recent research topics in finance

Research Topics & Ideas: Finance

120+ Finance Research Topic Ideas To Fast-Track Your Project

If you’re just starting out exploring potential research topics for your finance-related dissertation, thesis or research project, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll help kickstart your research topic ideation process by providing a hearty list of finance-centric research topics and ideas.

PS – This is just the start…

We know it’s exciting to run through a list of research topics, but please keep in mind that this list is just a starting point . To develop a suitable education-related research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , and a viable plan of action to fill that gap.

If this sounds foreign to you, check out our free research topic webinar that explores how to find and refine a high-quality research topic, from scratch. Alternatively, if you’d like hands-on help, consider our 1-on-1 coaching service .

Overview: Finance Research Topics

• Corporate finance topics
• Investment banking topics
• Private equity & VC
• Asset management
• Hedge funds
• Financial planning & advisory
• Quantitative finance
• Treasury management
• Financial technology (FinTech)
• Commercial banking
• International finance

Corporate Finance

These research topic ideas explore a breadth of issues ranging from the examination of capital structure to the exploration of financial strategies in mergers and acquisitions.

• Evaluating the impact of capital structure on firm performance across different industries
• Assessing the effectiveness of financial management practices in emerging markets
• A comparative analysis of the cost of capital and financial structure in multinational corporations across different regulatory environments
• Examining how integrating sustainability and CSR initiatives affect a corporation’s financial performance and brand reputation
• Analysing how rigorous financial analysis informs strategic decisions and contributes to corporate growth
• Examining the relationship between corporate governance structures and financial performance
• A comparative analysis of financing strategies among mergers and acquisitions
• Evaluating the importance of financial transparency and its impact on investor relations and trust
• Investigating the role of financial flexibility in strategic investment decisions during economic downturns
• Investigating how different dividend policies affect shareholder value and the firm’s financial performance

Investment Banking

The list below presents a series of research topics exploring the multifaceted dimensions of investment banking, with a particular focus on its evolution following the 2008 financial crisis.

• Analysing the evolution and impact of regulatory frameworks in investment banking post-2008 financial crisis
• Investigating the challenges and opportunities associated with cross-border M&As facilitated by investment banks.
• Evaluating the role of investment banks in facilitating mergers and acquisitions in emerging markets
• Analysing the transformation brought about by digital technologies in the delivery of investment banking services and its effects on efficiency and client satisfaction.
• Evaluating the role of investment banks in promoting sustainable finance and the integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria in investment decisions.
• Assessing the impact of technology on the efficiency and effectiveness of investment banking services
• Examining the effectiveness of investment banks in pricing and marketing IPOs, and the subsequent performance of these IPOs in the stock market.
• A comparative analysis of different risk management strategies employed by investment banks
• Examining the relationship between investment banking fees and corporate performance
• A comparative analysis of competitive strategies employed by leading investment banks and their impact on market share and profitability

Private Equity & Venture Capital (VC)

These research topic ideas are centred on venture capital and private equity investments, with a focus on their impact on technological startups, emerging technologies, and broader economic ecosystems.

• Investigating the determinants of successful venture capital investments in tech startups
• Analysing the trends and outcomes of venture capital funding in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, or clean energy
• Assessing the performance and return on investment of different exit strategies employed by venture capital firms
• Assessing the impact of private equity investments on the financial performance of SMEs
• Analysing the role of venture capital in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship
• Evaluating the exit strategies of private equity firms: A comparative analysis
• Exploring the ethical considerations in private equity and venture capital financing
• Investigating how private equity ownership influences operational efficiency and overall business performance
• Evaluating the effectiveness of corporate governance structures in companies backed by private equity investments
• Examining how the regulatory environment in different regions affects the operations, investments and performance of private equity and venture capital firms

Asset Management

This list includes a range of research topic ideas focused on asset management, probing into the effectiveness of various strategies, the integration of technology, and the alignment with ethical principles among other key dimensions.

• Analysing the effectiveness of different asset allocation strategies in diverse economic environments
• Analysing the methodologies and effectiveness of performance attribution in asset management firms
• Assessing the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria on fund performance
• Examining the role of robo-advisors in modern asset management
• Evaluating how advancements in technology are reshaping portfolio management strategies within asset management firms
• Evaluating the performance persistence of mutual funds and hedge funds
• Investigating the long-term performance of portfolios managed with ethical or socially responsible investing principles
• Investigating the behavioural biases in individual and institutional investment decisions
• Examining the asset allocation strategies employed by pension funds and their impact on long-term fund performance
• Assessing the operational efficiency of asset management firms and its correlation with fund performance

Hedge Funds

Here we explore research topics related to hedge fund operations and strategies, including their implications on corporate governance, financial market stability, and regulatory compliance among other critical facets.

• Assessing the impact of hedge fund activism on corporate governance and financial performance
• Analysing the effectiveness and implications of market-neutral strategies employed by hedge funds
• Investigating how different fee structures impact the performance and investor attraction to hedge funds
• Evaluating the contribution of hedge funds to financial market liquidity and the implications for market stability
• Analysing the risk-return profile of hedge fund strategies during financial crises
• Evaluating the influence of regulatory changes on hedge fund operations and performance
• Examining the level of transparency and disclosure practices in the hedge fund industry and its impact on investor trust and regulatory compliance
• Assessing the contribution of hedge funds to systemic risk in financial markets, and the effectiveness of regulatory measures in mitigating such risks
• Examining the role of hedge funds in financial market stability
• Investigating the determinants of hedge fund success: A comparative analysis

Financial Planning and Advisory

This list explores various research topic ideas related to financial planning, focusing on the effects of financial literacy, the adoption of digital tools, taxation policies, and the role of financial advisors.

• Evaluating the impact of financial literacy on individual financial planning effectiveness
• Analysing how different taxation policies influence financial planning strategies among individuals and businesses
• Evaluating the effectiveness and user adoption of digital tools in modern financial planning practices
• Investigating the adequacy of long-term financial planning strategies in ensuring retirement security
• Assessing the role of financial education in shaping financial planning behaviour among different demographic groups
• Examining the impact of psychological biases on financial planning and decision-making, and strategies to mitigate these biases
• Assessing the behavioural factors influencing financial planning decisions
• Examining the role of financial advisors in managing retirement savings
• A comparative analysis of traditional versus robo-advisory in financial planning
• Investigating the ethics of financial advisory practices

The following list delves into research topics within the insurance sector, touching on the technological transformations, regulatory shifts, and evolving consumer behaviours among other pivotal aspects.

• Analysing the impact of technology adoption on insurance pricing and risk management
• Analysing the influence of Insurtech innovations on the competitive dynamics and consumer choices in insurance markets
• Investigating the factors affecting consumer behaviour in insurance product selection and the role of digital channels in influencing decisions
• Assessing the effect of regulatory changes on insurance product offerings
• Examining the determinants of insurance penetration in emerging markets
• Evaluating the operational efficiency of claims management processes in insurance companies and its impact on customer satisfaction
• Examining the evolution and effectiveness of risk assessment models used in insurance underwriting and their impact on pricing and coverage
• Evaluating the role of insurance in financial stability and economic development
• Investigating the impact of climate change on insurance models and products
• Exploring the challenges and opportunities in underwriting cyber insurance in the face of evolving cyber threats and regulations

Quantitative Finance

These topic ideas span the development of asset pricing models, evaluation of machine learning algorithms, and the exploration of ethical implications among other pivotal areas.

• Developing and testing new quantitative models for asset pricing
• Analysing the effectiveness and limitations of machine learning algorithms in predicting financial market movements
• Assessing the effectiveness of various risk management techniques in quantitative finance
• Evaluating the advancements in portfolio optimisation techniques and their impact on risk-adjusted returns
• Evaluating the impact of high-frequency trading on market efficiency and stability
• Investigating the influence of algorithmic trading strategies on market efficiency and liquidity
• Examining the risk parity approach in asset allocation and its effectiveness in different market conditions
• Examining the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence in quantitative financial analysis
• Investigating the ethical implications of quantitative financial innovations
• Assessing the profitability and market impact of statistical arbitrage strategies considering different market microstructures

Treasury Management

The following topic ideas explore treasury management, focusing on modernisation through technological advancements, the impact on firm liquidity, and the intertwined relationship with corporate governance among other crucial areas.

• Analysing the impact of treasury management practices on firm liquidity and profitability
• Analysing the role of automation in enhancing operational efficiency and strategic decision-making in treasury management
• Evaluating the effectiveness of various cash management strategies in multinational corporations
• Investigating the potential of blockchain technology in streamlining treasury operations and enhancing transparency
• Examining the role of treasury management in mitigating financial risks
• Evaluating the accuracy and effectiveness of various cash flow forecasting techniques employed in treasury management
• Assessing the impact of technological advancements on treasury management operations
• Examining the effectiveness of different foreign exchange risk management strategies employed by treasury managers in multinational corporations
• Assessing the impact of regulatory compliance requirements on the operational and strategic aspects of treasury management
• Investigating the relationship between treasury management and corporate governance

Financial Technology (FinTech)

The following research topic ideas explore the transformative potential of blockchain, the rise of open banking, and the burgeoning landscape of peer-to-peer lending among other focal areas.

• Evaluating the impact of blockchain technology on financial services
• Investigating the implications of open banking on consumer data privacy and financial services competition
• Assessing the role of FinTech in financial inclusion in emerging markets
• Analysing the role of peer-to-peer lending platforms in promoting financial inclusion and their impact on traditional banking systems
• Examining the cybersecurity challenges faced by FinTech firms and the regulatory measures to ensure data protection and financial stability
• Examining the regulatory challenges and opportunities in the FinTech ecosystem
• Assessing the impact of artificial intelligence on the delivery of financial services, customer experience, and operational efficiency within FinTech firms
• Analysing the adoption and impact of cryptocurrencies on traditional financial systems
• Investigating the determinants of success for FinTech startups

Commercial Banking

These topic ideas span commercial banking, encompassing digital transformation, support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the evolving regulatory and competitive landscape among other key themes.

