Regional Science Policy and Practice最新文献

{"title":"Financial Technologies for All MENA citizens: Tackling barriers and promoting inclusion","authors":"Zakaria Elouaourti ,&nbsp;Aomar Ibourk","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100019","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The digital divide within the financial sector, closely intertwined with the rapid evolution of financial technologies, commonly known as \"FinTech,\" has fundamentally reshaped the landscape of financial services. These innovations have ushered in novel avenues for accessibility, enhancing the security of financial transactions and transcending traditional spatiotemporal constraints. This paper embarks on a journey to address key inquiries within the MENA region. It explores digital financial inclusion levels across MENA countries, identifies segments facing digital financial exclusion, scrutinizes the role of the digital divide, often compounded by a lack of financial literacy, as a barrier to financial inclusion, and investigates how FinTech can serve as a catalyst for inclusive development, with a specific focus on marginalized groups like women and the elderly. Our research employs a comprehensive mixed-methodological approach. We draw from micro-level data sourced from 9053 individuals, extracted from the World Bank's latest Global Findex 2021 database. Our comparative analysis, rooted in a two-step principal component analysis method to create the MENA Digital Financial Inclusion Index (DFII), shedding light on the current state of digital financial inclusion in the MENA region. Despite recent initiatives, our findings underscore that digital financial inclusion in the region remains relatively low. Furthermore, our estimations, based on the <strong>Heckman selection methodology</strong>, emphasize the pivotal role played by factors such as educational attainment, labor force participation, information and communication technologies, and internet access as primary drivers of digital financial inclusion in the MENA region. Our research contributes a substantial body of empirical evidence regarding digital financial inclusion levels across MENA countries, charting a path toward bridging the digital divide within the financial sector. These strategies encompass enhancing digital financial literacy, catalyzing broader participation in the labor market, and facilitating expanded access to mobile phones and the Internet. In light of our comprehensive dataset, the policy implications drawn from our study are of paramount interest to financial sector regulators in the MENA region, grounded in the real-life experiences of the individuals constituting our database, with the overarching goal of elevating digital financial inclusion in the region to new heights.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 6","pages":"Article 100019"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224000519/pdfft?md5=7ec756cbc33274c00bc8444dfcc4678e&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224000519-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141315132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Macroeconomic determinants of organic farming efficiency: Double bootstrap DEA estimates from the Indian states","authors":"Anup Kumar Yadava","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100036","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In developing nations such as India, organic farming has emerged as an alternative and sustainable agricultural strategy. Therefore, it is critical to determine the key determinants that could effectively enhance the efficiency of organic farming in India and promote its expansion. This study focuses on the macroeconomic determinants that affect the efficiency of organic farming in India. The study utilizes data from 2012-13 to 2017–18 for 22 Indian states and empirically analyses the macroeconomic determinants of organic farming efficiency by incorporating the double bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. The efficiency of organic farming is assessed by considering three crucial determinants: human capital, agricultural infrastructure, and agricultural public spending. The empirical evidence suggests minor impact of agricultural infrastructure and public spendings have overall significant and positive impact on organic farming efficiency. Moreover, the allocation of various funds toward agricultural public expenditure would likely to enhance the adoption of organic farming practices in India.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 6","pages":"Article 100036"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224000714/pdfft?md5=2c3021238dd8c7a1e7f25b2a23a3029d&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224000714-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141315138","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"On the non-linear relationship between large shareholders and bank performance: North African banks vs. banks in the Middle East","authors":"Majdi Karmani ,&nbsp;Rim Boussaada ,&nbsp;Abdelaziz Hakimi","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The paper aims to empirically assess the threshold effect in the large shareholders <em>(LS)</em> and bank performance relationship. We used a sample of MENA banks during the period 2004–2017. To get benefit from a comparative regional analysis, the whole sample was divided into two sub-samples, banks in the Middle East and banks in North Africa. We performed the Panel Smooth Transition Regression model <em>(PSTR)</em> as an econometric approach. Empirical results indicate a threshold effect in the large shareholders-bank performance relationship. Additionally, results show that this effect differs across regions. More specifically, we found that, below the threshold, large shareholders significantly decrease bank performance for the