The primary objective of this study is to analyze the effect of ESU (ESG-related uncertainty) on GIF (global investment inflow) and to explore the moderating role of governance effectiveness (GOE). The study uses data from 25 diverse economies over the period 2002 to 2024 to explore the underlying relationship. The primary analysis employs the CS-ARDL (Cross-Sectionally Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag) model to assess both long-run and short-run relationships between variables, and robustness was performed by using the two-stage least squares (2SLS) method. The results show that ESU negatively impacts GIF, confirming the hypothesis that higher uncertainty discourages investment. Governance effectiveness is found to have a significant positive effect on investment inflows. The interaction between ESU and governance highlights that strong governance can mitigate the negative impact of ESG uncertainty. The study’s findings have significant social implications, like improving governance structures and creating a stable macroeconomic environment, which are crucial steps toward fostering investment and economic growth.

Climate change is reshaping economic opportunities, yet researchers still understand little about its gendered consequences, especially for women entrepreneurs operating in climate-sensitive and resource-constrained environments. Building on this logic, this study investigates how climate vulnerability (CVI) affects female entrepreneurship (FEP) and whether banking sector development (BSD) can offset these adverse effects. The analysis employs panel data for South and Southeast Asian economies over the period of 1995 to 2023. The empirical analysis was conducted using the cross-sectionally augmented ARDL (CS-ARDL) model and robustness was verified through FMOLS. The results show that CVI constrains female entrepreneurial activity by increasing economic uncertainty, disrupting local markets, and intensifying household and care burdens on women. In contrast, stronger BSD supports FEP by easing financing constraints and enabling adaptive responses to shocks. Notably, BSD moderates the adverse effects of climate exposure, allowing women entrepreneurs to adjust, rebuild, and sustain business activities in climate-stressed environments. By highlighting the climate-gender-finance nexus, the study emphasizes that climate risks can widen gender gaps in economic participation if institutional buffers are weak. Therefore, strengthening financial and governance structures can contribute to social inclusion, livelihood stability, and women's economic empowerment under climate stress. Practically, the findings suggest that climate adaptation policies should be integrated with financial inclusion strategies for women. For this, expanding access to credit, resilience-oriented financial products, and digital banking can help women entrepreneurs cope with environmental shocks and maintain productive engagement in the economy. This study contributes novel evidence by jointly examining CVI and BSD in shaping FEP within a unified moderation framework.

This study investigates the impact of SUS on CIN, with a specific focus on the mediating role of ENX. Utilizing a panel dataset of firms spanning the period from 2010 to 2022, the study employs the fixed effects model (FEM), 2SLS, and the system generalized method of moments (GMM) to ensure robust estimation and address potential endogeneity concerns. The findings reveal that SUS harms CIN, suggesting that firms facing heightened ESG uncertainty are more cautious in their capital allocation. Moreover, the results confirm that ENX plays a mediating role, as firms tend to increase environmental expenditures in response to higher ESG uncertainty, which in turn reduces their capital investment. The study provides valuable social and practical implications. From a social perspective, it underscores the importance of stable and transparent ESG policies in mitigating uncertainty and promoting sustainable investment practices. Practically, firms should balance their environmental expenditures and investment strategies to ensure long-term financial stability. The study’s novelty lies in integrating ESG-related uncertainty with CIN decisions through the mediating role of environmental expenditures, offering a fresh perspective on how firms respond to ESG-related risks in capital allocation.

Non-Newtonian flow in confined geometries is complicated, which poses computational and mathematical difficulties. There is still much to be done because these fluids experience complex rheological changes. In this work, buoyant convection in Casson fluids confined to a hexagonal enclosure with a T-shaped fin set in the middle bottom wall is investigated numerically for the first time. The bottom boundary walls and the T-shaped fin are maintained at a high temperature. The top wall provides thermal protection while the other side walls are cooled. The finite element method is used to solve a system of nonlinear partial differential equations governing the flow and heat transfer in order to capture the complex fluid dynamics and thermal behavior. In order to improve accuracy, the computational domain is discredited by combining rectangular and triangular mesh elements. To gain a deeper understanding of flow characteristics, dimensionless profiles are plotted along central and vertical cross-sections and the velocity and temperature fields surrounding the fin are thoroughly investigated. The Nusselt number along the fin surface is evaluated to determine the performance of heat transfer. The findings indicate that variations in Richards’s and Hartmann numbers increase the Nusselt number. In a variety of engineering and industrial applications, including thermal management in electronic devices, sophisticated cooling systems, polymer processing, and biomedical fluid systems where non-Newtonian behavior is common, this study advances our knowledge of heat transfer enhancement techniques in non-Newtonian fluids.

