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The paper examined the impacts of financial inclusion and banking innovation on economic growth in Nigeria using monthly and quarterly data from 2009 to 2021. The paper expanded the frontier of knowledge by adopting a monthly and quarterly approach using mixed data sampling (MIDAS) and autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) to ascertain the level of consistency of the impact of financial inclusion and banking innovation on economic growth and identify the banking channel which has the strongest impact on economic growth. Data on the variables were sourced from 2021 editions of the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin and the World Development Indicator. The findings showed that financial inclusion and banking innovation channels such as ATM and mobile transactions had a positive impact on economic growth across the ARDL and MIDAS approaches. The impact of the value of POS and web transactions was also significant, but their results were not consistent across the two techniques, while the value of cheque transactions does not impact economic growth using the ARDL approach. The results also showed that the value of POS transactions had the strongest impact on economic growth, followed by ATM, mobile, and web transactions respectively. As a result of these findings, the paper concluded that financial inclusion and banking sector innovations have an important role to play in fostering economic growth in Nigeria. Finally, the paper is unique as it is the first to compare the consistency of findings across the MIDAS and ARDL approach on the study objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With better access to e-commerce and its adoption in rural China, farmer entrepreneurship has thrived and released renewed vigor and vitality in rural areas, serving as a reference for global poverty reduction and rural entrepreneurship. This paper probes into the relationship between e-commerce adoption, social networks, and farmer entrepreneurship to find a mechanism of e-commerce to promote farmer entrepreneurship. This research uses household survey data from the Chinese General Social Survey of 2017. The cross-sectional research method with a sample size of 1306 was adopted in this study to establish links between various constructs. This study used secondary data that had already been collected on the subject. In this research, the quantitative secondary data analysis method was applied to numeric data arithmetically analyzed. The findings indicate that, first, e-commerce has significantly boosted farmer entrepreneurship, particularly in less-developed regions, where the effect is slightly more robust (the central and western regions). Second, the size and heterogeneity of social networks partially mediate the relationship between e-commerce adoption and farmers' entrepreneurial decision-making at the state level. In addition, the current data analysis has not verified the logical relationship between e-commerce adoption, the strength of ties, and farmer entrepreneurship. Thirdly, social network size and heterogeneity have a greater mediation effect than the regional subsample study results. This paper adds to the current theoretical approach about farmer entrepreneurship, e-commerce adoption, their relationship with social network size, heterogeneity, and strength of ties based on the Chinese General Social Survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between economic growth, trade openness, and macroeconomic stability resides to be one of the notable issues in both hypothetical and policy framework. Most of the empirical evidence has given mixed and indecisive results. This paper examines the impact of trade openness on economic growth and macroeconomic stability for BRICS countries over the period of 1990 to 2017, using pooled mean group ARDL model and Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012) individual Wald causality analysis. Our findings reveal that openness positively impacts economic growth, inflation, and real effective exchange rate in the long run in all three models. However, other variables in the estimated model were also significant, but their coefficient was negative in the long run. The results of causality analysis find bidirectional causality between openness and economic growth, openness and inflation, and openness to the real effective exchange rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the impact of foreign aid on economic growth in Ethiopia using time series data over the period 1974–2017. Autoregressive distributed lag approach to co-integration and error correction model was applied to investigate the long-run and short-run impact of foreign aid on economic growth. The model results revealed that foreign aid has a negative impact on economic growth in both the long run and short run. The negative and significant error correction term shows that the short-run disequilibrium adjusts to its long-run equilibrium by 84.6% each year. The paper suggested that more effort has to be made to improve the negative impact of foreign aid, mainly because of the existence of poor institutional arrangements that contribute the funds to unproductive sectors. The government has to ensure a close monitoring and consistent management strategies, which are used to avoid misallocation and mismanagement problems and has to ensure that foreign aid is linked to the productive sectors to optimize the benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the nexus between financial inclusion and economic growth in Tunisia. It uses three dimensions of financial inclusion; the first is the access to financial services, the second is the availability of financial services, and the third is the usage of the financial services, while GDP per capita is used as a proxy for economic growth. The paper finds a low level of financial inclusion index in Tunisia by using the autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) for cointegration. The paper finds a negative relationship between the majority of financial inclusion indicators and economic growth during the period 2005–2017. This fact emphasizes that more efforts need to be done to enhance and extend financial inclusion in Tunisia through financial literacy, costumers protection, providing financial services to rural