Search

Access to credit facility by the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the developing countries remains a mirage without a functional, inclusive and efficient system of credit and security. The realisation of the sustainable development goals for rapid growth and economic development in those countries depends on a viable and effective financial inclusion agenda as encapsulated in one of the targets of Goal Number 9 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As an enabler of many of the developmental goals of the UN, the financial inclusion agenda provides the link with sustainable development. This article interrogates how security over movable assets will meet the reasonable expectations of the MSMEs in Nigeria and actualise consistent funding of growing businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the issue "Poland and the North" of the magazine WeltTrends, various authors with connections to Polish universities are introduced. The contributions contain many facts that are otherwise difficult to find and harmonize with each other. However, it is noted that the authors may not be sufficiently familiar with the complex political situation. Differences in security interests and attitudes towards Russia between Poland and the Baltic states are also pointed out. It is recommended that Poland should better utilize its opportunities instead of hiding behind the positions of the Baltic states. The relationships with countries such as Sweden, Finland, and Denmark are also discussed, with emphasis on social development and challenges related to climate and immigration policies. [Extracted from the article]

Microcredit transactions in developing countries create risks for borrowers that are routinely overlooked in the literature. This paper argues that common microfinance-lending methodologies that allow lenders to collateralize loans and unilaterally collect this security create opportunities for malicious lenders to steal from clients in good standing. In places where any lender can simply call itself a 'microfinance institution' (MFI), opportunistic lenders can use the halo effect associated with microfinance to encourage borrowers to make themselves unusually vulnerable to theft. Evidence of these abuses can be seen in a case study of Uganda, where theft and fraud by a small number of microfinance institutions created a large-scale crisis and contributed to a precipitous decline in trust in the financial sector as a whole. Even when it occurs only on the margins of the sector, I conclude, this type of opportunism may have problematic implications for all MFIs and undermine efforts to increase financial inclusion. This possibility provides a new impetus to consider innovative regulatory approaches for microfinance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is mixed evidence in the literature of a clear relationship between income inequality and economic growth. Most of that work has focused almost exclusively on developed economies. In what we believe to be a first effort, our emphasis is solely on developing economics, which we classify as high-income and low-income developing countries (HIDC and LIDC). We make such distinction on theoretical and empirical grounds. Empirically, the World Bank has classified developing economies in this manner since 1978. The data in our sample are also supportive of such classifications. We provide theoretical scaffolding that uses asymmetric credit constraints as a premise for separating developing economies in such a way. We find strong evidence of a negative relationship between income inequality and economic growth in LIDC to be in stark contrast with a positive inequality–growth relationship for HIDC. Both correlations are statistically significant across multiple econometric specifications. Using international data from 1960 to 2010, this article explores the effect of income inequality on economic growth using dynamic panel technique, such as system generalized method of moments (GMM) that is believed to mitigate endogenous problem. These results are strikingly contrasting to the previous estimation results of Forbes (2000) displaying significant positive correlation between two variables in the short to medium term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many households and businesses in developing countries are said to face credit constraints which limit their ability to undertake investments in various production-enhancing economic activities required to reduce poverty. This limited access to formal credit is often attributed to the lack of ‘acceptable’ collateral, resulting from the absence of formally registered land titles. Despite the fact that this assertion is fast gaining ground, land registration has not been found empirically to positively influence access to credit. This article seeks to critically examine the above argument and provide credible theoretical explanations as to why previous studies in the developing world have failed to establish any significant positive link between land registration and access to credit. It is argued that formalising property titles alone will not be enough solve the problem of limited access to credit in the developing world. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Indian Ocean Region is moving to the centre of the global geostrategic agenda. Resource competition and energy security, environmental and economic issues exacerbated by climate change; the involvement of external powers like China, and the emergence of regional powers like India underscore a heightened need for attention to this region. Concomitantly, Indian Ocean sea lines of communication are becoming increasingly important to global and regional commerce. Related security issues largely converge in the maritime domain. There is little history of region-wide security cooperation and a lack of regional institutions in the Indian Ocean Region. Non-conventional threats posing collective security risks to common interests present the most realisable prospects, at least initially, for the development of collective security dialogue and mechanisms. Such arrangements need to involve both regional and extra-regional powers that have interests to protect and capacities to assist. Given geography and the diverse nature of the region, maritime security offers the most compelling area for cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region. Efforts to facilitate collective security dialogue and establish maritime security cooperative mechanisms and habits need to be urgently progressed at official, non-official and operational levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Access to social protection differs widely amongst international migrants. Using new global data on bilateral migrant stocks, social security law, and bilateral social security agreements, we quantify the status of social protection of international migrants as belonging to one of four different regimes. Results suggest that approximately one quarter of global migrants fall under the most favorable regime, but these are largely north–north migrants. On the other hand, migrants from developing countries, in particular south–south migrants, are in a far less favorable position, having to depend largely on informal networks and self insurance as a way of minimizing risk. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the face of advancing urban informality in the developing world there appears to be increasing consensus that tenure security is an important engine driving settlement development. This has, however, not led to a consensus about what tenure security exactly entails. In both theory and policy, the idea of tenure security for low-income settlement dwellers is encountered in three distinct forms: tenure security as perceived by dwellers, tenure security as a legal construct and de facto tenure security. The main argument of this paper is that much controversy that surrounds the debate arises precisely as a consequence of the indiscriminate use of these different kinds of tenure security. To address this problem, a tripartite conceptualization of tenure security that incorporates its three constituent components (perception, de jure, de facto) and clarifies their interrelations is presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To achieve high economic growth rates and raise standard of living is the objective of all countries, whether developed or developing. But does this imply that the benefits of growth would accrue both to the poor and the non-poor? Large inequalities in income distribution have been observed in a number of countries. Since the fifties a burgeoning literature has emerged on the subject. This paper traces the literature on income distribution and economic growth and places it in the current context. The review of the literature revealed that the debate between economic growth and income distribution has remained inconclusive. The structural reforms being carried out in many developing countries have raised the issue of growth to be achieved with a perspective of income distribution and the emphasis is increasingly on 'Reforms with a Human Face'. Poor People lack opportunities due to lack of capital. They are unable to access the credit market due to requirement of collateral and high payments due to high borrowing rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We model the role of the informal credit sector in developing countries. The informational advantage of informal lenders is portrayed as the ability to monitor borrowers. Monitoring reduces the incentive problem and allows for contracts with lower collateral. This enables informal lenders to serve both individuals who cannot post the collateral required by the formal sector and those who are able but do not want to post collateral. The model is consistent with the conventional view of the informal sector as recipient of spillover demand from the formal sector. It also shows that the informal sector may provide partial insurance as the lower collateral requirement implies greater consumption smoothing for borrowers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the financing of intellectual property (IP), which is the conversion of a creative idea into a financial asset, and the awareness that IP assets can be sold, licensed and used as debt finance collateral. It describes the development of securitization of IP assets, which is the use of cash flows from assets to support the issuance of debt. It highlights the lesser treatment of IP in developing countries due to fewer innovations there and lack of IP enforcement mechanisms.

Discusses the effect of the war on terror on developing countries and development policy and practice. Influence of the international focus on counterterrorism and security on aid allocations; Use of counter-terrorism to justify practices that undermine the achievement of development goals; Impact of increases in military aid on human security.