New Innovations in Economics, Business and Management Vol. 2

Term deposit can accelerate the financial field by enhancing the profit from both the bank and customer's perspective. The term deposit subscription is often influenced by the bank's campaign efforts as well as the customer background details. If customers' subscription tendency is identified at an early stage, the bank can modify its underlying strategy to attract more customers. In this context, the current study has focused to identify term likelihood prediction from the customer's perspective. To address this study, machine learning-based approaches have been applied to predict term deposit investment possibilities in advance. A popular machine learning-based method, Neural network along with stratified 10-fold cross-validation methodology is proposed as the predictive model in this study. To assess the efficiency of this model, other benchmark classifiers such as k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN), Decision tree classifier (DT), and Multi-layer perceptron classifier (MLP) are also implemented and compared. This comparative study has concluded that the proposed model provides significant prediction results over other baseline models with an accuracy of 88.32% and MSE of 0.1168.

Like any other continent, Africa has embraced continental integration to create continental economies of scale in pursuit of sustainable economic growth and development. The notion of resource pooling, collaborative capacity development, complementary management of resource endowments, and internal markets will provide an opportunity to create a robust African economy capable of overcoming poverty, unemployment, and social distress.

The African development architecture, as created by the founding nationalists, neglects the concept of continental collective capacity development for shared economic performance, enhanced and simplified movement of persons and goods, development of common regional infrastructure, promotion of conducive macroeconomic environment favourable to the facilitation of economic development amongst African states.

The recent realisation by Pan-African Institutions that deeper intra Africa collaboration is possible beyond matters of continental peace and security to engendering macroeconomic convergence is a departure from the usual rhetoric of national sovereignty. Research has shown that 80 cents out of every dollar made in Africa are a result of trade. The realisation that continental integration remains a logical option came about against a background of efforts to railroad other multi-lateral arrangements with Africa, particularly on raw material trade. Progress has been made in creating African regional trade blocs, albeit with inherent constraints primarily driven by turfism, historical colonial attachments, a leadership gap and general institutional weaknesses in member-states. However, the general failure of rules-based economic engagements in Africa is of grave concern, militating against vast potential Africa has to increase intra African trade.

This paper shall cross-examine and engage in an in-depth analysis on the concept of Derogation in Integration, putting into perspective Zimbabwe's derogation experiences in SADC, COMESA and the CFTA, whilst making comparative scrutiny with cases in other continents. Derogation by nature impacts the country seeking the Derogation and retards progress with the group committed to the cause of the economic cooperation. Zimbabwe falls in the same category and risks other countries invoking reciprocity to counter the effects of bad domestic economic policy.

At present, the discourse on how vital the role of technology, the information and communication technology (ICT) in particular, in business is just over. Today’s research focus has been already shifted to fine tune the utilization of ICT and measure its role in achieving the strategic business goals. This is evident by the literature focusing on narrow scopes of businesses to provide better ICT calibration in terms of utilization and contribution to business system as a whole. This study aims at contributing to advancing the role of ICT in realizing the business strategic goals. The banking sector was selected to explore how advanced is its utilization of its ICT resources. Oman was taken as a sample from the Gulf-Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The mixed methodology, qualitative and quantitative, had been selected and data collection tools comprised of a self-administered questionnaire and an interview. The descriptive statistics were used using SPSS 16. The interviews were used for data triangulation as well as for getting deeper insights and help explaining the quantitative data. The study results show that the selected sector has adopted latest ICT infrastructure in conducting both back- and front-office business processes. However, the study finds that while ICT resource is readily available in this sector, there is still scope for improvement on its management side.

This paper aimed to identify the Antecedents of entrepreneurial intention among undergraduate students in Sudan. Since most literature agreed that entrepreneurial intention can be determined by Personality factors, Social factors, and societal factors. The study model was built by examining previous studies. This theoretical framework is verified on 384 undergraduate students in the Public and Private Universities in Sudan. The data were analysed using (PLS) Partial Least Squares approach to Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results show that societal factors are predictors of entrepreneurial intention. Whereas the Personality factors, Social factors are not the predictors to entrepreneurial intention. This study has manifold implications for policymakers and entrepreneurs.

