David Mhlanga

Artificial Intelligence in Economic and Financial Analysis: Machine Learning for Forecasting, Modelling and Decision-Making examines the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in transforming economics and finance in increasingly digital, data-driven global economies. The book explores how intelligent technologies are reshaping forecasting, modelling, financial analysis, and decision-making through predictive analytics, automation, and computational intelligence. It provides a comprehensive discussion of the theoretical foundations of AI and ML before examining their applications across macroeconomic forecasting, labour market analytics, algorithmic trading, insurance analytics, fraud detection, credit scoring, and natural language processing. The book further analyses how AI-driven systems are influencing financial services, economic policy analysis, digital finance, and intelligent governance while also addressing ethical and regulatory concerns relating to transparency, explainability, cybersecurity, accountability, and algorithmic bias. In addition, emerging developments such as generative AI, autonomous systems, and intelligent financial technologies are discussed to provide insight into the future of economics and finance. Designed for academics, researchers, postgraduate students, policymakers, and industry professionals, this book offers both theoretical and practical perspectives on how AI and ML are reshaping economic and financial systems in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

This book explores the significant impact of FinTech on the financial industry and how it could be used to promote legitimate development in the global economy. It takes readers on an engaging tour of the field of FinTech, immersing them in a thorough investigation of the technological advancements, creative business models, and regulatory issues that define the FinTech landscape. The book begins by documenting the rise of FinTech, providing historical context, and highlighting key milestones. It delves into the numerous technologies that have fuelled the FinTech revolution and offers valuable insights into the ongoing evolution of the financial industry and its implications for individuals, businesses, and society. It explores topics such as microfinance, digital lending, social impact investing, and sustainable finance, signalling the ability of FinTech to foster financial inclusion, reduce poverty, and drive sustainable economic growth in developing economies. The book takes into account ethical as well as regulatory considerations, and the importance of striking a balance between innovation and consumer protection. The book offers a comparative regional perspective and provides case studies of successful FinTech organizations from across the world. It concludes by providing an in-depth exploration of future trends and predictions, with a specific focus on emerging technologies such as ChatGPT and their potential impact. This will be a useful reference for researchers, scholars, and students, concerned with the changing dynamics of the industry in an increasingly digital and interconnected world.

The growth of digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to increase global wealth and tackle some of the world's most serious problems, including economic marginalization. In contrast, these innovations may contribute to widening economic gaps and potentially threaten the stability of democratic governments. Changes in economic growth and distribution are occurring in both developed and developing countries due to the impact that new technologies are having on businesses and the workplace. This book provides answers to the question of whether the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as AI, will lead to greater economic uncertainty, environmental collapse, and social unrest or whether they will help achieve shared prosperity and sustainable development, and successively the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This book focuses on Human-centred AI and the responsible deployment of diverse technologies for achieving sustainable development. It examines why the human-centred approach is so crucial to long-term success. It underlines the definition of human-centred AI and its importance in creating sustainability and resilience. This book begins with a comprehensive history of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, details how to produce AI that is centred on humans in order to accomplish sustainable development in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and then goes on to discuss the need for proper management and governance of emerging technologies. The book ends by presenting a framework that will assist stakeholders in employing AI in a human-centred manner to achieve the SDGs set for 2030. This book will appeal to scholars, academics, and researchers interested in information linked to the SDGs, AI, and Industry 4.0.

AI in Hospital Administration: Revolutionizing Healthcare is a groundbreaking book that explores the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in hospital administration and its impact on revolutionizing healthcare. This book draws on existing academic literature and interdisciplinary research to provide a comprehensive overview of cutting-edge AI technologies and their applications in hospital administration. The book begins by highlighting the basics of AI. It moves to the challenges hospital administrators face, such as long wait times, inefficient scheduling, inaccurate forecasting, and suboptimal resource allocation. It emphasizes the need for effective management and decision-making strategies to optimize patient outcomes while ensuring efficient resource utilization. While AI has seen significant advancements in areas like medical imaging and clinical decision support systems, its role in hospital administration remains relatively understudied. This book aims to fill this gap by delving into the complexities of managing patient flow, optimizing resource allocation, ensuring effective staff scheduling, and implementing data-driven decision-making processes. It explores various AI-powered solutions, including machine learning, natural language processing, and predictive analytics, and their potential to alleviate these challenges. It also covers ethical considerations and potential barriers to AI adoption in healthcare, such as privacy concerns, data security, and the human-machine interface. The book includes real-world case studies and examples of successful AI implementations in hospital administration to provide practical insights. Doing so equips healthcare professionals, administrators, policymakers, and researchers with the knowledge and tools to leverage AI effectively, foster innovation, and drive positive change in healthcare organizations. In short, AI in Hospital Administration: Revolutionizing Healthcare addresses the gap in academic literature surrounding the role of AI in hospital administration. It comprehensively understands this domain's challenges, limitations, and opportunities, stimulating further research and promoting informed decision-making. The book envisions a future where AI plays a central role in transforming healthcare administration for the better.

