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There is extensive literature on the effect of military expenditure on economic growth. However, there is also a wide gap in the literature on the relationship between productivity and innovation, which is considered the driving force of economic growth and military expenditures. To this end, this study examines the effect of military expenditures on economic growth, innovation and labor productivity for the period 1995–2019 in most militarized countries.

The tests used in the study's empirical analysis are techniques that take into account cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity. The stationarity of the variables was tested with the Pesaran’s (2007) unit root test. Then, empirical findings were revealed based on the analysis through Westerlund’s (2008) cointegration test and Emirmahmutoglu and Kose’s (2011) panel causality test.

According to the empirical results, there is a long-run relationship, in other words, a cointegration between military expenditures and productivity, innovation and economic growth. Additionally, there are causality relationships between military expenditures and productivity, innovation and economic growth.

These results support the arguments of military Keynesianism and the Benoit hypothesis.

Despite the widespread theoretical debate, no empirical study tests the effect of military expenditure on productivity and innovation to the author's best knowledge. Hence, this study aims to fill this gap in the literature. Moreover, the fact that the econometric method used is based on second generation tests and the timeliness of the period range makes the study's findings more significant.

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and stock prices during the period from March 2003 to March 2021.

The study uses asymmetric and symmetric frequency domain causality tests and focuses on BRIC countries, namely, Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The findings of the symmetric causality test confirm unidirectional permanent causality from EPU to stock prices for Brazil and India and bidirectional causality for China. However, according to the asymmetric causality test, the findings for China show that there is no causality between the variables. The results for Brazil and India indicate that there is unidirectional permanent causality from positive components of EPU to positive components of stock prices. Moreover, for Brazil, there is unidirectional temporary causality from the negative components of EPU to the negative components of stock prices. For India, there is temporary causality in the opposite direction.

The reactions of financial markets to positive and negative shocks differ. In this context, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt to examine the causal relationships between stock prices and uncertainty using an asymmetric frequency domain approach. Thus, the study enables the analysis of the effects of positive and negative shocks in the stock market separately.