This article examines the club convergence of corporate environmental protection and resource management (CEPRM) expenditure across a panel of 26 Indian states from 2014–2015 to 2020–2021 using the novel Phillips–Sul (PS) (2007) approach. The results of a single steady-state analysis reveal divergence in CEPRM expenditure and indicate that states are not converging towards a single steady-state path. Meanwhile, the PS approach reveals heterogeneity among states and confirms the formation of three clubs. Each club follows a distinct steady-state path, and the estimated convergence speeds differ across groups: Club 1 has a slower rate (0.112) than Club 3, which has a faster rate (2.609), confirming the conventional convergence approach. By identifying multiple convergence paths, this analysis provides insight into CEPRM disparities and reveals uneven environmental stewardship by the corporate sector across Indian states. As a result, the findings suggest that policymakers should design tailored policies for each club to address issues related to CEPRM expenditure, thereby supporting a more balanced distribution of environmental spending across Indian states. JEL Codes: Q580, M14, C33
Persistent intra-state disparities remain a critical barrier to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 10 (reduced inequalities), especially in regions with significant Indigenous populations. This study investigates development gaps between Indigenous-majority and non-Indigenous-majority blocks in Odisha, India, during 1994 and 2021. Employing composite development indices (CDIs) constructed from six key socio-economic indicators across 314 administrative blocks, we apply sigma and beta convergence frameworks to assess spatial and temporal development dynamics. Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition further disentangles the structural drivers of inter-group disparities. Our findings reveal a paradox: while aggregate convergence is evident across Odisha’s blocks, stark and persistent divergence characterises Indigenous versus non-Indigenous areas. Indigenous blocks demonstrate lower development returns on literacy, employment diversification and health infrastructure compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts—indicating that disparities stem not merely from resource deficits but from differential effectiveness of existing endowments. The findings underscore the importance of disaggregated, meso-level analysis in identifying structural bottlenecks and inform the design of region-specific policy interventions aimed at fostering inclusive development. By highlighting persistent exclusion at the sub-state level, the study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of inequality and convergence in developing regions. JEL Codes: D63, R12, R58, P25, N90
This study examines the consumption behaviour of the urban lower middle class (ULMC) amid economic shocks like recessions and pandemics by considering the rural lower middle class (RLMC) and the poor (both urban and rural) as reference categories. From the data collected during the period of lockdown, the study found that the ULMC was forced to prune food consumption significantly higher than the poor and RLMC, which is proxied in the study in terms of the current stock of food grains and pulses. It is suggested that a powerful stimulus in terms of a temporary social safety net is a necessity to get the ULMC out of a vicious circle and transitory poverty. JEL Codes: I30, 132, I38, R20
Digital financial inclusion (DFI) is an announced priority of the Government of India. Digital integration of rural people could boost digital transactions and inclusive growth in the rural economy. Such transactions may be electronic card-based or mobile phone-based. However, lesser access to smartphones and the internet limits phone-based transactions for a large section of rural India. So, DFI might be fostered by providing greater access to debit or credit cards (payment cards) for the rural population. Existing studies on such card ownership in India are limited to bank-level analysis or confined to local-level case studies. Such analyses fail to shed light on the household-level access and usage of payment cards across India. This study bridges this knowledge gap using the latest round of the ‘All India Debt and Investment Survey’ (2019). This study finds that access to banking is almost universal throughout rural India, but the same is not true for payment cards. Two logistic regressions are estimated to identify the factors influencing access and usage of payment cards at the household level. Results suggest that promoting rural self-help groups, co-operative societies and increasing bank branch density can foster DFI in rural India. The central region in India requires special attention in this regard. JEL Codes: G21, R20, O18
This study examines how social networks shape household participation in risky financial assets in India. A composite social network index is constructed using principal component and multiple correspondence analysis to capture household connectivity across kinship, community and civic spheres. Results show that stronger social networks significantly increase the likelihood of participation in risky financial markets. Given India’s very low baseline participation, the marginal effect amounts to nearly a one-percentage-point increase for households with above-average network strength. Mechanism analysis indicates that information transmission is a key channel through which networks operate. Moreover, the effect is amplified among socio-economically advantaged groups—such as high-caste Hindus, minorities (excluding Muslims) and organised business and professional households—underscoring unequal access to and returns from social capital. Instrumental-variable estimation using wedding guest networks, supported by Wald tests, reinforces causal interpretation. The analysis draws on nationally representative India Human Development Survey (IHDS 2011–2012) data. JEL Codes: AQ2: G50, G51, G11, D85, Z13
