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This paper aims to address two fundamental questions: (1) How has Bahrain's industrial policy evolved during the 21st century? and (2) what factors contribute to this evolution?

Utilizing secondary data, this paper identifies key decision-makers responsible for economic policy in Bahrain and delineates the evolution of Bahrain's industrial policy throughout the 21st century. Subsequently, it employs a series of interviews with elite civil servants engaged in the formulation and implementation of Bahrain's economic policies to understand the reasons behind the observed changes.

Since assuming the role of Crown Prince in 1999, Sh. Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa has been the key economic decision-maker in Bahrain. During the 21st century, Bahrain has shifted away from decisions closely aligned with the Washington Consensus towards those more in line with classical industrial policy. Interviews reveal that the private sector's underperformance in job creation, coupled with fiscal pressures, has driven this departure from the Washington Consensus. Moreover, the early successes of the interventionist Saudi Vision 2030 and Bahrain's own success in technocratically managing the COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated this transition.

Insights into the determinants of Bahrain's industrial policy can guide policymakers in refining future strategies. Recognizing the positive role of intellectual developments in academic economics literature becomes crucial for informed decision-making.

This paper fills a gap in the existing literature by providing answers to its research questions, particularly considering the significant changes witnessed in Bahrain's industrial policy post-pandemic.

This paper examines the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the economic growth of Afghanistan over the period 1990 to 2019.

This study uses an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) to measure FDI’s impact on economic growth and determine the short- vs long-run relationship.

The results show that the F-bound cointegration test confirms the long-run relationship among the variables. The long-run and short-run results reveal that foreign direct investment has a significant negative impact on economic growth in the long run. However, domestic investment and labour force have a significant and positive impact on economic growth in the long run. Moreover, the impact of trade openness on economic growth is insignificant in the long run, while it has a significant negative impact in the short run.

In this study, we contribute to this research area by analysing the function of FDI in economic growth from Afghanistan’s experience and perspectives. This is the first study empirically examining this relationship in Afghanistan while considering other selected macroeconomic indicators. This paper could greatly benefit policymakers in Afghanistan by guiding the formulation of FDI policies that would spur its economic growth and development.

With revolutions in the telecommunication sector having led to wide unprecedented consequences in all facets of human life, this paper aims to examine the relationship between cell phone tower base stations (CPTBSs) and residential property prices within the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), South Africa.

The authors align their work with global literature and assess how the impact of CPTBSs influences residential property values in South Africa. The authors use a semi-log hedonic pricing model to test the hypothesis that proximity of CPTBSs to residential properties does not account for any variation in residential property prices.

The results show a significant impact that proximity of CPTBS has on residential property sale prices. However, the impact of CTPBSs’ proximity on residential property prices depends on their distance from the residential properties. The closer a residential property is to the CTPBS, the greater the impact that the CTPBS will have on the selling price of the residential property.

With international studies offering mixed findings on the impact of CPTBSs on residential property values, there is limited research on their impact in South Africa. The findings of this study offer crucial insights for the real estate practitioners, property owners, telecommunications companies and the public, providing a nuanced understanding of the relationship between CPTBSs and property values. This research helps property owners understand the effects of CPTBSs on their properties, and it assists property valuers in gauging the impact of CPTBSs on property values.

The purpose of this study is to use the structural model to determine the influence of mobile telecommunication on Egypt’s economic growth from 2000 to 2009. By focusing on mobile unique subscribers and mobile broadband-capable device penetration as indicators of telecommunications adoption, the authors seek to understand their overarching effects on the nation’s economic landscape.

The paper uses quarterly time-series data set over the period 2000–2019 and uses a structural econometric model based on an aggregate production function, a demand function, a supply function and an infrastructure function to detect causality and examine long-run relationships between variables.

The findings of the structural model reveal that both mobile unique subscribers and mobile broadband-capable device penetration significantly contributed to Egypt’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth from 2000 to 2019. Specifically, a 1% increase in mobile unique subscriber penetration and mobile broadband-capable device adoption is estimated to result in an average annual contribution to GDP growth of 0.172% and 0.016%, respectively.

The scarcity of panel data is the main research limitation for comparative study with other Middle East and North African Region (MENA) countries. Research extensions would include testing the significance of complementarities such as improving governance measures and building human capacity for both households and firms, which are necessary to boost the impact of telecommunication on economic growth in the MENA region.