This book explores the significant impact of FinTech on the financial industry and how it could be used to promote legitimate development in the global economy. It takes readers on an engaging tour of the field of FinTech, immersing them in a thorough investigation of the technological advancements, creative business models, and regulatory issues that define the FinTech landscape. The book begins by documenting the rise of FinTech, providing historical context, and highlighting key milestones. It delves into the numerous technologies that have fuelled the FinTech revolution and offers valuable insights into the ongoing evolution of the financial industry and its implications for individuals, businesses, and society. It explores topics such as microfinance, digital lending, social impact investing, and sustainable finance, signalling the ability of FinTech to foster financial inclusion, reduce poverty, and drive sustainable economic growth in developing economies. The book takes into account ethical as well as regulatory considerations, and the importance of striking a balance between innovation and consumer protection. The book offers a comparative regional perspective and provides case studies of successful FinTech organizations from across the world. It concludes by providing an in-depth exploration of future trends and predictions, with a specific focus on emerging technologies such as ChatGPT and their potential impact. This will be a useful reference for researchers, scholars, and students, concerned with the changing dynamics of the industry in an increasingly digital and interconnected world.

This book responds to calls for a systematic approach in understanding the transformations in the social media marketing landscape. To narrow the focus, the book takes a developing economy perspective and presents a comprehensive understanding of social media practices and how these can be integrated in firms’ operational activities to create a competitive advantage. In emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), social media provides a technological solution to the economic challenges faced by governments, firms, and people at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Social media is often considered to be fundamentally changing the business paradigm and is increasingly integrated into the marketing function, and EMDEs seem to be quickly finding out that it offers them a relatively low-cost opportunity to potentially leapfrog the competition in developed markets. By using social technology to reach users in different market segments in ways that were impossible before, social sites such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) create tremendous new growth opportunities for businesses. As businesses embrace social media solutions however, some challenges emerge in the adoption, utilisation, integration, and implementation of social media systems and tools in EMDEs— hence the need to provide pathways to better integrate social media into the marketing activities of emerging market institutions. This book provides practical guidance on the use of social media in marketing management. It provides contemporary perspectives on social media marketing, and while it is aimed primarily at practitioners, it could also serve as teaching text for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programmes.

This book responds to calls for a systematic approach in understanding the transformations in the social media marketing landscape. To narrow the focus, the book takes a developing economy perspective and presents a comprehensive understanding of social media practices and how these can be integrated in firms’ operational activities to create a competitive advantage. In emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), social media provides a technological solution to the economic challenges faced by governments, firms, and people at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Social media is often considered to be fundamentally changing the business paradigm and is increasingly integrated into the marketing function, and EMDEs seem to be quickly finding out that it offers them a relatively low-cost opportunity to potentially leapfrog the competition in developed markets. By using social technology to reach users in different market segments in ways that were impossible before, social sites such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) create tremendous new growth opportunities for businesses. As businesses embrace social media solutions however, some challenges emerge in the adoption, utilisation, integration, and implementation of social media systems and tools in EMDEs— hence the need to provide pathways to better integrate social media into the marketing activities of emerging market institutions. This book provides practical guidance on the use of social media in marketing management. It provides contemporary perspectives on social media marketing, and while it is aimed primarily at practitioners, it could also serve as teaching text for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programmes.

This book investigates how smart technologies can play a crucial role in the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Focusing on FinTech as well as artificial intelligence, the author demonstrates how one of the most effective strategies for accelerating progress toward global development goals is to make use of emerging technologies to broaden and deepen the scope of action. The first part of the book offers a historical perspective on sustainable development, financial technology and the emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, while the second part looks in-depth at new technologies that can contribute to the realization of the SDGs. The power of AI to reduce poverty and increase food security, the implications of digital innovations for education, the impact of AI on clean transport, the role of FinTech in mitigating climate change, and ways in which AI can aid financial inclusion are all discussed.

