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The purpose of this study is twofold. Firstly, the study has investigated the changing scenario of gender bias in households' education expenditure and the socioeconomic factors responsible for it. Secondly, the study has estimated the inequality in education expenditure for the male and female students and determined the significance of socioeconomic variables in gender discrimination.

To address the above-mentioned issues, this paper has used the unit-level data of NSSO 52nd, 64th, 71st and 75th rounds from 1995–1996 to 2017–2018. The log linear regression model is applied to estimate factor impending average education expenditure dynamics. The Oaxaca–Blinder Decomposition method has been employed to measure gender discrimination, and the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient are used to assess inequality among girls experiencing prejudice.

The study has discovered an gender bias in education expenditure against females during the study period in India. Further, it has been found that gender discrimination against girl students is decreasing. Moreover, the factors such as age, religion, castes, MPCE (income quantile), type of institution, present enrolment and type of education are responsible for this gender differences.

This paper uses 20 years of household-level data for study and suggests that discriminatory behaviour of households and credit constraints of the underdeveloped countries prevent investment in girl's education. Therefore, the state must pay for education of girls by offering scholarships and free or heavily subsidized education. In addition to this, awareness programs for gender equality should also be implemented by the government, especially in rural areas.

The peer-review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-08-2022-0537.

We assessed the differential effects of social expenditures on males and females by establishing the impact of public expenditures on education and health on gender parity in primary and secondary enrollment and on gender parity in life expectancy for Nigeria given age dependency ratio, annual population growth rate, and GDP per capita growth rate. We found that increased social spending on health and education increased female education enrollment which was hitherto lower than male enrollment. Again, increased social expenditure on health and education improved male life expectancy which was hitherto lower than female life expectancy. We established the importance of increased social expenditure on health and education; gender budgeting and gender-sensitive budgets; and implementation of inclusive growth policies in engendering gender parity in Nigeria.

This chapter tries to capture the disparity in expenditure on primary education based on gender among the religious groups (Hindu, Muslim, and Christian) in rural India. The gender gap in education expenditure for a certain demographic group is calculated using the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition approach. Further, we tried to identify the various household-related factors which might influence the decision of spending on a child's education. We used the 75th-level National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) unit-level dataset of July 2017 to June 2018 (one academic year) to obtain data on education expenditure and other household factors which play a manifesting role in the gender gap in expenditure on education. Our finding suggests that the total differential (log mean boys education expenditure-log mean girls education expenditure) is positive among all religious groups signifying the gender bias in education expenditure. We also found that the magnitude of the “Unexplained Effect” component is higher compared to the “Explained Effect” component signifying that the treatment of characteristics by students differs by their sex at elementary education. Household size and if household members are employed on a casual basis, then their expenditure on education falls on the other hand income of the household, a household with computer availability and household member engaged in regular wage/salary earning plays a positive role in expenditure on primary education in rural India.

This paper aims to explore the impact of digital inclusive finance (DIF) on regional economic growth and innovation-driven development.

Based on the panel data of 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) in China from 2011 to 2018, this paper explores the impact of DIF on economic growth and innovative development.

(1) DIF has a direct positive effect on economic growth and innovative development; (2) there is significant regional heterogeneity in the impact of DIF on economic growth and innovative development. (3) DIF can indirectly affect economic growth and innovative development by increasing residents’ personal disposable income, increasing fiscal expenditure and improving educational level.

Exploring the relationship between them and digital inclusive financial development can provide a reference for national productivity construction and development.

Economic growth and innovation-driven development have been one of the main concerns of China’s policymakers. Exploring the relationship between them, digital inclusive financial development can provide a reference for national productivity construction and development.

As China’s industrial structure continues to upgrade and optimize, the consumption capacity of rural residents gradually improves and the role of consumption in economic growth is increasingly prominent. Against the background of weak external demand, the untapped potential of rural consumption has become a key force in expanding domestic demand. As one of the important means that the government has long relied on, fiscal support for agriculture has played a crucial role in activating the rural consumer market. This manuscript aims to explore the impact of local fiscal support for agricultural expenditure (FSAE) on rural consumption in China, as well as to examine the mediating role of the level of rural financial development.

In this manuscript, the authors use the provincial panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2000 to 2020. The data of all variables mainly come from China Statistical Yearbook and China Rural Statistical Yearbook. According to the variable selection above, 651 sample data of 31 provinces and cities across China from 2000 to 2020 are organized. In terms of methodology, multiple fixed-effects panel model is applied to regression.