Convection from the environment and energy generation in porous envelopes are significant for the thermal productivity of tiny heat transfer devices and solar thermal systems. Hybrid nanofluids have better heat transfer than regular fluids. The goal of this study is to quantitatively explore the effects of fluid layer placement on entropy formation and convection heat transfer in nature in a triangle-shaped partitioned chamber filled with a silver magnesium oxide/water hybrid nanofluid layer. The dimensionless governing formulae for laminar and incompressible flow are obtained using the finite component technique. Key parameters examined are the Darcy number (ranging from ten to the power of minus five to ten to the power of minus two), the location of the porous layer (bottom, side, or top region of the triangular partition), and the Rayleigh number (from ten to the power of four to ten to the power of six). The results show that placing the porous layer in the side region increases the average Nusselt number by up to 22% compared to a non-porous configuration, while bottom placement yields a 12% increase. Total entropy generation is reduced by eighteen percent when the porous medium occupies the side region at a Darcy number of ten to the power of minus three. Increasing the Rayleigh number from ten to the power of four to ten to the power of six doubles the thermal entropy generation but reduces the frictional entropy contribution by forty percent. The side porous form has the highest Bejan number, indicating that entropy growth is driven by irreversible heat transmission. The location of the porous media is an important control element for maximizing both heat transmission and thermal efficiency in natural convection flows. The side placement provides the best balance between enhanced Nusselt number and minimized entropy generation. These findings are relevant to advanced thermal management systems, including heat exchangers, solar thermal collectors, HVAC and refrigeration units, thermal energy storage devices, biomedical cooling technologies, nanofluid-based industrial processes, and waste heat recovery systems.

This paper investigates the Jeffrey-Hamel (J–H) magnetohydrodynamic flow of a partially ionized power-law nanofluid (PL-NF) for regenerative cooling of rocket engine nozzles subjected to extreme heat flux to address critical thermal management problems. The PL-NF is prepared by dispersing copper nanoparticles (thermal conductivity ≈401W/mK) in ionic liquid [EMIM][BF4], which remains stable up to 400°C. This combination was chosen due to its excellent thermophysical properties and non-Newtonian rheological response consistent with verified experimental measurements and established property correlations. The fundamental equations include the Navier–Stokes system, Ohm's law for current density, and Fourier's law for thermal conductivity, fully accounting for Hall currents, ion slip, and Darcy–Forchheimer resistance in porous media. Solutions are calculated using the BVP4c solver in MATLAB, providing a residual error tolerance of less than 10−6. The analysis focuses on the roles of key dimensionless groups: Reynolds number (Re), inertial parameter (ψ1), Eckert number (Ec), porosity parameter (ψ), and nanoparticle volume fraction (ϕ). Results show that the superior thermal conductivity of the Cu− IL nanofluid exceeds that of conventional coolants, enabling nozzle operation at gas temperatures up to 3000°C. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) forces further improve flow control and suppress skin friction. Detailed profiles of velocity, temperature, skin friction coefficient (Cf) and Nusselt number (Nu) show that viscous heating and flow acceleration in the convergent section create steep temperature gradients near the divergent walls, while vortex structures degrade the cooling uniformity. Higher porosity reduces the volumetric velocity and pulse thickness, converting kinetic energy into heat and increasing local temperatures. Response surface methodology (RSM) combined with ANOVA (R2=0.977, adjusted R2=0.955) identifies the nanoparticle volume fraction (ϕ) as the dominant factor in heat transfer efficiency. Overall, the Cu− IL nanofluid, when used with MHD control, significantly reduces wall temperature and friction losses in high-thrust engines such as the Falcon 9 Merlin and Saturn V F-1, confirming its effectiveness for advanced rocket nozzle thermal protection.

