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ABSTRACT Amid growing concerns about social mobility in Britain's higher education system, our study delves into universities' role in addressing the social gap within the financial and professional services sectors. The social reproduction theory underscores how upper‐class students often benefit from greater exposure to dominant cultural and educational practices, providing them with a competitive advantage in navigating the higher education landscape. To combat these challenges, Higher Education Institutions (HEI) have invested heavily in Employability Development Opportunities (EDOs). Drawing on primary data from finance and accounting students and employability officers at one of these HEIs, our research aims to investigate which EDOs are perceived as most relevant for students to succeed in the financial and professional services industry. First, we confirm that both work experience and real‐life activities are most valuable and unavoidable, prompting business schools to include compulsory exposure to the finance industry as part of the curriculum. Second, we find that career development activities are useful as a starting point but not enough for students to secure an internship. Finally, while previous literature shows that extra‐curricular activities do not significantly impact student employability, we argue that some of these activities, for example, the Finance Society, are as valuable as real‐world exposure. Indeed, the Finance Society was found to be the most helpful source of information, advice and networking for finance students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The unique institution of waqf that was ignored during the colonization of the Muslim areas has to be revived to play its role in shared growth, social inclusion and cohesion in society. This research paper aims to explore the role of waqf as an instrument for a sustainable growth system and to suggest a model for socioeconomic development in an economy like that of Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative research is based on analytical methods to arrive at the frameworks and a model that could facilitate the revival of waqf for community development/social inclusion in economies like that of Pakistan. Findings: As most of the OIC member states like Pakistan are facing serious financial problems due to debt servicing obligations, promoting Waqf for various socioeconomic and cultural functions is a vital requirement for such economies. The inability of the state institutions in providing necessary civic, health and education facilities to the public is causing serious harm to the balance of the society. It requires promoting a formal system of charity and using FinTech for waqf-based donations and financing the micro businesses. The perpetuity complimented by the profitability of the waqf properties makes the waqf institutions sustainable and effective when compared to individual charities. Research limitations/implications: This is conceptual research discussing the potential of waqf in light of its historical role. Researchers may undertake empirical studies on awqaf operations in various jurisdictions and their role in the empowerment of the poor. Practical implications: The research will provide the researchers with insight into the potential of waqf as a tool for community development. Besides, it will enable policymakers and implementation authorities to socialize charity for sustained benefits and welfare. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, it is the first major research that discusses the role of waqf in economies facing budgetary and trade deficits in the eradication of poverty and the promotion of social and economic entrepreneurship in realizing the community development targets for the economies like that of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increased importance of SEs in the global marketplace, limited research in social entrepreneurship addresses internationalization, and fewer from a behavioural perspective. We fill this gap by investigating the SE manager's behavioural attributes and their influence on the decision of social entrepreneurs to become international social entrepreneurs (ISEs) through an exploratory design using content analysis and interviews. All social entrepreneurs were driven to address social change by a strong social conscience; however, this research finds that ISEs shared an urgent and personal call to action. This sense of urgency developed from transformative experiences that altered their views of the world and their place within it. Domestic social entrepreneurs were motivated primarily by their social conscience, shared background, and the timing of the social enterprise opportunity, factors previously identified in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study uses time‐varying Granger causality models that incorporate two proxies for Twitter policy uncertainty and South African returns stock returns to investigate the causal relationship between Twitter uncertainty and South African stock returns for the period between 2017 and 2023. The findings demonstrate that Twitter Market Uncertainty and Twitter Economic Uncertainty mostly lead JSE returns around the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic and the Russia‐Ukranainan war respectively. The findings also show significant out‐of‐sample forecasts using uncertainty indexes from Twitter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can a text build a social movement and can this text provide continuity to the movement it has built? Or can a text finance a social movement? So, again, can a text give identity to a social movement? We will discuss the answers to all these questions in the context of the Risale-i Nur Collection (the text) and the Nur movement, written by the Islamic scholar and Quran commentator Said Nursi. The main argument of our study is that the socialisation potential of the text exists and the relationship between the Risale-i Nur Collection and the Nur movement constitutes an example confirming this potential. We hope that our study, as one of the few studies examining the Nur movement from a sociological perspective, will make an original contribution to more comprehensive research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of