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The opening of equity markets to foreign investment by developing countries appears to generate an enormously large positive growth effect (see Bekaert, Harvey, and Lundblad (2005), Journal of Financial Economics 77, 3–55) in spite of a relatively small role of such markets for financing investment in most economies. We propose a spillover channel from equity market opening to lower costs of bank loans, which helps to explain this puzzle. From analyzing bank loan data associated with China's introduction of the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors program, we find significant support for this channel. Furthermore, we show that a reduction in the risk premium in loans is an important mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study adopted historical research and in-depth interviews with artists, dealers, art writers, and collectors in addressing two overarching questions, which are (1) How have state actions manifested as the impetus and impediments to art market development in Nigeria and (2) To what extent is Bourdieu's artistic field model applicable to the Nigerian art world? As the boost in artistic production and consumption in Renaissance Italy was attributed to the wealth generated from banking by the Medici, the research also shows that the art market in Nigeria emerged as an upshot of the economic policy of financial deregulation, which manifested as an "implicit" cultural policy. The financial sector liberalization policy was aimed at addressing the economic depression that stemmed from the drastic global fall in crude oil prices in the 1980s. It stimulated the proliferation of banking and other financial services institutions in Nigeria, which engendered intense competition that lured operators into harnessing esthetics for competitive advantages. This bolstered art collection and patronage, underpinning the emergence of the contemporary art market in Nigeria with an auction segment that grew from about $250,000 in 1999 to over $5.5 million in 2017. Paradoxically, the research also revealed that inadequacies resulting from the lack of "explicit" state plans for the cultural sector constitute impediments to the optimization of the market's potential. As a mark of power, high art and advanced taste have always been associated with elitism. Thus, the research also establishes a high degree of applicability of Bourdieu's artistic field model in exploring the dynamics of power structures in the Nigerian art world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context and background With the implementation of Economic liberalization policies in the 1980s and recognition of land markets in the 1990s there has been an increase in competition and Land Resource Conflicts (LRCs) over land in many parts of Tanzania. As a result, the implementation of reforms has been accompanied with statutory multiplicity in land allocation leading to severe LRCs especially in rural areas. Goal and objectives This article examines the nature of LRCs in Tanzania and potential solutions based on juxtaposition of LRCs related theories onto practices in land management in Tanzania. Methodology Workshops were conducted in three regions of mainland Tanzania reaching a total of 210 professionals in forest, environment, Academia and land sectors. Participants' contributions in these workshops were clustered based on concepts derived from resource LRC theories and narratives were interpreted to arrive at the results and conclusion of the study. Results It was noted that since many LRCs emanate from farmers or pastoralists intersection with either farmland or conservation areas i.e., forests, game parks or/and natural ecosystems, these spatial units need to be delineated with proper community participation. Haphazard attempt to exclude one resource user from the other have often turned futile due to corruption and violation detection inability by government authorities. Local communities seem to argue for reducing these conservation areas in favor of expanded agriculture and/or grazing land. It seems however, there is no recipe for LRCs resolution in Tanzania, the cost and benefit of the different approaches need to be evaluated before one can adopt any. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has been hailed as a key pillar and catalyst for economic growth, industrialization, and sustainable development in Africa. One of the anticipated benefits is the promise to increase intra‐African trade through the elimination of import duties and other tariffs among countries. However, due to the heterogeneity between the African countries, questions remain as to whether each country will benefit from tariff elimination. This paper aims to evaluate the macroeconomic, fiscal, and welfare consequences of import tax removal in Senegal with the rest of Africa. We link an extended version of the partnership for economic policy (PEP) static computable general equilibrium (CGE) model with a non‐parametric microsimulation approach. We calibrate the model with Senegal's most recent Social Accounting Matrix. The microeconomic model is calibrated using the latest Senegalese household consumption survey. The findings indicate that tariff removal from the rest of Africa has favorable economic, fiscal, and welfare impacts for Senegal. The paper suggests that it will lead to an increase in economic growth and investment. The removal of tariffs is expected to favor urban households over rural ones and leads to a modest decrease in income inequality, accompanied by a 3.36% reduction in the number of poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The connectedness of stock markets is inevitable because of the rapid increases in global financialisation, financial liberalisation, and integration of national economies. This study therefore increases the number of stock markets included in the LASSO-VAR model to separately estimate the connectedness of the daily-frequency market returns and volatility of a sample comprising 50 selected stock markets between 2011 and 2021. We observe that the total connectedness index changes substantially over time, exhibiting the highest change during market turbulences, i.e., the beginning of COVID-19. We also show that the transmission of shocks originates from most European markets and then impacting Asian–Pacific markets, although their intensities exhibit significant time variations. Finally, we find that macroeconomic news and uncertainties are drivers of total connectedness, while directional total connectedness is mainly driven by global rather than