areas, and engagement of low-income people in formal financial services, especially via the informal sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Τhe current paper examines the relationship between per capita health care expenditures, per capita CO2 emissions, and per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in G7 countries. At the beginning, we examine the cross-sectional dependence and the slope homogeneity between the countries. Then, the second-generation unit root test is applied using the Pesaran, CIPS (2007) test, while for the cointegration test, the Westerlund (Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics 69(6):709-748, 2007) test was applied. The long -run panel cointegration coefficients were analyzed with the augmented mean group (AMG) estimators, which allow the cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity. Finally, the test by Dumitrescu and Hurlin (Economic Modelling 29(4):1450-1460, 2012) was used in order to check for causality taking into account the heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence on panel data. The preliminary analyses show that variables are cross-sectional-dependant and heterogenous and are first-order stationary. Cointegration test by Westerlund (Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics 69(6):709-748, 2007) which allows heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence show that there is a stable and long-run relationship between variables. Moreover, the long-run coefficients which were estimated with the AMG approach are found to be statistically significant and positive for the GDP per capita, and negative in the case of greenhouse gas emissions per capita. Finally, causality test by Dumitrescu and Hurlin (Economic Modelling 29(4):1450-1460, 2012) revealed a unilateral causality from greenhouse gas emissions per capita towards health expenditure per capita for all G7 countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the continuous promotion of education investment to economic growth, governments of all countries are increasing education investment to build the hierarchical education system. However, whether general education and advanced education investment in the hierarchical education system has synergistic effect is doubted. Based on the endogenous human capital accumulation model, this paper introduces the variable of college entrance examination enrollment rate to construct an economic growth model including hierarchical education investment. Using Chinese provincial panel data from 1997 to 2020, this paper examines the impact of hierarchical education investment on economic growth and also the synergistic effect of general education and advanced education investment. This paper finds that general education investment has a negative effect on economic growth while advanced education investment can promote economic growth. However, due to the existence of the special selection system of college entrance examination, general education and advanced education investment did not play a synergistic effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few decades, many economies in sub-Saharan Africa have experienced much faster economic growth than other parts of the world. However, many of these economies have not experienced significant poverty reduction. Several factors such as the quality of governance may limit the expected effects of economic growth on poverty. This paper examines the triangular relationship between extreme poverty, governance quality, and economic growth for the sub-Saharan African countries over the period 2010–2019. Compared to the work carried out until now, the novelty of this research lies in using the Panel Threshold Regression (PTR) and Panel Smooth Transition Regression (PSTR) models to determine the optimal level of governance index, which once attained, will make extreme poverty decrease with economic growth and governance quality. We found that the nexus between these three variables is nonlinear. Besides, results show that there exists a statistically negative relationship between governance and extreme poverty above the threshold level of 0.314 for the Global Governance Index (GGI) and 66.9 for the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), above which governance quality decreases extreme poverty. The results showed that the economic growth would begin to reduce extreme poverty once governance reaches a threshold level of 0.367 for GGI and 63.2 for IIAG. Better performance of governance also appears to improve economic growth and reduces poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the effects of social media on economic growth in a sample of 177 countries. The originality of the article lies in highlighting the direct and indirect effects of social media externalities on the process of economic growth. Unlike existing works, we study this nexus from a global perspective using a cross-sectional model. To achieve this, we specify and estimate a panel data model using ordinary least squares (OLS) methods over the period 2012–2019. The robustness of the results has been proven by using Poisson pseudo maximum likehood (PPML) and the quantile regression (QR). The results show that social media as measured by Facebook penetration improves economic growth. Furthermore, the results of the mediation analysis show that the effect of social media on the economic growth is mediated by financial development, human capital, information and communication technologies (ICT), electricity consumption, and political stability. We suggest, in addition to the quantitative and qualitative strengthening of the telecommunication infrastructure, a rational use of social media for a better consolidation of economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social discount rate (SDR) for infrastructure policies is applied in public projects' benefit/cost analysis and measures the rate at which a society is willing to pay for present consumption. The choice of the discount rate in such project evaluation may play a vital role in the relative weighting of cost and benefits. A high SDR will evaluate the benefits of certain projects at a lower present value. A low SDR will raise the present value of the project's economic benefits, and it will weigh the long-term environmental damages more heavily. The current paper has examined