Dynamics in futures and spot markets: A panel study of advanced and emerging economies of Asia

This study aims to investigate the role of Fintech in predicting the spread of COVID-19 based on consumers’ Fintech perceptions and behavior before and after the outbreak of COVID-19. The study used a questionnaire-based survey distributed in different countries of the world using the LinkedIn platform for this purpose to reach the targeted population. The snowball sampling technique was used. The study targeted consumers with Fintech experience, especially in digital payments services. 507 samples were retrieved. For the analysis, the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used. The study revealed novel results in predicting COVID-19 spread; these three variables (Fintech Behavior before COVID-19, Fintech Behavior after COVID-19, and Fintech Perception after COVID-19) could predict 52.5% of the variance in the dependent variable (COVID-19 Spread) (R² = 0.525, p < 0.05). The findings show that Higher Fintech perception and behavior among Fintech users will help in reducing the spread of COVID-19 by avoiding the use of contact payment methods. Contactless payment methods are the main tools in Fintech that might help in avoiding the probability of COVID-19 spread. Consumers’ Fintech perceptions and behavior are the most influencing factors that could predict the spread of COVID-19 in this study, where digital payments are the main concern. It is recommended that consumers adopt digital payment methods and tools, especially contactless payment methods, to fulfill their financial services. Other researchers are also encouraged to use the same model to predict the spread of this virus in the Fintech context.

In 2011, Korea required all firms to report all value added tax (VAT) invoices electronically to tax authorities. This unique law provided a natural experiment to examine the effects of this disclosure on income taxes and firms’ related responses. The authors find that this additional required disclosure caused firms to become less aggressive on their income taxes, and that they were unable to pass increased tax burdens forward to consumers or backward to suppliers and labor. To maintain, profitability firms cut research and development (R&D) costs, and this cost cutting was larger for tax aggressive firms. Policy implications of this unintended result are discussed.

During the first quarter of 2020, COVID-19 spread worldwide, claiming lives of thousands of people every day. This marked the beginning of all emergency and business continuity plans around the world. This study attempts to study people’s awareness of CSR practices among business firms in Dubai and investigate people’s evaluation of these CSR practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study employs a quantitative research method and mainly uses questionnaires for data collection. 199 respondents are selected from different business firms in Dubai. Expert interviews are also conducted for triangulation purposes. It involves the Dubai community with various backgrounds and status. This study shows that a large scheme of the Dubai community has a decent level of expertise in sustainability and corporate social responsibility. It also shows that firms that have implemented CSR before the crisis will mostly be better suited to play a supportive role for government and society during the crisis.

Acknowledgment
Research grant provided by the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme [FRGS/1/2017/SS01/UUM/02/23] under Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, and University Utara Malaysia (SO Code: 13806) is gratefully acknowledged.