In this paper, a portfolio analysis is carried out using the Sharpe ratio to identify the optimal market portfolio. The measure of investment performance with a Sharpe ratio is compared to results obtained with bootstrapped resamples of the Sharpe ratio. The results indicate that the choice of the market portfolio is highly affected by the uncertainty regarding the estimation of the expected returns and the variance-covariance matrix between the returns, that is, the estimation risk associated with these parameters.

This study delves into the complex relationship between China's international trade and economic growth, specifically focusing on emission intensity and its environmental ramifications within the context of energy efficiency. The primary objective is to provide a comprehensive understanding of how China's international trade dynamics influence economic growth, emphasizing emission intensity and employing a model that considers the nonlinear impact of trade on output. Through this model, structural breakpoints are identified, revealing distinct outcomes for China amidst positive and negative shocks from 1972 to 2021. The study uncovers the dual nature of the energy sector, acting both as a source of environmental degradation and a potential avenue for positive change through increased efficiency. Complex interplays among economic activities, inflation, and investment on carbon intensity are revealed. Additionally, the varying effects of export volume on carbon emissions intensity across lag thresholds underscore the significance of global trade dynamics for environmental sustainability. The study concludes by emphasizing the importance of balancing economic prosperity with environmental responsibility, advocating for carefully balanced policies that foster sustainable growth. Recommendations include considering the dual nature of the energy sector and implementing policies promoting increased efficiency. Policymakers are urged to adopt growth models prioritizing environmental responsibility, balancing economic activities, inflation, and investment to mitigate carbon intensity while acknowledging the diverse effects of global trade dynamics on environmental sustainability.

This paper examines whether sell-side analyst-affiliated investors trade stocks before their analysts release material information. Using class action lawsuits, I explore the pre-lawsuit periods and investigate how potentially informed analysts trade their covered firms. The event study finds that analyst-affiliated investors reduce their stockholdings of firms prior to their own analyst downgrades. The findings are more pronounced among investors employed by investment banks. The post-trading performance of analyst-affiliated investors suggests that they have superior information and front-run to maximize benefits.

Speeding up digital development and building "digital China" is an important strategic deployment of the "14th Five-Year Plan" and a concrete measure to promote the high-quality development of China's sports industry and national health. Based on provincial data in China from 2011 to 2019, an empirical model is used to analyze the relationship between digital construction, sports industry development and national health investment. The results show that digitalization is instrumental for sports industry development and the improvement of national health in China. Digitalization has promoted the healthy development of sports industry and national health by increasing the input of public science and technology.

In light of the events of 2020 and 2022, this study aims to examine the co-movements between the capital markets of the Netherlands (AEX), France (CAC 40), Germany (DAX 30), the United Kingdom (FTSE 100), Italy (FTSE MIB), Spain (IBEX 35), Russia (IMOEX), and spot prices of crude oil (WTI), silver (XAG), gold (XAU), and platinum (XPT) from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2022. The purpose of this analysis is to answer the following research question: (i) Did the events of 2020 and 2022 increase the shocks between stock markets and WTI, XAG, XAU, and XPT prices? The findings indicate that time series do not follow a normal distribution and are stationary. In response to the question of investigation, we found that during the Tranquil period, it was possible to verify the existence of 28 causal relationships (out of 110 possibilities). During the stress period, there was a very significant increase in the number of causal relationships between the market pairs under analysis (62 causal relationships out of 110 possibilities), including a relative increase in the influence of commodities on capital markets and capital markets on commodities. These findings show that during the events of 2020 and 2022, capital markets and commodities significantly accentuated their co-movements among themselves, indicating that alternative markets such as WTI, XAG, XAU, and XPT do not provide safe-haven properties. These results have implications for portfolio diversification during times of global economic uncertainty.

Energy Performance Certificates are a key tool for achieving energy efficiency in the building sector. The existence of this type of legislation provides incentives for the energy renovation of buildings, increases energy-efficiency investments, and improves social welfare. At the same time, informational asymmetries are mitigated and energy consumption is reduced. However, the decarbonization of the building sector might influence regional energy poverty, especially because the rural energy poor are more vulnerable to energy price increases than their urban counterparts. Empirical research on rural-urban differences and the effects of Energy Performance Certificates is urgently needed, given the rising fuel prices and vulnerabilities of the energy market.

