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This research article examines the impact of stock market capitalization on carbon emissions using forty high carbon-emitting countries from 1996 to 2018. This study adopts the Driscoll-Kraay method that simultaneously tackles heteroscedasticity, autocorrelation, and contemporaneous correlation issues. We find an inverted U relationship between stock market capitalization (SMC) and environmental degradation. We propose an extended environmental Kuznets curve based on SMC while energy intensity, industrialization, and urbanization increase emissions in sample countries. The quadratic method, SLM test, and derivative graphing detect the consensus of the inverted U relationship. The weak-negative SMC2 coefficient reveals that the dangerous impact of capitalization declines gradually and finally curbs the environmental degradation challenges. The relationship is strong in highly polluted countries with overvalued stock markets. The study catches no policy synergies between the growing stock market and increased carbon emissions. Stock market capitalization should be integrated into climate change adaptation strategies at national and regional levels, primarily to address the dark effect of environmental degradation.

Remittances play a very important role in a political economy perspective that how do remittances impact corruption in the recipient economy? This paper explored the hypothesis that whether the remittances worked as a cure by decreasing corruption being a political resource (accountability perspective), or remittances worked as a curse by allowing the government to divert spending from public goods provision (substitution perspective). The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method is used to check whether a long-run equilibrium exists among selected indicators from 1984 to 2018. The Error Correction Model was used to get the short-run regression results. Empirical analyses have shown the support for remittances being a curse, not a cure for Pakistan in the long run whereas, short-run results revealed reversed resource curse hypothesis.

In the last four decades, the developing countries have built a heavy industrial base which is seen as a threat to the environment. The trade liberalization policies of the SAARC counties led them to increase the production for domestic use and exports. This increase in industrial output is a real threat to environmental degradation as the industrial share is quite significant in the GDP of the SAARC countries. The present study is designed to check the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis and then use industry output as a regressor to see how it is affecting the environment. The panel regression models are used for estimation by taking data from 1980 to 2018. The results are obtained by using Newey-West standard robust errors. The results suggested that there exists a U-shape relationship between economic growth and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) while an inverted U-shape relationship is found between industrial growth and CO2. Furthermore, a unidirectional causality was observed between industrial growth, human capital, energy consumption, and CO2 while bidirectional causality was observed between urbanization and CO2. The present study suggests that there is a need to adopt environmental protection policies related to the industrial sector in the SAARC region.Keywords: Economic Growth, Idustrial Growth, Environmental DegradationJEL Classifications: Q43, Q54, R11DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.11769

It is a fact that public expenditure has a strong association with industrial productivity. The industrial sector recorded slow growth of 5.43%, which adds 20.90% to the GDP of Pakistan (2017-2018). This study aims to find the effects of public expenditure on Total Factor Productivity (TFP) in the industrial sector of the country. The study constructed two different models. In the first model, the study used time series data from 1975 to 2018, and the growth of adjusted TFP was calculated by the growth accounting method. In the second model, the study collected data from 1977 to 2018 and checked the impact of government expenditure on the TFP growth in the industry. The unit root tests, Ordinary Least Square (OLS), and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) were employed. The findings of the study revealed that public expenditures on education were significant and positively related to TFP growth in industries. Public expenditure on health, agriculture, and inflation had a significant and positive association with TFP growth in the industries. Foreign direct investment had a negative but significant impact on TFP growth. The results of the present study suggest that industrial productivity can be increased by increasing the expenditure on education and health.

The present study aims to explore the prevalence of genotype 3a under hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among all the provinces of Pakistan. It is alarming to note that Pakistan stands in the second position for having a large number of cases of HCV every year. Six major genotypes characterize HCV. To study the overall prevalence of HCV and its associated genotype 3a in all the provinces of Pakistan, a systematic review and meta-analysis were performed using STATA version 14.2. The published studies conducted in all the regions of Pakistan reported the incidence of HCV genotype 3a were shortlisted. The pooled summary estimates were calculated along with their confidence interval by using the "Metaprop" command. The literature review showed that the prevalence of HCV genotype 3a is most common in all the provinces of Pakistan. It is revealed that the prevalence of HCV genotype 3a was 86.46% in Punjab, which is the highest among all the regions.

