Two-step GMM Estimator Research Articles

Determinants of Banks Profitability: Evidence from Nigeria Banking Industry

The study, investigated determinants of banks profitability in Nigeria. Other studies in this area concentrated on other profitability notions, this study incorporated Economic Value Added (EVA). Due to the presence of endogeneity problems inherent in most panel data sets of this nature we employed a two-step system GMM estimator to produce a robust estimation and account for the endogeneity problem in the data. The study revealed that bank size has a positive and significant impact on all measures of bank profitability with the exception of Net Interest Margin (NIM). This result remained consistent after macroeconomic factors were introduced in the model. The outcome also indicated that capital adequacy significantly explains bank profitability in Nigeria, with a sign change in the case of Economic Value Added (EVA) only. It was also evident that financial structure (FS) has a positive and significant impact on Return on Assets (ROA), NIM, and EVA but no evidence of significant relationship was found with ROE. The result indicated that liquidity risk (LR) has a negative and significant impact on ROA and EVA but failed to provide a significant impact on ROE and NIM. The result of the macroeconomic factors included in the model indicated that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has a positive and significant impact on NIM and EVA while no significant relationship was found when related to ROA and ROE. Inflation as a macroeconomic variable showed a significant relationship with ROA and ROE with no evidence of significant relationship with NIM and EVA. It was concluded that the impact of firm specific factors and macroeconomic variables on the profitability of the Nigerian banking sector differ according to the profitability measure employed.

Female CEOs and Green Innovation: Evidence from Asian Firms

This study aims to examine how female CEOs influence green innovation and whether firm size moderates this connection. Our paper focuses on CEOs, who are considered the strategic leaders of corporations, because of their crucial role in making important decisions. This research paper examines how female CEOs influence green innovation (GI) in the Asian industrial sector. The primary goal is to address these research questions: Do Asian industrial firms with female and male CEOs differ in their GI efforts? Is there a positive moderating influence of Asian industrial enterprises’ size on the nexus between women in CEO positions and eco-innovation? Based on our research questions, firm size is likely a determining factor in the GI of female CEOs. This research employs rigorous econometric modeling to analyze a substantial dataset of listed Asian industrial companies from 2013 to 2022. We have found a significant positive correlation between female CEOs and GI in Asian industrial firms. It has been proven that female CEOs in the industrial sector are more inclined to promote environmentally friendly practices. Furthermore, the size of an industrial firm amplifies the beneficial influence of a female CEO on the firm’s chances of engaging in GI initiatives. Regarding the moderating effect of size, the size of companies significantly magnifies the impact of female CEOs on GI. The effectiveness of female CEOs on environmentally friendly practices is more prominent in large corporations than in smaller ones. Our outcomes remain robust with respect to endogeneity issues using two-step GMM estimators. This study proposes that stakeholders, particularly in Asian countries, should promote the increased representation of females in CEO roles, particularly within large corporations. This is because women-led companies demonstrate superior performance in GI endeavors. Hence, regulators must establish policies that facilitate the participation of women in CEO positions within large-scale enterprises. These policies may strengthen the private sector’s capacity to foster sustainable innovation.

Cross-border banking and bank stability: evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

AbstractBased on bank-level data from 29 Sub-Saharan African countries between 2005 and 2019, we apply panel fixed effects (FE) and two-step system GMM estimators to investigate whether increased cross-border banking affects domestic banking sector stability. We find significant evidence that the stability of banks in host countries declines with an increased presence of foreign banks—and the impact is more pronounced on banks that are small and less efficient. The stability impact of foreign banks is also found to depend on the quality of governance institutional factors in the host country. The findings shed some important insights on the downside of financial liberalisation policy in developing countries and the need for increased cross-border collaboration between home and host supervisory authorities in the SSA region—especially in jurisdictions where the foreign bank affiliates are systemically important. The domestic supervisory authorities thus need to effectively manage the inherent trade-off between reaping the benefits from international financial integration while effectively safeguarding domestic banking systems against cross-border contagion and fragility.

Frisch–Waugh–Lovell theorem-type results for the k-Class and 2SGMM estimators

The Frisch–Waugh–Lovell (FWL) theorem shows that for the least squares estimator, parameter estimates from full and partial models are identically same. I show that in linear regression models with a mix of exogenous and endogenous regressors, FWL theorem-type results hold for the k-class estimators (including LIML) and the two-step optimal GMM estimator.

