Economies, Volume 10, Issue 11 (November 2022) – 29 articles

The increasing number of reported child abuse cases in Malaysia is alarming, with more than 1000 cases reported every year. If this trend continues, it may have detrimental effects on children’s mental development, and far-reaching negative effects for wider society. Examining whether there is some relationship between divorce, unemployment, poverty, inflation, economic growth, and child abuse in Malaysia may help shed some light on the issue and any potential solutions. This study employs the ARDL approach by using data from 1989 to 2019. The results reveal that unemployment, inflation, and economic growth have significant relationships with reported child abuse cases in the long run. However, divorce and poverty do not affect the number of reported child abuse cases in the long run. In the short run, the results show that divorce, economic growth, and unemployment can positively affect the number of reported child abuse cases. Poverty, on the other hand, has a significant and negative relationship with the number of reported child abuse cases in the short run. Family stress originating from economic and social distress and the potential inability of couples to manage stress may exacerbate the risk of child abuse in Malaysia. Social programs are likely needed to help couples handle stress at home, in the form of state-sponsored counselling, educational programs for parents, the provision of social support for an increasing number of dual-career couples, assistance for spouses dealing with divorce, and the protection of children from hostile environments at home, as well as general approaches to the alleviation of poverty. Full article

The compensation system, employee motivation, and employee satisfaction have received much attention from academics for many years. Existing research, however, does not yet detail the mediation effect of employee motivation on the relationship between the entire compensation system and employee satisfaction. The study explores the influence of the compensation structure on employee satisfaction using employee motivation as mediation. This research embraced a quantitative design, positivism paradigm, deductive approach, and explanatory research. Cross-sectional data from 100 employees were drawn with a random sampling technique using a self-administered survey questionnaire. First, in sequence of analysis, descriptive statistics were conducted. After that, a reliability test was used to test internal consistency. Finally, a correlation test, direct effect, indirect effect, and total effect were used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level while analyzing the data. The findings show that the compensation system has a favorable impact on employee satisfaction by partially mediating motivation. Concurrently, this study establishes awareness intending to revise a robust compensation strategy so that employee morale, engagement will increase and turnover will reduce. The study outcomes will assist policymakers in improving the situation of the existing workforce in insurance companies and other financial companies in Bangladesh. Full article

Internal factors of Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) determine their technical efficiency, while external funding characteristics improve the quality of internal factors. Since the type of lending institutions and lending technologies primarily influence the lending decisions of financial institutions, firms’ technical efficiency may be linked to such external factors. Literature on determinants of the technical efficiency of SMMEs mainly focuses on internal factors excluding the financial access paradigm which stifles the effectiveness of internal factors on technical efficiency. Based on a sample of 321 randomly selected SMMEs from Eastern Cape Province in South Africa, the study measures technical efficiency using Data Enveloping Analysis and differentiates technical efficiency among firms using Post Hoc Test Pairwise Comparisons derived from factorial ANOVA. Both main and interaction effects were captured in the analysis. Our results, which pinpoint four main findings, show technical efficiency paths followed by firms vary significantly as a result of both internal and external factors. In particular, the effects of other factors are amplified by race. As a consequence, three main contributions emerge from the study. Full article

This paper examines the sensitivity of investment to cash flow in declining economic conditions, focusing on the impact of a firm’s reliance on bank debt. Using the context of Jordan, a developing Middle East and North Africa (MENA) country, the study utilizes the standard Q theory of investment augmented by cash flow, leverage, and liquidity. Then, it allows for differential loading on the cash flow coefficient pre- and post-2008, the year that marks the beginning of declining conditions, and by categorizing companies based on their reliance on bank debt, measured by having access to a bank line of credit. Using alternative estimation specifications, the findings indicate that firms’ investments decreased significantly in episodes of declining conditions. In addition, the findings indicate that firms’ investments exhibited more sensitivity to cash flow during declining conditions, especially for firms with access to lines of credit. The latter finding suggests that firms reliant on bank debt could not compensate for the credit shortages by switching to other sources of external funding and therefore they were compelled to use more of their internally generated funds to finance their investments. Full article

