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The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of various factors on the level of non-performing loans (NPL) and, to determine the moderating role of efficiency on the relationship between different factors and NPL in China. The current study addressed four important factors to examine the role in relation to the NPL. These factors include; return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), economic sustainability and political instability index. Furthermore, the moderating role of efficiency is addressed between these factors and NPL. Secondary data is used in this study to consider the empirical results. Secondary data related to ROA, ROE, economic sustainability and political instability index is collected from different sources. Consistent with the literature, we found significant effect of ROA, ROE, economic sustainability and political instability index on NPL. Banking sector of China is majorly influenced by these factors due to the effect on NPLs. Furthermore, the efficiency has contribution to the NPLs as moderating variable. Results of this study are helpful for the management of banking industry to resolve various issues related to NPLs.

Recent studies concerning the possible relationship between climate trends and the risks of violent conflict have yielded contradictory results, partly because of choices of conflict measures and modeling design. In this study, we examine climate–conflict relationships using a geographically disaggregated approach. We consider the effects of climate change to be both local and national in character, and we use a conflict database that contains 16,359 individual geolocated violent events for East Africa from 1990 to 2009. Unlike previous studies that relied exclusively on political and economic controls, we analyze the many geographical factors that have been shown to be important in understanding the distribution and causes of violence while also considering yearly and country fixed effects. For our main climate indicators at gridded 1° resolution (∼100 km), wetter deviations from the precipitation norms decrease the risk of violence, whereas drier and normal periods show no effects. The relationship between temperature and conflict shows that much warmer than normal temperatures raise the risk of violence, whereas average and cooler temperatures have no effect. These precipitation and temperature effects are statistically significant but have modest influence in terms of predictive power in a model with political, economic, and physical geographic predictors. Large variations in the climate–conflict relationships are evident between the nine countries of the study region and across time periods.

Background Deep-rooted racial residential segregation and housing discrimination have given rise to housing disparities among low-income Black young adults in the US. Most studies have focused on single dimensions of housing instability, and thus provide a partial view of how Black young adults experience multiple, and perhaps overlapping, experiences of housing instability including homelessness, frequent moves, unaffordability, or evictions. We aimed to illuminate the multiple forms of housing instability that Black young adults contend with and examine relationships between housing instability and mental health outcomes. Methods Using baseline data from the Black Economic Equity Movement (BEEM) guaranteed income trial with 300 urban low-income Black young adults (aged 18–24), we conducted a three-stage latent class analysis using nine housing instability indicators. We identified distinct patterns by using fit indices and theory to determine the optimal number of latent classes. We then used multinomial logistic regression to identify subpopulations disproportionately represented within unstable housing patterns. Finally, we estimated associations between housing experience patterns and mental health outcomes: depression, anxiety, and hope. Results We found high prevalence of housing instability with 27.3% of participants reporting experiences of homelessness in the prior year and 39.0% of participants reporting multiple measures of housing instability. We found the 4-class solution to be the best fitting model for the data based on fit indices and theory. Latent classes were characterized as four housing experience patterns: 1) more stably housed, 2) unaffordable and overcrowded housing, 3) mainly unhoused, and 4) multiple dimensions of housing instability. Those experiencing unaffordable and overcrowded housing and being mainly unhoused were more than four times as likely to have symptoms of depression (Unaffordable: aOR = 4.57, 95% CI: 1.64, 12.72; Unhoused: aOR = 4.67, 95% CI:1.18, 18.48) and more than twice as likely to report anxiety (Unaffordable: aOR = 2.28, 95% CI: 1.03, 5.04; Unhoused: aOR = 3.36, 95% CI: 1.12, 10.05) compared to the more stably housed pattern. We found that hope scores were similarly high across patterns. Conclusions High prevalence of housing instability and mental health challenges among low-income Black young adults demands tailored interventions to reduce instability, given widening racial disparities and implications for future well-being into adulthood.

