AXELISYS LIMITED

As part of the delivery of the Jordanian Social Accounting Matrix study, the United Nations Development Programme required a method to detect informal money flows inside Jordan. The hypothetical expectation was informal lending was crucial to the economy, but a new way of identifying such lending was needed.

We created a non-linear, two phase algorithm incorporating an IPFP, linear algebra and fixed marginals to identify stability points within an acceptable error. This led to the development of software to run the procedure.

The computational procedure was coded and run in 24 hours. The final report found that a substantial amount of income flows through the country in the form of informal lending (often zero interest loans or grants, between family and friends). This allowed the UNDP to provide the Jordanian Government with a centralised, sustainable framework to encourage growth in the country without having to rely on the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment.