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The study compares financial development in emerging regions of the world. These regions are Mediterranean & North Africa (MENA), Latin America & Caribbean (LAC), and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The purpose is to determine the role of digitalization in financial development over the period 2000-2023, and how well it conforms to theoretical postulations. The investigation is carried out by employing econometric techniques of generalized method of moments and auto-regressive distributed lag, which possess the capacity to minimize bias and produce reliable results. The estimation results reveal that the role of digitalization is positive and more pronounced in MENA compared to other regions. The role is complemented by fiscal and monetary policies, trade openness, institutional quality, and economic growth. Furthermore, the role is found to conform with the postulation of financial intermediation theory, but contradicts the postulation of financial disintermediation theory. All diagnostics show that the estimation results are consistent and useful for policy making. The findings thus suggest the need to fine-tune relevant policies that can enhance the role of digital technology and other variables in driving financial development. Such Policy adjustments may include relaxation of tariff on imported digital equipment, reduction in interest rate, and deregulation of exchange rate.

Keywords: Financial development; digital technology; adoption of innovation; emerging economic regions
JEL classification: O41, O31, L86, O55

Tax literacy is crucial for effective financial planning. By understanding various aspects of taxes and tax strategies, individuals can better manage their savings while fulfilling tax obligations. Without formal education in taxation, people often struggle with calculating tax liabilities, filing returns, and utilizing tax-saving deductions and exemptions. Tax literacy involves grasping personal taxation concepts and applying that knowledge to determine tax liabilities and file returns independently. This study aims to explore the relationship between tax literacy and various demographic factors among government and non-Government employees in Punjab. Data were collected from primary sources using a structured and pretested questionnaire. The research focused on government and non-government employees from major cities in Punjab, including Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, and Chandigarh. A sample of 250 employees, with 125 from government and 125 from non-government sectors, was surveyed. The results indicate that demographic factors such as gender, income, education, age, and work experience significantly affect tax literacy levels among both groups. The study found that tax literacy is notably lower among women employees, those with lower incomes, less education, younger individuals, and those with less work experience.

Keywords: Tax literacy, demographic factors, Government Employees, Non-Government Employees, Punjab

The point of beginning of economic growth and development is collaboration. Collaboration is essential for rule of law. Rule of law attracts capital and protects democracy. Democracy creates additional pathways that deploy capital optimally to produce goods and services that constitute per capita real gross domestic product (GDP) adjusted for purchasing power parity (GDPppp), otherwise known as standard of living. After depreciation and obsolescence, and consumption, the remainder is a contribution to wealth. The purpose of this paper is to explore the transmogrify in which music education can develop human natural propensity for collaboration. Singapore is evidence of a connection between mandatory music education, high collaboration and very high GDPppp.

Keywords: CDR index; Gross Domestic Product; Capitalism; Democracy; Rule of Law; Entrepreneurship.
JEL: E02, P16

Ethically-minded firms usually have stronger market and investment-propelling force in the eyes of the investing public than unethical ones given their social acceptance and public good will. Against this backdrop, this study empirically investigates whether ethical factors influence return and volatility using evidence from an ethical and socially responsible publicly listed firm-Unilever Nig Plc, compared with a non-ethical and very low socially responsible listed firm, Guinness Nig Plc. The long memory and volatility asymmetric properties based on GARCH and asymmetric GARCH approaches are utilized for quarterly data covering 2008Q1- 2022Q4. The results show that ethical and socially responsible firms have higher returns and lower volatility compared to the non- ethical firm, and by implication, are less affected during financial crises, compared to unethical and conventional investments. This is attributable to the positive perception, credibility and confidence by investors on the ethical company, relative to the non-ethical firm. The variance process of the ethically listed financial firm is mean- reverting, as the coefficients on ARCH and GARCH effects sum to less than one, while that of the non-ethical counterpart appears permanent, an indication that shocks tend to be persistent. The paper recommends sound ethical requirements to drive stock performance, especially for a large market like Nigeria.

Keywords: Ethical financial firms, Stock Volatility, Long-memory effects, Asymmetric properties, GARCH
JEL Classification: G11, G12, G14, G17, C58

This study is an investigation into the effects of government regulations on insurance operations in Nigeria from 1999 to 2022. The specific objectives of the study were to establish the effects of interest rate on underwriting and claims management operations of insurance companies in Nigeria. The research design employed was an ex-post facto. Data were sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin, and National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) Insurance Market Performance publication. Stationarity test carried out on the data revealed that data was stationary 5% levels of significance using. Using ordinary least squares regression, the regression analysis results revealed that there is negative but statistical insignificant relationship between government regulations as measured by interest rate and insurance operations using insurance underwriting and insurance claims management in Nigeria. The coefficient of determination (R2) which is 0.584031 indicates that interest rate contributes 58.40% of changes in premium income and claims payment variation. It is therefore recommended, among others that government regulations should be tailored towards encouraging innovative insurance products that meet the needs of the insuring public, use of relationship marketing strategies and establishment of adequately capitalized insurance firms. This will improve insurance contribution significantly to economic growth in Nigeria. Also, laws should be formulated with punitive measures on erring insurance players who violate ethical standard of operation as well as formulation of monetary policies that give room for project financing with considerable interest rate that attaches compulsory insurance on same to avoid risk of repayment default.

Keywords: Government Regulation, Interest Rate, Insurance Operation, Underwriting, Claims Management.