IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecofin/v68y2023ics1062940823000748.html

Geopolitical risk and firm value: Evidence from emerging markets

Author

Listed:
  • Pringpong, Sasin
  • Maneenop, Sakkakom
  • Jaroenjitrkam, Anutchanat

Abstract

We examine the impact of geopolitical risk (GPR) on firm value, focusing on non-financial firms from 14 emerging market countries. The evidence shows that heightening GPR is associated with reducing firm value. The country-specific idiosyncratic GPR, representing local geopolitical shocks, is the primary driver of the negative impact on firm value, whereas the global systematic GPR is irrelevant. The latter risk, however, has a high effect on firm value during the high GPR period. The idiosyncratic GPR plays a more significant role after the 9/11 terrorist attack and during high geopolitical uncertainty. We also find that firms reduce internal risk by holding more cash and debt during high external uncertainty, decreasing firm value.

Suggested Citation

  • Pringpong, Sasin & Maneenop, Sakkakom & Jaroenjitrkam, Anutchanat, 2023. "Geopolitical risk and firm value: Evidence from emerging markets," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecofin:v:68:y:2023:i:c:s1062940823000748
    DOI: 10.1016/j.najef.2023.101951
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1062940823000748
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.najef.2023.101951?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    2. Christou, Christina & Cunado, Juncal & Gupta, Rangan & Hassapis, Christis, 2017. "Economic policy uncertainty and stock market returns in PacificRim countries: Evidence based on a Bayesian panel VAR model," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 92-102.
    3. Bilson, Christopher M. & Brailsford, Timothy J. & Hooper, Vincent C., 2002. "The explanatory power of political risk in emerging markets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 1-27.
    4. Rangan Gupta & Giray Gozgor & Huseyin Kaya & Ender Demir, 2019. "Effects of geopolitical risks on trade flows: evidence from the gravity model," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 9(4), pages 515-530, December.
    5. Cheng, Chak Hung Jack & Chiu, Ching-Wai (Jeremy), 2018. "How important are global geopolitical risks to emerging countries?," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 305-325.
    6. Tarek A Hassan & Stephan Hollander & Laurence van Lent & Ahmed Tahoun, 2019. "Firm-Level Political Risk: Measurement and Effects," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(4), pages 2135-2202.
    7. Geert Bekaert & Xiaozheng Wang, 2010. "Inflation risk and the inflation risk premium [Do macro variables, asset markets or surveys forecast inflation better?]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 25(64), pages 755-806.
    8. Kotcharin, Suntichai & Maneenop, Sakkakom, 2020. "Geopolitical risk and corporate cash holdings in the shipping industry," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    9. Quang Nguyen & Trang Kim & Marina Papanastassiou, 2018. "Policy uncertainty, derivatives use, and firm-level FDI," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(1), pages 96-126, January.
    10. King, Michael R. & Santor, Eric, 2008. "Family values: Ownership structure, performance and capital structure of Canadian firms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(11), pages 2423-2432, November.
    11. Jonathan Brogaard & Lili Dai & Phong T H Ngo & Bohui Zhang, 2020. "Global Political Uncertainty and Asset Prices," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(4), pages 1737-1780.
    12. Berkman, Henk & Jacobsen, Ben & Lee, John B., 2011. "Time-varying rare disaster risk and stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(2), pages 313-332, August.
    13. Nicholas Bloom, 2009. "The Impact of Uncertainty Shocks," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(3), pages 623-685, May.
    14. Jonathan Brogaard & Andrew Detzel, 2015. "The Asset-Pricing Implications of Government Economic Policy Uncertainty," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(1), pages 3-18, January.
    15. Burgstahler, David & Dichev, Ilia, 1997. "Earnings management to avoid earnings decreases and losses," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 99-126, December.
    16. Campello, Murillo, 2006. "Debt financing: Does it boost or hurt firm performance in product markets?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 135-172, October.
    17. Chang, Tsangyao & Chen, Wen-Yi & Gupta, Rangan & Nguyen, Duc Khuong, 2015. "Are stock prices related to the political uncertainty index in OECD countries? Evidence from the bootstrap panel causality test," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 288-300.
