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The purpose of this study is to examine the interaction between banks’ lending to public and private sectors and house prices using data from the Iranian banking system including, commercial government-owned banks (CGBs), specialized government-owned banks and private banks.

The authors use quarterly data from the second quarter of 2004 to the first quarter of 2016 and apply structural vector autoregression models.

The results show that: a positive shock to the loan supply to the private sector triggers a positive response from house prices; a positive shock to the loan supply to the public sector does not trigger a positive response from house prices; house price appreciations contribute significantly to banks’ lending to the public sector but not lending to the private sector; each loan supply by three different types of banks influences house prices positively; and CGBs’ lending to the private sector does not respond to house price shocks.

Although the relationship between banks’ lending and house prices is well-established in the literature, existing studies have not yet examined whether bank ownership matters for the link between banks’ lending and house prices.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact that foreign investment in existing houses and new housing development has on residential house prices and the growth of the housing construction sector.

The analysis is based on a panel cointegration method, estimated using annual data for all Australian states and territories spanning the period of 1990-2013.

The results indicate that increases in foreign investment in existing houses do not significantly lead to increases in house prices. On the other hand, a 10 per cent increase in foreign investment for housing development decreases house prices by 1.95 per cent. We also find that foreign real estate investments have a positive impact on housing construction activities in the long run.

Existing studies used aggregate foreign real estate investment in their analyses. As foreign investment in existing houses and foreign investment for housing development have different impacts on the demand and supply sides of housing market, it is crucial that the analysis of the effects of foreign investment in residential properties on real estate market is conducted for each type differently.

The aim of this study is to investigate the factors influencing the financial performance of the real estate brokerage (REB) industry in Iran.

The authors use two surveys concerning REB firms from provinces of Iran which were collected by the Statistical Centre of Iran in 2003 and 2011. The authors apply the pooled ordinary least squares and panel fixed-effects regressions to estimate the relationships between the explanatory variables and performance of REB industry.

The results indicate that in provinces where REB firms invest more in residential properties, vehicles, computers and business software, REB firms are more active in residential and non-residential property sales, and rent transactions have higher levels of financial performance. In addition, the results show that in provinces where REB firms invest more in non-residential properties and office furniture, REB industry has lower levels of financial performance. The authors also find that Iranian REB industry has significantly benefited from international economic and financial sanctions.

In terms of managerial implications, the authors findings potentially serve as guidance for Iranian REB firms to allocate resources and adjust their strategy to enhance their financial performance.

Previous studies have typically been conducted in countries where REB firms mainly operate as intermediaries in transactions between property buyers and sellers, whereas in Iran, REB firms not only provide services to their clients but also are very active speculators in the property market. Furthermore, while there have been many studies that have investigated the various determinants of performance and efficiency of REB industry in developed economies, there is scant literature around this topic for Middle Eastern countries.

This study examines the impact of sanction intensity on labor force participation rate in 30 sanctioned countries from 1990 to 2019.

We apply different dynamic threshold panel models using the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation.

Our findings reveal a non-linear relationship between sanction intensity and labor force participation rate. Milder sanctions are associated with higher labor force participation rate, while intense sanctions lead to reduced participation, largely due to the damaging effects of sanctions on domestic economies.

While several studies have examined the impact of sanctions on various economic, social and political factors, only a few have specifically investigated the role of sanctions on labor force participation across countries and over time.

This research contributes to the existing literature on the connection between trust and investment activities by exploring the effect of trust in the retirement system on dwelling investments.

This study utilizes data including 28 OECD countries from 2009 to 2020, and employs panel fixed effects and GMM estimators.

The analysis reveals a negative relationship between trust in the retirement system and investment in dwellings. Notably, this is found to be more evident in countries that promote neo-liberalized welfare systems.

The implications of our results are particularly relevant for policymakers and international construction firms.

The primary contribution of this paper extends the “trust–pension investment behavior” nexus. We explore whether individuals with diminished trust in the retirement system consider investing in the property market as an alternative means to safeguard their financial well-being during retirement.

The purpose of this study is to explain the potential long-term impacts of working from home on housing wealth inequality in large cities of advanced economies.

