This paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial inclusion in China, a country with a significant agricultural sector and an evolving digital landscape. The pandemic has accelerated the shift towards digital financial services, underscoring disparities in access. This study explores the pre- and post-pandemic scenarios of financial inclusion in China, evaluates the economic and social impacts of the pandemic, and assesses the role of digital transformation in the financial sector. It also investigates the changing roles of commercial banks and microfinance institutions, the integration of technology in finance, and the development of rural-urban economic linkages. The paper aims to propose strategies to enhance financial inclusion, ensuring it reaches the most vulnerable, and concludes with recommendations for creating a more equitable and robust economic system.

This paper provides a concise historical analysis of the political economy of privatization in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia from the 1980s to 2007, a period that witnessed the emergence of privatization as a primary policy tool to reform the public sector. The paper examines the influence of political history, macroeconomic considerations, and International Development Agencies (IDAs) on the early privatization processes in these North African countries. Despite shared developmental trajectories, internal and external factors had a significant impact on the outcomes of economic liberalization. The paper aims to answer the following key questions: What were the underlying political-economic factors driving privatization, and how successful was it in achieving the promised economic growth? Through a focused analysis of each country’s contextual factors, privatization processes, and outcomes, the paper contributes valuable insights into the nuanced dynamics shaping privatization in developing countries.

This study explores benefits, barriers and willingness to pay for bike-sharing service in tourism context. Based on a sample of 800 individuals who visited Da Nang, Vietnam between July and August 2023, trends in the barriers and benefits related to bike-sharing service from tourists’ point-of-view were explored. The results show that bike-sharing is appreciated for many reasons, notably for its fun/relaxing, cost saving, ease of city exploration, and promotion of better physical and mental health. However, bike-sharing services are considerably less likely to be viewed as options for faster transportation to a destination or reducing traffic hazards. Notably, eighty-six percent of non-riders indicated contentment with their existing transportation options and a lack of interest in bike-sharing services, a proportion significantly higher than any other group. Predictably, barriers related to the availability of bike-sharing and infrastructure, such as lack of sufficient number of shared bikes, far destination, and poor road conditions were notably more likely to be selected by one-time riders. The results are also evident that a significant portion of tourists is willing to pay to enhance their tourist experience with a bike-sharing service. On average, tourists were willing to pay $0.92 per hour (with a standard deviation of $0.24). This amount reflects the tourists’ recognition of the value added to their mode experience. These findings suggest that bike-sharing service play a significant role in fulfilling an essential transportation niche and have the potential to contribute to enhance tourists’ experience. Efforts aimed at addressing barriers associated with bike-sharing usage could further enhance their contribution to improve tourist satisfaction and boost attraction demand.

The consensus is that price stability promotes sustainable economic growth while excessive inflation harms growth. This study assesses the linkage between inflation and economic growth in South Africa to determine the optimal inflation rate threshold for the sustainable growth of the economy. Quarterly data from 1995 to 2022 was analysed through the ARDL and threshold regressions. The ARDL and threshold regressions estimate established a relationship between inflation and economic growth and computed the optimal inflation rate threshold for economic growth at 6 percent. The results also established that both the repo rate (repurchase rate) and real effective exchange rate have a negative relationship with economic growth. The Toda-Yamamoto causality test result indicated a unidirectional causality runs from inflation to economic growth. These results are crucial for the South African Reserve Bank to discharge its monetary policy functions to attain and maintain price stability. Therefore, this study offers the Bank a roadmap for targeting an inflation rate that aligns with the nation’s long-term objectives for sustainable economic growth.

This paper focuses on studying the impact of institutional distance between home and host countries on the entry mode choice of multinational enterprises (MNEs). Based on theories of transaction costs and institutional theory, we predict the trend of choosing investment forms of wholly-owned enterprises (WOEs) and joint venture enterprises (JVEs) in the agricultural sector of Vietnam in the context of free trade agreement implementation. The data of 364 MNEs from 22 different nations that directly invested in the agricultural sector of Vietnam in the period 1996–2019 were extracted from Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI), which is provided by World Bank. An empirical investigation has employed logistic regression. The results show a positive relationship between institutional distance with regard to rule of law and regulatory quality and WOE choice. Furthermore, the entry mode choices of MNEs in Vietnam’s agricultural sector are also noticeably influenced by the implementation of freedom trade agreements (FTAs).