New Advances in Business, Management and Economics Vol. 8

High Lending Interest Rates and Their Impact on SMEs in Sierra Leone: Perceptions from Lenders

Joseph Davies — 2025-06-19

Commercial banks play a very significant role in the growth of most economies, particularly in low and middle-income economies with a large portion of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the informal sector and largely the private sector with big corporations that require commercial loans to fund high capital-intensive projects. Interest rate is one of the essential conditions in the lending decision procedure of commercial banks. The lending interest rate is a fraction of the loan sum that the lender charges for loaning money. The aim of the study is to understand the effect of high lending interest rates on the economy of Sierra Leone. This study, through longitudinal or time-series data collected and primary data gathered through a semi-structured interview with respondents from a sample of commercial banks and microfinance institutions, discovered that borrowers are saddled with the cost of interest rates. The study further found out that the loan interest rates in Sierra Leone are not only high but are exacerbated by the rate of inflation and the downward turn of the economy, coupled with interest rate volatility. This study employed both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The quantitative analysis used descriptive analysis to evaluate the impact of high-interest rates on borrowing. The Qualitative analysis examines and analyses existing literature on loan policy frameworks by commercial banks and microfinance institutions. The study concluded that a Central bank must ensure its fiscal responsibilities of running the economy are upheld to ensure economic growth and the livelihood of the people. Therefore, as part of its responsibilities, a Central bank should ensure that interest rates on loans are flexible and payable to encourage business and discourage bad debts, which in turn has negative effects on commercial banks and microfinance institutions. Hence, this study recommends that the Central Bank should, through its monetary policy, influence the fixing of interest rates by commercial banks and microfinance institutions by insisting on its reserve requirements as well as buying and selling risk-free treasury and government securities to affect the deposits the commercial banks have at the Central Bank.

The Influence of Membership Power in Table Banking on Socio-Economic Welfare of Women in Emgwen Sub-County, Nandi County, Kenya

Shadrack Kipchumba Tarus — 2025-06-19

Background: Access to financial services is critical to success in the modern economy. In Kenya, table-banking was initially developed by the Poverty Eradication Commission (PEC) targeting Millennium Development Goal (MDG) One on eradicating abject poverty, especially in rural settings in Kenya. Financing women's projects is closely related to their potential to succeed socio-economically. However, the formal financial institutions have failed to address and meet the credit needs of the very poor entrepreneurs and women in particular and have resulted in the popularity of informal microfinance groups. Informal microfinance models, such as table-banking, can reduce the gap by providing the opportunity for community-based activity. Table banking is a group funding strategy where members pool their savings together and borrow immediately from those savings on the table for a short period or for a long period.

Aim of the Study: This study therefore sought to establish the influence of membership power in table banking on women’s socio-economic projects and welfare.

Methodology: The study adopted an Ex-Post Facto research design, and 576 table banking group members from Emgwen Sub-County in Nandi County, Kenya, comprised the target population. The study employed a stratified sampling technique to determine a sample of 236 respondents drawn from registered self-help groups practising table banking. In addition, purposive sampling (Judgment sampling) was used to select the 6-field staff as key informants from the Nandi County Department of Social Development (DSD), Joyful Women Organisation (JOYWO) and Saving Internally and Lending Communities (SILC) working directly with the table banking groups. Data from the field was collected through the use of questionnaires issued to respondents practising table banking. Interview schedules with key informants selected from the table banking institutions in the area were also administered. Finally, data was analysed using both quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques. Data analysis for quantitative data was conducted using both inferential and descriptive statistics. The multiple regression analysis was used for hypothesis testing so as to determine the statistical significance effect of the three variables (membership power, accessibility to credit and saving culture) on women‘s socio-economic welfare improvement.

Findings: The study findings indicated that membership power (β = 0.134; p<0.05) influences women’s socio-economic welfare in Emgwen Sub-county in Nandi County. Through table banking, women have been able to meet social obligations through financial contributions, participate in civil and political leadership roles, and increase their integrity and confidence within the community.

