Although corruption has attracted researchers’ attention for more than 30 years, it remains one of the most significant political challenges all countries face. Even though corruption measures have improved, they lack reliability and clarity. Two aspects of corruption are examined in this paper: a) its measurement and b) its effects on the economic performance of 83 developing countries in the period 2012–2018 with AR (1) and FM-OLS data processing techniques. It provides an extensive reference for and critical assessment of different corruption index approaches, focusing on the already known and widespread indicators. Furthermore, it refers to the measures most suited for statistical analyses regarding perceptions and experiences. In addition, the study’s empirical results show that corruption hinders the economic growth of those developing countries. Different levels of corruption impact economic growth in different regions; specifically in Latin American countries, corruption impacts positively on economic growth or vice versa; in the other regions, it is negative. Finally, investment, human development, government growth, and institutional quality play essential roles in economic growth.

GDP, monetary variables, corruption, and uncertainty are crucial to energy policy decisions in today’s interrelated world. The global energy crisis, aggravated by rising energy prices, has sparked a thorough analysis of its causes. We demonstrate the significance of categorizing research by influence channels while focusing on their implications for energy policy decisions. We investigate the growing number of studies that use GDP, inflation, central banks’ characteristics, corruption, and uncertainty as critical factors in determining energy policies. Energy prices fluctuate because energy policies shift the supply–demand equilibrium. We categorise the effects and show that GDP, economic policy uncertainty, and, most notably, specific economic conditions and extreme events play a significant role in determining energy prices. We observed that energy consumption, GDP growth, and energy prices have a bidirectional, causal relationship. Still, the literature has not established which causative direction is the most significant. Taxes, interest rates, and corruption also significantly determine energy prices, although the origins of corruption have not been adequately examined. Lastly, uncertainty generally increases energy costs, but this relationship requires additional research in terms of the features of countries, conditions, and, most importantly, the theoretical backgrounds used.

Environmental control remains a salient aspect of states’ policies in the present decade. To reduce emissions, governments and central banks tend to adopt various strategies. The present research quantifies the nexus between fiscal and monetary policy, institutions’ quality, central bank characteristics, and carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. Data has been sourced from 95 countries during the period from 1998 to 2019. According to the empirical results, the main determinants of gas emissions in developing countries are economic growth, government expenses, and central bank independence, whereas, in developed countries, they are economic growth, government efficiency, and central bank transparency and independence. Economic growth is a significant deteriorating factor in the state of the environment. By contrast, institutional and bureaucratic quality, measured through government effectiveness and expansionary fiscal policies as well as central bank independence and transparency, are ameliorating factors, as they decrease emissions. To conclude, governments must first reduce control over central banks and target government spending on the energy transition.

Aim and background—As research on the energy and electricity consumption determinants yields mixed results and a multifactorial model has not yet been developed, our study aims to investigate the growth dynamics of the factors that affect energy consumption in developed and developing countries. Motivation—The current global energy crisis has led us to a thorough investigation of the determinants that are affecting it. Hypothesis—It is hypothesized that a set of macro-financial, macro-environmental, and institutional variables are factors that causally affect energy and electricity consumption in a holistic model. Μethods—This research uses the data from 109 countries within a multivariate panel framework taken during 2010–2018, through the error correction, dynamic cointegration econometric methodologies, and causality tests. Results—The results indicate a coherent model with high interpretive power (80%) and that the main determinants of energy consumption in developing countries are economic growth, investment, and winter temperature, whereas, in developed countries, the determinants are trade openness, corruption, and innovation. Conclusion—Because energy consumption and economic growth share a bilateral relationship, the conservation of energy policy measures must be implemented according to the income category in which the country is classified.

The current global energy crisis has prompted a comprehensive investigation into its influencing factors. It is hypothesised that a set of monetary, macro-environmental, and institutional variables causally affect the transition to green development in a holistic model. Monetary expansion and central bank characteristics are required for economic and environmental development. The current study investigates and rigorously verifies the impact of expansionary monetary policy actions on green innovation, using a panel of 109 countries from 2010 to 2018. Overall, specific actions have a substantial positive effect on the performance of green innovation. A rise in per capita GDP, government spending, and improvement in bureaucracy all promote green economic activity. Green innovation is significantly affected by developing nations’ central bank independence and lower interest rates. Expansionary monetary policy, central bank transparency, and energy variables promote green growth in developed countries and green innovation in Latin American countries and in East Asian and Pacific countries. Finally, green innovation is more affected by expansionary monetary policy in countries with high institutional quality, industrial concentration, and energy intensity, and inflation and trade openness serve as deterrents in the monetary expansion–green development nexus.

Purpose: This paper attempts to investigate the effect of corruption on the real and accrual earnings management of target firms in the process of mergers and acquisitions.Design/methodology/approach: The sample includes target firms from the European area that participate in mergers or acquisitions announced during 2010–2020. The preliminary empirical part estimates the level of earnings management during the period two years before the deal's announcement to identify whether the sample follows the manipulation behavior that the literature suggests for target firms. The primary empirical analysis focuses on the impact of corruption on real and accrual-based earnings management proxies, employing regression models and two alternative proxies for corruption. The existing literature points out that the combination of low levels of corruption and an integrated legal system reduces earnings manipulation.Findings: The findings provide strong evidence for systematic downwards accounting manipulation practices, whereas the findings for real earnings management are not significant. The findings of the main empirical part show that corruption is positively associated with accrual-based manipulation and negatively related to real earnings management. In essence, in economies with a high level of transparency, managers adopt the manipulation of operating activities as a less detectable practice of earnings management instead of engaging in accounting procedures.Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature highlighting the diversification of these firms' manipulation strategies according to the national level's corruption status.