Earnings management in the short- and long-term post-regulation periods

Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting - We examine the change in the level and significance of accrual and real earnings management over the period 1996–2018. Our univariate results...     

Consumer ethics: A review and research agenda

Consumer ethics continues to draw the attention of academicians and practitioners as a significant economic and social issue globally. Consumer ethics refers to moral principles that govern a consumer's behaviour. This literature review seeks to enrich the discourse on consumer ethics through a comprehensive and detailed review of 106 articles, covering 21 journals from 2010 to 2020. Through an examination of theories, contexts, characteristics, and methodologies used in consumer ethics research, our review (1) presents a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the research in this field and (2) sets a future research agenda to spur scholarly research. We found studies have primarily relied on a single theoretical lens such as the theory of marketing ethics, planned behaviour, and neutralization theory. Further consumer ethics research focuses on advanced countries, with a narrow focus on developing countries. We have diagnosed the need to examine boundary conditions impacting consumer ethics. Finally, we provide actionable inputs to combat unethical consumer actions as well as promote ethical consumption.     

Measuring the financial and social performance of French mutual funds: A data envelopment analysis approach

Socially responsible investors pursue both financial and non-financial goals. In this paper, we attempt to assess the performance of French socially responsible mutual funds (SRMFs). We consider the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach, which allows us to assign a unique efficiency score while combining financial and social characteristics, using various combinations within different types of risk (total risk, market risk, and downside risk). We report the list of funds found to be DEA efficient using various output-oriented models. We also compare our obtained results with the traditional and modern measures used in the literature (Sharpe, Treynor, and the information ratio). We contribute to the literature by testing the validity of the DEA methodology in the financial context. The findings have important implications for fund selection processes and would be mainly of interest to investors and fund managers who integrate environmental, social, and governance criteria into their investment choices.     

Trade dependence and stock market reaction to the Russia-Ukraine war

Using data from 83 countries, we show that the decline in the value of stock market indices in response to the Russia-Ukraine war was sharper in countries that have stronger trade ties (both exports and imports) with Russia and Ukraine. We also find the relationship between trade dependency and market drop is weaker in countries with more trade openness.