International Journal of Business and Economic Development

Developing countries such as India should create highly innovative Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) ecosystems by adopting the Regional Innovation Systems (RIS) approach which envisages industrial clusters surrounded by innovation supporting organizations, particularly universities and research institutes. Policies should be crafted to advance partnerships among colleges and universities, government institutions, nonprofit agencies and SMEs for creating a highly innovative milieu of innovation. The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), an apex body set up by Government of India for fostering Research and Development(R&D) in the fields of natural sciences, should follow the lead of the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US Small Business Administration (SBA), both federal agencies that manage programs for advancing innovation in small businesses. The NSF invests in basic research across all fields of fundamental science and engineering and runs the Small Business Innovation Program for assessing potential business ideas through involvement of small businesses in research and development. The SBA runs Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, specifically designed to help SMEs plan, start and expand their businesses by connecting companies with lenders and funding. Though Indian SMEs have demonstrated acumen for innovation in hi tech industries such as space research, their full potential needs to be harnessed. Indian academic institutions produce high quality research but rank poorly in terms of academia industry interaction, thus hindering the innovative potential of the economy. The paper presents an India specific perspective on the RIS approach, and gives policy prescriptions for unleashing the economy’s innovative potential.

Agricultural exports serve as critical drivers of economic growth by generating foreign currency earnings, stimulating employment creation, facilitating the adoption of advanced production technologies, and enhancing the overall competitiveness of the agricultural sector. Egypt's potato exports recorded a robust average annual growth rate of 11.9% during the period 2000–2024, representing approximately 5% of the total value of the country's agricultural exports. This remarkable performance raises an important research question regarding the principal determinants underpinning the growth trajectory of Egyptian potato exports.

The present study seeks to examine the standing of Egyptian potato exports within key destination markets, to identify the principal countries competing with Egypt in global potato trade, and to empirically investigate the determinants of such export flows. Employing an augmented gravity model, the empirical results reveal that three variables exert the most statistically significant influence on Egyptian potato export performance: the bilateral exchange rate, the population of the importing country, and the physical distance between Cairo and the importers' capitals. While the GDP of Egypt and its trading partners, together with economic development differentials, also demonstrate significance, their explanatory weight is comparatively lower. The aggregate size of Egypt's specific export market for potatoes is likewise found to be of secondary importance in explaining bilateral trade flows.

The analysis compares private-label securitization with government-sponsored enterprise securitization and evaluates how these channels correlate with housing outcomes across different legal foreclosure regimes. The results show no statistically detectable association between private-label securitization share and vacancy outcomes once tract characteristics and macroeconomic controls are included. In contrast, higher GSE securitization shares correlate with lower vacancy outcomes in several specifications. The interaction between GSE securitization and underserved tract status indicates that the vacancy-reducing association of agency lending weakens in economically vulnerable communities.