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This study explores the intricate interplay between female representation in national parliaments and government fiscal policies, with a specific focus on fossil fuel subsidies, environmental taxes, and expenditure, in the context of climate change mitigation. Using a sample of 160 countries over the period from 1997 to 2022, this empirical analysis demonstrates the positive relationship between the presence of female parliamentarians and environmentally friendly fiscal measures. While women in the parliaments reduce the amount of the subsidies granted to fossil fuels, they levy environmental taxes and increase environmental spending. The findings illustrate the pivotal role of female parliamentarians in advocating for environmental legislation and transcending political ideologies and national boundaries. Addressing potential concerns of endogeneity by employing additional control variables, omitted variables, and instrumental variable analyses, this study emphasises the robustness of the results. Notably, this study finds that a critical mass of at least 30% female representation in parliaments enhances the efficacy of environmental policy outcomes. This research highlights the multifaceted impact of gender diversity on fiscal policies related to environmental protection, offering valuable insights for policymakers and organisations committed to sustainability and gender equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the link between a firm's energy efficiency and their participation in global value chains (GVCs). Both countries' GVCs participation and positioning indices are designed to define the features of countries' participation in global value chains. We begin with a theoretical approach of how GVC participation influences energy efficiency. The sample size of 54 nations from 2000 to 2019 is then investigated for empirical analysis using FE and 2SLS methods. The results show that the impact of countries' participation in GVCs is unknown and the development of global value chains positioning increases the energy efficiency in selected countries. Further, it is found that the expansion of GVCs positioning index increases energy efficiency and the effect of forward GVCs positioning on energy efficiency is larger than the effect of backward GVCs positioning. Furthermore, increasing GVC participation in wealthy nations reduces the energy efficiency of the manufacturing industries, but increasing GVC participation in developing countries raises the energy efficiency of manufacturing industries, somewhat opposing the pollution haven approach. A key policy recommendation is that countries actively participate in GVCs to encourage energy efficiency at the macro-level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Wage polarization and skill polarization are frequently mentioned in the literature, but relatively few empirical studies have focused on the relationship between skill polarization and wage polarization. (2) Methods: Using occupation–skill data from the O*NET database in the United States from 2009 to 2021, this study constructs the occupational socio-cognitive skill scores and the number of perceived physical skills effectively used by an occupation as proxies for measuring skill polarization and matches the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data from the corresponding years to explore the relationship between skill polarization and wage polarization by using 2SLS. (3) Results: Increases in both the occupational socio-cognitive skills scores and the number of sensory–physical skills effectively used by an occupation lead to higher wages, but the magnitude of the positive effects of these two indicators are different. We also find that these control variables can reduce occupational wages with a lagged effect. (4) Conclusion: Our findings confirm that skills polarization has a positive effect on wage polarization, providing new insights into understanding employment inequality in the labor market. Authorities should focus more attention on increasing the earnings of the low- and middle-skilled workers, especially through vocational skills training to increase the number of sensory–physical skills that can ultimately mitigate wage polarization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical research has aimed to substantiate the institution–food security nexus. However, institutional literature has largely overlooked the relationship between institutions and the sustainable development goal of zero hunger (SDG2). SDG2 is a multidimensional goal that extends beyond food security and requires comprehensive investigation. Therefore, this study explored the role of institutions in promoting SDG2 achievement using a panel dataset spanning 108 countries from 2000 to 2019. The institutional impact was evaluated using worldwide governance indicators, and the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG)'s political risk ratings. Simultaneous equation modeling was used as the estimation technique. According to the results, institutions showed a positive and highly significant association with SDG2 performance. All the dimensions of good governance promoted SDG2 performance. Except for maintaining law and order, all other dimensions of political risk indicators were found to improve SDG2 performance. This study also discovered significant evidence that voice and accountability, as well as the settlement and the prevention of conflicts, had the most substantial influences on SDG2 achievement. In developing countries, improving both the quality of governance and political stability had a comparatively higher impact on SDG2 performance than in developed countries. Furthermore, institutions showed a significant mediating impact on SDG2 performance via agricultural productivity and economic growth. Based on these findings, this study concluded that the pursuit of good governance and inclusive institutions could be instrumental in achieving SDG2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural foreign direct investment (AFDI) contributes to the long-term growth of developing countries. Sudan has rich agricultural resources with great potential for AFDI. However, so far, Sudan has not exploited this potential to attract investors from other countries, having less of a competitive advantage in agricultural production owing to local and international problems. In this study, we examined the effects of foreign investments of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries on agricultural exports in Sudan, in addition to other economic factors during 1990–2016 using the two-stage least squares (2SLS) model. The results showed that the investments of GCC countries in Sudan's agricultural sector boosted agricultural exports. The exchange rate was found to be a key determinant factor of GCC countries deciding to invest in Sudan. We recommend that the Central Bank of Sudan encourage policies to stabilize the exchange rate to attract more agricultural investment from GCC countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated reporting is becoming increasingly popular. The focus of this study was to assess the overall integrated reporting quality of global companies and find determinants of high-level integrated reporting. Qualitative text analysis was performed on the 2017 integrated reports of 110 global organizations to determine in what way companies report on specific topics related to the six capitals: social and relationship, human, intellectual, manufacturing, natural, and financial. Using a novel assessment technique, scores were then assigned according to the details provided in the integrated reports on the various topics. This was done for each form of capital, and the total integrated score was subsequently calculated as the average between all the capital scores. Finally, a regression analysis was performed to determine the characteristics of high-quality integrated reporters. The results of univariate analysis and two-stage least squares instrumental variable (2SLS) regression indicate that companies of a larger size with a higher female board ratio and listing in the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC) examples database are more likely to publish a higher quality integrated report. The results imply that these variables are the main disclosure drivers. However, a significant negative correlation was found between integrated report quality and the variables related to female executive ratio, external board member ratio, profitability, leverage, and previous report experience, as well as report length. No significant association was found between the location and industry group and report quality. The empirical evidence of this study shows that even though integrated reporting has become more common overall, the comparability and quality of the reports still remain low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]