Fixed-effects Regression Models Research Articles

A brand prominence perspective on crowdfunding success for aftermarket offerings: the role of textual and visual brand elements

PurposeAdopting a brand prominence perspective, this study aims to examine how textual and visual brand elements influence the success of crowdfunding campaigns for aftermarket offerings.Design/methodology/approachA Python-based Web scraper was used to collect data from 620 crowdfunding campaigns for aftermarket offerings hosted on Kickstarter. The linguistic inquiry and word count application programing interface was then used to analyze the linguistic aspects of these campaigns. A fixed effects regression model was used to evaluate the hypotheses.FindingsTextual and visual brand prominence are positively associated with campaign success. Further, with some variations, both types of brand prominence augment the positive effects of narrative and graphic design elements on campaign success.Research limitations/implicationsThis study makes novel theoretical contributions to the literature on branding, crowdfunding and aftermarket products. The results also provide practical insights to aftermarket enterprises on creating compelling crowdfunding campaigns.Originality/valueBy analyzing the direct and synergistic effects of branding, narrative and graphic design elements on crowdfunding success, this study extends various literature streams and identifies several future research opportunities.

The Impact of Digital Economy on New Urbanization in Shanxi Province

In recent years, the digital economy has increasingly become a significant driver of economic growth in China, with its tremendous potential affecting various aspects of the country's economic and social sectors. Shanxi Province is renowned for being a resource-based coal city in China and is currently in a critical period of developing new urbanization. Investigating whether the development of the digital economy in Shanxi Province positively influences new urbanization is of great importance for regional development. This study utilizes panel data from 11 prefecture-level cities in Shanxi Province from 2004 to 2017 and constructs a comprehensive indicator system for new urbanization, including economic urbanization, social urbanization, spatial urbanization, and population urbanization. The study calculates the comprehensive index of new urbanization in Shanxi Province and the level of the digital economy in Shanxi Province using the entropy weight method. Based on these indicators, a fixed-effects panel data regression model is established to quantitatively examine the impact of the digital economy's development level on the construction of new urbanization in Shanxi Province. The study reveals that (1) the regional development level of the digital economy in Shanxi Province has a significant positive promotion effect on new urbanization. (2) Regional government intervention in Shanxi Province plays a strong positive guiding role in the development of new urbanization. (3) The enhancement of the comprehensive economic strength of Shanxi Province significantly affects new urbanization construction, but the effect is not substantial.

Association of home and community-based services and cognitive function of Chinese older adults: social participation as a mediator

BackgroundThis study makes an effort to examine the impact of home and community-based services on maintaining cognitive function and understand the mediating effect of social participation on the relationship of community services and older adults’ cognitive function in China.MethodThe empirical data comes from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). A total of 38,582 (person-time) respondents were gathered for this study. The two-way fixed effects regression model is used to estimate the associations between independent variables, mediating variables and cognitive ability after controlling for socio-demographic, family responsibility, and time variables.ResultThis study has confirmed that participating in daily and social activities is associated with the cognitive functions of Chinese older adults. Social participation can stimulate cognition. Active participation in outdoor activities, doing housework or taking care of kids, daily playing cards or mah-jong, reading books and newspapers, watching TV, and listening to the radio can significantly promote the cognitive ability of older adults. In addition, the findings have indicated the importance of community services for older adults. This study shows personal daily care services, legal aid services, health education services, as well as dealing with family and neighborhood disputes have a positive effect on maintaining older adults’ cognitive functions. Meanwhile, the provision of door-to-door medical services hurts their cognitive functions. This study also illustrates that community-based services can increase the level of older adults’ social participation, and then enhance their level of cognitive function.ConclusionThis study can inform service provision agencies to develop targeted programs to support older adults’ continued engagement.

Corporate Social Responsibility Practise in Indonesia: The Role of Board Diversity and Corporate Governance

This study aims to determine the effect of board diversity and corporate governance on corporate social responsibility in consumer non-cyclical companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. This study uses a purposive sampling method in the consumer non-cyclical companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, which generated 80 companies or 259 company-year observations during 2019-2021. Testing the research hypothesis in this study using panel data regression model analysis. The analysis techniques carried out in this study are descriptive statistical tests (heteroscedasticity test and autocorrelation test) and hypothesis testing. Based on the results of the three preliminary tests in determining the panel data regression model, this study uses a fixed effect regression model to test the relationship between variables in the regression model. The analysis results prove that gender diversity of directors and audit committees has a positive effect on corporate social responsibility. Meanwhile, the educational background of directors and independent commissioners has no effect on corporate social responsibility. In addition, the nationality diversity of directors has a negative effect on corporate social responsibility.

