A panel path analysis approach to the determinants of coronavirus disease 2019 transmission: does testing matter for confirmed cases?

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gour Gobinda Goswami ◽  
ARM Mehrab Ali ◽  
Sharose Islam

PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to examine the role of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test on transmission data globally to reveal the fact that the actual picture of transmission history cannot be exposed if the countries do not perform the test adequately.Design/methodology/approachUsing Our World in Data for 212 countries and areas and 162 time periods daily from December 31, 2019, to June 09, 2020, on an unbalanced panel framework, we have developed a panel-based path analysis model to explore the interdependence of various actors of COVID-19 cases of transmission across the globe. After controlling for per capita gross domestic product (GDP), age structure and government stringency, we explore the proposition that COVID-19 tests affect transmission positively. As an anecdote, we also explore the direct, indirect and total effects of different potential determinants of transmission cases worldwide and gather an idea about each factor's relative role in a structural equation framework.FindingsUsing the panel path model, we find that a 1 standard deviation change in the number of tests results in a 0.70 standard deviation change in total cases per million after controlling for several variables like per capita GDP, government stringency and age population (above 65).Research limitations/implicationsIt is not possible to get balanced data of COVID-19 for all the countries for all the periods. Similarly, the socioeconomic, political and demographic variables used in the model are not observed daily, and they are only available on an annual basis.Practical implicationsCountries which cannot afford to carry out more tests are also the countries where transmission rates are suppressed downward and negatively manipulated.Social implicationsCross country collaboration in terms of COVID-19 test instruments, vaccination and technology transfer are urgently required. This collaboration may be sought as an alternative to foreign development assistance.Originality/valueThis article provides an alternative approach to modeling COVID-19 transmission through the panel path model where the test is considered as an endogenous determinant of transmission, and the endogeneity has been channeled through per capita GDP, government stringency and age structure without using any regression-based modeling like pooled ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed-effects, two-stage least squares or generalized method of moments (GMM). Endogeneity has been handled without using any instruments.

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 951-975
Author(s):  
Asit Bhattacharyya ◽  
Md Lutfur Rahman

Purpose India has mandated corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure under Section 135 of the Indian Companies Act, 2013 – the first national jurisdiction to do so. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of mandated CSR expenditure on firms’ stock returns by using actual CSR spending data, whereas the previous studies mostly focus on voluntary CSR proxied by CSR scores. Design/methodology/approach The authors estimate their baseline regression by using ordinary least squares(OLS) method. Although the baseline regression involving CSR expenditure and stock returns using ordinary least squares method are estimated, endogeneity and reverse causality biases are addressed by using two-stage least squares and generalized method of moments approaches. These approaches contribute mitigating endogeneity bias and biases associated with unobserved heterogeneity and simultaneity. Findings The findings document that mandatory CSR expenditure has a negative impact on firms’ stock returns which supports the “shareholders” expense’ view. This result remain robust after controlling for endogeneity bias and the use of both standard and robust test statistics. The authors however observe that this result holds for the firms with actual CSR expenditure equal to the mandated amount but does not hold for the firms with actual CSR expenditure greater than the mandated amount. Therefore, the authors provide evidence that CSR expenditure’s impact on stock returns depends on whether firms simply comply the regulation or voluntarily chose an amount of CSR expenditure above the mandated amount. Originality/value The primary contribution is to present a valid and robust evidence of negative effect of mandated CSR spending on firms’ stock returns when the mandatory CSR spending rule is already in place. This study contributes by examining the impact of mandated CSR spending on stock during post-implementation period (2015-2017), whereas other studies by Dharampala and Khanna (2018); Kapoor and Dhamija (2017); and Mukherjee et al. (2018) mainly examined the impact of legislation on Indian CSR. The authors use mandated actual CSR expenditure, whereas previous studies mostly focus on voluntary CSR proxied by CSR scores.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariem Ben Abdallah ◽  
Slah Bahloul