democratic commitment is highlighted on a global scale by the importance placed on offering a multitude of chances to establish enduring ecosystems and foster economic progress. Social finance, capital formation, and green finance have recently received a lot of attention from this perspective. Past studies mainly examined social finance and green finance in isolation. When investigating the individual impact of these important variables on economic growth in the occurrence of important events like the COVID-19 pandemic and other environmental pollution issues, most studies have mainly focused on developed countries, ultimately ignoring the different dynamics in emerging economies. The purpose of the research is to investigate the joint interaction between social finance (Social Impact Bonds), capital formation, and green finance (green loans, green investments, and green security) on economic development in BRICS economies. This research employed a longitudinal dataset from 2013 to 2023. The generalized method of moments (GMM) and fixed effect model (FEM) were employed in this research as statistical techniques for estimating parameters. The findings of this study revealed a positive joint relationship between green finance, capital formation, and social financing on economic development of BRICS economies. Therefore, measures that jointly promote social and green finance amidst environmental challenges or economic risks could present opportunities to mitigate the vulnerability of a country's economic prosperity. This research will surely guide policymakers in developing economies on how to give considerable attention to sustainable aspects while formulating policies and strategies aimed at economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the promulgation of the 1988 Federal Constitution, Brazilian rural workers were granted the same rights and labor guarantees as urban workers, even though they are governed by a specific law. However, after more than three decades of the Constitution's existence, it can be noted through this research that rural workers continue to have their rights violated by employers, leading to high levels of informal work in the region. This is shown by the data from this research, where it is revealed that 97% of the rural workers in the territory of the Recôncavo Baiano work informally and are not being assisted by their category's union or by state control agencies. As a consequence, the absence of formal work has increased the social security deficit, since these workers do not contribute to the social security financing system. However, and justly so, in old age they are entitled to a rural retirement when they are part of the family economy regime, since these workers carry out important activities for the economic development and feeding of the community through agricultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of online discussions in rallying investors has been highlighted by the GameStop frenzy of 2021. We know little, however, about the effect of online discussions on investor survivorship. Previous studies have emphasized the role of communication with respect to market entry, but not with respect to market survival. Survivorship studies, in turn, have largely focused on the role of financial factors in the investors' decision to quit trading, but have not investigated so far how social interactions and communication impact the decision to quit or stay. Using a dataset covering 1.1 million observations for 4,731 traders over 18 months, we examine the role of online discussions in traders' decisions to stay in the market. We find that traders who actively engage in them tend to be 16 per cent to 30 per cent less likely to quit trading. We identify a positive Granger-causal relationship between online discussions and the probability of survival. Our results are robust to alternative measures of communication and different sets of control variables. Based on this evidence, we draw attention to the necessity of studying the nexus between finance and social media as an important component of platform capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) are a promising approach to urban energy transformation, aiming to optimize local energy systems and deliver environmental, social and economic benefits. However, their effectiveness and justification for investment rely on understanding the additional value they provide (additionality) in comparison to current policies and planning methods. The additionality perspective is not used yet in current evaluations of PED demonstrations and pilots. Therefore, this paper introduces the concept of additionality in the evaluation of PEDs, focusing on the additional benefits they bring and the circumstances under which they are most effective. We discuss the additionality of PEDs in addressing the challenges of climate neutrality and energy system transformation in three European cities that are funded by the European Commission's H2020 Programme. It should be noted that given the ongoing status of these projects, the assessment is mainly based on preliminary results, as monitoring is still ongoing and quantitative results are not yet available. The paper discusses the drivers and barriers specific to PEDs, and highlights the challenges posed by technical complexities, financing aspects and social and legal restrictions. Conclusions are drawn regarding the concept of additionality and its implications for the wider development of PEDs as a response to the challenges of climate neutrality and energy system transformation in cities. We conclude that the additionality perspective provides valuable insights into the impact and potential of PEDs for societal goals and recommend this approach for use in the final evaluation of R&I projects involving PEDs using actual monitored data on PEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a sideways approach to analyzing market visualizations on trading screens as a part of the sensoryscapes of financial trading. Based on ethnographic research on the trading floor of a market-maker investment bank in Istanbul, I develop an anthropologically driven interdisciplinary lens built on social studies of finance (SSF) and film and media studies. Through this lens, I use 'haptic' (Marks, Laura U. 2000. The Skin of the Film: Intercultural Cinema, Embodiment, and