Impact of regulatory capital on bank interest margins: Moderating role of default risk

The recent pandemic and aftermath debate regarding bank interest margins deserve special attention and have become policy dialogue in emerging economies. However, the previous literature's findings were largely inconclusive and ignored influential variables such as the impact of default risk on bank interest margins. Using a two-step system GMM estimation considering 32 Bangladeshi commercial banks from 2000 to 2022, we produce robust evidence that higher regulatory capital restrictions reduce the bank interest margin, while increased default risk induces the bank interest margin. The impact intensity during the COVID pandemic is higher than in the pre-COVID period. Moreover, we find the synergy effect of regulatory capital and default risk assists in reducing the bank interest margin. Bank margin persistently fell during the capital market crash period, whereas it rose in the financial crisis period. We cast several robustness tests to confirm our main findings. These findings could generate important implications for bank stakeholders and policymakers.

Icts And Labour Productivity Nexus In Developing Countries: Evidence From Panel Estimation Approach

This study examines the impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on labour productivity in developing countries from 2000 to 2019, using the two-step System GMM estimation and dynamic panel quantile regression. The empirical results present new evidence on the moderating effect of ICTs with human capital, financial development and trade openness on labour productivity in developing countries. The interaction terms between ICTs and these three moderators show positive and statistically significant determinants of labour productivity. These three interaction terms have a greater influence on labour productivity than the impact of each variable assessed individually. The dynamic panel quantile regression results revealed that ICTs statistically significant to enhance labour productivity in lower and intermediate quantiles than in the highest quantiles in developing countries. This finding suggested that ICTs play an essential role in improving productivity at the lower and average labour productivity levels. This study can help policymakers develop a long-term strategy in terms of ICTs adoption and usage more intensively in developing countries as they strive to achieve the goals of industrial 4.0.

How Do Commercial and Non-commercial Banks Adjust Capitalization Ratio: Evidence from Tanzania

This study examines the dynamic balanced panel data to explore the level of capitalization adjustment process for commercial and non-commercial banks in Tanzania for a period of 10 years from 2012 to 2021 in a two-step system GMM estimator. The findings of the research reveal that the cost of adjustment towards the required bank capitalization ratio is lower for commercial and non-commercial banks operating in Tanzania. The results are significant to the instantaneous adjustment process of a capitalization ratio measured in terms of the ratio of bank total equity to total assets. This finding is consistent with the dynamic trade-off theory of capitalization ratio using the coefficient value of the lagged response variable. The result reveals further that return on assets reduces the cost of the target bank capitalization ratio which means it eliminates the financial distress because return on assets is easier to be valued by investors. Therefore, it can be used as an indicator of the good performance of banks that can increase the easy availability of external capital from prospective and existing investors. The negative and significant sign of the bank size coefficient (-0.710) implies that the sample of banks in this study in terms of equity to assets ratio causes the capitalization ratio to deviate from the target level. This is consistent with the too-big to fail hypothesis. Abdulhamid et al. (2019) hold that an inverse association between bank size and capitalization ratio would happen because large banks have comparative advantages in non-traditional banking activities (interest) since they can operate with a fixed cost. The findings of this study have significant policy implications for economic and financial sector growth.

Do Financial Development, Institutional Quality and Natural Resources Matter the Outward FDI of G7 Countries? A Panel Gravity Model Approach

Given the global growth of foreign capital flows, foreign investments hold significant potential for achieving sustainable development. Thus, this paper aims to highlight the key factors of FDI. In particular, it analyzes the effects of financial development and natural resources on FDI and how institutional quality and institutional distance can moderate these effects. The study used the dynamic panel gravity framework with two-step system GMM estimators to assess whether the developed financial system, better institutions, and possessing natural resources influence the outward FDI of G7 countries to host countries over the period 2002–2021. The results show that a well-developed financial system and well-functioning institutions in host countries are important prerequisites for FDI inflows. We find that the relationship between financial development and FDI is positively and significantly moderated by both institutional quality and institutional distance. Contrarily, these factors negatively moderate the connection involving natural resources and FDI. The significant negative association between institutional indicators’ interaction with natural resources indicates that natural resources play a key role in FDI, while joint policies for institutions and natural resources considerably decrease FDI inflows. Moreover, we discover that factors like GDP per capita, logistics infrastructure, and population could attract and handle more FDI. Based on the findings, the study recommends that host governments should focus on policies that strengthen the financial system, reduce institutional and legislative barriers, and enhance institutional quality and business environment to grant foreign investors access to all areas of their economies. Moreover, host governments should brand separate policies for institutions and natural resources to improve their economic advantages.

