The objective of this study is to empirically examine the relationship between economic freedom and external debt in South Asian countries using annual panel data from 2000 to 2023. Short- and long-run dynamics are investigated using panel unit root tests, Pedroni and Johansen cointegration techniques, and the panel ARDL model. The results indicate a significant adverse effect of economic freedom on external debt, showing that a one-unit increase in the Economic Freedom Index decreases external debt by approximately 7.94% in the long run, with a probability of 0.01. Descriptive statistics show that South Asian economies have a moderate level of economic freedom (average score 6.13) and that debt levels vary enormously from US$0.21 billion to US$647 billion, indicating sharp differences in debt sustainability. The ARDL results also indicate that the exchange rate depreciation coefficient (2.69, with a probability of less than 0.01) and corruption (coefficient 0.24, with a probability of less than 0.05) exacerbate external debt. Additionally, political stability has a weak negative impact, with a coefficient of -2.31 and a probability less than 0.10. Trade openness exhibits an effect, with a long-run coefficient p-value of 0, but it is insignificant in the short run. The error correction, with a coefficient of -0.316 and a significance level of 0.05, supports a long-run adjustment toward equilibrium. These results suggest that institutional quality and economic freedom play an important role in external debt management in South Asia.

This paper provides an in-depth examination of the history and evolution of English as an academic subject in Bangladesh, highlighting the crucial role it plays in the nation's educational framework. The significant emphasis on teaching and learning foreign languages, particularly English, is explored. It is posited that Bangladesh represents a unique case in South Asia, where systematic and sustained efforts have been made to embed English into the education system. This has included the development and effective implementation of unified linguistic policies. As a result, Bangladesh has made substantial progress in integrating English into its cognitive and cultural framework, facilitating the assimilation of new knowledge and contributing to the intellectual and cultural transformation of its society.

Standards and non-tariff barriers in trade – A case study of South Asia

This study examines the relationship between the competition, political risk and bank stability. The relationship among these variables is of deep context on country level. The banking stability is of great attention in the current political and turmoil in the region. This study uses the 5 countries including China, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The time span of the data is of 7 years from 2011 to 2017 collected from the world bank indicators. The findings of the study suggest that competition and political risk have significant effect on banking stability. The economic growth moderates the relationship between competition and banking stability. Also, the relationship between political risk and banking stability is moderated by economic growth. This study will help the banking sectors to consider the competition and political risk in their risk management policies regarding market. This study will help the researchers to add more diverse variables in future research.

South Asia is primarily affected by environmental degradation. As a result, it is worthwhile to explore the impact of international capital flows on the ecological sustainability of the South Asian region. There are many studies in the literature on the CO2-remittances nexus, CO2-FDI nexus, and CO2-economic growth; however, no study has yet taken remittances and FDI into account in the symmetric and asymmetric model for the South Asian region. To address the research gap, this study investigates the effect of international capital flows, fossil fuel energy consumption, and economic growth on South Asian carbon emissions. This study examines the effect of fossil fuel energy consumption, remittances, foreign direct investment, and economic growth on the environmental sustainability of the South Asian region from 1975 to 2020. Autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) and non-linear ARDL (NARDL) models are used to estimate the symmetrical and asymmetrical relationships among the variables. The findings of the ARDL models reveal that fossil fuel energy consumption and economic growth increase while remittances and FDI decrease carbon dioxide (CO2) in the long run. According to the NARDL empirical findings, positive remittances and negative FDI shock reduce CO2. Besides, the positive and negative fossil fuel energy consumption shock increases CO2. Moreover, the positive (negative) economic growth shock increases (decreases) CO2. The cumulative dynamic multipliers revealed the adjustment pattern to new long-run equilibria. The study recommends that policymakers regard remittances and FDI as policy instruments, particularly when developing long-term strategies and policies connected to environmental quality.

