https://journalajeba.com/index.php/AJEBA <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting (ISSN: 2456-639X)</strong> aims to publish high quality papers (<a href="/index.php/AJEBA/general-guideline-for-authors">Click here for Types of paper</a>) in all areas of ‘Economics, Business, Finance and Accounting’. By not excluding papers based on novelty, this journal facilitates the research and wishes to publish papers as long as they are technically correct and scientifically motivated. The journal also encourages the submission of useful reports of negative results. This is a quality controlled, OPEN peer-reviewed, open-access INTERNATIONAL journal.</p> SCIENCEDOMAIN international en-US Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting 2456-639X https://journalajeba.com/index.php/AJEBA/article/view/1992 <p>Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is a crucial indicator for measuring economic production efficiency and a key determinant of whether China's economy can achieve high-quality development. As a new form of technology-driven empowerment, digital finance serves as a cornerstone of digital economic development and exerts a significant impact on enhancing the TFP of Chinese enterprises. In order to explore the impact mechanism of digital finance in the total factor productivity of Chinese enterprises, this study utilizes data from A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, covering the period from 2011 to 2018. By employing two TFP estimation methods, namely the OP (Olley-Pakes) method and the LP (Levinsohn-Petrin) method, it explores the empowering effect of digital finance on enterprise TFP. The main research conclusions of this paper are as follows: Empirical results demonstrate that the development of digital finance has a positive empowering impact on enterprise TFP, and this conclusion remains valid even after addressing endogeneity issues and conducting robustness tests. Heterogeneity tests reveal that digital finance exerts a more pronounced empowering effect on the TFP of non-state-owned enterprises. Therefore, during this critical transition period, China should vigorously promote the development of digital finance, foster the integrated innovation of the digital economy and the real economy, and thereby advance the high-quality development of China's economy. The significance of this study lies in effectively expanding the theoretical boundary of the current research field and deepening the study on the external influencing factors of enterprise productivity theory. Specific recommendations put forward in this study include: strengthening the construction of digital financial infrastructure; enhancing the cultivation of talents in the financial sector; improving the digital financial regulatory system; and seizing development opportunities.</p> Jiao Yiqing Copyright (c) 2025 Author(s). The licensee is the journal publisher. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 2025-09-24 2025-09-24 25 10 10 19 10.9734/ajeba/2025/v25i101992 https://journalajeba.com/index.php/AJEBA/article/view/1991 <p>Persistent underperformance in the implementation of development projects in Garissa County Government necessitated this study, which aimed to assess the effects of strategic planning influences on the performance of county development projects. Guided by agency theory and the resource-based theory, the study examined how strategic planning practices shape project outcomes. A descriptive research design was adopted, targeting 345 employees of the county assembly. Using stratified random sampling, 123 respondents were selected. Data were collected using structured questionnaires, which was tested for validity using expert opinion and construct validity tests and reliability based on Cronbach’s alpha. Analysis was conducted using SPSS, applying descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that strategic planning had a moderately significant positive effect on project performance (p=0.042). The study concludes that enhancing project success requires deliberate investment in inclusive strategic planning frameworks that align with institutional vision and stakeholder needs. This has strong alignment between vision, goals, and resource allocation contributing to improved timeliness, efficiency, and citizen satisfaction. The study recommends strengthening project planning through participatory approaches, continuous training of planners, and integration of monitoring systems. Suggestions for further research include comparative studies across other counties and longitudinal studies to track long-term impacts of strategic planning.</p> Abdi Abdirahman Ahmed Joel Ayora Samuel Nyangau Copyright (c) 2025 Author(s). The licensee is the journal publisher. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 2025-09-24 2025-09-24 25 10 1 9 10.9734/ajeba/2025/v25i101991 https://journalajeba.com/index.php/AJEBA/article/view/1993 <p>This paper investigates the primary determinants of stock returns on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), a key frontier market. Using a panel dataset of 15 large-cap stocks from 2011 to 2022, we test for the pricing of microstructure frictions (illiquidity, information asymmetry) and classic risk (total volatility). Our panel regression models show no statistically significant premium for illiquidity or information asymmetry. Instead, past total volatility emerges as the sole robust and significant determinant of returns, with a positive coefficient of 0.951 (t-stat = 2.91). This finding directly challenges the low-volatility anomaly documented in developed markets and affirms the classic risk-return paradigm in a high-uncertainty environment. For investors, our results imply that managing total volatility is more critical than managing liquidity risk for large-cap Pakistani stocks, while for policymakers, it highlights the importance of macroeconomic stability in lowering the cost of capital.</p> AHMAD AL-HARBI Copyright (c) 2025 Author(s). The licensee is the journal publisher. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 2025-09-24 2025-09-24 25 10 20 31 10.9734/ajeba/2025/v25i101993