The article is devoted to identifying the impact of factors on the increasing labour productivity in the economies of the European Union-27 (EU-27) and Ukraine. The system of influencing factors that must be taken into account in the assessment of the labour productivity indicator was substantiated. The factors are based on the most significant indicators of innovative development (innovative activity; formation and the use of personnel; the state of use of fixed capital; the composition of the payroll budget; investment activity; and the use of working time). Based on the use of the method of linearization of the labour productivity model, the rating coefficients of the influence of factors for the economies of the EU-27 and Ukraine were determined. It has been proven that the following factors have a significant positive impact on labour productivity: an increase in the costs of scientific research and development; the growth of enterprises expenditures on research and development (R&D) in high-tech sectors; the increase in the share of scientific research personnel and researchers in the total number of the employed population; the growth of costs for the innovation of industrial enterprises; an introduction to the production of new technological processes and innovative types of products; the purchase of machinery, equipment, and software; an increase in the share of the employed population that has a basic higher education (bachelor’s degree); the growth in the share of the employed population that has a full higher education (master’s degree); the increase in the share of enterprises providing training; the increase in the capital–labour ratio; the technological equipment of labour; the machine equipment of labour; the renewal of fixed capital; and the increase in the level of intellectualization of fixed capital. The available reserves for increasing the labour productivity in EU-27 economies and Ukraine were clarified, and recommendations for managing the labour productivity in the conditions of innovative development have been provided. This study gains relevance when Ukraine has assumed the official status of an EU candidate country and the advantages and potential difficulties in the membership process should be evaluated. Labour productivity will be one of the key factors in the post-conflict recovery of the economy. Full article

This study rigorously investigates the non-monotonic phenomenon of the government spending–growth nexus in the EECA. Using panel data from 19 countries over the period 1995–2019, a nonlinear quadratic estimator and cubic nonlinear estimator were applied to quantile regressions. The preliminary findings revealed a negative linear nexus of government spending and economic growth using a linear model, while the nonlinear models (i.e., quadratic and cubic nonlinear estimators) indicated evidence of nonlinearity in the nexus in the EECA over the study period. Furthermore, the study found strong evidence of the existence of an inverted “N-shaped” (nonlinear cubic) nexus between government spending and growth, which can be interpreted as the typical credit-driven boom-and-bust cycle in most EECA countries. Finally, in elucidating the nexus between government spending and economic growth, the study found that most macroeconomic and governance variables are relaxing in explaining GS. Full article

The present paper evaluates the size and development of the informal economy in agriculture in 10 new EU member states from 2004–2020. A novel agriculture-tailored multiple indicators Multiple Causes model was derived to estimate the size of the informal economy in agriculture. It was revealed that the share of the informal economy in agriculture has decreased from 40 to 31%. The level of cohesion of the informal economy in agriculture shows an opposite trend compared with other economic sectors, indicating an increasing divergence from mainstream economic trends. Full article

The quality of employee skills and job commitments, measured based on their retention, is essential in the current rapidly changing technological world. This study aimed to identify the influences of corporate governance (CG), internal control (IC), and corporate reputation (CR) on employee engagement (EE) with democratic leadership style as the moderating variable. Data from 276 companies with 606 respondents were collected using a Google form questionnaire sent to logistics companies that are members of the Indonesian Logistics and Forwarders Association (ILFA) and analyzed using the Partial Least Square–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS–SEM) with the help of SmartPLS 4.0.7.8 software. The results showed that corporate governance, reputation, and internal control positively influence employee engagement. Furthermore, the democratic leadership style does not strengthen the effects of corporate governance, internal control, and corporate reputation on employee engagement. This implies that leaders of the Indonesian logistics and forwarders industry should find a more suitable leadership style for their respective organizations because democratic leadership may not always be the best choice. Full article

With the aim of comparing the influence of economic benefits with social benefits in the model of integrating customer benefits and relationship quality in the context of university–enterprise relationship research in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. From the perspective of enterprises, a study combining qualitative and quantitative research was carried out. Data for the main study were collected from 486 enterprises using an online survey. The research model and hypotheses are tested by analyzing the structural equation model. The results of examining the influence of economic benefits and social benefits in the research model indicate that the influence of economic benefits is more significant than the influence of social benefits. This is a new finding of this study in comparison with previous studies on relational benefits. In addition, the study also pointed out that economic benefits and social benefits have a direct impact on perceived service quality. Full article