• Assessing the impact of digital transformation on commercial banking services and competitiveness
• Analysing the impact of digital transformation on customer experience and operational efficiency in commercial banking
• Evaluating the role of commercial banks in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
• Investigating the effectiveness of credit risk management practices and their impact on bank profitability and financial stability
• Examining the relationship between commercial banking practices and financial stability
• Evaluating the implications of open banking frameworks on the competitive landscape and service innovation in commercial banking
• Assessing how regulatory changes affect lending practices and risk appetite of commercial banks
• Examining how commercial banks are adapting their strategies in response to competition from FinTech firms and changing consumer preferences
• Analysing the impact of regulatory compliance on commercial banking operations
• Investigating the determinants of customer satisfaction and loyalty in commercial banking

International Finance

The folowing research topic ideas are centred around international finance and global economic dynamics, delving into aspects like exchange rate fluctuations, international financial regulations, and the role of international financial institutions among other pivotal areas.

• Analysing the determinants of exchange rate fluctuations and their impact on international trade
• Analysing the influence of global trade agreements on international financial flows and foreign direct investments
• Evaluating the effectiveness of international portfolio diversification strategies in mitigating risks and enhancing returns
• Evaluating the role of international financial institutions in global financial stability
• Investigating the role and implications of offshore financial centres on international financial stability and regulatory harmonisation
• Examining the impact of global financial crises on emerging market economies
• Examining the challenges and regulatory frameworks associated with cross-border banking operations
• Assessing the effectiveness of international financial regulations
• Investigating the challenges and opportunities of cross-border mergers and acquisitions

Choosing A Research Topic

These finance-related research topic ideas are starting points to guide your thinking. They are intentionally very broad and open-ended. By engaging with the currently literature in your field of interest, you’ll be able to narrow down your focus to a specific research gap .

When choosing a topic , you’ll need to take into account its originality, relevance, feasibility, and the resources you have at your disposal. Make sure to align your interest and expertise in the subject with your university program’s specific requirements. Always consult your academic advisor to ensure that your chosen topic not only meets the academic criteria but also provides a valuable contribution to the field. 

If you need a helping hand, feel free to check out our private coaching service here.

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• Open access
• Published: 20 December 2023

Emerging new themes in green finance: a systematic literature review

• H. M. N. K. Mudalige   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4497-4750 1  

Future Business Journal volume  9 , Article number:  108 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

2723 Accesses

Metrics details

There is a need for an extensive understanding of the emerging themes and trends within the domain of green finance, which is still evolving. By conducting a systematic literature review on green finance, the purpose of this study is to identify the emerging themes that have garnered significant attention over the past 12 years. In order to identify the emerging themes in green finance, bibliometric analysis was performed on 978 publications that were published between 2011 and 2023 and were taken from the databases of Scopus and Web of Science. The author examined annual scientific production, journal distribution, countries scientific production, most relevant authors, most frequent words, areas where empirical research is lacking, words' frequency over time, trend topics, and themes of green finance. The outcome of the review identified the following seven themes: (i) green finance and environmental sustainability; (ii) green finance and investments; (iii) green finance and innovation; (iv) green finance policy/green credit guidelines; (v) green finance and economy; (vi) green finance and corporate social responsibility; (vii)trends/challenges/barriers/awareness of green finance. The analysis of these emerging themes will contribute to the existing corpus of knowledge and provide valuable insights into the landscape of green finance as it evolves.

Introduction

Cities will face their greatest challenges ever during the next 30 years, and three-quarters of the world's population will reside in urban areas by 2050 due to the unparalleled rate of urbanization as a result of population growth, resource scarcity, such as peak oil, water shortages, and food security [ 100 ].

One of the main challenges in building and maintaining sustainable cities is discovering the sources required to fund vital infrastructure, development, and maintenance activities that have a sustainable future. To achieve the creation of sustainable cities, there is a need for green projects via green financial bonds, green banks, carbon market tools, other new financial instruments, new policies, fiscal policy, a green central bank, fintech, community-based green funds, and expanding the financing of investments that provide environmental benefits [ 26 , 78 ].

It is evident that green financing plays a crucial role in promoting sustainable initiatives. Thus, a transition from a rising economy to a green economy necessitates that a country's leadership offers green financing [ 112 ]. To assure green economic growth, nations around the world have invested in green projects to promote, invent, and employ environmentally friendly technologies to safeguard the environment and maximize environmental performance [ 55 ]. Because of new stakeholders' and institutions' understanding of environmental issues, regulatory authorities are likely to seek out extra ecologically acceptable financial resources. In an effort to establish environmental legitimacy, this type of environmental proactivity will be required when new methods of providing financial resources and green financing arise.

In numerous ways, the impact of adopting green financing is proven. First, green finance provides financial support for firms engaged in green innovation, including the purchase of green equipment, the introduction of new environmentally efficient technologies, and the training of their personnel. Second, green funding from various projects can assist stakeholders (organizations, governments, and regulators) in spending R&D funds on environmental challenges and minimize the associated risk with green legislation. Lastly, green policies have higher costs than conventional practices, and green finance can assist an organization in covering these expenses without encountering significant financial obstacles. As a result, green finance-driven economic growth can significantly support green policies, lessen environmental pollution, and build sustainable cities [ 128 ].

There have previously been systematic literature reviews conducted in the green finance area. However, a study's reliance on one database can exclude some recent developments in green finance from its analysis [ 93 ]. Findings from several databases could be compared and contrasted to create a more all-encompassing view of the area. Therefore, this study focuses on using Scopus and WoS databases.

Though additional methods, such as systematic literature reviews (SLR) and more complex network analyses such as co-occurrence of index terms, citations, co-citations, and bibliometric coupling, are available, previously conducted studies used a fundamental bibliometric technique [ 23 ]. A more detailed picture of the green finance study setting may emerge from an examination of the identification of various themes.

As part of a systematic review of the literature concerning emerging trends in green finance, it is critical to ascertain the dominant themes that are present in the field. By adopting this methodology, an intentional emphasis is placed on maintaining the review's relevance and excluding any studies that are obsolete. In addition, by identifying and classifying these themes, one can gain significant knowledge regarding the ever-changing characteristics of green finance, thereby illuminating the latest advancements and patterns. A study conducted by Pasupuleti and Ayyagari [ 99 ] identified different themes in green finance, but the researchers were only focused on polluting companies. By amalgamating insights from the literature review, one can attain a holistic comprehension of the current state of research in the field of green finance. Additionally, this process identifies areas where additional inquiry is necessary. Engaging in such an undertaking provides advantages not only to the scholarly community but also carries practical implications for policymakers, practitioners, and investors, assisting them in formulating effective policies and investment strategies and making well-informed decisions.

Green finance research is growing rapidly. However, the rising themes and trends in green finance literature must be comprehended. A comprehensive literature review can summarize current knowledge, identify research gaps, and identify the field's most relevant topics. This study seeks to uncover green finance's emerging themes through a rigorous literature review. This research aims to advance green finance knowledge by synthesizing and analyzing a wide range of scholarly articles.

Methods and methodology

Study selection process and methods.

In this study, a systematic literature review (SLR) was applied. It used inclusion criteria, analysis techniques, and a more objective method of article selection. As recommended for SLRs [ 65 ] with regard to the article selection process, the PRISMA article selection steps were adhered to. The steps are "identification," "screening," and "included". The steps that were taken in this study are shown in Fig.  1 .

PRISMA article selection flow diagram. Note : Search algorithm; “green finance” . Sources (s) Authors Construct, 2023

In the identification phase, the search terms, search criteria, databases, and data extraction technique are chosen. The keyword to use in the search was "green finance" as the study is aimed at identifying emerging themes in green finance.

The identified articles need to be screened in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. The tasks carried out at the screening were the screening, retrieval, and evaluation of each article's eligibility. According to Priyashantha et al. in [ 103 ], articles in each task that did not meet the inclusion criteria were removed. The "empirical studies" published in "Journals" from "2011–2023" in "English" were the inclusion criteria for screening the articles. In 2023, up to May, the journal articles were chosen.

This screening was carried out both manually and automatically. Utilizing Scopus' and Web of Science's (WoS) automatic article screening features by study type, language, report type, and publication date, articles achieving the inclusion criteria "empirical studies" published in "English" "journals" from "2011–2023″ were included. The other publication types such as conference papers, book chapters, reviews, research notes, editor's comments, short surveys, and unpublished data, as well as non-English articles and articles published within the considered year range, were excluded. The full versions of the screened articles were then retrieved for the eligibility assessment, the next stage of screening. The author manually evaluated each article's eligibility.

Study risk of bias assessment

Researcher bias in article selection and analysis lowers the quality of reviews [ 8 , 102 ]. Avoiding bias in article selection and analysis requires using a review protocol, adhering to a systematic, objective article selection procedure, using objective analysis methods [ 8 , 102 ], and performing a parallel independent quality assessment of articles by two or more researchers [ 8 ]. By adhering to all of these requirements, the risk of bias in the articles was removed.

Methods of analysis

Biblioshiny and VOSviewer were used for bibliometric analysis. Green finance literature was captured by Scopus and WoS. These databases were used exclusively to get a representative sample of journal articles to study green finance articles. The data were collected and analyzed using Biblioshiny. Select databases can be systematically extracted and analyzed with the software. It collects year-by-year article distribution, journal distribution, country-specific scientific production, most relevant authors, most frequent words, word frequency over time, trend topics, density visualization, etc.

Trends and patterns were found by analyzing green finance paper distribution by year. This analysis shows green finance research's growth. By analyzing article distribution by year, we may also establish green financing and rising theme trends. To identify green finance research publications, article distribution was studied. Academic journal distribution can indicate green finance's prominence in various academic journals. Analyzing scientific production by region reveals regional green finance research tendencies. Scientific production across nations identifies knowledge-producing regions.

Analyzing influential green finance authors helps identify their contributions. This strategy acknowledges influential scholars. The research's most frequently used words reveal the fundamental questions and ideas of environmentally responsible economics. This analysis reveals the discipline's primary topics and studies. By counting words, it may focus on green finance's most important and widely used components. Word frequency can show how green finance's focus has shifted. By tracking word usage, it can identify trending topics. This analysis reveals changing green finance research priorities. Biblioshiny explores green financial trends. This study reveals new topics, research gaps, and subject interests. The trend themes allow us to evaluate green finance studies.

Results and findings

Study selection.

The PRISMA flow diagram illustrates that during the identification step, 528 articles from the WoS database and 1183 articles from the Scopus database that include the term "green finance" were identified. There were 402 duplicates, which were removed. The overall number of articles remained at 1302 at that point. Further attempts were made to include papers on empirical investigations in the final versions that were published in English. 34 non-English articles were thus disregarded. In addition, 295 papers from conferences, book chapters, reviews, news articles, notes, letters, abstracts, and brief surveys were not included. Two articles were disqualified because they were published before 2011. The next step was to retrieve the remaining 978 articles and transfer their pertinent data to an MS Excel file, including the article's title, abstract, keywords, authors' names and affiliations, journal name, citation counts, and year of publication. After that, each article was examined by a third party to determine whether it met the requirements for its eligibility.

