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This study investigates the impact of government and economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on companies' business operations, especially risk-taking tendencies and corporate financial reporting quality (FRQ).

The study employs the generalised least squares regression model. The final sample comprised 27,376 company-year observations from eight countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

EPU has a negative and significant effect on investment activity and FRQ. Higher EPU leads to a decline in investment and FRQ.

There are several limitations in this study. First, the authors used abnormal investments to measure investments, without considering the degree of irreversibility investment objectives. Second, although control variables are included at the company and country levels, they may only partially control for companies' mitigation effects. Third, the sample is limited to developing countries with unique characteristics in Asia-Pacific; therefore, the findings cannot be generalised.

The findings can help investors, analysts and regulators evaluate EPU's impact on companies' business activities by offering an overview regarding the decline in investment efficiency and FRQ. The results can also be used as input for regulators in formulating policies that encourage companies to regulate investment levels without harming other stakeholders and maintain FRQ during periods of uncertainty.

This research provides intriguing insights into EPU's effects on companies' investment activity and FRQ in developing countries, which are sensitive to changes in macroeconomic conditions.

The aim of this study is to examine the nature and determinants of stock market integration between India and other Asia–Pacific countries (Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan) over the period 1991–2021.

Unit root tests, the dynamic conditional correlation-Glosten Jagannathan and Runkle-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (DCC-GJR-GARCH), pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and random effects models are employed for the analysis.

The empirical results show that the DCC between each pair of sample countries is less than 0.5, indicating weak ties between the pairs of sample countries. Also, the DCC between India and other Asia–Pacific stock markets is positive and low, implying low level of integration. The correlation between India and China stock markets is found to be the highest, implying significant level of integration. The main reason for it would be strong economic linkages and bilateral trade relationship between India and China. Moreover, gross domestic product (GDP), interest rate (IR), consumer price index (CPI)-inflation and money supply (MS) differentials are the major driver of stock market integration between India and other Asia–Pacific countries.

The findings of the study have important implications for investors, portfolio managers and policymakers. It is found that the DCC between India and other Asia–Pacific countries (considered in the study) except China is low, which indicates weak ties between the pairs of sample countries. This implies that the Indian stock market provides good investment opportunities for foreign investors. Also, investors and portfolio managers can attain more diversified benefits and can minimize country risk by investing across Asia–Pacific countries. Further, knowledge about the factors that integrate the Indian stock market with the other Asia–Pacific stock markets will help policymakers frame suitable economic and financial stabilization policies.

This study contributes to the extant literature: first, by examining the linkages of Indian stock market with other Asia–Pacific countries; second, although previous studies confirmed the existence of linkages among the various stock markets, few researchers pay attention to the factors driving the process of stock market integration. This study provides additional evidence by examining the significant macroeconomic factors driving the process of such integration in the Asia–Pacific region considered under the study.

Even if digital financial services have a positive impact on financial inclusion, it creates a digital as well as gender divide within and across countries, creating regional disparity even within developing nations. Though pandemic has initiated digitalization of various services, there has been scanty research on whether digital transfer of income can improve digital financial inclusion in post-pandemic era, especially in developing countries. The purpose of the current study is to explain the regional disparity within developing countries from three regions East Asia Pacific, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, using latest World Findex data, 2021.

The author takes an instrumental variable approach to run bivariate probit model to find the factors that motivate the users to make digital payments.

The study observes that electronic transfer of wages, government transfers and remittances can motivate individuals to make use of digital mode of transactions and mobile. The practice of formal saving and borrowings are the prerequisites. However, this mechanism holds good for East Asia Pacific and not for South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, which are poor in information and communication technology infrastructure. Women are lagging behind men, but digital transfer of wages motivate them to make digital transaction.

Digitalization of all government services and provision of affordable mobile network and internet services are necessary for regions like South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. In East Asia Pacific region, data protection, data governance and better regulatory framework are required. Higher female labor force participation with digital transfer of wages and empowerment with smartphones are key to reducing the Gender gap.

The current study corrects for the possible endogeneity issue, which the extant literature has not paid attention to, and provides region-specific and gender-specific policy recommendations for an improved digital inclusion.

