Digital transformation could be crucial for reducing gender gaps and promoting sustainable economic progress in West Africa. However, the role of digitalization in female economic participation remains unclear. This research examined the influence of digitalization on female labor market performance in West African countries, focusing on total female and female youth unemployment. Data from 1995 to 2022 included measures such as internet penetration rate, mobile telephone subscriptions, and fixed telephone subscriptions. The Im-Pesaran-Shin (IPS) stationarity test indicated that the model was suitable for panel ARDL estimation. The Hausman test confirmed that the Pool Mean Group (PMG) estimator was most appropriate for establishing cointegration. Results showed that female unemployment is a long-term phenomenon. Specifically, (i) fixed telephone subscriptions reduce female unemployment, (ii) internet penetration decreases female youth unemployment but increases total female unemployment, and (iii) mobile phone subscriptions increase female unemployment. To improve female labor market outcomes, policymakers should implement digital literacy programs, ensure affordable access to technology, and promote gender equality. While fixed telephone subscriptions help reduce unemployment, mobile subscriptions tend to worsen it, and internet penetration has mixed effects, necessitating targeted strategies for sustainable economic progress.

The paper aims to quantify the intersectoral linkages that facilitate economic diversification in the Omani economy. The input-output analysis is used to assess the effects of inter-sectoral transactions for policy changes. The analysis is employed in development planning, impact assessment, and measuring external shocks. The short-run projected demand is forecasted through hypothetical positive and negative changes in final demand in each sector to predict changes in final demand. Income multipliers are derived by transposing the third-degree power series generation of the Leontief inverse matrix. The results suggest that the non-mining and quarrying sectors are strongly linked, with significant forward and backward linkages in determining value addition, output growth, and employment levels. The wholesale retail, fishing, public services, defense, health, and education sectors are creating employment opportunities. However, the employment and income multipliers indicate strong links with non-mining and services sectors. Policymakers should consider focusing on industries with strong connections. The robust linkages in the non-mining and quarrying sectors suggest that interventions in these sectors could help diversify the economy. The Omani economy requires an in-depth understanding of structural patterns, sectoral-level interventions, and consistency in policy measures.

Food insecurity and gender inequality are the major threats to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2 and 5. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the empowerment of women, food security, and the relationship between women empowerment and food security in the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Quantitative data were acquired from 216 randomly sampled urban crop farmers using a survey. Food Consumption Score (FCS) was employed to measure food security, and women’s empowerment in agriculture was measured using Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and an ordered logistic regression model. The results showed that the majority of the households (89.4%) had an acceptable FCS, 9.3% had a borderline FCS, and only 1.3% had a poor FCS. The results also revealed that over half of the women (57.9%) were empowered. Age, educational level, employment status, business, garden size, autonomy in production, access to and decisions on credit, control over use of income, and workload were significantly associated with food security. In conclusion, the results show that an increase in women empowerment indicators, such as access to and decisions on credit, control over use of income and workload, and food security, reflects a profound relationship, influenced by socio-demographic factors. The results propose the urgency of concerted policy implications to address the synergies between women empowerment and household food security. Addressing gender gaps in agriculture and improving women’s financial autonomy is recommended to improve household food security.

Information and communication technology (ICT) now underpins every primary diversification strategy in the Gulf region; however, the policy frameworks supporting it remain uneven. Drawing on qualitative content analysis of 68 national strategies, laws, and performance reports, supplemented by five multilateral briefs (2010–2024), this comparative study identifies the principal forces accelerating or hindering ICT development across the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. It examines how government-led agendas, institutional designs, foreign direct investment, and human capital formation interact to shape nations’ digital trajectories. The study finds that state-driven innovation models have delivered world-class infrastructure: Qatar, for example, ranked third worldwide in the 2023 ICT Development Index. However, persistent skill shortages, institutional rigidity, and modest private-sector participation continue to constrain the sector’s long-term sustainability. By juxtaposing national reforms with international benchmarks, the study reveals convergences (e.g., aggressive 5G rollouts) and divergences (e.g., data governance regimes and depth of venture capital) in the GCC’s policy mix. These patterns are categorized into region-wide and country-specific policy paths that can facilitate a more resilient, innovation-led digital economy in the Gulf. The findings contribute to the broader debate on technological modernization in rentier states, helping identify the conditions wherein top-down investment can be reconciled with bottom-up innovation to secure sustainable, knowledge-based growth.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are essential to Malaysia’s economy, forming a substantial portion of corporate entities and fueling employment and economic growth. However, challenges such as limited resources and high turnover necessitate strategies to enhance employee productivity (EP). This study investigates the influence of training programs on EP in Malaysian SMEs, emphasizing employee engagement as a mediator. Grounded in Human Capital Theory (HCT), Social Exchange Theory (SET), and the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Model, it explores how training boosts skills and engagement, subsequently improving productivity. A quantitative approach was employed, collecting data via structured surveys from 300 SME employees across diverse sectors who participated in formal training within the past year. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) confirmed that training significantly enhances EP (β=0.274, p<0.001, H1) and engagement (β=0.288, p<0.001, H2), with engagement mediating the training-productivity relationship (β=0.239, p<0.001, H3). These findings underscore training’s dual role in skill development and fostering engagement, amplifying productivity in resource-constrained settings. Practically, SME managers should leverage cost-effective e-learning and align training with organizational goals, while policymakers could support subsidies to bolster SME competitiveness. Limitations include the cross-sectional design, self-reported data biases, and focus on Malaysian SMEs, limiting generalizability. Future research may adopt longitudinal methods, cross-cultural comparisons, and probabilistic sampling to deepen insights into training’s long-term effects and broader applicability. This study enriches organizational development literature by contextualizing training and engagement dynamics in emerging economies.

