Purpose — Islamic banks in Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) province have experienced positive developments in assets, branches, and financing. This study aims to measure the resilience of Islamic banking in NTB using a composite bank variable and to determine how effectively the institution manages and absorbs various risks. Method — The data used consisted of monthly data from 2010 to 2023, covering several banking variables, including the Financing to Deposits Ratio (FDR), Non-Performing Financing (NPF), Bank Size (BS), and Third-Party Fund (TPF). The analysis method employed in this study was the early warning system (EWS), utilising a non-parametric signal extraction approach. Findings — All selected banking variables are used to measure the resilience of Islamic banking in NTB through the composite index of bank (CIB). The signal extraction method provides optimal thresholds for each selected banking variable and for the composite index (CIB). Visualisation results show the interval values that can absorb risk and maintain the resilience of Islamic banking as follows: (1) FDR between 81% and 102%; (2) NPF between 1.29% and 1.89%; (3) BS between 3.79% and 4.59%; (4) TPF between 4.16% and 4.58%; and (5) CIB between 10.66% and 28.14%.Implications — Assessing the resilience of Islamic banking in NTB involves identifying key banking variables to pinpoint sources of risk exposure, determining the optimal time horizon for policy interventions, and setting appropriate thresholds for the surveillance mechanism.Originality — Currently, the resilience of Islamic banks at the provincial level has not been widely studied, particularly in NTB Province, where there has been a notable increase in Islamic banking offices and assets.

Purpose ― This paper aims to investigate the influence of economic freedom and its components, namely business freedom and trade freedom, on international tourist arrivals in Asian countries. Additionally, it examines the effect of important macroeconomic factors, such as foreign direct investment, exchange rates, political stability, GDP per capita, and inflation on international tourist arrivals in Asian countries.Methods ― The GMM two-step estimation system is used to analyze data from 25 Asian countries from 1995 to 2020.Findings ― The results show that economic and trade freedom positively influence tourism, while business freedom has a less distinct impact. Inflation positively contributes to tourist arrivals. Exchange rates and political stability show inconclusive effects.Implications ― The study recommends that governments prioritize expanding economic freedom to boost international tourism.Originality ― This is the first study on the impact of economic freedom on developing international tourism in Asian countries.

Purpose ― This study examines the impacts of the Unemployment Benefit Program (Jaminan Kehilangan Pekerjaan, JKP) on the duration of job search in Indonesia using internal data sourced from the Employment Social Security Administering Agency (Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Sosial Tenaga Kerja, BPJS TK).Method ― The study employs the Regression Kinked Design (RKD) model and Ordinary Least Square (OLS) estimation method to analyze the data on laid-off workers who have received the JKP benefits.Findings ― The study finds that, on average, the JKP beneficiaries have a longer duration of job search than laid-off workers who do not receive benefits. An increase in the replacement rate of the JKP benefits is associated with an increased duration of both job search and benefit claims. The RKD plot indicates that a replacement rate lower than 45% may decrease the duration of benefit claims and job searches. Implication ― The study recommends that the government should consider two potential options: (1) maintaining the current level of monetary benefits that leads to a longer job search duration; in other words, the program management must continue providing benefits for the maximum duration offered (up to 6 months), or, (2) reducing the monetary benefits, if BPJS TK aims to reduce the job duration. The results may change if a more robust labor market information system is available.Originality ― This study represents the first attempt to investigate the impact of the Unemployment Benefit Program (JKP) on job search duration in Indonesia. It might also be important to enrich the existing literature on the impact of similar programs in developing countries and countries with large populations.

Purpose ― This study examines the externalities of CO2 emissions from solid fuel consumption on rice production in Pakistan using time series data from 1984 to 2021. Methods ― The independent variables include CO2 emissions from solid fuel consumption, cultivated area, agricultural equipment, tube wells, and improved seed, whereas the dependent variable is rice production. A robust analysis was done by altering the solid fuel CO2 emissions proxy. The empirical study used the vector error correction model and Johansen's cointegration test.Findings ― Solid fuel CO2 emissions negatively and significantly impact rice production, implying that solid fuel CO2 emissions decrease rice production. Tube wells have a negative and significant influence on rice production. Conversely, cropped land, agricultural machinery, and improved seeds boosted rice production. The results remained robust even when the proxy for solid fuel CO2 emissions was changed. Implications ― The study recommends developing regulations to limit solid fuel CO2 emissions to prevent environmental degradation and increase rice production. To boost rice production, more land should be farmed, agricultural machinery should be employed, and improved seeds should be used.Originality ― This study is the first to examine the impact of CO2 emissions from solid fuel consumption on rice production in Pakistan

Purpose ― The main objective of this study is to develop a comprehensive digital financial inclusion index (CDFII) that accounts for technology-driven financial inclusion and to compare it with a traditional financial inclusion index (TFII) to enhance the measurement of fintech-driven financial inclusion across countries.Methods ― The study employs a three-stage principal component analysis (PCA) to construct the CDFII and TFII using the latest available data from 31 developing countries during the period 2015-2021. The CDFII incorporates a new sub-index measuring individual literacy levels for using financial services, along with existing sub-indices capturing the penetration, availability, and usage of DFS. By integrating digital financial inclusion (DFII) and TFII, the overall CDFII is estimated.Findings ― The findings reveal that the levels of DFII and CDFII are higher than TFII for most of the economies examined. This indicates the significant impact of technology-driven financial inclusion in expanding access to formal banking and non-banking financial services for previously unbanked populations.Implication ― The study implies that policymakers and researchers should prioritize the integration of technology-driven financial inclusion indicators, such as the comprehensive digital financial inclusion index (CDFII), into their assessments and interventions to ensure a more accurate and effective approach to promoting inclusive and sustainable economic development.Originality ― This study introduces the CDFII as a novel comprehensive index that addresses the shortcomings of traditional financial inclusion indices. By incorporating individual skill levels and considering dimensions specific to DFS, the CDFII provides a more accurate representation of fintech-driven financial inclusion levels. This contributes to the existing literature on financial inclusion measurement and provides a valuable analytical tool for researchers and policymakers.

