The diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan have undergone significant development since the late 1990s. Despite some studies focusing on diplomatic and political relations, the economic dimension of this partnership has not been systematically covered. In this paper, a robust least squares (RLS) approach is used to model bilateral trade between the two countries and identify statistically significant determinants, including economic, institutional, and cultural factors, after analyzing the main economic and subsectoral trade dynamics of both countries. The results reveal that Azerbaijan's imports from Pakistan are significantly associated with the country's higher income and market size, while Pakistan's elevated exchange rate and trade costs hinder bilateral trade. In addition, Pakistan's rising manufacturing output increases exports to Azerbaijan but decreases imports from Azerbaijan. Among institutional determinants, government effectiveness, the trade freedom index (TFI), and political stability play significant roles in bilateral trade. Lastly, it was found that cultural proximity increases Pakistani exports to Azerbaijan but not imports from Azerbaijan. The analysis also indicates that domestic savings stimulate Pakistani exports. These findings underscore the complex nature of bilateral trade between Azerbaijan and Pakistan and highlight the need for institutional arrangements to harmonize trade flows and boost welfare gains from trade. The results may be of great importance to intergovernmental working groups, domestic policymakers, and businesses.

Stock indexes are used as a barometer of economic health, and fluctuations in these markets can have a substantial influence on the economy. For example, the Covid-19 pandemic caused severe economic disruption, as reflected in stock market indexes. Similarly, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has geopolitical implications that might undermine global trade and economic stability, impacting stock market indexes. Considering these developments, the purpose of this article is to examine the co-movements of the stock markets of Austria (ATX), Poland (WIG), the Czech Republic (PX Prague), Hungary (BUX), Croatia (CROBEX), Serbia (BELEX 15), Romania (BET), and Slovenia (SBI TOP) from February 16, 2018, to February 15, 2023. To achieve the research objectives, the aim is to answer the following research question: i) Have the events of 2020 and 2022 accentuated the co-movements between the stock markets in Central Europe? The results show the presence of 21 shocks between markets (out of a potential 56) during the Tranquil subperiod, with the WIG stock index having a greater predictive influence on the behavior of its peers (4 shocks out of 7 possible). During the Stress subperiod, 45 shocks were confirmed (out of 56 possible). The markets that triggered the most market shocks (7 out of 7 possibilities) were BET, BUX, CROBEX, and SBI TOP. The research question was validated based on the conclusion supplied, as all markets increased their movements, showing a considerable effect of the 2020 and 2022 events on these markets.

This study investigates the impact of financial inclusion on environmental sustainability in 178 emerging and developing countries from 1996 to 2022. Employing a composite index derived through Principal Component Analysis (PCA) as a measure of financial inclusion and covering four aspects (access, depth, efficiency, stability), our analysis reveals negative outcomes. The findings indicate that enhancing financial inclusion is associated with a notable increase in CO2 per capita emissions as well as in Total Greenhouse Gas emissions. We demonstrate that controlling corruption improves environmental quality, yet this measure alone is insufficient to fully mitigate the impact of financial inclusion, as indicated by our moderation analysis. The same analysis, however, shows that fostering globalization through trade openness is an efficient tool to alleviate the positive effect of financial inclusion on the quality of the environment. The study employs various policies targeting the control of development levels, energy consumption, natural resource utilization, industry, and urban population dynamics to contextualize the influence of financial inclusion on environmental sustainability. Through econometric methods and a comprehensive examination of the specified time frame, our results provide insights into the complex interplay between financial inclusion and environmental outcomes in diverse socio-economic contexts. The research contributes to the discourse on sustainable development by highlighting the potential of certain factors as a catalyst for environmental improvement. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for policymakers, as it underlines the trade-off between integrating inclusive financial strategies and achieving environmentally sustainable development trajectories in emerging and developing nations. Moreover, shedding light on the underlying mechanisms, such as trade-offs, fills a significant gap in the literature.