domestic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian technology industry is an economic asset for the State. Successive governments and corporations identify tech workers as privileged and their mobilisation as unnecessary. High-skilled tech workers are apparently different from non-tech workers and remain secluded from politics. Tech workers' trade unions, however, can decisively subvert these claims. From three tech unions' Facebook posts in 2020, the first COVID-19 year, this study finds that politics remains central to their discourses. Even though tech workers are understood to be "apolitical," their trade unions have been interacting with political institutions, ministers, bureaucrats, and other non-tech trade union organisers. Some of these tech unions are even affiliated to political parties. The article also identifies some explicit similarities between the unions of tech and non-tech workers in India, and politicised labour movements worldwide. The continuing precarity of unemployment, overwork, and drastic pay cuts that peaked during the pandemic has exposed the tenuous structures of white-collar privilege. By affecting workers in all industries, oppressive neoliberal forces have ironically paved the way for labour solidarity through political resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to reexamine the relationship between financial openness and financial development in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach: The study applied maximum likelihood estimation and autoregressive distributed lag approach and tested Granger causality using quarterly data from 1990:1 to 2020:4. Findings: This study revealed a long-run equilibrium relationship between financial openness and development, indicating that financial openness is a critical factor in Ghana's financial development. Therefore, the study recommends with caution that policies aimed at promoting financial openness could be an effective way to encourage sustainable financial development in Ghana, as financial openness alone may not bring the desired outcome. Research limitations/implications: The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing empirical evidence of the link between financial openness and financial sector development in Ghana. Future research could delve deeper into the mechanisms through which financial openness affects financial development, exploring potential channels and transmission mechanisms. Practical implications: The findings suggest that policymakers, particularly the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana, should prioritize policies aimed at promoting financial openness. This includes continued efforts toward financial liberalization and creating an environment conducive to domestic and international financial transactions. Moreover, policies aimed at increasing trade openness, boosting real GDP and maintaining moderate real interest rates are essential for fostering financial sector development. Social implications: Enhancing financial sector development can have significant implications for society, including increased access to financial services, improved economic opportunities and enhanced overall economic stability. By promoting financial openness and development, policymakers would contribute to poverty reduction, job creation and overall socio-economic development. The study bridges the gap between theory and practice by providing empirical evidence supporting the theoretical proposition that financial openness stimulates financial sector development. Originality/value: This study fills a crucial gap in the literature on the effects of financial openness on Ghana's financial sector development. It focuses on Ghana, which liberalized its financial sector in 1988 as part of the overall economic reforms in 1983, and this justifies the starting point of this paper in 1990, as there are no adequate data before 1990. The study uses principal component analysis to construct an index that measures financial development. The study considers the recent financial crises in Ghana in 2017 and underscores the importance of understanding the link between financial openness and financial development, which becomes useful for policymakers and researchers studying financial system development in sub-Saharan Africa which includes Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims at estimating the impact of financial liberalization policy on some indicators of financial inclusion in Algeria during the period (2014-2021) using the multiple linear regression model. To achieve this goal, two indicators of financial liberalization are used as independent variables, representing domestic financial liberalization and external financial liberalization. As for the dependent variable, which represents financial inclusion, it is built by integrating the dimensions of the availability of banking services and the dimensions of the use of banking services. The results show that there is a statistically significant positive relationship between the index of internal financial liberalization and both indicators of financial inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effects of monetary policy credibility and the open economy trilemma on monetary policy efficiency in developing countries. Based on a sample of 28 developing countries, the findings reveal that monetary policy credibility increases monetary policy efficiency. The results also show that central banks in developing countries have more efficient monetary policies when they choose a policy arrangement contrary to the 'middle‐ground convergence'; but, to the extent they accumulate international reserves, it allows them to move to a middle‐ground strategy. Regarding the trilemma, the estimates suggest when monetary policy is independent, monetary policy is more efficient. Furthermore, when financial openness and exchange rate stability are deepened, central banks become less efficient in conducting monetary policy. However, when countries hold higher levels of international reserves, the positive effect of monetary autonomy on monetary policy efficiency decreases and the negative effect of financial liberalisation on monetary policy efficiency decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capital-skill complementarity in production implies non-trivial interactions between the availability of human capital and financial constraints. Firms that are constrained in their access to finance hire a lower proportion of skilled workers than do unconstrained firms. Conversely, a lack of human capital increases skilled wages, reducing firms' desired capital intensity and