Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Corporate Governance Mechanisms and Earnings Management in Nigerian Food Product Companies

One of the major challenges facing investors now is how to mitigate earnings management. Therefore, this research paper tries to find out whether this can be achieved through the application of corporate governance mechanisms. A sample of six (6) firms was selected out of eleven (11) firms in the Nigerian food product firms. The data were sourced from yearly report and account of selected firms for a period of twelve years (12), starting from 2003 to 2014. Descriptive statistics and correlation technique were employed in the analysis of data collected. A panel data regression technique was used because the data had time series and cross sectional attributes. It was found that board meeting has negative impact on earnings management; board gender and institutional ownership have negative relationship with earnings management while audit committee meeting has positive impact on earnings management. Size of the firm which is the control variable has positive effect on earnings management. The findings support the application of corporate governance principles as they motivate institutions to ensure that earnings management practice in Nigerian food product firms is adequately supervised. The study adopts agency theory which believes in bringing managers and shareholders to have a common understanding, thereby reducing agency cost. Therefore, the study recommends that institutional shareholdings should be encouraged as this would help to reduce the extent of earnings management in Nigerian food product firms.
Understanding Persistent ZLB: Theory and Assessment

Concerns of prolonged near zero interest rates and below target inflation have become widespread in the advanced world. We build an analytical framework that incorporates two hypotheses of persistent ZLB episodes: expectations-driven liquidity traps and secular stagnation driven liquidity traps. We estimate the DSGE model with Japanese data from 1998:Q1 to 2012:Q4. Using Bayesian prediction pools, we find that a policymaker faces considerable real-time uncertainty in identifying the dominant narrative. We propose robust policies that eliminate expectations-driven traps and are expansionary under secular stagnation.
Fathering Daughters and Personality

The psychology literature has shown that the big five personality traits develop over a person’s lifetime. There is some suggestive evidence that major life events such as buying a house, getting married, being fired from a job, and having children affect personality. However, these associations cannot be interpreted as causal. This is the first paper that studies the causal effect of a life event - the gender of parents' first-born child - on the big five personality trait scores of parents. Using yearly longitudinal data (2008 – 2017) I find that having a first-born daughter (instead of son) causally increases fathers' extraversion and neuroticism. I find strongly heterogeneous effects based on fathers' education level and age of the child. Interestingly, while the increased neuroticism disappears after the child is 6 years old, the increase in extraversion remains. The data suggest that the behaviors of children, such as obediency and dependency on others, likely affect fathers' personality. In line with the expectations, I find no effects on any of the personality traits of mothers.
Waqf and CSR in Pakistan: Exploring the Effect of Intrinsic and Extrinsic CSR Attribution on the Performance of Subordinates with Mediatory Role of Social Capital and Dynamic Capabilities

The effect of CSR on employee's performance has long been studied, however, how it affects performance is still a big challenge. We proposed a theoretical framework explaining how the organization's corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts to influence employee performance. Zhao et. al (2019) draws on the multiple mediations of social capital (SC) and dynamic capabilities (DCs) to explain the effect of CSR on competitive advantage. We applied this mediatory framework in the modified version of the Story and Neves (2015) model. Specifically, we hypothesize that employees’ task performance increases when employees attribute both intrinsic and extrinsic motives for CSR. This attribution would increase social capital among employees as well as enhancing their dynamic capabilities, These two mediatory factors would lead to higher performance. Performance is measured by 1. in-role that consist of formal tasks and duties, and 2. Extra-role, that relates to OCB. We also classify social capital into three dimensions: Structural, Relational, and Cognitive. Lastly, Dynamic Capability was classified as resource integration, organizational learning and innovation, and change capabilities. Empirical validity was established by conducting a survey using a close-ended questionnaire. Data was collected from 208 respondents belonging to Islamic banking, the majority from the trade side, and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structured equation modeling. The results suggested both intrinsic and extrinsic CSR attribution increases all dimensions of social capital as well as dynamic capabilities. However, among dynamic capabilities, Innovation &amp; Change capabilities seem to positively affect both in the role, and extra-role performance. Extra Role Performance is also influenced by the Relational Dimension of social capital as well as In Role Performance. The findings suggested that with a proper combination of external and internal social measures, enterprises can realize the creation of shared value of economy and society
Does Real Earnings Management Matter in Default Prediction?

