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Before it was fully nationalized in 1945, the Banque de France was a listed company that distributed dividends to its shareholders and was listed on the Paris stock exchange. By comparing with other stocks and indexes, I show that, in spite of large earnings, Banque de France’s stock was a lackluster but popular investment. By examining the distribution of profits between the state and ordinary shareholders, I show that the state began to exert an influence over the Bank well before its nationalization, in the nineteenth century, amounting to a stealthy takeover. I then go on to analyze the Bank’s formal governance framework and the power of its regents (directors). Using a novel method to compute the shareholders’ statistical distribution, I conclude that small new shareholders who were less sophisticated bought predominantly shares from old larger shareholders. Eventually, most of the shareholders were “petit-bourgeois” passive rentiers who accepted the mediocre performance and kept reelecting the regents. I conclude by saying that the power of the 200 largest shareholders (“200 families”) was a political myth with little foundation in reality.

Several official institutions (NBER, OECD, CEPR, and others) provide business cycle chronologies with lags ranging from three months to several years. In this paper, we propose a Markov-switching dynamic factor model that allows for a more timely estimation of turning points. We apply one-step and two-step estimation approaches to French data and compare their performance. One-step maximum likelihood estimation is confined to relatively small data sets, whereas two-step approach that uses principal components can accommodate much bigger information sets. We find that both methods give qualitatively similar results and agree with the OECD dating of recessions on a sample of monthly data covering the period 1993–2014. The two-step method is more precise in determining the beginnings and ends of recessions as given by the OECD. Both methods indicate additional downturns in the French economy that were too short to enter the OECD chronology.

Here, we examine the challenges to democratization in Bahrain, with a particular focus on how the recent 2011 Uprising has resulted in a deepening of authoritarianism. It is argued that the recent unrest has brought into sharp relief the absence of “quality” democracy in Bahrain, and that any form of democratic transition is dependent on the will of a conservative Al Khalifa-Saudi nexus. While the pro-democracy movement may have prompted minor concessions on the part of the government, the extent of the popular mobilization triggered the Al Khalifa regime’s authoritarian reflex, and they have reacted to throttle the Uprising by putting in place legislative, ideological, and political barriers to reform, which points not only to a current de-democratization, but also a lack of future democratization. In addition to arguing for the post-2011 undoing of democracy in Bahrain, this paper also points to two major barriers to future democratization; (1) a conservative, post-Independence Al Khalifa-Saudi coalition assisted by large military resources (2) protracted communal tension brought about by the government’s instrumentalization of sectarianism.

Like many other nations, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) is having colossal difficulties managing the continuity of its development efforts in the milieu of COVID-19 pandemic. Widespread resource gap is evident for development budget due to significant diminution of revenue from readymade garments (RMG) and remittances, volatility in capital market, constant increase in trade deficit and reduction of foreign currency reserve, increase in debt and lack of investor confidence. A new horizon of relationship with development partners (DPs) will matter more than ever before. Regrettably, recent experience with collaborative mechanisms such as Local Consultative Group (LCG) and LCG Sector Working Group (LCG-WG) does not support high-impact relationships in terms of result-oriented development effectiveness. Arguably, the international shift of the development community from aid to development effectiveness agenda in 2011 also contributed to country-level motivation of Government and DPs for closer collaboration. In this backdrop, the COVID-19 crisis makes a strong call to both Government and DPs to change their business for improved development results. This chapter, therefore, examines the issues that impede development effectiveness and governance related to the Government as well as DPs. The study observe that the DPs and GoB don’t represent a horizontal relationship to implement the development effectiveness agenda in Bangladesh mainly because of dominant attitude, lack of alignment and harmonization and accountability of DPs and weak policy, institution and leadership of GoB. However, COVID-19 economic crisis makes a renewed call to both DPs and GoB implement the development effectiveness agenda, addressing existing issues and improve the management of development finance to increase economic growth and improve life of the people.

The purpose of this research was to investigate at the influence of technology acceptance model (TAM) characteristics including perceived ease of use, perceived compatibility, and perceived security on the perceived utility and actual use of mobile banking among Yemeni academics. It also investigated the function of perceived utility as a moderator in the link between TAM variables and mobile banking adoption. The sample size was 251 respondents who worked at universities in Yemen and were chosen using stratified random selection. According to the findings, perceived compatibility and perceived security had a substantial positive influence on perceived usefulness and real mobile banking use; however perceived simplicity of use had no effect on mobile banking usage. According to the results, perceived usefulness slightly mediated the association between perceived ease of use and security and mobile banking use, whereas it completely mediated the relationship between perceived compatibility and mobile banking usage. Overall, the research proved the significance of TAM elements in academics’ use of mobile banking in Yemen, offering a credible empirical framework for studying mobile banking usage in this setting.

Asynchronous current account trends between North and South of the Euro Area were accompanied by significant appreciations of real exchange rate originating in the strong shifts in consumer prices and unit labor costs in the periphery economies relative to the core countries of the Euro Area. The issue is whether the real exchange rate is a significant driver of persisting current account imbalances in the Euro Area considering that, according to some authors, differences in domestic demand are more important than is often realized. In the paper we examine relative importance of real exchange rate and demand shocks according to the current account adjustments in the Euro Area member countries. Our results indicate that while the prices and costs related determinants of external competitiveness affected current account adjustments primarily during the pre-crisis period, demand drivers shaped current account balances mainly during the crisis period.

The public healthcare system faces challenges and limitations regarding the supply and delivery of healthcare services. The private healthcare system is expensive and only affordable for some. Due to the increasing population, developing countries face a greater degree of demand–supply mismatch. The existing healthcare services in developing countries need to be more sustainable due to high out-of-pocket expenditures and low-income levels. The research design used in this chapter is a case study approach based on qualitative data. The study focuses on two objectives: (1) to have a detailed understanding of the nature of healthcare cooperatives in Spain and their contribution to meeting healthcare requirements; and (2) to make suggestions and recommendations for an improved and sustainable healthcare cooperative for developing countries. Inspired by the healthcare cooperative model of Spain and keeping in mind the ground reality of the lack of healthcare facilities and services accessible and affordable in developing countries, the authors have developed a conceptual framework with the foundation of an insurance cooperative. The Spain Model is sustainable for developing countries as it serves the interest of all income brackets, not leaving the low-income population behind. Concepts like cooperative worker insurance embedded in the model can ensure that the beneficiaries receive timely and good quality health services at an affordable price. It empowers individuals by allowing them to make small amounts of investments as premiums to secure a hopeful future for a healthy life.