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how well contemporary exchange rate theories explain fluctuations in exchange rates of emerging economies, before and after the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). As an example, the EUR/PLN exchange rate in 1999–2015 was selected as the currency pair that was the most liquid in the region; it had a stable exchange rate regime in the given period. The whole analysis was performed within the selected linear vector error correction (VEC) model framework. VEC models incorporate such well-known theories as purchasing power parity (PPP), the uncovered interest rate parity (UIP), the Harrod–Balassa–Samuelson (HBS) effect, the terms of trade (TOT), the net financial asset (NFA) theory and risk premium. The results indicate the greater importance of external factors—in particular, the Euro Area (EA) short-term interest rates and EA price shocks after the GFC. The main sources of EUR/PLN variability were found to be exchange rate shocks, terms of trade shocks and foreign and domestic short-term interest rate shocks, as well as foreign price shocks. These results are of particularly high importance for our own exchange rate shocks and indicate that a large part of exchange rate fluctuations in EUR/PLN still remains unexplained. Full article

This paper aims to evaluate whether the reasons an entrepreneur starts a business influence their assessment of the contribution of business incubators to society. The influence of business incubator functions was found to be positively valued by entrepreneurs in the socioeconomic ecosystem, according to the results of our empirical SEM study. This study contributes in helping to understand the opinions that entrepreneurs have as protagonists in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, according to their reasons to start a business, on the functionality of incubators, and the sustainable contribution of such entities to socioeconomic benefits in society. Full article

This study is conducted to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and information asymmetry (IA), as well as the role of corporate governance (CG) as a moderating factor. This paper employs panel data regression analysis. The CSR disclosure scores are collected from the HX database by way of Hexun.com, while financial data are collected from the CSMAR database. The association between CSR and information asymmetry is examined using generalised least squares (GLS). The current evidence shows that CSR disclosure reduces information asymmetry. In addition, the findings illustrate that particular aspects of CG moderate the relationship between CSR and information asymmetry. More specifically, board size, CEO duality, and board independence positively affect the bid–ask spread. Moderation by the independence board positively affects the relationship between CSR disclosure and information asymmetry. Since the sample is derived from large Chinese companies, the results should be supported by samples obtained from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and, subsequently, comparisons with the entire stock market. In future studies, we recommend conducting research using other variables as proxies regarding information asymmetry. The current study extends existing research on CSR and IA by adding both board characteristics and ownership concentration variables as moderating variables. Full article

This paper makes use of the Markov Switching model and the K-Means Cluster analysis to estimate the transition probabilities of social mobility and to analyze the impact of social inequalities on intergenerational social mobility. The dataset is a sample of 44 countries and comprises the 2018 social mobility indices, and the 2018 or latest income inequality measures. The data are collected from the OECD Income and Wealth Distribution Databases, and from the world economic forum. It was found that the likelihood of moving upward or downward the social ladder is minimal in both developed and emerging countries. In addition, the paper found that the hypothesis according to which high-income countries have a higher relative social mobility is not necessarily true. The United States, a high-income country, was found to have a lower social mobility, similar to that of Turkey and South Africa. Furthermore, it was found that when poverty decreases, intergenerational social mobility increases in both lower and higher mobility countries. Policies that promote equality of opportunities at all stages of life are therefore recommended to improve intergenerational social mobility. Full article

Certain features of socioeconomic models can be distinctly determined in different countries and regions. However, such models are quite flexible under external and internal influences. Their changes can be observed under the impact of unpredictable factors, the COVID-19 pandemic being one. The aim of the work is to identify differences in the structure of socioeconomic models under the influence of the pandemic. The object of the study is the socioeconomic models of various states. The subject of the study is the transformation of socioeconomic models at different stages of the pandemic. Research methods include analysis of statistical data, correlation and comparative analysis, and graphical methods of presenting results. A comparison of data from the most well-known socioeconomic models was carried out for the first time. It is determined that the countries of the Chinese model adopted restrictive measures of high Stringency Index. The countries of the Japanese model used unique crowd management methods, and the countries of the Scandinavian, German and Anglo-Saxon models resorted to unprecedented monetary injections into the social and economic spheres. It was revealed that quarantine measures eventually cost countries less than monetary injections. It was shown that a decrease in the Pandemic Uncertainty Index stabilized the economic behavior of the population and businesses and increased the volume of export-import operations. It was found that the pandemic affected the economy indirectly through the level of uncertainty and rigidity of preventive measures. It is assumed that the intensity and severity of measures could be influenced by global trends leading to certain types of preventive measures rather than by the COVID-19 statistics of a particular country. Full article