variations in social discount rate policies of various countries around the world. Developed countries have applied lower rates like 3–5% while developing countries apply 7.3–15%. Higher SDR numbers means intervention to future generation rights. Developing countries should review the appropriateness of their SDR levels according to changing domestic economic circumstances and international capital market conditions. Developed countries should give less-developed countries or developing countries a chance by transferring their technologies applied in abatement policies. The key that will open the door to a better future for our grandchildren is in the hand of developed communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper finds a causal relationship between telecommunication infrastructure and economic growth in Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries. The analysis considers 56 OIC countries, and data was taken from 2001 to 2019. Telecommunication infrastructure computed from telephone subscribers, mobile cellular subscribers, mobile money accounts, and internet access is the main explanatory variable. We utilized panel data analysis. We utilized fully modified ordinary least squares and dynamic ordinary least squares estimation techniques for long-run estimation. To check the causality between the variables, we use the Granger causality test. The empirical findings elaborate that there is a unidirectional relationship between telephone subscribers, mobile cellular subscribers, mobile money accounts, and economic growth. Similarly, internet users and economic growth have a bidirectional relationship. Our findings indicate that there is a need to constitute integrative policies to improve technology inflow for the growth of the economy. An increase in the telecommunication infrastructure will encourage economic growth and improve the living standards of the masses in OIC countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper constructs a simple dynamic growth model and deducts four theoretical predictions: prediction I, new knowledge creations and research and development expenditures (R&DE) contribute to economic upturns and downturns; prediction II, the R&DE and new knowledge creations upsurge and fall in the economic expansions and contractions periods, respectively; prediction III, the research intensity and frequency of new knowledge creations increase and reduce during boom and recession periods, respectively; prediction IV, positive and negative shocks in R&DE and new knowledge creation are caused by changes in consumption, saving, R&DE, and innovation activities during economic boom and slump periods; and prediction IV, innovation and gross domestic product have a bidirectional causal nexus during trade cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's world, the realm and use of renewable energy in the global economy have increasing importance. In this paper, the nexus between hydropower energy consumption (HEC), financial development (FD), foreign direct investment (FDI), and economic growth (EG) for "newly industrialized countries" in the time period between 1979 and 2020 was investigated using Durbin–Hausman (2008) panel cointegration and Emirmahmutoğlu and Köse (2011) panel causality tests. According to the obtained findings, there was no cointegration or causality found between HEC and the three macroeconomic indicators (FD, FDI, and EG). Accordingly, the neutrality hypothesis has been found to be valid for the studied panels. On the other hand, when the individual test statistics obtained from the causality test were examined, it has been discovered that different hypotheses such as growth, conservation, feedback, and neutrality are valid for countries. The findings offer important findings for the policymakers of countries that will invest in hydropower energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth. To do so, we analyze whether entrepreneurial activity (based on data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, GEM) affect the economic activity in a given country (as measured by the Gross Domestic Product, GDP). A key methodological contribution of this paper is that the relationship between entrepreneurial activity and GDP growth considers that a relevant part of economic growth is explained by exogenous variables. For this reason, the empirical analysis is based on data on South American Countries, where external factors are more relevant to drive GDP. We found that for the countries analyzed there is a positive and significant relationship between intrapreneurial activity and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prospects for new, decent jobs are large considering the transformation to a green economy. This article examines the environmental effects of human capital in the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa—over the period 1990–2017. Environmental quality (deploying carbon emissions as the proxy) and environmental sustainability (utilising adjusted net savings, excluding particulate emission damage as the indicator) are identified as the dependent variables. This paper uses more recently developed econometric models, namely the Cross-sectionally Augmented Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) method and the Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality technique to analyse the data. The findings demonstrate that human capital is significantly positively related to both environmental quality and environmental sustainability in both the short and long run. Human capital also forms a bi-directional causality relationship with environmental sustainability, and environmental quality also causes human capital (thereby showing a uni-directional causality). As such, the paper suggests that governments should develop a policy which promotes investments in greening human skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between military spending and economic growth has been a hot issue in defense economics for decades, but the empirical results have not been consistent. Considering the "learning by doing" effect of military spending and knowledge creation of R&D department, this paper takes the endogenous growth model as the framework, and, through the dynamic analysis of the growth rate of knowledge and capital, finds that the spillover effect of military spending