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This study uses the Bayesian structural model to assess the causal effect of the futures exchange (FTX) insolvency on cryptocurrencies from October 2022 to December 14, 2022. Findings show that FTX insolvency negatively impacts cryptocurrencies. Moreover, the results indicate rapid divergence from counterfactual predictions, and the actual cryptocurrencies are consistently lower than would have been expected in the absence of the FTX collapse. Cryptocurrency is reacting strongly to the uncertainty caused by insolvency. In relative terms, the collapse of FTX has been highly detrimental to Solana and Ethereum. Furthermore, the outcomes show that cryptocurrencies would not have been negatively affected if the intervention had not occurred. FTX collapsed owing to a mismatch between the assets and liabilities. The industry is still mostly unregulated, and regulators must act quickly, highlighting the need for outstanding innovation and decentralized and trustless technology adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings are receiving increasing attention in credit markets. However, ESG rating disagreement erects obstacles for companies in obtaining capital resources. This study investigates the impact of ESG rating disagreement on bank loan availability uses data of Chinese listed firms from 2014 to 2022, and employs models with multiple regression analyses and fixed effects. We find that greater ESG rating disagreement leads to a decrease in newly obtained bank loans. The mechanism analysis confirms that ESG rating disagreement amplifies information asymmetry and increases operational uncertainty, thereby raising the information and credit risks faced by banks, leading to a decrease in bank loan availability. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the negative effect of ESG rating disagreement on bank loan availability is more pronounced in firms with poor financing capabilities, poor information environments, and fierce competitive macro environments. Our findings contribute to the literature on ESG rating disagreement from credit markets, which are important for a more comprehensive and objective understanding of ESG rating disagreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A review of the literature provides a solid reason to believe that an increase in environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) activities have a positive impact on banks' default risk (DR). However, the increasing impact of climate risk on credit, operational and market risks, as well as the reduced availability of funding for banks that underperform in terms of ESG risk, is a concern. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to verify the relevance of the implementation of ESG policies to a bank's DR, against the background of macroeconomic and bank-specific factors. Design/methodology/approach: Using a data set of 303 commercial banks from 61 countries from 2012 to 2021 and a panel regression methodology, the empirical importance of ESG activities for bank DR is documented. The two-stage generalized method of moments estimator was used to test the research questions. Findings: Comparing different factors, the results highlight the positive impact of ESG activities on the bank's DR. However, this relationship varies according to the specific pillars of the bank's sustainability policies and changes into negative ones. Originality/value: This paper fits the domain of DR management research, investigating whether ESG performance affects bank DR while controlling macroeconomic and market drivers. Prior literature has shown evidence on the relationship between macro and market forces and a bank's risk profile while a limited one on the non-market drivers. The main contribution is to consider ESG (in total and as separate pillars) as independent drivers of the bank risk profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: From poor healthcare infrastructure to vaccine donors, India has traveled a long way. In this study, the author tried to find the investment certainty and persistence of volatility in the Indian healthcare system due to COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach: Using the Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH 1,1) model, this study quantifies the change in the conditional variance after the first case report of COVID-19. The author has used the S&P BSE HEALTHCARE index time series to analyze India's healthcare infrastructure and practices. Findings: The author found evidence of a decrease in investment certainty in investments related to India's healthcare infrastructure and practices after the first case report of COVID-19. Furthermore, the estimation of the econometric model suggests the presence of a large degree of volatility persistence in the S&P BSE HEALTHCARE index. Originality/value: This research would be the first of its kind where the return volatility of the Indian healthcare sector has been discussed. Also, this research quantifies the return volatility of the healthcare sector during the pre- and post-COVID-19 period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to explore the interplay between CO2 emissions, financial development (FD) and foreign direct investment (FDI) in Asia-Pacific and Oceania. It also aims to understand short- and long-term impacts, emphasizing the role of FDI, FD and FD's moderating effect on the FDI–CO2 relationship. Design/methodology/approach: Using a 21-year panel data set (2000–2020) from 44 countries, the study employs the pooled mean group-autoregressive distributed lag (PMG-ARDL) model supplemented by the Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel causality test. This method assesses the complex dynamics and offers a robust analysis of short- and long-term effects in the Asia-Pacific and Oceanian context. Findings: Long-term results indicate that FDI coupled with FD and FD's moderating effect on FDI significantly contributes to CO2 emissions. Short-term relationships are more complex and lack statistical significance. FD positively moderates the FDI–CO2 relationship in the long run. Practical implications: For investors, policymakers and stakeholders in Asia-Pacific and Oceania, the study highlights the importance of considering environmental impacts in investment decisions. The insights into the role of FDI and FD help craft policies and strategies for environmental sustainability. Social implications: Socially, this research emphasizes the necessity of a balanced approach to economic development, considering the potential long-term environmental consequences. Policymakers and stakeholders may use these findings to guide discussions and actions to achieve sustainable and socially responsible development in this dynamic region. Originality/value: The findings contribute original insights into the essential relationships among FDI, FD and CO2 emissions in a diverse region like Asia-Pacific, enhancing the understanding of environmental implications in regions experiencing rapid economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine the ramifications of corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing in zombie firms and considers how external funding support may moderate this relationship given the sustainable nature of ESG performance, which often incurs costs. Design/methodology/approach: Panel regression analyses used data from China's A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2019, resulting in a data set comprising 6,054 observations. Findings: Despite firms' additional financial burdens, corporate ESG investing emerges as a catalyst in resurrecting zombie firms by attracting investor attention. Further analysis underscores the significance of funding support from entities such as the government and banks in alleviating ESG cost pressures and enhancing the efficacy of corporate ESG investing. Notably, the positive impact of corporate ESG investing is most pronounced in non-heavily polluting and non-state-owned firms. The results of classification tests reveal that social (S) and governance (G) investing yield greater efficacy in revitalizing zombie firms compared to environmental (E) investing. Practical implications: This research enriches the discourse on corporate ESG investing and offers insights for governing zombie firms and shaping government policies. Originality/value: By extending the domain of ESG research to encompass zombie firms, this paper sheds light on the multifaceted role of corporate ESG investing. Furthermore, this study comprehensively evaluates the influence of external funding support on the positive outcomes of ESG investing, thereby contributing to the resolution of the longstanding debate on the relationship between ESG performance and corporate financial performance, particularly with regard to ESG costs and benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between economic growth and energy consumption in European transition countries. Cross-sectionally augmented autoregressive distributed lag and cross-sectionally augmented distributed lag models were used in the paper to investigate the relationship, while robustness was checked using several different estimators. The results confirm a positive relationship between the variables. Growth of the gross domestic product will lead to an increase in