Based on these findings, the study puts forth policy recommendations aimed at maximizing investment in network utilization, including mobile and internet services, as well as fixed broadband subscriptions. It highlights the crucial role of these investments in promoting social and economic development, not only in Egypt but also across the MENA region as a whole.

The findings of this research emphasize the importance of strategic investments in network utilization, encompassing mobile, internet services and fixed broadband subscriptions. Such investments are pivotal for fostering social and financial inclusion. The study underscores the potential of these investments to drive social and economic progress, not just within Egypt but throughout the entire MENA region.

Overall, existing literature generally supports the notion that the telecommunications sector has a positive economic impact. However, there is a gap in the literature when it comes to understanding the specific effects of the Egyptian telecommunications sector on the country’s economy, particularly in relation to the Egypt Vision 2030. The study aims to fill this gap by focusing specifically on Egypt and providing additional insights into the direct and indirect effects of the Egyptian telecommunications sector on the economy. By conducting a thorough analysis of the sector’s role, the authors aim to contribute to the existing literature by providing context-specific findings and recommendations.

Logistics sector is recognized as one of the core enablers of the economic development of a nation. However, inefficiency in logistics operations impedes the achievement of intended targets by increasing the cost of doing business. Also, it is difficult to improve the efficiency of a country’s logistics operations without a metric for evaluating and understanding logistics capabilities and efficiency. Therefore, the present study has developed In-country Logistics Performance Index (ILP Index) to propose a benchmarking tool to measure the in-country logistics competitiveness, particularly in the setting of emerging economies, i.e. India.

This study has developed a unified index using principal component analysis and quintile approach. In addition, the proposed index relies on several dimensions that are developed and illustrated using quantitative secondary panel data.

The findings of this study reveal that the quality of infrastructure, economy, and telecommunications are the three most important dimensions that may significantly support the growth of the transportation and logistics sector. The results reveal that Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra are the top performers whereas, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Jammu and Kashmir scores the least due to the insufficient logistics infrastructure as compared to other Indian states.

Given the extensive focus on international-level logistics index (like World Bank’s LPI) in the existing literature, this study intends to develop in-country logistics index to evaluate the logistics capabilities at the regional and state level. In addition, unlike prior studies, this study utilizes quantitative secondary data to eliminate cognitive and opinion bias. Moreover, this benchmarking tool would assist decision-makers in idealizing standard practices toward sustainable logistics operations. Additionally, the ILP index could serve the international investors in crucial decision-making, as it provides valuable insights into a country’s logistics readiness, influencing their investment choices and trade preferences. Finally, the proposed approach is adaptable to measuring the overall performance of any other industry/economy.

This paper examines the effect of board reforms on managerial risk-taking incentive provision in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) whose managers are undue risk-averse.

We use the staggered implementation of board reforms in Chinese central government-controlled state-owned enterprises (CSOEs) as an exogenous shock to board governance. We collect data on board reforms for a set of pilot CSOEs during the period 2005 to 2020 from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) website by hand. We use a generalized difference-in-difference (DID) design to test the effect of staggered board reform adoption on managerial risk-taking incentive provision.

We find a positive relationship between board reforms and risk-taking inventive provision, i.e. pay-performance sensitivity, promotion-performance sensitivity and performance target difficulty. The documented relationship is stronger when the value of risk-taking is higher. We also find that board reforms lead to greater risky but value-enhancing investments and that managerial risk-taking incentive provision acts as an important channel through which board reforms improve value-enhancing risk-taking.

Our findings suggest that board reforms that improve board governance are effective in addressing risk-related agency conflicts in emerging markets. The findings also highlight the importance of managerial risk-taking incentive provision in inducing risky but value-enhancing investments.

This paper aims to examine the extent to which these reforms address the limitations of Saudi Arabia’s previous investment framework. Long viewed as a hostile environment in which to do business, the Saudi Government has enacted a broad sweep of measures aimed at restoring investor confidence in central aspects of the country’s evolving private law framework.

This paper offers a timely assessment of the raft of foreign investment reforms, both legislative and regulatory, that have been introduced in Saudi Arabia over the last decade.

The paper will proceed by outlining the perceived failings of the old investment regime before going on to reforms.

It will consider the remaining obstacles to the flow of foreign investment in Saudi Arabia in the context of the dual forces that have historically defined the Kingdom’s ambivalent investment law regime.