Biodiversity action plans as a way towards local sustainable development

Local action for biodiversity is essential to ensure better conservation status for biodiversity and maintain ecosystem services. In many places the rich biodiversity is still relatively untouched and represents an outstanding asset for local sustainable development. The loss of biodiversity occurs mainly because of rapid changes in land use, urban sprawl, infrastructure development, acidification, eutrophication, desertification, overexploitation, intensification of agriculture, tourism development and climate change. There is a clear need for a more flexible, people-oriented and visionary approach for sustainable use of biodiversity resources. This article concerns “Local Biodiversity Action Plans”, which provide a comprehensive and integrated approach to biodiversity and ecosystem services for the sustainable development of rural municipalities and their local communities. Although biodiversity action planning is not a new concept, bringing a plan to life has significant societal benefits with innovative solutions to help biodiversity conservation while entailing close interaction of science, policy and society. This approach was developed together with project partners and local communities in selected regions of the Western Balkans and it benefits from a range of stakeholders, including social and natural scientists, practitioners, elected representatives of the local communities and end users in the frame of a participatory approach. The conclusion of this article discusses the role of communication and outlines the critical success factors and the challenges ahead for the future.     

Financial literacy and the design of retirement plans

We design and administer a financial literacy test tailored to a specific defined contribution plan. We find that participants show fairly good knowledge of the basic mechanics of the plan, but are unable to differentiate among various investment options. Knowledge is particularly low among women, low income and low education employees. We also find some evidence that personal contributions lead to more knowledge. These results support plan designs that have few investment options and encourage personal contributions.     

促进小额贷款公司健康发展的政策体系研究

小额贷款是金融制度的创新,是对现代金融体系的提升和扬弃。小额贷款公司等微型金融是国家金融系统的必要组成部分,是国家普惠金融体系的一个特殊机构。小额贷款公司的出现延伸了金融服务的广度和深度,在一定程度上缓冲了银行的信贷风险,也使得金融体系更具包容性,从而完善了金融支持经济的功能。小额信贷不仅能促进一国的经济增长,也会丰富金融体系和金融监管的内涵。应设计出更加符合发展需求的政策体系,使小贷公司有更好的发展愿景。     

上海建设全国海外投资中心研究

上海建设全国海外投资中心,包括完善国际金融市场体系、聚集国际金融机构、创新国际金融(衍生)产品和汇集国际金融人才等。上海建设全国海外投资中心的策略包括:积极推动建立相关产业的国际生产和服务体系;推动对外投资项目经营管理过程的持续改进;适度加大海外投资服务平台的项目融资支持;鼓励海外资本投资于高新技术领域等。上海海外投资中心的主要任务有:努力创新和推动有利于金融市场发展的各种新措施在上海先行先试;努力为对外投资企业提供更好的配套服务;继续推进不同层次金融市场的发展和建设。     

Household Debt and Marital Instability: Evidence from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study

Korean society has recently experienced rapid increases in household debt and divorce rates. This study investigates whether household debt and debt ratios lower marital stability and increase the probability of divorce among Korean families. Six-year panels from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) household surveys were used for analysis. The effect of household debt upon the probability of divorce was estimated through pooled and population-averaged Logit models. The results suggest that household financial strain measured by the amount of household debt and the debt-to-income ratios does not significantly affect the probability of divorce. This finding contradicts the widespread notion that households’ excessive borrowing has been partially responsible for the recent increase in divorce rates in Korea.

From tackling poverty to achieving financial inclusion—The changing role of British credit unions in low income communities

This paper offers an analysis of the changing role of co-operative credit unions in tackling poverty and promoting financial inclusion in Britain. It examines the reality of poverty in low income communities and endeavours to critique the actions, methodologies and initiatives currently being adopted by credit unions to achieve financial inclusion. It examines the role of the UK government in its support for credit unions and offers an early analysis of HM Treasury's Financial Inclusion Fund. The paper argues that credit unions are best placed within the financial services industry to make an impact within financially excluded communities.     

