scholarly journals Banks, Digital Banking Initiatives and the Financial Safety Net: Theory and Analytical Framework

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Lumpkin ◽  
Sebastian Schich
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Financial System ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Range Of Functions ◽  
Financial Safety Net

This report presents an analytical framework for exploring the implications of Fintech innovations for incumbent banks and for provision of the financial safety net. The focus is on “digital banking initiatives”, that is, on Fintech initiatives that provide retail financial services akin to those traditionally provided by banks. Banks perform a wide range of functions for individual and institutional customers that help facilitate large-scale economic activity. In fact, in most economies the system of financial intermediation centres on banks and relies on their core products and services for financing of the economy and the maintenance of liquidity. On account of the central role banks play in the financial system, along with concerns about potential systemic instability linked to the riskiness of their activities, these institutions have long been regarded as “special”, as reflected in their prudential regulation and coverage under the various provisions of the financial safety net. Recent developments raise questions about the special status of banks. Two sets of questions are addressed herein: To what extent do new digital banking initiatives change the role that incumbent banks play in the financial system and the way that they perform their functions? To what extent are some of the new digital banking initiatives securing the benefits of the financial safety net without paying the commensurate price? To help address these questions the report first revisits the literature on core functions of the financial system to provide a framework for analysing recent developments. Particular attention is paid in this context to banks and their products and services. The “special” role of banks is discussed, which links to the provisions of the traditional safety net. These overview sections are followed by evidence on Fintech innovations that overlap the core banking products. Based on an examination of the characteristics of these new initiatives, the study then touches on the issue of whether banks are still special and whether some of these initiatives are or should be covered by financial safety net provisions.

scholarly journals Beneficiary Views on Cash and In-Kind Payments: Evidence from Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Programme

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kalle Hirvonen ◽  
John Hoddinott
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Stated Preference ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
Stated Preferences ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Social Safety Net ◽  
Food Markets ◽  
Made In

Abstract Economists often default to the assumption that cash is always preferable to an in-kind transfer. Do beneficiaries feel the same way? This paper addresses this issue using longitudinal household data from Ethiopia, where a large-scale social safety net intervention (PSNP) operates. Even though most payments are made in cash, and even though the (temporal) transaction costs associated with food payments are higher than payments received as cash, most beneficiaries stated that they prefer their payments only or partly in food. Higher food prices induce shifts in stated preferences toward in-kind transfers. More food-secure households, those closer to food markets and to financial services are more likely to prefer cash. Though shifts occur, the stated preference for food is dominant: In no year do more than 17 percent of households prefer only cash. There is suggestive evidence that stated preferences for food are also driven by self-control concerns.

scholarly journals Composite Enclaves: Towards Disaggregated Trusted Execution

2021 ◽  
pp. 630-656
Author(s):  
Moritz Schneider ◽  
Aritra Dhar ◽  
Ivan Puddu ◽  
Kari Kostiainen ◽  
Srdjan Čapkun
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Trusted Computing ◽  
Design Time ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Trusted Computing Base ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Configurable Hardware ◽  
Low Performance ◽  
Specialized Hardware

The ever-rising computation demand is forcing the move from the CPU to heterogeneous specialized hardware, which is readily available across modern datacenters through disaggregated infrastructure. On the other hand, trusted execution environments (TEEs), one of the most promising recent developments in hardware security, can only protect code confined in the CPU, limiting TEEs’ potential and applicability to a handful of applications. We observe that the TEEs’ hardware trusted computing base (TCB) is fixed at design time, which in practice leads to using untrusted software to employ peripherals in TEEs. Based on this observation, we propose composite enclaves with a configurable hardware and software TCB, allowing enclaves access to multiple computing and IO resources. Finally, we present two case studies of composite enclaves: i) an FPGA platform based on RISC-V Keystone connected to emulated peripherals and sensors, and ii) a large-scale accelerator. These case studies showcase a flexible but small TCB (2.5 KLoC for IO peripherals and drivers), with a low-performance overhead (only around 220 additional cycles for a context switch), thus demonstrating the feasibility of our approach and showing that it can work with a wide range of specialized hardware.

scholarly journals Determinants of Financial Capability: A Situational Analysis for Namibia

