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This study aims to exploit Tobin’s Q model of investment to examine the relationship between corporate governance and green innovation.

The study is based on a sample of 3,896 firms from 2002 to 2021, covering 45 countries worldwide. The authors adopt Tobin’s Q model to conceptualize the relationship between corporate governance and investment in green research and development (R&D). The authors argue that agency costs and financial market frictions affect corporate investment and are fundamental factors in R&D activities. By limiting agency conflicts, effective governance favors efficiency, facilitates access to external financing and encourages green innovation. The authors analyzed the causal effect by using the system-generalized method of moments (system-GMM).

The results reveal that the better the corporate governance, the more the firm invests in green R&D. A 1%-point increase in the corporate governance ratings leads to an increase in green R&D expenses to the total asset ratio of about 0.77 percentage points. In addition, an increase in the score of each dimension (strategy, management and shareholder) of corporate governance results in an increase in the probability of green product innovation. Finally, green innovation is positively related to firm environmental performance, including emission reduction and resource use efficiency.

The findings provide implications to support managers and policymakers on how to improve sustainability through corporate governance. Governance mechanisms will help resolve agency problems and, in turn, encourage green innovation.

Understanding the impact of corporate governance on green innovation may help firms combat climate change, a crucial societal concern. The present study helps achieve one of the precious UN’s sustainable development goals: Goal 13 on climate action.

This study goes beyond previous research by adopting Tobin’s Q model to examine the relationship between corporate governance and green R&D investment. Overall, the results suggest that effective corporate governance is necessary for environmental efficiency.

This study aims to examine the effects of institutions on private investment (PI) using panel data analysis, where the sample countries consist of 100 countries around the world and the time period is covering from 2007 to 2016. The system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator, introduced by Arellano and Bond (1991) and further developed by Blundell and Bond (1998) is used to analyze the data sets.

This study uses the panel data approach to estimate the empirical model due to the panel nature of the data. In particular, due to the presence of lagged dependent variables and the ability to capture individual country-specific effects, the system GMM estimator, introduced by Arellano and Bond (1991) and further developed by Blundell and Bond (1998), is adopted to analyze the roles of institutions in PI. The system GMM is developed specifically to solve the problems of weak instruments and persistency (Blundell and Bond, 1998). Jointly, they suggest to adopt additional moment conditions where lagged difference of the dependent variable is orthogonal to the level form of the disturbances. The system GMM estimator is able to combine the moment conditions for the different models, as well as the level model, thereby (is capable of) generate consistent and efficient parameters. Due to the dynamic nature of the data, this study uses one-step and two-step system GMM to investigate the roles of institutions in PI.

The empirical results based on the two-step system GMM demonstrate that the quality of institutions plays an important role in stimulating PI. The finding is reinforced by the analysis of the institutional sub-components’ effects on PI.

This study is unique as its measurement of institutions is multi-dimensional (including law and order, rules and regulation, government stability, bureaucratic quality, control of corruption, socio-economic condition, etc.), and hence are more comprehensive. Second, it is different than the previous studies as its sample of countries includes both democracies and non-democracies, as well as both developed and non-developed economies in which policy implications are widely acceptable. Third, this study contributes to the policymakers especially those in the debt-ridden economies where governments are budget-tightening (limited capacity for public investment), as to which practical direction should be focused on so as to attract PI and eventually sustainable growth can take place.

This paper aims to analyze the impacts of institutional quality on trade flows of NAFTA with a panel data set of 105 countries spanning the period 2006–2017.

We applied the system generalized method of moment (GMM) estimator to investigate the impacts.

The results show that institutional quality is a positive and significant determinant of international trade flows of the NAFTA bloc and its trading partners. Our results also indicate that the impact of institutional quality depends on the level of economic development of NAFTA's trading partners. Specifically, the trade elasticity of institutional quality is the highest for NAFTA’s trade with middle-income countries and the lowest for NAFTA's trade with low-income countries. In the long run, the trade elasticity of institutional quality increased significantly, with the highest increase in the case of NAFTA's trade with medium-income countries and the lowest increase in the case of NAFTA's trade with low-income countries.

