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The current variety of payment methods offers faster settlements and reasonable security, however payment innovations may be met with inertia or resistance.  This study addresses the characteristics which may be associated with the adoption of novel payment systems and salient user trends in this respect.  We investigate whether the reliance on traditional payment methods across European countries is related to socio-economic aspects, and also delve into the payment habits at the individual level.  Results from an econometric model suggest that financial market development and education-related factors are negatively related to the use of traditional payment instruments.  When considering consumer payment habits and awareness about novel facilities, particular differences across generations emerged.  Cash and debit cards are most widely used and it seems that such choices are related to perceived convenience rather than due to aversion towards novel systems.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to obtain new empirical evidence about the connections between equity trading activity and five possible liquidity determinants: market capitalisation, dividend yield, earnings yield, company growth and the distinction between recently listed firms as opposed to more established ones. Design/methodology/approach - The authors use a sample of 172 stocks from four European markets and estimate models using the entire sample data and different sub-samples to check the relative importance of the above determinants. The authors also conduct a factor analysis to re-classify the variables into a more succinct framework. Findings - The evidence suggests that market capitalisation is the most important trading activity determinant, and the number of years listed ranks thereafter. Research limitations/implications - The positive relation between trading activity and market capitalisation is in line with prior literature, while the findings relating to the other determinants offer further empirical evidence which is a worthy addition in view of the contradictory results in prior research. - Practical implications This study is of relevance to practitioners who would like to understand the cross-sectional variation in stock liquidity at a more detailed level. Originality/value - The originality of the paper rests on two important grounds: the authors focus on trading turnover rather than on other liquidity proxies, since the former is accepted as an important determinant of the liquidity-generation process, and the authors adopt a rigorous approach towards checking the robustness of the results by considering various sub-sample configurations.

Purpose This paper examines whether there are differences in the nature of the price discovery process across established versus emerging stock markets using a twenty-country sample. Design/methodology/approach The authors analyse security returns for traces of predictability or non-randomness using variance ratio tests, Granger-Causality models and runs tests. Findings The findings pinpoint at predictabilities which seem inconsistent with market efficiency, and they suggest that the inherent cause of predictability differs across groups. Research limitations/implications The authors present empirical evidence which may be used to attain a deeper understanding of the links between predictability and market efficiency, in view of the conflicting evidence in prior literature. Practical implications Whilst the pricing process in emerging markets may be hindered by delayed adjustments, in case of established markets it seems that there is a higher tendency for price reversals which could be due to prior over-reactions. Originality/value This study presents evidence of substantial differences in predictability across developed and emerging markets which was gleaned through the rigorous application of different empirical tests.

Purpose - The main objective of this study is to obtain new empirical evidence on non-synchronous trading effects through modelling the predictability of market indices. Design/methodology/approach - The authors test for lead-lag effects between the Indian Nifty and Nifty Junior indices using Pesaran-Timmermann tests and Granger-Causality. Then, a simple test on overnight returns is proposed to infer whether the observed predictability is mainly attributable to non-synchronous trading or some form of inefficiency. Findings - The evidence suggests that non-synchronous trading is a better explanation for the observed predictability in the Indian Stock Market. Research limitations/implications - The indication that non-synchronous trading effects become more pronounced in high-frequency data suggests that prior studies using daily data may underestimate the impacts of non-synchronicity. Originality/value - The originality of the paper rests on various important contributions: overnight returns is looked at to infer whether predictability is more attributable to non-synchronous trading or to some form of inefficiency; the impacts of non-synchronicity are investigated in terms of lead-lag effects rather than serial correlation; and high-frequency data is used which gauges the impacts of non-synchronicity during less active parts of the trading day.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the share price volatility of Mediterranean banks and their dividend policies, with particular emphasis on the variation of results across sub-samples and the outcomes when omitting outlier observations. Design/methodology/approach The authors use dividend yield and dividend payout as proxies of dividend policy, and regress these ratios together with other control variables to model volatility. The robustness of the results is assessed by re-using a data set which omits the outliers relating to the aftermath of the 2007 financial crisis and by forming sub-samples using cluster analysis. Findings The results show that the elimination of outliers and the setting up of sub-samples lead to different inferences about the underlying relationship between dividend policy and volatility. In addition traditional indicators of statistical significance may give the impression of a robust relationship, when this may not be the case. Practical implications The paper offers insights to stock traders and corporate managers in terms of better understanding the effect of dividend policies on share price volatility and its related risks and opportunities. Originality/value The study presents noteworthy empirical evidence in terms of its rigorous approach towards checking the robustness of results.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate whether call auctions which batch orders for simultaneous execution, may restrain stock market volatility. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use high-frequency data to investigate volatility changes following the suspension of opening and closing call auctions on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India in 1999. The authors evaluate this issue by considering both modelled and realised volatility. Using a GARCH approach the authors model intra-day volatility for the trading days preceding and succeeding the auction suspension. The authors also scrutinise return distributions to look for volatility changes during different parts of the day. Findings – When interpreted collectively, the empirical results suggest that the auction suspension was followed by reduced volatility particularly in the middle of the trading day and at the closing. Practical implications – Given that auctions are often incorporated in trading systems with the aim of curtailing volatility, the main conclusion, that the auction suspension was followed by lower volatility, has important practical inferences. Auctions cannot be automatically relied on to reduce volatility. The intricacies of the auction protocol and their interaction with ancillary market microstructure features may impact on auction efficacy. Originality/value – The paper adopts a novel approach towards assessing the effectiveness of auctions by considering an unusual occurrence of an auction suspension. The empirical setting enables a clear comparison of the respective regimes since these periods do not materially differ in other subsidiary aspects. This is a noteworthy factor, since the empirical contexts considered in prior studies, often feature several simultaneous changes.

