Pub Date : 2025-03-02DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112258
Hyoseok David Hwang , Hocheol Nam
This study investigates the impact of political corruption on the performance of local mutual funds. Using comprehensive U.S. mutual fund and state corruption data from 2003 to 2019, we find that local corruption is positively associated with fund performance. Mutual funds in the most corrupt states outperform those in the least corrupt states by 24 basis points annually, with results remaining consistent across various performance metrics. This counterintuitive finding suggests that fund managers in corrupt environments might develop superior information networks and local connections that provide them with valuable investment insights. The results indicate that institutional investors like mutual funds might be better positioned than other market participants to navigate and potentially benefit from corrupt environments.
{"title":"Political corruption and local mutual fund performance","authors":"Hyoseok David Hwang , Hocheol Nam","doi":"10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112258","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112258","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the impact of political corruption on the performance of local mutual funds. Using comprehensive U.S. mutual fund and state corruption data from 2003 to 2019, we find that local corruption is positively associated with fund performance. Mutual funds in the most corrupt states outperform those in the least corrupt states by 24 basis points annually, with results remaining consistent across various performance metrics. This counterintuitive finding suggests that fund managers in corrupt environments might develop superior information networks and local connections that provide them with valuable investment insights. The results indicate that institutional investors like mutual funds might be better positioned than other market participants to navigate and potentially benefit from corrupt environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11468,"journal":{"name":"Economics Letters","volume":"250 ","pages":"Article 112258"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143642899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-03-02DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112259
Mikhail Stolbov , Maria Shchepeleva , Daniil Parfenov
The paper studies the relationship between the state of world's biodiversity proxied by the Living Planet Index and the frequency of financial crises, conditional on global economic growth and the total number of biodiversity-related environmental policy instruments, during 1970–2018. We find that the increased frequency of banking crises as well as triple crises, i.e. simultaneously occurring banking, sovereign debt and currency crises, has a detrimental effect on biodiversity. Moreover, this relationship appears bi-directional. Thus, our findings call for a joint implementation of environmental and macroprudential policies to better align the goals of biodiversity conservation and financial stability worldwide.
{"title":"What is the relationship between biodiversity and the frequency of financial crises? Global evidence","authors":"Mikhail Stolbov , Maria Shchepeleva , Daniil Parfenov","doi":"10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112259","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112259","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The paper studies the relationship between the state of world's biodiversity proxied by the Living Planet Index and the frequency of financial crises, conditional on global economic growth and the total number of biodiversity-related environmental policy instruments, during 1970–2018. We find that the increased frequency of banking crises as well as triple crises, i.e. simultaneously occurring banking, sovereign debt and currency crises, has a detrimental effect on biodiversity. Moreover, this relationship appears bi-directional. Thus, our findings call for a joint implementation of environmental and macroprudential policies to better align the goals of biodiversity conservation and financial stability worldwide.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11468,"journal":{"name":"Economics Letters","volume":"250 ","pages":"Article 112259"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143562684","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-03-01DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2024.112099
Woojune Jung, Hyejin Ahn
This study examines whether video-based social media influences stock price crash risk. Using YouTube data regarding Korean listed companies’ stocks from 2014 to 2022, we find that the number of YouTube videos related with the stock is negatively associated with stock price crash risk, with this effect being more pronounced in the post-COVID-19 period. The results reveal that YouTube videos conduct informational and disciplinary role, and thus reduce excessive negative market reactions. Additionally, the negative relation between the number of YouTube videos and stock price crash risk is more pronounced for firms with high information asymmetry. Overall, this study provides evidence that YouTube functions as an important platform for providing and sharing information regarding the stock market.