Over the past few decades, since the early 1970s, a laissez-faire ideology has acquired hegemonic dominance, which we term ‘growth fundamentalism’. Within the alternative political economy tradition, this period is viewed as a neoliberal macroeconomic policy regime in which the link between growth and any possibility of improving the well-being of the majority of the population has been virtually severed. In short, the claim that focusing solely on growth has any theoretical or empirical validity is unfounded. The idea that growth alone is the panacea for achieving desirable multidimensional indicators of well-being is nothing more than ‘growth fundamentalism’, and hence, a flawed concept. An alternative conceptual framework presents that addressing inequality can also ensure economic growth, while the reverse has always been highly questionable. JEL Codes: P11, P16, P21, D63, F43
This study examines the effects of firm characteristics and human capital on employment growth in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in a less-developed region of an emerging economy. For this purpose, a structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 200 randomly selected MSMEs in the Cachar district of Assam, India. We have used descriptive statistics and robust regression analysis to analyse the collected data and validate the proposed hypotheses. The results indicate that firm size and age are negatively linked to employment growth, implying that smaller and younger firms tend to have higher growth rates. Additionally, the sector in which a firm operates and its geographic location are important determinants of MSME employment growth. Specifically, manufacturing and service-based enterprises exhibit a higher level of employment growth than those engaged in ‘repairing and maintenance’. Urban-based MSMEs also grow faster than their rural counterparts. Concerning human capital, the study shows clear evidence that the level of education and accumulated business experience of MSME owners/managers positively affect employment growth. Based on these findings, several policy recommendations are put forward. JEL Codes: C83, L6, L8, L25
This work attempts to make a comparative evaluation of the impact of main bank-specific factors on the performance of Indian public and private sector commercial banks (PSBs and PVBs) over the period from 2000 to 2017. On the basis of an extensive literature survey, we have selected deposit (DEP), asset management (AMT), capital strength (CST), quality of loan (QOA) and productivity of employees (POE) as the explanatory variables for this study. Taking return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) as measures of banking performance, we have tried to examine the impact of these internal variables on the performance of Indian public and private sector commercial banks through the application of the system generalised method of moments (GMM) approach developed by Arellano and Bover (1995) . The estimation results indicate that these bank-specific variables have a differential impact on different bank groups. While AMT and CST have a highly significant positive impact, and QOA has a profoundly significant negative impact on ROA for both PSBs and PVBs, POE exerts a significant negative impact on ROA of PSBs but an insignificant positive impact on ROA of PVBs. Results further suggest that whereas AMT has an extremely significant positive impact and DEP and QOA have a vastly significant negative impact on ROE for both PSBs and PVBs, CST affects ROE in a significantly positive manner in the case of PVBs, but it has no significant impact on PSBs. The results obtained in this study have profound implications to frame appropriate policy decisions for the development of public and private sector commercial banks of India. JEL Codes: G21, G28, C23
Debt sustainability remains a critical concern for emerging economies, including the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Despite ongoing fiscal consolidation efforts, they continue to struggle with rising debt levels and deficits. While previous studies have explored debt sustainability issues either at the individual country level or collectively using conventional panel methods, this study examines the sustainability of both public and external debt in BRICS nations by applying Bohn’s fiscal reaction function for panel data, estimated through the penalised spline technique. The analysis also determines public debt threshold levels for each country. The results indicate that public debt is sustainable in Brazil, China and South Africa, but is unsustainable in India and Russia. External debt is sustainable only in China and South Africa. The estimated public debt thresholds are 73.90% for Brazil, 20.83% for Russia, 70.44% for India, 37.04% for China and 31.51% for South Africa. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, offering guidance on designing strategies to achieve and maintain debt sustainability across BRICS nations. JEL Codes: H63, C23, D72, E62, H72
