Institutional Quality Matter Research Articles

Human capital investments and income inequality in Nigeria: Does institutional quality matter?

The study examines the impact of human capital and institutional quality on income inequality from 1990 to 2021. This study adopts the Kuznets model as its theoretical framework. The unit root test revealed a mixed stationary in the variables which prompts the choice of Autoregressive Distributed Lag of which its bound test result shows that there is a cointegration in the variables. The long-run results show that government expenditure on education, government expenditure on health, government effectiveness, and domestic credit to the private sector have a positive but not significant effect on income inequality while in the short-run, government effectiveness and domestic credit to the private sector have a positive but not significant impact on income inequality. Moreover, only government expenditure on education affects income inequality in the Nigerian economy positively and significantly. Based on the findings revealed, the study recommends that the government should by all means and economic resources increase the budget of human capital to enhance the reduction of income inequality in the country and place more emphasis on providing education grants and incentives that encourage the reduction of brain drain.

Tourism-led growth hypothesis (TLGH) in Africa: does institutional quality matter?

Purpose While the tourism–growth nexus is one of the better researched themes in both tourism and economics literature, there is limited evidence on how institutional quality affects this link, especially in the context of the developing world. To address this gap, this study aims to investigate the tourism-led growth hypothesis (TLGH) through the lens of institutional quality, drawing on evidence from African economies. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a longitudinal design, involving panel data on 43 countries over an 18-year period, and the data were analyzed using the difference generalized method of moments model. Findings Results indicated that international tourism earnings contributed to economic growth in the selected economies. However, institutional quality negatively moderated the tourism–growth relationship on the continent, particularly in low-income economies, while reinforcing this link in middle-income countries. Originality/value This study provides new insights into how the TLGH varies across different levels of institutional quality and development.

Impact of government expenditure on unemployment in Asian countries: does institutional quality matter?

Purpose Asian countries have had persistent unemployment levels. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of government spending on unemployment. Furthermore, this paper investigates the moderating role of institutional quality on the government spending–unemployment nexus. Design/methodology/approach Using data from 35 Asian countries from 2000 to 2022, the dynamic ordinary least squares and fully modified ordinary least squares technique is used to tackle with aforementioned issue. In addition, pooled mean group estimation is applied to verify the robustness of the findings. Findings The results show that an increase in government expenditure and better institutions reduce the unemployment rate. Interestingly, the negative impact of government expenditure on unemployment will enhance and intensify with better institutional quality. Furthermore, trade openness and foreign direct investment decrease unemployment in Asian countries. The results are robust to various specifications. Practical implications Findings from this study provide important implications for governments. Governments should use public expenditure efficiently and enhance and improve institutional quality to reduce unemployment. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study pioneers the investigation of the moderating role of institutional quality in the relationship between government expenditure and unemployment in Asian countries.

Institutional quality, the level of development and Japanese outward foreign direct investment

This paper studies the determinants of Japanese direct investment worldwide and in different country groups. We derive our research hypotheses from the Knowledge-Capital Model and test them empirically using the PPML model and statistical data for 179 target countries between 1995 and 2019. We examine the role of a host’s institutional quality in affecting the cost of FDI. We show that institutional quality matters in attracting Japanese FDI for developed, developing, and transitioning economies. We find the effect of institutional quality to be more pronounced in the latter group of countries, especially concerning industries characterized by high asset-specificity.

Tax revenue instability in Sub‐Saharan Africa: Does institutional quality matter?

AbstractSub‐Saharan African (SSA) nations face a dual fiscal challenge: the need to increase tax revenue mobilization and to manage revenue instability. This paper examines the causal impact of institutional quality on tax revenue stability in SSA from 2000 to 2020. Using UNU‐WIDER data and the System GMM technique, the study finds that institutional quality reduces tax revenue instability, with a stronger effect on indirect tax revenues than on direct taxes. This result is robust to changes in the measure of tax revenue instability, the measure of quality of institutions, the sample, and the time horizon. The effect is particularly pronounced in resource‐rich countries and in countries experiencing economic growth. The article's results are relevant to tax policy, specifically the necessary adjustments to improve tax revenue stability through institutional quality.