Senses. Duke University Press) as a key analytic and argue that markets on screens generate a haptic visuality that shapes traders' bodily, sensuous, affective, and emotional engagements with markets. In this way, I offer an alternative reading of Beunza and Stark's conceptualization of pattern recognition and re-cognition by bringing it back to the works of Knorr Cetina and Bruegger. I show that traders' aspirations, intuition, and memories take part in pattern recognition and re-cognition, transforming these experiences into subjective and embodied knowledges and practices. Hence, I expand social scientific studies on financial trading by demonstrating that intersubjective relations with anonymous market actors require self-embedding into market visualizations, through which one can engage with the faces of markets as a face that touches back to the haptic visuality of markets on screens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate access to finance for social enterprises, including those that are women and minority ethnic group (MEG) led. Using data from the UK Longitudinal Small Business Survey, we find that relative to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), social enterprises are less likely to apply for bank overdrafts, but more likely to apply for government grants. However, upon application, social enterprises are more likely to receive commercial mortgages, credit card funding, government grants and loans from mainstream financial intermediaries. By leadership diversity, women-led social enterprises are more likely to apply for loans from a bank, but less likely to receive bank funding compared to male-led counterparts. Our results also show that MEG-led social enterprises are less likely to apply for credit cards and government grants. Nevertheless, when they do apply, MEG-led enterprises have a higher probability of being granted government funding. In contrast, upon application, their chances of securing a bank overdraft facility are lower compared to those led by non-minority ethnic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The significance of democratic commitment is highlighted on a global scale by the importance placed on offering a multitude of chances to establish enduring ecosystems and foster economic progress. Social finance, capital formation, and green finance have recently received a lot of attention from this perspective. Past studies mainly examined social finance and green finance in isolation. When investigating the individual impact of these important variables on economic growth in the occurrence of important events like the COVID-19 pandemic and other environmental pollution issues, most studies have mainly focused on developed countries, ultimately ignoring the different dynamics in emerging economies. The purpose of the research is to investigate the joint interaction between social finance (Social Impact Bonds), capital formation, and green finance (green loans, green investments, and green security) on economic development in BRICS economies. This research employed a longitudinal dataset from 2013 to 2023. The generalized method of moments (GMM) and fixed effect model (FEM) were employed in this research as statistical techniques for estimating parameters. The findings of this study revealed a positive joint relationship between green finance, capital formation, and social financing on economic development of BRICS economies. Therefore, measures that jointly promote social and green finance amidst environmental challenges or economic risks could present opportunities to mitigate the vulnerability of a country's economic prosperity. This research will surely guide policymakers in developing economies on how to give considerable attention to sustainable aspects while formulating policies and strategies aimed at economic development.

Pay‐for‐success contracts are social and financial innovations in social policy and capital markets, respectively. This paper argues that they exhibit option‐like payoffs and implements standard option‐pricing arguments in assessing the value of investing in pay‐for‐success contracts. Sensitivities vis‐à‐vis contract specifications are reflected in the valuation formula and help reach investment and social policy decisions. These sensitivities are demonstrated via a numerical application that uses parameters drawn from the Massachusetts Juvenile Justice Pay for Success Initiative, the largest pay‐for‐success initiative in the United States at the time of its launch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social protection has gained increasing attention in global climate policy due to its potential to contribute to low-carbon, just and climate-resilient development. Unlocking climate finance for social protection is critical to realize this potential. Multilateral climate funds established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) can play a particularly important role by financing social sectors where private investments are not attractive. Yet, there is a distinct policy and research gap in understanding the potential and limitations of the UNFCCC financial mechanisms to support social protection in low- and middle-income countries. Taking as a case study the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which is the largest multilateral fund under the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC, we seek to address this gap. First, the study introduces a framework for analysis of the ways climate finance engages with social protection by looking into a comprehensive set of formal social services and transfers provided by the state to individuals, households, and on a collective basis. Second, the study identifies a continuum of entry points for integrating social protection into the GCF's project portfolio and offers a holistic perspective by capturing climate change mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage. We find that social protection can be instrumental in the design and implementation of GCF projects. In addition, our analysis reveals that the GCF has the potential to support projects that create enabling conditions for integrating climate change considerations into national social protection systems, and that aim at piloting or establishing long-term social protection mechanisms with climate change objectives. Social