Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting

Dynamic Connectedness between Economic Policy Uncertainty and Macroeconomic Performance in Nigeria: Evidence from a TVP-VAR Approach

Mutairu Oyewale Akintunde, Afolabi Ibikunle Joseph — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study examines the time-varying interdependence and shock spillovers between Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) and key macroeconomic performance indicators in Nigeria. Specifically, it investigates the transmission of shocks among EPU, GDP growth, exchange rate, inflation, interest rate and unemployment using a Time-Varying Parameter Vector Autoregression (TVP-VAR) connectedness framework based on the generalised forecast error variance decomposition. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and pairwise Granger-causality tests are also employed to provide complementary evidence on the strength and direction of the relationships. The results reveal substantial and time-varying interconnectedness among the six variables. GDP growth emerges as the strongest net transmitter of shocks, while EPU is the second-largest net transmitter; interest rate is the strongest net receiver. EPU shocks account for 27.15% of the forecast-error variance of unemployment, 22.83% of GDP growth and 21.02% of interest rate, compared with 13.68% for inflation and 5.18% for the exchange rate. The Granger-causality results indicate predominantly unidirectional predictive relationships: GDP growth, inflation and unemployment significantly predict EPU; unemployment predicts the exchange rate; GDP growth predicts the interest rate; and inflation predicts unemployment. No significant predictive effect of EPU on the other macroeconomic variables is found at the 5% level. Overall, the evidence indicates that Nigeria's macroeconomic system is highly interconnected and that the transmission roles of individual variables change over time. The findings underscore the need for coordinated macroeconomic policy, greater policy credibility and an integrated early-warning framework that monitors EPU alongside key macroeconomic indicators.

Challenges and Prospects of E-banking System for Persons with Visual Impairment in Oyo State, Nigeria

Rasheed Adekunle ABILU, Jamal Abioye ADIO — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study investigated the challenges and prospects of e-banking systems for persons with visual impairment in Oyo State, Nigeria. The study aimed to identify the types of e-banking services commonly used, assess challenges faced, evaluate platform accessibility and user-friendliness, examine coping strategies, and explore strategies for enhancing inclusivity. The literature was reviewed conceptually, theoretically, and empirically. The study was anchored in the Social Model of Disability, which emphasises that societal and technological barriers restrict participation, and the Technology Acceptance Model, which explains how perceived usefulness and ease of use affect technology adoption. Empirical studies highlighted gaps in e-banking accessibility globally and within Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was employed, with 185 visually impaired respondents selected through purposive and snowball sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered in accessible formats. Validity was ensured through expert review, and reliability was confirmed via a pilot study yielding a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.87. Data were analysed using frequencies, means, standard deviations, and percentages. Findings revealed that ATM, POS, mobile, and USSD banking services were most commonly used, while internet and voice-enabled services were less accessible. Major challenges included poor network connectivity, lack of audio guidance, difficulty using ATMs independently, and limited compatibility with assistive technologies. Users adopted coping strategies such as seeking assistance, preferring simpler platforms, and relying on bank staff. Respondents recommended strategies including accessible ATMs, assistive technology integration, training programmes, and supportive government policies to enhance financial inclusion. The study concluded that while e-banking offers potential for improving financial access for visually impaired persons, significant barriers remain. Inclusive system design, user training, and supportive policies are essential for enhancing accessibility and independence.

The Impact of Blockchain Technology on Enhancing the Reliability of Financial Data

Ali Ahmed Mohammed — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The study aimed to investigate the perceived application of Blockchain technology among accountants, auditors, bankers, and other related professionals in Iraq and the statistical association between this perceived application and financial-information reliability, based on respondents’ perceptions of financial-information reliability. The study was designed as a field study using a five-point Likert scale. The analysis was based on 150 valid responses. Blockchain application was measured using ten items, and financial information reliability was measured using another ten items. Cronbach's alpha coefficient, descriptive statistics, Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients, and simple linear regression were used. The results of the Blockchain scale showed acceptable internal consistency (α = 0.775), while the financial information reliability scale showed very high internal consistency (α = 0.989). The mean scores were 4.232 and 4.221, respectively. Pearson's correlation coefficient was positive but not statistically significant (r = 0.146, p = 0.076), and the regression model was also not statistically significant (R² = 0.021, F(1, 148) = 3.203, p = 0.076). The results indicate positive perceptions of Blockchain technology and the reliability of financial information. However, the current data do not provide sufficient evidence at the 5% significance level that perceived Blockchain application is statistically significantly associated with financial-information reliability.

The Impact of Digital Transformation on the Breadth of Outward Foreign Direct Investment in Manufacturing Enterprises: A Dual Perspective of Functional and Spatial Dimensions

Hai-Song Liu, Peng Zhang, Qing-bin Wu, Run-Sheng Wang, Yuan Huang — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Aims: Previous research predominantly measures OFDI breadth by host-country coverage and lacks a firm-level measure of the functional dimension. This study investigates the impact of digital transformation on the breadth of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in manufacturing enterprises, specifically examining the functional and spatial (geographical) dimensions.

