Impact of board gender diversity on dividend payments: Evidence from some emerging economies

This study investigates the impact of board gender diversity on dividend payments in the context of emerging economies. Using a dataset of listed firms from India, China and Russia over the period 2007–2014, we find strong and robust evidence indicating that board gender diversity is negatively related to cash dividend payments in all emerging economies. Moreover, we find that state-ownership positively moderates the relationship between gender diversity and dividend payments. However, this effect is observed only for China and Russia. In additional analyses, we find that the negative link between board gender diversity and dividend payments is more pronounced during the financial crisis. However, the moderating role of state-ownership does not remain significant during the financial crisis.     

Examining Dutch disease across Australian regions

The recent mining boom represents one of the largest external shocks to the Australian economy in its post‐war history. Although most agree that it had a positive effect on the Australian economy as well as on people’s living standards, there is disagreement over the extent to which this boom has caused deindustrialisation and the so‐called Dutch disease in Australia. Our empirical findings support the presence of Dutch disease nationally for Australia using data for the period 1984–2013. Regionally, the results show that Dutch disease was concentrated mainly in the eastern and southern states of Australia—Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania.     

How strong is the causal relationship between globalization and energy consumption in developed economies? A country-specific time-series and panel analysis

We examine the causal relationship between globalization, economic growth and energy consumption for 25 developed economies using both time series and panel data techniques for the period 1970–2014. Due to the presence of cross-sectional dependence in the panel (countries from Asia, North America, Western Europe and Oceania), we employ the cross-sectional augmented IPS test to ascertain unit root properties. The cointegration test results indicate the presence of a long-run association between globalization, economic growth and energy consumption. Long-run heterogeneous panel elasticities are estimated through the common correlated effects mean group estimator and the augmented mean group estimator. The empirical results reveal that, for most countries, globalization increases energy consumption. In the USA and UK, globalization is negatively correlated with energy consumption. The causality analysis indicates the presence of the globalization-driven energy consumption hypothesis. This empirical analysis suggests insightful policy guidelines for policy makers using globalization as an economic tool to utilize energy efficiently for sustainable economic development in the long run.     

Does insurance‐growth nexus hold for Malaysia?

The study investigates the impact of insurance activities on economic growth in Malaysia over the period 1990–2015. Combined cointegration in the presence of identified structural breaks was used to confirm the existence of long‐run relationships among economic growth, insurance activities, human capital, physical capital, and industrial production. The findings indicate feedback effects between insurance activities and economic growth in the long run. The study provides new insights for policymaking to enhance economic growth via insurance activities.     

Does CEO–Audit Committee/Board Interlocking Matter for Corporate Social Responsibility?

Journal of Business Ethics - This study examines the impact of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)’s interlocking, created through serving on other companies’ audit committees and/or...