The effectiveness of emerging markets' legal structure in explaining financial development.

This article examines the role of legal structure in explaining financial development in twenty-three emerging markets, which has not been explored in institutional economics literature before. This study relied on Pedroni, and Kao cointegration tests, which is followed by the renowned panel cointegration technique. The results of the Pedroni and Kao cointegration tests show that the variables understudy is cointegrated in the long-run. These findings are confirmed by the panel cointegration showing that legal structure (LS) has positive impact on financial development (FIND) in long-run that support Law and Finance, and New Institutional Economics theories in emerging markets. This study is the first to directly examine the long-run impact of LS on FIND in emerging markets, and the result remains consistent across alternative measure of FIND. The findings of this study have important policy implications for emerging markets. Policymakers should focus on creating a legal environment that is conducive to financial development. This includes strengthening the legal framework, improving regulatory regimes, and promoting market autonomy. Additionally, policymakers should work to attract foreign investment, which can help spur economic growth and development in emerging markets. The findings of the study are consistent across battery of robustness testing.

From darkness to light: Unveiling the asymmetric nexus between energy poverty and environmental quality in South Asia.

Energy poverty alleviation has emerged as a critical economic problem in recent years. Given the enormous number of people without essential energy services, a crucial concern is whether providing universal access to electrification will considerably affect environmental quality. The present research evaluates the asymmetric energy poverty-environmental quality nexus in South Asian economies. Previous works adopted panel data techniques, resulting in distinctive conclusions about the energy poverty-environmental quality nexus, irrespective of the truth that several nations could not establish such a correlation separately. This research, conversely, applies the Quantile-on-Quantile methodology, which enables independent determinations of time-series interconnection in all nations to offer worldwide yet economy-particular evidence concerning the relationship between the variables. The results indicate that energy poverty degrades environmental quality in most selected economies at particular data distribution quantiles. Moreover, the findings disclose that the ranks of asymmetries between the variables change by country, emphasizing the requirement of governments to take special care when accepting policies linked to energy poverty and environmental quality.

From desolation to preservation: Investigating longitudinal trends in forest coverage and implications for future environmental strategies.

Pakistan's forest cover is experiencing significant degradation in the ongoing efforts to combat climate change. The current state of the climate catastrophe is acknowledged. Nevertheless, there is a significant lack of readiness to tackle it effectively, especially regarding safeguarding the welfare of forthcoming generations. Pakistan bears significant relevance for future generations in this global crisis. The primary objective of this study is to examine the environmental difficulties faced by Pakistan and emphasize the critical need to safeguard its natural resources, considering the well-being of present and future generations. By using rigorous correlation and robust least squares regression methods, we investigate the complex interplay of financial aid, environmental legislation, precipitation, population growth, foreign direct investment, and afforestation within the time frame spanning from 1990 to 2022. The findings demonstrate that providing financial aid for afforestation initiatives significantly expands forested areas in Pakistan. Furthermore, the expansion of the population, the implementation of rigorous environmental restrictions, and the yearly amount of precipitation all play a role in the augmentation of forest coverage in Pakistan. Nevertheless, an alarming pattern of diminishing forest coverage over the years presents noteworthy obstacles. The importance of governance in promoting afforestation initiatives and sustainable development is highlighted by the emergence of adequate regulatory quality as a key factor. The average amount of precipitation has a discernible beneficial influence, underscoring the significance of climatic factors. The results above emphasize the need to implement cautious water resource management strategies and regulations responsive to climatic conditions. Based on these observations, the study proposes promoting sustainable agricultural and forest management, adopting a well-balanced strategy towards population expansion, implementing regulatory changes, and prudent use of water resources.

Revealing the energy paradox: Assessing the asymmetric impact of pandemic uncertainty on consumption of renewable and nonrenewable energy.

