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In today's globalized industrial landscape, marked by fierce competition and evolving consumer preferences, the imperative of ensuring product quality, environmental sustainability, and occupational health and safety has intensified for firms operating in both domestic and international markets. Integrated management systems transcend mere compliance serve as a strategic framework for firms to fortify their environmental sustainability credentials and mitigate reputational risks effectively. This study investigates the transformative potential of integrated management systems in stimulating export growth and domestic sales within Pakistan's industrial sector. Utilizing panel data analysis of 94 textile firms spanning listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange from 2009 to 2022. This study employs the fixed effect model to empirically estimate the results. The findings underscore or unveil the significant role of integrated management systems in fostering export growth and improving environmental performance. The outcome of the study also suggests important policy implications that how integrated management systems can be potent policy avenue to achieve business success and broader societal and environmental objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary aim of this study was to explore the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on developing nations, with a specific focus on Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India. To accurately portray the pandemic's impact on these economies, our research employed a model incorporating fixed effects. The findings revealed a notable decline in the per capita income of the countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The existing economic downturn can be attributed to various factors, with a significant contributor being the reduced availability of labor. The prevalence of illnesses and adherence to public health guidelines led to a noticeable shortage of labor for active participation in economic activities. As a consequence, there was a decline in both productivity and economic output. Moreover, our analysis yielded a thought-provoking finding: a notable increase in fatalities had a discernible effect on the populace. The population experienced a significant decline as a result of the fatalities caused by the pandemic, an event that had complex economic ramifications. This decline in population paradoxically resulted in a rise in GDP per capita. By employing a fixed effects model, our research gains greater resilience, rendering it a valuable asset for policymakers, economists, and scholars endeavoring to navigate the intricate landscape of the effects of pandemics on emerging economies. In summary, the findings of this research stand to make a significant contribution to the wider comprehension of the repercussions of COVID-19 on these particular countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impact of board governance mechanism on investment efficiency (IE) in PSX-listed firms. The study also examines the role of institutional ownership (IO) in board-IE relationships. In addition, we extend our analysis to re-examine this relationship by splitting the sample into two groups, i.e., the introductory phase of corporate governance (CG) i.e., 2004 to 2013, and revised codes of CG (2014 to 2018) to examine the impact of these separately on IE. The sample data comprises 155 non-financial PSX-listed firms from 2004 to 2018. IE is measured using firms' growth opportunities. The random effect model is used to test the study's hypotheses. A robustness test is also performed to validate the study's findings. The paired-sample t-test results show a significant improvement in IE after revising the CG codes in 2012. According to the regression results, board size has a significant direct, whereas board diversity has a significant inverse effect on IE. Regarding moderating effect, IO was found to moderate the relationship between board independence and IE significantly. Furthermore, it was discovered that following the issuance of revised CG codes-2012, the level of board independence and diversity increased in PSX-listed firms; however, only diversity positively impacted IE, and board independence had no impact on IE from 2014 to 2018. Despite the issuance of revised CG codes-2012, the level of CG among PSX-listed firms is low, which is a source of concern for regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major source of disease burden worldwide, with an estimated 296 million individuals living with infections worldwide. Although vaccine programs exist to control infections, certain sub-populations around the world continue to have very high prevalence of HBV infection. Methods: A systematic search of studies of HBV published after 2010 was conducted for India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. Each paper was independently screened for risk of bias and inclusion. Data were extracted from included studies before being analysed to estimate pooled prevalence, and to conduct sub-group analyses. Random-effects models were used for estimating summary prevalence due to a high level of heterogeneity between studies, and funnel plots were combined with Egger's test to assess publication bias. Meta-regression was conducted to investigate sources of between-study heterogeneity. Results: The pooled prevalence of HBV across all studies was 3% (95% CI 0.02, 0.05). For countries with multiple studies, the pooled prevalence in India was 3% (95% CI 0.02, 0.04), in Pakistan 6% (95% CI 0.03, 0.09), in Bangladesh 5% (95% CI of 0.02, 0.12), and in Nepal 1% (95% CI 0.00, 0.08). There was some evidence of publication bias, and a high level of heterogeneity across studies. Risk of bias analysis found most studies to be of fair or moderate quality. Conclusions: The prevalence of HBV among countries in the sub-continent was higher than the global average, but was not as high as some other regions. Countries with greater numbers of displaced persons had higher prevalence of HBV, with a wide range of prevalence between subpopulations likely reflecting differential uptake, and implementation, of vaccination programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The current study aims to investigate the impact of firm performance on chief executive officer (CEO) remuneration in the context of an emerging market, i.e. Pakistan. Further, the interactive effect of financial constraints is investigated in the pay–performance relationship. Design/methodology/approach: The study's sample includes 173 non-financial firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. This study covers the years 2010–2019. The CEO compensation of the sample firms is measured in terms of salary and bonuses, perquisites and stock options paid to the CEO, whereas firm profitability is measured by return on assets, return on equity, Tobin's Q (Q) and earnings per share. The KZ Index measures the degree of financial constraint. The fixed effect model (FEM) and system GMM estimation techniques were used to conclude the study's findings. In addition, to test the robustness of the results, the authors computed the level of financial constraints using the WW Index. Findings: The findings show that firm performance has a significant positive impact on CEO compensation in all profitability measures except Tobin's Q. Further financial constraints have a significant negative impact on CEO compensation. The