Earnings Management and Status of Corporate Governance under Different Levels of Corruption—An Empirical Analysis in European Countries

This study investigates the effect of the characteristics of the board of directors on the accrual and real earnings management level, focusing on the role of the corruption level. The employed dataset consists of 469 European-listed firms from 2011 to 2019. Using a fixed-effect panel data regression model, the results documented that larger boards lack coordination and communication in less corrupt economies, facilitating earnings manipulation through accruals and sales. In highly corrupt countries, oversized boards are associated with increased manipulation of production costs and discretionary expenses. Board meetings are positively related to accrual and sales manipulation in low-corruption countries, and board independence leads to reducing discretionary expenses regardless of corruption level. Board tenure negatively affects accruals and discretionary expenses but tends to increase manipulation through production costs in low-corruption contexts. Additionally, when the CEO serves as the board chairman, it encourages the manipulation of discretionary expenses while reducing real earnings manipulation through sales and production costs. In aggregate, the level of corruption can influence a board’s effectiveness under specific conditions.

Air pollution may increase the sleep apnea severity: A nationwide analysis of smart device-based monitoring

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can lead to sleep deprivation, accidents, and cardiovascular diseases. However, research on the short-term effects of air pollutants on OSA severity is limited and inconsistent. We conducted a novel case time series analysis using a nationwide dataset among Huawei smart device users to assess the association between air pollution and OSA severity in a population at moderate-to-severe risk of OSA. Fixed-effects regression models were used to assess the associations between air pollution and the risk of OSA exacerbation, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), and oxygen saturation. A total of 51,842 participants who were at moderate-to-severe risk of OSA (mean age [SD]: 45.4 [11.0], 95.5% male) were included, with 6,232,056 person-days of monitoring. The associations of fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide with OSA severity could occur during the sleep period, and last for 2days. An increase of 1 interquartile range in the moving average concentrations of air pollution during the sleep period and the 2 previous days was associated with a 1.14%-4.31% increase in the risk of OSA exacerbation, an increase in AHI by 0.05-0.17 events/h, and a decrease in oxygen saturation (%) by 0.003-0.014. The exposure-response curves were almost linear. The associations between air pollutants and OSA were consistently stronger in participants aged 45 years or older. By virtue of the smart device-based technology, this large-scale, nationwide, longitudinal study provides compelling evidence that short-term exposure to air pollution may worsen sleep apnea. Our findings highlight the significance of ongoing efforts to improve air quality in mitigating OSA severity and the relevant disease burden in an aging era.

Energy Poverty and Alcohol Consumption

The impact of energy poverty on alcohol consumption has not received much attention in the literature, yet it is of policy significance. We present the first study that examines the impact of energy poverty on alcohol consumption. We use 17 annual waves of data from a large Australian panel survey (2005–2021) and apply fixed-effects regression models to analyse the relationship between energy poverty and the likelihood of alcohol consumption. We found evidence of a negative relationship. Thus, being energy poor is associated with a decline in the likelihood of alcohol use. Separate analyses focused on different indicators of energy poverty and alcohol use demonstrate that the negative relationship is reinforced. However, energy poverty has a positive but statistically insignificant effect on risky alcohol behaviour.

Board gender diversity, institutional ownership and earnings management: evidence from East African community listed firms

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the moderating role of institutional ownership on the relationship between board gender diversity and earnings management (EM) among listed firms in East African Community (EAC) partner states.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a sample of 71 firms listed in the EAC partner states over 2011–2020. Data were handpicked from the individual firm's audited annual financial reports. Based on the results of the Hausman test, the study used the results of the fixed-effect regression model to test the hypotheses. To test the robustness of the results, the study employed an alternative measure of EM and two additional econometric techniques, including the pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) and the system generalized method of moments (GMM).FindingsThe empirical findings revealed that female directors improve the board's effectiveness in monitoring managerial roles. Specifically, the results showed a significantly negative relationship between the proportion of women in the corporate board and EM (as measured by discretionary accruals (DAs)). The findings further revealed an inverse relationship between the proportion of institutional ownership and EM. Finally, the results further demonstrated that institutional ownership enhances the role of board gender diversity in mitigating EM among listed firms in the EAC.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study may be useful to managers, investors and regulators in assessing the role of institutional ownership and women's participation on corporate boards as a strategy for alleviating unethical manipulation of earnings.Social implicationsThe findings of this study contribute to the growing concern on gender inequality, especially the marginalization of women from the paid labor force and decision-making. The findings highlight the importance of having more women in the corporate board since this may help in mitigating corporate fraud. Similarly, the findings highlight the importance of institutional ownership as a corporate governance (CG) tool.Originality/valuePrevious studies have reported mixed empirical results on whether board gender diversity mitigates EM. To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first paper to fill the existing gap by exploring whether institutional ownership moderates the relationship between board gender diversity and EM among listed firms in the EAC.