Environmental degradation remains a major global issue, with significant implications for the environment and ecological sustainability. This study investigates the relationship between employment and environmental degradation in selected G20 countries, particularly focusing on the impacts of economic growth, renewable energy consumption and trade openness. The study examines long-term relationships using panel data from 1991 to 2021. This employs fully modified ordinary least squares, dynamic ordinary least squares and augmented mean group. The findings show that employment and GDP growth have a considerable impact on carbon footprints, confirming the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis, which holds that economic growth increases environmental degradation before reducing it at higher income levels. Conversely, renewable energy has a significant adverse relationship with carbon emissions, emphasising its potential for decoupling economic expansion from environmental impact. However, trade openness has an association with higher carbon footprints, which supports the ‘pollution haven’ argument. The study emphasises the importance of integrated policies that balance economic development and environmental sustainability, providing actionable insights for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement targets. JEL Codes: Q56, Q43, C23, O44
This study investigates the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the informal economy in India during the post-liberalisation period from 1993 to 2018. Given the vast size and significance of the informal sector in the Indian economy, understanding its interaction with FDI is crucial. The informal sector output is measured using the Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) approach, which offers a comprehensive estimate of informal activities. The study employs a vector autoregression (VAR) model, Granger causality test and Johansen cointegration analysis to examine both short- and long-run dynamics between FDI and the informal economy, while controlling for gross domestic product (GDP), Human Development Index (HDI), Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and trade openness (TO). Empirical findings suggest that FDI negatively and significantly affects the informal economy in the short run and long run, while the informal economy does not exert a significant influence on FDI inflows. The unidirectional causality from FDI to the informal economy is confirmed through Granger causality tests. The results have strong policy implications, indicating that while FDI promotes formal-sector growth, it may displace or suppress informal economic activity. JEL Codes: F21, O17, C32, F43, E26, F63
The rapid infusion of artificial intelligence (AI) into marketing has created uneven patterns of adoption within organisations, shaped heavily by hierarchical roles and the day-to-day realities of brand communication work. While strategists increasingly view AI as a catalyst for personalisation, forecasting and long-term brand value, operational executives often encounter the technology as a source of risk, uncertainty and implementation friction. This study investigates how these role-based perceptual differences influence intentions to adopt AI in Indian marketing teams. Using a cross-sectional survey of 408 professionals across strategists, analysts and executives, the research applies structural equation modelling to examine the effects of perceived benefits and concerns on adoption intentions, alongside the moderating role of job position and the mediating influence of future outlook. Results reveal sharp hierarchical gradients: strategists report significantly higher perceived benefits and lower concerns compared to analysts and executives, with job role exerting a strong moderating effect on the relationship between perceived usefulness and intention. Ethical and operational concerns, particularly among executives, show a robust negative association with adoption willingness, whereas future outlook demonstrates only weak mediation once role differences are accounted for. A role-aligned integration framework is proposed and validated, showing that targeted, position-specific interventions can meaningfully increase adoption readiness. By highlighting how internal role asymmetries shape AI uptake, this study contributes to technology acceptance theory in emerging markets and offers actionable pathways for organisations seeking cohesive, ethically grounded and scalable AI integration in brand communication. JEL Codes: M31, O33, D83
The study attempts to explore the dynamic interlinkages among foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, informational globalisation (ING) and global value chain (GVC) empirically in the G20 nations from 1990 to 2019. The trade and growth effects of FDI are widely discussed in theoretical and empirical literature in the context of globalisation in different countries and regions. The noteworthy progress of information and communication technologies (ICT) has also been a substantial factor in the FDI-trade-growth relationship, as observed in various contemporary studies. However, the existing studies cannot provide a suitable answer with explicit scenarios regarding the relationship between FDI and GVC in the context of the latest form of global trade in the era of ING, which encompasses both globalisation and digitalisation. To conduct the empirical exercises examining the dynamic relationships among FDI, ING and GVC, the study chooses G20 nations, which represent around 85% of the global gross domestic product (GDP), over 75% of the global trade and FDI flows, and about two-thirds of the world’s population ( OECD, 2022 , Twenty-eighth report on G20 investment measures ). World Bank (2022 , World Development Indicators (WDI) ) provides country-wise annual data on FDI. The year-wise quantitative measures of the ING for selected countries are obtained from the KOF Globalisation Index (2022 , KOF Globalisation Index 2020 ). The study collects country-wise yearly data on GVC from the UNCTAD-Eora (2023 , UNCTAD-Eora global value chain database ) GVC database. In the panel cointegration and vector error correction mechanism (VECM) framework, the empirical estimations applying the panel fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) methods reveal the bidirectional causality between FDI and GVC and FDI and ING, and unidirectional causality between ING and GVC in G20 economies. JEL Codes: F01, F20, F41
