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Financial inclusion is an international policy agenda and can be achieved through financially literate people, who can make informed financial decisions and improve individuals' well-being. The area of Financial Literacy and Financial Inclusion is fairly highlighted in the literature; however, the collective importance of how these two areas are researched together needs scholarly attention. This paper carries out a mapping, scientometric and content analysis by compiling studies at the intersection of financial literacy and financial inclusion from a sample of 10,091 studies spread over the last 45 years and conducted on a sample of more than 850,000 individuals worldwide. We find that the number of studies increases; by fields, Finance and Economics dominate the literature; by countries, most studies come from developed countries, in particular the US; by authors, citations are skewed and by measures; studies are moving from non-functional measures to functional measures. Overall, the interest in financial literacy in bringing financial inclusion and its multifaceted role is elaborated using conceptual framework following which future research is positioned. Thus, aiding policymakers, regulators, and academicians to know the distinction of Financial literacy in Financial inclusion and to identify the potential research areas.

This study aims to examine the impact of reverse mentoring on the change adaptation behavior of senior employees working in public sector organizations. Specifically, the purpose of this research is to gain insights into enhancing adaptability and organizational change management strategies in employees by studying the sequential mediation of cognitive flexibility and resilience. This study uses a deductive research approach with employees’ positivism philosophy to examine the effect of reverse mentoring on change adaptation. It utilizes a purposive sampling technique and data was collected from the employees working in public sector organizations in Pakistan. We employed a time-lagged data collection method to gather insights from a representative employee pool and Mplus for data analysis. The study shows that all variables examined have significant positive effects on each other. Reverse mentoring, cognitive flexibility, and resilience contribute to improved change adaptation in public sector organizations.

Rotatory saving and credit associations (ROSCAs) are informal financing association serving the needs of many people, specifically those who had no access to formal financial markets, in developing economies. Researchers have addressed various aspects of ROSCA in different studies, while ignoring the identification of determinants of ROSCA participation. The purpose of this study is to identify and explore the determinants of ROSCA participation based on need-based setup, situational setting, and commitment mechanism. The qualitative analysis based on 14 semi-structured interviews from ROSCA participants of rural areas of Pakistan evidenced that the determinants vary between lower-class and middle-class communities. The lower-class community rely on ROSCA for their existence needs, relatedness needs, and social obligations, while middle-class community avail ROSCA opportunity for pursuing growth needs and relatedness needs. The middle-class community assumes ROSCA funding for achieving economic stability and to maintain social status. This study provides vital implication toward regularization of informal financing units in Pakistan.

The importance of mortgage loans and their repayments have wide range in literature. The usefulness of bank loan facilities for enhancement and growth of business is the acknowledged fact approved by the economists and business professionals. In Pakistan, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governs the banking sector and other financial institutions and issues certain regulations for the control and management of the loans and credit in the market. In the case of mortgage loans availed by the business community, SBP has directed the financial institutions and banks to monitor their usage by the business community for the desired purpose of loan acquisition mentioned in the loan applications. The purpose of this study is to check the repayment behavior of business individuals who have availed the mortgage loans running finance facilities to meet the financial requirements of their businesses. This study validates the rational of the SBP's regulation about the end use of loan facilities. This study argues that improper use of the loan has negative impact on the loan repayments. Business individuals who have used the loans for other than the intended purpose of its acquisition are more delinquent in repayments. Large loan size as well as the large firm size both has negative impact on repayments.

This study examines the long term relationship of risk premium and fundamental factors in emerging stock markets of China, India and Pakistan keeping in view leading contribution of Fama and French (1992) and Carhart (1997) models. Contrary to the macroeconomic multifactor models, this study incorporates firm-specific risk factors related to the market premium; size (SMB), value (HML), momentum (WML) and growth (UMD) as determinants of risk premium. The firm-specific growth factor is incorporated based on evidence from Ho, Strange, and Piesse (2008) by employing (UMD) which is based on assets to market equity of the firm. Sample of 1198 companies from the three emerging markets for the period of 2001-2013 depicts market risk premium as the leading factor affecting risk premium in Indian and the Pakistani markets. Results reveal market momentum being high enough to overestimate coefficients in the short run. However, the relationship is stabilized and adjusted in the long run. Chinese markets, where all the risk factors seem to play their role to determine risk premium, are relatively much stable and grown-up and clearly represent maturity of the Chinese markets. Distinction between the short run and long run might be useful for the investors of the three emerging economies. According to the principle of high risk associated with high returns, small value happens to deliver higher returns with higher volatility. The growth stocks outperform value stocks in these economies.

