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Shadow banks or non-bank financial intermediaries (NBFIs) are facilitators of credit, especially in emerging market economies (EMEs). However, there are certain risks associated with them, such as their unchecked leverage and interconnectedness with the rest of the financial system. In light of this, the present study analyses the impact of the growth of shadow banks on the stability of the banking sector and the overall stability of the financial system. The authors further examine the effect of the growth of finance companies (a type of NBFIs) on financial stability.

The study employs data of 11 EMEs (monitored by the Financial Stability Board (FSB)) for the period 2002–2020 to examine the above relationships. Panel-corrected standard errors method and Driscoll–Kray standard error estimation are deployed to conduct the analysis.

The results signify that the growth of the shadow banking sector and the growth of lending to the shadow banking sector are negatively associated with the stability of the banking sector and increases the vulnerability of the financial system (overall instability). This implies that the higher the growth of the shadow banks, the higher the financial fragility. Finance companies are also found to negatively affect financial stability. These findings are validated by different estimation methods and point out the risks posed by the NBFI sector.

The extant study builds a composite index (Financial Vulnerability Index (FVI)) to measure financial stability; thus, the findings contribute to the evolving literature on shadow banks.

The Group of 20 (G20) is tasked with responding to economic shocks in the global financial system, with COVID-19 having proved to be the most significant shock since the G20's inception. COVID-19 also represents the first economic crisis accompanied by a concerted attempt to “build back better”, principally through a climate-compatible recovery. In 2021, there is little clarity as to the G20's response to this challenge, primarily due to considerable divergence in the green stimulus practices of its member states. The paper aims to investigate whether the G20, climate change and COVID-19 are critical juncture or critical wound.

Historical institutionalism (HI) suggests that one can explain an institution's future response by reference to its developmental pathway to date. This contribution adopts its concept of “critical junctures” to shed light on the G20's possible institutional response to COVID-19. The contribution undertakes a comparative analysis of the global financial crisis (GFC) and COVID-19 as possible critical junctures for the G20.

In doing so, the work demonstrates that the G20 “building back better” from COVID-19 requires a shift away from its institutional orthodoxy to a much larger degree than its response to the GFC. Accordingly, whilst both the GFC and COVID-19 may be considered critical junctures for the G20, only COVID-19 has the potential to be a “critical wound” that leads to institutional redundancy.

Through interrogating this further, this exposition prospectively outlines two possible futures the G20 faces as a consequence of COVID-19: reform or redundancy. In this way, it offers an ex ante perspective on policy-reform options for the G20's ongoing response to COVID-19.

Whichever choice the G20 makes in its response to COVID-19 has profound consequences for global governance in an increasingly unpredictable world.

Herein lies the importance of an exploratory assessment of COVID-19 as a critical juncture or a critical wound for the G20.

The study aims to analyze and compare the influence of country-specific fundamentals and global conditions on sovereign risk of Sri Lanka within the sample period of 2006–2019 while employing Treasury bond rates as proxy for sovereign risk.

The determinant powers of the variables are assessed using the auto regressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to verify both short- and long-run effects on sovereign spreads.

The study finds that Sri Lanka's sovereign spreads are shaped by both country fundamentals and global factors, though local determinants tend to have greater influence when the directions of coefficients are ignored. While the impact of most variables was in line with the researchers' expectations, fiscal deficit was found to have an unconventional negative coefficient which may be explained by investors' optimistic take on Government's involvement in post-war economic development drive during the sample period, enabling Sri Lanka to attract low-cost funding.

The study excludes of impact of the ongoing coronavirus disease-2019 ( COVID-19) health crisis which may unduly distort the data. Further, the research does not capture the impact of change in sentiment owing to market information, debt dynamics and policy changes in Sri Lanka.

The study reveals that a sound monetary policy directed at preserving both the internal and external value of currency as well as a disciplined fiscal policy are imperative to manage Sri Lanka's sovereign risk, particularly in the face of global uncertainties.

The study adds to the literature by investigating the timely importance of a country's internal fundamentals against the global events. Furthermore, the research would complement the scarcity of research regarding that subject focused on the Sri Lankan economy, capturing the rapid variations in the fundamentals that the country has undergone since the end of the civil war while recognizing the growing influence of globalization over the recent years.

Inequality is increasing in Asia and the Pacific. This paper examines how inequality is affecting governments, communities and people in the Asia-Pacific region, given the 2030 Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals and the agenda's commitment to “leave no one behind.” Income inequality is just one element of larger economic and social inequalities in both developed and developing countries. Over the past decade, Bangladesh's economy has experienced one of the fastest growth rates in the world, supported by a narrowing demographic gap. The study focuses largely on the challenges of inequality and wealth distribution and uses the Singaporean experience to reduce inequality.

