An empirical study of firm productivity growth based on the dynamic selection model: Effects on the recent decline in Korean exports

Export and productivity growth in the Korean manufacturing sector have both been slow since 2011. To understand this relationship, we examine the productivity distributions of manufacturing firms in Korea by applying the dynamic selection model developed by Sampson (2016). The fitness of the dynamic selection model suggests that a slowdown in the market selection mechanism may be a crucial contributor to the stagnant growth in the productivity. In addition, we find that the productivity difference between exporting firms and non-exporting firms has decreased and the low productivity growth of firms exporting to non-foreign affiliates has contributed to this trend.     

An analysis of the evolution of global financial network of the coordinated portfolio investment survey

In this study, we construct a directional global financial network using portfolio investment data from more than 200 countries during the first two decades of the 21st century and analyze the properties of the network. Through macroscopic analysis, we show that the network became denser and could be divided into central and peripheral groups. Microscopic analysis shows that, in addition to well-known financial-central countries, relatively less well-known countries played important roles in the global financial network. Further, each country's per capita GDP is positively correlated with its centrality in the network, and the correlation is stronger when measured with inbound investments than when measured with outbound investments.     

How does social trust affect corporate financial performance? The mediating role of corporate social responsibility

Prior studies assert that social trust may positively influence the economic performance of countries and firms (within those countries). This paper proposes a more nuanced mechanism whereby corporate social responsibility (CSR) mediates the relationship between country-level social trust and firm-level financial performance. Anchored in neo-institutional theory, we theorize that social trust instills norms of trustworthiness and willingness to trust others guiding individual and corporate behaviors. In order to comply with such norms and gain legitimacy, firms in high-trust society are more likely to commit to CSR activities that serve the interests of stakeholders. CSR activities, in turn, can positively influence financial performance by enabling firms to access stakeholders' resources and capabilities and to decrease transactions costs in the stakeholder relationships. We tested our theory by analyzing 9818 firm-year observations across 34 countries, during the 2006 to 2015 period. Our analysis shows the expected CSR mediation in the relationship between social trust and firm-level financial performance. Our findings are robust across different models addressing the concerns of endogeneity, alternative measures, and potential moderators.