Viktoriia Gryn

Adopting agency and stakeholders theories, this study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate governance attributes (board size, board independence, female directors, and CEO duality) and sustainability reporting conduct in China. The empirical analysis is based on a sample of 10,330 firm-year observations of Chinese listed companies over the period from 2015 to 2018. Data are supplied by WIND and CSMAR databases, whilst regression analysis is applied to test the hypotheses. Results indicate that board size and board independence were found to be positively associated with the sustainability reporting conduct, while female directors and CEO duality both do not have a significant effect on sustainability reporting conduct in the Chinese institutional settings. This paper advances on arguments of the agency and stakeholders theories with these findings. The larger and more independent board facilitates better monitoring of the managers, what leads to decision-making based on a more appreciation of stakeholders’ perspectives. The study is premised on the presence/absence of sustainability reporting, and it does not take into consideration the quality aspect, which can result in erroneous interpretation. The results should not be generalized as the sample was based on China’s companies for 2015–2018. This study has policy implications for managers and policymakers alike concerning designing board composition conducive to sustainability reporting conduct.

In today’s financial world, the pursuit of sustainable development has evolved from an ethical imperative to a strategic necessity. It has spurred corporations to enhance transparency regarding their non-financial and responsible or ESG practices. This paper aims to formalize the strategic dependencies between sustainability disclosure, SDG achievement, and the financial and information efficiency of the financial market. The research methods are normality tests, canonical correlation analysis, and multivariate multiple and univariate regression analysis. The object of the study is 137 countries. The time period is 2022. The results confirmed that a positive strong correlation was found between sustainability disclosure and the achievement of the SDGs on the one hand and financial and information efficiency of the financial market on the other. Identifying the direction of the relationship also confirmed two-way positive dependencies between the indicators, in particular, the SDG Index will have the most significant impact on the growth of GDP per capita, the change in the Economic Sustainability Competitiveness Index on the growth of the United Nations Global Compact participants. The specified connection can be used as the basis for the formation of the concept of ensuring transparency and leveling information asymmetry in the activities of enterprises.

This paper delves into the challenge of financing Sustainable Development Goal 3 “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages” (SDG 3). Despite its ambitious nature, the achievement of this goal has been hindered by a substantial lack of funding. The study aims to investigate potential sources to bridge the investment gap in SDG 3, analyzing data from 28 European countries. This includes factors such as the index and progress in sustainable development, sources of investment resources, and healthcare costs for 2020. Logit and probit regression models are employed for the analysis. The results indicate the absence of a statistically significant relationship between the volume of investments from the state, businesses, and households of countries and their level of SDG 3 achievement. However, an interesting finding emerges regarding healthcare expenditures under state insurance programs among European countries, which show a greater extent of progress in achieving SDGs compared to voluntary insurance programs. The paper emphasizes the importance of a balanced approach that uses multiple funding sources and the need for focused policies and partnerships to mobilize resources to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

Acknowledgment
Alex Plastun gratefully acknowledges support from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (№ 0121U113830).