Our research focuses on the relationship between the ESG performance of South Korean multinational companies and stock price crash in next year. For our study, we divide samples into three different categories - namely, all companies, multinational companies (MNC) and non-multinational companies(non-MNC). Our major findings are as following. First, we find the negative relationship between the social (S) score of multinational companies and future price crash, indicating that their social performance prevents price crash risk. Second, when individual ESG performance is considered, there exists negative relationship between environmental (E) and social (S) score, and future price crash for multinational companies. Lastly, we find negative relationship between the ESG score and future price crash, which is due to the high environmental (E) and social (S) score of MNCs, which, in turn, raise each respective score for all companies, which has high correlation with their ESG scores. In this research, focusing on features of ESG on price crash in Korean MNCs, we identify the mitigating effect of social (S) factor for the MNC, which is in consistence with previous researches.

This study analyzes the impacts of free trade agreements (FTAs) on bilateral trade, focusing on Japan’s FTAs. In particular, we examined both static and dynamic effects at the aggregated and disaggregated levels, using two datasets between 1995 and 2016 for Japanese trade only and world trade. For the static analysis, we investigated the overall impacts and the effect of individual FTAs. Regarding dynamic analysis, we considered the time since their enactment. Our results indicate that the impacts are heterogeneous among Japan’s FTAs and products, with a trade creation effect for some FTA partners. Moreover, our findings reveal that the trade creation effect is probably overestimated when trade between the third countries is not considered. We also found a positive dynamic effect for some products. Such a dynamic effect may emerge due to a longer time for firms to understand FTAs and learn their use and the gradual tariff reduction for some products.

As a result of COVID-19, the export of medical goods has been subject to various global restrictions. Consequently, several countries have increased the supply of medical goods to alleviate the effects of this health crisis. This study entails a theoretical and empirical analysis of the effects of such remedial measures. To this end, we have utilized a consistent conjectural variation in a three-country model entailing firms competing in two reciprocal markets in Cournot. When the restrictions are unilateral, the number of medical goods available in the exporting country tends to increase, culminating in better management of the pandemic. In contrast, bilateral restrictions typically reduce the total output of medical goods; therefore, they are inappropriate in a pandemic situation.

We empirically investigate the effect of the <i>Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership</i> on the per capita emissions of eight air pollutants and municipal waste. By introducing the same explanatory variables and applying the same empirical strategy and methodologies as in Qirjo and Pascalau (2019), we provide robust evidence suggesting that the implementation of the partnership could be beneficial to the environment because it may reduce per capita emissions of CH<sub>4</sub>, hydrofluorocarbons/ perfluorinated chemicals/ SF<sub>6</sub>, N<sub>2</sub>O, NH<sub>3</sub>, and SF<sub>6</sub> for a typical partnership member. This result is based on statistically significant evidence showing that, on average, the pollution haven motive based on national per capita income variations is dominated by the factor endowment argument based on the Heckscher-Ohlin trade theory and the pollution haven motive originating from an inverse measurement of national population density differences. However, we also report statistically significant evidence that the implementation of the partnership could denigrate the environment by increasing per capita emissions of SO<sub>2</sub> and municipal waste.

This paper proposes a new method to evaluate the composition of regional arrangements focused on increasing intraregional trade and economic integration. In contrast to previous studies which take the country composition of these arrangements as given, our method uses a network clustering algorithm adapted from the machine learning literature to identify, in a data-driven way, those groups of neighboring countries that are most integrated with each other. Using the obtained landscape of regional integration clusters (RICs) as benchmark, we then apply our method to critically assess the composition of real-world customs unions. Our results indicate that there is considerable variation across customs unions as to their distance to the RICs emerging from the clustering algorithm, suggesting that some customs unions are relatively more driven by ‘natural’ economic forces, as opposed to political considerations. Our results also point to several testable hypotheses related to the geopolitical configuration of customs unions.

This study aims to examine the impact of COVID-19 on stock return volatility in 15 countries worldwide.Using daily data from January 2019 to June 2020, we find that changes in exchange rates have negatively affected stock returns in most countries.We also identify structural changes over the observation period; these structural changes occur not just after the first case of COVID-19 but also earlier in the period.Based on threshold generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity regressions, we find evidence that the emergence of COVID-19 affected stock return volatility in all observed countries except the United Kingdom.Furthermore, we find that the presence of COVID-19 in a country positively affects return volatility.However, the magnitude of this effect is small in every observed country.This finding suggests the need for in-depth studies of other factors that affect stock return volatility besides the occurrence of COVID-19.

Strong economic growth after the 2008-2009 financial crisis led to a rapid rate of real convergence in Malta. This article compares Malta’s real convergence process with that of other EU27 economies post-financial crisis. A growth accounting framework is used to decompose the sources of growth and convergence from a supply-side perspective. The EU evidence of convergence is mixed. Malta’s convergence since 2010 was driven by a higher utilization of labor. The cross-country comparison identifies three important lessons for a country’s convergence process: one, the perils associated with rapid growth driven by the accumulation of imbalances; two, the need for a flexible adjustment process following an economic shock; and three, EU and euro area memberships are no panacea for real convergence, without institutions that are conducive to technological adoption and productivity growth.

Regional economic integration is one of the most effective ways of fostering stability, addressing regional challenges, and increasing rates of...

The Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) Power Grid (APG) is an interesting case study on how and why beneficial economic integration may not...

The Asian financial crisis of 1997~1998 was the catalyst for the movement toward regional cooperation between Asian countries, having triggered the common interests and vulnerabilities among the affected nations. As a result, policymakers have resorted to financial integration to unleash their potentials. Nevertheless, this approach is still in its infancy, largely underpinned by the heterogeneity in institutional and structural characteristics of the financial systems between countries. The authorities are cautious, as there is a trade-off between liquidity of capital markets and financial/economic stability. Considering these scenarios, the present study attempts to examine the dynamic relationship between financial integration and growth in Asian regions. Specifically, this study aims to investigate the financial-growth nexus pre-crisis (1980~1995) and post-crisis (1998~2015) as well as throughout the study period (1980~2015). The results of this study show a significant financial-growth relationship pre-crisis, but the impact wanes in the post-crisis and overall time periods. The results indicate to policymakers the heterogeneous characteristics of each country and to what extent financial integration should be emulated from their European counterparts. © 2020-Center for Economic Integration, Sejong Institution, Sejong University, All Rights Reserved.