Political instability,political freedom and inflation

Using a dynamic panel data approach, we estimate the impact of the political and institutional factors on inflation. Estimation results show that a lower degree of political instability generates lower inflation only for developed and low-inflation countries. However, when political freedom is taken into account, political instability appears to be influential on inflation also for developing countries and turns out to be significant only for high-inflation countries. Such findings emphasize the inflation-reducing effects of political stability depending on democratic political structure.     

LISREL growth model on direct and indirect effects using cross-country data

Many papers have analyzed the factors affecting economic growth. However, these have concentrated on direct effects and ignored indirect effects through other variables in the model. This study investigates direct and indirect effects of various factors on growth with a causal growth model using LISREL (LInear Structural RELations) for a sample of 105 countries over the period of 1975–2002. Results suggest that ignoring the indirect effects of productivity growth, geography and economic development on economic growth may lead to a considerable underestimation of their ‘true’ total effects on growth. While the importance of the indirect effects of productivity growth and geography relative to their direct effects changes with the estimated model, the relative importance of the indirect effect of economic development on growth is found to be robust to different model specifications.     

Financial inclusion as a pathway to welfare enhancement and income equality: Micro-level evidence from Nigeria

While the importance of financial inclusion as a means of poverty and income inequality reduction has long been recognised, the paths to welfare enhancement and income equality through financial inclusion remain partially acknowledged. Using micro-level data on 1 750 rural Nigerian households, this study examines the finance-welfare nexus by constructing a multi-variable financial inclusion index. The results first show that financial inclusion exerts a strong positive influence on household welfare. However, the decomposition analysis shows that middle- and high-income households gain more from financial inclusion in comparison to the targeted low-income households. Second, informal livelihood strategies, such as environmental resource extraction, crops, and livestock production, revealed reduced welfare disparities across income distributions. Therefore, for financial inclusion to alleviate welfare inequality and ensure income convergence, rural financial markets must be redesigned to allow wider access to credit, specifically for low-income and vulnerable households.     

Does decentralization reduce income inequality? Only in rich states

We investigate the relationship between fiscal decentralization and income inequality using data from U.S. states over three and a half decades. Our study contributes to the literature in several ways in terms of empirical methodology and specification. First, we take into account integration and cointegration properties of the data and estimate the cointegrating relationship between fiscal decentralization and income inequality using Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares, following Pedroni (2000). Second, we investigate the direction of the causality. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we investigate if the relationship between fiscal decentralization and income inequality is conditional on income in each state. We find that fiscal decentralization does reduce income inequality, but only in rich states. We also find that causality runs from fiscal decentralization to income inequality, not the other way around.     

Extending the diversity conversation: Fashion consumption experiences of underrepresented and underserved women

This research brings in the voice of underserved and underrepresented women of various racial or ethnic origins and social classes, who have differing buying powers, sexual orientations, body shapes, and physical appearances, into the conversation of fashion diversity. Through a qualitative inquiry with 38 semi-structured in-depth interviews, the researchers analyzed the consumption experiences of diverse women to expose what the fashion scene is lacking. The study's main contribution is the depiction of overlooked diversity categories in fashion, such as the non-White and non-Black women of color, women of average sizes, and women with characteristics that the fashion industry has long seen as flaws. For women's physical and psychological well-being, the authors of this study hope to lead fashion producers and researchers into a new era of diversity and minimize certain consumer groups' exclusion through discrimination, isolation, and segregation.