The specificities of pharmaceutical companies’ activities also have an impact on their ability to improve profitability compared to other sectors. Examples of such specificities include patent rights on the medicines produced, which for a longer period of time prevent the entry of competing players, allowing sunk costs to be offset to some extent by advantages from using higher margins. The primary purpose of this study is to examine whether the bargaining power of R&D-engaged companies significantly affects the financial margin of their operations to a different extent than other pharmaceutical companies. This study examined panel data focused on companies with the highest turnover, while we filtered out differences in the effect due to different macroeconomic and development environments. Our findings are that while the gross profit was significantly influenced by the type of activity within the industry, this statement for the cash cycle is no longer justified. Our conclusion was that the difference between the engaged and non-engaged in R&D companies expressed mostly in the profitability ratios, besides that, countries which had different development policies and accounting systems also took impact on financial margins, although the relative GDP advantages disappeared when looking at intra-industry, cross-country movements. Full article

This empirical study evaluates European tourism demand in Spain from 2000 to 2020. To test the hypotheses, we have modelled tourism demand, which is measured in terms of travellers arriving in Spain. An Error Correction Model adapted to a panel structure has been utilised to work within a time series context and differentiate up to 14 European countries of origin. The findings denote that over the short and the long term, gross domestic product (GDP) and the number of beds positively relate to tourism demand. Still, the stock market indices are not significant in both terms. The price index, trade flows, and length of stay differ in the short and the long term. Results of this study call the attention of policy makers and the private sector to encourage an increase in the supply of available beds to ensure post-pandemic sustainability. Full article

This paper investigates the development of the youth informal economy in Lithuania in 2004–2020. Specific youth-tailored multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) model has been derived in order to estimate the level of the youth informal economy. In total, 173 direct phone interviews with company managers were conducted in order to acquire information for the MIMIC model calibration. It was revealed that during the investigated period, the youth informal economy fluctuated between 38.7% and 46.1% and was significantly higher compared with the overall informal economy in Lithuania. Although showing a strong correlation level (0.742) the overall informal economy within the country and the youth informal economy show slightly different developmental paths, the latter being more prone to higher increases during a crisis period. Full article

Using stepwise logistic regression models, the study aims to separately detect and explain the determinants of default probability for unaudited and audited small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) under stressed conditions in Zimbabwe. For effectiveness purposes, we use two separate datasets for unaudited and audited SMEs from an anonymous Zimbabwean commercial bank. The results of the paper indicate that the determinants of default probability for unaudited and audited SMEs are not identical. These determinants include financial ratios, firm and loan characteristics, and macroeconomic variables. Furthermore, we discover that the classification rates of SME default prediction models are enhanced by fusing financial ratios and firm and loan features with macroeconomic factors. The study highlights the vital contribution of macroeconomic factors in the prediction of SME default probability. We recommend that financial institutions model separately the default probability for audited and unaudited SMEs. Further, it is recommended that financial institutions should combine financial ratios and firm and loan characteristics with macroeconomic variables when designing default probability models for SMEs in order to augment their classification rates. Full article

The return and volatility spillover effects on Asian Dragons were investigated in this study. Yahoo Finance provided the monthly statistics (from August 1997 to December 2020). This study used a generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity–autoregressive moving average (GARCH–ARMA) model. The results showed that return spillover effects were observed in unidirectional relationships, but volatility spillover effects were shown in both unidirectional and bidirectional connections. The TSEC Weighted Index (TWII) and the Hang Seng Index (HSI) were net stock market return transmitters to other markets, whereas the Straits Times Index (STI) and the Korean Composite Stock Price Indices (KOSPI) were net receivers. Simultaneously, the STI was a significant net transmitter of stock market volatility to other markets, according to research. As a result, the KOSPI has become a safe haven for portfolio investors. Portfolio managers and overseas investors who are reviewing investment and asset allocation decisions should be aware of these facts. Full article

The Theory demonstrates that oil price and oil volatility (OVX) are significant determinants of economic activity; however, studies seldom consider both variables in the oil–exchange rate nexus and ignore the distributional heterogeneity of the exchange rate. We investigate their joint effect and employ both the quantile regression and Markov switching models to address this. We differentiate between positive/negative shocks and control for the effect of the global financial crisis in 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. We observe that OVX shocks significantly impact the exchange rate for all countries whereas, oil price shocks only affect the exchange rate of oil importing countries. Rising (falling) OVX causes the local currency to depreciate (appreciate). The impact of rising or falling OVX is the same for oil importing and oil exporting countries whereas the impact of rising and falling oil price varies. The impact of oil price and OVX on exchange rate is affected by market conditions. The exchange rate responds to oil price and OVX mostly at lower quantiles (bearish markets) for all countries, which reveals investors sensitivity. In contrast, a weak to no significant response is observed at the higher quantiles (bullish market). Our results are robust in model selection (Markov switching models). Full article

