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We study five exogenous shocks: climate, violence, price hikes, spoilage and the COVID-19 lockdown. We analyze the association between these shocks and trader characteristics, reflecting trader vulnerability.

Using primary survey data on 1,100 Nigerian maize traders for 2021 (controlling for shocks in 2017), we use probit models to estimate the probabilities of experiencing climate, violence, disease and cost shocks associated with trader characteristics (gender, size and region) and to estimate the probability of vulnerability (experiencing severe impacts).

Traders are prone to experiencing more than one shock, which increases the intensity of the shocks. Price shocks are often accompanied by violence, climate and COVID-19 shocks. The poorer northern region is disproportionately affected by shocks. Northern traders experience more price shocks while Southern traders are more affected by violence shocks given their dependence on long supply chains from the north for their maize. Female traders are more likely to experience violent events than men who tend to be more exposed to climate shocks.

The data only permit analysis of the general degree of impact of a shock rather than quantifying lost income.

This paper is the first to analyze the incidence of multiple shocks on grain traders and the unequal distribution of negative impacts. It is the first such in Africa based on a large sample of grain traders from a primary survey.

Doing qualitative research with vulnerable urban populations such as street traders present significant methodological challenges, which many researchers may not be prepared to handle. This paper aims to provide a reflective account of the authors' fieldwork experiences while conducting a study with street traders in Harare, Zimbabwe.

This paper draws data from a qualitative case study conducted with street traders in Harare's Central Business District (CBD). In this study, mixed qualitative methods were used including focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews and photovoice.

The study’s findings suggest that researching street traders is a complex process that requires flexibility, adaptability and creativity of researchers across the following aspects: gaining access in unfamiliar research contexts, building rapport and trust with participants, managing ethical dilemmas and addressing power imbalances between researchers and participants.

While there is a growing body of empirical research on street trading in the global south, there are limited studies that discusses the practical fieldwork experiences associated with conducting primary research with such vulnerable and dynamic urban populations. The authors highlight strategies and practical steps that can be taken to address these challenges. This paper emphasizes the need for flexibility and adaptability in researching street traders, as it is akin to exploring uncharted territories where conventional methodological templates may not be effective.

This paper applies a volume-price probability wave differential equation to propose a conceptual theory and has innovative behavioral interpretations of intraday dynamic market equilibrium price, in which traders' momentum, reversal and interactive behaviors play roles.

The authors select intraday cumulative trading volume distribution over price as revealed preferences. An equilibrium price is a price at which the corresponding cumulative trading volume achieves the maximum value. Based on the existence of the equilibrium in social finance, the authors propose a testable interacting traders' preference hypothesis without imposing the invariance criterion of rational choices. Interactively coherent preferences signify the choices subject to interactive invariance over price.

The authors find that interactive trading choices generate a constant frequency over price and intraday dynamic market equilibrium in a tug-of-war between momentum and reversal traders. The authors explain the market equilibrium through interactive, momentum and reversal traders. The intelligent interactive trading preferences are coherent and account for local dynamic market equilibrium, holistic dynamic market disequilibrium and the nonlinear and non-monotone V-shaped probability of selling over profit (BH curves).

The authors will understand investors' behaviors and dynamic markets through more empirical execution in the future, suggesting a unified theory available in social finance.

The authors can apply the subjects' intelligent behaviors to artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning and financial technology.

Understanding the behavior of interacting individuals or units will help social risk management beyond the frontiers of the financial market, such as governance in an organization, social violence in a country and COVID-19 pandemics worldwide.

It uncovers subjects' intelligent interactively trading behaviors.

Traditional market revitalisation is an important policy designed to reduce unfair competition between traditional markets and modern businesses. This study aims to determine, analyse and illustrate the implementation of corporate governance principles so that traditional markets can be revived in accordance with the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs) program, with specific reference to the Yogyakarta Special Region.

The study relied on primary and secondary data sources. Data were collected through interviews, observations, analysis of documentation and review of the literature. The research was conducted in Yogyakarta Special Region, specifically Bantul Regency, Kranggan Market in Yogyakarta City, Sentolo Market in Kulonprogo Regency, Gentan Market in Sleman Regency and Argosari Market in Gunungkidul Regency. The data were analysed using the qualitative research method and a descriptive approach.

Traditional markets play a vital role in strengthening the national economy and preserving an old culture that reflects local traditions. Good collaboration between parties in the implementation of corporate governance is evident, despite market revitalisation proving to be highly costly. In some places market development has simply resulted in marginalising the old traders who cannot improve their livelihoods. Therefore, the revitalisation program of traditional markets must not only improve the facilities but all aspects of traditional markets.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is an original study based on primary observation, and it has implications for all emerging economies where traditional markets are being replaced by modern markets.

The paper aims to examine agrochemical traders’ tax morale in three Ghanaian regions.

Primary data were collected from 92 respondents using structured questionnaires. A multistage sampling technique was employed and used in selecting respondents.. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis and quantile regression analysis were used to analyse data obtained via the questionnaires.

The study found tax reporting knowledge, tax calculating knowledge and tax payment knowledge to be the keen factors influencing agrochemical traders’ tax knowledge. It was also revealed that age, religion and marriage positively influence the tax morale of traders. Inversely, gender, high level of education and monthly sales were found to affect tax morale negatively. Moreover, trust (respect, trustworthiness and expertise knowledge) negatively influenced tax morale. Authorities’ tax knowledge and power (sanction and lockdown) were revealed to impact tax morale positively. However, tax morale decreases amongst agrochemical traders with higher tax morale when sanction increases.

