Pooled Panel Research Articles

Impacts of Caregiving on Health of New Spousal Caregivers to Older Adults in the United States: A Coarsened Exact Matching Analysis.

Spousal caregivers of older adults, especially new spousal caregivers, face increased risks of negative health outcomes due to the demands of caregiving and their own health decline. Estimating the impacts of caregiving on health without controlling for caregivers' own aging-related health decline could exaggerate the negative health consequences of caregiving, while focusing solely on caregivers could result in selection bias where healthier individuals enter and/or remain in caregiving. This study aims to estimate the impacts of caregiving on health of new spousal caregivers while controlling for observable confounders. We utilized coarsened exact matching analysis to compare health outcomes between new spousal caregivers and spousal non-caregivers using pooled panel data from 2006 to 2018 in the Health and Retirement Study. We analyzed 242,123 person-wave observations from 42,180 unique individuals, among whom 3,927 were new spousal caregivers. Variables used for matching were classified into three categories: care needs, willingness to provide care, and ability to provide care. Two-year outcomes assessed are spouse's self-rated health, depressive symptoms, and cognitive functioning. A total of 3,417 (87.01%) new spousal caregivers were matched with 129,798 observations of spousal non-caregivers. Regression analysis indicated being a new spousal caregiver was associated with a 0.18 (SE=0.05) unit increase in number of depressive symptoms. No statistically significant results were identified for self-rated health and cognitive functioning. Our results highlighted the needs to address mental health among new spousal caregivers and emphasized the importance of addressing mental health in long-term care programs and policies.

Do changes in distributors' incentive structure drive mutual fund flows?

PurposeThis study estimates the impact of changes in the mutual fund distributor incentive structure on distributor-advised mutual fund flows. The authors employ two recent major policy interventions by the Indian self-regulatory authority and the financial market regulator – one partial ban and another complete ban on upfront commissions – paid to mutual fund distributors on distributor-advised mutual fund flows.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use novel distributor-level data across the 198 largest distributors in India between 2013 and 2020 and a series of pooled panel random-effect generalized least squares models with robust standard errors to explore the effect of changes of distributor commissions on distributor assets-under-management (AUM), gross sales, commissions and changes (%) in the number of investors in alternate investment avenues like portfolio management services (PMS).FindingsChanges in the incentive structure have a significant negative effect on mutual fund flows at an aggregate level and within MF distributor categories. A significant diversion of investor funds toward PMS is noted, which paid higher upfront commissions to distributors during the same period.Practical implicationsThe authors posit that these two developments are not mutually independent and that both fall out of the aforementioned policy changes by Securities and Exchange Board of India and Association of Mutual Funds in India. The study findings have implications for all stakeholders in the Indian mutual fund industry and, by extension, for Indian and global alternative investment avenues.Originality/valueThis study is the first to explore the effects of these two major policy interventions by regulators on mutual fund flows in India.

Do family companies invest more in internal audit function (IAF) than non-family companies?

PurposeMotivated by the growing interest of governance regulators and researchers on internal audit function (IAF), this study examines the influence of family ownership on the levels of investment in IAF.Design/methodology/approachA sample of Malaysian listed companies for the period 2009 to 2016 is used. To test our hypothesis, the authors use pooled panel data regression based on two-way cluster-robust standard errors (firm and year).FindingsThe findings show that family ownership is negatively related to investment in IAF; in particular, investment in IAF is lower for family companies than non-family companies.Originality/valueThis study contributes to existing knowledge of IAF, and it provides significant insights for regulators and managers into the variation in governance structures between family and non-family companies, particularly in emerging markets in which substantial family ownership is common.

Foreign Direct Investment, Institutional Quality and Sustainability: Cross-country Analysis Using Different Estimators

This article analyses the impact of institutional quality and sustainability on FDI. To achieve the objective, the study utilises data from 189 countries for 19 years, from 1996 to 2017. For estimation, the study uses several approaches such as pooled panel least squares with fixed and random effect models, generalised method of moments and panel quantile regression. The study finds that FDI and institutional quality steers the sustainability of the participating countries, primarily by creating and maintaining a conducive environment for investment and trade. We also confirmed that institutional quality variables can predict the FDI inflow across the countries. This is the first study in our knowledge that adopts different estimations and thereby ensures the robustness of the research findings. Moreover, our study is unique by including a new variable, i.e., the environmental performance index, to understand the sustainability aspects of FDI and the institutional quality. JEL Codes: Q56, C33, G28, E02, E22, F21

