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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically the channels through which Islamic and/or conventional banking can spur economic growth in MENA region. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a range of developed econometric approaches, including panel cointegration technique, panel Granger causality test and a panel-based vector error correction model (VECM), to analyze explicitly all the causal relationships among Islamic banking, conventional banking development and economic growth in a unified framework. Findings: The empirical results show that Islamic banking in MENA countries not only leads to economic growth but also affects positively and significantly conventional banking development. Thus, Islamic banking has an active role and could be classified as "supply-following" since its development only leads to economic growth, whereas conventional banking, with passive role, could be classified as "demand-following" since it only reacts to economic growth in long run. Research limitations/implications: The study has two principal limitations. It is conducted within a relatively limited time period and sample of countries. Also, the used models did not take into account the impact of others financial and macroeconomic variables like stock market development, interest rate, inflation and financial crisis. Practical implications: The results have two main implications. First, in MENA countries, well-functioning Islamic banking sector could not only promote economic growth but also can be served as a development factor for their conventional one. Second, unlike conventional banks, the customer of Islamic banks seems not to be motivated by interest and profits. Rather religious factors are recommended as the main motive for investing and saving in Islamic banks. Originality/value: The study tries to perceive whether there exists a substitution or complementarity effect between Islamic and conventional banking in promoting economic growth for MENA countries. This situation is neither revealed nor clarified in the relevant literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does the growth in non-agricultural sectors spill over to the agricultural sector of an economy? There is limited evidence available on the issue for the developing world, especially for Pakistan which has undergone large structural changes since its independence. This study examined the impact of sectoral growth linkages on agricultural output of Pakistan for the period of 1960-2016. We have estimated an econometric model which incorporates inter-sectoral linkages of Pakistan economy using a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). Our analysis revealed that the economy of Pakistan has shifted from an agricultural dominant economy to services-based economy during the past six decades. Results of VECM show that the industrial sector has a negative impact on the performance of agricultural output whereas services sector is influencing the output of agriculture sector positively in the long run. Short run results show that industrial sector is affecting the performance of agricultural output positively whereas services sector is influencing the output of agriculture sector negatively. Negative impacts of industry in the long run and services in the short run imply that agricultural sector should be given its due share in public investment and the role of middle man should be minimised at the time of sale of agricultural production in the markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since micro-level understanding of the non-farm sector (NFS) seems to be insufficient for promoting sustainable livelihoods in rural Bangladesh, this paper examines the significance and growth linkages of Household Non-Farm Enterprises (HNFEs) in four villages at a typically advanced rural location: Comilla Sadar Upazila. The findings show that in relation to the limited scope of earning income from farming and in-country remittance employment, the households' higher dependency on out-country remittance employment and local low-return NFE could be a threat for sustainability of local livelihoods. Thus, the increasing contribution of non-farm self-employment and non-farm wage employment by promoting HNFEs is critically important. The HNFEs were also found to be locally linked. The HNFEs that purchased inputs locally and sold outputs in distant markets might have higher profit potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agricultural growth linkage debate substantiates that agriculture contributes to economic growth through its linkages to other sectors. This paper contributes to the debate by combining a value chain approach with input-output-analysis. Results for Guatemala show that the sectors linked to agriculture are predominantly informal sectors and that these sectors create less value added, but more employment than formal sectors. It is also demonstrated that forward linkages are more important than backward linkages. In conclusion, agricultural linkages to forward sectors have a high potential to generate employment and value added and therefore should be supported by development policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine predator populations are sensitive to temporal variation in prey availability, but prey dynamics are often difficult to quantify. Long-term measures of offspring growth is a useful performance attribute to gauge the potential demographic direction for such predator populations, especially where other metrics (e.g., population size estimates) are lacking. Subantarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) females are central place foragers during a protracted lactation period, and their foraging success determines the growth and vitality of their offspring. Using data spanning over 2 decades, we assessed geographic and temporal variation in growth rates and weaning mass of subantarctic fur seal pups at 2 of the species' principal populations (Gough and Marion islands) and identified environmental conditions that may, through assumed bottom-up mechanisms, affect body mass at weaning. While Marion Island pups grew at an average rate of between 0.040 and 0.067 kg/day early in lactation (comparable to conspecific growth at Amsterdam Island), the mean growth rate at Gough Island (approximately 0.030 kg/day) was lower than the growth rate represented by the bottom 5% of the body mass distribution at Marion Island. Notwithstanding substantial interannual variability, we found support for a negative trend in weaning mass at both populations, suggesting a rise in limiting factors that is hypothesized to relate to concurrent local population size increases. Weaning mass tended to be higher when sea surface temperatures were warmer (with a stronger positive effect at Gough Island) and during positive phases of the Southern Oscillation Index (La Niña events), with a stronger positive effect in males. Given the low weaning mass of Gough Island fur seal pups, continued population growth here seems unlikely. While density-dependent regulation appears to have increased in strength at Marion Island, terminating rapid population growth, current weaning weights remain above the physiological limits of growth in subantarctic fur seals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The objective of this paper is to understand, from an international comparative perspective, how population growth in rural regions is affected by the relationship with their nearby urban centers. By means of a cross-sectional analysis on OECD small regions (Territorial Level 3), the paper distinguishes spread effects-positive spillovers arising from urban growth-from the net effect of distance to nonrural places. The results show that spread effects outweigh backwash effects, so that rural regions benefit from growth in urban places. A rural region's distance from urban and intermediate regions has a negative effect on its population growth rate. Nevertheless, both the strength of this effect and the growth spillovers decline with distance, and this occurs relatively faster in Europe. The results further suggest that proximity to large urban areas has a higher positive influence than proximity to intermediate areas, but only outside Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines economic development in Japan during the 19th century using the growth linkages/virtuous circle model. Identification of the interaction between agriculture and industry in Japan using the growth linkages model; Details on agricultural and nonagricultural growth in the 19th-century Japanese countryside; Discussion on rural growth linkages in Japan.