Achieving Sustainable Development: Balancing Carbon Dioxide Emissions Reduction and Poverty Alleviation in Less Developed Countries

Carbon dioxide emissions (CO₂) reduction and poverty have always been conflicting subjects regarding national policy implementation, particularly in less developed countries (LDCs). Based on energy consumption as a driving mechanism, this study investigates whether reducing CO₂ aggravates poverty in LDCs. To achieve this aim we analyze a 30-year panel data of 15 LDCs and deploy fixed-effects regression models. We used two-stage least square (2SLS) regressions to address endogeneity concerns. Our results suggest that (CO₂) emission has a negative relationship with poverty, which means reducing CO₂ emissions increases poverty in LDCs. Our results provide important implications for policymakers, showing that a green structural transformation implementation that highlights the balance between environmental protection and economic development would be recommended for LDCs.

The Impact of Equity Incentives on the Performance of Listed Companies

With the formal implementation of the Administrative Measures for Equity Incentives of Listed Companies, the scope of equity incentives for listed companies in China has been expanding, and the equity incentive system has been gradually improved. Among them, executive equity incentive and employee equity incentive are two important subjects in the incentive plan, and their respective impacts on corporate performance have also attracted much attention, which part has a greater impact, and whether the two are opposed has become a question discussed by many scholars. Based on human capital theory and entrusted agent theory, this paper selects A-share listed companies that implemented equity incentive plans from 2011 to 2020 as a sample, and uses a fixed-effect regression model to investigate the impact of different equity incentives on company performance. It is found that executive equity incentive can have a positive impact on the company's performance, and executive equity incentive enables them to join the enterprise management decision-making as the "master", share the surplus value of the enterprise with the owner, promote the enthusiasm and creativity of senior executives, reduce the agency cost between shareholders and executives, and meet the needs of long-term development of enterprises. Second, the effect of employee equity incentives is better than that of executives. Employees can only receive the benefits of equity incentives by working hard to meet the conditions for exercise (unlocking). As the most direct participants and executors in the company's business activities, employees have the motivation and ability to work hard to achieve equity incentive conditions and realize their own benefits. That is, the incentive effect of large-scale employee equity incentive is better, and the effect on the performance of listed companies is more significant.

A longitudinal study of immigrant mothers' destination-language proficiency and their children's psychological well-being: Evidence and mechanisms from a study in South Korea

RationaleDespite the well-established link between an immigrant's destination-language proficiency and psychological well-being, little is known about the relationship between an immigrant's destination-language proficiency and well-being of their children. ObjectiveThis study investigated whether and how immigrant mothers’ Korean proficiency is associated with life satisfaction and depressive symptoms among their children in South Korea. A comprehensive set of potential underlying mechanisms was also examined. MethodsUsing four waves of data from the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS), this study estimated fixed effects regression models to reduce the possibility of bias due to individual-level heterogeneity. To test for mediation formally, Sobel mediation tests were conducted. ResultsFixed effects estimates suggested that immigrant mothers' Korean proficiency is positively associated with their children's psychological well-being. Specifically, a one-standard-deviation increase in Korean proficiency was associated with an increase in life satisfaction by 13% of a standard deviation and a decrease in depressive symptoms by 9% of a standard deviation. Mediation tests revealed that this association is explained by a combination of social-psychological factors. Friend support was the most salient mediator, followed by lower acculturation stress, positive perceptions of local community, and teacher support. ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that efforts to improve immigrant mothers' destination-language proficiency would also benefit their children's psychological well-being. Furthermore, promoting children's relationships with peers at school may mitigate the negative psychological consequences of immigrant mothers' limited language proficiency.

Heterogeneity in price elasticity of vehicle kilometers traveled: Evidence from micro-level panel data

This article presents an empirical estimation of the effect of fuel prices on vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT) using a panel dataset of 1560 Swiss households over the period 2018–2021. Elasticities are estimated for different segments of households, based on their socio-demographic and vehicle characteristics, as well as on their driving intensity. Our results, based on fixed-effect, instrumental variable, and quantile regression models, indicate relatively large price elasticities and reveal heterogeneity in price sensitivity. Single-member households appear significantly more responsive to price than multiple-member households. Travel-intensive households do respond to changes in gasoline price, while less intensive drivers do not exhibit statistically significant price elasticities. For household segments who do not react to price, tailored non-price measures would be a useful complement to fuel taxes in order to reduce distance traveled and/or avoid imposing too strong a financial burden.