Study Design: An empirical quantitative study using firm-level panel data was conducted.

Place and Duration of Study: The study covers Chinese A-share-listed manufacturing companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2014 to 2024.

Methodology: The degree of corporate digital transformation was measured based on word frequencies in annual report texts. A dual-dimensional index comprising spatial breadth and functional breadth was constructed, and a comprehensive breadth index was subsequently synthesised using the coupling coordination method. A two-way fixed effects model was employed to estimate the baseline relationship.

Results: First, digital transformation is positively and significantly associated with the expansion of OFDI breadth in manufacturing firms, manifested in increased overseas country coverage and the diversification of value chain activities. Second, an examination of specific functional entries reveals that this impact is unevenly distributed; it is primarily concentrated on functional segments such as overseas R&D and marketing, with no significant effect on overseas production. Third, at the firm-year-country level, enterprises with higher degrees of digitalisation exhibit a stronger inclination to enter host countries characterised by high income levels and well-developed digital environments. Fourth, the underlying mechanisms are improvements in total factor productivity (TFP) and enhancements in digital technological innovation capabilities associated with digital transformation.

Conclusion: By integrating functional breadth into the measurement of OFDI breadth and documenting digitalisation's selective promotion of overseas R&D and marketing functions, this study shows that digital transformation is associated not only with a wider spatial scope of manufacturing enterprises "going global," but also with changes in the functional composition and location orientation of their overseas layout. These findings provide empirical evidence for understanding the morphological evolution of Chinese manufacturing firms' internationalisation in the digital era.

The Influence of Leadership and Apparatus Competence on Public Service Effectiveness: The Mediating Role of Apparatus Job Satisfaction in Hatuquessi Suco, Liquiçá Municipality, Timor-Leste

Rosario dos Santos, Dhani Ichsanuddin Nur, Hesty Prima Rini — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Aims: This study aims to examine the influence of Suco Head leadership and apparatus competence on public service effectiveness, with apparatus job satisfaction as a mediating variable in Suco Hatuquessi, Município Liquiçá, Timor-Leste.

Study Design: This study employed a quantitative explanatory research design.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Suco Hatuquessi, Município Liquiçá, Timor-Leste, during 2026.

Methodology: Data were collected through questionnaires using a Likert scale from respondents involved in the provision and receipt of public services in Suco Hatuquessi. The data were analysed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4. The analysis included the evaluation of the measurement model and structural model, as well as direct and indirect effect testing.

Results: The findings indicate that Suco Head leadership does not have a significant direct influence on public service effectiveness (β = 0.016; P = .906). Apparatus competence also does not have a significant direct influence on public service effectiveness (β = 0.208; P = .157). However, Suco Head leadership has a positive and significant influence on apparatus job satisfaction (β = 0.252; P = .032), while apparatus competence has a positive and significant influence on apparatus job satisfaction (β = 0.411; P < .001). Apparatus job satisfaction has a positive and significant influence on public service effectiveness (β = 0.348; P = .006). The mediation analysis shows that apparatus job satisfaction does not significantly mediate the relationship between Suco Head leadership and public service effectiveness (β = 0.088; P = .096), but significantly mediates the relationship between apparatus competence and public service effectiveness (β = 0.143; P = .032).

Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that leadership and apparatus competence do not directly determine public service effectiveness in Suco Hatuquessi. However, both contribute to apparatus job satisfaction, which plays an important role in strengthening public service effectiveness. In particular, apparatus job satisfaction serves as a significant mediating mechanism in the relationship between apparatus competence and public service effectiveness.

Social Media Fatigue and Psychological Wellbeing: The Roles of Compulsive Use, Fear of Missing Out, Anxiety and Depression

S. Sathyanarayana, Bhoomi Gowda — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study examined the relationships among compulsive social media use, fear of missing out, social media fatigue, anxiety, and depression among college students in Bengaluru. Primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered across 15 colleges. Of 1,045 questionnaires distributed, 845 completed responses were received, and 616 valid responses were retained for the final analysis. The questionnaire used a five-point Likert scale and adapted established measures of compulsive social media use, fear of missing out, social media fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Data were analysed using SPSS and AMOS. Reliability and validity were assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability, average variance extracted, confirmatory factor analysis, and discriminant validity testing. The measurement model demonstrated an acceptable fit, with CMIN/DF = 2.604, SRMR = 0.047, RMSEA = 0.034, GFI = 0.901, NFI = 0.935, IFI = 0.974, CFI = 0.973 and TLI = 0.937. Structural equation modelling indicated that compulsive social media use and fear of missing out were positively associated with social media fatigue. Social media fatigue was positively associated with anxiety and depression. Bootstrapping results suggested that social media fatigue mediated the relationships between compulsive use and psychological outcomes and between fear of missing out and psychological outcomes. The findings suggest that fatigue may be an important psychological mechanism linking problematic social media engagement to poorer self-reported well-being among college students.