This study investigates how ESG-related uncertainty (SUS) influences corporate cash holding (CHO) strategies and explores the mediating role of environmental expenditures (ENX) in this relationship. The analysis is based on a balanced panel dataset comprising 2,678 firms from BRICS economies over the period 2010-2023. To ensure robustness, the study employs a range of empirical techniques, including fixed effects, two-stage least squares (2SLS), and system GMM, effectively addressing issues of heteroscedasticity and endogeneity. The empirical findings reveal that SUS positively influences cash holdings, consistent with the precautionary motive in liquidity management. Furthermore, ESG uncertainty leads to higher environmental expenditures, which, in turn, positively influence cash holdings, thereby confirming the mediating role of ENX in the SUS - CHO relationship. The social implications of this study highlight the unintended consequences of regulatory ambiguity in ESG frameworks, including excessive cash hoarding. From a practical standpoint, the findings advocate for clearer, more stable ESG policies that can help firms reduce uncertainty and allocate capital more efficiently. This study contributes to the literature by integrating ESG uncertainty into corporate cash management analysis and unveiling a novel mediating pathway via environmental expenditures.

Entrepreneurship is a vital driver of economic growth, innovation, and job creation, making it essential to understand its key determinants for sustaining economic dynamism. This study examines the impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) on entrepreneurial activity, proxied by New Business Density (NBD), across G7 economies from 1997 to 2024, employing the Cross-Sectionally Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) model. The empirical findings reveal that heightened EPU significantly reduces NBD, indicating that policy unpredictability discourages new business formation. The results also highlight the roles of other macroeconomic and institutional factors, including foreign direct investment inflows, banking sector development, inflation, government sub­sidies, and political stability, in shaping entrepreneurial dynamics. The study concludes that policy uncertainty acts as a deterrent to entrepreneurship in advanced economies. These findings carry important implications for policymakers and stakeholders, emphasizing that reducing policy uncertainty and ensuring a stable regulatory environment are essential for fostering entrepreneurship and sustaining innovation. This study’s novelty lies in theoretically and empirically linking EPU to entrepreneurial decision-making under uncertainty, demonstrating how policy unpredictability alters risk expectations and discourages new firm creation in advanced economies.

This study examines whether asset tangibility mitigates the impact of environmental, social, and governance uncertainty (ESU) on corporate financial policy. Using an unbalanced panel of 22,789 firm-year observations from BRICS economies over the period 2010–2024, we employ fixed-effects and system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimators to address unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity concerns. The results provide strong evidence that ESG uncertainty increases corporate cash holdings, consistent with a precautionary liquidity response to sustainability-related ambiguity. ESG uncertainty is also negatively associated with debt financing, although this relationship is comparatively weaker and statistically significant only at the 10% level in both the fixed-effects and System-GMM estimations. Asset tangibility exhibits the opposite effect by reducing cash holdings and increasing debt financing. More importantly, asset tangibility progressively attenuates the positive effect of ESU on cash holdings while simultaneously mitigating the adverse association between ESU and debt financing. The findings highlight the importance of collateralizable assets in reducing sustainability-related financing frictions. This study contributes to the ESG-finance literature by shifting attention from ESG performance to ESG uncertainty and identifying asset tangibility as an important mitigating mechanism.

Purpose This study aims to examine the pivotal role of banking sector development (BSD) in shaping innovation performance across Asian economies. Design/methodology/approach The analysis uses panel data from Asian economies spanning the period from 2000 to 2024. Key innovation indicators include research and development (R&D) expenditure intensity and the number of trademark applications. Advanced econometric techniques, i.e. system generalized method of moments, robust least squares and panel Granger causality models, are used to ensure robust empirical assessment. Findings The results indicate a positive and statistically significant relationship between BSD and innovation performance. Economic growth and remittance inflows also enhance innovation, whereas foreign direct investment inflows, inflation and real interest rates exert negative effects. The findings suggest that the banking sector plays a pivotal “grease the wheel” role in promoting innovation. Practical implications Policymakers are advised to increase the share of bank lending dedicated to R&D and innovation-focused activities to bolster economic progress and global competitiveness. Originality/value This research offers novel empirical insights into the BSD–innovation nexus within the Asian context. It contributes to the literature by highlighting how financial sector dynamics shape innovation outcomes in developing and emerging economies.