The term informal sector which groups informal, micro-enterprises and small-scale industries (SSIs) raises macro and micro issues by definitions which have not yet been fully addressed by numerous publications on the sector. Although the sector has become the engine of growth and for sustainable development in many economies, policy makers are not sure of what makes up the sector and its demands. Therefore countries, institutions and organisations have been left to adopt and adapt their own definitions to suit the objectives of their programmes and circumstances. This chapter therefore reviews the definitions put forward by different institutions and bodies with the aim of reviving the debate on the precise definition of the informal sector for universal usage if at all possible. The objective is to bring into focus the challenges the lack of precise definition presents to policy-makers, researchers and practitioners which needs to be addressed. It is recognises that the heterogeneity of the SSI sector means it is often necessary for definitions to be modified according to the context in which the sector is being examined. The chapter concludes, however, that using employment level of firms would be the ideal and easiest way of reaching consensus on possible universal definition of the informal sector.

The study looks back into the years to assess the contribution of Small-Scale Industries (RSSIs) sector in times of economic difficulties of a country. Ghana went through very difficult phase of her politico-socio-economic development during the period 1970 to 1996. During which time Ghana experienced contraction and distortion in her economy and acute shortages of what became known as “essential commodities” on the market. During those difficult periods, RSSIs did not only become prominent in the lives of the people by filling the void created by the collapsed medium and large-scale industries but also created jobs, fostered entrepreneurial development, offered employment, and generated incomes among others for large number of people in rural areas. The data used in this study form part of data collected from population of firms in the SSI sector through the use of a structured questionnaire survey administered in settlements in the Mfantseman District in the Central Region of Ghana. A total of 215 proprietors were interviewed. The study showed that the SSI sector covers a wide range of activities and forms a very important part of the rural off-farm activities. Internal skill development accounts for higher percentage of the total entrepreneur development in the survey and that the formal sector does not play any major role in skill development of RSSI sector. The results reported in the study, suggests that the RSSI sector has strong potential for employment creation, plays a pivotal role in the politico-socio-economic lives of the people and can serve as a means for poverty reduction in the rural areas thus responding to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 1) among others.

This paper investigates the correlations between wage and productivity in United States fast food restaurants. The research examines whether or not the industry’s expansion is based on the labor productivity improvement. The author selects four major fast food firms, and compares the representative firm’s performances with its group mean. Using data from Bureau of Labor Statics, the wages are lower generally than the economic sector average; but the productivity is not lower than the National average. The representative firm, McDonald, does not show significant change in productivity, rather productivity has followed the stable trend over time. The research found that the wage in the fast food industry was lower than economic sector average, but productivity was not lower. It is recommended that, the relation between wage and productivity will more deeply examined. The future examination, the other variables that affects wage and productivity will be controlled.

Capacity building is a conscious strategic measure used to solve problems of change in organisations, and it is frequently viewed as a medium and long-term strategy for dealing with major changes in the organization's environment.  This paper presented strategy as a timeless activity that management must engage in after continuous monitoring and evaluation of the operational environment in order to keep up with the constant changes prompted by today's complex and multidimensional business environment. The survey design is used in the study. Data were gathered from fifty middle and senior management personnel of public interest organisations in Uyo, Nigeria. The sample was purposively selected. The collected data was analysed using central tendency measures such as mean, standard deviation, and simple percentage. The findings demonstrate the necessity for timeless capacity building strategy if organizations must succeed.  It is therefore recommended that adequate monitoring and evaluation be conducted on a regular basis to confirm the need for capacity building, allowing organisations to remain competitive and successful while not taking a fire-brigade approach to changes that occur. This is because, in the absence of effective capacity-building programmes, complex enterprises tend to devolve into chaos, endangering their very existence.

