Search Results (172)

The study documents the impact of the external sector on movements of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), covering conventional and Islamic indices. Selected variables include international trade, foreign investment, remittances, oil, gold, and currency markets, as well as the KSE-100 and KMI-30 indices. The sample period covers the latest 130 months, from 2015/01 to 2025/10. Results are documented through descriptive statistics, pairwise correlations, and OLS regression. Stability of coefficients during the review period is checked by calculating BTC-Var and switching Var. Outstanding momentum is evident in market indices (in the final phase), accompanied by growth in remittances, while the national currency has experienced an alarming depreciation. The combined impact of the external sector is not in the higher range for either index (adjusted R-square values are low). A group of four variables (remittances, oil, gold, and currency markets) was significant for the conventional index, while a group of three variables (oil, gold, and currency markets) was significant for the Islamic index. All significant variables contribute positively to stock index movements, except the exchange rate. BTC-Var and switching var suggest instability of relationships and regime-dependent var dynamics. The findings are beneficial for managers and investors in predicting index movements and portfolio diversification, as well as for relevant authorities in making policy decisions that promote prudent exchange-rate management and facilitate remittances. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is among the few that jointly examine the impact of external-sector variables on stock market movements. Full article

This study investigates the potential effects of Mobile Money (MM) and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) on the average transaction costs of remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with a focus on Nigeria. While much of the current literature highlights the theoretical benefits of CBDCs in reducing intermediation costs, empirical evidence remains limited. The analysis combines descriptive statistics and regression models to examine the role of MM in reducing remittance fees across SSA. In addition, the Synthetic Control Method (SCM) is applied to assess the post-launch impact of Nigeria’s CBDC, the eNaira, on inward remittance costs. Results show that MM adoption is associated with significant reductions in remittance costs, reinforcing its importance as a tool for financial inclusion and efficiency. In contrast, the eNaira is not yet associated with transaction fee reduction and has not displaced the bank-dominated remittance channels, which are the most expensive. These findings suggest that while CBDCs hold promise, their effectiveness in emerging markets depends on complementary digital infrastructure and policies that support competition and interoperability. This paper offers one of the first empirical assessments of a CBDC’s economic impact on remittance costs, moving beyond largely theoretical or technical discussions. Jointly analyzing MM and CBDCs provides novel insights into their interaction and highlights policy considerations for emerging markets piloting CBDCs or expanding MM infrastructure. Full article

This study analyzes the determinants of gross saving in Jordan over the period 1991–2023, with particular attention paid to the role of macroeconomic and demographic factors in shaping saving behavior. The empirical analysis employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to examine both short-run and long-run relationships between gross saving, the age dependency ratio, real per capita GDP growth, real interest rates, and unemployment. The results indicate rapid short-run adjustment dynamics in saving behavior and a stable long-run association between saving and its key determinants. In contrast to standard theoretical predictions, a higher dependency ratio is found to increase gross saving. This outcome appears to reflect Jordan’s socio-demographic context, precautionary saving motives, family-based support mechanisms, limited social security coverage, and the role of remittances. Income growth has a positive effect on saving, while unemployment exerts a negative effect. The real interest rate exhibits limited and transitory short-run effects, while remaining insignificant in the long-run. From a policy perspective, the findings underscore the importance of job creation, sustained income growth, and the development of broader saving instruments. Full article

Migration is often viewed through an economic lens, but it also drives a profound transfer of intangible resources, including ideas, attitudes, beliefs, practices, values, and norms. This review examines the emerging literature on social remittances across post-transition economies. These countries are characterized by their shift from socialist planning to market-oriented systems. Based on an analysis of twenty-six publications, this literature review examines the mechanisms through which intangible resources are acquired, transferred, and implemented among migrants, their communities of origin, and even their destination societies. The evidence reveals that migrants often act as agents of change, transferring knowledge and practices that influence areas from entrepreneurship and politics to science, gender norms, and everyday life. Future research should analyze the social networks, structural constraints, and digital tools that facilitate these knowledge transfers across the skill spectrum. Such work is important for developing holistic policies that can leverage the social remittances of diverse migrant groups as a sustained resource for social innovation and development in evolving economies. Full article