energy consumption in the long run, so transition countries should work on creating new sources of energy and improving energy efficiency. Policies based on limiting energy consumption can have a negative impact on economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore factors influencing apartment price volatility in the two biggest cities in Vietnam, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses the supply and demand approach and provides a literature review of previous studies to develop four main hypotheses using four determinants of apartment price volatility in Vietnam: gross domestic product (GDP), inflation rate, lending interest rate and construction cost. Subsequently, the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) is used to analyze a monthly data sample of 117. Findings: The research highlights the important role of construction costs in apartment price volatility in the two largest cities. Moreover, there are significant differences in how all four determinants affect apartment price volatility in the two cities. In addition, there is a long-run relationship between the determinants and apartment price volatility in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Research limitations/implications: Limitations related to data transparency of the real estate industry in Vietnam lead to three main limitations of this paper, including: this paper only collects a sample of 117 valid monthly observations; apartment price volatility is calculated by changes in the apartment price index instead of apartment price standard deviation; and this paper is limited by only four determinants, those being GDP, inflation rate, lending interest rate and construction cost. Practical implications: The study provides evidence of differences in how the above determinants affect apartment price volatility in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, which helps investors and policymakers to make informed decisions relating to the real estate market in the two biggest cities in Vietnam. Social implications: This paper makes several recommendations to policymakers and investors in Vietnam to ensure a stable real estate market, contributing to the stability of the national economy. Originality/value: This paper provides a new approach using VECM to analyze both long-run and short-run relationships between macroeconomic and sectoral independent variables and apartment price volatility in the two biggest cities in Vietnam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Energy poverty presents substantial challenges for both developed and developing nations, with the latter experiencing more pronounced adverse effects due to issues related to the provision and equitable access of energy resources. This study aims to provide a deep understanding of how financial development, economic complexity and government expenditures can impact energy poverty. Design/methodology/approach: This research employs generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation on panel data to investigate the economic determinants of energy poverty in 31 developing countries from 2000 to 2020. For a comprehensive analysis, the proxies for energy poverty include access to electricity, access to clean fuels and energy consumption. Findings: The findings suggest that while financial development cannot facilitate access to clean fuels in developing countries, it contributes to an increase in energy access and consumption. Another finding is that energy poverty can be alleviated by enhancing economic complexity since economic complexity can result in increased access to electricity and increased use of clean energy sources. Furthermore, the results underscore the pivotal role of government expenditures, surpassing the influence of financial development. In other words, government expenditures have the potential to significantly improve energy poverty across all three indices. Originality/value: This is a pioneering research that seeks to examine some economic dynamics including, financial development and economic complexity on energy poverty and provide valuable guidance for policymakers aiming to promote sustainable energy development with respect to economic dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the correlation between foreign direct investment (FDI) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in emerging economies, with a particular emphasis on Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) countries along with 10 the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses quantitative research methods and econometric analysis to investigate the relationship between FDI inflows and CO2 emissions in selected countries. Specifically, the research concentrates on assessing the impact of FDI on CO2 emissions within the BRICS countries. By examining data spanning from 2000 to 2003, the study aims to shed light on the interaction between economic integration and environmental sustainability dynamics on a global scale. Findings: The results of this study highlight notable contributors to CO2 emissions within the BRICS countries, identifying Switzerland, Denmark and the UK as significant sources. These findings support the notion of a pollution haven, underscoring the influence of FDI in moulding environmental outcomes in developing economies. Research limitations/implications: Drawing from the study's outcomes, suggestions are put forth to foster sustainable development strategies. It is recommended that BRICS nations prioritize the attraction of environmentally aware FDI to bolster efforts aimed at mitigating environmental harm. Originality/value: This study adds to the ongoing discussion surrounding sustainable development by offering a concentrated analysis of how FDI influences CO2 emissions within BRICS countries. Its novelty lies in questioning traditional assumptions about environmental accountability and emphasizing the necessity for cooperative endeavours between emerging and developed economies to effectively tackle global environmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine whether energy poverty impacts gender inequality and CO2 emissions in African countries with the biggest economies by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita from 1996 to 2020. Additionally, this study examines the existence of the gender Kuznets curve (GKC) and the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) theories. Furthermore, it evaluates the connection between economic development and carbon emissions, on the one hand, and economic development and gender inequality on the other. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses the augmented Dickey–Fuller and Phillip–Perron unit root tests to determine the degree of integration between the variables. It also uses the Pedroni and Fisher–Combine Johansen cointegration tests to assess a long-run relationship between the variables. The authors adopted the pooled mean group (PMG)-autoregressive distributed lag model and used the E-Views 12 software to run the analysis. Findings: The empirical analysis approves the long-run correlation among the variables used in this study. Increased energy poverty and GDP increase CO2 emissions, whereas income square hurts CO2 emissions. These results are consistent with the EKC hypothesis, which proposes a non-linear relationship between CO2 emissions and economic growth in the studied areas (similar to an inverted U shape). Long-term foreign direct investment (FDI) has a negative correlation with CO2 emissions. On the contrary, energy poverty, GDPsq and FDI find a positive relationship with gender inequality, whereas GDP finds a negative association with gender inequality. The negative relationship between GDPsq and gender inequality establishes a "U"-shaped connection between income and gender inequality. Thus, it supports the hypothesis of the GKC. Therefore, this study proposes that decreasing energy poverty is vital for promoting a clean environment and mitigating gender inequality. Originality/value: This study supports the hypothesis of the GKC. Therefore, this study proposes that decreasing energy poverty is vital for promoting a clean environment and mitigating gender inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study on the link concerning FDI and environmental emissions has been the interest in recent environmental economics subject. The interest of this research work is to dynamically understand the effect of FDI on environmental emissions in South Africa. The research applied the renowned Markov-switching regression to explore the association among the variables. Prior to the formal estimation, the data were subjected to a linearity test, non-linear unit root test and cusum test so to ascertain whether the variables conform to non-linearity modeling. The results demonstrated that in both regimes (lower or higher emissions), the influence of FDI is positive and statistically significant. This finding implies that foreign investment is detrimental to our environment, irrespective of regime changes. This finding supports the Pollution Haven Hypothesis (PHH). Furthermore, the results show that emissions in South Africa stay in a low or high regime for a short period between one and two years. Policy implications to the results are that economic and climate change policy makers in South Africa should