A Study On Internal And External Factors Influencing Manufacturing Company Share Price

The Intention of the study is to discover academic proof associated with the role of internal factors such as Profitability, financial Leverage, and market value in driving a company's stock price. At the same time, this study wanted to evaluate the position of external factors, namely interest rates on stock price movements. The research population are companies in the manufacturing industry group, Indonesia Stock Exchange. By using a purposive-sampling its obtained a total of 280 company data from 56 manufacturing companies in the 2017 to 2021 time period. Data was analized using fixed effect regression model. The finding of the study show that Profitability is able to bring positive and significant movement to stock prices, financial leverageehas a positive anddinsignificant impact on stock prices, while market value has a negative and significant” influence on stock prices, while interest rates significantly move stock prices in the opposite direction.

Determinants of Accounting -Based and Value- Based Performance Indicators: The Case of the Saudi Banks

The study aimed to investigate determinants of both Accounting -Based and Value- Based Performance Indicators of the Saudi banks listed on the Saudi capital market during 2013-2022.The study used the panel data methodology for least squared regression models and fixed effect regression model to test the robustness of the results. The study used ROA, ROE, and EPS as proxies for accounting- based profit indicators, while the study used MVA, EVA, and Tobin’s Q as proxies for value -based performance indicators. The study used bank –specific, industry-specific and macroeconomic –specific determinants. The results of the study were mixed and more sensitive to model choices. The least squared regression models worked better than fixed effect regression models in terms of explanatory power and capturing several determinants for value -based performance indicators. However, fixed effect regression models worked better than least squared regression models as they captured the impact of risk measured by Z score as a proxy for forward-looking risk as banks with greater scores had better profits. In addition, the results showed that all independent variables were good determinants except for capital adequacy ratio and market share. In addition, there were common determinants for both types of indicators such as operating efficiency, financial leverage, and bank size. ROE was better than ROA in terms of explanatory power. In addition, the study revealed that Weak correlations were found between accounting –based and value- based indicators, and therefore, they were complementary not alternatives. The results of the study will be useful to many stakeholders such as bank management, shareholders, policy maker and external auditors.

Association Between Individual Differences in Dichotomous Thinking and Current and Childhood High-Crime Environments.

The way people perceive the things around them is closely related to living in a complex and challenging social environment. Dichotomous thinking (preference for dichotomy, dichotomous belief, and profit-and-loss thinking), which classifies things in a simple way, can be useful in dangerous and resource-limited environments. However, based on prior studies, people's manner of perceiving things may have developed as a response to the harshness of their childhood environment, and may not be related to their current environment. Therefore, we examined the relationship between individual differences in dichotomous thinking and high-crime environments as indicators of environmental harshness. We assessed dichotomous thinking in 41,284 Japanese residents using large-scale data from the Human Information Database FY19 compiled by NTT DATA Institute of Management Consulting, Inc. The fixed effects regression model showed that, after controlling for age, high-crime environment of the residents' childhood was associated with dichotomous thinking, with the exception of dichotomous belief. On the other hand, their current environment of crime was not associated. In sum, our research suggests that people's dichotomous thinking tendency may be a form of adaptation to the harshness of their childhood environment rather than their current one.

Prolonged exposure weakens risk perception and behavioral mobility response: Empirical evidence from Covid-19

Understanding the behavioral response dynamics to risks is important for informed policy-making at times of crises. Here we elucidate two response channels to Covid-19 risk and show that they weakened over time, prior to the availability of vaccines. We employ fixed-effects panel regression models to empirically assess the relationship between actual Covid-19 risk (daily case numbers), the perceived risk (attention paid to the pandemic via related Google search requests) and the resulting behavioral response (personal mobility choices) over two pandemic phases for 113 cities in eight countries, while accounting for government interventions. Prolonged exposure to Covid-19 reduces risk perception which in turn leads to a weakened behavioral response. Attention responses and mobility reductions across all three mobility types are weaker in the second phase, given the same levels of actual and perceived risk, respectively. Our results provide evidence that the risk response attenuates over time with implications for other crises evolving over long timescales.

