This study empirically investigates the role and the impact of foreign aid (ODA) on economic growth (GDP) using 95 developing countries as the sample.Here we also include foreign direct investment (FDI) and population (POP) as the control variables. The panel data results indicate that a U-shape relationship exists between foreign aid and economic growth (Wamboye, 2012;Gyimah-Brempong and Racine, 2014). Initially, foreign aid negatively impacts the countries' growth and over a period of time, it positively contributes to economic growth. Further, the results strongly support the view that both FDI and POP are more important determinants of GDP, implying that GDP is less likely to depend on ODA. Strengthening the legal framework would be essential for these countries while their overdependency on the influx of ODA might lead to negative impacts on the growth as a whole. Importantly, effective management of foreign aid would ensure the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are achieved.

Sluggish growth in low-income countries, despite the high performance in other economic indicators, motivates the literature to switch attention to institutions. Despite its crucial economic implications, there is limited attention on rent-seeking as a driver of economic growth in low-income countries. This paper investigates the effect of rent-seeking on growth in low-income countries from 2004 to 2017using the system generalized method of moments estimator. The empirical results reveal that rent-seeking negatively affects growth, implying that it obstructs the pace of economic development in low-income countries. Hence, it is necessary for policymakers in these countries to adopt anti-rent-seeking policies to promote a rapid and sustainable growth.

Background: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic is still spreading rampantly in almost every country in the world, causing around 1.5 million dead at the point of time, and the death rate is still going up even though inoculation of vaccine has started. It is widely recognized that this pandemic Covid-19 is caused by infectious pathogens from the animal. Aim: This study investigates the relationship of biodiversity loss and zoonotic disease pandemic. The main reason for this migration is habitat (biodiversity) loss which is primarily caused by deforestation. Subject and Methods: Using Pooled Ordinary Least Square (POLS) models and worldwide data collected by using biodiversity in 170 countries. Results: It was found that biodiversity loss is positively related to the emergence of contagious disease. Conclusion: This verifies once for all that deforestation must be controlled so that the chance of emergent of next pandemic is mitigated.

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