Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between credit risk and financial performance in non-financial firms. Design/methodology/approach: In order to test the relationship between Altman Z-score model as a credit risk proxy and the Return on Asset and Equity as indicator for financial performance with control variables leverage, liquidity and firm size. Least Square Dummy Variable regression analysis is opted. This research's sample included 69 non-financial companies from the Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 Index between 2012 and 2017. Findings: This study establishes the findings that Altman Z-score, leverage and firm size significantly impact the financial performance of the KSE-100 non-financial firms. However, liquidity is found to be insignificant in this study. Altman Z-score and firm size have shown a positive relationship to the financial performance, whereas leverage is inversely related. Practical implications: This study brings in a new and useful insight into the literature on the relationship between credit risk and financial performance. The results of this study provide investors, businesses and managers related to non-financial firms in the KSE-100 index with significant insight about credit risk's impact on performance. Originality/value: The evidence of the credit risk and financial performance on samples of non-financial firms has not been studied; mainly it has been limited to the banking sector. This study helps in the evaluation of Altman Z-score's performance in the non-financial firms in KSE-100 index as well.

In this paper, we analyze the role of economic policy in prompting energy efficiency. This study reviews three aspects, theoretical, empirical, and existing policies to evaluate the relationship of energy efficiency and economic policy. This study furthermore identifies the existing issues from a policy perspective in energy efficiency. Although not all public policies may be justified, it suggests that these types of financial incentives, particularly those based on economic instruments, can play a crucial role in advancing energy efficiency. Additionally, this study identifies existing issues in energy efficiency target achievement and proposes solutions based on the literature review. Finally, it provides possible future research pathways from the aspect of economic policy tools in energy efficiency.

This study explores the relationship between the resource productivity and environmental degradation in European Union-27 countries. This study tests this relationship in context of high, moderate, and low material footprint sub-samples; these samples are formed utilizing the expectation–maximization machine learning algorithm. Using the panel data set of EU-27 countries from 2000 to 2020, linear and non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) are applied for the symmetric and asymmetric evidence and to test environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), linear ARDL with the quadratic function is included. Results of the symmetric relationship find evidence of resource productivity’s impact on the environmental degradation. In full sample of EU-27, both symmetric and asymmetric methods show that the short run and long run increase of resource productivity lower the environmental degradation. Only long run asymmetric relationship in high material footprint subsamples supports that the resource productivity controls environmental degradation. Results of moderate material footprint sub-sample are mixed. However, low material footprint countries show that resource productivity in long run controls the environmental degradation in symmetry and only positive resource controls productivity in short run in asymmetric relationship. The reason for mixed results is the quadratic nature of sub-samples. EKC hypothesis is validated in moderate and low material footprint sub-samples. This research has many policy implications.