The moderating role of board diversity on the relationship between ownership structure and real earnings management

PurposeThis study aims to see the moderating effect of board diversity on the relationship between ownership structure and real earnings management.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses unbalanced panel data of 75 listed energy firms (346 firm-year observations) from three South Asian emerging economies (Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan) from 2015 to 2019. The two-step system GMM estimation is used for data analysis. This study also uses fixed effect regression to obtain robust findings.FindingsThe findings show that firms with a greater ownership concentration and managerial ownership significantly reduce real earnings management. In contrast, the data refute the idea that institutional and foreign ownership affect real earnings management. We also find that board diversity interacts significantly with ownership concentration and managerial ownership, meaning that board diversity moderates the negative link of the primary relationship that reduces real earnings management. On the other hand, board diversity has no interaction with institutional and foreign ownership, implying no moderating effect exists on the primary relationship.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is unique research investigating how different ownership structures affect real earnings management in the emerging nations’ energy sector, which the earlier studies overlook. More specifically, this research focuses on how board diversity moderates the relationships between ownership structure and real earnings management, which could be helpful for future investors.

Economic Complexity, Shadow Economy, and Income Inequality: Fresh Evidence from Panel Data

This research attempts to examine the effects of economic complexity and shadow economy on income inequality for a panel dataset of 99 countries. The two-step system GMM estimation is employed to capture the non-linear relationships among interested variables. The findings indicate that income disparity is significantly and non-linearly linked with economic complexity and gray economy. First, there exists a U-shaped relationship between economic complexity and income disparity. The turning point for which the effect of economic complexity on income inequality changes from negative to positive is −0.732. Second, the impact of the shadow economy on income inequality displays an inverted U-shaped pattern. The estimated threshold above which the marginal effect of the shadow economy on income inequality changes from positive to negative equals 15.6%. Given the complications of these relationships, the governments are advised to take into consideration the situation of these two socio-economic issues when developing income distribution-related policies.

Examining the impact of liquidity creation on bank stability in the Asia Pacific region: Do ESG disclosures play a moderating role?

The global financial crisis reignited concerns regarding the stability and sustainability of banks. Since liquidity creation (LC) is a core output of banks, we examine if the nexus between LC and bank stability is conditional on ESG (environmental, social, and governance) disclosure by banks. Our sample comprises 178 commercial banks (1568 observations) during the period 2010–2019 in the Asia-Pacific region. Using a two-step system GMM estimation, our results document a positive impact of LC on bank stability. Additionally, ESG disclosures positively moderate the stability effect of LC, i.e., higher LC is associated with significantly more enhancement in bank stability for banks that have a higher disclosure of ESG scores compared to banks that have a moderate disclosure. Furthermore, we also provide evidence of variation in the moderating role of ESG disclosures in advanced and emerging economies. Overall, our results recommend that integrating ESG practices into banks' internal processes improves their financial soundness. Additionally, blanket implementation of liquidity regulations might be detrimental to banks’ stability.

Audit Committee and Timely Reporting: Evidence From Turkey

This paper seeks to examine whether the characteristics of the audit committee impact the timely reporting represented by audit report lag (ARL), firm-based abnormal audit report lag (FAARL), and industry-based audit reports lag (IAARL). The sample of the study includes mostly hand-collected 2,284 firm-year observations obtained from Turkey’s listed non-financial companies. Main regression results show that audit committee gender diversity, meeting frequency, and independence are negatively associated with timely reporting. Furthermore, additional analysis indicates the negative association between timely reporting and the audit committee effectiveness indexes created by the coexistence of the audit committee. Also, an interaction effect between audit committee independence and gender diversity concerning the timeliness of financial reporting has been documented. The use of fixed effects estimators and two-step system GMM estimator also supported the main results. This paper aims to provide concrete contribution to the literature by examining timely reporting in an emerging market like Turkey. The results suggest that regulatory bodies and companies should review the audit committee structure to better timely reporting and reduce firm and industry-based abnormal delays.

Capital Structure, Firm Performance and Risk Exposure: New Evidence from OECD Countries

Optimal capital structure is a key tool to take advantage of the trade-offbetween firm performance and risk. Based on this, we examine how optimalcapital structure influences corporate performance and risk exposure.We use a strong-balanced panel of 3,344 firm-year observations from 10different OECDcountries for 2006–2016. Results reveal that firms havingshort-term debt normally experience high accounting-based performancewhile lowering market-based performance, firms using long-term and totaldebt are largely exposed to decreased accounting and market-based performance.The higher the long-term and total debt, the greater the chancesthat firms become vulnerable to insolvency risk. Findings are robust acrossalternative indicators of capital structure, firm performance and risk, alternativemodel development and the two-step system GMM estimator tocontrol endogeneity issues. This research will be of importance to firmmanagers and policymakers in designing an appropriate capital structurefor maximizing firm performance while minimizing debt-taking risks.

