Democracy's limited impact on innovation: Panel data evidence from developing countries.

This study investigates the relationship between democracy and innovation across 61 developing countries from 2013 to 2020, utilizing data from Global Innovation Index. Employing the Freedom House Index and Polity2 indicators as proxies for democracy, research employs Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Fixed Effects and SystemGMM techniques to analyze their impact on innovation. The findings of the study reveal no statistically significant relationships between democracy and innovation in developing nations within specified timeframe. Through empirical analysis, including various econometric approaches, it is observed that the level of democracy as measured by these indicators, does not appear to exert a discernable impact on the innovation landscape of these countries. These results carry important implications for public policy. While the promotion of democracy remains a crucial goal, especially for societal development and political stability, this study suggests that solely focusing on enhancing democratic institutions might not necessarily yield immediate direct improvements in the innovation capacities of developing nations. Policymakers and stakeholders involved in fostering innovation ecosystems in these regions may need to consider a more nuanced approach, encompassing factors beyond the scope of democratic governance to effectively spur innovation. Understanding the nuanced relationship between democracy and innovation in developing countries has significant implications for designing targeted policies aimed at enhancing innovation capacities, economic growth and overall societal development in these regions.

Does sustainable banking facilitate reducing the SDG-10 in weak rule of law setting?

Facilitating economic opportunities is a critical function of the financial sector, and this contributes significantly towards the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals 10 (SDG-10), which aims to reduce income inequality. This research examines the role of sustainable banking practices in reducing income inequality and achieving SDG-10 under weak rule of law settings. We employed a panel cluster regression model to examine the data collected from 890 banks across 49 nations over a nine-year period (2014-2022). Specifically, we opted to cluster the observations based on industry and year to produce unbiased standard error. The findings reveal that sustainable banking practices are more effective in reducing income inequality, especially in settings with weak rule of law. They also contribute to combating money laundering, which is a significant barrier to achieving SDG-10. The study highlights the importance of transparent and responsible financial transactions in promoting investment opportunities that contribute to sustainable development. Moreover, we find that sustainable banking can accelerate the impact of Fintech in reducing income inequality in weak rule of law settings. The use of Fintech in the financial industry can improve transparency, accountability, and fairness, which are essential for progress towards achieving SDG-10. These findings have significant implications for the expansion of sustainable banking practices in regions with weak institutional frameworks.

Role of workplace bullying and workplace incivility for employee performance: Mediated-moderated mechanism.

Workplace events play a significant role in shaping the performance of employees and organizations. Negative events, in particular, require careful attention due to their severe impact on employee wellbeing and performance. Workplace bullying and incivility are two negative events that can cause significant harm to employees and contribute to poor performance. This study examines the effects of workplace bullying and incivility on employee performance in the presence of perceived psychological wellbeing (PWB), with the moderating role of perceived organizational support (POS) considered for both independent variables and employee performance (EP). The study focuses on female nurses working in the healthcare sector of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The results of the study indicate that workplace bullying and incivility have adverse effects on employee performance and that PWB mediates these relationships. Moreover, perceived organizational support moderates the relationship between both predictors and the employee performance criterion. In conclusion, the findings of this study highlight the importance of creating a positive and supportive work environment to mitigate the negative effects of workplace bullying and incivility on employee performance.

Country-level institutional quality and financial system efficiency: An international evidence.

The optimum economic outcome of financial system development depends on its level of efficiency. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of institutional quality on financial system efficiency. For empirical analysis, we have used a panel dataset of 108 countries from 1996-2020 and employed fixed effect regression and two stages least squares (2SLS) regression methods. The empirical results show that institutional quality has a significant positive effect on financial system efficiency. Particularly all the constituting elements-voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence, regulatory quality, government effectiveness, rule of law, and control of corruption-of institutional quality are found to have a significant positive impact on financial system efficiency. Moreover, we found that the effect of institutional quality is more pronounced in countries with low-income levels and strong institutional quality. These findings are robust across several robustness tests conducted using additional controls, alternative methodologies, an alternative measure of institutional quality, and financial system efficiency. The results of the study suggest that policy makers should prioritize both enhancing and sustaining institutional quality to promote the efficiency of the financial system, which is crucial for sustainable growth and development.

Dynamic association of stock market volatility, foreign portfolio investment and macroeconomic indicators by taking the impact of structural breaks.

In an asymmetric information environment, investors diversify their investments to minimize risk and maximize their wealth. Such diversification ranges from one market to another market and from one country to another country. Investors prefer foreign portfolio investment over foreign direct investment because of the economy's turmoil, changes in macroeconomic indicators, and market liberation. This study analyzes the dynamic relationship among stock market volatility, foreign portfolio investment, and macroeconomic indicators (foreign exchange rate, interest rate, and Gross Domestic Product) using the dynamic long-run Auto-regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model concerning the Pakistan environment. This study also considers the impact of multiple structural breaks, representing variables' endogenous and exogenous shocks. The secondary data is used from Oct. 01, 2009, to Sept. 30, 2019, with monthly frequency. The results indicate a co-integration between SMV, FPI, FXR, IR, and GDP. In short-run analyses, the error correction term is statistically significant, while in the long run, the SMV, FPI, and FXR are not impacted. As no evidence of volatility has been found between SMV and FPI, unidirectional or bi-directional policies can be devised to further attract the new FPI for strengthening the foreign reserves, the balance of payments, and other macroeconomic variables. Additionally, investors should update their knowledge based on considering the endogenous and exogenous shocks on the SMV.

