Business and Public Administration Studies

Editorial Note

2025-04-11T05:40:49+00:00

Informal Sector Microfinancing for Poverty Alleviation in Namibia

2025-04-11T05:42:54+00:00

The relationship between poverty and informal labor has been the focal point of many literatures. Several literatures studied the one-directional relationship from poverty or informality . The result found that a low standard of living and low exposure to formal sector employment under poverty forced households into the informal sector. On the other hand, the economic conditions associated with informality, such as low wages and low skills, lower individual’s prospects and strip their chance into the formal sector. Contrary to the one-direction studies, Bolarinwa and Simatele (2022) investigated the simultaneous and dynamic framework between informality and poverty. Using data from forty sub-Saharan African countries, they concluded a bilateral causal relationship between these two factors, and the relationship seems to hinge on income level. Consequently, they suggested governments in the region focus on improving the access to resources to allow poor informal sectors to start or maintain basic income and thus achieve poverty reduction.
One of the most significant challenges facing informal sector laborers is the access to financial resources. Some poor people in the informal sector may have entrepreneurial ideas to start a business, need stable funding to maintain their vendor businesses, or need emergency money for health or education-related expenses. However, most formal banks will reject their funding request due to a lack of collateral and high default risks.
In this paper, I will provide recommendations to three questions of interest in tackling the financial resources access challenges that poor informal sectors face to achieve the poverty alleviation goal further. First, what non-African country’s experience is most relevant to an African situation? Second, what policies/programs seemed to have worked well elsewhere? Third, can these policies be pursued in Namibia? If so, what might be the potential obstacles during implementation? Lastly, I will end with my policy recommendations.

Unveiling the Hidden Economy Exploring the Root Causes of Informal Economy in Accra, Ghana

2025-04-11T05:44:07+00:00

This paper investigates the persistent growth of the informal sector in Ghana, a phenomenon that contrasts with the expected trend of diminishing informality alongside rising GDP per capita. Through a case study of Agbogbloshie, Accra, it examines the interplay of informal settlements, poverty, labor regulations, and economic crises as key drivers. Depart-ing from traditional views that advocate for formalization as the sole path to economic development, this research argues for a nuanced approach that acknowledges the significance of informal settlements and their role in sustaining liveli-hoods. It highlights the limitations of forced demolition policies and proposes a regulatory framework that recognizes these settlements, grants property rights, provides essential public services, and ensures environmental and public health safety. By integrating the informal sector into policy-making processes, this paper aims to contribute to the development of sustainable and economically viable solutions that improve the living standards of informal workers in Ghana.

What is the Iberosphere? Cultural identity and opportunities in a region of the future

2025-04-11T05:45:40+00:00

According to definitions of the Iberosphere [Riquelme, 2020], it encompasses Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking coun-tries. To summarize the definition, in the essay we will refer to the Iberian Peninsula and the Latin American continent. At times you will find definitions of countries that do not fit into the peninsula or Latin America, but whose mention is imperative for understanding the narrative in a region that, for someone who has not experienced its cultural mosaic, could mean difficulty in understanding. .
Having defined the center of research, we must start from the past to build the future or, as Luis Sepúlveda would mention, the importance of knowing the past to understand the present and imagine the future [Sepúlveda, 2009]. This is why the research is based on the history of the Iberosphere, from its vision of classical liberalism, its concealment and the emergence of an amalgamated vision between various political systems with the purpose of directing the future of the region. Having defined the evolution of intellectual traditions, the future of the Iberosphere will be discussed, thinking about what the region will be like ten years after the writing of this text.

Activities of organised crime in the area of cross-border waste shipments - a case study

2025-04-11T05:46:48+00:00

Technological advances and rapid global population growth are degrading the environment. One of the problems is the growing amount of waste, which affects people's lives and health while posing a threat to the natural economy. Waste is generated in industry, agriculture and households. Considering their properties, they can be flammable, irritant, car-cinogenic, toxic, mutagenic, corrosive, infectious or having a harmful effect on reproduction.
Internationally, environmental degradation has begun to become such a serious problem that there have been pro-posals to deal with acts that harm the environment as an environmental crime. Efforts in this respect began in 2010 and are being pursued by lawyers from around the world. .
The purpose of this article is primarily to introduce the mechanism used by one of the criminal groups in Poland, whose activities adversely affected the environment. In addition, the irregularities that occurred and the legal qualifications of the crimes accompanying waste management will be presented. The source base for writing the article was information obtained from the Tarnów Regional Prosecutor's Office, which is conducting the case, as well as from scientific studies and newspaper articles.

How can machine learning identify the potential of digital trade facilitation in bridging inequality?

2025-04-11T05:48:10+00:00

This paper is the result of an exploratory application of machine learning (ML) methods for identifying the potential that digital trade facilitation can have in bridging inequality gaps between and within countries. Most well-known coun-try classifications guiding country-level technical assistance are based on income level, socio-economic development di-mensions, and geographical location of countries. While policymakers and researchers have approached these indicators as a valid criterion to characterize structural patterns that differentiate countries among themselves, more objective cri-teria could play a potential role in bridging effectiveness gaps in allocating technical assistance efforts among countries. ML methods, such as clustering methods, could enable adopting a more objective approach for classifying countries ac-cording to desired strategic objectives, such as leveraging digital trade facilitation for reducing between- and within-country inequality. This paper then has two objectives. First, it aims to contribute to existent country classification criteria by identifying a set of variables to cluster countries according to their levels of digital trade facilitation, inequality, and other institutional, social, and economic factors. Second, it intends to explore some possible policy implications for coun-tries from Asia and the Pacific region. Section 1 introduces the ML analysis used and states the underlying motivation. Section 2 explains the data sources and variables used, as well as the process followed to clean and explore the data. Section 3 and 4 present two ML clustering methods applied for this paper's analysis and their corresponding results. Section 5 concludes and discusses areas for future improvements. Section 6 includes an appendix with data visualizations that resulted from the analysis presented in this paper.

Books that are noteworthy

2025-04-11T05:49:44+00:00