Unlike previous studies which focussed on tax morale amongst individuals and firms outside the agribusiness sector, this study examined the tax morale within the informal agrochemical trading sector, which has recently attracted colossal patronage due to the high usage of agrochemicals amongst farmers in Africa and Ghana. This study also assumed tax morale to be at different levels; hence the factors that affect the morale at different levels differ. Therefore, the study examined the factors influencing tax morale amongst agrochemical traders by segregating tax morale into quartiles. Relating to theory, the economic deterrence theory was used to ground the study, which is not usually used in most tax morale studies.

The purpose of this study is to analyze trust perceptions between farmers and traders from a dyadic context in developing countries using mixed-method with a specific focus on fresh and dry commodities under contracted and non-contracted markets.

A mixed approach was employed. Cross-sectional data were collected from 202 farmers and 188 traders using questionnaires and an interview guide. The Mann–Whitney test was used to assess differences in trust perception. Differences in the excerpts were assessed through content analysis.

Results show differences in perception of trust between farmers and traders on integrity, benevolence and competence in marketing fresh and dry commodities. No detectable differences in trust perception between contract and non-contract markets were observed.

Data are limited to Northern Uganda and were collected on trust perception. Besides, there is a scarcity of formal contracts and difficulty in having a matched dyad which could affect generalization.

This is the first study to analyze differences in trust perceptions using a mixed approach in a dyadic context between fresh and dry chains in different markets typologies in developing countries.

The study aims to assess the effect of English and French language literacy on the welfare of Ghanaian women in trade. Also, this study analyses the geographical variations of such effects from rural to urban areas.

Using the latest living standards survey data, the standard two-stage least squares instrumental variable approach was used to estimate the causal effects.

The results show that Ghanaian women in trade who are both English and French literate or only English literate are able to improve their welfare significantly relative to their fellows who are illiterate in both English and French or only English, whilst those who are solely French literate do not experience any significant improvement in welfare from trade compared with their counterparts. From the heterogeneous analysis, the findings indicate that the effect is significantly concentrated amongst rural traders but insignificant amongst urban traders.

The findings of this study inform government and policymakers to consider the effectiveness of the free senior high school (SHS) education policy in improving English and French language literacy and the welfare of women in Ghana. It also informs educational institutions on the importance of adult education in English and French, especially amongst women.

The study quantitatively estimates the effect of English and French language literacy on the welfare of Ghanaian women in trade by employing an instrumental variable approach to assess the causal effect. Uniquely, the study finds that language literacy is a significant tool in improving the welfare of rural women engaged in trade in Ghana.

Recent studies suggested the ratio of option to stock volume reflected the private information. Informed traders were drawn to the options market for its leverage effect and relatively low transaction costs. Informed traders use different intervals of option moneyness to execute their strategies. The question is which types of option moneyness were traded by informed traders and what information was reflected in the market. In this study, the authors focused on this question and constructed a method for capturing the activity of informed traders in the options and stock markets.

The authors constructed the daily measure, moneyness option trading volume to stock trading volume ratio (MOS), to capture the activity of informed traders in the market. The authors formed quintile portfolios sorted with respect to the moneyness option to stock trading volume ratio and provided the capital asset pricing model and Fama–French five-factor alphas. To determine whether MOS had predictive ability on future stock returns after controlling for company characteristic effects, the authors formed double-sorted portfolios and performed Fama–Macbeth regressions.

The authors found that the firms in the lowest moneyness option trading volume to stock trading volume ratio for put quintile outperform the highest quintile by 0.698% per week (approximately 36% per year). The firms in the highest moneyness option trading volume to stock trading volume ratio for call quintile outperform the lowest quintile by 0.575% per week (approximately 30% per year).

The authors first propose the measures, moneyness option trading volume to stock trading volume ratio, that combined with the trading volume and option moneyness. The authors provide evidence that the measures have the predictive ability to the future stock returns.

Online investment platforms offer an environment that may lead some traders into excessive behaviors akin to gambling. Over the last decade, gambling behaviors associated with the stock market have attracted the attention of many researchers but the literature on the subject remains scarce. This study aims to present the results of live interviews with a sample (N = 100) of retail investors trading online, and contrasts trading habits with gambling behaviors.

Participants are divided in three groups according to their score on an adapted version of the Problem Gambling Severity Index (referred to as the PGSI-Trading), and their trading habits and behaviors are compared.

The authors find that traders with higher PGSI-Trading scores are more likely to display gambling-related behaviors such as trading within a short timeframe, being motivated by making money quickly and experiencing high sensations when trading.

The sample is small but the authors proceeded this way in order to gather some qualitative data that would be helpful to clinicians in the Province of Quebec. The questionnaire used to classify traders at risk of being gamblers (PGSI-Trading) has not been validated.

The findings of this study will be helpful to clinicians who hwork with patients suffering from excessive online stock trading habits.

Clinicians observe an increasing number of patients who consult with excessive stock trading habits. This study has brought new information allowing clinicians to better understand how gambling manifests itself on the stock market.

To the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the trading habits of individuals classified in terms of their score on an adapted PGSI questionnaire.

Previous literature shows that market sentiment and the steepness of index option's implied volatility slope have a negative relation. This paper investigates the relation between firm-specific sentiment and individual option's implied volatility slope both theoretically and empirically.

The authors develop a simple model with option traders' sentiment heterogeneity to show that sentiment and the steepness of individual option's implied volatility slope have a positive relation.

When firm-specific sentiment is higher (more bullish), individual option's implied volatility slope becomes steeper. The positive relation is stronger when option traders' beliefs on risk are more dispersed. Empirical results support the theoretical model predictions.

Although both firm-specific sentiment and individual options implied volatility slope predict future stock returns, there is no research exploring the relation between them. In particular, none of previous studies associates implied volatility slope's stock return predictability to investor behavior such as sentiment. The authors’ findings provide a behavior-based explanation on why steep implied volatility slope negatively predicts cross-sectional stock returns.