start to regulate FDI to be environmentally friendly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Share repurchase programs are the most important form of payout, yet the implications of incomplete share repurchase programs have not been examined in previous literature. This study tests whether incomplete share repurchase programs are seen as a positive or as a negative signal by investors. Design/methodology/approach: The perception of incomplete share repurchase programs by algorithmic traders, institutional investors and analysts is analyzed with structural equation models, seemingly unrelated regressions, propensity score matching and buy-and-hold abnormal returns on data from share repurchase programs in the United States. In contrast to previous literature, algorithmic trading is appropriately estimated as a latent variable, leading to more reliable results. Furthermore, decisions about share repurchases and dividends are appropriately modeled simultaneously and iteratively, based on findings from previous literature. Findings: The results show that sophisticated investors such as algorithmic traders, institutional investors and financial analysts avoid incomplete share repurchase programs over a long-term investment horizon. Thus, incomplete share repurchase programs are interpreted as negative signals. Additional analyses reveal that share repurchase programs are not completed due to insufficient cash flow, as a result of financial difficulties. Overall, this implies that financial managers should be careful to announce share repurchase programs they know cannot be completed, similar to dividends that cannot be maintained over a long-term horizon. Originality/value: This study is the first to consider incomplete share repurchase programs. The findings are of interest to scholars and practitioners, as this study goes beyond narrow repurchase program announcement windows, and instead focuses on the longer-term investment horizon over the life of the share repurchase program, which is often ignored in prior research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aims to discover the spatial relationship between financial development, energy consumption and economic growth in 11 ASIA countries, using panel data from 1980 to 2016. Design/methodology/approach: The study applies three popular spatial models, namely, (1) spatial error model (SEM), (2) spatial autoregressive model (SAR) and (3) spatial Durbin model (SDM), to explore the direct and spillover effect of financial development and energy consumption on economic growth. Furthermore, a novel test proposed by Juodis et al. (2020) is employed to check the Granger non-causality between each pair of variables. Findings: The empirical outcomes found direct and spillover effects of financial development and energy consumption on economic growth in 11 ASIA countries. Accordingly, an expansion of the financial development in country i is beneficial for the growth of the host country and neighboring countries, and vice versa. However, an increase in energy consumption in country i leads to a decrease in the economic growth of neighboring countries. The test of Granger non-causality indicated a bidirectional causality between financial development and economic growth, and unidirectional causality running from economic growth to energy consumption. Research limitations/implications: Spillover effects of financial development and energy consumption on growth have largely been ignored in previous studies, especially in emerging countries. Thus, the study enriches the literature and provides some policy implications for ASIA countries. Practical implications: Spillover effects of financial development and energy consumption on growth have largely been ignored in previous studies, especially in emerging countries. Thus, the study enriches the literature and provides some policy implications for ASIA countries. Originality/value: Spillover effects of financial development and energy consumption on growth have largely been ignored in previous studies, especially in emerging countries. Thus, the study enriches the literature and provides some policy implications for ASIA countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to assess the efficiency of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) countries in achieving sustainable development by analyzing their ability to convert resources and technological innovations into sustainable outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: Using data envelopment analysis (DEA), the study evaluates the economic, environmental and social efficiency of BRICS countries over the period 2010–2018. It ranks these countries based on their sustainable development performance and compares them to the period 2000–2007. Findings: The study reveals varied efficiency levels among BRICS countries. Russia and South Africa lead in certain sustainable development aspects. South Africa excels in environmental sustainability, whereas Brazil is efficient in resource utilization for sustainable growth. China and India, despite economic growth, face challenges such as pollution and lower quality of life. Research limitations/implications: The study's findings are constrained by the DEA methodology and the selection of variables. It highlights the need for more nuanced research incorporating recent global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical shifts. Practical implications: Insights from this study can inform targeted and effective sustainability strategies in BRICS nations, focusing on areas such as industrial quality improvement, employment conditions and environmental policies. Social implications: The study underscores the importance of balancing economic growth with social and environmental considerations, highlighting the need for policies addressing inequality, poverty and environmental degradation. Originality/value: This research provides a unique comparative analysis of BRICS countries' sustainable development efficiency, challenging conventional perceptions and offering a new perspective on their progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of environmental penalties on corporate incremental bank loans. The results show that both the frequency and degree of environmental penalties significantly reduce corporate incremental bank loans, indicating that corporate environmental penalties lead to "financing punishment" by damaging corporate reputation and increasing risks. This financing punishment can be alleviated by good CSR performance and CSR assurance, indicating that exemplary CSR performance and assurance can provide an "insurance" effect to influence bank loans when a firm has a negative event. We also find that this financing punishment has intra-industry peer effects, suggesting that the environmental penalties incurred by one firm can influence the broader credit decisions of commercial banks within the same industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to determine the impact of economic policy uncertainty and geopolitical risk on environmental quality in 17 selected countries. In addition, it also aimed to test the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis (EKC) within the scope of the determined variables and model. In this context, analyses were carried out with annual data for the period 1997–2022, based on the country group for which the economic policy uncertainty index was calculated, subject to data limitations. In this study, a Quantile Regression of Panel Data (QRPD) analysis, OLS (Ordinary Least Squares), and a panel causality test were used. As a result of the estimation with the Quantile Regression of Panel Data (QRPD), it was found that the increase in economic policy uncertainty had a positive effect on environmental quality in most of the quantiles, while geopolitical risk had significant and negative effects on environmental quality in the medium and high quantiles. The validity of the EKC hypothesis was also proved in the analysis. According to the results of the panel causality test, there was a bidirectional causality relationship between environmental quality and all the independent variables, except the square of economic growth. In order to make a comparison with the new-generation estimation method, QRPD, it was observed that the estimation results with the classical regression method, OLS, were similar. In light of these findings, it is recommended that policy makers pursue strategies that balance economic growth and environmental quality, reduce the environmental impacts of geopolitical risks, and favor a renewable energy transition. Moreover, long-term and stable environmental policies have a crucial role in the success of these strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental degradation is a pressing issue, particularly in resource-dependent regions like the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. While significant research has explored the environmental impacts of economic growth and resource use globally, limited attention has been given to the unique dynamics in the GCC, including the role of ICT development, trade openness, and FDI inflows. This research examines how information and communication technology (ICT) development, economic growth, trade openness, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, and electricity