The Impact of Monetary and Tax Policy on Income Inequality in Japan

This paper assesses the effects of the most recent monetary policy behavior of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) (in particular, zero interest rate policy and negative interest rate policy) and Japanese tax policy on income inequality in this country during the period of 2002Q1 to 2017Q3. The vector error correction model that develops in this research, shows that increase in money stock (m1) through quantitative easing (QE) and quantitative and qualitative easing (QQE) policies of the BOJ significantly increases the income inequality. On the contrary, Japanese tax policy was effective in reducing the income inequality. Variance decomposition results show after ten periods almost 87.15% of the forecast error variance of the inequality is accounted for by its own innovations and 3.76% of the forecast error variance can be explained by exogenous shocks to monetary policy shock—the money stock (M1). The short-term interest rate also accounts for the increase in inequality by 0.47%. On the other hand, the total tax and real gross domestic product contributed in reducing the inequality measure, respectively, by 6.65% and 1.96% after 10 periods

Role of R&D investments and air quality in green governance efficiency

This article measures the impact of R&D investment and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock market listed companies on the green governance efficiency (G.G.E.). An econometric analysis based on the data from 2015 to 2019 is used to measure the impact. The study’s findings reveal that research and development (R&D) investments significantly boost G.G.E. On the other hand, CO2 emission and energy intensity reduce G.G.E. The study results show that the listed companies’ performance would have a significant role in achieving the Chinese government’s carbon neutrality goal. The study provides policy recommendations to promote green governance performance in China and other developing countrie

KNOWING THE UNKNOWNS – FRESH INSIGHTS FROM AN UNKNOWN STOCK MARKET

The goal of our study is to examine the impact of natural disasters on the South Pacific Stock Exchange. We use daily time-series data for Fiji’s stock market for the period 2000-2019. Our empirical framework is based on three factor regression models, namely the market model, the Fama and French three-factor model, and the Fama and French five-factor model. We find evidence that natural disasters in Fiji reduce abnormal returns in the most relevant five-factor model. Additionally, we provide evidence that different types of natural disasters have heterogeneous effects on Fiji’s stock market. Our findings are further supported by a robustness check

SMEs and carbon neutrality in ASEAN: the need to revisit sustainability policies

Most rules and regulations for protecting the environment and reducing greenhouse gas emissions target large enterprises. Although small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have major shares in most Asian economies, they remain outside the purview of most environmental rules and regulations. The primary purpose of this study is to assess the association between SMEs’ activities and carbon emissions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries from 2010 to 2020. To this end, a fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) model was developed. The results show that SMEs’ activities do not align with environmental protection goals and sustainable development, as the estimation results revealed their significant contributions to CO2 emissions. Other practical implications of this study for carbonneutral SMEs are introducing green finance policies, revisiting the environmental and carbon reduction rules and regulations that cover SMEs, and changing banks’ lending mechanisms based on SMEs’ green economic performance

How green growth affects carbon emissions in China: the role of green finance

Accelerating the green transition of the economy is an effective way to conserve energy and reduce emissions, and its impact on the greenhouse effect deserves in-depth discussion. Based on this, we examine the potential effect of China’s green growth on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by applying provincial panel data from 2004 to 2018. The regional heterogeneity and how does green finance affect the green growth-CO2 nexus are also checked. The primary findings imply that: (i) China’s green growth achieves preliminary results, and its impact on CO2 emissions is significantly negative. Also, green finance can facilitate carbon emission reduction; (ii) significant regional heterogeneity exists within various regions. Only in the central and western regions can green growth effectively reduce CO2 emissions, and in the eastern and central regions, green finance is conducive to promoting carbon reduction; and (iii) the mediating role of green finance is significant. In other words, China’s green growth not only mitigates the greenhouse effect directly, but also affects CO2 emissions indirectly by accelerating the development of green financ

Does Infrastructure Investment Lead to Economic Growth?

This chapter examines the relationship between infrastructure investment and economic growth in Central Asian countries. Using quarterly data from 1990 to 2018 and employing the Autoregressive Distributed Lagged Approach to cointegration, the study finds: 1) there is a robust long-run relationship that runs from infrastructure investment to economic growth in the case of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; 2) in the case of the Kyrgyz Republic, economic growth drives infrastructure investment; 3) there is a bi-directional relationship between infrastructure investment and economic growth in Uzbekistan; and 4) in the short run, infrastructure investment leads to a reduction in economic growth in Tajikistan

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL DETERMINANTS OF HOUSING PRICE BOOM IN HONG KONG

Hong Kong’s housing market witnessed a dramatic housing price appreciation in recent years, with the price index for private domestic housing units being three times higher than ten years ago. This trend is supported by both internal and external factors, as illustrated in this paper. By developing a theoretical model and an empirical analysis on the key variables influencing housing prices using monthly data from 1999 to 2018, we find that the main drivers of housing price appreciation are from the demand side and include income level, money supply and inflation. The main contribution of this study is the quantification of the role of Mainland China’s macroeconomic factors in housing price booms in Hong Kong. Our study shows that capital inflow from and inflation and recessions in Mainland China contribute to increasing housing prices in Hong Kong because the city’s real estate is seen as a way to preserve asset value. These findings call for the need for control of capital inflow between the two economies as well as for stricter regulations against empty houses in Hong Kong.Hong Kong’s housing market witnessed a dramatic housing price appreciation in recent years, with the price index for private domestic housing units being three times higher than ten years ago. This trend is supported by both internal and external factors, as illustrated in this paper. By developing a theoretical model and an empirical analysis on the key variables influencing housing prices using monthly data from 1999 to 2018, we find that the main drivers of housing price appreciation are from the demand side and include income level, money supply and inflation. The main contribution of this study is the quantification of the role of Mainland China’s macroeconomic factors in housing price booms in Hong Kong. Our study shows that capital inflow from and inflation and recessions in Mainland China contribute to increasing housing prices in Hong Kong because the city’s real estate is seen as a way to preserve asset value. These findings call for the need for control of capital inflow between the two economies as well as for stricter regulations against empty houses in Hong Kong