This study investigates the asymmetric relationship between external assistance, comprising external grants and loans, and economic growth in India from 1994 to 2022. Utilising a non-linear approach, we examine whether economic growth responds asymmetrically to external assistance. The findings reveal that economic growth exhibits a significant response only to negative shocks in grants, while increases in external grants or loans do not have a statistically significant effect. This asymmetry contributes novel empirical insights to the evolving knowledge on external assistance and economic growth. Furthermore, the results underscore critical policy implications, cautioning against the assumption that an increase in external assistance, whether in the form of grants or loans, will necessarily foster sustainable economic growth. JEL Codes: F34, F35, F63
We estimate three efficiencies, namely new profit, new cost and new technical, to examine the impact of demonetisation and financial inclusion on bank performance in India. Bank efficiency for the 2011–2019 period across size and ownership groups is measured using data envelopment analysis (DEA). In the second stage, differences in impact of the event across bank groups and efficiency types, using repeated analysis of variance (ANOVA), are observed. Significant effects across size and ownership, albeit not uniform across groups, events and efficiency types, were found. There was an increase in the number of frontier banks. SBI, the state-owned and largest bank, with the most significant role in those policies, had seen a positive impact on cost and profit efficiency. Our study is perhaps the first of its kind to examine demonetisation and financial inclusion impact on the banking sector and a two-stage estimation that combines DEA with repeated ANOVA. Our study does not lend support to the view that those events have burdened and adversely affected banks. The study carries important managerial and policy implications and provides much-needed scientific evidence to the popular debate on the impact of the events. JEL Codes: G21, G34, D61, M40
This study examines the allocation and fluctuation of 12 major categories of government spending at the state level in India. Using panel data from 15 prominent Indian states from 1990 to 2021, a panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method is employed. The findings reveal that increased central government funding encourages spending on education, agriculture, irrigation, disaster management, nutrition, and rural and urban development. In contrast, economic growth and increased revenue shift focus to energy, healthcare, urban development, transportation, communication, and water supply and sanitation. High public debt adversely affects all spending categories, highlighting the cyclic nature of various expenditures. JEL Codes: H50, H72, E32, C33
This article primarily explores the effects of climate change (CC) on India’s agricultural sector, employing land suitability analysis (LSA) and fuzzy methods (FM) as key approaches. Addressing this topic is crucial for shaping policies aimed at CC adaptation and mitigation. The research concluded that CC leads to severe harvest failure with major implications for agricultural producers and food security across the globe. Further, it has been found that temperature, precipitation and natural hazards are the main factors affecting primary crop production across different agro-climatic zones throughout India. Moreover, an increase in temperature of 4°C would decline agricultural yield by 25–40. An increase in temperature would deteriorate the agricultural yield by 49% and farm income in India. Utilising environmentally conscious technologies, create climate-resilient dry-land agricultural products to assist farmers in adapting to the consequences of CC. These strategies ought to be created to motivate smallholder farmers in the semi-arid tropics to use climate-smart technological solutions to increase agricultural productivity. JEL Codes: Q22, Q150
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are now accepted as three critical determinants of the health of individuals. Using a state-year panel for India from 2011 to 2019, we estimate two-way fixed-effects models with a distributed-lag structure to assess the relationship between public WASH expenditure and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from diarrhoeal disease. The results show that a dedicated expenditure on WASH facilities reduces the DALYs associated with diarrhoea. Specifically, the elasticity of public expenditure on WASH is −0.065, indicating that a 10% increase in WASH expenditure leads to a 0.65% decline in DALYs associated with diarrhoea. The findings highlight that one immediate step of addressing the burden of diarrhoeal disease would be to invest significantly more on WASH intervention. JEL Codes: H51, I18, I31, I38