PurposeThe widening income gap between rich and poor has gained worldwide recognition in recent decades. This income gap between rich and poor is defined as the extent of income unevenly distributed in a host country. This study provides an empirical view of the association between information and communication technology and the widening of the income gap.Design/methodology/approachThe study used panel data from 2005 to 2019. To detect unit root issues, Levin and Lin (LL) and Im, Pesaran and Shin (IPS) tests were first employed. The pooled mean group and mean group estimators were employed to investigate the short and long -term impact of information and communication technology and other control factors on reducing the gap between rich and poor in South Asia.FindingsThe results showed that the Pooled mean group's findings are more efficient and consistent as compared to mean group estimators. The results of the paper showed that the greater penetration of information and communication technologies in the economy negatively and significantly affects income inequality. Moreover, the information and communication technology, foreign remittances and foreign direct investment (FDI) significantly reduce the gap between rich and poor in the long run.Practical implicationsAt last, the findings of the study serve as an excellent roadmap for policymakers seeking to address the issue of growing income inequality in the South Asian regions and worldwide.Originality/valueBased on the findings of this study, South Asia can reduce the gap between rich and poor by investing more in the information and communication technology sector.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-10-2021-0638

ABSTRACT Building on a global research sweep of terrorist organizations’ (as well as other non-state actors such as separatist and insurgent groups) use of fresh water as a target, weapon, or source of control, this paper analyzes attacks on major water projects (specifically dams and other related infrastructure) in South Asia—the region identified to have had the largest number of recorded water-related violent incidents. Focusing on India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, and the post 9/11 period through 2019, the paper explores how large water infrastructures (and their environs) have become hot spots for violence between states that use water development projects to consolidate power, garner local loyalty, and create a national narrative and non-state actors who attempt to target these same projects to assert indigenous self-determination, subvert state power, or challenge state authority through terrorist means. Since fresh water is shared across borders, dam projects can become entangled in regional political disputes further exacerbating violent conflict between state and non-state actors. Given its impacts on water resources, climate change may act as a “threat multiplier” by enhancing local grievances, providing both government and terrorist groups additional incentives for exploitation, and further contributing to instability. The analysis provided here borrows from and contributes to the fields of development, environment and security, and terrorism studies.

Purpose The paper presents the facts on the policy challenges and opportunities in the way forward of trade and economic co-operation in South Asia amid the coronavirus disease 2019, which comes to be the least economically integrated region worldwide. Due to tense geopolitics in South Asia, trade is heavily biased toward extra-regional markets despite of existing regional trade agreements (TAs) in the region.Design/methodology/approach Having tested the stationarity of data with structural break, the paper uses intra-regional trade in addition to other domestic economic variables as exogenous regressors in autoregressive distributed lag multivariate framework, hence raising the quality of statistical inference.Findings This paper highlights that intra-regional trade significantly affects the economic welfare as measured by Gross Domestic Product per capita of the people from the region, hence raising the need for higher regional trade openness. If trade barriers are overcome, all the South Asian countries will gain through effective implementation of regional TAs.Research limitations/implications The study relies on the multivariate technique with regional trade share as the main exogenous variable. In addition, the regulatory and economic conditions of all countries are different which also tends to affect the mutual degree of trade relations.Practical implications Over the economic reasons, the manmade barriers owing to political differences are the root cause for the low intra-regional trade. Amid the pandemic, South Asian courtiers have the high time to leverage the bilateral trade for mutual benefits. India being the largest economy can play a decisive role in pushing forward the regional trade bloc – South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) – for achieving its objective through multilateral engagements in a wider perspective.Originality/value The present study makes pioneer efforts to examine the dynamic linkages between regional trade and economic growth. The results provide new insight into the dynamics of benefits driven by trade interdependency.