protection policy frameworks, infrastructure, instruments, and knowledge have supported the design and implementation of mitigation and adaptation projects funded by the GCF. The strongest linkages between social protection and climate finance in the GCF's project portfolio relate to climate services with a growing focus on shock-responsive social protection. Rural livelihood projects were the most common in the project portfolio though several projects demonstrated the potential for the GCF to support housing-related social protection in urban contexts. The study did not identify any mitigation-only projects that invest in adapting social protection systems, yet several projects demonstrate entry points towards that end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to present trends in the development of two forms of social financing - crowdfunding and charitable collections - in Poland in the years 2016-2022. The study conducted an analysis of the dynamics of these initiatives, employing measures of absolute and relative growth rates, as well as individual indices (single-base and chain indices). A total of eleven organizations engaged in commercial and charitable fundraising were subjected to analysis, utilizing published financial reports and data from the National Court Register (KRS). The research findings significantly supplemented the gaps in information available on the internet platforms of these organizations and revealed intriguing trends in social mobilization dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social finance, an arena of international finance comprising social banking, impact investing, and microfinance, offers a powerful conceptual lens through which to interrogate the interface of finance and labor in financial capitalism. This article investigates social finance's development at the crossroad of two processes. Social finance emerged in the context of a process of laboring finance, an often-coercive inclusion of workers and households into financial circuits of accumulation and expansion made possible by labor market changes that began in the 1970s. The global financial crisis occasioned the growth of social finance, which, by means of financing labor, placed the reproductive needs of labor—the needs of society's most disadvantaged agents, the poor, the homeless, the marginal, and unemployed workers—at the center of financial accumulation. By informing an oscillatory movement between laboring finance and financing labor, and, affectively, between trust and distrust, social finance primes and cultivates financial market participants' belief in purported solutions to the social problems financial capitalism has contributed to create. As a critical investigation of the complex interface between finance and labor that animates social finance's operations, this article aims to provide conceptual resources that can contribute to releasing labor's social cooperation from finance's hegemony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper elucidates the infrastructural work of rendering 'climate risks' intelligible and actionable for financial investors. It analyses hybrid public-private initiatives to 'risk' carbon capital which accompany strategies to 'de-risk' green investments in the effort to make financial flows climate compatible. Empirically, the paper focusses on recent attempts to establish a 'global baseline' for climate reporting. I analyse these efforts as the building of a reporting infrastructure: a socio-technical network that brings together metrics, calculative devices and reporting conventions, and articulates actors like companies, investors, regulators and auditors according to its protocols. The infrastructure provides a conduit of power that can serve the interests of different actors and exercises ontological power by making up 'climate risk' in an economically digestible yet partial way. I will thus criticize that the focus on financial climate risks backgrounds the material risks of global heating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using two proxies for investors' political affiliation, we document sharp differences in stock returns between firms likely dominated by Democratic investors (blue stocks) and those dominated by Republican investors (red stocks) during the COVID pandemic. Red stocks have 20 basis points higher risk-adjusted returns than blue stocks on COVID news days (Partisan Return Gap). Lockdown policies, COVID cases, industry and firm fundamentals only explain at most 40% of the return gap. Polarized political beliefs about COVID, revealed through people's social distancing behavior, contribute to about 40% of the return gap beyond the fundamental channel. Our paper provides partisanship as a novel aspect in understanding abnormal stock returns during the pandemic. This paper was accepted by Lukas Schmid, finance. Supplemental Material: The data and e-companion are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4913. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prosocial is an activity that is carried out consciously to provide benefits to others without expecting a specific reward. Prossociative behavior will increase social finance in society. The purpose of this study is to analyze prosocial behavior and religious behavior on happiness and the impact of happiness on productivity. This study uses primary data from 1121 respondents of independent workers who live in provinces that are included in the average level of happiness based on the 2021 Central Bureau of Statistics Indonesia or Badan Pusat Statistik Indonesia (BPS) survey. Data analysis uses Structure Equation Modeling (SEM) with the Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach. The results of this study show that prosocial behaviors such as philanthropy, voluntary activities, and religious behaviors such as friendship, gratitude, and tadabbur have a significant positive effect on happiness both in the happiness index with Islamic value and the BPS happiness index. Another important finding of this study is the impact of happiness with both indices on productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Ciencias Sociales (13159518) is the property of Revista de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad del Zulia Venezuela 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.)

