Abstract: The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) revolution has radically improved connectivity across the globe and pervaded into most aspects of modern human life. The fourth industrial revolution is currently taking place, and it will be digital. Pakistan has made significant progress in the last few years in IT, but currently, Pakistan is ranked 135 out of 144 in access to the internet. This low level of ICT usage depends on the multiple factors affecting the individual's decision to ICT usage. For this purpose, this study surveys the correlates of ICT use capabilities in Pakistan. ICT usage is composite of specified digital skills. The data sourced from PSLM – HIES survey (2018-2019) was used for empirical analysis. The empirical evidence is based on the Logit model. The marginal effects of the Logit model suggest that socioeconomic, demographic, regional, and supply-side factors well explain the variation in the ICT usage capabilities of the individuals. Moreover, the leading determinants of the digital divide are ICT infrastructure and access to focal technology. We found a sizeable digital divide among the individuals of Pakistan. This study is an implication of target 9c of the ninth goal of sustainable development goals related to increasing access to ICT and striving to provide universal and affordable access to the internet in least-developed countries. The study's findings help the researcher highlight the factors hindering the ICT use capabilities of individuals and bridging Pakistan's digital divide diffusion.

Abstract: The increasing dependence of South Asian countries on international remittances (IRM) and international tourism development (ITR) in the presence of political uncertainties has attracted scholars' attention. Although the largest receiver of IRM, South Asia fails to channel these funds to the tourism industry, which continues to operate below its potential. This study estimates the impact of IRM, political stability (PS), and their interaction with foreign direct investment (FDI) and relative price (RP) on ITR in South Asia. We used a balanced panel dataset of six South Asian countries from 1996 to 2020. We applied the pooled ordinary least squares (POLS), fixed effects (FE), feasible generalized least squares (FGLS), and Prais-Winsten regression with panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE), to estimate the results. The study discovered quite interesting and surprising results between IRM and ITR. The results suggest a statistically significant negative impact of IRM on ITR in South Asia, implying that the recipients of IRM tend to spend most of it on their basic level consumption needs and do not have incentives to save and invest. Further, the results suggest that PS positively moderates the relationship between IRM and ITR, suggesting that IRM will be channelized to the tourism sector if domestic investors expect low political risks in the region. In addition, the results indicate that PS and FDI have a statistically significant positive effect on ITR in South Asia. Moreover, RP has a negative and significant impact on ITR, implying that international tourists prefer cheaper destinations. This study provides crucial implications for South Asian economies. First, effective public policies are specifically designed for channelling IRM and FDI, focusing on enhancing the tourism industry's infrastructure. Second, PS is necessary for ITR and domestic investors to invest IRM in the tourism sector. Thus, policymakers must consider political factors while designing tourism policies and strategies. Third, the findings highlight the significance of price competitiveness for developing the tourism industry. Hence, we argue that policymakers should implement effective economic policies to stabilize regional prices to attract international tourists.

Abstract: This study shows the effect of natural disasters, rainfall, temperature, economic growth, renewable energy, and contributing family workers on the agricultural development index in 101 countries of all income groups (i.e., 24 high, 29 upper-middle, 32 lower-middle, and 16 low). It develops a new agricultural development index using a standard procedure. The two-step generalized method of moments depicts revealed the adverse consequences of natural disasters on agriculture. Renewable energy showed a favorable impact on agricultural development in all panels. Contrarily, the reduction in agricultural development was reported due to an increase in temperature in all panels. Agricultural development increased due to economic growth in all panels. It is required to increase disaster resilience to minimize disaster-related losses. It is recommended to increase renewable energy use for agricultural development. Policymakers should make strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts of global warming.

Abstract: The erratic performance of the Nigerian economy has generated theoretical and empirical debate in the literature. For instance, while some scholars have posited that inflation and currency depreciation positively influence a country’s economy, others believe the contrary. This leads to the interaction of both the exchange and inflation rates to arrive at an innovative conclusion. Hence, this study examines the effects of both indicators and their interactive effect of the country’s performance in the regulation era between 1986 to 2019, using the autoregressive distributed lag estimation technique. The empirical findings reveal that the interaction of inflation and exchange rate has a negative impact on the economy in the short run, but it is positive in the long run. Thus, the monetary authority should proactively control the foreign exchange rate movement to curtail the recent surge in inflation and boost the performance of the country’s economy.

