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This article analyses the effect of bank concentration on women's political empowerment in 80 developing countries over the period 2004–2020.

Banking concentration (BC) is measured by the assets held by the three largest commercial banks as a percentage of total commercial bank assets in a country. We use several indices to measure political empowerment, namely: the political empowerment index, composed of three indices (i.e. the women's civil liberties index, the women's participation in civil society index and the women's political participation index). The empirical evidence is based on the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Fixed Effects (FE) techniques.

The following findings are established. Banking concentration reduces women's political empowerment. Furthermore, information sharing offices (i.e. public credit registries and private credit bureaus) mitigate the negative effect of bank concentration on women’s political empowerment. Information sharing thresholds that are needed to completely dampen the negative effect of bank concentration on women’s political empowerment are provided. Policy implications are discussed, notably: (1) that governments in developing countries increase competition by easing barriers to entry for potential banks, to facilitate the transition from confiscatory concentration to distributive concentration favorable to all stakeholders; and (2) information sharing offices should be consolidated beyond the established thresholds in order to completely crowd-out the unfavorable effect of bank concentration of women’s political empowerment.

The paper provides new empirical evidence that helps to advance the debate on the effects of banking concentration and information sharing in the banking sector on women's political empowerment in developing countries.

Floods have been identified as the most frequent and threatening disaster in Sri Lanka amidst an increasing trend of natural and man-made disasters in the world. Subject experts state that disaster risk management should be based on the results of risk assessments, but flood risk management in Sri Lanka is seemingly not based on community-level flood risk assessments. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to introduce a community-level flood risk assessment method to the local context of Sri Lanka.

The sample (n = 425) for the study was selected using the stratified random sampling method, and the Deduru Oya basin was selected as the study area. The risk assessment model introduced by Bollin et al. (2003) was used for the current study, but with some modifications. Accordingly, 16 variables were selected for the risk assessment. Descriptive data analysis methods were used in the study.

Community-level flood risk assessment method was introduced. Variable index, flood risk index and flood risk map were developed for the study area. The Grama Niladari Divisions (GNDs) were grouped into five categories from very high risk to very low risk. The GNDs named Wirakumandaluwa, Thimbilla, Deduru Oya, Bangadeniya and Elivitiya were ranked as the most flood-risk GNDs, respectively.

This paper produces a flood risk assessment method for the local context. Flood risk in the study area was assessed based on people’s perceptions. Accordingly, the flood risk index and flood risk map for the study area were developed based on the empirical data. GNDs were ranked based on the flood risk index.

Smart community construction (SCC) and efficiency require resident participation. This paper aims to explore the determinants of residents’ participation intention (RPI) in the SCC.

Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study proposed an extended conceptual model to deeply analyze the RPI in the SCC. The relationship between all constructs was verified by processing and analyzing online survey data using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation model (SEM), and bootstrapping method.

Participation attitude, perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, and perceived usefulness significantly and positively affected the RPI. Furthermore, intermediary effects in the extended conceptual model had been confirmed.

To fill the critical gap in the research on the determinants of the RPI in the SCC context, this study developed a novel conceptual model by extending the TPB to analyze the effects of self-driven and externally-driven factors on the RPI from the perspectives of residents’ psychology and external environment. The findings not only clarify the complex process of forming the RPI in the SCC but also provide a theoretical foundation for studying the RPI in similar community construction projects. Additionally, several strategies have been proposed to encourage residents’ participation in the SCC and promote the development of smart communities, such as clarifying residents’ participation obligations, improving the convenience services of smart communities, and diversifying residents’ participation approaches.

This paper comprehensively investigates the lack of youth involvement in the intricate tapestry of urban policymaking in the Jordanian context. It attempts to present and illustrate the obstacles, challenges, hindrances and complexities facing engaging youth in urban planning in Jordan. Participants aged 18–24 were the primary focus of the investigation, as Jordan's population is predominantly youthful, with approximately 70% of the population under the age of 30.

The research methodology adopted in this study is a mixed-methods approach, which integrates both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analytical techniques to provide a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the research problem.

Youth involvement in Jordan's urban policymaking is limited and inconsistent. Most notably, the prevalence of adultism emerges as the predominant and most substantive impediment, exerting a considerable influence on constraining the agency of young Jordanians in shaping urban policy.

Detailed examples can be developed to offer discerning elucidations relevant to each frame of reference.

A total of 12 discernible barriers emerged from a systematic deductive thematic analysis of primary data.

This comprehensive inquiry highlights the pervasive gaps in support for youth participation in urban policymaking within the administrative framework and across Jordanian society. Subsequent quantitative analysis was employed to strengthen the external validity of the research findings, thereby enhancing the generalizability of the qualitative insights. By employing Jordan as a case study, this paper significantly contributes to the expanding corpus of scholarly work on planning processes and practices within the Global South and the Arab world.

This paper presents a cross-sectional study that assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural migrants in Bihar. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the overall impact of the pandemic on migrants and examine their livelihoods, with a focus on identifying measures that can mitigate the economic consequences.

This study used a telephonic survey to collect primary data from 419 respondents. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data, and three indices were constructed: fear and worries, trust and prevention.

The findings provide insights into the psychological well-being of migrant workers and highlight the challenges they face in sustaining their livelihoods amidst the pandemic. This study concludes by suggesting potential measures to alleviate the economic impact and enhance the resilience of this vulnerable population.

This study may be limited by the representativeness of the sample as well as the potential for social desirability bias. The study may also be limited by the reliability and validity of the measures used to capture the fear and worries, trust and prevention indices.

