Blockchain technology‑based FinTech banking sector involvement using adaptive neuro‑fuzzy‑based K‑nearest neighbors algorithm

The study aims to investigate the financial technology(FinTech)factors influencing Chinese banking performance.Financial expectations and global realities may be changed by FinTech’s multidimensional scope,which is lacking in the traditional financial sector.The use of technology to automate financial services is becoming more important for economic organizations and industries because the digital age has seen a period of transition in terms of consumers and personalization.The future of FinTech will be shaped by technologies like the Internet of Things,blockchain,and artificial intelligence.The involvement of these platforms in financial services is a major concern for global business growth.FinTech is becoming more popular with customers because of such benefits.FinTech has driven a fundamental change within the financial services industry,placing the client at the center of everything.Protection has become a primary focus since data are a component of FinTech transactions.The task of consolidating research reports for consensus is very manual,as there is no standardized format.Although existing research has proposed certain methods,they have certain drawbacks in FinTech payment systems(including cryptocurrencies),credit markets(including peer-to-peer lending),and insurance systems.This paper implements blockchainbased financial technology for the banking sector to overcome these transition issues.In this study,we have proposed an adaptive neuro-fuzzy-based K-nearest neighbors’algorithm.The chaotic improved foraging optimization algorithm is used to optimize the proposed method.The rolling window autoregressive lag modeling approach analyzes FinTech growth.The proposed algorithm is compared with existing approaches to demonstrate its efficiency.The findings showed that it achieved 91%accuracy,90%privacy,96%robustness,and 25%cyber-risk performance.Compared with traditional approaches,the recommended strategy will be more convenient,safe,and effective in the transition period.

Factors Affecting Internet Banking Adoption: An Application of Adaptive LASSO

This research investigates a broad range of possible factors affecting the adoption of new technology in the banking industry using adaptive LASSO and a standard logit model.The research integrated the adoption of the innovation framework and the technology acceptance theory to develop a conceptual framework for the analysis.Primary data was collected from 400 bank customers in North Cyprus.Risk perception and other customerspecific factors such as perceived risk index and negative attitude toward new technologies index were formulated for the proposed conceptual model.The findings indicated that individuals with a negative attitude toward new technology are least likely to adopt internet banking.In addition,the logit model suggested that age,education level,and general(innate)innovativeness significantly impact the adoption of internet banking.However,gender,income,occupation,perceived risk,familiarity with the internet,and social inclusion have no significant impact on internet banking adoption in North Cyprus.

Banking Sector Development and Agricultural Productivity in Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC)

There is high pressure for investment capital and financial services for agricultural activities necessary for poverty reduction,economic growth,sustainable development and food security.This study investigated the long-term causation between banking sector development and agricultural productivity in the six Central African Economic and Monetary Community(CEMAC)states from 1990 to 2018,hypothesizing no causation between banking sector and agriculture output.With the autoregressive distributed lag(ARDL)model and vector error correction model(VECM),the study demonstrates that banking sector and agricultural productivity in the CEMAC region are related.It implies long-run relationship exists between banking sector and agricultural productivity in the CEMAC zone.The results reveal that bidirectional causality exists between banking sector and agricultural productivity in the CEMAC region.This is insinuating that in the CEMAC region,agricultural productivity and banking sector development are operating in mutualism.The findings indicate the reason to establish the banking sector using proper macroeconomic,legal and regulatory policies to boost agricultural productivity by creating incentive systems that channel more credit to agricultural investment and promoting the banking system.

Co‑movement of commodity price indexes and energy price index:a wavelet coherence approach

This research sheds light on the causal link between commodity price indexes,i.e.,the Agricultural Raw Materials Price Index,Industry Input Price Index,Metal Price Index,and Energy Price Index,in the global market,using wavelet coherence,Toda–Yamamoto causality,and gradual shift causality tests over the period 1992M1 to 2019M12.Findings from the wavelet power spectrum and partial wavelet coherence reveal that:(1)there was significant volatility in the Agricultural Raw Materials Price Index,Industry Input Price Index,Metal Price Index,and Energy Price Index between 2004 and 2014 at different frequencies;and(2)commodity price indexes significantly caused the energy price index at different time periods and frequencies.It is noteworthy that the outcomes of the Toda–Yamamoto causality and gradual-shift causality tests are in line with the results of wavelet coherence.