To investigate whether sub-Saharan African countries have succeeded in reducing wealth-related inequalities in the coverage of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health interventions. We analysed survey data from 36 countries, grouped into Central, East, Southern and West Africa subregions, in which at least two surveys had been conducted since 1995. We calculated the composite coverage index, a function of essential maternal and child health intervention parameters. We adopted the wealth index, divided into quintiles from poorest to wealthiest, to investigate wealth-related inequalities in coverage. We quantified trends with time by calculating average annual change in index using a least-squares weighted regression. We calculated population attributable risk to measure the contribution of wealth to the coverage index. We noted large differences between the four regions, with a median composite coverage index ranging from 50.8% for West Africa to 75.3% for Southern Africa. Wealth-related inequalities were prevalent in all subregions, and were highest for West Africa and lowest for Southern Africa. Absolute income was not a predictor of coverage, as we observed a higher coverage in Southern (around 70%) compared with Central and West (around 40%) subregions for the same income. Wealth-related inequalities in coverage were reduced by the greatest amount in Southern Africa, and we found no evidence of inequality reduction in Central Africa. Our data show that most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have succeeded in reducing wealth-related inequalities in the coverage of essential health services, even in the presence of conflict, economic hardship or political instability.

Many variables have been proposed by past studies as significant determinants of corruption. This paper asks if their estimated impact on corruption is robust to alteration of the information set. A \"Global Sensitivity Analysis\", based on the Leamer's Extreme-Bounds Analysis gives a clear answer: five variables are robustly related to corruption. Corruption is lower in richer countries, where democratic institutions have been preserved for a long continuous period, and the population is mainly Protestant. Corruption is instead higher where political instability is a major problem. Finally, a country's colonial heritage appears to be a significant determinant of present corruption.

Our empirical tests generally support the hypothesis that up to certain values of the average per capita income its growth tends to lead to increased risks of sociopolitical destabilization, and only in the upper range of this indicator its growth tends to be associated with the decrease of sociopolitical destabilization risks. However, our analysis has shown that for various indices of sociopolitical destabilization this curvilinear relationship can be quite different in some important details. On the other hand, we detect the presence of a very important exception. We show that the relationship between per capita GDP and the intensity of coups and coup attempts is not curvilinear; in this case we are rather dealing with a pronounced negative correlation; a particularly strong negative correlation is observed between this index and the logarithm of GDP per capita. We demonstrate that this fact makes the abovementioned bell-shaped relationship with respect to the integral index of sociopolitical destabilization considerably less distinct and makes a very significant contribution to the formation of its asymmetry (when the negative correlation between per capita GDP and sociopolitical destabilization among the richer countries looks much stronger than the positive correlation among poorer countries). However, our analysis shows that for all the other indices of sociopolitical destabilization we do witness the bell-shaped relationship. On the other hand, for example, in relation to such indices, as political strikes, riots and anti-government demonstrations we deal with such an asymmetry that is directly opposite to that mentioned above - with such an asymmetry, when a positive correlation between GDP and instability for poorer countries is much stronger than the negative correlation for richer countries.

Central Asia is a major emerging energy player but is also affected by global climate change. To both maintain its economic growth and cope with climate change, Central Asia is in urgent need of environmental and sustainable energy strategies, as well as effective carbon emissions mitigation. To this end, we investigated the characteristics of country-level total carbon emissions in Central Asia (i.e., Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan). Then, the logarithmic mean Divisia index method was applied to identify and quantify the driving forces behind the changes in carbon emissions. In addition, country-level long-run relationships between economic growth and carbon emissions were tested by means of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. The results are as follows. (1) There were pronounced differences in per capita gross domestic product, energy intensity, and carbon emissions structures across this region, mainly owing to the oil and gas endowment and economic development stage. (2) Impacts and influences of various drivers of carbon emissions varied across countries over the different stages. (3) During the economic recession period, carbon emissions decreases were largely driven by the decreasing economic growth effect associated with political instability. (4) During the economic transition periods, economic growth effect played a dominant positive role in accelerating carbon emissions in the five countries, followed by the population scale effect. Energy intensity effect was the most important factor in curbing carbon emissions in the five countries. Emissions increases during these periods were partly or largely compensated by the improving energy intensity in the different countries. Carbon intensity effect mostly had a negative but relatively minor effect on carbon emissions. (5) There was only an inverted U-shaped curve existing in the lower-middle-income country (Uzbekistan). Considering these differences and disparities in emissions characteristics and determinants can provide important insights for the energy sustainability and carbon mitigation in Central Asia.