Study characteristics

Main information.

This study examined 978 studies by 1830 authors from 59 countries. They've been published in 281 publications. The average number of citations each article received was 12.37. There were a total of 2206 keywords and 44,712 references. This information is detailed in Table  1 .

Annual scientific production

The fluctuations in green financing for scientific production are depicted in Fig.  2 . In 2011, two articles were published that demonstrated interest in this research. No publications were released in 2012, indicating a paucity of research or interest. The trend persisted in 2013 with two articles. One publication appeared in 2014, indicating a halt in research. Since 2015, scientific output has gradually increased. In 2015, three articles contributed to the development of green finance research. Two articles survived in 2016. With eleven articles published in 2017, green finance has become a significant area of study. In 2018, 23 articles were published; in 2019, there will be 42. With 45 publications in 2020, green finance research remains robust. Green finance research increased to 132 publications in 2021. This significant increase in articles on the subject indicates a growing interest in the matter. The publication of 403 research articles in 2022 represents a notable increase. This increase reflects the expanding literature on green finance and its academic significance.

Year-wise research article distribution. Source (s): Author created, 2023

Journal distribution

Table 2 consists of a list of journals that were included in the sample and had more than six relevant papers published inside the journals. The majority of the journals that publish articles relating to green finance are, unsurprisingly, those that focus on environmental science, renewable energy, and sustainability. This is despite the fact that finance is considered an essential component of green financing. Not a single journal in the field of finance was able to attract more than 10 papers.

Based on the number of papers, Environmental Science and Pollution Research emerges as the top journal, demonstrating a strong focus on comprehending the intersection between environmental science, pollution, and financial aspects. The prevalence of journals focused on renewable energy and sustainability, each of which publishes 50 papers, demonstrates the growing interest in examining the financial aspects of sustainable development and renewable energy sources. The fact that Resources Policy was included in the list of 49 papers indicates that a significant emphasis was placed on understanding the financial implications of resource management and extraction.

Green finance is interdisciplinary in nature, exploring the connections between finance and various environmental issues, as evidenced by the existence of interdisciplinary journals like Frontiers in Environmental Science. The existence of journals like Finance Research Letters and Economic Research-Ekonomska Istrazivanja highlights the importance of economic and financial analysis in the context of green finance.

Countries scientific production

The analysis of region frequencies in the provided data in Fig.  3 reveals intriguing patterns and highlights the varying levels of research focus in various countries. The analysis is focused on the top ten countries for scientific production on green finance.

China is the part of the world most frequently mentioned, with a striking frequency of 993. This suggests a significant research interest in comprehending and analyzing diverse aspects of China's economy, policies, and development. Given China's status as the world's most populous nation and its growing global influence, it is unsurprising that researchers have devoted considerable effort to examining China's position in various fields, including finance, sustainability, and innovation.

Pakistan follows with a frequency of 79, indicating a notable but relatively lower research emphasis. Researchers may have investigated particular Pakistan-related topics, such as its economy, governance, or social issues. Pakistan may be of particular interest to a subset of researchers, or there may be a paucity of relevant literature in the analyzed dataset.

With a frequency of 60, the UK is the third-most-mentioned region. This demonstrates a sustained interest in researching various aspects of the UK, such as its economy, financial sector, and policies. It is possible that the historical significance of the UK, particularly in terms of finance and international relations, contributed to its prominence in literature.

Most relevant authors

The prominent and active contributors to the discipline are shown in Fig.  4 . Wang Y has significantly added to the body of literature. The top authors have a constant record of publishing, which shows a dedication to knowledge advancement and suggests a high level of expertise in their field of study.

In this section, the findings that conform to the aims of the research are reported. The conclusions were generated through the use of trend themes, keyword co-occurrence analysis, "most frequent words," and "word frequency over time." During the course of the investigation, both the "keyword co-occurrence; network visualization" and the "density visualization" methods were applied.

Most frequent words

The analysis of the most frequent words sheds light on the emerging themes in the field of green finance, as illustrated in Table  3 and Fig.  5 . A significant emphasis on China, which appears 253 times in the literature, is one of the important observations. This indicates that China's initiatives and role in the context of sustainable finance and green investment are gaining increasing recognition. China's approach to green finance and its potential implications for global sustainability initiatives are likely the primary focus of researchers and policymakers.

The term "finance" appears 122 times, emphasizing the importance of financial mechanisms and instruments to the advancement of green initiatives. This emphasizes the significance of financial institutions, policies, and frameworks that support environmental protection and sustainable development. The frequency of the term "investment" (103) emphasizes the significance of allocating financial resources to environmentally friendly businesses and initiatives.

The 105 occurrences of "sustainable development" indicate the close relationship between green finance and broader sustainability goals. This indicates that researchers and practitioners recognize the need to align financial decisions with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in order to achieve long-term sustainable development objectives.

The terms "green economy" (75) and "environmental economics" (57) refer to the integration of environmental considerations into economic systems and decision-making procedures. This emphasizes the importance of transitioning to environmentally sustainable economic models and policies.

The frequency of terms such as "carbon," "carbon emissions," and "carbon dioxide" (55, 55, and 51 times, respectively) indicates a focus on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change via financial mechanisms. This is consistent with the worldwide drive for decarbonization and the transition to low-carbon economies.

In addition, the terms "innovation" (71), "impact" (67), and "efficiency" (49) emphasize the significance of technological advancements, measurable outcomes, and resource optimization in green finance. These ideas illustrate the ongoing pursuit of innovative strategies and solutions to promote positive environmental impact while maximizing resource utilization.

The terms "sustainability" (44), "policy" (49), and "financial system" (41) highlight the need for policy frameworks and a robust financial system to facilitate the incorporation of sustainability considerations into mainstream finance. These themes emphasize the critical role that regulations, incentives, and institutional arrangements play in promoting green finance practices and nurturing a sustainable economy.

In addition, the terms "climate change" (50) and "alternative energy" (42) suggest an emphasis on addressing climate-related issues and investigating renewable and sustainable energy sources. This demonstrates an acknowledgment of the role of green finance in the transition to a low-carbon, resilient future.

The relationships between the keywords depicted as nodes are displayed in Fig.  6 's keyword co-occurrence network visualization. The link shows how each keyword relates to the others. In particular, the thickness of the line indicates how strong the relationship is. As a result, Fig.  8 illustrates how China and green finance are connected by a thicker line, showing that the majority of green finance research is carried out in China. Additionally, the connection between finance, sustainable development, and investments in green finance shows their connection to green finance. In Fig.  6 , the nodes are grouped into the red, green, and blue clusters. These clusters contain the keywords listed in Table  3 for each one. The various clusters in Fig.  6 demonstrate how different areas of research had distinct effects on green financing. When keywords are grouped together, it indicates that the topics they refer to are quite likely to be the same. As a result, the red, green, and blue clusters in Fig.  6 highlight common themes, while Table  4 provides explanations for the clusters.

The keyword co-occurrence network visualization

Areas where empirical research is lacking

Figure  7 displays the density visualization map that the VOSviewer generated. The VoSviewer manual states that a node with a red background denotes sufficient research for established knowledge and that it is evident that more study on green finance is still needed. On the other hand, keyword nodes with a green background show that there hasn't been much research on those particular keywords. Other than finance and China, the other keywords in the figure are therefore in the green background, which denotes insufficient research.

The keyword co-occurrence density visualization

Word’s frequency over time

The analysis of words' frequency over time in Fig.  8 reveals a number of significant trends. Beginning in 2018, the frequency of the term "China" increases considerably, with a significant rise in 2022 and a peak of 253 occurrences in 2023. This indicates a growing emphasis on China's role in green finance and its expanding prominence in the academic literature.

The persistent occurrence of the term "finance" over the years indicates the sustained significance of financial mechanisms and instruments in the context of green finance research. Its increasing frequency over time demonstrates the continued emphasis placed on financial aspects of the field.

The consistent growth of the term "sustainable development" from 2016 to 2019 indicates a growing recognition of the connection between green finance and broader sustainability objectives. However, after 2019, its occurrence remains comparatively stable, indicating that sustainable development has become a well-established and consistent theme in the literature.

Similarly, the term "investment" has maintained a consistent presence throughout the years, indicating a continued emphasis on allocating financial resources to green and sustainable initiatives. Its frequency fluctuates but remains relatively high throughout the period under consideration.

The frequency of the term "economic development” increased gradually until 2021, after which it remained relatively stable. This indicates that researchers have acknowledged the need to incorporate economic development and sustainable practices, resulting in a continued emphasis on this topic.

Similar to the term "investments," it has maintained a consistent presence throughout the years. This demonstrates a persistent desire to investigate investment opportunities and strategies within the context of green finance.

The frequency of the term "green economy” increased until 2020, after which it stabilized. This demonstrates an ongoing commitment to transitioning to a greener and more sustainable economy.

The terms "innovation" and "impact" have exhibited a general upward trend over the years. This suggests that innovative approaches to measuring the impact of green finance initiatives and projects are gaining importance.

The term "green finance" has been used significantly more frequently, particularly after 2021. This demonstrates the increasing interest and focus on the specific discipline of green finance, reflecting its emergence as a distinct research area within the context of sustainable finance as a whole.

Trend topics

Insights into novel areas and their developments over time can be gained from an analysis of trend themes using author keywords in the bibliometric data, as shown in Fig.  9 .

Trend Topics

There are nine times where the "Paris Agreement" is mentioned as a subject. It was consistently present from 2019 to 2022, demonstrating a strong interest in comprehending the ramifications and execution of this global climate agreement. The Paris Agreement's effects on environmental regulations and attempts to slow down climate change were probably among the topics on which researchers concentrated.

Seven uses of the word "environment" show that it is a recurring subject. This implies maintaining a focus on environmental concerns and the interactions between human actions and the environment as a whole. It's likely that academics and researchers have examined numerous environmental concerns and their effects on various industries and regulations.

Six occurrences of "regional economy" are found in the literature. This shows a rise in interest in learning about the dynamics and growth of regional economies and how they relate to sustainable practices. The emphasis on regional economies indicates that scholars are looking at the regional and context-specific elements affecting sustainable development and economic progress.