The present study aims to evaluate the relationship between social capital and cash holdings in firms. The population under study comprises all listed companies on the Tehran Stock Exchange. A total of 175 firms (1050 year-firm) were selected from 2014 to 2020 to evaluate the relationship between variables using the systematic elimination method. Moreover, the moderating role of financial reporting quality in the relationship between social capital and cash holdings was also studied. This paper used multivariable linear regression (panel data) and the EViews software to implement the study’s objectives. The present study results show a negative relationship between the social capital of firms and cash holdings and a positive association between social capital and financial reporting quality. In other words, cash holdings drop with the increase in social capital. Further, financial reporting quality improves with the increase in social capital. The financial reporting quality moderates the relationship between the social capital of firms and cash holdings. This paper indicates that the region’s social capital, where the firm is located, has a significant role in contributing to its cash value. The current study is the first to assess social capital structure in the cash holdings literature. The impacts of social capital contribute to financial outputs. Social capital has a positive economic result against strong cooperation norms and dense social networks. Few studies analyzed the effect of social capital on firms’ decision making. In this area, the present study contributes to the literature development and the impact of social capital on firms’ results. Full article

For one variable–supply currency in isolation, one player’s Cobb–Douglas utility depends on the current supply divided by the initial supply, multiplied by the inverse of the accumulative inflation/deflation. With equal weight assigned to both factors, money printing outweighs inflation, and money withdrawal outweighs deflation. The study design is to analyze how competition between one variable–supply and one fixed–supply currency impacts the player’s choice of currency. Applying the 1959–2021 US M2 money supply data and the 1635–2021 US inflation data, the player’s utility increases over time when assigning high weight to money printing/withdrawal and increases less or decreases overall when assigning high weight to inflation/deflation. With different player support for the two currencies, depending on each currency’s backing, convenience, confidentiality, transaction efficiency, financial stability, and security, replicator dynamics is used to determine the player’s volume fraction of transactions in each currency. Low, high, increasing, and decreasing support of a currency are analyzed. Each fraction may increase, decrease, be inverse U–shaped, U–shaped, and approach low or high levels over time. For example, high weight assigned to money printing may cause the player to eventually prefer the variable–supply currency unless the player supports the fixed–supply currency highly and increasingly. Full article

Various factors determine and affect economic growth, one of which is exports. Trade theory also states that exports increase the growth of the domestic economy in various ways. For this reason, the effect of exports on economic growth is a long-term area of research. In addition to the studies examining the effect of foreign trade on economic growth in the literature, some studies investigate the effects of economic growth on export capacity. These studies suggest that the export-based economic growth hypothesis is valid when the causality relationship between exports and growth is from exports to growth, and the growth-led export hypothesis is valid when it is from growth to exports. To this end, the primary purpose of this study is to investigate the validity of the new economic model for Turkey in two different periods. In this context, this study comparatively focuses on the 1999:Q1–2013:Q4 and 2014:Q1–2021:Q4 periods to test the validity of the export-led growth hypothesis and the growth-led export hypothesis. According to the analysis results for the 1999:Q1–2013:Q4 periods, only the growth-led export hypothesis is valid, and a 1% increase in the economic growth rate in this period increases exports by 0.42%. Considering the 2014:Q1–2021:Q4 period, the hypotheses of “Economic growth is not the cause of exports and exports are not the cause of economic growth” are rejected, and according to these test results, it was determined that both the export-led growth hypothesis and the growth-led export hypothesis are valid. In the results of this period, a 1% increase in economic growth rate increases exports by 0.38%, and a 1% increase in exports increases economic growth by 1.36%. Full article

Corruption and inflation are two economic problems with serious social consequences. This paper analyzes the link between these two problems, focusing on the case of 19 prices observed for agricultural products in 90 countries since 2000. Using ‘panel data cointegration’ techniques, we conclude that, in most cases, there is a long-term relationship between inflation and corruption. The direction of causality favors the hypothesis that the inflation of agricultural products promotes incentives that lead to an increase in corruption levels. These results have important implications in terms of fighting corruption, giving special attention to controlling inefficiencies in agricultural markets that lead to higher prices that are then tapped into corruption mechanisms. Full article