This paper investigates whether participation in Zambia’s social cash transfer programme (SCTP) improves household dietary diversity among ultra-poor rural households. While cash transfers are widely implemented across sub-Saharan Africa as social protection measures, empirical evidence regarding their impact on nutritional status remains mixed. This study focuses on dietary diversity, a proxy for nutrition quality, and uses data from the 2015 Rural Agricultural Livelihood Survey (RALS). The analysis employs propensity score matching to control for demographic differences between recipient and non-recipient households, followed by a regression analysis to examine the association between SCTP participation and dietary diversity scores. The findings reveal no statistically significant association between receiving social cash transfers and higher household dietary diversity. In contrast, positive predictors of dietary diversity included household remittances, own production of animal-source foods, and maize sales. Notably, households that relied on foraging exhibited significantly lower dietary diversity, suggesting foraging may be a coping strategy among food-insecure households. These results imply that while the SCTP may enhance household income stability, it does not necessarily translate into improved diet quality. This study contributes to the ongoing policy debate on the effectiveness of cash-based interventions in improving nutrition outcomes. It highlights the need to complement cash transfers with interventions that support food production and access, particularly in rural settings where market and infrastructure limitations persist. Full article

The rapid expansion of digital payment channels has significantly widened the financial transaction attack surface, exposing ecosystems to sophisticated, polymorphic threat vectors. This study introduces an AI-powered cybersecurity mesh that unites Generative AI (GenAI), federated reinforcement learning, and zero-trust principles, with a forward-looking architecture designed for post-quantum readiness. The architecture ingests high-velocity telemetry, coordinates self-evolving agent collectives, and anchors model provenance in a permissioned blockchain to guarantee verifiability and non-repudiation. Empirical evaluations across two production-scale environments—a mobile wallet processing two million transactions per day and a high-throughput cross-border remittance rail—demonstrate a 95.1% threat-detection rate, a 62% reduction in false positives, and a 35.7% latency decrease compared to baseline systems. These results affirm the feasibility of a generative cybersecurity mesh as a scalable, future-proofed blueprint for next-generation payment security. Full article

The role of international financial resource inflows, foreign direct investment (FDI), development foreign assistance (DFA), and personal remittance earnings (PRE) in decisive advancement toward environmental sustainability (SDG13) and economic development is increasingly recognized. However, depending on the situation, their effects on environmental outcomes vary in degree and direction, and are still subject to debate. This research examines how the three main international financial resources impact environmental sustainability, which is measured by the bio-capacity index, with a specific focus on the moderating role of corruption. The system panel generalized method of moments with balanced panel data (2001–2023) was used to attain the objectives of this study. This study focused on 28 developing Organization of Islamic Cooperation member countries because of their significant reliance on these financial inflows, regional/economic variety, and diverse levels of governance, which offer a crucial setting for evaluating the corruption moderation hypothesis. The findings reveal a comprehensive scenario of SDG synergies and trade-offs. In the base model, FDI directly improves the situation, whereas DFA and PRE are initially negligible. When considering internal economic factors, FDI and PRE greatly advance sustainability, whereas domestic financial measures such as domestic credit and fixed capital formation show adverse effects, underscoring a tension between environmental objectives and national financial systems. Importantly, the moderation analysis shows that while the advantages of FDI and PRE continue to be robust, corruption severely reduces the efficacy of DFA. To assure environmental effectiveness, these findings call for distinct policies that encourage green FDI, leverage remittances for green investments at the family level, and above all, fasten development assistance to strict governance changes. Full article

This study aims to analyze the effect of remittances on multidimensional poverty in Mexico by comparing them with other sources of household income, such as labor income and social spending from transfers, subsidies, and allocations. Furthermore, economic growth dynamism is incorporated as a control variable. A micro-panel with cross-sectional and temporal fixed effects covering the 32 federative entities from 2010 to 2024 is used for this purpose. The results reveal that, although remittances have a moderate alleviating effect on poverty, it is greater than the impact of social spending by state governments. In contrast, labor income is identified as the main factor in reducing multidimensional poverty. These findings underscore the importance of promoting the utilization of remittance flows through financial inclusion strategies to strengthen their contribution to sustained household well-being and consolidate them as a structural instrument against the persistent challenges of multidimensional poverty in Mexico. Full article