A step towards sustainable environment in OECD countries: Do natural resource depletion, resource tax, institutional quality, and green innovation matter?

AbstractProtecting and improving environmental quality is essential for sustainable development. This study considers natural resource depletion, resource tax, institutional quality, and green innovation, which are likely to impact environmental quality. These issues are addressed by Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 7, 12, and 18. The study aims to uncover the influence of the variables we have considered on environmental quality in a sample of 18 Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) countries from 1994 to 2020. Before panel data analysis, we conducted preliminary tests to determine the most suitable techniques. The econometric procedure comprises four stages: unit root analysis, cointegration analysis, estimation of long‐run coefficients using two different methods, and panel causality analysis. The empirical findings suggest that resource tax and green energy innovation positively impact environmental quality for the panel in the long run. Results based on the country show that institutional quality has a negative impact on environmental quality in Portugal but a positive impact in Luxembourg. Although resource taxes positively impact environmental quality in Portugal, they harm Luxembourg. Lastly, natural resource depletion negatively impacts environmental quality in Luxembourg. There are no statistically significant results for other countries. The study concludes with policy recommendations.

Electronic procurement adoption and procurement performance: does institutional quality matter?

PurposeElectronic procurement has received primacy as one of the significant reforms to help fight corruption and inefficiencies in the public sector across countries. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of electronic procurement adoption on procurement performance. Additionally, the paper examines the moderating role of institutional quality in the relationship between electronic procurement and procurement performance.Design/methodology/approachThe study applied an explanatory design and a quantitative research approach. Also, the study relied on UTAUT and institutional theory to develop a test research model using 121 responses from public entities in Ghana. Hypothesised paths were investigated using structural equation modelling.FindingsThe findings revealed that electronic procurement adoption positively and significantly affects procurement performance. Also, the findings indicated that institutional quality positively and significantly affects electronic procurement adoption and procurement performance, respectively. Lastly, the findings proved that institutional quality moderates the relationship between electronic procurement adoption and procurement performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focused on public procurement entities in the Greater Accra Region – Ghana. The study contributes to adopting electronic procurement, institutional quality, and procurement performance literature. The study also extends the UTAUT and the institutional theory to African public entities. The study reechoes the importance of institutional quality in developing economies to enhance electronic procurement adoption.Originality/valueTo the best of the researcher’s knowledge, this is the first study that examines the moderating role of institutional quality in the relationship between electronic procurement adoption and procurement performance.

Does institutional quality matter for central bank digital currency adoption?

This study investigates whether institutional quality influences the adoption of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). To address this question, data from 85 countries spanning from 2013 to 2021 was analysed. This study employs logistic, probit, and ordinary least squares regressions to assess the impact of the independent variables. The results indicate that institutional quality significantly affects CBDC adoption, with higher institutional quality associated with a greater likelihood of adoption. An in-depth analysis reveals that 'voice and accountability' is the most critical factor within the institutional indices that significantly explains CBDC adoption. A higher value for 'voice and accountability' correlates positively with a higher probability of CBDC adoption. The findings of this study hold important implications for researchers, analysts, and policymakers.

Unraveling the impact of economic policy uncertainty on environmental efficiency: How do institutional quality and political orientation matter?

AbstractEconomic policy uncertainty significantly influences governmental decisions regarding environmental sustainability, particularly in CO2 emissions reduction efforts. This study examines the impact of economic policy uncertainty on environmental inefficiency across 136 emergent and non‐emerging countries from 1990 to 2018, using an unbalanced and heterogeneous sample. Additionally, we explore the moderating effects of institutional quality and political orientation on this relationship. Employing a directional distance function in a parametric context, our analysis reveals that economic policy uncertainty exacerbates environmental inefficiency. However, we find that institutional quality and political orientation act as important moderating factors, fostering greater environmental sustainability. Sensitivity analyses support these empirical findings, providing insights into potential implications for economic policy and guiding regulatory and policymaking efforts toward achieving enhanced environmental sustainability.

