This study attempts to empirically investigate the impact of financial development, income, trade openness, and urbanization on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for the 21 Kyoto Annex countries using a balance panel data and GMM system over the period of 1970-2016. The results show a positive relationship between income and CO2 emissions in long-run. All models support the EKC hypothesis which assumes an inverted U-shaped relationship among income and environmental degradation. Financial development has a long-run negative influence on CO2 emissions, indicating that financial development reduces the environmental degradation. This means that financial development can be used as an implement to keep the degradation environmental clean by presenting financial reforms. The urbanization declines the CO2 emissions; however, it is essential for the policymakers and urban planners in these countries to control the rapid increase in urbanization. The panel causality confirms that bi-directional causal relationship between financial development, CO2 emissions, income, trade openness, and Urbanization in short-run.

Separation of ownership and control plays a significant role in determining the agency cost, and there are many consequences of this agency problem. The control-enhancing mechanisms enhance control of controlling shareholders who expropriate small shareholders. Controlling shareholders are different in different countries; majorly, family firms are controlling firms in Pakistani context. The use of control-enhancing mechanism is rampant in emerging economies, and even some developed countries, related research especially in Pakistan requires evidence. This study exhibits a pooled cross-sectional analysis of listed companies in Pakistan between 2005 and 2016. In this research, we have examined the influence of control-enhancing mechanisms on firms’ earnings management and which mechanism (pyramid control, multiple control chains, and cross-holding control) is significantly influencing the earnings management of firms. We have analyzed both types of earnings manipulation techniques (accrual and real earning management). Our results explicate that the pyramid control and multiple control chain mechanisms are significantly positively related to the accruals earning management and real earnings management, unveiling that firms with these controls manipulate earnings with discretionary accruals as well as with real activity manipulation. Real activity manipulation enhances firms to overproduce the inventory (decreasing the unit price) and to reduce the discretionary expenses (increasing the reported earnings).

This study explores the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices, financial inclusion, and globalization on financial stability across BRICS-T economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates) over the period 2000–2024. As these emerging economies deepen their integration into the global financial architecture, identifying the drivers of financial stability becomes crucial for policymakers, investors, and regulatory authorities. Employing a panel data framework, the study utilizes Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) regression and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to examine both the individual and combined effects of ESG performance, financial inclusion, and globalization on financial system stability. The empirical findings indicate that ESG practices and financial inclusion have a significant and positive impact on enhancing financial stability. Globalization also demonstrates a positive influence, albeit with varying effects depending on domestic institutional and regulatory conditions. A series of robustness tests confirms the reliability and consistency of the core results. This research contributes to the existing literature by providing novel empirical evidence on the synergistic roles of sustainability, inclusiveness, and global integration in shaping financial stability in emerging markets. The findings offer valuable policy implications for strengthening financial resilience and promoting sustainable economic growth across the BRICS-T region.