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Purpose: Since financial sector plays a critical economic role in Hong Kong, the current research aims to comprehensively analyze the association between financial development and economic growth in the country to draw correct conclusions about the impact that financial sector's development has on the growth of the economy. This requires both using of more comprehensive data that includes all or nearly all elements of the country's financial sector and utilizing advanced econometrics techniques to provide more reliable evidence based on the findings. In the study, both issues have been addressed more academically to aid the relevant authorities better. Design/methodology/approach: This study empirically examines the financial development-economic growth nexus in Hong Kong employing data covering 1980–2019. The quantile-on-quantile (QQ) approach of Sim and Zhou (2015) is utilized to investigate certain subtle aspects of the association linking financial development and economic growth. In addition, the authors benefit from applying the nonlinear Granger causality test of Diks and Panchenko (2006) to assess the variables' nexus in a nonlinear manner. Findings: In contrast to the evidence of a unidirectional linkage documented in many related studies, the empirical findings suggest that a bi-directional relationship exists between financial development and economic growth for Hong Kong. This is a helpful input for the relevant policymakers and implies that they can set appropriate policies and regulations to balance financial development and economic growth in this country. Originality/value: The originality of this study can be divided into two parts. Methodologically, unlike past studies that utilized mostly linear and parametric methods, the paper contributes to the literature by applying the more robust nonparametric and nonlinear methodologies. Theoretically, most researchers have used various financial development indicators, which led to very different conclusions. Therefore, this study attempts to resolve this deficiency in the literature by using a more comprehensive index for financial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study assesses the non-linear nexus between fixed broadband and economic growth. The study focuses on data from 33 African countries for the period 2010 to 2020. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical evidence is based on unit root tests, panel smooth transition regression and the generalized method of moments. Findings: The following findings are established in this study. (1) The proportion of the population with access to electricity above and below which the relationship between fixed broadband and economic growth changes in sign is about 60%. (2) Below this threshold, each 1% increase in fixed broadband subscriptions induces a decline in economic growth of about 2.58%. Above the threshold, economic growth would increase by 2.43% when fixed broadband subscriptions increase by 1%. Sensitivity analyses and generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation show that these results are robust. Practical implications: Due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which requires countries to take adequate measures to curb the spread of the pandemic, especially by means of virtual economic activities, any national policy aiming at improving the access of populations to high levels of fixed broadband services should be preceded by the implementation of an electrification program for at least 60% of the total population. Otherwise, providing a good quality internet connection for the benefit of the population would not produce the expected effects on economic growth and would, therefore, be counterproductive. Originality/value: This study complements the extant literature by providing thresholds at which fixed broadband affects economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Achieving sustainable development in terms of people, prosperity and partnership is the main aspect in any country's plan for development. This sustainable development has to be achieved in three major dimensions, that is, economic, social and environmental in an integrated, balanced and systematic way. The same is highlighted in the United Nations' (UN) vision for sustainable development by 2030. The purpose of this study is to identify the critical barriers of urban sustainability and gender equality with reference to Indian context, to suggest the strategies to achieve sustainable development in the referred area and to evaluate the relationship between them. Design/methodology/approach: The major contribution of this study lies in the development of a contextual relationship model from the various identified critical barriers in Indian context, using interpretive structural modeling with MICMAC analysis. Findings: Of the 17 goals given by UN, considering the Indian context, the goals of building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation; promoting sustained and inclusive economic growth along with full and productive employment and decent work for all; and gender equality and empowering women at all levels seem to be the major challenges and the same are selected in this study for further analysis. To understand the major challenges in these areas and also to find the way forward, the study has set following three major objectives: to identify the critical barriers of urban sustainability and gender equality with reference to Indian context; to suggest the strategies to achieve sustainable development in the referred area; and to evaluate the relationship between them. Originality/value: Considering the highly volatile and complex demand requirements, this approach may help to enable the government to tackle issues/challenges related to both urban sustainability and gender inequality on priority basis and in a holistic manner to achieve the goals of sustainable development, thereby improving the quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Intellectual property right constitutes play a forceful role to promote economic growth and create a fortune. However, it is not yet clear to what extent the agricultural intellectual property rights represented by geographical indications of agricultural products (AGIs) can affect the development of regional economy. The purpose of this paper is to analyze this impact and its mechanism as well as to draw policy implications from this empirical analysis. Design/methodology/approach: Using county-level panel data from 2006 to 2020, this paper employed the difference-in-differences (DID) model. Findings: The authors find that AGIs can significantly improve economic development at the county level. The AGIs can stimulate the flow of commercial and industrial capital to the countryside, thus fueling county-level economic development. Unlike AGIs for cereals and cash crops, AGIs for aquatic products and animal products cannot influence or have a negative impact on county-level economic. Compared with Eastern regions, the acquisition of AGIs in Western regions can more significantly boost county-level economic development. Therefore, AGIs can pronouncedly narrow down the gap of cross-county economic growth. Originality/value: Conclusions of this paper can provide references for building the county-level countryside into a main ground of agricultural economic development and brand construction, continuously promoting the agricultural supply-front structural reform and boosting realization of all-around rural revitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to offer an up-to-date estimate of capital flight from selected emerging Asian economies and examine the anti-growth phenomenon of capital flight by using annual data for the period 1981–2019. Design/methodology/approach: The study relies on residual methods to derive the estimate of capital flight with necessary adjustments. It then applies the autoregressive distributed lag Bounds testing approach in examining the impact of capital flight on the economic growth of Asian emerging economies. Findings: The study identifies capital flight as the attributor to the slower economic growth of the selected emerging economies of Asia. Practical implications: Apart from appropriate policies addressing the issues causing capital flight, unleashing the way of private sector-led growth of the emerging countries with necessary policy, infrastructural, institutional and regulatory support can rather help them retain and repatriate domestic capital. Originality/value: The capital flight estimates in earlier studies are antithetical as they differ in terms of definition and estimation procedure. Again, the growth effect of capital flight in these economies has received meager attention in research and policy debates. Furthermore, being country-specific or region-specific, existing studies are unable to compare the growth effect of capital flight for different emerging economies in this region. Examining the growth effects for a large number of countries separately based on a common estimate of capital flight can resolve these issues that this study aims to do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to explore the short-run and long-run relationships and causality between economic growth and financialization in the new member states (NMS-11) and to provide some policy implications drawn from the empirical findings. Design/methodology/approach: The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test approach to cointegration with the vector error correction model and the cumulative sum of squares (CUSUMQ) test for stability of functions is used between 1995q1 and 2021q4 to examine the existence of cointegration, relationships and causality between economic growth and financialization. Findings: The findings of the ARDL bounds test demonstrate that the variables included in the models are bound together in the long run, as confirmed by the associated equilibrium correction. The estimated models indicate that the association between selected variables and economic growth is stronger and more statistically significant in the short run compared with the long run. Also, for NMS-11 understudied countries, short-run causality prevails over long-run causality. The changes in the level of financialization have a significant negative effect on the growth rates in the short run, which aligns with findings from previous empirical studies. Originality/value: This study extends the existing very limited literature about short-run and long-run relationships and causality among economic growth and financialization, including inflation and unemployment variables, to determine their link in the NMS-11. Specifically, the present study reveals that the current level of financialization hampers economic growth and promoting such economic policies further can have adverse effects on the overall economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship that exists between financial depth and economic growth in Poland for the years 1995–2019. This paper utilizes integration and co-integration techniques to capture the long-term and short-term linkages between various determinants of financial deepening, economic growth and a few selected growth variables. Financial depth is measured using two distinct measures: the monetization ratio (i.e. the ratio of broad money in the economy to the gross domestic product (GDP)) and the domestic credit provided to private sector by banks. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses a combination of Augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) and Phillips–Perron unit root tests, autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) model and Granger causality tests to estimate results. Findings: This paper finds that there is a bidirectional causal relationship between financial deepening and economic growth in the short run, but this relationship does not hold in the long run. The control variables comprising trade volume, investment, government spending and volatility in oil prices and inflation have a significant, positive relationship with economic development in the long run. Originality/value: The findings are indicative of the need for further strengthening of the financial sector in Poland, such that the relationship between financial depth and economic growth is substantiated in the long run. This paper also finds room for more stringent regulation of the financial system and transparency in information available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship among financial development (FD), economic growth, urbanization and human capital (HC) in Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses various wavelet tools, including wavelet coherence, wavelet correlation and scale-by-scale Granger causality test, to re-visit the lead–lag structure among economic growth, FD, urbanization and HC in Vietnam from 1980 to 2017. Findings: The main findings indicate that economic growth and urbanization improve HC at the medium and low frequencies, whereas FD negatively affects HC from 1989 to 2017. Furthermore, the scale-by-scale Granger causality results confirm a uni-directional causality relationship between economic growth to HC at low and high frequencies. In contrast, a bi-directional causality relationship between urbanization and HC is found in the long run. Research limitations/implications: Policy implications have emerged based on the empirical results from this study. The Vietnamese Government should continue supporting economic integration, implementing investment promotion policies and focussing on foreign direct investment using green technologies. Originality/value: The impact of FD on HC at different time scales has largely been ignored in Vietnam. This study substantially contributes to the existing literature regarding HC and FD. This analysis is one of the earliest attempts to examine the effects of economic indicators on HC in the time-frequency analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The regulatory framework may be construed as the existence of supporting infrastructure that assists in control, direction/implementation of a proposed course of law, rule or action. The regulatory order is now more formalized, expert-driven, transparent, independent and pervasive across countries and sectors. As a result, regulatory reforms enable markets to function efficiently by providing a supportive environment for increased investment, private sector growth and market-led economic growth. This study aims to review previous literature for understanding the impact of sectoral regulatory framework on sectoral performance. Design/methodology/approach: This paper has adopted a systematic literature review to understand dynamics between the sectoral regulatory framework and sectoral performance. While seven multidisciplinary databases were used to identify 51 research articles, the bibliometric research profiling was executed to broaden academic research. Findings: The results are organized into three broad categories: research context, research area and research methods. The identified articles exhibited association with 12 distinct sectors/industries, with maximum articles belonging to telecom, energy and finance industries. The study has focused on evolution of regulatory studies, impact of regulatory framework on sectoral performance and commonality in regulatory studies. Among the 15 distinct research contexts identified in this systematic literature review (SLR), the highest mapping was registered (from 23 articles) by the research context "impact of regulatory framework on the sector–institutions, infrastructure and performance indicators." Practical implications: Public administration researchers are increasingly using mixed methods research approaches to add diverse and novel perspectives on wicked problems. The qualitative approach (grounded theory, action research, phenomenology and participant observations) is appropriate for understanding the native viewpoints of regulatory practitioners and reducing the gap between rigor and relevance. Originality/value: The study addresses lack of systematic review of articles covering the impact of regulatory framework on sectoral performance encompassing all sectors by, inter alia, collating important bibliometric profiles of the identified articles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Financial inclusion is broadly described as the ability of individuals and businesses to access useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs – transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance – delivered in a responsible and sustainable way. It is considered a key driver of economic growth and financial well-being. Given the significance and relevance of this topic, the purpose of this note is to critically evaluate the ontological and epistemological stance of existing research on financial inclusion. Furthermore, this note examines the influence on the research design. Design/methodology/approach: Beginning with a brief description of the key concepts, this note presents a conceptual framework and substantiates the recommended philosophical paradigm through a detailed appraisal of its appropriateness, relative strengths and limitations. Findings: Drawing from a range of philosophical worldviews, which can at times seem indistinguishable especially in finance and economics, this note proposes that objectivism with a realist approach is foundational to academic research on financial inclusion. Furthermore, this note makes recommendations with regards to research design. Originality/value: This note not only presents a comprehensive assessment of the problematics and the underlying metatheoretical assumptions proposed by Cunliffe (2011) but is also, to the best of author's knowledge, the first to highlight its relevance to the formal financial system in general and to financial inclusion in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to analyze how tourism can impact today's world, particularly as we live a decisive moment for the planet, deeply affected by war in Europe and all the implications resulting from this anomalous situation. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, the author presents five pillars of the differentiating impact that tourism can have in today's world, from the need to modernize an increasingly old world to the need to reduce inequalities. Findings: The author contends that the tourism industry has a significant and positive impact in the world by building secure bridges for a better future. This is because it is on the right side, opposing disharmony and bringing people closer together, and by leading economic growth, the base factor of all positive economic change. Originality/value: The article supports the view that tourism generates more equality at local and global levels and that while it may not in itself be the solution for our future, it will be much easier to look into a brighter future, whenever we include tourism in it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The growing volume of trade misinvoicing in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) calls for serious concern, particularly given its effect on macroeconomic fundamentals. Despite the growing body of literature on the growth effect of trade misinvoicing, empirical evidence on the role of governance in moderating the effect is quite scarce, particularly for SSA. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the growth effect of trade misinvoicing in SSA as well as the moderating role of governance in this regard. Design/methodology/approach: The feasible generalised least square estimator was applied to analyse relevant data, spanning 2009–2018, of 35 SSA countries. Governance indicators were classified into economic, political and institutional governance, and their individual role in moderating the nexus between trade misinvoicing and economic growth was explored. Findings: This paper showed the presence of cross-sectional dependence among SSA countries and long-run convergence of the estimated variables. The empirical finding showed that trade misinvoicing has a negative growth effect in the selected SSA countries, but both economic and political governance are crucial in lowering the observed negative growth effect. Practical implications: To curtail trade misinvoicing, SSA policymakers should go beyond just designing anti-money laundering policies to effectively implementing the policies for improved growth prospects. More so, the government of each SSA country must devise means of strengthening governance and building effective, accountable and transparent institutional frameworks that will constantly check and discourage trade misinvoicing activities. Originality/value: The originality of this paper stems from its novel assessment of the role governance plays in moderating the growth effect of trade misinvoicing in SSA using the feasible generalised least square estimator. It also details the strategies needed to effectively tackle trade misinvoicing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The present study aims to investigate the validity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) by exploring the role of various economic factors including economic development, foreign investment, human capital, energy dependency, financial development (FD), etc., in CO2 emissions. Design/methodology/approach: For empirical analysis, the samples for the years 2001–2019 of six GCC region countries that apply the fully modified ordinary least squares model were utilized. Findings: The statistical results show that economic development, foreign investment, energy dependency, human capital and oil rents have a direct impact on CO2 emissions, whereas trade liberalization and FD have an indirect impact. Nonetheless, the empirical analysis rejects the EKC hypothesis in the set of GCC region countries. The empirical findings in connection to the basic premises of the EKC model are found to be statistically constant for the linear relationship. The GCC region is rigid regarding CO2 emission because of its reliance on main energy sources like oil and gas. Research limitations/implications: The current analysis directs the policy recommendations about environmental sustainability to environmental economists and other policymakers. The development of such policy instruments as the adoption of contemporary technology and reduced reliance on fossil fuels is advised to mitigate the negative externalities of multiple economic factors. Similarly, future studies should focus on trade liberalization and FD, both of which have a declining trend in CO2 emissions. Originality/value: The present study is innovative by means of testing the EKC model and exploring how other factors related to CO2 emissions in the GCC region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The development in information communication and technology (ICT) has led to many changes such as reorganization of economics, globalization and trade. With more innovation processes being organized and adopted across technologies, trade, etc., these are getting more closely related and needs fresh research perspective. This study aims to empirically investigate the interrelationship between ICT penetration, innovation, trade and economic growth in 20 developed and developing nations from 1995 to 2018. Design/methodology/approach: The present paper examines both long-run and short-run relationships between the four variables, namely, innovation, ICT penetration, trade and economic growth, by applying panel estimation techniques of regression and vector error correction model. ICT penetration and innovation indices are constructed using principle component analysis technique. Findings: The findings of the study highlight that for developed nations, growth, trade and innovation are significantly interlinked with no significant role of ICT penetration While for developing nations, significant relationship is present between growth and trade, ICT penetration and innovation. With respect to trade, in case of developed nations, significant relationship is present with ICT penetration. While for developing nations there is no significant result for trade promotion. On further employing the vector error correction model, the presence of short run causality between growth, trade and innovation in case of developed nations is established but no such causality between variables for developing nations is seen. Originality/value: The present paper adds to the existing strand of literature examining interlinkage between innovation and growth by introducing new variables of ICT penetration and innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study investigates the impact of demographic structural changes on economic growth using data for Asian economies covering the period 1960–2020. Other factors affecting economic growth, such as human capital, are also considered. Design/methodology/approach: A fixed-effects model and a fixed-effects model with endogenous covariates are used to examine a dynamic demographic model covering different age cohorts (i.e. youth-age, working-age and old-age populations) and other factors impacting economic growth. Findings: The working-age population share, the labour force relative to the working-age population and growth of the actively employed population have significant and positive impacts on economic growth. Population growth and the youth-age population share exert a significant and negative impact on economic growth. A second and silver demographic dividend is found arising from a significant and positive association between the old-age population and economic growth. Human capital has an inverted U-shaped association with economic growth. Environmental degradation is significantly and negatively related to economic growth. No evidence is found for the importance of migration. Practical implications: The positive association between the old-age population and economic growth indicates the policy significance of retirement-income systems with high coverage to enhance economic growth in Asia. Lifelong learning and preventative health measures can also be supportive policies to strengthen the third (silver) demographic dividend via the extension of retirement for productive and healthy elders. Originality/value: This study is the first to examine the impacts of demographic structure, human capital, migration and environmental degradation on economic growth in Asia, using the most up-to-date longitudinal data from 1960 to 2020. Unlike previous empirical studies, this study discovers empirically based evidence to support Asia's second and silver demographic dividends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically the channels through which Islamic and/or conventional banking can spur economic growth in MENA region. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a range of developed econometric approaches, including panel cointegration technique, panel Granger causality test and a panel-based vector error correction model (VECM), to analyze explicitly all the causal relationships among Islamic banking, conventional banking development and economic growth in a unified framework. Findings: The empirical results show that Islamic banking in MENA countries not only leads to economic growth but also affects positively and significantly conventional banking development. Thus, Islamic banking has an active role and could be classified as "supply-following" since its development only leads to economic growth, whereas conventional banking, with passive role, could be classified as "demand-following" since it only reacts to economic growth in long run. Research limitations/implications: The study has two principal limitations. It is conducted within a relatively limited time period and sample of countries. Also, the used models did not take into account the impact of others financial and macroeconomic variables like stock market development, interest rate, inflation and financial crisis. Practical implications: The results have two main implications. First, in MENA countries, well-functioning Islamic banking sector could not only promote economic growth but also can be served as a development factor for their conventional one. Second, unlike conventional banks, the customer of Islamic banks seems not to be motivated by interest and profits. Rather religious factors are recommended as the main motive for investing and saving in Islamic banks. Originality/value: The study tries to perceive whether there exists a substitution or complementarity effect between Islamic and conventional banking in promoting economic growth for MENA countries. This situation is neither revealed nor clarified in the relevant literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to apply regression-tree analysis to capture the nonlinear effects of corruption on economic growth. Using data of 103 countries for the period 1996–2017, the authors endogenously detect two distinct areas in corruption quality in which the members share the same model of economic growth. Design/methodology/approach: The authors apply regression tree analysis to capture the nonlinearity of the influences. This methodology allows us to split endogenously the whole sample of countries and characterize the different ways through which corruption impacts economic growth in each group of countries. Findings: The traditional determinants of economic growth have different impacts on countries depending on their level of corruption, which, in turn, confirms the parameter heterogeneity of the Solow model found in other strands of the literature. Originality/value: The authors apply a new approach to a worldwide sample obtaining novel results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The "resource curse phenomenon" has received a lot of attention from researchers; however, there has not been any sound explanation to back this phenomenon since the main reason why natural resource should restrain economic growth instead of boosting economic growth remains unanswered. This paper contributes to literature on "resource curse hypothesis" by examining the role of government effectiveness in influencing the impact of gas resource rent on economic growth. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopted the Cobb-Douglass production and incorporated gas resource rent, institutional quality (government effectiveness), inflation and exchange rate as additional variables that influences total output (gross domestic product). The author estimated the empirical form of the Cobb-Douglass production using autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) and Toda and Yamamoto (1995) as the main estimation strategies while other time series approaches were used as a robustness check. Findings: The estimates from the ARDL short-run and the long-run dynamics suggest that the direct impact of gas resource rent on economic growth was positive but not statistically significant. At the same time, the interacting of gas resource rent and government effectiveness showed a positive and statistically significant effect of nearly 0.4123 and 0.8724 on economic growth in the long run and short run, respectively. The results from the Toda and Yamamoto (1995) also indicated that economic growth has a strong influence on gas resource rent while government effectiveness drives economic growth and not vice versa. Research limitations/implications: The findings from this study imply that government effectiveness plays a crucial role in averting the "resource curse phenomenon". Hence, improving government effectiveness and efficiency through minimizing corruption among state institutions would be imperative in curbing the "resource curse phenomenon" in developing countries. Originality/value: The influential role of government effectiveness on the relationship between gas resource rent on economic growth is examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The literature argues that human activities are responsible for environmental pollution and world climate change. Africa is the second-largest continent by population and its socio-economic conditions are adversely affected by climate change due to environmental pollution. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between human activities, the environment and the economic growth of 38 African countries from 2000 to 2018. Design/methodology/approach: This study employs a simultaneous equations model called Seemingly unrelated regression. Findings: Human capital development (HDI) and environmental health (EH) have a positive and non-linear relationship, while HDI and ecosystem vitality (EV) are negative and non-linear. The relationship between gross domestic product per capita (GDPPC) and EH is negative and non-linear. However, the GDPPC-EV link is insignificant. Trade openness (TO) and EV have a negative and non-linear relationship, but trade significantly improves EH. Urbanisation-EV relationship is positive and non-linear. However, urbanisation significantly reduces EH. Technology has a positive and non-linear relationship with EH and EV. The study also found that EH and EV positively affects the economy. Originality/value: This is the first study to analyse the most concerned countries in-depth. Thus, it provides appropriate and sound policies that consider the unique characteristics of the nations. Moreover, it uses a robust estimation technique that overcomes the endogeneity problem and offers insight into the relationship between the variables, including the feedback effect of the environment on growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of disaggregate official development aid (ODA) on economic growth, and ascertain whether bilateral and multilateral aid played complementary role with private sector, government sector and external sector in driving growth of sub-Saharan African economies. Design/methodology/approach: The role of bilateral and multilateral aid in economic growth of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is investigated in this study. The vector error correction model (VECM) and generalized method of moments (GMM) techniques are employed in estimating the short-run and long-run impacts, over the period 1980–2020. Findings: The estimation results reveal that the effect of bilateral aid is positive, and more significant than multilateral aid. Their effect on economic growth is, however, less significant than the effects of domestic private investment and government spending. Nonetheless, aid complemented private and government sectors in facilitating growth. External trade is the only exogenous variable in estimation that is insignificant. The results further reveal that economic growth is unable to significantly respond to its own lag. Generally, the estimation results conform to theoretical expectations. Practical implications: One major implication of the findings is that SSA countries have benefited substantially from development aid. It is, therefore, important for these countries to develop stronger institutions that would attract more inflows of development aid. Originality/value: The study was motivated by the fact that less attention has been given to the role of disaggregate ODA in economic growth of African countries. Previous research works have tended to focus more on aggregate ODA. Furthermore, adequate research has yet to be done on how ODA complements the private sector, government sector and external sector in facilitating growth of African countries. These issues are investigated in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to identify the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth in Morocco depending on each origin country, including Spain. This study uses a linear model to measure the marginal impact of FDI on the growth of Morocco. This marginal effect allows to compare the different effects of FDI among countries of origin. Also, the marginal effect helps to measure the rate of substitution between FDI in an easier way than the other specifications of the model. The second step determines the substitute for Spain in case he decides to divest its FDI from Morocco to maintain the economic growth. Design/methodology/approach: Using data of FDI from 13 countries of origin from 1995 to 2020 and two estimation methods (Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares and Autoregressive model), this study aims to measure the marginal impact of the divestment of FDI from Spain on growth. Then this study estimates how much Morocco should attract FDI from other countries when Spain divests. This study uses the differential calculus, assuming a perfect substitution between FDI from different countries. This calculus implies an indifference curve between FDI from Spain and FDI from another country where we deduct the substitution rates between FDI. Findings: The results indicate that the FDI from Spain and France are the only ones to impact positively Moroccan economic growth. The FDI coming from Germany, Holland, China and Turkey have a negative impact, whereas those from the USA, Italy, UK, Switzerland and Gulf countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE have an insignificant effect. Second, using the differential calculus, the result indicates that when Spain divests 1m dirhams of its investments from Morocco, France would have to increase its own by 0.1509m dirhams so that Morocco could maintain its economic growth. Research limitations/implications: The research focuses only on economic growth, neglecting the impact on other aggregates, such as total factor productivity, technology transfer and employment. Also, this research marginalized the sectorial analysis of FDI by the source to better understand the divergent effects. Originality/value: This paper fills a research gap when analyzing the effect of FDI on the host economy depending on country-of-origin. In addition, it contributes to the body of literature by constructing the rate of substitution between the different sources of FDI to adapt to divestment policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of foreign direct divestments (FDD) on economic growth and development in South Africa for the period 1991–2019. Design/methodology/approach: The non-linear autoregressive distributed lag technique is used for the empirical analysis. Two regression models are specified, one for economic growth and the other for development which is proxied by poverty. Findings: The empirical results suggest that foreign divestments are detrimental to both economic growth and development. Furthermore, the results suggest that the negative effects of foreign divestments outweigh the positive effects of FDI inflows. Practical implications: South African policymakers should thus use policies that promote the retention of FDI inflows together with those that attract inflows. Furthermore, policies that promote economic freedom such as transparency and reduction in the time frame for granting government permits for business operations are also of paramount importance. Originality/value: Most of the available literature on FDD focuses on the firm perspective. Available studies on the effect of FDD on economic growth do not investigate the effect of divestment on economic development. Economic growth is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for the achievement of socioeconomic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examines the impact of institutional quality (INQ) and human capital creation (HCC) on economic growth (EG) linkage in Bangladesh using an ARDL approach. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses time-series annual data over the period 1990–2019. It formulates an INQ index based on international country risk guide (ICRG) data, employs public education outlay and expenditure on health data each as a portion of real gross domestic product (GDP) to measure HCC, while an increase in real GDP is used as a proxy for EG. It employs the ARDL technique and Toda–Yamamoto (T-Y) causality check to realize the study. Findings: The ARDL analysis divulges that the variables have a long-run association; INQ affects long-run EG positively; expenditure on health stimulates EG rate in the long run, but does not impact the latter in the short-run; whilst government spending on education impacts long-term EG rate negatively but positively in the short-term. The T-Y causality test results reveal a feedback relationship between INQ and EG, and one-way causation from health expenditure to EG rate, and education outlay to EG rate and authenticate the ARDL estimation results. Originality/value: The study is original. The novelty of the study is to employ an INQ index using the ICRG data on 12 different components which are converted into a single index through principal component analysis. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-12-2021-0732 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The literature that explores the relationship between human capital and economic growth has produced mixed results. It highlights the puzzle on the correlations between human capital and economic growth. This study contributes to this debate by offering an explanation of the puzzling effects. Design/methodology/approach: Using the threshold model proposed by Kremer et al. (2013), the results document that there is a threshold effect in the human capital–growth nexus. Findings: The findings illustrate that the relationship between human capital and economic growth is weakly positive up to a certain threshold level of governance; however, the relationship turns out to be positive once the threshold level has been achieved. Originality/value: The mixed evidence on the human capital–growth relationship can be explained through institutional quality differences. The findings recommend that better governance is complementary to contribute to the productive use of human capital in achieving higher economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore different forms and models of integration between Islamic commercial finance and social finance including the problem that arise as well as the solution of each of the models to promote inclusive economic growth. At the end of the paper, the authors have identified the strategy to execute and validate by the decision-makers. Design/methodology/approach: This approach uses two methods which are Delphi and analytical network process (ANP). The authors conduct literature review and four rounds Delphi to construct the integration model, the problem and solution of each model, as well as the questionnaire of ANP. Moreover, using an ANP method, the authors conducted interviews with decision-makers in the areas of Islamic commercial finance as well as social finance, and analyzed the results to identify key models that would create inclusivity and quality of economic growth. To ensure credibility of the results, the authors selected the respondents based on their experience in the fields, as well as their unique perspectives that will complement the group as a whole. Findings: After conducting the four rounds Delphi, the authors found five types of Islamic social and commercial integration which are the ownership, institutional, operational, bottom line and mandatory integration. Based on the analysis of the ANP result, the authors argue that all integration can help the country in attaining with the support of government in terms of making the integration as a vision as well as to push the education of social finance more to the stakeholders. Originality/value: This study is among the emerging studies that explore operational aspects of integration of social and commercial finance within the context of inclusive growth strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper investigates into the human capital–economic growth nexus by arguing that investment in early education and health helps in achieving higher economic growth. Early investment in human capital matters most for economic growth than the increase in human capital over the years. Design/methodology/approach: A dynamic vector error correction model (VECM) together with the impulse response function and variance decomposition are used on data for Mauritius from 1983 to 2019. The paper distinguishes between the short-run and the long-run effects of human capital measured by the pupil–teacher ratio in pre-primary education and life expectancy at birth. Findings: This study's findings reveal that investment in early education and health has contributed positively to growth performance. There is evidence for long-run growth effects arising from a positive shock in the education and health indicators. Originality/value: This paper contributes to both the theoretical and empirical literature on the human capital–growth nexus. Mauritius as a natural resource poor small economy is an important case study as it has started early in investing in its people to promote economic growth. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2021-0674. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

François Perroux was an economist of strong convictions and fruitful ideas. His belief, which was also shared by other eminent development economists of his time, that backwardness was not a fate is entirely reflected in his development pole theory, which has a prominent place within the regional development theory. This implies that his theory was highly influential, as evidenced by the fact that strategies based on development poles were implemented around the world, in both developed and developing countries. Although these strategies took different forms, largely depending on the specific contexts in which they were applied, there was a common factor in all of them, which was the importance of the direct use of large-scale investment resources to generate the hoped-for structural changes through accelerated economic growth. Looking carefully at the Italian and Brazilian cases, it should be noted that the development pole strategies had, in addition to the use of heavy investment resources already mentioned, some common characteristics, such as: the focus of attention directed toward the backward regions, specifically the Mezzogiorno region in Italy and the Amazon region in Brazil; the fight against regional disparities within both countries through structural change and the strengthening of backward regional economies as an underlying reason; and the active participation of the State in the drawing up and implementation processes of development poles. This chapter aims at comparing the development pole strategies in Italy and Brazil, highlighting similarities and differences of these experiences in triggering the long-awaited regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the study aims to examine the direct effect of illicit financial flows (IFF) and quality of governance (QoG) on economic growth. Second, this study seeks to examine the moderating effect of QoG on the economic consequences of IFF. Design/methodology/approach: This study collected data from nine The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries for the period of 10 years from 2008 to 2019. The study concerned an analysis of the testing of a conceptual framework which based on secondary data which may lack a comprehensive substantiation on the grounds of measurement theory. A partial least squares (PLS) modelling using the SmartPLS 3.2.8 version was used as a statistical tool to examine the measurement and structural model. Findings: Key findings provide empirical support on the effect of IFF and QoG on economic growth. It also confirmed that QoG significantly moderated the relationship between IFF and economic growth by reducing the negative impact of IFF on economic growth. Practical implications: Immediate corrective action needs to be implemented by policymakers of ASEAN countries to strengthen QoG to effectively curb IFF activities. Originality/value: This study provides current empirical evidence on the relationship of IFF, QoG and economic growth within ASEAN countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Corruption is commonly seen as a primary impediment to economic development, and its eradication has therefore featured high on development agendas. Most anti-corruption efforts in international development however fail. This paper aims to review recent attempts to unpack the "black box" of corruption to better understand its functioning in developing countries and find ways to combat corruption effectively. Design/methodology/approach: The study has been undertaken through a comparative literature and case analysis of some of the primary findings within the field of anti-corruption in international development of the past decade. Findings: The research finds that the black-and-white conceptualisation of corruption as an impediment to economic development, which is dominant in development circles, commonly fails to understand corruption as an alternative form of problem-solving in specific institutional settings. This has both hindered anti-corruption efforts and given unwarranted primacy to anti-corruption efforts in international development, to the loss of other priorities. Practical implications: Policy-makers need to accept that there are no "magic bullets" against corruption and work in a much more contextual manner, while accepting the fact that corruption might not be the primary impediment to economic growth in their country. Originality/value: The paper strengthens recent calls for a more contextualized approach to combat corruption, which have been given insufficient attention in policy design and most of the literature on corruption, providing a novel starting point for "functional", politically-aware anti-corruption and development efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aims to investigate the role of monetary policy in encouraging economic growth through bank loans, as well as estimating the optimal monetary policy rate (MPR), which may be damaging to Ghana's economic growth if exceeded. Design/methodology/approach: Using annual data spanning from 1990 to 2017, the authors used Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) econometric approach to investigate the impact of monetary policy on economic growth. Lind and Mehlum (2010) U test estimation technique is used in determining the threshold level. Findings: The empirical findings demonstrated that the monetary transmission mechanism through the credit channel is poor in the long run, and the effectiveness of monetary policy is dependent on the financial sector's performance. A non-monotonic relationship between monetary and economic growth was also discovered in the study. As a result, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) should not adopt an interest rate for monetary policy that surpasses 23.7%. Practical implications: Because of the non-monotonic link between MPR and economic growth, it is necessary to expand the financial market and ensure that the policy rate does not exceed the threshold level. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is one of the first studies to look at the MPR as a potential source of negative economic growth. The paper's findings could aid the MPC in determining the MPR. A MPR that is too high could eventually damage the financial sector and lead to economic disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper examines the relationship between Islamic banking and the growth of the economy in Nigeria in both the short run and long run. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs quarterly secondary time series data for Islamic banking as well as major macroeconomic variables to study the contribution of Islamic banking to the economy of Nigeria. It employs autoregressive distributed lags (ARDL) and error correction model (ECM) approaches from 2013 quarter 1 up to 2020 quarter 2. Findings: The results show that Islamic banking has a positive contribution to Nigeria's economy in both short run and long run, but this contribution is insignificant. Practical implications: Policymakers should endeavor to redesign the country's financial architecture and come up with policies that can support the growth of Islamic finance sector. This will significantly strengthen Nigeria's position as one of the leading Islamic finance hubs in Africa. Originality/value: This is the first study to examine the contribution of Islamic banking to the Nigerian economy according to the best knowledge of the authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper aims to examine the effects of floods on economic growth in India from 1980 to 2019, taking into account the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and foreign aid. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) and Phillip–Perron (PP) tests to determine the stationarity of the variables. Several models, including autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL), fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS), dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) and canonical cointegration regression (CCR), are used to examine the impact of floods on economic growth. Findings: The bounds test determines the long-term relationship between floods, FDI inflows, economic growth and foreign aid. According to the ARDL and FMOLS models, floods have a negative long-term and short-term impact on India's economic growth. Furthermore, FDI inflows and foreign aid are beneficial to economic growth. The findings of the ARDL and FMOLS models are confirmed by the DOLS and CCR models. Granger causality establishes a unidirectional causality that extends from floods to economic growth. Further diagnostic tests show that the estimates are free of heteroskedasticity, serial correlation and parameter instability. Practical implications: Indian government needs to invest more in research and development on flood management techniques. Institutional strengthening is also required to implement pre- and post-flood prevention measures properly. Sound disaster financing strategy and proper water bodies management should be prioritised. Foreign investment opportunities should be encouraged by strengthening international relations. Originality/value: This is the first time-series study that analysed the effects of floods on economic growth in India. Moreover, the paper contributes to floods literature by applying several econometric models for robustness check. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Departing from the expansionary austerity literature, this study aims at examining how fiscal consolidation affects the economic growth in Tunisia using annual data over the period 1970–2018. Design/methodology/approach: To revisit the fiscal consolidation-economic growth nexus, the ambiguous empirical findings in previous literature make useful the adoption of alternative econometric techniques. The authors use an extended nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) cointegration approach developed by Shin et al. (2014) and the Diks and Panchenko's (2006) nonlinear Granger causality test. Furthermore, a traditional approach based on changes in cyclically-adjusted primary balance was applied to define the fiscal consolidation episodes in Tunisia. Findings: The empirical evidence reveal that fiscal adjustment in Tunisia may hurt the economy, both in the short- and long-run, through its contractionary effect on economic growth. Another important finding concerns the unidirectional nonlinear Granger causality running from fiscal consolidation to economic growth. Practical implications: Fiscal adjustment in Tunisia is found to play a prominent role in reducing public debt; but at the same time, it may be costly and not beneficial to the economy. This view corroborates with the fact that fiscal consolidation is more likely to end successfully only under specific conditions. This calls for a deeper reflection upon new insights regarding the design of fiscal adjustment in Tunisia. To reach this end, it is suggested to combine the defensive consolidation strategy with offensive components such as investment, infrastructure, education and health. Originality/value: The existing economic analysis on fiscal policy-growth nexus in Tunisia has often identified fiscal consolidation through the use of the actual fiscal balance. With the goal of more accurate estimation, this study bridges the gap by using the cyclically-adjusted primary balance (CAPB) as a much suitable indicator to investigate the non-Keynesian effect of fiscal consolidation in Tunisia. This indicator eliminates the influence of cyclical fluctuations and many other fixed expenditures such as the interest paid on the public debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Research and development (R&D) is increasingly considered to be a key driver of economic growth. The relationship between these variables is commonly examined using linear models and thus relies only on single-point estimates. Against this background, this paper provides new evidence on the impact of R&D on economic growth using a machine learning approach that makes it possible to go beyond single-point estimation. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use the kernel regularized least squares (KRLS) approach, a machine learning method designed for tackling econometric models without imposing arbitrary functional forms on the relationship between the outcome variable and the covariates. The KRLS approach learns the functional form from the data and thus yields consistent estimates that are robust to functional form misspecification. It also provides pointwise marginal effects and captures non-linear relationships. The empirical analyses are conducted using a sample of 101 countries over the period 2000–2020. Findings: The estimates indicate that R&D expenditure and high-tech exports positively and significantly influence economic growth in a non-linear manner. The authors also find a positive and statistically significant relationship between economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions. In both cases, the effects are higher for upper-middle-income and high-income countries. These results suggest that a substantial effort is needed to green economic growth. Internet access is found to be an important factor in supporting economic growth, especially in high-income and middle-income countries. Practical implications: This paper contributes to underlining the importance of investing in R&D to support growth and shows that the disparity between countries is driven by the determinants of economic growth (human capital in R&D, high-tech exports, Internet access, economic freedom, unemployment rate and greenhouse gas emissions). Moreover, since the authors find that R&D expenditure and greenhouse gas emissions are positively associated with economic growth, technological progress with green characteristics may be an important pathway for green economic growth. Originality/value: This paper uses an innovative machine learning method to provide new evidence that innovation supports economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to examine the moderating impact of absorptive capacity on the foreign direct investment (FDI)–growth link using the data for the period 1995–2019. Design/methodology/approach: The authors apply the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model and threshold analysis for empirical analysis. Findings: The findings indicate that the link between FDI and economic growth is influenced indirectly by absorptive capacities, such as financial development, institutional quality, technological capability, and trade openness. However, while examining the linear FDI–growth nexus, the authors noticed that human capital and infrastructure did not affect the relationship; when the non-linearity in the link is considered, the authors noted that all absorptive capacities (including human capital and infrastructure), when interacted with FDI, have a positive effect on growth. Furthermore, FDI stimulates growth if the absorptive capacities have exceeded a certain threshold level. Research limitations/implications: From a practical standpoint, it is reasonable to conclude that improving absorptive capacities is critical in order to perceive FDI as a growth driver. Originality/value: India has been able to position itself as a preferred destination for FDI (when the major economies are facing a sharp decline in FDI inflows) despite the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it still suffers from low growth. Although much of the literature admits that absorptive capacity is crucial for FDI to promote growth, no study in the case of India examines FDI–growth nexus conditioned upon absorptive capacity. Moreover, the authors have used threshold analysis for assessing the non-linearities in FDI–growth nexus contingent on absorptive capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The economic shock posed by the current COVID-19 outbreak brought out a worldwide public health