Abstract: This research was aimed to check the relationship between the economic cost of education and the behaviour of parents towards child labour. Primary data was used to investigate the impact of the economic cost of education on parents’ behaviour towards child labour. One hundred and fifty selected parents were interviewed through a structured questionnaire. Seventy five parents were selected from the group who did not want to send their children to work, and seventy five parents were selected from the group who wanted to send their children to work for comparative analysis. Binary Logistic Regression model was used for empirical findings. The results showed a strong positive relationship between the economic cost of education and the behaviour of parents towards child labour. So it is concluded that the economic cost of education can be one of the main determinants of favourable behaviour of parents towards child labour. As a policy suggestion, it is recommended that free quality of education should be provided by the public sector to address the chronic issue of child labour.

Abstract: It is acknowledged that environmental degradation, climate change and the atmosphere's temperature are increasing due to the emission of greenhouse gasses. Therefore, a speedy response is required to lessen the severe effects of greenhouse gases. The present study has analyzed the influence of electric consumption, fiscal development, globalization, and trade openness on carbon emission using the latest dataset and modern econometric techniques. To accomplish the said objectives, the study has employed Johansen cointegration, autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDK), and block exogeneity. The results specify that with the 1% increase in electric consumption, fiscal development, globalization and trade openness, the carbon dioxide emission increases by 0.01%, 0.04%, 0.68%, and 0.25%, respectively. Moreover, the results also indicated that the environmental Kuznets curve is prevailing in the Malaysian economy because an inverted U-shape connection occurs between carbon and GDP2. On the basis of data diagnostics, it is determined that the ARDL model is credible, stable, and reliable. Further, block exogeneity affirms the long-term affiliation among the factors and concludes that all the factors under analysis contribute to the environmental deterioration in the Malaysian economy. Therefore, the government may design an environmental or pollution tax policy to minimize carbon emissions. Green energy should be produced and consumed as it is environmental friendly and helps to reduce temperature and atmospheric pollution.

Abstract: This paper examines the distributional effect of lockdown measures on the loss of income. The significance of the study relates to the use of daily data on loss of income and lockdown measures arising from the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. A conditional variable of the total loss of income was evaluated using hypothesized variables of international restrictions, domestic movement restrictions, public events closure, restriction on gathering, stay at home restrictions, school closure, and workplace closure. For a robust result, the study applied four variants of regression such as Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Fully Modified OLS, Dynamic OLS, and Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) as the empirical methods. The findings revealed that loss of income during the COVID-19 period has a positive and significant relationship with the lockdown measures in Malaysia. This implies that as the government strengthens the international and domestic movement restrictions to reduce the impact of COVID-19, the most vulnerable income groups lose their income. This finding is relevant to policymakers regarding plans to rebuild a resilient economy to withstand future pandemics. Policy strategies to reduce restriction measures and allow for opening up the economy to enable the vulnerable income groups to regain their jobs and hence the lost income was discussed.

Abstract: The increasing culture of tax evasion and non-compliance leads to revenue losses for governments and impacts both the government and the citizens of a country. This paper uses a focused group discussion method to explore the issues pertinent to the prevailing tax system in Pakistan, such as non-compliance, increasing evasion, and low tax revenue. It is found that education, development of good social values, justice by state institutions, and improvement in the role of media are necessary for nurturing a tax-compliant society. The other causes of a low tax-to-GDP ratio include the cash economy, the underground economy, and the influence of interest groups (lobbyists, feudal, corporate houses, and politicians) on policymaking. This study suggests taxing the high-income class more and redistributing among the poor to attain parity. It is also suggested that efforts be made to introduce the value-added taxation system into the economy and that the federal board of revenue focuses on segmenting the economy/industries to increase revenue collection. Apart from that, they should also reinvest a reasonable percentage of collected tax revenue in the upgradation of tax machinery. However, this study does face some limitations. The major limitation is that despite invitations and our best efforts, the panel of experts did not have representation from women, media, the business community, and participants living outside the city of Islamabad.

