The motivation of the study is to gauge the role of renewable energy consumption (REC), energy innovation (EI), and total trade (TR) on environmental sustainability (ES) in selected MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries for the period 1980–2018 under the assumption of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). The study implemented several econometrical tools, including structural break unit root test, Bayer–Hanck combined cointegration test, autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL), nonlinear ARDL, and Granger causality test under error correction term. Variables properties test detected that all the variables are stationary after the first difference but neither exposed to stationary after the second difference. The test statistics of the combined cointegration test documented a long-run association between ES, RE, EI, and TR, which is valid for both countries concerned. Regarding EKC concern, study findings with ARDL and nonlinear ARDL validated the EKC hypothesis for Tunisia and Morocco. Finally, the direction causality test documented unidirectional causality between renewable energy and ES, trade and ES, but the feedback hypothesis holds between EI and ES. We can advocate for specific sectoral environmental reforms in Tunisia and Morocco and suggest continuous environmentally friendly technologies by combining study findings. At the same time, subsidies on nonrenewable energy should be reduced, and green trade policies to help advance sustainable development should be implemented.

The motivation of the study is to gauge the effects of access to finance, technical know-how, and financial literacy on women’s empowerment through establishing women’s entrepreneurial development. A sample of 950 women-owned SMEs was considered, and structured questionnaires were sent from getting target responses. After careful assessment through the data cleansing procedure, it was found that only 795 responses are suitable for further investigation, implying the sample response rate for the study is 74.71%. The study implemented structural equation modeling and multivariate regression analysis for gauging the causal association that is direct and indirect effects of target variables. According to findings, a positive statistically significant linkage was revealed with women’s entrepreneurship sustainability and women empowerment. Furthermore, the mediating effects were also established for women’s empowerment. According to the study findings, it is suggested that for women entrepreneurship sustainability, effective policies surrounding financing accessibility, technical knowledge expansion, and financial understating have to be promulgated in the economy, which allows bringing women empowerment at large.

The motivation of the study is to gauge the impact of financial development, FDI, Technological innovation, and good governance on environmental degradation in the Arab Nation for the period 1991–2019. Several techniques have implemented, including error correction-based cointegration, cross-sectional ARDL, Non-linear ARDL and Heterogeneous causality test for directional causality. The results of Slope of homogeneity, CSD and unit root test following CIPS and CADF, revealed that research variables are exposed with heterogeneity properties, cross-sectionally dependent, and all the variables become stationary after the first difference. The long-run cointegration between explained and explanatory variables established through error correction based cointegrating test. Referring to results derived from CS-ARDL, study exposed financial development has a detrimental effect on environmental sustainability, suggesting the intensification of CO2 emission and ecological instability. On the other hand, the role of FDI, GG, and TI exposed beneficiary in mitigating the environmental adversity. The asymmetric assessment revealed asymmetric association between explained and core explanatory variables which is valid in the long-run and short-run horizon. Finally, the casual association, study unveiled bidirectional causality between FDI, TI and ED [FDI←→ED; TI←→ED]. On the policy note, the study advocated that environmental improvement through financial channels should be efficiently monitored in the case of credit extension and incorporation with existing environmental policies.

Environmental sustainability is a burning fact worldwide, especially in developing nations. Equitable economic development, environmental protection, energy efficiency and security have been placed at the apex of economic discussant and policy formulation. This paper establishes the relationship between trade and environmental quality in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Following the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) theory, we investigate the existence of an inverted U-shape correlation between income per capita growth and nitrous oxide (N2O), agricultural methane (ACH4), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to ascertain the presence of EKC. We also analyze how trade variables, income per capita growth, energy intensity, foreign direct investment, human capital, and CO2 emissions are related. The results show that trade significantly increases N2O, ACH4, and CO2 emissions for the overall sample of SSA and its income groups [Upper-Middle-Income Countries (UMIC), Lower-Middle-Income Countries (LMIC), and Low-Income Countries (LIC)] using a panel GMM. This paper concludes that reducing emissions is feasible in the future as shown by the existence of the EKC, and trade has a consistently negative impact on the environment in SSA countries, regardless of wealth level. On the policy note, the study suggested that domestic trade liberalization and foreign ownership in the economy play a detrimental role, and thus industrialization has to ensure energy efficiency and energy security.

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate how the political instability in 2009 affected the Madagascar vanilla exports. Madagascar vanilla sector has experienced robust growth over the past decade which contributes to both the economy and the job creation, especially in northeast region where Vanilla was planted. However, this growth faced a serious problem after the political instability in 2009. This paper shows that the suspension of Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), due to the political instability, had a large negative impact on vanilla exports. To estimate its impacts on vanilla exports, the international trade data permit us to isolate those impacts from various factors between Madagascar and other vanilla exporting countries by using the different-indifferent (DID) technique. We take the sample of 2007 to 2011 by using Tobit model with random effects in addition to OLS with fixed effect in order to observe how far political instability hampers the vanilla exports in Madagascar. Through analysis, we find that the political instability has a negative effect on economic growth in terms of Madagascar vanilla exports.