This study examines the relationships between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance (CFP) for the period 2004–2010 in Korea. This study performs difference generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation on a dynamic panel model. The results for the entire industry show CSR has a positive effect on CFP in Korea, and the stakeholder theory seems valid. Industry analysis shows different results by each industry’s characteristics. The results also reveal the effect of CSR on CFP did not increase after the global financial crisis. The results suggest companies should improve CFP by taking a strategic approach to CSR.

This study aims to develop a comprehensive Government Openness Index (GOI) in developing countries, explore the relationship of the variables in the GOI, and examine the relationship of the GOI and income levels. Based on a linear scaling method, panel data from 101 countries was used to develop a GOI using four variables (e.g. accountability (ACC), information and communication technology (ICT), citizen participation and freedom (CPF), and transparency (TRA)). The results show that ICT performs highest in global means, coefficients of variation, and the contribution rate and contribution level to the change of GOI but CPT performs lowest in the contribution rate. The relationship between GOI and income is significantly positive. The results of this study suggest that developing countries should improve their capacity to utilize and sustain ICT and in particular human capacity for directing ICT toward improving citizen participation and freedom.

Korea is one of the fastest-growing CO₂-emitting countries but has recently experienced a dramatic slowdown in emissions. The objective of the study is to examine the driving factors of long-term increases (1990–2015) and their slowdown (2012–2015) in emissions of Korea. This study uses an extended index decomposition analysis model that better fits Korea’s emission trends of the last 25 years by encompassing 19 energy end-use sectors (18 economic sectors and a household sector) and three energy types. The results show that emission increases in the long term (1990–2015) come from economic growth and population growth. However, improvements in energy intensity, carbon intensity, and economic structure offset large portions of CO₂ emissions. The recent slowdown (2012–2015) mainly resulted from a decline in energy intensity and carbon intensity in the economic sectors. Among the different energy types, electricity has played a significant role in decreasing emissions because industries have reduced the consumption of electricity per output and the source of electricity generation has shifted to cleaner energies. These results imply that the Korean government should support strategies that reduce energy intensity and carbon intensity in the future to reduce CO₂ emissions and maintain sustainable development.

This study examines the change in labor productivity in Vietnam by means of a Fisher index decomposition and attribution analysis. The results can be summarized as follows. First, the aggregate labor productivity is decomposed into pure labor productivity and structural change from 2007 to 2019. All of the aggregate labor productivity, pure labor productivity, structural change, and interaction terms have increased by 69.83%, 36.74%, 24.20%, and 8.89%, respectively. Second, the percentage change in labor productivity is attributed to 20 sub-industries by pure labor productivity and structural change. The sum of the multi-period attribution of pure labor productivity and structural change shows that the manufacturing industry positively dominates (15.84%) and plays a key role in economic development. The positive pure labor productivity and structural change in the manufacturing industry imply that the structural bonus hypothesis does hold in the industry. The findings also indicate that pure labor productivity, especially in the service industry, should be improved to sustain economic growth.

Korea’s industrial structure faces a critical challenge: the proportion of high CO₂ emitting industries in the GDP decreased during the 2000–2021 period, whereas their contribution to national CO₂ emissions increased. This study evaluates the impact of the government’s comprehensive support system—encompassing seven areas: tax incentives, general funding, financial support, human resource development, technical support, certification, and public purchase—on technological innovation in high CO₂ emitting industries. Using the Probit model on data from the Korea Innovation Survey 2022 (2019–2021) and a financial statement database of firms, we analyzed firms in high CO₂ emitting industries. The findings reveal that among the various forms of government support, human resources development ranks highest in its positive impact on innovation, followed by tax incentives and general funding. The results suggest that effective climate policy must shift to prioritize targeted technical and knowledge-based assistance to overcome the specific innovation prevalent in high CO₂ emitting industries.