Search results

Due to its contribution to poverty reduction, which is one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, inclusive finance is an issue of discussion. By using a bibliometric analysis approach, this study conducts performance analysis and keyword co-occurrences analysis under VOS viewer to synthesize the characteristics and essential dimensions of financial inclusion in Asia. This research studies 1,072 articles contributed by 1,928 authors, during the years 2005–2022. Numerous figures and networks are provided in order to comprehend publication trends, influential authors and their affiliations and countries, influential publications, and keyword occurrences. Six clusters were discovered, and financial inclusion is in the same cluster as financial literacy and financial service. This research will provide valuable insights for governments, regional authorities, and academic researchers, enabling them to enhance their comprehension of Asian financial inclusion and identify prospective avenues for future research. Ahead of this research, a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of financial inclusion in Asian countries has not been conducted, as far as the authors’ knowledge goes. The study offers a comprehensive overview of financial inclusion in Asia and reveals insights into the field’s crucial messages. Future researchers can use this knowledge to obtain a deeper understanding of the field.

Research on financial inclusion (FI) in Islamic countries has evolved and gained prominence. This study aims to construct an extensive multidimensional FI index to ascertain the level of inclusion and trends in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) countries. Additionally, this study examines the potential role of Islamic finance in improving access to financial services.

Data for the study were collected from databases covering MENA countries for the period 2010–2020. An inclusion index has been constructed using the entropy method.

Key findings indicate that the overall FI has improved in Islamic countries. However, it should be noted that all MENA countries fall within the low or medium levels of the inclusion index. It was observed that insurance access and penetration savings were poor in the Islamic MENA countries.

The authors recommend that policymakers focus on insurance access and saving behaviour in their respective countries. Based upon these observations, policymakers should promote the economic benefits of Islamic finance, which will help improve FI and economic development in Islamic countries. This study emphasises the necessity of policy framework reform to provide Islamic financial services to the poorest in society at low or no cost for better economic benefits.

Most studies tend to overlook important indicators such as insurance, savings and credit penetration while calculating the index. These indicators add value to the existing literature. The majority of prior studies used United Nation Development Programme methodology or principal component analysis for Inclusion Index measurements. The adoption of the entropy weighting method is the novelty of this study.

Financial inclusion is more than just granting access to financial services; it involves fostering individuals’ overall financial health and prosperity. Financial inclusion has gained significant importance for policymakers and academia in the preceding two decades. It encourages individuals by extending ownership of their financial situation and empowering them to make well-informed decisions regarding their future. The literary work highlights the importance of financial inclusion in promoting prosperity and progress in society. Furthermore, the psychological effects of financial inclusion are addressed with an emphasis on reducing anxiety and stress associated with accessing necessary financial resources and increasing experiences of financial assurance and trust. Finally, the current condition of financial inclusion and ongoing initiatives to improve it is discussed with a regional focus on Asia. The idea of the empowered consumer is introduced, along with a discussion of how financial inclusion may enlighten customers, making them more knowledgeable and engaged members of the financial market. Finally, the conclusion presents a global perspective of underdeveloped nations, emphasizing the imperative requirement for financial integration in these places and the potential benefits it can provide. The chapter provides a comprehensive understanding of financial inclusion, its significance, and its psychological effects on people and their communities, particularly in Asia and developing nations.

This paper aims to investigate the determinants that contribute to the financial stability and banking sector of Palestinian banks listed on the Palestine Stock Exchange (PEX) by using yearly data for the years 2012–2022.

Pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) and two-stage least squares (2SLS) were used to identify the variables and factors affecting the financial stability and banking sector of Palestinian banks. The study’s data were collected from the banks listed on PEX and from the yearly reports posted on the Palestine Monetary Authority’s (PMA) webpage over the years from 2012–2022. According to this research’s analysis, SMEs loans and capital sufficiency have a statistically significant positive impact on the stability of Palestinian banks. Unobserved heterogeneity, simultaneity and dynamic endogeneity are taken into account when using the 2SLS regression approach to adjust for the study endogeneity factor.

