COVID-19 pandemic and financial market volatility: A quantile regression approach.

The study examined the nexus between the COVID-19 pandemic and the market volatility of the global markets. For this purpose, a 30-country sample was used based on the most COVID-19 cases and deaths during the study period, from January 1 to December 12, 2020. We employed panel quantile regression and Panel Estimated Generalized Least Square (Panel-EGLS) frameworks to analyze the influence of COVID-19 on volatility in the whole sample and subsamples of emerging and developed markets. Our results of Panel-EGLS showed that the new cases and deaths positively impact volatility in the naïve and control models. The results from quantile regression also illustrated that new deaths and cases have positively influenced market volatility at the 50th and 75th quantiles. From the subsamples, our results demonstrate almost similar signs and significance for the impact of COVID-19 on market volatility in developed and emerging markets in both the naïve and control models. Both the results illustrate that any increase in COVID-19 positively caused volatility in the whole and subsamples at the mean and upper quantile levels. Our results necessitate coordinated global government actions to stabilize markets, mitigate volatility's impact by proactive policies in future health crises, and underscore a monetary policy for stability.

Can financial globalization and good governance help turning emerging economies carbon neutral? Evidence from members of the BRICS-T.

Since turning carbon neutral is regarded as a major macroeconomic agenda worldwide, this study examines whether financial globalization and good governance can help Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and Turkey in achieving carbon neutrality. Considering the period of analysis from 2000 to 2020 and utilizing robust econometric methods, it is observed that the environmental consequences vary across different components of financial globalization. In particular, the results validate the pollution haven hypothesis by confirming the carbon emission-boosting effect of de facto financial globalization indicators. In contrast, the pollution halo effect hypothesis is verified by the finding of the carbon emission-abating effect of de jure financial globalization indicators. Besides, promoting good governance is evidenced to impose carbon emission-mitigating impact in the long-run. The findings also authenticate the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis for the emerging countries of concern. Finally, for both the short and long runs, it is found that the non-renewable to renewable energy transition contributes to lower discharges of carbon dioxide, while urbanization results in the amplification of the carbon emission figures. Considering these critically important findings, it is necessary for these countries to impose restrictions on the influx of unclean foreign direct investment, facilitate and ease the investment process for foreign investors for investing in environment-friendly projects, promote good governance, and adopt green economic growth and sustainable urbanization policies by developing their respective renewable energy sectors.

The marginal effects of economic growth, financial development, and low-carbon energy use on carbon footprints in Oman: fresh evidence from autoregressive distributed lag model analysis.

Oman is committed to turning carbon neutral by 2040 whereby identifying the environmental sustainability-stimulating factors has become a critically important agenda for the nation. Against this backdrop, this study attempts to evaluate the marginal effects of economic growth, financial development, and low-carbon energy use on Oman's carbon footprint levels using quarterly frequency data spanning from 1984Q1 to 2018Q4. Controlling for structural break concerns in the data, the results from the empirical analysis verify the carbon footprint-related environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for Oman in the long-run. In this regard, the threshold level of per capita real GDP level of Oman is predicted at around US $23,500 which is below the average and maximum per capita real GDP level of Oman during the period considered in this study. Besides, the development of the financial sector and scaling up consumption of low-carbon energy resources are evidenced to boost and curb Oman's short- and long-run carbon footprint figures, respectively. More importantly, the joint carbon footprint-mitigating impact of financial development and low-carbon energy use is also unearthed from the findings. In line with these major findings, a couple of relevant policy interventions are suggested to help Oman accomplish its 2040 carbon-neutrality agenda.