Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the motivations and key challenges women entrepreneurs experience in running small businesses in the Jaipur city of Rajasthan. Design/methodology/approach A purposive sample of 13 women entrepreneurs from a cross-section of enterprises is selected. A qualitative methodology based upon semi-structured, in-depth, exploratory interviews with female entrepreneurs is used which enables the respondents to give voice to their individual experiences. Findings The study reveals that pull factors including the urge for creativity, innovation, self-identity and independence, and to serve the society are the main motivations for female entrepreneurs to start their venture. From the institutional theory perspective, the challenges of female entrepreneurs originate mainly from informal institutions. A significant challenge is that their ability as a professional entrepreneur is not recognized and acknowledged by the society. Furthermore, the cultural norms reflected in the gender-specific role distribution result in the problem of work–life balance. The challenges emerging from the formal institutions do not appear to be pervasive and gender specific. Originality/value The unique contribution of the study is to provide evidences on the motivations and challenges of women entrepreneurs in Rajasthan based on qualitative data derived from in-depth interviews. Furthermore, the study is the first attempt to view the motivations and challenges of female entrepreneurs from an institutional perspective for India in general and Rajasthan in particular.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to revisit the twin deficit hypothesis (TDH) and provide insights into the transmission mechanism connecting budget deficits and current account deficits for five major South Asian countries, namely, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan Sri Lanka and Nepal for the period 1985-2016. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a multivariate framework including real interest rate, real exchange rate and real gross domestic product to avoid the possibility of incorrect inferences caused by omission of relevant mediating variables. The long-run relationship and causality are investigated through the autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing approach and Toda Yamamoto approach, respectively, for each individual country. The robustness of the results is assessed with the help of Westerlund’s cointegration test and group mean fully modified ordinary least squares (GM-FMOLS), group mean dynamic ordinary least square (GM-DOLS) and common correlated effect mean group (CCEMG) estimators in the panel framework. Findings Both time series and panel evidences indicate long-run relationship between budget balance (BB) and current account balance (CAB) together with the mediating variables. The results indicate bi-directional causation between the two balances for India and Bangladesh, TDH for Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the reverse causation from CAB to BB for Nepal. Regarding the transmission mechanism, the results indicate the absence of the causal chain postulated by Mundell–Fleming, which predicts that BB causes CAB via interest rate and exchange rate. A CCEMG estimate of the import demand function reveals a positive government spending elasticity of imports suggesting that BB affects CAB by direct impact through demand. Originality/value This study augments the twin deficit literature on South Asian countries by providing insights into the transmission mechanism connecting the BB and CAB. Moreover, the study provides robust evidences on the TDH by using both time series and panel data techniques.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the sustainability of current accounts for five major South Asian economies, namely, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, for the period 1985–2016. Design/methodology/approach The study employs the intertemporal solvency model of Hakkio and Rush (1991) and Husted (1992). Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds test, Gregory and Hansen’s test and Carrion-i-Silvestre and Sanso’s test are used to assess the cointegration between current account inflows and outflows. The coefficients of long-run relationship are obtained using dynamic ordinary least squares. Besides the econometric investigation, the study also examines some other indicators such as the composition of current account, size of external debt, etc., to shed further light on the sustainability of current accounts. Findings The study finds support for the long-run relationship between the current account outflows and inflows for all the countries. The estimates of slope coefficient indicate strong sustainability in case of India, Bangladesh and Nepal, whereas weak sustainability holds for Sri Lanka and Pakistan underscoring the need for policy interventions. In a comparative perspective, the current accounts in India, Nepal and Bangladesh conform more to a sustainable behavior in terms of the size of deficits, external debt stock and compliance to the intertemporal budget constraint. Originality/value The study employs econometric techniques allowing for structural breaks in the assessment of current account sustainability. Besides using the intertemporal model, the study also examines factors such as composition of current accounts, size of external debts, etc., to evaluate sustainability.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the motivational drives of women entrepreneurs and highlight the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs operating micro, small and medium enterprises from an institutional perspective in Rajasthan – a patriarchal state in India. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on data collected from a questionnaire survey conducted from July 2018 to January 2019 on 347 women entrepreneurs operating in seven districts of Rajasthan. Descriptive and factor analysis were used to find the major motivations and challenges of the entrepreneurs. Findings The findings indicate that intrinsic factors, namely, growth, creativity, autonomy and rejecting stereotypical gender identity are primary motivations driving women entrepreneurship in Rajasthan. Further, institutions pose challenges rather than offering a motivational drive to female entrepreneurs. The two most critical challenges, which the women entrepreneurs face are gender stereotypes and the lack of social capital. In patriarchal societies, entrepreneurial roles are considered masculine than feminine. Furthermore, cultural norms reflected in gender-specific role distribution result in the problem of work-life balance. The lack of both bonding and bridging social capital in terms of family support and networks, respectively, also reflects an unfavorable informal institutional environment. Originality/value The study adds to the sparse empirical literature on the motivations and challenges of women entrepreneurs in the Indian context. This study explores the motivations and challenges of female entrepreneurs from an institutional perspective for India in general and Rajasthan, in particular, using a large, heterogeneous sample using factor analysis.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the nexus among economic growth, nonrenewable energy consumption and renewable energy consumption in India over the period 1971-2017. Design/methodology/approach This study uses nonlinear autoregressive distributed lags model and asymmetric causality test to explore nonlinearities in the dynamic interaction among the variables. Findings The findings indicate that the impact of nonrenewable energy consumption and renewable energy consumption on the economic growth is asymmetric in both long run and short run. In long run, a positive shock in nonrenewable energy consumption and renewable energy consumption exerts a positive impact on growth. However, the negative shocks in nonrenewable energy consumption produce larger negative effects on the growth. The results of nonlinear causality test indicate a unidirectional causality from nonrenewable energy consumption and renewable energy consumption to economic growth and thus support “growth hypothesis” in context of India. Practical implications The findings imply that policy measures to discourage nonrenewable energy consumption may produce deflationary effects on economic growth in India. Further, the findings demonstrate the potential role of renewable energy consumption in promoting economic growth. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt to explore nonlinearities in the relationship between economic growth and the components of energy consumption in terms of renewable and nonrenewable energy consumption.