thus loosening firms' effective financial constraints. To assess the macroeconomic implications of such firm-level interactions, we build an occupational-choice model with capital-skill complementarity in production, which we calibrate to US data. We vary financial frictions, educational attainment and total factor productivity across countries, and we quantify how aggregate output, wage inequality and entrepreneurship are affected by financial market liberalizations and increases in educational attainment. For aggregate output, the joint effect of both factors is, on average, 30% larger than the sum of the individual effects. Taking the educational attainment of the population as given, in countries with a negligible share of tertiary-educated workers and low total factor productivity, financial development has only small effects on aggregate output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Criminal capitalism, fuelled mainly by drug trafficking, creates social consensus and determines a social order that plays a not-always marginal role in the fragmented social reality of the contemporary capitalist mode of production. Drug trafficking not only feeds the sophisticated machine of corruption that reaches the highest institutional spheres, but, in some regions, also represents the only form of subsistence economy. The growing importance of criminal capitalism is in large part the consequence of financial liberalisation, which has facilitated the mechanisms for the laundering and illegal investment of accumulated wealth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In empirical studies, the disparity between financial development and environmental quality has prompted us to examine the impact of credit growth on environmental quality in ASEAN countries. These countries have experienced phenomenal credit growth over the past three decades due to their adoption of financial liberalisation, integration and innovation. In this study, we investigated the role of credit growth on environmental quality while controlling for several macroeconomic variables, including regulatory quality, natural resources, foreign direct investment, globalisation and per capita gross domestic product growth. Using static models (ordinary least square [OLS], random effect model, Panel Corrected Standard Error and partial spatial cross correlation) and dynamic models (dynamic OLS, dynamic random effect and two‐step system generalised methods of moments (GMM) on data spanning from 1984 to 2019, we observed a nonlinear association between credit growth and environmental quality. The findings suggest that credit growth may simultaneously have favourable and detrimental effects on environmental quality. High credit growth can lead to increased emissions and environmental degradation through the promotion of fossil fuel‐driven energy consumption, production and distribution of economic resources. However, if the government promotes regulatory quality and encourages lenders to invest more in green technologies and renewable and sustainable energy sources, credit growth may contribute to improved environmental quality. These results carry important policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During China's reform era, dominant narratives described a transition away from centralised planning in favour of mutually reinforcing processes of liberalisation and decentralisation. Under Xi Jinping, the talk has increasingly been of the recentralisation of authoritarian-state powers and party discipline. Questioning both reform-era transition narratives and equally simplifying claims about their recent reversal, the paper argues for an enriched treatment of party–state spatiality, understood as a polymorphic and multi-scalar process, rather than simply a more complex one. In the emergent Greater Bay Area megaregion, 'new era' zoning strategies are being repurposed as drivers of pathfinding reforms animated by the party–state, in contrast to received readings of zones as single-purpose instruments of liberalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this study is to analyze how different macroeconomic factors have influenced the financial development of countries in transition as well as the effect of these factors on the volatility of the banking sector in these countries. Secondary data acquired and processed from yearly statistics reports of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the OECD, the European Central Bank, Eurostat, and others were used to develop this research. In the analytical section of the literature review, numerous scientific papers by various authors that have examined the issue of financial development in the economies of various countries have been reviewed. This research covers data from 2005 to 2020, which will be examined using panel and time series econometric models. Based on the study's econometric findings, we can conclude that non-performing loans, natural resources, market liberalization, GDP per capita, inflation, and interest rates have a statistically significant impact on the financial development of transition countries by determining the amount of broad money and the volume of bank loans and deposits in these countries' financial systems. The empirical findings of this study will serve as good scientific and empirical evidence for future studies in the field of financial development and economic growth, as well as practical evidence for governments around the world in the form of strategic macroeconomic policies that will positively affect the financial development of countries in transition. In relation to essential conclusions, this research offers true and consistent findings. The studied period (2005-2020) offers a compelling time frame for making sound findings and recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policymakers are looking at renewable energy as a substitute for traditional fossil fuels due to the growing concern about climate change and sustainable development. However, in the case of Asian countries, nothing is known about how ICT trade and financial globalization affect renewable energy consumption. To fill this gap, we have gathered data across 24 Asian economies, and a dynamic panel data approach known as GMM panel VAR is applied. The key outcomes of the GMM panel VAR underscore that ICT trade, financial globalization, and GDP favorably impact the current renewable energy consumption. Furthermore, the panel causality results indicate bidirectional causality between ICT trade, financial globalization, and renewable energy consumption. These findings have policy-relevant