Index on relative sustainability impact-a suggestive tool for strengthening regional cooperation: Case of South Asia

This study explores the financial sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the economic context to identify how macro-level economic decisions affect the micro-level decisions in the microfinance sector in South Asia. For that purpose, the data of 409 South Asian MFIs combined with the macroeconomic variables of respective countries are used over the period 1999–2017. The empirical analysis uses a fixed-effect model (FEM) to analyse the unbalance panel data of microfinance institutions and macroeconomic variables. We employ two-stage least squares (2SLS) model for robustness and System Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) to address the potential endogeneity and over-identification bias. The results reveal that economic indicators such as foreign investment, human development, inflation, interest rate, private credit, and labour force participation have negatively influenced financial sustainability except for the GDP growth. The overall economic results seem imperative from the good-governance perspective of MFIs. Besides, the government and microfinance policymakers need to give due consideration to the macro-level economic decisions to achieve the financial sustainability of MFIs. JEL Classification: A12, G21, G28, O1, Q01

South Asia is one of the top remittance recipient regions in the world. Remittances constitute a significant portion of GDP and have helped South Asian countries to minimize a shortage of foreign reserves. Remittances have been an important source of income for many families in the region too. Despite the significant role of remittances at the local as well as national level, the impact of remittances on financial development has not been adequately studied in the case of South Asia. This paper utilizes a panel cointegration approach to examine the impact of worker remittances on financial sector development in the top remittance recipient countries in South Asia. We find evidence of a long-run relationship between remittances and financial development. Our test results show support for a positive and significant impact of remittances on financial development. The Pooled Mean Group tests suggest that a 1% point increase in remittances increases the credit to the private sector by greater than 1% points. The positive and significant impact of remittances on financial development is robust. The results support the existence of bidirectional causality between remittances and financial development in the long run.

The first infected case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) in Nepal was diagnosed on 23 January, 2020 which was also the first recorded case in South Asia, but after confirmation of subsequent cases on March 23 and 24, the entire nation was put under lock down. Between January and March, the government took preventive measures by upgrading health infrastructure, setting up health desks atimportant public spaces like airports, spreading public awareness through various means, sealing off of international borders. Initially, our optimism stemmed from the slow rise in cases compared to our neighbors which delivered hope that things will be back on track soon. But with consistently escalating infection rates it was clear that we are as vulnerable to this as any other nation. For us, it reflected in thinning out of emergency and urgent cases. This was sure to have a significant impact on patients’ lives. On one hand, owing to confinement measures, to avail specialty services was becoming a challenge for them, especially those from remote, rural areas where transportation even if desired is accessible on select occasions. On the other, phobiaof coronavirus led patients to defer going to distant tertiary hospital as far as possible.

The association between marital transitions and the onset of major depressive disorder in a south asian general population

Mitochondrial membrane protein associated neurodegeneration (MPAN); First genetically confirmed case in south Asia

When assessing energy efficiency, most studies have frequently ignored environmental aspects even though the concept has been widely used in the past. This study evaluates the energy efficiency and environmental performance of South Asia by using DEA (data envelopment analysis) like mathematical composite indicator. We construct a comprehensive set of indicators, including an energy self-sufficiency ratio, energy production over consumption ratio, energy imports, diversification index of energy imports, energy reserve ratio, GDP productivity, energy intensity, per capita energy consumption index, carbon emission index, carbon emission index per unit of energy consumption and share of renewable energy in order to develop an energy efficiency and environmental performance index. Unlike other studies, this study first examines each indicator and then estimates a combined score for each country. The results reveal that Bhutan as a more secure country and Pakistan showed a decreasing trend, while Sri Lanka and India performed satisfactorily. Remarkably, Bangladesh, Nepal and Afghanistan showed a decreasing trend. This study proposes a policy that increases the cross-border trade of renewable energy for long term energy efficiency and environmental performance.