consumption influenced environmental degradation in GCC countries from 1990 to 2022. Using panel data analysis, the study finds that ICT expansion and increased electricity consumption significantly contribute to higher CO2 emissions, exacerbating environmental degradation. Economic growth follows the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) pattern, where environmental harm initially increases with growth but can decline as economies diversify and adopt cleaner technologies. Trade openness and FDI inflows, particularly in resource-intensive industries, also contribute to environmental degradation, supporting the pollution haven hypothesis. However, these factors present opportunities for sustainable development if paired with stricter environmental regulations and cleaner technology adoption. The study highlights the need for GCC policymakers to prioritize renewable energy investments, enforce stronger environmental policies, and promote energy efficiency to balance economic growth with environmental sustainability. Recommendations for future research include exploring other environmental factors and assessing the role of technological innovations in reducing emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of the growing global climate crisis, many countries have pledged to cut carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gas emissions to achieve net-zero emission goals. These goals can be successfully realized with the rollout of environmental regulations, utilization of green technology innovations, and a greater use of renewable energies. This study explores the influence of green technology innovations, renewable energy, financial development, environmental taxes, and economic growth on CO2 emissions in the 19 highest emitting countries from 1994 to 2022. The results reveal that renewable energy use and environmental taxes negatively affect CO2 emissions, reinforcing the essential role of these variables in the journey toward carbon neutrality. Green technological innovations, financial development, and economic growth have positive effects on CO2 emissions, suggesting that appropriate regulations and policies are necessary to attain net zero carbon emissions. The findings also indicate that financial development positively affects environmental quality by promoting green technological innovations. The causality results indicate a bidirectional causal link between green technology innovations, renewable energy, environmental taxes, economic growth, and CO2 emissions. Additionally, a unidirectional causal relationship exists between financial development and CO2 emissions. Based on these results, the study offers policy suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the relationship between form of government and corruption using national municipal level data (1990–2020) using competing theoretical models; the principal–agent model and the professionalism–performance model. The principal–agent model suggests that the additional scrutiny provided by the electoral process will lead to a lower risk of corruption under the mayor–council form of government. The professionalism–performance model suggests that the professional training and incentives in place in the council–manager form will lead to a lower risk of corruption. However, it is difficult to examine the impact of the form of government on the incidence of corruption because there may be underlying community characteristics, such as population and poverty levels, that drive both the selection of form and corruption. Using propensity score matching and other propensity score methods to reduce the impact of confounding factors, this analysis finds robust evidence that the council–manager form reduces the risk of corruption, supporting the professionalism–performance model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The green technologies studied in this work can be considered non-drastic innovations, the diffusion process for which is largely influenced by government sponsorship. The study analyses heterogeneous non-hydroelectric RES-E (solar, wind, biomass and geothermal) support scheme policies in European countries and evaluates their effects on promoting installed capacity and production of electricity in twenty-eight European countries for the years 1995–2015. By applying panel data analysis, we estimate the relative effectiveness of financial and quota system incentives, taking into account the timing of adoption of these policies. The results suggest that price-based incentives (FIP and FIT), compared to quantity-based incentives (RPS), are the most effective mechanisms for diffusing non-hydroelectric renewable energy technologies. A novelty of the research concerns the evidence of a strong incidence of feed-in premium (FIP) incentive. In countries adopting FIP incentives, the production of renewable electric energy registers a step ahead performance compared to those adopting FIT and RPS. The results are confirmed in the robustness check estimations when RES-E sources are unbundled. The paper concludes with a discussion of some policy implications of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the dynamic effects of tourism and institutional governance along with other variables onCO2 emission (COE) in the 15 selected European Union (EU) economies over the period 1995–2018. The novel empirical evidence of this study is twofold. First, countries’ bloc effect is controlled based on the entry and exit information of EU countries, and second, in order to capture and better apprehend the aspects of institutional quality meaningful for carbon-neutral tourism in sample countries, interaction effects of tourism receipts and index of institutional quality are examined. For the robust results, non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL), fixed effects, and generalized method of moment-based models are estimated, wherein the results of the non-linear ARDL approach reveal that there are no asymmetric effects of tourism and institutional quality, which intrinsically affect pollution. Specifically, the findings reveal that tourism development and trade openness can reduce COE. Also, there is evidence of the existence of an environmental Kuznets curve in the region. Though institutional quality alone has been found to have an unfavorable impact on the environment, the interaction term of tourism and institutional quality into the framework reveals a significant and negative impact on COE in the selected region. Therefore, it is suggested that the EU economies should develop effective strategies to improve their present institutional governance framework in such a manner that will help to promote tourism, green purchase intentions of tourists, economic development, trade liberalization, and environmental quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper is one of the main non-ferrous metals which are closely associated with important industries, such as equipment manufacturing, electrical wiring, and construction; and thus, copper price is becoming an important impact factor on the performance of related economies. This paper aims to develop a hybrid method for forecasting the copper price by combining empirical wavelet transform (EWT), particle swarm optimization (PSO), gravitational search algorithm (GSA) and long short term memory neural network (LSTM), which is denoted as EWT-PSO-GSA-LSTM in this study. The forecasting performance of the proposed hybrid method was verified by time series data of the copper closing price in the London Metal Exchange (LME). The results of this study have shown that the proposed EWT-PSO-GSA-LSTM method outperformed other forecasting methods in terms of several performance criteria, such as the root mean square error (RMSE), the mean absolute error (MAE), the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and the Diebold–Mariano (DM) test. For the daily copper price time series, the EWT-PSO-GSA-LSTM method had the smallest RMSE, MAE and MAPE values (0.007, 0.013 and 1.358, respectively) compared to LSTM, EWT-LSTM, PSO-LSTM and EWT-PSO-LSTM methods. Furthermore, all the DM values of our proposed method were below -2.61 and the p values were smaller than 1%, indicating that the proposed method performed the best in forecasting the copper price at the 99% confidence level. Given the present results, it can be concluded that it is possible to improve the copper price forecasting method by combining the EWT, PSO, GSA and LSTM models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how national logistics performance facilitates new venture creation and innovation. The authors propose that national logistics performance is a key mediator in a national system of entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach: The sample for this study combines secondary data from multiple sources with survey data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor to create an unbalanced panel spanning 84 countries across five points in time. The authors test for the mediating role of national logistics performance using a Monte Carlo method. Findings: The results of mediation analysis confirm that national logistics performance is an important causal link in a national system of entrepreneurship. High-performing logistics networks at the national level help entrepreneurs launch new ventures and innovate by