加快培育科技银行 探索建立科技型中小企业金融服务新模式

加快培育和建立科技银行,不但可以增加银行金融机构种类,有利于进一步完善银行金融机构体系,优化银行金融机构结构,而且科技银行提供的金融服务正好能契合、匹配和满足科技型中小企业特殊的融资需求,这是破解我国科技型中小企业融资难问题的现实需求和必然选择,有利于化解现有银行经营体制、经营模式与科技型中小企业融资需求之间的结构性矛盾;同时,此举作为科技创新与金融创新结合的有效切入点和突破口,有利于通过体制、机制的改革和创新,从根本上化解科技与金融结合的深层次矛盾。     

Effects of informational nudges on consumer debt repayment behaviors

This study examines the impact of billing disclosure changes mandated by the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act on consumers’ decisions about their monthly credit card debt repayments. The study uses data from a nationally representative monthly survey of households from June 2006 through December 2011. Estimates show that the CARD Act disclosures were effective in inducing households to increase the amounts of credit card debt paid off each month, with the strongest effects seen in the proportion of households who pay off balances in full each month. Among households who continue to carry credit card debt, there is minimal evidence of repayment behavior changes due to CARD. Results are robust to controlling for selection into credit card ownership and to a variety of time controls and subsample periods.     

The Lichtenberg Financial Decision Screening Scale (LFDSS): A new tool for assessing financial decision making and preventing financial exploitation

ABSTRACT

One of the challenges in preventing the financial exploitation of older adults is that neither criminal justice nor noncriminal justice professionals are equipped to detect capacity deficits. Because decision-making capacity is a cornerstone assessment in cases of financial exploitation, effective instruments for measuring this capacity are essential. We introduce a new screening scale for financial decision making that can be administered to older adults. To explore the scale’s implementation and assess construct validity, we conducted a pilot study of 29 older adults seen by APS (Adult Protective Services) workers and 79 seen by other professionals. Case examples are included.     

Linking Financial Strain to Marital Instability: Examining the Roles of Emotional Distress and Marital Interaction

Using a sample consisting of 4,997 married couples from the National Survey of Families and Households, individual emotional distress, the occurrence of couple disagreements, couple fighting, and couple quality time together mediated the relationship between financial strain and personal assessments of marital instability. The overall results suggest that financial strain influences both positive and negative forms of couple interaction which are stronger mediators than personal emotional distress of the relationship between financial strain and marital instability. The results further suggest that there were no gender differences among these linkages.     

Trust as risk and the foundation of investment value

Trust is an essential ingredient of the investment process because investing is complex, the world contains irreducible uncertainty, and humans are naturally predisposed to cooperate. Traditional financial models inappropriately treat trust as probability or implicitly ignore it. This paper argues that trust has both cognitive and affective attributes that make it an important determinant of perceived investment risk. Specifically, perceived risk varies inversely with trust. This paper also discusses how trust offers a logical and parsimonious explanation for many financial asset pricing anomalies. Trust is the unseen faith underlying investment value.     

Affordable Financial Services and Credit for the Poor

Abstract

The financial services and sources of credit available to poor families affect the rate at which families can be financially empowered through building assets. This paper provides background information on financial services, including credit sources, which are available for low-income people and communities. Also discussed are policies affecting financial markets and promising innovations in delivering affordable financial services to low-income families. Implications for social work education, practice and advocacy are discussed.     

Hyper-Segmentation and Exclusion in Financial Services in the U.S.

Abstract

The last twenty years has been a period of major structural change for the financial services sector in the United States. Some of this restructuring has been prompted by technological change, but public policy has actively facilitated the increased mobility of capital to places where it brings the highest short-term private return but not necessarily the greatest long-term social return. While deregulation and technology have combined to provide a wider choice of services and increased price pressure in the lucrative segments of different financial markets, the pursuit of affluent customers has left lower-income consumers and very small firms at a disadvantage. The sector overall has moved toward a hyper-segmentation of customer bases by income and race, leaving many communities served primarily by higher-cost and sometimes abusive financial services firms.     