PurposeThis study aims at investigating the impact of the disclosure and the Shariah governance on the financial performance in MENASA (Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia) Islamic banks.Design/methodology/approachWe use the Generalized Least Squares (GLS) regression models to check the interdependence relationship between the disclosure, the Shariah governance and the financial performance of 47 Islamic banks (IBs) from ten countries operating in MENASA region. The sample period is from 2012 to 2019. In these regressions models, Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) are the dependent variables. The disclosure and the Shariah governance indicators are the independent factors. To measure the Shariah governance, we use the three sub-indices, which are the Board of Directors (BOD), the Audit Committee (AC) and the Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB). Size, Leverage and Age of the bank are used as control variables. We also used The Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) and the three-stage least squares (3SLS) estimations for robustness check.FindingsResult shows a negative relationship between the disclosure and the two performance measures in IBs. Furthermore, as far as the governance indicators are concerned, we found that the BOD and AC, as well as the BOD and SSB, have a positive and significant impact on the ROA and ROE, respectively. This reveals that good governance had a significant association with higher performance in MENASA IBs.Originality/valueThe paper considers both IBs that adopt mandatory as well as voluntary AAOIFI standards and the GLS method to investigate the impact of the AAOIFI disclosure and the Shariah governance on ROA and ROE. Also, it uses the GMM and the 3SLS estimations for robustness check. It is relevant for researchers, policymakers and stakeholders concerned with IBs' performance.


2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aviral Kumar Tiwari ◽  
K.G. Suresh

Purpose – This study aims to examine the stationarity characteristics of per capita GDP of 17 Asian countries and subpanels for South Asia, East Asia, and high income Asian countries in nonlinear framework. Design/methodology/approach – The authors employed a recently developed nonlinear panel unit root test suggested by Ucar and Omaga in PESTAR framework for full panel and the subpanels. Findings – The results indicate that per capita GDP for the full panel of Asian countries and panel of South Asian countries are linear nonstationary, whereas for the panel of East Asia and high income developed countries have a nonlinear data generating process and are stationary. Originality/value – The use of newly developed nonlinear panel unit root test for Asian countries is the main contribution of the study. In that aspect, this is the first study to employ such a test in this area.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 1515-1525
Author(s):  
Daniel S. Alemu ◽  
Deborah Shea

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which organizational level of functionality is affected by its leadership, its staff, the way task is performed in the organization (culture), and the structural and governance makeup of organizations. This study also determined the direct and indirect impacts of these variables on organizational functionality in general and drawing lessons to educational organizations in specific. Design/methodology/approach This is a quantitative study. Data from 185 participants were analyzed using SPSS software version 24. The data analysis procedure for this study followed various steps. First, multiple factor analysis was conducted to narrow the long list of items and to create a manageable list of construct variables for analyses. Then path analysis, using a series of multiple regression, was conducted to identify the degree of relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Finally, a path model coefficient diagram was created. Findings Using path analysis, a new model that depicts the level of interactions among the proposed variables and the extent and direction of influence of each variable on organizational level of functionality has been created. In addition, a path diagram that illustrates the model is provided and explained. This study also determined the direct and indirect impacts of these variables on organizational functionality. Finally, conclusions and implications of the study for educational organizations were presented. Research limitations/implications It should be noted that path analysis studies, by nature, are based on assumptions provided by the researchers. Hence, future studies using different variables and different assumption may not necessarily generate the same result. In addition, this study looked at a broader view of organizations rather than a specific type. Practical implications This study expanded the use of organizational diagnosis frameworks, beyond studying organizational performance, to study organizational level of functionality which can be used to diagnose the level of function (or dysfunction) of organizations in a holistic manner. Social implications The present study contributes to the body of literature in organizational diagnosis in various ways; chief of which is the creation of a new path model which shows the direct and indirect effects of specific variables in numeric terms. Originality/value Unlike previous studies on the topic, this study suggests that organizational level of functionality should be studied using variables internal to the organization, because any two organizations of similar purpose and capacity, located in similar environment, could function differently due to factors internal to the organizations. Investigating organizational level of functionality using variables internal to the organization is assumed to provide a deeper diagnosis and self-assessment as it minimizes the noises created by variables external to the organization. All the variables in this study are therefore carefully selected to be internal to organizations.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanon Kumar Sen ◽  
Md. Thasinul Abedin