The growth of digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to increase global wealth and tackle some of the world's most serious problems, including economic marginalization. In contrast, these innovations may contribute to widening economic gaps and potentially threaten the stability of democratic governments. Changes in economic growth and distribution are occurring in both developed and developing countries due to the impact that new technologies are having on businesses and the workplace. This book provides answers to the question of whether the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as AI, will lead to greater economic uncertainty, environmental collapse, and social unrest or whether they will help achieve shared prosperity and sustainable development, and successively the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This book focuses on Human-centred AI and the responsible deployment of diverse technologies for achieving sustainable development. It examines why the human-centred approach is so crucial to long-term success. It underlines the definition of human-centred AI and its importance in creating sustainability and resilience. This book begins with a comprehensive history of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, details how to produce AI that is centred on humans in order to accomplish sustainable development in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and then goes on to discuss the need for proper management and governance of emerging technologies. The book ends by presenting a framework that will assist stakeholders in employing AI in a human-centred manner to achieve the SDGs set for 2030. This book will appeal to scholars, academics, and researchers interested in information linked to the SDGs, AI, and Industry 4.0.

This book is unique in that it challenges scholarly views on financial inclusion and poverty reduction while also relating financial inclusion and poverty reduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The book deviates from the usual method of analyzing financial inclusion, which relies on bank accounts or microcredit as success criteria, and instead discusses how the Fourth Industrial Revolution is facilitating digital financial inclusion. With a five-fold goal, this book investigates both past and present readings and understandings of poverty and financial inclusion. To begin, it provides a thorough introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and financial inclusion in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Second, the book dives quite extensively into the theories of financial inclusion in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Third, the book reconstructs the theory of financial inclusion, moving from traditional to digital financial inclusion, highlighting the role of digital financial inclusion in the transition from an informal financial money market to a formal financial system. The fourth goal is to evaluate the tools and effects of digital financial inclusion on poverty. Finally, it provides case studies of digital financial inclusion and the future of digital financial inclusion in emerging and developing countries. This book will be of interest to academics, students and practitioners in a range of disciplines, including finance, development economics, and consumer economics.

This book investigates how smart technologies can play a crucial role in the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Focusing on FinTech as well as artificial intelligence, the author demonstrates how one of the most effective strategies for accelerating progress toward global development goals is to make use of emerging technologies to broaden and deepen the scope of action. The first part of the book offers a historical perspective on sustainable development, financial technology and the emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, while the second part looks in-depth at new technologies that can contribute to the realization of the SDGs. The power of AI to reduce poverty and increase food security, the implications of digital innovations for education, the impact of AI on clean transport, the role of FinTech in mitigating climate change, and ways in which AI can aid financial inclusion are all discussed.

This book is unique in that it challenges scholarly views on financial inclusion and poverty reduction while also relating financial inclusion and poverty reduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The book deviates from the usual method of analyzing financial inclusion, which relies on bank accounts or microcredit as success criteria, and instead discusses how the Fourth Industrial Revolution is facilitating digital financial inclusion. With a five-fold goal, this book investigates both past and present readings and understandings of poverty and financial inclusion. To begin, it provides a thorough introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and financial inclusion in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Second, the book dives quite extensively into the Theories of Financial Inclusion in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Third, the book reconstructs the theory of financial inclusion, moving from traditional to digital financial inclusion, highlighting the role of Digital Financial Inclusion in the transition from an Informal Financial Money Market to a Formal Financial System. The fourth goal is to evaluate the tools and effects of digital financial inclusion on poverty. Finally, it provides case studies of digital financial inclusion and the future of digital financial inclusion in emerging and developing countries. This book will be of interest to academics, students and practitioners in a range of disciplines, including finance, development economics, and consumer economics.

The Impact of Digital Transformation provides an in-depth look at how digital technologies are revolutionizing industries, public services, and societies across the globe. Through expert analysis, this book unpacks the implications of digital twin models in public auditing, Industry 4.0 challenges in education, and the rapid changes in the workforce spurred by COVID-19. Each chapter highlights the critical factors driving this transformation and examines its effects on the public and private sectors alike. Covering a diverse range of case studies from South Africa, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and beyond, the book explores how digital transformation is influencing economies and policy reform in both emerging and developed markets. Readers will gain insights into how countries are leveraging digital advancements to improve governance, increase transparency, and adapt to global technological shifts. The challenges of integrating sustainable practices and innovating urban spaces, such as Sofia's smart city initiatives, underscore the complex relationship between technology and society. This book serves as both a guide and a roadmap for navigating the opportunities and obstacles of the digital age. From defining objective KPIs to measure digital success to understanding the role of data in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, The Impact of Digital Transformation is essential reading for professionals, policymakers, and academics eager to understand how digital change is reshaping our world.