Abstract: Pakistan is considered as an agricultural country dominated by smallholder farmers. The size of the land, livestock, and labor force have paramount importance for the livelihood of resource-poor farmers. The present study was designed to determine the factors affecting the size of the livestock, i.e., the flock size of large ruminant buffaloes and cows. A cross-sectional data set collected randomly from 150 respondents from three districts of the mixed cropping zone of Central Punjab was used to address the study's objectives. Regression estimates revealed that family labor for attending animals, length of lactation, total healthcare expenditures, small land holding, and the geographic district factors significantly affected the herd size of buffaloes and cows. Based on the findings, the study recommends that the implementation of health care systems is one of the crucial factors in building the herd size, mainly through reducing mortality rates, improving the length of lactation, and other aspects of animal well-being. Similarly, the benefits of government livestock policies should reach the grassroot level to retain and use domestic family labor, not as a norm but to engage in the livestock sector for earning their incomes.

Abstract: Monetary and fiscal policy are both macroeconomic instruments used to govern and have a large impact on a country's economy, businesses, production and consumption. The objective of the study is to evaluate the comparative analysis of fiscal and monetary policy in Pakistan. For this purpose, an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model was used, which showed the significant impact of monetary and fiscal policy on enhancing economic growth. Data was obtained from World Development Indicator (WDI) from 1990 to 2020. In this study, two models have been estimated using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a dependent variable and Development Expenditures, Gross Fixed Capital Formation, Labor Force Participation, Corruption, Total Tax, Trade openness, Broad Money (M2), Governmental Consumption Expenditure as independent variables. The results showed that monetary policy positively impacts Pakistan’s economy. Also, the study found that fiscal policy affects Pakistan’s economy positively. But the study reveals that monetary policy is more powerful in promoting economic growth in Pakistan. So, we will suggest that promoting the monetary policy in the banking sector would provide a suitable investment atmosphere through the maintenance of inflationary rates, interest rates, and lending rates to endorse and confirm economic growth, sustainability, solidity, and progress in Pakistan.

Abstract: The impact of various macroeconomics variables on trade deficit has been studied in large OPEC (e.g., United Arab Emirates and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia); however other African countries are still needed to be studied. This study uses the transmission oil price (OP) changes to various economic sectors to examine the threshold effects of OP and oil export on trade balance in African OPEC members (Algeria, Angola, Libya and Nigeria). This study applied Pedroni cointegration test to establish the cointegration relationship among different macroeconomics variables by using three different proxies of OP. The dynamic panel models were used to examine the long-run impact of OP changes and threshold analysis. The study found that increase in OP and oil export positively encouraged import while exchange rate depreciation is significantly discouraged import. The study found that the threshold effect of oil export on the trade balance, when oil export is above a certain threshold, the impact is higher than below threshold. The aforementioned countries have to take into account that there is a threshold level and can increase oil export to improve the trade balance.

Abstract: This study aims to develop and propose an Islamic microfinance model that can be used for poverty alleviation in Pakistan. Other than investigating poverty, other interrelated aspects were also considered in which entrepreneurship, conventional microfinance, and Islamic finance were included. Moreover, by moving beyond and further exploring, this research presents various uses of Islamic microfinance to reduce poverty. A set of primary data was collected through interviews to carry out this research. Initial findings of the study unveil that poverty exists concerning common perceptions such as lack of necessities, unemployment, poor health, and insufficient financial resources. However, child selling, unethical ways of earning such as begging, robbery, and incompetency of the skilled person were the findings representing poverty from totally different perspectives. Moreover, the studied results also reveal that few respondents were aware of the concept and use of conventional microfinance. Still, at the same time, all the respondents represented the forbiddance of interest. Findings also represent the unawareness about Islamic microfinance's concepts, practice, and importance. This research is helpful as it presents the idea and the use of Islamic microfinance for the impoverished people of Pakistan and how it can be a beneficial alternative for reducing poverty. Moreover, it also seeks the attention from the financial institutions in the Country that how the beliefs and expectations of poor people are important in reducing their poverty. The significance of this study broadens the scope of the neglected concept of Islamic finance generally and Islamic microfinance particularly.