Developing countries are experiencing rapid and unguided urbanization which may contribute to increase poverty. Managing rapid urbanization is crucial for sustainable development. The main purpose of this article is to explore the determinants, trend and status of urbanization and counter-urbanization in South Asia. The effects of urbanization and counter urbanization has influence on land use pattern and real estate planning in South Asia. Urbanization in South Asia provides opportunities for education, employment, better housing, updated technology transfer, markets for agricultural products and better physical treatment facilities by gathering well educated and skilled people. While the urbanization is increasing gradually in most of the megacities in South Asia but the trend of counter urbanization is less than the urbanization. The paper concluded with some policy recommendations including public-private partnership for sustainable urban development in South Asia.

Conflicts Without End: The Case of South Asia

Adoption and Abandonment of Partial Conservation Technologies in Developing Economies: The Case of South Asia

BackgroundHemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis is an aggressive life-threatening syndrome of excessive immune activation. Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis due to systemic lupus erythematosus is described as acute lupus hemophagocytic syndrome. Acute lupus hemophagocytic syndrome presenting with negative antinuclear antibody is uncommon.Case presentationA 57-year-old Sri Lankan woman presented with intermittent fever, weight loss, episodic confusion, and alopecia for 3 months. Investigations showed pancytopenia. Her erythrocyte sedimentation rate was 76 mm/hour and C-reactive protein was 2 mg/l. Septic screen was negative except for a positive sputum culture for Gram-negative coliforms. Chest X-ray was normal. Direct antiglobulin test was positive. Fever persisted with clinical worsening despite treatment with intravenous antibiotics. Antinuclear antibodies and double-stranded-deoxyribonucleic acid antibodies were negative. Bone marrow aspiration revealed features compatible with hemophagocytosis. Her serum ferritin and triglycerides were elevated. Diagnosis of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis due to an evolving autoimmune disorder was made and she was treated with steroids. She showed a dramatic improvement and was discharged on oral steroids.After 6 months, while the steroids were being tapered she experienced oral ulcers, frothy urine, and ankle swelling and she was rehospitalized. Urine analysis revealed proteinuria with active sediment. Antinuclear antibodies and double-stranded-deoxyribonucleic acid antibodies were positive. Complement C3 and C4 were reduced. A renal biopsy revealed class IV-G lupus nephritis with immunofluorescence pattern consistent with systemic lupus erythematosus. Steroid dose was increased and mycophenolate mofetil was commenced. She improved.ConclusionsThis case showcases an uncommon presentation of acute lupus hemophagocytic syndrome with initial negative antinuclear antibody probably due to its cytokine-mediated pathogenesis. This is the first such reported case in South Asia to the best of our knowledge. According to the American College of Rheumatology criteria, our patient did not fulfill the criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus diagnosis for the initial hospitalization. But, according to the 2012 Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics criteria, she did fulfill the criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus even in the first hospitalization which was subsequently proven with renal biopsy findings. This case confirms the increased sensitivity of Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics criteria over American College of Rheumatology criteria in diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus.

This article offers a discussion of nuclear doctrines and their significance for war, peace and stability between nuclear-armed states. The cases of India and Pakistan are analysed to show the challenges these states have faced in articulating and implementing a proper nuclear doctrine, and the implications of this for nuclear stability in the region. We argue that both the Indian and Pakistani doctrines and postures are problematic from a regional security perspective because they are either ambiguous about how to address crucial deterrence related issues, and/or demonstrate a severe mismatch between the security problems and goals they are designed to deal with, and the doctrines that conceptualize and operationalize the role of nuclear weapons in grand strategy. Consequently, as both India's and Pakistan's nuclear doctrines and postures evolve, the risks of a spiralling nuclear arms race in the subcontinent are likely to increase without a reassessment of doctrinal issues in New Delhi and Islamabad. A case is made for more clarity and less ambition from both sides in reconceptualizing their nuclear doctrines. We conclude, however, that owing to the contrasting barriers to doctrinal reorientation in each country, the likelihood of such changes being made—and the ease with which they can be made—is greater in India than in Pakistan.