This study examines the factors influencing sustained post-IPO performance in China’s STAR Market, emphasizing the combined effects of R&D expenditure, IPO underpricing, and investor sentiment on long-term outcomes in this innovation-driven exchange. Using event study analysis and multiple regression, the research evaluates 342 companies listed between July 2019 and December 2021. Long-term performance is measured via one-year cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) and buy-and-hold abnormal returns (BHAR). R&D expenditure significantly enhances long-term performance for non-high-tech firms by signaling growth potential in environments with limited information. High-tech firms, however, show minimal incremental gains, as market expectations pre-price their innovative status. IPO underpricing consistently correlates negatively with long-term performance across sectors, indicating agency costs or adverse signaling. Investor sentiment, proxied by initial trading turnover, exerts negligible lasting impact, revealing a disconnect between speculative activity and sustained valuation. Sector-specific R&D signaling and IPO underpricing risks drive long-term outcomes. Market expectations dominate pre-IPO valuations for high-tech firms, while short-term speculation fails to predict enduring performance. Firms should align R&D strategies with sector-specific valuation drivers. Investors must prioritize fundamentals over transient hype. Policymakers can enhance market efficiency by fostering transparency and incentivizing innovation, particularly in non-high-tech sectors, to support sustainable growth in emerging markets.

Globally, governments are formulating national digital health policies to guide the implementation and regulation of digital technology in their health sectors. Although sufficient evidence focusing on the technical context of formulating national digital health policies exists, research focusing on the political context of national digital health policies and the role of political actors during the development of national digital health policies is limited. This study sought to bridge this gap by investigating the political context of Ghana’s formulation of national digital health policy and the role of key political actors in the policy decision-making process. The study adopted a qualitative research approach involving data triangulation of semi-structured interviews with political elites involved in the national digital health formulation process and a document analysis of Ghana’s digital health policy. The study used thematic and content analyses as well as systems theory constructions to show that Ghana's digital health policy development is influenced by structured policy inputs, consistent procedures, measurable results, and strong feedback systems. The study recommends a paradigm shift from the vertical approach of national digital health policymaking to a lateral approach, which brings key stakeholders on board from the onset of the process for developing digital health policy.

This paper seeks to deepen our understanding of how local public investment and the quality of insititution impact enterprise performance in developing countries. The theoretical model presents two contrasting effects of public investment on enterprises. On the one hand, public investment can boost the marginal productivity of private capital. On the other hand, limited access to financing might crowd out private businesses. This study looks at enterprise survey data from 2011 to 2020 along with time series and cross-sectional data using a FEM (fixed effects model) across 63 provinces in Vietnam. The results show that the crowding-in effect is the most important. This effect is especially strong in provinces with robust institutions. The study underscores the crucial roles of local investment and institutional quality in enhancing business performance. Furthermore, macro factors like economic growth, inflation, and urbanization influence enterprise performance. The study also found that the number of employees has a positive impact on enterprise performance, while the age of the enterprise and its fixed assets have the opposite effect. To stimulate business growth, it is essential to sustain increases in local public investment, with a focus on infrastructure. The research findings highlight the importance of further enhancing the institutional environment.

The problem of poverty remains persistent in developing countries around the world. Poor households, particularly those headed by women, young people, and informal workers, particularly those who live in urban areas, are those most affected by vicious cycles of socioeconomic disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This condition, therefore, will lead to urban poverty issues that decline individuals’ quality of life and livelihoods due to the growing population and expansion of urbanization areas. However, there are limited numbers of empirical studies on the impact of community resilience on poverty. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between social capital and community resilience among urban poor communities. 481 respondents from urban poor communities living in the poor communities housing called, the People’s Housing Project (PHP) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were given a structured questionnaire by cluster sampling from December 2021 to July 2022. Data were analyzed using reliability analysis, correlation, and regression analysis. The findings showed that social capital is positively significant in community resilience building through having a good relationship with the community’s representative and having good involvement in the neighborhood. This study has proven that social capital in poverty adaptation among the poor should be given priority by the authorities in the poverty alleviation programs. The government must implement specific social capital policies and methods for upgrading the income of the urban poor with the aim of fostering resilience among urban poor communities in Kuala Lumpur in an effort to eradicate poverty.

This study examines the relationship between economic incentives and young people's involvement in conserving cultural heritage within Vietnam's cultural provinces. Using multivariable linear regression analysis on data from 200 randomly chosen participants, the main goal is to find out how different types of economic incentives can get more young people involved in preserving cultural heritage, which will help reach goals for sustainable development. The findings indicate a significant positive impact of job creation initiatives on youth engagement, underscoring the pivotal role of employment opportunities in aligning conservation efforts with sustainable development goals. Additionally, entrepreneurial support emerges as a critical factor, suggesting the necessity of nuanced strategies to optimize its efficacy. Furthermore, we identify skill development and educational support as vital for sustaining youth involvement in cultural heritage conservation, noting positive associations with grant opportunities, recognition, and awards. These results underscore the intricate interplay of various incentives in nurturing youth engagement. The study's implications are far-reaching for policymakers, accentuating the importance of a comprehensive approach integrating economic incentives with educational support to foster youth participation in cultural heritage conservation. By providing insights into effective incentivization mechanisms, this research facilitates the formulation of targeted interventions and policy measures tailored to the distinctive context of Vietnam's cultural provinces. Despite inherent limitations, this study significantly enhances our understanding of mobilizing youth for cultural heritage conservation in a manner that advances sustainable development objectives.