The study is based on the review of secondary literature and an insightful analysis of the review.

The Singapore Government has adopted four special budgets coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to help businesses cope with the economic difficulties caused by the epidemic, protect lives and create an economically and socially resilient Singapore. To sustain this increase in real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, the Singapore Government continues to pursue growth-oriented policies. Importing technology and skilled labor, investing heavily in research and development, importing technology and developing export markets are some examples of these growth-oriented policies. The Singapore Government is committed to improving human capital through retraining and lifelong learning, which can be seen in all these growth-oriented policies. Bangladesh can learn more about reducing inequality and put these policies into practice.

This study has frankly revealed the inequality issues in Bangladesh. This study has spotted the scarcities of development and the accurate picture of achievement from the perspective of inequality and prosperity dissemination.

This study aims to examine the impact of market competition, and capital regulation on the cost of financial intermediation of banks of the Bangladesh banking industry.

This study has used a balanced panel dataset comprised of 340 firm-year observations for 34 commercial banks in the Bangladesh banking industry from 2011 to 2020. The Prais Winsten panel estimator has been used to assess the impact of market competition and capital regulation on the cost of financial intermediation of banks.

Based on the regression results, this study has documented that greater market competition results in a lower cost of financial intermediation for banks. Similarly, an increase in the regulatory capital of banks increases the cost of financial intermediation of banks. The main findings of this study are found robust by using alternative proxies for the cost of financial intermediation, market competition and capital regulation. The regression results also suggest that private commercial banks tend to have a higher cost of financial intermediation than state-owned commercial banks.

The regulatory reforms should aim to foster sustainable and optimal market competition for the Bangladesh banking industry to regulate the market power of banks to reduce the cost of financial intermediation. The regulatory authority of Bangladesh should find the optimal policy measures for implementing the capital regulation in the banking industry which would reduce the cost of financial intermediation margin of banks.

Unlike previous studies which have used structural market competition measures, this study has used non-structural market competition measures to assess the relationship between market competition and cost of financial intermediation in the Bangladesh banking industry.

The purpose of this paper is to apply the aspects of decision theory (DT) to performance measurement and management (PMM), thereby enabling the theoretical elaboration of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity in the business environment, which are identified as barriers to effective PMM.

A review of decision theory and PMM literature establishes the Cynefin framework as the basis for extending the performance alignment matrix. Case research with seven companies explores the relationship between two concepts under-examined in the performance alignment matrix – internal dominant logic (DL) as the attribute of organisational culture affecting decision making, and the external environment – in line with the concept of alignment or fit in PMM. A focus area is PMM related to sustainable operations and sustainable supply chain management.

Alignment between DL, external environment and PMM is found, as are instances of misalignment. The Cynefin framework offers a deeper theoretical explanation about the nature of this alignment. Other findings consider the nature of organisational ownership on DL.

The cases are exploratory not exhaustive, and limited in number. Organisations showing contested logic were excluded.

Some organisations have cultures of predictability and control; others have cultures that recognise their external environment as fundamentally unpredictable, and hence there is a need for responsive, decentralised PMM. Some have sought to change their culture and PMM. Being attentive to how cultural logic affects decision making can help reduce the misalignment in PMM.

A novel contribution is made by applying decision theory to PMM, extending the theoretical depth of the subject.

This study aims to explore the possibility that securities markets in selected African countries of Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa play a significant role in capital accumulation using panel data analysis. This is done by exploring the relationship between gross fixed capital formation on the one hand and financial market development indicators on the other hand. Thus, the study aims to examine if stock market size and liquidity are determinants of capital accumulation.

The analysis is based on annual times series from 1991 through 2017 spanning four African stock markets. The analysis utilizes the fixed-effect and random-effect econometric models. The Durbin–Wu–Hausman test is used to choose between the two models.

The key results indicate that stock market capitalization is a positive determinant of gross fixed capital formation. The market value traded and turnover have no relationship with capital formation. Therefore, the role of stock African stock markets in promoting capital accumulation and, subsequently, industrial growth in Africa is seriously questioned.

Only a handful of studies have examined the role of the African securities market in promoting capital accumulation. This study is unique in which it focuses on the leading stock markets in the four corners of Africa. The markets are from Egypt in the north, South Africa from the south, Nigeria from the west and Kenya from the east. These four markets account for a significant segment of all African markets.