Financial and social efficiency in the Yemen microfinance institutions

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 322-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Ali Al-Awlaqi ◽  
Ammar Mohamed Aamer
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
The Body ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Social Efficiency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Dea Analysis ◽  
First Time

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discover the most important productivity determinants of Yemeni microfinance institutions. In addition, this study tests the most appropriate tool to measure productivity in such unique industry. Design/methodology/approach The authors applied data envelopment analysis (DEA) with the variable return to scale after testing the technology return to scale assumption. Then, they used DEA with bootstrapping technique to overcome the borne biasness in the conventional DEA analysis. Finally, the authors presented the Hicks–Moorsteen (total factor productivity [TFP]) as the most suitable tool for the technology presented in this study. Findings In this paper, the authors found a prolonged deterioration in the productivity scores of microfinance institutions in Yemen. This study highlights the importance of operating in rural areas to improve micro finance institutions’ (MFIs’) productivity. In contrast, they found no significant differences in productivity, neither between microfinance banks and non-governmental organizations nor between Islamic and non-Islamic MFIs. Research limitations/implications This study extends previous research in the area of productivity and its determinants. It also adds to the body of productivity knowledge and methodology within the context of the microfinance industry in Yemen. Originality/value The study discovered new productivity determinants and re-assessed the importance of some already known ones. These determinants have been studied for the first time in Yemen’s microfinance industry and have contributed to answer the question of what is the most suitable productivity method that should be used. This study proved that the Hicks–Moorsteen TFP and the variable return to scale assumption are the only suitable methods to study productivity in the microfinance industry.

Recounting the Empowerment of Women in Rural Areas of KwaZulu-Natal from Information and Knowledge in the Fourth Industrial Revolution Era

Libri ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenrose Jiyane
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
The Body ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Critical Resource

Abstract The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) marks the new, advanced era of development in humankind, and globally countries are in the process of ensuring their citizenry’s readiness. In South Africa, various governmental departments, organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and non-profit organisations (NPOs) are making efforts, through their plans, talks and actions, to attain this status for all her people, particularly women in rural areas. However, the development of women in the rural areas for empowerment remains a concern in developing countries. Consequently, there is a dire need to ensure the developmental status for women in rural areas in the advent of the 4IR, and this paper seeks to demonstrate that information and knowledge may be instrumental in empowering women in rural areas to strive in the 4IR. Accordingly, information and knowledge are a critical resource contributing to the empowerment of women in rural areas for their development. An exploratory question is raised to determine whether South Africa is ready for Fourth Industrial Revolution. The outcome of this paper will contribute to the body of knowledge advocating the importance of information and knowledge in the empowerment of women in rural areas. Significantly, it will generate insights for policymakers on the important role of information and knowledge for women’s development.

Financial inclusion and the performance of microfinance institutions: Does social performance affect the efficiency of microfinance institutions?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nisha Bharti ◽  
Sushant Malik
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Mission ◽  
Vision Statements ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether focus on social output affects the efficiency of MFIs. Inclusive growth is the key developmental aim for many developing countries, including India. The role of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in promoting financial inclusion is widely applauded. However, to achieve financial sustainability, MFIs have become highly commercialised and are seen to have drifted away from their social mission. Various studies have shown the efficiency of MFIs on financial parameters. MFIs being a social enterprise, it is important to include social output among the efficiency parameters. Design/methodology/approach This study attempts to compare the efficiency of MFIs with and without social performances across the various size of MFIs based on their asset, i.e. large, medium and small. This study uses Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) for assessing an MFI’s efficiency. For calculating the social output score, the Gutman Scale is used. Efficiency is calculated with and without social output, and the resulting scores are compared to assess the impact of social performance on the efficiency of MFIs. Findings The results of this study allow us to conclude that with the inclusion of social output, the efficiency of MFIs improves across various categories. In terms of social performances, it is concluded that MFIs are targeting women and mostly working in rural areas but have neglected issues like health and education. Originality/value The findings of this study will help MFIs in formulating their mission and vision statements and in achieving the objective of financial inclusion without experiencing mission drift.

