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This paper aims to examine the impacts of macroprudential policy on the shadow economy worldwide.

We compile a panel dataset covering 125 countries from 1990 to 2018. This paper mitigates potential endogeneity issues via two-stage least squares and the two-step generalized method of moments (GMM).

The robust results show that the overall tightening of macroprudential policies exerts an expansion impact on the shadow economy. Further examination of the 16 individual macroprudential policy instruments finds that loan restrictions, countercyclical buffers, surcharges for systemically important financial institutions and capital conservation buffers have positive and statistically significant effect on the shadow economy. This relationship is only present during tightening episodes of macroprudential policy as loosening episodes do not exhibit any significant impact. Finally, this paper documents the nonlinear effects of macroprudential policy.

The results suggest that the supervisory authorities may need to consider another parameter, which is the development of the shadow economy, when devising the optimal macroprudential policy responses.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is likely the first to empirically document the impact of macroprudential policy on the shadow economy. It contributes to the growing literature on the potential side effects of macroprudential policy on the macro-economy.

This paper investigates the moderating role of uncertainty in the impact of monetary policy on bank liquidity creation.

Utilizing data from Vietnam spanning 2007–2022, the paper measures uncertainty in the banking industry through the dispersion of shocks to crucial bank-level variables and considers both interest rate- and quantity-based tools of the monetary policy regime. The study regresses economic models using different econometric methods, including the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator in the main section and the least squares dummy variable corrected (LSDVC) estimator for the robustness check.

Monetary expansion enhances banks’ ability to create liquidity, affirming the existence of the bank liquidity creation channel. Further analyses suggest that monetary policy adjustments aimed at regulating bank liquidity creation may be less effective in the presence of higher uncertainty in the banking system. This observation holds for both interest rate- and quantitative-based monetary policy tools, emphasizing the functioning of the monetary policy transmission mechanism through bank liquidity creation and the mitigating effect of uncertainty.

This study contributes novel insights to the existing literature by presenting the first attempt to explore the dynamics of monetary policy transmission through the bank liquidity creation channel in the context of banking sector uncertainty. Moreover, our contribution extends to examining a multi-tool environment, incorporating both interest rate- and quantitative-based indicators.

The present study uses a meta-analysis technique to explore the association between corporate governance and dividend policy. The extant literature delivers inconclusive findings on the relationship between corporate governance and dividend policy. Therefore, this study aims to resolve the issues and deliver comprehensive results.

The study involves a meta-analysis of 53 research studies using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses and population, intervention, comparison, outcome and study design approaches. The paper examines the impact of moderators: corporate governance structure (Anglo-American, communitarian or emerging system) and dividend distribution metrics (dividend over net income, dividend over total assets and absolute amount of dividend/dividend per share). The study involves subgroup analysis and meta-regression analysis to examine the impact of moderators.

The study’s results specify that board size and percentage of female directors significantly impact the dividend decisions of the company. In addition, subgroup analysis and meta-regression results demonstrate that dividend measurement proxy moderates the association between corporate governance and dividend policy.

Based on the existing literature surveyed, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the current study is the first to conduct a meta-analysis on the relationship between corporate governance and dividend policy. This paper is unique and the first one of its kind (to the best of the authors’ knowledge) to cover all these moderating variables under an umbrella and consolidate the results to understand the existing knowledge and direct future research in the area of corporate governance and dividend decisions.

This paper aims to examine how a firm’s exposure to economic policy uncertainty affects the auditors’ perceptions of financial reporting risk. Firms that are more sensitive to policy uncertainty are predicted to engage in more earnings management because these firms are more likely to experience greater uncertainty in future operations. Audit fees will reflect this reporting risk. On the other hand, auditors might feel more fee pressure from policy-sensitive firms because firms are more inclined to reduce spending in the face of uncertainty and subsequently charge lower fees.

The author tests my hypothesis using U.S. data on audit fees and client characteristics of public companies between the years 2001 and 2021. The author estimates a standard audit fee model based on the audit fee literature (Hay et al., 2006) while also including the two policy sensitivity measures. This study uses panel data methods that allow time-series analyses, providing a powerful setting to test dynamic audit fee adjustment to improve the understanding of the audit market.

The results suggest that audit fee is higher for policy-sensitive firms than for policy-neutral firms. These results are robust to various proxies of policy sensitivity and various specifications designed to mitigate the endogeneity concerns. The study provides assurance that on average, auditor pricing reflects client risk adequately, mitigating the concern that auditors give in to fee pressure and compromise audit quality as a result.