linking economic conditions and formal regulatory institutions with productive entrepreneurship. Originality/value: This study identifies logistics as an overlooked but important component of a national system of entrepreneurship. For policymakers, this study identifies critical linkages among economic conditions, regulatory institutions, logistics and entrepreneurship. The study also has practical implications for entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a structural VAR model, this paper investigates how oil price shocks and US uncertainty affect emerging market corporate bond returns. The key finding is that the response of emerging market corporate bond returns varies significantly depending on the underlying sources of oil price changes. Oil supply shocks generally have a negative impact on corporate bond returns, while aggregate demand and oil market-specific demand shocks lead to a temporary increase in returns, followed by a gradual fall. That is, when oil price increases are driven by stronger global economic activity or by speculative demand reflecting increased risk appetite, they can lead investors to search for higher yields in emerging markets, and thus raise corporate bond returns in the short term. Conversely, an unexpected rise in US uncertainty strengthens investors' risk aversion and results in a substantial decline in emerging market corporate bond returns. These findings have crucial policy implications not only for portfolio strategies of global investors, but also for government authorities in emerging market economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, the direct and indirect effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in India are examined, covering the period from 1980 to 2014. To quantify the indirect outcome of the existence of FDI on CO2 emissions, in this study, the three mediating channels of FDI are considered. The three broad mediating channels of FDI inflows are energy structure, industrial structure, and high-carbon technology, by which foreign direct investments affect India's carbon dioxide emissions. In this study, the unit root test, the Johansen cointegration, the Granger causality technique, and the seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) are used for the empirical analysis. The findings discover a process of cointegration in the long-run and reveal unidirectional causation between FDI inflows and CO2 emissions. The outcomes of the SUR estimation indicate that all the mediating factors substantially contribute to the level of CO2 emissions. In this paper, the findings reveal that FDI inflows affect the level of India's CO2 emissions mainly via mediating factors compared to their direct effect. Finally, in this research, it is recommended that the concerned authorities should prioritize the redistribution of foreign direct investment from high carbon-intensive technologies to less carbon-intensive and cleaner technologies for India's carbonless and sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental sustainability has been a hypercritical concern for developing and developed countries. This concern is also at an alarming phase in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS), which are leading developing countries. To escalate environmental sustainability, one of the solutions is to promote green growth (GGDP). Hence, scientific investigation is required to determine the impact factors of GGDP in order to offer an effective policy framework. Based on this, the purpose of this study is to probe the impact of tourism on GGDP in BRICS countries. The research utilizes the panel dataset spanning 1990–2020. The findings from CS–ARDL reveal that tourism promotes GGDP across the long and short run. Hence, we propose to take measures (e.g., subsidizing the tourism industry) to encourage tourism, which in turn upsurges GGDP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unprecedented growth in energy sector in recent decades due to population growth, industrialization, and urbanization results in high carbon and greenhouse gases emissions. The per capita electricity consumption has increased from 2.1 MWh in 1990 to 3.3 MWh in 2018 and energy demand is rising at an annual rate of 3.4% globally, of which nearly 30% is from India. The buildings consume nearly 48% of electricity which is the highest among the various sectors in the globe. The increase in energy demand will further be altered with population growth, affecting energy security and energy access. This will be a concern especially in countries with high population growth, like India. To overcome this, energy efficiency in the building sector is necessary which is addressed through energy regulations at international, national, regional and local levels. But due to the poor development & implementation of these regulations and ignoring their relationship with energy consumption, the effect of these regulations is not clearly visible and hence there is a need to determine components of regulations and its parameters to enhance the effectiveness of energy regulations. In this paper, energy regulation for commercial buildings of 18 different countries have been compared for regulation components namely structure, enforcement criteria, revision schedule, & energy efficiency measures and further energy regulations timeline is compared with the energy consumption trend for determining its effectiveness. Further, various initiatives and existing energy regulations for commercial buildings in India are discussed and compared to identify comprehensive list of parameters responsible for energy efficiency in commercial buildings. Also, a case study of five commercial hotel buildings is performed to determine physical specifications of building envelope using survey questionnaire; comparison between the energy efficiency requirements in existing regulation and in case studied buildings using methodology of ECBC 2019 and IS:3792; regulation components namely structure, enforcement criteria, revision schedule, energy efficiency measures covered in existing regulation; annual energy consumption break-up of hotel buildings from data collected using survey questionnaire and validated from energy bills and finally to determine the role of physical specification of building envelope towards energy consumption to determine the effectiveness of existing regulations. It has been found that the regulation components are the important factors which are responsible for the effectiveness of energy regulation. Further, the performance audit, and penalty provisions for non-compliance increase its effectiveness. Moreover, providing incentives for compliance helped in increasing the adoption to a greater extent. Apart from this, 6 different indicators, namely building envelope, site conditions, water and wastewater, building materials, energy consuming applications, and energy efficiency analysis; and 41 parameters responsible for energy efficiency are identified for the development of any energy regulation. None of the studied buildings in the study area comply with the mandatory or prescriptive requirements of regulation, resulting in higher energy consumption and therefore, the existing energy regulation needs to be more stringent with strong enforcement & compliance evaluation, and penalties need to be imposed necessarily for non-compliance. The findings of this study are proposed to be included in the National Building Code of India for comprehensive upgradation. The outcome of this study will be useful for developing energy regulations at national, regional and local levels by a country in which energy regulations are yet to be regulated or are regulated but not effective in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has accelerated the combination of information and communication technology (ICT) and international trade, raising debate about sustainability. Using the panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) model, we investigated the impact of ICT and trade openness on CO2 emissions in 11 selected RCEP countries from 2000 to 2020. The results indicate that (i) the role of total trade in CO2 emission reduction in RCEP countries gradually emerges along with ICT diffusion, (ii) with a rise in ICT level, imports always increase CO2 discharge, while the impact of exports on CO2 emissions changes from positive to negative, and (iii) the influence of total trade, exports, and imports on CO2 emissions has significant country heterogeneity and reveals declining, falling, and rising temporal characteristics. Furthermore, to explore the CO2 emission caused by ICT development in each country, we applied a two-step forecast method to project CO2 emissions from RCEP economies under different scenarios of ICT development. It is discovered that ICT development does not lead to a downward trend in CO2 emissions in all RCEP countries. ICT contributes to rising CO2 emissions in China and Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study investigates the effect of the day of the week on the volatility of cryptocurrencies. Thus, we reveal investors' perceptions of the day of the week. Design/methodology/approach: The EGARCH model consists of the day of the week for 2019–2022 and the volatility of 11 cryptocurrencies. Findings: Empirical results show that the weekend harms cryptocurrency volatility. Also, there