Another subject with five mentions per topic is "crowdfunding". This shows that crowdsourcing is becoming more and more popular as a method of finance, especially for sustainable projects. Crowdfunding's ability to assist green projects, as well as the opportunities and challenges that come with it, has probably been studied by researchers.

With 631 occurrences, the topic "green finance" stands out due to its very high frequency and demonstrates its rising importance in the literature. This demonstrates a rise in interest in the nexus between finance and environmental sustainability. The methods, laws, and procedures that encourage financial investments in green projects and companies have probably been studied by academics and policymakers.

With 92 mentions, "China" stands out as being quite popular. In the context of green finance and sustainable development, this suggests a strong focus on China's participation. Researchers are probably looking at China's policies and initiatives and how they may affect international sustainability efforts.

The phrase "sustainable development" also comes up 70 times, demonstrating a steadfast interest in learning and implementing sustainable practices in a variety of fields. There is a good chance that academics have looked into the frameworks, policies, and tactics that help achieve long-term sustainable development goals.

Seventeen times are mentioned when the term "carbon neutrality" is brought up, which shows that efforts to achieve it are becoming more and more of a priority. To minimize greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change, researchers have probably looked into a variety of strategies and regulations.

ESG (environmental, social, and governance) is a term with a frequency of ten references, which reflects the growing understanding of the significance of ESG aspects in investment choices and company practices. The incorporation of ESG factors into financial analysis and decision-making processes has probably been researched by researchers and practitioners.

Last but not least, the phrase "green finance policy" is used nine times, showing that policies that support and oversee green finance efforts are a particular emphasis of the study. It's likely that academics and policymakers have looked at how well these policies work and how they affect the growth of sustainable practices and investments.

In conclusion, study subjects that have attracted interest over time are shown by an analysis of trend topics in the bibliometric data. These themes show the continued attempts to understand and manage environmental concerns through research, policy, and finance, from global agreements like the Paris Agreement to specific topics like green finance and sustainable development.

Themes of green finance

This study uncovered a variety of topics relating to green finance as well as potential areas for further research. The descriptions of the themes are presented in Fig.  10 . Different themes related to green finance, along with significant studies that contributed significantly, are discussed below.

Green finance and environmental sustainability

In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on the significance of green finance and environmental sustainability, leading to increased attention and focus in both academic research and practical applications. The world is currently experiencing an unparalleled environmental crisis, with issues like resource depletion, biodiversity loss, and climate change becoming more pressing. Green finance, which falls under the umbrella of sustainable finance, centers its attention on investments and financial methods that not only yield economic profits but also contribute to favorable environmental consequences.

Existing research mostly focuses on green finance and environmental sustainability in Asian countries, with specific focus on China. Green finance's function in low-carbon development has been thoroughly studied in relation to carbon emissions [ 13 , 147 ]. Green financing and renewable energy growth have also received attention, aiding China's clean energy revolution [ 4 , 12 , 20 , 21 , 40 , 49 , 51 , 56 , 61 , 67 , 72 , 75 , 76 , 80 , 85 , 89 , 97 , 104 , 105 , 107 , 109 , 110 , 119 , 121 , 129 , 135 , 144 , 145 , 149 , 169 , 172 ]. Environmental rules and green finance have also been studied to determine how well they promote sustainable financing [ 19 , 22 , 62 , 114 , 123 , 145 , 159 ].

When it comes to the study of regions outside of Asia, such as Africa, South America, and parts of Europe, there is a significant knowledge gap. It may be helpful to gain useful insights into regional variances and strategies if one is able to comprehend the various ways in which these various regions approach green financing and environmental sustainability initiatives.

Green finance and investments

Following a global shift toward sustainable and ecologically responsible economic practices, green finance and investments have developed dramatically.

Green bond quality and effectiveness, notably in China, is a major study topic. Green bonds finance ecologically friendly projects, therefore verifying their quality is crucial to green financial markets. To help green bonds meet sustainability goals, researchers have studied their quality procedures and standards [ 3 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 38 , 79 , 92 , 95 , 108 , 115 , 164 ]. The relationship between green and non-green investments is another frequent research topic. Researchers have studied the hedging or diversification impacts of these two assets. This study examines how green and non-green investments affect portfolio strategies, risk management, and the financial environment [ 1 , 116 ]. Another interesting relationship is natural resource richness, FDI, and regional eco-efficiency. Given global agreements like COP26, scholars are studying how natural resources and FDI effect regional ecological efficiency as states attempt to combine economic growth with environmental sustainability [ 15 , 36 , 42 , 143 , 157 ].

A key feature of green finance study is how financial institutions, integrate green investment and financing teams. The green finance agenda requires understanding how bank’s structure and behave to encourage sustainable investment. Green financial instrument creation and effect are another study topic. Researchers have examined green finance products including green bonds and minibonds to determine their performance and impact on environmental and sustainability goals. This field helps design policies and strategies to optimize industrial structures and promote sustainable development.

Green finance research examines how it affects industrial structures. Studies have examined how green finance initiatives including loans and investments optimize and shift industrial sectors toward sustainability. These findings are crucial for governments and business stakeholders seeking financial incentives for eco-friendly operations [ 12 , 31 , 46 , 57 , 85 , 96 , 124 , 130 , 139 ].

Green finance market interactions with financial variables must also be assessed for sustainable financial development. Researchers examine the relationship between green financial indices and other financial indicators to better understand how green finance affects the financial landscape [ 27 , 32 , 48 , 68 , 137 ].

Green finance and investments have many unexplored areas, presenting research opportunities. The behavioral dimensions of green investment focus on the psychological drivers and biases that influence investment choices; subnational and local initiatives, which are frequently ignored despite their crucial role in ecological action; cross-country comparisons to provide a more holistic view of effective green finance practices; the role and impact of green finance in emerging economies; and innovative green financial instruments like blockchain. Examining these lesser-known aspects could improve our understanding of sustainability in the financial sector and offer insightful information to investors, financial institutions, and legislators that want to make a positive impact on a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future.

Green finance and innovation

The convergence of green finance and innovation is a crucial topic that addresses the pressing global concerns of environmental sustainability and financial stability. Much study has been done on green finance and innovation, yet various themes and gaps emerge, demonstrating its complexity.

Green financing policies and instruments promote innovation, especially in environmental technologies and renewable energy. Many studies have studied how green funding affects green innovation and if it promotes sustainable technology. They've studied green bonds, green banking, and green finance reform laws, offering empirical evidence that financial incentives combined with green practices can stimulate environmental innovation [ 16 , 41 , 44 , 47 , 52 , 64 , 70 , 81 , 87 , 107 , 133 , 152 , 162 ].

The role of environmental legislation in green financing and innovation is another common theme. Researchers have studied how these restrictions affect green finance's impact on technology. Studying how financial policies and regulatory frameworks interact has helped explain the complex dynamics affecting innovation in environmentally sensitive industries [ 11 , 29 , 54 , 84 , 120 , 126 , 132 , 151 , 152 , 174 ].

Nevertheless, there are obvious gaps in the existing knowledge within the field. The effects of green finance on innovation have been extensively studied, but a better knowledge of the factors driving innovation in other areas is needed. Further study may reveal how green funding might boost innovation in non-environmental industries. How can financial mechanisms support sustainable transportation, agricultural, and urban planning innovation.

Further research is needed on education and the human element in green innovation. How green finance, educational investments, and innovation interact can help individuals, businesses, and societies develop a sustainable future. Green finance and innovation's impact on environmental adaptation and resilience also understudied. More research is needed to determine how financial mechanisms and new solutions may help communities and organizations adapt to climate change.

Green finance policy/green credit guidelines

Climate change and environmental degradation are major worldwide issues. Green finance, which promotes environmentally and socially responsible investments, is a key instrument in this battle. Research and discussion have focused on how green finance policies affect the economy and environment.

The switch to renewable energy is crucial to fighting climate change globally. This transition relies on green financing initiatives. Researchers are investigating how well such regulations promote renewable energy. They examined how green finance regulations affect renewable energy output, investment, and job development in this growing sector. Understanding these implications helps improve green finance initiatives for sustainability [ 18 , 98 , 118 ].

China and other nations have implemented green finance pilot programs to test the waters and stimulate innovation. This research evaluates pilot policy implementation and impacts. Scholars use synthetic control and other tools to study how these initiatives affect green innovation. The results help determine the real-world implications of such experiments and their potential for wider use [ 48 , 113 , 121 , 131 , 146 , 162 ].

Green financing policies vary worldwide. Comparative research of green financing rules can highlight policy differences among jurisdictions. Researchers compared the EU and Russia's green financing laws. These studies emphasize differences, similarities, and the potential influence of these policies on green finance development, promoting cross-border cooperation and knowledge exchange [ 60 , 125 ].

Monitoring and measuring green finance progress is essential for future development. Researchers are developing green finance indices to assess green finance in a country or region. These indices help policymakers, investors, and the public understand green finance's growth and potential [ 141 ].

Despite significant and informative research on green finance policies and their effects on the economy and environment, several research gaps and opportunities for additional investigation remain. First, a thorough evaluation of the durability and long-term sustainability of green finance policies is lacking in the literature. Many studies focus on short-term outcomes, but long-term planning and implementation need understanding these policies' long-term implications. Second, green finance policies' cross-border effects need greater study. As the global economy grows more interconnected, it's important to understand how regional policies affect others and the possibility for international collaboration. Green finance and social effects as creating employment and community development are understudied. Such studies could illuminate these policies' overall impact. Finally, additional multidisciplinary research combining economics, environmental science, and social science are needed to comprehend green finance policies' complex implications. Scholars can fill these gaps to improve our understanding of this crucial topic and inform sustainable policymaking.

Green finance and economy

The relationship between carbon intensity and economic development is a growing topic in green finance research. How nations may shift to low-carbon economies while maintaining economic growth has been studied. Several studies have quantified how green finance policies reduce carbon emissions and boost economic growth [ 63 , 71 , 122 , 155 , 175 ].

The study of the impact of green financing on agriculture, particularly in China, is gaining attention. Green financing impacts agricultural trade, sustainability, and food security, according to researchers [ 37 , 140 ]. Given its connection with economics, food production, and sustainability, this type of researches is crucial.

Efficient utilization of natural resources in Asian countries has gained attention for promoting green economic growth. Researchers have studied how nations might maximize economic gains from natural resources while reducing environmental harm. Addressing sustainable economic development concerns requires this area [ 86 , 101 , 146 , 166 ].