The study’s findings show that some factors and determinants might have both good and negative effects on financial stability and banking sector. Loans to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and enough capital are two characteristics that statistically have a major favourable impact on the stability of Palestinian banks since they help the banks withstand deficits. A further potential discovery relates to the favourable effects of financial inclusion (FI) and digital financial services (DFS) on the stability of banks.

This research has faced some limitations, such as the lack of a defined index from the regulatory organizations, this research is based on information from bank annual accounts. It has mostly relied on self-developed or World Bank indexes. Furthermore, the research solely used information from the supply side (banks); demand-side data were not taken into consideration.

This paper has managerial implications for stability of banking sector. The Palestine Monetary Authority, as the central bank, must increase the percentage of bank loans directed to small and medium-sized companies and oblige bank management to adhere to adequate capital standards, which contributes to strengthening the Palestinian banking sector and increasing its profits. The study findings advise banks that are enjoying financial stability to speed up the pace of FI and DFSs because most of these reliable banks have relatively low FI ratios. PMA is responsible for preserving the stability of the financial system. PMA, decision makers and banks management must retain adequate liquidity in their institutions and raise client collateral expectations to raise credit conditions.

This paper adds some contributions to the literature. To adjust for discrepancies between various types of banks, the authors concentrate on conventional and Islamic banks, which enables us to use a homogenous data set as opposed to depending on dichotomous variables. The authors used Z-scores, which have recently been used in research, to measure stability and FI at the level of specific institutions. This research contributes in some key aspects that no prior research has addressed. Conventional banks are different from Islamic banks, and a number of issues might impact their stability. To evaluate the connection between FI and DFSs, it is important to consider the actions of bank regulators.

In recent years, increased use of all-aspect infrared (IR)-guided missiles based on the long-wave infrared (LWIR; 8–12 µm) band has lowered the probability of aircraft survival in warfare. The lock-on of these highly sensitive missiles is difficult to break, especially from the front. Aerodynamically heated swept-back leading edges (SBLE), because of their high temperature and large area, serve as a prominent LWIR source for aircraft detection from the front. This study aims to report the influence of sweep-back angle (Λ, based on the Mach number [M_∞]) on aerodynamic heating and the LWIR signature of SBLE.

The temperature along SBLE is obtained numerically as radiation equilibrium temperature (T_w) by discretizing the SBLE length into “n” number of segments, and for each segment, emission based on T_w is evaluated. IR radiance due to reflected external sources (sky-shine and Earthshine) and radiance due to T_w are collectively used to determine the IR contrast between SBLE and its replaced background in the LWIR band (i_{cont-SBLE,LWIR}).

The results are obtained for low subsonic turboprop aircraft (Λ = 3°, M_∞ = 0.44); high subsonic strategic bombers (Λ = 35°, M_∞ = 0.8); fifth-generation stealth aircraft (Λ = 40°, M_∞ = 1.6); and aircraft with supercruise/supersonic capability (Λ = 50°, M_∞ = 2.5). The aircraft with supersonic capability (Λ = 50°, M_∞ = 2.5) reports the maximum LWIR signatures and hence the highest visibility from the front. The results obtained are compared with values at Λ = 0° for all cases, which shows that increasing Λ significantly reduces aerodynamic heating and LWIR signatures.

The novelty of this study comes from its report on the influence of Λ on the LWIR signatures of aircraft SBLE in the frontal aspect for the first time.

Focusing on micro-level indicators, we investigate financial inclusion levels in rural China, examining its determinants and impact on household welfare. We construct a financial inclusion index of four essential financial services: savings, digital payments, credit and insurance. We identify factors influencing financial inclusion among Chinese rural households and assess the effects of financial inclusion on household welfare.

With the entropy method, we use data from the 2019 China Household Finance Survey to assess financial inclusion levels in rural China. Determinants and their impact on welfare are analyzed through probit and ordinary least squares models, respectively. Propensity scoring matching is applied to address potential endogeneity.

