Fixed-effects Regression Models Research Articles

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.

Digital transformation, corporate social responsibility and green technology innovation- based on empirical evidence of listed companies in China

Green technology innovation is an inevitable requirement to promote the realization of double carbon goal and realize sustainable development. It is also a vital accelerator for the transformation and upgrading of economic structure to promote the high-quality development of national economy. This article empirically testifies the impact path of corporate digital transformation level on green technology innovation ability, from the perspective of green technology innovation, based on the A-shares of 2660 manufacturing companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen between 2015 and 2020 by using a fixed-effect zero-inflation negative binomial regression model. Digital transformation can enhance enterprises' green technology innovation capability, according to the results, and several robustness tests have confirmed this finding. By improving corporate social responsibility, corporate digital transformation enhances green technology innovation capability. When it comes to the heterogeneity of corporate digital transformation's promotion of green technology innovation, compared to large enterprises, SMEs have an obvious advantage. Non-heavy polluting industries are significantly higher than heavy polluting firms while heavy polluting firms are not able to innovate using green technologies as a result of enterprise digital transformation.

Artificial Intelligence and Carbon Emissions in Manufacturing Firms: The Moderating Role of Green Innovation

Carbon emissions have gained worldwide attention in the industrial era. As a key carbon-emitting industry, achieving net-zero carbon emissions in the manufacturing sector is vital to mitigating the negative effects of climate change and achieving sustainable development. The rise of intelligent technologies has driven industrial structural transformations that may help achieve carbon reduction. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is an important part of digitalization, providing new technological tools and directions for the low carbon development of enterprises. This study selects Chinese A-share listed companies in the manufacturing industry from 2012 to 2021 as the research objects and uses a fixed-effects regression model to study the relationship between AI and carbon emissions. This study clarifies the significance of enterprise AI technology applications in realizing carbon emissions reduction and explores the regulatory mechanism from the perspective of the innovation effect. The results show that the application of enterprise AI technology positively impacts carbon emissions reduction. Simultaneously, green technological innovation, green management innovation, and green product innovation play moderating roles; in other words, enterprise green innovation strengthens the effect of AI on carbon emissions reduction. This study clarifies the necessity of intelligent manufacturing and enriches theories related to AI technology and carbon emissions.

Social equity perception and public mental health: a Chinese study with panel data

BackgroundMental health is a vital part of an individual’s overall health and well-being, and the relationship between society and individuals has always been a focus of academic and public attention. However, the effect of social equity perceptions on individual mental health remains unclear.MethodsData were collected from 8,922 survey respondents with an average age of 47.533 years from the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey 2016 and 2018. The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale was used to assess mental health. A two-way fixed effects regression model was used to determine the association between social equity perception and individual mental health.ResultsIndividuals with higher perceptions of social equity were more likely to report better mental health (beta = -0.944, p < 0.01). Happiness, life satisfaction, and social trust partially play mediating roles in the relationship between social equity perception and individual mental health, while education and age play moderating roles.ConclusionSocial equity perception is a vital factor that affects mental health. Public policies should focus on helping less educated and older people improve their social equity perception to improve their mental health.

Hold the phone! A cross-national analysis of Women's education, mobile phones, and HIV infections in low- and middle-income countries, 1990–2018

Despite remarkable progress in the fight against HIV, the number of new infections remains unacceptably high, epidemics continue to grow in certain communities, and therefore AIDS continues to be one of the deadliest pandemics of our times. This study analyzes the rate of new HIV infections over almost 30 years in low- and middle-income countries. Previous research identifies two critical ways to address HIV prevention in developing countries: educating women and using mobile phones to improve health literacy and access to virtual healthcare. Our study bridges these literatures by evaluating how women's education and mobile technology work together to support the goals of HIV prevention in low- and middle-income countries. Using two-way panel fixed effects regression models of HIV incidence across 76 developing countries, we find that both increasing access to women's education and increasing access to mobile phones are associated with fewer HIV infections over time. Furthermore, we discover that women's education moderates the relationship between mobile phones and HIV. More specifically, mobile phones seem to be more beneficial for HIV prevention in cases where rates of formal schooling are low. However, at higher levels of women's education, the impact of mobile phones on new HIV infections is substantially reduced. Our findings have important policy implications for Information and Communications for Development (ICT4D) programs.