This study examines the extent to which incorporating current-period and/or cumulative real activities earnings management in default models enhances their predictability. Aiming at Altman’s (1968) Z-score as well as Ohlson’s (1980) O-score predictors, such adjustments help mitigate the overestimation (underestimation) of survival probability for firms with aggressive (with conservative or less) current-period real earnings management. More remarkably, for financial distress detection models, we document significant effectiveness of adjusting for the cumulative earnings management over the previous three years. Consistently, false loan acceptance (rejection) rates for firms with upward (downward or no) earnings management are reduced with our modification on the scoring models.
An Empirical Study to Assess If Islamic Banks’ Assets Generate Less Revenue than its Conventional Counterpart

Islamic banks, being guided by the principles and rules of shariah, have some inherent limitations in selecting the operational sectors and securitized instruments for financing compared to their conventional counterparts. This study aims to bring to light whether Islamic banks, a growing subset of banking industry in Bangladesh, have further opportunities in generating revenue through deploying their resources. Six Bangladeshi Islamic banks and 12 of its conventional counterparts were purposively selected for this study. Five years (2011-2015) secondary data were used to assess the asset turnover ratio to compare the earning efficiency of Islamic banks with that of conventional ones. Results find that Islamic banks’ assets generate less revenue than its conventional counterparts. The results also find that Islamic banks have further scope of enhancing their income from some sources like, income from shares and securities and other operating income. The paper recommends some measures for the concerned stakeholders like, Islamic banks themselves, Government, and the Central Bank for introducing shariah compliant securitized instruments, level playing policy support, and technology based products and services which can help minimize the gap of income generation opportunities between Islamic and conventional banks.
Impacts of Distributional Social Comparison Behavior on Corporate Social Responsibility: Power of the Small

Motivated by the emergence of various corporate social responsibility (CSR) rankings and awards, we study the impacts of distributional social comparison behavior of firms on CSR in a supply chain, consisting of one manufacturer and one retailer. Both the manufacturer and the retailer can choose to make CSR investment, which attracts CSR-concerned consumers. We consider two types of social comparison behavior: ahead seeking that makes one willing to overperform relative to others, and ahead averse that results in underperforming. We find that if the retailer is a large enterprise who has strong negotiation power in the supply chain, his ahead-seeking behavior cannot motivate the up-tier manufacturer to increase CSR investment. In contrast, if the retailer is small, his ahead-seeking behavior can lead to significant increase in the manufacturer’s CSR investment. This is because the increased market share achieved by the small ahead-seeking retailer makes it profitable for the manufacturer to increase CSR investment. Interestingly, the total CSR investment of the supply chain is also higher with the small ahead-seeking retailer than that with the large ahead-seeking retailer. On the other hand, the ahead-averse behavior of the retailer increases the manufacturer’s CSR investment if the retailer is large, whereas it reduces the manufacturer’s investment if the retailer is small. While many contemporary CSR rankings and awards are for large firms in practice, our results suggest that governments and NGOs should pay more attention to small firms, motivating their ahead-seeking behavior or deterring ahead-averse behavior through rankings and awards. Measures to promote consumers’ social consciousness are also helpful to leverage the benefit of ahead-seeking behavior or to offset the negative effect of ahead-averse behavior. <br>
Do Managers Perform for Perks?

We examine how the managerial consumption of perquisites is determined and whether and how it impacts firm value. On the one hand, if the consumption of perks is a result of agency conflict, then it represents managerial excesses and is value-destroying. On the other hand, when the transaction cost of monetary compensation is high due to information asymmetry, government regulations and media scrutiny, perks can provide incentives for managers to work hard to create shareholder wealth. Using manually-collected data on direct monetary compensation and perks for firms in China, we find that perks are provided when the relative pay between top managers and average employees is low, in firms with high free cash flows, high economic rent and growth. Further, perks are positively associated with firm value, but to a much lesser extent than monetary compensation. Therefore, while perks appear to motivate managers to work hard to create shareholder wealth, they are not as effective as monetary compensation. In addition, the predicted or the “optimal” portion of perks motivates managers better than the unpredicted portion of perks. Finally, the effect of perks in enhancing firm value is more pronounced in firms with high economic rent, high growth and low relative pay between top managers and average employees.
Development of Conceptual Framework for Nigerian Generation Y-ers’ Purchase Intention and Response Towards Indigenous Celebrity-Endorsed Products: A PLS-SEM Study on Selected Mobile Service Providers in Nigeria

