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Research background: Microfinance institutions (MFIs) play an important role in alleviating poverty. Thus, MFIs should be efficient in order to ensure that their objectives on social welfare and financial performance can be achieved by identifying the potential determinants, specifically on social globalisation. Purpose of the article: This paper examines the impacts of the social globalisation dimensions of interpersonal, informational, and cultural globalisations on the financial and social efficiency of MFIs. Methods: The data period covered the years 2011-2018; the data set consists of 176 MFIs from six Asian countries. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach was employed to examine the MFIs' efficiency levels. Generalised Least Square (GLS) regressions were used to analyse the impacts of social globalisation and other determinants towards the efficiency of MFIs. Findings and value added: Interpersonal globalisation had a significantly negative correlation with social efficiency, suggesting that increasing the number of foreigners in management intrudes on local managers' decisions. Informational globalisation had a significantly positive correlation with financial and social efficiency, which signifies that more information produces monopolistic profits in this industry. Finally, cultural globalisation had a positive correlation with social efficiency, demonstrating that a global trading culture improves the abilities and technological skills for labour development and enhances MFIs' social efficiency. In general, the Cobb Douglas Production theory explained the understanding of the impacts social globalisation has on MFI efficiency. Furthermore, the findings from this study could provide important scientific, practical gap and contribute new insights and implications to various parties. Firstly, governments or policymakers can establish effective national policies and strategies. Secondly, this study could support investors in monitoring and understanding the performance of MFIs. Finally, the research could fill scholarly gaps and uncover more potential factors that influence the efficiency of MFIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terrorism and security threats are global phenomena. Almost every region has been affecting by different terrorism and violence incidents; that is why terrorism has become a devastatingly global concern for the past two decades. This paper examines the socio-economic and fractionalization (Internal and External conflicts) determinants of terrorism and its related incidents using the Global Terrorism Database for 14 countries of East, South, and North Asia (ESNA) from 2006 to 2018. By applying the one-step system GMM estimation, the results show that among ESNA, South Asia is the most vulnerable region where population and state legitimacy are the most ignite factors of terrorism incidents. However, in East and North Asia, the education budget's socio-economic disparity is the foremost determinant of terrorism and related antagonism. It also analyses that the fractionalization elite acts as a mechanism to ignite terrorism incidents in ESNA. It further revealed that State legitimacy, Fractionalization Elites, population growth, and budget allocation of health and education are the significant determinants of terrorism in ESNA. The study concludes that terrorism and its related activities have different trends depending on region to region, referencing study results. Furthermore, this study suggests that the United Nations and other governing bodies should play their role to resolve the socio-economic incongruence in ESNA and effective regional conflict resolution strategies to make it a peaceful and affluent region. In combating socio-economic disparities and conflicts, a prudent and effective regional policy should be enforced. • Impact of socio-economic determinants on terrorism incident is evaluated in ESNA. • Impact of fractionalization elites on terrorism incident is examined in ESNA. • Terrorism and its related activities have different trends from region to region. • South Asia is the most vulnerable region to terrorism due to state illegitimacy. • East and North Asia expose to terrorism due to socio-economic disparity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ground-breaking research on the electricity sector and its effects on energy efficiency (EE) in advanced and emerging economies are crucial in developing a futuristic pathway, leading to self-sustainable energy use. Therefore, this research investigates the functions of sustainable investments to ensure EE in advanced and emerging economies in a decade, ranging from 2008 to 2018, by applying the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. The findings reveal a lower degree of EE in advanced and emerging economies (0.44), discovering only seven nations, saving energy with DEA and the West Asia and North Africa groups as the top energy savers. Moreover, the mean EE ratio of the advanced and emerging countries plummeted, dating back to 2013, whereas financial investment positively impacts EE. Similarly, the study perceives how open structures in the nations' economic systems can advance ecological conditions by reducing pollution levels and graft enable EE and reduce pollution levels. Simultaneously, natural resources and technological advancements can accelerate the course of EE and ecological dimensions. Therefore, analysis of causality reinforce the response hypotheses between EE, Environmental carbon emissions levels, financial advancements, graft control, proceeds from mineral resources, technological creativity, commerce, and localization of industries, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]