The marketing techniques in developing countries have changed a lot since the start of this century. The concept of branding have given new imputes to these marketing techniques. The role of celebrates from different fields play significant role in changing consumer buying behavior. The present study has been designed to check how celebrity endorsement affects the consumer buying behavior. A questionnaire was developed to realize the objective of the study for the people of Lahore. The data is collected through paper pencil method from two shopping malls namely Emporium mall and Packages mall. A total of 256 respondents participated in the survey. Higher order CFA was used to measure celebrity endorsement variable with the help of four first order latent variables namely personal traits, credibility of the endorsement, brand credibility, and ad recall. SEM was applied to see the impact of celebrity endorsement on buying behavior of the consumers. The results of the study showed that four latent variables are measuring the concept of celebrity endorsement. Furthermore, the results also confirmed that celebrities appearing in Ads significantly affect the consumer buying behavior.

The present study aims to examine the short-run and long-run impact of China’s trade liberalization policies on its energy demand over the period from 1980 to 2018. The results of Autoregressive Distributed Lag approach of co-integration show that energy consumption significantly increases as a result of trade openness and increase in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The results of the granger causality test also confirm the unidirectional causality running from trade openness and real GDP to energy demand. The results of the study have an important implication because if China wants to continue its trade liberalization policies then it must increase its energy production.Keywords: Energy Consumption, Gross Domestic Product, Trade Openness, China, Time SeriesJEL Classifications: C22, F15, L98, Q43DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.11160

Purpose of the study: Since the process of globalization is reshaping the thoughts of individuals about the world and creating uniform consumption patterns, the present study is designed to investigate that how globalization is changing the consumption patterns of the people living in Punjab, Pakistan. Methodology: The present study has collected primary data from the three big cities of Punjab, Pakistan. A quantitative research method is applied to carry out results. Both paper-pencil and web-based methods were used to collect data. Using multistage sampling, sophisticated estimation techniques, such as Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), are applied to obtain the results. Main findings: The results of CFA confirm that the variable globalization is constructed with the help of commerce, information communication and technology (ICT), and education while the variable consumption patterns variable is measured with the help of physiological needs, communication needs, and ethnic household consumption. The results of SEM show that globalization is changing the consumption patterns of the individuals living in Punjab, Pakistan. Application of the study: The outcome of the present study shows that globalization through Multinational Corporations (MNCs), ICT, and education is changing the consumption patterns of individuals. This study draws the attention of policymakers to fix the minimum wage rate for workers working in MNCs and compel MNCs to revise their pricing policy. Novelty/ Originality of the study: The present study is a rare initiative as, to the best of the researcher’s knowledge; there is not even a single study that has considered all the dimensions of globalization and consumption patterns. This study is an important contribution as it fulfils various gaps that exist in the existing literature.

Purpose of the study: This study is conducted to assess the success of the Female Stipend Program (FSP), started in the province Punjab, Pakistan under the Punjab Education Sector Reform Program in 2003. Methodology: Panel data on household-level collected from years 2016 to 2018 is used for the analysis. The impact of cash transfers (directed towards female students in selected districts of the province) on female school enrollment in public (elementary and high) schools is measured. Enrollment growth in public schools is used as a dependent variable whereas female stipend, the number of schools, student to teacher ratio, the population of the districts, and basic facilities available in public schools are taken as independent variables. The results are obtained by employing Linear Mixed Multilevel Modeling. Main findings: All the variables, except the population of districts, are having a highly significant impact on the enrollment rate in Punjab. Female school's stipend, number of schools in the district, and the accessibility to basic infrastructural facilities have an important impact on female enrollment rate while a high student to teacher ratio negatively contributes to female enrollment rate. Furthermore, districts, where a stipend program is implemented, have higher enrollments as compared to other districts in the province. Application of the study: Outcomes of the study indicate that cash transfer programs directed towards female school enrollment are very fruitful in the case of Punjab. Therefore, such programs should be started in other provinces of the country as well. Novelty/ Originality of the study: The present study contributes to the research gap by using the largest data set available for all 36 districts of the province. To further highlight major factors contributing to high female school enrollments, the study includes school infrastructure, the population of districts, student-teacher ratio, and availability of schools in the model.

In the course of recent decades, the relationship between capital structure, ownership structure and performance has been a significant and steady point in the corporate finance literature. The central tenant of this investigation is to examine the relationship between capital structure, ownership structure, and firm performance with respect to emerging economies like, Pakistani non-financial firms. Secondary data was used for this study, which was taken from state Bank of Pakistan, PSX and annual reports of the companies. The population of the study consist of Pakistani non-financial firms listed in PSX. The outcomes indicate that the overall capital structure proxies (i.e. DER & LTDR) are significant but negatively affected on firm’s performance (ROA & ROE).The outcomes of current study also suggested that there is a significant and positive relationship between ownership structure (i.e. Institutional & concentration ownership) and performance of the firms. This research is helpful for every company management to keep the optimal capital structure and make appropriate decision regarding ownership structure. In future research, researchers should use different proxies of ownership structure like, institutional ownership and family ownership to check the impact on firm performance.