Abstract: Stock price crash risk is an unfavourable event in business that may decrease the shareholder’s wealth and hurt stability and capital market growth. This study investigates the impact of audit quality measured by auditor industry specialization (AIS), audit tenure (AT), audit committee independence (ACI), audit firm size(AFS)) on stock value crash (measured by down-to-up unpredictability) for a sample of 70 non-financial firms listed in Pakistan Stock Exchange during from 2009 to 2018. Efficient governance enriches financial and operational directness, which cuts down the stock value crashes in rotation. Facing crash risk difficulties, traders impart more funds to stocks of well-regime organizations. The fixed effect model results show that AIS and ACI have a negative and significant impact on crash risk, while there is a positive impact of AFS on stock price crash risk. Moreover, it concludes that it has an insignificant impact on stock price crash risk in Pakistan. It is concluded that effective audit quality lessens the difficulty of data abnormality and improves stock price crash risk. This study has importance for investors to help them identify the most liquid stock and will enable them to decide which stocks to acquire and which to dispose of. This study will also be helpful for academics and scholars to bridge this gap on the influence of audit quality practices on the economic consequences of Pakistan. It will be useful for future research as well as because it will become part of the empirical literature on the economic consequence of stock markets.

Abstract: This paper analyzed the cause of poverty in rural areas of North- Western region of Pakistan. Poverty in rural areas of Pakistan is still considered as big dilemma and absolute hurdle to the development, by considering this issue this study was carried out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province opting mix method approach. One (01) district from each of the four (04) agro-ecological regions of the province was selected purposively. The targeted study districts were Peshawar, Mansehra, D.I. Khan and Swat. From each study district, 100 respondents (rural residents) were randomly selected and personally interviewed. Total sample size of the study was 400 respondents for the collection of quantitative data. Additionally, focus group discussion meetings were also conducted for collecting qualitative data. A pretested interview schedule was used for the collection of quantitative date while an interview guide was used for qualitative data. Descriptive analytical techniques were used for quantitative data and content analysis method was used for qualitative data. Findings conclude that only 13.12% of the total area is cultivated by majority the rural population of the province. Financial constraints, derivation of basic needs, homelessness and facing discrimination were regarded as the attributes of poverty by the respondents. Limited access to income generation opportunities was regarded as the root cause of poverty with mean value of 4.86/5.00 followed by limited access to education (4.76/5.00). Lack of access to basic livelihood necessities (mean value=4.88) and basic human right (mean value=4.82) were regarded as most popular materialistic and non-materialistic impacts respectively of poverty in rural areas of the province. This deprivation in the province causes poverty and leads to the involvement in illegal and unethical activities by the rural residents specifically. Ending their deprivation in actual and eroding the sense of deprivation is the only solution that can be achieved by the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs) without any discrimination.

Abstract: This study aims to look at how capital inflows affect economic growth in South Asian countries. Gross Domestic Savings (GDS), Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Foreign Portfolio Equity Investment (FPEI), Foreign Debts (F.Debts), and Foreign Aids (F.Aids) are the study's independent variables, while Gross Domestic Product Growth (GDPG) is the dependent variable. Data has been collected from World development Indicator and Quandl from 1980 to 2018. To analyse the data Panel ARDL (PMG) model was utilised. Gross domestic savings, foreign direct investment, and foreign aid, all exhibit positive and strong long-term connections with GDP growth. Results also revealed that there are negative and strong long-run links between GDP, Foreign Portfolio Equity Investment, and Foreign Aids. There are negative and insignificant links between GDP growth, Foreign Direct Investment, and Foreign Aids. Results also reveal the positive and insignificant connections between GDP and GDS, FPEI, and foreign debt. The data imply that institutional improvement has an impact on capital inflows and economic growth. The study has policy implications for government and policymakers in the sense that capital flows and economic growth can improve the institutional environment.

Abstract: The current study aimed to investigate the link between advertising intensity and real earnings management (REM) in the context of four sectors of Pakistan. Besides advertising intensity, market to book ratio, leverage, and firm size were included as explanatory variables. On the basis of data availability for the time period 2007-2019, 11 firms were selected from the Auto assembler sector, 6 firms from Auto parts, 16 firms from Food and Personal Care (PC), and eight firms from the Pharmaceutical sector. Data of the Auto assembler sector was analyzed by random effects panel data regression, whereas data of other three sectors was analyzed by fixed-effects model. In respect of Food and PC and Pharmaceutical sectors, the results of the present study indicate that the extent of REM increases with advertising intensity. Firms adopt the REM approach in order to show the positive outcome of large advertising expenditures. Additionally, a significant negative link between MBR and REM was noted for all sectors except Auto parts. Moreover, a significant positive link between leverage and REM was observed for all sectors except Food and PC. Also, a significant positive link between firm size and REM was noted for the Auto parts sector only. The present study is the first in Pakistan to investigate the link of advertising intensity with REM. This study has important implications for investors and regulators. Investors should carefully compare the firms of Food and PC and Pharmaceutical sectors with the other firms of respective sectors. Also, regulators shall make necessary modifications in the regulations to preclude firms from manipulating earnings. The focus of this study was on four sectors of Pakistan. Thus, the link between advertising intensity and REM can be tested for other sectors.