PurposeDue to large amounts of coal burning, huge carbon dioxide emission and poor environmental quality, it is important to identify whether environmental Kuznets curve exists in China and India since in downward period of environmental Kuznets curve, economic growth in these countries will largely contribute to world environmental quality. Further, it helps to make a comparative analysis between China and India on how economic growth will contribute to the environmental quality in both upward and downward period of environmental Kuznets curve due to energy consumption.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses the data of carbon dioxide emission, per capita GDP and energy consumption from 1972 to 2017 to identify individual and panel-level environmental Kuznets curve of China and India. Before going to regression and causality analysis, unit root and cointegration tests are performed.FindingsThis study finds the existence of environmental Kuznets curve in China and India at both individual and panel level. Further, due to high energy consumption, environmental quality in China will deteriorate at a lower rate in the long run than that of India. Next, the increase in economic growth or per capita GDP in the long run will deteriorate environmental quality at a lower rate in China than that of India. Besides, with the zero level of energy consumption and per capita GDP, the environmental quality of China will be worse than that of India. However, increase in per capita GDP after threshold level will improve environmental quality in India at a higher rate than that of China.Research limitations/implicationsIt helps to formalize the comparative relationship between the two large Asian economies by knowing the influence of economic growth on environmental degradation due to energy consumption. However, this study cannot conclude exactly when China and India can avail the downturn in environmental Kuznets curve.Originality/valueIt firstly establishes a link among energy consumption, economic growth and environmental quality between China and India including comparative pace in both upward and downward period of environmental Kuznets curve.


2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.K.M. Nurul Hossain ◽  
Mohammad Abdul Munim Joarder

Purpose – The authors considered three regional trading agreements (RTAs): European Union (EU-25), ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), and South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) to test the hypothesis that poor members within a RTA catch rich members and thereby follow the path of income convergence. Of particular interest is to test whether partial openness (i.e. formation of RTAs) or openness or political conditions are conducive to economic growth among the member countries of RTAs. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used pooled datasets from three different RTAs, namely the EU-25, the AFTA, and the SAFTA. Taking five years average for all variables, starting from 1961 to 1965 and extending to 2001-2005, the authors tested the hypothesis that the growth rate of per capita GDP is negatively related to the initial level of per capita GDP. Constructing a dynamic behavioral equation and forming the reduced form equation, the authors calculated the s-convergence, and both conditional and unconditional convergence. Findings – The authors found that both the EU-25 and the AFTA exhibit s-convergence, and both conditional and unconditional convergence, while the reverse evidence was observed in the case of the SAFTA. However, the speed of convergence of the AFTA was found to be much higher than that of the EU-25. Originality/value – Formation of RTA by countries should be considered as an essential condition to achieve sustained economic growth. In addition, political rights, trade openness, and more importantly benevolence of the member countries within the RTA must be shown to sustain economic growth and convergence; otherwise with the passage of time, divergence among the RTA members will be evident.


2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minh Quang Dao

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically test a more comprehensive model of economic growth using a sample of 28 lower middle-income developing countries. Design/methodology/approach The authors modify the conventional neoclassical growth model to account for the impact of the increase in the number of people working relative to the total population and that of the increase in the value added per worker over time. The authors then extend this model by incorporating the role of trade, government consumption, and human capital in output growth. Findings Regression results show that over three quarters of cross-lower middle-income country variations in per capita GDP growth rate can be explained by per capita growth in the share of public expenditures on education in the GDP, per capita growth in the share of government consumption in the GDP, per capita growth in the share of imports in the GDP, per capita growth in the share of manufactured exports in the GDP (not of that of total exports in the GDP), and the growth of the working population relative to the total population. Practical implications Statistical results of such empirical examination will assist governments in these countries identify policy fundamentals that are essential for economic growth. Originality/value To address the simultaneity bias, the authors develop a simultaneous equations model and are able to show that such model is more robust and helps explains cross-country variations in per capita GDP growth over the 2000-2014 period.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Biplob Kumar Nandi ◽  
Gazi Quamrul Hasan ◽  
Md. Humayun Kabir