interactive variables of FC with all profitability measures have a significant negative impact on CEO compensation. Originality/value: This study examines the relationship between firm performance and CEO compensation. Furthermore, the current study expanded the analysis by incorporating the role of financial constraints in the pay–performance relationship, which has not previously been tested, particularly in the context of an emerging market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance and corporate financial risk while using firm life cycle stages as a moderating variable. OLS regression and fixed effect models are used. The sample data consists of 323 non-financial companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange during the period from 2008 to 2019. The OLS regression results of our study suggest a negative association between CSR performance and financial risk, that is, positive CSR performance of the firm substantially decreases the firm's financial risk. The firm life cycle moderates the relationship between CSR performance and corporate financial risk. This research used legitimacy theory and stakeholder theory to link CSR and the firm life cycle with corporate financial risk. The most crucial stage for a corporation is its state of maturity. Managers and owners are advised to pay attention to their corporations during this period to avoid expulsion or failure. This means that greater emphasis should be placed on enhancing the operations and overall health of the corporation during this stage. By doing so, the corporation can maintain a sustainable and successful trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous literature revealed that corporate governance (CG) attributes enhance firm performance. However, scant empirical research is available on how the CG attributes improve the intellectual capital (IC) efficiency. To fill this gap, the present study explores the effect of CG on IC efficiency. This study also intends to explore the moderating role of profitability on the nexus of CG and IC to identify whether it affects physical and intellectual capabilities. Using the census sampling technique, this study utilized the panel data of services firms in Pakistan over the period 2016–2020. The study adopted Pulic's model for computing IC efficiency, i.e., the value-added intellectual capital coefficient model. Fixed-effect model and two-stage least squares were utilized for the regression analysis. The study's findings revealed that independent directors, the board size, audit committee, and remuneration committee have a significant negative relationship with IC efficiency. CEO duality has demonstrated a significant positive nexus with IC efficiency. Interestingly, the negative coefficient of audit and remuneration committees becomes positive with the moderation of profitability. This study adds to the literature on the vital role of CG in fostering IC efficiency. The findings of this study might be helpful for the policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to put in place a solid corporate governance structure that enhances physical and intellectual capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is the momentous and persisting change in the world's temperature, precipitation, humidity, and other climatic variables. This study, therefore estimated the impact of climatic variations on tomato productivity across agro ecological zones of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Panel data for 28 years (1991-2018) across the six districts of the agro ecological was used due to availability of data on tomato productivity and climatic variables. Yield of tomato, area, maximum temperature and rainfall were included in the final estimated model. The results indicate that the average maximum temperature and average maximum temperature square have a significant impact on tomato yield. Average maximum temperature has positive coefficient while the average maximum temperature square has a negative coefficient. This demonstrates that, at first, the tomato yield increases as the temperature rises. It reaches the maximum at the critical temperature (34.95°C) but shows a decline once the temperature rises from the critical value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effective operation of board of directors is a key factor in a firm's ability to succeed. The function of boards in directing business operations has drawn a lot of attention in the area of corporate governance. Notably, it has been determined that having female board members is essential for improving the ability of decision-making processes. This paper aims to analyze the impact of board attributes and board gender diversity on the risk-taking of banks in South Asia i.e., Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh. For the analyses, data is taken from DataStream for the period of 2011 to 2022. Using the fixed effect model and generalized method of moment (GMM) model for testing the hypotheses, we find that board attributes such as board size, board meetings and board independence have significant and negative effects on the credit risk of banks. Additionally, board gender diversity also significantly and negatively reduces bank credit risk. The study adds to the body of knowledge that banks in South Asian countries may be able to understand how to effectively manage structure of board of directors and to consider female directors for proper monitoring in order to control credit risk. These findings can help banking sector develop strong corporate governance procedures and risk management plans. Keywords: corporate governance, board of directors, board gender diversity, credit risk, South Asian countries, fixed effect model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the cost of financial distress of non-financial firms listed on the Pakistan stock exchange. Furthermore, it considers the moderating role of concentrated ownership in the relationship between debt and expected financial distress costs. We used the panel data of 214 firms from 2010 to 2018 to analyse the results. We apply fixed effect model to test the hypotheses. We find that ex-ante financial distress costs are based not only on the probability of financial distress but also affect the amount of time and money spent during the distress period. The use of tangible fixed assets and long-term leverage lowers the cost of financial distress, whereas the use of short-term debt has no significant impact on the cost of financial distress. Furthermore, the company's ownership structure dampens the impact of these factors. Corporate management may reduce the cost of financial distress through better management of fixed assets and financial leverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to analyse the effects of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on the investment activities of the Pakistani insurance sector. First, we analyse the impact of GATS on the overall and company-wise return on investment of the insurance sector of Pakistan. In a panel data setting, the traditional fixed and random effect models are unsuitable for dealing with the possible issues, including endogeneity, unobserved heterogeneity, profit persistency, and the correlation between lagged dependent variables and independent variables. Therefore, we apply the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) system estimator to the panel data from 1984 to 2018. In the Arellano-Bond framework, the estimated results indicate that the