{"title":"Interdependent cyber risk and the role of insurers","authors":"Ulrik Franke , Albina Orlando","doi":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101059","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101059","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Increasing use of new digital services offers tremendous opportunities for modern society, but also entails new risks. One tool for managing cyber risk is cyber insurance. While cyber insurance has attracted much attention and optimism, interdependent cyber risks and lack of actuarial data have prompted some insurers to adopt a more proactive role, not only insuring losses but also assisting clients with preventive work such as managed detection and response solutions, i.e., investments in their own cybersecurity. The purpose of this paper is to propose and theoretically investigate yet a further extension of this role, where insurers facilitate security investments between interdependent firms, which get the opportunity to invest a share of their insurance premiums to improve the security of each other. It is demonstrated that if insurers can facilitate such investments, then under common theoretical assumptions this can make a positive contribution to overall welfare. The paper is concluded by a discussion of the relevance and applicability of this theoretical contribution in practice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46094,"journal":{"name":"Research in Economics","volume":"79 3","pages":"Article 101059"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143738962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does geopolitical distress tip the European financial stock markets into a great uncertainty regime?","authors":"David Neto","doi":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101052","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101052","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper aims to explore the role of geopolitical risk on the probability of falling into a high regime of financial uncertainty in Europe. To this end, a Markov-switching model with time-varying transition probabilities (TVP) is estimated for the EURO STOXX 50 volatility index, which serves as a proxy for financial uncertainty in European stock markets. Unlike the commonly used fixed transition probability models, the TVP specification allows the transition probabilities between states to depend on explanatory variables, which in this context are geopolitical risk factors. The results highlight a moderate and asymmetric effect of geopolitical risk on financial uncertainty. Specifically, while geopolitical risk appears to trigger surges in uncertainty, it does not seem to contribute to their reduction.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46094,"journal":{"name":"Research in Economics","volume":"79 3","pages":"Article 101052"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143726125","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Revisiting productivity growth accounting decompositions","authors":"Filippo Massari","doi":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101055","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101055","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper proposes a modification to popular productivity growth accounting decompositions useful for calibrating endogenous growth models. Specifically, the within-firm component is further decomposed to show the covariance of firms’ productivity growth rates and relative levels. This moment provides information about the systematic churning within the relative productivity distribution that, in endogenous growth models, stems from firms’ investment behavior, thus affecting aggregate income growth. This decomposition allows assessing modeling assumptions and quantifying parameters that introduce or affect differential incentives to grow across firms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46094,"journal":{"name":"Research in Economics","volume":"79 3","pages":"Article 101055"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143725535","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"ESG disclosure and labour investment efficiency","authors":"Paulo Pereira da Silva , Isabel Vieira","doi":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101060","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101060","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure on firms’ labour investment efficiency. Our results indicate that such impact is positive. ESG disclosure is more effective in curtailing over-hiring and when over-investment in physical capital is high. The uncovered positive association is mainly fuelled by the volume of social and governance disclosure (environmental disclosure barely affects labour investment efficiency), and is more pronounced for firms with a weaker corporate social responsibility performance. The results from the empirical analysis survive a battery of robustness tests, including the use of alternative measures to capture labour investment efficiency, different control variables in regression models, and controlling for endogeneity in ESG disclosure. Our analysis and findings are novel to the literature and contribute to ongoing debates about the impact of ESG disclosure on firms’ performance and about potential benefits and costs of mandatory disclosure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46094,"journal":{"name":"Research in Economics","volume":"79 3","pages":"Article 101060"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143748641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Unveiling how blockchain-based internal auditing practices impact SDG 8 achievement? Mediating role of digital green corporate social responsibility","authors":"Pham Quang Huy, Vu Kien Phuc","doi":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101057","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101057","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This research aims to assess the critical function of Blockchain-based internal auditing practices (BBIAP) in relation to Sustainable Development Goal 8 achievement (SDG8A) by investigating the mediating influence of digital green corporate social responsibility (DGCSR) within the framework of an emerging nation. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed to analyze a sample of 614 participants from public sector organizations. The findings indicate that BBIAP substantially affects SDG8A. Furthermore, DGCSR partially mediates the relationship between BBIAP and SDG8A. This study's findings provide organizations with insights to enhance their internal auditing practices, thereby advancing corporate social responsibility and the attainment of sustainable development goals in organizational operation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46094,"journal":{"name":"Research in Economics","volume":"79 3","pages":"Article 101057"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143735027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The differences in effects of social image by gender using risky dictator game experiments","authors":"Tetsuya Kawamura , Kazuhito Ogawa , Yusuke Osaki","doi":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101056","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101056","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Experimental evidence has revealed that females are more prosocial than males. However, we do not know much about what lies in differences in prosocial behavior in gender. The research question of this study is how effects of social image differ by gender and these effects can explain gender differences in prosocial behavior. Social image is a desire to be perceived as fair and is impure motivation behind prosocial behavior. Experimental studies developed various devices to extract social image and observed its existence in dictator game experiments. However, these methods are not suitable for our purpose because we need to measure the effects of social image, not just existence. This study conducted the risky dictator game in which dictators do not care about their social image because recipients cannot infer dictator's allocation. By adding social image, we prepare the two types of risky dictator games with and without social image. We measure social image based on differences in amount and probability of positive allocation in risky dictator game experiments with and without social image. This study observed differences in effects of social image by gender. We draw conclusion that social image is a cause for gender differences in prosocial behavior.