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• 13 Pages Download PDF: Does More Income Buy More Happiness? Empirical Evidence from the World Values Survey in Pakistan

  Does More Income Buy More Happiness? Empirical Evidence from the World Values Survey in Pakistan

  Samia Awais, Shahzad Kouser, Ihtesham-ul-Haq Padda

  2025-06-30 https://doi.org/10.36923/jcmi.v6i1.639

  This study examines the empirical validity of the Easterlin Paradox in the context of Pakistan, drawing on nationally representative microdata from 1,995 adult respondents in the most recent Wave 7 of the World Values Survey. The paradox posits that while income is positively associated with happiness at a given point in time, long-term income increases do not necessarily lead to sustained improvements in subjective well-being. We examine this relationship through a combination of descriptive statistics and a two-level mixed-effects ordered logistic regression model, which accounts for both individual- and community-level heterogeneity. The analysis confirms that income has a statistically significant positive effect on happiness; however, the inclusion of a squared income term reveals a non-linear, concave relationship, indicating diminishing marginal returns to income—a core tenet of the Easterlin Paradox. Beyond income, a range of non-material factors such as good health, perceived autonomy, confidence in institutions, and social class emerge as significant predictors of happiness. Conversely, factors like food insecurity and being a victim of crime negatively impact subjective well-being. These findings align with the capability approach and recent global literature emphasizing the multidimensional nature of happiness. The study contributes to filling a critical gap in South Asian happiness research by providing country-specific, methodologically rigorous evidence from Pakistan. Policy implications suggest the need for a broader, human-centered development strategy that prioritizes healthcare, education, institutional trust, and social protection, rather than focusing narrowly on income growth. By shifting the focus toward inclusive and holistic well-being, Pakistan can better align its development goals with what truly enhances the lives of its citizens.

  pp. 82-94 Abstract views:215 Downloads:160

• Open Access Article

  19 Pages Download PDF: The Role of Energy Investment in Promoting Economic Sustainability in Developing Countries: A CS-ARDL Analysis

  The Role of Energy Investment in Promoting Economic Sustainability in Developing Countries: A CS-ARDL Analysis

  Aqeel Ahmad, Tusawar Iftikhar Ahmad, Asma Sajjad, Sajjad Ali

  2025-12-30 https://doi.org/10.36923/jcmi.v6i2.673

  Energy investment plays a pivotal role in promoting economic sustainability through a reliable energy supply to support industrial production and innovation. The current work investigates the difference in energy investment and economic sustainability between 1990 and 2022 for 88 developing countries with an income classification. Using the Cross-Sectional Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) methodology, the research simultaneously tests short- and long-run dynamics while explicitly modeling cross-sectional dependence. The results suggest that although labor force participation, capital formation, human capital, and foreign direct investment have positive impacts on economic sustainability across income levels, energy investment, especially when used for creating public-private partnerships, fosters economic growth in middle-income economies but has a negative correlation with low-income economies. Policy implications drawn from the findings indicate that boosting investment in the energy sector, with special focus on the use of renewable technologies in low- income countries, would be an effective strategy for promoting sustainable development.

  pp. 75-93 Abstract views:144 Downloads:90

• Open Access Article

  15 Pages Download PDF: Analyzing the Impact of Income Inequality on Women Empowerment in Punjab, Pakistan

  Analyzing the Impact of Income Inequality on Women Empowerment in Punjab, Pakistan

  Misbah Bashir, Muhammad Umar Farooq, Abdul Majeed Nadeem

  2025-12-27 https://doi.org/10.36923/jcmi.v6i2.669

  The present study investigates the impact of income inequality on women’s empowerment in the districts of Punjab, Pakistan. Data on income inequality, women's empowerment, and other variables of interest are drawn from four waves of the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey for the period 2008 to 2018. Three aspects, including education, health, and political participation of women, have been considered in the measurement of the women empowerment index. A fixed-effects approach is applied for the empirical evaluation of the data. The empirical outcomes show that a reduction in income inequality is significantly helpful in enhancing women’s empowerment across all districts.

