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Reducing income gap and enhancing welfare of people can be achieved through improved performance regarding socio-economic indicators, which can support sustainable development. People living in villages tend to migrate to the cities with the hope of enhancing their income. People living in cities and income gap among the people in the cities are expected to increase further. Enhanced living conditions in villages can reduce the need for this migration and increase welfare of the people in the villages. This chapter aims to examine drivers for sustainable smart villages and ways for enhancing and supporting their effectiveness in socio-economic development, in enhancing welfare and living conditions of people living in villages, and in reducing income gap between urban and rural people. This chapter investigates potential and roles of sustainable and smart villages in enhancing welfare and living conditions of people living in villages. Furthermore, this chapter emphasises the villages’ roles in sustainable development as well as importance of transformation of villages into the sustainable and smart ones and establishment of sustainable and smart villages so that convergence, social inclusion and socio-economic indicators can be supported. This chapter explains drivers for transformation of the villages into the sustainable and smart ones as well as establishment of new sustainable and smart villages. This chapter provides recommendations for sustainable and smart villages effective in contributing to sustainable and socio-economic development. This chapter can be useful to urban planners, construction industry stakeholders, policy makers and researchers.

The study examines the impact of socio-economic governance on economic growth in Nigeria. It measures socio-economic governance from the perspective of fiscal policy, using indicators such as investment in education, research and development (R&D) and health.

This study employs the Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) Bound Testing method to achieve its objective.

The study finds that socio-economic policies aimed at increasing investment in education are crucial for Nigeria’s long-term economic growth. Additionally, investment in R&D positively impacts economic growth. However, the study reveals that investment in health negatively affects economic growth in Nigeria in the long run. This suggests that if a country overinvests in health, it may divert resources from other vital sectors such as education, infrastructure and R&D, which can hinder overall economic growth. The short-run parameter is, however, not statistically significant in this study.

The study’s originality lies in its exploration of the relationship between socio-economic governance and economic growth in Nigeria, specifically from a fiscal policy perspective. It highlights the importance of investing in education and R&D for long-term economic growth. Additionally, the finding that overinvestment in health may have a negative impact on long-term economic growth provides valuable insight for policymakers in Nigeria and other developing countries. Overall, this study’s findings can be beneficial for policymakers and researchers interested in the intersection between socio-economic governance and economic growth in developing countries.

This research aims to explore the significance of cooperative efforts in promoting financial participation to enhance the socio-economic empowerment of the rural Muslims.

The primary study with a structured questionnaire has been conducted taking a sample of 398 rural Muslim respondents from various rural regions of south India through proportionate stratified sampling techniques. Regression analysis, paired sample t-test and structural equation modelling (SEM) through statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) 26 & SPSS analysis of moment structures (AMOS) 23 software have been implemented to test the relationship.

The research outcome demonstrated a remarkable difference in the rural Muslim’s socio-economic conditions before and after availing the loans from cooperatives. Consequently, an extension of cooperative efforts widens the scope of financial participation which again has positively enhanced rural Muslim’s socio-economic empowerment.

This study will help various policymakers, academicians and communities to take necessary action for the upliftment of a particular community. The research further adds on to the existing research on the need and importance of cooperative efforts as an alternative finance for marginalised community in developing and emerging countries.

The result of this study is only confined to south India, posing a limitation for the study. Apart from the geographical restriction, the study solemnly covers the rural Muslim community extracting other sections of the society. Hence, for more generalisable pictures of the current results, further research is recommended from other stakeholders’ perspectives.

Water resources play a significant role in economic growth and socio-economic development. Jordan experiences water scarcity. As the water resources can be used in manufacturing and agriculture, their sustainable use and solutions to water scarcity problem can contribute to the sustainable economic and socio-economic development in Jordan. Furthermore, there are political and economic aspects of Jordan’s water scarcity. Jordan is trying to solve its water scarcity problem through projects. Based on an in-depth literature review, this chapter aims to investigate Jordan’s water scarcity problem, highlighting its political and economic aspects and their impacts on socio-economic development, and to propose solutions to the water scarcity problem in Jordan. Water is vital for economic development and political stability in Jordan. It is important for Jordan to use its water resources in an efficient, effective and sustainable way so that socio-economic development of Jordan can be supported. Unsustainable use of water resources can cause depletion of Jordan’s scarce water resources, which can exacerbate magnitude of water resource problem and hinder socio-economic development. This chapter can be beneficial to economists, politicians and academics.

