Corporate governance, financial performance, and economic policy uncertainty. Evidence from emerging Asian economies

This study examines the impact of corporate governance and economic policy uncertainty on financial performance in non-financial firms in three emerging Asian economies: Pakistan, China, and Malaysia. The study analyzed 400 non-financial firms listed on these countries’ stock markets for ten years (2012–2021). Data on corporate governance, financial performance, and CSR scores were obtained from DataStream. The study used regression analysis and the generalized method of moments (GMM) for its robustness analysis. Our findings show that all attributes of corporate governance practices have a significant positive impact on return on assets, except for the existence of an audit board committee for all selected economies. Moreover, corporate governance practices have a significant positive relationship with return on equity. However, in the case of earnings per share (EPS), all attributes have a significant positive relationship except board size with earnings per share. Economic policy uncertainty significantly moderates corporate governance practices and financial performance of organizations belonging to Asian economies. This study advocated the implications for the government and policymakers to improve corporate governance practices, especially during periods of high economic uncertainty.