Applicability of the invaluable financial models of CAPM and Fama-French has been tested in Pakistan for an extended period of 2001-2010 employing monthly data in panel data models and quantile regression analysis. Findings of the study are useful for the investors, policy makers and academicians. Results of the quantile regression outperform panel data models in supporting the FF-model for KSE listed companies. Findings of the study support Connor and Sehgal (2001) perhaps due to the similar historical perspective of India and Pakistan. The results reveal linear exposure of stock returns and risk premium to market, size and value factors explaining the cross-sectional variations in the stock returns. Findings of the study also support Brien (2008) that SMB and HML augment ability of the two models in explaining the expected returns. Significant findings of the study may be attributed to the extended data set, natural randomness of the companies for the period of 2001-2010, and efficient methods employed in the present study. One of the objectives of the study was exploring significance of the Fama and French model for Pakistani corporate culture and secondary market environment. Findings of the study endorse applicability of FF-model in Pakistani context. Particularly, findings support FF-model and its significance in the long run. An efficient calculation of required rate of return is recommended using the CAPM and FF-model. In this perspective, findings of the present study support efficient market hypothesis (EMH), positively relating the principle of high risk with high returns. Evidence of risk-return relationship elucidated by FF-model might be very useful for medium and long term investors.

The study aimed to analyse the impact of macroeconomic conditions on firm level leverage of the listed non-financial firms of Pakistan and India. Data from 929 listed firms from Pakistan and India was collected for the period 2008-2019. Panel data regression (fixed effects model) was used to estimate the relationship between macroeconomic conditions and firm leverage. The findings of the study revealed that in Pakistan real interest rate, exchanges rates, public debt and GDP growth rates significantly influence firm leverage whereas in India none of the macroeconomic variables have a significant influence on firm leverage. In Pakistan real interest rate, exchange rate, corruption, public debt, banking sector development, stock market development negatively influence firm leverage whereas unemployment rate, GDP growth rate and corporate taxes has a positive influence on firm leverage. In India, on the other hand, real interest rate, corruption, exchange rate and public debt negatively influence firm leverage whereas the rest of macroeconomic variables have a positive influence firm leverage. Moreover, the analysis of slope and differential slope coefficients revealed that the only the influence of exchange rates, public debt and GDP growth rates significantly differs in Pakistan from that of India.

Monetary and Fiscal policy instruments are important macroeconomic variables that may influence the financing choices of a firm. However, empirical evidence with respect to their influence on firm-level leverage is somewhat under researched particularly in the context of developing countries. The main objective of this study was to measure the influence of monetary and fiscal policy instruments on the leveraging of non-financial firms listed of Pakistan and India for the period 2006-2017. The findings of the study revealed that monetary and fiscal policy instruments do influence leverage decisions of listed firms in Pakistan and India, however, the extent of their influence varies in both countries. In Pakistan, except real interest rates all other monetary and fiscal policy instruments significantly influence leveraging decisions of listed firms whereas in India only real interest rates significantly influence leverage decisions of listed firms. Moreover, in Pakistan only incomes taxes negatively influences leverage whereas all other variables positively influence leverage. In India tax revenue, real interest rate and M2 negatively influence leverage whereas incomes taxes and public debt positively influences leverage.

Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) holds predominant position in finance for the determination of expected rate of return from an investment. Probability of loss plays significant role for investment decision making but previous studies in Pakistan have not taken up this concept in the CAPM. Scope of the previous studies encompasses mere testing of the validity of CAPM in Pakistan using the time inconsistent methods of finding risk and returns. This study applies probability of getting the required rate of return calculated through CAPM at par with the some standard rate defined by the system in Pakistan. Evidence of market imperfection in the context of negative risk premium has also been discovered. Predictive aspect of the CAPM has been put to test in order to find gap between the monetary and the real sector with increasing rate of interest margin in the banking sector of Pakistan.