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This study aims to examine the financial literacy level among the Omani adults and investigate the determinants of financial literacy and its impact on savings and investment behavior.

The data were collected using a survey instrument adopted from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) survey for financial literacy and composed of 310 individuals' responses. The authors used a multiple regression analysis to determine the impact of the socio-demographics variables on the financial literacy level.

The findings are three-fold: first, financial literacy score of Omanis is 10.5 out of 21, which is lower than OECD average. Interestingly, the attitude and behavior scores are in line with the OECD average. However, the knowledge score is drastically lower. Second, financial literacy level is found to be affected by age, gender and the monthly income. Third, individuals with a higher level of financial knowledge are more likely to have monthly savings and investment in stock and bond.

The Gulf countries have started to modernize their economies. Governments that want to design effective economic reforms need to understand the financial skills of their citizens. The study may have implications for policymakers and financial educators in enhancing the financial knowledge programs for individuals.

The analysis reported in this study is unique because it provides the first systematic research on financial literacy in Oman. This paper contributes to the study of financial literacy from the perspective of emerging markets.

It has been more than 20 years since the idea of binding multinational corporations directly to international law was abandoned. Since then, concerned actors have sought to manage corporate conduct through voluntary regulation. However, little is known about the instruments produced in this regard. This study aims to understand the properties of the instruments that govern or regulate corporate social responsibility at the international level.

Systematic literature review and content analysis methods were combined to compile a list of 229 international corporate social responsibility instruments (ICSRIs) produced by intergovernmental (IGOs) and international nongovernmental (INGOs) organizations. These instruments were categorized according to an adapted classification framework.

The majority of instruments from our sample are produced by INGOs, focus on management activities and are applicable to specific industries. The most common issues addressed by the instruments are related to worker protection, human rights, governance and the environment. A limited number of instruments specify stakeholders’ involvement or feature an external orientation. Instruments rarely address issues related to product quality and safety, economic contribution or social performance.

Without a comprehensive overview, it has been difficult to develop broad-based understandings about voluntary regulation as a mechanism for controlling corporate conduct internationally. This study’s findings offer valuable insights, allowing policymakers and industry practitioners to understand the effectiveness of, and make appropriate enhancements to, ICSRIs.

By enhancing ICSRIs to address the limitations highlighted in the current study, multinational corporations can be induced into contributing more productively to the sustainable development of the societies they impact and play a greater role in the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Previous research has largely concentrated on analyzing small numbers of carefully selected instruments in a conceptual or descriptive approach. In contrast, this study represents a novel approach of systematic compilation and quantitative classification for a comprehensive list of ICSRIs.

The purpose of this paper is to extent the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), when extended by self-identity and religious commitment (RC), and is able to predict Muslim consumers’ willingness to pay (WP) for certified halal food.

A survey of 277 Muslim consumers in Malaysia was conducted and the cross-sectional data were analysed using the partial least squares technique.

Attitude (ATT) and religious self-identity (RSI) were found to have a positive impact on WP for certified halal food. Additionally, RC has a positive effect on ATT and RSI and has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between perceived behavioural control and WP.

The findings can benefit halal food companies by offering an insight into the willingness of Muslim consumers to pay for certified halal food.

The findings contribute to the research on halal foods by illustrating the factors that determine Muslim consumers’ WP for certified halal food. This study also extends the understanding of the TPB to the halal food context.

This study aims to investigate the factors that motivate Muslim consumers to pay for halal-certified food.

Data were collected through a survey of 272 Muslim consumers in Malaysia. The data were analyzed using the partial least squares technique.

The results showed that animal slaughter, halal logo, food quality and religious commitment have a positive effect on the willingness to pay for halal food. Religious commitment positively moderates the relationship between storage and transportation and the willingness to pay for halal-certified food.

Policy makers as well as managers of halal food companies can benefit from this study which provides insight into ways to increase demand for halal food.

The findings contribute to the literature on halal foods by illustrating the factors that determine Muslim consumers’ willingness to pay for halal food. This study also extends the literature by testing the moderating role of religious commitment.