Purpose ― The study aims to investigate the impact of remittances on financial sector development in Nigeria using data from 1990 to 2021.Method ― The study examines the variables' relationship using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) and Toda Yamamoto (TY) Causality.Findings ― The study finds that remittances have a positive and significant long-run impact on financial sector development. Total reserves and imports of goods and services have a negative and significant long-run impact. In the short run, remittances and deposit interest rates positively and significantly impact financial sector development, while total reserves and total population have negative and significant impacts. The Toda-Yamamoto causality result indicates a two-way causal relationship between financial sector development and remittances.Implication ― The study recommends that the government employs policies encouraging channeling remittances through a formal banking system, as well as ensuring that such remittances received are channeled to finance productive investment, hence financial development.Originality ― The novelty of this research relates to the use of the three main indicators of remittances in an economy, which are the import of goods and services, total reserves, and deposit interest rates, to examine its impact on financial sector development in Nigeria

Purpose ─ This article explores the relationship between government revenue, government expenditure, and economic growth for nine emerging market economies using annual data from 1991-92 to 2019-20. Method ─ This paper distinguishes itself from the existing literature through the application of co-integration tests, vector error correction, DOLS and FMOLS for an empirical investigation of a unique panel data set of select emerging economies across Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. A bi-directional causal long-run relationship between economic growth and government expenditure, as well as between government expenditure and government revenue, was found using standard panel co-integration tests. Findings ─ The long-run elasticities computed using VECM were confirmed from DOLS as well as FMOLS estimates. A one per cent increase in expenditure and revenue, in the long run, would result in an increase in GDP by 0.94 and 0.90 per cent, respectively. Similarly, an increase in GDP by one per cent would lead to an increase in government expenditure by 1.1 per cent. On the other hand, an increase in government revenue by one per cent would cause a corresponding increase in government expenditure by nearly one per cent. The findings of this research point to a positive association between government revenue, expenditure, and economic growth, which will be valuable to policymakers. Contribution ─ Our combination of country selection covering economies from different continents is a first of its kind to the best of our knowledge. Another contribution is the application of panel cointegration and panel error correction techniques to fully use the panel data set, while most previous studies utilised the typical time series modelling with individual time series data.

Purpose ― Over the past two decades since the 2000s, Turkey's private savings rates have decreased, which has become a concern for policymakers. In addition to considering the key determinants of private savings, this study primarily aims to quantify the linear and nonlinear impacts of financial development on private savings from 1980 to 2015. Method ― This study uses Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) procedure and the Fourier Toda-Yamamoto causality framework. Findings ― The main findings are as follows: 1) The ARDL bounds test supports the presence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between private savings and its determinants; 2) Financial development affects private savings nonlinearly in an inverted U-shaped pattern, and 3) No causality relationship is observed between private savings and financial development. Implication ― As financial development has an inverted U-shaped relationship with private savings, indicating that the complementary effect of financial development is replaced with a substitution effect after a certain threshold level, Turkish authorities should consider this evidence when tailoring policies regarding financial markets. Originality ― This study is the first to identify whether the relationship between private savings and financial development is linear or nonlinear in the context of an emerging economy in Turkey.

Purpose ― The main objective of this study is to explore the relationship between bilateral official development assistance and the export of Turkey to 18 Turkish aid recipient countries between 1998 and 2019. Methods ― The study employs the gravity model of international trade to capture the effect of official development assistance on Turkish export to its aid recipient countries and utilizes Panel data econometric analysis. Findings ― The official development assistance (ODA) remains statistically significant across the models, indicating that ODA is one of the significant drivers of Turkish bilateral trade with the aid recipient countries. Implications ― The study argues that Turkey applied ODA as a foreign policy tool to access new markets in the Middle East, Balkans, Africa, and Asia. Turkish exports to developing countries increased due to the upsurged country's foreign aid donation to its recipients. Originality ― This study deviates from other studies in the literature by empirically examining the relationship between bilateral Official development assistance and the export of Turkey.

Purpose ―Current paper assesses the impact of macroeconomic variables on Pakistan's economic growth. Method ― This study analyzed the data using the Markov Regime switching (MS) model using monthly data for 1981-2020. Firstly, BDS and CUSUM square tests were applied to detect the non-linearity of the model. Results ―The model is non-linear, so the Markov regime-switching model is used for analysis. Each regime's mean and variance are highly significant and show a high growth regime with high volatility and a low growth regime with low volatility. Furthermore, the results show that inflation, interest rate, and trade openness negatively impact while real effective exchange rates positively affect development in both regimes. The negative effect of interest rate, exchange rate, inflation, and trade openness become more pronounced in low growth regimes. Implication ― This study suggests that policymakers should consider the non-linear behaviour of macroeconomics. This will help to formulate better policies for the economy's economic growth. Originality ―The current research adds to the existing literature by identifying the non-linear effect of growth indicators on economic growth, which was previously neglected in the case of Pakistan.