French law on CSR due diligence paradox

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-143
Author(s):  
Guillaume Delalieux ◽  
Anne-Catherine Moquet
Keyword(s):  
Due Diligence ◽  
French Law ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Paradoxical Effects ◽  
The Law ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
First Time ◽  
Parent Companies

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the functioning of the French Law No 2017-399 relating to the duty of vigilance of parent companies and ordering companies, a law defended by labor unions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as an answer to the ineffectiveness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) mechanisms of multi-national corporation. Design/methodology/approach The authors try to determine to what extent the new mechanisms brought by this law could improve or not the failure of existing CSR mechanisms. Findings The authors find out that internal weaknesses of the law, which is based on voluntary CSR instruments and without penalties, internal mechanisms of the French judicial system or external economic factors, might considerably limit the effectiveness of the law. Originality/value Even if for the first time, French judges might be asked to evaluate the reasonableness of the CSR practices of firms, one of the paradoxical effects of this law might be to institutionalize soft law mechanisms such as CSR certification or reporting, the proponents of this law precisely wanted to get rid of at the origin.

Impact of Competition on Efficiency of Microfinance Institutions: Cross Country Comparison of India and Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
pp. 097300522110052
Author(s):  
Joyeeta Deb ◽  
Ram Pratap Sinha
Keyword(s):  
Information Exchange ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Bottom Of The Pyramid ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Tobit Regression ◽  
Social Efficiency ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Social Objective ◽  
Efficient Level ◽  
Potential Impact

Increased competition coupled with commercialisation in the Indian microfinance sector has brought about many major transformations. From an impact-driven development programme, microfinance institutions (MFIs) today emerged as commercially oriented profit-making entities. In addition to bringing their commercial and social objectives into balance, MFIs today are striving for efficient level of operation. Efficiency in the level of operation of MFIs allows them to remain competitive and attain financial sustainability. However, it is also imperative for MFIs to remain socially committed towards the ultimate mission of reaching the poorest at the bottom of the pyramid. Hence, it is of research interest to see the trade-off between MFIs’ social objective of spreading outreach and at the same time remaining financially sustainable. Against this backdrop, this article is devoted to study the potential impact of competition and commercialisation on efficiency of MFIs in India and Bangladesh. The study is carried over 75 MFIs altogether over the period of 8 years from 2009 to 2016. The data have been collected from microfinance information exchange database. Efficiency is measured through technical efficiency (TE) scores as estimated under data envelopment analysis. In order to establish the association between competitions, which is estimated by the Herfindahl–Hirschman index (HHI), tobit regression is used. The study evidenced increasing level of competition in the sector over the years, but it is more pronounced in India as against Bangladesh. In order to analyse the trade-off, TE scores are separately estimated under both financial and social measures. TE score is found to be higher in case of social measures of efficiency as against financial efficiency. Further, under both the measures, competition is found to be having a significant impact on both financial and social efficiency.

Touring for peace: the role of dual-narrative tours in creating transnational activists

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Maureen Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Attitude Change ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Host Population ◽  
Contact Hypothesis ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Peace And Justice