overall investment returns of the Pakistani insurance sector have increased after the GATS membership. However, company-wise analysis reveals mixed evidence. The average returns of IGI Insurance Limited and EFU General Insurance Limited have increased significantly after the GATS membership. These results support one of our empirical conjectures that a rising tide lifts some boats more than it does others. Then, we apply Markowitz's Portfolio Theory to estimate the portfolio returns and the associated risk using the financial statements data from 1984 to 2018. The estimates of portfolio analysis reveal that the portfolio returns of the Pakistani insurance sector improve by 6.70 percentage points after the membership. However, the associated portfolio risk also increases by 11.13 percentage points, 7.40 times higher than the Pre-GATS risk. Despite the better returns, there is an intensive increase in investment volatility after GATS membership. This study provides a valuable reference for insurance managers and the Ministry of Finance and Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan to control and improve the insurance sector's performance in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether capital structure affects accruals and real earnings management (AEM and REM) of nonfinancial firms listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). Moreover, to investigate whether institutional development (ID) moderates the relation between capital structure and earnings management (EM). Design/methodology/approach: Data were taken from annual reports of nonfinancial firms listed on the PSX during 2012–2019. Data of 150 firms for a period of eight years were found completed with respect to the variables used in this study. The generalized moments of methods estimator is used to estimate the effects of explanatory variables on earning management. Furthermore, fixed and random effects methods were used to estimate the impact of capital structure on AEM and REM. Findings: Results show that all three measures of capital structure (i.e. total debt ratio, long-term debt ratio and short-term debt ratios) are inversely related to AEM. In contrast, all measures of capital structure are positively related to abnormal cash flow from operations. Total debt ratio and long-term debt ratio are negatively while short-term debt ratio is positively related to abnormal discretionary expenses. Total debt ratio and short-term debt ratio are significant and negatively related to abnormal production cost. Additionally, interaction terms of ID (i.e. rule of law and regulatory quality) significantly moderate the controlling role of debt on discretionary accruals. In sum, results show that the use of debt induces lender's monitoring. Consequently, managers move toward REM because of lower probability of being exposed. Practical implications: Findings of this study have significant implications for managers and regulatory authorities. For instance, the use of debt increases the lender's influence which restricts the managers to be involved in EM practices. Moreover, regulatory authorities are required to address the loopholes in regulations to refrain the managers to be engaged in EM. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study in Pakistan that has explored the impact of capital structure on AEM and REM. More importantly, a careful review of the literature affirms that this study is among the few studies that have used ID as a moderating variable to explain the relation between capital structure and EM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in average annual temperature due to greenhouse gases emission is posing threat to the agriculture sector across the globe. Pakistan is labor abundant agrarian country that heavily depends on the agriculture sector for food, employment, and raw material for industries. This study is a preliminary investigation that explores the effect of increasing average annual temperature on the competitiveness of 24 major agricultural exports from 2003 to 2020. The revealed export advantage (RXA) is used to explore the competitive performance of selected agricultural exports, which is then normalized to examine the effect of increasing average annual temperature along with official exchange rate, urbanization, and globalization. The panel fixed-effect model with heteroscedasticity consistent robust standard error recommended by White (Econometrica 48(4):817–838, 1980) is used to explore model estimates, whereas the robustness check has been performed by using heteroscedasticity and multicollinearity consistent robust standard error model of Driscoll and Kaary (Rev Econ Stat 80(4):549–559, 1998). The estimated result reveals that the increasing average annual temperature has a negative but insignificant impact on the export competitiveness of selected agricultural exports. While, urbanization and exchange rate deprecation show a significant negative effect of higher intensity, respectively. Globalization, however, reveals a significant positive impact on the competitiveness of selected agricultural exports. This study, therefore, urges for the development of the agriculture sector by adopting SDGs proposed by the United Nations for sustainable economic growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this study is to shed light on the relationship between corporate governance, tax avoidance, and corporate social responsibility disclosure in emerging and frontier markets Nigeria and Pakistan, respectively. The current study employs a unique set of datasets about 91 companies from the Nigeria Stock Market and 121 companies from the Pakistan Stock Market for the period of ten years from 2011 to 2020. We used a fixed effect regression model to analyze the panel data. From the analysis, we find that corporate social responsibility is positively and significantly associated with tax avoidance in the case of Nigeria. Meanwhile, CSR has a positive but insignificant effect on tax avoidance in the case of Pakistan. However, board nationality shows a positive and insignificant impact on CSR, whereas board independence, board ownership, board diversity, and board size are negatively and insignificantly associated with CSR in Nigerian firms. In the case of Pakistani firms, both board ownership and board independence are positively and insignificantly associated with CSR, though board nationality has a negative but significant relationship with CSR, and board diversity and board size are negatively and insignificantly related to CSR. The paper's findings have vital implications for policymakers, academics, and capital market users in the frontier and emerging economies. It has better significance for the government and companies to pay attention to CSR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intellectual capital is a term frequently used to describe intangible assets (INTC). This study intends to examine the impact of three components of intellectual capital, that is, human capital, structural capital, and relational capital, on corporate performance (CP) of non-financial listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). This study uses quantitative secondary data spanning from 2012 to 2019, collected from annual published reports of the companies. The quantitative data analysis has been done by using the Fixed Effects Model (FEM). This research shows that each of the INTC dimensions studied has a significant positive relationship with corporate performance in Pakistan. This study will assist non-financial firms in their policy formulation related to capital structuring, which will assist them to enhance their performance. The management of non-financial firms will also benefit from this study as they can take corrective actions on their existing policies and procedures and make them competent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study explains the relationship of dividend payout policy on the business performance of companies that exist in sugar of Pakistan. 