The significance of judicial quality in reducing emissions without hindering economic growth is a common issue in green finance research. Researchers examine how strong legal systems can enforce environmental laws and promote green practices while boosting the economy [ 154 ].

Even while the previously stated research topics have unquestionably enhanced our understanding of the intricacies of green finance, there are still a number of uncharted territories and research gaps that need to be investigated further. Currently, research on green finance mostly focuses on economic and environmental concerns. Integrated research combining economic, environmental, and social science is needed. It can provide a holistic view of green finance policy' many implications. The globalization of green finance policy has significant implications and cross-border effects. These policies' worldwide spillover effects and country collaboration are rarely studied. Research is lacking on how regional policies affect others and international cooperation.

Green finance and corporate social responsibility

Fostering CSR requires understanding how environmental regulations affect companies' sustainable strategies. Researchers should examine how CSR goals can be better aligned with regulations to improve environmental and social outcomes. Researchers have studied green finance-CSR approaches to promote sustainability. This research seeks to understand how green finance initiatives like green bonds and sustainable investment practices affect CSR performance [ 173 ]. Businesses and investors looking to maximize their environmental and social impact must understand these mechanisms.

One intriguing research topic is empirical evidence from heavily polluting enterprises, especially in China. This study shows how green finance can reduce environmental harm and promote CSR in industries with a high environmental impact [ 45 , 66 ]. Researchers can find ways to help heavily polluting companies become more sustainable by studying their experiences.

Bangladesh banks' CSR and green finance practices have also been studied [ 168 ]. This study studies how green financing affects financial institution CSR and environmental performance. Financial organizations can use these results to incorporate environmental responsibility while being profitable. Another relevant research topic is post-pandemic CSR practices as a business strategy to combat volatility and drive energy and environmental transition [ 53 ]. Understanding how CSR and green finance can help companies whether economic downturns and pandemics are crucial. This research can help businesses adapt to changing business conditions.

Further studies can explore socially responsible mutual funds and low-carbon economies. The impact of the investment industry on sustainability and environmental responsibility can be better understood by scholars by examining how these funds affect company behavior and investment decisions. Investors and businesses pursuing sustainable development may find these insights to be beneficial.

Green bond issuance is growing, thus study on its effects on company performance and CSR is needed. Investors seeking to support environmentally responsible businesses and companies contemplating green finance must have a comprehensive understanding of the repercussions on associated with green financing.

Trends/challenges/barriers/awareness of green finance

Regional patterns in China's green finance trends are well-studied, but little is known about applying these findings elsewhere, especially in countries with similar environmental issues [ 24 , 30 , 83 , 88 ]. Analysis of green finance growth by sector is common; however, there may be a knowledge vacuum about how sectors might learn from each other to create more successful sectoral plans [ 28 , 50 , 142 ].

Analyzing the structural barriers to green financing is vital, but also understanding how consumers, financial institutions, and governments can work together to close this gap is crucial. Political and institutional restrictions in green financing have been extensively examined, but cross-national comparisons might reveal similar concerns and inventive solutions. Cultural variety is crucial in ethical and green finance, but the challenges of adapting cultural methods to different places may not be adequately examined [ 7 ].

There were 213 papers pertaining to green finance research that were published between the years 2011 and 2021. However, between 2022 and May 2023, there was an enormous increase in the number of publications, which was 715. These publications can be found in Scopus and WoS. This spike can be associated with a number of causes that have encouraged both academia and industry to focus on sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. These drivers can be found in both the public and private sectors.

To begin, there has been a growing awareness of the urgent need to address climate change and its adverse impacts on the world. An increasing number of demands for action have accompanied this recognition. Green finance provides a means by which funds can be directed toward projects and investments that promote environmental sustainability, such as the development of sustainable infrastructure, clean technologies, and renewable sources of energy. In addition, global initiatives such as the Paris Agreement have put pressure on governments and financial institutions to align their strategies with climate goals, which has led to an increased demand for research on green finance practices and regulations [ 58 ]. Additionally, investors and consumers are becoming more aware of the environmental impact of their financial actions, which is contributing to an increase in demand for environmentally responsible investing products and services [ 39 ]. As a direct consequence of these developing tendencies, researchers and academics have developed responses to them, adding to the expanding body of literature on green finance.

993, more than any other nation, are references to China. This shows a keen interest in learning about China's economy, politics, and development. Researchers have concentrated on China's position in finance, sustainability, and innovation given its status as the world's largest population country and its growing global relevance due to its critical role in fostering sustainable and low-carbon development. Reduced energy use and waste are the goals of energy efficiency measures, which also have a positive effect on the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Researchers want to comprehend the procedures, regulations, and financial tools that can successfully encourage and support energy efficiency projects, which will ultimately contribute to a greener and more sustainable future. This is why they are focused on energy efficiency within the context of green finance [ 2 , 14 , 60 , 67 , 69 , 74 , 106 , 117 , 134 , 136 , 156 , 160 , 170 ].

The construction of pilot zones for green finance reform and innovations (GFRI) is a significant step the Chinese government has taken to build a green economy. Many authors have conducted surveys on China's GFRI policy and its impact on innovations. The GFRI policy program supports green innovation in large, polluting companies and urban green development by enhancing total factor productivity in pilot cities, emphasizing the importance of debt finance in corporate green innovation [ 40 , 82 , 148 , 150 , 153 , 158 ]. A different study by Wang et al. in 2022 [ 127 ] discovered that while the GFRP generally plays a positive role in fostering green technology innovation capabilities, the extent to which it has an impact varies depending on the region's resources, environment, and level of economic development, with middle- and high-income areas seeing a more noticeable impact. Wang et al. in 2022 [ 127 ] propose a green finance index, employing statistical indicators from 2011 to 2019, to analyze China's green finance development and predict its growth from 2020 to 2024. New energy, green mobility, and new energy vehicles have boosted China's green finance index during the previous nine years, according to research.

The Green Financial Reform and Innovation Pilot Zones (GFPZ) policy's effect on the ESG ratings of Chinese A-share listed firms between 2014 and 2020 is examined in another study. The findings showed that the GFPZ policy raises ESG scores, which are mainly based on social responsibility, and helps businesses in the pilot zones do better financially and environmentally [ 17 ]. In 2023, Shao and Huang [ 111 ] reviewed China's green finance policy mix, showing a shift toward market-based approaches and greater private sector engagement, influenced by dynamic vertical interactions between different levels of government.

Chen et al. [ 14 ] examined the response of China's equity funds to institutional pressure on green finance in 2021. The results showed that funds with negative screening strategies, which exclude environmentally harmful investments, have higher green investment levels and higher financial returns, while funds with positive screening strategies face negative investor reactions despite their green investments.

A study done by Lv et al. [ 88 ] found that while green finance development in China is improving, regional disparities and a polarization trend exist, requiring measures to narrow the gap and promote coordinated development across economic regions. Because it is crucial for striking a balance between economic development, environmental conservation, and social well-being, researchers in green finance concentrate on sustainability. The authors focused on studies on sustainable investment options, analyzed how environmental, social, and governance aspects are incorporated into financial decision-making, and evaluated how sustainability affects financial performance. Researchers are expected to advance ethical and sustainable financial practices and help the world accomplish its sustainability goals by studying sustainability within the context of green finance [ 5 , 25 , 43 , 46 , 59 , 73 , 77 , 90 , 91 , 94 , 104 , 109 , 138 , 161 , 163 , 165 , 167 , 171 ].

In conclusion, research on green finance has primarily focused on Asian countries, particularly China, where it plays a crucial role in low-carbon development and renewable energy growth. However, there is a significant knowledge gap in regions outside Asia, such as Africa, South America, and parts of Europe. Further research is needed to understand regional variances and strategies in these areas.

Studies have examined various aspects of green finance, including green bond quality, the relationship between green and non-green investments, and the impact of green finance on environmental and sustainability goals. Behavioral dimensions of green investment, subnational and local initiatives, cross-country comparisons, and the role of green finance in emerging economies have also been explored. Additionally, the role of green finance in stimulating innovation in environmental technologies and renewable energy has been studied, but there are gaps in understanding its impact on non-environmental industries and the human element in green innovation.

Further research is needed to understand the role of environmental legislation in green finance, its impact on technology, and its cross-border effects. The durability and long-term sustainability of green finance policies should also be examined, along with their social effects such as employment creation and community development. The relationship between carbon intensity and economic development, as well as the alignment of corporate social responsibility goals with environmental regulations, are important areas for investigation.

There is a need for more research on applying the findings from China's green finance trends to other countries facing similar environmental issues. Structural barriers to green financing should be analyzed, and the collaboration between consumers, financial institutions, and governments in closing this gap should be explored. Cultural diversity in ethical and green finance should also be considered, along with the challenges of adapting cultural methods to different places. Overall, further research in these areas can contribute to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future.

When compared to other fields of study, it is clear that research on green finance has not been investigated to the same extent. In contrast to the less-researched areas of carbon, carbon emissions, climate change, financial systems, policymaking, agriculture, CSR, supply chain, risk management, corporate strategy, regional planning, and governance, green financing has been well-liked with investments, sustainable developments, green innovations, and green economies. On the other hand, taking into account the growing attention paid to sustainability on a worldwide scale and the pressing need to find solutions to the problems posed by the environment, it is quite likely that research into green finance will become more important in the years to come.

The increasing significance of sustainable development and the change to an economy with lower carbon emissions will require the development of innovative financial solutions to support green initiatives and assist the shift toward a financial system that is more friendly to the environment and more sustainable. It is anticipated that researchers will devote a greater amount of attention to green finance as the level of awareness regarding the environmental and social impacts of financial activities continues to rise. These researchers will investigate topics such as sustainable investment strategies, green bond markets, sustainable banking practices, and the incorporation of environmental considerations into financial decision-making. In addition to this, the incorporation of environmentally friendly financial practices into policy frameworks and regulatory measures further emphasizes the requirement for research in this particular area. In general, it is projected that research on green finance will pick up steam in the years to come because it plays such an important role in the process of sculpting a financially sustainable and resilient.

Availability of data and materials

SCOPUS and WoS databases.

Abbreviations

Corporate social responsibility

Financial Technology

Green finance reform and innovations

Green Financial Reform and Innovation Pilot Zones

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Mudalige, H.M.N.K. Emerging new themes in green finance: a systematic literature review. Futur Bus J 9 , 108 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-023-00287-0

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Financial Research Paper Topics: Interesting Finance Questions to Uncover

Are you having trouble thinking of a good topic for your finance research paper? Believe it or not, you are not alone. It might be difficult to find the perfect financial research topic time and time again. After all, picking the right subject is crucial to your financial field. Whether you’re putting together a presentation, penning an essay, or doing research papers, your choice of subject is of critical significance.