Numerous brands in Nigeria, particularly those within the telecommunication sector, are aggressively associating with creative minds and personalities in movie, music, and sports industries, in other to explore and solicit the assistance of these personalities who have a large fanbase to make their brands more appealing and captivating to their target audiences. The study aims to investigate the effects of Celebrity Brand-Endorsement on attitude as well as the purchase intention of generation Y-ers in Nigeria. A modified model of Ohanian (1991) would be adapted and modified to investigate these effects in Mobile service providers’ commercials utilising celebrities as brand ambassadors. The researcher’s original contribution would be, to modify her model, by introducing a moderator variable ‘Matchup congruence’ as well as a mediator ‘Attitude’. The study’s key predictors or independent variables are Trustworthiness, Expertise, and Attractiveness of a celebrity brand endorser. These three variables, taken collectively, are hypothesized to influence the attitude of Generation Y consumers, which then influence their Purchase Intention. The mediator (Attitude) has an impact and direct effect on purchase intention as well as an indirect effect of the independent variables on the dependent variable. The moderator 'Matchup Congruence' moderates the relationship between the Attractiveness, Trustworthiness, Expertise and purchase intention construct. The study aims to offer practical contribution to managers by providing suggestions and solutions that would aid them in selecting the proper endorser that can grab the attention of the Generation Y-ers and glue them to the brand.
Labor Unions and Product Quality Failures

In this paper, we study the impact of labor unions on product quality failures. We use a product recall as our measure of quality failure because it is an objective metric that is applicable to a broad cross-section of industries. Our analysis employs a union panel setting and close union elections in a regression discontinuity design framework to overcome identification issues. In the panel regressions, we find that firms that are unionized and those that have higher unionization rates experience a greater frequency of quality failures. The results obtain even at a more granular establishment level in a subsample in which we can identify the manufacturing establishment associated with the recalled product. When comparing firms in close elections, we find that firms with close union wins are followed by significantly worse product quality outcomes than those with close union losses. These results are amplified in non–right-to-work states, where unions have a relatively greater influence on the workforce. We find that unionization increases firms’ costs and operating leverage and, consequently, crowds out investments that potentially impact quality. We also find some suggestive evidence that unions may compromise quality by hurting employee morale and by resisting technological upgrades in the firm. Overall, our results suggest that unions have an adverse impact on product recalls, and thus, product quality is an important dimension along which unions impact businesses. This paper was accepted by Gustavo Manso, finance.
Effects of Ending Payments for Ecosystem Services: Removal Does not Crowd Prior Conservation Out

We implemented a decision experiment in the field with rural peasants in Colombia to test the effects of introducing then partially or totally removing Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES). We consider individual and collective payments and different rules for removal. We find that there is clearly no behavioral ‘crowding-out’ when a PES is created then ended. Even a simple pre-versus-post-PES comparison finds ‘crowding in’, if anything, with contributions higher after PES was removed than before PES was introduced. Comparing to a control, without PES, strengthens that conclusion. We discuss four possible mechanisms explaining these findings: recognition or gratitude; lack of negative emotions; pre-existing and persistent intrinsic motivations, and evocation of pro-environmental behavior.
Social Capital and Entrepreneurial Financing Choice

Abstract This paper investigates the influence of social capital on young firms' financing arrangements. Using a sample of U.S. start-ups, I find that social capital, as captured by secular norms and social networks in the entrepreneur's county, increases access to outside financing and reduces reliance on owner equity to finance the new venture. Financing to entrepreneurs located in counties with greater social capital involves higher amounts of leverage in the form of outside debt. This finding persists in a difference-in-difference test that controls for unobservable geographic determinants of capital structure.
Board Interlocks and Stock Liquidity: New Evidence from an Emerging Market

ABSTRACT This study examines the implications of board interlocks on stock liquidity using a sample of listed Brazilian firms. The instrumental variable two-stage least squares estimation is used to minimize endogeneity concerns. This study provides evidence that board interlocks are positively related to stock liquidity. Our cross-sectional study findings reveal that the impact of board interlocks on stock liquidity is more pronounced for firms with high uncertainty, in competitive industries, and with poor governance. Our findings suggest that board interlocks aid businesses in accessing external capital from potential investors.
Sectoral Performance and the Government Interventions during COVID-19 Pandemic: Australian Evidence

