Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation and quality performance in small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), and if such relationships differ between the two groups of enterprises. Design/methodology/approach -Specifically, the study investigates whether there is (or not) any moderating effect of organisation size (i.e. small versus medium firms) in the hypothesized relationships. A total of 124 SMEs provided the data for the study. The data were analysed using factor and hierarchical multiple regression analyses. Findings -The results indicate a significant direct relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation and quality performance. Specifically, the three dimensions of entrepreneurship namely, risk taking, proactiveness and autonomy are significantly associated with innovation and quality performance. Innovation is directly related to performance and mediates in the entrepreneurship-performance link. These relationships do not differ between small and medium-size enterprises, thus size is not a key factor in explaining the contributions of entrepreneurship to innovation and performance of SMEs.Research limitations/implications -The study's sample is limited to service SMEs in Pakistan. Although the objectives of the study were met, more studies are needed that compare or contrast small and medium enterprises, in other sectors and contexts. Practical implications -The study underscores the importance of entrepreneurship to innovation and firms' quality performance in both small and medium-size enterprises. This link is not dependent on the size of the enterprise. Management should promote risk taking, proactiveness and autonomy in order to enhance innovation and performance. Social implications -The ratio of female to male entrepreneurs in Pakistan's IT sector is very low. This is clearly demonstrated in the sampling frame composition and the eventual responses received from both genders -out of 124 respondents, only two are females, this is less than 0.02 percent. The paper suggests some policy interventions that could change such asymmetric representation of women in entrepreneurial activities in Pakistan. Originality/value -There is limited research comparing or contrasting small and medium-size firms. Studies on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have often used pooled data, thereby assuming inherent similarity, yet there is hardly any empirical basis for such. This study provides such basis/justification. It further argues that entrepreneurship and innovation are robust determinants of quality performance in both small and medium firms.

Background: The dramatic loan growth and changes in the Pakistani banking system in mid-2000s have led to significant research attention on borrowers and lenders. This expansion and diversification in financial sector was driven by structural reforms, political stability and significant economic growth. Against this background, this study investigates the loan growth and risk-taking behavior of the banks during the expansionary periods of lending. Method: This study used dynamic two-step system generalized method of moment's estimation technique, based on data taken from 32 banks in Pakistan over 2006-2014. Result: Loan growth has a significant effect on bank-specific and macroeconomicspecific variables. Loan growth in the previous year raises non-performing loans and decreases the solvency of banks with a time lag of many years. The driving force behind this phenomenon is weak prudential regulation among competitors, the asymmetric information of the borrowers, and, most importantly, that banks underestimate the risk of lending during credit booms. Conclusion: More regulatory measures are required to ensure a strong financial system when the volume of non-performing loan grows significantly. An increase in the capital requirement policy for rapidly growing banks is also needed because the problem of abnormal loan growth cannot be detected at the current time. At the same time, strong supervision is necessary to avoid the adverse consequences of borrower selection.

The main objective of this study is to examine the behavior of capital buffer (whether procyclicality or countercyclical) for Pakistani banks after implementation of the BASEL-II and BASEL-III accord. The sample in this study consists of 34 commercial banks of Pakistan during the period from 2006 to 2015. The impact of business cycle on Capital Buffer has been obtained by using the two-step system Generalized Method of Moment estimation technique. The empirical findings suggest that the behavior of the banks found to be procyclicality in whole sample period while it turns to be counter-cyclical after implementation of Basel-III accord.

It is widely argued that discrimination on the basis of gender leads to social exclusion and locks people into long-term poverty traps. Thus the need for poverty alleviation schemes that target women and children have long been a priority for development of communities around the world, and also including Pakistan. It is also a widely recognized fact that poverty can be overcome if women are provided access to economic and educational opportunities, as well as autonomy to take advantage of such opportunities. The provision of credit, especially micro-credit, has now become an effective tool and successful strategy for poverty reduction among women. The main objective of this study is to determine the impact of micro-credit on women empowerment, specifically on women mobility. The study analyzes the impact of credit on women’s role in decision-making, besides estimating the changes in their confidence level. It also evaluates the advantages of women keeping assets in their name. Consequently, the study concludes that the impact of micro-credit has played a positive role on women empowerment, specifically in raising awareness in enhancing their capacity to build assets, move around freely and contributes to various household level economic decisions.

The study intends to ascertain the pathway through which foreign debt affects GDP growth in lower-middle-income countries (LMICs). High external debt stock has been major source concern for many LMICs in the late 90’s and post financial crises period. Cross-section panel data from 30 countries were studied for the period 1999–2019 using a two-step system (GMM) estimation technique. The sample LMICs were further broken into Asian and African nations and the period was divided into 2010–2019 to assess the impact of post-financial crisis events. The research revealed a strong relationship between external debt and GDP growth via total factor productivity when the entire sample of LMICs was considered. However, the estimations also indicated that TFP is not a channel of transmission in Asian nations in both eras, namely 1999–2010 and the post-financial crisis period of 2010–2019, because foreign debt reduces total factor productivity. Furthermore, considering the entire sample and the post-financial-crisis period in African countries, external debt has a negative but minor connection with TFP. GDP growth shows a large and positive association with TFP in both periods in African countries.