The paper examines whether a long-run relationship between financial development and economic growth exists employing panel integration and cointegration techniques for a dynamic heterogeneous panel of 15 OECD and 50 non-OECD countries over the period 1975–2000. Three different measures of financial deepening are used to capture the variety of different channels through which financial development can affect growth. Our findings support the existence of a single long-run equilibrium relation between financial deepening, economic growth and a set of control variables. Further, the evidence points to a bi-directional causality between financial deepening and growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses survey data gathered from small and large poultry producers in the rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal, and highlights factors constraining the impact of commercial poultry production on the local economy. It was found that small-scale poultry production has the ability to initiate economic growth through the “export” of its products and to draw under-utilised resources such as labour into production. The impact of the subsequent multiplier effect is most likely strongest in the non-tradable, non-agricultural sector. Alleviating constraints for a large number of small enterprises is expected to impact more positively on the rural economy than if a few larger enterprises were encouraged to grow bigger. The descriptive results suggest that small producers face much higher transaction costs than larger producers. Government policies should focus on absorbing some of these transaction costs to nurture economic growth in the rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal, i.e. by improving education, physical infrastructure and technology transfer through extension. Other important interventions include the provision of mentoring and training services for new managers including institution, legal and financial management instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Examines the effects of market-town investment strategies designed to increase urban and rural incomes in Niger. Survey of rural-urban growth linkages and their impact on a market-town development strategy in several market regions of Dosso and Maradi Departments; Vulnerability of the rural economy in Niger; Supply constraints on agricultural production; More.

The present study was designed to analyze the long and short-run relationships between tax rate and economic growth of Pakistan. It examined the dynamic effect of tax rate, capital stock, exports, and health expenditures on real GDP per capita by using Johansen's co-integration approach. The time series data were obtained from various sources ranging from 1975-2009. The results showed a negative effect of tax rate on real per capita GDP, thus adverse impacts on the overall economic growth. Other explanatory variables, however, showed positive effects on real GDP per capita. In order to maintain sustained economic growth, tax authorities needs to embrace substantial changes in tax policy aimed at increasing the buoyancy of the tax system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use the recent development in unit root tests and cointegration as applied to panel data and dynamic time series, to estimate the relationship between financial liberalization, financial development and growth. Design/methodology/approach – The paper assesses the dynamics of the relationship between financial development, financial liberalization and growth using the latest dynamic panel data framework and time series analyses comprising up to 15 Sub-Saharan African countries with annual observations over the period of 1976-2005. The research uses various measures of, or proxies for, financial intermediary development, including ratio of private sector credit and share of domestic credit to income. Findings – The results obtained from a heterogenous panel investigation and time series methodology such as Granger causality, indicate a long-run equilibrium relationship between financial development and economic growth. This is consistent with the view that financial development can act as an "engine of growth" and plays a crucial role in the process of economic development. However, there is little evidence to support the hypothesis that financial liberalization directly "leads" growth. Originality/value – Group mean panel fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and country-by-country time series investigations show evidence of causality running from financial development to growth. The analysis yielded limited evidence of financial liberalization Granger-causing economic growth. However, this is not to say that financial liberalization does not promote growth, as it could do so indirectly through fostering financial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates to what extent income growth in the Chinese provinces is linked to growth and income levels in neighboring provinces. We find that the rate of income growth in a province is positively related to income and growth in neighboring provinces. However, we find no evidence of such positive interdependence between growth in rich coastal provinces and their immediate inland neighbors. This suggests that there has been little synchronization in economic growth rates between these regions, and/or that the immediate hinterland of the coastal growth centers might have been bypassed as China's manufacturing sector has migrated westward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addresses how increased rural incomes in select African cases are spent on consumption items. Implications for stimulating rural growth; Areas of intervention necessary to sustain demand-led growth; Improved agricultural technology and economic reforms.

