This research looks at how economic policy has affected the paths of Middle Eastern countries from 1950 to 2000 in the light of severe oil price changes, political upheaval and recurrent instability. The research using three key development lenses, structural transformation, rentier-state theory and institutional economics, demonstrates their analytical relevance in the study. Oil revenues gave economies more power but also exposed them to more volatility. Also, recurring wars and persistent political instability imposed heavy and long-lasting economic and social costs on these countries. Countries that strengthened their institutions and sought real diversification were better able to absorb shocks and maintain growth over time. The study employs a balanced panel for seven economies, and uses history and econometrics to test these propositions. The analysis uses well-known macroeconomic measures which are growth, unemployment and inflation. Also included are measures of oil income, intensity of conflict, and quality of governance. Evidence from fixed-effects and difference-in-differences models supported by interaction terms and instrumental-variable checks suggests that while oil windfalls may induce an initial growth spurt, in the longer run, they make countries more vulnerable. Similarly, while conflict may have an instantaneous negative growth effect, in the longer run, conflict depresses growth. On the other hand, enhancing institutional quality significantly multiplies the capacity of states to manage volatility and support recovery. According to the findings, the policy agenda should focus on building stronger institutions while managing realistic diversification and fiscal management system. So, it should have the capability of smoothing commodity cycle issues. Further, it remains highly relevant to the region while the world is gradually moving toward a post-oil world economy.

Service exports play an important role in Pakistan’s economy and its valuable foreign exchange while showcasing the country’s strengths in sectors like information technology, finance, and tourism. They support economic diversification, generate employment opportunities, and enhance Pakistan’s competitiveness worldwide. This study discovers the link between digital technology adoption and Pakistan’s service exports. A key contribution is the development of a Digital Economy Development Index (DEDI) for the period of 1993–2023, highlighting the country’s digitalization trends and their connection with service export performance. Using the ARDL approach, it studies the impact of digital economy development (DEDI), financial depth, domestic lending and the real effective exchange rate on Pakistan’s service exports. The results disclose that DEDI has a positive and significant long run effect on service exports, underscoring the critical role of digital transformation in improving trade performance. In contrast, financial depth shows a negative and significant long-term impact, indicating slow adaptation within the financial sector in supporting service trade. Domestic lending to the private sector has an insignificant bearing on services exports in both the long term and the short term whereas the REER has a positive significant effect in the short term. The study recommends advancing the digital economy and digital infrastructure to strengthen Pakistan’s service exports by increasing connectivity for companies engaged in service exports by investing in high-speed internet, effective data centers, and cloud computing infrastructure. Moreover, enhancing financial policies, credit access and implementing comprehensive training programs for digital upskilling to thrive in the digital economy is needed.

The current study aimed to investigate the relationship betweenagricultural exports and environmental quality in developing countriesover the time period of 2002 to 2021. Using panel data regression analysis,the study tested the impact of agricultural exports on ecological footprint(EF) of cropland. Both, EF of cropland production and consumption wereused to investigate the Pollution Haven Hypothesis (PHH), Pollution HaloHypothesis, and the theory of ecological unequal exchange (EUE). Theresults showed that agricultural exports significantly contribute to EF ofcropland in developing countries, providing the evidence in favor of PHH.Furthermore, the study also found some evidence of ecological unequalexchange since agricultural exports were observed to increase the EF ofcropland production, however, they did not affect the EF of consumptionin developing countries. The study highlighted the need for suitableagricultural practices, eco-friendly policies, and international cooperationto mitigate the environmental impacts of agricultural exports indeveloping countries.

This study employs impression management theory, i.e., data visualization tools, to understand public budgeting preparation better. Our study uses a powerful graphical technique, the DiGraph, to effectively allocate public resources for the greater good, where edges have a direction, indicating a one-way relationship between nodes. Based on the amount, the directed sub-graphs show which sub-resource cost and resource cost can be reduced, which sub-resource, resource, sub-activities, and activities can be dropped, and lastly, which objective is entirely/partially not achievable because of the significant cuts of funds from the government or funding agencies. Key Words: Public Budgeting, Impression Management Theory, Graph Theory, Budgeting Process, DiGraph