Based on the empirical data of 6110 listed export companies in China from 2010 to 2019, this paper studies the impact of China's economic policy uncertainty (EPU) index on the profitability of listed companies from the specific perspective of export companies, and analyzes the moderating effects of different factors on this impact. The results show that China's EPU index has a significant negative impact on the profitability of listed export companies, and the increase in R&D investment and wage returns will aggravate this negative impact. In addition, listed export enterprises with different enterprise characteristics have different responses to EPU. State-owned enterprises and enterprises located in coastal areas are relatively less negatively affected by EPU.

The objective of this research is to investigate, using time series data ranging from 1992 to 2021, the effects of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth (GDP) in India. The stationarity of the data was examined by employing unit root tests, and an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique was used to investigate the link between the factors, taking both the long- and the short-run into consideration. According to the findings, an increase of one percent in both ICT and FDI will result in an increase of 0.56% and 0.71% in GDP over the long term, in addition to an increase of 0.11% and 0.29% over the short term. The findings of the investigation are of particular significance to policymakers because they can be utilized to establish sensible policymaking for long-term economic success, in addition to advancing the ICT sector and boosting FDI.

We study analytically the conflict of goals between stabilizing economic activity and public debt sustainability, for the fiscal authorities. In the short run, an active and expansionary fiscal policy, increasing public investment or reducing the labor taxation rate, is growth enhancing. However, as these short term fiscal policies also decrease government revenue and increase the public debt, budgetary and fiscal multipliers are reduced in the long run. In the framework of a potential ZLB constraint for monetary policy, an expansionary fiscal policy is thus appropriate only if long term labor and consumption taxation rates are small, and if the share of public expenditure in GDP is high. On the contrary, fiscal policy should be contractionary, in order to insure the sustainability of the long term public debt, if long term labor and consumption taxation rates are high. A contractionary fiscal policy is then also all the more appropriate as the sensitivity of government expenditure to the public debt is high, and as the labor share in the production function is high.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is widely viewed as a key driving force behind China’s exceptional growth performance in the last four decades. This paper investigates several questions posed by China’s success in capturing gains from FDI. What explains that success? Can other countries replicate it, or is it unique to China? What lessons are from China for other countries? China indeed has advantages in attracting FDI such as huge market and cheap labor, the well-designed policy and strategy, however, seem to play more important role in the successful story. Our empirical estimates support on four hypotheses: FDI and GDP growth in China positively interact each other; FDI is helpful to China’s technological progress, FDI promotes China’s industrial development, and FDI stimulates China’s manufactured exports.

Liquidity can be a real phenomenon for execution of the financial holding. Its risk falls in debate to impose a conditional cost on the counterparty. The time-varying liquidity is often linked to the expected fundamental value of an investment. In this work, the microblogging-based informed transaction is examined as a determinant of the liquidity-facilitating cost. Most importantly, this study investigates the economic blockade era and post-pandemic uncertainty. The sentiment indicators were found to be determinants of liquidity. These findings were consistent in the post-pandemic period. However, the investor pessimistic sentiment was a priced risk factor in liquidity during the economic blockade period. Based on the Bayesian theorem, a relativeness was reported between sentiment indicators and the liquidity-facilitating cost. The same findings were depicted in environments of the pandemic era. Nevertheless, the posterior probability indicated an occurrence of the liquidity-associated cost in response to the pessimistic sentiments during the economic blockade period. This quantification may have potential implications in terms of exploring liquidity from the microblogging perceptive.

This paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) deposits across 13 African nations from 2016 to 2022, using a seven-year dataset and Ordinary Least Squares estimator. Notably, it uncovers a significant positive link between the pandemic and SMEs deposits, indicating heightened reserves amidst economic uncertainty, potentially driven by risk mitigation or government support. Associations between gross domestic product (GDP), inflation, unemployment, foreign direct investment (FDI), exchange rates, and SMEs deposits were evident, showcasing higher GDP aligning with increased deposits, while inflation and unemployment linked to reduced ones. FDI showed a positive influence, and exchange rate fluctuations notably affected SMEs deposits, especially for those in international trade. These findings emphasize policy reconsideration for crisis strategies supporting SMEs reserves during uncertainty and interventions addressing inflation, unemployment, and exchange rate risks. Future research exploring regional nuances and global comparisons could further enrich policymaking for resilient SMEs amid evolving economic landscapes.