Examines the modeling of growth linkages in the Muda region in Malaysia. Impact of agricultural intensification on rural growth; Macro conditions necessary for productive reinvestment of agricultural surpluses in rural regions; Growth in the region since the 1960s.

Given the complex topography of California rangelands, contrasting microclimates affect forage growth at catchment scales. However, documentation of microclimate–forage growth associations is limited, especially in Mediterranean regions experiencing pronounced climate change impacts. To better understand microclimate–forage growth linkages, we monitored forage productivity and root‐zone soil temperature and moisture (0–15 and 15–30 cm) in 16 topographic positions in a 10‐ha annual grassland catchment in California's Central Coast Range. Data were collected through two strongly contrasting growing seasons, a wet year (2016–17) with 287‐mm precipitation and a dry year (2017–18) with 123‐mm precipitation. Plant‐available soil water storage (0–30 cm) was more than half full for most of the wet year; mean peak standing forage was 2790 kg ha−1 (range: 1597–4570 kg ha−1). The dry year had restricted plant‐available water and mean peak standing forage was reduced to 970 kg ha−1 (range: 462–1496 kg ha−1). In the wet year, forage growth appeared energy limited (light and temperature): warmer sites produced more forage across a 3–4°C soil temperature gradient but late season growth was associated with moister sites spanning this energy gradient. In the dry year, the warmest topographic positions produced limited forage across a 10°C soil temperature gradient until late season rainfall in March. Linear models accounting for interactions between soil moisture and temperature explained about half of rapid, springtime forage growth variance. These findings reveal dynamic but clear microclimate–forage growth linkages in complex terrain, and thus, have implications for rangeland drought monitoring and dryland ecosystems modeling under climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on JIT production suggests a causal link between work-in-process inventory and manufacturing productivity. Such a connection has been described in numerous case studies but never tested statistically. This paper uses historical data for 52 Japanese automotive companies to evaluate the inventory-productivity relationship. We find that firms increased their productivity rank during periods of substantial inventory reduction. More detailed tests suggest that inventory reductions stimulated gains in productivity: On average, each 10% reduction in inventory led to about a 1% gain in labor productivity, with a lag of about one year. Such effects were more immediate for Toyota affiliates, but undetectable for close suppliers of Nissan. These findings imply that inventory reduction served as an important driver of process improvement for many Japanese automotive companies, although some firms emphasized other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports a study of international total factor productivity growth (TFP) of industrial sectors in Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries. Measurement of the change in TFP; Determinants of TFP; Conclusions.

Argues that the relevance of the growth linkage model for social equity is limited, particularly in those regions that do not generate a substantial agricultural surplus. The case study focuses on the Hambantota District of Sri Lanka where the Green Revolution has had very little effect. Agrarian production relations; Social stratification and consumption linkages; Patterns of rural consumption in southern Sri Lanka.