Due to the rapid technological advancement in smartphone devices in recent years, the usage of mobile wallets has spread widely across the world. In Malaysia, however, despite a considerable gain in intention for mobile wallet usage, most people in Malaysia still rely on cash to carry out payments. There could be a good number of reasons as to why people are reluctant to use a mobile wallet, which include perceived ease of use, compatibility, perceived behavioural control, and trust. Thus, the objectives of this study are to determine the level of people’s awareness towards mobile wallet intentions and investigate the relationship between perceived ease of use, compatibility, and trust with behavioural intention to use a mobile wallet. This study utilised questionnaires as the mechanism for the collection of data. The data were collected at 80% out of 80 respondents from a total population of 100 employees in a multinational bank. All the data collected was then analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Numerous tests were converged, including reliability, normality, frequency distribution, descriptive, and multiple regression analysis. This study shows that all the variables have a significant value towards behavioural intention to use a mobile wallet. Trust is the most crucial factor influencing behavioural intention to use a mobile wallet.

This paper examines the challenges of implementation of performance-based budgeting as part of the public sector reforms in Nigeria and the outcomes of such efforts. The objective is to determine whether the current public sector accounting and budgeting systems are appropriate for the realization of sectoral targets as a major objective of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA). It reviews the previous efforts at improving public service delivery via public sector reforms and the reasons for the failures recorded against such efforts. In particular, the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007, being a major framework for carrying out the public sector reforms in Nigeria introduced in 2004, is examined in order to determine in what ways, if any, the provisions therein would require a reform in public sector budgeting and accounting systems to enhance transparency, accountability and efficiency in public service delivery and economic development in Nigeria. To this end, it undertakes a comparative review of the public sector reform in New Zealand and Australia with a view to establishing the reform drivers and critical factors that made their reform efforts successful. It establishes that although the reasons for public sector reforms in Nigeria and New Zealand and Australia are the same, one of the critical success drivers in the latter countries is conspicuously missing in the former. It concludes that given the level of performance of the reform effort, its success may depend on the inclusion of the missing reform driver, that is, reform of the public sector financial reporting system by adopting an accounting system that is suitable for measuring performance.

Aims: The paper attempts to examine the effects of primary budget deficits on economic growth. It reviews the nature and direction of causality between primary budget deficit and economic growth. In the recent years, these have been debated both in developed and developing countries. In contributing to this ongoing debate, the study analyzes the case for Kenya from 1980 to 2016. The evidence is intended to provide policy insights for macroeconomic stability and sustained economic growth for shared prosperity in Kenya.

Introduction: Primary budget deficit is a non-interest budget deficit. It examines the discretionary budgetary stance by excluding non-interest payments from the budget.

Study Design: The study employs quantitative time-series research design by utilizing Stata econometrics software.

Place and Duration of Study: Sample: Evidence from Kenya, from 1980 to 2016.

Methodology: The study employs unit root tests, Johansen cointegration analysis, a dynamic vector error correction model and a multivariate Toda-Yamamoto Granger-causality representation.

Results: The findings establish that the primary budget deficit, gross fixed capital formation, real interest rate, terms of trade, inflation growth and financial innovation have significant effects on GDP per capita growth in Kenya. Primary budget deficit has a strong and significant effect on GDP per capita growth both in short-run and long run. In the short-run, the results revealed that the primary budget deficit had a positive effect on economic growth which turned negative in the long-run. There was a unidirectional causality running from primary budget deficit to economic growth.

Conclusion: The study concludes that both in the short run and long run, primary budget deficit has strong and significant causal effects on economic growth in Kenya. The evidence underscores the need for the authorities to reduce high primary budget deficits, interest payments and domestic borrowings and strictly apply the golden rule of public finances to boost long term inclusive growth, in Kenya.

The social and solidarity economy is based on the mutualist and solidarity foundations and traditions of Algeria's various regions.Despite the fact that it is now a major economic player. The social and solidarity economy has become an engine for employment in addition to being a vital economic participant.The social and solidarity economy's companies are both economically and socially innovative. Finally, these companies enable the expansion of economic activity that the regions require. As a result, they help to improve the distribution of decision centres throughout the territories. The following is a summary of the findings of this small study: In order to embody the social and solidarity economy in Algeria, it is important to activate traditional ways and embrace modern methods (ESS).