Firstly, FSAE varies significantly, while rural consumption slowly but steadily rises, with a relatively stable consumption structure. Secondly, FSAE has a significant positive effect on rural consumption. Thirdly, mediation testing indicates that mechanisms such as income, uncertainty and financial development have significant positive mediating effects on rural consumption. Thirdly, there is evident regional heterogeneity in FSAE’s impact on rural consumption. The Western regions, under government fiscal support, show a more significant effect on the elevation of rural consumption levels, while the role of FSAE in optimizing the consumption structure of rural residents in eastern and central regions is more pronounced.

Firstly, a systematic examination of local FSAE and rural consumption has been conducted, enriching relevant theories. Secondly, utilizing econometric empirical methods to research the relationship between local FSAE and rural consumption provides an exploratory extension to empirical studies on rural consumption in China. This offers empirical evidence for local fiscal support in agricultural development and the promotion of rural consumption.

Purpose: This chapter explores the changing global dynamics of employability and the current skill gaps among college students. Employability is defined as the measure of how desirable an individual is in the workforce, that is, their skills and knowledge. This chapter is centred on the students’ existing skills, missing skills, and the skill requirements of different industries.

Methodology: For this study, both primary and secondary data have been collected. Case studies have been used to analyse the skill gaps among students and industry requirements. Primary data has been collected from Indian students and case studies from other countries.

Findings: After conducting primary surveys and analysing case studies, we were able to conclude that there are serious skill gaps among students – especially in industries related to new emerging technologies. Educational institutes are not keeping pace with technological changes, and, in some cases, are not taking care of students’ interests. This is a serious problem for unemployed youth around the world.

Practical Implications: This chapter will help design the curriculum, addressing core issues of skill shortages in the labour market in developing and underdeveloped countries, decreasing the labour shortage and increasing employment, and helping countries’ national income.

Significance: This study is important as it addresses the issue of unemployment by providing a clear understanding of the present needs of industries. Educational institutions and the government will be able to design the best curriculum and education policies to provide the youth with all the necessary skills to help them fulfil the needs of industries.

The community in which a child is raised has a substantial effect on their income in adulthood. To help understand what is different about communities which produce higher incomes, we document how time use differs between communities which increase their members' future incomes more. The main differences are that, in areas which produce higher incomes, people spend more time at work, and adults spend more time with children. The data do not support some theories of what makes communities effective at producing human capital: People do not spend more time on educational activities, or on community events and institutions, in areas which increase incomes by more.

This study aims to examine how board gender diversity and foreign directors influence the sector-wise corporate philanthropic giving (donation) of Islamic banks in Bangladesh.

Unbalanced panel data were extracted from the annual reports of Islamic banks in Bangladesh over 11 years, from 2010 to 2020.

The findings indicate that gender diversity significantly improves corporate philanthropic giving for the education sector but insignificantly influences corporate philanthropic giving for health and humanitarian and disaster relief sectors. In contrast, the results show that foreign directors significantly and positively affect the banks' corporate philanthropic giving for the three sectors.

This paper used only secondary data extracted from the annual reports of Islamic banks in Bangladesh between 2010 and 2020. Besides, only three sectors of corporate social responsibility activities were considered. Hence, the findings could not be generalized, as the study used only data from one country.

The findings can be useful to policymakers and regulators to provide policies and regulations that ensure the appointment of women and foreign directors to boards that can competently promote Islamic banks' charitable donations.

Inducing Islamic banks to provide corporate donations for activities related to education, health and humanitarian and disaster relief can contribute directly to achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) like SDG-3 (good health and well-being) and SDG-4 (quality education) and impliedly support attaining some indicators of SDG-1 (no poverty), SDG-2 (zero hunger) and SDG-10 (reduced inequality).

This study contributes to the literature by investigating how board gender diversity and foreign directors influence sector-wise corporate donations for the education, health and human and disaster relief sectors instead of aggregate donations studies concentrated by previous studies.

The present study investigates the role of fiscal illusion on income inequality in 46 selected countries in terms of income and development levels from 2002 to 2017.

The effect of fiscal illusion on income inequality is tested using the two-step system generalized method of moment (SYS-GMM) estimator.

The findings reveal the negative effect of fiscal illusion on income inequality, which means increasing fiscal illusion decreases income inequality in 46 selected countries. As in other countries, income inequality declines when fiscal illusion increases in high-income and developed countries, although the redistributive effect of fiscal illusion is more in high-income and developed countries than in other countries. In addition, the results demonstrate the positive effect of unemployment, urbanization and inflation as well as the negative effect of trade openness on income inequality in all three models.

Previous studies have examined the role of government in controlling income inequality from different perspectives; however, no study has detected the role of government in income distribution regarding fiscal illusion.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2022-0311.