ISO Certification Breadth and Export Scale: Based on Panel Data of Chinese A-share Listed Firms

Run-sheng Wang — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Background: International management-system certification may function both as an externally auditable signal and as a basis for internal process standardisation. Existing export studies have focused mainly on a single standard or a limited setting, leaving less evidence on annual coverage across multiple certification categories.

Aims: This study examines whether ISO certification breadth is associated with export scale among Chinese listed firms and whether it is associated with digital technology application and employee communication.

Study Design: An unbalanced firm-year panel is estimated with additive industry and year fixed effects and firm-clustered standard errors.

Place and Duration of Study: Chinese A-share listed firms, 2010–2024.

Methodology: Certification breadth records annual coverage across ISO 9001 quality-management certification, ISO 14001 environmental-management certification, and occupational-health-and-safety (OHS) management-system certification. The outcome is the natural logarithm of positive export revenue. Robustness and selection checks use alternative clustering, sample exclusions, industry-by-year fixed effects, lagged certification breadth, an initially uncertified subsample, and multivalued IPTW.

Results: With eight controls, a one-unit increase in certification breadth is associated with a 0.0682 increase in log export revenue (p≈0.021). Certification breadth is also positively associated with digital technology application and employee communication, while the export-scale association varies with Belt-and-Road exposure and analyst coverage.

Conclusion: ISO certification breadth is robustly associated with export scale among existing exporters, but the observational design does not establish a strict causal or export-entry effect.

Recommendation: Firms and certification-supporting institutions should treat certification as a complement to substantive process integration, employee communication, and information transparency rather than as a stand-alone guarantee of export performance.

Price Discovery and Dynamic Linkage between Crude Spot and Futures Market (Brent): A VECM Approach

S. Sathyanarayana, B. V. Pushpa — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study examines the dynamic relationship between Brent crude oil spot and futures prices using a time-series econometric framework. Daily spot and futures price data from 31 March 2022 to 31 March 2026 are analysed to assess long-run equilibrium, short-run adjustment, information transmission, and shock responses. The Augmented Dickey-Fuller test is used to determine the order of integration. Both series are non-stationary in levels and stationary after first differencing, indicating integration of order one. Johansen cointegration analysis identifies one cointegrating relationship, supporting a stable long-run association between Brent spot and futures prices. The Vector Error Correction Model indicates that deviations from long-run equilibrium are corrected through adjustment in the spot market. Short-run causality testing using the VAR Granger causality/block exogeneity Wald procedure shows bidirectional predictive causality between changes in spot and futures prices. Impulse response analysis indicates that shocks originating in either market are transmitted to the other but diminish over subsequent periods. Variance decomposition shows that spot-price variation is explained predominantly by its own innovations, whereas futures-price variation reflects substantial contributions from both spot- and futures-market shocks. Residual diagnostics indicate no serious serial-correlation or ARCH problem, although the residuals are not normally distributed. Overall, the findings demonstrate close short- and long-run interaction between Brent spot and futures markets and indicate that information transmission operates in both directions.

Artificial Intelligence as a Tool for Reducing Errors in Financial Budget Preparation

Fadhel Allah Ahmed Abed — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Financial budget preparation remains vulnerable to errors arising from data extraction and mapping, spreadsheet manipulation, forecast assumptions, version control, judgemental adjustment and weak reconciliation. Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly proposed as a means of reducing these errors, yet the evidence base is fragmented across management accounting, accounting information systems, forecasting, robotic process automation, machine learning, anomaly detection and human-AI decision research. This critical narrative review evaluates how far current evidence supports AI-enabled error reduction in organisational budgeting and where new sources of error emerge. Literature published principally from 2015 to 16 June 2026 was identified through multidisciplinary and business-focused scholarly indexes, supplemented by citation searching and verification against authoritative bibliographic records. The synthesis distinguishes deterministic automation from predictive machine learning, anomaly detection and generative AI because these technologies address different failure modes and carry different assurance requirements. Evidence is strongest for reducing repetitive transfer and processing errors, improving selected accounting estimates and forecasts, and widening exception screening. Direct causal evidence that AI improves end-to-end corporate budget accuracy remains limited, while field evidence increasingly shows that benefits depend on data quality, process standardisation, confidence-aware human intervention and effective internal control. Important countervailing risks include data leakage, model drift, false precision, brittle automation, automation bias and unreliable numerical reasoning by large language models. The review therefore argues that AI should be treated as a layered control and decision-support architecture rather than an autonomous budget preparer. The most defensible design combines governed source data, deterministic calculations, validated forecasting models, exception detection, logged human overrides and continuous performance monitoring. Future research should test these arrangements in real budgeting cycles using common error taxonomies and outcome measures that capture accuracy, rework, reconciliation failures, uncertainty and control effectiveness.