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This paper investigates whether stock‐price indexes of emerging markets can be characterized as random walk (unit root) or mean reversion processes. We implement a panelbased test that exploits cross‐sectional information from seventeen emerging equity markets during the period January 1985 to April 2002. The gain in power allows us to reject the null hypothesis of random walk in favor of mean reversion at the 5 percent significance level. We find a positive speed of reversion with a half‐life of about 30 months. These results are similar to those documented for developed markets. Our findings provide an interesting comparison to existing studies on more matured markets and reduce the likelihood of earlier mean reversion findings as attributable to data mining.

Recent studies of the impact of financial liberalization in emerging markets have not examined the dynamic impact of the liberalization process on equity returns despite the important implications on ongoing reform policies. We analyze six Asian equity markets using a dynamic adjustment model with three independent variables: market capitalization value, pricebook value ratio, and price‐earnings ratio. We use panel data for the period 1991‐2000 and the LSDVR (least square dummy variable regression) approach to identify the timing effects of liberalization. The stability of the model is also tested. The results indicate, in most cases, the significance of all three variables and the timing effects. Evidence of significant structural changes is also supported.

The 2008/2009 World Financial Crisis underlined the importance of social responsibility for the sustainable functioning of economic markets. Heralding an age of novel heterodox economic thinking, the call for integrating social facets into mainstream economic models has reached unprecedented momentum. Financial Social Responsibility bridges the finance world with society in socially conscientious investments. Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) integrates corporate social responsibility in investment choices. In the aftermath of the 2008/2009 World Financial Crisis, SRI is an idea whose time has come. Socially conscientious asset allocation styles add to expected yield and volatility of securities social, environmental, and institutional considerations. In screenings, shareholder advocacy, community investing, social venture capital funding and political divestiture, socially conscientious investors hone their interest to align financial profit maximization strategies with social concerns. In a long history of classic finance theory having blacked out moral and ethical considerations of investment decision making, our knowledge of socio-economic motives for SRI is limited. Apart from economic profitability calculus and strategic leadership advantages, this paper sheds light on socio-psychological motives underlying SRI. Altruism, need for innovation and entrepreneurial zest alongside utility derived from social status enhancement prospects and transparency may steer investors’ social conscientiousness. Self-enhancement and social expression of future-oriented SRI options may supplement profit maximization goals. Theoretically introducing potential SRI motives serves as a first step toward an empirical validation of Financial Social Responsibility to improve the interplay of financial markets and the real economy. The pursuit of crisis-robust and sustainable financial markets through strengthened Financial Social Responsibility targets at creating lasting societal value for this generation and the following.

This paper examines how accounting quality, as measured by earnings opacity, affects the stock market wealth effect, which in turn is shown to be linked to economic growth. Stock market wealth effect is negatively affected by earnings opacity. The data also indicate that the exogenous component of the stock market wealth effect — the component defined by earnings opacity‐ is positively associated with economic growth. The direct effect of earnings opacity on economic growth is, as expected negative, but insignificant.

This paper empirically investigates the link between expected returns on stocks and a set of variables that describe the general state of economic activity. The model relates the first and second conditional moments on stock excess returns to the conditional variances and covariances of a set of prespecified macroeconomic factors. The estimation results suggest that industrial production growth, inflation, and short‐term interest rates help explain the behavior over time of expected excess returns on stocks.

It is found that one unit root, common trend is shared by the quarterly auction price series of five frequently auctioned types of stamps. The common trends analysis provides specific, stationary linear combinations, or cointegrating portfolios, of the auction price levels. The quarterly returns for the system of cointegrated auction prices can be represented by an error correction model using past returns and cointegrating vectors. There is evidence of a positive relationship between changes in the common trend and leading changes in industrial production

Terrorism, an important component of Political risk as a possible determinant of ADRs (American Depository Receipts) returns have received little attention in academic literature. To address this issue and examine whether political risk is a major determinant of ADR returns of emerging market countries, this paper empirically examines market valuation of Indian ADRs around acts of terrorism. Using a sample of 52 such events in the sample period Jan 2003‐Dec 2003 we empirically analyze returns of Indian ADRs. The results from our study indicate a marginally negative significant effect, failing to indicate that event of terrorist attacks severely affect the Indian ADRs listed on the US stock market. This may be explained by a combined effect of; (a) the optimism of US investors towards emerging markets, and (b) market participants becoming more resilient and making informed choices around the “general” events of terrorism.

This teaching case intends to be a tool for academic purposes as a way to show the different assessments an investor should make and the many problems he/she may face, when evaluating a megaproject. It reviews the experience of two large corporations in Chile, intending to build a major hydroelectric generation project in Chile while facing major opposition from environmental NGOs and other stakeholders. Although in the view of many industry experts and consultants Hidroaysén was a good and necessary project, the environmental implications and some of the project’s stakeholders created a deadlock.

This teaching case was written with the idea of being used as a tool for classes in order to discuss the implications of environmental issues in big projects. The research was based on particular information of the project, financial data of the companies involved, and other public sources (news, interviews, etc.).

The conclusion of this case is that private initiatives, without the right alignment of political actors and civil society, could face the risk of being blocked and not being executed.

COP21 guidelines for responsive investment could be a guideline to follow, aligning private interest with development for countries in the third world.

We offer a way to analyze external impacts on a project of this kind, that using a common framework (COP21 guidelines) could avoid risks taking all considerations into the project.