This study explores the contrasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on various industries in Australia. Considering all daily announced information, we analyzed the diverse impacts of COVID-19 on the sectoral stock returns from 26 January to 20 July 2020. Sixteen out of twenty examined stock indices negatively react to the daily rise in COVID-19 confirmed cases. Several actions from the Australian government to control the pandemic are relatively ineffective in boosting the overall financial market; however, some positive interactions are captured in five sectors of industrials, health care, metals and mining, materials, and resources. The result shows that all industries that benefited from government financial assistance are either shielded or less severely affected by the pandemic. While sectors that did not directly receive financial remedies relatively showed no enhancement in their overall performance. Having achieved short-term success in helping the economy, the government recorded an all-time high deficit since 2004 that might eventually lead to adverse effects on the overall economy. The Australian equity market is found to be rationally distinct to the crude oil price risk, while positive correlations between AUD/USD rate and real estate-related sectors are reported.
Investment Styles, Portfolio Allocation, and Real Estate Derivatives

Chapter 14 provided numerous examples of distinctions that portfolio allocators can make when categorizing real estate. As detailed in that chapter, the primary subgroup on which real estate equity analysis is focused is commercial (incomeproducing) real estate. This chapter focuses on the analysis of commercial real estate by institutional investors. It also introduces the most important real estate derivatives available in the marketplace, as well as their uses by institutional investors.
Bankruptcy in Banking: A Mystery Solved by Neural Experiment

Quite a few in-depth articles were found in the above-mentioned domain. Bankruptcy is one of the most critical factors which most of companies don’t want to face. To predict the Bankruptcy of Banks, there have been several attempts made, some have been successful and some are coming up with new ideas of prediction daily. This paper deals with the Return on Asset (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) variables of the various public sector and private sector banks of India, which using an Artificial Neural Network model, can be used to predict bankruptcy. Looking at the current scenario of the public sector banks, we can say that the situation is very bad since most of the banks have a high rate of NPA which keeps on increasing. The RBI has taken measures and there have been many Mergers and Acquisitions in the Public Banks Sector.
The Level of Voluntary Disclosure in the Annual Reports of Listed Corporations in Fiji: A Case Study of South Pacific Stock Exchange Listed Corporations

This paper investigates the level of voluntary disclosure by listed Corporations of South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPSE). The major objective of the paper is to contribute towards the literature on level of voluntary disclosure in a developing country context. The focal point of the research was to use the empirical data from the twelve of the 2019 audited listed company annual reports from the SPSE. This research is informed by organizational legitimacy theory. The paper shows that the level of voluntary disclosure in SPSE companies has increased from the previous studies. However, the increase is not substantial. The paper shows that corporations who do not have monopoly power fear about their social contract and disclose more voluntary information in order to legitimize their activity. Corporations with monopoly power do not care about their social contract as they are certain that the society has no choice but to accept them as they are the only one in the market, so they do not legitimize their activity to a great extent. Legitimacy theory holds true for non-monopoly firms and does not hold true for monopoly firms.
When Flagships Falter: How Finland and Waterloo Adapted to Anchor Firm Collapse

Why are some communities more resilient to flagship decline than others? This paper compares how Finland and Waterloo, Ontario adapted to the failure of their flagship, high-technology enterprises, Nokia and Research in Motion (RIM). While both regions exhibited a degree of resilience, Nokia’s decline proved more disruptive, causing technology employment to decline by 10% between 2008 and 2016. By contrast, technology employment in Waterloo was roughly stable as RIM shrank and, by some measures, even increased. The Waterloo’s region’s resilience is particularly striking given that RIM employed a higher share of the local labor force. After eliminating several alternative explanations, the paper identifies a tradeoff in the way communities embed flagship firms. In Finland, Nokia’s ties to policymakers and local industry ensured that the benefits of its growth were widely distributed, but this increased regional vulnerability to the firm’s decline. By contrast, RIM’s relatively aloof position within the Waterloo ecosystem limited positive spillovers as it grew, but this permitted the construction of an independent ecosystem which could absorb the resources released by RIM’s collapse. In Finland, this creative reallocation of resources was more painful and protracted.
Crisis Date Identification and Testing for Contagion across Stock Markets

This paper studies whether the choice of the crisis start dates affects the magnitude of contagion estimates. Contagion models generally use exogenously determined crisis start date by relying on event-based markers. We conduct structural break tests and endogenously determine the start dates of the global financial crisis for markets in three regions. We then estimate models with regime switching that incorporates these start dates to test for contagion. We present evidence in favour of contagion through correlation and coskewness. Finally, we evaluate whether there are differences in estimates based on contagion models with exogenously or endogenously determined crisis start dates. We find that there are substantial differences in estimates and that the estimation error in correlation is trivial, but enormous for coskewness. We show that properly identifying the crisis start date through econometric tests is crucial for avoiding potential bias from sample selection and estimation errors induced by this bias.