Uncertainties have grown around the world during the last few decades. Pandemic uncertainty has a substantial impact on economic activities, which may have a big influence on energy consumption. The goal of this investigation is to appraise the asymmetric influence of pandemic uncertainty on nonrenewable and renewable energy consumption in the top 10 energy consumer economies of the European Union (Germany, Poland, Spain, Netherlands, France, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Czech Republic, and Finland). Previously, panel data approaches were utilized to obtain reliable outcomes on the pandemic-energy consumption nexus, regardless of the fact that various nations did not autonomously exhibit similar relationship. This investigation, on the other hand, implements a special technique "Quantile-on-Quantile" that supports us to appraise time-series interdependence in each economy by providing international yet nation-specific perceptions of the connection among the variables. Estimates show that pandemic uncertainty reduces both nonrenewable and renewable energy consumption in most selected nations at stated quantiles of the data distribution. Nonrenewable energy consumption is much more influenced by pandemic uncertainty than renewable energy consumption. Furthermore, the rank of asymmetries across our variables differentiates by the economy, emphasizing the need for decisionmakers to pay much attention to pandemics-related uncertainty and the energy sector.

Asymmetric nexus between financial inclusion and environmental quality: the case of 10 most polluted economies.

Financial inclusion is critical element of economic growth as it makes financial services available to all facets of society and hence has an influence on environmental quality. Using data from 2004 to 2019, this research evaluates the asymmetric nexus between financial inclusion and environmental quality in the top-10 polluted nations (China, India, Russia, USA, Japan, Iran, Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Indonesia). Previous research used panel data approaches, which resulted in usual findings of the connection between financial inclusion and environmental quality, even with the reality that numerous nations did not show such a linkage individually. This research, conversely, utilizes an exclusive method 'Quantile-on-Quantile (QQ)', which permits us to probe each nation distinctly to provide multilateral yet country-specific information about the relation between the variables. The estimations demonstrate that financial inclusion degrades environmental quality in 7 out of the 10 economies at many quantiles of data distribution. Additionally, the outcomes reveal that the degree of asymmetry between financial inclusion and carbon emissions differs by nation, stressing the need of governments giving particular attention while implementing policies related to financial inclusion and a sustainable environment.

How Does Health Uncertainty Impact Greenhouse Gas Emissions in European Union Economies? A Blessing in Disguise.

The global outbreak of COVID-19 caused serious threats to public health and economic growth all around the world, but on the other hand, the betterment of the environment took place. How pandemics' health uncertainty will affect environmental quality is a crucial matter to address. The paper investigates the asymmetric association between pandemics-related health uncertainty and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the top emitter European Union economies (Italy, Germany, France, Poland, Netherlands, Spain, Czech Republic, Belgium, Romania, and Greece). Employing data from 1996 to 2019, a unique approach called 'Quantile-on-Quantile', is adopted to evaluate the influence of various quantiles of the health uncertainty on GHG emissions. According to estimates, health uncertainty enhances environmental quality by minimizing GHG in most of our chosen nations at certain quantiles of data, which makes pandemics a blessing in disguise for environmental quality. Additionally, the estimations indicate that the grades of asymmetry between our variables varies by locality, accentuating the requisite for authorities to give specific consideration while executing health uncertainty and environmental quality policies.

Visualizing the sustainable development goals and natural resource utilization for green economic recovery after COVID-19 pandemic.

After the COVID-19 outbreak, this study examines the influence of modifications in China's Sustainable Growth Goals (SDGs) and economic development goals on Chinese enterprises' energy conservation and emissions reduction behavior. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 epidemic has erupted, displacing the flimsy traditional techniques. As a result, the post-COVID-19 pandemic emphasizes the need for a long-term sustainable development method compatible with the local and regional environmental systems. The main objective of this study is used as a roadmap to steer the post-COVID-19 pandemic on a sustainable green path by emphasizing sustainable energy strategies to connect in SDG-related efforts. The investigation in this paper begins with examining significant impacts in the energy industry and their impact on progress toward sustainability. The empirical findings that the CO2 emissions reduction objectives in long-term development plans had a considerable impact on energy saving and emissions reduction, lowering energy consumption intensity by 3.33% and carbon emission intensity by 4.23% between 2010 and 2019. Besides, the results and long and short run techniques are built to describe the Sustainable Development Goals interface, with the result revealing that Sustainable Development Goals enhance the green economic recovery performance. Furthermore, this study recommends that the key natural resources and green economic recovery policies to overcome the climate change impacts by COVID-19 pandemic.

