Abstract
In this issue, Shah et al. in their empirical study on ‘How Does the Inflow of Tourism Affect the Agricultural Exports of India?’ provide theoretical and empirical evidence that international tourism inflow matters for agricultural trade. The authors point out that the impact of international tourism on agricultural exports has not been adequately addressed in standard agricultural trade models. Their findings suggest that India should put more effort into developing its tourism infrastructure, including better transportation, alluring travel destinations, appropriate tax incentives, financially viable hotels and secure, open and peaceful surroundings for all prospective visitors in order to encourage tourism and its beneficial effects on the country’s overall agricultural exports.
Sahu et al. in their ex-post analysis study the determinants of health expenditure and extreme climate events in rural households of India. The findings of the study suggest that mitigation and adaptation strategies need to vary among villages categorised as close to or distant from the coast. The health spending behaviour of households is influenced by social status. Therefore, it is crucial to prioritise socially disadvantaged castes or classes when formulating health policies and disseminating information at the state and national levels.
Exploratory study on ‘The Nexus between Information Asymmetry and Liquidity of Stock: Evidence from the Indian Market’ by Dutta et al. indicates that market liquidity decreases with less transparency and a high level of information asymmetry. Moreover, investor sentiment exhibits a notable correlation with illiquidity, while firm-specific risk and illiquidity appear to lack any significant connection.
In a survey study by Pradhan ‘Over-indebtedness in Microfinance: Evidence from a Survey of Borrower Households from an Indian State’, the findings reveal that external, lender-related and demographic factors have a relatively stronger impact compared to borrower-related factors, underscoring the influence of environmental and supply-side forces in causing over-indebtedness. To address this situation, the author suggests that the policy environment should facilitate easier access to formal sources like microfinance while also providing social security schemes with a minimum guaranteed income and insurance coverage.
Datta and Kumar in their longitudinal study related to Environmental Degradation and Economic Growth attempt to detect the relation of ecological footprint and air pollutants with economic growth, urbanisation, foreign direct investment and energy consumption through the environmental Kuznets curve framework. The study reveals that despite economic growth, problems related to environmental degradation endure. The study underscores the necessity to reassess economic and environmental policies in order to adequately confront and alleviate environmental degradation issues.
Sahoo et al. in their study, ‘Poverty Changes among Regions of Uttar Pradesh: A Decomposition Exercise during the 2000s’, indicate significant regional disparities in poverty reduction within Uttar Pradesh during the 2000s. The factors contributing to these disparities include variations in MPCE growth and poverty elasticity. The central region is identified as facing a particular challenge with increasing poverty levels and declining MPCE. Additionally, the study analyses how occupational patterns and landholding distribution contribute to differences in poverty changes among the regions.
Thapa and Sekhar in their study ‘Food Price Dynamics during the Pandemic’ reveal that the ongoing high retail margins throughout 2020–2021 suggest a continuing issue of local shortages across all commodities. Owing to government assistance in procurement and distribution, there was minimal impact on cereal prices. The findings underscore the vital role of government intervention in procuring and distributing food grains, which contributed to price stability during the uncertainty caused by COVID-19. Special focus is required to stabilise the incomes of producers dealing in perishable goods. Reducing reliance on imports for pulses and edible oils can help mitigate domestic price fluctuations.
Examining the impact of development policies on subjective economic well-being (SEWB) in India, Kumar et al. in their study reveal that while development policy does have a significant impact in driving SEWB, interaction among development policies also curates interesting perspectives. Moreover, relative social and economic considerations are significant in driving SEWB.
Kumar and Nidugala in their study ‘What Drives Corporate Saving in India?’ reveal that firm-level saving in India is mainly driven by lagged corporate saving, Tobin’s Q, GDP growth rate, CPI inflation and financial depth, among other factors. Additionally, empirical evidence supports the presence of a dynamic persistence effect and precautionary motives for savings by firms.
Mahapatra et al. in their analysis of ‘Recommendations of the Fifteenth Union Finance Commission: Expectations and Realities’ discuss that in the present economic scenario, when states are struggling for their own fiscal capacity, treatment in the form of keeping the share in the divisible pool constant may not be sufficient to address the vertical imbalance. The assignment of larger weightage to neutral criteria and contraction of the weight of equity criterion by the 15th UFC may end with increased horizontal inequality.
Jain, in the research analysis on how the crisis that emerged in Europe, specifically in Russia and Ukraine, has severely affected the European Bull Market, explores the responses of the financial market to Russia amid the announcement of war with Ukraine. The study reveals that the entire stock market worldwide has been affected.
In a research study on ‘Trading Behaviour Exhibited by Institutional Investors during Static and Volatile Periods in the Indian Scenario’, Jain et al. attempt to examine the trading behaviour followed by foreign institutional investors, domestic institutional investors and mutual funds during 2010–2020 in the Indian stock market. The study reveals that institutional investors do not pay heed to the market returns in the static period while the interdependency among institutional investors increases in the volatile period. The structural break enhances the forecasting accuracy of the model significantly.