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This study aims to investigate the impact of conflict on greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) in the mining sector covering the period of the 1st quarter of 2003 until the 3rd quarter of 2017, across 151 countries. Unlike previous works, this paper focuses on testing two impacts. First, we test for a dynamic impact to uncover the effect of conflict on FDI over the contemporary and subsequent annual quarters. Second, we test for a spatial spillover impact. To achieve these goals, we apply both a panel spatial approach and an event study analysis, using a unique proprietary database FDIMarkets. The main findings are as follows. First, the presence of a dynamic impact depends on the intensity of the conflict for the particular country group, with higher levels of intensity being associated with a higher probability of the presence of a dynamic effect. Second, we find a significant negative spillover impact of greenfield mining FDI of neighbouring countries on the greenfield mining FDI of the FDI-receiving economy. We do not find, however, that conflict in neighbouring countries has a spatial spillover impact on greenfield mining FDI of the FDI-receiving economy. • The study examines the impact of conflict on greenfield FDI in the mining sector. • The Paper applied the events study and the spatial econometrics. • The study finds the intensity of the conflict causes a dynamic impact. • Results demonstrating the existence of a spillover impact. • Reducing conflict intensity can improve FDI in the mining sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: As the international society faces unprecedented challenges associated with resource scarcity, governance scandals, increasing injustice and inequality, new opportunities for higher education institutions are emerging. This paper aims to investigate the association between national governance standards and education quality across nine western European countries, namely, the UK, Germany, France, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and Ireland. Design/methodology/approach: Using panel data from 2002 to 2017, this paper uses fixed-effects and random-effects models to examine the relationship between national governance (proxied by voice and accountability (V&A) indicator) and education quality (proxied by human development index: education index). This analysis is supplemented with conducting instrumental variable (IV) estimations to address any concerns regarding the expected occurrence of endogeneity problems. Findings: The findings are suggestive of a significant and positive relationship between national governance and education quality in Europe. This implies that national governance standards, such as V&A, are essential actors in the enhancement of the quality of educational institutions' outcomes. Research limitations/implications: Policymakers should implement stricter regulations and ensure that accountability indicators are motivated if they wish to increase the spending on education, which is associated with better qualities of educational institutions. A culture of continuous review of education policies needs to be upheld in the Western Europe region to be watchful of any emerging problems while maintaining a sustainable relationship between the rule of law and the education administration. Originality/value: So far, a minimal number of studies focussed on examining the role of country-level governance in advancing education quality. This study, therefore, extends the body of prior literature by investigating the possible effect of national governance structures on education quality across a sample of Western European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the provincial impact of fiscal decentralization, in the form of shifting fiscal responsibilities of expenditures and revenues and others from the central government to lower local governments, as well as rapidly rising urbanization, on energy consumption for 31 Chinese provinces subject to relevant important control variables over the period 2006 to 2015. This analysis has implications for economic growth, efficiency and equality in China. To this end, the study employs multiple panel data analyses and panel quantile regressions to analyse this impact. Our findings show that fiscal decentralization has a non-linear relationship with energy consumption, which confirms the concave behaviour of fiscal decentralization in the Chinese provinces and underscores the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in those provinces, given the control variables. Moreover, increasing Chinese urbanization leads to high demand for energy consumption. Provincial governments can support eco-innovation and eco-investment by pursuing green growth strategies such as the expansion of the service sector and the boosting of the renewable energy sector: particularly when taking into account that coal, at one end of the spectrum, generates a 20 times greater carbon impact than renewables at the other. • We test the relationship between Fiscal Decentralization (FD) and energy consumption. • Our sample covers 31 Chinese provinces over the period 2006–2015. • Panel data estimators and panel quantile regression are used in the analysis. • There is a non-linear FD-energy consumption nexus, following the EKC hypothesis. • Chinese urbanization increases the demand for energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the dynamic effect of non-renewable energy, renewable energy, economic growth, and foreign direct investment on environmental degradation in twenty selected African countries over the period 2000–2015. We have adopted Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis and the Pollution Haven/Halo hypothesis simultaneously. In the first stage, this paper performs cross-independence test and found cross-sectional dependence in carbon emissions, non-renewable energy, and renewable