The effect of ethical leadership on service recovery performance: A moderated mediation model of organizational virtuousness and trait mindfulness.

In the present study, we first examined the relationship between ethical leadership and frontline employees' (FLEs') service recovery performance (SRP) and then tested the mediating role of organizational virtuousness in the relationship between ethical leadership and SRP in service contexts. Finally, we examined the moderating effect of FLE trait mindfulness on the direct relationship between ethical leadership and organizational virtuousness, as well as the indirect relationship between ethical leadership and SRP, via organizational virtuousness. Three-waved survey data collected from 273 supervisor-employee dyads in different service sector organizations supported our hypothesized relationships. In addition to important theoretical implications, the study carries useful practical implications, particularly for managers who are concerned about improving SRP in the service contexts.

Cyber security threats: A never-ending challenge for e-commerce.

This study explores the challenge of cyber security threats that e-commerce technology and business are facing. Technology applications for e-commerce are attracting attention from both academia and industry. It has made what was not possible before for the business community and consumers. But it did not come all alone but has brought some challenges, and cyber security challenge is one of them. Cyber security concerns have many forms, but this study focuses on social engineering, denial of services, malware, and attacks on personal data. Firms worldwide spend a lot on addressing cybersecurity issues, which grow each year. However, it seems complicated to overcome the challenge because the attackers continuously search for new vulnerabilities in humans, organizations, and technology. This paper is based on the conceptual analysis of social engineering, denial of services, malware, and attacks on personal data. We argue that implementing modern technology for e-commerce and cybersecurity issues is a never-ending game of cat and mouse. To reduce risks, reliable technology is needed, training of employees and consumer is necessary for using the technology, and a strong policy and regulation is needed at the firm and governmental level.

Sanitation, water, energy use, and traffic volume affect environmental quality: Go-for-green developmental policies.

Carbon emissions are primarily the result of human activity in urban areas. Inadequate sanitary facilities, contaminated drinking water, nonrenewable energy, and high traffic congestion have all impacted the natural ecosystem. Using data from 1975 to 2019, the study assessed the impact of the aforementioned variables on Pakistan's carbon emissions in light of this crucial fact. The ARDL cointegration method was used to estimate the short- and long-run parameter estimates. Urban sanitation challenges and energy consumption increase carbon emissions, which affects the natural environment by raising a country's carbon intensity. Economic expansion confirmed the inverted U-shaped relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth to verify the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis in the long run. In contrast, the monotonically rising function of carbon emissions provides evidence of the nation's economic development in the short run. Access to clean drinking water improves population health and encourages the purchase of eco-friendly products. The government must improve sanitation services and use renewable energy sources to enhance air quality.

Do Predictors of Health Facility Delivery Among Reproductive-Age Women Differ by Health Insurance Enrollment? A Multi-Level Analysis of Nigeria's Data.

This study aims to compare determinants of health facility delivery for women under a health insurance scheme and those not under a health insurance scheme. Secondary data drawn from the National Demographic and Health Survey was used for the analysis. The characteristics of the women were presented with simple proportions. Binary multilevel logistic regression was used to examine the determinants of health facilities for women who enrolled in health insurance and those who did not. All statistical analyses were set at 5% level of significant level (p = 0.24). The result showed that 2.1% of the women were under a health insurance scheme. Disparity exists in health insurance ownership as a higher proportion of those enrolled in health insurance were those with higher education attainment, in urban parts of the country, and those situated on higher wealth quintiles. There is a significant difference between those with and those without health insurance. It implies that a higher proportion of women who enrolled in health insurance delivered in health facility delivery compared to those who do not. The unique determinants of health facility delivery for women under health insurance were parity and birth order, while unique determinants of health facility delivery for women not enrolled in health schemes were employment status, marriage type, and geopolitical zones. Uniform predictors of health facility delivery for both groups of women were maternal education, household wealth quintiles, autonomy on healthcare, number of antenatal contacts, residential status, community-level poverty, community-level media use, and community-level literacy. Intervention programs designed to improve health facility delivery should expand educational opportunities for women, improve household socioeconomic conditions, target rural women, and encourage women to undertake a minimum of four antenatal contacts.

