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The present study aimed to examine the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICT) diffusion, financial development and economic growth in the panel of developing countries for 2005–2019.

The study employed the principal component analysis (PCA) to extract the index of ICT diffusion. First-generation panel unit root tests such as Levine Lin Chu (LLC), Im Pesaran Shin (IPS), Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips and Perron (PP) were employed to check the stationarity of the variables. Pedroni and Kao co-integration techniques were used to examine the existence of the long-run relationship, and co-integration coefficients were estimated using FMOLS and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS). The panel Granger causality approach examined the short-run and long-run causality.

The results confirmed that ICT diffusion, financial development and trade openness accelerate growth, whereas inflation dampens economic growth. Further, the causality test showed bidirectional causality between ICT growth and financial development growth but a unidirectional causality from financial development to ICT diffusion in developing countries.

The study recommends synchronizing public and private sector investment for a synergistic effect on ICT infrastructure and adequate investment in the financial sector to increase the growth rate in developing countries. Economic policies should be adopted toward incentives and subsidies to ensure affordable ICT services for disadvantaged communities. Also, training programs focussing on enhancing digital literacy to enable all segments of the population to use digital platforms for financial services are recommended.

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of information and communication technology (ICT) diffusion in women empowerment and in fostering the process of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries using panel data from 2005 to 2020.

An ICT diffusion index was constructed using principal component analysis (PCA). Further, the study uses econometric techniques robust to cross-sectional dependence (CSD) which include Pesaran's CSD tests, second-generation unit root test, Pedroni, Kao, Westerlund cointegration test, FMOLS, DCCE, Driscoll–Kraay (DK) regression, and D&H causality tests.

ICT diffusion and economic growth have a significant and favorable impact on women's empowerment. However, fertility rates and trade openness harm women's empowerment. In addition, the causality test results depict a bidirectional causal relationship between ICT and women empowerment and between growth and women empowerment. In addition, unidirectional causality is detected between education and women's empowerment. Overall, the findings indicate that expanding ICT and bridging the digital divide, particularly among women, can be effective in achieving empowerment-related SDGs.

To date, there are hardly any studies in SAARC context that empirically evaluate the link between ICT, women empowerment, and the issue of sustainability in a unified framework. Therefore, this study is unique in terms of conceptualization and methodological robustness in this context. The study will benefit policymakers and regulatory bodies to formulate appropriate policies to empower women and thereby attain the SDGs by 2030.

The present study examines the significance of financial inclusion in reducing income inequality in the Asian context.

This study uses panel estimation techniques such as the Pedroni cointegration test, Kao residual-based test, FMOLS, ARDL and Granger causality, a dataset consisting of the Gini coefficient index, three dimensions of financial inclusion measures and one added variable on financial depth, spanning from 2005 to 2019.

The study finds that in the long-run, income inequality disparity is highly influenced by financial inclusion indicators, such as the number of bank branches, deposit accounts, outstanding loans and domestic credit to the private sector. Whereas in the short run, disparities in income are unaffected by all the indicators of financial inclusion. Further, unidirectional causality from financial inclusion indicators to income inequality necessitates the need for policymakers to design policies and programs that would enhance access to financial services as an essential mechanism to reduce income disparity.

Studies based on a panel of Asian countries that have undergone impressive growth of financial inclusion initiatives since the past decade—but are still facing widening income inequality—are conspicuously rare in the literature. The empirical analysis fills this void by showing the significant role financial inclusion indicators play in steering the Asian economies toward income equality throughout the study period.

The study attempted to gauge the relative effectiveness of celebrity and product image match-up in comparison to non-celebrity attractive endorsers for two distinct high involvement situations. Also, due to the expected demographic diversity among target consumers, the study aimed at assessing the impact of respondent's age and gender on the effectiveness of image match-up.

Building on the three-order hierarchy model, two experiments were conducted (utilising celebrity and non-celebrity endorsers) for two high involvement hierarchies, i.e. standard learning and dissonance/attribution. Through fictitious print advertisement, the experiments assessed the effectiveness of the match-up in terms of consumer attitudes towards advertisement and brand and intentions to purchase.

The match-up consistently and significantly outperformed non-celebrity attractive endorser in case of standard learning hierarchy. The same conclusion was not established for dissonance/attribution hierarchy due to the lack of significant results. The findings also suggest that the match-up subdues the impact of consumer's gender and age on consumer attitudes only in case of standard learning hierarchy.

The study provides interesting theoretical implication by challenging a widely held postulation about the applicability of celebrity and product match-up under high involvement.

The research provides the practitioners with a better understanding of important issues, mainly, whether to use a celebrity endorser and selecting the right celebrity, especially if high involvement is expected.

Previous research concerning celebrity endorsements has largely considered consumer involvement as unitary, i.e. either high or low. However, the multifaceted aspect of consumer involvement is well established in the field of consumer psychology. The present research, therefore, is a pioneering attempt as it studies the effectiveness of match-up for two distinct high involvement situations. Moreover, unlike the majority of previous studies that have focused on the performance of “celebrity match” versus “celebrity mismatch”, the impact of match-up was studied in comparison to a non-celebrity attractive endorser.