Can stakeholder dialogues help solve financial access restrictions faced by non-profit organizations that stem from countering terrorism financing standards and international sanctions?

Counterterrorism architecture has grown exponentially in the last two decades, with counterterrorism measures impacting humanitarian, development, peacebuilding and human rights action across the world. Addressing and mitigating the impact of these measures take various forms in different contexts, local and global. This article will address one particular form of engagement and redressal – that of the multi-stakeholder dialogue process – to deal with the unintended consequences for civil society of countering the financing of terrorism rules and regulations. The impact is seen in the difficulties that non-profit organizations face across the world in terms of financial access. Involving civil society, banks, government, financial intelligence, regulators, supervisors and banking associations, among others, in a dialogue process with clearly defined objectives is considered by policymakers and civil society to be the most appropriate and effective form of engagement for dealing with and overcoming this particular set of challenges. Multiple examples are provided of ongoing initiatives, with the nuances of each drawn out for a closer look at the conditions needed to sustain such dialogue, and an examination of whether such stakeholder dialogue processes are fit for purpose for solving the seemingly intractable problem at hand.

Neoliberal Economic Policies’ Effects on Perceptions of Social Justice and Sociopolitical Participation in Portugal

Contemporary societies challenge long-standing projects of the “good society” and social equality through neoliberal economic policies. Social forms of uncertainty generated by financial deprivation, precarity, and inequality seem to have effects on agency and coping and so socioeconomic and psychological consequences. This study aims to test these relationships, as well as a hypothesis on the potential impact of these constructs on beliefs of sociopolitical control and social dominance, which have implications for social justice. A mediation model explores the effects of financial access (the manifest benefit of work) on psychosocial uncertainty (which reflects the perception of uncertainty in the social context and the experience of its consequences within work, relationships, and the adoption of self-defeating beliefs) and on emotional coping strategies towards uncertainty, and their effects on personal agency, sociopolitical control (SPC), and social dominance orientation (SDO). Data are derived from a study of 633 participants in Portugal. Although personal agency is influenced by financial access and psychosocial uncertainty, it is not proved as a significant mediator for SPC and SDO. Nevertheless, financial access, psychosocial uncertainty, and emotional coping significantly contribute to the model, supporting the hypothesis that financial access protects against psychosocial uncertainty. Both have an impact on SPC and SDO. Therefore, financial deprivation and psychosocial uncertainty potentially contribute to extremism and populism in societies characterised by socially created forms of uncertainty. Implications of results for psychological intervention, namely in vocational/professional counselling, are discussed.

Orientasi Wirausaha dan Kinerja UMKM: Efek Mediasi dari Akses Keuangan dan Keunggulan Kompetitif

This study aims to analyze the effect of Entrepreneurial Orientation (Innovation, Risk Taking, Proactive) on MSME Performance; The mediating effect of Financial Access and Competitive advantage is based on the direct and indirect subsections of Entrepreneurial Orientation. The object of this research is Culinary SMEs in Grobogan. Data were obtained from 84 samples of Culinary SMEs in Grobogan which were taken by accidental sampling. The data analysis technique used in this research is SEM-PLS. The results of this study indicate that Risk Taking and Proactive have a positive effect on MSME Performance. While innovation does not affect the performance of SMEs. Innovation and Proactive have a positive effect on Financial Access, while Risk-taking has no effect on Financial Access. Access to Finance has a positive effect on Competitive Advantage, and Competitive Advantage has a positive effect on MSME Performance). Financial Access and Competitive Advantage are able to mediate the relationship between proactiveness and MSME performance but are unable to mediate the relationship between innovation and risk-taking with the performance of culinary MSMEs in Grobogan

Assessing the Impact of Financial Literacy on Firm Sustainability: Mediating Role of Financial Access and Firm Growth

Even though firm sustainability is a long-standing concern, just a few studies on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sustainability have been conducted. Many studies have concentrated on a few particular sustainability criteria, but there is no comprehensive study on the subject from which to make concrete conclusions. The present research was inspired by the idea to examine how resources such as financial literacy, financial access and company development influence the sustainability of MSMEs. Data was gathered from 438 owner-managers of micro, small and medium enterprises through a questionnaire. The research discovered that financial literacy, financial availability and company growth are positively correlated with firm sustainability when using partial least squares. Surprisingly, the research found that financial access and firm growth moderate the anticipated connection between financial literacy and sustainability. As a result, policymakers and practitioners should ensure that firms have better access to financial resources, that owner-managers have the necessary financial literacy and that micro, small and medium-sized businesses grow effectively better firm sustainability.

Has financial access improved agricultural technical efficiency? – evidence from two family farm demonstration zones in China

PurposeFinance is crucial to boosting agricultural development in developing countries. This paper aims to investigate the effects of rural formal and informal financial access on agricultural technical efficiency (TE) in China.Design/methodology/approachBased on the survey data of demonstrative family farms in Langxi county, Anhui province and Wuhan city, Hubei province in central China in 2017, this research assesses agricultural TE by using a three-stage DEA model. It adopts the tobit model to evaluate the effects of formal and informal financial access on TE, and to explore the heterogeneous effects by types, management states and scales. It uses the OLS regression and PSM method to check the robustness, and applies the IV-Tobit method to solve the endogeneity. The authors apply the mediation effect model to explore the channels through which financial access impacts TE.FindingsFamily farms' average TE reaches 13.9%, which shows much room for improvement under the given technical conditions and constant inputs. The research confirms the advantage of formal financial access in raising TE relative to informal financial access. The heterogeneous analysis documents more prominent effects of formal financial access on enhancing TE of aquaculture, hybrid, demonstration and large farms. The mediating effect model reveals that the enhancing TE effect of formal financial access derives from improved machinery investment and family labor division rather than land circulation.Originality/valueThe research clarifies finance into formal and informal finance. The results have considerable policy implications for rural financial policies in China.

Democratizing finance with Robinhood: Financial infrastructure, interface design and platform capitalism

It is widely claimed that financial technology democratizes financial access and promotes financial inclusion. This paper challenges this dominant narrative of financial technology using the popular US-based mobile investing platform Robinhood as a case study. Analyzing press articles on Robinhood and regulatory filings of online brokerages, the concepts of financial infrastructures and platforms are used to unpack the capitalist logics that drive the platform business model. Specifically, this paper shows how digital interface design plays a central role in Robinhood's articulation of investors into the stock markets, through its simple, minimalist app that keeps users engaged by the productive management of ‘frictions’. The ease of investing via platform-based brokerages has seen investors taking on greater amounts of risk. This paper argues that Robinhood's success is driven by the continued expansion of its user base using various interface design techniques. This allows platform capitalism to be enacted by extracting rent through various revenue streams, where higher rents are derived from more frequent and riskier trading behaviors. The narrative of democratizing finance as employed widely in the financial technology sector thus obscures the capitalist logics and predatory practices that underlie financial technology.