{"title":"Video-based social media and stock price crash risk: Evidence from YouTube","authors":"Woojune Jung, Hyejin Ahn","doi":"10.1016/j.econlet.2024.112099","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econlet.2024.112099","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines whether video-based social media influences stock price crash risk. Using YouTube data regarding Korean listed companies’ stocks from 2014 to 2022, we find that the number of YouTube videos related with the stock is negatively associated with stock price crash risk, with this effect being more pronounced in the post-COVID-19 period. The results reveal that YouTube videos conduct informational and disciplinary role, and thus reduce excessive negative market reactions. Additionally, the negative relation between the number of YouTube videos and stock price crash risk is more pronounced for firms with high information asymmetry. Overall, this study provides evidence that YouTube functions as an important platform for providing and sharing information regarding the stock market.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11468,"journal":{"name":"Economics Letters","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 112099"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143591505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-03-01DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112244
Joonseok Oh
This paper shows that the Calvo and Rotemberg pricing models lead to different outcomes regarding welfare losses and inflation-output dynamics, based on the type of subsidies used to achieve an efficient steady state. When revenue subsidies are applied in the Rotemberg model, the inflation-output dynamics and welfare loss functions are identical to those of the Calvo model. However, with employment subsidies, the two models differ. Aligning the inflation-output dynamics causes differences in the welfare loss function. These findings underscore the importance of model selection in the design of monetary policy, influencing the trade-off between inflation and output gap stabilisation.
{"title":"Welfare loss and policy trade-offs: Calvo vs. Rotemberg","authors":"Joonseok Oh","doi":"10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112244","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112244","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper shows that the Calvo and Rotemberg pricing models lead to different outcomes regarding welfare losses and inflation-output dynamics, based on the type of subsidies used to achieve an efficient steady state. When revenue subsidies are applied in the Rotemberg model, the inflation-output dynamics and welfare loss functions are identical to those of the Calvo model. However, with employment subsidies, the two models differ. Aligning the inflation-output dynamics causes differences in the welfare loss function. These findings underscore the importance of model selection in the design of monetary policy, influencing the trade-off between inflation and output gap stabilisation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11468,"journal":{"name":"Economics Letters","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 112244"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143511257","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-03-01DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112247
Juan F. Escobar
This paper presents new comparative statics results for strategic form games. We introduce a dominance condition that ensures payoff shocks result in increased Nash equilibria, even in games without strategic complementarities. Our results are easy to apply and expand the range of games where lattice theoretic tools can be applied. We derive new comparative statics results for contests and Cournot games.
{"title":"Comparative statics in strategic form games","authors":"Juan F. Escobar","doi":"10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112247","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112247","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents new comparative statics results for strategic form games. We introduce a dominance condition that ensures payoff shocks result in increased Nash equilibria, even in games without strategic complementarities. Our results are easy to apply and expand the range of games where lattice theoretic tools can be applied. We derive new comparative statics results for contests and Cournot games.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11468,"journal":{"name":"Economics Letters","volume":"250 ","pages":"Article 112247"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143561370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States and his sceptical positions on climate threaten the fight against climate change, potentially weakening investors’ green concerns. Through an event study approach, we aim to analyse the reaction of the U.S. stock market to the latest presidential election, exploring the investors’ reactions across sectors. We find a strong heterogeneous reaction across sectors. Moreover, we show that the worst performance in the short period is attributable to companies with better performance on environmental issues, which could mean an adjustment of investors’ assessment criteria in anticipation of President Trump's anti-climate policies, reduced transition risk for "brown" firms and lower benefits for firms excelling in environmental performance.
{"title":"Political elections and market reactions: The ‘Trump effect’ on green stocks","authors":"Simona Cosma , Stefano Cosma , Luca Gambarelli , Daniela Pennetta , Giuseppe Rimo","doi":"10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112261","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112261","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States and his sceptical positions on climate threaten the fight against climate change, potentially weakening investors’ green concerns. Through an event study approach, we aim to analyse the reaction of the U.S. stock market to the latest presidential election, exploring the investors’ reactions across sectors. We find a strong heterogeneous reaction across sectors. Moreover, we show that the worst performance in the short period is attributable to companies with better performance on environmental issues, which could mean an adjustment of investors’ assessment criteria in anticipation of President Trump's anti-climate policies, reduced transition risk for \"brown\" firms and lower benefits for firms excelling in environmental performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11468,"journal":{"name":"Economics Letters","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 112261"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143551532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-03-01DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112248
Vi Cao
This paper presents a theoretical model of an altruistic provider’s response to an intervention that makes his performance rating more accessible to patients. We find that the provider exerts more effort; furthermore, a low-altruism provider increases effort more than a high-altruism provider. The effect of the intervention on the social surplus is also investigated.
