Emerging countries are approaching economic prosperity. However, the development process has enhanced their ecological footprints, thus promoting low-carbon competitiveness among E7 countries’ industries. Therefore, it is essential to identify the factors that affect a country’s ecological footprint (EF) in order to safeguard the environment. This study explored the effect of financial development, human capital, and institutional quality on the EF of emerging countries. Furthermore, we explored the effect of financial development on the EF of emerging countries through the human capital channel. In addition, we investigated the role of institutional quality in the financial development–EF nexus. Using panel data from 1990 to 2018, we employed the cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) technique to conduct a short-term and long-term empirical analysis. The empirical outcomes revealed that financial development degrades ecological quality by raising the EF. The findings further demonstrated that human capital and institutional quality reduce the EF. Moreover, financial development fosters environmental sustainability through the channel of human capital. Additionally, institutional quality reduces the negative ecological impacts of financial development. The causality analysis suggested that any policy related to financial development, human capital, and institutional quality will affect the EF. However, the inverse conclusion was not sustained. Based on these findings, emerging economies should increase their environmental sustainability by promoting human capital and effectively using financial resources.

In this research, we examine how the quality of institutions promotes financial market development (FMD) in 21 emerging markets (classified by the Financial Times Stock Exchange Group). The moderating role of culture is also empirically tested. For this purpose, a balance panel dataset of 21 emerging markets from 1984 to 2020 is utilized from various secondary data sources. The study applies two-stages least square regression with the instrumental variable, and lag transformation to overcome the endogeneity problem in the nexus of institutions and finance, which is least focused on in prior literature. The empirical findings show that institutional quality and the national culture promote FMD in these economies. The main findings are consistent with law and finance, and financial socialization theories. We argue that academics, policymakers, and researchers should comprehend the critical role of institutional and cultural indicators in forming an effective financial system that may lead to sustainable economic development. This research contributes to the literature on emerging markets in this helpful paradigm. We conclude that quality institutions play a critical role in magnifying the FMD of emerging markets. It is crucial to comprehend the connection between FMD and institutions, as the growth dividend from financial development can be boosted by strengthening institutions and understanding the culture. Our results are robust to alternative measures of institutions and FMD and the correction of potential endogeneity.

The present study was aimed at analyzing students’ perceptions toward mobile assisted language learning (MALL), their use patterns, and their usefulness in their academic outcomes. The results indicated that students use widely different MALL software for different applications. In a survey of 581 students from Indian colleges and universities, the research identified five antecedent factors (namely, individual desire and motives, perceived ease of use, technological factors, social influence, and perceived usefulness) which influenced students in the areas of adopting MALL software, students’ readiness, students’ motivation, and the subsequent effect on student performances. The research further indicated that students’ readiness and their motivation level mediated the relationship between factors of adoption of MALL and perceived outcome. The relevance of positive language learning outcomes, theoretical contribution and managerial implications of the study are discussed.

Air pollution is a global problem and the transportation industry is one of its major causes, yet the impact of transportation infrastructure on air quality is little understood. It is vital to know about evaluating the effects of transportation infrastructure on air quality. The urban road has a role in defining air pollution and automobiles significantly contribute to the air quality in urban areas. The issues are a result of the automobile’s impact on air quality. China put substantial investments in its metropolitan subway networks. The information on air quality on an hourly basis, daily metrological data, and demographic profiles of various cities with significant subways from the year 2013 to the year 2014 used. This study examines the effect of substantial investment on urban air quality. The Discontinuity Based Ordinary Least Squares (DB-OLS) on data for further analysis with results are incorporated in the study. The researchers witnessed a 14% reduction in air pollution during the daytime in those not rushed cities. Researchers discovered that the impacts are less severe in urban areas with a lower population density and a higher income. The results will be less dangerous if more subways affect the air quality.

The research aims to assess the relationship between fiscal decentralization and climate change mitigation to warrant the direction for the carbon-capturing systems of China. The study estimated the results of China and applied unit root test, cointegration analysis, CS-ARDL test, and robustness analysis. The survey results highlighted a significant relationship between the fiscal decentralization index and climate change mitigation. More specifically, the budgetary decentralization index’s economic, governmental, and institutional factors play a substantial role in climate change mitigation in the short run. While governmental factors are found insignificant asein the long run, economic, institutional, and cultural factors revealed a significant connection in the Chinese setting. The results of the study are robust in both long-run and short-run perspectives. The study also presented prudential guidelines for using fiscal decentralization as an environmental tool for climate change mitigation and launching an effective system for carbon capture management from the Chinese perspective.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI has been considered as a powerful weapon of globalization with double edge that cuts both ways mean it impacts positively and negatively. Its impacts positively by supporting the host country’s economy in terms of capital inflows and up-to date technology but FDI also affect the host country by overexploiting its resources. Despite all these thing, this capital provides an opportunity to underdeveloped and developing countries by providing to access new markets, advance technology, cost effective production facilities and more investment opportunities. It is a two way mechanism for both the countries first, from where FDI comes and second where FDI is invested in form Greenfield and Brownfield. For the host country, it is a new way to economic development. This chapter has been investigated the effect of FDI on economic growth of host country and effect of economic growth on FDI by applying regression analysis and found that that the overall model is positive and significant at 5 percent significance level for seven countries namely Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. However, for Bangladesh the model is found to be insignificant, at second stage, ADF test is employed to data for Stationarity check. ADF calculations indicate that both the variables are stationary at level and first difference at 1 percent level of significance; however few exceptions are there, at the final stage.