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The paper aims to study the importance of financial market development and financial structure in explaining the financial policies of firms in emerging market countries.

The paper uses a panel data of 32 countries and the system generalized method of moments approach.

The analysis shows that stock market development is associated with higher use of external finance relative to internal finance, while bond market development is associated with lower use of external finance relative to internal finance. The findings of this study also indicate that stock market development tends to shift the policies of firms towards less debt and more equity, and bond market development is associated with higher debt and less equity in emerging economies.

The value of this study is in respect of its contribution to the extant literature on corporate financial policies in emerging market economies.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of banking sector concentration, banking sector development and equity market development in corporate financial flexibility (FF).

The study used annual data for the period from 1991 to 2014 to examine the relationship between banking sector concentration, banking sector development, equity market development and corporate FF; hypotheses were tested using an unbalanced panel logistic regression model.

The paper provides empirical insights into the relationships between macroeconomic factors and corporate FF. The results suggest a substantial change in FF across firms; banking sector concentration discourages firms from borrowing, leading to the reduction of corporate borrowing, consequently an increase in FF can be observed. Banking sector development facilitates debt financing, hence reducing FF. Equity market development also has a positive impact on FF, as it is a substitute for debt financing.

The banking sector is an important provider of capital to business entities. A concentrated banking system discourages the provision of capital to firms; hence regulators have to take appropriate measures to resolve the problem of a reduced supply of capital. Banking sector development facilitates the provision of capital; further development may reduce bank lending rates to firms. Equity market development positively affects FF; hence, firm managers can use equity financing to resume FF. By following pecking order theory, managers use internal sources to finance value-maximizing investment projects, debt and issue shares as the last choice to get financing. When borrowing capacity is depleted, managers can obtain further funds by issuing stocks.

FF is an emergent area of research in advanced countries, while in developing economies, it is in the initial stages. Little work is available in this area to find the impact of banking sector concentration, banking sector development and equity market development, therefore, this study fills this gap in the existing literature.

This chapter looks at the development of contractual savings and institutional investors in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia (EJMT), and their links with the development of equity markets. The chapter identifies four major potential contributions of contractual savings to capital market development as well as “impact pre-conditions” that can help them obtain. It concludes that contractual savings and institutional investors are neither necessary nor sufficient for the development of equity and bond markets. Nevertheless with certain conditions in place they can have a large impact. The presence of these conditions in EJMT are assessed.

This study aims to examine how corporate financial flexibility, financial sector development and the regulatory environment influence corporate investment decisions in an emerging economy after controlling for several macroeconomic factors.

The authors estimated random-effects models to empirically examine the impacts of corporate financial flexibility, banking sector development, equity market development, regulatory quality and corruption on corporate investment decisions. The empirical analysis is based on an unbalanced annual panel data set of a sample of 198 non-financial firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange for the period 1992–2018.

The results show that financially flexible firms tend to invest more. The increased banking sector development, stock market development and better regulatory quality play a pivotal role for enabling firms to increase their investment ability. However, the results reveal that corruption acts as a barrier and reduces corporate investments during the examined period. The results suggest that unused borrowing capacity is a good source of financial flexibility. These results strongly support the pecking order theory, which explains why firms incline toward internal sources for financing their investments and why they prefer debt to equity when go for external financing.

The empirical findings of the study enable corporate managers to make better financing and investment decisions by understanding the significance of the attainment and maintenance of the corporate financial flexibility to enhance firm value. Furthermore, the findings enable corporate managers to examine and understand the role of banking sector development (BSD), equity market development (EMD), regulatory quality and the role of corruption in affecting corporate firms' investment ability, allowing them to make appropriate investment decisions, especially from an emerging economy perspective. The findings also help investors in making appropriate investment decisions while they are purchasing financial assets. Finally, the findings of the study have some implications for regulators as well. Specifically, the findings suggest that the authorities should implement economic and financial policies favoring banking sector as well as equity market development to enhance corporate investment.

The study significantly adds to the literature by examining the impact of financial flexibility, financial sector development and regulatory environment on corporate investment decisions. According to the authors' knowledge, the empirical evidence examining the impact of all of these factors on corporate investment is very scarce. Therefore, this study is an effort to fill the gap left in the literature.

The discussion on international migration has become a significant part of globalization and a topical issue in international relations, especially in developing economies which mostly relies on migrant remittances. The purpose of the study is to examine whether financial market development (equity market development and banking sector development) really drives migrant remittance flow in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

The study employs the dynamic heterogeneous panel data approach-the pool mean group (PMG) and the mean group (MG) techniques in analyzing the model based on data obtained from 27 SSA countries covering the period 2000–2020.

The findings of the study revealed that financial market development (equity market development and banking sector development) is a key driver of migrant remittances flows in the SSA region. In addition, the study revealed that the following macroeconomic variables such as real interest rate, unemployment rate, global growth, emigration, and economic growth are also determinants of migrant remittances flows in the SSA region.

