Most existing studies on financial development and carbon emissions have typically been based on the assumption of invariant parameters, which makes it difficult to ascertain the actual condition of the former on the latter. The present study therefore provides new insight into the changing pattern of the effect financial development produces on carbon emissions, employing the Markov-switching vector autoregressive technique to obviate the assumed invariant parameters issue. Specifically, we analyse the regime-switching effect of the development of the two components of the financial sector, namely the stock market and banking, on carbon emissions in sub-periods within the entire sample. Our findings show a two-regime switching nature of the connection of the banking and stock market with carbon emissions. The stock market has a very weak moderating impact on carbon emissions. The result for the banking sector is not significant. The duration of regime 2 is shorter than regime 1 for the two components of the financial market. However, the duration is shorter for stock market development compared with the banking sector growth. Finally, the regime-dependent causality confirms unidirectional causality from the development of the banking and stock market to carbon emissions. Policymakers should emphasize the development of the financial sector to enhance environmental quality in Nigeria.

Purpose This study examines the complex relationship between income inequality and the ecological footprint in South Africa, emphasizing its implications for more inclusive environmental policies. Design/methodology/approach The result offers social, economic and environmental perspectives by employing both the autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) and the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) models for data from 1980 to 2017. Findings The ARDL findings indicate that income inequality does not significantly influence the ecological footprint. However, while financial development negatively affects the ecological footprint, factors such as energy consumption, economic growth and trade openness positively influence it in both the short and long term. In contrast, the NARDL model reveals a hidden nexus in which reductions in income inequality significantly decrease the ecological footprint, highlighting the importance of decomposing variables into their + and – components to uncover hidden dynamics. These results highlight the potential oversight of critical relationships using traditional models and emphasize the value of disaggregated data to provide deeper insights into the interactions between economic variables and environmental outcomes. In addition, other findings from the NARDL model align with those obtained from the ARDL model, reinforcing the robustness of our analysis. Originality/value Unlike prior research, this study reveals the asymmetric impacts of income inequality on ecological outcomes, offering a fresh perspective on integrating economic disparities into sustainable development strategies.

ABSTRACT Achieving resilient and sustainable agricultural productivity is essential for food security, economic transformation and rural livelihoods across Africa. This study estimated the role of energy poverty, financial development and environmental degradation in shaping agricultural productivity across 34 sub-Saharan African countries between 2005 and 2020. In spite of the growing interest on individual drivers, no research has jointly assessed these interconnected factors, nor estimated whether financial development can moderate the effects of environmental and energy poverty on agricultural development. Employing the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR), which accommodates distributional dynamics, nonlinearity and heterogeneity, the study identified that environmental degradation and energy poverty reduce agricultural productivity. In contrast, financial development directly boost productivity and mitigates the adverse effects of both environmental deterioration and energy deprivation. These outcomes reinforce the centrality of inclusive financial systems in promoting sustainable and resilient agriculture in Africa. This research offers actionable guidance for decisionmakers, underscoring the importance of tailored financial measures, environmental stewardship and renewable energy access to stimulate agricultural development and advance several Sustainable Development Goals

In this chapter, the discussion of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has extraordinarily influenced US global hegemony. By putting resources into framework projects and advancing networks between countries, China desires to build its financial and international power through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The objective of this chapter is to analyze how China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is presenting serious difficulties to the customary international and financial aims of the US global hegemony. In any case, the US and its partners have eyes on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its influences on the world economy cautiously. While certain countries see the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as an opportunity to acquire a better network and add to China’s monetary extension, others have voiced stresses over China's aspirations and the conceivable political influence that could accompany its monetary responsibilities. The US has moved toward the BRI, coordinated effort and rivalry. From one viewpoint, the US recognizes the worth of foundation spending in encouraging turn of events and financial development. They also perceive the likely benefits of improved trade and availability that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can give part countries. Accordingly, the US has tried to cooperate with China and participate in BRI (Kim, 2019). In addition, the US has done whatever it takes to protect its own monetary advantages and public security considering China's extending influence. They have passionately inspected the BRI tasks' terms and conditions, focusing on the worth of receptiveness, maintainability, and fair rivalry. The US has worked to foster elective systems and principles that help great foundations venture and dare steady with their standards through programs like the Blue Dot Network. In this chapter, Neo-Realism theory and a subjective information approach in this part. Utilizing the Neo-Realism theory to offer clarifications, this approach empowers us to look at and decipher qualitative data like reports and observations. The US has presented the Form Act and the Infrastructure Transaction and Assistance Network (ITAN) to back foundation projects in the Indo-Pacific region. This part will inspect and discuss how US approaches toward China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) consolidate wariness, participation, and intensity. While recognizing the potential benefits of expanded network and framework speculation, the US likewise attempts to shield its interests and goals while being careful about China's aims. As the BRI pushes ahead and China's influence in the worldwide field develops, so too will the influence of this venture on US plans.

