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Religion and Corporate Disclosure Quality

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  • Oh, Frederick Dongchuhl
  • Shin, Donglim

Abstract

We examine whether religion influences the quality of corporate disclosure, focusing on the role of social trust. Using country-level data on religion and disclosure quality from 38 countries, we find that general religiosity is negatively related to both voluntary and mandatory corporate disclosure qualities. Moreover, by dividing religiosity into two groups according to the hierarchy of religions, we find that these negative relationships are more pronounced for non-hierarchical religions. Finally, we show that religious heterogeneity is positively associated with both disclosure qualities. Overall, our findings suggest a novel channel ‒ social trust ‒ through which national religiouscharacteris ticsa ffect corporate disclosure quality.

Suggested Citation

  • Oh, Frederick Dongchuhl & Shin, Donglim, 2020. "Religion and Corporate Disclosure Quality," Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, vol. 61(1), pages 20-37, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:hit:hitjec:v:61:y:2020:i:1:p:20-37
    DOI: 10.15057/hje.2020002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Rami Salem & Ernest Ezeani & Xi Song, 2023. "The relationship between religiosity and voluntary disclosure quality: a cross-country evidence from the banking sector," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 983-1023, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    corporate disclosure quality; voluntary disclosure; mandatory disclosure; religion; social trust;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm
    • M48 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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