Conclusion and Recommendation: The study concluded that team building in the table banking group improves members’ sense of community belonging and unity. Therefore, the study recommends that there is a need to build the capacity of women's groups through training. Lending institutions also need to reach to all women groups to increase women's loan uptake capacity, and further, there is a need to seal information gaps on women groups and women need to have courage and ability that they can still perform and operate business as opposed to relying on members of their families for upkeep.

Government Expenditures and Human Development in Nigeria: A Disaggregated Approach

MUAZU, AUWALU — 2025-06-19

This study evaluates the effect of disaggregated government expenditure on human development in Nigeria from 1981 to 2019. The role of government expenditures impact on human development cannot be overemphasised. The study was motivated by the methodology approach used by the past studies and examined the relationship between government expenditure and human development, where an aggregated approach was adopted in most of these studies. However, this approach can overblow the efficacy, performance and impact of government expenditure policies. In order to have a more robust and accurate assessment of the efficacy, performance and effect of government expenditure on human development, a disaggregated approach was employed. Government expenditure was proxied by government capital and recurrent expenditure on education, health, and other social and community services, while human development is proxied by the human development index (HDI). Ex-post facto research design was adopted while the Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) test, Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model was employed as the estimation and analysis technique. The findings revealed that government capital (β = 0.006335 with p-value of 0.7229 > 0.05) and recurrent (β =0.047668 with p-value of 0.1106 > 0.05) expenditure on health have a weak and insignificant effect on human development, respectively. The result further revealed that government capital (β = 0.119582 with p-value of 0.0000 ˂ 0.05) and recurrent (β = 0.048834 with p-value of 0.0519 within the range of 0.05) expenditure on education have a significant positive effect on human development in Nigeria. The findings also revealed that government capital (β = 0.021134 with p-value of 0.0466 ˂ 0.05) and recurrent (β = 0.034182 with p-value of 0.0270 ˂ 0.05) expenditure on other social and community services have a significant positive effect on human development in Nigeria. The study concluded that government capital and recurrent expenditure invested in education and other social and community services had a positive effect on human capital development in Nigeria, while government capital and recurrent expenditure invested in health had no significant effect on human development in Nigeria. The study recommended, amongst others, that the Nigerian government should prioritise the increase of investment in the education sector by increasing education expenditure, as it has a significant positive impact on human development. It is also significant to improve the funding of other social and community services to further boost human capital outcomes.

AI-Driven Financial Risk Mitigation in Energy Investments: Enhancing Capital Allocation and Portfolio Optimisation

Ebere Juliet Onyeka — 2025-06-19

Background: The energy industry requires enormous financial investment across various sub-sectors, including oil, natural gas, nuclear energy, and renewable energy technologies. Financial risk management remains a critical concern within the sector. With the development in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and big data analytics, financial risk management processes have been greatly transformed by furnishing real-time information, predictive analysis, and automated decision-making processes.

Aim: This study examines the extent to which data-driven financial risk mitigation practices assist in optimising the usage of capital and portfolio performance in energy investments, particularly in the face of market volatility, regulatory risks, and geopolitical risks.

Methodology: This study employs a systematic literature review to analyse 12 empirical studies published between 2019 and 2024. This chapter reviews recent studies that use AI tools such as machine-learning models, predictive analytics, and automated portfolio methods. The review was conducted using reputable databases such as Google Scholar, Scopus, SSRN, and the Journal of Risk and Financial Management. Selected articles focus on financial risk assessment models, predictive analytics, and AI-driven investment optimisation in the energy sector.