A Dynamic Analysis of Women’s Labour Force Participation in Urban India

AbstractThe introduction of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) heralded a methodological innovation for the study of Indian labour, allowing the researcher to build panels tracking urban individuals over a year. Using two rounds of the PLFS covering the periods 2017–18 and 2018–19, we construct a pooled panel of urban Indian individuals aged 15–65 and focus on women’s experiences in the labour force. We find evidence of low dynamism in the Indian economy, with women facing significant difficulties regarding labour force participation. While a majority of women remain outside the labour force throughout the year, those who do participate face significant disadvantages. Job-finding rates for women are half that of men, indicating weak demand for women’s labour in the economy. Women face significant exits from both employment and unemployment, with nearly 18% of employed women leaving their jobs and moving to non-participation over the year. Women’s relative disadvantages persist even when age and education are considered, with the lowest job-finding rates seen for young and graduate women, and rates of labour force exit much higher than that of men. This paper highlights the importance of looking at demand side questions when it comes to examining women’s labour force participation.

Analyzing the Consequences of Financial Inclusion on the Effectiveness of the Financial System and its Capacity to be Maintained Through Evidence from Asia

Using yearly data for 40 countries between 2000 and 2021, this article seeks to examine the connection between the financial inclusion index and development factors in the world's poorest regions: Asia. As a means of investigating this connection, we use pooled panel regression and panel data analysis. This empirical evidence suggests that expanding economies is the key to expanding access to financial services. Women are more likely than males to be economically excluded due to a variety of reasons, including unemployment and literacy rates. People in rural regions of less developed nations have less access to financial resources because of the economy's reliance on agriculture. Wage disparity has a chilling effect on people's ability to participate in the financial system and hampers progress. Because of this low degree of financial inclusion, these nations are not as developed as they may be. This research has the potential to improve the lives of marginalized people in the nations under consideration. Policymakers should think about enacting measures to boost literacy, eradicate gender discrimination, and increase wage equity in order to better the environment for development.

Impact of Bank Efficiency on the Profitability of the Banks in India: An Empirical Analysis Using Panel Data Approach

This study aims to determine the impact of banking efficiency on the profitability of the Indian banking division. The ratios (key variables) used in the study are mentioned by the Reserve Bank of India—RBI (Central bank of India). Through a quantitative approach, pooled panel regression, univariate analysis, correlation, and descriptive statistics models are used by taking annual data of the Indian banking division from 2001 to 2020 available on the Thomson Reuters (Refinitiv) Database. Unbalanced cross-sectional data (panel data) comprising 527 bank-year observations for 33 Indian banks were studied. It was decided to evaluate the impact of efficiency (cost to income ratio and staff expenses to total expenses ratio) on the profitability (return on assets and net interest margin ratio) of the banks from the Indian banking division. The results revealed that the cost to income ratio has a significant negative impact on the bank return on assets and net interest margin ratio. The staff expenses to total expenses ratio has a significant positive impact on the bank return on assets and a positive nonsignificant impact on the bank net interest margin ratio.

The Moderating Effect of Audit Quality on the Impact of Audit Committee Characteristics and Performance: Evidence from Saudi Financial Companies

Current study aims to provide empirical evidence regarding the impact of audit committee characteristics (independence, size, meetings, and financial literacy) on the performance of financial companies. The paper also focuses on the moderating effect of audit quality on the effect of audit committee characteristics on the performance of financial companies. This study was executed on 44 unique financial companies listed in the Saudi Arabia capital market, Tadawul, over the period 2016-2018, resulting to 132 year-observations. Using pooled panel data regression, the results indicate that audit committee independence, expertise, size, and meetings significantly impact the performance of financial companies. The results also reveal that BIG4 audit firms significantly moderate the effect of audit committee size and meetings on company performance. However, the results show that BIG4 audit firms do not moderate the effect of audit committee independence and expertise on the firm performance. These results may have theoretical and practical implications regarding the audit committee characteristics used in this study, and the recommendations for future research works are also emphasized.

Does KAM disclosure make a difference in emerging markets? An investigation into audit fees and report lag

PurposeThis study investigates the consequences of the key audit matter (KAM) disclosure requirement by considering two salient audit proxies: audit fees and audit report lag. This investigation is relevant because most auditors worldwide are required to expand their audit report including discussion on key matters faced in the audit engagement. However, the emerging literature on the implications of KAM is inconclusive.Design/methodology/approachUsing a distinctive dataset of 601 year-observations for firms listed on the Omani capital market over 2012–2019, this study employs pooled panel data regression with robust standard error.FindingsResults indicate that auditors increased their fees considerably during the period of KAM but substantially shortened audit report lag. Conversely, using the KAM period as a sample, the authors find marginal or insignificant evidence for the effect of the number of KAM on both proxies. In additional analyses, this study shows that entity-level risk KAM is associated with higher fees and shorter audit report lag, while KAM related to account-level risk does not have the same effect. Interestingly, it is observed that KAM disclosure is strongly associated with higher fees and high-quality audit even when the auditors issue their report in a shorter time.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the limited research examining the consequences of KAM in emerging markets. It is also the first to show that KAM is associated with shorter audit report lag.