This study aims to examine the existence of capital structure dynamics and speed of adjustment during different economic periods. This study adds to the existing body of literature by investigating the factors influencing adjustment process toward target debt in developing economies.

By employing two-step generalized method of moment (GMM) and sensitivity analysis, the study highlights critical factors which affect firms’ adjustment mechanism for target debt.

Dynamic GMM estimations confirm the substance of past leverage on current debt, which recognizes the existence of dynamic capital structure. The findings corroborate that adjustment process is subject to trade-off between convergence rate and cost of being off-target. The fraction of financing of Pakistani firms confirms the pattern of pecking order hypothesis. The outcome of study clearly validates the significance of dynamic trade-off modeling for optimal capital structure.

As more data become available, the authors would extend this study to investigate the sectoral analysis to find how capital structure dynamics are different across sectors and how distinctive behavior of each sector differently affects the adjustment process toward target debt across each sector. In addition, sector-level and macro-economic factors could be incorporated to examine how external factors affect the firm’s speed of adjustment across sectors.

The present study provides valuable insights for banking and corporate sector, mainly in Pakistan. The companies could take into consideration the firm-level factors which affect the adjustment process toward target debt. Likewise, the borrowing and lending procedures could be advanced by complying with dynamic mechanism of speed of adjustment. Furthermore, the findings of this research provide obstinate grounds for future research.

Both the use of dynamic GMM adjustment model and sensitivity analysis along with Sargan test validate the health of instruments and values.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant mortality and morbidity worldwide. However, the role of dietary patterns as a potential risk factor for COVID-19 has not been well established, especially in studies with large samples. Therefore, this study aims to identify and evaluate the association between major dietary patterns and COVID-19 among adults from Iran.

In this cross-sectional study, the authors included 9,189 participants aged 20–70 who participated in the Yazd Health Study (YaHS) and Taghzieh Mardom-e-Yazd study (TAMIZ). They used factor analysis to extract dietary patterns based on a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Then, they assessed the relationship between these dietary patterns and the odds of COVID-19.

This study identified two major dietary patterns: “high protein and high fiber” and “transitional”. Participants in the highest tertile of the “high protein and high fiber” dietary pattern, which included vegetables, fruits, dairy and various kinds of meats such as red meat, fish and poultry, had a lower odds of COVID-19 compared with those in the lowest tertile. However, the “transitional” dietary pattern did not affect the risk of COVID-19.

In conclusion, a “high protein, high fiber” diet may lower the odds of COVID-19. This study suggests that dietary patterns may influence the severity and spread of future similar pandemics.

This paper aims to investigate the changes in travel patterns and tourist behavior due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This study realizes these changes and reports them to help restore tourism.

This applied study used library sources and a survey conducted through an online questionnaire. The questionnaire incorporated data from previous studies and the most recent online databases. Items were exploratory factors analyzed using the principal component method and varimax rotation. The interpretation of the data collected was consistent with the attributes the questionnaire was designed to measure.

The research findings show that health and safety have come to the forefront of travelers' needs. The hygiene and disinfection of tourism facilities have changed from hygiene factors to motivator factors. The extended length of trips is perceived as a risk to their health; hence travelers prefer to take shorter trips. They also rather get help from professionals to book their trips.

This research was conducted only in Iran, where travel restrictions were periodically put on and removed. If this study could be conducted in countries with no domestic travel restrictions, other valuable findings such as changes in consumer spending and preferences toward travelling and safety could be found.

This paper provides information on the latest changes to travel patterns and tourists' behavior which can be implied by DMOs (Destination Marketing Organization), governments and private tour operators to understand and consider travelers emerging needs.

This paper enables better planning and organization for the future and restart of tourism post-COVID-19.

This study provides empirical evidence for the first time on how different measures of monetary policy affect banking profitability in Ghana.