Stem growth of Norway spruce in south Sweden in relation to soil moisture, nitrogen deposition, ozone exposure and meteorological variables

Associations between the annual stem basal area increment growth and soil moisture, nitrogen deposition, ground level ozone exposure, air temperatures and the timing of the start of the growing season have been investigated for a twenty four-year period, 1990–2013, based on tree-ring width measurements from seventeen monitoring sites with Norway spruce (Picea abies) forests in southern Sweden. The stem growth-environment associations were analyzed using a fixed effect regression model, with annual stem basal area increment (BAI) as the dependent variable and annual values for a soil moisture index, ozone exposure estimated as AOT30, bulk deposition of nitrogen, summed air temperatures above a threshold and the timing of the start of the growing season as explanatory variables. The statistical analysis was made with and without taking clustering of the sampled trees into account, i.e. that several different tree observations were made at the same monitoring site. The annual number of days with soil moisture below a threshold was the only explanatory variable that could be demonstrated to be negatively associated with changes in BAI, regardless of statistical approach. Positive associations between temperature sums as well as nitrogen deposition with changes in BAI were indicated by low p values using standard p-values, but not when clustering was taken into consideration. Associations between ozone exposure as well as the start date of the growing season with changes in BAI could not be demonstrated since the estimated p values were high regardless of statistical approach. The results show that soil water deficit may considerably limit forest growth in northern European forests.

Labor Market Inequality, Debt, and the Consequences of Sub-Baccalaureate Higher Education

ABSTRACT U.S. young adults in the 2000s and 2010s entered a national labor market that was highly stratified by education. While the socioeconomic consequences of a four-year bachelor’s degree are well documented during this period, less is known about the consequences of seeking a sub-baccalaureate credential. I analyze the employment, earnings, and student debt outcomes associated with several sub-baccalaureate experiences differentiated by enrollment, credential level, and for-profit attendance using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-1997 Cohort. Using fixed-effects regression models, I find that certificates and associate degrees are associated with employment advantages relative to a high school diploma. However, young adults with some two-year college and no credential or a certificate have no higher earnings than those with a high school diploma. Sub-baccalaureate credentials can also be costly, as those who attend a for-profit college have more student debt than those who do not. Results shed light on labor market inequality among a large but understudied segment of higher education and underscore the importance of considering debt alongside labor market outcomes in analyses of the socioeconomic consequences of higher education.

DROUGHT AND HOTTER TEMPERATURE IMPACTS ON SUICIDE: EVIDENCE FROM THE MURRAY–DARLING BASIN, AUSTRALIA

The Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) is Australia’s prime agricultural region, where drought and hotter weather pose a significant threat to rural residents’ mental health – hence increasing their potential suicide risk. We investigate the impact of drought and hotter temperatures on monthly suicide within local areas in the MDB, from 2006–2016. Using Poisson fixed-effects regression modeling, we found that extreme drought and hotter temperatures were associated with increased total suicide rates. The effects of extreme drought and temperature on suicide were heterogeneous across gender and age groups, with younger men more vulnerable. Areas with higher percentages of Indigenous and farmer populations were identified as hot spots, and were vulnerable to increased temperatures and extreme drought. Green space coverage (and to some extent higher incomes) moderated the drought and suicide relationship. Providing targeted interventions in vulnerable groups and hot spot areas is warranted to reduce the suicide effect of climate change.

Quantitative and qualitative investments in internal control personnel and firm operational efficiency: Evidence from Korea

Although internal control systems in firms aim to provide reasonable assurance regarding objectives related to operations, reporting, and compliance, research focusing on operational efficiency is limited. This study investigates the impact of both quantitative and qualitative investments in internal control personnel on a firm’s operational efficiency. Utilizing a fixed-effect regression model, the Heckman (1979) two-stage model, and a two-stage least squares procedure, this study analyzes 4,471 firm-year observations from Korean listed firms from 2018 to 2020. The findings indicate a positive association between investment in internal control personnel and operational efficiency. This relationship remains robust even under sensitivity tests and concerns of potential endogeneity, as confirmed by the Heckman and two-stage least squares models. Specifically, the Heckman model shows that the ratio of the number of employees (coef = 0.023, t-value = 5.20) and certified public accountants (coef = 0.256, t-value = 5.43) responsible for internal control is positively associated with operational efficiency. Average work experience (coef = 0.002, t-value = 1.84) of internal control personnel is also positively related to operational efficiency. This study provides empirical evidence for the significance of investing in internal control personnel to boost operational efficiency and suggests that firms should consider both quantitative and qualitative aspects of internal control.