We reveal that rural households exhibit limited usage of formal financial services, with notable regional disparities. The eastern region enjoys the highest financial inclusion and the central region lags behind. Household characteristics such as family size, education level of the household head, income, employment status and financial literacy significantly influence financial inclusion. Financial inclusion positively impacts household welfare as indicated by household consumption expenditure. The use of different types of financial services is crucial with varying but significant effects on household welfare.

This study offers valuable insights into China’s rural financial inclusion progress, highlighting potential barriers and guiding government actions.

Today, the rapid increase in the population living in cities and new developments in information and communication technologies (ICTs) increase the demand for smart cities day by day. It is thought that limited public resources and crowded cities will be managed better by making more use of the opportunities offered by smart technologies. At this point, many countries around the world are turning to smart city applications. Especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, local governments have started to give importance to smart city projects due to the advantages of smart cities. It is thought that urban planning against epidemics will gain more importance in the coming years.

This paper examines the impact of financial inclusion on poverty through access to mobile money in developing economies.

The authors employ the principal component analysis to construct an index of financial inclusion using demand and supply indicators, including mobile accounts. The authors use the two-step system GMM estimator for the analysis because of its efficiency and robustness in addressing heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation.

The main finding is that financial inclusion generally increased and significantly reduces poverty in the sample period. Furthermore, income inequality worsens poverty.

This study has few limitations. First, the empirical analysis of the study is restricted to macroeconomic factors only because of limited Household Finance Survey data set and time availability. Second, the study is limited to developing countries and the results cannot be generalized.

Financial inclusion is a significant policy tool for poverty reduction. There is the need to enhance strategies that further improve financial inclusion by expanding and improving the use of mobile money accounts.

The paper sheds light on how developing countries can harness financial inclusion to reduce poverty.

The paper differs from the previous studies in two ways. Firstly, mobile money account is included in the computation of financial inclusion index over the sample period. It also determines the impact of financial inclusion on poverty for short-run and long-run periods.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2021-0690

Presenteeism is the productivity loss due to working with ill health. This paper aims to develop a presenteeism scale for students (PSS) and reveals its association with the academic achievement of undergraduate (Bachelor) students.

This is a cross-sectional study based on a reputed public university in Bangladesh. The study collected data from 164 undergraduate students by relying upon the systematic random sampling technique.

Nearly 70 percent of the study population have reported some health problems, with male students reporting frustration (59.6 percent) and female students reporting migraine (61.2 percent) as the most prevalent issues. Predictors such as gender, living status, television and social media use, absenteeism, physical activity, BMI (body mass index), hygienic meal intake, exhaustion score and PSS score have significantly influenced presenteeism and reduced academic performance. As many students face multiple health issues, it is recommended that the issue of presenteeism on university campuses be addressed.

This study breaks from the conventional approach of studying presenteeism in business settings and expands knowledge in the education domain. Additionally, it examines the interconnection of primary health conditions, work impairment score, presenteeism and academic performance.

This study sheds new light on the personality trait and provides evidence regarding the relation between narcissism and desirable accounting practices, specifically the impact of CEO narcissism on accounting conservatism.

The authors test the relation between CEO narcissism and accounting conservatism for a sample of 907 US companies and their corresponding CEOs for the period between 2010 and 2018. The authors apply three established models of accounting conservatism and measure executives' narcissism using a non-intrusive approach ubiquitous in the literature.

The authors find that CEO narcissism is associated with speculative accounting practices in the form of timely recognition of positive news and more prudent financial reporting of anticipated negative news. The authors provide the first empirical evidence that, despite its well-known negative effects on corporate financial reporting, executive narcissism can also produce positive outcomes.

While managerial overconfidence has received much attention, the effects of executives' narcissism are still widely unexplored (Chatterjee and Hambrick, 2007). The authors thus contribute to the literature by investigating the relationship between CEOs' narcissism and accounting conservatism. The authors conjecture CEO narcissism should have a twofold effect on prudent financial reporting. On the one hand, CEOs' narcissism should be associated with low levels of unconditional conservatism due to excessively fast good news recognition. On the other hand, narcissistic executives should be associated with early recognition of negative news and hence with higher levels of conditional conservatism.