Providing empirical evidence on how different measures of monetary policy affect banking profitability in Ghana using 29 banks for period between 2006 and 2016, new monetary indexes are developed and a robust panel random effect models is employed with year effect controls.

The results show that while increase in monetary policy basis point reduced banking profitability, average monetary policy rate stimulated banking profitability. Interestingly, the monetary policy basis point and rate indexes developed reduced and enhanced banking profitability, respectively. While these results may sound contradictory, they have both theoretical and empirical backing. Thus, basis point increments serve a monetary policy tightening condition which leads to higher loan prices, lower borrowing and declined profitability in the short run. However, in the long run, banks adjusted their loan prices and deposits to reflect basis point changes in their favor, hence the positive effect of average monetary policy rate on banking profitability. Additionally, monetary policy easing which represents decline in monetary policy basis point and rate enhances banking profitability.

These findings imply bank managers may take advantage of monetary policy easing to maximize profits in the banking sector of Ghana. Also, the monetary policy committee must be mindful of monetary policy tightening through basis point change since upward basis point increments reduce banking profitability.

This study provides empirical evidence for the first time on how different measures of monetary policy (developing indexes from monetary policy basis point and monetary policy rate) affect banking profitability in an emerging economy as Ghana.

The citizen-shareholder approach in the capital market is considered a knowledge-enhancing and emerging concept in financial and accounting offerings. Its reliable background in management and human sciences makes it an essential basis for protecting the interests of shareholders and investors. Shareholders are considered a necessary part of the social platforms that are companies and regulatory institutions in the capital market; beyond being obligated to protect their material and intellectual rights, they are responsible for developing norms and facilitating investment values and gaining trust through mutual interactions based on respect for their interests. The purpose of this paper is to perform interactive qualitative analysis of the requirements for protecting the rights of citizens of capital market shareholders.

The methodology of the research is mixed, so that in the qualitative part, through content screening, the dimensions related to the protection of the citizen rights of the capital market shareholders were identified through a systematic review of 10 research in the period of 2017–2022. Then, the reliability of the specified dimensions was examined through Delphi analysis; in the quantitative part of the research, the criteria identified through the pairwise comparison matrix were first determined by the level of their relationships to determine based on the pattern of systemic representation of drivers and the consequences of requirements to protect the rights of citizens of capital market shareholders.

The research results in the qualitative part indicated the existence of 12 primary themes; during the two stages of Delphi analysis, three themes were removed, and a total of nine themes entered the quantitative phase. The results in a quantitative part indicate the creation of specialized and active committees of the board of directors as the primary driver and the reliability and timely disclosure of information in the long term as a systemic consequence.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research that presents the new concept of citizen shareholders to strengthen the requirements of protecting the rights of shareholders in the capital market while developing new theoretical literature.

Recently, evidences have suggested that healthy eating index (HEI), an index-based dietary pattern, may be a predictor for the risk of cancer. This paper aims to examine the association of HEI-2015 and its all components scores with the risk of breast cancer (BC), separately, among Iranian women.

In the present hospital-based, case-control study, 150 age-matched of cases (newly diagnosed female) and 150 controls were recruited. Data of dietary habits and anthropometric measures were obtained, and eventually, the HEI-2015 score was calculated. Multivariate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the relationship between the risk of BC across tertiles (Ts) of total HEI-2015 and its all component scores.

The results presented that in adjusted model, there was no significant difference between total HEI-2015 (p = 0.14) and its all component scores (p > 0.09) of healthy subjects and females with BC. Moreover, multivariable logistic regression analyses indicated that HEI-2015 score was not associated with the risk of BC in either crude (p-trend = 0.94) or adjusted (p-trend = 0.73) analyses. In the analyses of HEI-2015 components scores, it was observed that the scores of grains (OR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.30–0.94) and total protein foods (OR, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.02–0.58) may have a relation with BC risk in crude model but after adjusting for BC risk factors, the mentioned associations changed to non-significant.

The findings of current study suggested that there was no significant association of total HEI-2015 and its components scores, independently, with BC incidence among Iranian women.