Economic complexity and environmental sustainability in eastern European economies:Evidence from novel Fourier approach

Globally,economies have become complex and new technologies have transformed and facilitated the modernization of economies.In the previous literature,economic complexity approach has become one of the popular tools in the development and innovation studies of economic geography.Researchers have found that green technology and eco-innovation approaches should be used to decisively reduce the effects of carbon emissions on the environment.However,debates about the impact of economic complexity on environment remain unsettled since some emerging production technologies have far-reaching pollution effects.This study explored the impacts of economic complexity on environmental sustainability in Turkey using the novel Fourier-based approaches,namely:Fourier Augmented Dickey-Fuller(FADF)and Fourier Autoregressive-Distributed Lag(FARDL)models.The Fourier-based approaches indicated that all variables(economic complexity index(ECI),GDP,energy consumption,and CO_(2)emission(CO_(2)E))are cointegrated in the long run.Additionally,the FARDL model implied that(i)in the long run,the effect of ECI(as a proxy for economic complexity),GDP(as a proxy for economic growth),and energy consumption on CO_(2)E(as a proxy for environmental quality)are important;(ii)economic complexity decreases environmental degradation in Turkey;and(iii)economic growth and energy consumption negatively affect environmental quality.The results also showed that economic complexity could be used as a policy tool to tackle environmental degradation.The findings also revealed that the fossil fuelbased economy will continue to expand and undermine Turkey’s efforts to meet its net zero emission target by 2053.Therefore,policy-makers should take actions and establish diversified economic,environmental,and energy strategies.For policy insights,the Turkish governments can use the combination of tax exemptions and technical support systems to support knowledge creation and the diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies The governments can also impose strict environmental regulations on the knowledge development phases.

Toward a sustainable growth path in Arab economies:an extension of classical growth model

Background/Objectives:Many economies are on the trajectory of alternative growth drivers other than conventional capital and labor.Access to credit facilities is a pertinent indicator of economic growth.In line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals(UNSDGs-8)agenda,the national goal for sustainable development for most economies and Arab economies is no exception.Therefore,the current study adopts a traditional growth model by exploring the relationship between gross domestic product(GDP)per capita,credit for private sectors,ratio of exports,real GDP,and per labor force participants for selected Arab economies annually from 2001 to 2020.Research design:This study leverages the Fourier Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin(KPSS)unit root test and second-generation panel econometrics as estimation techniques,such as Westerlund and Edgerton panel cointegration test,and the use of two estimators,namely the augmented mean group(AMG)and common correlated error mean group(CCEMG),to obtain robust results.Findings:Empirical findings from Westerlund and Edgerton panel cointegration tests validate the long-run equilibrium relationship among the outlined variables.Further empirical results indicate that the share of exports is negatively significant with economic growth in countries such as Kuwait,Lebanon,Tunisia,and Jordan.Additionally,savings and labor force participation have a positive relationship with economic growth in individual countries such as Algeria and Bahrain.As per the panel,there is no significant relationship between labor force participation and economic growth.This indicates that the skilled labor force enhanced economic growth.Conclusions:These findings come with inherent far-reaching policy suggestions for economies and panels.Further details on country-specific policy actions are presented in the concluding section.

Digital economy and carbon dioxide emissions:Examining the role of threshold variables

Considering that previous literature has mainly focused on the impact of the digital economy(DE)on environmental degradation,ignoring the role of natural resources,this study uses two key factors(natural resource rent and anticorruption regulation)as threshold variables to reveal the effect of natural resources on the association between DE and carbon dioxide(CO_(2))emissions.In doing so,the study covers 97 countries,uses annual data between 2003 and 2019,and applies a panel threshold model.The outcomes present that the influence of the DE on CO_(2)emissions has a single-threshold effect(i.e.,there is an inverted U-shaped link between the DE and CO_(2)emissions)when natural resource rent is the threshold variable.Specifically,the DE significantly increases CO_(2)emissions when the natural resource rent is at a low-to-medium level,but the DE suppresses CO_(2)emissions growth when natural resource rent exceeds the threshold.Moreover,the DE drives overall CO_(2)emissions growth when anticorruption regulation is the threshold variable and there are double thresholds for its impact on CO_(2)emissions.Specifically,a rise in anticorruption regulation initially exacerbates the contribution of DE impact on CO_(2)emissions and then weakens it over time.Based on the results,the study proposes various implications,such as formulating a DE development strategy,considering natural resources in the development of the DE,and strengthening anti-corruption efforts in the field of environmental protection.

The interaction between stock prices and interest rates in Turkey:empirical evidence from ARDL bounds test cointegration

This paper demonstrates a significant,long-running relationship between stock prices and domestic interest rates in Turkey’s financial markets for the period of 2001 M1-2017 M4.Cointegration analysis is investigated using the autoregressivedistributed lag bounds(ARDL Bounds)test and vector autoregressive cointegration.Additionally,cointegrating equations such as the fully modified ordinary least square,dynamic ordinary least squares,and canonical cointegrating regression are applied to check the long-run elasticities in the concerned relationship.The ARDL Bounds and Johansen Cointegration test results show that,dynamically,both prices are significantly related to each other.The cointegrating equation outcomes demonstrate elasticities whereby both coefficients have negative signs.Additionally,the same results are corroborated by the impulse response where all variables respond negatively to each other.