2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 7-13
Author(s):  
Asa Romeo Asa ◽  
Johanna Pangeiko Nautwima
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Economic Inequality ◽  
Financial System ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Situational Analysis ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Ease Of Access

It is imperative that if the poor in society benefit from the massive developments in the financial sector, then such a sector must be genuinely inclusive. It should meet the needs of all citizens with the potential to use such financial services productively. This paper scopes financial inclusivity as a process ensuring ease of access, availability, and usage of financial services by all members of society. To reduce socio-economic inequality, the poor in developing countries, like everyone else, need access to a wide range of financial services that are convenient, flexible, and reasonably priced. Therefore, financial inclusivity is sought to be significant towards the global development agenda as a tool for increasing the poor’s access to financial services, often cited as a mechanism that can help reduce poverty and lower income inequality. For many years, microfinance has been heralded as a mechanism for enhancing financial inclusion. It provides an avenue through which the marginalized and the poor can access and benefit from the formal financial system. Moreover, financial inclusivity is substantially evident in the rural areas among the poor, who have no collateral or credit history for participating in the legal financial system. As a result, financial inclusion is receiving increased attention as an essential tool for reducing aspects of socio-economic inequality characterized by the isolation of individuals and communities from formal financial services, like affordable and accessible credit.

scholarly journals IMF COVID-19 Response—A New Short-Term Liquidity Line to Enhance The Adequacy Of The Global Financial Safety Net

Policy Papers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (25) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Financial System ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Key Features ◽  
Global Uncertainty ◽  
Global Financial System ◽  
New Facility ◽  
Financial Safety Net

The COVID-19 pandemic has created severe disruption in the global financial system, with many emerging market and developing countries (EMDCs) facing liquidity shortages. In the context of intensified demand for liquidity and heightened global uncertainty, staff has revisited the 2017 proposal for a new facility to provide liquidity support to the Fund’s membership. This paper proposes the establishment of a new Short-term Liquidity Line (SLL) as a special facility in the General Resources Account (GRA), based on the key features of the 2017 blueprint.

Does temperate agroforestry reduce nutrient leaching losses compared to cropland monocultures?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Schmidt ◽  
Marife D. Corre ◽  
Xiaohong Duan ◽  
Florian Heinlein ◽  
Edzo Veldkamp
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Alley Cropping ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Nutrient Leaching ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Leaching Losses ◽  
Temperate Agroforestry ◽  
Wide Range

<p>Over the past decades, excessive use of fertilizers in cropland monocultures in combination with a decrease in fertilizer use efficiency, have led to an increase in nutrient leaching losses, especially for nitrate. Consequently, ground water pollution is widespread and starting to be recognized and potentially sanctioned by the European Union. Unfertilized tree rows alternating with crop rows (e.g. alley-cropping agroforestry) are hypothesized to act as a safety net by taking up excess nutrients below the crop-rooting zone. Here, we measured leaching losses of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) during two growing seasons in agroforestry systems and adjacent monocultures at three sites in Germany, representing a wide range of soil characteristics. Leaching losses of N, P and K were generally lower under agroforestry tree rows at all sites compared to agroforestry crop rows or crop monocultures. Overall, agroforestry reduced nitrate leaching losses by up to 82% compared to monocultures, but showed comparable losses of P and K. Nutrient leaching losses were high in the agroforestry crop rows close to the tree rows where crop productivity is lowest due to resource competition with trees. An adjusted management, e.g. reduced fertilizer inputs close to the tree rows, may counteract these losses. Our results suggest that agroforestry has the potential to reduce nutrient leaching losses through the trees and the application of fertilizer should be reduced in the agroforestry crop row close to the trees. The reduction in nutrient leaching losses in agroforestry indicates an increase in the soil function of water filtration. In order to achieve large-scale implementation of temperate agroforestry, its environmental benefits need to be financially valued for farmers to adapt this widely applicable land use alternative. The presented project, SIGNAL (Sustainable intensification of agriculture through agroforestry) is part of the German research initiative BonaRes (Soil as a sustainable resource).</p>

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF CRISIS TRENDS IN BANKING ON EXPANDING FINANCIAL SAFETY NET

TEME ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 899
Author(s):  
Mirjana Jemović ◽  
Borko Krstić
Keyword(s):  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
Services Sector ◽  
Financial Services Sector ◽  
Banking Institutions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Financial Safety Net