Word-of-Mouth (WoM) is a socially embedded process, and investors engage in social considerations to achieve self-motives. Investors attempt to share negative WoM (NWoM) to emotionally connect (self-affirm) to strengthen existing social ties following prior losses. In contrast, investors attempt to share positive WoM (PWoM) to self-enhance to attract others into developing new social ties. Thereby, this study aims to predict the impact of prior losses or gains on investors' later decisions by engaging in the valence of WoM to achieve different underlying self-motives and social-motives. This study used experimental data and employed PROCESS tool model 6 to check the validity of the proposed triple serial mediation model. Findings support the viability of the triple mediation model that investors seek to achieve different underlying self-motives and social-motives manifested in PWoM or NWoM, following prior gains or losses. Investors seek to self-affirm by strengthening components of social-motives through engaging in NWoM, following prior losses. While investors seek to self-enhance to develop components of social-motives through sharing PWoM, following prior gains. Findings provide significant implications for researchers, managers, financial advisors, and analysts. Researchers, managers, and analysts can incorporate investors' intrinsic factors in traditional economic models to better predict investors' economic behavior. Financial advisors need to understand self-motives and social-motives that change clients' risk attitude and frame investment advice to achieve particular clients' self-motives and social-motives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to identify the problems in shariah compliance and the weak oversight of implementing Islamic crowdfunding (ICF). Shariah compliance regulation is an essential subsystem in Islamic social finance ecosystems. Design/methodology/approach: This type of research is legal research. The research approaches are the statute, comparative and conceptual approaches. The study in this research examines Indonesia, the UK and Malaysia. Findings: ICF is one of the fastest-growing sectors of Islamic financial technology (fintech). The Islamic fintech sector is showing maturity signals with a market size of $79bn in 2021, projected at $179bn in 2026. Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia lead the Index by Global Islamic Fintech (GIFT) Index scores. However, low shariah compliance is still an issue in implementing ICF. This problem is caused by regulatory support that is still lacking and oversight of shariah compliance is not optimal. On the one hand, shariah compliance is the ICF core principle for Shariah Governance. Research limitations/implications: This study examines the regulation and oversight of ICF in Indonesia, Malaysia and the UK. Indonesia and Malaysia, a country with the highest GIFT index score in the world, and the UK, a country with an Islamic finance sector experiencing rapid growth. Practical implications: The research results on shariah compliance regulation in ICF are helpful as a comprehensive approach for developing sustainable Islamic social finance ecosystems. Social implications: Shariah compliance is the core principle of ICF governance. Its implementation can increase public trust. Originality/value: Crowdfunding platform and issuers in ICF must implement shariah compliance. Therefore, it is essential to consider the presence of shariah compliance requirements and a Shariah Supervisory Board (DPS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One such recent innovation in Sharia insurance in Indonesia is the introduction of waqf insurance products. In this study, we aim to explore the untapped potential of integrating waqf into Sharia insurance products, positioning it strategically within the insurance landscape of Indonesia. Employing a comprehensive sequential mixed methods approach, the study collected data through in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, including government officials, insurance companies, and nazhir (waqf managers). The qualitative interviews were complemented by quantitative surveys to provide a holistic understanding. A rigorous analysis was conducted, combining qualitative and quantitative techniques, such as weighting methods on the SWOT matrix. The findings resulted in a strategic formulation, highlighting the possibilities of waqf integration in the Indonesian insurance sector. The study reveals the promising trajectory of waqf insurance in Indonesia, positioning it in Quadrant I of the SWOT analysis. This implies that, with the collective support of all stakeholders, this Islamic social finance product has the potential to experience substantial growth, capitalizing on the existing opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the issue of paradigm shift in an important area of health policy, which is the mental health care system. Despite the beginning of changes towards the transformation of the model of care, from one based on solutions characteristic for the asylum model to community psychiatry already in 1996, through the adoption of the Mental Health Protection Act, and then subsequent National Mental Health Protection Programmes, in practice, until 2018 no comprehensive real attempts have been made to transform this system and move away from the dominance of hospital treatment in favour of solutions characteristic of community treatment. The preparation and commencement of pilot projects under the programme for the preparation of social innovations financed by the European Union was the first systemic attempt to develop solutions that fully meet the European standards of deinstitutionalisation of support and treatment of people with mental problems and diseases and to fully implement these models in practice along with integrating them with existing solutions under the public health insurance system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We apply bibliometric analysis to the review papers published in the finance domain, considering 264 review and qualitative studies. The approach applied in this study involves using review studies published in finance literature from 2000 to 2022, predominantly aiming at the pedigree of such papers and unfolding the renaissance experienced by such papers