whole sample. Surpassing this threshold, the effect becomes positive. The opposite result was found for banks located in the Middle East region. However, no significant effect was found for banks in North African countries in almost regressions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 6","pages":"Article 100010"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224000386/pdfft?md5=8c07660fb356de500231c98a49e92f20&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224000386-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141315130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Threshold effect in the relationship between external debt and energy access in sub-Saharan African countries: A dynamic panel threshold specification","authors":"Taha Zaghdoudi","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100024","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper investigates the relationship between external debt and energy access in the Sub-Saharan African countries over the period 1999–2021. Results from the dynamic panel threshold method indicates that the link between external debt and energy access is nonlinear. Moreover, the findings reveal a statistically negative relationship between external debt and energy access above the threshold of 5.04 %, beyond which external debt reduces energy access in SSA countries. Besides, results indicate that economic growth and trade openness enhance access to electricity. However, renewable energy consumption decreases energy access. This paper upholds the view that external debt should be kept to a reasonable level in order to avert the opposite effect on energy access.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 6","pages":"Article 100024"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224000593/pdfft?md5=f012def0e3bcf37953a4c9c459b71120&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224000593-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141315134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"External debt crisis & socio-economic fallout: Evidence from the BRICS nations","authors":"Ajaz Ayoub ,&nbsp;Tahir Ahmad Wani ,&nbsp;Abid Sultan","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100029","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper aims to investigate how external debt influences selected socio-economic variables in a sample of the five biggest emerging nations of the world, i.e., the BRICS block from 1996 to 2020. The data was found to have cross-sectional dependence, which was addressed by using second-generation unit root tests of CIPS and CADF. Cross-sectional dependence was further effectively addressed using the techniques of FMOLS. The study uses the ARDL models to achieve the desired objective. Dumitrescu Hurlin’s (DH) panel causality analysis was adopted to analyze the variables' causality. The study found that, in the long run, External Debt has a positive impact on Unemployment and Life Expectancy while it has a negative impact on Net National Income. The results are also consistent in the short run, except in the case of unemployment, which has been shown to reduce with an increase in the external debt component of the country.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 6","pages":"Article 100029"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224000647/pdfft?md5=482879b535aa8e1b003456448939f488&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224000647-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141315136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"","authors":"Muzamil Farooq","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100003","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 6","pages":"Article 100003"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224000313/pdfft?md5=c4f5c0ad65eb46a963fd55b443975433&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224000313-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141314999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Regional disparity in energy poverty: A spatial analysis of Odisha","authors":"Deepak Panda ,&nbsp;Rudra P. Pradhan","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100056","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100056","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Energy poverty is one of the major deprivations that has direct effect on the well-being of a household at micro level. At macro level, it also has significant effect and hinders the sustainable development of a nation. The binary measurement, commonly used to identify the energy poor population, has major drawbacks as it only takes accessibility of the services into consideration, whereas, in the contemporary period more emphasis should be on the affordability, quality, reliability and legal implications of energy services. The present study, therefore, tries to estimate the energy poverty condition by following a multi-dimensional approach and also tries to identify the actual energy poor by analysing the spatial disparity prevalent in the state of Odisha. A multidimensional framework is used to capture different aspects of energy provisioning at household level and an energy poverty index is constructed by assigning equal weights for the parameters. Spatial disparity is measured by considering proxies for the social parameters and following Gini’s coefficient of disparity measurement. The results indicated persistence of disparity in energy poverty at regional, inter and intra-district levels.