The capitalist peace thesis argues transnational economic ties have a pacifying effect on interstate relations. An extension of this literature reports that economic ties can prompt belligerents in civil conflicts to peacefully resolve their disputes and can attract third-party intervention from states with strong economic ties. This pacifying effect of economic ties, we argue, is applicable in the context of coups d'état: as a state becomes more economically interdependent with the rest of the world, the opportunity costs of domestic political disturbances are raised for both the targeted state and its financial partners. These costs – potential economic losses and a damaged economic reputation – influence belligerents in the state to use constitutional means to resolve their disputes while providing stronger incentives to foreign economic partners to influence the calculus of these belligerents as they consider the coup attempt. We test this argument quantitatively by investigating the influence of a dozen indicators of economic openness on coups in a global sample of states from 1952 to 2007. Our findings demonstrate the applicability of the capitalist peace thesis to coups ïétat, manifestations of political uncertainty that are less likely to be accompanied by substantial loss of life or destruction of infrastructure.

Background Young people in the MENA region face significant challenges due to socio-political instability, ongoing conflicts, and inequitable social and economic policies. These factors, combined with global threats like climate change and economic instability, hinder the potential of the region's 140 million young people aged 10–24. Addressing these compounded crises is crucial for the future of the region. It is essential to understand the contextual factors shaping young people's health outcomes through their own perspectives. Photovoice, a participatory research method, has shown promise in engaging young people in research. Objective This scoping review aims to map the literature on photovoice studies that addressed health and its determinants among young people in the MENA region. It also seeks to highlight the challenges and strengths of employing the photovoice methodology in this context. Inclusion criteria The review included literature reporting photovoice projects that addressed young people's health and/or its social determinants, where participants took photos and engaged in discussions based on these images. Studies involving young people aged 10–24 years and focusing on photovoice in the MENA region were considered. Both peer-reviewed journal articles and grey literature with sufficient information addressing the review questions were included. Methodology The review followed the JBI Scoping Review Methodology and involved searches of seven English databases, two Arabic databases, and grey literature through Google search. Results Eleven studies/projects were included in the analysis. Most of the literature came from non-profit organizations, with few studies from peer-reviewed articles. The included studies focused on socio-economically disadvantaged, vulnerable, and marginalized young people, addressing topics such as environment, social integration, safety, and youth empowerment. The implementation of photovoice varied across studies, and there was limited participation of young people throughout the research process. Conclusion The scoping review revealed a scarcity of literature on the use of photovoice among young people to address health inequalities and the factors influencing them in the MENA region. Given the public health value of photovoice as an action-oriented research approach that promotes meaningful participation from young people, further research is needed to leverage this methodology to tackle health inequalities effectively.

This study examines the progress and challenges in the democratic landscape of Africa within the framework of the Africa Agenda 2063 (hereafter AA2063). Initiated in 2013, the Agenda signifies Africa’s commitment to an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful continent. Despite these aspirations, Africa faces persistent challenges, including political instability, socio-economic inequalities, and health crises. This study triangulates data from Afrobarometer public perception surveys, Varieties of Democracies expert insights, and the Ibrahim Index of African Governance to provide a broad understanding of the ten-year trend in democratic governance in Africa. The study found an increased demand for democracy, contrasted with a continuous decline in the supply of democracy. The study observed that, based on the average democratic performance over the decade, measured at 45% using V-Dem indices and 44% using IIAG percentage, Africa needs to score more than twice the current performance every year to align with the democratic aspirations of AA2063. This study underscores the need for targeted reforms to bridge the gap between current democratic performance and the envisioned goals of AA2063. It identifies key areas for improvement, including the separation of powers and checks and balances, citizens’ active participation, accessibility to state-owned media, and the independence of election monitoring bodies.