This study contributes to the existing literature in three different ways. First, we examine the differential impact of institutions on NAFTA's trade according to the level of economic development of NAFTA's trading partners. Second, we compare the differential trade elasticity of institutional quality in the long run. Finally, we support our findings through an improved research methodology by using the system GMM estimation. This method allows us to overcome the potential sample bias, omitted variable problems and endogeneity of explanatory variables.

This paper aims to empirically explore the nexus between Islamic finance and economic growth across Southeast Asia based on the perception of the endogenous growth model.

This paper applied the dynamic panel one-step system GMM as an optimum estimation approach to study the influence of Islamic finance on economic growth in Southeast Asia from 2013Q4 to 2019Q4. This paper used total Islamic financing as the major exogenous explanatory factor inside the endogenous growth model, whereas the gross domestic product was used as the measurement of economic growth. The sample consisted of all complete Islamic banks operating in Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Indonesia).

The findings demonstrated that Islamic finance is promoting economic growth in Southeast Asia, which reflects the weighty role of Islamic finance as an energetic contributor to economic growth.

This paper would enrich the literature by studying the nexus between Islamic finance and economic growth in Southeast Asia based on the perception of endogenous growth model, as the results of this paper assist as an attendant for financial scholars, decision-makers and policymakers to expand Islamic finance globally as an alternative funding source for the best involvement to economic growth.

Despite the existing studies on the nexus between Islamic finance and economic growth, this paper is the first that explores empirically the nexus between Islamic finance and economic growth in Southeast Asia based on the theoretical background of the endogenous growth model to obtain solid information on this nexus.

This study aims to investigate the effects of corporate board and audit committee characteristics and ownership structures on market-based financial performance of listed firms in Thailand.

It applies system GMM (generalized method of moments) as the baseline estimator approach, and ordinary least squares and fixed effects for robustness checks on a sample of 452 firms listed on the Thai Stock Exchange for the period 2000-2016.

Relying mainly on the system GMM estimator, the empirical results indicate some emerging trends in the Thai economy. Contrary to expectations for an emerging market and prior research findings, ownership structures, particularly ownership concentration and family ownership, appear to have no significant influence on market-based firm performance, while managerial ownership exerts a positive effect on performance. Moreover, as expected, board structure variables such as board independence; size; meeting and dual role; and audit committee meeting show significant explanatory power on market-based firm performance in Thai firms.

These findings are important for policymakers in constructing an appropriate set of governance mechanisms in an emerging market context, and for corporate entities and investors in shaping their understanding of corporate governance in the Thai institutional context.

Unlike previous literature on the Thai market, this study is the first to use the more advanced econometric method known as system GMM estimator for addressing causality/endogeneity issues in governance–performance relationships. The findings indicate new trends in the explanatory power of ownership structure variables on market-based firm performance in Thai-listed firms.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of funding liquidity risk and liquidity risk on the bank risk-taking.

This study employs a system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation technique and a sample of 57 banks operating in BRICS countries over the period from 2006 to 2015.

The results reveal that liquidity risk has a significant and negative effect on the bank risk-taking, indicating that a decrease in liquidity risk contributes to higher bank risk-taking. The study also reveals that funding liquidity risk has the substantial impact on bank risk-taking, suggesting lower funding liquidity risk results in higher bank risk-taking. These results are consistent with prior assumptions.

The implications of this study highlight the fact that liquidity risk is a risk factor which drives the potential bank default, of which banks tend to take more risks when higher funding liquidity exists.

This study offers a number of valuable implications for the policy makers as well as practitioners. The policy makers should take into account better liquidity risk management framework aimed at preventing banks from taking excessive risks. Bank executives must pay more attention on how banks could hold more liquid securities and cash. Less risk-taking reduces higher borrowing costs undermining earnings through imposing taxes on corporate.

This work uncovered that liquidity risk per se is an important and previously unidentified risk factor, specifically its effects on bank risk-taking and contributes to the view in support of holding more liquid securities than the past.

The purpose of this study is to explain the rapid growth of urban residents' sugar consumption in China from the perspective of habit formation.

