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The purpose of this paper is to examine the possibility of asymmetries in the budgetary adjustment process.

The paper uses the TAR and MTAR models, set forth by Enders and Siklos, for the period 1957 to 2009.

Short‐run results indicate unidirectional causality from revenues to expenditures. Long‐run results indicate asymmetric responses by both revenues and expenditures to budgetary disequilibria. With respect to asymmetric adjustment, revenues respond only when the budget is improving whereas expenditures respond faster (in absolute terms) to a worsening budget than for an improving budget.

Contrary to other studies, the results presented in the paper lend support for the tax‐spend hypothesis.

The study's objective is to examine the relevance of globalization in affecting the size of the shadow economy in selected African nations.

To do this, the authors employ the KOF globalization index and implement both static and dynamic common correlated mean group estimators on a panel of 24 African nations from 1995–2017. This technique accommodates the issue of cross-sectional dependence, sample bias and endogenous regressors. Panel threshold analysis is also conducted to establish the nonlinearity between globalization and the shadow economy. To examine the causality between the variables, the study employs Dumitrescu and Hurlin's panel causality test.

The results show that globalization reduces the size of the shadow economy. The results of the nonlinear analysis suggest a U-shaped relationship. Overall globalization has a threshold impact of 48.837%, economic globalization has 45.615% and political globalization has 66.661% while social globalization has a threshold value of 35.744%. The results of the panel causality show that there is a bidirectional causality between the two variables.

The results suggest that the government and other relevant authorities need to introduce capital controls and other policy measures to moderate the degree of social, political and cultural diffusion. Appropriate policies should be formulated to monitor the extent of African economic openness to other continents to maximize the gains from globalization.

Apart from being the first study in the African region that evaluates the relevance of globalization in controlling the shadow economy, it also analyzes the dynamics and threshold analysis between the two variables using advanced panel econometrics which makes the study unique. The study suggests that globalization tools are useful for affecting the size of the shadow economy in Africa. This study provides fresh empirical evidence on the impact of globalization on the shadow economy in the case of Africa.

Energy poverty is a global phenomenon, but its prevalence is enormous in most African countries, with a potential impact on quality of life. This study aims to investigate the impact of energy poverty on the shadow economy.

The study uses panel data from 45 countries in Africa over a period of 1996–2018. Using panel cointegrating regression and panel vector auto-regression model in the generalized method of moments technique.

This study provides that energy poverty deepens the size of the shadow economy in Africa. It also documents that there is a bidirectional causality between shadow economy and energy poverty. Therefore, the two variables can predict each other.

The study suggests that lack of access to clean and modern energy services contributes to the depth of the shadow economy in Africa. African authorities are advised to strengthen rural and urban electrification initiatives by providing adequate energy infrastructure so as to reduce the level of energy poverty in the region. To ensure energy sustainability delivery, the study proposes that the creation of national and local capacities would be the most effective manner to guarantee energy accessibility and affordability. Also, priorities should be given to the local capital mobilization and energy subsidies for the energy poor. Energy literacy may also contribute to the sustainability and the usage of modern energy sources in Africa.

Previous studies reveal that income inequality contributes to the large size of shadow economy in developing economies. However, none of these studies analyzed the role of energy poverty and its implications for underground economic operations. Inadequate access to modern energy sources is likely to deepen the prevalence of informality in developing nations. Based on this, this study provides fresh evidence on the implications of energy deprivation on the shadow economy in Africa using a heterogeneous panel econometric framework. The study contributes to the literature by advocating that the provision of affordable modern energy sources for rural and urban settlements, and the creation of good energy infrastructure for the firms in the formal economy would not only improve the quality of life but also important to discourage underground economic operations in developing economies.

The study aims to discover the spatial relationship between financial development, energy consumption and economic growth in 11 ASIA countries, using panel data from 1980 to 2016.

The study applies three popular spatial models, namely, (1) spatial error model (SEM), (2) spatial autoregressive model (SAR) and (3) spatial Durbin model (SDM), to explore the direct and spillover effect of financial development and energy consumption on economic growth. Furthermore, a novel test proposed by Juodis et al. (2020) is employed to check the Granger non-causality between each pair of variables.

The empirical outcomes found direct and spillover effects of financial development and energy consumption on economic growth in 11 ASIA countries. Accordingly, an expansion of the financial development in country i is beneficial for the growth of the host country and neighboring countries, and vice versa. However, an increase in energy consumption in country i leads to a decrease in the economic growth of neighboring countries. The test of Granger non-causality indicated a bidirectional causality between financial development and economic growth, and unidirectional causality running from economic growth to energy consumption.

Spillover effects of financial development and energy consumption on growth have largely been ignored in previous studies, especially in emerging countries. Thus, the study enriches the literature and provides some policy implications for ASIA countries.

Spillover effects of financial development and energy consumption on growth have largely been ignored in previous studies, especially in emerging countries. Thus, the study enriches the literature and provides some policy implications for ASIA countries.

Spillover effects of financial development and energy consumption on growth have largely been ignored in previous studies, especially in emerging countries. Thus, the study enriches the literature and provides some policy implications for ASIA countries.

We raise and address an unexamined research question: Why do managers place some business activities in the formal economy and others in the informal? This firm-level managerial choice is most visible in emerging economies and is important due to its performance implications.

We theorize that managers use social ties with formal institutions (e.g. parliament, central bank) to protect against (1) being singled out for enforcement and (2) opportunistic business partners, and that these protections allow managers to conduct more activities in the informal economy. Based on regulatory focus theory, we also submit that managers with a promotion (prevention) focus mindset are more (less) prone to use their social ties with formal institutions to emphasize the informal economy. Hypotheses are tested using survey data from 362 Lebanese top managers.

Managers' social ties with formal institutions relate positively to their propensity to use the informal economy, and managers with a promotion mindset are more willing and those with a prevention mindset are less willing to leverage their social ties with formal institutions to conduct activities in the informal economy.

Our study raises an important new research question at the intersection of strategic and international management and offers an initial answer. Working within the informal economy requires informal social ties among informal actors, but for formally registered firms, entry into the informal economy requires informal ties with formal actors.