This study is descriptive research and It supports the arguments by providing some emerging evidence from property markets in developed countries.

The authors argue that due to the unique nature of the COVID-19 crisis, it will have a different and long-term impact on housing wealth inequality. Changes in the working arrangements of many professionals will change the housing demand dynamic across different suburbs and may lead to a reduction of the housing wealth gap in the long term. In this paper, the authors propose five mechanisms that may impact housing wealth inequality.

Long-term data is required to test the proposed conceptual model in this study and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on housing wealth across and within suburbs of large cities.

Policymakers and regulators may benefit from the discussions and suggestions provided in this study and consider the proposed avenues on how new changes in the working environment (remote working) may result in a reduction of housing wealth inequality.

This study presents a new perspective about the potential long-term impacts of working from home that is posed by the COVID-19 pandemic on housing wealth inequality in large cities of developed economies.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the news-based economic policy uncertainty (EPU), research and development (R&D) expenditures per capita and innovation outputs.

Data from 1996 to 2015 for 19 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States) are used. The authors apply country and year fixed-effects models for the estimations.

The study findings show that higher levels of EPU are positively associated with higher R&D expenditures per capita as well as innovation outputs (patent applications, patent grants and trademark applications).

This study deepens our understanding on the policy uncertainty–economic activities nexus and expands the literature on uncertainty, which is still at an initial phase of development, leading to generate a variety of open research questions for further investigation and study (Bloom, 2014).

There has not been an empirical investigation on the links between EPU and R&D expenditures and innovation outputs across several countries. The authors address this gap in the literature.

This study evaluates the evolution from traditional to nontraditional financial intermediation (NTFI) in Chinese commercial banks from 2006 to 2021, analysing its impact on bank performance and risk.

Accounting measures are used to construct granular activity data, and factor analysis is employed to develop a financial intermediation evolution (FIE) index. The fully modified OLS (FMOLs) estimator is used for nonstationary data analysis, and difference-in-differences (DID) analysis is used for robustness check.

Chinese banks exhibit unique evolution in financial intermediation compared to developed economies, with greater inter-bank variations over time than intra-bank differences. From 2006 to 2017, three paths were identified: Investment, Fee and Repo models, with a fourth path (the Investment2 model) emerging post-2017. Only the Repo model enhances bank returns (ROA & ROE), while shifts towards NTFI increase liquidity and leverage risks across all models. The evolution of bank business models and their consequent implications on performance and risks are influenced by regulatory objectives and banks’ endeavours in regulatory arbitrage.

Major stakeholders in the banking sector can gain a better understanding of financial intermediation and associated market behaviour, performance and risks, with significant implications for banking regulations and crisis management.

This study provides the first comprehensive overview of the evolution of Chinese commercial banks’ financial intermediation activities over an extended period, uncovering the unique characteristics distinct from the developed economies.

Given the coincidental and sustained rise in house prices and foreign capital flows in Kenya, this study aims to understand whether a long-run relationship exists between real diaspora remittances and real house prices.

This study uses data from 2004-Q1 to 2020-Q4 and applies an autoregressive distributed lag model for estimation.

The results indicate that a positive and significant relationship exists between real remittances and real house prices in Kenya in the long run.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no study exploring the relationship between real remittance inflows and house prices in Kenya, after controlling for other key macroeconomic determinants of house prices. This study addresses this research gap.

The housing policies targeting low-income households have not been effective to address the housing needs of target groups in Iran over the past four decades. According to the World Bank’s data on population living in slums (% of urban population) in Iran in 2018 was 25% which is slightly higher than the rate 23% of upper-middle-income countries. This study aims to understand what major revisions are required in the process of housing policymaking to have more effective policies.

The authors conduct one-to-one interviews with 41 housing experts and apply discourse analysis and interpretive–structural modeling to achieve the goals.

The panel of experts argue that the success of housing policies in Iran depends on the following: all academic disciplines should be included in the process of housing policymaking process; land policymaking should be modified; housing policy is a regional issue, and it should be designed and implemented differently in each province; main modifications are required in the tax and tenancy system; and new policies are required to push vacant houses into the rental market.

This study is a prescriptive study based on a general trend (four decades).