This paper focuses on customers' attitudes towards internet banking (IB), with particular reference to generational differences vis-à-vis such service. These factors are important for banks to project how demand is likely to develop over time. After modelling the IB adoption decision across a sample of countries, we conduct a questionnaire amongst bank customers who include users and non-users of IB and set up focus groups, each comprising participants from a specific age bracket. Whilst generational factors do not emerge as significant in the regression models, the questionnaires and focus groups suggest that generations differ in their attitudes towards IT-delivery systems and choice of preferred delivery channels. In this way banks have to constantly ensure that their online product mix is appropriate to cater for such distinct needs, especially in view of the increasing competition from non-bank entities in areas such as payments services.

This paper looks at productivity growth rates in Malta and Cyprus and proposes policies as to how these island states might augment their productivity and competitiveness. We identify three possible growth strategies for the two islands: an InnovationOriented Economy, a Controlled InputCost Economy and an Opportunistic Growth Model. In order to infer which strategy might be best suited to the two states, we conduct a comparative analysis amongst different EU countries in terms of productivity yardsticks. We also evaluate trends in gross value added (GVA), employment levels, and unit labour costs (ULCs) in the most important economic sectors of Malta and Cyprus. The research suggests that a Controlled Input Cost model is best suited to most Maltese and Cypriot economic sectors. Possible policies aimed at fostering future growth and competitiveness in the island states are proposed.

This paper looks at productivity growth rates in Malta and Cyprus and proposes policies as to how these island states might augment their productivity and competitiveness. We identify three possible growth strategies for the two islands: an InnovationOriented Economy, a Controlled InputCost Economy and an Opportunistic Growth Model. In order to infer which strategy might be best suited to the two states, we conduct a comparative analysis amongst different EU countries in terms of productivity yardsticks. We also evaluate trends in gross value added (GVA), employment levels, and unit labour costs (ULCs) in the most important economic sectors of Malta and Cyprus. The research suggests that a Controlled Input Cost model is best suited to most Maltese and Cypriot economic sectors. Possible policies aimed at fostering future growth and competitiveness in the island states are proposed.

This study evaluates the performance of a selection of Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), and Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities Funds (UCITS) which followed a global geographic focus strategy during the period 2010-2016. These two fund structures are governed by different regulatory frameworks, which have evolved and re-shaped over the years. Various yardsticks are employed to evaluate the risk-adjusted performance of the sampled funds, and Monte-Carlo simulations are used to gauge the possible out-of-sample returns. Most of the sampled funds underperformed the benchmark index in terms of their Sharpe and Treynor ratios. Whilst UCITS registered a better overall performance, AIFs outperformed UCITS towards the end of the sample period. This suggests that investors should not assume that one fund structure is inherently superior to the other, since the relative performance may vary over time.