G23 - Pension Funds; Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional InvestorsReturn

Green finance aims to achieve a balance between economic performance and sustainable economic development. This study examines the effect of green finance on sustainable eco- nomic development at the national level by spotlighting countries that are at the forefront of green bond issuance. Employing balanced panel data and utilizing a mediation model with fixed effects, the results demonstrate a significant ability of green finance to mitigate carbon emissions and promote high-quality economic development. The robustness of the findings is confirmed by a series of statistical tests. Furthermore, the renewable energy consumption structure enhances the suppressive effect of green finance on carbon emissions, highlighting its crucial role as a channel for mitigating carbon emissions. Overall, increasing green bond investment and structuring renewable energy consumption are crucial for carbon emission reduction, and this paper contributes new evidence regarding the emission reduction effects of green finance. It also offers several policy implications: by prioritizing green finance, R&D, and renewable energy consumption, the policymakers can achieve high quality economic development and lower carbon emissions.

Non-fungible tokens are transferable rights to digital assets such as artwork, videos, in-game items, collectibles or music. Non-fungible tokens relate only to a specific unique item and carry information about the owner. The non-fungible token market has received widespread attention and has grown enormously since the beginning of 2021. Despite significant growth in the market, there needs to be more surveys, especially in the context of the Czech Republic. This article, therefore, aims to evaluate the level of awareness of non-fungible tokens in the Czech Republic. The paper presents the basics of the non-fungible token market, its potential and uncertainty, and the interdisciplinary nature of non-fungible token research. First, the characteristics of non-fungible tokens are described based on a literature review. The methodological part outlines an empirical analysis based on a quantitative survey in which 103 respondents in the Czech Republic took part. Based on the research results, it was found out that in the Czech Republic, there is low level of awareness of non-fungible tokens and also low level of trust in digital assets in general. In conclusion, it is possible to say that this article provides an overall understanding of the phenomenon of non-fungible tokens in the Czech Republic.

The aim of the paper is to analyse the association between the use of accrual-based and real earnings management practices before the company goes public and the decision of institutional investors on buying or refraining from buying shares offered in initial public offering (IPO). The sample consists of 258 Polish new stock companies over the period 2005-2020. We find that such companies refrain from massive earnings management in the pre-IPO period: both real and accrual-based. However, we find evidence that the presence of institutional investors in the IPO is related to earnings inflation (selling, general and administrative expenses). Our study contributes to the debate on the role of institutional ownership in the IPO process in Central and Eastern Europe.

Price changes on all international financial and commodity markets have shown a sig- nificant correlation. The correlation dependence increased due to macroeconomic changes that led to cyclical economic trends caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the new economic circumstances, there has been a change in investment strategy of individual and institutional investors. The investment portfolios have increased in demand related to the purchase of gold, seen as a safe-haven asset, which has led to significant growth in aggregate demand on the international precious metals market. This paper deals with a dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) between the investment in gold as an asset and the movement of major world market indices. We used cryptocurrency (bitcoin) volatility as an independent variable in the model. We tested its correlation to the other major market indices and gold as a safe-haven asset. Related to a proposed model based on GARCH DCC and the Generalised Reduced Gradient (GDR) algorithm, we set up the Hedging Effectiveness (HE) index and an optimally weighted investment portfolio.

The trend of cryptocurrencies has stirred interest in the underlying technology that qualifies cryptocurrencies as a secure structure with speedy, timely and cheap transactions. The aforementioned technology, the blockchain, in brief terms is a decentralized ledger technology that attains an immutable characteristic through consensus and timestamp mechanics. The model also sets the stage for transparency in transactions, which renders the technology applicable to a myriad of scenarios that involve financial instruments. This research puts forth an argumentative approach to the applicability of blockchain technology and specifically studies the prospect of utilizing smart contracts. This approach probes the feasibility of introducing smart contracts to everyday financial transactions and settlements. An opposing perspective, by taking a devil's advocate standpoint, invokes the impractical or implausible aspects of implementing the blockchain in certain scenarios. Difficulty in auditing is a prominent example among those impracticalities. Research methodology is qualitative in nature and takes the form of exploratory research by examining existing literature on the topic.

