Search Results (40)

The accelerated growth of the digitalization process is making digital skills increasingly important in the global economy. The purpose of this research is to empirically assess the impact of digital skills on economic growth in the 27 European Union (EU) member states over the period 2017–2023. In this respect, to measure the concept of digital skills, we employed the following four indicators of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI): internet usage, enterprises offering information and communication technologies (ICT) training to their employees, ICT specialists, and ICT graduates, while economic growth was proxied by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. In addition, to obtain a more nuanced analysis, we included a set of control variables likely to influence growth. In the first stage of the research, we apprised the effect and importance of each explanatory variable on the GDP per capita using the Bayesian model averaging (BMA), while in the second stage, we ran a two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM). Based on the results obtained from applying the BMA, ICT graduates, trade, the new EU countries, and the employed population are the main determinants of economic growth. In addition, the new EU countries and inflation have a negative impact on GDP per capita, and the post-COVID dummy exerts a predominantly negative effect and all remaining regressors boost the GDP per capita. Furthermore, the GMM estimations confirmed the outcomes obtained through BMA, which denotes that the research findings are robust to changes in the methodological framework and, hence, are reliable and valid. The results of this research indicate that ICT graduates and digital skills play a decisive role in driving economic growth in the EU member states, with ICT skills having a significant positive impact on GDP. Full article

This study investigates how ownership structure conditions the transmission of corporate governance mechanisms into dividend policy within the context of South Korea’s evolving regulatory environment. Using a balanced panel of 5022 firm-year observations from 558 non-financial KOSPI-listed firms over 2011–2019, we analyze governance quality using data from the Korea Corporate Governance Service. We employ both an aggregate score and four constituent dimensions: board effectiveness, shareholder rights protection, audit committee competency, and disclosure transparency. The empirical framework combines firm fixed effects estimation, binary logistic regressions, and a two-step dynamic System GMM approach to account for unobserved heterogeneity, payout persistence, and endogeneity. The results reveal systematic heterogeneity across ownership regimes. Among non-Chaebol firms, higher governance quality across all dimensions is associated with higher dividend payouts, consistent with the governance outcome hypothesis. In contrast, among Chaebol-affiliated firms, the effectiveness of governance mechanisms is selective rather than uniform. While the aggregate governance score and shareholder rights protection retain explanatory power for dividend outcomes, internal oversight mechanisms related to board structure, audit competency, and disclosure do not exert independent influences once ownership structure is taken into account. These findings show that concentrated ownership structures condition which governance mechanisms remain effective in shaping payout policy. Regulators seeking to mitigate valuation discounts in conglomerate-dominated economies should prioritize the substantive empowerment of minority shareholder rights, as these mechanisms retain influence over payout policy even under concentrated ownership structures. Full article

Digitalization is increasingly central to economic growth strategies, yet robust macro-level evidence on the role of SME-led e-commerce remains limited. Drawing on the Resource-Based View, this study examines how SME digitalization, internet finance, and platform-based activities influence regional economic growth in China, and how these effects depend on digital infrastructure readiness (DIR). We construct an annual panel of 30 provincial-level regions in China over 2015–2024 and estimate dynamic relationships using two-step system GMM to address endogeneity and growth persistence. The results show that SME digitalization, supply-chain efficiency, mobile payment penetration, tech-driven employment growth, platform-economy contribution, and DIR all exert statistically significant positive effects on GDP growth. Quantitatively, a 10-percentage-point increase in SME digitalization is associated with approximately 0.3-percentage-point higher regional GDP growth, while a 10-point increase in DIR corresponds to about 0.4-percentage-point higher growth. Moderation analyses reveal that DIR significantly amplifies the growth effects of e-commerce expansion, mobile payments, and digital marketing, whereas its moderating role is weaker or insignificant for cross-border payments and supply-chain efficiency. These findings reconceptualize digitalization as a coordinated bundle of complementary resources and position DIR as a critical enabling capability for translating SME digital transformation into macroeconomic growth. The study offers policy-relevant evidence for targeting infrastructure investment and digital-economy strategies in emerging platform economies. Full article