100 companies are selected from sugar sector. Relationship of dividend payout policy and business performance was controlled with four variables based on relevant theories. These variables include size of company, growth of company, leverage (debt to equity ratio) and corporate governance index. Panel data is collected from 2012-2017 (six years) and then analyzed with unit root, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, OLS regression, Lagrange multiplier, Huasman test, Fixed effect and Random effect models. Following key findings for each research objective were obtained by applying the adopted research method on the data through the adopted method of analyses: The results of the study show sugar companies showed no sign of a relationship between their dividend payout policy and profitability and so there is no controlling factor effective due to the absence of any relationship. Thus, the hypotheses were rejected in case of these two industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Key attributes on the financial performance of banks. Current literature gives little attention to the important characteristics of CEOs, therefore, this paper investigates the effects of characteristics of CEOs, such as education, experience, nationality, military background (MTB), and political connectedness (PC), on the financial (return on assets) performance of listed private commercial banks in Pakistan. This research sample included 20 private commercial banks of Pakistan and used Secondary data that was derived from 2011 to 2020, which contained 200 sample observations. This paper used the Fixed effect model, Normality test, Breush–Pagan, white test, multi-collinearity, and Augmented Dickey–Fuller test to investigate the study hypotheses. The main results revealed that CEO MTB and PC significantly and positively affected the financial performance of the bank. It is also found that the CEO's education and Experience have a significant and positive relationships with bank profitability. In contrast, the nationality of the CEO has no significant relationship with the financial performance of the bank. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contributes to the literature by exploring the relationship between board financial expertise and cash holding policy and further showing how this relation is moderated by multiple large shareholders (MLS). This research is based on agency theory, resource dependence, trade-off, and pecking order theory to confirm how resourceful directors screen cash holding practices. This study selects the 100 listed family firms from the emerging economy of Pakistan for the period of 2006–2017. With the use of static (random and fixed effect estimator) and dynamic (GMM) estimation techniques, this study reveals that the financial expertise of the board members has a significant negative impact on the firms' cash holding level. Further, moderating effect of MLS between board financial expertise and cash holding is significantly positive due to weak corporate governance mechanisms in family firms. Moreover, the research has implications for developing corporate governance mechanism and the management of liquid assets that corporate management might use for their benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the presence of market discipline in the banking sectors of India and Pakistan, using the CAMEL approach and the stringent calculations of liquidity and capital as per Basel II. It employs a fixed effects model to market discipline as reflected in the capital adequacy, asset quality profitability, management and liquidity of banks, with bank size and changes and GDP as control variables, for the years 2008 to 2017. The results show varying degrees of market discipline in both India and Pakistan, which manifest through different variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of the present study is to empirically investigate into the question whether the Institutional Quality (IQ) and Trade Openness (TO) are competitors or complements in Economic Growth (EG) in case of sample South Asia Economies; "India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka". The panel data for the period of 1984-2018 has been utilized. The Fixed Effects Model (FEM) estimation technique has been applied for empirical investigation. The empirical results of FEM confirm the positive and statically significant impact of IQ and Interaction Term on Economic Growth in sample countries. The positive significant results strongly supported the hypothesis of this study, the IQ and TO are complements in EG in the case of sample SAE. The IQ measure has also established positive and significant effects on EG while the TO has a negative impact. Based on empirical findings, this study recommends that the policymakers of sample countries should make policies that strengthen the IQ, in order to improve trade and, consequently, the EG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study was to explore relationship between dividend and shareholders value. While talking of dividend it has been observed that there are two schools of thought. One thought advocate that the rise or fall in dividend increases or decreases the value of the company while the other is of the opinion that the dividend and company worth or value has no direct relationship. To test the hypothesis of the study whether Pakistani listed firms support relevance or irrelevance theory of dividend. For this purpose, secondary data was utilized through a sample of 319 firms with paying of dividend any time during 2008-18. The results from chi square and fixed effect model shows that there is significant positive association between dividend pay-out ratio, negative with dividend yield, positive with dividend decision to pay or not pay dividend. Study also check the impact of govt tenure and political affiliation impact on share value with dividends. Study concludes that Pakistani listed firms follow the theories of dividend such Catering, signalling, bird in hand theory, and agency theory of dividend. The current research study intends to minimize the knowledge gap on the referred topic. The present research study has analysed a number of observations in Pakistani context. Researchers have argued on the impact or influence of dividend and the value of the company. They forwarded their justifications on the basis of their varied observations. They have also argued whether dividend can be predicted on the basis of company business. However, there is no unanimous agreement on this issue. While studies on the established markets are available with conclusive opinion, the observations on emerging markets like Pakistan is still under the process of some conclusive opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to spotlight and explore various determinants of Islamic social reporting (ISR) in Islamic banks of Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach: The authors have used firm size, firm profitability, firm age, board size and board independence as determinants of ISR. The authors collected data from Islamic banks listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange for the period 2012–2019. Multiple estimation techniques, i.e. fixed effect model, random effect model and one-step difference generalized method of moment (GMM), have been applied. Findings: Random effect model was found to be more robust as compared to fixed effect model and one-step difference GMM. The results reported by the random effect model, preferred among the three, show that firm size, firm profitability, firm age and board size are important determinants of ISR in Islamic banks of Pakistan, while board independence does not determine social reporting for Islamic banks in Pakistan. Although social reporting in annual reports of Islamic banks in Pakistan is increasing, further improvement and compliance is required to ensure accountability and transparency in financial reporting as recommended by Islamic teachings. The study has certain managerial implications, especially for top management of Islamic banks. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to discuss determinants of ISR in Islamic banks of Pakistan. The developed framework herein provides a precise guideline for Islamic banking to enhance their performance, which has never been discussed before. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study is conducted to analyze the effect of various factors (i.e. Leverage (Lvg), Profitability (Prof), Business Risk (B.R), Liquidity (Lqd), and Growth Opportunities (GO)) on dividend policy (D.P) in the sample two non-financial sectors that are, food and electrical machinery from Pakistan stock Exchange. Total 30 firms have been taken, of which 20 firms from food sector and 10 from electrical machinery sector for a period of 8 years (2009-2016) by analyzing sample firms panel data. The results for both of the sectors that is generated through E-views via estimation of fixed effect model (F.E.M), show that independent variables like Prof, Lqd and Lvg have a positive and significant association to the explained variable of the study i.e. D.P, while a contra relationship is witnessed for business risk and growth opportunity to the dependent variable. Therefore, in food sector the results are more significant than the electrical machinery sector and it can be concluded that increase in the given variables will ultimately boost the D.P to shareholders that is the most attractive factor in the eyes of the majority of the stockholders. The endeavor concludes considerable results which will help the key stakeholders particularly the Board of Directors in order to formulate and restructure their D.P backed by the considered variables of this study that will ultimately maximize the stockholders wealth as well as the organizational value of both the sample sectors of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The people from developing countries like Pakistan move to developed countries to earn their bread and butter. Consequently, such migrants remit a handsome part of their earnings to their dependents living in homeland. Foreign remittances have multidimensional impact on the economy of a developing country. The study evaluates the impact of foreign remittances on income inequality in Pakistan by estimating the set of fixed effect and random effect models using the pooled data from eight household income and expenditure surveys between 1998/99 and 2015/16. Gini coefficient as well as generalized entropy measure is used to estimate income inequality, but the results remain intact. It is observed that foreign remittances have statistically significant favorable impacts on income inequality in Pakistan. Further, the results are robust and insensitive to control variables (e.g. income and poverty measures, headcount ratio, poverty gap and squared poverty gap). The policy measure is that Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BEOE) should be empowered to explore the job opportunities in developed countries. The government should assist the migrants through subsidizing the visa and migration processes to capitalize the foreign remittances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to test the relationship between dividend policy decisions on the share price Volatility of Modaraba Companies quoted in the Pakistan stock exchange. The data for empirical analysis was collected from the Pakistan stock exchange, Recorder archive, and Ksestocks.com. By using the sampling technique, a sample of 19 Modaraba Companies was taken from 2010 to 2018. The empirical analysis was conducted using multiple regression techniques by employing a fixed effect model on panel data. This study also incorporated four control variables (size, growth, operating earning & level of debt) in empirical analysis to avoid multicollinearity problems between dividend policy measures and spurious regression. The results of the study validate the theory of relevance of dividend policy decisions on share price Volatility. Dividend policy has a negative and significant bearing on Stock price volatility. Higher leverage (debt level) leads to higher instability in stock prices. Firm earning volatility is positively associated with share price volatility. Firm size and firm's growth in terms of assets also has a negative but insignificant impact on share price Volatility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the most common bloodborne viral infections reported in Pakistan. Frequent dialysis treatment of hemodialysis patients exposes them to a high risk of HCV infection. The main purpose of this paper is to quantify the prevalence of HCV in hemodialysis patients through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, Pakistani Journals Online and Web of Science to identify studies published between 1 January 1995 and 30 October 2019, reporting on the prevalence of HCV infection in hemodialysis patients. Meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model to obtain pooled estimates. A funnel plot was used in conjunction with Egger's regression test for asymmetry and to assess publication bias. Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were used to identify potential sources of heterogeneity among the included studies. This review was registered on PROSPERO (registration number CRD42019159345). Results: Out of 248 potential studies, 19 studies involving 3446 hemodialysis patients were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of HCV in hemodialysis patients in Pakistan was 32.33% (95% CI: 25.73–39.30; I2 = 94.3%, p < 0.01). The subgroup analysis showed that the prevalence of HCV among hemodialysis patients in Punjab was significantly higher (37.52%; 95% CI: 26.66–49.03; I2 = 94.5, p < 0.01) than 34.42% (95% CI: 14.95–57.05; I2 = 91.3%, p < 0.01) in Baluchistan, 27.11% (95% CI: 15.81–40.12; I2 = 94.5, p < 0.01) in Sindh and 22.61% (95% CI: 17.45–28.2; I2 = 78.6, p < 0.0117) in Khyber Pukhtoonkhuwa. Conclusions: In this study, we found a high prevalence (32.33%) of HCV infection in hemodialysis patients in Pakistan. Clinically, hemodialysis patients require more attention and resources than the general population. Preventive interventions are urgently needed to decrease the high risk of HCV infection in hemodialysis patients in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research was determining the factors of growth in the textile and food sector of Pakistan. The research study analyzed data from the financial statements of textile and food sector companies of