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 6","pages":"Article 100056"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224001811/pdfft?md5=2e3b35b7d274416c9ec9926f488bea46&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224001811-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141314997","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transportation, employment and gender norms: Evidence from Indian cities","authors":"Arun Balachandran ,&nbsp;Sonalde Desai","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100060","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100060","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>While India’s low female labor force participation in urban areas is often attributed to its demographic and labor market characteristics, education, and cultural aspects, attention is not paid to the labor market opportunity structure limiting women’s labor market participation. We examine the role of transport infrastructure in gender-gap in labor force participation and its variations by gender-norms across communities. Using India Human Development Survey and city-level data on transport infrastructure, the causal effects of differential employment status of women and men are related to size and quality of transport in twelve Indian cities. Interaction effects are explored to understand varying impacts of transport on employment by gender-context in communities. We find that an improvement in the size and quality of transportation infrastructure improves women’s labor market participation more than that of men. In gender egalitarian communities, stronger positive effect of transport on female labor and reduction of gender gap in employment. Along with generation of new job opportunities suitable for women, it is important to encourage a gender-friendly institutional and social fabric to allow women to connect to new jobs. Using a novel data, the paper highlights the importance of ostensibly gender-neutral development policies for shaping gender inequalities in outcomes.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 6","pages":"Article 100060"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224001859/pdfft?md5=3afd2a1df51a54d9a752b393b6c01113&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224001859-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141314998","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Understanding geographical variability of women's alcohol prevalence in India using spatial regression models: Evidence from national representative survey","authors":"Subham Roy ,&nbsp;Suranjan Majumder ,&nbsp;Arghadeep Bose ,&nbsp;Indrajit Roy Chowdhury","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100040","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Alcohol consumption among women in India is a complicated phenomenon driven by several determining variables and demonstrating clear regional patterns throughout the country. The study examines district-level disparities in women's alcohol prevalence (WAP) in India using recent NFHS-5 data from 2021. This study used exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) techniques like local Moran’s I statistics and bivariate local indicators of spatial association (BiLISA) to illustrate spatial patterns of the specified variables and pinpoint probable lagging regions. Besides, global models such as ordinary least squares (OLS), spatial lag models (SLM), and spatial error models (SEM) were used to grasp an overview of explanatory factors and alcohol prevalence at global levels. Further, geographically weighted regression (GWR) was employed locally to capture the determinants' spatial fluctuations. The results indicate significant clustering patterns among the predictors exhibiting the existence of spatial autocorrelation. The analysis also reveals that marginalized populations contribute to higher alcohol consumption among women, as evidenced by the clustering patterns. The study highlights the spatial disparities and factors influencing WAP in India, providing insights for targeted interventions and policy-making at the local level.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 6","pages":"Article 100040"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224000751/pdfft?md5=0bec444c0cbe1783698ac65e68decd31&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224000751-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141314995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Active Labor Market Policies and instability of their allocations: A changing relationship in the case of regions of Tunisia","authors":"Marwa Sahnoun ,&nbsp;Chokri Abdennadher","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100026","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Evaluation studies focus exclusively on the impact of Active Labor Market Policies (ALMP) on the functioning of the labor market. In particular, they measure the impact of specific programs on the income and future of target groups. Studies that aim to assess the impact of ALMPs as a whole on the overall performance of the labor market remain quite rare. Evaluation studies do not focus on the design and implementation of ALMPs. Little is known about the factors behind the failure or success of ALMPs. This paper addresses this problem by examining how a factor relating to the instability of ALMP and their associated budgetary allocations leads to ineffective ALMPs in a regional context. Based on dynamic panel regression models for a sample of 24 governorates in Tunisia grouped into 7 regions. over the period from 2005 to 2015, we found that ALMPs are effective in reducing the unemployment rate. In addition, by testing the moderating effect of the instability of ALMPs, we show that this instability is very harmful insofar as the link between ALMPs and the unemployment rate is attenuated.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 6","pages":"Article 100026"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224000611/pdfft?md5=1d31cf3d5ecd1f038c2150de3d2a0e61&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224000611-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141315131","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}