Public expenditure and economic sustainability: Does institutional quality matter?

AbstractThis study aims to provide an empirical insight into whether institutional quality moderates the impact of public expenditure on economic sustainability among the Sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries. Using a quantitative and explanatory research design, this study sourced a 20‐year longitudinal dataset on 48 SSA countries from the World Development Indicators (WDI) and World Governance Indicators (WGI) databases from 2003 to 2022. Both Pooled OLS and System GMM econometric techniques were employed for analysis. It was found that public expenditure and institutional quality positively and significantly influence economic sustainability. However, institutional quality was found to negatively and significantly moderate this relationship. The practical implication suggests nations may face a trade‐off between maintaining institutional quality and ensuring long‐term economic sustainability. The moderation effect of institutional quality is novel in nature and adds to the body of existing literature.

Corporate social responsibility disclosure and corporate social irresponsibility in emerging economies: Does institutional quality matter?

AbstractThe Panama Papers (2016), Paradise Leaks (2017), and Pandora Papers (2021) have revealed the extensive practice of corporate tax avoidance. Yet, the tax behavior of companies claiming to be “socially responsible” has been less examined. This study examines the association between corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) and tax avoidance, particularly in developing economies, focusing on Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). By analyzing data from 600 firm‐year observations across 13 SSA countries using panel quantile regression, we found a negative relationship between CSRD, which includes ethical, social, and environmental dimensions, and tax avoidance. This aligns with legitimacy theory, indicating that firms are increasingly adopting CSR transparency to meet societal expectations and gain stakeholder trust, avoiding socially irresponsible behaviors. Furthermore, the quality of national governance significantly moderates the CSRD–tax avoidance relationship, supporting the concept of institutional isomorphism. This evidence is valuable for professionals and policymakers and encourages further research to deepen and broaden these findings.

Unveiling the effect of renewable energy and financial inclusion towards sustainable environment: Does interaction of digital finance and institutional quality matter?

Maintaining environmental sustainability has escalated to the top of the agenda in practically all nations today, including Pakistan. Hence, our research supports the United Nations sustainable development goal line, specifically SDG-11 for sustainable societies and SDG-13 for mitigating climate change vulnerability. To address these challenges, the present study investigates the association of digital finance, financial inclusion, renewable energy, and institutional quality with environmental sustainability in Pakistan. While financial inclusion is assessed using five proxies that are indexed by principal component analysis (PCA), digital finance is quantified by the number of ATMs. We used data from 2004 to 2021 to explore the relationship among the study variables. Employing the auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, we examined the long-run and short-run symmetric relationships between variables. Additionally, the study investigate the moderating impact on environmental sustainability by analysing the interaction term of institutional quality and digital finance (DF*INSQ). The results show that financial inclusion and digital finance can help developing countries like Pakistan achieve environmental sustainability. The study also highlights the vital role of renewable energy sources in the long-term reduction of carbon emissions. Moreover, the interaction between digital finance and institutional quality presents positive prospects for advancing environmental sustainability. These findings underscore the necessity of redefining financial inclusion and giving environmental sustainability projects top priority. They provide insightful information for policymakers and digital financial service providers in less developed countries. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the importance of robust financial institutions prioritizing renewable energy and institutional integrity for long-term financial health and growth.

Towards the environment of legitimacy: Do the institutional quality and policy uncertainty matter for the performance of stock markets of South Asian countries?