The reviewed empirical literature revealed that several studies documents that the macroeconomic determinants of migrant remittances include inflation, GDP, interest rate, exchange rate, population growth, financial sector development and unemployment rate. Most of these studies fail to capture both equity market development and robust banking sector development (financial market development) as critical drivers of migrant remittances flow in SSA. Also, this study uses a robust measure of equity market development and banking sector development, unlike previous studies.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2023-0361

There is ample evidence that financial market development leads to economic growth. If improving labor rights can be shown to positively influence equity markets, then that, in turn, will lead to economic growth. The finance literature has examined the impact of a broader metric, namely, the Economic Freedom Index, on equity returns worldwide, and the evidence is mixed. This study focuses on one dimension of economic freedom: labor rights. Specifically, the study analyzes the impact of labor rights on national equity market indexes using the Labor Rights Index developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Fraser Institute (FI). Using panel regression analysis for 49 countries (for the OECD Index) and 76 countries (for the FI Index) over the period 1985–2014, the study finds that changes in labor rights have a statistically significant positive impact on equity returns, after controlling for business-cycle effects and time-fixed effects. The study also finds significant differences in the labor–rights–equity returns relationship between developed and less developed economies.

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the literature on the determinants of stock market development.

The paper divides the existing studies into the theoretical and empirical literature. Then, it analyses these studies in turn.

Based on the theoretical literature, the determinants of stock market development can be broadly classified into two groups: macroeconomic factors and institutional factors. The theory and the empirics predict different ways in which macroeconomic factors affect stock market development. The real income and its growth rate foster stock market development, while the banking sector, interest rate and private capital flows can foster or inhibit it. Inflation and exchange rates have adverse effects on stock market development. In terms of the institutional factors, the literature indicates that different legal origins and stock market integration can have a positive or negative impact on stock market development. In addition, factors such as legal protection of investors, corporate governance, financial liberalisation and trade openness contribute positively to the development of the stock market.

From the survey, it is imperative that policies which aim at enhancing institutional quality, financial integration, real income growth, macroeconomic stability and capital inflows, among others, will certainly promote stock market development within and across countries. Although the empirical studies have incorporated a large set of variables in their models, the theoretical studies do not contain rich models of stock market development. It is understandable that a theoretical model which contains a large set of the determinants of stock market development may be difficult to solve. However, such a model seems very appealing and will provide a unification of the existing literature.

The originality of the paper lies in the fact that it is the first to undertake a survey of the determinants of stock market development in the literature. It is hoped that this paper will spur further theoretical and empirical research on the determinants of stock market development.

According to the 2019 World Investment Report, recent events in deglobalization have made many countries, especially developed markets, resist inward foreign direct investment (FDI) as ceding control to foreign countries. At the same time, many emerging market firms (EMFs) have been increasing their acquisitions in developed markets. The authors elaborate three unconventional motives that justify such acquisitions, and test whether conditions in home countries related to these motives predict the pursuit of greater or lesser equity control. Understanding how home country conditions may spur seeking greater equity control can help policymakers and business firm decision-makers improve these dynamics.

Examining data covering the period 2006–2018, the authors test hypotheses using a sample of 4,130 acquisitions by EMFs into developed markets, and test hypotheses to investigate “How does the institutional and resource environment of an EMF's home country relate to the respective EMF acquisition behavior of seeking equity control?”

The authors found that higher institutional quality, poorer factor market development, and higher capital market quality in the home country are related to higher equity positions sought.

Acquiring and target firm managers, along with other stakeholders, can gain insights on how to respond to acquisition opportunities by recognizing how home country conditions influence emerging market internationalizing behaviors into developed markets.

The compilation of this data uniquely covers 48 different emerging markets and further concentrates on the relatively less understood pre-deal phase for EMNEs entering developed markets.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the state of development in the capital market and the debt ratios of 579 property companies publicly listed in 13 countries.

A total of two indices are first constructed to measure the maturity of the debt and equity capital market in each country from 1994 to 2007. Panel regressions are then carried out to examine the impact of capital market maturity on the financial gearing of property companies.

The authors observe that the maturity of the capital market is correlated with the stage of development of the respective economies. The panel regression results show that the maturity of the debt capital market has a significant and positive influence on the firms' capital structure. In contrast, developments in the equity capital market have an inverse impact on the debt ratios of property companies.

Overall, the development of the capital markets is good for capital intensive property companies who may face challenges to obtain external funding in transition economies with underdeveloped capital markets. As the capital markets of these economies mature, coupled with improvements in the legal and institutional framework, property companies will have more scope to raise capital to expand their operations.

The paper offers international evidence on, first, the capital structure practices of property companies in different regions, and second, how capital market development influences the firms' financing decisions.

Post-crisis policy measures in Asia have focussed on banking sector and market reform. The paper argues that in order to propel growth, banking and market reform in Asia must be undertaken with the view that they are not mutually exclusive competitive tradeoffs. Rather banks and markets must be viewed as complementary supportive pillars in a financial system. Additionally, legal and functional reform must be undertaken simultaneously. The paper proposes that a likely consequence of doing so will enable creating a four-pillared multi-dimensional growth paradigm in the region to help restore and promote growth.