This paper examines the historical evolution and pathways of rural transformation (RT) at the regional level in four Asian countries—Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, and Pakistan. We conduct a comparative spatial analysis of regional level changes in high-value agricultural production (HVAP) and non-farm rural employment (NFRE). Using long-run data and bivariate mapping, we trace how rural economies have evolved over the past four decades and identify multiple transformation pathways. The results reveal both common upward trends and stark regional contrasts. China demonstrates the most rapid and synergic rise, integrating agricultural upgrading with widespread non-farm rural expansion. Bangladesh and Indonesia show more diverse trajectories, shaped by migration, urbanization, and agro-industrial linkages. Pakistan’s transformation is slower and more fragmented, marked by strong progress in some regions but persistent lags in others. The findings underscore that RT is not linear and can follow diverse pathways—synergic, HVAP-driven, NFRE-driven, remittance-based, or stagnant—depending on geography, natural endowments, policy, and local resource endowments. Our research highlights the need for regionally tailored strategies that link agricultural upgrading with rural labor diversification, strengthen rural–urban connectivity, and ensure that lagging regions are not left further behind. Full article

South Africa’s urbanization is often driven by poverty, unemployment, and limited resource access. Unearned income, such as social grants and other sources, has contributed to poverty alleviation. However, concerns have also been raised that this unearned support may reduce individuals’ motivation to pursue earned income opportunities. This study investigates whether a two-step modelling approach provides better insight than a single-framework model to assess the influence of youths’ access to resources on household income generation. The results indicate that the two-step model is more effective, as different factors influence the decision to earn income and the amount earned. Youth unemployment and household receipt of remittances had similar effects on both the decision to earn income and the amount earned. In contrast, youth involvement in agriculture was positively associated with the decision to earn income but negatively associated with the amount of income. Youth-headed households face additional constraints due to limited access to and ownership of productive resources. The study concludes that a two-step approach provides more information and thus a more accurate understanding of rural income dynamics. Enhancing youth access to quality resources and evaluating the effectiveness of support programs are essential for fostering income generation and improving rural livelihoods. Full article

Background/Rationale: Transnational caregiving may be influenced by religious beliefs and cultural traditions that frame elder care as both a moral and religious obligation. While migration alters caregiving dynamics, religious teachings and cultural expectations remain central in guiding transnational caregiving practices. This study examines how Christian Nigerians who have immigrated to Canada navigate caregiving responsibilities within a transnational context, integrating their religion, cultural values, and the practical realities of crossing borders. Methods: This study employed a predominantly qualitative narrative approach, drawing on in-depth interviews with Nigerian Christian immigrants (N = 10) providing transnational care. Data collection involved a pre-interview survey and semi-structured interviews, providing the opportunity for participants to share their lived experiences. Thematic analysis was used to identify recurring themes related to the role of religion and culture in caregiving, ensuring a comprehensive exploration of participants’ perspectives. Findings: Caregiving is shaped by religious duty and cultural obligation, reinforced by biblical teachings and cultural values. Participants view elder care as a moral responsibility, tied to spiritual rewards and familial duty. Despite migration demands, family-based care remains preferred over institutional care, with social stigma attached to neglecting elders. Conclusions: Religion and culture remain integral to transnational caregiving practices, sustaining caregiving responsibilities despite migration-related realities. While religious teachings provide moral guidance and emotional support, cultural expectations reinforce caregiving as a collective and intergenerational duty. Policies and resources are needed that support transnational caregivers, ensuring they can fulfill their caregiving roles while adapting to new sociocultural environments. Policymakers should prioritize the implementation of policies and programs to support transnational caregivers, including family reunification measures, caregiving-related travel provisions, culturally tailored eldercare services, diaspora–local collaborations, organized caregiver support groups, and financial mechanisms such as tax incentives for remittances dedicated to elder care. Full article

Despite its positive impact on household income, parental labour migration negatively affects left-behind children (LBC) and their caregivers. Studies in various settings have reported different impacts on LBC, but less is known about the consequences faced by their caregivers. This qualitative study used in-depth interviews to collect data from caregivers of LBC whose parents migrated for employment. Participants were recruited using the snowball sampling technique, starting with the distribution of study information sheets through village offices in Belu and Malacca districts, Indonesia. Data analysis was guided by a qualitative data analysis framework, which involved several steps, including familiarisation with the data or transcripts, identification of a thematic framework, indexing the data, charting the data, and mapping and interpreting the entire data. The findings showed that despite some benefits, including monthly remittances and positive feelings of living with and receiving support from LBC experienced by some caregivers, parental labour migration negatively impacted most caregivers due to their caregiving roles and responsibilities. These challenges included (i) mental and physical health issues, (ii) impacts on daily food and healthcare needs, and (iii) difficulties in their social lives and overall well-being. The findings underscore the need for comprehensive support systems and interventions to address these challenges and improve caregiver well-being. Such support systems should include access to mental and physical health services, financial assistance, employment opportunities, and social support networks. Future large-scale studies are recommended to explore the various impacts of parental migration and caregiving roles and responsibilities on caregivers of LBC, as the findings can better inform the development of policies and interventions to support them. Full article