will diverge the path of economic growth. The relationship between m and gY of the USA is further investigated, which shows the results of this model have a good explanatory power. On this basis, the enlightenment of the model results is analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we use the data from the firm survey (2002) at the micro level and some recent secondary data at the macro level to examine the importance (impacts) of tacit and codified sources of knowledge at firm and aggregate levels, respectively. Our results at the macro level are consistent with the notion that tacit knowledge is complementary with schooling, while tacit knowledge and codified knowledge are positively correlated with GDP. Moreover, at the macro/aggregate level, our results show a significant complementary relationship between codified knowledge and the number of full-time equivalent researchers (FTER) and between them and publications, cooperation and technology (patents). Our findings at the micro level indicate positive correlations between tacit knowledge, ICT, training, profit, output and output diversification. In addition, our findings illustrate that tacit skill/knowledge inside the firm increases with market size: total investment, capital, firm size and age. Our results are consistent with the findings in the knowledge literature and are also useful to indicate the importance of good education at both the micro and macro levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the convergence process of per-worker output for a panel of 15 countries in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region over the period 1970–2016. Further, the study discusses the dynamic impact of various productive factors (physical capital, human capital and total factor productivity) on per-worker output. In order to estimate the long-run relationship, the paper employs various dynamic panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) models. The econometric approach controls for cointegration, nonstationarity, heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence in the variables and residuals. The results suggest the presence of cross-sectional dependence and mixed order of integration of the variables. The statistical results of Pedroni and Westerlund cointegration tests indicate that per-worker output, physical capital stock, human capital stock and total factor productivity tend to have a long-run relationship. The four-step methodology adopted in the present study consistently accepts the conditional β-convergence towards steady state of output per worker. Besides, the paper finds a positive impact of physical capital and total factor productivity on long-run economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to answer the question: How does higher education and improved health contribute to economic growth? For this purpose, the causal relationship among health, education and economic growth is analysed using simultaneous equations models on a sample composed of 108 developed and developing countries with data spanning the period 1990–2017. Results indicate bidirectional causality between health and economic growth in low- and middle-income countries, while unidirectional causality running from economic growth to health is supported in high-income countries. A bidirectional causal relationship between education and economic growth appears in all groups of countries. For the nexus among health and education, results show bidirectional causality in middle- and high-income countries and a unidirectional causality running from education to health in low-income ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to examine the relationship between public debt, economic growth, and monetary policy in Tunisia. We study the contribution of fiscal shocks through public debt on monetary policy and on macroeconomic dynamics using the SVECM model and Granger causality over the period 2002-2013. Econometric analysis results indicate that public debt, monetary policy, and economic activity are interdependent. The causality approach showed a bidirectional causality relationship between public debt, economic growth and monetary policy. This study shows that monetary and fiscal policies affect real activity, inflation, and exchange rate in Tunisia. The conflicts between the objectives of fiscal and monetary authorities explain the high rate of inflation and the decline in activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on the relationship between innovation, financial development, and economic growth has attracted growing interest in recent years; however, some authors have investigated this relationship using mainly Granger causality test and focusing specially on European countries. This paper examines the causal relationship between innovation, financial development, and economic growth using panel VAR approach for 27 OECD countries over the period 2001–2016. This methodology has allowed us to analyze the three-way linkages between innovation, financial development, and economic growth. Most importantly, the findings revealed that there is a unidirectional causality from economic growth to financial development. The neutrality hypothesis is confirmed from financial development to economic growth as well as between innovation and economic growth and between financial development and innovation. The paper concludes that further regulation of financial systems and the quality of funding are important ingredients to foster economic development. The paper also concludes that the relationship between innovation and economic growth is complex and country-specific characteristics can play an important role in fostering innovation and productivity. Finally, the paper concludes that governments can play an important role in developing a legislative framework favoring the development of innovation financing through the patent guarantee deposit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to investigate the causal links between remittances, economic freedom, and economic growth on a panel of four North African countries, namely, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt from 1980 to 2012. Using the system generalized method of moments (GMM) in a panel data analysis, we found strong evidence of a positive relationship between remittances and economic growth. We also found