To aid you in overcoming this obstacle, we have compiled a detailed list of organized finance topics for research papers. If you want to be sure you choose the right subject for your financial management efforts, we’ve provided a concise guide with crucial advice.

How to Choose Topics for a Finance Research Paper?

If you need assistance deciding on a subject for your finance research paper, here are some pointers. But before we get into those pointers, it’s important to keep in mind that custom writing services may be a great resource for choosing finance topics for your research paper. You may save yourself time and effort by relying on their staff of seasoned writers to help you choose a subject that is both interesting and applicable to your assignment. The following are three guidelines for deciding on a subject for a finance research paper:

• Find Unanswered Questions : Try to pinpoint issues that haven’t received enough attention so far in financial research. You may add to the corpus of knowledge already available by identifying information gaps. Investigate financial management, traditional finance, corporate finance, personal finance and similar topics in order to develop a workable solution or to provide novel ideas.
• Review Existing Literature : Gaining familiarity with the state of the art in finance research requires reading theses and academic articles. Doing so will aid you in pinpointing certain niches in which you may excel. Search the literature for broad perspectives or recurring themes that might help you zero in on a particular issue.
• Stay Updated and Seek Input : Conduct internet research to keep up with the latest financial concerns. Investigate pressing concerns in the industry, such as the effects of the global financial crisis or new developments in the financial markets. You should also talk about your topic with others who have written research papers, such as your friends, classmates, or professors. Getting their thoughts might help you hone your subject and provide vital information.

Where to Get Data for Finance Papers?

It is crucial to get accurate and up-to-date information while conducting studies in the financial sector. One efficient method is to pay for papers or to hire a finance researcher and analysts to do the work for you, especially when it comes to personal finance.

• ProQuest is a significant tool since it provides access to scholarly literature from every field of study in the form of periodicals, newspapers, industry reports, dissertations, and profiles of prominent businesses.
• Scopus and Web of Science provide a plethora of resources, including journals, books, and conference proceedings, that provide comprehensive coverage across academic subjects.
• Global Financial Data (GFD) is one such database that caters only to finance research, and its extensive research has a wealth of data on various asset classes, prices, indexes, and currency exchange rates.
• Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters Datastream, and WRDS provide faculty and researchers with institutional access to a plethora of financial data and tools. This includes real-time market data, financial statements, economic indicators, and personal finance topics to write about.

List of Finance Research Topics

This exhaustive list covers everything you need, whether you’re an MBA student, a finance management professional, or a college student. Explore the exciting field of finance research, delving into areas like healthcare financing, the latest developments in the field, corporate finance, and the aftereffects of the global financial crisis. The finance research papers” in this volume will keep you interested and well-informed.

Finance Research Topics for MBA

Investment analysis, financial management, and personal finance are just a few of the many disciplines that fall under the umbrella of finance research subjects for MBA students. Such topics in finance are essential because they provide MBA students with a solid grounding in financial theory and practice. Here are a few suggestions for MBA students looking for research topics in finance:

• Risk Management Strategies in Financial Institutions.
• Behavioral Finance in Investment Decision-Making.
• Financial Inclusion and Economic Development.
• Comparative Analysis of IFRS Adoption and Financial Reporting Quality.
• Impact of Financial Technology (Fintech) on Traditional Banking.

Finance Management Research Topics

Finance management topics include a broad spectrum of areas that dive into the complexities of managing financial resources in different contexts. Investment analysis, risk management, financial markets, and corporate finance all fall under finance management. Writing a finance research paper helps you understand financial decision-making, develop effective strategies, and advance the field. Before commencing your research paper, consider the following finance research paper ideas:

• Corporate Risk Management Strategies On Firm Performance.
• Benefit Investment Management Practices In Pension Funds.
• Assessing Financial Risks And Mitigation Techniques In Developing Market Multinationals.
• Electronic Banking And Financial Inclusion In Developed And Developing Nations.
• An Empirical Study Of Investor Behavior And Global Finance Data.

Healthcare Finance Research Topics

Explore the application of financial theory to the healthcare sector while writing about finance research paper topics. This financial research is essential for expanding our knowledge of healthcare economics, investment strategies, cost control, and healthcare policy. Finance researchers may also investigate intricate monetary systems to enhance healthcare services and the health of patients. Some healthcare finance topics might include the following:

• Impact Of Healthcare Policy On Financial Sustainability.
• Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Of Healthcare Interventions.
• Healthcare Reimbursement Models And Their Impact On Healthcare Providers.
• Economic Evaluation Of Preventive Healthcare Programs.
• Healthcare Financing And Access To Care For Underserved Populations.

Interesting Finance Dissertation Topics

For the purposes of writing finance research papers and finishing a dissertation, investigating interesting finance topics is essential. You can gain a more thorough comprehension of economic principles and their real-world applications. In order to have a high-quality research paper done quickly and with no effort, it’s a good idea to look into help with dissertation writing services. For your next research paper, you can consider the following interesting financial topics:

• The banking sector and digital transformation: customer experience and operational effectiveness.
• Corporate risk management strategies in the banking industry: Traditional vs. developing risk management procedures.
• A case study of emerging nations and how well-functioning financial systems foster economic progress.
• Financial aid programs in promoting access to higher education
• A post-pandemic examination of banking institutions’ resilience and regulatory measures’ systemic risk mitigation.

Current Research Topics in Finance

Examining current finance research paper topics is essential due to the dynamic nature of the financial industry. By digging into current financial topics to write about, you learn more about the market, investing methods, risk management, and more. This financial research supports decision-making, policy-making, and the development of new financial solutions. Here are a few lists of subjects to consider if you are looking for current financial topics to write about.

• Financial Statement Analysis And Investment Decisions In Different Industries.
• Exploring The Effectiveness Of Machine Learning Algorithms In Predicting Financial Asset Prices.
• The Role Of Financial Derivatives In Managing Risk And Enhancing Returns In The Business Sector.
• Corporate Governance Practices On Financial Performance And Asset Valuation.
• Sustainable Finance Projects In Promoting Environmental, Social, And Governance (ESG) Goals.

Best Finance Research Topics

A finance research paper topic requires the identification of intriguing subjects for extensive research. The best financial research opens the door to explorations of many facets of finance, including investing tactics and the stock market. As you start to write research papers on finance topics, you’ll open up opportunities for self-discovery, theory-building, and prudent decision-making. You’ll also help them become better researchers and writers, leading to better articles.

• Artificial Intelligence and Financial Decision-Making.
• Financial Risk Management in the Age of Cryptocurrencies.
• Behavioral Finance and Investment Decision-Making.
• The Effectiveness of Financial Regulations in Preventing Market Manipulation.
• The Role of Fintech in Financial Inclusion: Case Studies from the United States.

Interesting Finance Topics for College Students

Among the many subsets that make up the umbrella term finance topics for college students are financial research and finance topics for paper. Financial research topics are important because they help students learn the fundamentals of finance, get them ready for the issues they’ll face in the real world, and develop the analytical thinking they’ll need to make sound judgments in the future. Here are a few examples of finance topics to talk about among college students:

• A Comparative Study of E-commerce on Traditional Retail Banking.
• Comparing Interest Rate Changes with Stock Market Volatility in Developed and Emerging Markets.
• The Effectiveness of Microfinance Institutions in Alleviating Poverty.
• Financial Education Programs and College Students’ Financial Decision-Making.
• Initial Public Offering (IPO) Underpricing: Comparative Study of Developed and Developing Markets.

Finance Research Paper Topics for University Students

Investing, banking, corporate finance, and other areas fall under the umbrella of finance-related topics for the purposes of a university research paper. Because it deepens their knowledge, sparks new ideas, and helps the financial sector expand, topics in finance are more important for college students to study. Students who buy custom assignments benefit from individualized attention, time savings, and the insight of subject matter experts. Check out our extensive finance research topic list to uncover interesting topics for your next paper.

• Interest Rate Changes On Corporate Borrowing And Investment Decisions.
• Financial Literacy And Investment Behavior Among University Students.
• Impact Of International Trade And Globalization On Financial Markets.
• Factors Influencing Mergers And Acquisitions In The Financial Industry.
• Financial Derivatives In Managing Risk In The Stock Market.

Public Finance Research Topics

Research Topics in Public Finance include a broad spectrum of questions concerning fiscal and monetary policy at the national, state, and local levels of government. Understanding the effects of government spending and fiscal policies on GDP growth, income distribution, and social welfare is essential, which is why studies in this field are so important. Policymakers can do better for the world when they have access to information on financial research paper topics to read about.

• The potential of digital currencies as financial assets in public finance management.
• Impact of Tax Policy on Economic Growth: A Comparative Study.
• Government Debt and its Implications on Fiscal Sustainability.
• Public-Private Partnerships in Infrastructure Development.
• Effectiveness of Fiscal Stimulus Packages in Times of Economic Crisis.

Corporate Finance Research Topics

Corporate Finance Research explores various financial management topics within businesses. Conducting research in this area is crucial for understanding financial decision-making, risk management, capital structure, and valuation. It helps companies optimize their financial strategies, make informed investment decisions, and enhance overall financial performance.

• Corporate Governance and Financial Performance: An Industry Comparison.
• Debt Financing in Manufacturing Sector Corporate Investment Decisions.
• Corporate Taxation and Capital Structure Decisions: A Comparative Study of Countries.
• Corporate Venture Capital and Startup Financing: A Comparative Analysis.
• Corporate Governance Mechanisms and Capital Allocation Efficiency: Emerging Markets.

Business Finance Research Topics

Subjects that fall under the umbrella of business finance topics include any and all discussions of how businesses handle their money, from budgeting to investing to making important business decisions. Researching business finance is essential since it reveals new tendencies, aids in the creation of cutting-edge tactics, and boosts monetary output. It helps companies maintain competitiveness in a fast-paced industry and make well-informed choices. These samples can assist you whether you are looking for financial research paper topics or investment research paper ideas.

• Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance.
• Exchange Rate Fluctuations on International Business Transactions.
• Financial Innovation and SME Financing.
• Financial Markets in Economic Development.
• Financial Leverage and Firm Value in Different Industries.

