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Causality between corporate financial performance (CFP) and corporate social performance (CSP) has been extensively debated in previous research works; however, little research has been done to investigate the long-run dynamics between these two constructs. The purpose of this paper is to enrich the CFP–CSP literature by estimating the long-run equilibrium relationship between financial performance and social performance in the banking sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries over the period 2009–2019.

The paper adopts an approach that is primarily used in financial economics: first, the authors perform panel long-run Granger causality following Canning and Pedroni’s procedure to indicate the direction of the causal relationship. Second, the authors estimate an error correction model using Chudik and Pesaran’s (2015) dynamic common correlated effects mean group estimator to determine the sign of the relationship.

The present research findings prove the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between CFP and CSP, while indicating at the same time that panel Granger causality runs positively from CSP to CFP, which means that changes in CSP produce lasting changes in CFP.

The findings of the paper would guide strategists to build fit for purpose corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies in their firms and establish a continuous investment in CSR activities in the long run rather than harshly investing in CSR activities in the short run.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first one to address heterogeneity in long-run Granger causality tests to estimate the relationship between CSP and CFP.

This paper examines the causal relationship between stock market performance and foreign exchange market in Egypt over the period 2009–2016. The study period is divided into two sub-periods: pre- and post-January 25th Egyptian revolution (ER). The reason is to examine how this revolution affects the causal relationship between the two markets' performance.

In this study, the daily basis data are used to enable good and effective observation changes in the foreign exchange rate and stock market performance over time. Stock market indexes and stock market capitalization are used as proxies for stock market performance. Further, the Egyptian pound to US$ exchange rate is used as a measure for foreign exchange market performance. The study analysis is done in stages. The first is to check the variables' stationarity for the pre- and post-revaluation. The second is to examine the cointegration among the variables. The third is to run vector autoregression (VAR) estimates, after which VAR Granger causality tests are employed.

The results show that the data are not stationary at their levels but stationary in their first difference level while there is no cointegration in the long-run among the variables in both sub-periods. Further, findings indicate that, in the pre-January 25th revolution period, there is a significant causal relationship between the foreign exchange market and stock market indexes and a significant causal relationship between market capitalization (CAP) and exchange rate at the 1% level. However, in the post-January 25th revolution period, the study does not find a significant causal relationship between foreign exchange market and stock market indexes and capitalization.

As this study focuses on the causal relationship between foreign exchange and stock markets before and after the 25th January Revolution, other macroeconomic variables such as consumer price index, interest rate and GDP were excluded for the comparison purposes with other studies. Further research is suggested to include them in the analysis to find out its effect on the performance of stock market and foreign exchange market.

The existence of long-run bidirectional causality means that portfolio managers and hedgers may have improved their understanding regarding the dynamic relationship between foreign exchange market and stock market performance as this may help them to plan and implement suitable hedging strategies to guard against currency risk in future crises or events. Investors, fund and portfolio managers and policymakers should give much attention to these event-specific interactions when they make capital budgeting decisions and implement regulation policies. Furthermore, our results may allow portfolio managers, investors and policymakers to assess the importance of informational efficiency for both markets.

This paper is an original contribution to the literature that concerns the causal relationship between stock market and foreign exchange market in the period of political instability and social unrest such as the January 25th Revolution in one of the emerging markets, namely Egypt.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate both linear and/or nonlinear effects of inflation on income inequality and to test the Kuznets hypothesis using panel data of 24 developed countries (DCs) and 66 developing countries (LDCs) observed over the period of 1990–2014.

This paper explores the short- and long-run Granger causality relationship between inflation and income inequality using the Toda and Yamamoto (1995) procedure and a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) approach. The existence of a nonlinear relationship between inflation and income inequality is confirmed implying as inflation rises income inequality decreases. Income inequality then reaches a minimum and then starts rising again. The findings of this paper show the existence of Kuznets “U-shaped” hypothesis between income inequality and real GDP per capita in DCs group, and the existence of Kuznets’ inverted “U-shaped” hypothesis for LDCs group.

The results indicate that there is no bi-directional Granger causality between inflation and income inequality in the short-run, but, there is bi-directional Granger causality in the long-run for both the DCs and LDCs group. The results help us to assess the effectiveness of monetary policy in reducing income inequality in both the DCs and LDCs group. As a policy implication, monetary policy is often aimed at controlling the annual rate of inflation in the long-run with a short-run focus on reducing output gaps and creating employment. However, managing inflation may have implications for income inequality.

This is original research paper which analyzes the “U-shaped” and inverted “U-shaped” paths of income inequality and real GDP per capita for large sample of two group countries including developed and developing countries, respectively. Also, this paper analyzes the nonlinear relationship between inflation and income inequality in two groups. Furthermore, this paper investigates the short- and long-run relationship between variables. The results are important for policy makers.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of economic growth, international trade and energy consumption on the global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, in the case of top CO₂ emitters, namely, USA, Japan, Canada, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UK, Australia, Italy, France and Spain using the annual data from 1971 to 2013.