This study examines the role of firm-specific, macroeconomic, banking and financial environment factors in determining whether they were able to access external finance during the global financial crisis. Heckman's selection approach is used to model the demand and supply of credit in the euro area during and after the financial crisis period. We conclude that since 2011, when the rejection probabilities for external credit applications peaked, the chances of obtaining credit have improved. However, young and small firms are still more likely to have their credit applications rejected. A decrease in government support such as guarantees increases the probability of rejec-tion, as does a reduction in firms' own capital and a worsening credit history. Among the bank-specific factors, an increase in banks' equity capitalization reduces the rejection probability, while an increase in the cost of borrowed funds and a decrease in the competition levels raise the rejection probability. The legal structure to deal with insolvency disputes and the development of the credit information market have a significant bearing on credit availability, as we find that an increase in the time to resolve insolvencies and a reduction in adverse selection problems by credit information sharing increase the credit rejection probabilities.

We surveyed representative sample of 1,004 adult Poles to check the extent to which they distinguish among the entities operating in the market for personal loans in Poland, how they perceive loans and lending entities, and what is their knowledge on lending/borrowing issues. Particularly, we were interested in getting the insight into the fragment of the market that is operated by personal loan companies, with special emphasis on the profile of the average (statistical) borrower. Our examination was motivated by the controversies surrounding the law amendment started in Poland in 2015 in order to regulate the fraction of the consumer credit market represented by personal loan companies. By utilizing logistic and multivariate linear regression models with variables obtained from our survey, we tested whether the legal reform was well-informed and well-addressed. We found that Polish households have serious problems with distinguishing various entities that provide loans to private individuals and that such problems manifest even greater problem of material shortcomings in Poles' debt literacy. We also evidenced low public trust to lending entities, particularly to loan companies. In the light of the findings the law amendment is well-grounded, however it should be supported by actions aimed at enhancing households' financial literacy.

The mutual fund industry has grown considerably in many countries since the 1990s. Its evolution has been explained primarily in terms of its economic and financial determinants. We draw on a dynamic set of measures for socio-cultural values to explain the differential development of mutual funds across the world. Using a sample of 38 countries for the period 1996-2009, we find a positive relation between the perception of happiness and the size of the mutual fund industry. Freedom of choice, a feature of countries that are dominated by individualistic behaviours and values, has a positive impact on the development of the industry. We also explain the positive relation between individuals' preference for private ownership and the development of mutual funds. Moreover, we prove that the industry is larger in developed countries with greater stock market liquidity, with low ratios of remittance inflows to GDP, and in which the industry is older.

The article aims at verifying the occurrence of performance persistence phenomenon among equity funds in the Czech Republic. The study uses the most popular measures of return mentioned in financial academic publications. Moreover, a relatively long time horizon, lasting from the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2010 was taken into consideration. The non-parametric methods utilized in the study were traditional contingency tables combined with a new approach discussed in the literature on the subject and related to the estimation of stochastic kernel. The obtained results have revealed the existence of weak and limited performance persistence within the total time horizon and in several sub-periods. The significance of the phenomenon depended on the applied measure of return. Furthermore, performance dependence in successive periods was related to the market situation. In general, the character of the occurrence of performance persistence may be connected with the size and the level of development of the Czech investment fund industry.

This essay describes the Czech pension system, provides a brief history of its modern transformation and mentions some of its drawbacks which should be the subject of a future policy debate. Particular attention is devoted to the third pillar and to the importance of a well-functioning capital market as one of the key conditions for the further development of funded pillars. The question of the timing of the enhancement of the funded pillars in a robustly growing economy with a limited capital market is opened. A lack of new private shares and bonds issues on the domestic capital market may be one of the arguments for postponement of the funded pillars' strengthening. A focus of policymakers who will set up the pension system reform strategy should be concentrated on comparing transitional and transaction costs of each reform alternative and on the building of an efficient regulatory and supervisory infrastructure. They should, instead of enforcing involuntary savings in pension funds, seek measures that will help to create a savings-friendly and growth-oriented economic environment.