Industrial agglomeration, spatial structure and economic growth: Evidence from urban cluster in China

The industrial agglomeration and spatial structure characteristics play important roles in the economic development and improvement of competitiveness for urban cluster. The article constructs a C-D model using panel data of 130 cities in 13 urban clusters in China from 2006 to 2015, then constructs regression equations of the relationship between industrial agglomeration, spatial structure and economic growth through fixed-effects regression models, and finally analyzes the influence of industrial agglomeration and spatial structure on economic growth of urban clusters. The research results indicate that the economic structure of urban clusters is affected by both the level of industrial agglomeration and spatial structure of urban clusters. The higher the level of industrial agglomeration, the more obvious the economic effect of urban clusters. From the perspective of the spatial structure of urban clusters, the impact of monocentric spatial structure of urban clusters on economic growth shows a positive correlation. Human capital, physical capital, economic openness and resident population have significant positive effects on the economic growth of urban clusters, while transportation infrastructure is not significant. At this moment, we should further promote the industrial agglomeration, and continuously optimize the internal spatial structure of urban clusters with the linkage mechanism of land and household registration to improve the comprehensive competitiveness of urban clusters.

The effect of capacity building evidence-based medicine training on its implementation among healthcare professionals in Southwest Ethiopia: a controlled quasi-experimental outcome evaluation

BackgroundEvidence-based medicine (EBM) bridges research and clinical practice to enhance medical knowledge and improve patient care. However, clinical decisions in many African countries don’t base on the best available scientific evidence. Hence, this study aimed to determine the effect of training interventions on background knowledge and awareness of EBM sources, attitude, competence, and practice of EBM among healthcare professionals.MethodWe designed a controlled group quasi-experimental pre-post test study to evaluate the effect of capacity-building EBM training. A total of 192 healthcare professionals were recruited in the study (96 from the intervention and 96 from the control group). We used a difference-in-differences (DID) analysis to determine the effect of the training. Along the way, we used a fixed effect panel-data regression model to assess variables that could affect healthcare professionals’ practice of EBM. The cut point to determine the significant effect of EBM training on healthcare professionals’ background knowledge and awareness of EBM sources, attitude, and competence was at a P-value < 0.05.ResultThe DID estimator showed a significant net change of 8.0%, 17.1%, and 11.4% at P < 0.01 on attitude, competence, and practice of EBM, respectively, whereas no significant increment in the background knowledge and awareness of EBM sources. The fixed effect regression model showed that the attitude [OR = 2.288, 95% CI: (1.049, 4.989)], competence [OR = 4.174, 95% CI: 1.984, 8.780)], technical support [OR = 2.222, 95% CI: (1.043, 3.401)], and internet access [OR = 1.984, 95% CI: (1.073, 4.048)] were significantly affected EBM practice.ConclusionThe capacity-building training improved attitude, competence, and EBM practice. Policymakers, government, and other concerned bodies recommended focusing on a well-designed training strategy to enhance the attitude, competence, and practice towards EBM among healthcare professionals. It was also recommended to enhance internet access and set mechanisms to provide technical support at health facilities.

Voluntary sustainability reporting assurance in the European Union before the advent of the corporate sustainability reporting directive: The country and firm‐level impact of Sustainable Development Goals

AbstractDrawing on institutional and signaling theories, this paper investigates country‐and firm‐level impact of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on the European Union (EU) companies' decision to have sustainability reporting assured prior to the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The dataset consists of 960 companies based in the EU and covers 2020–2022. The total number of observations equals 2880. The research focuses on SDGs‐related factors influencing companies' assurance decisions such as the countries' advancement in SDGs implementation represented by SDG SCORE and companies' efforts toward the SDGs achievement captured with SDG INDEX. The data are analyzed using descriptive statistics and the fixed effects regression model for panel data. The results of the study indicate that SDGs impact companies' assurance decisions on both levels. Larger companies tend to opt for assuring their sustainability reporting more frequently, while those operating in environmentally sensitive industries display greater hesitancy in this regard. The research findings suggest adding SDGs to the wide range of factors identified in previous literature as determinants of the differences in sustainability reporting assurance. Company managers should increase their efforts to achieve the SDGs, as this might promote the use of assurance. The involvement of government agencies, national accounting and auditing associations and standard setters in the implementation of the SDGs can be useful in facilitating the transition from voluntary to mandatory implementation of assurance under the new CSRD.