implications, highlighting the significance of financial liberalization and ICT-enabled trade in promoting renewable energy usage in Asian nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of Things (IoT) has significantly impacted international trade, benefiting national and international economies. It has increased trade and financial liberalization in many countries. Ecological and environmental protection have become critical issues due to the fast mobility of money and commodities. The purpose of this paper is to find a way to balance foreign trade growth with environmental protection. We aim to achieve this by using IoT to establish a co-integration model that takes into account the comprehensive environmental index, imports and exports, and the capital-labor ratio. We have collected data from Quanzhou City between 2011 and 2019, based on various environmental pollution indicators, import and export trade volume, capital-labor ratio, and other factors. Our analysis includes an examination of the empirical model of foreign trade and the ecological environment, as well as the impulse response. Additionally, we used prediction variance decomposition and the Granger causality test to understand the coordinated relationship between foreign trade and the ecological environment. Our results demonstrate that when the volume of exports (EX) increases by 1 percent, the ecological environment in Quanzhou City is negatively impacted by about 0.06%. On the other hand, when the volume of imports (IM) increases by 1 percent, there is a 0.26% positive effect on the ecological environment of the city. Finally, when the capital-to-labor ratio (K) increases by 1 percent, there is a 0.40% deterioration of the city's ecological environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

North Korea is one of the most authoritarian states in the world, and members of religious groups face severe persecution. This article explores how deeply religious persecution is anchored in the state system and how it is handled in practice. It presents a six-point plan to improve the situation of believers short of waiting for a regime change. The plan focuses on strengthening the role of religious organizations in inter-Korean dialogue, international cooperation with religious organizations of the DPRK, encouraging the DPRK in liberalizing religion in its country, while avoiding a foreign infiltration through religious organizations, and conducting reforms by taking other countries as role models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic led to widespread social and economic policy experimentation as governments sought to protect household finances while locking down economies. Cash transfers emerged as one of the most popular policy measures, leading many to reflect on new possibilities for enacting universal basic income through temporary or emergency interventions. We take Australia's pandemic response, and particularly its Coronavirus Supplement, as an example of this broader experimentation. We analyse the Supplement through the lens of an emergency basic income, arguing the measure reflected existing institutional structures and norms, forms of national and international policy learning, and vulnerabilities in Australia's liberalized housing and labour markets. While temporary, we consider how its apparent success might suggest ongoing policy relevance, either as a form of capitalist "crisis management" or as an alternative pathway for implementing forms of basic income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of economic openness on wage dispersion. To this end, using a fixed effects panel model, we evaluate the impact of exports and foreign direct investment (FDI), as well as productivity and education, on wage dispersion in 14 economic subsectors in Mexico during the period 1999-2021. The main findings show that: i) increasing exports tend to diminish wage dispersion; ii) the flow of FDI seems to increase wage dispersion; iii) productivity and the heterogeneity of the productive network are determining factors in the dynamics of average wages. In this context, it is important to implement a variety of industrial and labour policies to effectively absorb the dynamic advantages associated with economic openness, such as the reduction of wage dispersion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study how income inequality affects monetary policy through the inequality-household debt channel. We design a minimal macro Agent-Based model that replicates several stylized facts, including two novel ones: falling aggregate saving rate and decreasing bankruptcies during the household's debt boom phase. When inequality meets financial liberalization, a leaning against-the-wind strategy can preserve financial stability at the cost of high unemployment, whereas an accommodative strategy, i.e. lowering the policy rate, can dampen the fall of aggregate demand at the cost of larger leverage. We conclude that inequality may constrain the central bank, even when it is not explicitly targeted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We analyze aggregate shocks decomposition in Croatia. • Domestic shocks were dominant during the transition period. • External shocks became dominant after financial and trade liberalization in 2000. • In the short run, business cycle fluctuations are driven by domestic AS shocks. • In the medium run, fluctuations are driven by external AD shocks. This paper separates macroeconomic shocks into external and domestic aggregate demand and supply shocks in Croatia during and after the transition period using a Bayesian SVAR model. The standard decomposition into aggregate demand and supply shocks covers important information on external sources of economic fluctuations. We find that domestic shocks were a dominant source of fluctuations during the transition period from 1992 to 2000. External shocks increased their importance after 2000, becoming the dominant source of fluctuations with the Global financial crisis. International comparison with other EU post-transition countries shows that short run GDP fluctuations are best explained by domestic aggregate supply shocks in 9 out of 11 analyzed countries, including Croatia. However, in the medium run, GDP fluctuations are dominantly explained by external aggregate demand shocks in 8 out of 11 countries, including Croatia. Inflation in Croatia is driven by external shocks both in the short- and medium run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While prior studies have examined various factors that affect immigration policymaking across Europe, little attention has been