Abstract: Keeping in view the global environmental emergency Green Growth assessment will show policymakers how to maximize economic outcomes while ensuring environmental sustainability. This study aims to construct a Green Growth (GG) Index and empirically test its long-run and short-run determinants for the time series data from 1990 to 2021 in the case of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. A set of nineteen indicators covering three dimensions, including resource productivity, environmental quality and economic and social aspects, is used to develop the GG index through the principal component methodology. Given the mixed order of integration, Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) method is utilized to check the co-integration relationship of variables. The results of this study depict that in the case of Bangladesh, there are three significant determinants in which urbanization and forest area are positively associated with GG and trade openness negatively. In India, GG is significantly and positively influenced by urbanization and forest area, while socio-economic conditions impair it. For the third country, Pakistan, urbanization, trade openness, law and order have significant and positive associations with GG, while socio-economic conditions have significant but negative relationships. Based on the study's outcomes, dependent variables show divergence from their short-run equilibrium with error correction terms -0.726, -0.914 and -0.439 for Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, respectively. Therefore, this study suggests implementing policies related to urbanization, trade openness, forest area, law and order and socio-economic conditions to stimulate GG.

Abstract: The recent study was carried out to estimate the impact of socioeconomic, demographic and the aspect of health status on child mortality in Pakistan. The data for the study was collected from the PSLM (Pakistan Social and Living Standard measurement survey) for the year 2011-12. The data were analyzed through cross-tabulation and binary logistic model using MLE (Maximum likelihood estimation) technique. Overall, 13216 households were selected for the analysis. The result of the study of the cross-tabulation shows that the overall child mortality was low in Baluchistan province, the maximum number of children survived in Punjab province further, and the child mortality was low in an urban area where 290 children died out of 3984 houses as compared to rural area household in Pakistan. Child mortality was high among females than males in Pakistan. The result of binary logistics shows that out of the total independent variable, nine variables significantly affect child mortality in Pakistan, location of the household, gender, education of father, education of mother, income and mother feeding, positively associated the infant mortality; all these aspects reduce the chance of child mortality, while there was a less likely chance that child survives in Punjab, Sindh as compared to KPK in Pakistan. In the case of Baluchistan, there was also the same situation as KPK in terms of child mortality. Infant mortality was high in female children compared to male children, which means there is a less likely chance of surviving among the female child than the male child. All other variables were insignificant in Pakistan. It is suggested that the central authority provide basic children and mothers health facilities at minimum cost to the rural areas of Pakistan.

Abstract: The main purpose of this research article is to determine the impact of financial sector development on environmental degradation in Pakistan. The study used the time series data of the financial sector development on environmental degradation (CO2 emission) in Pakistan during the period of 1974-2018. Due to the nature of the times series data, the Augmented Dicky Fuller test is used to detect the level of stationarity in the data. Mixed orders of the stationarity in the data are reported, and the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag model is the best technique to provide efficient results. The ADF result clearly shows that the variables except for Y, Y2, and Y3 are stationarity in the first order, while the mentioned variables are stationarity at a level. And Trade openness is stationary at first difference. The bound test results (the F-statistic value is 5.208 that exceeded the values of upper bounds value, i.e., 3.28 at a 5% significance level. Therefore, the co-integrational relationship is confirmed for the model of the study at a 5% significance level. The model depicts the impact of Financial Sector Development on environmental degradation regarding CO2 emission. It was found that FSD negatively affected environmental degradation in Pakistan in both the long and short run during the period from 1974 to 2018. The impact of PG, EC and FDI is positive and statistically significant in the long run. The impact of TO on CO2 emission is negative and significant in the long run. On the other hand side, negative shock can produce harmful effects on the environment. A positive and significant relationship is reported regarding economic growth and CO2 emission. The impact of Population growth, Financial Development Index, Trade Openness, Energy Consumption, and Economic growth is also positive and significant to CO2 emission. It is quite evident from the detailed examination of the above model. This study concluded that financial sector development efficiently contributes to long-term and short-term environmental degradation. Financial sector development negatively and significantly affects environmental quality as measured by CO2. Therefore, it is concluded that the financial sector can be used as a policy tool to reduce CO2 emission in Pakistan based on the data set from 1974-2018.