Dynamic common correlated effects of pandemic uncertainty on environmental quality: fresh insights from East-Asia and Pacific countries.

It is well known that pandemic-related uncertainty affects various macroeconomic indicators, including environmental quality. Due to pandemic outbreaks, the reduction in economic activities affects the environmental quality in many economies. The study explores the impact of pandemic uncertainty on environmental quality in East-Asia and Pacific countries. Most past research use only CO2 emissions, which is an inappropriate measurement of environmental quality. Besides CO2 emissions, we have utilized other pollutants like N2O and CH4 emissions along with ecological footprint. The traditional econometric approaches ignore cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity and give biased outcomes. Hence, we have employed a new method, "Dynamic Common Correlated Effects (DCCE)," which can excellently deal with the problems mentioned above. The short-run and long-run DCCE estimations show a negative and significant influence of pandemic uncertainty on ecological footprint, CO2 and CH4 emissions in whole and lower-income group of East-Asia and Pacific region. Moreover, pandemic uncertainty has a negative relationship with all indicators of environmental quality in higher-income economies. The study provides a unique opportunity to examine how pandemic uncertainty through anthropogenic activities affects environmental quality and serves as a significant resource for policymakers in planning and estimating the effectiveness of environmental quality measures. It is necessary to carry out sustainable environmental policies in East-Asia and Pacific region according to the vulnerabilities and resilience to global pandemic uncertainty.

A comparative study of the effect of health insurance on women's use of health facility delivery: Evidence from demographic health survey in Benin Republic.

Studies in the Benin Republic have identified contextual factors that determine health facility delivery among women of reproductive age. However, it is not certain if the same set of factors predicts facility delivery for women who enrolled in health insurance and those who did not. The study seeks to compare the determinants of health facility delivery for mothers under health insurance and those that are not in the Benin Republic. The study used data for 33,078 women of reproductive age, drawn from the most recent Benin demographic and health survey (2017-18). The characteristics of the women were described using simple proportions and frequency. Binary Logistic regression was used to examine determinants of health facility delivery for both groups of women. The result showed that only 0.7% of the women were under health insurance coverage. The prevalence of health facility delivery was high in the enrolled group but not in the unenrolled group (98.3% vs. 87.8%). The uniform determinants of health facility delivery across the two groups were household wealth, education, employment, land/house ownership, media exposure, a minimum of four antenatal contacts, and place of residence. To improve the coverage of health facility delivery, a multi-pronged approach should be used to improve household socioeconomic status, encourage media use among women, expand education opportunities for women, and specifically target rural women in Benin.

Environmental and natural resource degradation in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic: a wake-up call.

The study's objective is to examine the relationship between COVID-19 cases, environmental sustainability ratings, and mineral resource rents in a large cross section of 97 countries. The emergence of novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) enlarges its magnitude across the international borders and damages social, economic, and environmental infrastructure with a high rate of human death tolls. The mineral resources are also devastated, which served as a primary raw input into the production system. The adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the environment and mineral resources are studied in a large panel of countries and found that mineral resource rents and population growth improve environmental sustainability rating (ESR). In contrast, an increase in coronavirus cases decreases the rating scale across countries. Further, mineral resources first decrease along with increased COVID-19 cases due to strict government policies, including the mandatory shutdown of economic institutions. Further, mineral resource rents increase later because of resuming economic activities in many parts of the world. The high rate of population growth is another important factor that negatively affects mineral resources across countries. Through impulse response and variance decomposition estimates, an exacerbated coronavirus cases and population growth would likely negatively affect ESR and mineral resources. In contrast, COVID-19 recovered cases will likely play a more significant role in securing mineral resources over time. Therefore, the global mineral resource conservation policies and improving ESR are highly needed during the COVID-19 to keep the significant economic gains in unprecedented times.