A 3-month cross-sectional study was conducted at the Gumbo slaughter place in Juba County. The objectives of the study were to determine prevalence rate and assess economic loss due to organs condemnation as a result of hydatidosis. Routine pre-slaughter examinations and meat inspections were performed on a total of 4,989 animals. Hydatidosis was found in 199 different visceral organs of slaughtered animals, with a prevalence of 3.99%. The mean prevalence rates for cattle, sheep, and goats were 3.94%, 6.99%, and 2.74%, respectively. The relative prevalence rates of hydatid cysts in the liver, lungs, spleen, heart, and kidneys were respectively 53.27%, 44.22%, 1.51%, 1.0%, and 0.0%. As a result, the liver and lungs had the highest rate of organ condemnation. The prevalence of Nilotic indigenous cattle was 5.74 percent, compared to 2.0 percent for the exotic Ankole cattle breed.  This could be due to the free-range grazing and close association with domestic dogs. There were no statistically significant differences (P>0.05) in the prevalence of hydatidosis in November (4.3%), December (4.4%), and January (3.2%). Male cattle had a higher sex-based prevalence (4.11%) than female cattle (3.65%). Similarly, male sheep and goats showed no significant differences in rates of 5.31 and 3.97 percent (P>0.05), respectively, when compared to female sheep (4.88%) and goats (2.96%). Adult cattle had a higher prevalence rate of 3.93 percent than young cattle (2.39%).  Adult sheep and goats had a prevalence of 5.26% and 3.83%, respectively, compared to young sheep and goats, which had a frequency of 4.72 and 2.64%. During the study period, the economic loss owing to the condemnation of 199 organs of cattle, sheep, and goats at retail market price amounted to 6,032 South Sudanese pound (SSP), or US$ 2,035.77 (one American dollar = 2.963 SSP). Hydatidosis is a common disease in sheep that causes economic losses in South Sudan.   It is critical to develop the socioeconomic and cultural conditions for community-based control strategies. Key stakeholders are urged to prevent dogs from having access to fresh offal and to require hygienic disposal of condemned organs. More research is needed to determine the genotypic characteristics of Echinococcus granulosus local strains in livestock, as well as to assess the indirect economic loss and investigate the public health implications of hydatidosis in South Sudan.

This paper analyzes stock returns for biotechnology firms after initial public offering (IPO) and explores the effect of social media—specifically, Twitter—on these returns. While the risk of biotechnology projects decreases with each stage of the product development cycle, the absolute capital requirements rise over the years of product development.  The results indicate positive yet insignificant cumulative average abnormal returns (CAARs) of 1.97% in the first 25 days post-IPO and a decline of tens of percentage points over the following three years. However, after dividing the sample firms into two subsamples according to size, either under or over USD 500 million in market value, the overall results change dramatically. Firms with a market value lower than USD 500 million yield negative CAARs immediately following the IPO; however, this negative CAAR becomes significant only from day 50 onward. Firms with a market value over USD 500 million yield positive CAARs immediately following the IPO, which become significant from day 50, remaining so throughout the following year. These findings can be attributed to the limited duration of investors’ attention, which increases until the end of quiet period and, with small-sized firms, diminishes during the post-IPO years. An examination of Twitter activity and share returns demonstrates a robust correlation between the two, suggesting that investors’ attention to firms may be reflected in their Twitter usage.

This study pursues to investigate the awareness and attitudes influences towards environmental management practices in the Malaysia logistics industry. The environmental management practice offers an important framework for a researcher to understand environmental changes and an opportunity to solve a country’s ecological difficulties. This factor is being introduced in the logistic industries because of the complexity of the attributes. It also explores the logistics companies’ willingness to adopt these practices. Based on an ongoing study, this paper insinuates a research model that defines the inter-relationships between the factors.