Relationship between R&D investment, financial development, energy use, and carbon dioxide emissions in USA: New insights from ARDL methodology

Cross-border e-commerce, financial development, and trade in services

Striking the balance in resource management: Exploring the impact of natural and mineral resources on financial development in BRICS-T nations

Pathway to environmental resilience: Analyzing financial dimensions to curb energy security risks.

Enhancing energy efficiency in OECD economies: The role of eco-friendly technology, financial development, and clean energy investment

Development of inclusive finance, digital infrastructure, and the urban–rural education gap

The development of digital inclusive finance and rural residents’ subjective well-being

How does regional financial development affect the investment and financing behaviors of low-altitude economy enterprises? An empirical study based on the expansion of city commercial banks

Artificial intelligence, digital financial development, and corporate innovation performance

Public data openness and digital finance development

This study provides an in-depth empirical analysis of the determinants of regional economic growth in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, focusing on the roles of financial industry agglomeration, innovation, environmental regulation intensity, urbanization, and population density from 2007 to 2021. Utilizing a comprehensive panel dataset across 21 cities and employing advanced econometric techniques including the Method of Moments Quantile Regression this research uncovers robust evidence that financial development and innovation are consistent and powerful drivers of economic growth, regardless of city size or developmental stage. The findings indicate that, although advancement and innovation in the financial sector are universal drivers of economic performance, the impacts of environmental regulation and urbanization are more complex and highly heterogeneous across various quantiles of economic growth. Specifically, environmental regulation tends to promote growth in less developed cities but may impose constraints in more developed urban centers, whereas urbanization is more influential at early stages but diminishes as a city grows. The supported long-term cointegrating relationships between the variables also highlight that the regions involved require uniform, region-specific measures to maintain balanced, sustainable, and innovation-driven growth. These findings contribute to existing research in regional economics and offer transparent, applicable policy insights for decision-makers aiming to facilitate inclusive and resilient urban growth within one of China's most vibrant metropolitan areas.

<p><strong>Introduction:</strong> Islamic banking in Indonesia is an expanding scholarly domain. This study maps the development of Islamic banking research by analyzing Scopus-indexed publications. Despite rising output, comprehensive bibliometric assessments of Indonesia’s Islamic banking literature remain limited; the study asks what thematic trends, author productivity, and future research directions characterize the field. Using biblioshiny, the paper delivers a consolidated, Scopus-based national mapping that visualizes how the domain has evolved within Indonesia’s academic context. <br /><strong>Methodology:</strong> We analyze 201 Scopus-indexed documents with RStudio’s Biblioshiny, applying descriptive statistics, co-occurrence analysis, thematic evolution, and clustering to reveal patterns, author networks, keyword trends, and intellectual structures. <br /><strong>Results:</strong> Publications show steady growth with a marked post-2015 surge. Core themes include Islamic finance, Sharia compliance, and Islamic fintech, alongside identifiable key authors, journals, and institutions. The field is shifting from conceptual discussions to empirical and application-oriented work, consistent with Price’s Law and Kuhn’s “normal science.”</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> The study clarifies knowledge growth in Indonesia’s Islamic banking scholarship and offers guidance for future research agendas, policymaking, and industry engagement, emphasizing collaboration among academics, regulators, and practitioners to strengthen the ecosystem and support inclusive, sustainable financial development.</p>

In the era of digital economy, digital finance is an important engine driving the high-quality development of enterprises, and small and medium-sized enterprises solve most of the employment problems in China. Therefore, it is of great significance to discuss the impact of digital finance on the high-quality development of small and medium-sized enterprises. This paper takes small and medium-sized enterprises listed in Beijing Stock Exchange as the research object, and uses two-way fixed effect model to empirically test the influence of digital finance on the high-quality development of small and medium-sized enterprises. The results show that digital finance has a significant promoting effect on the high-quality development of small and medium-sized enterprises. This held true after changing the measure of the explained variable. Mechanism analysis shows that digital finance improves the level of high-quality development by alleviating the "expensive financing" and "difficult financing" of enterprises. Further analysis shows that the impact of digital finance on the high-quality development of small and medium-sized enterprises is heterogeneous among small and medium-sized enterprises of different natures and also heterogeneous among small and medium-sized enterprises in different regions. Finally, this paper puts forward relevant policy suggestions: first, the government needs to further promote the development of digital finance; Second, the government needs to pay attention to the inclusive features of the development of digital finance. Third, the government needs to further improve the inclusive mechanism of digital finance for small and medium-sized enterprises.