    18. Waisman, Maya & Ye, Pengfei & Zhu, Yun, 2015. "The effect of political uncertainty on the cost of corporate debt," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 106-117.
    19. Dimic, Nebojsa & Orlov, Vitaly & Piljak, Vanja, 2015. "The political risk factor in emerging, frontier, and developed stock markets," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 15(C), pages 239-245.
    20. Jens, Candace E., 2017. "Political uncertainty and investment: Causal evidence from U.S. gubernatorial elections," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 563-579.
    21. Zaremba, Adam & Cakici, Nusret & Demir, Ender & Long, Huaigang, 2022. "When bad news is good news: Geopolitical risk and the cross-section of emerging market stock returns," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    22. Allayannis, George & Ofek, Eli, 2001. "Exchange rate exposure, hedging, and the use of foreign currency derivatives," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 273-296, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sohag, Kazi & Karass, Vsevolod & Alam, Khorshed, 2025. "European industrial production in the face of energy dynamics and geopolitical shocks," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 316(C).
    2. Jin, Shan & Hoang, Khanh & Gan, Christopher & Nguyen, Quang Thi Thieu & Anh, Dao Le Trang, 2025. "Russo-Ukrainian geopolitical tensions: An empirical analysis of corporate investment in Europe," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Hartwell, Christopher A. & Zadorozhna, Olha, 2024. "The connections that bind: Political connectivity in the face of geopolitical disruption," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(3).
    4. Rahat, Birjees & Nguyen, Pascal, 2024. "The impact of ESG profile on Firm's valuation in emerging markets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PA).
    5. Yang, Chien-Wen & Hsieh, Yi-Shan & Hung, Chih-Yuan, 2024. "Economic uncertainty and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from Taiwan," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    6. Faroque Ahmed & Kazi Sohag, 2025. "Spillover effects of separated oil price shocks on regional financial stress amidst Russia–Ukraine and global geopolitical tensions: a novel GVAR approach," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 15(3), pages 593-639, September.
    7. Wanidwaranan, Phasin & Wongkantarakorn, Jutamas & Padungsaksawasdi, Chaiyuth, 2025. "Geopolitical risk, herd behavior, and cryptocurrency market," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    8. Mezouri Ettayib & Medjaoui-Hocine Trari & Yassine Mimouni, 2025. "The asymmetric impact of economic policy uncertainty, trade and geopolitical risk on firm-level investment in BRICS countries fresh insights from multiple thresholds NARDL approach," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 5(10), pages 1-34, October.
    9. Liu, Jiahao & Zhu, Bo & Hu, Xin, 2024. "Systemic risk spillovers among global energy firms: Does geopolitical risk matter?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    10. Tse, Ying Kei & Dong, Kyra & Sun, Ruiqing & Mason, Robert, 2024. "Recovering from geopolitical risk: An event study of Huawei's semiconductor supply chain," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    11. Giang Thi Huong Vuong & Manh Huu Nguyen & Khanh Hoang, 2024. "Oil price uncertainty, oil pricing reform, and corporate profitability: The case of China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(2), pages 1-25, February.
    12. Gao, Daquan & Li, Songsong & Tian, Zhihong, 2025. "Geopolitical risk, energy market volatility, and corporate energy dependence: The role of green Total factor productivity and decentralized top management team network," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    13. Siddhartha Barman & Jitendra Mahakud, 2025. "Assessing the Impact of Policy Uncertainty, Geopolitical Risk, and Sustainable Disclosure on Corporate Performance," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 32(1), pages 167-203, March.
    14. Shovon Sengupta & Tanujit Chakraborty & Sunny Kumar Singh, 2023. "Forecasting CPI inflation under economic policy and geopolitical uncertainties," Papers 2401.00249, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2024.
    15. Sengupta, Shovon & Chakraborty, Tanujit & Singh, Sunny Kumar, 2025. "Forecasting CPI inflation under economic policy and geopolitical uncertainties," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 953-981.