Results: This review highlighted the application of AI-driven credit risk modelling, machine learning-based predictive analytics, and portfolio optimisation through automation in energy financing. These advanced analytical tools have empowered investors to effectively deal with market volatility, regulatory risks, and geopolitical threats. The findings also indicate that data analytics maximise investment accuracy, reduce capital exposure, and optimise portfolio diversification in various energy sub-sectors, including renewable and conventional energy resources. These have practical implications for financial institutions, policymakers, and investors by improving risk assessment frameworks, informing regulatory compliance strategies, and enhancing decision-making in energy financing.

Conclusions: Financial risk mitigation strategies, techniques that are data-driven, are crucial to ensure maximum financial robustness of energy investments. Analytics with AI improve predictive power, ensuring optimal allocation of capital and reducing financial exposure. However, the scalability of AI models in numerous regulatory environments is a major issue because various data governance rules and compliance levels might limit their use. Scalability and flexibility across diverse regulatory environments of these technologies need to be investigated in future studies.

Tale or Reality about Two Asian Regions

Arthur Kraft — 2025-06-19

By 2024, South Asia will be the next region for economic growth. Reaching this expectation may be dependent on significant changes. In 1970, the per capita gross domestic product for the countries of South Asia and Southeast Asia was similar. Except for Singapore, the countries of Southeast Asia suffered from low levels of education, low participation of women in the workforce, poor infrastructure, low inward flows of FDI, and high barriers to trade. The Vietnam War encompassed Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Indonesia was controlled by Suharto, and Burma (Myanmar) was among the poorest countries outside of sub-Saharan Africa. Fast forward five decades, and the countries of Southeast Asia have undergone dramatic change and have outperformed South Asia. The recent success of South Asia is the product of starting from a low level of performance during the pandemic rather than significant structural changes. For South Asia, replicating the performance of Southeast Asia will depend on removing cultural, regulatory, social, and economic barriers. This study identifies gender disparities, policy barriers, and a lack of regional cooperation as critical hindrances to South Asia’s growth.

Overview of Green Consumer Behaviour

Hoa HA THI THANH — 2025-06-19

This chapter explores the concept and significance of green consumption and green consumer behaviour within the broader context of sustainable development. Theoretical frameworks, including the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the Engel-Kollat-Blackwell (EKB) Model, and Consumer Culture Theory (CCT), are employed to analyse the psychological, cultural, and decision-making processes influencing green consumer behaviour. Empirical research, with a focus on the Vietnamese context, identifies key factors affecting green consumer behaviour such as environmental awareness, attitudes, trust, social norms, pricing, packaging, accessibility, and demographic characteristics. The findings highlight that while awareness and positive attitudes are important, actual behaviour is significantly shaped by perceived behavioural control, community influence, and systemic factors like greenwashing and economic barriers. The chapter concludes that fostering green consumption is essential not only for environmental sustainability but also for stimulating innovation, market transformation, and achieving global development goals.

The Impact of the Farmland Reverse Mortgage (FRM) on Rural Elderly Welfare

Byungkyu Kim — 2025-06-19

This study aims to introduce the Farmland Reverse Mortgage (FRM) as a welfare policy for elderly individuals in rural areas by enabling the liquidation of farmland that is underutilized or left uncultivated due to labor shortages, despite holding high asset value. An actuarial model was constructed based on the reverse mortgage structure used in housing finance. Historical data from 1989 to 2009 for farmland values, from 2001 to 2009 for interest rates, and from 2009 for mortality rates were used to estimate key parameters such as farmland appreciation rates, loan survival probabilities, and loan termination probabilities. These parameters were applied to the model to calculate a constant monthly payment (pmt) under the condition that the Present Value of Estimated Loss (PVEL) equals the Present Value of Mortgage Insurance Premium (PVMIP). The model shows that, for a borrower aged 65 with ₩100 million in farmland, the estimated monthly payment is ₩246,982; at age 85, it increases to ₩757,379. Risk analysis using 100,000 Monte Carlo simulations demonstrates that lender risk decreases with borrower age, with a 95% value-at-risk ranging from ₩12 million at age 65 to ₩1.9 million at age 85. The proposed FRM model offers a supplemental policy option that may help address the welfare gaps left by South Korea’s existing support programs, including the National Pension Service and the Basic Old-Age Pension.