Pakistan for the period 2013-17. A fixed effect regression model was used for regression analysis after the conformation of (Hausman, 1970) specification test. The results of the study indicated that there was a significant and positive impact of profitability and negative impact of leverage on firm growth in textiles as well as the food sector of Pakistan. The results also indicated that firm growth was not significantly affected by innovation, liquidity or solvency. Growth of assets was used to measure firm growth. The findings of the study are applicable to textile as well as food sector companies in Pakistan. This research study suggested that management and policymakers in the textile as well as in the food sector of Pakistan should consider profitability as a driving factor for enhancing growth in both sectors. A small number of research studies could be found for the driving factors of growth especially in the textile as well as for the food sector of Pakistan. The present research study contributed to the existing literature by providing fresh evidence from Pakistan as a developing market. It allows the research community to explore the differences and similarities for the driving factors of growth in both sectors of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research endeavored to expose dividend policy and its impact on market price in perspective of fuel and energy sectors of Pakistan and Dividend policy is a very strong concern for all nature of corporation for getting accomplishment the goals of an enterprise. Dividends (cost of equity) are allocated from profit after tax and retained earnings that facilitates a chance to the pecuniary administrator for raising the price of shares, so it replicates the importance of meaningful effect of bonus policy on the company and its earnings as well. The conclusions of this guiding principle have been analyzed from all possible way of approaches by scholars. Literature characterizes differing observations of all type of probable investigating work and various assumptions that explain how proxies of dividend policy momentously effect with stock prices such as dividend irrelevance, bird in hand, signaling, tax preference, transaction cost, and agency cost. Data of seventeen firms out of twenty seven firms of fuel and energy sectors of Pakistan from time period of 10 years have been gathered through organized sample. Fixed effect model (types of panel model) has been analyzed in panel data. All selected tools have been run through Eviews and SPSS software in this research work. Many techniques have been used such as Levin li chu, Hauseman,Wald, VIF, Tolerance, Durbon Watson. All explanatory variables are found significant except PAT. It signifies that proxies of dividend policy have significance in all types of decisions in area of finance because it affects on market price of shares. The decisive justification in support of suggestion to the shareholders of fuel and energy sectors is that the operating firms need to work out a dividend policy on the basis of market price. This study signifies stock buyers’ pre nature towards price or price consciousness. It is clearly shows that the theory of dividend relevance is fully accepted an empirical study of these sectors in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The purpose of this study is to find out the determinants of Islamic banks of Pakistan. The authors collected data of five Islamic banks of Pakistan over ten years extending from 2006-2015. The independent variables were GDP, Size, Inflation & Liquidity whereas dependent variables was Return on Asset. By using STATA software and employed panel regression the researcher found that in fixed model effect, there are two significant variables at 5% i.e., size of Islamic banks and liquidity. Liquidity has positive whereas size has negative relationship with the profitability of Islamic banks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing countries of South Asia are continuously facing problems in managing and servicing their huge public debt obligations. This high level of public indebtedness has serious implications on countries economic development. However, their economic performance continues to deteriorate due to significant outflow of resources to meet their debt obligations. The study designs to examine the structure of public debt its implications on economic growth in of SAARC economies of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. For this purpose the penal data of selected countries for the period of 1990-2018 has been used. From the literature several factors through which public indebtedness effect economic growth have been identified: public debt to GDP ratio, debt servicing as a ratio of export earnings, net foreign financing as a ratio of total deficits, private and public investment as ratio of GDP. Besides these variables some policy, fundamental and shock variables like inflation, exchange rate, terms of trade and population growth. For analysis of data the econometrics techniques like Fixed Effect Model, Hausman Test and PMG/ Panel ARDL approach have been applied to analyze the long run association among the regressors. The results of the study reveal that public debt negatively affected the economic performance both in short period and long period. The study concludes that presently, simultaneous achievement of desirable level of economic growth and public debt stock seems to be difficult and could remain elusive if some serious measures are not taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine the extent to which board characteristics and ownership structure affect firm performance with specific focus on providing new empirical insights following the revised corporate governance (CG) code 2012. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a sample of non-financial firms listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)-100 index for the years 2011-2014. Firm performance is measured by accounting-based performance indicators (ROA and ROE) and market-based performance indicators (Tobin's Q and MTB). This study uses multivariate regression techniques including fixed effects model and two-stage least squares (2SLS). Findings: The findings show that board diversity increases over the two periods (pre-2012 and post-2012), whereas there are cases that companies have not fully complied with the revised CG code 2012 in terms of board independence. In addition, the multiple regression results show that firm performance is negatively and significantly associated with institutional ownership. Nevertheless, the results show that board size, board independent, board diversity and board meetings do not have significant impact on firm performance. The findings are fairly consistent and robust across two periods (pre-2012 and post 2012) and a number of econometric models that sufficiently address the potential endogeneity problems. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first empirical study which investigates the impact of the compliance and implementation of 2012 CG code on firm performance in Pakistan. This study is different from the most prior studies in that they use independent non-executive directors rather than conventional non-executive directors to measure board independence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. Monetary policy and its influence on liquidity is one of the most contentious issues in recent periods. As Pakistan is an emerging market with growing opportunities so people' interest is increasing and investors are more concern about liquidity position of Pakistan market. This research using sample of 100 firms listed at Pakistan Stock Exchange (non-financial) for the period 2000-2020. In first step, simple regression is estimated to investigate the effect of monetary policy on market liquidity. In which the liquidity of market in month t is modeled as a function of the Industrial growth rate (IGRt), Inflation rate (INFt), market return (RMt), standard deviation (SDt) and real interest rate (INTt). In second step, in-depth investigation is encountered that how announcement of new monetary policy determines the liquidity of individual stocks listed on PSX 100 index. For that purpose, panel regressions (fixed effect model) are estimated in which the liquidity (LIQi,t) of stock i in month t is modeled as a function of the (one-month lagged) SBP's monetary policy, the interaction term and other lagged control variables. Findings can be summarized firstly, at stock market level, results confirm that expansionary monetary policy entails more liquid stock markets. Secondly, study complement the micro analysis and find that expansionary (restrictive) monetary policy results in an increase (decrease) in stock liquidity. This study is helpful for investors in devising investment plans on the basis of assessing certain facets of liquidity like risk, return, inflation rate, trading volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cash holdings has always remained a key issue in the field of corporate finance, investment and financing decisions. However, the evidence from the past studies regarding cash holdings and its determinants lacks the ability to present a detailed examination of the subject matter. Majority of the research analysis is being carried out in the developed economies like UK and USA and the results obtained are not generalizable to the developing countries, like Pakistan. According to the research authors in the field of finance such Shah and Hijazi (2004) and Akbar et al. (2013) accounting procedures, tax laws, leadership styles, reporting systems and institutional structures of both developed and developing countries have striking differences, which justify the reason for further research, to investigate the determinants of cash holdings. To achieve our goal, the study used fixed effect regression model. The study has taken 349 non-financial Pakistani firms listed on KSE100 index for the time period 2005 to 2012. The results reveal that capital employed and leverage has positive impact on cash holdings. However, the result is statistically insignificant for the capital employed. Cash flow, networking capital and size has negative and significant impact on cash holding. The global financial crisis has negative impact but the result is not statistically significant indicating that it has no statistically significant impact on cash holding of non-financial firms of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, the banking sector of Pakistan has been characterized by credit ceilings, directed and subsidized credit, controlled interest rates and lacking competition. This scenario prevailed till the financial sector reforms in 1990. However, after 1990, the banking sector changed significantly and the reforms led to notable improvement in the indicators of market structure of the banking industry of the country. In literature, the changes in indicators of market structure are interpreted in the context of either structure-conduct-performance (SCP) or relative market power (RMP) paradigm, and/or in relation to the efficient structure (ES) hypothesis. This paper studies relevance of SCP, RMP and ES paradigms for banking industry of Pakistan. This study uses (balanced) panel data, spanning 1996 to 2015, of 24 commercial banks to estimate banks' profit function by using fixed effects model. Findings suggest that: (a) there is a weak association between the indicators of market structure and banks' performance; (b) there is no empirical evidence to support SCP or RMP paradigms; and (c) the ES paradigm is relevant in the case of banking sector of Pakistan. Thus, the focus of policymakers should be to improve the efficiency of the banking sector in Pakistan. Focus on improving indicators of market structure, like concentration ratios, to encourage competition in the banking sector may not be productive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research was premeditated to estimate the impact of climate change on maize productivity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Chitral, Swat, Mansehra, Peshawar, and D.I. Khan Districts were selected from different agro-ecological zones of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The climatic and non-climatic variables employed for the study were area under maize, maximum temperature, minimum temperature and precipitation, respectively. For statistical analysis, panel data record for twenty years (1996-2015) across five districts of the province were scrape together from Development Statistic of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Bureau of Statistic and Pakistan Meteorological Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Hausman test recommended fixed effect model (as opposed to random effect) as a fit model for given estimation. The major findings proclaim that maximum temperature has negative impact on the yield of maize. Impact of precipitation show a positive and significant contribution to maize yield. High temperature has deleterious impact on maize productivity. Therefore, policy exertions needs to be concentrated toward impact of climate change on maize productivity. Development of temperature resistant maize verities for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is also a good option. Moreover, awareness among farmers on climate change is required regarding plantation of trees and afforestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central theme of this research study was to assess the impact of climate change on wheat productivity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province, Pakistan. The nexus of wheat productivity with selected climatic variables that includes temperature, precipitation and humidity was also inquired through this research. Panel data of wheat crop’s input and aforesaid climatic variables for the period of thirty years (1985-2015) was employed to figure-out the major findings. Econometric diagnostic tests were used to verify the model stability. Therefore, LM test was encompassed to detect the serial correlation. The result of Hausman test has suggested applying “Fixed Effect Model” for further analysis. Major estimates of the overall 30 years data reveal that among non-climatic variables, area under wheat cultivation and seed are highly significant to the wheat yield at 1 percent level of significance. Whereas, contribution of fertilizer to wheat crop in KP province was observed insignificant. Furthermore, the computation of climatic variables depicts that temperature contributes significantly but has inverse association with wheat yield in KP province. This implies that surge in temperature by one Celsius degree centigrade (°C) can drop-down the wheat yield by 0.074 percent. The impact of precipitation was also observed negative with wheat crop in the panel data since 1985 to 2000. This study concludes that temperature and precipitation have inverse association with wheat production while humidity is positively associated. Overall scenario