energy. In the second stage, it applies first generation and second generation unit root tests for panel data and found that all concerning variables are I(1) except for economic growth which is found I(0). Therefore, we used the Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag approach using Pooled Mean Group, Mean Group, and Dynamic Fixed Effect estimators. The results indicate that all independent variables are significant and positive to CO 2 emissions except for renewable energy found significant and negative to CO2 emissions, and foreign direct investment found significant and positive only in the long term. Moreover, the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis did not hold in our sample, while we found strong evidence for the Pollution Haven hypothesis in selected African countries. • non-renewable energy, renewable energy, economic growth, and foreign direct investment-CO 2 emissions relationship is investigated. • Positive effect of non-renewable energy and negative effect of renewable energy are found. • The Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis does not hold. • The Pollution Haven hypothesis is verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we utilize the Chicago Board Option Exchange (CBOE) implied volatility indices to estimate the time-frequency information transmission among financial markets from 01.08.2008 to 31.10.2019. In doing so, we utilize the rolling window wavelet correlation (RWWC), Diebold & Yilmaz (The Economic Journal 119: 158–171, 2012), and Barunik & Krehlik (Journal of Financial Econometrics 16: 271–296, 2018). Our empirical findings suggest short-term and long-term dynamic connectedness between implied volatility indices of alternative assets. The long-term analysis findings suggest potential hedging and diversification opportunities that can be exploited by taking offsetting positions across volatility indices. The findings confirm heterogeneity between short-term and long-term connectedness results. Our findings also show superior out of sample hedging effectiveness of GVZ. The implications of the findings are further discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental degradation has become a severe concern across South Asia. Hence, it is imperative to model the macroeconomic determinants of environmental quality across this region. The traditional fossil fuel dependency of the major South Asian nations is alleged to have persistently deteriorated the quality of the environment across this region. Under such circumstances, it can be hypothesized that intra-regional trade within South Asia can facilitate renewable electricity trade to enhance environmental well-being. Accordingly, this study aims to evaluate the impacts of intra-regional trade integration, renewable energy transition, economic growth, and foreign direct investment inflows on the ecological footprints of selected South Asian economies. The econometric methods used in this study are suited for handling cross-sectionally dependent heterogeneous panel datasets. The overall results reveal that promoting intra-regional trade, stimulating renewable energy transition, expediting economic growth, and impeding inflows of dirty foreign direct investments are imperative for reducing the ecological footprint figures of the South Asian nations of concern. Besides, the results also verify the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for the South Asian panel as well as for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan but not for India and Pakistan. Moreover, the pollution haven hypothesis is also verified for both the panel and the individual South Asian countries. In line with these findings, several environmental welfare improvement-related policies are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sectors contribute differently to the total level of CO 2 emissions per capita, since they are heterogeneous in terms of GDP structure. This work investigates the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis considering a set of twelve of the fourteen OPEC countries. It contributes to previous literature exploring the Environmental Kuznets Curve relationship by analysing how economic activity sector diversification impacts the relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions, addressing an important identified gap. To address this gap, annual data from 1992 to 2015 is used. A panel cross-section analysis is provided between countries, and for the seven considered sectors, is estimated through panel corrected standard errors and convergence estimations are presented. Conclusions point to the relocation of pollution-intensive sectors to almost all of the OPEC countries. For all countries, a U-shaped relationship is evidenced, implying that economic growth in oil-producing and exporting countries increases environmental degradation. While energy consumption increases environmental damage, trade openness seems to have a significant and negative effect over emissions, leading to environmental improvements. This study points out that OPEC countries will have increased challenges facing them in terms of environmental degradation and only a few economic activity sectors can conduct environmental improvements through growth. The inclusion of oil prices increased coefficients magnitude. Probably these sectors are already allocating more labour and capital in projects and investments on renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy savings, substituting fossil fuels like oil. • Economic activity sectors diversification influences EKC hypothesis?. • Different degrees of environmental awareness are evidenced by sector. • Trade openness reveals to have a significant and negative effect over emissions. • Deterministic and stochastic convergence differences in sectors and countries. • Relocation of pollution-intensive sectors to almost all of the OPEC countries needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]