Impact of Capital Structure on Profitability: Panel Data Evidence of the Telecom Industry in the United States

Debt finance, when considered a source of finance, always leads to financial risk; however, it is also considered a source of increased profitability in the normal business scenario. It has always been challenging to find the correct debt equity combination. In the discussed sample of the telecom industry in the USA, an abnormally high total liability-to-total assets ratio was observed. Thus, it is inclined to investigate the capital structure (CapSt) effect on firms’ profitability. By taking annual data of the telecom industry from 2012 to 2020 in the USA, unbalanced cross-sectional data (panel data) comprising 421 firm-year observations for 72 firms were studied using pooled panel regression, univariate analysis, correlation, and descriptive statistics models. We decided to test the impact of CapSt (Total Liabilities to Total Assets (TLsTAs) and Total Equity to Total Assets (TETAs)) on the profitability (Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE)) of firms in the telecommunication industry in the USA. The results reveal that the ratio of TLsTAs has a significant impact on ROA, and TETAs has a significant impact on ROA. However, TLsTAs and TETAs have no impact on ROE.

Connection between corruption and homicide rate: an empirical evaluationfrom Latin America

This article investigates the impacts of corruption on total homicide rates and considers random-effect, fixed-effect, and pooled panel data models. The approach shows the impact of the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) proposed by the website “Transparency International” on homicide rates in Latin American countries in the period 2010-2018. In this context, the contribution of this research is to evaluate the impact of corruption on homicide rates, as it is an approach little explored in the literature. Based on different empirical models, the results support the hypothesis that acts of corruption affect homicide rates, even controlling the results for other variables associated with socioeconomic aspects. In a way, there is empirical evidence that the greater the presence of corruption in society, the higher the homicide rate.

CREATIVE ACCOUNTING AND SHAREHOLDERS WEALTH MAXIMIZATION IN LISTED CONSUMER GOODS COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

This study examines the effect of creative accounting practices on the shareholders wealth of 90 firm-year observations of ten (10) consumer goods companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Ex post facto research design was adopted usingdataset for the period 2011–2019 which were collated from the annual reports and financial statements of the listed consumer goods companies. Four hypotheses were proposed and tested using pooled panel data regression. Findings revealed that frequentchanges in inventory valuation method and assets valuation methods respectively have significant effect on shareholders wealth, while frequent changes in depreciation methods and liabilities valuation methods do not significantly affect shareholders’ wealth. The study recommends that external auditors should pay attention to discretionary items in the financial statements in order to ensure that the assumptions used by managers are fair. Regulators should also evaluate the adequacy of policies around inventory and assets valuation while financial analysts and shareholders should note the application and consistency of accounting policies on inventory and assets.

Jobs against poverty: a fixed-effects analysis on the link between gaining employment and exiting poverty in Europe

ABSTRACT This article analyses the role of gaining employment in escaping poverty at the individual level by using EU-SILC pooled panel data for 2010–2017 for 30 European countries. We assess this in a dynamic research setting using individual fixed effects that take into account unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity between individuals. We focus on the type and intensity of employment and the role of gender, education, and age. Overall, gaining employment increased the chances of exiting poverty by 33 percentage points among men and 30 percentage points among women. Shorter employment spells and part-time employment were less effective routes out of poverty. The results also suggest that poor individuals with higher education were more likely to benefit from employment to exit poverty. We found substantial cross-country variation. However, the unemployment rate, prevalence of precarious employment or spending on active labour market policies did not moderate the association between gaining employment and exiting poverty. Further analysis is needed on the institutional factors supporting poor people’s employment and its effectiveness in significantly improving income level.

ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF AIR PASSENGER TRAFFIC IN AIRPORTS ON COVID-19 RATES IN EUROPEAN REGIONS

This study provides the result of statistical analysis of weekly airport passenger traffic data and the rate of new COVID-19 cases (COVID-19 incidence rate) in Europe at both the country and sub national level during 2020, controlling for the prior incidence rate, the level of stringency of government measures, and the mobility of people. This paper focuses on the relationship between air travel and the COVID-19 incidence rate during the second half of the year because this addresses the real problem faced in Europe about whether to permit air travel after a novel virus was already highly present in the community. The paper does not seek to add to the literature about the role of air travel in the initial propagation of a novel virus, nor does it consider the impact of vaccine availability.
 The analysis provides evidence that a 10% increase in airport passengers is correlated with a 0.14% increase in the COVID-19 incidence rate in Europe’s subnational regions during the second half of 2020. As comparison, an increase of 10% in the index of the stringency of government measures is correlated with a 4.3% reduction in the COVID-19 rate, and 10% more mobility in the population with a 2.9% increase in the COVID-19 rate. The paper uses a model that is based in literature and applies ordinary least squares (OLS) regression techniques for fixed effects and pooled panel data.
 The finding that increases in air transport traffic when a novel virus is already widely present suggests that efforts to restrict or control air travel are not likely to be efficient.

Impact of Infrastructure and Institutional Quality on Economic Growth in ECOWAS Countries

Developing countries are often faced with poor infrastructure and inadequate social welfare. It is debatable how much of these are needed for growth and what role institutional quality plays. Previous studies over decades have identified the significance of infrastructure in the growth and development of countries and regions, with most research focussing on the effect of aggregate infrastructure on economic growth. The literature on infrastructure’s role in economic growth is extended by the inclusion of access to electricity, the internet, and water supply and their effect on economic growth using recent data from 2006 to 2020 on ECOWAS countries. A structural model of growth is built with consideration of the role of institutional quality at the regional level. A one-step difference Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation technique is employed to control the issue of endogeneity resulting in a negative relationship between physical infrastructure and growth. The pooled panel result reveals that interaction between infrastructural and institutional quality negatively impacts economic growth, while variant estimates of government effectiveness as an institutional quality have a positive impact on growth.

Disproportionate policy dynamics in crisis and uncertainty: an international comparative analysis of policy responses to COVID-19

ABSTRACT Differences in policy responses have enabled some nations to successfully mitigate COVID-19 cases and deaths while others continue to struggle. In their efforts to contain the virus, nations have pursued disparate policy responses with policy stringency ranging from policy over-reactions to under-reactions. As nations look towards recovery, a retroactive evaluation of the relationship between policy responses and outcomes can provide much-needed insight on disparities in pandemic-related outcomes. Using time series data for 2020, we employ pooled panel linear regression to analyze the relationship between policy choices and COVID-19 outcomes. This study uses stringency measures of government policy responses across three dimensions—containment, economic, and health policies—to assess the impact of these policies on COVID-19 cases and deaths. Our results indicate that increased income support and debt relief policies are associated with a reduction in the rate of COVID-19 deaths that lasts up to four weeks, while broad policy interventions are associated with a short-term reduction in the rate of deaths.

Determinants of Expenditure Patterns of Unconditional Cash Transfer Receipts in Kenya

Cash transfers take different forms -- unconditional or conditional. Higher- and middle-income Kenyans support the poor through cash and in-kind transfers. These private/individual transfers supplement the Government’s own cash and in-kind transfer programmes. Non-profit institutions and corporate sector are also involved in cash and in-kind transfers. However, some policy makers and others are skeptical about the viability of unconditional cash transfer programmes. They fear that poor households will use such cash transfers to buy alcohol, tobacco, or other “temptation goods.”This paper aims at: establishing the determinants of the items on which unconditional cash transfers are spent at the household level; determining if the concern often expressed by policy makers and others that poor households will use cash transfers to buy the so called “temptation goods” is justified; and determining if a case can be made for unconditional cash transfer in Kenya. We employed a multivariate regression technique to establish the determinants of cash transfer expenditures, using nationally representative household survey data. Our findings show that unconditional cash transfers are spent on food, education/school fees, health, investment/business, rent/housing, clothing, debt repayment, and others. Overall, households in Kenya seem to make “sensible” decisions in their expenditure of such income. They spend the money on items that are in line with their socioeconomic situation. The highest proportion of such income is spent on education which they consider as investment in human capital of their children. Next is expenditure on food and the pattern is consistent with our prior expectations. Expenditures on the so called “temptation goods” seem to be very small, if at all. These key priority expenditure patterns seem to invalidate the concern that cash transfers may be just “handouts” that promote purchase of the so-called “temptation goods” in addition to leading to dependency. Factors that influence how the recipients spend the cash include the household’s poverty severity rating, food poverty rating, location (urban or rural), nutritional status and gender and education level of head of household.In light of the above findings, when planning and executing government’s social protection programmes, the recipients should be given greater say than has been the case hitherto. During the disruptive times, there are opportunities for innovation in policy formulation and management of cash transfer programmes, especially the unconditional ones. The Government, donors, corporate and NGO sectors should be open to such innovations and the beneficiaries should be given lee-way in deciding how to spend the money, especially in disruptive times. This would improve effectiveness and sustainability of such programmes. Keywords: Cash transfer, multivariate regression, E-Views, pooled panel data DOI: 10.7176/JESD/13-4-05 Publication date: February 28 th 2022

