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The validity of the Ricardian equivalence proposition remains disputed in spite of the numerous empirical studies. This study utilized panel ARDL estimation approach to investigate the evidence of Ricardian Equivalence Hypothesis in five Sub-Sahara African countries, namely Botswana, Ghana, Gambia, Nigeria, and Kenya over the period of 1981~2014. The results show that GDP per capita and interest rate have significant positive impacts on private consumption, whereas government debt, government spending, and government interest payment on the outstanding debt have negative impacts on private consumption. From the perspective of this study, the Ricardian equivalence hypothesis, which states that private consumption remains unchanged regardless of government’s spending, does not hold in Sub-Sahara African countries.

The little data book on financial development 2013 is a pocket edition of the global financial development database published as part of the work on the global financial development report 2013: rethinking the role of the state in finance. The global financial development database is an extensive dataset of financial system characteristics for 203 economies. The database includes measures of (1) size of financial institutions and markets (financial depth), (2) degree to which individuals can and do use financial services (access), (3) efficiency of financial intermediaries and markets in intermediating resources and facilitating financial transactions (efficiency), and (4) stability of financial institutions and markets (stability). There is ample evidence on the role financial sector development plays in economic development, poverty alleviation and economic stability. However there are serious shortcomings associated with measuring the concept of the 'functioning of the financial system.' Recognizing the need for good data to better understand the concept of financial development, the World Bank's financial and private sector Vice Presidency and development economics Vice Presidency have recently launched a global financial development database, an extensive worldwide database that combines and updates several financial data sets. The data highlight the multi-dimensional nature of financial systems. Deep financial systems do not necessarily provide high degrees of financial access; highly efficient financial systems are not necessarily more stable than the less efficient ones, and so on. Each of these characteristics has an association with aspects of the broader socio-economic development, and each is, in turn, strongly associated with financial sector policies and other parts of the enabling environment for finance. The data also demonstrate the effects of the global financial crisis. The crisis not only increased financial instability but also translated into difficulties along other dimensions, such as increasing problems of access to financial services.

The Little Data Book on Financial Development 2014 is a pocket edition of the Global Financial Development Database, published as part of the work on the Global Financial Development Report 2014: Financial Inclusion. It contains 38 indicators of financial development in 205 economies, including measures of (1) financial depth, (2) access, (3) efficiency, and (4) stability of financial institutions and markets. Additional variables, historical observations, and links to underlying research are available at www.worldbank.org/financialdevelopment.

The little data book on external debt, a pocket edition of Global Development Finance (GDF) 2010: external debt of developing countries, contains statistical tables on the external debt of the 128 countries that report public and publicly guaranteed external debt under the debtor reporting system. It also includes tables of selected debt and resource flow statistics for individual reporting countries as well as summary tables for regional and income groups. It is the culmination of a year-long process that requires extensive cooperation from people and organizations around the globe-national central banks, ministries of finance, major multilateral organizations, and many departments of the World Bank. The little data book on external debt provides a quick reference for users of the GDF 2010 book, CD-ROM, GDF online, and electronic subscription database. The economic aggregates presented in the tables are prepared for the convenience of users. Although debt ratios can provide useful information about developments in debt-servicing capacity, drawing valid conclusions from them requires careful economic evaluation.

This study extends previous literature on the association between corporate social responsibility and corporate financial behavior by investigating the influence of corporate environmental performance on the cost of debt. Using a sample of Chinese private-owned firms, we document strong and consistent evidence to show that corporate environmental performance is significantly negatively associated with the interest rate on debt—the proxy for the cost of debt. The findings suggest that lenders applaud better environmental performance. Moreover, internal control attenuates the negative association between corporate environmental performance and the interest rate on debt, implying substitutive effects between corporate environmental performance and internal control on the reduction of interest rates on debt. The results are robust to various sensitivity tests and are still valid after controlling for the potential endogeneity between corporate environmental performance and the interest rate on debt.

The little data book on external debt, a pocket edition of Global Development Finance 2012: external debt of developing countries contains statistical tables on the external debt of the 129 countries that report public and publicly guaranteed external debt under the debtor reporting system. It also includes tables of selected debt and resource flow statistics for individual reporting countries as well as summary tables for regional and income groups. It is the culmination of a year-long process that requires extensive cooperation from people and organizations around the globe, national central banks, and ministries of finance, major multilateral organizations, and many departments of the World Bank. The little data book on external debt provides a quick reference for users of the Global Development Finance 2012 book, CD-ROM, and online database. The general cutoff date for data is September 2011. The little data book on external debt covers external debt stocks and flows, major economic aggregates, key debt ratios, and the currency composition of long-term external debt for all countries reporting through the debtor reporting system. Terms used in tables are defined in the glossary. The economic aggregates presented in the tables are prepared for the convenience of users. Although debt ratios can provide useful information about developments in debt-servicing capacity, drawing valid conclusions from them requires careful economic evaluation.

The little data book on external debt, a pocket edition of global development finance 2011: external debt of developing countries contains statistical tables on the external debt of the 128 countries that report public and publicly guaranteed external debt under the debtor reporting system. It also includes tables of selected debt and resource flow statistics for individual reporting countries as well as summary tables for regional and income groups. It is the culmination of a year-long process that requires extensive cooperation from people and organizations around the globe, national central banks, Ministry of finance, major multilateral organizations, and many departments of the World Bank. The little data book on external debt provides a quick reference for users of the global development finance 2011 book, CD-ROM, and online database. The general cutoff date for data is September 2010. The little data book on external debt covers external debt stocks and flows, major economic aggregates, key debt ratios, and the currency composition of long-term external debt for all countries reporting through the debtor reporting system.

The Little Data Book on External Debt provides a quick reference for users interested in external debt stocks and flows, major economic aggregates, key debt ratios, and the currency composition of long-term debt for all countries reporting through the Debtor Reporting system. A pocket edition of the Global Development Finance 2009, Volume II: Summary and Country Tables, it contains statistical tables for 135 countries as well as summary tables for regional and income groups.

Recently Brusov et al. have developed innovative investment models that are very close to investment practice. Investment models with frequent payments of tax on profit and of interest on debt at the ends of periods have been considered. However, in practice, payments of tax on profit as well as of interest on debt could be made in advance. In the current paper, we developed, for the first time, innovative investment models with frequent advance payments of tax on profit and of interest on debt and studied the impact of these types of payments on investment project effectiveness. Numerical calculations carried out for four innovative investment models (without split flows) showed that, in the case of advance frequent payments of income tax and interest on debt, all the results related to the effect of the number of payments of income tax and interest on debt on the investment projects’ effectiveness were opposite to the results in the case of payments at the end of the periods obtained by Brusov et al. in the previous article. Thus, this means that the method of payments of tax on profit and of interest on debt (in advance or at the ends of periods) changes drastically the effect of the number of payments of income tax and interest on debt on the investment effectiveness. The verification developed by us for the new models with frequent advance payments of tax on income helps create a comprehensive system of correct valuation of the investments’ effectiveness for two schemes for payments of income tax (in advance or at the ends of periods). The obtained results help the tax regulator (Finance Ministry) understand the influence of the frequency of payments of tax on income and the credit regulator (Central Bank) understand the influence of the frequency of payments of interest on debt on the investment projects’ effectiveness. This allows them to modify and improve tax legislation and credit policy, respectively.

New modern investment models are created to be as close as possible to real investment conditions. We consider long-term as well as arbitrary duration models with payments of interest on debt and of tax on income a few times per year (semi-annually, quarterly and monthly), which could be applied in real economic practice. Their verification will lead to the creation of a comprehensive system of adequate and correct assessment of the effectiveness of the company’s investment program and its investment strategy. One of the most important elements of calculating the effectiveness of investment projects is the assessment of the discount rate, the calculation methods of which are generalized for the real conditions of the implementation of investment projects. We consider the effectiveness of the investment project from two points of view: the equity owners and the owners of equity and debt. NPV for each of these cases is calculated by two different methods: with the separation of credit and investment flows (and thus discounting the flows using two different rates) and without such separation (with discounting of both flows using the same rate, and WACC can be chosen as the rate). Numerical calculations, conducted for four investment models (without flow separation) show that: (1) in the case of considering the effectiveness of an investment project for owners of equity capital, the increase in the number of payments of tax on income and of interest on debt p leads to a decrease in NPV: this means that the effectiveness of an investment project decreases with p; (2) in the case of considering the effectiveness of an investment project for owners of equity and debt capital, the increase in the number of payments of tax on income and of interest on debt p leads to an increase in NPV: this means that the effectiveness of an investment project increases with p. In the former case, companies should pay tax on profit and interest on debt once per year, while in the latter case, more frequent payments are profitable for the effectiveness of investment. Eight innovative investment models created in this paper can assist decision-makers in the optimal design, planning and control of company investments and the development of a company’s investment strategy.