paid to the impact of the gender structure within parliament. It has been found that female parliamentarians are more concerned with the interests of women, children, and other marginalized groups than their male colleagues. Consequently, they are more likely to prioritize the rights of immigrants who represent an important social minority in European settings. Leveraging a panel data set spanning 26 European states from 2007 to 2019, the paper shows that an increase in the share of women parliamentarians is indeed associated with the liberalization of immigration policy. The results remain significant when employing historical female enrollment as an instrumental variable. Notably, the growth of the right-wing parties (including mainstream and radical right parties) in parliament would undercut the positive impact of female parliamentarians. The paper sheds some light on European immigration policymaking and female political representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, China has introduced a series of trade and financial liberalization policies and taken a crucial step towards the internationalization of RMB. These new developments bring about one question: how has openness affected the RMB real exchange rate volatility? Our empirical results reveal that in the long term, both trade and financial openness reduce exchange rate volatility; in the short term, the effect of financial openness varies across the three financial sub-accounts. Financial development can magnify (mitigate) the impact of trade openness on volatility in the short (long) term, but its role in affecting the impact of financial openness depends on the financial sub-account involved. Economic policy uncertainty (EPU) weakens the impact of openness on exchange rate volatility. In addition, financial openness absorbs more external shocks than trade openness. Foreign exchange reserves, while offsetting financial crisis shocks, cannot adequately absorb current account balance shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AI and other forms of automation are causing a shift into a more capital-intensive form of capitalism. Many scholars have suggested that we can best understand this process as the cost-efficient substitution of labour by capital in routine tasks based on relative factor costs. However, this model, which has cast firms as endlessly chasing the productivity frontier, has not paid sufficient attention to cross-national divergences in technological changes. This paper builds a comparative historical case study tracing the divergent introduction of credit scoring in British and German bank branches to argue that the introduction of credit scoring was a result of a policy-led process in both countries. Increased liberalisation of financial market institutions benefitted the rise of market-led banking which fundamentally changed the business model of banks resulting in a devaluation of the services provided by branch managers. This case suggests we need to think about the role of politics and policy within our, often deterministic, models of labour-saving technological change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Economics / Economia Internazionale is the property of Camera di Commercio di Genova and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Previous papers investigating the structural determinants of budget deficits in panels of developing and/or developed countries either found that there exists a negative relation between financial development and fiscal balance or that the first is not a significant determinant of the later. This paper asks whether financial development is relevant to explain budget deficits within a country specific context. We use data from Cameroon between 1990 and 2021 and the ARDL bound cointegration technique. Our results show positive significant coefficients in the short-run, statistically not significant coefficients in the long-run and an ECT of - 1.48. In Cameroon, financial liberalization and financial development may lead to fiscal discipline so as to reduce budget deficits progressively. We then recommend enhancing financial development in order to improve the country's fiscal balance management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exchange rate volatility is a major concern for local and foreign investors. Its impact on economic growth has been widely documented in literature. In this paper, we model exchange rate volatility using GARCH (1,1) and analyze its impact on economic growth in Ghana, with a particular focus on the post exchange rate liberalization period, 1990-2019. Additionally, this paper assesses the pathways through which exchange rate volatility affects economic growth. By employing the autoregressive distributed lagged (ARDL) model, we find evidence that exchange rate volatility has a negative impact on economic growth in Ghana. In addition, inflation and interest rates are significant transmission pathways through which exchange rate volatility impact growth in post exchange rate liberalized Ghana. The paper thus suggests the implementation of policies aimed at curbing excessive and rapid fluctuations in the exchange rate. In addition, the Central Bank must embark on more inflation-targeting policies aimed at stabilizing the local currency to attract foreign direct investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In general, in the case of late transposition of the EU directives, they may be invoked vertically against a State only. Therefore, it became relatively early necessary to define the State for the purposes of direct effect. The Court of Justice of the EU adopted a broad notion of the State. However, could this emanation of the State be still justifiable under the EU's aim of promoting a fully liberalized Internal Market? The Article first defines the State for the purposes of direct effect, as evolved in the decisions of the Court of Justice of the EU. Subsequently, it analyses the Advocate General Sharpston's opinion in the Farrell case. With this analysis it sets out the areas of her opinion that the author of this Article does not concur with. The Article further argues that the deeper liberalisation of the Internal Market reduces the justification for the need to distinguish between public and private undertakings in relation to the emanation of the State for the purposes of direct effect. Based on the analysis provided in the Article, the author concludes with a proposal how a State should be defined in order to achieve the desired objective whilst taking into account the ongoing liberalisation of the Internal