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The present study attempts to track the transmission of volatility across major international stock markets over a span of 20 years, which includes both crisis (contagion form) and non-crisis periods. It also investigates whether global transmission of volatility follows a pattern. The study uses bi-variate EGARCH model in order to capture spillover between a pair of stock markets and the estimation window is one year with a sliding frequency of one quarter. The results show that, there is a spillover of volatility between international stock markets at all times. Results also indicate that in almost all cases, the pattern of spillover is non-random. Finally, the study characterizes the spillover pattern between international stock markets using suitable theoretical distributions.

PurposeThe governing role of bank-appointed directors (BADs) on the boards of non-financial firms has a potential to reduce information asymmetry between the firm and non-bank lenders. This should increase the confidence of other creditors in firm activities, thus performing the certification role. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the certification role of BADs.Design/methodology/approachThe authors test their hypotheses by using a panel of Indian non-financial firms. Our approach involves examining whether there is a significant difference in the number of different debt sources, the dispersion of debt among different debt sources, and leverage for BAD and Non_BAD Firms. The authors use univariate analysis and multivariate regression models to test the difference.FindingsThe authors find that firms with BADs on their board have (1) access to a higher number of different debt sources, (2) debt distributed evenly among different sources and (3) a higher debt ratio. Overall, our study provides supporting evidence for the certification role that BADs play on the boards of non-financial firms.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the literature in two aspects. First, to the best of our knowledge, this is the only study that examines the effect of the governing role of banks on the lending decisions of non-bank lenders. Second, our study is associated with the growing body of the governance literature in the emerging markets context by examining the interaction of financial policies and governance in an institutional framework, which is very different from that of the developed world.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether human capital affects firm value by following a positive methodological approach. According to the classical theory of economic growth, the output of a country depends on its human and physical capital. At the micro-level, the same theory holds true for firm output. Thus, the human capital of a firm should play a significant role in firm performance and therefore firm valuation. Our results show a positive relationship between human capital and firm value. Human capital creates value; first, by better utilization of current growth opportunities; second, by creating future growth opportunities, and lastly, by reducing the volatility associated with the firm growth rate. Also, we test the size effect on the relationship between human capital and firm value and do not find any differential impact.

PurposeThe present study examines the rationale behind the increased global presence of corporate green bonds as a green financing tool to facilitate sustainable practices and eco-friendly investing. The authors investigate the intriguing question of whether the companies that issue green bonds are valued more by investors or not, and further extend our analysis by exploring whether the green image of companies helps to minimize the value erosion during a crisis and enhance the resilience of the stocks?Design/methodology/approachTo examine the association between environmental commitments and firm value, the authors use the COVID-19 crisis as an exogenous shock and create a perfect natural setting to eliminate the endogeneity bias from our estimations. Moreover, the authors use propensity score matching to choose a one-to-one match of green bond firms with a larger pool of brown bond firms and eliminate the “size effect” arising out of the disproportionate sample size of green and brown bond firms.FindingsThe results of the study indicate that green bond firms are valued more by investors compared to brown bonds firms. Hence, green bond issuance acts as a strong signal of a firm's environmental commitment and it is well recognized by the investors. One of the possible reasons for a higher value of green bond firms may be due to their ability to arrest value erosion during environmental shocks. The authors could not find any difference in the resilience of green and brown bond firms.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the growing literature in the area of impact investing, specifically on exponentially growing innovative instrument green bond. Our study integrates two areas of research, i.e. corporate finance and impact investing by examining the impact of green bond issuance on firm value and stock market returns. The results would help environmentally sensitive investors to devise their investment portfolios more efficiently.