China’s cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) has expanded rapidly, yet province-level evidence remains limited on how AI development conditions the contribution of logistics fulfilment efficiency (LEF) to cross-border e-commerce development (CBED), especially across regions with uneven digital maturity. This study tests whether AI capability amplifies the marginal effect of logistics fulfilment efficiency (LEF) for CBED and whether this complementarity varies across eastern, central, and western China. Using a balanced panel of thirty-one provinces over 2017–2023 (N = 217), we combine a Super-SBM DEA logistics fulfilment efficiency measure (LEF), a four-pillar AI Development Index (AIDI), and customs-based CBED indicators. Two-step System GMM models are estimated for the full sample and regional subsamples to account for dynamic persistence and endogeneity concerns. Results indicate that higher LEF is associated with higher CBED and that AIDI strengthens this relationship via the interaction term; the complementarity is the largest in eastern provinces and remains positive but smaller in central and western regions. Overall, the evidence suggests that logistics fulfilment efficiency and AI capability act as complementary enablers of cross-border e-commerce development, supporting provincial competitiveness as CBEC scales. Sustainability implications are therefore discussed via operational-efficiency channels rather than direct environmental outcomes. Full article

As corporate accountability, credibility, transparency, and stakeholders’ trust continue to attract global attention, this study examines how corporate reputation influences audit fees and whether audit fees, in turn, shape reputation. Hence, this study examines the bidirectional relationship between audit fees and corporate reputation in South African listed firms. This study reviewed three theories, such as capital reputation, stakeholder, and agency theories. Exploring panel data from sixteen listed firms over a period of ten years (2015–2024), this study employs panel regression analysis and two-step system generalised method of moments (System GMM) estimates in accounting for endogeneity, heterogeneity, and dynamic relationships. Data was sourced from the annual reports and accounts of selected firms. The results from the fixed effects model indicate that corporate reputation exerts a statistically significant and positive influence on audit fees. Conversely, findings from the random effects model reveal that audit fees positively influence corporate reputation. The two-step GMM result confirms a bidirectional causal relationship as lagged corporate reputation significantly influences subsequent audit fees, while lagged audit fees also significantly influence future corporate reputation. This study recommends that the board of directors should view audit not as an expense but as a strategic investment in sustaining stakeholder trust and reputation. Among other things, policymakers and regulators should also strengthen audit market transparency in ensuring that audit pricing reflects genuine reputational consideration and audit quality. Full article

This study investigates the dynamic relationship between risk-taking, capital adequacy, and operational efficiency in the MENA banking sector, with a particular emphasis on the role of ESG performance in shaping sustainable financial behavior. Using an unbalanced panel of 167 commercial banks from 2015 to 2024, we develop a three-equation framework and estimate it using the two-step System-GMM method to address endogeneity, simultaneity, and dynamic effects. The empirical results reveal significant interdependencies among risk, capital, and efficiency, confirming the existence of a sustainable risk–capital–efficiency nexus. The results reveal that bank risk is strongly persistent; however, ESG performance significantly mitigates credit risk, particularly through its social and governance dimensions, which enhance transparency, borrower discipline, and stakeholder trust. Efficiency also acts as a stabilizing force by reducing overall risk. Capital adequacy is positively influenced by ESG performance and efficiency, indicating that sustainable and well-managed banks maintain stronger capital buffers and more resilient balance sheets. Furthermore, bank efficiency improves with profitability, capitalization, favorable macroeconomic conditions, and socially oriented ESG engagement. These findings demonstrate that ESG adoption is a strategic driver of financial soundness, simultaneously lowering risk, reinforcing capital strength, and enhancing operational performance. The paper offers important implications for regulators and bank managers, highlighting the need to embed ESG metrics into supervisory frameworks, risk-management systems, and long-term strategic planning. Full article

This paper examines the impact of fintech adoption and financial inclusion on financial stability in selected countries. Using panel data from 30 countries spanning 2011–2024, the study employs an empirical strategy based on Two-Way Fixed Effects, a dynamic two-step System GMM estimator, and Panel Quantile Regression. This multi-method approach captures both average and distributional effects while addressing key econometric challenges, including endogeneity, heteroskedasticity, serial correlation, and cross-sectional dependence. The empirical findings differ across estimation techniques but reveal two consistent patterns: financial inclusion exerts a positive and significant effect on financial stability across all models, whereas the impact of fintech is model-dependent. While fintech appears insignificant under the Two-Way Fixed Effects and Driscoll–Kraay specifications, the System GMM and quantile regression analyses confirm that both fintech and financial inclusion significantly enhance financial stability. Overall, the results show that fintech can boost financial stability, but only when supported by broad financial inclusion and solid institutions. The findings highlight that policymakers must pair the growth of digital finance with clear regulatory standards and programs designed to deepen financial inclusion. Full article

