{"title":"The real effect of CDS trading: Evidence from corporate employment","authors":"Shaojie Lai, Shiang Liu, Xiaoling Pu, Jianing Zhang","doi":"10.1111/irfi.12464","DOIUrl":"10.1111/irfi.12464","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper examines whether the inception of credit default swaps (CDS) trading curbs corporate employment. We show that firms with CDS trading have significantly lower employment growth. Our baseline results are robust to alternative measures of corporate employment growth, various approaches that mitigate endogeneity concerns due to omitted variables and reverse causality, and additional control variables. The decrease in firms' employment growth after CDS trading is more pronounced in firms with larger financial constraints and lower CEO risk-taking. In addition, we find that the inception of CDS trading affects employment growth through the financial distress channel. Further analysis finds that the inception of CDS trading could mitigate the labor over-investment problem, stimulating employment efficiency. Our evidence suggests that corporate employment growth is reduced after the initiation of CDS trading due to the heightened cost of defaults.</p>","PeriodicalId":46664,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Finance","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/irfi.12464","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141584945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abe de Jong, Pouyan Ghazizadeh, Frederik P. Schlingemann, Farhan Shazia
{"title":"Why do managers announce the intention to sell large assets?","authors":"Abe de Jong, Pouyan Ghazizadeh, Frederik P. Schlingemann, Farhan Shazia","doi":"10.1111/irfi.12461","DOIUrl":"10.1111/irfi.12461","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Nearly one-third of asset sale announcements are preceded by a public statement of the intent to sell. These voluntary disclosures generate significant average returns of 1.1%. Pre-announcements bias returns around the actual asset sales toward zero. Due to opportunistic managerial behavior, pre-announcements occur after poor stock performance and CEO turnover. Managers also opportunistically exercise options around the pre-announcements and receive potential benefits from the uptick in stock prices. Although we find no effect of pre-announcements on long-term operational performance, we do observe a negative effect on stock returns using three and four-factor models.</p>","PeriodicalId":46664,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Finance","volume":"24 4","pages":"641-668"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/irfi.12461","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141570088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Do non-controlling blockholders with common ownership monitor controlling shareholders effectively? Evidence from China","authors":"Kai Wang, Lihong Wang","doi":"10.1111/irfi.12463","DOIUrl":"10.1111/irfi.12463","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Using a sample of Chinese listed firms during 2007–2020, we find that non-controlling blockholders (NCBs) with common ownership can exert effective monitoring on dominant owners' self-dealing behaviors captured by financial misconducts related to controlling shareholders. This effect is concentrated among state-owned enterprises (SOEs), especially for the common NCBs holding only SOEs. Finally, the monitoring effect is particularly evident when firms have more peer firms, when common NCBs hold more firms within the same industry, when common NCBs exert stronger exit threats, or when common NCBs hold long investment horizons, indicating that common ownership enhances NCBs' incentives and abilities to identify and curb controlling shareholders' misbehaviors.</p>","PeriodicalId":46664,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Finance","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141681708","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does size matter? Examining the probability of firm emergence from bankruptcy","authors":"Miftah Zikri, Syed Shams, Afzalur Rashid, Chandrasekhar Krishnamurti","doi":"10.1111/irfi.12462","DOIUrl":"10.1111/irfi.12462","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We examine the association between firm size and the likelihood of emergence from bankruptcy filed under Chapter 11. Using 715 firm-year observations from 1979 to 2019, we find that large firms are less likely to emerge. We use performance, financial constraints, and information environment as potential channels to examine the mechanism by which firm size affects the likelihood of firm emergence from bankruptcy. Further analysis shows that the likelihood of bankruptcy emergence is lower for large firms before the global financial crisis of 2007.</p>","PeriodicalId":46664,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Finance","volume":"24 4","pages":"669-713"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/irfi.12462","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141512937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Environmental protection tax and trade credit: Evidence from China","authors":"Xueyao Lu, Lin Cheng, Yuhao Niu","doi":"10.1111/irfi.12460","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/irfi.12460","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study investigates how the introduction of China's <i>Environmental Protection Tax Law</i> impacts firms' trade credit taking Chinese A-share listed companies from 2013 to 2020 as the research sample. Since introducing the <i>Environmental Protection Tax Law</i>, the trade credit of pollution-intensive firms has increased significantly. Following the mechanism test, the environmental fee-to-tax reform forces firms to improve their green innovation level and reduce their risk of environmental violations, which protects the suppliers' interests and increases the willingness of suppliers to provide trade credit for these firms. Further analysis shows that when the firm's market power is relatively higher, the regional judicial environment is better, the regional intensity of tax collection is higher and the effect of environmental fee-to-tax reform on the firm's trade credit is strong. Our results contribute to the literature regarding the impact of environmental regulations on firms from the perspective of trade credit, and we provide a new perspective and empirical evidence to support Porter's win-win hypothesis further.