Market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims, in the context of financial liberalization, to examine the impact of several internal and external factors in relation to the profitability of banks listed on the Moroccan stock exchange. The study uses the panel data method on a sample of the six banks with the largest market shares over the 2010–2019 period to investigate the influence of ownership structure, bank governance, capital structure, prudential regulation, and also a macroeconomic variation on bank profitability. Accordingly, the empirical results indicate a negative relationship between concentration, foreign ownership, and bank profitability. Further, high capital structure ratios, especially solvency, liquidity, and capitalization ratios appear to have an undesirable effect on the performance of Moroccan banks. In contrast, the impact of domestic institutional ownership is positive, implying that profitability is more favored by domestic ownership than by foreign ownership. Our findings also highlight the importance of independent directors and board size. Therefore, liberalizing ownership and opening up the board to the expertise of outside directors is essential for the banking sector's development. In terms of policy implications, central banks and regulators need to ensure that banks rigorously adhere to specified leverage and fixed capital adequacy ratios while ensuring optimal liberalization for bank performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Strategy & Development Review is the property of Strategy & Development Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper focuses on China's onshore bond market and the drivers of non-resident net portfolio flows into Chinese debt securities. Building on a theoretical model of push and pull factors as a foundation for the empirical analysis on drivers of bond flows into China, static and time-varying models are estimated to explain the importance of various push and pull factors in the context of China's bond market development. While China-specific pull factors, such as domestic economic growth prospects and asset returns, are important drivers of bond flows, the results reveal that global push factors, such as US interest rates and investor risk aversion, have recently gained significance as drivers of flows into China. This shift goes hand in hand with China's gradual bond market liberalization measures. The findings confirm China's continued bond market deepening and integration with the rest of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional integration institutions play an important but ambiguous role in the liberal international system, especially when it comes to trade policy. The Covid-19 pandemic generated a trade crisis, which gave them an opportunity to expand their role in a liberal or illiberal direction. An analysis of the framing and policy measures of five key regional institutions in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia will demonstrate whether they were geared towards liberalisation and/or interventionism in early 2020. The European Union stood out for its strong collective action on trade, working out a new balance between interventionism and liberalism. Other institutions hinted at interventionism but did not take collective action. The trade response was overwhelmingly state-driven, and regional institutions outside Europe clearly have limited agency in the global trade system. While their behaviour is difficult to qualify ideologically, their framing supported liberal principles of international relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research study aims to analyze the impact of visa liberalization on increasing the standard of living and quality of life in Kosovo. Visa liberalization is a process that can have a profound impact on raising the sustainable standard and developing the quality of life in a country. The study focuses on the analysis of the benefits and changes brought about by visa liberalization in the context of Kosovo. Through a detailed analysis of various sources, including previous studies, reports of international institutions, and empirical data, the main factors influencing the increase in the standard and quality of life after visa liberalization in Kosovo are identified. These factors include increased economic opportunities, improved living conditions, personal development, and education, increased foreign direct investment, and increased tourism and exports. Visa liberalization is a process that can have a profound impact on raising the sustainable standard and development of quality of life in a country. This process aims to facilitate the movement of citizens across different countries without the need for visa restrictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capital account liberalisation can give rise to uncertainty in capital flows, which may lead to an accumulation of financial risks. This study measures the systemic financial risk indices using the coefficient of variation method with data of 24 countries from 2003 to 2019 and the impact of capital account liberalisation on systemic financial risks using the panel threshold model. Evidence shows that systemic financial risk indices vary heterogeneously across countries. The systemic financial risk indices of high-income countries are lower than those of middle- and low-income countries. Second, capital account liberalisation has an asymmetric effect on systemic financial risk with a double threshold. Low-intensity and high-intensity capital account liberalisation increases systemic financial risk. However, medium-intensity capital account liberalisation is effective in reducing systemic financial risk. Third, the heterogeneity results suggest that capital account liberalisation is conducive to reducing the financial risk of high- and middle-income countries and has the opposite effect on low-income countries. Therefore, this study recommends that countries adjust the intensity of capital account liberalisation according to their national conditions. It is necessary to establish a regulatory system for cross-border capital flows and maximise the benefits of liberalisation while safeguarding financial market stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the relationship between economic freedom and Islamic rural banks' efficiency in the case of Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach: The study covers 40 Islamic rural banks in 34 Indonesian regions from 2014 to 2020. Tobit regression is utilized to expose the impact of economic freedom on the efficiency of Islamic rural banks, and nonparametric frontier