Does increasing environmental policy stringency enhance renewable energy consumption in OECD countries?

The literature lacks enough evidence on the effect of environmental policy stringency on renewable energy consumption. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate the causal effect of the revised version of the Environmental Policy Stringency Index (EPS) and its components on Renewable Energy Consumption (REC), taking into account environmental innovation, trade openness, economic growth and consumer price index. To this end, we carry out dynamic and static analyses of the yearly data of 32 OECD countries during the period from 1990 to 2019. The two-step system GMM estimator and the forward-orthogonal deviations-GMM technique are used to deal with the potential endogeneity, serial correlation and cross-sectional dependence in the dynamic regression, while the Driscoll-Kraay standard errors technique and quantile regression are employed to estimate the static model. Unlike the existing literature, our results reveal that increasing environmental policy stringency can promote renewable energy. Both market and non-market-based environmental policies and technical support policies show positive effects on green energy use. These results imply that OECD governments can play a vital role in achieving the goal of net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. Increasing the stringency of the policies that put a price on pollution (such as energy taxes) raises the cost of polluted energy use, leading to a shift toward clean energy under the substitution effect. In addition, increasing the public R&D expenditure on solar and wind energy technologies can reduce renewable energy costs and prices, thus facilitating its generation and diffusion.

Do Tourism and Renewable Energy Influence CO2 Emissions in Tourism-Dependent Countries?

The global community gathered in 2015 in Paris to join efforts in order to mitigate the impact of global warming by decreasing carbon emissions. As tourism is viewed as one of the essential causes of global warming, policymakers are searching for tools to decrease the carbon footprint of the tourism sector by introducing energy efficiency strategies. This study aims to contribute to the energy-emissions debate by accounting for the presence of the tourism sector. In particular, we offer novel evidence on the effect of renewable energy on CO2 emissions in a sample of 50 most tourism-oriented countries over the period from 2000 to 2015. Using a two-step GMM estimator, we find that a one percent increase in renewable energy consumption leads to a one percent decrease in CO2 emissions. We also confirm the presence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve phenomena in tourism-oriented countries. Based on the empirical findings, the study suggests that the policymakers of the top tourist-oriented countries initiate more renewable energy-based activities to achieve sustainable economic development.

The role of foreign-owned entities in building economic resili-ence in times of crisis: The case of European digital and technologically-intensive firms during the Covid-19 pandemic

Research background: Over the decades, foreign-owned entities (FOEs) have become an important part of the economic landscape considered as behemoths of globalisation, but also transmitters of positive effects such as technology or know-how spillovers. In times of volatility and uncertainty, firms’ contribution to building a resilient economy is at the top of the public agenda. Purpose of the article: The purpose of the article is two-fold. Firstly, we test, how FOEs perform in this stressful time of volatility and uncertainty. Secondly, we examine the contribution to resilience by digital and technologically intensive sectors. Methods: The study utilises the Bureau van Dijk (BvD) Orbis firm-level database as a primary data source. The results are derived with the use of two econometric approaches. Firstly, we estimate a static model utilising the ordinary squares estimator. Secondly, we re-estimate the equations using a two-step System GMM estimator. It introduces a lagged dependent variable into the model and implements a correction for endogeneity among covariates by including instruments (in levels and differences). Findings & value added: We use size, age, ownership, gearing, and intangibility as firms’ financial performance determinants, together with the sector-, country- and time-fixed effects. FOEs compared to domestic ones generated a higher revenue growth rate. In times of crisis high-tech and digital firms are more resilient. However, ownership does not matter in this respect. We contribute to the discussion about functions performed by FOEs in crisis and turbulent times, in which resilience issues are on top of the agenda. Our research intends to bridge the gap between the performance of FOEs, micro-level analysis, and resilience.

Industrialization and CO2 Emissions: Accounting for the role of Renewable Energy in OIC Member States

The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between industrialization and CO2 emissions in a sample of OIC member states over the period 1995-2020. The study adopts panel data methods such as two-step system GMM estimator to account for the problems of endogeneity and simultaneity. The empirical results suggest that industrializing has positive effect on CO2 emissions. In contrast, renewable energy and financial development has pollution inhibiting impact on CO2 emissions. Our results also show that GDP and ICT usage leads to a rise in CO2 emissions. The policy implications of the study are discussed.