The Optimal Inventory Policy for Reusable Items with Random Planning Horizon Considering Present Value

We discuss five areas of inventory model, including reusable raw material, EPQ model, optimization, random planning horizon and present value. In the traditional EPQ model, the stock-holding cost of raw material was not counted as a part of relevant cost. We explored the possibility of reducing a company’s impact on the environment and increasing their competitiveness by recycling their repair and waste disposal. The products are manufactured with reusable raw material. Our analysis takes into account the time value, and the present value method is applied to determine the optimal inventory policies for reusable items with random planning horizon. Results show how the heuristic approach can achieve global optimum. Numerical examples are given to validate the proposed system.

The Costs and Benefits That Developing Countries Could Draw From Dollarization: The Zimbabwean Experience Period 2009-2018

The paper presents and examines the impact of dollarization on growth and development of emerging economies with specific reference to Zimbabwe’s experience in the period, 2009-2018. The research study explores the theoretical and empirical evidence drawn from countries of the world that dollarized for various economic reasons. The study used a descriptive survey design to analyse the research data drawn from the field on the impact of dollarization on economic growth and development prospects of dollarized emerging economies. It was found out that dollarization was essential in reducing high inflation and unemployment rates to acceptable levels, increased aggregate supply and demand, the gross domestic product (GDP), and living standards of the citizens of developing nations. The study concluded that dollarization contributed significantly to the growth and development of most emerging economies of the world. It was therefore recommended that emerging economies such as Zimbabwe should rationally and effectively dollarize in their desire to attain all the millennium development goals (MDGs), and drive towards elimination of dependence on rich nations, self-reliance, and sustainable development.

“Blessing or Curse”?Introduction of Bond Notes as an Antidote to Zimbabwe’s Liquidity Crises

The Zimbabwean financial sector has been retrogressive,constrained,and unpredictable since the year 2000,serving for the multiple currency periods(2009-2013)after the demonetization of the domestic dollar.The sector since then has seen a number of commercial banks fail to meet RBZ(Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe)minimum capital requirements,put under curatorship,delisted or liquidated because of a myriad of operational and financial challenges.The objective of this study is to make an assessment of whether or not the introduction of bond notes has been a curse or blessing.The study drew raw data from bank account holders,academics,general public,corporate world and commercial banks in Masvingo for analysis and interpretation.The study established that the majority of people,corporate world and commercial banks were sceptical to embrace the surrogate bond notes because of the uncertainties,operational and financial risks that they paused on the domestic financial markets.It was also discovered that most banks were quick to pay clients’withdrawals in bond notes,deduct US dollar equivalences from their accounts,and distinguish bond notes from US dollars at the point of making deposits and foreign business transactions.It was also realized that there was market indiscipline and trading in bigger US dollar notes in the informal sector and serious shortage of the same notes in the formal sector.The study concluded that the introduction of bond notes to trade parallel to the US dollar brought a serious shortage of cash on formal markets and increases in the general price level of goods and services.The study therefore recommends that the RBZ should completely withdraw the bond notes from the market to accord the US dollar its world market value and restore confidence and discipline in the Zimbabwean financial sector.The study also recommends another option of the adoption of the South African Rand as an interventionist way of solving Zimbabwe’s liquidity crises.

The Risks of Financing Energy in Turkey: Heading for a Rocky Road

After the implementation of Energy Efficiency Law (EEL) in Turkey, Turkish engineering firms show considerable interest in energy savings projects. There is a growing sign of an energy effi- ciency implementation in Turkey. However, energy importation costs of Turkey still present a challenge leading to huge financial burdens. This paper explores the energy financing in Turkey and the likelihood of risks after the establishment of structural reforms. The so-called structural problems on the agenda of Turkey are emphasized during the crisis. Actually, global crisis affected the lending conditions herein counterparty risk and restricted the relations of enterprises and banks. In this study, it is argued that there are strong barriers for the future energy saving industry in Turkey made up of macro-economic, micro-economic and financial risks coming through both domestic and global means.