The concept of poverty is usually explained in terms of financial resources; however, it may also include deprivation in non-economic dimensions, such as education, health, and standard of living. These three dimensions of poverty or well-being have lacked attention from researchers in the past. At the start of the twentieth century, researchers explored whether non-economic poverty also drives people towards a lower quality of life and decreased well-being. In this regard, one of the popular instruments that can help to alleviate non-economic poverty is the minimum wage policy. It helps workers to maintain a stable standard of living required to avoid poverty. The prime objective of this research is to assess the importance of minimum wages in reducing social poverty in 11 selected Asian countries (Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand). This study used data ranging from 2000 to 2017. Using the ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation method, the results suggest that the minimum wage policy alone is not helpful unless supplementary policies are implemented to reduce non-economic poverty.

The present study investigates the impact of fiscal decentralization (FD) on the efficiency of public service delivery (PSD) in the education sector of Punjab, Pakistan, from the year1982 to 2017. Firstly, the efficiency coefficients for secondary school enrolment are estimated using Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). Secondly, the impact of FD on PSD in the education sector of Punjab, Pakistan, is analyzed using the Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) method of estimation. The findings suggest that revenue decentralization positively enhances PSD efficiency in the education sector. In contrast, the effect of expenditure decentralization is negative on the efficiency of the education sector.

This article aims to analyse the impact of industry‐level trade liberalisation (measured through industry‐specific tariff rates) on poverty in Pakistan. Combining data for tariff rates with the Labour Force Survey of Pakistan, we use quantile regression analysis to estimate the impact of changes in tariff rates on workers’ wages (associated with the manufacturing sector of Pakistan) that are at different points of the income distribution. Our findings meaningfully signal that trade liberalisation helps to reduce poverty in the economy. Based on these results, this study provides policy recommendations to reap maximum benefits from trade liberalisation.

In the past few decades, some remarkable developments in the fields of information technology, transportation and communication have led to the development of closer contacts between people all around the world. As a result of these developments and increased global integration, the world has started experiencing the effects of globalization more intensely than ever. The present study considers how, in response to globalization, respondents (from the three big cities, namely Lahore, Multan, and Rawalpindi, of province Punjab, Pakistan) with different socio-demographic profiles experience a varying degree of changes in their overall life patterns. The results show that individuals who are more educated and belong to the higher income group experience more prominent changes in their overall life patterns. The effect of globalization on the overall life of patterns of females and youngsters was, however, not found to be significant.

Distortion in balance of payments is one of the dominant causes for the sluggish economic condition of Pakistan. The present article has focused to scrutinize the relationship of the balance of payments to its certain determinants that are actually blamable or not for its distortion. The robust ARDL structure has been utilized to develop the bound testing approach to co-integration and error correction models on data set for 1972-2013.The bound test declares that there exists stable long run relationship of balance of payments to its determinants. The upshots indicate that real exchange rate inversely influences the balance of payments not only in the long run but also in the short run. Interest rate inversely affects the balance of payment in the long run but positively affects in the short run .Fiscal balance affects the BOP negatively in the long and short run simultaneously. As regards the real GDP, it moves the BOP in the positive direction in both long and short run. The money supply cast a positive influence on the BOP in the short run but negative effect in the long run. So the need of the hour is that the real GDP of Pakistan should be increased by the deliberate policy of the government. Because it is the GDP that can increase our savings consumption and government expenditures and exports and can improve balance of balance of payment.

Among the wide array of macroeconomic problems confronted by Pakistan, foreign debt servicing, has occupied a substantial place. Persistent fiscal deficit since the independence, turned out to be the ground for various governments to rely on the internal or external borrowings. The acquisition of more external debt instead of internal resource mobilization results in higher level of debt stock. Due to soaring level of debt, Pakistan has been allocating a major chunk of resources to debt repayment, which is tarnishing its economic growth. The present study has been conducted to discover the impact of foreign debt servicing on per capita income growth rate of Pakistan for the period 1981 to 2010 by applying relatively new technique, called auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) of co-integration. The results confirm that the foreign debt servicing has adversely and significantly affected the per capita income growth rate of Pakistan in both short-run and long-run in the specified period. There is an ardent need for comprehensive policy on part of the government of Pakistan to salvage the economy of such a financial loss. Key words: Per capita income, growth rate, debt, debt servicing, ARDL and co –integration.