Pioneering research on downstream linkages from agriculture is said to demonstrate that consumption links rather than production links are the main source of indrect growth effects, that these consumption links take the form of labour-intensive goods and services produced locally, and that the largest farm enterprises are most locally multiplicative of activities mopping up surplus rural labour. This article has two purposes. First, the methodologies, assumptions and data base for the quantification of the local and non-local regional multiplier effects from agricultural development are examined. Second, the contradictory interpretations for agricultural policy which have arisen from these exercises of quantification are discussed and an attempt made to explain their bases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firms in developing countries can learn advanced technology and management know‐how through foreign direct investment (FDI). The extent (or the lack) of transmission of technology and knowledge depends on the structure of production networks. In the automotive industry, networks consist of vehicle assemblers and their layers of parts suppliers. We used the South African automotive industry as a case study to examine how the behaviour of assemblers and parts suppliers is linked. Based on statistical analysis using the original firm‐level data, we found that the first‐tier suppliers significantly increased their production with the regional expansion of automotive production. However, such growth linkages were not observed among lower‐tier suppliers. Further, we obtained the suggestive evidence that only multinational (and not local) first‐tier firms improved their production efficiency, indicating the importance of production networks among multinationals in transmitting technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing study argues that labour market flexibility accompanied by trade liberalisation helped in building complementary relationship between formal and informal sectors in India. However, no direct relation is established between the labour market flexibility and trade liberalisation with respect to inter- and intra-sectoral movement of labour. The present study enquires whether the extent of labour mobility between and within formal–informal sectors affects the formal–informal growth linkages due to the tariff cut on traded goods, as a part of trade liberalisation in India. The findings based on static CGE analysis indicate that in absence of labour market segmentation (i.e. in absence of both wage rigidity and skill specificity) with full mobility of labour, formal sector growth is higher vis-à-vis the growth of those activities under segmented labour market with full mobility of labour. Amongst growing informal sector activities, output growth is lower in absence of segmented labour market with full mobility of labour. Finally, restricted labour mobility leads to largest expansion of formal activities, but further exacerbates the growth of informal activities. The study reveals that improvement in functional income distribution is mixed across households, depending on the degree of labour mobility, which implies labour market adjustment is costly due to structural reforms, that pitches for government intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expenditure data were collected from 99 households in two rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal. District and wealth group expenditure analyses suggest a less-than-proportional increase in the demand for tradable farm commodities, and a more-than-proportional increase in the demand for non-tradable farm commodities following a 1 per cent increase in household expenditure. Expenditure on non-farm tradables (imported consumer durables) showed the greatest potential for demand growth, with expenditure elasticities ranging from 1,75 to 2,59. An increase of R1,00 in household income is predicted to add an additional 28 cents (multiplier of 1,28) to the local economy. The study estimates relatively weak growth linkages. However, even relatively weak growth linkages could lead to much needed new income and employment opportunities in the local farm and non-farm sectors if the constraints limiting agriculture, and hence broad-based growth in rural incomes, are alleviated. Agriculture-led growth in South Africa requires public investment in both physical and institutional infrastructure to reduce transaction costs and risks in all markets, thus encouraging greater participation by local entrepreneurs and private sector investors. In addition, the roles, functions and services offered by extension agents should be extended to promote collective marketing, facilitate land rental contracts and provide training, technical and business support for farm and non-farm entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) data, this study assesses the employment situation in Uttar Pradesh (UP), the most populous state in India, focusing on rural nonfarm employment. The primary objective of our study is to investigate the potential reasons for the movement of the labour force from farm to nonfarm activities over time in Uttar Pradesh. In UP, we observe that a higher proportion of workers are engaged in casual employment and employment growth stagnation in the rural manufacturing sector. We further observe that there is a declining proportion of people who are self-employed and regularly employed, and this situation has contributed to the casualisation of the rural workforce in UP. We also find that the average wages in agriculture are lower than those in non-agricultural activities. These observations point to the direction of distress in the agricultural sector, causing a shift in the workforce to a rural nonfarm sector. Casual employment in the rural nonfarm sector is considered to be low-paying employment compared to self-employment and regular employment outside agriculture, which are considered better-paying options. Hence, any movement of the workforce from agriculture to rural casual nonfarm employment is possibly driven by distress in the agricultural sector. Using a multinomial logit model, this study reveals that across all employment status categories, including agricultural labour, cultivators, nonfarm regular employment, nonfarm self-employment, and nonfarm casual employment, the likelihood of working in high-paying nonfarm regular and self-employment activities increases with better educational attainment, larger landholdings, and placement among the upper castes in social groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unbalanced development and growth among regions may cause the spread-backwash effects from developed-rich areas to the poor that commonly occur in the central city to its suburbs in the regional development context. Our study estimates the long-term effects of a small