Numerous studies have examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural migrants. However, there are limited studies that estimate the impact of the proposed study based on the challenges faced by rural migrants in Bihar during the pandemic.

The purpose of this paper is to test if the digital economy improves the quality of life of our residents. Furthermore, if this finding is confirmed, what would be the mechanism behind its effect? Does the impact of the digital economy on quality of life vary according to its level of development?

A comprehensive index of the digital economy, income gap and quality of life was constructed empirically based on data from 220 cities in China from 2011–2020. A multi-dimensional empirical analysis was conducted in this paper.

The analysis of the pathways of action shows that narrowing the income gap is an important mechanism through which the digital economy actively contributes to the quality of life. The results of the threshold model show that the “marginal effect” of the digital economy on quality of life is non-linear and increasing. The results show that after a series of robustness tests, including instrumental variables, the digital economy still significantly enhances people’s quality of life.

This paper reveals the intrinsic link between the digital economy and quality of life and provides a theoretical basis for further improving people’s well-being.

Encouraging the development of the digital economy is a useful way to improve the quality of life by narrowing the income gap.

Data analysis of the digital economy from 2011–2020 in China to get an insight into what would be the mechanism behind the digital economy improving the quality of life of our residents.

The ease of doing business (EODB) is a key factor in the development of investment, production and employment in a country. The purpose of this research is to identify the components of EODB in Gilan province in Northern Iran and rank these components from the perspective of economic operators.

This research uses a mixed methods design. In the qualitative phase, the components of EODB in Gilan province are identified through meta-synthesis with the participation of 10 experts. In the quantitative phase, structural equation modeling is used to rank these components from the perspective of 75 randomly selected economic operators from different economic sectors of Gilan province.

According to the participants, the main factors influencing EODB in Gilan province are: (1) public services and infrastructure; (2) political stability and the government; (3) policies, laws and regulations and (4) security of property rights.

Identifying factors conducive to the business environment can play an effective role in removing the barriers to achieving the goals of development programs, such as economic growth and reducing unemployment, poverty and inflation. Gilan province, in particular, is in a favorable condition in terms of climate and geography, with an abundance of young, specialized human resources, which can help remove barriers to improving the business environment and facilitate the use of these capacities. It must be noted that the labor force participation rate in Gilan province is 41.3%, indicating that 58.7% of the working age population is not working or actively looking for work, and removing EODB barriers can provide these people with incentives for economic participation.

The results suggest that creating a stable, transparent, anti-rent, predictable and reliable business environment will allow for increasing investment, production and employment across the province, and that controlling the inflation caused by increased production will make it possible to achieve maximum productivity and economic development.

This paper aims to examine how technological media accelerates sustainable development. Further, the mediating role of good governance and society empowerment would be investigated.

A questionnaire survey was conducted among 450 students at the level of higher education using stratified sampling plan. Following a two-step approach, a measurement model was estimated and then a structural model was analyzed to evaluate five proposed hypotheses.

The research results indicate that technological media has a direct and positive effect on good governance, empowerment and sustainable development; technological media has an indirect and positive influence on sustainable development via good governance and empowerment as mediating variables; good governance and empowerment are significant antecedents of sustainable development.

The research examines the relationship among technological media, good governance, empowerment and sustainable development, thus contributing to sustainable development literature theoretically. In addition, relevant implications are provided for policymakers as to how to accelerate development sustainably across their countries.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the detrimental consequences of participating in stokvels among women entrepreneurs within the South African township economy.

The research used the Gioia methodology, involving the implementation of a qualitative inquiry with an inductive approach. Semi-structured interviews served as the primary method for data collection. The study had a sample comprising 20 women entrepreneurs located in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Narratives on the detrimental consequences of participating in stokvels among women entrepreneurs within the South African township economy included fraudsters, misunderstanding and dishonesty among stokvel partners, year-end robbery and theft, stokvels being dominated by men, operating outside of formal regulatory frameworks, exclusion and limited funding.

Sample size challenges feature as a notable limitation, including the research being conducted in only one province of South Africa. Caution should be exercised when seeking to generalize the findings in other contexts.

While there is an array of literature on the impact of stokvels on entrepreneurship, there are deficiencies in studies that have looked at the detrimental consequences of stokvels on women entrepreneurs. As a result, the goal of this research is to add to the present corpus of African entrepreneurship literature, specifically in the context of South Africa.

Building upon uses and gratifications (UG) theory and social exchange theory, the current study establishes a theoretical model to examine the underlying relationship between customer motivations, active participation and electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) and purchase intentions on WeChat.

The data were gathered in a web-based survey of 301 WeChat users in mainland China. To empirically verify the proposed hypotheses, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed using online data.

Path analysis outcomes demonstrate that functional, hedonic and social motivations positively affect WeChat users' active participation. In addition, active participation significantly influences e-WOM intention while showing no correlation with purchase intention.

Theoretically, this article can enrich the extant system of relevant theories and offer a fresh perspective for further research on the generation of consumers' e-WOM intention and purchase intention in the WeChat context. Practically, the research outcomes provide insight for companies on how to motivate customers to participate in online activities, which subsequently improve WeChat users' willingness in conducting e-WOM communication and making purchase decisions.

Although mobile social media could serve as an influential marketing vehicle for individuals' engagement in social and commercial activities in today's mobile-matured environment, the substantial impact of active engagement on the relationship between customer motivation and purchase intention remains insufficiently explored. The outcomes not only contribute to the current body of knowledge, but also offer several managerial guidance for companies that pay attention to mobile social media marketing in a contemporary mobile media-saturated society.