Abstract: The present study examines the impact of women’s orientation toward finance on their financial well-being. Along this, research also considers the financial capability of working women in the Lahore district's educational sector. For this purpose, the current study developed insight into the effect of financial inclusion on the financial well-being. In addition, the study is testing the mediation of financial capability and conditional process modeling of orientation towards finance of the working women as a teaching staff working in the different educational institutes such as schools, colleges and universities of Lahore. The research study adopted a quantitative strategy with using a deductive approach. The researcher used a self-administered questionnaire to collect the data from the research study's respondents. Eight hundred questionnaires were distributed among the respondents, and 600 were returned from the participants, out of which 550 questionnaires were fully filled. For analyzing data collected from respondents in the form of their responses, SPSS and AMOS have been used. The study's results indicated that the financially included working women have a high level of financial well-being. The findings also revealed that financial capability mediates the relationship between financial inclusion and financial well-being. The research outcomes showed that the working women’s orientation toward finance has a moderated mediation mechanism among financial inclusion and financial well-being and financial inclusion and financial capability. The prevailing study is significant for the women belonging to different working sectors as well as different levels of hierarchy. The study is also important for the policymakers and the governing bodies to focus on enhancing women's financial well-being by making sure that they are financially included.

Abstract: Smallholder beef farming is a critical tool for combating rural poverty. Several less developed countries have promoted smallholder beef farming with twin objectives to encourage rural development and sustainable rural livelihoods. This study was conducted in Chipinge South Rural District, Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe, with the aim of examining the extent to which smallholder beef farming contributes to rural household development. An assessment was made to ascertain the level of household development for the sampled respondents before and after the beef farming project intervention. An embedded mixed method approach, which combines qualitative and quantitative approaches, was used in the study. The research made use of key informant interviews, focus group discussions, questionnaires, observations and project reports in the collection of both quantitative and qualitative research data. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted in the study and out of a total population of 1740 farm households in Chipinge South, a sample of 174 farm units was selected from all the six farmer groups registered and operating under the Chipinge Livestock Development Trust (CLDT). In addition, 30 key informants were conveniently sampled for interviews among members of the project management, extension staff, and farmer committee leaders. The results from the study showed that smallholder beef farming enhanced the economic status of the smallholders which translated into improved household assets, better education, adoption of new technology, capacity building and improved food security, among others. While the beef farming project yielded notable benefits to rural households in Chipinge South, the project’s ability to foster sustainable rural livelihoods in the long run was negatively affected by, among other factors, limited access to key livelihood capitals. The study recommends that the responsible authorities in Chipinge South Rural District urgently address the challenges threatening the sustainability of the project in order to promote long-term investment in the beef farming sector in the study area.

Abstract: Increasing banks' efficiency may help boost the country's economic activity. This study aims to focus on the Pakistani bank’s technical efficiency over the period 2014 to 2019. The study adopts the non-parametric estimation technique based on the output-oriented CCR model to measure banks' technical efficiency scores. The obtained results revealed that the six banks from 30 that remain technically efficient in the sample period from 2014-2019 were Bank Alfalah Ltd, CITI Bank NA Pakistan, Habib Metropolitan Bank Ltd, Industrial Development Bank, MCB Bank Ltd and Samba Bank Ltd. So, other banks should follow the efficient utilization of resources as these banks are utilizing and set as a benchmark of Technical Efficiency. From the results of GMM, it is concluded that the firm-specific determinants that have a significant negative effect on technical efficiency in the case of Pakistan are leverage. In contrast, profitability and solvency have a significant positive impact on the technical efficiency of banks. However, bank size and liquidity are found to be insignificant. Among the macroeconomic variables, GDP has a significant positive impact, whereas interest rate and regulatory quality have a significant negative effect on the technical efficiency of banks in Pakistan. However, political stability was found to be insignificant. The findings of this study have important policy implications for regulators and managers by focusing on the minimal utilization of input and by maximizing output through better management of resources like fixed assets, labor, operating expenses, deposits, and equity. To maximize the outcomes of the banks that are an investment, net profit, loans, other earning assets, and non-interest income, banks can maximize their technical efficiency. Secondly, the banking efficiency could also be enhanced through firm-specific and macroeconomic variables.