Despite being socially disapproved and contradictory to the cultural and religious values, the practice of cross dressing is in vogue in Pakistani society. This qualitative research study aimed at in-depth exploration of phenomenon of Male-to-Female (MTF) cross dressing as well as its socio-economic implications for the family life of cross dressers. The study also intended to explore factors consequential to the raising trend of MTF cross dressing in Pakistani society. The study was conducted in twin cities i.e. Islamabad and Rawalpindi. A sample of twenty (20) MTF cross dressers was selected through purposive sampling technique. Interview guide was used as a tool of data collection. The collected data was analyzed through thematic analysis. Findings of the study revealed that inspiration & role modeling, peer group influence, amusement & entertainment, non-satisfaction with the gender identity and economic miseries were some major causative factors consequential to the MTF cross dressing. The findings also divulged that dual gender performance has severe socio-economic repercussions including migration, non-acceptance by the family & society, Non availability of favorable work conditions, stigmatization & victimization, facing discriminatory attitude, physical & sexual assault, sense of deprivation regarding rights, social security as well as economic issues. Dual gender performance has also strong negative influence on the family life of cross dressers. The study recommends that it is need of the hour to develop a mechanism of registration & certification for the real trans-people through their medical checkup so that effective policies, based on actual trans-population, may be formulated for the welfare of transgender community as well as to protect & safeguard their fundamental human rights.

This study analyses how societal issues and financial independence affect women's domestic relationships in Islamabad, Pakistan. Using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), the study evaluates how factors such as financial independence, societal expectancy, job discrimination, and financial decision-making affect dynamics in general, family roles, and decision-making of women. The results demonstrate how financial independence and sound financial judgment of women may greatly enhance household dynamics, highlighting their revolutionary potential. But more importantly, societal barriers that include occupational discrimination and demographic characteristics such as ageing, marital status, as well as educational attainment, all had no direct impact on household dynamics for women. These show the need for legislation, which removes structural obstacles of structural factors to women's empowerment in just family dynamics. Similarly, having economic independence is crucially important in just family dynamics.

The study empirically explores the impact of political competition and political institutions on inflation rates in emerging economies, taking into account political institutions' moderating role. This study examined data from 57 developing countries spanning 2000 to 2018.The empirical analysis was performed using a two-step System Generalized Method of Moments (system-GMM) estimation technique. The analysis yields two key findings. In a democratic regime, effective competition among politicians lowers inflation. However, the effect of political competition on inflation is conditional on political institutions. Nations with strong institutional structure and balanced competition are associated with better inflation performance.

The current study aimed to analyse global economic disparities through the lens of international classification systems, such as those of the United Nations, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Countries are grouped into developed, emerging, developing, and least developed economies based on indicators, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, GDP adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), industrialization level, and human development indices. The research highlighted how such classifications reveal structural imbalances in global wealth, production, and living standards. Using 2022–2023 data, the study compared economic performance across major regional and institutional groups including the European Union (EU), the Group of Seven (G7), and fuel-exporting nations to identify key patterns of inequality and growth potential. Findings showed substantial variation in income distribution and productivity, underscoring the importance of targeted policy, investment, and development strategies. These insights contribute to a clearer understanding of how global classifications inform sustainable growth and international cooperation.

Roads serve as the major means of transportation for goods, services, andmobility across Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K), which also hassignificant tourism potential. The construction of the M3 expresswayunder China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is currently awaitinggovernment approval. Literature indicates that no study has examined theimpact of the CPEC project on tourism growth so far. Therefore, it isessential to investigate its effect on tourist arrivals in AJ&K. The currentstudy aimed to explore residents’ perceptions regarding the impact ofconstructing the Mansehra–Muzaffarabad–Mirpur (M3) expressway ontourist inflow in AJ&K. Moreover, it assessed whether the M3 expresswaywould improve connectivity in AJ&K. This research was motivated by theexisting gap in studies and the importance of understanding public opinionon megaprojects. Furthermore, it helped in assessing local perspectives asto how the construction of the M3 expressway influences touristmovement and is valuable for policymakers to forecast the effects of newroad projects on tourism development in AJ&K. The study gatheredprimary data from 200 local respondents across all three divisions ofAJ&K via a structured questionnaire, and the Binary Logit regression wasestimated using the Maximum Likelihood method. The findings suggestedthat the construction of the M3 expressway under CPEC enhancesconnectivity and boosts tourism in AJ&K.