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Studying environmental quality is essential for promoting sustainable development and ensuring a healthy and prosperous future for all, as it directly affects human health, well‐being, and quality of life. This paper looks at how globalisation, remittances, human capital, foreign direct investment, and financial growth affect carbon dioxide emissions in landlocked African countries from 1980 to 2018. The study looks at the elasticities between study factors by using second‐generation tests, as well as Continuously‐updated and Fully Modified (Cup‐FM) and Continuously‐updated and Bias‐Corrected (Cup‐BC) tests. The results show that remittances, human capital, natural resources, and income growth all make the environment worse by increasing CO2 emissions, whilst globalisation, foreign direct investment, and financial development all make it better by reducing emissions. The panel causality analysis shows that there are two ways in which transfers and CO2 emissions cause each other, but only one way in which CO2 emissions cause globalisation. Globalisation should be implemented sustainably to avoid irreversible long‐term environmental impacts that deprive future generations of the chance to prosper or maintain their quality of life. It should also empower people and reduce inequality in landlocked countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study implies finding the linkages among financial inclusion, non-performing loans (NPLs), and economic growth. The study uses large panel data of 21 Organization for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD) countries for the dynamic panel estimation by using the Driscoll-Kraay standard errors with fixed effect. The results of the dynamic panel estimation technique revealed the existence of a long-run relationship among financial inclusion, NPLs, and economic growth. Financial inclusion contributes positively to economic growth by reducing NPLs. Furthermore, NPLs negatively impact financial inclusion as well as economic growth. The study presents important policy recommendations to control NPLs and boost the level of financial inclusion in the selected economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of education is inevitable in the process of societal reform and achieving sustainable development. Sustainable development remains unachievable without advancing the environmental quality. It is noteworthy to explore the relationship between natural resources, renewable energy consumption, and environmental quality. The current study analyzes the impact of renewable energy use, natural resources abundance, and education on environmental quality by controlling the role of financial development and economic growth within selected Asian countries from 1990 to 2018. The study focuses on second‐generation unit root and co‐integration methods that control the heterogeneity in the data. Empirical results inferred that any expansion in education rate and renewable energy enhances environmental quality. Natural resource abundance increases the level of carbon emissions. The results of Dumitrescu and Hurlin panel causality ensure a bidirectional link between financial development and emissions as well as renewable energy and emissions. The findings furnish important policy implications by furnishing empirical evidence from Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging economies are experiencing considerable economic changes due to change in energy demand and CO2 emissions. To explore the link between energy demand and CO2 emissions, this study disaggregates energy consumption into renewable and nonrenewable, and investigates its impact on carbon (CO2) emissions by incorporating the role of trade openness using the environment Kuznets curve (EKC) framework. Emerging economies from 1990 to 2015 are examined based on Morgan Stanley Capital International's (MSCI's) classification. This empirical study uses cross-sectional dependence (CD) test and second-generation panel unit root test for precise estimation. The Pedroni and Westerlund panel cointegration tests are used to examine the long-run equilibrium. Continuously updated fully modified (CUP-FM) and continuously updated bias-corrected (CUP-BC) approaches are applied to investigate long-run output elasticities while the vector error correction model (VECM) is used to examine the direction of causal relationships among the variables. The results show that renewable energy consumption affects the CO2 emissions negatively while nonrenewable energy consumption positively impacts the CO2 emissions. The study also supports the EKC hypothesis. Trade openness adversely affects the CO2 emissions which are an imperative inclination of these economies towards globalization. Moreover, in the long run, energy consumption from renewable energy and economic growth Granger cause CO2 emission, nonrenewable energy, and trade openness. In the short run, renewable energy Granger causes economic growth, while economic growth Granger causes nonrenewable energy. The study offers some vital policy suggestions for these emerging economies and some interesting lessons for the developing economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The linkage between high concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and climate change is well recognized as there is severe influence of climate change on public health. Carbon dioxide is most prominent GHG which deteriorates the environment and impacts human health. On the parallel, economic growth also affects health conditions sometimes positively or vice versa. The objective of this research work is to examine the dynamic linkages among CO2 emissions, health expenditures, and economic growth in the presence of gross fixed capital formation and per capita trade by using auto regressive distributive lag (ARDL) model for Pakistan covering annual data from the year 1995–2017. Our empirical results show that there is significant long run as well as short-term causal relationship between health expenditure, CO2 emissions, and economic growth in Pakistan. Bidirectional relationship of Granger causality is found between health expenditures and CO2 emissions, and further between health expenditures and economic growth. Short-run unidirectional causality is running from carbon emissions to health-related expenditures. The bidirectional causal relationship is also investigated between carbon emissions and growth as well as gross fixed capital formation and