The transmigration program in Gorontalo Province plays an important role in poverty reduction. The districts of Gorontalo and Boalemo, as a part of Gorontalo Province, were purposefully selected as research locations. A total of 240 respondents of transmigrant and local households were interviewed using a questionnaire containing a list of questions with a 5-Likert scale. The objectives of this research are: (1) to measure the multidimensional poverty level of transmigrant and local households, (2) to determine the impact of the transmigration program on poverty reduction and (3) to identify the factors that influence poverty status of transmigrant and local households. The results show that the poverty level of transmigrant households tends to be lower than local households. The longer the placement of transmigration, the more likely it is to reduce regional poverty levels. The health dimension has a high contribution to the cause of poverty of transmigrants, while the education dimension contributes to the highest cause of poverty of local households. The results of the analysis also show that farmers who are more educated, participate in skills training and have a side business have more opportunity to reduce poverty. The study confirms that the transmigration program has a significant impact on poverty reduction in the region. Full article

In this paper we aim, first, to examine how an economy’s financial development affects the welfare gains from trade and, second, to uncover how large firms threaten to suppress these gains, through the exertion of market power and their confirmed preferential access to liquidity. To this purpose, we propose a theoretical model of international trade with financial constraints, which are different between large oligopolists and small monopolistic competitors. We show that trade diminishes the impact of credit misallocation and financial frictions and creates welfare gains by intensifying selection and boosting competition. We find that welfare gains are higher under harsher domestic distortions, meaning that trade particularly benefits developing economies, acting as a substitute for financial development. Nevertheless, in the shadow of large firms, gains from trade are diminished, even more so when such firms are rare and, therefore, more powerful. We conclude that international trade is a prerequisite for financial and economic development but the benefits from globalization are not fully reaped unless large-firm entry and competition are facilitated. We trust that our findings are extremely relevant for developing economies, which are often export-oriented, but, at the same time, suffer from severe credit market inefficiencies and a shortage of large incumbents. Full article

This paper analyses the gender-, age- and educational attainment level-specific output–employment relationship and its dependence on foreign direct investment (FDI). The unbalanced panel covers 25 European Union countries’ data from 2000 to 2020. Empirical estimations are made using the pooled OLS estimator. The impact of FDI on gender-, age- and educational attainment level-specific output–employment elasticities is estimated by including the multiplicative terms between gross domestic product (GDP) and FDI in regression models. The main results indicate the positive impact of economic growth on employment, with the highest output–employment elasticities for males and youth regardless of gender. The estimation results also indicate limited abilities of economic growth to increase the employment of highly educated people and females older than 25 years regardless of their educational attainment level. Our results suggest that higher FDI level in the host countries is mostly associated with the decreasing employment reaction to economic growth. Although FDI is an important factor affecting the output–employment relationship, it does not help to solve the problem of unemployment in the EU, especially for youth. Full article

Women from around the world are making substantive contributions to new ventures. Research on this phenomenon is starting to increase, but to this point, most of the research on female entrepreneurship has only examined it from the perspective of developed countries. As such, there is a gap in understanding this phenomenon from the perspective of developing countries. Due to the lack of theoretical underpinnings, and exploratory research approach to unearthing new ideas was called for. Using 10 female entrepreneurs as case studies and depth interviews as the main source of data, this study explores female entrepreneurship in India. The study’s findings suggest that deep-rooted gender bias and family pressures are major challenges that female entrepreneurs in India face. This study’s findings also suggest that supportive husbands, stress management, and maintaining a good work–life balance are important to helping female high-tech entrepreneurs in India overcome the challenges that they face. The results from this study inform the literature on the plight of female entrepreneurs in India, and more broadly, the study contributes to the understanding of the challenges that female entrepreneurs all around the world face. Full article

In this paper, we examine the changes in corporate dividend policies during the COVID-19 shock. For empirical analysis, we employ annual data of 360 companies from the Pakistan Stock Exchange over the period 2015–2020. Using descriptive analysis and Logit regression models, we find that firms were more likely to either omit or reduce dividend payments during the pandemic year of 2020 as compared to the trends in pre-COVID-19 years of 2015–2019. Further, firms with higher profitability, asset turnover and size were less likely to opt for dividend omissions. On the contrary, dividend omissions were more likely among firms with higher debt ratios. The findings of this study helps to understand firm dividend policies during crisis periods. Full article