This study explores the mediating role of e-satisfaction during the pandemic on the relationship between e-service quality and e-loyalty of banking customers in Pakistan. The data were collected from 442 customers of online banking services in Pakistan during the Covid-19 pandemic, following a survey-based study. Baron and Kenny (J Personal Soc Psychol, 51(6):1173, 1986) and Preacher and Hayes (Behav Res Methods, 40(3):879-891, 2008) mediation technique which utilizes the bootstrapping method has been used to explore mediation. The findings show that e-service quality has a significant positive effect on the e-loyalty of the customers of online banking services. Relationships between e-service quality and e-loyalty of online banking customers in Pakistan are significantly and fully mediated by their online satisfaction in unusual situations. This study would help the bankers to implement more effective marketing strategies to retain their customers and attract potential customers, particularly during non-normal situations like the Covid-19 pandemic. It will help them identify the areas of e-services that need improvement to enhance the satisfaction and loyalty of the customers. The bootstrap method for mediation along with Baron and Kenny (J Personal Soc Psychol, 51(6):1173, 1986) leads to using a more sophisticated methodological technique to explore the mediation. The Oliver Expectancy-Disconfirmation Paradigm (EDP) in electronic banking setup during non-normal situations like the Covid-19 pandemic also served as a unique contribution to this study. Application of Baron and Kenny (J Personal Soc Psychol, 51(6):1173, 1986) mediation along with Preacher and Hayes (Behav Res Methods, 40(3):879-891, 2008) leads to more robust findings for the study in non-normal situations like the Covid-19 pandemic. The study findings add scientific value as they are applicable to the banking sector in particular in non-normal situations like the Covid-19 pandemic and the overall service sector in general. Further, as two different methods of mediation have been employed and this makes the study more rigorous and scientific.

The study explores the causal relationship between monetary policy effectiveness and financial inclusion in developed and under-developed countries. Structural Vector Auto-regressive techniques have been inducted to explore the relationship between monetary policy effectiveness and financial inclusion. The study covers the secondary data of 10 developed and 30 underdeveloped countries throughout 2004–2018. It is concluded that monetary policy effectiveness and financial inclusion do not have a contemporaneous impact on each other. Nevertheless, the reduced-form Vector Auto-regressive witness the reverse causality between financial inclusion and monetary policy effectiveness in developed countries. Thus, effective monetary policy enhances financial inclusion in a country, and a higher degree of financial inclusion lowers the inflation rate and makes monetary policy effective. One way causality from monetary policy effectiveness to financial inclusion can be observed in under-developed countries. Using the Structural Vector auto-regressive technique and financial inclusion index composed of three-dimension to examine the relationship of monetary policy effectiveness and financial inclusion in developed and developing countries is considered the study’s significant contribution.

The present research aimed to investigate the long-run and short-run effects of different sources of financial development on FDI inflow for middle-income economies during the period of study, 1980 to 2020. An annual frequency of data was obtained for the required set of variables from WDI and the IMF. The estimations revealed no cross-sectional dependence, a significant cointegration, and the stationarity of FDI inflow at first difference, while the explanatory and controlled variables were as mixed level. It validated the panel ARDL estimations methods such as mean group, pooled mean group, and a dynamic fixed effect for testing the required set of hypotheses. The Hausman test confirmed the consistency and efficiency of the dynamic fixed effect as the method of estimations. The panel estimations revealed the significance of financial market development, inflation rate, trade openness, and real economic growth as the most critical factors for FDI inflow in middle-income economies. The policymakers should consider these factors for making their policies regarding FDI inflow in their economies. Future research may consider time series ARDL for each independent middle-income country. The findings of the study are generalized only to middle-income economies rather than higher-income and lower-income countries.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence of economic policy uncertainty in determining the FDI inflow for 19 economies with higher incomes between 2000 and 2021. Using the panel Ardl approach, the data were examined. The dynamic fixed effect approach was selected for assessing the necessary set of hypotheses based on the significance of the Hausman test. Increasing levels of economic policy uncertainty, exchange rate, and inflation rate discourage foreign investors from investing in the host country, whereas trade openness and real growth rate increase investors’ confidence in increasing FDI inflow in the host country. The economic implications of the study include the political stability of the host country and the uniformity of government policies, particularly in favor of international investors. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on FDI by examining the long-term and short-term effects of uncertainty for the high-income group. The findings of the study apply to higher-income economies. In the future, comparative time-series analysis may be used to assess studies on an individual or regional basis for other groups as well.

The study examines the effect of sustainable economic growth on “FDI inflow” using comparative panel econometrics on two panels: “low-income” and “middle-income” economies between 1970 and 2021. For this, 18 “low-income” and 53 “middle-income” economies constitute the sample. The data were retrieved from the “world development indicator” website. Pre-diagnostic and post-diagnostic estimations were performed using static panel and dynamic panel approaches. Sustainable growth increases “FDI inflow” in “low-income” and “middle-income” economies during the study period, according to the findings. In addition, trade openness and the exchange rate have the potential to boost “FDI inflow” in “low-income” economies. Similarly, in “middle-income” economies, the real growth rate and exchange rate are significant boosts, however inflation significantly reduces the “FDI inflow”. The findings show that policymakers in “low-income” and “middle-income” economies should maintain long-term, sustainable economic growth in order to attract more “FDI inflow” in their respective economies. Compared to the current state of knowledge in the subject, the study’s findings provide evidence for “low-income” and “middle-income” nations that have been mainly overlooked in terms of sustainable growth for attracting FDI inflow. The study’s outcomes are applicable and generalizable only for “middle-income” and “low-income” economies. Future researchers may include additional control factors and expand the scope of the study to include “high-income” groups.