PurposeThis paper assesses the environment of legitimacy by determining the role of institutional quality and policy uncertainty on the performance of five major South Asian stock markets (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal) using 21 years data from 2000 to 2020. The focus of this study is to approach the issue of the environment of legitimacy that leads to sustained market returns.Design/methodology/approachPanel cointegration tests of Kao and Pedroni are applied, and the Dynamic Panel Vector Autoregressive (PVAR) model is used to determine the estimates.FindingsADF P-Values of both Kao and Pedroni tests show that the panels are cointegrated; the statistical significance of the results of the Kao and Pedroni panel cointegration test confirms cointegration among the variables. After determining the most appropriate lag, the analysis is done using PVAR. The results indicate that institutional quality, policy uncertainty, and GDP positively affect stock market return. Meanwhile, government actions and inflation negatively affect stock market returns. On the other hand, stock market return positively affects institutional quality, government action, policy uncertainty, and GDP. While stock market return negatively affects inflation.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample is taken only from a limited number of South Asian countries, and the period is also limited to 21 years.Practical implicationsBased on our research findings, we have identified several policy implications recommended to enhance and sustain the performance of stock markets.Originality/valueThis paper uses a unique analytical tool, which gives a better insight into the problem. The value of this work lies in its findings, which also have practical implications and theoretical significance.

External Debt and Economic Growth: Does the Role of Governance Matter in Emerging Countries?

This study empirically investigates the impact of external debt on economic growth, and assesses whether institutional quality matters for this influence, using data from 18 emerging countries during 1996 to 2020. The findings indicate that although an upsurge in external debt negatively affects economic growth, this impact is mitigated when there is an improvement in institutional quality, as reflected by three governance indicators: anti-corruption perception, voice and accountability, and perceptions of the rule of law. However, other three governance indicators (political stability, government effectiveness, and regulatory quality) failed to affect the economic growth favorably. These results have important implications for policymakers in emerging countries who are currently facing major fiscal and external imbalances due to high expenditure on military goods/thigh cost of war, decrease in trade, and financial loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Does financial development and institutional quality matter in South-South Trade? Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

This study re-evaluates the determinants of international trade in the global south, focusing on intra- and extra-SSA trade while considering financial development and institutional quality as additional predictors. It also examines whether these factors differ for south-south and north–south trade ties. We used a 22-years (ranging from 2000 to 2021) panel of 98 countries (41 from the SSA and the remaining from the ROW). A panel gravity model with Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood (PPML) estimation is used for the analysis. The results show that financial development in origin and destination countries boosts intra-trade in SSA countries, and the developed financial sector of the destination countries contributes to both intra-bloc and international trade. Financial development of exporting countries also spurs intra-bloc trade in SSA countries and the global south. In addition, apart from common expectations, the institutional quality of exporting countries plays a deterrent role, while the institutional quality of destination countries plays a positive and significant role in trade in the global south. We identified the interaction term for financial development and institutional quality of the exporting countries with a significant and positive coefficient for the global south and the global north, and null for intra-SSA trade. For destination countries, it becomes significantly positive with SSA and the global south but negative with the global north. The findings suggest that as part of the policy measures to boost intra-bloc trade in SSA and the global south, ensuring financial development needs better emphasis.

Climate change and income inequality in Asia: how does institutional quality matter?

Asia – the most vulnerable continent to climate change – problematizes policy makers with its dual challenges of high income inequality and low institutional quality. This paper sheds light on the impact of climate change and institutional quality on income inequality for a panel data set of 35 Asian countries and territories over the period of 1990–2021. Results from estimations of Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) and two-step System Generalized Method of Moments (SGMM) demonstrate that the climate change – proxied by temperature and precipitation – exacerbates income inequality, while improvement in institutional quality not only reduces it, but also lessens the harmful impact of climate change on income equality. Findings are robust with various proxies of income inequality. These results strongly confirm the important role of institutional reform in the context of rising climate change and high level of income inequality in Asian countries.

Does institutional quality matter for financial inclusion? International evidence.