data envelopment analysis is used to acquire banks' technical efficiency. Findings: The findings reveal that overall economic freedom has a strong favorable impact on the efficiency of Islamic rural banks. The study's breakdown components suggest that business freedom, government spending and investment freedom are favorable indicators, whereas government integrity and tax burden are negative indicators, and all indicators agree with previous studies. Practical implications: This research can serve as a guideline for Islamic rural bank management in terms of maintaining financial efficiency. The government should think about the ramifications of financial sector liberalization and reforms, according to these findings. When financial intermediaries operate in a less constrained environment, they are more likely to pursue competitive practices that increase their operating rate and other efficiency metrics. Finally, academics might utilize this information to investigate the economic flexibility of Islamic rural banks. Originality/value: The novelty of this study is in using data envelopment analysis and Tobit regression to identify economic freedom and Islamic rural banks' efficiency. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the study of the role of economic freedom in Islamic rural bank's efficiency is limited, particularly in the context of Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the effects of capital account liberalization on female employment and its implications for structural change in developing countries. Using a large industry-level panel of 88 low and low-middle-income countries, we provide evidence that episodes of financial liberalization lead to large declines in female employment in tradable sectors. These declines are driven primarily by structural reallocation effects between sectors, although we also find modest changes in the gender composition of employment within sectors, depending on the sample definition. Based on this evidence, we build a stylized model of a small open economy with tradable and nontradable sectors featuring occupational segregation across genders. We use this framework to study the impact of capital inflows and the female wage penalty on female employment in tradables and the real exchange rate. Our model also implies that when the female burden of non-market home production is sufficiently large, capital inflows will disproportionately hurt female employment relative to male employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economies worldwide are carrying out financial opening reforms to regain economic momentum. However, current studies about the effect of financial opening on financial development provide conflicting results. Based on the performances of financial markets in different regulatory settings, we argue that the quality of regulation plays a vital role in determining the effect of financial opening. We apply the dynamic panel threshold model to the data of 114 economies ranging from 2008 to 2019 to estimate the existence of financial regulation thresholds and the impact of financial opening on the depth and efficiency of financial development. Results demonstrate that financial opening in less-regulated markets accelerates credit market expansion; however, it does not concurrently foster improvements in financial efficiency. Although the expansion effect is less remarkable in well-regulated markets, there is a discernible enhancement in overall efficiency. We conclude that regulatory capacity-building is a significant precondition for effective financial opening. Our research provides policy implications for enhancing regulatory quality and warning off financial "deregulation", especially for emerging economies. Policymakers are tasked with the imperative duty of achieving a delicate equilibrium between reaping the advantages of financial liberalization and mitigating the prospective hazards associated with financial deregulation. This nuanced approach holds paramount importance in nurturing a financial system that is both enduring and robust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The determinants of financial development in developing and emerging economies are examined in this article. The long-term relationships between banking sector development, financial integration, trade openness, and economic growth are explored using FMOLS-DOLS panel estimations spanning from 1980 to 2021. The critical significance of economic growth, trade openness, and financial liberalization as fundamental drivers of banking system progress is underscored by the results. To investigate this relationship, two specifications are introduced to measure banking sector development: private credits (specification 1) and the ME ratio (specification 2), which is defined as the ratio of M3 to GDP. In the context of specification 1, quantitative outcomes reveal that a 1% increase in economic growth results in a substantial rise of 0.207% in banking sector development according to FMOLS, and 0.972% according to DOLS. Similarly, a 1% increase in trade openness has a noteworthy positive impact of 0.019% on banking development. Furthermore, the results indicate that financial liberalization contributes positively to banking sector development, with an effect of 0.002%. In the context of specification 2, the impact of economic growth is more pronounced, with a significant increase of 0.3187% (FMOLS) and 0.852% (DOLS). However, trade openness (TRADE_OP) manifests a negative impact of –0.392% (FMOLS) and a positive impact of 0.0162% (DOLS). In conclusion, the critical importance of economic growth, trade openness, and financial liberalization in the development of the banking sector in developing and emerging economies is underscored by the empirical evidence. Prudent economic and financial policies, along with strengthened regulation and supervision, are recommended to foster sustainable and resilient financial development in these contexts.

This study investigates the potential determinants of capital flight from BRICS countries. We use the residual method to estimate capital flight and employ GMM testing approach. We find a surge in the volume of capital flight from BRICS especially in the aftermath of global financial crisis. The empirical results suggest that, past values of the capital flight, real GDP growth rates, exchange rate depreciation, unemployment rate, business confidence index and financial stability indicator as significant factors causing resident capital outflows from BRICS nations. These findings call for an effective policy framework by the fiscal and monetary authorities.