</p>","PeriodicalId":46664,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Finance","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143117324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Aggregate uncertainty, information acquisition, and analyst stock recommendations","authors":"Amanjot Singh, Harminder Singh, Venura Welagedara","doi":"10.1111/irfi.12455","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/irfi.12455","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We examine the informativeness of analyst stock recommendations in the presence of aggregate uncertainty. Our results suggest that a one standard deviation increase in aggregate uncertainty decreases the likelihood of influential recommendation revisions by 5.26%. Increased aggregate uncertainty leads to a small stock price impact for upgrade and downgrade recommendations. Our findings reveal consistent search for information by investors, which, support a post-recommendation price drift amidst high aggregate uncertainty. We further find that investors of firms with fewer distracted shareholders, less readable financial statements, and more informed trading seek more information when aggregate uncertainty is high. Our study highlights that investors become more cautious while responding to analysts' stock recommendations during high aggregate uncertainty.</p>","PeriodicalId":46664,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Finance","volume":"24 4","pages":"604-640"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/irfi.12455","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142762163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pattanaporn Chatjuthamard, Pandej Chintrakarn, Pornsit Jiraporn, Sang Mook Lee
{"title":"Climate change, tax avoidance, and shareholder value: Evidence from the Paris Agreement","authors":"Pattanaporn Chatjuthamard, Pandej Chintrakarn, Pornsit Jiraporn, Sang Mook Lee","doi":"10.1111/irfi.12454","DOIUrl":"10.1111/irfi.12454","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Motivated by the rapidly emerging literature on climate change and finance, we explore the effect of corporate tax avoidance on shareholder value around the adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement. Companies engaging in greater tax avoidance experience significantly more favorable stock market reactions. Companies that achieve greater savings through tax avoidance have a larger surplus of resources that can be directed toward climate-related actions in alignment with the Paris Agreement, resulting in enhanced shareholder value. Furthermore, the advantageous impact of tax avoidance on shareholder wealth is significantly less pronounced for companies that pay out larger dividends.</p>","PeriodicalId":46664,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Finance","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141190190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Utkarsh Kapoor, Reza Tajaddini, Amir Moradi-Motlagh
{"title":"The impact of early withdrawal on superannuation balance at retirement: Evidence from Australia","authors":"Utkarsh Kapoor, Reza Tajaddini, Amir Moradi-Motlagh","doi":"10.1111/irfi.12452","DOIUrl":"10.1111/irfi.12452","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study examines the effect of the early tax-free release of the superannuation (ERS), which was introduced as a financial stimulus to counter the economic havoc created by the COVID-19 pandemic, on Australians' superannuation retirement balances. By considering 2800 scenarios based on individuals' working industries, age, withdrawal amounts, and asset allocation strategies, we find that individuals with non-aggressive asset allocation strategies may struggle to reach the minimum required superannuation balance for a comfortable lifestyle in retirement if they opt-in for the ERS. This impact is more evident for individuals employed in certain industries such as accommodation and food, and retail trade.</p>","PeriodicalId":46664,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Finance","volume":"24 3","pages":"535-545"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/irfi.12452","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140832733","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Foreign institutional ownership and corporate labor investment","authors":"Trung K. Do, Anh-Tuan Le","doi":"10.1111/irfi.12453","DOIUrl":"10.1111/irfi.12453","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We examine the impact of foreign institutional ownership on firms' labor investment efficiency. Using a comprehensive global sample of firms across 37 non-U.S. countries, we find that greater ownership by foreign institutional investors is significantly associated with lower deviations of labor investment from the level justified by economic fundamentals, that is, higher labor investment efficiency. Independent, U.S.-based and common-law foreign institutional investors increase labor investment efficiency to a greater extent than their gray, non-U.S.-based and civil-law peers. We further find evidence supporting the value creation of foreign institutions through the improvement in labor investment efficiency. Overall, our results suggest that foreign institutional investors promote good corporate governance practices around the world.</p>","PeriodicalId":46664,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Finance","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140832806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Which dimensions of culture matter for central bank independence? International evidence","authors":"Tong Fang","doi":"10.1111/irfi.12451","DOIUrl":"10.1111/irfi.12451","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this paper, we examine the relationship between Hofstede national cultures and <i>de jure</i> central bank independence. We propose theoretical hypotheses to explain how cultural dimensions determine central bank independence and test these hypotheses using an international dataset. We find that two cultural dimensions, namely, individualism and uncertainty avoidance, are significantly related to central bank independence. Central bank independence is higher in collectivistic and uncertainty avoidance countries. We further reveal that these cultural dimensions affect central bank independence in different ways. Individualism and uncertainty avoidance are related to independence in policy formulation and limitations on lending to governments. Although power distance and masculinity are insignificantly related to total central bank independence, they affect independence in objectives, policy formulation and limitation on lending to governments. Our results are robust through a series of checks.</p>","PeriodicalId":46664,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Finance","volume":"24 2","pages":"291-333"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140673760","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}