Countries worldwide aim to improve their comparative advantages by efficiently using scarce resources for economic growth and development. While many studies have been conducted to measure intellectual capital at the firm's level, measuring it at the national level has been under-examined. In addition, while the important role of national intellectual capital in economic growth has been theoretically recognized in literature, this important link has largely been ignored in empirical analyses.

This study uses the newly developed index of national intellectual capital from Vo and Tran's (2022) study to examine its effects on national economic growth in the long run. The dynamic common correlated effects technique and the pooled mean group estimation are used on the sample of 23 economies in the Asia–Pacific region from 2000 to 2020.

Findings from this study confirm the positive and significant contribution of the national intellectual capital to economic growth in the region. The authors also find that, as a feedback effect, economic growth will also enhance and improve the accumulation of national intellectual capital.

The findings of this paper provide valuable evidence and implications for policymakers in managing and improving national intellectual capital in the Asia–Pacific region.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study to examine the impact of national intellectual capital on economic growth in the long run in the Asia–Pacific economies.

This study investigates the impact of financial development, measured by the ratio of broad money to gross domestic products, on de jure central bank (CB) independence (CBI) in 17 countries in the Asia–Pacific region from 1995 to 2014.

This study uses the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) approach, which is suitable since the CBI equation suffers from contemporaneous correlation, serial correlation and heteroscedasticity.

The FGLS results suggest a positive association between CBI and financial market development (FMD). This relationship is confirmed when estimating different indicators of de jure CBI and adopting the panel-corrected standard error estimate. However, the statistical significance of FMD is not supported when the ratio of domestic credit to the private sector to GDP is measured.

It is significant to have a developed financial system to foster a better CBI. Moreover, it is important to measure the influence of financial market players on the operations of a CB.

The financial market in the Asia–Pacific has improved over the years. Hence, the results show the determinants of CBI in the Asia–Pacific, especially the role of FMD.

The main objective of this paper is to examine the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism flows of eight Asia-Pacific Countries: Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

Using monthly data from 2019M1 to 2021M10 and 48 origin and eight destination countries in a panel Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood (PPML) estimation technique and gravity equation framework, this paper finds that after controlling for gravity determinants, COVID-19 periods have a 0.689% lower tourism inflow than in non-COVID-19 periods. The total observations in this paper are 12,138.

A 1% increase in COVID-19 transmission in the origin country leads to a 0.037% decline in tourism flow in the destination country, while the reduction is just 0.011% from the destination. On the mortality side, the corresponding decline in tourism flows from origin countries is 0.030%, whereas it is 0.038% from destination countries. A 1% increase in vaccine intensity in the destination country leads to a 0.10% improvement in tourism flows, whereas vaccinations at the source have no statistically significant effect. The results are also robust at a 1% level in a pooled OLS and random-effects specification for the same model.

The findings provide insights into managing tourism flows concerning transmission, death and vaccination coverage in destination and origin countries.

The COVID-19-induced tourism decline may also be considered another channel through which the global recession has been aggravated. If we convert this decline in terms of loss of GDP, the global figure will be huge, and airline industries will have to cut down many service products for a long time to recover from the COVID-19-induced tourism decline.

It is to be realized by the policymaker and politicians that infectious diseases have no national boundary, and the problem is not local or national. That’s why it is to be faced globally with cooperation from all the countries.

This is the first paper to address tourism disruption due to COVID-19 in eight Asia-Pacific countries using a gravity model framework.

1. Asia-Pacific countries are traditionally globalized through tourism channels

2. This pattern was severely affected by COVID-19 transmission and mortality and improved through vaccination

3. The gravity model can be used to quantify the loss in the tourism sector due to COVID-19 shocks

4. Transmission and mortality should be controlled both at the origin and the destination countries

5. Vaccinations in destination countries significantly raise tourism flows

Asia-Pacific countries are traditionally globalized through tourism channels

This pattern was severely affected by COVID-19 transmission and mortality and improved through vaccination

The gravity model can be used to quantify the loss in the tourism sector due to COVID-19 shocks

Transmission and mortality should be controlled both at the origin and the destination countries

Vaccinations in destination countries significantly raise tourism flows

This study aims to investigate the determinants of anti-corruption disclosures by construction firms in Asia-Pacific countries.

The sample comprises construction companies from seven Asia-Pacific countries from 2015 to 2019. The authors hand-collected data on anti-corruption disclosures by using content analysis.