How macroprudential regulation and board effectiveness interact to shape bank risk-taking behavior

This study aims to investigate how macroprudential policies and corporate governance interact to curb bank risk-taking behavior for a sample of 915 publicly listed commercial banks in 53 countries over the 2011–2020 period. Excessive risk-taking by global financial institutions was singled out during the global financial crisis of 2007–2009. We first use a fixed-effects OLS panel model. Then, to address endogeneity concerns, we apply a two-step system GMM estimation. Our results show that the impact of board attributes on risk-taking depends critically on MPP’s policies. We find that MPPs can enhance the supervisory power of a board characterized by high independence, and a CEO who performs a dual function. However, a large board size appears to increase bank risk when multiple macroprudential policies are in place, which can result in managerial policies that may increase bank risk-taking. The supervisory role of women on the board is only effective in the presence of tight macroprudential policies. Bank regulators should consider the interaction between corporate governance and macroprudential policies when designing more effective bank regulations.

Renewable energy, GDP and CO2 emissions in high-globalized countries

Introduction: Policymakers devote significant efforts to decrease CO2 emissions, as climate change has Q7 numerous adverse impacts on society. While the global level of CO2 emissions has been gradually rising since the 1990s, the highest growth was observed in low- and middle-income economies. This study differs from nascent research as it fills the gap by exploring the GDP-energy-CO2 emissions nexus for the top 50 highly globalized countries under analysis. Our study explores the multidimensional relationship between economic growth, renewable energy, globalization, and climate change, using CO2 emissions as a proxy for air pollution, and focusing on the most globalized countries.Methods: In this study, we rely on dynamic panel estimators such as the two-step system GMM estimator. System GMM estimator is recommended to use with the panel data when 1) the correlation between a dependent variable and its lag is above 0.8; and 2) the number of countries (i.e., 50 countries) exceeds the time frame (i.e., 19 years). As our study design fits these conditions, we use extension of a two-step system GMM estimator which restricts the expansion of instruments. Moreover, a two-step system GMM estimator is especially efficient as it controls for heteroskedasticity.Results: We find that renewable energy and globalization decrease CO2 emissions. If causal, a 1 percentage point increase in the share of renewable energy in total energy consumption leads to a 0.26% decrease in per capita CO2 emissions. Similarly, we find that a larger representation of women in national parliament contributes to the reduction in CO2 emissions. GDP per capita has an inverted U-shaped relationship with CO2 emissions and the turning point is approximately 67,200 international dollars adjusted for PPP.Discussion: Our results suggest that renewable energy significantly contributes to the reduction of carbon emissions while GDP per capita has an inverted U-shaped link with CO2 emissions. Thus, we confirm the presence of the EKC hypothesis for highly-globalized countries. Consequently, our study offers several policy implications. Firstly, it is important for developing countries to increase the share of energy consumed from renewable energy sources. This will have a positive effect not only on air quality, but also on economic growth. Thus, it is essential to increase investment in the renewable energy sector and create conditions and benefits for the rapid adoption of renewable technologies by the private sector and households. Secondly, it is crucial to increase the quality of investment climate. Developing countries can significantly gain from globalization-driven FDI as this can lead to technology transfer, especially in the energy sector. Thirdly, our results suggest that improving female empowerment can significantly reduce the vulnerability to climate change. This can be achieved by increasing women’s human capital and investing in women-led organizations and communities.

Financial inclusion and poverty: evidence from developing economies

PurposeThis paper examines the impact of financial inclusion on poverty through access to mobile money in developing economies.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employ the principal component analysis to construct an index of financial inclusion using demand and supply indicators, including mobile accounts. The authors use the two-step system GMM estimator for the analysis because of its efficiency and robustness in addressing heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation.FindingsThe main finding is that financial inclusion generally increased and significantly reduces poverty in the sample period. Furthermore, income inequality worsens poverty.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has few limitations. First, the empirical analysis of the study is restricted to macroeconomic factors only because of limited Household Finance Survey data set and time availability. Second, the study is limited to developing countries and the results cannot be generalized.Practical implicationsFinancial inclusion is a significant policy tool for poverty reduction. There is the need to enhance strategies that further improve financial inclusion by expanding and improving the use of mobile money accounts.Social implicationsThe paper sheds light on how developing countries can harness financial inclusion to reduce poverty.Originality/valueThe paper differs from the previous studies in two ways. Firstly, mobile money account is included in the computation of financial inclusion index over the sample period. It also determines the impact of financial inclusion on poverty for short-run and long-run periods.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2021-0690