Influence of Implant Adjacent Teeth on the Accuracy of Digital Impression.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of adjacent teeth patterns on the accuracy of digital scans of parallel and divergent implants for three-unit prostheses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A maxillary typodont model with implants in the locations of the first premolars and first molars was used to develop three clinical scenarios for three-unit prostheses: (S1) Partially edentulous arch with missing first premolars and first molars only; (S2) partially edentulous arch with missing first premolars, second premolars and first molars; and (S3) partially edentulous arch with missing canines, first premolars, second premolars, first molars, and second molars. On one side, the implants were parallel, and for the other side, the implants had a 15-degree buccolingual angle. With the aid of scan bodies, 10 digital impressions were taken for each scenario and for each side. To evaluate the accuracy, a reverse engineering software was used to measure trueness, precision, and interimplant distance. RESULTS: The best trueness for parallel implants was observed for S2 (30.0 µm), followed by S3 (67.3 µm) and S1 (74.8 µm) (p < 0.001). Likewise, S2 had the best precision for parallel implants (31.3 µm) followed by S3 (38.0 µm) and S1 (70.3 µm) (p < 0.001). For the divergent implants, S2 exhibited the best trueness (23.1 µm), followed by S3 (48.2 µm) and S1 (59.4 µm) (p = 0.007). Similarly, the S2 had the best precision (12.3 µm) followed by S3 (62.1 µm) and S1 (66.9 µm) (p < 0.001). The S2 had the least interimplant distance deviation followed by S1 and S3. The difference was significant for parallel implants (p = 0.03), but insignificant for divergent implants (p = 0.15). CONCLUSION: Regardless of the presenting scenario, digital implant impressions for three-unit prostheses appear to be clinically accurate. A clear interimplant area between scan bodies enhanced the accuracy of digital impressions. This observation can be attributed to more accessible axial surface scanning of the scan body.

Economic policy uncertainty and stock market in G7 Countries: A panel threshold effect perspective.

Based on the literature, it is commonly understood that stock prices (SP) are influenced by economic policy uncertainty (PU), with a rise in PU typically having a negative impact on SP. However, the relationship between PU and SP may not always be linear due to the varying risk preferences of individuals. Risk preference theory posits that individuals respond differently to different levels of risk. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether PU determines SP asymmetrically (i.e., in a non-linear manner) by considering risk preferences and addressing a gap in the literature. To answer this question, the study employs a panel threshold approach to examine the effect of PU on SP in the Group of Seven (G7) countries, namely Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and the US. In contrast to previous research, this study finds evidence of an asymmetric effect of PU on SP in the G7 countries. Specifically, the panel threshold results reveal that the impact of increased PU on SP is positive up to a certain level (Threshold1), beyond which it becomes negative (Threshold2). These findings are in line with information asymmetry hypothesis, prospect theory, behavioural finance hypothesis, and market liquidity hypothesis and shed light on the asymmetric behaviour of SP in response to varying levels of PU. The implications of these findings are significant for understanding how to manage risks effectively in the financial markets.

Laboratory Evaluation of Novel Implant Metal-Acrylic Prosthesis Design: Influence of Monolithic Acrylic Veneer.

PURPOSE: To test a novel implant metal-acrylic prosthesis design in comparison to a conventional prosthesis design through simulation of cyclic masticatory loading. The novel design involved digital designing and fabrication of the framework and the matched veneering acrylic resin material. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten prostheses were fabricated for each group. All the prostheses exhibited a similar external design on two implants with a distal cantilever. The conventional group comprised a milled metal framework with mechanically retained acrylic denture teeth via vertical pins. The digital prosthesis group incorporated an inverted T-shape bar and a monolithic milled acrylic resin veneer. The resin veneer was subsequently adhesively attached on the bar. All prostheses were thermally aged and subjected to laboratory cyclic loading at the cantilever region. The load-to-failure and the number of cycles until failure were collected. Furthermore, failed specimens were analyzed to determine the mode of failure. RESULTS: The digital prostheses failed at significantly greater load-to-failure (1,570.0 N ± 116.0 N) and number of cycles (124,857 ± 21,608) than the conventional prostheses (load-to-failure = 1,015.0 N ± 47.4 N; number of cycles = 28,452 ± 6,559). The conventional prostheses failed by fracturing of the acrylic teeth and veneering material that led to exposure of the metal framework. Half of the digital prostheses failed by superficial chipping of the veneering material, while the other half failed by the deformation and fracture of screws. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of this study, the digital prostheses with the novel design and monolithic veneering material showed significantly higher strength compared with the conventional prostheses. The mode of acrylic failure of the digital prostheses was more favorable.