Comparative Analysis of DMO Website Features:A Case Study of Three Asian Tourism Destinations

In the digital era,more and more people tend to look for travel-related information on the Internet.Hence,destination marketing organization(DMO)websites can play a decisive role in affecting people’s destination choices.Based on the study of Pai,Xia,and Wang,Macao’s DMO website received the lowest score in the effectiveness when compared to the other four tourism destinations:Japan,Korea,Hong Kong,and Thailand.This paper aimed to carry out a comparative analysis on the functionality among three DMO websites in Asia.Each website was examined in great detail,and the features were categorized according to a well-established conceptual framework pioneered by Li and Wang.Consequently,the results of this study gave useful information and new insights to destination marketing managers in terms of gap analysis and the development of new features for their websites.The results of this research could be used as benchmarking purposes in regards to website functionality.In addition,DMO websites in western countries,such as Canada,were also examined for a better understanding of the comprehensiveness of the available website functionality aimed for prospective visitors.Business and managerial implications were also discussed.

Modelling of Corporate Exposure at Default(EAD)in Emerging Financial Markets:The Case for Counters Listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange(ZSE)in the Dollarization Era

This study explores the Exposure at Default(EAD)emanating from credit events undertaken by listed banking corporations trading on emerging markets,such as Zimbabwe’s Stock Exchange(ZSE)or market in the dollarization era,namely period 2010-2012.The dollarization of the Zimbabwean economy in 2009 coincided with the recovery of the global financial economy from the worst worldwide economic recession ever experienced in this world.The study used audited and published data drawn from financial statements of two banking corporations for the period 2010 to 2012 that were accessible on ZSE website.These data were presented and analyzed using Eviews7.The study revealed that there were a lot of non-performing loans drawn from EADs of banking corporations trading on the ZSE in the period under review.The study further noted that credit exposures issued by commercial banks in the period 2010-2012 were also exposed to risk from the nature of the borrowers,banks’internal and external market variables.The variables that impacted on banks’credit exposures include political,social,industrial,unemployment,technological challenges,state of financial markets,their capitalization and liquidity statuses.We therefore conclude that banks in emerging markets need to efficiently and effectively manage their credit portfolios in their desire to grow towards sustainable development.The study also concludes that banks in emerging markets that are into lending activities should adopt and implement financial econometric(EAD)models that are easy to apply,practical,pragmatic,and adjusted for market friction.The study recommends that listed banking corporations in emerging markets need to adhere to the requirements of the Basel Ⅱ and Ⅲ Capital Accords if they are to make meaningful business out of their credit exposure operations.It also recommends that banks should come up with capitalization and investment strategies that suit their economic conditions if they are to grow and develop sizeable market shares and wealth from their lending businesses.Finally the study recommends that banks in emerging economies should adapt to international business standards,strategies,ethics,and corporate governance parameters if they are to grow towards greater similarity with those in developed nations in their service delivery to the stakeholders and contribution to nation building and sustainable development.

Corporate Probability of Default(PD)Modelling for Banks in Emerging Economies:A Case Study of Zimbabwe Stock Exchange(ZSE)Listed Counters

The paper extends Merton’s Probability of Default(PD)model to the case for transaction costs or market friction for estimation of the PDs of listed banking corporations.A closed form formula for the PD model is obtained and validated using financial data drawn from banks listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange(ZSE).It has been observed that most corporations in emerging economies have been finding it extremely difficult to list,continue listed or manage risk emanating from credit exposures undertaken.In the absence of risk the role of the financial sector of an economy to efficiently and effectively allocate resources between the public and private sectors would be simplified,economically and rationally determined.Reliable or precise computation of the Probability of Default(PD)of a borrower is one of the most critical tasks in credit risk management for commercial banks that were applying the Internal Rating Based Approach(IRBA)under the Basel Capital Accords Ⅱ and Ⅲ frameworks.The study sought to develop a Probability of Default(PD)model that banking corporations in emerging economies such as Zimbabwe could adopt and implement in the Multiple Currency System(MCS)in their desire to grow and develop through their lending businesses.The research study adopted a PD model similar to the Asset Valuation Model(AVM)by Merton(1974)and initially extended by Black-Scholes(1973)and Crouhy et al.(2000)and applied it on a basket of Zimbabwe Stock Exchange listed counters after having adjusted the model for the transaction cost variable.The study therefore succeeded in coming up with a PD model that was worth adopting and implementing by Zimbabwe Stock Exchange(ZSE)listed corporations in their desire to grow towards sustainable development.It was realised that a contemporary PD model adjusted for transaction cost is pertinent for reflection of practical conditions banks face in estimation of their risk metrics such as PD.Transaction costs faced by banks in emerging economies are very huge that they cannot be assumed to be insignificant when it comes to valuation of PDs of banking corporations.The inclusion of transaction costs in estimation of PDs of ZSE listed banks is likely to create a paradigm shift in financial theory on risk metrics in the modern world.The study ends by recommending the need for all Zimbabwean listed corporations to adopt and implement an AVM adjusted for transaction costs if they were to successfully measure and manage both their investment and credit exposure endeavours in the multiple currency system period.