For this purpose, the time series, data technique is applied. Unit root test with structural break and the bounds testing approach for cointegration in the presence of structural break is tested. Finally, a vector error correction model for the Granger causality test is applied to detect the direction of causality. The authors have used the techniques that will help in examining the structural break in the time series data.

The results reveal that their exists a long-run relationship between CO₂ emissions and its determinants in the USA, Canada, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Australia, Italy, France and Spain, energy consumption is the main determinant of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in the long run and for direction of causality, the authors found bidirectional causality in the long run between energy consumption and CO₂ emissions in the USA, Canada, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UK, and Granger causality running in opposite direction in the case of Australia from CO₂ emissions to energy consumption was analyzed. In terms of growth-trade-pollution nexus (USA, Canada, Iran and France) hold one-way causality running from economic growth and trade openness to CO₂ emissions (IV) the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis is validated only for the USA. Robust policy implications can be derived from this study. First, without harming the economy, these countries can reduce the use of energy consumption for lower pollution. Second, the amount of trade should be decreased to lower the emissions because the authors find that an increase in trade does Granger cause to CO₂ emissions in the long run.

There has been no study that investigated the relationship between CO₂ emissions, real income, consumption of energy and international trade in the environmental Kuznets relation for the top CO₂ emitter’s countries over the period of 1971–2013. The authors did a comparative study of the empirical finding among these nations.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal relationship between inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic growth in Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries over the period 1980-2012. It also investigates whether the causal relationship between FDI inflows and economic growth is dependent on the level of income.

In order to assess whether the causal relationship between FDI inflows and economic growth is dependent on the level of income, the study divided the SADC countries into two groups, namely, the middle-income countries and the low-income countries. The study used the recent panel-data analysis methods to examine this linkage. The Granger causality test for the middle-income countries was conducted within a vector-error correction mechanism framework; while that of the low-income countries was conducted within a vector autoregressions framework.

The results for the middle-income countries’ panel show that there is a uni-directional causal flow from GDP to FDI, and not vice versa. However, for the low-income countries’ panel, there was no evidence of causality in either direction. The study concludes that the FDI-led growth hypothesis does not apply to SADC countries.

Methodology applied in this study is a bivariate framework which is likely to suffer from the omission of variable bias (Odhiambo, 2008, 2011). Second, the Granger causality analysis employed in this only investigates the direction of causality and whether each variable can be used to explain another, but does not directly test for the mechanisms through which FDI leads to economic growth and economic growth leads to FDI.

Future studies may include a third variable such as domestic savings, exports, or financial development in a trivariate or multivariate panel causality model. A more complete analysis which seeks to explain the channels through which FDI impacts growth is suggested for future studies. Lastly, sector level analysis will help policy makers draft effective industrial policies, which can guide allocation of incentives.

The results of this study support the Growth-led FDI hypothesis, but not the FDI-led growth hypothesis. In other words, it is economic growth that drives FDI inflows into the SADC region and into Southern Africa, and not vice versa. This implies that the recent high economic growth rates that have been recorded in some of the SADC countries, especially the middle-income countries, have led to a massive inflow of FDI into this region.

At the regional level, SADC as a regional bloc has been actively pursuing policies and strategies aimed at attracting FDI into the region. Despite the important role of FDI in economic development, and the increase in FDI inflows into SADC countries in particular, there is a significant dearth of literature on the causal relationship between FDI and economic growth. The study used the recent panel-data analysis methods to examine the causal relationship between FDI and economic growth in SADC countries.

This paper aims to examine the integration of housing markets in Canada by examining housing price data (1999–2016) of six metropolitan areas in different provinces, namely, Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. The authors test for cointegration, driver cities of long-run relationships, long-run Granger causality and instantaneous causality in light of the global financial crisis (GFC) (2007–2008).

The authors use Johansen’s system cointegration approach with structural breaks. Moving average representation is used for common stochastic trend(s) analysis. Finally, the authors apply vector error correction model-based Granger causality and instantaneous causality.

Cities’ housing prices are in long-run equilibrium. Post-crisis Canadian housing markets became more integrated. The Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal markets drive the Canadian housing market, leading all cities toward long-run equilibrium. Strong long-run Granger causality exists, but the authors observe no instantaneous causality. Price information takes time to disseminate, and long-run price adjustments play a significant role in causation.

The findings of cointegration increasing after the GFC and strong lead–lag can be used by investors to arbitrage and optimize portfolios. This can also help national and local policymakers in mitigating risk. Incorporating these findings can lead to better price forecasting.

This study presents many novelties for the Canadian housing market: it is the first to use repeat-sales regional pricing indices to test long-run behaviors, conduct common stochastic trend analyzes and present causality relations.

The purpose of this paper is to determine cause and effect relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic growth (gross domestic product (GDP) taken as proxy) for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS nations) individually for the period 1992-2013. Also, the study tries to explore the reasons behind the linkage between FDI and GDP by estimating a linear regression model consisting of both macro-economic and institutional variables.