Nonlinearity in the relationship between COVID-19 cases and carbon damages: controlling financial development, green energy, and R&D expenditures for shared prosperity.

The world faces a high alert of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), leading to a million deaths and could become infected to reach a billion numbers. A sizeable amount of scholarly work has been available on different aspects of social-economic and environmental factors. At the same time, many of these studies found the linear (direct) causation between the stated factors. In many cases, the direct relationship is not apparent. The world is unsure about the possible determining factors of the COVID-19 pandemic, which need to be known through conducting nonlinearity (indirect) relationships, which caused the pandemic crisis. The study examined the nonlinear relationship between COVID-19 cases and carbon damages, managing financial development, renewable energy consumption, and innovative capability in a cross section of 65 countries. The results show that inbound foreign direct investment first increases and later decreases because of the increasing coronavirus cases. Further, the rise and fall in the research and development expenditures and population density exhibits increasing coronavirus cases across countries. The continued economic growth initial decreases later increase by adopting standardized operating procedures to contain coronavirus disease. The inter-temporal relationship shows that green energy source and carbon damages would likely influence the coronavirus cases with a variance of 17.127% and 5.440%, respectively, over a time horizon. The policymakers should be carefully designing sustainable healthcare policies, as the cost of carbon emissions leads to severe healthcare issues, which are likely to get exposed to contagious diseases, including COVID-19. The sustainable policy instruments, including renewable fuels in industrial production, advancement in cleaner production technologies, the imposition of carbon taxes on dirty production, and environmental certifications, are a few possible remedies that achieve healthcare sustainability agenda globally.

How precious metal and energy resources interact with clean energy stocks? Fresh insight from the novel ARDL technique.

To boost the stability of economic and financial aspects along with the apprehensions for sustainability, it is important to promote the development of clean energy stocks around the globe. In the current research, the researchers have examined the impact of oil prices, coal prices, natural gas prices, and gold prices on clean energy stock using the autoregressive distribution lag (ARDL) approach from the year 2011 to the year 2020. The result of daily data analysis specifies that in the long as well as in the short run, gold prices, oil prices, and coal prices have a positive and significant effect on clean energy stock. On the other side, natural gas prices in the long as well as in the short run have a negative and significant effect on clean energy stock. So, the empirical analysis of our study is of interest to investors at an institutional level who aim at detecting the risk associated with the clean energy market through proper financial modeling. Besides, this study opens up a new domain to sustain financial as well as economic prospects by protecting the environment through clean energy stock as the investment in clean energy stocks results in producing a substantial effect on the economy and the environment as well.

The dynamic impact of renewable energy sources on environmental economic growth: evidence from selected Asian economies.

The linkage between renewable energy resources and environmental influences on economic growth among selected Asian economies play a vital role in sustainable economic development. This study encompasses the panel data sets for eight selected Asian countries, and the period starts from 1990 to 2018. This research relies on the panel vector error correction model (PVECM) for data estimation. The overall findings indicate that biomass, geothermal, and wind power sources of energy have a positive and significant impact on the economic advancement of Asian economies. Besides that, as opposed to the other two renewable energy sources, windpower has a greater impact on economic development. Furthermore, the empirical findings of current research have significant implications towards selected Asian countries' energy policy related to both private and public sector enterprises as it helps in identifying the industrial sectors which have greater contribution towards the economy and their energy requirements in long term.

Do BRI policy and institutional quality influence economic growth and environmental quality? An empirical analysis from South Asian countries affiliated with the Belt and Road Initiative.