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A snapshot of public finance research from immediately prior to the pandemic: IIPF 2020

• Published: 06 September 2021
• Volume 28 , pages 1276–1297, ( 2021 )

Cite this article

• David R. Agrawal   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8480-1849 1 ,
• Ronald B. Davies 2 ,
• Sara LaLumia 3 ,
• Nadine Riedel 4 &
• Kimberley Scharf 5  

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As the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped public policies and government finances, it has also influenced the topics that public finance economists are researching. Because the 2020 International Institute of Public Finance Congress featured papers that were submitted prior to the start of the pandemic, the Congress allows us to reflect on the state of research prior to the pandemic’s shock to both fiscal policies and our worldview. In this article, the Editors of International Tax and Public Finance reflect on interesting papers that were presented at this internationally representative conference in public economics. The exercise provides insight on where the field of public economics was heading prior to the pandemic and will provide a yardstick to see how the field evolves in the coming years afterward.

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Demand and growth regimes in finance-dominated capitalism and the role of the macroeconomic policy regime: a post-Keynesian comparative study on France, Germany, Italy and Spain before and after the Great Financial Crisis and the Great Recession

Eckhard Hein & Judith Martschin

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1 Introduction

Why do we go to conferences? When the COVID-19 pandemic forced many conferences to cancel or to go online, it also forced us to confront the answer to that question. From our perspective, the biggest value in going to a conference such as the International Institute of Public Finance (IIPF) Congress is that it provides a very condensed overview of what the field of public economics looks like and allows us to be exposed to research from a diverse group of scholars around the world. This is a remarkably important form of continuous learning. By having a snapshot of research presented over a short time period, it helps us to see what patterns are arising in both research and policy, including topics, data sources, and methodologies.

Due to the pandemic, the 2020 conference needed to be held online, rather than in beautiful Iceland. Perhaps more than other in-person conferences, the virtual format of the IIPF juxtaposed with the massive shock to our worldview from the pandemic, presented the field to us in a way that drew out the trends and fashions in a way we really hadn’t thought of before. This is one of the reasons for this review. The other reason is that there is just so much interesting research being done. Due to added pressures of the pandemic—that have hit some demographics more than others—many of us have fallen behind on our own work, let alone keeping up with the latest working papers. One of the great things about a large conference is that it allows others to tell you about a paper you really wish you had heard. So this also gives us a forum, as editors of this journal, to let you know about some of the papers that we saw, which we personally thought were informative. Footnote 1 In particular, we want to highlight papers by junior researchers who were hit especially hard by the limited networking and social opportunities created by the pandemic.

The recent pandemic was not the first time that a current event disrupted an IIPF conference. But, relative to the last IIPF conference cancellation, the disruption to the profession was muted by our ability to connect virtually. In 1991, the IIPF was scheduled for Leningrad, USSR. However, the 1991 Soviet coup d’état attempt took place just a couple of days before the start date of the conference. Conference organizers decided to cancel the meeting. There certainly could not have been a virtual IIPF conference in 1991. The cancellation of the conference likely slowed research much more so than the shift of the conference to an online format in 2020. Footnote 2 Now, as we face disruptions from the pandemic, academic conferences and other scientific communications have proceeded quite smoothly, relative to the effect of canceling an entire conference in 1991 on the field of public finance. Inevitably, technology has dampened the effect of the shock to the profession from COVID-19.

While the pandemic has dramatically affected regulatory policy, health policy, and fiscal policy, it has also shaped the way we think about research and highlighted the need for more work in some areas. Given papers were submitted to the IIPF 2020 by February, and the COVID-19 pandemic did not rise to international prominence until March 2020, the research presented at this Congress represents the last set of new ideas that were not influenced or shaped by the pandemic’s shock to our worldview. As a result, similar to Kleven ( 2018 ), this provides us with a useful reference point to determine where the field of public economics was heading prior to the pandemic. Footnote 3 This yardstick provides a useful benchmark to determine the undoubtedly lasting impact of the pandemic on the field of public finance. Inevitably, research going forward will be more interdisciplinary as a result of the pandemic, need to grapple with the fiscal pressures created by the pandemic, seek to address important issues of inequality, and focus on the role of decentralization versus centralization in determining optimal policy, especially during a crisis. These are some topics that will be tackled in the 2021 Congress theme.

In looking at the state of public finance immediately prior to the pandemic, we conclude:

Administrative data from around the world allow us to study topics that were unable to be answered previously. These administrative datasets are used in a variety of countries and contexts, including in many developing countries, to precisely answer fundamental questions in public economics. The pandemic will likely increase the importance of administrative data as researchers seek to study the host of policies put into place by state and national governments in response to the crisis.

Even prior to COVID-19 and the recent racial justice protests throughout the world, public finance economists are tackling important issues related to income and wealth inequality, as well as inequality by gender. The large number of papers on the program focusing on inequality contrasts with earlier conferences that were more focused on issues of efficiency. Even despite these trends, at this Congress, much less attention appears to be focused on issues of racial inequality. We expect the pandemic will only increase the need to study issues of economic (in)equality.

Even before the pandemic, many papers feature coauthors across multiple fields, with researchers in public economics teaming up with experts in health economics, industrial organization, urban, international trade, labor economics, macroeconomics, or economic demography. Perhaps not appreciated as much, are collaborations outside of economics—with political scientists, lawyers, sociologists, epidemiologists, or public health scholars, etc. The pandemic highlights the need for a broader perspective.

Surveys, as a means of understanding attitudes toward government policies or redistribution, are becoming an important part of public finance research. More generally, the use of surveys fits with numerous papers tackling behavioral public economics issues. Researchers during the pandemic have begun using these surveys to shed light on the future of telework or perceptions of regulatory policies.

Although good theory is extremely important, empirical public economics has displaced theoretical public finance in terms of the sheer number of papers presented on the program. At the same time, we are heartened by several papers that attempt to tightly link both theory and empirics—this is a skill that is not appreciated enough. We hope many authors attempt to combine a unique blend of theory and empirics in future work. Faced with uncertainty from a massive shock, good theory is important to generating useful predictions and good empirics is useful for making our theories more realistic.

Against that backdrop, in this article, we proceed in three steps. First, we summarize the International Tax and Public Finance (ITAX) PhD Student Award that was given at the 2020 Congress. Second, ITAX’s 2020 editors, Ron, Sara, and Kim summarize some of their thoughts from the 2020 Congress. Finally, ITAX’s new 2021 editors, David and Nadine, summarize some of their reflections. Footnote 4

2 IIPF PhD student award winner: Thiago Scot

The ITAX award for the best paper presented by a PhD student Footnote 5 was given to Thiago Scot of the University of California - Berkeley for his paper “ Corporate Taxation and Evasion Responses: Evidence from a Minimum Tax in Honduras ” (Lobel et al., 2020 ). With 62 submissions, many of which were very strong, choosing a single winner was not easy. This paper initially made the shortlist for two key reasons. First, its focus on corporate tax evasion was very much in step with current events. Although tax evasion has long been a key research area in public economics (Slemrod, 2019 ), it has become an increasingly important topic of discussion in policy circles and the general public. Second, its use of administrative data and the bunching methodology places the paper’s approach at the forefront of research in the field.

What ultimately led us to choose it as the 2020 winner, however, were two key features. First, unlike the bulk of the literature that focuses on the tax minimization efforts of firms in the OECD, this paper looks at those efforts in a developing country. This matters because little is known about whether the lessons learned from developed economies apply to those countries developing their economies. In particular, because the developing world is relatively more reliant on tax revenues generated from corporate income when compared to the OECD, understanding the scale and nature of how tax minimization works in such a context is critical to overhauling international tax rules in an equitable manner. Second - and a key aspect of the IIPF prize - was the excellent presentation delivered by the now, Dr. Scot. The ability to do solid, innovative economic research is one thing; the ability to get across what was done and why it matters in a clear, concise way is another. For the research presented at the IIPF to make the greatest impact, both of these must come together.

We thank all of the authors and presenters who asked to be considered and look forward to continued hard decisions in awarding the prize during the 2021 Congress.

3 Comments from the 2020 editors-in-chief

3.1 ron’s thoughts.

Looking at the congress program, one thing that struck me was the work being done on tax evasion. First, the sheer volume of papers on the topic is impressive. In part, this is stemming from better data. In particular, administrative data are used in Nivala et al. ( 2020 ), Lobel et al. ( 2020 ), Bazzoli et al. ( 2020 ), Leenders et al. ( 2020 ), and others. This gives us an ability to directly get at the heart of the issue in a way we have not been able to before. Beyond that, there is growing creativity in how we measure a phenomenon that by its very nature is supposed to be hard to detect.

Estimating Tax Noncompliance Among Self-Employed With Evidence From Pleasure Boat Registers For example, Johannes Hagen presented work using pleasure boat registrations in Sweden and Finland to tease out whether the self-employed (who may be able to evade taxes easier) differ in consumption patterns (Engstrøm et al., 2020 ). Because they find no differences across groups, this gives them a boost of confidence in using the Pissarides and Weber ( 1989 ) method of determining evasion among the self-employed.

Beyond those papers, and perhaps more importantly, there is clearly a rise in interest in the topic. To me, this is most evident by the fact that this year’s congress had three sessions titled “Tax Evasion.” At the 2015 IIPF congress that I hosted in Dublin, there were no sessions called that. Instead, the papers on tax evasion were included in sessions on, for example, the impact of tax treaties. Why the rise in interest? While better data makes the research easier (although I use that word semi-sarcastically) and events such as the Panama Papers leak have increased public interest in the topic, I see a more fundamental cultural shift in our approach to the issue. In particular, I noticed that we now simply call it “tax evasion,” a term that has a clear moral and legal implications, rather than give the taxpayer the benefit of the doubt. In 2015, most papers used the term “tax avoidance” rather than tax evasion to highlight the potential that not all strategies to minimize taxation were illegal. Further, this term steers clear of any moral condemnation of economic agents undertaking actions to sidestep tax liabilities. In 2020, however, the preferred term was tax evasion which suggests a violation of the social contract. This suggests a shift in perspective to the topic which is certainly a reflection of the wider public perception that when firms and individuals—particularly those at the top of the income distribution—avoid significant tax liabilities, that this behavior is unfair even when the means used are technically legal. So while the data are still the data and the models must continue to abide by the mathematical rules, this feels like a fundamental change in how researchers engage with the topic that will have an important implication for how we disseminate our academic research to policy makers and the broader public. Perhaps those observations are not surprising given my own research focus on foreign direct investment and international trade, with taxation—and tax evasion—being a key part of the stories I tell.