Johansen cointegration technique followed by vector error correction model (VECM) and standard Granger causality test are employed to investigate the causal linkage between FDI and GDP. To delve into the reasons behind this linkage, an ordinary least square (OLS) technique is also applied to test the linear regression model consisting of net FDI inflows as dependent variable and nine macro- economic and institutional variables. Residual diagnostics is also conducted using Breusch-Godfrey Lagrange Multiplier test for diagnosing the problem of serial correlation, Breusch-Pagan-Godfrey test for examining heteroskedasticity and Jarque Bera test for verifying the normality of residuals.

The Johansen cointegration result establishes a single cointegrating vector (long run relationship) between FDI and GDP for India, China and Brazil. After proving a cointegration, VECM results revealed that there exists unidirectional long run causality running from GDP to FDI in case of Brazil, India and China. Also, it is confirmed that there exists short run causality between FDI and GDP in China, i.e. the past lags of FDI jointly impact the value of GDP. However, for Russia and South Africa, where there is no cointegration in the long run, standard Granger causality test is conducted which reveals that in both the nations, FDI and GDP are independent of one another. The results of OLS technique reveal different country-specific factors causing this linkage between FDI inflows and economic growth.

Various researchers in the past have examined this issue of linkage between FDI and GDP in the context of various developing or developed nations. This reveals a gap in the existing literature pertaining to this causal linkage in the context of the BRICS. Thus, this study fills this gap by analyzing not just this causal nexus with the help of VECM and Granger causality techniques but also tries to explore further the reasons for such strong/weak/no link with the help of fitting a regression model which comprises of both macro-economic and institutional country-specific variables influencing this causation.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between natural gas consumption and economic growth of France.

To analyze the relationship, an extended Cobb–Douglas production function is used. The auto-regressive distributive lag bounds testing approach is applied to test the existence of the long-run relationship between the series. The vector error correction model Granger causality approach is implemented to detect the direction of causal relation between the variables.

The results show that variables are cointegrated for the long-run relationship. They also indicate that natural gas consumption, exports, capital and labor are the contributing factors to economic growth in France. The causality analysis indicates that feedback hypothesis is validated between gas consumption and economic growth. The bidirectional causality is also found between exports and economic growth, gas consumption and exports and capital and gas consumption.

The feedback hypothesis between gas consumption and economic growth implies that adoption of energy conservation policies should be discouraged; rather, gas consumption and economic growth policies should be jointly implemented.

This study is an original work for France and shows the results of the relationship between natural gas consumption and economic growth. In line with the results of this study, new direction for policy makers is opened up to formulate a comprehensive energy policy to sustain long-term economic growth in France.

This study investigates the dynamic causality linkages between fiscal deficits and selected macroeconomic indicators in a panel of five East African Community countries.

The research design is based on panel cointegration tests, panel cross-section dependence tests, panel error correction-based Granger causality tests and panel impulse response functions.

Results show that there is long-run feedback causality among fiscal deficits and each of the variables include gross domestic product (GDP) growth, current account balance, interest rates, inflation, grants and debt service. Short-run Granger causality dynamics indicate that there is feedback causality between fiscal deficits and GDP growth; no causality between fiscal deficits and inflation; no causality between fiscal deficits and current account; no causality between fiscal deficits and interest rates; feedback causality between fiscal deficits and grants; and no causality between fiscal deficits and debt service. Impulse response functions show positive and significant impacts of current account balance, inflation and grants; negative and significant impacts of real GDP growth and lending rates; and insignificant effects of debt service.

While the study examines the dynamic causality between fiscal deficits and selected macroeconomic indicators in the East African Community, the analysis excludes South Sudan due to significant data limitations.

In light of the East African Community's aspirations to achieve convergence on key macroeconomic targets, including the fiscal deficit, this research provides novel insights on fiscal policy determinants and causality dynamics.

The dynamic relationships between fiscal policy and macroeconomic variables may have social implications for welfare, equitable growth and distribution of resources.

With a focus on the East African Community, this paper contributes to the literature on the macroeconomic determinants of fiscal deficits in regional economic communities.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the linkage between agricultural sector foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic growth in Pakistan over the period from 1991 to 2013.

In this study, the stationary analysis is performed by using Phillips–Perron and Dickey–Fuller generalized least squares unit root tests and Johansen cointegration technique to determine the long-run linkage among the studied variables. The robustness of long-run linkage is checked by employing autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach, dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), fully modified ordinary least square method (FMOLS) and the canonical cointegration regression (CCR). The causal linkage between the selected variables is investigated by the VECM Granger causality test.

The results of the Johansen cointegration test confirmed a cointegrating association between the variables. In addition, the results of the ARDL, DOLS, FMOLS and CCR showed that agricultural sector FDI has a strong positive significant effect on economic growth in long run. Moreover, the findings of the present empirical study revealed that there exists bidirectional Granger causality between the agricultural sector FDI and economic growth in both short run and long run.

The present empirical study filled the literature gap of applying the Granger causality based on error-correction model to examine this relevant issue for Pakistan.