  pp. 60-74 Abstract views:212 Downloads:109

• Open Access Article

  8 Pages Download PDF: From Income to Inclusion: A Comparative Human Capabilities Index for South Asian Economic Development

  From Income to Inclusion: A Comparative Human Capabilities Index for South Asian Economic Development

  Zaeema Farooq, Shaista Raza, Aqsa Hameed, Iqra Mehmood, Sidra Bano

  2025-06-25 https://doi.org/10.36923/jcmi.v6i1.641

  A new Comparative Human Capabilities Index (CHCI), which goes beyond conventional measures like GDP or HDI, is presented in this study to evaluate the economic progress of South Asian nations. GDP per capita, GDP per person employed, trade as a percentage of GDP, life expectancy, secondary school enrollment, and GDP per capita are the six main variables that make up the index, which is based on Amartya Sen's capability approach. Data were collected from the World Bank for eight nations between 2001 and 2015: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In order to ensure comparability across variables, the CHCI was built using equal weighting and min-max normalization. The findings indicate that while Bangladesh and India have made notable progress over time, the Maldives and Sri Lanka continue to rank first in terms of human skills. Despite beginning with lower levels, Afghanistan and Nepal showed signs of improvement over time. As an alternative to more conventional indices like the Human progress Index (HDI), the index offers a more human-centered and inclusive lens through which to view the region's economic progress. This strategy emphasizes how crucial it is to make investments in productivity, health, and education in order to achieve long-term, fair development.

  pp. 111-118 Abstract views:187 Downloads:87

• Open Access Article

  17 Pages Download PDF: Innovating for a Greener Future: Assessing the Impact of Renewable Energy, Resource Efficiency, and Technology on CO₂ Emission Reduction

  Innovating for a Greener Future: Assessing the Impact of Renewable Energy, Resource Efficiency, and Technology on CO₂ Emission Reduction

  Mahnaz Muhammad Ali, Rehana Kousar, Mahrukh Ruba, Samar Abbas, Qurat Ul Ain

  2025-12-30 https://doi.org/10.36923/jcmi.v6i2.675

  This paper explores how CO2 is emitted in 30 developing Asian economies. Such countries differ in terms of income levels, such as low, middle, and high income, and the years between 1990 and 2022 are included in the study. It employs a powerful econometric model in which both the System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) is used to overcome dynamic endogeneity and Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) is used to overcome potential reverse causality. This integrated methodology serves well to investigate the impacts of renewable energy use, the availability of natural resources, and technological innovation on the level of emissions. These findings of the study demonstrate a complex dynamic. There is presently a positive relationship between technological innovation and the rise in emissions, which can be attributed to the fact that technology is used to streamline the industrialization process that uses fossil fuels on a large scale. On the contrary, renewable energy and natural resources also contribute to the decrease in CO2 emissions. One of the biggest revelations is that production-oriented industrialization, particularly after China's entry into the WTO in 2001, has contributed greatly to the growth in global emissions. Since, in most cases, the area lacks powerful and effective environmental laws, this study emphasizes the necessity of modifications in policy. Steps such as promoting green innovation technology and introducing a price on carbon are crucial to uncoupling economic growth and emissions and creating an efficient global climate policy.

  pp. 94-110 Abstract views:4156 Downloads:80

• Open Access Article

  17 Pages Download PDF: Impact of E-Banking on Customer Welfare: Empirical Evidence from the Banks in South Punjab (Pakistan)

  Impact of E-Banking on Customer Welfare: Empirical Evidence from the Banks in South Punjab (Pakistan)

