The impact of economic uncertainty on bank efficiency-the moderating role of country governance.

This study examined the impact of economic uncertainty (EU) on Islamic banks (IBs) and conventional banks' (CBs) efficiency in countries that meet a standard where 1% share of Islamic banking assets is part of their total domestic banking sector assets. In addition, this study explored the moderating effect of country governance (CG) by employing the quantitative methodology based on secondary data from 2006 to 2021. The data analysis was done through ordinary least square, fixed effect model, and the random effect model. EU was found to enhance bank efficiency based on the basic regression results. CG moderated the positive effect of EU on bank efficiency. Additional robustness tests showed that EU was positively related to both types of banks' efficiency. The value of the paper is unique in that few papers have investigated the moderating effect of CG on the impact of EU on banks' efficiency, which enhances comprehension of EU and CG. These results highlight important policy implications whereby banks should continue to invest in and improve their risk management strategies. In addition, governments and regulatory bodies should prioritise good governance practices as these can improve banks' efficiency.

Macroprudential policies and CO2 emissions: A comparative analysis of G7 and BRIC countries.

This study investigates the impact of macroprudential policies on CO2 emissions in G7 and BRIC countries using country-level panel data from 11 countries, covering the period from 1992 to 2020. The findings indicate that macroprudential policies alleviate CO2 emissions in the sample. Quantile regression results reveal that policies can exacerbate CO2 emissions in countries with high levels of CO2 emissions due to carbon leakage. The positive impact of macroprudential policies on sustainable development can be strengthened by high level of globalisation. Moreover, the influence of macroprudential policies stayed the same based on the basic regression results during the post-global financial crisis (GFC) period, while the impact was positive in the pre-GFC period. Finally, robust tests validated the findings reported in the basic regression model. From this, policymakers should prioritise sustainable economic growth when implementing macroprudential policies and leverage the influence of globalisation to amplify their impact on CO2 emissions. Furthermore, it is crucial to strengthen environmental regulations to prevent carbon leakage that result from industries seeking lenient standards.

Data envelopment analysis for ambulance services of different service providers in urban and rural areas in Ministry of Health Malaysia.

Introduction: Ambulance services are pivotal in any country's healthcare system. An efficient ambulance service not only decreases patient mortality rate but also allows resource prioritization for better outputs. This study aims to measure the efficiency of ambulance services provided by health facilities in the Ministry of Health (MOH), Malaysia. Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed the efficiency of 76 Decision-Making Units (DMUs) or health facilities, consisting of 62 health clinics and 14 hospitals. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used for computing efficiency scores while adopting the Variable Return to Scale (VRS) approach. The analysis was based on input orientation. The input was the cost of ambulance services, while the output for this analysis was the distance coverage (in km), the number of patients transferred, and hours of usage (in hours). Subsequent analysis was conducted to test the Overall Technical Efficiency (OTE), the Pure Technical Efficiency (PTE), the Scale Efficiency (SE), and the Return to Scale with the type of health facilities and geographical areas using a Mann-Whitney U-test and a chi-square test. Results: The mean scores of OTE, PTE, and SE were 0.508 (±0.207), 0.721 (±0.185), and 0.700 (±0.200), respectively. Approximately, 14.47% of the total health facilities were PTE. The results showed a significant difference in OTE and SE between ambulance services in hospitals and health clinics (p < 0.05), but no significant difference in PTE between hospitals and clinics (p>0.05). There was no significant difference in efficiency scores between urban and rural health facilities in terms of ambulance services except for OTE (p < 0.05). Discussion: The ambulance services provided in healthcare facilities in the MOH Malaysia operate at 72.1% PTE. The difference in OTE between hospitals and health clinics' ambulance services was mainly due to the operating size rather than PTE. This study will be beneficial in providing a guide to the policymakers in improving ambulance services through the readjustment of health resources and improvement in the outputs.