Patients with First-Episode Psychosis (FEP) exhibit variable responses to antipsychotic treatment. Emerging evidence suggests that disease-related dysbiosis of gut and oropharyngeal microbiota may lead to the abnormal translocation of microorganisms via the bloodstream. This study aims to explore the blood microbiome to identify candidate biomarkers associated with treatment outcomes in FEP. To address this, blood samples were collected from twenty drug-naïve individuals with FEP, both before and after four weeks of antipsychotic medication. DNA extracted from these samples underwent 16S rRNA gene sequencing and comprehensive bioinformatics analysis. Clinical assessments were based on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and standard remission criteria. Peripheral cytokines (IL1β, TNF-α, IL10) were quantified by immunoassays. Baseline comparisons showed a significantly greater microbiome alpha diversity in remitters, along with differential prevalence in five taxa and 217 metabolic pathways. Post-treatment assessments uncovered a significantly distinct impact of antipsychotics on blood bacterial composition between remission groups, while initial differences on metabolic profiles persisted. Additionally, strong correlations were observed, linking specific taxa abundances to cytokine levels. Conclusively, this pilot study suggests that blood microbiome profiling could provide novel biomarkers for predicting therapeutic response in early psychosis, paving the way for precision medicine interventions. Full article

This study examines the impact of personal remittances on housing prices in European Union (EU) countries, while also accounting for a broader set of macroeconomic, demographic, and structural variables. Using annual data for 27 EU countries from 2007 to 2022, we employ a comprehensive panel econometric approach, including cross-sectional dependence tests, second-generation unit root tests, pooled mean group–autoregressive distributed lag (PMG-ARDL) estimation, and panel causality tests, to capture both short- and long-term dynamics. Our findings confirm that remittances significantly and positively influence long-term housing price levels, underscoring their relevance as a demand-side driver. Other key variables such as net migration, GDP, travel credit to GDP, economic freedom, and real effective exchange rates also contribute to housing price movements, while supply-side indicators, including production in construction and building permits, exert moderating effects. Moreover, real interest rates are shown to have a significant long-term negative effect on property prices. The analysis reveals key causal links from remittances, FDI, and net migration to housing prices, highlighting their structural and predictive roles. Bidirectional causality between economic freedom, housing output, and prices indicates reinforcing feedback effects. These findings position remittances as both a development tool and a key indicator of real estate dynamics. The study highlights complex interactions between international financial flows, demographic pressures, and domestic economic conditions and the need for policymakers to consider remittances and migrant investments in real estate strategies. These findings offer important implications for policymakers seeking to balance housing affordability, investment, and economic resilience in the EU context and key insights into the complexity of economic factors and real estate prices. Importantly, the analysis identifies several causal relationships, notably from remittances, FDI, and net migration toward housing prices, underscoring their predictive and structural importance. Bidirectional causality between economic freedom and house prices, as well as between housing output and pricing, reflects feedback mechanisms that further reinforce market dynamics. These results position remittances not only as a developmental instrument but also as a key signal for real estate market performance in recipient economies. Full article

Unemployment and weak economic productivity are significant global issues, particularly in West Africa. Recently, through diverse mechanisms, remittances and foreign direct investment (FDI) have been sources of foreign capital flow that have positively influenced many less developed economies, including ECOWAS (ECOWAS stands for Economic Community of West African States). Nevertheless, these financial flows have exhibited significant inconsistencies, primarily resulting from economic downturns in migrants’ destination countries, with remarkable implications for beneficiary economies. This study, therefore, examines the effect of remittances and FDI on employment in ECOWAS. Specifically, the study assesses the effects of the inflow of remittances and FDI on employment using panel dynamic ordinary least squares (PDOLS) and also investigates the shock effects of remittances and FDI by employing Panel Vector Error Correction (PVECM), which involves variance decomposition. The results show that foreign direct investment (FDI) positively and significantly affects employment. Other variables that show a significant relationship with employment are wage rate, education expenditure, and interest rate. The variance decomposition result revealed that external shocks on remittances and FDI have short- and long-term effects on employment. The above findings imply that foreign direct investment has a far-reaching positive impact on the economy-wide management of the West African sub-region and thus calls for relevant policy options. Full article