Understanding the dynamics of interest rates is crucial for policymakers and financial institutions, particularly in the context of emerging economies such as the BRICS. This study investigates the impact of U.S. equity market volatility (EMV) and macroeconomic factors on deposit interest rates (DIR) and lending interest rates (LIR). Using country-level panel data of BRICS economies spanning two decades (1985–2023), the study employs a CS-ARDL approach to capture both long-run and short-run relationships. The findings reveal that EMV exerts a significant negative effect on DIR, highlighting the sensitivity of deposit rates to market fluctuations. Inflation rates (IFR), the real effective exchange rate (EXR), economic progress (ECP), and financial sector development (FSD) exhibit positive long-run impacts on DIR, suggesting that macroeconomic stability and financial sector efficiency are key determinants of deposit rates. Conversely, EMV, IFR, EXR, and ECP have a positive influence on LIR, while FSD has a significant negative impact, suggesting that financial sector advancements reduce borrowing costs. These findings have profound policy implications as policymakers are advised to implement strategies that stabilize equity markets and enhance FSD to mitigate the adverse effects of volatility and promote economic growth. Additionally, fostering inflation-targeting frameworks and improving credit access can further stabilize interest rate dynamics in emerging economies. The novelty of this study lies in its comprehensive examination of both deposit and lending interest rates in the BRICS context.

Purpose This study aims to examine how changes in USA–China tensions (UCTs) are associated with aggregate inward foreign direct investment (FDI) in the USA and China. It also distinguishes the directly observed investment risk from possible adaptive opportunities created through relocation, diversification and alternative market-entry strategies. Design/methodology/approach The study uses panel data over 1993–2023 and establishes the regression by using the Cross-Sectionally Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) model and Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) models. A geopolitical tension index, capturing trade disputes, sanctions and diplomatic frictions, is incorporated alongside relevant macroeconomic controls to ensure robustness. The dual-method approach allows for consistent inference under potential endogeneity and cross-sectional dependence. Findings The empirical results from both CS-ARDL and FMOLS are consistent and reveal a significant negative association between UCTs and FDI inflows in both the short and long run. Heightened geopolitical uncertainty weakens investor confidence, while trade restrictions, tariffs and sanctions further discourage cross-border investment between the two economies. Research limitations/implications The dependent variable is aggregate inward FDI for each country rather than origin-destination bilateral flows. The analysis therefore cannot separately estimate US investment in China and Chinese investment in the USA. Practical implications For policymakers, the results highlight the importance of diplomatic stabilization and predictable trade policies to sustain international investment flows. For investors and multinational firms, the study underscores the need to integrate geopolitical risk into strategic location and diversification decisions. Governments seeking to attract diverted FDI can benefit by improving institutional quality and reducing policy uncertainty. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by providing a long-horizon (1993–2023) empirical assessment of geopolitical tensions and FDI using a robust dual-method strategy (CS-ARDL and FMOLS). It offers new evidence on how sustained USA–China frictions structurally alter bilateral investment behavior, positioning geopolitical risk as a central factor in global FDI reallocation.

This study explores the thermal behavior of non-Newtonian fluid flow, focusing on Brownian motion and thermophoresis effects on a radially magnetized curved stretching surface containing various nanoparticles and gyrotactic microorganisms. The analysis builds on Reiner–Philippoff’s viscosity model to represent the non-Newtonian fluid’s response to shear forces under shear-thinning, shear-thickening, and Newtonian conditions. This work enhances the understanding of thermal conductivity in a propylene glycol base fluid with added silicon dioxide, molybdenum disulfide, and copper nanoparticles, considering radiative heat flux and viscous dissipation effects. The governing equations are transformed into a non-similar form and solved using MATLAB’s bvp4c tool, applying the local non-similarity method with second-level truncation. Numerical data reveal the significant effects of parameters such as thermal radiation, Brownian motion, curvature, thermophoresis, and magnetic field strength on wall drag and heat flux. The result shows that with the increase in the magnetic parameter from 0.8 to 2.4, the Nusselt number increased by 6.83

The impact of nanofluids on solar air heaters (SAHs) is well-documented in the present literature. While various studies assess air and water-based nanofluids in SAHs, limited research is available on their application in artificially roughened solar heaters. The current study numerically examines the thermal characteristics of air and ammonia-based nanofluids flowing through a SAH with square ribs. The roughness elements significantly improve heat transfer by inducing turbulence and enhancing near-wall mixing. For Air-Al 2 O 3 , the Nusselt number rises by a factor of approximately 2.21 as the volume fraction of nanoparticle increases from 1–4% at Re = 3800. Pressure drop increases remain modest, with maximum values of 3.28% for Air-Al 2 O 3 and 1.15% for NH 3 –Al 2 O 3 . The thermo-hydraulic performance factor peaks at 2.08 and generally improves with increasing nanoparticle concentration. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of combining nanofluids with ribbed geometries for optimizing the efficiency of SAHs in domestic and industrial applications. The findings provide a practical basis for designing more compact and energy-efficient solar thermal systems.