was positive cryptocurrency volatility at the beginning of the week. Our findings show that weekdays and weekends significantly impact cryptocurrency volatility. Besides, cryptocurrency investors are sensitive to market movements, disclosures, and regulations during the week. Holiday mode and cognitive shortcuts may cause cryptocurrency traders to remain passive on weekends. Research limitations/implications: This study has some limitations. We include 11 cryptocurrencies in the analysis by limiting cryptocurrencies according to market capitalizations. Further studies may analyze a larger sample. In addition, further studies may examine the moderator and mediator effects of other financial instruments. Practical implications: The empirical results have research, social and practical conclusions from different aspects. Our analysis may contribute to determining trading strategies, risk management, market efficiency, regulatory oversight, and investment decisions in the cryptocurrency market. Originality/value: The calendar effect in financial markets has extensive literature. However, cryptocurrencies' weekday and weekend effect needs to be adequately analyzed. Besides, studies analyzing cryptocurrency volatility are limited. We contribute to the literature by investigating the impact of days of the week on cryptocurrency volatility with a large sample and current data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effect of institutional quality on renewable energy promotion in OECD economies. The study employs annual data from 1980 to 2014 on 18 OECD economies. The robust panel unit root tests show that all the considered variables have a similar order of integration, indicating that they are nonstationary at their levels but stationary at the first‐order differences. The panel cointegration test with structural breaks and cross‐section dependence confirms a long‐run equilibrium association between institutional quality, renewable energy consumption and control variables. The analysis of long‐run estimations displays that better institutional quality makes a unique and substantial contribution to promoting renewable energy consumption. Overall, the study findings offer important policy implications highlighting the importance of institutional quality for the growth of renewable energy and a sustainable world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the oil market‐investors sentiment (IS) has been considerably investigated, almost all studies have focused on the assumption of a constant relationship, and no attention has been given to the causality analysis in a time‐varying approach. To fill this gap, this study investigates the predictive power between IS and oil price based on a time‐varying Granger causality test. Using data over the period 1987–2020, we find evidence of significant bidirectional asymmetric time‐varying causal influences between investor sentiment and oil prices, suggesting that oil prices may predict investor sentiment and vice versa. Besides, the results suggest that bearish (bullish) investor sentiment has positive (negative) influences on oil prices during major economic and political events. In contrast, oil price exerts an influence on the sentiment which switches between positive and negative from one period to another. Further analysis shows that uncertainty related to the oil and equity markets can be a driver of the predictive power of oil prices on the bearish IS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature on the effects of socio‐political factors and the quality of political‐economic institutions on banking performance is scarce and mixed. To contribute to this literature, this study analyzes whether democracy and economic freedom affect the banking sector in European Union member countries. We provide empirical evidence of the influence of democracy and economic freedom on banking performance using a sample of 27 countries from 2001 to 2020, and accounting‐based return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) as performance measures. A dynamic model (system GMM) was used to address issues such as heteroscedasticity, serial correlation, and endogeneity. These findings indicate that democracy is positively associated with banking performance, whereas economic freedom negatively affects it in the sample countries. Additionally, this study adds to the growing literature on the relationship between control variables (macroeconomic determinants, bank‐specific factors, or a country's legislative regime) and banking performance. This study is practically valuable for managers, investors, stakeholders, policymakers, and academicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition to renewable energy is critical for environmental sustainability, consistent with sustainable development goals (SDGs) 7, 8, 11, 12, and 13 of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Scholars have identified financial development and institutional quality as significant factors determining the renewable energy transition in developing countries. This study opines that the efficiency of the financial system in supporting and providing the substantial financial implications that a switch to renewable energy necessitates depends on the quality of the institutional framework. Weak institutions in developing countries produce loopholes and inherent flaws in the financial system that facilitate corruption and opportunism, ultimately promoting dirty energy usage and technology at the expense of renewable energy. This process suggests that the interaction between financial development and institutions can either accelerate or impede the transition to renewable energy, depending on an economy's institutional architecture. Considering Africa's enormous renewable energy resources, previous research has overlooked the implications of the interplay between institutional quality and financial development in spurring Africa's transition to renewable energy. Thus, this study looks at the role of institutions in moderating the relationship between financial development and renewable energy in Africa from 1990 to 2019, using first‐ and second‐generation estimators to capture econometrics' pitfalls such as endogeneity, cross‐sectional dependence, and heterogeneity inherent in the panel dataset. This study departs from previous research in that it uses a dynamic panel threshold to determine the threshold of institutions beyond which financial development is stimulated to spur Africa's transition to renewable energy. The findings show that institutions create loopholes that allow rent‐seeking, opportunism, and sharp practices in the African financial system. These inherent flaws divert financial resources to support dirty energy and undermine the financial sector's ability to support a renewable energy transition on the continent. Also, the findings from the threshold of institutions affirm that African countries operate predominantly below the threshold of institutions, over which institutions enable financial development to expedite the continent's transition to renewable energy. The study suggests that institutional quality is essential in the relationship between financial development and Africa's shift to renewable energy. The findings' policy implications are discussed and outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the increasing investment by Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) participants in the renewable energy industry, it is imperative to ascertain how much this investment contributes to economic growth. The objective of this study is to ascertain the extent to which renewable energy contributes to economic growth within the Belt and Road Initiative compared to non-renewable energy sources. Prior studies have yet to incorporate oil prices as a variable in the production function, among other output aspects. This study integrates the inclusion of real oil prices as a variable within the production function alongside capital, labor, renewable energy consumption, and non-renewable energy consumption. A cohort including 49 Belt and Road Initiative participants was formed, encompassing data from 1990 to 2019. The data has undergone an initial examination to assess cross-sectional dependence, slope heterogeneity, and structural break(s), and are verified. Hence, third-generation panel data analysis has been utilized. The continuously updated fully modified estimator and continuously updated biased corrected estimator provide evidence supporting the notion that renewable energy plays a substantial role in fostering economic growth within nations participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. Furthermore, this contribution is found to be more pronounced when compared to the impact of non-renewable energy sources. The study's findings inform policy recommendations at both the BRI and national level., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