In response to global climate challenges and the pursuit of sustainable development, low-carbon city pilots (LCCP) have become a critical instrument for China to achieve its carbon peaking and neutrality goals. This study empirically investigates the impact of the LCCP policy on urban green innovation and its underlying mechanisms from the novel perspective of ecological attention. Utilizing a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) model and panel data from 283 prefecture-level cities in China from 2007 to 2017, we find robust evidence that the LCCP policy significantly promotes green innovation, measured by green patent applications per 10,000 residents. The results withstand a series of robustness checks, including parallel trends validation, alternative explanatory variable specifications, sample period adjustments, and exclusion of major municipalities. Furthermore, heterogeneity analyses reveal that the policy effects are more pronounced in eastern coastal cities, areas with higher financial development, and cities with lower resource dependence. Mechanism analysis reveals that ecological attention serves as a crucial transmission channel. Specifically, the policy elevates both governmental ecological attention, measured by the frequency of environmental keywords in the work reports, and public ecological attention, captured by the Baidu search index. Notably, public ecological attention demonstrates a stronger driving effect on green innovation compared to its governmental counterpart, suggesting that bottom-up engagement plays a vital role in fostering green technological advances. This research provides theoretical and empirical support for evaluating city-level environmental policies and offers valuable insights for policymakers. We propose expanding the coverage of low-carbon pilot programs, tailoring policy design to account for regional heterogeneity, and strengthening policy enforcement to enhance public participation. These findings underscore the importance of integrating ecological attention into environmental governance frameworks to accelerate the transition toward greener and more resilient urban development.

Purpose This study aims to investigate how risks arising from real estate bubbles evolve into financial crises, with a particular attention to the moderating role of bank credit across countries with different levels of financial development. Design/methodology/approach Using a panel data set covering 21 countries from 2003 to 2024, this study uses logistic regression models to estimate the probability of financial crises, incorporating macro-financial indicators and cross-country heterogeneity. Findings The findings reveal that while short-term increases in housing price may temporarily reduce crisis risks, lagged housing price significantly heightens systemic vulnerabilities, especially in advanced economies. In addition, bank credit shows a nonlinear relationship with crisis risk, but does not significantly moderate the impact of housing bubbles on financial crises. Research limitations/implications The study’s scope is limited to equity market crashes as a proxy for financial crises. Moreover, it uses a quarterly framework for identifying financial crises, which may mask important short-term fluctuations and misrepresent the true severity of market downturns. Practical implications This research highlights the need for stronger financial supervision during credit expansion, prudent monetary policy and enhanced institutional capacity building to ensure macroeconomic stability and mitigate systemic risks associated with credit growth and real estate fluctuations. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature by offering a novel analysis of lagged effects of real estate bubbles on financial crises as well as the nonlinear moderating role of bank credit on this relationship.

This article investigates the interaction between economic growth and financial development in emerging and middle-income nations from 2000 to 2023 with a focus on the moderating role of institutional quality. Using panel data from the World Development Indicators, the IMF Financial Development Database, and the Worldwide Governance Indicators, the article examines the ways in which institutional strength mediates the growth benefit from financial development. The empirical analysis follows several stages: the Pedroni and Kao cointegration tests confirm the presence of a stable long-run interaction among the variables; the Pesaran–Yamagata (2008) test confirms slope heterogeneity; and unit root and cross-sectional dependency tests record mixed orders of integration and cross-country dependencies. The Cross-Sectionally Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) estimates present that the institutional quality and the financial development exhibit significant and positive impacts in the long term on economic growth. In addition, the interaction effect between the two variables emphasizes the significance of well-performing institutional conditions in facilitating the growth effect from the growth in the financial sector. Conversely, trade openness only yields a weak positive effect, and inflation adversely influences growth. Overall, the estimates provide substantial policy directions for emerging and middle-income nations with the objective of creating inclusive, stable, and sustainable growth, with specific significance targeting the role of good institutions in efficient mobilization of the financial resources towards sustained economic growth.