Quality and satisfaction are the key indicators of corporate competitiveness. Measurement of customer satisfaction based on the service quality is to be done independently and objectively to establish baseline for improvements in service delivery. Assessing customer satisfaction periodically allows bank management and policy makers to identify customers’ needs, expectations, perception and the perception- expectation gaps. The current study covers a comparative analysis of service quality and customer satisfaction among the customers of public and private sector commercial banks in Kerala. The research questions that are addressed in this study are on expectations and perceptions of retail customers from their preferred banks, relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction and the difference between the satisfaction level among private and public- sector banks in Kerala. In order to answer the above research questions, the problem is stated as “Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction- a Comparative Study between Public Sector and Private Sector Banks of Kerala.” A descriptive and analytical research was carried out by collecting responses from customers of three prominent banks from private and public sector each. This was done through an online structured questionnaire based on SERVQUAL model during July 2015 to July 2016, prior to SBI consolidation. Primary data is analysed using SPSS (V.21). Kolmogorov- Smirnov Test for the Normality is used to ensure normality of data distribution, Cronbach Alpha coefficient is used to measure reliability and validity is tested with the panel of experts. Mean, S.D. percentage, cross tabulation are used for descriptive and univariate analysis. Structural Equation Modelling, Confirmatory Factor Analysis and regression path analysis are used to conduct inferential and multivariate analysis. Z-test, Independent T-Test, Chi-Square, ANOVA Pearson Correlation, and post hoc tests are used for testing of hypothesis and comparative analysis. Modelling is done using Structural Equation Modelling approach and Path Analysis. The study reveals that the antecedents of customer satisfaction of retail banking customers of Kerala are reliability, assurance, empathy and tangibles. Responsiveness dimension do not affect customer satisfaction of banks in Kerala. There exists a gap between expected service quality and perceived service quality. Study reveals that there is significant positive correlation between service quality and customer satisfaction in the retail commercial banking services in Kerala. The level of customer satisfaction in public sector banks and private sector banks are not significantly different but same. Similarly, it is also found that, there is no significant difference in the customer satisfaction between sample banks like State Bank of India, State Bank of Travancore, Canara Bank, from public sector and Federal bank, South Indian bank and ICICI bank from private sector.

Electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, railways, and water supply, are often vertically and horizontally integrated state monopolies. This results in weak services, especially in developing and transition economies, and for poor people. Common problems include low productivity, high costs, bad quality, insufficient revenue, and investment shortfalls. Many countries over the past two decades have restructured, privatized and regulated their infrastructure. This report identifies the challenges involved in this massive policy redirection. It also assesses the outcomes of these changes, as well as their distributional consequences for poor households and other disadvantaged groups. It recommends directions for future reforms and research to improve infrastructure performance, identifying pricing policies that strike a balance between economic efficiency and social equity, suggesting rules governing access to bottleneck infrastructure facilities, and proposing ways to increase poor people's access to these crucial services.

The global economy has experienced four waves of rapid debt accumulation over the past 50 years. The first three debt waves ended with financial crises in many emerging market and developing economies. During the current wave, which started in 2010, the increase in debt in these economies has already been larger, faster, and broader-based than in the previous three waves. Current low interest rates mitigate some of the risks associated with high debt. However, emerging market and developing economies are also confronted by weak growth prospects, mounting vulnerabilities, and elevated global risks. A menu of policy options is available to reduce the likelihood that the current debt wave will end in crisis and, if crises do take place, will alleviate their impact.

During the 1990s, a new paradigm for power sector reform was put forward emphasizing the restructuring of utilities, the creation of regulators, the participation of the private sector, and the establishment of competitive power markets. Twenty-five years later, only a handful of developing countries have fully implemented these Washington Consensus policies. Across the developing world, reforms were adopted rather selectively, resulting in a hybrid model, in which elements of market orientation coexist with continued state dominance of the sector. This book aims to revisit and refresh thinking on power sector reform approaches for developing countries. The approach relies heavily on evidence from the past, drawing both on broad global trends and deep case material from 15 developing countries. It is also forward looking, considering the implications of new social and environmental policy goals, as well as the emerging technological disruptions. A nuanced picture emerges. Although regulation has been widely adopted, practice often falls well short of theory, and cost recovery remains an elusive goal. The private sector has financed a substantial expansion of generation capacity; yet, its contribution to power distribution has been much more limited, with efficiency levels that can sometimes be matched by well-governed public utilities. Restructuring and liberalization have been beneficial in a handful of larger middle-income nations but have proved too complex for most countries to implement. Based on these findings, the report points to three major policy implications. First, reform efforts need to be shaped by the political and economic context of the country. The 1990s reform model was most successful in countries that had reached certain minimum conditions of power sector development and offered a supportive political environment. Second, countries found alternative institutional pathways to achieving good power sector outcomes, making a case for greater pluralism. Among the top performers, some pursued the full set of market-oriented reforms, while others retained a more important role for the state. Third, reform efforts should be driven and tailored to desired policy outcomes and less preoccupied with following a predetermined process, particularly since the twenty-first-century century agenda has added decarbonization and universal access to power sector outcomes. The Washington Consensus reforms, while supportive of the twenty-first-century century agenda, will not be able to deliver on them alone and will require complementary policy measures

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.