Social and economic drivers of national economic development: the case of OPEC countries

Nowadays sustainable development is a central concept for our age. It is both a way ofunderstanding the world and a method for solving global problems. It is currently a crucial concept for the world to understand and to implement. This research study focuses on examining the foundations of achieving sustainable development and main factors influencing this process at a national level. The aim is to characterize those factors which influence this implementation process mainly from the economic point of view. However, other noneconomic factors related to human well-being and organizational development are not omitted. Countries’ political and legislative environment are also evaluated since they can have significant implications for development of individual organizations conducting their business activities within countries' borders. The focus of examining the topic of countries’ sustainable development is on the cross-country comparison. Values of some important indicators are also provided in terms of comparison among selected countries which enables us to explain the reasons for differences in countries’ development, as well as predictions for the future. Historical perspective provides data which enable to evaluate influence of selected factors in terms of countries’ path to achieving sustainable development.

The study aims at analyzing the relationship between financial performances and marketing practices in the banking sector of Jordan. A questionnaire was distributed to 45 top, middle, and branch level managers of 15 banks. The financial data was obtained from the financial statements and annual reports of the banks during the five-year period between 2011 and 2015. The three categories of participants, who were recruited, were top-level managers, middle-level managers and branch-level managers from 17 banks of Jordan. No two means were found to differ significantly at 0.05 level by means of Scheffe test. The results revealed that the more positive the perception was of the managers regarding the position of their banks in the market, the more they were inclined to choose an accurate target market in accomplishing their marketing objectives. Therefore, it has been concluded that when the financial needs of the customers were similar, the change in the loan-to-deposit ratio was significantly positive.

Financial system supports economic growth, while its regulatory framework provides stability for investors. Develo-ping countries with bank-oriented financial systems are not attractive to investors, so prolonged status quo leads to economic deterioration. This is particularly the case with some of the most underdeveloped areas in Europe: Western Balkans. It is essential the developing countries in this region consider steps towards financial liberalization, which will help open the borders for capital flows and attract new investments. The main goal of this paper is to review and present the available information related to the banking system development in Western Balkans in terms of ownership structure, capital adequacy, loan and asset performance, return on investment and liquidity. These indicators should provide a clearer picture of the current financial systems in Western Balkans economies and their development progress – useful for comparison with other developing regions and financial transformation and liberalization efforts.