To find a way to realize sustainable development, this paper applied a cross-sectional ARDL (CS-ARDL) method to explore the interaction between carbon emissions, economic development, and health care expenditure for OECD countries. Firstly, we conduct a cross-sectional test to check whether the data is confronted with this issue. Secondly, we conduct a panel unit root test and cointegration test to confirm whether the ARDL-based method is suitable for our data. Thirdly, we analyze the results and provide possible explanations. Lastly, we conduct a short-term causality test to detect the connection between different variables. The main conclusion of our study includes: 1) Health care is a necessity in OECD countries. 2) Environmental deterioration places a heavy burden on health care expenditure in OECD countries. 3) Health care expenditure of last year negatively affects health care expenditure. 4) There is a short-run causality relationship from CO 2 , economic development, and dependency rate of youth to health care expenditure in OECD countries. Related policy proposals are provided according to our analysis of the results., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Air pollution is a danger to economies throughout the European Union. Industry, population expansion, a building boom owing to housing and infrastructure development, increasing vehicle traffic, crowded streets, a lack of availability of clean fuel, and ineffective control programs are the primary causes. Toxic air is a double-edged sword for a country's health since it affects just a tiny fraction of Europe's population. The financial burden and healthcare expenses for people rise when health expenditures rise. The present research looks at how dangerous air levels, healthcare costs, and the expansion of the European Union's economy are all connected. The findings are based on data collected over 29 years and account for the abovementioned variables. The results of the unit root test have the significant probability values of all variables: health expenditures (HE), gross domestic product (GDP), nitrous oxides (NOX), and carbon dioxides (CO2) emissions at both level and first difference. We used the Johansen, Kao, and Pedroni cointegration tests to test the null hypothesis of no cointegration to see that sample variables had a long-term association. The PMG-ARDL test was used to get these findings. The results confirmed the significant probability values of dependent variables in long- and short-run results that GDP has a positive and significant effect on health expenditure, while NOX and CO2 emissions have a negative and significant impact on (HE), in the European Union. To verify the results, we applied the robustness test, fully modified OLS (FMOLD), and dynamic OLS (DOLS); the robustness test results validated the PMG-ARDL test results. Environmental pollution (CO2, NOX) has a significant and negative impact on healthcare expenditures and a significant effect on GDP (HE) in the EU region. The findings of this research have implications for a wide range of parties, including those who would examine the link between factors in a study meant to improve air quality, distribute health resources, or develop strategies for economic development., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Recently, countries have been making intensive efforts to alleviate the burden on the environment and to make environmental conditions sustainable. In this context, our study aims to investigate the long-term impact of renewable energy consumption (REC) and human capital (HC) by considering the load capacity factor (LCF). We also investigate the long-term impact of economic growth (Y) and non-renewable energy consumption (NREC) on the LCF. In this context, we analyze annual data for the U.S. for the period 1965-2018 using the newly developed augmented ARDL (AARDL) approach. The long-term empirical results show the following. i) Increases in Y negatively affect LCF and deteriorate environmental quality. ii) Increases in NREC negatively affect LCF and accelerate the deterioration of environmental quality. iii) REC has no significant impact on environmental quality. iv) Increases in HC support the improvement of environmental quality. The empirical results show that contrary to expectations, renewable energy consumption does not have a significant impact on environmental quality in the U.S., whereas human capital is an important factor in improving environmental quality. In this context, US policymakers should pave the way for more investment in eco-friendly renewable energy investments and human capital to establish sustainable environmental quality. Policymakers should also take steps to reduce the use of fossil fuels., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Adopting renewable energy consumption is one of the most important aspects of international efforts to combat climate change, improve energy security, and encourage the shift to a more robust and sustainable energy system. Therefore, the empirics and policymakers worldwide are searching for factors that can promote renewable energy consumption. This analysis intends to investigate the role of financial globalization and tourism on renewable energy consumption in Asia and sub-regions such as Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and West Asia. The analysis utilized the linear and nonlinear CS-ARDL methods. Long-run outcomes of the linear and nonlinear models confirm that a rise in financial globalization and tourism promotes renewable energy consumption in Asia and all sub-regions. However, the nonlinear model highlights that a fall in financial globalization hurts renewable energy consumption in Central and South Asian regions, and tourism only hurts renewable energy consumption in Asia. In addition, ICT, GDP, and GHG emissions help promote renewable energy consumption. These results suggest that Asian policymakers must increase collaboration in the financial sectors and promote sustainable tourism in the regions to promote renewable energy consumption., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

This paper examines the linkages between information and communication technology (ICT) diffusion, renewable energy consumption (REC), and carbon (CO 2 ) emissions across three distinct regions: the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations. We explore the causal pathways linking these variables and perform a comparative assessment of region-specific patterns with their policy implications. Utilizing a panel dataset of 28 countries from 1998 to 2019, we employ panel ARDL, FMOLS, DOLS, and D-H causality tests. The comprehensive analysis of the sample reveals that ICT development enhances CO 2 emissions, whereas REC reduces emissions. However, the comparative analysis suggests a positive linkage between ICT diffusion and CO 2 emissions in MENA and OECD countries but a negative linkage in SAARC countries. Further, REC substantially reduces emissions in MENA and OECD countries but has an insignificant effect in SAARC countries. Our findings corroborate the first-order effect of ICT (negative environmental impact) in MENA and OECD countries, with contextual variations attributed to economic structure, financial sector growth, trade openness, and industrialization. These findings offer pivotal insights for policymakers to leverage ICT capabilities and REC to attain sustainable development and mitigate climate change consequences., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

This study tests the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in the transport sector for 28 OECD countries from 1990 to 2019. As a novelty, the relationship between gross domestic product (GDP) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from the transport sector is investigated with the estimation of the dynamic panel threshold regression based on the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator by Seo and Shin (Seo and Shin, J Econom 2:169-186, 2016). This approach enables us to test EKC and capture possible nonlinearities between variables. Along with the analysis of the EKC hypothesis, our study also investigates the effects of road petroleum products consumption, renewable energy consumption, and trade openness on transport CO 2 emissions. The threshold regression results, where GDP per capita is employed as the transition variable, support the nonlinear relationship between CO 2 emissions from the transportation sector and GDP by rejecting the null hypothesis of no threshold effect. This finding indicates the existence of two different regimes, i.e., the lower and upper regimes, based on the optimum value of the GDP per capita. Economic growth damages the environment in the lower regime, whereas it improves environmental quality in the upper regime. Therefore, the results indicate the presence of an inverted U-shaped relationship and support the EKC hypothesis in the OECD transportation sector. As a result, it is concluded that achieving sustainable economic growth is critical for investing in environmentally friendly technologies required to achieve the goal of reducing transportation-related CO 2 ., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

In this paper we explore convergence of real per capita output and health expenses across the Indian States. The new panel convergence methodology, developed by Phillips and Sul (Econometrica 75:1771-1855, 2007), is employed. The empirical findings suggest that these States form distinct convergent clubs, exhibiting considerable heterogeneity in the underlying growth and health expenses factors. These findings should help policy makers in designing appropriate growth-oriented and/or health sector programs and setting priorities in their implementation.