While the findings from this study should be of value to regulators and academics seeking to understand audit activities amid escalating macroeconomic uncertainty, when interpreting these results, several limitations must be considered. The study does not examine how external auditors evaluate risks tied to policy uncertainty. A comprehensive understanding of how and why external auditors respond to heightened policy uncertainty faced by firms could be better achieved through interviews with external auditors and audit committee members. In addition, while this study posits that auditors adjust their approach in response to changes in policy uncertainty, largely due to potential shifts in the risks of material misstatement, there might be additional factors at play that warrant higher audit fees post a change in policy uncertainty. For instance, specific policy changes may give rise to new risks or modify existing ones, thereby precipitating increased scrutiny of records and procedures as company directors’ demand. These aspects offer potential avenues for future research.

This study underscores the significant role of policy sensitivity in determining audit fees and audit quality. Policy-sensitive firms present unique complexities and potential risks that require additional effort and vigilance from auditors. Auditors must develop a specialized understanding of sectors prone to policy fluctuations to navigate these unique challenges effectively. In addition, the role of professional standards boards and regulators in establishing guidelines for auditing policy-sensitive firms cannot be understated. Such guidelines could lead to more consistent audit practices and improved audit quality. Finally, by recognizing and effectively responding to the policy sensitivity of client firms, audit firms can mitigate their own risks, strengthen public trust and enhance the reliability of financial reports.

First, this study adds to an emerging stream of auditing literature that focuses on how audit fees interact with a firm’s external environment by providing evidence of an unexplored implication, a firm-specific policy sensitivity. Second, my main construct, policy sensitivity, provides two distinct advantages over other variables used in prior studies that explore the relationship between audit fees and external firm environments. Third, this study answers the calls for research by De Villiers et al. (2013, p. 3), who identified the cost behavior of audit fees, especially over time, as an area not well understood.

This chapter explores the reciprocal dynamics between climate change and tourism, underlining the imperative to comprehend this connection for effective mitigation strategies and sustainable practices. It focuses on two contrasting regions, the Mediterranean and Himalayan, elucidating their geographical and economic disparities. The Mediterranean, known for its coastal and marine attractions, faces high vulnerability to climate change, impacting outdoor recreation and tourism activities. This region experiences a Mediterranean climate characterised by distinct seasonal patterns, but it also grapples with high-impact atmospheric events like floods and droughts, while the Himalayan region is experiencing more untimely rain and snowfall, erratic monsoons, and decreased snowfall. These climatic challenges, coupled with a growing population and dependence on imported resources, necessitate adaptation strategies for the agricultural and food production sectors. This chapter evaluates climate anomalies and impacts in both the Indian Himalayan and the Adriatic region, with a particular focus on the tourism industry’s adaptation and mitigation capacities.

In addition to vulnerabilities resulting from climate change, it also analysed existing measures and documents related to climate change, as well as their effectiveness based on the expert opinion of the focus groups. The findings reveal that both regions experience shared and region-specific climate change impacts, affecting agriculture, water resources, human health, and infrastructure. Further research opportunities are identified, including the study of ecosystem resilience, biodiversity preservation, sustainable water resource management, and long-term public health implications of changing climatic conditions. This chapter underscores the urgency of climate action and the imperative for adaptive strategies in a complex and uncertain landscape.

While the determinants of voluntary political spending disclosure have been extensively studied in the literature, there remains a lack of clear evidence regarding the specific impacts of managerial ability and political risk on such disclosure. Thus, the purpose of this study is to shed light on whether and how managerial ability and political risk influence firms’ political spending disclosure.

This study uses a sample of 2,242 firm-year observations of S&P 500 companies between 2013 and 2021.

This study finds that firms with high-ability managers generally disclose more information about political spending. This positive relationship between managerial ability and political spending disclosure holds even after conducting additional tests to address potential endogeneity concerns. Furthermore, this study finds that firms operating in high-risk political environments also exhibit a greater propensity to disclose information regarding their political spending. The results remain robust to alternative measures of managerial ability and political risk.

This study suggests that when designing policy to motivate firms to disclose political spending information, policy makers need to be aware of the critical role of managerial ability and idiosyncratic political risk the firm faces. In addition, this study offers insights to shareholders, advocacy groups, regulators and academics interested in understanding the determinants of political spending disclosure.