  Uzma Hina, Muhammad Omer Chaudhary

  2025-06-30 https://doi.org/10.36923/jcmi.v6i1.633

  It is evident that internet banking (e-banking) revolutionizes financial management through convenience, speed, and accessibility, thus enhancing customer welfare by saving time, reducing costs, and increasing financial control. Hence, this study expands on existing literature by analyzing the impact of e-banking on customer welfare, particularly in banks of Southern Punjab, Pakistan. This study uses Zenithal et al.'s (2005) e-SQ/e-SERVQUAL framework and IFC's (2013) MBQ model, treating customer welfare as an outcome of e-banking service quality. A descriptive-exploratory design was employed to analyze the cause-and-effect relationship between e-banking services and customer welfare. A Logit Model was developed based on data collected from 1029 customers of real-time online branches (RTOB) located in Southern Punjab, Pakistan, to estimate the econometric properties for determining the relationship between e-banking and customer welfare. Findings reveal that E-banking explains 68.59% of welfare variance (R²=0.6859, Adj. R²=0.6825). The Logit model is significant (F=206.33, p=0.000), with education (β=0.009, p=0.012), e-compensation, efficiency, responsiveness, and website layout (all p=0.000) as positive predictors. Gender, location, age, marital status, and income showed no significant impact (p>0.05). The study highlights that Pakistan's banking sector, particularly in Southern Punjab, must improve digital literacy, banking services, and rural infrastructure to enhance e-banking adoption and financial inclusion and contribute more to customer welfare.

  pp. 32-48 Abstract views:194 Downloads:174

• Open Access Article

  13 Pages Download PDF: Asymmetric Approach to Investigating the EKC hypothesis: Evidence from the BRICS Countries

  Asymmetric Approach to Investigating the EKC hypothesis: Evidence from the BRICS Countries

  Misbah Nosheen, Muhammad Ali Abbas, Shehzad Ahmad, Javed Iqbal

  2025-06-22 https://doi.org/10.36923/jcmi.v6i1.598

  Environmental challenges have emerged as one of the most critical matters affecting the globe today. Human-caused carbon emissions are the primary cause of these environmental challenges, and in order to decrease and mitigate their impacts, officials throughout the world are constantly researching their drivers and determinants. BRICS is considered a significant part of the world economy and energy markets. This study examines the EKC hypothesis for the BRICS while applying a nonlinear ARDL approach that distinguishes it from previous studies. For this purpose, this study decomposes the per-capita income (GPC) series into two components: the positive and the negative series. Empirical findings indicate that in the decomposed model, the coefficients of the positive series of GPC and GPC2 have significant negative and positive signs, respectively, in all countries of the region, which supports the EKC hypothesis. Results imply that BRICS governments need to focus on reducing their very considerable dependence on fossil fuels. The clean energy evolution can lead to the abandonment of fossil fuel assets, including those retained or supported by governments.

  pp. 1-13 Abstract views:199 Downloads:123

• Open Access Article

  15 Pages Download PDF: Workers’ Remittances and Socio-Economic Well-Being in Top Ten Remittances Receiving Developing Countries: The Role of Financial Development

  Workers’ Remittances and Socio-Economic Well-Being in Top Ten Remittances Receiving Developing Countries: The Role of Financial Development

  Mahnaz Muhammad Ali, Rozina Sadiq, Muhammad Javed

  2024-06-14 https://doi.org/10.36923/jcmi.v5i1.570

  The present study contributes empirical evidence to the impact of remittances on the socio-economic well-being of recipient nations, particularly through the enhancement of their Human Development Index (HDI) rankings. Utilizing a panel dataset comprising the top ten remittance-receiving countries over the period from 1990 to 2020, the research endeavors to offer a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between remittance inflows and HDI metrics. This investigation delves into the nuanced dimensions of HDI, namely health, education, and income per capita, to discern the specific effects of remittances on each component. The study employs the generalized method of moments (GMM) technique to mitigate potential endogeneity concerns inherent in the relationship between remittances and financial development. The findings of this empirical inquiry suggest that remittances wield a discernible influence on augmenting human well-being, particularly by fostering improvements in health and education outcomes. Additionally, the study identifies a constructive role for financial development in bolstering HDI indicators. In light of these findings, it is recommended that policymakers formulate tailored strategies aimed at facilitating remittance flows, thereby affording migrants enhanced access to robust financial systems.

  pp. 1-15 Abstract views:359 Downloads:99