This study provides empirical evidence that government ownership, country-level accounting competence and high-quality auditors increase companies’ anti-corruption disclosures. Meanwhile, this study finds that uncertainty avoidance does not affect companies’ anti-corruption disclosures.

This study has a number of implications. First, government and professional accountant organizations need to improve accountants’ knowledge and competence through education, training and continuous professional development. Second, public accounting firms need to ensure the quality of their auditors, particularly in the technical competence in financial and nonfinancial reporting. Finally, universities must improve and update their curriculum regarding nonfinancial reporting issues.

This study is among the first to examine anti-corruption disclosure practices in the most corrupted settings, i.e. the construction industry in Asia-Pacific countries. It uses the isomorphism perspective to explain the influence of government ownership, country-level accounting competence and high-quality auditors on anti-corruption disclosure transparency. The number of prior studies investigating this association is very limited. Moreover, disclosures of anti-corruption information are complex and sensitive; thus, coercive, normative and mimetic pressures are required to achieve higher transparency and sustainability.

This study aims to investigate the market reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, specifically in the banking sector.

The research uses an event study and cross-sectional analysis, with market reaction measured by cumulative abnormal return (CAR). The sample comprised 1,126 banks.

The results show that the market reacted negatively to the invasion both before and after its announcement. Developed and emerging markets saw a negative impact from the invasion, while frontier markets experienced only a slight impact. The authors also find that the banking markets of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members reacted significantly and negatively both before and after the invasion was announced. This demonstrates that the negative market reaction of NATO members was more impactful than that of other markets. Overall, this study shows that investors in the banking market are very sensitive to war.

This is the first study to provide international evidence, specifically on the banking sector's reaction during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This study aims to apply Benford’s law to examine the earnings management of companies listed in emerging ASEAN-5 countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

The authors follow Amiram et al. (2015) to measure deviations from Benford’s law of the first digits of numbers reported in financial statements. The authors use the Jones-modified performance-match model (Jones, 1991; Dechow et al., 1995; Kothari et al., 2005) to estimate accrual earnings management. The authors use a sample of 47,389 observations of listed companies in ASEAN-5 countries from 2006 to 2019. The authors also run ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions to test the hypotheses.

The authors find that the first digits of numbers reported in the financial statements of companies in the sample closely conform to Benford’s law. Further evidence shows that the deviation from Benford’s law is positively related to abnormal accruals. The relationship between deviation from Benford’s law and abnormal accruals is more pronounced for the post-international financial reporting standards adoption period. The results survive for some robustness checks.

The authors show that Benford’s law holds for financial statements of companies listed in the emerging ASEAN-5 countries.

Auditors could use Benford’s law as an analytical procedure to assess the risks of material misstatements. Also, other users could apply Benford’s law on audited financial statements to foresee undetected misstatements.

The authors provide original evidence that financial statements of ASEAN-5 countries follow Benford’s law. The evidence supports the usefulness of Benford’s law in developing markets.

The main purpose of this study is to examine the impact of imported inputs on firms' productivity in selected South Asian economies, namely Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Furthermore, this study explores the complementarity between firms' capabilities and imported inputs in an augmented productivity framework.

A dataset comprising 7117 manufacturing firms of selected South Asian economies was taken from the World Bank for 2013 and 2014. The empirical analysis was based on stochastic frontier models, the ordinary least square method and instrumental variable estimation techniques.

The empirical results show that imported inputs have positive and significant effects on the firms' productivity in the selected countries. Moreover, the study findings demonstrate that firms' capabilities play a complementary role in expanding the firms' production frontier.

The study outcomes suggest that reducing tariffs on imported inputs will enhance the firms' productivity in the selected emerging economies. However, the study further finds that the potential gain of imported inputs is conditional on the firm's capabilities. It implies that firms operating in these countries can improve their performance by allocating more resources to capabilities, such as workers’ training, management and internal R&D effort.

The existing literature on the subject is sceptical about the positive impact of imported inputs on firms' productivity in the case of developing countries. In this regard, the shortage of skilled labour and firms' capabilities are compelling rationales that need to be explored. Thus, the potential contribution of the study lies in explaining the moderating role of firm's capabilities operating in the selected emerging economies in the nexus of imported inputs and productivity.