    16. Dong, Feng & Zhao, Xu & Mangla, Sachin Kumar & Song, Malin, 2025. "Enhanced supply chain resilience under geopolitical risks: The role of artificial intelligence," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    17. Carney, Richard W. & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Wang, He (Helen), 2024. "Geopolitical risk and the cost of capital in emerging economies," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    18. Snarska, Małgorzata & Frydrych, Sylwia & Łukowski, Michał & Czech, Maria & Perez, Katarzyna, 2025. "Semiconductor game of thrones: A comprehensive study of geopolitical and equity market uncertainty transmission," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Theodora Bermpei & Antonios Nikolaos Kalyvas & Lorenzo Neri & Antonella Russo, 2022. "Does economic policy uncertainty matter for financial reporting quality? Evidence from the United States," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 795-845, February.
    2. Peng, Daoju & Colak, Gonul & Shen, Jianfu, 2023. "Lean against the wind: The effect of policy uncertainty on a firm's corporate social responsibility strategy," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    3. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Mansi, Sattar & Wang, He (Helen), 2023. "Economic policy uncertainty, institutional environments, and corporate cash holdings," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    4. Carney, Richard W. & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Wang, He (Helen), 2024. "Geopolitical risk and the cost of capital in emerging economies," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    5. Lai, Fujun & Xiong, Deping & Zhu, Sha & Li, Yunzhong & Tan, Yanzhi, 2023. "Will geopolitical risks only inhibit corporate investment? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    6. Snarska, Małgorzata & Frydrych, Sylwia & Łukowski, Michał & Czech, Maria & Perez, Katarzyna, 2025. "Semiconductor game of thrones: A comprehensive study of geopolitical and equity market uncertainty transmission," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    7. Lukas Timbate & Dongil Kim & Dereje Asrat & Hwang Sungjun, 2024. "Firm-level political uncertainty, corporate lobbying and risk-taking," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    8. Tran, Dung Viet & Hassan, M. Kabir & AlTalafha, Sarah H. & Turunen-Red, Arja, 2021. "Policy uncertainty, the use of derivatives: Evidence from U.S. bank holdingcompanies (BHCs)," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    9. Shams, Syed & Gunaskerage, Abeyratna & Velayutham, Eswaran, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and acquisition performance: Australian evidence," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 286-308.
    10. Tran, Quoc Trung, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty and cost of debt financing: International evidence," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    11. Rahman, Dewan & Haque, Anamul & Kabir, Muhammad & Bin Hasan, Shehub, 2024. "Firm-level political risk and equity issuance," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    12. Wadhwa, Kavita & Goodell, John W., 2024. "Political uncertainty and stock price crash risk: Insights from state-elections in an emerging market," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PB).
    13. Al-Thaqeb, Saud Asaad & Algharabali, Barrak Ghanim, 2019. "Economic policy uncertainty: A literature review," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    14. Ceballos, Luis & Piljak, Vanja & Swinkels, Laurens, 2024. "Is firm-level political risk priced in the corporate bond market?," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    15. Kim, Jeong-Bon & Tseng, Kevin & Wang, Jundong (Jeff) & Xi, Yaoyi, 2024. "Policy uncertainty, bad news disclosure, and stock price crash risk," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    16. Chan, Kam Fong & Smales, Lee A., 2025. "U.S. Presidential news coverage: Risk, uncertainty and stocks," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    17. Chan, Yue-Cheong & Saffar, Walid & Wei, K.C. John, 2021. "How economic policy uncertainty affects the cost of raising equity capital: Evidence from seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    18. Shehub Bin Hasan & Md Samsul Alam & Sudharshan Reddy Paramati & Md Shahidul Islam, 2022. "Does firm-level political risk affect cash holdings?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 311-337, July.
    19. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Xiao, Shunyi, 2021. "Policy-related risk and corporate financing behavior: Evidence from China’s listed companies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 539-547.
    20. Hong, Yun & Zhang, Rushan & Zhang, Feipeng, 2024. "Time-varying causality impact of economic policy uncertainty on stock market returns: Global evidence from developed and emerging countries," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • F51 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Conflicts; Negotiations; Sanctions
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecofin:v:68:y:2023:i:c:s1062940823000748. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620163 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.