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46094,"journal":{"name":"Research in Economics","volume":"79 3","pages":"Article 101056"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143725528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Income inequality, poverty, and trade liberalization: Evidence from the Vietnam–Us Bilateral Trade Agreement","authors":"Nguyet Anh Ngo, Hanol Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101054","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101054","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates how tariff reductions, introduced by the Vietnam–US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), shaped patterns of income inequality and poverty in Vietnam from 2002 to 2018. Using a province-level dataset derived from the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey and corresponding tariff measures, the analysis focuses on the P80/P20 ratio for income inequality and the poverty headcount ratio as key outcomes. The findings indicate that while overall poverty rates declined substantially following the BTA, particularly in more industrialized regions such as the Red River Delta and the Southeast, the effects on income inequality were not uniform. In certain areas, notably the Mekong River Delta, reliance on agriculture and limited diversification may have left households vulnerable to global price fluctuations, offsetting the potential gains from enhanced market access. Conversely, regions with robust infrastructure, diverse industrial bases, and higher foreign direct investment witnessed a more pronounced drop in both income inequality and poverty. These results underscore the importance of regional characteristics, including sector composition and connectivity, in determining the distributional consequences of trade liberalization.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46094,"journal":{"name":"Research in Economics","volume":"79 3","pages":"Article 101054"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143679134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Regime-dependent health care employment dynamics in recessions","authors":"Luiggi Donayre, Lacey Loomer","doi":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101036","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101036","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We relax the assumption that recessions are all alike in studying whether U.S. health care employment is recession-proof. Because health care services are inelastic and largely driven by costs, we argue that economic conditions influence health care employment only to the extent that they significantly affect health care wage growth. Using U.S. monthly data for 1990–2022, we estimate a threshold vector autoregression that allows for regime-dependent negative demand and negative supply shocks in examining the response of health care employment growth in recessionary periods. When wage growth is high as determined by an endogenously-estimated threshold, we find a large and significant reduction in health care employment growth during demand-induced recessions and a smaller decline during supply-induced recessions. Meanwhile, health care employment growth does not respond significantly to negative demand or supply shocks in the low-cost regime. Further, a disaggregated analysis evidences large heterogeneity across sub-sectors. In this way, our findings reveal that both the source of the shock and health care wage growth are important in explaining health care employment dynamics. Thus, health care organizations that are more labor cost efficient will be more insulated from economic disruptions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46094,"journal":{"name":"Research in Economics","volume":"79 2","pages":"Article 101036"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143378781","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Unpacking corruption: The role of economic freedom in developing countries","authors":"Brandon Parsons","doi":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101044","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101044","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This comprehensive study examines the effects of economic freedom on corruption in a panel of 92 developing countries from 1995 to 2021. The study uses two composite measures of economic freedom: the Fraser Institute and the Heritage Foundation. The study also tests individual subcomponents of each composite economic freedom measure (e.g., regulation and government size). The study finds composite economic freedom measures moderate corruption. The results are robustly tested and consistent across three corruption measures (i.e., ICRG, Transparency International, World Bank), model specifications, and econometric frameworks (e.g., OLS, FE, RE, FGLS, GMM). The study uses the Method of Moment quantile econometric framework to test if there is an uneven effect based on the corruption environment (e.g., low corruption versus high corruption). The study finds economic freedom reduces corruption even in countries with the most rampant corruption, which counters findings from other studies. Economic freedom subcomponent analysis reveals property rights protection and deregulation are particularly effective at reducing corruption. One dimension of economic freedom that can exacerbate corruption is smaller governments, as they may lack the capacity to provide adequate oversight and enforcement of laws and regulations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46094,"journal":{"name":"Research in Economics","volume":"79 2","pages":"Article 101044"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143387363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Opaque payments, open wallets: The relationship between payment transparency and overspending","authors":"Amelina Apricia Sjam","doi":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101045","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rie.2025.101045","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As payment methods evolve from cash to digital alternatives, their psychological and behavioural effects on spending behaviours, especially among young consumers, become increasingly important. Previous research has mainly compared credit cards and cash, showing that credit cards lead to more spending. However, the psychological mechanisms behind this are unclear due to differences in coupling time and transparency between the methods. This study bridges the gap by examining not just credit cards and cash, but also prepaid cards and cash, which have a similar coupling between consumption and payment but differ in transparency or payment format. By comparing prepaid cards with cash, the study explores whether the format of payment itself impacts spending behaviour. Drawing from a novel survey of Indonesian college students, this study presents empirical findings that credit card and prepaid card use (extensive margin) and payment frequency (intensive margin) are associated with overspending, whereas cash payments show no such association. The evidence suggests that payment transparency influences consumer behaviour, clarifying the underlying psychological mechanism of how payment methods affect spending. Further analysis shows that higher financial literacy helps mitigate the impact of less transparent payment methods on overspending. These insights suggest opportunities for developing digital payment solutions that minimize negative consequences, particularly for younger users. Educational initiatives tailored to promoting responsible digital payment usage could further reduce these effects.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46094,"journal":{"name":"Research in Economics","volume":"79 3","pages":"Article 101045"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143465304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}