This study is among the first to provide empirical evidence that political spending disclosure can be explained by managerial ability and political risk. In addition, this study complements the literature on the consequences of managerial ability and political risk. Focusing on voluntary political spending disclosure, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the factors shaping the overall corporate information environment.

The study investigates the effect of uncertainty on gender equality and examines the policies and institutional qualities that matter for mitigating the effect.

The research employs a Generalized Method of Moment model and data from 45 developing countries covering the period between 2005 and 2021. The estimation covers a wide range of specifications.

The study finds that uncertainty undermines gender equality. However, economic management policies, public sector management and institutions and policies for social inclusion and equity directly promote gender equality, and indirectly moderate the effect of uncertainty on gender equality. The result also establishes the existence of a Gender Kuznets Hypothesis.

The study offers pioneering evidence on the nexus between uncertainty, gender equality, public policies and institutional qualities. It explores the direct and indirect relationship between these variables using 18 different measures. The study offers interesting insights and implications for the gender economics literature.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2023-0892

This study aims to address a notable gap in the existing literature by exploring the relationship between gender diversity and dividend policy within the context of US Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).

The authors use a substantial data set comprising 1,398 firm-year observations across 209 US REIT companies from 2011 to 2021 to address the research aims. Fixed effects models and generalized least squares regression methods are used in the analysis.

The results demonstrate a significant positive association between board gender diversity and higher dividend payouts among US REITs. This relationship holds after controlling for corporate governance and other firm-level factors. The findings have strong implications that the presence of women on REIT boards contributes to a greater propensity for discretionary dividend increases in the USA.

This research contributes to the literature by empirically examining female directors’ role in influencing US REITs’ dividend policies, an area lacking adequate prior scholarship. The paper also considers the unique regulatory environment of REITs, highlighting the importance of the study for externally financed firms.

Mainland Tanzania has seen two decades of significant social policy reforms and transformations in its social and economic structures, whilst the country continues to grapple with persisting gender inequalities. This article examines Tanzania's social policy developments from a gender perspective. The authors analyse the level, reach and quality of social policy delivery to working-age women across the areas of health policy, social protection and employment policy during 2000–2021.

The article draws on qualitative research deploying the scoping review method. The data consist of diverse secondary materials, including academic publications, government policy documents, relevant statistics and other types of “grey” literature.

Tanzania has made significant advancements in the legal frameworks around welfare provision and has instituted increasingly gender-responsive government policy plans. The health and social protection sectors, in particular, have witnessed the introduction of large-scale measures expanding social policy implementation. However, social policy delivery remains two-tiered, with differences in provisions for women in the formal and informal sectors.

Social policy delivery and implementation have increased and diversified in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) during the new millennium, with a growing integration of gender-specific policy objectives. However, limited social policy scholarship has focused on the gendered effects of broader social policy models in SSA. The article remedies the concomitant knowledge gaps by examining various social policies and their impacts on working-age women in Mainland Tanzania. The authors also engage with the theoretical welfare regime literature and present an analytical framework for gender-sensitive assessment of emerging social policy models in the Global South.

This study aims to investigate two issues: (1) a nexus between climate-related financial policies (CRFP) and global value chains (GVC) and (2) the government’s policies to help countries enhance the efficient use of CRFP in improving a country’s likelihood to participate in GVC.

To investigate the connection between GVC and CRFP, the authors incorporate that backward participation is measured using foreign value-added, while domestic value-added is used to measure forward participation, quantified as proportions of gross exports. The study analyses yield significant insights across a span of 20 developing countries and 26 developed countries over the period from 2010 to 2020.

Regarding the first issue, the authors affirm the presence of a linear link between GVC and CRFP, implying that involvement in CRFP is advantageous for both backward and forward participation. Furthermore, the authors identify long-term GVC and CRFP cointegration and confirm its long-term effects. Notably, the expression of a linear relationship between GVC and CRFP appears to be stronger in developing countries.

The study findings, together with previous research, highlight the importance of financial policies relating to climate change (CRFP) in the context of economic growth. Climate change’s consequences for financial stability and GVC highlight the importance of expanded policymakers and industry participation in tackling environmental concerns.

Regarding the second issue, the study findings suggest critical policy implications for authorities by highlighting the importance of financial stability and expanded policymakers in promoting countries' participation in GVC.

This paper investigates the link between GVC performance and CRFP, offering three significant advances to previous research. Moreover, as a rigorous analytical method, this study adopts a typical error model with panel correction that accounts for cross-sectional dependency and stationarity.