Financial inclusion is pivotal in supporting sustainable economic growth and social transformation. It is a key enabler for reducing poverty and uplifting prosperity. Improving financial inclusion has attracted significant attention from practitioners, academics, and governments. However, the asymmetric effect of institutional quality on financial inclusion contingent upon the income level has largely been neglected in the existing literature. As such, this study examines this asymmetric effect using the panel smooth transition regression for a sample of 110 countries globally from 2004 to 2020. Our empirical findings confirm the asymmetric effect of institutional quality on financial inclusion depending on the income level. Improved institutional quality is associated with extended financial inclusion in high-income and middle-income countries. However, low-income countries may not benefit from their institutional reform. Policy implications have emerged based on these empirical findings.

Remittances inflow and economic growth nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa: Do institutional quality and macroeconomic stability matter?

The challenge of achieving “growth” without development in numerous developing countries, particularly within the African region, has instigated a discourse on the effects of institutional quality and the macroeconomic environment on the primary drivers of growth and remittance inflows. This paper seeks to scrutinize the interplay between capital inflow, remittances, and economic growth in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, considering the moderating influence of institutional and macroeconomic stability. Employing a balanced panel data set encompassing 24 countries from 2005 to 2019, this study investigates the hypothesis that the impact of capital inflow on economic growth varies depending on the institutional quality and macroeconomic stability of the recipient countries. The study employs a DOLS panel-based cointegration approach, revealing heterogeneous slope coefficients, as evidenced by the slope homogeneity test. Furthermore, the cross-sectional dependence test indicates that the panels are independent across different sections. All variables are I (1), as affirmed by the CADF and CIPS tests for unit root.The cointegration test conducted by Pedroni, Kao, and Westerlund establishes that the examined variables maintain long-term relationships. The long-run estimated coefficients derived from the regression analysis using DOLS cointegration demonstrate a positive correlation between per capita income and remittance when interacted with macroeconomic policy. Consequently, addressing institutional quality and macroeconomic stability is imperative, as they play a pivotal role in moderating the efficacy of remittance inflows and their impact on the economic growth of the region.

Analysing governance‐led infrastructural development nexus in sub‐Saharan Africa: Does the moderating role of institutional quality matter?

AbstractGovernments engage in infrastructural developments across the globe, and the level of success often colligates with institutional quality levels. However, despite the presence of governance, the lack of well‐developed infrastructure has bedevilled sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries for decades. Therefore, this study investigates the governance‐led infrastructural development hypothesis for the SSA region from an institutional quality perspective towards addressing the infrastructural deficit challenges of the region. A combination of advanced panel econometric techniques was applied to data collected from the African Development Bank, World Bank World Development Indicator, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to investigate the governance‐led infrastructural development hypothesis in SSA while controlling for financial development, economic growth, and industrialization in the region. The findings show that the interaction of institutional quality measures and governance indicators significantly and positively induces infrastructure in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). Additionally, while economic growth and financial development yield no expected significant influence on infrastructural developments, industrialization plays a crucial role, as its spillover effects are not confined to boosting economic growth alone but also to infrastructural transformations. Thus, the provision of policy frameworks by authorities to strengthen institutions and promote good governance is vital for articulating and facilitating infrastructural development plans for SSA.

Does institutional quality matter for renewable energy promotion in OECD economies?

AbstractThis study examines the effect of institutional quality on renewable energy promotion in OECD economies. The study employs annual data from 1980 to 2014 on 18 OECD economies. The robust panel unit root tests show that all the considered variables have a similar order of integration, indicating that they are nonstationary at their levels but stationary at the first‐order differences. The panel cointegration test with structural breaks and cross‐section dependence confirms a long‐run equilibrium association between institutional quality, renewable energy consumption and control variables. The analysis of long‐run estimations displays that better institutional quality makes a unique and substantial contribution to promoting renewable energy consumption. Overall, the study findings offer important policy implications highlighting the importance of institutional quality for the growth of renewable energy and a sustainable world.