Event sequences as generators of social network evolution

The argument presented in this paper is that one fruitful approach to the study of social network evolution takes the form of examining event sequences as generating mechanisms. Evidence for this comes from two empirical studies of structural balance theory and one simulation study of balance theoretic processes. Four views of causality—system, statistical (predictive), mechanism and algorithmic—are briefly contrasted and then examined with structural balance theory in mind. The conventional statement of the theory turns out to be under specified and inattentive to alternative mechanisms that can generate signed networks through time. Empirical studies of structural balance are limited with regard to the kinds of data that are usually collected. Proposals for studying the generation of signed networks through event sequences while being attentive to structural balance ideas are presented.     

Does the composition of financial services in a community relate to an Individual’s savings account ownership?

This study extends research on financial inclusion by exploring the composition of financial services within communities. Using propensity-score-adjusted probit regression, we explored associations with savings account ownership using restriscted-access, cross-sectional data from the 2015 National Financial Capability Study with merged financial services and community demographic data. Living in communities where the density of banks and credit unions outnumbered that of alternative financial services was associated with lower-income households’ greater probability of owning a savings account, all else being equal. These results have implications for efforts aiming to improve financial inclusion.     

The Importance of Hotel/Motel Products and Services as Perceived by Older Consumers

SUMMARY

Consumer satisfaction, an important concept in consumer behavior theory, is directly influenced by the availability of quality service which has become an increasingly important objective of hotel/motel managers. The purpose of this study was to investigate hotel/motel products and services valued most by older consumers-a substantial and growing market segment with special concerns. The sample for this study consisted of consumers age 55 and older in the state of Texas. Results indicate value and security were considered highly important, and suggest lodging operators should concentrate their efforts on providing and marketing value and security features in order to attract and satisfy older consumers.     

Family characteristics as predictors of intensity in family services

This article investigates factors influencing the number of hours families are involved with family services and uses these factors to develop a predictive model. This research began with focus groups involving family service workers who identified three key domains influencing service intensity: worker/family relationship, family motivation, and family characteristics. The family characteristics domain is the focus of this article. Influencing factors within this domain are examined through analysis of database information from 258 families who had previously accessed family services through a community services organization. Key predictors identified include the gender of main consumer, family size, and presence of issues such as family violence and physical illness. These findings are used to develop a model to predict intervention intensity for families accessing family services. The ability to estimate service intensity provides data to effectively develop innovative programs and enable better balancing of staff workloads and resources. Additionally, the capability to predict intensity helps allocate families to appropriate workers and programs.     

中东阿拉伯国家金融自由化探析

金融全球化是经济全球化的核心,而金融自由化则是金融全球化的重要组成部分。20世纪七十年代以来全球开始了以放松金融管制为主要内容的金融自由化进程。中东阿拉伯国家的金融自由化是其宏观经济改革战略的一部分,它力图通过自由化、现代化、提高透明度以及加强风险监管来提高金融中介效率。中东金融改革是一种渐进式的改革,包括货币政策改革、银行体系自由化和开放资本市场。中东金融体系已经成为世界金融体系的一部分,但在金融效率、深度和竞争力方面与发达国家和新兴国家相比还有很大的差距。     

The independent effects of socio-demographic and programmatic factors on economic strain among parents in a Child Savings Accounts program

This study examines the independent effects of socio-demographic variables and program social services on the degree of economic strain among lower income parents who had an opportunity to open child savings in a subsidized savings accounts program known as Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Downpayment (SEED). SEED is a policy, practice and research initiative designed to test the efficacy of and inform policy for a national system of asset-building accounts for children and youth. Findings suggest that overall, the degree of economic strain was not significantly different at baseline and at the second wave between parents who opened accounts and those who did not open accounts for their children. However, household income, having a household savings account, and receipt of means-tested welfare programs affected the degrees of economic strain. Implications are directed toward helping lower income families effectively participate in child savings programs.     

Opportunities in the Hungarian Financial Services Sector as Part of the Single European Market

As Hungary became a member of the European Union, much of the legislatory environment for providing financial services has changed, although most of the integration, at least on the legislatory level, was already carried out before the accession. In my study I try to look at the developments this new status quo has brought about, even if we are quite sure that the adoption of the common currency will cause bigger steps forward in the integration process. I also have a look at another factor influencing the financial services almost as much as the European integration, namely, the development of e-finance. Finally, I make an attempt to draw a picture of the Hungarian financial services sector a few years from now.