Research in International Business and Finance最新文献

Despite their economic importance, private firms are under-researched. We examine the relationship between the country-level time horizon and corporate investment for private and public firms using a unique dataset including 75 countries from 2003 to 2017. We show that private, unlisted firms invest more in countries where the national culture is more long-term oriented. Compared to public firms, private firms are characterized by close monitoring of operations and investments by fewer owners, fewer agency costs due to more concentrated ownership structures, and the absence of short-term pressures from capital markets on investment decisions. This structure of private firms, in turn, lends itself to an informal institution like culture having relatively more influence on key private firm decisions than on those of public firms.

The net stable funding ratio (NSFR) is a critical monitoring indicator of bank liquidity risk introduced under the Basel III accord in 2009. This study used the partial adjustment model to analyze the NSFR adjustment behavior of Chinese commercial banks, leading to the following four findings. First, banks have been undertaking active liquidity adjustment while exceeding global and Chinese minimum standards. Second, the NSFR’s target level and adjustment speed are significantly higher than those of foreign banks. Third, the target NSFR gap is essential to the NSFR’s positive adjustment. Fourth, a higher target level and steady adjustment speed help reduce loss from systemic risk. This paper suggests establishing three liquidity risk firewalls, providing an essential reference for understanding NSFR adjustment in Chinese commercial banks. The study also provides practical significance for policy-level assessments regarding the impact of implementing NSFR supervision and establishing liquidity risk firewalls.

We examine the determinants of environmental degradation, focusing on MENA economies from 1991 to 2020, with a particular focus on the role of sectoral composition. Specifically, we assess the contributions of the industrial, manufacturing, agricultural, and service sectors to GDP and their impact on environmental outcomes. Employing augmented mean group estimation, we evidence that technological advancements and renewable energy consumption significantly reduce environmental degradation, and that multinational corporations from developed countries transfer beneficial environmental practices to local firms in emerging regions. Results offer new insights into the impact of financial, economic, and societal factors on environmental outcomes.

This study investigates how institutional ownership affects the social and environmental performance of firms in France. We specifically examine the impact of pressure-resistant and pressure-sensitive investors. We utilize the taxonomy created by Brickley et al. (1988) to categorize the various institutional investors, and we distinguish between environmental performance (EP) and social performance (SP). Our findings align with agency theory, and we utilize a paradigm that considers the diversity of institutional investors’ choices based on their investment goals, time horizons, and characteristics. Our findings indicate that various forms of institutional investor ownership are associated with distinct aspects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance—both environmental and social; having investors who are resistant to pressure is linked to improved EP; and corporate ownership by pressure-sensitive institutional investors has no significant impact on the assessed aspects of CSR.

This study analyses the performance dynamics of socially responsible investment (SRI) and SIN investment exchange-traded funds (ETFs) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Utilising a GARCH methodology, the research examines ETF returns while considering significant COVID-19-related events to assess their impact. The study diverges from the conventional narrative of SIN stocks’ superiority by illustrating the resilience and outperformance of SRI ETFs in terms of returns and volatility stability during the pandemic. This finding challenges previous assertions in the literature and suggests a potential paradigm shift in investment strategies during periods of global crisis. The results underscore the importance of integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors into investment decisions, especially in turbulent times. This study offers investors actionable insights into the benefits of SRI ETFs, demonstrating their ability to provide stable returns and reduced risk during economic downturns. Fund managers can leverage these findings to align their portfolios with ESG principles, enhancing resilience against future crises. Policymakers can also draw on this evidence to promote sustainable investment frameworks that support long-term financial stability. Overall, this study contributes to the evolving discourse on sustainable investing, positioning SRI as a viable approach that balances financial performance with societal impact.

This study analyzes the inter-dependence of the oil, gold, Bitcoin (BTC), and Gulf Cooperation Council stock markets during the recent Russia–Ukraine and Israel–Palestine conflicts. The study found that these markets were less inter-connected during oil battles and the Russia–Ukraine conflict but more inter-connected during the COVID-19 crisis. Findings indicated that Oman, Kuwait, gold, and Qatar are the most significant spillover receivers, whereas the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and West Texas Intermediate are the primary risk spillover transmitters in the Israel–Palestine conflict. Additionally, BTC and the UAE are significant transmitters, whereas Kuwait and Qatar are the highest-risk spillover receivers in the Russia–Ukraine war. Portfolio estimates revealed that gold, BTC, and/or oil are useful in various equity markets for portfolio diversification and hedging under different market conditions and time horizons. These data can guide managers in portfolio construction and risk diversification.

Information regarding firms' data assets and stock pricing has been more closely related when data is integrated into firms' value creation processes. However, since data asset disclosure can also be engaged in impression management by firms, its contribution to market efficiency may be impeded. Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed firms from 2014 to 2020, this study examines the impact of increased data asset information disclosure on the subsequent stock price volatility. The findings suggest that more data asset disclosure reduces stock return idiosyncratic volatility. The mechanism analysis shows that data asset disclosure reduces idiosyncratic volatility of stock prices by mitigating analyst forecast dispersion and noise trading induced by buy-sell imbalances. Moreover, this mitigating effect is more pronounced in firms with more analyst following, observable digital investments, and higher liquidity. But the effect is diminished if firms use a more positive abnormal tone in their annual reports.

We investigate the return interdependence among green bonds, cryptocurrency indices and green energy-related metals. We apply time-varying parametric vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) conenctedness, wavelet coherence, Wavelet Quantile Correlation （WQC) and Quantile on Quantile (QQR) Connectedness Methods. Our empirical findings show that return connectedness has become even stronger after the outbreak of COVID-19, with both green bonds and cryptocurrency indices acting as net receivers of return spillovers. Surprisingly, Copper functioned as a net sender of return spillovers over the entire observation period. Findings revealed that the cryptocurrency index exhibited a consistent positive correlation with the green energy-related metals market at medium to short-term frequencies, whereas green bonds showed a negative correlation with metals market at short-term frequencies and a positive correlation at long-term frequencies.

This study investigates the return and volatility interconnectedness between emerging digital assets, specifically agricultural tokens, and U.S. equity sectors using the TVP-VAR model. Analyzing data from August 7, 2020, to January 2, 2024, the findings indicate modest interconnections between agricultural tokens and U.S. sectors, with time-varying behavior. Notably, return interconnectedness is generally stronger than volatility, except at the sample period's outset, where volatility dominates. Return spillovers predominantly drive the connectedness system, though agricultural tokens uniquely act as net recipients of both return and volatility spillovers, while U.S. equity sectors mainly transmit spillovers. Optimal portfolio analysis, utilizing portfolio weights and hedge ratios, reveals that incorporating agricultural tokens offers portfolio diversification benefits and enhances hedging performance. Investors are advised to frequently adjust portfolios to maximize diversification and hedging gains. These findings provide significant portfolio implications for policymakers, market participants, and investors.

Employing the panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) modeling, we analyze the interplay among oil prices, country risks, and stock returns across twenty-nine economies from February 2005 to August 2020. We find that, in the short run, rising oil prices temporarily boost stock prices by reducing country risk. However, over longer horizons, reductions in country risk are linked to lower stock returns. Moreover, in the interaction between stock and oil markets we identify the heterogeneity of three forms of country risk: economic, financial, and political, particularly when comparing developed and developing economies. Findings, offering new insights into the linkages between oil and stock markets, especially in the context of increased global conflict context, are of much value for investment strategies and policy formulations aimed at mitigating risk.