This paper investigates the degree of inflation persistence across regions in Portugal by analyzing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth rates for NUTS II regions. The study employs the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test to determine whether the CPI data for Portugal is stationary or non-stationary. The results of the ADF test reveal that the IPC data for Portugal is non-stationary, indicating that inflation exhibits persistence in the long run. The study further assesses the persistence of inflation by estimating an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model for each region. The Ljung-Box test is used to test for autocorrelation in the time series data, and the Hurst exponent is calculated to evaluate the presence of long-term memory in the time series data. The study finds that there is significant autocorrelation in the time series data for all regions, supporting the presence of persistence in inflation at the regional level in Portugal. The Hurst exponent also shows that the time series data for each region exhibits a high degree of persistence in inflation. Finally, the study applies the ARIMA model to each CPI division's data and uses the Ljung-Box test to test for autocorrelation in the time series data. The results show that some CPI divisions exhibited higher levels of persistence compared to others. For example, the "Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels" division exhibited high persistence, while the "Communication" division exhibited low persistence. This study contributes to the existing literature by exploring regional inflation persistence in Portugal and its implications for policymaking. The results provide insights into the inflation persistence patterns across regional levels in Portugal, by emphasizing the need to consider regional differences in inflation dynamics when formulating effective policy interventions. Understanding the persistence of inflation is crucial for policymakers to ensure price stability and sustainable economic growth.

Global distributions of net factor income from abroad (NFI) during 1990-2019 have witnessed that (1) the United States is the top one country accounting for 40% of surpluses of the global total, while a surge in China’s deficit with its GDP increase; (2) GDP growth in emerging economies has a price scissors with NFI deficits; (3) asymmetric NFI has covered up the severity of rich countries’ global arbitrages especially from emerging economies; (4) China’s economic power is exaggerated by the PPP-based GDP implemented by the World Bank. It concludes that (1) developing countries have paid for huge hidden cost for their emergence; (2) the statement of the United States suffering losses absolutely does not hold; (3) GDP is not a universal tool for measuring what matters. It suggests that (1) emerging economies countries should beware of the potential misleading of GDP on economic measurement and economic power comparison ; (2) GDP should be critiqued from the applicability perspective of economies’ types; (3) it is urgent to clarify some misjudgment and misleading concepts in the economic affairs surrounding the global value chain patterns; (4) the construction of national governance capacity in emerging economies should focus on “social infrastructure”, of which one of the important parts is an effective economic statistics system; (5) emerging economies should carry out the strategic layout of international economic statistics talents to enhance their soft powers.

The rapid growth of renewable solar and wind energy necessitates extensive, long-term energy storage solutions to stabilize the electric grid and address the intermittent nature of these sources. In the absence of cost-effective long-duration, large-scale (LDLS) energy storage, there is a risk of increased disruptive blackouts and brownouts as intermittent energy sources approach 50% of electricity generation. Our analysis underscores volumetric energy density as a pivotal determinant in LDLS energy storage solutions, which is particularly crucial during periods of diminished renewable resource availability, such as the rainy season. Despite emphasis on conventional electric batteries and mechanical storage technologies such as compressed air and pumped hydro for LDLS, their costs pose a significant obstacle to widespread adoption, especially in emerging economies. In this study, we present a groundbreaking approach to LDLS: on-demand electricity generation from carbon-neutral renewable oil, known as "green oil," leveraging Reliance’s innovative catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction (R-CAT-HTL) technology. Our investigation evaluated two distinct sources of green oil production: organic waste streams (e.g., municipal solid waste, agricultural-waste, etc.) and on purpose production of algal biomass. We demonstrate that burning renewable green oil to produce electricity offers a cost-effective solution for large-scale (GWh) long-duration (many days) energy storage, ensuring the stability, reliability, and resiliency of the electric grid. We also demonstrate that minimum 14 days, ideally 30 days energy storage is needed for continuous uninterrupted service, especially critical for manufacturing facilities. Through a meticulous levelized cost of storage (LCOS) analysis comparing green oil with other LDLS technologies reported in literature, we demonstrate the cost effectiveness of green oil. In this model, green oil serves as stored energy, functions akin to a battery and is efficiently converted into electricity through conventional reciprocating engines or next-generation more efficient turbines. Our findings suggest that green oil derived from diverse organic sources is the most economically viable option for GWh-scale storage, particularly when storage requirements extend beyond a single day. This research thus presents a transformative cost-effective solution to the pressing challenge of LDLS energy storage, accelerating a sustainable and resilient energy future.