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This study aims to revisit the empirical debate about the asymmetric relationship between oil prices, energy consumption, CO₂ emissions and economic growth in a panel of 184 countries from 1981 to 2020.

A relatively new research method, the PVAR system GMM, is applied.

The outcome of the PVAR system GMM model at the group level in the study suggests that oil prices exert a positive but statistically insignificant effect on economic growth. Energy consumption is inversely related to economic growth but statistically significant, and the correlation between CO₂ emissions and economic growth is negative but statistically insignificant. The Granger causality test indicates that oil prices, CO₂ emissions, oil rents, energy consumption and savings jointly Granger-cause economic growth. A unidirectional causality runs from energy consumption, savings and economic growth to oil prices. At countries’ income grouping levels, oil prices, oil rent, CO₂ emissions, energy consumption and savings jointly Granger-cause economic growth for the high-income and upper-middle-income countries groups only, while those variables did not jointly Granger-cause economic growth for the low-income and lower-middle-income countries groups. The modulus emanating from the eigenvalue stability condition with the roots of the companion matrix indicates that the model is stable. The results support the asymmetric impacts of oil prices on economic growth and aid policy formulation, particularly the cross-country disparities regarding the nexus between oil prices and growth.

From a methodological perspective, to the best of the author’s knowledge, the study is the first attempt to use the PVAR system GMM and such a large sample group of 184 economies in the post-COVID-19 era to examine the impacts of oil prices on countries’ growth while controlling for other crucial variables, which is noteworthy. Two, using the World Bank categorisation of countries according to income groups, the study adds another layer of contribution to the literature by decomposing the 184 sample economies into four income groups: high-income, low-income, upper-middle-income and lower-middle-income groups to investigate the potential for asymmetric effects of oil prices on growth, the first of its kind in the post-COVID-19 period.

The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate how external debt vulnerability has affected the economy of emerging countries over time, with particular reference to Sub-Saharan African countries. It also deals with the policy issues associated with the economic effects.

The techniques of dynamic ordinary least squares and fully modified ordinary least squares are used in this investigation, covering the period 1990–2022. A panel of 43 Sub-Saharan African countries is used in the study.

The estimation results reveal that external debt vulnerability impacted negatively on economic growth, thus validating the concerns raised about the debt problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, the results revealed that domestic credit and openness of economy played a passive role and were therefore unable to cushion the adverse effect of debt vulnerability. Capital stock, however, stands out as the only variable that played a significant positive role in facilitating economic growth. The results are considered to be highly reliable for short-term forecast of economic growth and formulation of relevant policies.

Over the years, economic analysts and stakeholders have expressed concern about the inadequate ratio of foreign reserves to external debt in developing countries. The effect of this external debt vulnerability on the economy of these countries has yet to be given sufficient attention by researchers. In view of this perceived void, this current study is carried out to determine the economic and policy consequences of the problem.

In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and the trend in industrial development 4.0, the problem is how to conduct transactions of goods and services in the market using cashless payment in Vietnam, as in developed countries. This study aims to investigate, analyze and evaluate the factors affecting cashless payment behavior in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

The QR codes are used for payments because many factors affect the behavior of cashless payments made using electronic payment tools, including QR code tools. To achieve this goal, this study applied behavioral theory and the importance-performance analysis (IPA) model to measure service quality based on the difference between customer opinions on the importance and performance level of service providers’ targets. Survey results were obtained from 111 people living in HCMC, Vietnam, including 47 men and 64 women, which was a survey for 15 criteria.

According to the IPA results of the first quadrant, managers should focus on allocating their resources toward improving their performance across five key criteria. These criteria are crucial for meeting customers’ expectations and include factors such as product quality, responsiveness to customer queries or complaints, delivery times, pricing and customer service. In addition, the second quadrant of the IPA highlights another set of five criteria that perform well and are essential to the success of the business. These criteria could consist of customer loyalty, employee satisfaction, profitability, market share and innovation

These results provide a basis for solutions and recommendations for managers to refer to and apply consistent practices. Therefore, this study examines the cashless payment in Vietnam. Empirical results offer solutions to financial technology policy, marketing policy, cashless payment services and technology, which can help managers provide online payments using QR codes and contribute to monetary policy solutions.

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between carbon emissions and earnings management (EM). This study also considers the effect of female CEOs on the association between carbon emissions and EM.