Renewable energy efficiency (REE) remains critically low across many Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, yet the existing literature provides limited empirical clarity on how governance quality shapes efficiency outcomes and through which mechanisms these effects operate. This study addresses this gap by examining the influence of governance quality on REE in 23 SSA countries from 2005 to 2023, drawing on institutional theory and innovation diffusion theory. The analysis investigates three mediating channels, renewable investment, green policy, and green technology, using a multidimensional empirical framework that integrates the Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI), Two-Step System GMM, Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE), Generalized Least Squares (GLS), and Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE). Results consistently show that governance quality significantly enhances REE through investment, policy, and technological pathways. To capture nonlinearities and heterogeneous responses often overlooked in traditional models, we complement the econometric estimations with causal machine-learning simulations (Double Machine Learning and Causal Forests). These counterfactual analyses reveal that governance improvements and renewable-policy adoption produce the highest efficiency gains in mid-governance countries with stronger absorptive capacity. While the study offers policy-relevant insights, limitations remain, due to data constraints, unobserved institutional dynamics, and the uneven maturity of green-technology systems across the region. Nevertheless, the findings underscore that strengthening governance and fostering innovation are fundamental to accelerating a sustainable and inclusive green-energy transition in Sub-Saharan Africa. Full article

The transition toward sustainable, resource-efficient production has become a key challenge for agri-food systems, particularly in emerging economies, where profitability and environmental goals must be balanced. This study aimed to examine the relationship between financial structure, macroeconomic conditions, and circular economy (CE) indicators in determining the profitability of Serbian agri-food enterprises. Using panel data for 625 firms from 2014 to 2021, a two-step system GMM model was applied to control for endogeneity and firm-specific effects. The results indicate that in agriculture, moderate leverage enhances profitability, while excessive debt reduces it. Recycling and efficiency-oriented circular practices have a positive and significant effect on financial performance, suggesting that resource-efficient management supports long-term profitability. In the food industry, profitability shows strong persistence but remains mainly driven by internal and economic factors, with CE indicators exerting weaker short-term effects. Robustness tests confirm the validity and stability of the estimates. Overall, the findings highlight that integrating circular economy principles into business strategies can contribute to both financial sustainability and more efficient resource use in the agri-food sector. Full article

This study explores the relationship between electricity consumption and financial development in 20 emerging market economies (EMEs) from 2000 to 2020. Employing the panel ARDL–PMG estimator and a two-step system GMM to address endogeneity, we identify a significant positive long-run cointegrating relationship, where electricity consumption fosters financial development. The estimated error correction term suggests a stable equilibrium, with deviations corrected at a 29% annual rate, in the short-run adjustment. These results underscore the significance of targeted energy investments in driving financial market growth. Policies promoting grid action, renewable integration, and innovative financing tools, such as green bonds, can align electricity expansion with financial stability objectives. By incorporating recent global disruptions and applying advanced econometric methods, this study provides updated empirical evidence and actionable policy insights on the electricity–finance nexus in EMEs. Full article

Breaking barriers to sustainable jobs and promoting inclusive employment are key goals of the 2030 Agenda, with SDG8 Target 8.5 aiming to achieve decent work for all, including persons with disabilities (PWDs). This paper contributes to the scholarly debate by empirically examining how various regulatory areas, including credit market regulation, labor market regulation, business regulation, and the freedom to compete, influence the informal employment of PWDs in 15 countries between 2007 and 2022. The empirical investigation is conducted for the entire population with disabilities, as well as for adults and youth with disabilities. The analysis employs a dynamic labor demand function estimated through the two-step system GMM method to account for adjustment costs within the labor market. In addition, the Feasible Generalized Least Squares method is employed to assess the robustness of the results. The findings reveal significant heterogeneity in the effects of regulation on the informal employment of PWDs, with substantial differences between adults and youth. At the aggregate level, greater flexibility in most regulatory areas reduces informal employment of PWDs, except for labor market regulation. Upon examining age cohorts, the outcomes for adults exhibit similarities to the aggregate analysis. In contrast, more flexible regulations increase informal employment among young people with disabilities, except for business regulations, which exert negative impacts, and credit market regulations, which demonstrate no significant effects. This study recommends that policymakers support formal business development for PWDs and implement anti-discrimination laws. For youth with disabilities, targeted initiatives, including financial inclusion and wage subsidies, are essential to convert regulatory flexibility into formal employment opportunities. Full article

