This study delves into the role of pig farming in advancing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8—Decent work and economic growth in Buffalo City, Eastern Cape. The absence of meaningful employment opportunities and genuine economic progress has remained a significant economic obstacle in South Africa for an extended period. Through a mixed-method approach, the study examines the transformative impact of pig farming as an economic avenue in achieving SDG 8. Through interviews and questionnaires with employed individuals engaged in pig farming in Buffalo City, the study further examines pig farming’s vital role as a source of decent work and economic growth. The study reveals inadequate government support and empowerment for pig farming in Buffalo City despite pig farming’s resilience and potential in mitigating socio-economic vulnerabilities and supporting community’s livelihoods. To enhance pig farming initiatives, this study recommends government’s prioritization of an enabling environment and empowerment measures for the thriving of pig farming in Buffalo City. By facilitating supportive policies and infrastructures, the government can empower locals in Buffalo City to leverage pig farming’s potential in achieving SDG 8.

This study aims to examine the impact of an innovative self-directed professional development (SDPD) model on fostering teachers’ professional development and improving their ability to manage this development independently. A quantitative research method was adopted, involving 60 participants from Almaty State Humanitarian and Pedagogical College No. 2, Almaty, Kazakhstan. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to assess the SDPD model’s effectiveness, specifically in promoting teacher engagement, adoption of new pedagogical techniques, and improvement in reflective practices. The study findings reveal that teachers, particularly in developing regions, often face challenges in accessing formal professional development programs. The implementation of the SDPD model addresses these barriers by providing teachers with the tools and strategies required for self-improvement, regardless of geographic or economic constraints. The study participants in the pilot phase showed increased engagement with new pedagogical methods, improved reflective practices, and greater adaptability to emerging educational technologies. The algorithmic aspect of the model streamlined the professional development process, while the activity-based approach ensured that learning remained practical and relevant to teachers’ everyday needs. By offering a clear framework for continuous improvement, the model addresses the gaps in formal training access and cultivates a culture of lifelong learning. These findings suggest that the SDPD model can contribute to elevating teaching standards globally, particularly in regions with limited professional development resources.

The significance of remittances to the Vietnamese economy necessitates investigating how they affect the value of the Vietnamese currency and other macroeconomic factors. Macroeconomic articles struggle to discover their impact on economic development, but measured remittances by migrant workers have recently soared. There is no academic study that has examined this phenomenon in Vietnam. This study uses wavelet frameworks to analyze the lead-lag nexus between exchange rates, remittances, and economic growth in Vietnam in time-frequency domains from 1995 to 2020. Overall, we find that: (i) remittances enhance economic growth in the short and medium run; (ii) exchange rates boost remittances in the short and medium run; (iii) exchange rates promote GDP in all frequency and time domains. Moreover, the partial wavelet coherence and multiple wavelet coherence frameworks also offered evidence supporting the wavelet coherence approach. More importantly, the outcomes of wavelet-based Granger causality unveil that there is two-way causality between the selected indicators, which means that all the indicators can predict each other at different frequencies. Our empirical results provide meaningful information for market participants and policymakers.

This paper investigates the factors influencing credit growth in Kosovo, focusing on the relationship between credit activity and key economic variables, including GDP, FDI, CPI, and interest rates. Its analysis targets loans issued to businesses and households in Kosovo, employing a VAR model integrated into a VEC model to investigate the determinants of credit growth. The findings were validated using OLS regression. Additionally, the study includes a normality test, a model stability test (Inverse Roots AR Characteristic Polynomial), a Granger causality test for short-term relationships, and variance decomposition to analyze variable shocks over time. This research demonstrates that loan growth is primarily driven by its historical values. The VEC model shows that, in the long run, economic growth in Kosovo leads to less credit growth, showing a negative link between it and GDP. Higher interest rates also reduce credit growth, showing another negative link. On the other hand, more foreign direct investment (FDI) increases credit demand, showing a positive link between credit growth and FDI. The results show that loans and inflation (CPI) are positively linked, meaning higher inflation leads to more credit growth. Similarly, more foreign direct investment (FDI) increases credit demand, showing a positive link between FDI and credit growth. In the long term, higher inflation is connected to greater credit growth. In the short term, the VAR model suggests that GDP has a small to moderate effect on loans, while FDI has a slightly negative effect. In the VAR model, interest rates have a mixed effect: one coefficient is positive and the other negative, showing a delayed negative impact on loan growth. CPI has a small and negative effect, indicating little short-term influence on credit growth. The OLS regression supports the VAR results, finding no effect of GDP on loans, a small negative effect from FDI, a strong negative effect from interest rates, and no effect from CPI. This study provides a detailed analysis and adds to the research by showing how macroeconomic factors affect credit growth in Kosovo. The findings offer useful insights for policymakers and researchers about the relationship between these factors and credit activity.

Bali is the most famous tourist destination in the world, and this popularity has led to a significant rise in the island’s economy. The rise in income has also driven an increase in demand for infrastructure. Moreover, the Bali regional competitiveness index, in the infrastructure pillar, shows a lower figure compared to the national level. So that the Bali Provincial Government focuses on building an infrastructure strategy. This research uses the Input-Output Table (IOT) model, namely the 2016 Bali Province IOT which will be released in 2021. This analysis was chosen because IOT assumes that one sector can be an input for other sectors, in terms of this this is the construction sector. With investment in strategic and monumental infrastructure marking the New Era of Bali, it will result in additional Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of IDR 18.7 trillion, or in other words Bali’s GRDP will increase by 9.71% from the condition of no investment. This shows that infrastructure development is able to boost Bali’s economy. Further research is needed to be able to qualitatively analyze development infrastructure strategies in Bali. Remembering that a qualitative approach is also important to be able to analyze in depth.

This study aims to discover the relationship between growth sales, capital structure, and corporate governance on financial performance of energy and basic material sector public companies in Indonesia. Financial performance is observed from 2 aspects: market performance (Tobin’s Q) and profitability performance (ROA). The population in this study is firms in the energy and basic material sector on Indonesia Stock Exchange. The total population is 248 firms. 39 firms were selected as samples. The data is obtained from the annual report which starts from the period 2018 to 2022. A total of the population was determined as samples by purposive sampling method. Data analysis using panel data regression. The result shows: 1) Growth Sales have a significant influence on market performance; however, it does not have a significant effect on profitability performance. 2) Capital Structure significantly influences market and profitability performance 3) Corporate governance significantly influences market and profitability performance. Suggestions for companies that must strive to increase sales, maintain good corporate governance and pay attention to the company’s capital structure in a balanced manner.