Search

This paper analyzes the nexus between energy consumption, financial development, and economic growth in twenty-one (21) sub-Saharan African (SSA) nations by using the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) framework from 1990Q1 to 2014Q4. First, the study reveals that energy consumption and financial development have asymmetrical impacts on economic growth in most countries in the short and long term. Second, positive shocks to financial development favor economic growth in only a few nations compared to the negative shocks in the short term, whereas they have mixed effects in the long term. Third, we found that adverse shocks to energy consumption boost economic growth in several nations in the short term, unlike the positive shocks, but the scenario has reversed in the long term. We also found that gross fixed capital formation and labor force remain key factors promoting economic growth in many SSA countries, in contrast to the mixed effects of trade openness over time. Accordingly, our study recommends implementing energy-saving policies in specific SSA countries to stimulate sustainable development. Policymakers must embrace an effective credit allocation to the private sector supporting productive investments. Governments should also optimize domestic investments in physical capital, upgrade the labor force, and implement efficient strategies in international trade. These policy recommendations need to be implemented according to the unique socio-economic characteristics of each SSA country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the dual goals of achieving carbon peak and carbon neutralization, it is of great practical significance to explore the impact of product information labeling on technological innovation. As an essential element in improving energy performance in consumer products, energy-efficiency labels (EEL) have played a vital role in the government's portfolio of energy-efficiency improvement, technological progress, and carbon emission mitigation. We estimate the extent of the inductive effects of varying patent types on the relationship between the EEL system and technological innovation in a panel differences-indifferences framework based on the panel data of energy-saving patents and electricity-saving patents from 1998 to 2013 in China. Results indicate that the EEL system helps firms improve the ratio of energy-saving and electricity-saving patents to water-saving patents, and the rate of energy-saving and electricity-saving patents to all patents in the region. In another word, the EEL has a significant directed technological inducing effect. As for the role of the heterogeneity of patent types, the positive effects of the EEL system on invention patents are significantly suppressed in patent-for-utility models. Thus, it is suggested to improve the existing EEL system, gradually expand the product coverage of the EEL system, and increase the protection scope of utility model patents for achieving technological progress and sustainable development of society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the manufacturing industry is the foundation of the national economy, many countries have made concerted efforts to promote the transition upgrading of manufacturing enterprises from political, industrial, and academic circles. This study employed content analysis to explore the transition upgrading factors for manufacturing enterprises from an energy source perspective. With the help of FsQCA (Fuzzy-sets qualitative comparative analysis), which can mine multivariate combination relationships using a small number of samples, this study quantitatively calculated the transition paths and energy source combinations of manufacturing enterprises. Three transition upgrading paths were proposed, including an innovation-oriented path, a business-oriented path, and an efficiency-oriented path. The results indicate that manufacturing enterprises can realize transition upgrading based on three key methods, including innovation resources and innovation activities, strategic layout, and production operation + network relationship (peripheral). Such a finding validated the rationality of the theoretical path design and improved the research depth and precision. Multiple case analyses of Huawei, Haier, and Lenovo reveal that manufacturing enterprises used three ways to promote transition upgrading: the joint action of innovation activities and innovation resources; the uni-directional causal effect of strategic layout adjustment to increase market value; and the coordination and matching role of network relations dominated by production and operation. We conclude that this study provides an effective decision-making basis and management reference for manufacturing enterprises, so that enterprises can choose an appropriate energy accumulation method and scientifically realize the transition upgrading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the global business landscpae has witnessed a paradigm shift toward sustainable and responsible corporate practices. This transition has been particulalrly pronounced in the energy sector where companies are increasingly recongzing the importance of Non-Financial Reporting Initiatives (NFRI) in shaping their operational strategies. The current study endeavors to delive into the intricate relationship between NFRI and the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) for energy companies in Pakistan. The current study relied on Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique to extract useful information about the study topic. The data collected for the period 1999 to 2020 from World Development Indicators. The findings of the study revealed that energy consuption factors are responsiblee for around 31.32% variations in WACC, while economic factors contribute 43.98% variations. The financial factors showed to have 35.72% variations in the WACC. The findings of current study revealed to implement policies fostering sustainable energy practices, robust economic growth, and prudent financial management to positively influence the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) for enhanced business competitiveness and investment attractiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between climate risk and stock crash risk and the moderating effect of greenhouse gas emission trading scheme (ETS). Numerous studies have tested stock price crash risk measured by the negative skewness of return distributions in the areas of internal governance mechanism. While interest in environmental performance for sustainable growth of firms has increased, there are no studies on the effect of climate risk on stock crash risk. Thus, we find that climate risk (a firm's greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption) increases stock crash risk, and the positive effect of climate risk on stock crash risk is weakened after introduction of the emission trading scheme. This study theoretically extends the literature on the empirical determinants of stock crash risk, and practically provides investors with proven information about whether climate risk is worth considering during investment decisions. Furthermore, at the level of government policy, we can suggest that a monitoring system is needed to mitigate potential information asymmetry problems in firm with high climate risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although some studies have posited that sectoral growth could influence environmental pollution through energy consumption, the issue has not been explicitly and empirically investigated in the carbon-neutrality literature. Hence, this analysis fills the gap in the extant literature by employing the interaction models to ascertain the moderating role of energy consumption on the environmental impacts of the industrial, agricultural, financial, and service sectors in Malaysia. It also analyzes the marginal effects of sectoral growth on environmental pollution (i.e., ecological footprint and carbon emissions) at various levels of energy consumption. The Autoregressive Distributed lag technique utilized in this study found that the variables are cointegrated. The empirical estimations reveal that energy consumption plays a harmful moderating role on the impacts of the industrial and financial sectors on environmental pollution but does not aggravate the environmental impacts of the agricultural and service sectors. Besides, the marginal effects of the industrial and financial sectors on environmental pollution increase as the level of energy consumption rises in Malaysia. Based on the findings, this study highlights the policy implications and options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to examine the influence of chairperson/CEO demographic characteristics on the level of cooperatives' the environmental performance of Vietnamese cooperatives, based on Upper Echelon Theory. To measure environmental performance levels, this study uses energy consumption levels (electricity) to test the hypotheses. A sample of 1,508 cooperatives (from 2014 to 2016) has been used to carry out the OLS regression model, controlling for year and industry fixed effects. This study shows that the relationship between a chairperson's educational level and electricity consumption is negative and significant (decreasing energy consumption). A similar finding is also found with CEO duality, which supports the negative nexus with electricity used. In addition, no significant association was found between chairperson/CEO gender and energy consumption level, whereas the relationship with a chairpersons' age is positive. Drawing from Upper Echelon Theory, the current research provides novel insights into the relationships between chairpersons/CEOs' characteristics and the cooperatives' environmental performance. From practical implication, since cooperatives are a relatively common type of business in the rural areas of Vietnam and environmental protection is quite essential, it is necessary for cooperatives to choose suitable chairpersons/CEO based on their demographic characteristics. JEL: G30, K32, M14 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]