This study investigates how energy consumption and foreign direct investment (FDI) influenced economic growth in BRICS+ countries from 1990 to 2021, using a two-step System GMM estimator to address endogeneity and dynamic effects. While the results show that both energy and FDI positively affected growth, disaggregated analysis revealed that renewable energy promoted growth, whereas non-renewables hindered it. Similarly, FDI directed toward gross fixed capital formation (FDI_GFCF) consistently boosted growth, unlike aggregate FDI. Financial development moderated these effects, amplifying the benefits of energy use but dampening FDI’s growth impact in more developed financial systems. The effects of energy and FDI remained stable before and after the Paris Agreement, supporting the robustness of the findings. These results underscore the importance of tailored energy and FDI strategies, financial sector reforms, and supportive policy environments to advance sustainable growth in BRICS+ economies. Full article

This study investigates the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure on value creation in a balanced panel of 100 non-financial Sharia-compliant firms listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange over the period 2014–2023. The analysis employs a combination of econometric techniques, including fixed effects models with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors, Pooled Ordinary Least Squares (POLS) with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors and industry and year dummies, and two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation to address potential endogeneity and omitted variable bias. Value creation is measured using Tobin’s Q (TBQ), Return on Assets (ROA), and Return on Equity (ROE). The models also control for firm-specific variables such as firm size, leverage, asset tangibility, firm age, growth opportunities, and market capitalization. The findings reveal that ESG disclosure has a positive and statistically significant effect on firm value across all three performance measures. Furthermore, firm size significantly moderates this relationship, with larger Sharia-compliant firms experiencing greater value gains from ESG practices. These results align with agency, stakeholder, and signaling theories, emphasizing the role of ESG in enhancing transparency, reducing information asymmetry, and strengthening stakeholder trust. The study provides empirical evidence relevant to policymakers, investors, and firms striving to achieve Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 sustainability goals. Full article

In the era of new urbanization and shared prosperity, addressing the entrenched contradiction between unequal urban–rural public services and consumption disparities is central to achieving sustainable urban–rural development. As the world’s largest developing country, China faces a pronounced urban–rural consumption gap, underscoring the urgency of narrowing this divide through improved urban–rural public services. This study constructs a theoretical framework to analyze how urban–rural public service gaps influence consumption disparities, developing an evaluation index system for public service gaps across three dimensions: basic education, healthcare, and social security. Using panel data from 26 Chinese provinces (2011–2023), we employed fixed effects (FE) estimation, two-stage least squares (2SLS), and two-step system GMM models to examine the impact of public service gaps on consumption disparities and explore heterogeneous effects across inter-period dynamics and economic catching-up levels. Findings show that the coefficients of the three public service gaps (education, healthcare, social security) on the consumption gap are positive and statistically significant. This indicates that further widening of urban–rural public service gaps will exacerbate consumption disparities. The urban–rural consumption gap exhibits a reinforcing effect: gaps in the previous period strengthen current-period disparities, forming a vicious cycle that hinders sustainable development. Heterogeneity analysis across time reveals that the impacts of healthcare and social security gaps on consumption disparities tend to weaken, while the effect of compulsory education gaps increases significantly. From the perspective of economic catching-up heterogeneity, regions with higher catching-up levels exhibit a stronger impact of public service gaps on consumption disparities compared to lower catching-up regions. Full article

This study investigates the impact of income redistribution on carbon emissions across 154 countries from 1995 to 2023, with a particular focus on carbon inequality. Using a dynamic panel approach with two-step System GMM estimations, the analysis considers three dependent variables: average per capita emissions, top 1% per capita emissions, and the ratio of top 1% per capita emissions to national average per capita emissions. Results show that income redistribution (measured in both absolute and relative terms) significantly reduces average per capita emissions in the short term. However, redistribution has no mitigating effect on the carbon emissions of the top 1%; in some models, it is even associated with increases in elite emissions and a widening of carbon inequality. These findings suggest that while redistribution may contribute to national emission reductions, it is insufficient to curb the carbon-intensive lifestyles of the wealthiest. The analysis confirms the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis and underscores the need for complementary policy tools to more effectively address the emissions of high-emitting individuals. Overall, this study contributes to the literature by linking income redistribution with emission disparities across income groups and highlights the importance of considering distributional dynamics in climate policy design. Full article