The effect of quality institutions on growth-environmental nexus is a generally ignored topic, especially in South Asia economies affiliated with the belt and road initiatives (BRIs). To fill this gap, we have examined the effect of BRI policy, economic freedom (EF), and institutional quality (IQ) on growth-environmental nexus in the South Asian region from 1984 to 2019. We have used CO2 emission as a proxy for the environment in this study. To prevent variable bias, we also included energy consumption (EN) and trade openness (TO) as key factors in the model. To solve the problem of cross-sectional dependence, we have used the second-generational unit root test. The results of unit root tests indicate that the variable IQ is stationary at the level and other variables are stationary at the first difference. Furthermore, all of the variables are cointegrated, according to the panel cointegration test. Thus, we have used the panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method to estimate the long-run (LR) and short-run (SR) impact of response factors on economic growth. Furthermore, this research utilized the Granger causality test among the selected variables to inquire into the causalities. The basic findings are as follows: (i) A significantly positive interaction variable (CO2IQ) among CO2 and IQ suggests that effective and fair political institutions are critical for increasing economic development and decreasing CO2 emissions simultaneously. (ii) Economic growth is invigorated by energy consumption, trade, economic freedom, and institutional quality. (iii) Since 2013, more significant economic growth has been stimulated by BRI policy in BRI-associated countries; thus, both the SR and LR results are significantly positive. Hence, it is essential to improve the quality of institutions to reduce carbon emissions during economic growth.

Household Socioeconomic Status and Antenatal Care Utilization Among Women in the Reproductive-Age.

The study examined the effect of household socioeconomic status and other socio-demographic characteristics on antenatal care (ANC) utilization among 819 women within the reproductive ages across eight rural communities in Delta State, Southern part of Nigeria. Characteristics of the women were described using simple proportion and frequency. The chi-square test was used to examine factors that were significantly associated with a minimum of four (≥4) and eight (≥8) antenatal care contacts, which were respectively in line with the focused ANC and WHO's new guideline. The multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the determinants of a minimum of four and eight ANC. Statistical analyses were set at 5%. The results showed that 31.4% (257/819) and 2.2% (18/819) of mothers, respectively, made ≥ 4 and ≥ 8 ANC contacts in the course of their last pregnancies. According to the results, the odds for reporting 4≥ and ≥ 8 ANC improved with both wealth and educational attainment. Distance to the health center and cost are barriers to maternal care utilization and they reduce the odds for undertaking ≥ 4 and ≥8 ANC contacts. Women on higher media exposure were more likely to undertake ≥ 4 and ≥8 ANC contacts, and those on the highest media exposure were more likely to undertake ≥8 ANC contacts. Financing maternal care through health insurance and free maternal care significantly improves the odds to undertake ≥ 4 and ≥ 8 ANC contacts. Intervention programs should be designed to improve access to maternal care services and should expand education opportunities for mothers, improve household socioeconomic conditions, and encourage enrolment in health insurance and free maternal care in the study area.

Socio-economic and corporate factors and COVID-19 pandemic: a wake-up call.

The novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) emerges from the Chinese city Wuhan and its spread to the rest of the world, primarily affected economies and their businesses, leading to a global depression. The explanatory and cross-sectional regression approach assesses the impact of COVID-19 cases on healthcare expenditures, logistics performance index, carbon damages, and corporate social responsibility in a panel of 77 countries. The results show that COVID-19 cases substantially increase healthcare expenditures and decrease corporate social responsibility. On the other hand, an increase in the coronavirus testing capacity brings positive change in reducing healthcare expenditures, increased logistics activities, and corporate social responsibility. The cost of carbon emissions increases when corporate activities begin to resume. The economic affluence supports logistics activities and improves healthcare infrastructure. It linked to international cooperation and their assistance to supply healthcare logistics traded equipment through mutual trade agreements. The greater need to enhance global trade and healthcare logistics supply helps minimize the sensitive coronavirus cases that are likely to provide a safe and healthy environment for living.