Financial inclusion and development in the least developed countries in Asia and Africa

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the financial inclusion index and development variables in the least developed countries in Asia and Africa by using annual data of 42 countries for the period 2000–2019. The pooled panel regression and panel data analysis technique are used to explore this relationship. The empirical finding indicates that economic growth leads to financial inclusion. Unemployment and literacy rates are among the factors contributing to financial inclusion, and it is observed that women are more vulnerable than men are to lack financial inclusion. In less developed countries, the economy relies heavily on agriculture, and people are less financially inclusive when they live in rural areas of these countries. Also, pay inequality reduces financial inclusion rates and has a negative impact on development. The low financial inclusion rate reduces the levels of development in these countries. The results of this study can lead to the development and empowerment of vulnerable groups in the studied countries. In order to improve the conditions for development, policymakers should consider policies that enhance literacy, eliminate gender inequality and increase pay equality.

Exports of Services, Output and Productivity Growth in Europe

In this study, we analyse the impact of service exports on GDP and productivity growth in a sample of thirty-eight European countries for the period 2000-2019. Descriptive statistics analysis of the panel data shows that growth in exports of goods is more positively related to GDP growth, total fixed assets growth and productivity growth, while growth in export of services is more positively related to employment growth. In addition, the analysis shows that the volume of exports (in terms of its share in relation to GDP) of knowledge-intensive services (information and communication, other business services, intellectual property) is higher in more developed countries (measured as GDP per person). The pooled panel OLS model (fixed effects) with GDP growth rate and labour productivity growth as the dependent variables shows a positive impact on GDP growth of exports of services, although the positive impact of growth in exports of goods is higher. It applies to labour productivity growth, with a larger positive impact from exports of goods than services.

Stock Market Integration and Trade: A Study on India and its Major Trading Partners

Indian stock market is increasingly integrated with other markets of the world after economic liberalization. This linkage of Indian stock market reduces the scope of risk minimization of portfolio by diversifying between stock markets of India and its integrated partners. Researchers indicate that economic variables influence the integration of stock markets. Trade is one of the major parameters. In this study effort has been made to find how Indian stock market integration varies with amount of trade with its trading partners. Hence 21 years’ weekly data from 1 January 1999 to 31 December 2019 have been collected for 15 countries, which belong to the list of top 25 trading partners of India since 1999. Total sample of 15 countries have been divided into two groups—Asia Pacific and European group along with United States, to check whether integration increase with trade. Johansen Cointegration test has been used between stock markets of India and two groups of countries. To confirm the result of Johansen cointegration test, the same test was ran on joint index for each group and Sensex of India. It also helped to check the effect of geographical proximity on this integration. Conditional correlation was found using asymmetric generalized dynamic conditional correlation (AGDCC) GARCH model, between Sensex and each of the 15 countries, to observe the time varying nature of correlation. Twenty one year’s data has helped to find the impact of global financial crisis (GFC) of 2008 on these interlinkages. Lending rate differential and inflation rate differential can cover many economic parameters, hence used as control variable. Time series regression has been used to find the impact of trade, interest rate and inflation differential on correlation between Indian stock market index and index of any other countries. Pooled panel regression has been used to check the same relationship on all countries in every group. Nine Asian countries together contribute higher amount of trade with India since 2004 than jointly five European countries and the United States. Trade difference is very low, hence this study analysed both the groups. Asia Pacific group of countries is more integrated with India than European group and the United States. None of the joint index is integrated with Indian stock market index. Conditional correlation between Indian index and each of the country has changed over time. Time series regression implies that except very few cases, trade and other economic factors cannot influence the integration. As expected, the interest rate differential and inflation differential have negative and positive impacts on the correlation respectively but these impacts are not significant in many cases. Pooled panel regression shows that trade and GFC have positive and significant impact on correlation between India and Asia Pacific countries but not with the same between India and European countries and United States. International investors will not be able to reduce their portfolio risk by diversifying between India and any other of the 15 countries in the sample because all of them are integrated with Indian stock market. Trade of India with Asian countries has increased in recent years and integration has also increased. Although time series and pooled panel regression do not prove it’s significant impact on conditional correlation between India and the sampled countries. But trade between two countries definitely bear a role in integration.