city, Yogyakarta, as a special region in Indonesia towards its periphery areas. The time-series econometric method is used based on Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) and population data among five regions over the last thirty years instead of the cross section model. An alternative spatial combination among regions evaluated the regional development process. Development of the central city confidently has a long-run cointegration relationship with its suburbs. This study has indicated that Yogyakarta has spread-backwash effects towards its outskirt areas, either medium or low-level suburbs. Furthermore, a central city is no longer considered a single determinant in influencing the economy of other regions. The development of Sleman tends to be a new centre and shows that it produces a spillover effect to other areas; thus, it can be a potential trigger to improve linkages and economic performance of greater Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta City and parts of Sleman and Bantul areas are directly adjacent to the Yogyakarta City formed Yogyakarta urbanised area (YUA) as an urban agglomeration in Yogyakarta. The emergence of the YUA in greater Yogyakarta urgently promotes a sustainable collaboration and spatial interaction across territorial administration to manage economic and environmental interest conflict towards sustainable development among municipalities/cities level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of empirical literature acknowledges that information and communication technology (ICT) has a favourable effect on economic growth/development. Different studies, however, contend that this impact is modest or perhaps null, yielding inconsistent findings. In view of this complication, we therefore conducted a study with the aim to analyse the ICT diffusion-economic growth-development nexus for 73 countries over the period 2000–2018. The panel data was divided into three regions, namely sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAAC). For the analysis, the newly developed panel vector autoregression (PVAR) in the generalised method of moments (GMM) estimation approach was applied. Our findings suggest a long-run equilibrium relationship between the three variables. The findings differ from the causality results for the overall panel and each of the regions differs. The inconsistency in the causality results across the regions suggests that the level of ICT diffusion is still underdeveloped. The PVAR-GMM results reveal that (i) ICT diffusion is a significant and positive predictor of growth across the regions, with a greater effect reported in MENA; (ii) ICT diffusion is a significant and positive predictor of development across the regions with a lesser effect noticed in MENA. The study's implication for academia and practice is that (i) it provides important information on the ICT diffusion-economic growth-development nexus within the context of the econometric approaches used, and (ii) policymakers and managers of telecom businesses should accommodate sufficient support to further establish the ICT infrastructures and expand its penetration for all round sustainable and inclusive growth and development purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trickle down of growth from one region to another or spillover effect is implicit in the very idea of 'balanced regional development' which has always been one of the declared objectives of national policy in India. This paper is an attempt to analyze the performance of northeastern states in India in terms of their Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) growth and also to examine the growth spillover effects among the same for the period 1981-2007. The results of the study reveal that there is a considerable variation in the performance of individual states in terms of NSDP growth, with most states growing faster than the regional average. Also, a mixture of trickling down and polarization effects of economic growth is found within the northeastern region. Neither of the two opposite hypotheses holds in general. The present study contributes to the literature by exploring the dynamics of growth linkages among the northeastern states in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Claiming to be 'the first book in any language to describe and analyse the history of all Japanese teas', William Wayne Farris' latest monograph I A Bowl for a Coin i provides a wide-ranging commodity history of Japanese tea. Chapter Four, covering Japanese tea in the modern period, explores how burgeoning domestic and international demand for Japanese tea caused production to expand from a mountain-based, labour-intensive industry in the 1860s to one that was marshalled by botanical knowledge and mechanisation in the 1920s. Although Farris' attempt to use tea to exemplify broader patterns of consumption and production falls short, he is successful in examining the context of Japan's tea industry. [Extracted from the article]

Leontief multipliers are an important component of economic growth. However, input–output analysis is generally treated as a methodological tool for studying other questions in development. The size of multipliers themselves is of interest, as they determine how much nations benefit economically from the growth of base industries. Of the three types of multipliers—industrial supply purchases by firms, consumer goods purchases by workers, and growth derived from all sources—only the first has attracted attention in the global value chain literature; the other two have been neglected. We use OECD data on a large sample of nations in 2005, 2010, and 2015 to show that significant cross-national and inter-industrial differences exist in the size of multipliers. Contrary to expectations, higher-income countries can sometimes have lower multipliers than lower-income countries. The largest multipliers tend to be in the global South. We then provide a model explaining the differences in multipliers in terms of the domesticity of purchases, the wage intensity of production, the geographical size of the country, and the changing roles of GDP per capita and education as societies develop. The significance of these findings for development policy is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shares new insights on the dynamics of entrepreneurship in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, focusing on the case of sub-Saharan Africa. Despite being the region's most important rural nonfarm activity, and generating finance that sustains a sizable portion of its subsistence/smallholder agricultural economy, ASM has barely featured in the business and management literature. It has rather been scholars from other disciplines who have shared opinions on the individuals who pursue work in this sector and why. They are in broad agreement that in sub-Saharan Africa, ASM sites