By an endogenous growth model with a two-period overlapping generations structure, I examine the existence of a budget deficit in an economy that endogenously grows by investments of firms. The consumers leave bequests to their descendants and hold money as a part of their savings. I use a Barro-type utility function, where people include the utility of their children in their own utility. The main results are as follows. 1) A budget deficit is necessary for full employment under constant prices. 2) Inflation is induced if the actual budget deficit is greater than the value at which full employment is achieved under constant prices. 3) If the actual budget deficit is smaller than the value which is necessary and sufficient for full employment under constant prices, a recession occurs. Therefore, a balanced budget cannot achieve full employment under constant prices. I do not assume that the budget deficit must later be made up by a budget surplus. I use a Barro-type utility function to prove the necessity (or inevitability) of a budget deficit instead of the neutrality of government debt. In the appendix of this paper, I show that if money, as well as goods, are produced by capital and labor, a budget deficit is not necessary for full employment under constant prices.

The objectives and tasks of the European Central Bank (ECB) are defined in Articles 2 and 3 of Protocol (No 4) on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and of the European Central Bank (ECB). While in Article 3,1° of this Protocol other tasks are mentioned, the prime objective of the ESCB and therefore of the ECB, is price stability. This concept was originally specified by the Executive Board of the ECB as an annual increase of less than 2% in the inflation rate over the medium term, measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for the euro area. This paper examines to what extent the ECB has been effective in realizing price stability over the period from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2022. Price stability is important for economic agents. It allows them to plan their savings, spending and investment eventually resulting in sustained economic growth.   Notwithstanding the commitment of large human and other resources and the use of unconventional monetary policies, the ECB did not realize its prime objective during a large part of this period. We conclude that putting too much confidence in DSGE-modeling as one of the methodologies to determine monetary policy, may have played an important role in the ECB not achieving its main statutory objective.

The study investigates the impact of COVID-19 on African exchange rates, employing a panel dataset over the period 2016-2022 from 13 African economies and employing pooled OLS estimator. The findings reveal a noteworthy positive correlation between COVID-19 levels and exchange rates within the region. However, this association necessitates deeper exploration due to its multifaceted implications, including economic disruptions, government interventions, global market interconnections, regional stability perceptions, and investor behavior. Economic indicators, such as GDP, inflation rate, real interest rate, and unemployment rate, significantly influence exchange rates. While GDP positively impacts exchange rates through economic growth, investor confidence, and trade strength, controlled inflation fosters investor confidence and export competitiveness, positively affecting exchange rates. Moreover, a pronounced positive impact of the real interest rate indicates economic stability, attracting investment and contributing to currency appreciation. Conversely, high unemployment negatively affects exchange rates, signaling economic weaknesses and eroding investor confidence. These findings emphasize nuanced policy responses for managing health crisis-induced economic disruptions and suggest future research directions focusing on specific country-level analyses and multifaceted factors influencing currency valuations within African economies.

When human civilization is thriving to the rapid economic and social development, the deteriorating ecological environment has also pressured the society to put environmental protection issues on the agenda future development. Therefore, green innovation is not merely a requirement for a corporate’s long-term development but the basics of sustainable development of human society. As an objective indicator to measure a company's commitment to social responsibility, corporate environmental responsibility has an extremely important impact on a corporate's business philosophy and innovation strategy. However, the existing literature rarely studies between these two variables. This paper collects the data of listed companies from 2010 to 2019 and empirically tests the impact of corporate environmental responsibility on corporate green innovation. The study finds that corporate environmental responsibility can promote green innovation by reducing financing constraints, improving corporate governance and increasing government subsidies and R&D investment, and the result is still significant under a series of robustness checks. The placebo test suggests that the Jiangsu enterprise responsibility construction pilot has facilitated the development of enterprises' green innovation to a great extent. The conclusions enrich existing literature on corporate environmental responsibility and corporate green innovation, providing implications for government policy orientation, social atmosphere guidance and corporate strategic decision-making process.

