This article measures the performance of listed commercial banks in Vietnam and identifies factors influencing their efficiency. The study follows a two-stage approach: (i) In the first stage, scale efficiency scores from 2016 to 2022 are assessed using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method; (ii) In the second stage, Tobit regression analyzes internal factors, macroeconomic conditions, and the impact of Covid-19. Key findings show that internal factors such as return on assets positively affect efficiency, while the ratio of equity to total capital has a negative and statistically significant impact. Bank size positively influences efficiency scores. Macroeconomic factors, including economic growth and inflation, were statistically insignificant. However, the Covid-19 pandemic had a significant negative effect on bank efficiency.

Through the combination of the geographic information systems (GIS) and the integrated information model, the stability of regional bank slope was comprehensively evaluated. First, a regional bank slope stability evaluation index system was established through studying seven selected factors (slope grade, slope direction, mountain shadow, elevation, stratigraphic lithology, geological structure and river action) that have an impact on the stability of the slope. Then, each factor was rasterized by GIS. According to the integrated information model, the evaluation index distribution map based on rasterized factors was obtained to evaluate the stability of the regional bank slope. Through the analysis of an actual project, it was concluded that the geological structure and stratigraphic lithology have a significant impact on the evaluation results. Most of the research areas were in the relatively low stable areas. The low and the relatively low stable areas accounted for 15.2% and 51.5% of the total study area respectively. The accuracy of slope evaluation results in the study area reached 95.41%.

South Korea has experienced rapid economic development since the 1960s. However, pronounced regional disparities have concurrently emerged. Amid the escalating regional inequalities and persistent demographic challenges characterized by low fertility rates, regional decline has become a pressing issue. Therefore, the feasibility of expanding transportation networks as a countermeasure to regional decline has been proposed. This study utilizes the synthetic control method and spatial difference-in-differences methodologies to assess the impact of the 2017 opening of Seoul–Yangyang Expressway on economic development and population inflow within Hongcheon-gun, Inje-gun, and Yangyang-gun. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of highway development as a policy instrument to mitigate regional decline. Findings from the synthetic control method analysis suggest a positive impact of the opening of the expressway on Hongcheon-gun’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) in 2018, as well as Yangyang-gun’s net migration rates from 2017 to 2019. Conversely, the spatial difference-in-differences analysis, designed to identify spillover effects, reveals negative impacts of the highway on the GRDP and net migration rates of adjacent regions. Consequently, although targeted transportation infrastructure development in key non Seoul Metropolitan cities may contribute to ameliorating regional imbalances, results indicate that such measures alone are unlikely to suffice in attracting population to small- and medium-sized cities outside the Seoul Metropolitan Area.