Stable and efficient functioning of financial institutions, especially banking institutions, requires the existence of an adequate regulatory framework. The differences in the character and functioning of financial institutions caused differences in the regulatory approaches for maintaining stability and efficiency, whereby one should bear in mind that even within a concrete financial system, the regulatory framework evolves in order to be able to respond to new trends in the financial services sector. A growing homogenization of activities and a less noticeable difference among financial institutions caused the financial safety net to expand to non-bank financial institutions in order to maintain financial stability. The aim of this paper is to consider the justification and implications of such an expansion. Considering the fact that financial safety net „expansion“ stimulates riskier behaviour of protected institutions, this paper offers suggestions for dealing with this problem in order to reduce it as much as possible. 

scholarly journals Physiological Microenvironmental Conditions in Different Scalable Culture Systems for Pluripotent Stem Cell Expansion and Differentiation

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-54
Author(s):  
Fuad G. Torizal ◽  
Ikki Horiguchi ◽  
Yasuyuki Sakai
Keyword(s):  
Culture System ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Culture Conditions ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Culture Systems ◽  
Physiological Conditions ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Cell Propagation

Human Pluripotent Stem Cells (PSCs) are a valuable cell type that has a wide range of biomedical applications because they can differentiate into many types of adult somatic cell. Numerous studies have examined the clinical applications of PSCs. However, several factors such as bioreactor design, mechanical stress, and the physiological environment have not been optimized. These factors can significantly alter the pluripotency and proliferation properties of the cells, which are important for the mass production of PSCs. Nutritional mass transfer and oxygen transfer must be effectively maintained to obtain a high yield. Various culture systems are currently available for optimum cell propagation by maintaining the physiological conditions necessary for cell cultivation. Each type of culture system using a different configuration with various advantages and disadvantages affecting the mechanical conditions in the bioreactor, such as shear stress. These factors make it difficult to preserve the cellular viability and pluripotency of PSCs. Additional limitations of the culture system for PSCs must also be identified and overcome to maintain the culture conditions and enable large-scale expansion and differentiation of PSCs. This review describes the different physiological conditions in the various culture systems and recent developments in culture technology for PSC expansion and differentiation.

Improving Japan's Financial System, with Emphasis on Reforming the Postal Savings Business

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 172-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuri Okina
Keyword(s):  
Deposit Insurance ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Financial System ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Real Sector ◽  
Deposit Insurance System ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Government ◽  
Run Up ◽  
Adequate Supervision

The crisis facing Japan's banking sector has been attributed to a wide range of factors: (1) the run-up and collapse of the bubble; (2) a lack of adequate supervision of financial institutions by the government; (3) the stagnation of the economy, because the Japanese growth model is no longer relevant; and (4) bad management of the banks. It is important to reform corporate governance in the real sector, not merely in the financial sector. It should also be recognized that Japan's financial system should reduce the size of the safety net provided by the government not only through the deposit insurance system, but also through the enormous postal savings business.

scholarly journals Does the Newly Shaping Structure in Energy Sector Mean a New Order for the World?

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Onur Tutulmaz
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
World Order ◽  
New Order ◽  
Energy Potential ◽  
Horizontal Drilling ◽  
Economical Evaluation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
New Energy ◽  
Recent Developments

The recent developments bring US to a major natural gas and oil producer position. The attempts in last 20 years to bring new horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies together have developed a success in shale gas and oil production in US; the production volumes has reached to a position to redefine the market. Last estimations are bringing more information about the shale capacities of the major basins of the world. However, the estimates are based on a wide range of assumptions and consequently their results vary in a large scale. In any case, these developments have crucial economic, political and geopolitical consequences on the energy market, petroleum producer and consumer countries and regions. Despite the wide range of ambiguity of the estimated size of the resources, the estimations show US and North America has one of the biggest potential, already turning technology into the giant production numbers. Some of the estimations allege so big numbers can even mean to a new world order. The asymmetric nature of the potential, can also be said, increases some of the expected impacts too. In this study, basically, we want to supply an initial solid and economical evaluation to this ambiguity. We are trying to shape a frame for the new energy potential and to put it in a place in the current practice of the world. Secondly, in this context, we are underlying here some of the possible economic and geopolitical consequences each of which can constitute a subject of deeper study.

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