attract, at the one extreme, people who are desperate for income (the "poverty-driven" category) and, at the other extreme, individuals motivated by the possibility of becoming wealthy (the "get-rich-quick" category). These two narratives map, virtually wholesale, on to the necessity-based-opportunity-based typology of entrepreneurship that business and management scholars have interrogated for decades. This paper fuses these narratives with the typology, with the goal of showcasing ASM within an evolving body of literature on entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa. It then draws on a case study of Kéniéba District (Mali), the location of one of the region's more dynamic gold-panning industries, to articulate more clearly the sector's different entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between debt, foreign aid, and economic growth in three Pacific Island economies; namely Fiji, Papua New Guinea (PNG), and the Solomon Islands. Small and vulnerable island economies are dependent on foreign aid and debt for economic development. However, empirical studies on how debt and aid impact economic growth in small and fragile island economies are scarce, and this study aims to fill this gap. We use the ARDL approach and estimate the debt-growth and aid-growth relationship for each of the three economies. Our results indicate that debt reduces economic growth in both the short-run and the long-run in all three economies. Moreover, while all the three economies are also heavily dependent on foreign aid, we do not find any growth enhancing effect of aid. The findings suggest that although government borrowing and foreign aid are necessary for small island states given their lack of domestic capital, it is important that these resources be utilized efficiently for growth benefits to be realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: An estimated two billion people do not have sufficient access to nutritious food, and nearly half are dependent on small‐scale and subsistence farming. Projections show that the global population is not on track to reach the Sustainable Development Goals. With this in mind, development actors are increasingly seeking to better integrate rural farmers into agricultural markets. This synthesis of the literature can help to inform policy decisions to improve outcomes for smallholder farmers in low‐ and middle‐income countries, and to enable the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. This work is the most comprehensive and up‐to‐date review synthesizing evidence from 262 interventions. Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review is to appraise and synthesize evidence of the effects of five types of interventions facilitating farmers' access to output markets in low‐ and middle‐income countries. We examine how these effects vary across contexts and subgroups. We also identify evidence on program costs and evidence gaps in the literature. Search Methods: The search of included studies was based on nine major databases/search engines and 25 institutional websites, using a set of English search terms. We also conducted forward and backward citation tracking of literature, published a public call for papers, and contacted key experts. Selection Criteria: We included studies on the effects of five types of output market access interventions, focusing on participants residing in low‐ and middle‐income countries: (1) Farm‐to‐market transport infrastructure interventions; (2) Access to output market information interventions; (3) New marketplaces or alternative marketing opportunities interventions; (4) Contract farming interventions; (5) Improved storage infrastructure and technologies interventions. We included published and unpublished studies from 2000 onwards, with experimental and quasi‐experimental study designs focusing on relevant outcomes. Data Collection and Analysis: We screened 52,366 studies, identifying a total of 439 papers representing 289 unique studies on the effects of 262 interventions in 53 countries. Data extraction and risk of bias assessments were completed by two independent reviewers. Main Results: All five types of output market access interventions resulted in small‐to‐moderate positive effects on almost all measures of market participation, agricultural production, and welfare outcomes. These improvements occurred through a reduction in transaction costs, adoption of improved practices, greater farm investment, access to higher prices for farmers, greater volume sold, and increased farm income. Effects vary by intervention type. However, the body of evidence is comprised of a large share of included studies with a high risk of bias. Few studies have information on the cost of interventions, and there are gaps in the available evidence. Authors' Conclusions: Output market access interventions are effective in reducing transaction costs and addressing market failures, thereby leading to higher income levels. Evidence of effects on food security and nutrition is sparse and has not provided conclusive findings. We also found that multi‐component interventions are not necessarily more effective than single component interventions. The specific needs and dynamics of each context should inform the choice of the intervention and approach. Investments in additional research with low risk of selection bias and confounding effects will improve the evidence base, especially for outcomes that constitute gaps in the literature. For example, the effects on quality of agricultural products and group participation are under‐researched, and we did not find any included studies focusing on North Africa or the Middle East. Collecting and reporting information on interventions' cost‐effectiveness will help decision‐makers to prioritize limited resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the asymmetric impact of financial development on economic growth in Mauritius during the period 1980–2021. The analyses were carried out using a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model in conjunction with additional complementary tests, including the NARDL bounds F-test for cointegration, the Brock-Dechert-Scheinkman (BDS) nonlinearity test, and the Wald test for asymmetries. The findings of the bounds F-test provide support for a nonlinear cointegration, whereas the BDS test shows the presence of nonlinearity in the data for all the variables. The Wald test results revealed an asymmetric relationship between financial development and economic growth in Mauritius, both in the short and long run. The NARDL findings show that, on average, positive changes in financial development lead to economic growth in the long and short run. Therefore, the paper encourages the government of Mauritius to continue pursuing policies aimed at the expansion of its financial sector since it has a significant positive impact on its economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays the effects of global commerce and technological spillover has gained power in developing countries. Empirical data demonstrates that although some nations benefit from international commerce and technical innovation to compete in the global market, others suffer. Bhagwati Hypothesis postulates that Foreign Direct Investment positively related to economic growth. To test empirically the Bhagwati postulates, this study considers time series data-set 1972 to 2018 along with modern era driver, ICT, of economy. Autoregressive Distributive Lag model results signify a direct linkage between employment, investment, ICT, and economic growth, respectively. Capital accumulation and high employment rate indicate better economic performance, whereas increment in foreign direct investment has an inverse effect on growth. The estimated empirical results are contradictory to the "Bhagwati Hypothesis". Underdeveloped infrastructure, worse law & order situation due to war on terror and inconsistency in Government policies regarding FDI may explain this negative FDI growth effect. This study suggests investing in economic activities, human capital enhancement, ICT infrastructure and FDIfriendly policies to boost economic growth, create job opportunities, and create a competitive business environment, thereby attracting global investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-reliance is essential for community-based rural tourism (CBRT), ensuring effective running in the long term. However, existing studies have focused on general self-reliance conditions while overlooking details surrounding the community's self-reliance in each activity of the CBRT value chain. This study filled this significant gap by observing community self-reliance in CBRT and considering the tourism value chain (TVC) framework. Built upon the abduction method, this study applied the systematic combining approach to observe three aspects of self-reliance, i.e., goals or objectives, rights and abilities, and owned resources, in the TVC of CBRT entities. Taking the case of CBRT in Sleman Regency, Indonesia, the data collection involved representatives of 49 community-based tourism villages (desa wisata). The results showed that observing community self-reliance in CBRT allows for the identification of multifaceted self-reliance problems in rural tourism communities. Apparently, the observed CBRT initiatives are unable to achieve complete self-sufficiency across all aspects of self-reliance. Reliance on external collaboration and support networks persists out of necessity rather than an inability to self-manage. Policy protections, capacity building, and collaborative partnerships are necessary to develop resilient and sustainable rural tourism amidst necessary dependencies. CBRT planning and policies should hence consider the abovementioned aspects of self-reliance to empower CBRT toward sustainable rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In natural microbiomes, microorganisms interact with each other and exhibit diverse functions. Microbiome engineering, which enables bacterial knockdown, is a promising method to elucidate the functions of targeted bacteria in microbiomes. However, few methods to selectively kill target microorganisms in the microbiome without affecting the growth of nontarget microorganisms are available. In this study, we focused on the host-specific lytic ability of virulent phages and validated their potency for precise microbiome engineering. In an artificial microbiome consisting of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas putida, Bacillus subtilis, and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, the addition of bacteriophages infecting their respective host strains specifically reduced the number of these bacteria more than 102 orders. Remarkably, the reduction in target bacteria did not affect the growth of nontarget bacteria, indicating that bacteriophages were effective tools for precise microbiome engineering. Moreover, a virulent derivative of the phage was synthesized from prophage DNA in the genome of lysogen by in vivo DNA assembly and phage-rebooting techniques, and E. coli-targeted microbiome engineering was achieved. These results propose a novel approach for precise microbiome engineering using bacteriophages, in which virulent phages are synthesized from prophage DNA in lysogenic strains without isolating phages from environmental samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The asset side of Islamic banks has two different portfolios running side by side, namely risk-sharing (PLS) and non-risk sharing (non-PLS) financing. The segregation of PLS and non-PLS financing has gathered some attention recently owning to its relative importance for sustainable economic output. This study attempts to analyze the impact of decomposed Islamic financing modes (PLS and non-PLS) with a particular focus on their impact on real economic activity. In addition, we moderated the relationship with asset quality of aggregate Islamic banking sector. Quarterly data from 2014 to 2021 have been sourced from datasets of the Islamic financial service board (IFSB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and Central banks' data streams. Eleven countries have been selected based on the highest local and global share in global Islamic financial assets. Panel data regression model has been used in this study. The findings indicate that PLS financing is a weaker driver to channelize funds. However, industrial production output is significantly affected by non-PLS financing. Further the results suggest, Islamic finance–output nexus found to have a stronger relationship in the presence of higher asset quality of Islamic banks. The results show that firms mostly rely on non-PLS financing, due to reduced asymmetry and higher transparency in non-PLS contracts compared to PLS modes. The results have implications for governing bodies of Islamic financial system in boosting risk-sharing contracts and firms to limit agency conflicts arising from fluctuating cost of financing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Human capital is a portfolio of rich skills that the labour possesses. Human capital has attracted significant attention from scholars. Nevertheless, empirical findings on the utility of human capital have often been divided. To address the research gap in the literature, the authors attempt to understand how human capital plays a significant role in financial development and economic growth nexus. Design/methodology/approach: The authors rely on secondary data published by the World Bank. The authors use econometric tools such as the autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) model and related statistical tests to study the relationship between human capital, India's financial growth and gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Findings: Study findings suggest that human capital and financial development contribute significantly to economic growth. Further, the authors found that human capital has a positive and significant moderating effect on the path of joining financial development and economic growth. Practical implications: The study contributes to the human capital debate. Despite the rich body of literature, the study based on World Bank data confirms the previous findings that investment in human capital is always useful for the financial and economic growth of the nation. Originality/value: This paper reveals some unique findings regarding effect of financial development and economic growth nexus which opens the window of new dimension to think about their nexus. It also provides a different pathway to foster the economic growth by using human capital and financial development as together, especially in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Due to the financial disturbances created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the burden on the government exchequer, it is expected to see a rise in the knowledge base of the research corpus so far as the government's fiscal sustainability is concerned. Therefore, the present research examines a systematic quantitative analysis of public debt sustainability research by applying a bibliometric approach. Research also analyzes journals, institutions, countries and authors contributing to public debt sustainability. Design/methodology/approach: This paper scrutinizes the published scientific research on public debt sustainability based on the dataset of 535 articles from 1991 to 2021 obtained from the Scopus database. Biblioshiny (R-based application) and VoSviewer software were used to perform bibliometric analysis through Performance analysis and science mapping techniques. The authors combined co-citation analysis (CCA), bibliometric analysis, keyword co-occurrence analysis (KCA) and a conceptual thematic map of the most cited articles to find the intellectual structure. Findings: The research identified three dominating clusters, e.g. fiscal sustainability and policy rules, empirical sustainability testing and debt and growth dynamics. Another finding was that most articles were analytical and empirical and few descriptive articles were found. Owing to the empirical nature of the domain, the issues concerning public debt sustainability have continued to change over the past decades for different economies, reflecting the complexity and diversity of economic structures of different economies at different times. Originality/value: The insight of this article provides academicians and researchers with a more refined comprehension of the conceptual and intellectual structure of the research corpus. The present research complements the existing literature review studies by pushing the research towards emerging or less developed issues such as financial and debt crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ICTuse has significantly increased over the years across the world, including Saudi Arabia. This study links ICTwith economic growth (EG) in Saudi Arabia, controlling human capital (HC) and COVID-19. We employ time-series annual data from 1990 to 2021, a nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) approach, and a cointegrating regression analysis to look at the asymmetric effects of ICT diffusion on EG. The NARDL assessment establishes a cointegrating relationship among variables; the effect of ICT negative shocks on EG is favorable and relatively larger. In contrast, the positive shocks of ICT generate a negative and somewhat less impact on EG with an overall positive impact. The findings imply that the ICT, during its expansion stage, cannot contribute positively to EG, perhaps because of a lack of required skilled human capital to administer and utilize the ICT instruments. The positive and insignificant coefficient of HC supports this conclusion. Despite Saudi Arabia's generous efforts, physical and human capital have no significant impact on EG. COVID-19 has hindered the usual economic activities in the Kingdom and impaired EG. The cointegrating regressions authenticate the robustness of the NARDL findings. The outcomes suggest policymakers should appraise the existing ICT infrastructure and initiate raising the capability of HC through practical training and education to benefit from ICT diffusion and positively impact EG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on how remittance outflow shapes the economic growth (EG) performance in leading remittance-sending nations, considering the role of trade, ICT, and human and physical capital as control variables. It utilizes panel data from 1990 to 2021 and utilizes second-generation econometric methods. Our findings reveal a cointegration among variables and show that remittance outflow is growth-enhancing in leading remittance-paying countries. Trade, capital formation, and ICT deployment positively impact economic performance and appear to be a blessing for EG. While the role of HC is insignificant, indicating that it does not affect EG. The outcome suggests that remittance outflow is not an economic problem for the remittance-paying nations; instead, they must utilize the talent and skills of migrant labor to achieve EG. Our results suggest that policymakers should concentrate on using the talent and skills of migrant labor, consider trade as a source of growth, develop policies to improve the skills and competencies of the local workforce and deploy and utilize ICT facilities effectively to achieve sustainable EG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper jointly evaluates the greenhouse gas emissions and economic impacts from producing biofuels in Tanzania. Sequentially-linked models capture natural resource constraints; emissions from land use change; economywide growth linkages; and household poverty. Results indicate that there are economic incentives to convert unused lands to sugarcane-ethanol production, but only grasslands (not forests) have a reasonable carbon payback period. There are also strong socioeconomic reasons to involve smallholders in feedstock production in order to reduce rural poverty, especially since our results indicate that biofuels have little effect on food production. Yet smallholders require more land than large-scale plantations and so face more binding natural resource and emissions constraints. Overall, environmental constraints alter the socioeconomically optimal biofuel strategy for Tanzania by limiting potential poverty reduction. Unlike previous studies, our integrated assessment suggests that a mixed farming system with greater emphasis on large-scale plantations is more appropriate for producing sugarcane-ethanol in Tanzania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]