Impact of Tax Structure on Economic Growth in Nigeria: An Empirical Analysis Using Vector Error Correction Model

Ibrahim Musa — 2025-06-19

In Nigeria, tax revenue has historically represented a minor part of overall revenue generation compared to the Federal Government's primary source of income. According to records, the current downturn in oil prices has reduced the amount of money that Nigeria's Federal, State, and Local Governments have available for distribution. In this complex situation, there is a paradigm shift toward tax income as a better alternative form of revenue creation in the country, and the Nigerian government now has a pressing need to produce sufficient tax revenue. This study examines the impact of tax on economic growth in Nigeria from 1986-2021, with a special focus on Companies' Income Tax (CIT), Value Added Tax (VAT) and Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT). Annual time series data were sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The study uses a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) to establish the nature and strength of the relationship between tax and economic growth in Nigeria. This study uses various techniques such as Unit Root Test, Co-integration Test, Causality Test, Stability Test, and Impulse Response Function. The Granger causality test found a causal relationship between GDP and the different tax components. The Johansen test of co- integration reveals that there is at least one co-integrating equation in the long run and there are stable and long-term equilibrium relationships among the variables. The impulse response functions and the variance decomposition analysis indicated that a one standard deviation shock applied to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) produces a positive impact on GDP throughout the period. A shock to CIT initially has a positive perceptible impact on GDP in the short run, however, for a long period it has a negative perceptible impact on GDP and causes output to decrease. A shock to VAT has a huge and positive impact on GDP in the short run. The impact becomes noticeable in the long run. Lastly, a shock to PPT has a positive but low impact on GDP. Between periods 5 and 6.5, PPT has no impact on GDP. However, the impact becomes noticeable again as the subsequent period shows that PPT's shock responds positively to GDP. This study concluded that short-run CIT, VAT and PPT have significant and favourable impacts on GDP. It is therefore recommended that to increase the level of CIT and tax compliance in Nigeria, the government should make an effort to promote businesses by providing basic public services to every nook and cranny of the nation. The government should stop all leakages in the petroleum industry so that the PPT collected from Nigerian crude oil can support and advance Nigeria's economic growth. To increase the VAT base, Government should provide a favourable environment for businesses and innovations to thrive.

Organization, Supply Chain and Logistics of the Ottoman Army (1300-1566)

Cengiz Haksever — 2025-06-19

The Ottoman Empire developed from a frontier principality to become the most powerful empire in the world by 1566. Many historians regard the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent as the peak of Ottoman power. A key factor in the empire’s military success was its highly organized supply chain and logistics systems, which enabled the Ottoman army to conduct extended campaigns across vast territories. The Ottoman Empire conquered lands and countries on three continents, covering an area of approximately 978,000 square miles at the time of Süleyman the Magnificent. The most significant conquest, without a doubt, was the capture of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmet the Conqueror, which marked the end of the Eastern Roman Empire. Historians characterize this event as the end of the Middle Ages. Research suggests that the Ottomans’ success depended to a large extent on their ability to amply supply provisions and weapons to their soldiers. They also provided plentiful food for their animals which served as the primary means of transport. To the best of the knowledge of the author of this manuscript, there is very little research on how militaries of the Middle Ages supplied and logistically supported their soldiers and animals. This paper provides an example of how one of those militaries accomplished it. It bridges the disciplines of military history and supply chain and logistics management by analyzing the efficiency of the Ottoman army supply chain between 1300 to 1566, an often-overlooked but crucial factor behind imperial success. This work fills a historical research gap and also offers a compelling case study for scholars in operations research and strategic planning. This research is based on published books and articles by prominent historians and covers the period of 1300 to 1566. It concludes that the basic principles used by the Ottoman Army for their supply chain and logistical activities are still valid today and used by excellent modern supply and logistics systems.