Using the provincial panel data of Chinese urban households from 1995 to 2012, this study uses the two-step System Generalized Moment Method (GMM) to test the habit formation effect on residents' sugar expenditure in urban China. We also use system GMM and the recursive estimated method to explore the changes of the habit formation coefficients in different years.

We find a significant habit formation effect on overall residents' sugar expenditure and different types of sugary foods expenditure. The habit formation effect on total residents' sugar expenditure and different types of sugary foods is decreasing over the years. The patterns of the changes of the habit formation effect on different types of sugar foods are slightly different.

Due to data limitations, we are not able to do household-level analysis and to examine the heterogeneity of the habit formation effect.

This is the first study that examines changes in the habit formation effect on residents' sugar expenditure in urban China. Our findings provide a reasonable explanation for the rapid growth of residents' sugar consumption in urban China. The result helps to formulate targeted policies for future interventions to control the growth of sugar consumption.

This paper investigates the two-way relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and higher education across 36 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries for 1998–2019 periods. To demonstrate this relationship, the authors take into account the total number of graduates as well as the number of graduates from different fields. Accordingly, the authors gathered graduates in four groups which are education, social sciences, technical sciences (tech) and health. In addition to investigating two-way relationship between FDI and graduates, the authors also examined the contribution of primary and secondary level education to FDI.

The authors use two models to investigate the bidirectional relationship between FDI inflows and graduates from four fields. In the first model, the dependent variable is FDI inflows, and in the second model, graduates from each field are the dependent variable. To investigate the dual relationship, the authors employ ordinary least squares (OLS) and two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) developed by Arellano Bover (1995) and Blundell Bond (1998).

For the first model, the results show that secondary level and higher education have a positive impact on FDI. In terms of graduates by fields, it is seen that education and health graduates contributed the most to FDI. For the second model in which the authors analysed the effect of FDI on total graduates and graduates from different fields, the authors find that FDI positively affects the number of graduates from all fields, and the strongest effect is on graduates from the social science field.

Based on the results, the authors can say that well-educated people promote FDI inflows to OECD countries, and FDI is also a driving force in raising highly educated people. So, the authors think that the results will help design higher education policies in accordance with FDI and higher education connection.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to examine the impact of FDI inflows on graduates by fields and also to investigate the impact of graduates by fields on FDI.

This study aims to examine the effects of board independence and gender diversity on bank performance in Nigeria.

The two-step system-generalized method moment was used to estimate the effect of board independence and gender diversity on bank performance in Nigeria using annual data of 15 deposit money banks from 2006 to 2018.

The results revealed that gender diversity is a significant positive predictor of bank performance, whereas board independence is a negative predictor of bank performance in Nigeria.

Despite the significant positive relationship between gender diversity and bank performance, this paper does not recommend mandatory quota-based initiates of female representation on corporate boards because of the increasing number of female representations on corporate boards of banks in Nigeria.

The study contributes to corporate governance literature from developing country perspective and policy, particularly, on the relevance or otherwise of market-based measures in assessing bank performance in developing counties. This paper finds that market-based variables are not good measures of firm performance in economies with underdeveloped markets.

This paper aims to empirically analyze the impact of export diversification on gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth.

Using system generalized method of moments (GMM), a nonlinear model in a dynamic panel data growth framework for 101 countries between 1995 and 2019 was estimated.

Results evidenced that export concentration, measured by the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI), is negatively associated with GDP per capita growth after controlling for the effects of other explanatory variables. Further, the squared term of HHI used in the model to measure the nonlinear relationship between export concentration and economic growth indicated that the low-income and lower-middle-income countries benefited from export diversification. At the same time, high-income and upper-middle-income countries perform well with their export specialization. The results of the robustness check validate the findings of nonlinear estimation.

The findings recommend that low-income and lower-middle-income countries diversify their export basket to improve economic growth by generating stable export earnings. Similarly, high-income and upper-middle-income countries should focus on measures to close the product lines which no longer belong to their factor endowments and rebalance their export basket.

This study contributes to the existing literature by using the system GMM method, which is most appropriate for a dynamic panel data growth framework with up-to-date data. Further, this study segregates a large panel into 43 concentrated and 58 diversified countries to test the robustness of the empirical results.