concludes that not only climatic variable but also major wheat crop’s input are significantly associated to wheat yield in the study area. This research study recommends that government and concerned policy-makers may give due attention to construct the climate change policy for climate change adaptation strategies and provide heat resistant wheat crop varieties to the farming community [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effects of firm performance and corporate governance on chief executive officer (CEO) compensation in an emerging market, Pakistan. Using a more robust Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation approach for a sample of non-financial firms listed at Karachi Stock Exchange over the period 2005-2012, we find that both current- and previous-year accounting performances has positive influence on CEO compensation. However, stock market performance does not appear to have a positive impact on executive compensation. We further find that ownership concentration is positively related with CEO compensation, indicating some kind of collusion between management and largest shareholder to get personal benefits. Inconsistent with agency theory, CEO duality appears to have a negative influence, while board size and board independence have no convincing relationship with CEO compensation, indicating board ineffectiveness in reducing CEO entrenchment. The results of dynamic GMM model suggest that CEO pay is highly persistent and takes time to adjust to long-run equilibrium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trade environment of Pakistan is facing a chronic trade deficit. The primary reason for the deficit are the exports of Pakistan being flowing towards specific trade partners and secondly, the lack of export diversification. As such, this paper examines the main factors behind the export performance of Pakistan by estimating a gravity model using panel estimation for the period of 1995 - 2011 across 142 countries. The estimation results reveal the main determinants of Pakistan's exports being the GDP of importer and exporter country, dummy variables of language, religion, trade agreements and membership of the world trade organization. The study also reveal that trade costs and common border does not play a role in boosting the trade of Pakistan. As such, the study suggest that Pakistan's exports be diversified and directed towards countries in close proximity and where trading costs are low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study employs the Fixed Effect Model on a panel of four South Asian countries viz., Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, for the period 1975-2008 to investigate if the source of finance matters in determining the impact of public expenditure on growth. The analysis shows that the source of finance does matte,. Seigniorage-financed public expenditure has a larger negative effect on growth, followed by debt-financed and tax-financed public expenditure. Therefore, financing of public expenditure through taxes is the least costly option available with the governments in low-income countries. In general, fiscal discipline through cuts in public spending is required to boost economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate governance plays a significant role in the value of shareholders and share prices, hence stock market liquidity is affected. Previous research has mainly focused on the issue in developed markets, whereas in developing countries there is a need to analyze the influence of corporate governance on stock market liquidity. Therefore, the present study aims to examine the impact of ownership structure and board characteristics on stock market liquidity of non-financial firms of South Asian countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India. The data in the study is collected from the DataStream for the 2011–2020 period. The study uses a fixed effect model for the analysis of the data and hypotheses testing and generalized method of moments (GMM) is used to check the robustness of the results. The findings of the study indicate that institutional ownership, board size, board independence, and CEO duality have a significant and positive impact on stock market liquidity, whereas managerial ownership has a significant and negative effect on stock market liquidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many countries are facing environmental issues that affect the natural climate and life of human beings, therefore, governments have developed the strategies and regulations to control the industrial negative effects on the environment which is called environmental regulations (ER). To extend the porter hypothesis, we examined the moderating effect of product market competition (PMC) to find the circumstances that affect the association between ER and FP. We have divided PMC into high and low product market competition (HPMC and LPMC) by following the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). The empirical investigation of this study demonstrates the following outcomes: ER indicates a statistically significant and positive relationship with FP. Furthermore, HPMC has great importance for FP, while LPMC has shown a negative relationship with FP. Besides, we tested the moderating effects of HPMC and LPMC on the association between ER and FP. The moderating effects of HPMC have significant and positive effects on the association between ER and FP. On the other side, the moderating effects of LPMC have significant and negative effects on the association between ER and FP. Moreover, this study promotes the importance of ER and PMC for firms. This study is beneficial for owners, investors, policymakers, and governments to form comprehensive and viable ER for reducing environmental negative effects. • This study tested the association of ER and FP along Product Market Competition (PMC). • This study employed fixed effect and GMM models and positive association between ER and FP occurred. • HPMC shows positive effects on FP. LPMC shows negative effects on FP. • The interaction of HPMC has shown positive effects on the association of ER and FP. • The interaction of LPMC has shown negative effects on the association of ER and FP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study employs the Fixed Effect Model on a panel of four South Asian countries viz., Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, for the period 1975-2008 to investigate if the source of finance matters in determining the impact of public expenditure on growth. The analysis shows that the source of finance does matte,. Seigniorage-financed public expenditure has a larger negative effect on growth, followed by debt-financed and tax-financed public expenditure. Therefore, financing of public expenditure through taxes is the least costly option available with the governments in low-income countries. In general, fiscal discipline through cuts in public spending is required to boost economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author comments on a paper which investigated the effect of source of finance regarding public expenditures on gross domestic product (GDP) growth using the Fixed Effect Model on a panel of four South Asian countries, including Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, for the period 1975-2008. The author highlights the failure of the paper to include government expenditure variables in the analysis. The author relates the concerns about the interpretation of results.