Purpose Scholarship on the contact hypothesis and peacebuilding suggests that contact with marginalized ethnic and racial groups may reduce prejudice and improve opportunities for conflict resolution. Through a study of dual-narrative tours to Israel/Palestine, the purpose of this paper is to address two areas of the debate surrounding this approach to social change. First, past research on the effectiveness of contact-based tourism as a method to change attitudes is inconclusive. Travel to a foreign country has been shown to both improve and worsen tourists’ perceptions of a host population. Second, few scholars have attempted to link contact-based changes in attitudes to activism. Design/methodology/approach Through an analysis of 218 post-tour surveys, this study examines the role of dual-narrative tours in sparking attitude change that may facilitate involvement in peace and justice activism. Surveys were collected from the leading “dual-narrative” tour company in the region, MEJDI. Dual-narrative tours uniquely expose mainstream tourists in Israel/Palestine to Palestinian perspectives that are typically absent from the majority of tours to the region. This case study of dual-narrative tours therefore provides a unique opportunity to address the self-selecting bias, as identified by contact hypothesis and tourism scholars, in order to understand the potential impacts of exposure to marginalized narratives. Findings The findings of this study suggest that while these tours tend to engender increased support for Palestinians over Israelis, their most salient function appears to be the cultivation of empathy for “both sides” of the conflict. Similarly, dual-narrative tours often prompt visitors to understand the conflict to be more complex than they previously thought. In terms of activism, tourists tend to prioritize education-based initiatives in their plans for post-tour political engagement. In addition, a large number of participants articulated commitments to support joint Israeli–Palestinian non-governmental organizations and to try to influence US foreign policy to be more equitable. Originality/value These findings complicate debates within the scholarship on peacebuilding as well as within movements for social justice in Israel/Palestine. While programs that equate Israeli and Palestinian perspectives are often criticized for reinforcing the status quo, dual-narrative tours appear to facilitate nuance and universalism while also shifting tourists toward greater identification with an oppressed population. Together, these findings shed light on the ability of tourism to facilitate positive attitude change about a previously stigmatized racial/ethnic group, as well as the power of contact and exposure to marginalized narratives to inspire peace and justice activism.

Financial and social efficiency analysis of Islamic microfinance institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marwa Fersi ◽  
Mouna Bougelbène
Keyword(s):  
Capital Structure ◽  
Credit Risk ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Social Efficiency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Islamic Microfinance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to investigate the impact of credit risk-taking on financial and social efficiency and examine the relationship between credit risk, capital structure and efficiency in the context of Islamic microfinance institutions (MFIs) compared to their conventional counterparts.Design/methodology/approachThe stochastic frontier approach was used to estimate the financial and social efficiency scores, in a first step. In a second step, the impact of risk-taking on efficiency was evaluated. The authors also took into account the moderating role of capital structure in this effect using the fixed and random effects generalized least squares (GLS) with a first-order autoregressive disturbance. The used dataset covers 326 conventional MFIs and 57 Islamic MFIs in six different regions of the world over the period of 2005–2015.FindingsThe overall average efficiency scores are less than 50%, where CMFIs could have produced their outputs using 48% of their actual inputs. IMFIs record the lowest financial (cost) efficiency that is equal to 28% on average. The estimation results also reveal a negative impact of nonperforming loan on financial and social efficiency. Finally, the moderating effect of leverage funding on the relationship between credit risk-taking and financial efficiency was confirmed in CMFIs. However, leverage seems to moderate the effect of risk-taking behavior on social efficiency for IMFIs.Originality/valueThis paper makes an initial attempt to evaluate the effect of risk-taking decision and its implication on efficiency and MFIs' sustainability. Besides, it takes into consideration the role played by the mode of governance through the ownership structure. In addition, this research study sheds light on the importance of the financial support for the development and sustainability of these institutions, which in return, contributes to a sustainable economic development.

Evolution of artificial intelligence and its impact on human rights: from sociolegal perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheshadri Chatterjee ◽  
Sreenivasulu N.S. ◽  
Zahid Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The Government ◽  
Unique Study ◽  
Rights Issues

Purpose The applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in different sectors have become agendas for discussions in the highest circle of experts. The applications of AI can help society and can harm society even by jeopardizing human rights. The purpose of this study is to examine the evolution of AI and its impacts on human rights from social and legal perspectives. Design/methodology/approach With the help of studies of literature and different other AI and human rights-related reports, this study has taken an attempt to provide a comprehensive and executable framework to address these challenges contemplated to occur due to the increase in usage of different AI applications in the context of human rights. Findings This study finds out how different AI applications could help society and harm society. It also highlighted different legal issues and associated complexity arising due to the advancement of AI technology. Finally, the study also provided few recommendations to the governments, private enterprises and non-governmental organizations on the usage of different AI applications in their organizations. Research limitations/implications This study mostly deals with the legal, social and business-related issues arising due to the advancement of AI technology. The study does not penetrate the technological aspects and algorithms used in AI applications. Policymakers, government agencies and private entities, as well as practitioners could take the help of the recommendations provided in this study to formulate appropriate regulations to control the usage of AI technology and its applications. Originality/value This study provides a comprehensive view of the emergence of AI technology and its implication on human rights. There are only a few studies that examine AI and related human rights issues from social, legal and business perspectives. Thus, this study is claimed to be a unique study. Also, this study provides valuable inputs to the government agencies, policymakers and practitioners about the need to formulate a comprehensive regulation to control the usage of AI technology which is also another unique contribution of this study.