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of financial inclusion on per capita gross domestic product (GDP) at varying degrees of financial inclusion for a sample of 76 developing countries between 2011 and 2017. To evaluate the heterogeneous impact, this paper constructs the multi-dimension index of financial inclusion to classify sample countries into two sub-samples in terms of the value of FIID, taking account of three dimensions of financial inclusion: access, usage and availability. Design/methodology/approach This study attempts to identify the presence of reverse causality and long-run relationship between financial inclusion and economic growth by using the Granger causality test (Wald test) and three alternative panel cointegration tests (Kao Test, Pedroni Test, Westerlund Test) respectively. Because of the existence of the bi-directional causality between financial inclusion and per capita GDP, this study uses a fixed effect instrumental variable model with lagged dependent variable to get unbiased estimators from the panel regressions for sample countries. Findings This paper finds a strong positive impact of financial inclusion on per capita GDP growth in sample developing countries, controlling for labor market structure, financial institutions’ efficacy, infrastructural and governance issues. This study suggests that economic growth will be high in developing economies with a higher level of financial inclusion; however, the positive impact for two sub-samples countries (low and medium level of inclusion and high level of inclusion) are heterogeneous. The estimated result explains that a 1% increase in the financial inclusion index leads to a 0.0153% point increase in the per capita GDP for the countries with a low and medium level of financial inclusion, while this positive impact is significantly higher, 0.0794% point for countries with the high level of financial inclusion. This study also suggests that the higher concentration in the financial market by few agents and the lower level of governance may have an adverse impact on economic growth for the economies with a low and medium level of financial inclusion. Originality/value This study is an original study that contributes to the research gap by explaining the heterogeneous impact of financial inclusion on economic growth at varying degrees of inclusion in the two sub-sample countries. Moreover, this study posits greater appeal as it explores the issue using the sample of only developing economies.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan F. Gohmann ◽  
Bradley K. Hobbs ◽  
Myra J. McCrickard

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the correlation between the degree of economic freedom in state institutions and industry employment and then determine how these correlations relate to economic growth. Design/methodology/approach – The authors find the correlation between employment and economic freedom for each NAICS industry code and then calculate total employment in industries with positive correlation and negative correlations. The authors use these values in a GDP equation. Findings – The authors find that employment growth in industries characterized by a negative correlation is associated with a decline in state per capita GDP. When the correlations between employment and economic freedom are positive, state per capita GDP tends to grow, even after accounting for overall economic freedom in the state. Research limitations/implications – Eliminating or reducing opportunities for firms to use government institutions to gain special treatment will lead to greater economic growth. Originality/value – This paper allows the data to determine which industries potentially engage in productive and unproductive entrepreneurship.


Author(s):  
Lei Wen ◽  
Linlin Huang

Purpose Climate change has aroused widespread concern around the world, which is one of the most complex challenges encountered by human beings. The underlying cause of climate change is the increase of carbon emissions. To reduce carbon emissions, the analysis of the factors affecting this type of emission is of practical significance. Design/methodology/approach This paper identified five factors affecting carbon emissions using the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) decomposition model (e.g. per capita carbon emissions, industrial structure, energy intensity, energy structure and per capita GDP). Besides, based on the projection pursuit method, this paper obtained the optimal projection directions of five influencing factors in 30 provinces (except for Tibet). Based on the data from 2000 to 2014, the authors predicted the optimal projection directions in the next six years under the Markov transfer matrix. Findings The results indicated that per capita GDP was the critical factor for reducing carbon emissions. The industrial structure and population intensified carbon emissions. The energy structure had seldom impacted on carbon emissions. The energy intensity obviously inhibited carbon emissions. The best optimal projection direction of each index in the next six years remained stable. Finally, this paper proposed the policy implications. Originality/value This paper provides an insight into the current state and the future changes in carbon emissions.


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