The current study observes the link between export levels, GDP growth, gross savings, lending interest rates, and real interest rates. This study's evaluation approach combines an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), and Arrellano-Bover/Blundell-Bond estimation to observe the connection among export level, GDP growth, gross savings, lending interest rates, and real interest rate as a component of financial liberalization in the case of Kosovo over 12 years from 2009 to 2020. The findings reveal that GDP growth and lending interest rates have a positive impact on the level of export growth. However, as a component of financial liberalization, real interest rates have a negative impact on the level of exports. Whereas econometric analyses revealed that gross savings were insignificant. The negative relationship between the real interest rate and the level of exports represents that real interest rates restricted the financial possibility for businesses to maximize the level of exports throughout the research period. Due to the limited number of observations, this study is limited to analyzing the long-term correlations between the factors that characterize financial liberalization and export progress in the context of Kosovo. To meet the objective of growing exports, policymakers must design policies to enhance the financial system and invest in infrastructure development to encourage the business sector that exports its products or services.

Financial liberalization has noticeably reduced the role of the state in effectively influencing the economy in post-developmental states. Yet many studies have found that the legacies of the developmental model continue to influence the policies, institutions, and socioeconomic challenges that are faced by the states that previously adopted the model. These studies, however, do not clearly identify when and how such legacies may be manifested in state behavior. This paper contributes to filling this gap in the literature by arguing that financial crises can serve as a trigger to more clearly reveal the structural evidence of the legacy in institutions that were previously established and utilized for developmental objectives. By conducting a rigorous case analysis using historical and market data on the crisis responses of South Korea's public pension fund, this paper finds that South Korea's developmental legacy remains passively embedded in the governance structure of the pension fund in non-crisis times but manifests during financial crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's landscape of financial liberalization and economic integration, the sports industry is not immune to the complex interplay between financial and economic activities. This dynamic environment witnesses the frequent exchange of information within the sports financial market, resulting in a high degree of interaction. Such interaction has not only optimized the allocation of global financial resources in sports but has also amplified the repercussions and dissemination of financial crises within the sports sector. From the global sports financial system to individual sports entities, intricate relationships emerge in economic and financial activities among countries, forming a complex sports financial ecosystem. Understanding and characterizing the patterns of risk propagation and shock responses in the sports financial market is vital. It equips sports market participants and regulators with crucial market insights, aids in policy formulation, and enables proactive measures to prevent and address financial market crises within the sports industry. Considering the multifaceted interactions among various stakeholders in the sports financial market, this study adopts a complex network methodology to examine the dynamics of financial risk contagion and shock response, with a primary focus on the sports industry. This approach offers a valuable perspective, shedding light on the specific intricacies within the sports finance domain [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modernization accounts of cultural change hold that economic development drives liberalization of social values, including gender beliefs. Some comparative gender scholarship suggests that societal affluence is often accompanied by the growth of gender-essentialist beliefs, and that these beliefs coexist comfortably alongside gender-egalitarian values. The multidimensional conceptualization of gender ideology that is required to assess these competing claims has been applied so far mostly to Western societies. China is an obvious case for extending knowledge of these relationships, given its rapid economic growth and its recent history of state-imposed gender-egalitarian discourses. Applying latent class analysis to the Chinese General Social Survey (2010–2017), this study links different tenets of gender ideology in China to temporally and spatially specific histories and gendered interests. The results show that the relative importance of modernization and gender accounts depends on the generational, regional, and gendered identities being examined. Unlike in the West, moreover, egalitarian and essentialist beliefs do not always coincide in contemporary China. The friction between these beliefs reflects the resilience of male-primacy ideology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 'strategic autonomy' to 'open strategic autonomy' in the 2021 EU Trade Policy Review – questioning the added value of the qualifier 'open' – legal exploration of 'openness' in EU external trade – identification of constitutional norms of 'openness' in the Treaties – strong constitutional preference for openness – discretion for trade liberalisation and multilateralism and international cooperation but strict obligation for compliance with international law – reviewing recent EU trade instruments in light of these norms – rise in unilateral trade policy instruments adopted since 2021 in pursuit of open strategic autonomy – instruments seeking to restore reciprocity in international trade relations – instruments using access to the internal market as a lever for achieving global sustainability goals – instruments preserving EU security through trade – problematic tensions with international law – very limited 'openness' in 'open strategic autonomy'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]