{"title":"Disseminating healthcare providers’ performance ratings","authors":"Vi Cao","doi":"10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112248","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112248","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents a theoretical model of an altruistic provider’s response to an intervention that makes his performance rating more accessible to patients. We find that the provider exerts more effort; furthermore, a low-altruism provider increases effort more than a high-altruism provider. The effect of the intervention on the social surplus is also investigated.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11468,"journal":{"name":"Economics Letters","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 112248"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143528963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper empirically analyzes the medium-run impact of house price fluctuations on sectoral output dynamics. Using an unbalanced panel of 47 countries, we find that house price expansions negatively affect the tradable sector, with no significant impact on the nontradable sector. Our results further show that house price expansions lead to real exchange rate appreciation, which raises domestic costs and diminishes the country’s competitiveness in international markets. We also study the importance of exchange rate flexibility for the link between house prices and sectoral output and show that the negative impact on the tradable sector is less pronounced in countries with more flexible exchange rate regimes, highlighting the importance of the real exchange rate’s response to house price changes.
{"title":"House prices and sectoral output: A cross-country analysis","authors":"Berrak Bahadir , Inci Gumus , Zeren Tatar Taspinar","doi":"10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112238","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112238","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper empirically analyzes the medium-run impact of house price fluctuations on sectoral output dynamics. Using an unbalanced panel of 47 countries, we find that house price expansions negatively affect the tradable sector, with no significant impact on the nontradable sector. Our results further show that house price expansions lead to real exchange rate appreciation, which raises domestic costs and diminishes the country’s competitiveness in international markets. We also study the importance of exchange rate flexibility for the link between house prices and sectoral output and show that the negative impact on the tradable sector is less pronounced in countries with more flexible exchange rate regimes, highlighting the importance of the real exchange rate’s response to house price changes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11468,"journal":{"name":"Economics Letters","volume":"248 ","pages":"Article 112238"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143474889","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-21DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112242
Hayoung Kim
In response to soaring housing prices during the COVID-19 pandemic, some governments imposed bans on investor purchases in hot housing markets, raising concerns that such place-based regulations would shift investment demand to adjacent, non-regulated areas. This study examines a ban on rental-purpose purchases in South Korea and finds that the regulation leads to price declines in both regulated and adjacent areas, demonstrating a price spillover effect: an 8.9 % decrease in the regulated area and a 5.2 % decrease in adjacent areas. Moreover, there is no statistical evidence of demand displacement or increased transaction volumes in adjacent areas, while the investor ban is associated with a 25.6 % decline in transaction volumes within the regulated zone. These findings suggest that price spillover effects outweigh displacement effects in heated housing markets, indicating that place-based policies can effectively curb real estate price increases despite concerns about investment demand displacement.
{"title":"Place-based policy and spillovers in the housing market","authors":"Hayoung Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112242","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112242","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In response to soaring housing prices during the COVID-19 pandemic, some governments imposed bans on investor purchases in hot housing markets, raising concerns that such place-based regulations would shift investment demand to adjacent, non-regulated areas. This study examines a ban on rental-purpose purchases in South Korea and finds that the regulation leads to price declines in both regulated and adjacent areas, demonstrating a price spillover effect: an 8.9 % decrease in the regulated area and a 5.2 % decrease in adjacent areas. Moreover, there is no statistical evidence of demand displacement or increased transaction volumes in adjacent areas, while the investor ban is associated with a 25.6 % decline in transaction volumes within the regulated zone. These findings suggest that price spillover effects outweigh displacement effects in heated housing markets, indicating that place-based policies can effectively curb real estate price increases despite concerns about investment demand displacement.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11468,"journal":{"name":"Economics Letters","volume":"248 ","pages":"Article 112242"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143463896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}