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The research objective of the article is to examine the relationship between working capital components and different types of innovation, using a sample of 8,633 companies from 22 Eastern European countries. We resume the main theoretical work concerning the importance of working capital as a financing resource for innovation activities, specifically characterized by high uncertainty and information asymmetries. The applied research method aims to enrich and complete this literature by employing a pooled cross-sectional data from the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey to investigate the Working Capital Structure effect on innovation of firms in Eastern Europe countries. We apply a probit model to investigate the link between innovation and different financial resources in a context that has rarely been explored in previous studies. The outcome of the research indicates that WCS influences differently the various innovation proxies. The main conclusions of this research highlight the importance of working capital as funding resource for innovation activities. It also shows the importance of bank credit in innovation funding. We also find that results diverge across the innovation kinds and business sector.

We analyze the relationship between financing constraints and firms’ R&D activity using a rich and comprehensive firm-level balance sheet and income statement data set of manufacturing firms in Turkey for the period 1996 to 2013. Using a firm-specific, time-varying financing constraints index, we find that financing constraints have a negative relationship with firms’ R&D activity, after controlling for other determinants of R&D such as firm size, capital intensity and export market participation.

Impact evaluation has grown more popular as a method for identifying the causal links between interventions and outcomes. These kind of evaluations assess changes that can be attributed to a particular intervention. Both innovations in statistical methods and the demand for evaluations that can measure such development results are increasing. The World Bank Group is the largest producer of impact evaluations among all development institutions. Thus, IEG has evaluated the relevance, quality, and influence of World Bank and IFC impact evaluations. IEG finds that the World Bank Group portfolio of impact evaluations is largely aligned with sector strategies and project objectives. Selection and coordination of impact evaluations has been improving. Most World Bank impact evaluations meet either medium or high quality standards, and about half of IFC impact evaluations did. Issues related to funding, staff capacity, and incentives, however, constrain the scope and coverage of impact evaluations in the Bank Group. IEG makes five recommendations to strengthen the Bank Group’s impact evaluation efforts, revolving around consistency, coordination, quality standards, and ensuring operational relevance. Both development and evaluation professionals will find valuable lessons in this evaluation. There are real benefits from impact evaluations, including their influence on development practices through contributions to project assessment and design of future projects. Thus, development practitioners engaged in designing projects, evaluators interestedin using similar methodology, and the general evaluation community will be able to use the lessons IEG sets out in this report.

This paper contributes to the academic debate on the pecking order theory and SMEs equity financing, in this equity financing gap. In order to address this problem, this study relies on the empirical design that is driven by the premises of the pecking order theory and distinguishes between the relevance of internal funds vs. external equity. The main aim of this study is to investigate whether the relevance of equity financing for European SMEs is driven by the country-specifics (captured by the clusters of the EU countries) and whether there are any other factors that may potentially explain the relevance of internal funds or external equity, with respect to SMEs performance and characteristics. For that purposes the SAFE survey data were used to run non-parametric and correlations analysis. The results have clearly indicated that there are statistically significant differences between the clusters of the EU countries (if we differentiate between core and peripheral EU countries in particular). It was also found that there is no unified pattern of the associations between the relevance of equity financing and SMEs performance and characteristics, thus these associations seem to be influenced by the country-specifics as well.

We analyze the relationship between financing constraints and firms? R&D activity using a rich and comprehensive firm-level balance sheet and income statement data set of manufacturing firms in Turkey for the period 1996 to 2013. Using a firm-specific, time-varying financing constraints index, we find that financing constraints have a negative relationship with firms? R&D activity, after controlling for other determinants of R&D such as firm size, capital intensity and export market participation. nema

This article reviews the literature on the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic development and introduces four symposium articles. A common thread is that information asymmetries are important determinants of access to finance in young entrepreneurial firms. Policy recommendations are proposed that would increase the positive role of entrepreneurship in economic development.

A unique dataset of over 70,000 firms, most of which are small, in over 100 countries, is utilized to systematically study the use of different financing sources for new and young firms. Consistent age-related patterns emerge. Across all countries younger firms rely less on bank financing and more on informal financing. There is a clear substitution effect: as firms mature, more firms switch out of informal finance toward bank finance, while the total proportion of firms using external finance remains relatively unchanged. Importantly, these relationships hold for firms of different sizes, firms in different sectors, and firms located in countries with different income levels and on different continents. Thus, these patterns of young firm financing show clear universal tendencies. Given that even small firms increasingly use formal bank financing over time, these results suggest that information asymmetry plays an important role in decreasing a young firm's ability to obtain bank finance.

This book's prime audience is government policy-makers. It provides a policy framework for governments to increase micro, small and medium enterprises' access to financial services?one which is based on empirical evidence from around the world. Financial sector policies in many developing countries often work against the ability of commercial financial institutions to serve this market segment, albeit, often unintentionally. The framework guides governments on how to best focus scarce resources on three things: ? developing an inclusive financial sector policy; ? building healthy financial institutions; and ? investing in information infrastructure such as credit bureaus and accounting standards. The book provides examples and case studies of how such a strategy has helped to build more inclusive financial institutions and systems in many countries.

Unlocking the Potential of Women Entrepreneurs in the MENA Region The Environment for Women's Entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa reveals that female-owned firms in the region are as established, productive, and technologically advanced as their male counterparts. This insightful analysis challenges common perceptions and highlights the untapped potential of women in the MENA business landscape. This report is for policymakers, researchers, and anyone seeking to understand and promote women's economic empowerment. Discover how to: * Identify and address the unique challenges facing women entrepreneurs. * Reform the business climate to foster greater inclusivity. * Mitigate social norms and legal barriers that hinder women's progress. By addressing these issues, the MENA region can unlock significant economic growth and diversification, empowering a new generation of women leaders.

Purpose - The mobilization of funds was severely affected with the linking of their funds mobilization to their internal owned funds. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to identify the mediating effects of funds with profitability and to focus on the funding strategy to maximize profits in the non-banking financial sector in India.Design methodology approach - The paper discusses various approaches to maximize profits. The study also examines trends in sources of funds using key financial variables. A formative model to capture the mediating effects of funds with profitability is tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The paper includes various financial variables including external and internal funds. These variables' relationship with the core operating profit is tested in a graphical structural equation environment using package software.Findings - Mediating effects of borrowings with profitability are established. The paper concludes that the gap in funds can be matched effectively through mobilization of funds of short duration. The study establishes that a combination of fund raising strategies such as flotation of debentures, bank borrowings and short term funding program can affect profits.Research limitations implications - The study is confined to non-bank finance companies in a particular state in India. The geographical and demographical differences may affect generalization. However, care has been taken to match the geographical and demographical characteristics of the country.Originality value - The findings of this paper are of immense value for industry managers, lenders and for financial forecasting within the sector. New entrepreneurs can use the findings in their funding plans.