Using environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores compiled by Reuters Datastream for each company's corporate social performance (CSP), we examine the relationship between CSP and corporate financial performance (CFP) of 314 UK listed companies over the period 2002 to 2015. We further evaluate the relationship between prior and subsequent CFP and prior and subsequent CSP. Based on the system-GMM estimation method, we provide direct evidence that suggests that while CFP and CSP can be linked linearly; however, when we examine the impact of CSP on CFP, the association is more non-linear (cubic) than linear. Our results suggest that firms periodically adjust their level of commitment to society, in order to meet their target CSP. The primary contributions of this paper are testing i) the non-monotonous relationship between CSP and CFP, ii) the lagged relationship between the two and the optimality of CSP levels, and iii) the presence of a virtuous circle. Our results further suggest that CSP contributes to CFP better during post-crisis years. Our findings are robust to year-on-year changes in CFP and CSP, financial versus non-financial firms, and the intensity of corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement across industries.

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While the literature on capital adequacy and bank recapitalization agrees on the importance of a minimum capital requirement, recurring financial crises across the world do little to suggest that capital adequacy is enough protection for banks, even when they fully comply. By examining the case of regulation compelled banking recapitalizations in a crosscountry context (during the period 1990Q1 to 2016Q2), we scrutinize the effectiveness of banking recapitalization on the economies of recently recapitalized countries. We provide implications for international business research, practice and policy by highlighting the need for countries adopting the Basel capital adequacy framework to pay attention to the peculiarities of their economies, the supporting regulatory mechanisms and their comparative spare capacities.

Even though remittances constitute the second-largest source of foreign exchange for Nigeria, with a $24 billion inflow in 2018, its impact on economic growth remains unclear. This study, therefore, examined the short-run and long-run impact of remittances on the economic growth of Nigeria using the vector error correction model. Utilizing World Bank data covering 1990–2018, the empirical analysis revealed that remittances hurt economic growth in the short run while having no impact on economic growth in the long run. Our parameter estimates indicate that a 1% increase in remittances would result in a 0.9% decrease in the gross domestic product growth rate in the short run. One policy implication of this study is that Nigeria needs to devise policies and interventions that minimize the emigration of skilled professionals rather than depending on remittances that do not offset the losses to the economy due to brain drain.

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