in recent years. We apply bibliometric analysis to know the most influential countries, authors, institutions, and journals publishing review papers. Results of the study identified four literature review clusters: The first cluster is related to 'corporate finance and financial markets', the second cluster combines the studies related to 'financial innovations and Fintech', the third cluster is related to 'social finance and financial inclusion', and finally, the fourth cluster combines the studies related to 'CSR and corporate governance'. We conclude that the bibliometric analysis and literature review papers are critical for identifying and highlighting the emerging problems in finance and motivating future academics to pursue further investigations and provide solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Impact investors differ from venture capital firms as they invest to create social and commercial value. This paper pursues the question: how do impact investors select social enterprises? The aim of this study is to understand the selection and investing process of impact investors. Design/methodology/approach: This study developed a database of 115 impact-investing firms across different geographies. Emails were sent to investors associated with each of the impact-investing firms found in the database, out of which 32 replied with consent for a telephonic or in-person interview. Findings: The significant findings presented in the paper are the following. First, this study shows the impact-investing selection process model. The four major steps in the selection process are context, investment focus, venture analysis and decision. In each step, social values and missions become the defining characteristics of the selection process. Second, the findings also discuss the typologies of impact investors as a function of their selection approaches. Practical implications: This paper discusses the impact investing strategy among social enterprises. It provides a framework for impact investing among investee social enterprises. As an impact investing professional, one learns investment strategy through this paper. Social implications: Impact investing is a growing field. It is believed that impact investing could greatly impact sustainable development goals, climate change goals and help in inclusive development. This study helps to further understand impact investing process and hopes to help social enterprises and impact investors make a better match, thereby, creating a greater overall social and environmental impact. Originality/value: This study helps both practitioners and academics to understand the complexity of impact investing. This study helps develop heuristics that impact investors may use to make investments. This study provides a framework for investing, which the impact investing firms may use to invest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Journal of Social Entrepreneurship (JSE) reached its 10th year of publishing in 2020. In recognition of this milestone, this study analyses 221 articles published in JSE during 2010–2020 employing bibliometric approaches to explore the trends and trajectories of JSE publications and culminate in a research agenda. Analysis uncovered an upward trend of publication growth underpinned by business management research, the dominance of North American and European contributions; and an imbalance of methodological diversity. Bibliographic coupling networks captured antecedents to social entrepreneurial process; social finance and investment; and social enterprise identity and legitimacy as the prominent themes emerged through this decade of research in JSE. Future research and publication areas were suggested along the lines of capturing context and mechanism of social entrepreneurial process and social change mechanism; increasing multidisciplinary perspective; developing a deeper understanding of entrepreneurship; advancing social entrepreneurship teaching practice and improving methodological diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovations in aligning investment with sustainability led to impact investing, enabling investors to achieve conventional financial returns and measurable social and environmental returns. Since its inception in 2007, it has grown manifolds, with significant efforts being made to create a global ecosystem. However, due to limited academic literature, the theme is yet to garner the scholarly interest it deserves. In this study, we analyse and visualise a knowledge map of the impact investment research field through a comprehensive bibliometric analysis by employing a research corpus of 421 studies sourced from Web of Science and Scopus. We identify the growth trajectory, geographical concentration, productive and influential authors, journals and significant articles and examine the inter‐disciplinarity of the field. The major research themes interlinked with impact investing included; social entrepreneurship, social innovation, social finance, impact investment market, innovative financial instruments, financialisation of essential services and impact reporting. To drive the field forward, future research needs to develop an impact investment ecosystem, address behavioural issues, stakeholder management and institutional context in impact investment theme, develop and diffuse innovative financial instruments, develop a framework for standardised accounting and reporting practices to measure financial and non‐financial dimensions, tackle impact washing by fund managers, address lack of financial access to the third sector and develop the legal and regulatory framework for third sector organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the role of the Islamic financial system in recovery post-COVID-19 and the way Fintech can be utilized to combat the economic reverberations created by COVID-19. The global financial crisis of 2008 has established the credentials of the Islamic financial system as a sustainable financial system which can save the long run interests of the average citizens around the world while adding value to the real economy. The basic ethical tenets available in the Islamic financial system make it more suited and readymade to fight the economic aftershocks of a pandemic like COVID-19. The basic principles of ethical Islamic