The chapter focuses on the roles of different socio-economic indicators in explaining the convergence or inclusiveness of income across different income groups in the world. Econometric, statistical and mathematical tools have been used as methodology. As major results, overall greater role of socioeconomic factors of social sustainability (SS) than economic sustainability (ES), have been found. This have caused greater income inequality among these various income groups of the world, with income diverging among various groups of countries, mainly, within Principal Country Groups II, together with slight sign of income convergence among the rest Principal Country Groups I and III respectively. However, greater predominance of inclusiveness aspect of socio-economic factors of ES, is also found among the Groups I and III respectively, together with their significant roles in raising CHI. This may have led to the possibility of slight income convergence within these groups.

The Federal Government of Pakistan has been interrogated by the tribal communities of the country regarding socio-economic inclusiveness. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has a large number of ethnic groups, and most of them are economically vulnerable and societally excluded due to partial governmental policy and societal construction. Most of the tribal groups are concentrated in Baluchistan, North-Western Frontier province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Due to the lopsided developmental policy and existence of the feudal system, the wealth and lands are concentrated in a handful number of rural elites. The tribal communities are not only socio-economically backward but also trapped by terrorism. Due to financial crisis and large-scale unemployment, tribal youths have been involved with various radical forces and criminal activities. The secessionist movement of the Baloch people has a long history of deprivation. This chapter intends to investigate the socio-economic challenges of the tribal people of Pakistan and the reluctant outlook of the federal government. It will also delineate how the tribal youths are being attached to terrorist groups due to unemployment and how this is more dangerous to the security of Pakistan. This chapter is based on the content analysis method. The basic argument of this chapter is that socio-economic inclusiveness is required in a multi-ethnic country to ensure social harmony, national integration and national security.

The present world is captivated by the global challenges of climate change, environmental and ecological degradation, challenges related to migration, inequality, conflict and unrest. The development process failed to appreciate and signify the role of non-value, non-materialistic and altruistic value of both living and non-living natural entities. Thus, a significant disconnect or gap between public policy and human well-being has been observed. The departure of human beings from their true self has also distanced humans from the rest of the species and ecosystem. The essence of altruistic value and its recognition is plausible only through the upliftment and evolution of the inner self. The interconnectivity of the inner and outer world can be perceived through self-evolution. A public policy that is driven by the force of self-enhancement and realization, connecting and synthesizing human and non-human interactions selflessly, is required for revolutionizing the development paradigm. Against this backdrop, Gandhian philosophy that values the individual and his relationship with his true self becomes instrumental in ethical transformation. The self-transformation, manifestation and realization of truth and love are deeply embedded in Gandhian Revolution. Gandhian philosophy is a phenomenal illustration of self-transformation based on self–realization and soul force (Satyagraha) that acts as a driving force for a paradigm shift. Gandhian thoughts recognize the otherness of others (either human beings or nature), embedded in the notion of ‘Sarvodaya’. Based on spiritual inquiry and ethical value judgement, and cosmic interdependence, the Gandhian notion constitutes a building block for a non-violent socioeconomic system guided by empathy and the law of non-possession. The twin models, ‘The trusteeship model’ and ‘Economy of Permanence’, advocate a spiritual inquiry and ethical value judgement in economics and governance. Addressing the economic problem of scarcity and choice, the attributes of decentralization, self-sufficiency and self-reliance envisage that individuals are satisfied with minimum consumption. In addition, non-violence, truth and love create a subsequent balance in ecology and the environment. Ethical responsibility is not just limited to socio-economic and political systems but also integrates environmental and ecological sustainability.

Kenya leads East Africa in creative goods export and enjoys high internet penetration. Therefore, identifying pathways, missed opportunities for accelerating job creation and development in the sector and strategies for mitigating youth-related challenges are essential. This paper therefore aims to examine the effects of digital media and the cultural and creative industry (CCI) on youth employment and economic development.

The document review and analysis data came from 45 scientific and 23 grey literature articles. While the lack of primary data is a study limitation, secondary data were drawn from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Statistics and the 2016–2022 entertainment and media outlook analysis. Microsoft Excel 2021 for Windows was used to analyze quantitative data and generate results.

Since the CCI sector is characterized by limited financial opportunities, low youth participation in the labor force and weak policy frameworks, success in the industry requires key pathways. These include investment in digital-led innovations, developing innovative models, building partnerships with the private sector, strategic investment by government in the potential creative industry sub-sectors and identifying successful scaling-up models.

Information gathered through this study is crucial to counter the youth unemployment challenge and strategy identification, which could be used in skills and capabilities development in the potential creative economy. Future researchers must explore how to apply the proposed creative capacity theoretical lens to inform research in the sector.