Banks operating within a free economic environment and with constructive regulatory frameworks can function with enhanced efficiency, augmenting their profitability. This study aimed to examine the influence of economic freedom and financial restrictions on banks' profitability within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation member nations. The study used a sample of 1453 banks, collecting panel data spanning 13 years. The System-GMM methodology was justified based on the enduring characteristics of the data and the profitability metrics. The dependent variables, namely the Net Income Margin, Return on Average Assets, and Return on Average Equity were individually examined. The research findings indicate that most economic freedom indicators, except for investment freedom, harm bank profitability. The influence of the rule of law on profitability indicators is mostly adverse, although regulatory quality within the financial system has a comparatively favorable effect on profitability. Furthermore, bank-specific performance indicators had a negative impact on profitability, except for bank size. Moreover, country-specific variables substantially impact banks' profitability, including inflation, tax, and interest rates. The presence of Islamic banking has been shown to substantially impact the profitability performance of banks within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. OIC banks' profitability is adversely impacted by the ongoing health crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic.

We explore the connectedness and portfolio implications between Islamic and conventional bonds in global and GCC regions. We also compare which bonds performed better during our sample period. Unlike previous studies, we focus on Islamic bond markets compared to their conventional counterparts and highlight the GCC bonds (Islamic and conventional) in respect of global bonds. We apply the DCC-GJR-GARCH (1,1) method, the Sharpe ratio, and the portfolio implications strategy over the period from September 1, 2013, to February 23, 2022. Our time-varying results suggest that the relationship among all variables varies over time, but most of them are positive, suggesting that there are fewer diversification opportunities between Islamic and conventional bonds. Hedging and diversification benefits are found only in the limited period among these variables, especially between GCC bonds and global bonds, and global Sukuk and GCC Sukuk. The findings of risk-adjusted returns reveal that Islamic bonds outperform their conventional counterparts. Moreover, mixed results are found in the case of hedging costs, and the majority of the fund, based on optimal weights, should be invested in Islamic bonds. Our study endows investors and regulators in the global and GCC markets with new insights on how to shield their investments and the financial system from financial crises through a hedging strategy with Islamic finance.

The expansion of urban infrastructure is an important indicator of agglomeration and a major factor in the deterioration of the urban environment. The investment in urban infrastructure is accompanied by the sealing of ground. The implementation of effective policies to reduce the practice of sealing ground is impeded by the existence of conflicting interests and fiscal disincentives. A significant challenge is the dearth of policy-relevant information. Conventional analysis considers urban outcome indicators in proportion to population and neglects non-linear distribution patterns, thus obscuring global regularities that contain important information. The study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of urban imperviousness through the lens of urban scaling. The present study employs Germany as a case study to examine the extent to which the parameters of the scaling function differ between two types of cities. District Affiliated Cities (DACs) and Administrative City Districts (ACDs), which are afforded greater fiscal autonomy. The analysis indicates that the amount of sealed land exhibited a notable increase between 2006 and 2018 in the ACDs. Calibration of the scaling functions for cities with the actual coefficient of the DAC control estimate and a global orientation exponent (5/6) resulted in a 16% reduction of sealed ground. In conclusion, urban scaling laws offer a valuable tool for analyzing the complex dynamics of urban imperviousness and its control costs, thereby contributing to the formulation of more effective urban policies and planning.

Keeping in view the concept of agglomeration economies and the New Economic Geography (NEG) angle, this paper makes an attempt to examine the rural to urban population movement at the district level in India. The findings do not favour a strong positive association between levels of urbanization and migration rates.  However, there exists a cluster of districts which are able to attract migrants on a large scale in spite of being already urbanized. The work participation rate, share of services and construction work, and literacy rate all form parts of this positive nexus, indicating that opportunities exist with increased levels of urbanization which in turn prompt people to migrate. The positive spill-over effects of higher levels of urbanization are not limited to the urban spaces only as the adjoining rural areas also seem to have undergone   a significant transformation. The land use pattern and activities are changing and some of the developmental impact is evident. However, the regional variations in this respect are evident. There are sharp differences in the relationship between urbanization level and migration rates across regions. The nature of urbanization and its determinants and the outcome variables of urbanization and migration also unravel regional variations. Besides, there are many districts with higher levels of urbanization; yet, they are not able to attract migrants at a rapid pace. New investment opportunities can be created in these spaces to reduce the cost of growth and make employment generation process more effective, facilitating the rural population to take the benefits of agglomeration economies.