This study provides a comprehensive analysis of whether financial development impacts environmental degradation, over time. It highlights how financial development, institutional frameworks, and foreign investment dictate the extent of green development. The sample includes 40 countries in Europe and data is collected on a large set of variables, for the years from 1990 to 2019. Financial development is measured through domestic credit to the private sector, bank credit to the private sector and foreign direct investment (FDI). Environmental degradation is measured through energy use, CO₂ emissions, greenhouse emissions and natural resource depletion. The model controls for income levels, institutional quality, technology, education, population, and urbanization. Regression analysis is conducted to analyze the data. The results suggest that financial development has a negative relationship with four different measures of environmental degradation, while FDI and institutional quality appear to worsen the environmental measures. Recommendations for policy makers include development of green finance policies and strong institutions, to lower environmental degradation in the long run.

The evolution of money has accompanied the development of civilizations and technological innovations, leading to today’s cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies have become a popular mode of payment globally because of their low cost, high-speed transferability and a decentralized tracking network that provides secure transactions and a high degree of anonymity. However, the decentralized system of cryptocurrencies has made global monetary systems more dynamic and therefore more prone to misuse as well as posing a threat to financial stability. Cryptocurrencies are also gaining popularity in Pakistan: its first cryptocurrency, named ‘Pakcoin’, was launched in 2015. The State Bank of Pakistan does not recognize any digital currency, and the Federal Board of Revenue and Federal Investigation Agency have taken legal action against local and internationally traded cryptocurrencies. This article reviews these risks and provides various regulatory solutions so that methods can be developed to improve the management of financial innovations and create a safer environment in which financial innovation can continue. Furthermore, developing countries such as Pakistan can take advantage of distributed ledger technology (used in cryptocurrencies) in applications including: microfinance to help the unbanked, in data identification systems and in land registries to help enforce property rights.

This paper aims to provide a detailed demographic description of poverty in Pakistan with an attempt to highlight those segments of the poor who can be aided to transition out of extreme poverty through appropriate policy measures. Data are collected from the Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) for the years 1985–2016 and captures falling poverty, gender-wise division of the employed and unemployed, type of employment (self-employed, unpaid workers, employers, employees) by gender, labour participation of vulnerable age groups, as well as unemployed widows. The paper discusses the effectiveness of conditional (CCT) and unconditional (UCT) cash transfer programs across the world and using data indicators, highlights the appropriate target groups in need of such intervention in Pakistan. The existing components of BISP are discussed, with policy recommendations targeted to enhance its impact by focusing UCTs on the most vulnerable segments. CCTs can be used to improve health and education outcomes; given Pakistan’s lagging performance, illiteracy among youth, infant and maternal health are of particular consideration. Cash transfers can be made conditional, subject to regular health checkups for mothers and children and mandatory school attendance to improve these outcomes. The paper further suggests an extension of the program to provide short-term financial relief to the temporarily unemployed.