growth. Then, policy recommendations towards controlling pollution, particularly CO2 emissions and health expenditures without compromising economic growth are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy sector has become the largest contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Among these GHG emissions, most threatening is CO2 emission which comes from the consumption of fossil fuels. This empirical work analyzes the roles of renewable energy consumption and non-renewable energy consumption in CO2 emissions in Pakistan. The empirical evidence is based on an auto-regressive distributive lag (ARDL) model of data from 1970 to 2016. The disaggregate analysis reveals that renewable energy consumption has an insignificant impact on CO2 emission in Pakistan and that, in the non-renewable energy model, natural gas and coal are the main contributors to the level of pollution in Pakistan. Economic growth positively contributes to CO2 emission in the renewable energy model but not in the non-renewable energy model. Policies that emphasize the contribution of renewable energy to economic growth and that add more clean energy into the energy mix are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purposefulness of this research is to identify the university-industry (U-I) activities and linkages that enhance student skills and employability. Gleaned from Pakistan, data were collected and analyzed from 405 students and faculty members, from the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology and employees from pesticide companies. The Mann Whitney U-test and the Kruskal-Wallis test help identify crucial U-I activities and linkages that enhance student skills and employability. The results show that internships and particularly international ones, along with stipends are most pertinent, especially in developing countries. Also important are joint projects, along with industrial involvement in curriculum development. Despite its qualifications, the research contribution is significant, as a few studies conducted in Pakistan can truly help policymakers in the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the current situation of collaborative university-industry (U-I) linkages in Pakistan, a questionnaire was disseminated to both public and private universities and industries, checking the propensity for such linkages. The results show multiple constraints imposed on collaborative U-I linkages from both sides. Factor analysis allows comparing whether both universities and industries identify the same constraints or not. Apparently, engineering departments exhibit more collaborative U-I linkages than other disciplines, while humanities departments are awarded the minimum of such linkages. The paucity of proper arrangements, procedures, mechanisms, and structures for collaboration seems to be one of the most important impediments to collaborative U-I linkages. Furthermore, on the one hand, university people see the lack both of time, owed to a heavy workload, and of laboratory facilities for research and development work, as predominant constraints to U-I interactions. On the other hand, industry people cite as prominent barriers the low commercialization potential of university research and the lack of interest among academics to collaborate with the industry. Despite its qualifications, the study concludes with practical policymaking recommendations and future research suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to bring the attention of Muslim world toward uniformity of Shariah principles. The paper also presents different opinions of experts toward standardization. Selection criteria of four different Islamic market indices are compared. Some points like Halal business and debt ratio are common, while others are different. Design/methodology/approach – The qualitative research method has been used in this research work and various types of documents and research articles were analyzed. The authors analyzed the data of four Islamic stock markets in the world. First, they write all the screening criteria of every Islamic stock market for selecting a company for their stock market. Afterwards, they make a table that presents the comparison of screening criteria of all Islamic market indices. Findings – A Shariah Board of Islamic Market approves any company as being Islamic Shariah-compliant based on certain criteria. Different Islamic market indices use their own criteria for selecting the company. Every Islamic market index has its own rules and regulations of the Shariah Board. Sometimes these rules are contradictory with each other; for example, if KMI-30 Islamic index is not selecting one particular company due to higher debt ratio but Dow Jones Islamic market index selects that company because that company meets the criteria of the Dow Jones Islamic market index. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation is that there is no approach to regulators of the different Islamic market indices around the globe. Practical implications – If Islamic indices work on the suggestions provided in this paper, standardized criteria will be available to all indices and, consequently, confidence of the investors and operational issues will be resolved. Investment will be increased. Social implications – The belief of non-Muslims will be strong that Islamic laws are the same any where. A shift from conventional finance to Islamic Finance will be sped up. Originality/value – This research work is original and first attempt on the topic of standardization of screening criteria of Islamic stock markets around the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study implies finding the linkages among financial inclusion, non-performing loans (NPLs), and economic growth. The study uses large panel data of 21 Organization for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD) countries for the dynamic panel estimation by using the Driscoll-Kraay standard errors with fixed effect. The results of the dynamic panel estimation technique revealed the existence of a long-run relationship among financial inclusion, NPLs, and economic growth. Financial inclusion contributes positively to economic growth by reducing NPLs. Furthermore, NPLs negatively impact financial inclusion as well as economic growth. The study presents important policy recommendations to control NPLs and boost the level of financial inclusion in the selected economies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhang, Zhang, Zhou and Zaidi.)