Firm Informativeness, Information Environment, and Accounting Quality in Emerging Countries

Orleans Silva Martins and Lucas Ayres Barreira de Campos Barros ()
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Orleans Silva Martins: Department of Finance and Accountancy, Federal University of Paraíba, PPGCC/CCSA, UFPB, University City, João Pessoa-PB 58051-900, Brazil
Lucas Ayres Barreira de Campos Barros: Department of Accountancy and Actuarial Science, University of São Paulo, FEA/USP, Avenue Professor Luciano Gualberto, 908, Butantã, São Paulo-SP 05508-010, Brazil

The International Journal of Accounting (TIJA), 2021, vol. 56, issue 01, 1-50

Abstract: Using standard proxies for accounting quality, with a focus on earnings persistence and earnings management, we examine how the association between firm-level informativeness and accounting quality varies according to the quality of the country-level information environment. Our sample comprises over 15,000 publicly traded firms from 21 countries included in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Emerging Markets Index, between the years 2000 and 2016. Using novel proxies that aggregate several firm- or country-level characteristics associated with lower information asymmetry or higher-quality information environment, we find that in emerging markets with weaker information environments, the positive association between firm-level informativeness and accounting quality is more pronounced, suggesting that greater firm-level informativeness may partially compensate for weaker country-level institutions. Consistent with the substitution effect, we also document that the positive association between firm-level informativeness and stock market performance is greater in emerging countries with weaker information environments.

Keywords: Earnings quality; informativeness index; legal protection; information environment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1142/S1094406021500049

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