The objective of the study is to investigate the impact of female representation on boards and female CEOs on firms’ sustainable performance in the context of an emerging economy. We also introduce the CEO duality as a moderator variable between sustainable firm performance and board gender diversity. For this purpose, the study uses a panel data sample from 2005 to 2020 for non-financial listed firms in Pakistan. We use the firm’s operational self-sufficiency for the sustainable performance of firms. For robustness, the study also uses other accounting-based and market-based proxies. We apply the static (fixed and random effect) and dynamic panel estimation (GMM) techniques to deal with the heterogeneity and dynamic endogeneity issues in panel data estimation. The finding shows a significant positive impact of female directors on board and female CEOs on sustainable performance, whereas CEO duality does not moderate this relationship. Furthermore, we find that CEO duality has a significant negative impact on firms’ sustainable performance, which supports the agency theory hypothesis. The study also controls corporate board level factors, including board size and board independence, and uses leverage, firm size, capital expenditure, and tangible assets as firm-level control. The results also reveal that board size and board independence have a significant positive impact on firms’ sustainable performance. Furthermore, firm size, tangibility, and firm age have a significant positive, whereas leverage and capital expenditure have a negative impact on firms’ sustainable performance. Finally, the study has policy implications for stakeholders.

Purpose: As per agency theory prospective, board gender diversity enhances the corporate leadership structure which mitigates agency conflicts among stakeholders. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of female directors on board, and female CEOs on firm performance. We also uses board size, and board independence as board level control, while leverage, firm size, capital expenditure & tangibility as firm level control. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study uses a panel data starting from 2005 to 2020 on annual basis. To resolve endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity problems in panel data analysis, study uses static (fixed effect, & random effect) and dynamic (GMM) estimation techniques in Pakistan. Findings: Result shows the positive impact of female directors on board and female CEOs on firm performance. These findings are robust under alternative measures of firm performance. Implications/Originality/Value: The study suggests that female representation and female CEOs are the important attributes to enhance firm performance. Additionally, females are performing a significant role through monitor and control for excellent corporate leadership structure. Furthermore, this is the first study of its kind which analyzes this relationship in the emerging equity market of Pakistan.

Tax avoidance are the strategies that firms use to avoid their tax payments and rise their after-tax income. Recently, tax avoidance increase consideration in the modern research literature. In developing countries like Pakistan, taxes are a most important element to support the country’s budget and revenues. Therefore, this study tries to find the impact of corporate diversification on tax avoidance of listed firms in Pakistan stock exchange. For sample selection study use the 22 different sectors and select 129 companies based on availability of data. The time horizon of this study is 13 years started from 2006 to 2018 on annual basis. Study uses GAAPETR (tax expense / pre-tax income) to measure the tax avoidance besides entropy-index use for corporate diversification. To identify the long-term relationship between corporate diversification and tax avoidance study apply Johnson and Julius (1990) multivariate co-integration analysis. The results of Johnson and Julius (1990) approach shows that co-integration exist between corporate diversification and tax avoidance. Besides study use firm characteristics as control variables like leverage, firm profitability, ratio of capital expenditure and market to book ratio.  Finally, study has policy implication for government, policy makers, regularity bodies, tax authority’s, investors and other stakeholders in Pakistan.

For the purposes to finance their business operations, firms have incentives to engage in corporate tax avoidance activities when managerial incentives increase as compared to managerial costs. These activities are significantly high when firms are inthe financial distress zone. The Covid-19 financial crisis (CFC) provides significant findings on whether corporate tax avoidance hasa significant difference from the pre-Covid-19 tothe post-Covid-19 financial crisis, whether a firm’s management is obligated to engage aggressively with corporate tax avoidance. This research aims to investigate the impact of financial distress on corporate tax avoidance during the Covid-19 financial crisis.  Based on a sample of 175 firms listed on PSX covering the period of 2010-2021. The study applies GMM dynamic approach with (static) fixed and random effect models to check the robustness of results. The finding of the GMM approach demonstrates that financial distress has a statistically significant and positive impact on corporate tax avoidance. Consistent with the cost-benefits analysis and risk-shifting behavior theories, firms engage more in tax avoidance, especially during financial distress. Moreover, CFC magnified the relationship between these variables, and firms investigated in the study face development suffer mostly in this globally and economically distressing period.

The current research intends to look at the asymmetrical influence of institutional quality (IQ) on carbon emissions (????????2e) by incorporating additional variables i.e., trade openness (TO), population growth (PG), and energy use (E) over the period 1980-2020. The current study used nonlinear ARDL to demonstrate the nonlinear influence of IQ on ????????2e. The empirical finding suggests that positive fluctuation in institutional quality considerably improves the environmental quality in Pakistan in the short and long run. At the same time, the outcomes show that negative fluctuations in IQ lead to considerably contributed to ????????2e in long run. GDP and E are positively connected with ????????2e. The policy makers could need to enhance the institutional quality leads to attaining the long-term ecological objectives.