Benchmarking the efficiencies of Indonesia’s municipal water utilities using Stackelberg data envelopment analysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 588-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Wibowo ◽  
Hans Wilhelm Alfen
Keyword(s):  
Data Envelopment Analysis ◽  
The Body ◽  
Water Utilities ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Restrictive Assumption ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
Municipal Water ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a yardstick efficiency comparison of 269 Indonesian municipal water utilities (MWUs) and measures the impact of exogenous environmental variables on efficiency scores. Design/methodology/approach – Two-stage Stackelberg leader-follower data envelopment analysis (DEA) and artificial neural networks (ANN) were employed. Findings – Given that serviceability was treated as the leader and profitability as the follower, the first and second stage DEA scores were 55 and 32 percent (0 percent = totally inefficient, 100 percent = perfectly efficient), respectively. This indicates sizeable opportunities for improvement, with 39 percent of the total sample facing serious problems in both first- and second-stage efficiencies. When profitability instead leads serviceability, this results in more decreased efficiency. The size of the population served was the most important exogenous environmental variable affecting DEA efficiency scores in both the first and second stages. Research limitations/implications – The present study was limited by the overly restrictive assumption that all MWUs operate at a constant-return-to-scale. Practical implications – These research findings will enable better management of the MWUs in question, allowing their current level of performance to be objectively compared with that of their peers, both in terms of scale and area of operation. These findings will also help the government prioritize assistance measures for MWUs that are suffering from acute performance gaps, and to devise a strategic national plan to revitalize Indonesia’s water sector. Originality/value – This paper enriches the body of knowledge by filling in knowledge gaps relating to benchmarking in Indonesia’s water industry, as well as in the application of ensemble two-stage DEA and ANN, which are still rare in the literature.

NGOs management: a roadmap to effective practices

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 372-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Aboramadan
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Business World ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
One Year ◽  
Management Functions

Purpose From one year to another, more researchers join in the ever-growing field of interest of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Nevertheless, the literature on NGOs management is not as rich as what has been developed for private companies and bodies in the business world. The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for managing NGOs effectively. Design/methodology/approach Reviewing the literature on NGOs management from different areas, the paper proposes a conceptual framework. Findings The paper provides a conceptual framework on how different management functions are involved in a mutual framework for managing NGOs. Research limitations/implications The author needs to empirically test the suggested framework using qualitative and qualitative techniques. Originality/value The author’s perspective on NGOs management is a subject of great interest for different NGOs stakeholders including: donors, communities, volunteers, managers and policy-makers.

scholarly journals Regional Development of Rural Tourism: The Case of the Gorska Hrvatska Region

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-41
Author(s):  
Nina Baković
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Sustainable Tourism ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Rural Tourism ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Practical Recommendations

AbstractAn approach to sustainable tourism through clusters is considered an appropriate strategy in less-developed rural areas of tourist-oriented countries, such as Croatia. This paper clarifies the key challenges of the development of tourism clusters in the region of Gorska Hrvatska and provides new data for an approach to sustainable rural tourism development. Using available secondary data from governmental bodies, non-governmental organizations, protected areas of Gorska Hrvatska, and primary data of the Lika Destination Cluster, the paper explores the key challenges of developing a cluster of tourism and selective forms of tourism. Most tourism clusters in Croatia have remained in the first phase of development for years, even though this approach has failed to to achieve significant results. The key benefits of networking and branding in rural areas are identified and defined, but these potentials are still largely underutilized. The objective of this study is to provide practical recommendations to the Croatian tourism industry on how to learn from the suggested best practices and how to implement them effectively. For that purpose, the case of sustainable tourism located in the Gorska Hrvatska region, called the Lika Destination Cluster is analyzed.

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