Abstract: A lean and sustainable food supply chain is one of the major strategies that businesses all around the world have been trying to adopt to provide the customers quality food and to remain competitive in the global market. Many industrialists, researchers, and economists have focused on food quality because of the high importance of this issue in the global meat markets context. This research was conducted to investigate the mediating role of Global Technical Standards (GTS) on Voice of Customers (VOC) and Exports Enhancement (EE). Halal meat industry and exports of Pakistan were the primary focus by using a mixed methodological approach. Initially, the quality function deployment (QFD) model was generated for the identification of exports requirements and competitive Novelty Analysis. Fourteen actors (experts) of Pakistan halal meat industry had participated in the identification of requirements and standards. Likewise, exporters from nine economies, including the United States of America, Brazil, Australia, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, India, Canada, and Pakistan, participated in Competitive Novelty Analysis. Secondly, 250 responses were generated from Pakistan’s halal meat industry on a five-point Likert scale. The findings of this study show a significant relationship between Voice of Customers (VOC) and Global Technical Standards (GTS). It was further highlighted that Global Technical Standards mediate the relationship between issues in exports and Exports Enhancement (EE) strategies.

Abstract: This article examines the key determinants of domestic bank credit the private sectors receive in Bangladesh by using annual time series data over the period from 1974 to 2018. The ARDL (autoregressive distributed lag) model has been applied to identify the variables that contribute to the changes in domestic credit to private sectors from banks over time in Bangladesh. Empirical results reveal that broad money (M2), gross domestic product (GDP), real interest rate (RI), trade openness (TO), gross capital formation (GCF), and exchange rate (ER) have a significant impact on the amount of credit flowing to the private sectors from banks in Bangladesh, particularly in the long run. The findings also confirm that the long run relationship among the relevant variables is robust and stable. Any disequilibrium found in the short run seems to be eliminated with a speed of 40.96% per year. The findings of the research suggest that a stable growth of money supply, an increase in real interest rate, sustainable growth in GDP, and high degree trade openness are crucial for the growth of bank credit to private sectors. Gross capital formation and local currency depreciation, on the other hand, negatively influence bank loans to the private sector in Bangladesh. The significance of the study lies in the fact that it paves the way for a better understanding of the functionality of domestic bank credit flow in Bangladesh. The policy implications of the findings suggest that authorities pay special attention to stable money supply growth, expansionary monetary policy, and trade liberalization to strengthen the financial market in Bangladesh.

Abstract: Trade openness is the foundation of economic growth for developed as well as underdeveloped countries. Many countries are now trying to promote their energy sector because energy is an important factor in the production process. A country can trade with other countries only if the country has a surplus of production of Goods and Services. This is the key factor for the development of a country. This study provides empirical evidence of energy use and trade openness on carbon dioxide emission in Pakistan’s economy by using annual time series data from 1976-to 2019. Augmented Dickey-Fuller and Philips Perron tests are employed to check the stationary of the variables, and the ARDL method is employed to check the long-run relationship of variables. The result explores the effect of energy on the trade openness of Pakistan. Trade is the most significant variable in both the long run and short run. The CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) becomes the cause of environmental degradation. This study recommends that government must take serious steps regarding trade policies in Pakistan. Government must also take care of the poor farmers and traders through subsidies. With good policy implications, the trade level of a country will increase.

