Achieving economic development is one of the most important economic goals of every country. Identifying the determinants of economic growth, is a useful tool for adopting appropriate economic policies. This study, therefore, empirically examines the impact of trade openness, foreign direct investment, and financial development on economic growth, across 62 countries over the period 1995–2016. These countries are divided into two groups: low-income and high-income countries. We employ the pooled mean group (PMG), mean group (MG), and dynamic fixed effect (DFE) estimation techniques on the cross-country panel data. The findings show a positive long run association between trade openness, foreign direct investment (FDI), financial development, labor, government expenditure, and economic growth in low-income countries, with a positive and negative short run effect from capital and government expenditures, respectively. For high-income countries, a positive long run association between trade openness, FDI, capital, and economic growth exist. The short run estimates indicate a positive effect on trade openness and capital as well as a negative effect on government expenditure. Our study shows that the adoption of policies that improves access to skilled labor and international trade, affect the attainment of a sustainable economic development.

Energy is an important factor in boosting and sustaining the economic growth level of a country. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between energy consumption and the economic growth of selected developed and developing countries from 1993–2019. For this purpose, we used the Pedroni co-integration method to determine the long-term relationship between economic growth and energy consumption. To estimate the long-term parameters, the panel fully modified OLS method and the Dumitrescu and Hurlin heterogeneous panel causality estimation technique were used, and the causality direction between variables was considered. The results showed that energy consumption had a positive and significant effect on the economic growth of both groups of countries. The causality analysis revealed the existence of a protection effect between renewable energy consumption and economic growth in developed countries. Hence, policies that lead to an increase in independent growth in these countries can effectively impact their growth. On the other hand, the existence of the feedback effect in developing countries shows that storage policies and reduced energy consumption may pose a threat to economic growth in these countries.

In recent decades, meat consumption has increased globally due to increased incomes. A consequence of increased red meat consumption has been the rise in greenhouse gas emissions and nutrition-related diseases. Consumption of antibiotic-free (ABF) poultry meat is a viable healthy and sustainable substitute that will cause less damage to humans and the environment in the long run. This study was undertaken due to the increasing importance of healthy food consumption to preventing nutrition-related diseases. The health food industry is still in its preliminary stages; for market development of organic broiler meat and movement toward sustainable production of ABF meat, the first necessary step is conducting empirical research on ABF poultry meat consumption and identifying factors that influence household consumption patterns of ABF poultry meat. Therefore, the objectives of this study were the investigation of factors affecting poultry meat consumption by consumers and ABF poultry meat preference. Comparing the results could reveal what percentage of consumers are able to buy healthier higher-priced antibiotic-free poultry meat. Data were collected from 360 completed questionnaires completed by households from the city of Mashhad, Iran via simple random sampling in 2021. To investigate the first objective, an ordered logit model was used. The results showed that age, the head of household’s education, awareness of the nutritional benefits of poultry meat, advertising, and family income were statistically significant determinants of poultry meat consumption. To investigate the second objective, since some consumers cannot buy ABF poultry meat due to the higher prices, we used a two-step Heckman model. The results showed that the awareness of the nutritional benefits of ABF poultry meat, the head of household’s education, monthly family income, and advertising had positive impacts, with prices having a negative impact on the amount of antibiotic-free poultry meat consumed by the households. Comparing the results of the two models revealed that only about 30% of consumers could buy ABF poultry meat, mainly due to the higher prices. This study recommends improving consumer awareness, targeted distribution of ABF poultry meat according to customers’ economic and demographic characteristics, affordable prices, and appropriate marketing tools for sustainable consumption of ABF poultry meat.

This paper explores the effects of using a hybrid virtual/traditional classroom, a blended teaching and learning approach, on undergraduate learning outcomes during the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aimed to investigate the prominent problems that appeared in the process of online teaching and learning and to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on undergraduates’ learning outcomes in public universities in China. The field of specialization of the subjects of this study is under the rubric of social science and higher education. We designed and conducted a pilot survey to identify students’ perspectives on the key issues and experiences of the use of distance-learning through an online virtual classroom in the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we applied a binary logistic regression model to real data from two different economics course exams to measure the short-term impacts of using the two different learning environments on the undergraduates’ performance outcomes. The results indicate a statistically significant negative impact of using virtual classrooms on undergraduate learning outcomes. By contrast, in-person traditional classrooms had more desirable learning outcomes. Moreover, the hybrid approach proved to be more effective than the use of online virtual classrooms alone.

Entrepreneurship and innovation are the fuel of economic growth. Understanding the motivational factors that lead to the success of entrepreneurs in agribusiness can be useful in affecting the degree of successful investment that accelerates development and economic growth in the agriculture sector. In this study, we investigated the factors affecting the success of entrepreneurs in the agribusiness sector in Mashhad, Iran, using a two-stage Heckman approach. Factors affecting the success or failure of agribusiness entrepreneurship have received less attention in the literature. In this study, the aim was to determine the factors affecting agricultural entrepreneurship success and entrepreneurs’ profits. We generated the data for this study by designing a questionnaire and conducting a survey of active entrepreneurs in Mashhad in 2020. The results showed that entrepreneurship experience, risk-taking behavior, interest rates, and initial capital have a significant impact on the probability of entrepreneurship success and entrepreneur’s profits. Policies that could improve the skills of entrepreneurs, provision of initial capital requirements, and financial market efficiency had an effective role in increasing entrepreneurship and innovation in the agribusiness sector. Entrepreneurs in the field of agriculture could consider these factors to have better choices while entering or continuing with their agribusinesses. Our recommendation to policymakers and agribusiness leaders is to establish a friendlier and more stable environment for entrepreneurship and employ policies that help reduce the risk of entrepreneurs’ initial investment returns.