Optimal Inventory Policy of Production Management: A Present Value Framework

The classical economic production quantity (EPQ) assumes that the replenishments are instantaneous. As a manager of a factory, there is a problem must be taken into consideration. If the establishment buys all of the raw materials at the beginning, the stock-holding cost for the raw materials should be counted into the relevant costs. So the main purpose of this paper will add the raw materials stock-holding cost to the EPQ model and take the time value of money into consideration. Therefore, we will calculate the present value and compare the difference between take and does not take the time value of money into consideration. From these procedures of calculating, we found some interesting results: 1) the present value of total stock-holding cost of raw materials plus products from the beginning to time t is the same as the stock-holding cost of classical economic order quantity (EOQ) model;2) the present value of total relevant cost is independent of the production rate (if the production rate is greater than the demand rate);3) the optimal cycle time of total relevant cost not taking the time value into consideration is the same the optimal cycle time of classical EOQ model;4) the purchasing cost per unit time is irrelevant to time.

Generating Sets of the Complete Semigroups of Binary Relations Defined by Semilattices of the Class Σ_(2)(X,4)

In this paper, we have studied generating sets of the complete semigroups defined by X-semilattices of the class Σ2(X, 4).

Can environmental sustainability be decoupled from economic growth? Empirical evidence from Eastern Europe using the common correlated effect mean group test

The European Union(EU) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) aim to develop long-term policies for their respective member countries. Having observed increasing dangers to the environment posed by rising economic growth, they are seeking pathways to enable policy action on economic growth and environmental sustainability. Given the facts in theoretical and empirical studies, this study assessed the validity of the decoupling hypothesis by investigating asymmetricity in the relationship between environmental sustainability and economic growth in nine Eastern European countries from 1998 to 2017 using the cross-section augmented Dickey-Fuller(CADF) unit root, panel corrected standard error(PCSE), common correlated effect mean group(CCEMG), and Dumitrescu Hurlin causality approaches. Both population growth and drinking water are used as controlled variables. The outcomes establish strong cointegration among all the variables of interest. According to the results of CCEMG test, economic growth exerts short-term environmental degradation but has long-term environmental benefits in Eastern Europe;and population growth and drinking water exert a positive effect on environmental sustainability in both the short-and long-run. The results of Dumitrescu Hurlin causality test indicate that environmental sustainability is unidirectionally affected by economic growth. Based on these outcomes, we suggest the following policies:(1) the EU and OECD should implement member-targeted policies on economic growth and fossil-fuel use towards regulating industrial pollution, water use, and population control;and(2) the EU and OECD member countries should invest in environmental technologies through green research and development(R&D) to transform their dirty industrial processes and ensure productive energy use.

Climate Transition Risk and Development Finance： A Carbon Risk Assessment of China＇s Overseas Energy Portfolios

The role of development finance institutions in low-income and emerging countries is fundamental to provide long-term capital for investments in climate mitigation and adaptation. Nevertheless, development finance institutions still lack sound and transparent metrics to assess their projects＇ exposure to climate risks and their impact on global climate action. To attempt to fill this gap, we develop a novel climate stress-test methodology for portfolios of loans to energy infrastructure projects. We apply the methodology to the portfolios of overseas energy projects of two main Chinese policy banks. We estimate their exposure to economic and financial shocks that would result in government inability to introduce timely 2~C-aligned climate policies and from investors＂ inability to adapt their business to the changing climate and policy environment. We find that the negative shocks are mostly concentrated on coal and oil projects and vary across regions from 4.2 to 22 percent of the total loan value. Given the current leverage of Chinese policy banks, these losses could induce severe financial distress, with implications on

Relevance of hybrid artificial intelligence for improving the forecasting accuracy of natural resource prices

The prediction performance of traditional forecasting methods is low due to the high level of complexity in a series of energy prices.The present study attempts to compare the traditional regression,machine learning tools and hybrid models to conclude the outperforming model.The first step is to propose the effective denoising technique for Tadawul energy index,which has confirmed the superiority of CSD based denoising.However,we use the CSD-ARIMA,CSD-ANN,and CSD-RNN as hybrid models.As a result,CSD-RNN outperforms both other models in terms of MSE,MAPE,RMSE and Dstat.The findings are useful for policy makers,investors and portfolio managers to forecast the energy trends,and hedge the portfolio risk accordingly.