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic affected the everyday life of human beings. This study investigates the impact of COVID-19 on six socio-economic dimensions (i.e., food availability, food quality, education, finance, non-payment of utility bills, and sale of assets/goods) in Punjab, Pakistan. Three districts were selected from Punjab province based on two criteria such as (a) geographical variability and (b) intensity of COVID-19. Thus, a total of 1200 respondents were interviewed via convenience sampling from selected Punjab districts (i.e., Faisalabad, Muzaffargarh, and Chakwal). Descriptive statistics showed that most respondents face the adverse socio-economic effects of COVID-19. However, the percentage of strongly agree/ agree was comparatively more for low-educated respondents, while it was comparatively less for high-educated respondents. The percentage of strongly agree/agree comparatively more for low-income respondents, while it was comparatively less for high-income respondents. The percentage of strongly agree/agree comparatively more for private job holders while it was comparatively less for public job holders. The percentage of strongly agree/agree comparatively more for urban households, while it was comparatively less for rural households. The percentage of strongly agree/agree comparatively more in Chakwal while it was comparatively less in Faisalabad. The chi-square () independence test showed a significant role of education, family income, job type, and area of residence on the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19. Therefore, it is recommended to increase educational opportunities and educational standards. Developing a Learning Management System is also suggested to continue education in emergencies. It is recommended to increase the family income through an increase in investment and employment opportunities. The protection of private-sector employees is necessary during the pandemic situation. The government should provide interest-free loans to businesses during an emergency. The government should ensure the vaccination of citizens to control the spread and intensity of the disease. Training of doctors and paramedical staff is necessary to perform duties during the pandemic.

Abstract: In Nigeria, there is over-reliance on oil proceeds at the expense of revenue accrued to agriculture, which adversely affects the standard of living. The study examines the effect of commodity prices on agricultural output in Nigeria. In the empirical model, agricultural output depends on maize, wheat, soya beans, and oil prices. Data covering 1991 and 2017 from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin and Food and Agricultural Organisation was analysed using a fully modified OLS (FMOLS) technique. The result shows that maize and soya bean prices positively affect agricultural output, while wheat prices and oil prices negatively affect agricultural output in Nigeria. This implies that agricultural output increases with increased agricultural commodity prices and falls with an increase in oil prices. The paper recommends the need to expand the production of agricultural commodities through a direct government partnership with farmers in the area of supply of expert knowledge, technology and credit. Also, to redirect the populace's focus from oil in favour of agriculture, there is a need to introduce a subsidy for agricultural output to make its pricing attractive and provide leverage for farmers' occasional shocks in their yield.

Abstract: Exchange rate volatility plays a pivotal role in shaping the trade policy of a country. This paper utilized a yearly time series and panel data to explore the relationship between exchange rate volatility and export growth of the selected developed countries (Poland, Sweden, UK, Italy, Germany, France, Denmark, Austria, and Belgium) between 1980-2020. Pooled Mean Group (PMG) and individual cointegration techniques were applied to evaluate the impact of exchange rate volatility on export growth in two-time horizons, i.e., short-run and long-run. Results confirmed that, in the long run, exchange rate volatility was cointegrated with export growth. The study further validated that in case of panel data, in the short run, exchange rate volatility suppresses export growth. At the same time, in the long run, it aids in accelerating export growth. At disintegrate level, in the short run, results were relatively insignificant except for Sweden and Italy, which had shown negative and significant association with export growth. In contrast, the long-run analysis revealed a significant positive impact of exchange rate volatility in most of the cases. Also, in case of panel data, if estimated elasticity is negative, then real depreciation could lower the real exchange rate and widen the export base. As exchange rate volatility could promote or hinder export activity, therefore, it is important for policymakers to consider exchange rate volatility while formulating the trade policy of the country. Also, stable and sustainable management of the exchange rate would bring stability and promotes long-term growth in an economy.

Abstract: Pakistan's agricultural production is lower than that of many other developing countries. The agricultural community is nearly illiterate and uses old and conservative farming methods. These constraints impede the adoption and spread of new technologies at the agricultural level. The objective of this study was to calculate economic, allocative, technical, and water-use efficiency. In addition, the drivers of inefficiency for wheat fields in Benazirabad and Naushahro Feroz districts were measured. For the analysis, 390 farmers' data were used, 195 from each of the Chihu and Malwa minor canals. Data-envelopment-analysis, a non-parametric method, was utilized to determine the ratings of efficiency. The findings revealed that the mean economic, allocative, and technical efficiency scores of farms in the study region were 52%, 62%, and 83%. The average water-use efficiency score was found to be 52%. For the improvement in the present farming system, quantified results suggested the need for potential increase in wheat production by 17% with keeping the same level of inputs. Results further revealed that the production cost can be reduced by 48% by producing the same level of output leading to optimal allocation of resources. There is also a potential gap of improvement for water-use efficiency. Improvement in agriculture extension services, timely and proper supply of inputs and the creation of local level marketplaces at lower administrative entities can improve the efficiency scores of wheat farmers.