The current study extends the existing literature by exploring the moderating role of governance in the association between natural resources and economic growth. Using a large range of periods (1996–2019) of 48-Asian economies as a sample, this study employs the system GMM and FMOLS models to investigate proposed relationship. The analysis implies that natural resources have an adverse impact on economic growth. However, the interaction of a better governance system converts this curse impact of natural resources into blessings. The diffusion of a better governance system can enhance the efficiency of natural resources and thus more economic growth. The empirical analysis further discloses the moderating role of governance in the nexus between resource rents-economic growth. Policy officials should exercise better governance to enhance efficiency of natural resources. This study supplements the innovative thoughts regarding role of better governance systems in improving economic growth through channel of resource utilization.

The aim of current study is to examine the effects of thermal radiation and activation energy with the significance of bioconvection and motile microorganisms on Casson hybrid nanofluid flow passing through a cylinder. The Cattaneo-Christov heat and mass flux theory is also presented in this study. The SWCNT and MWCNT are considered for enhancing thermal transmission rate. The governing PDEs are converted to ODEs using the bvp4c solver with shooting method in mathematical tool MATLAB. The effects of the major variables on velocity profile, temperature distribution, concentration filed, and motile microorganisms profile are graphically and numerically depicted. The velocity field diminishes with increasing values of the buoyancy ratio and magnetic parameter. Conversely, the thermal distribution profile is enhanced with increasing estimations of the thermal radiation parameter, while the opposite trend is observed for the Prandtl number. The concentration distribution profile declines with growing estimations of the Brownian motion parameter and concentration relaxation parameter. Additionally, the motile microorganisms profile declines with both the Bioconvection Lewis number and Peclet number. Future research can include nonlinear heat and mass models transient and 3D flow analysis, MHD effects, chemical reactions, and porous media applications. Experimental validation and AI integration can optimize fluid parameters, while exploring environmental impacts, such as in wastewater treatment, bioreactors, and marine ecosystems, offers practical solutions. Optimizing nanoparticles compositions can further enhance efficiency. Applications span biomedical devices, wastewater treatment, advanced heat exchangers, energy systems, microfluidics, marine studies, and nanotechnology. The work can also improve bioreactors, thermal management in aerospace and automotive systems, and environmental efforts.

In the context of sustainable development goals, the topic of subjective well-being (SWB) has gained the primary focus of the academic community and policymakers. It appears that a variety of economic, social, political, and environmental factors influence SWB. Given that, the current study aims to examine the empirical relationship between SWB and carbon emissions (CO2) in the presence of governance. In particular, we look at South Asia's experience from 2000 to 2021 to examine the ability of governance to moderate the detrimental impact of environmental degradation on SWB. The analysis takes into account six governance indicators. Using the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) techniques, we discover that (i) CO2 emissions have a negative impact on SWB; (ii) the impact of the governance is positive and significant on SWB; and (iii) the interaction between the governance and CO2 emissions has a positive and statistically significant impact on SWB. The moderating influence of governance indicates that the government should exercise the practices to strengthen effective governance in the country to improve SWB by reducing CO2 emissions. This study extends the previous literature by examining the moderating impact of governance on the relationship between CO2 emissions and SWB in South Asian economies.

Green innovation (GI) is increasingly recognized as an essential strategy for tackling urgent environmental issues, such as climate change, resource depletion, and pollution. While research is expanding on how economic policy uncertainty (EPU) affects GI, the influence of financial sector development (FSD) as a moderator in this context remains under-examined. To address this gap, we conduct an empirical analysis utilizing two decades of data (2000–2019) from five major emerging economies (BRICS). The study employs FMOLS and DOLS models to scrutinize the data. The findings indicate that EPU has a considerable adverse effect on GI, suggesting that uncertainty in economic policies can obstruct environmentally sustainable progress. In contrast, FSD demonstrates a notable positive association with green innovation, indicating that a robust financial sector can support and bolster these initiatives. Furthermore, the study identifies that FSD serves a crucial intermediary function in the EPU-GI connection. The policy implications of this study are significant, indicating that decision-makers should prioritize enhancing financial sector institutions to foster GI, particularly in times of heightened economic volatility. By providing new evidence regarding the dynamics between EPU, FSD, and GI, this investigation offers valuable insights for developing policies that harmonize economic stability with environmental sustainability. First published online 1 April 2025