How are telecommunications infrastructure, institutions and poverty related in a war-torn economy such as Afghanistan? Afghanistan has been plagued by poor governance, low usage of telecommunications, and extreme poverty levels which can be termed triple-challenges. High levels of political instability affected telecommunications investment and adversely affected the adoption and diffusion of modern technology. This study examines the asymmetric effect of telecommunications and governance (institutions) on poverty reduction over the period 1989–2019 using a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model. In the short run, we establish that information and communication technology, private domestic credit, governance, and educational access for males and females are essential tools that can be used for poverty reduction. In the long run, we also establish that Afghanistan can reduce poverty levels through the use of information and communication technology, governance, and educational access for both males and females. The following policy recommendations were suggested: research and development, robust policy formulation on governance and ICT, development of the ICT sector, and improved governance. These are critical in reducing the high poverty levels as well as solving the institutional challenges faced by Afghanistan.

This research paper aims to benchmark the characteristics of financial systems for 102 countries worldwide from the period of 2005 to 2017. The financial systems’ database encompasses four main dimensions, each consisting of several variables for every indicator: (a) financial depth, (b) financial efficiency, (c) financial access, and (d) financial stability. The objective is to closely analyse the different factors that contribute to the attractiveness of financial and economic systems globally. Furthermore, this paper employs a literature review and an empirical modelling and classification of financial systems worldwide to assess their attractiveness. The modelling process utilizes two statistical analysis methods: discriminant analysis (PCA) and neural analysis. By doing so, this research paper aims to identify the most appropriate measures to strengthen these systems and economies. The main conclusion of the research is to establish a ranking of the world’s best countries and also the validation of the hypothesis that macroeconomic conditions are the effective determinants of the classification dimensions of financial systems.

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%.