emergency with a close relationship between the industrial marketing practices, the health level of society and its economic development. The purpose of this study is to analyse the industrial dynamics in health care and their impact on economic growth and health status. Design/methodology/approach: To empirically investigate the relationship between growth and health, the authors use a data set drawn from 29 selected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries over the period 2000 and 2019. Using panel regressions, the authors investigate the impact of the health-care industry measured in terms of health status, health expenditure, sales on pharmaceutical products, the number of persons working in health care and the coverage by private health insurances. Fixed effect and random effect regressions are used to estimate this model. Findings: Overall, the results are suggestive of a nexus between the industrial marketing dynamics of health-care context and economic growth – both interacting and improving each other. As the quality of the health-care market enhances, the economy grows richer and the health status of the population improves considerably. Practical implications: To support health-care markets in OECD countries, health policymakers need to formulate a long-term industrial health policy that addresses all the social and individual determinants of health. Originality/value: To the best of the knowledge, this is the first study to provide a better understanding of the relationship between health-care industrial dynamics and economic growth in OECD countries along different dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper investigates the joint relationship between economic growth, income inequality and fiscal adjustments using a panel of 47 Japanese prefectures from 1998 to 2017. Design/methodology/approach: To assess jointly fiscal adjustment impacts on growth and inequality and to take into account the interdependence between these variables, the authors use a simultaneous equation model and estimate it by using the three-stage least squares estimation method. Findings: The results show evidence of a trade-off between growth and inequality through fiscal adjustments. They reveal that first, fiscal adjustments have contractionary effects on growth. Second, they highlight the disparity between urban and rural taxpayers. Third, they provide evidence of a trade-off between fiscal adjustments and inequality through the labor market. Research limitations/implications: Based on the literature, the composition of fiscal adjustments is a crucial factor in analyzing fiscal adjustment impacts on economic growth and income inequality. The authors do not consider this aspect in the analysis; however, fiscal policy outcomes variables are included as a workaround for this. Practical implications: These results suggest that authorities favor expenditure-based adjustments as they are less contractionary on the economy. Moreover, they should finance public expenditures through a tax on capital in order to mitigate fiscal adjustment impacts on inequality while promoting growth. Originality/value: The paper is novel in testing the existence of a trade-off between economic growth and income inequality through fiscal adjustments at a sub-national level with an additional focus on urban and rural regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper offers a review of national and local planning policies towards warehouse development within the UK. Design/methodology/approach: The first sections of the paper provide a description of the simple method of enquiry and sources of information used in the paper, outlines of the main factors driving the demand for warehousing space in the UK, and of the nature, scale and operation of modern warehouses, and a short review into the limited literature published to date, on town planning and on how it has influenced warehouse development. This is followed by an examination of some of the planning issues associated with warehouse development, two mini-case studies of how these issues are perceived and played out, a discussion of some of the issues raised in this examination and the mini-case studies. Findings: Town planning policies were traditionally seen as a restraint on the development of warehousing but while current national and local planning policies make little explicit reference to warehousing, they have often been cited in support of new warehouse development because such policies emphasise the importance of supporting economic growth and fostering the conditions in which businesses can invest and expand. Research limitations/implications: The paper has a number of limitations, not least that its source material is drawn from the Internet, and in that no primary data were collected from warehouse developers, warehouse operators, local planning officers or local authority councillors, and that the geographical coverage was limited. Originality/value: The paper offers an accessible review of the current town planning issues associated with warehouse development in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In the backdrop of growing global concern on escalating CO2 emission leading to climate disorder and controversy between economic growth and environment, this study undertakes a decomposition analysis of the top 20 emitters of the world during 1992–2016 with two objectives: to identify the relative contribution of the major driving factors in CO2 emission and to comprehend the role and performance of sectoral energy consumption pattern in changing the emission level. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses variance analysis method to perform two stage decomposition: first, it decomposes emission into the major driving factors, and, secondly, it also decomposes fossil fuel intensity of different sectors into fuel mix and energy intensity effects, which are new in the literature. Findings: The results indicate that aggressive pursuit for economic growth, particularly by developing countries, is the major reason behind unprecedented emission growth, with income effect, fossil fuel intensity effect and population effect having substantial roles. Considerable decline in dependence on fossil fuel, coupled with rising emissions, signifies that emission intensity is still to be harnessed. Sectoral decomposition shows that while fossil fuel intensity has declined in residential sector, it has remarkably shot up in industry, transport and commercial sectors. On the other hand, sectoral energy intensity has declined, particularly due to favourable performances of transport and commercial sectors. Research limitations/implications: The detailed country-wise sectoral analysis identifies the sectors with favourable contribution in curtailing emission and lends a direction to other countries for policy making. Originality/value: This study contributes by incorporating multi-country sectoral segregation in decomposition analysis. It focuses not only on energy intensity, but on the effect of energy substitution in each sector as well. It identifies the sectors that have lowered their dependence on fossil fuel to highlight that emission can effectively be dealt with through a prudent choice of fuel mix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine the effect of corruption on the economic growth of Ghana and to establish the strength of relationships among corrupting activities. Design/methodology/approach: The research used structural equation modelling on selected data from the World Economic Forum executive opinion survey on corrupting activities and data on economic growth measures from the world development indicators to achieve the research objectives. Findings: The results show that all the observed corrupting activities (except diversion of public funds) adversely influence selected economic growth indicators. The study concludes that corrupting activities, independently and mutually impede Ghana's economic growth. Research limitations/implications: The research is limited by the availability of data, hence, quarterised data on selected variables from 2008 to 2017 were examined. Practical implications: The results suggest that corruption encapsulates all the seven activities of corruption to one degree or another, which are economic growth hampering. Originality/value: The study extends the corruption-economic growth nexus literature by incorporating several corrupting activities from multiple sectors/areas as follows: the government and politicians, private businesses, judiciary and citizens into a single model to test how these independently and mutually impede economic growth. By identifying and using specific corrupting activities from distinct and diverse sectors/areas to capture both the supply side and demand side of corruption and the private and public sectors, a better comprehension of the corruption-economic growth nexus is attained. This may aid emerging economies and anti-corruption agencies in drafting specific and targeted corruption reduction policies/programmes to minimise poverty and raise living standards to aid the realisation of sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine organized crime, corruption and their challenges to the economic growth of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Organized crime and corruption can have a grossly negative impact on the economic growth process of every system, but the extent of damage they have needs to be measured to determine the policy implications to the region. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses the fixed effects model and the feasible generalized least square known also as the random-effects model with the pooled ordinary least square as a control on the defined objectives using secondary time series data that covers the period 2000 to 2019 for 11 countries in the ECOWAS region. The panel nature of the data set provides a rich degree of freedom with 220 (20 years for 11 countries – 20*11 = 220) observations. Findings: Results show among others that organized crime does not have a significant impact on economic growth, whereas corruption significantly reduces economic growth. Research limitations/implications: Unavailability of data affected the scope of the study in the areas of a number of countries selected and years chosen for the study. The implication is that it would have given the study better degrees of freedom. Practical implications: The practical implication of this study has exposed corruption hinders economic growth in West Africa. Social implications: The social implication of the study is that it has exposed that though the organized crime was a bad phenomenon it does not retard economic growth significantly in West Africa. Originality/value: This study is original and of immense importance as its the first study to focus on organized crime and corruption's influence on economic growth among West African states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to explore the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on exports of goods and services, logistics performance, environmental management system (ISO 14001) certification and quality management system (ISO 9001) certification in top affected Asian countries of India, Iran, Indonesia, Philippines, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach: A novel grey relational analysis models' approach is used to examine the inter-relationship between COVID-19 economic growth and environmental performance. Moreover, the authors applied a conservative (maximin) model to investigate which countries have the least intensifying affected among all of the top affected COVID-19 Asian countries based on the SS degree of grey relation values. The data used in this study was collected from multiple databases during 2020 for analysis. Findings: Results indicate that the severity of COVID-19 shows a strong negative association and influence of COVID-19 on the exportation of goods and services, logistics performance, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications in all the six highly affected countries during a pandemic outbreak. Although the adverse effects of COVID-19 in exporting countries persisted until December 31, 2020, their magnitude decreased over time in Indonesia and Pakistan. During the COVID-19 outbreak, Pakistan showed comparatively better performance among the six top highly affected Asian countries due to its smart locked down strategy and prevents its economy from severe damages. While India and Iran export drastically go down due to a rapid increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Research limitations/implications: The research findings produce much-required policy suggestions for leaders, world agencies and governments to take corrective measures on an emergent basis to prevent the economies from more damages and improve their logistics, environmental and quality performance during the pandemic of COVID-19. Originality/value: This study develops a framework and investigates the intensifying effects of COVID-19 effects on economic growth, logistics performance, environmental performance and quality production processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Since 2004, Pakistan carried the banking sector under the umbrella of the Islamic financial paradigm, consequently the Islamic Banking Industry (IBI) placed an upright position in the banking and financial market of Pakistan. In this context, this study aims to analyze the effect of Shariah-compliant products of the IBI on the pace of economic growth in Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach: The data set covered 13 Pakistani Islamic banks comprising four full-fledged Islamic banks and 9 conventional banks holdings standalone Islamic Branches, for the period 2004–2019. Considering nature of the empirical model and data set, the estimation was carried out with the Pooled Ordinary least squares estimation technique. Findings: The findings of the study reveal that Shariah-compliant products have a positive effect on the pace of economic growth. This indication is based on the fact that five out of six Shariah-compliant products hold positive signs and are statistically significant. In addition, the empirical evidence shows that at large conventional financial sector signifies its role in the Shariah-compliant products and pace of economic growth nexus. Among the control variables, foreign direct investment, human capital, trade openness, inflation and private credit pose negative, whereas money supply and stock market capitalization have a positive effect on the pace of economic growth in Pakistan. Findings of the study points towards the fact that Shariah-compliant financing has great potential to enhance the economic growth of Pakistan therefore to touch the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Practical implications: Having played a significant role in the growth process, Islamic bankers should portray a positive image of their industry to the government authorities. The government should design a public policy to encourage Islamic modes of finance at a macro level to increase the pace of economic growth and therefore SDGs realization. Originality/value: Findings of the study present new insight into the application of Shariah-compliant products of IBI toward the realization of SDGs in case of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper investigates the relationship between human capital, economic freedom, governance performance, and economic growth and whether institutional factors such as governance performance and economic freedom mediate the association between human capital and economic growth. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, the authors apply the panel data regression method to verify five hypotheses and check the robustness of the empirical findings from four aspects (chow test, panel unit root test, granger test and generalized method of moments) based on the data covering China, India, Russia, Brazil and South Africa from 2000 to 2018. Findings: After multiple tests with mixed methods, the empirical results show that the relationship between human capital and economic growth is not linear but inverted U-shaped. Furthermore, human capital has a positive effect on economic growth only in a certain period of time, and governance performance positively moderates the effect of human capital on economic growth in BRICS. Originality/value: First, the impact of human capital on economic growth is not linear but an inverted U-shaped and governance performance moderates the effect of human capital on economic growth in BRICS. The study and research model enhances the authors' insights on the advantage and challenges of human capital in the future. Second, the proposed multi-methods in the study accurately forecast economic growth which partially solves endogenous problems because of reverse causality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Environmental regulation is in a continuous state of intense change and modification amid the long-term tensions between environmental protection and economic growth. In this article, the authors creatively investigate how fluctuations of environmental regulation influence a nation's economic growth while also examining the mediating effect of technological innovation. Design/methodology/approach: Using sample data of 36 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries from 2013 to 2018, environmental regulation is differentiated in two aspects of formal environmental regulation (FER) and informal environmental regulation (IER) and analyzed to assess the effects of regulatory fluctuations on investment and technological innovation. Findings: The research results demonstrate that both FER fluctuation and IER fluctuation exert a significant negative impact on economic growth. These two fluctuations in environmental regulation increase uncertainty and unpredictable risks for corporations and investors, significantly stifling the willingness to contribute to innovation activities and leading to a diminished level of innovation. Technological innovation is revealed to have a mediating influence on the relationship of environmental regulation fluctuation to economic growth. Originality/value: These findings enrich the research on the impact of environmental regulation from a dynamic, multinational perspective, contributing to the literature by exploring the relationships between environmental regulation fluctuation, technological innovation and economic growth at the OECD-country level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study explores the interplay among climate change, economic growth and energy consumption in G20 countries by considering the role of green energy. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses various empirical tools to determine the association between carbon emissions, economic growth, renewables, non-renewables, population and urbanization for a panel of G20 countries between 1990 and 2014. Findings: Empirical outcomes from various empirical tools reveal a positive and significant impact of economic growth, non-renewable energy consumption and urbanization on carbon emissions, and their increase will further lead to the deterioration of environmental quality. The elasticity coefficient of renewable energy coefficient is negative and significant implying an increase in its consumption will improve environmental quality. Panel causality test results reveal the existence of both short-run and long-run causality among the variables. Therefore, results infer that a reduction in the consumption of non-renewable and substitution with renewables will have a significant impact on carbon emission mitigation. Originality/value: Through this study, the authors suggest the sustainable use of renewables as they are sustainable, secure, efficient, environmentally justifiable and economically viable sources of energy. Therefore, replacing traditional non-renewables with modern renewables has the potential in avoiding the dangerous impacts of greenhouse gases (GHGs) particularly in the G20 countries. This paper intends to guide policymakers regarding the environmental quality and renewable energy consumption required to hold back the fossil fuel dependence for a cleaner and greener planet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]