finance have solid connections to financial stability and corporate social responsibility within the wide-reaching business context. With the emergence of Financial technology (Fintech) it has provided a missing impetus to the Islamic financial system to compete on equal ground with its conventional counterpart and prove its mettle. The study uses discourse analysis along with the content analysis to extract content and draw a conclusion. The findings of the study indicate that COVID-19 pandemic has provided the opportunity for the social and open innovation to grow and finance world have turned to open innovation to provide a speedy, timely, reliable, and sustainable solution to the world. The findings of the study provide significant implications for governments and policy makers in efficient application of Fintech and innovative Islamic financial services to fight the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amidst the food security issue worldwide, developing waqf land for agriculture is essential as it could help in preparing sufficient food supply for the nation. In Malaysia, a considerable amount of waqf land is reported undeveloped, unfortunately contravening to the spirit of waqf in generating sustained benefit. In fact, in Islamic finance, waqf is promoted as a social finance instrument with the potentials in creating value for the society and environment, whilst providing financial returns. As the sole trustee of waqf property in the country, the State Islamic Religious Councils (SIRCs) should take all reasonable means to develop the property. Hence, this study analyses the critical success factors (CSF) to develop waqf land for agriculture, that are significant in providing meaningful insights for waqf trustees to plan for a productive and sustainable waqf development. Data was collected via Focused Group Discussion (FGD) attended by experts from the academia and industry. Employing a thematic analysis performed through Atlas ti, findings revealed five factors that are agreed capable in sustaining the benefits of waqf, appreciating the donor while assisting waqf trustees in executing trusts.

Purpose: The main purpose of the article is to examine and understand the specific role that social lending plays in financing enterprises in Poland. The article also aims to shed light on the benefits and drawbacks of social lending. Design/methodology/approach: The article uses the prevailing literature as well as analysis and evaluation of documents, reports, and the websites of social lending platforms. Findings: The obtained results will help to indicate the role of social lending in financing enterprises in Poland. Research limitations/implications: The results cannot be generalised, but can form a basis for further deliberations. They shed certain light on the role of social lending in financing enterprises in Poland. Originality/value: The article shows the role of social lending in financing enterprises in Poland. This article is mainly aimed at people who plan to start a business. Information on the role of peer to peer lending can be valuable for them, helping them to understand what opportunities they have and how they can use it to raise funds to develop their business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Egyptian Journal of Social Work (EJSW) - English Journal is the property of Helwan University, Faculty of Social Work 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 purpose of this paper was to examine the role of social Funds of Identity (FoI), as expressed in significant others, in the promotion of language learning for a young refugee-background child. It is based on an ethnographic study that spanned across two years, shortly after the relocation of the child and her family in the U.S. The findings are structured in three themes: (a) activities that promoted language learning; (b) artifacts that symbolized achievement in language learning; and (c) discourses that promoted a multilingual learner identity. The significance of this study lies on its aim to expand the FoI with attention to specific ways in which FoIs are negotiated in the dialectic space of interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to investigate how Zakat is disbursed to aid in disaster relief efforts and its role in humanitarian efforts during and after disasters, using the case study of the 2018 Lombok earthquake in Indonesia. Data for this study were collected through interviews with BAZNAS managers using a semi-structured interview method. The steps in analyzing interview data involved data coding, identifying themes or patterns, developing a narrative, and developing a theory. The main findings of the research indicate that the distribution of Zakat for disasters has sustained impacts on the environment, social aspects, and the economy of affected communities. It highlights the crucial role of Zakat in disaster mitigation for humanitarian purposes. The theoretical implications of these findings affirm the critical role of Zakat in disaster mitigation, an aspect that has not been fully explored in previous academic literature. These findings contribute to the development of Islamic social finance by highlighting the role of Zakat in disaster management and exploring its potential application in humanitarian efforts and disaster mitigation. The practical implications for the government include enhancing collaboration between BAZNAS and disaster relief agencies and improving public understanding of Zakat principles for humanitarian purposes and disaster mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous innovation of financial instruments, the financing structure presents a diversified development trend, and the proportion of direct financing in Aggregate Financing to the Real Economy (AFRE) has been increasing. We utilized monthly data from January 2002 to March 2023 to establish a time-varying spillover index model and a large TVP-VAR model in order to investigate the dynamic impact of the social financing structure on various industry sectors. The empirical results suggested that the impact of financing structure on different industry sectors varies. Direct financing had the least impact on the industry compared to on-balance-sheet financing and off-balance-sheet financing. Lagging effects had the most significant influence on all industries. Furthermore, since 2015, the impact of different industries on the proportion of direct financing has significantly changed, indicating that the impact of direct financing on different industries became apparent during the 'stock crash'. Moreover, the impact of different financing methods on the economic development of various industry sectors was susceptible to external events, and the degree of impact varied. Our results are useful in helping policy makers better understand the changes in different industries affected by the financing structure, which can inform their policy formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the existing literature pertaining to the governance of Islamic social finances (ISF). The primary aim is to identify and highlight global research patterns and deliver noteworthy insights that can be gleaned by ISF institutions worldwide. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a hybrid approach, incorporating both bibliometric and content analysis methodologies. The authors curated a data set comprising 73 scholarly documents (articles) obtained from the Scopus database, covering the period from 2010 to 2023. The data collection process was conducted in March 2023. VOSviewer and content analysis were used to analyze the collected data. Findings: The authors unveiled six distinct categories derived from the available literature on governance in ISF. These categories encompassed accountability, governance practice, performance, efficiency, Islamic accounting and governance awareness. Extensive deliberations have taken place regarding these six categories to enhance their prominence among ISF institutions. Furthermore, the findings of this study provided valuable directions for future research in this domain. Research limitations/implications: The use of English articles obtained from the Scopus database in this study ensured that the selected papers were of a significant standard of excellence within the specific realm of knowledge under examination. Practical implications: Enhancing governance practice within ISF institutions could enhance their overall performance, thereby playing a crucial role in optimizing their contributions to societal and economic contexts. Social implications: This endeavor served as a means to enlighten numerous stakeholders regarding social finance institutions, fostering an environment of informed decision-making and effective governance that aligns with the principles of Islamic economics. Originality/value: This study represents a pioneering bibliometric publication on the governance of ISF, providing academics with a robust basis for comprehending the evolving landscape of literature within this specific area of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outcomes Based Commissioning (OBC) – for example, Pay for Success (in the US) or Payment by Results (in the UK) – has been suggested as a way to provide 'more' social services for 'less' public resources. Such commissioning is often linked with an innovative financing tool called a Social Impact Bond (SIB). Using data from the Social Finance UK Database and focusing on SIBs in the US and UK, we evaluate whether the SIB approach aligns with the theoretical predictions of social innovation. The results provide limited evidence that SIBs facilitate capital injections from the private sector into the production of social goods as well as facilitate parts of the process of social innovation – namely, piloting and scaling. We conclude that there is significant variation, both between the US and UK and within the US, in social innovation ecosystems and the role played by SIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Fundamentally, the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) is a networking synergy of banks to promote sustainable growth in economy, society, and environment via their financial services. Similarly, the Value-based Intermediation (VBI) in Islamic finance is an initiative by the Central Bank of Malaysia to strengthen the genuine role of Islamic financial institutions in social finance. Islamic social finance instruments, particularly cash waqf, have been predominantly proposed in various viable models in the literature. Some models have been put into practice, while several remain potentially workable in the future. As numerous research delve into the feasibility and enablers of cash waqf, the embed values have been marginally discussed, especially considering the functional roles of the financial intermediaries in an Islamic financial system. Moreover, Islamic banks have been criticized for several misconceptions of merely replicating conventional banking structures, imposing an exorbitant ‘profit rate’ without due understanding and consideration to the institutions as business entities. Such misconceptions contradict the philosophical underpinnings of Islamic banking and finance discipline. Hence, the adoption of VBI within Islamic banks is expected to strengthen their self-discipline towards serving the society, via redistributive instruments. In this study, cash waqf models proposed are summarized to establish the linkage between VBI and cash waqf structures. Employing content analysis, this article goes beyond the tangibility of cash waqf by deducing the imbued values to propose a sustainable value-based conceptual framework of cash waqf, which is hoped to further empower and encourage the stakeholders in a cash waqf structure.

"Islamic Finance in Africa: The Prospects for Sustainable Development" is a book that explores the intersection of Islamic finance and sustainability in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa. The book primarily focuses on the legal, regulatory, and governance aspects of Islamic finance, as well as commercial and social finance. It discusses the challenges facing the development of Islamic finance in Africa, including weak Shariah governance standards and the absence of green sukuk. The book offers case studies and experiments, but some chapters lack updated information and fail to address important events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ebola outbreak. While the book may not be suitable as a textbook, it can provide inspiration for fieldwork and identify gaps in the literature. [Extracted from the article]