that economic freedom appears to be working as a complement to remittances and, that the effect of remittances is more pronounced in the presence of the economic freedom variable. Thus, to the extent that remittances have become a major source of external development finance, policies promoting greater freedom of economic activities benefit more from the presence of remittances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of infectious diseases on trade and economic growth in 88 countries (44 developed countries and 44 developing countries). Annual panel data from 1996 to 2018 are examined using the Pedroni panel cointegration test in order to check the existence of a long-run relationship; FMOLS, DOLS, and the VECM techniques to detect the causality direction. The following findings are established. First, in the long run, infectious diseases are more destructive on economic growth in developing countries than in developed countries. Second, infectious diseases have a negative and significant influence on the trade openness, but more intensively in developed countries than in developing countries. Finally, using the VEC model, our results demonstrate that the short run causality between diseases, economic growth, and trade openness is unidirectional running from infectious diseases to trade and economic growth. However, in the long run, there is bidirectional Granger causality among the running variables. Based on these results, government makers should concentrate more on the healthcare delivery in order to realize higher rates of economic growth and trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we empirically examine the association between sustainable development, adjusted net savings, financial development, economic growth and resources rent, using panel ordinary least squares technique, and panel generalized method of moments for a yearly panel data of three South Asia emerging economies, during the period of study from 1990 to 2020. We observed positive and significant effect of sustainable development goal index, financial development, and economic growth on the adjusted net saving, while the inflation rate and natural resource rent have negative and significant effect on sustainable development in South Asian emerging countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this paper is to empirically examine whether human capital, institutional quality, and economic development affect the relationship between export upgrading and economic growth. Different from most previous studies, which include an interaction term between export upgrading and a conditioning variable, this article applies an innovative dynamic panel threshold regression model to allow for non-linearity and an endogenous determination of the threshold location. The model is implemented using a panel data set of 56 developed and developing countries over the period of 1995–2015. Our main findings are twofold. First, the relation between export upgrading and economic growth appears to be non-linear. Second, we find evidence that export upgrading can only enhance economic growth in countries satisfying certain threshold prerequisites, regarding initial income level, human capital, and institutional quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research to date has not explored that the role of entrepreneurship has a key driver of China's economic growth and how the nature of entrepreneurship may differ between India and China in this context. This difference will have implications on the extent of entrepreneurship as a driver of Indian economic growth. The aim of this paper is to fill this research gap. Furthermore, one of the central premises of this paper is that the economic reforms in China have provided an incentive for the Chinese to embrace their uniquely cultural entrepreneurial skills. However, this has not happened in isolation because the reforms have targeted all sectors of the economy; the most important of these reforms for entrepreneurial facilitation has been associated with infrastructure, education, property rights, ownership restructuring and foreign direct investment. In this case, changes in infrastructure, knowledge creation and knowledge spillovers have led indirectly to China's economic growth. This is because knowledge spillovers have been facilitated by entrepreneurship. Moreover, this process has been characterised by the dynamic nature of institutional change in China. Nevertheless, in India at state level, there is variation in the level of economic, institutional and infrastructural development. Furthermore, there is also a tendency for firms in India to remain small. This may be due to the country's rigid labour laws. The findings of this paper indicate that entrepreneurship is stronger in China than in India from an economic, cultural and a historical perspective. Private entrepreneurship has been stimulated in China by the incrementally evolving economic reforms which resulted in the dynamic nature of institution formation. However, private entrepreneurship in India remains constrained by institutional factors and institutional rigidity. Nevertheless, social entrepreneurship is more prevalent in India than in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New endogenous growth theory introduces how investment in knowledge and human capital contribute to economic growth through spillover of knowledge. However, the theory has limitation because it does not explain the cause and the mechanism of how knowledge spillover occurs. Accordingly, by employing panel data of 33 provinces in Indonesia over the period of 2008–2013 and fixed effect method, this paper aims to investigate the roles of entrepreneurship on regional economic growth in Indonesia. The study applies different approaches to measure the entrepreneurial activities based on GEM categories, namely, self-employment rate and business ownership rate as indicators of entrepreneurial productivity. Furthermore, a more specific analysis is conducted by identifying entrepreneurial activities into formal sector and informal sector. The estimation result indicates that entrepreneurial productivity plays a significant role on regional economic growth in Indonesia. Moreover, entrepreneurial activities in different sectors give different contributions on the economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]