Purpose: The present study investigates a nexus between digital public services (DPS) and international tourism empirically. Design/methodology/approach: This article analyzes the nexus of DPS and international tourism by using the international sample of 23 European countries in the span of nearly 10 years from 2011 to 2019. Various econometric techniques, including the panel-corrected standard error (PCSE) model and the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) model, are employed to confirm the author's findings. Furthermore, the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method is applied to measure the short- and long-run effects of DPS on international tourism developments. Findings: Tourism is positively influenced by digitalization, implying that the enhancement of digital public service usage results in the development of the tourism industry. However, when looking at the effect of DPS in the short term, a negative impact can be found on tourism, as the density reported in the previous analysis stated a negative response to the tourism density. This effect spans the course of several facets, such as international tourism arrivals, international tourism receipt, international tourism, receipts (% of total exports) and global tourism expenditure (% of total imports). Although the result is unfavorable in the short term, digitalization promises great prospects for tourism in the long term. Notably, an improvement in economic growth, financial development as well a reduction in the pervasiveness of corruption and an improvement of environmental quality are transmission channels through which DPS have favorable influences on tourism activities. Practical implications: The author's findings are vital for managers and policymakers to establish a comprehensive grasp of digitalization's role in deciding tourist adoption. This is because digitalization has been proven to play a role in determining tourism adoption. Originality/value: The present study is the first to examine the relationship between DPS and international tourism empirically. The author is also the first to distinguish the effects of digitalization in the short and long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the time-varying effects of fossil fuel consumption on CO2 emissions in India utilizing the time-varying cointegration test, allowing for multivariate long-run time-varying cointegration parameter developed by Bierens and Martins (2010) and the time-varying vector autoregressive (TVP-VAR) model developed by Primiceri (2005). The long-run time-varying coefficients reveal that GDP has a positive and increasing impact on CO2 emissions over time. Moreover, results confirm the polluting effects of all fossil fuels. Besides, the TVP-VAR model findings also demonstrate that changes in income and fossil fuel consumption have a positive and significant impact on environmental degradation. Coal is found to be the most polluting fuel, followed by oil consumption. Furthermore, the time-varying responses show that increased natural gas consumption has the least influence when compared to other fossil fuels on CO2 emissions., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Over the past three decades, industrial innovations and technological advancements have changed business dynamics, adversely devastating the overall environment. As a result, our oceans have been severely affected due to climate change and global warming. To address this issue, this study investigates the factors that cause ocean CO 2 using a sample of 44 countries over 2012-2021 and explores a dynamic and causal relationship between economic growth, ocean carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption, and control variables relating to the ocean industry. This study finds that increasing economic activity tends to increase ocean carbon emissions. The results support the evidence of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis suggesting an inverted U-shaped association between ocean emissions and real income for the sample countries. Moreover, this study reports that ocean health index, maritime container transport, trade of fishery and ocean species, aquaculture production and marine species, and employment rate in the fishery processing sector are the significant factors of ocean CO 2 . Region-wise analyses suggest that real income positively influences ocean emissions and confirm the evidence of the EKC hypothesis in European sample countries but these relationships have an insignificant effect in Asia and the Pacific and the American regions. Furthermore, a short-run unidirectional panel causality flows from the production of aquaculture and other species to RD&D, from OHI and GDP to trade of fishery and other species, and from OHI to employment rate in the fishery sector. Likewise, bidirectional causality runs from energy consumption and maritime transport to ocean CO 2 in the long term. Regarding the long-run causal association, the results determine that all of the estimated coefficients of the lagged error correction terms are statistically significant which explains that they are crucial in the adjustment process as they deviate from the long-run equilibrium., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Recognizing the environmental development-related commitments made by the Next Eleven countries at 26th Conference of Parties (COP26), this study scrutinizes the repercussions accompanying good democratic governance, renewable energy transition, economic growth, and the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on carbon emission figures of these emerging nations. In this regard, the period of analysis considered spans from 1990 to 2018 while the econometric analyses involve application of both parametric and non-parametric panel data estimators. Among the key findings, firstly, the outcomes from the parametric estimation methods verify that establishing better democratic governance and undergoing renewable energy transition, both independently and jointly, curb carbon emission levels, while higher economic growth and the signing of the Kyoto Protocol are responsible for boosting emissions the Next Eleven countries. Secondly, the findings derived using the non-parametric methods reveal a great deal of heterogeneity when compared with the results obtained from the parametric analysis. Notably, better democratic governance is seen to reduce carbon emissions in less and moderately polluted. Next Eleven nations, while renewable energy transition curbs emissions only in the moderately and highly polluted ones. Additionally, these variables jointly inhibit emissions only in the Next Eleven nations that are moderately polluted. Besides, better democratic governance is observed to mediate the renewable energy transition-carbon emissions nexus only for the less-polluted Next Eleven nations, while the environmental impacts of economic growth and the signing of the Kyoto Protocol vary across different emission quantiles. Accordingly, relevant policies are recommended for helping the Next Eleven countries to comply with their pledges made at the COP26., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Material footprint is vital for playing a role in increasing the pace of climate change and the sustainability of development efforts. Fossil fuels material footprint (FFMF) remains a critical indicator of environment-friendly economic development. Fossil fuels have also retained their dominance as prominent drivers of global growth since the Industrial Revolution. FFMF levels show considerable variations in economic growth worldwide as awareness of sustainability and climate change propagates. Although biomass/carbon emission convergence have been discussed extensively in the existing literature, FFMF convergence is still scanty despite its vital role in climate change. Hence, this study adds to the existing literature by examining the convergence of FFMF for 154 countries for the period from 1970 to 2019 using club convergence analysis. The results show that FFMF converges to a single steady state, stating a symmetric decline in FFMF growth. Further, the findings from sigma and beta tests are consistent with the main results. Thus, the demonstrated convergence of FFMF directs that global efforts regarding FFMF control should be continued. Moreover, future climate change policies should also be formulated to enhance the awareness of FFMF and long-term sustainability., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

In this study, we use a time-varying parameter vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) in conjunction with the extended joint connectedness approach to examine the influences of the economic globalization measured by foreign direct investment (FDI) as well as trade openness (TO), on renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, by characterizing the connectedness of these variables, from 1987 to 2020 in Vietnam. Our results demonstrate that abolishing the state monopoly in foreign trade influences the system-wide dynamic connectedness of trade openness, which peaked in 1989. Net total directional connectedness of FDI and energy consumption suggests that both the consumption of renewable and non-renewable energy consistently act as net contagion shock receivers, and FDI is a critical net transmitter the whole time. Trade openness behaves consistently as a critical net shock transmitter in 1989 but turned into an essential net receiver from 1990 to 2020. In a system with trade openness, the consumption of non-renewable energy consistently acts as a net contagion shock receiver, and renewable energy consumption is a critical net transmitter in the whole sample. Pairwise connectedness reveals that FDI consistently appears as a shock transmitter to renewable and non-renewable energy consumption. Trade openness could be either a transmitter or a receiver of shock from non-renewable energy, depending on the period, and is a net receiver of shocks from renewable energy consumption during our sample. The findings of this paper are critical for Vietnam's government to make a greater contribution to the expansion of global commerce and a sustainable environment., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)