inclusion index and Poverty Headcount ratio for Turkey. On the other hand, there is a bidirectional relationship between GDP per capita and the financial inclusion index and a bidirectional relationship between the financial inclusion index and the Poverty Headcount ratio for Greece. Conclusion- Financial inclusion simply means a larger size of financial institutions and a variety of financial products and services available for the use of adult individuals, businesses, and governmental agencies. Economic growth is supported and accelerated by an increase in financial inclusion. The empirical analysis supports the literature that the growth in the financial inclusion index enhances a higher growth in GDP and a much higher growth in GDP per capita for both Turkey and Greece. The project titled “Istanbul as an International Financial Center” may easily improve the level of financial inclusion in Turkey. Keywords: Financial inclusion, economic growth, income inequality, financial indicators, Turkish and Greek financial markets JEL Codes: G40, G41