This study uses the carbon disclosure project (CDP) for carbon emissions data, the Compustat database for financial information and the ExecuComp database for female CEOs. The empirical sample of this study consists of 1,692 firm-year observations in the USA that voluntarily participated in the CDP survey from 2007 to 2015. Regression analysis and robustness tests are conducted for this study and both accrual and real EM are considered.

This study provides evidence that firms with female CEOs who voluntarily disclose their carbon emissions information engage in less real EM. Thus, the presence of female CEOs moderates the association between carbon emissions and EM. This study/paper also finds a positive association between carbon emissions and real EM, although there is an insignificant association between carbon emissions and accruals EM.

The association between carbon emissions and EM has important implications for investors, regulators and policymakers. This study suggests that policymakers should improve the conditions that promote inclusion of females in the top management positions to constrain EM.

This study focuses on the USA, which is one of the major contributors to carbon emissions in the world. The presence of female CEOs moderates the association between carbon emissions and EM and firms with female CEOs show a greater impact on EM.

This article aims to investigate how institutional characteristics affect the level of financial development of economies collectively and compare between developed and undeveloped economies.

A dynamic panel with 131 countries, including developed and developing ones, was utilized; the estimators of the generalized method of moments system (GMM system) model were selected because they have econometric characteristics more suitable for analysis, providing superior statistical precision compared to traditional linear estimation methods.

The results from the full panel suggest that concrete and well-defined institutions are important for financial development, confirming previous research, with a more limited scope than the present work.

Limitations of this research include the availability of data for all countries worldwide, which would make the research broader and more complete.

A panel of countries was used, divided into developed and developing countries, to analyze the impact of institutional variables on the financial development of these countries, which is one of the differentiators of this work. Another differentiator of this research is the presentation of estimates in six different configurations, with emphasis on the GMM system model in one and two steps, allowing for comparison between results.

This exploratory study aims to integrate both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the influence of contemporary university dining attributes and practices on student patronage.

First, a review of the extant literature on-campus dining in universities was conducted. Second, innovative practices of on-campus dining facilities of a large public university were identified. Finally, student perceptions of those practices were examined using a mixed method approach.

The review of literature uncovered 49 articles across 35 years on key topics such as food waste, healthy eating, and service evaluation. From site tours and interviews with related personnel, 40 innovative on-campus dining practices were identified.

Importance ratings revealed cleanliness of the environment, fresh fruit and vegetables, and digitally enabled ordering, as the top three highest rated practices. Factor analysis unveiled six factors that students find important: food diversity, good standards, innovativeness, quick options, menu variety, and fish and seafood. The thematic analysis further revealed four overarching themes (convenience, familiarity, food offerings, and value) and 13 subthemes which complemented the quantitative results.

In addition to shedding post-pandemic light on students’ dining needs, it highlights the paucity of theory used to support extant studies and suggests a novel theoretical underpinning.

The purpose of this study is to determine the strategy adopted by small- and medium-scale enterprise (SME) owners in setting up internal control systems, examine the relationship between the numbers of employees’ fraud and strategy adopted in setting up internal control and evaluate the difference between proactive and reactive strategies in employee’s fraud prevention among SMEs.

A survey research approach was adopted to determine whether proactive or reactive strategies were adopted by the SME owners. Specifically, a survey questionnaire was used to gather primary data from selected respondents in Lagos and Oyo States. Descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation and the Mann–Whitney test were used to analyse the primary data.

The study found that most of the SME owners used reactive internal control strategies in setting up their internal control systems after they suffered financial losses occasioned by employees’ fraud. Also, the study found a positive relationship between the number of employees’ fraud and reactive strategy. Finally, the study found a significant difference in the number of employees’ fraud occurrences between proactive and reactive internal control strategies in SMEs.

The study provides further confirmation that where internal control is properly set up and strengthened, a lower number of employee frauds will occur. Thus, giving credence to the fraud theory. The study was, however, conducted in six selected local government areas in two states.

The study provides recommendations on the adoption of a proactive strategy for curbing employees’ fraud at the onset of business operations and not until devastating events of employees’ fraud become a reality.

The study is original, as it focuses on the strategy adopted by SME owners in setting up internal control systems, which is rare in fraud empirical studies, particularly for studies conducted in emerging markets like Nigeria. It provides the need for the sustainability of SMEs as engine of growth and employment through the adoption of appropriate strategies in setting up internal control systems.