Tariff Elimination versus Tax Avoidance: Free Trade Agreements and Transfer Pricing Likewise, it probably should not be a shock that one paper I found particularly interesting was Mukunoki and Okoshi ( 2021 ), which focuses on the role rules of origin have in transfer pricing. For the non-trade nerd, when a preferential trade agreement (PTA) is formed between two countries and lowers tariffs between them, imports do not automatically qualify for reduced import duties. Instead, rules of origin regulations require the importer to verify that the imported good actually comes from the PTA partner. This is to stop exports from non-partner countries simply being routed through a partner country to avoid the standard tariff. Typically, this is achieved by value-added tests that specify how much of the value must be generated in a partner in order to qualify for reduced tariffs. Footnote 6 For a multinational, this can present an interesting trade-off, particularly when PTA members have high taxes. On the one hand, it can produce outside the PTA and transfer price, incurring high tariffs but low taxes. On the other, it can shift production into a high-tax PTA country which destroys the incentive to transfer price but secures a lower tariff. As such, rules of origin in a PTA can mitigate abusive transfer pricing. Beyond a clever insight, I liked this paper because it shows a clear-cut interaction between international trade and tax policies and highlights how looking at just one can miss important responses to policy.

Optimization Frictions and the Fixed Cost of Proft Shifting Continuing on the topic of transfer pricing, Bilicka et al. ( 2020 ) provides an answer to a question that has been bothering me for years. When modeling transfer pricing, the standard approach dates back to Allingham and Sandmo ( 1972 ), where the cost of transfer pricing is an increasing function of the gap between the “true” price of the internal transaction and the reported price. This begs all sorts of questions, one of the most important of which is whether those costs are largely variable (which might point to an equilibrium in which all firms cook the books at least a little) or fixed (where only those firms with the most to gain engage in transfer pricing). Using administrative data on profits reported in the UK, the authors examine what happened when Italy altered its controlled foreign corporation rules in 2002 and Germany cut its tax in 2008. In both cases, the results point toward changes at the extensive margin (whether positive profits were reported at all) rather than the intensive margin (the size of those profits conditional on them being positive). This then points to a significant role for fixed costs of profit shifting. This matters for two reasons. First, it suggests that profit shifting is mostly driven by a subset of multinationals. Footnote 7 This would then suggest that by targeting a limited number of well-chosen firms, revenue officials may be able to address a significant share of aggregate profit shifting. Second, it would imply that tax policy changes will have very different effects across firms. Going one step further, this provides additional insights into how firm responses to tax policy can result in significant equilibrium effects such as changes to industry concentration (see Martin et al. 2020 ).

The Elusive Banker: Using Hurricanes to Uncover (Non-)activity in Offshore Financial Centers Of course, no discussion of international tax evasion would be complete without a discussion of tax havens. For me, Miethe ( 2020 ) filled this void with a creative and literally “natural” experiment. Among researchers on tax evasion, offshore financial centers such as those found in the Caribbean exist because of their low tax rates. Combined with overall stability and secrecy, this means that they provide a safe, tax free location for profits. These locations, however, are quick to suggest that this is not enough and that their specialized human capital explains the very high profits booked in within their borders. This latter explanation, however, would suggest an overall robust local economy in which local and multinational activity follow broadly similar trends. To test this, Miethe ( 2020 ) considers hurricanes that strike different islands at different times and with different intensities (as measured by changes in geospatial nightlight data). Doing so results in two findings. First, international investors respond to the natural disaster only in non-tax havens with no response found in havens. Second, in havens, there is a response by local companies but not by international ones. This suggests that foreign investments in tax havens have little to do with local economic conditions. Beyond using an innovative identification technique (presumably, hurricanes are fairly exogenous to investment patterns), this mirrors the overall mood in which tax avoidance really is evasion, i.e. minimizing taxes for the few without bringing benefits to the many.

Gender Differences in Tax Evasion: Evidence from Norwegian Microdata Moving from firm to household evasion, I found the results of Brun Bjørkheim and Nygård ( 2020 ) intriguing. Focusing on self-employed workers in Norway, they use administrative data and the Pissarides and Weber ( 1989 ) approach to ask how income underreporting varies by, among other things, gender. The revelation in their results is not that underreporting varies across people, but that it is most prevalent among self-employed women in cohabiting households. If asked, I would have presumed that males would evade the most due to an assumed greater tolerance for risk. As the authors note, however, the results must be interpreted cautiously because the Pissarides and Weber ( 1989 ) methodology assumes identical spending patterns across individuals. If women spend differently (e.g. on charitable giving), this can result in a mismeasurement of underreported income that varies along with an individual’s observable characteristics. Beyond an interesting and surprising result, this matters in a number of ways. First, there are obviously behavioral differences across genders that have been documented in numerous situations and this suggests that tax policy is no different. That matters because it suggests that using nudges and other soft mechanisms may have differential effects on different taxpayers. Second, as with the efficiency gains from focusing enforcement on the firms most likely to shift profits, understanding who to target in individual tax enforcement can increase revenues at minimal cost—whether we want to use that information is another question. Third, although Norway may be well below the OECD average in the gender wage gap, these differentials persist. As workplace equality (hopefully) continues to improve and puts more women in higher income and self-employed positions, understanding their differential approaches to tax compliance can provide better predictions for changes in tax takes.

While I could go on and on about tax evasion, I want to conclude by pointing out two papers on women and politics that I found particularly interesting. Presented back to back, they gave useful insights into the lack of gender diversity at the highest levels of political office.

Gender Gaps in Political Careers: Evidence from Competitive Elections The first was Cipullo ( 2020 ) who used the two stage election processes in the US and Italy to examine the political careers of men and women over a long horizon. He did so in two steps. First, he compares the election success of men and women who barely qualified in the first round of the election process (i.e. marginally won a U.S. primary or just qualified for the run-off election in Italy). In doing so, he finds that such women are 20 to 40% less likely to be elected than their male counterparts. This initial disparity is only part of the story however because early successes are significant predictors of future successes. Thus, when comparing two candidates who are comparable except for their gender, because men are more successful than women in their early career, this tends to lead to future success and higher office attainment.

A Leaky Pipeline: Recontest Rates and the Underrepresentation of Women in Politics This future success story was then continued in the paper by Baskaran and Hessami ( 2020 ), who looked at local election recontesting, i.e. whether a prior candidate even stands in a second election. Using data from Hesse, Germany, they find that female candidates are 5.7% less likely to run again when compared to comparable male candidates. What is most interesting is that the factor that appears to best explain this gap is the work environment. In places where meetings are frequent and take place in the evenings, the gender gap is largest, suggesting that such practices may be a particular barrier for women council members for whom familial duties take priority.

In listening to these two studies, I couldn’t help but draw parallels between political life and academic life. It is undeniable that Economics is currently by-and-large a male-dominated profession. It is also no secret that early publication success, working late into the night, and being gone from home for seminars and conferences are factors that feed into academic success. If there are biases in the referee and editorial process, this bias early in career can also significantly affect gender balance at the senior levels of the discipline. Further, if the traditional hallmarks of success are incompatible with home life, this can further freeze out female scholars. With COVID-19 highlighting gender imbalances in the burden of managing home and work (see Zimmer, 2020 for discussion), these seem like lessons for us all to ponder.

3.2 Sara’s thoughts

When attending a conference in person, it’s possible to become deeply immersed in talks and conference events with few reminders of the outside world. Participating in a virtual conference doesn’t provide the same kind of escape. (I will sheepishly admit that I propped my laptop near the sink and washed a few dishes during one of the IIPF keynotes.) While I don’t want to multi-task during all future conferences, I did appreciate the fact that keeping an eye on the news during the 2020 Congress nudged me to sample from the conference offerings in new ways. The COVID-19 pandemic and the groundswell of social justice activism prompted me to think more about inequality. I found that my attention was particularly drawn to a handful of papers offering new insights into causes of inequality or analyzing policies designed to redistribute income. Several papers expanded my understanding of potential root causes of inequality.

Long-Term Effects of Equal Sharing: Evidence from Historical Inheritance Rules for Land . Bartels et al. ( 2020 ) consider the impacts of different types of inheritance laws. In some parts of Germany, 19th century inheritance law dictated that land be divided equally between all of a decedent’s children. Other areas mandated that inherited land was not divisible, and that all of a decedent’s land must go to a single heir. The authors make use of newly digitized historical agricultural and occupational census data to link these legal regimes with subsequent economic outcomes. They employ a geographic RD design, showing that inheritance rules changed sharply at borders, but that other potential determinants of long run growth are smooth across borders. Not surprisingly, localities requiring land to be equally distributed across heirs experienced a more even distribution of property in the 19th century. These areas industrialized at earlier dates, and in modern data, have higher levels of GDP per capita, labor productivity, and top incomes. Interestingly, these areas with a history of more equal land distribution now have a less equal income distribution, with higher top income shares.

Importing Inequality: Top Income Growth and the Globalization of the Elite . Immigration can influence the level of inequality within a society, and much has been written about the impacts of immigrants on low-skilled labor markets. Advani et al. ( 2020 ) turn the focus to the highest earners. They make use of administrative data on taxpayers in the UK, where the algorithm used to generate National Insurance Numbers makes it possible to identify individuals who migrated to the UK at age 18 or older. They find that immigrants are concentrated at the top of the income distribution. The share of migrants in the top 1% is about 1.4 times the share of migrants in the bottom 10%. Migrants in the top 1% are primarily earning labor income, more so than capital income, and are heavily concentrated in the finance industry. The authors carry out a decomposition exercise to estimate that migration has accounted for 85% of the growth in the top 1% income share over the last two decades.

Corporate Taxation and the Distribution of Income . Of course the tax system can affect inequality, sometimes in surprising ways. Hines ( 2020 ) points out that an increase in corporate tax rates can increase inequality, even if the corporate tax is borne by (high-income) owners of capital. The mechanism is that a higher corporate tax rate shifts activity from the corporate sector to the noncorporate sector, where idiosyncratic risk is higher. (Corporations spread risk across shareholders in ways that noncorporate entities, such as partnerships, do not.) Those who strike it lucky in risky noncorporate activity become very rich, while those who are unlucky in noncorporate activity fall to a lower income level. This ultimately leads to a more dispersed distribution of income than would have been realized in an economy with more corporate activity.

Many papers on the program analyzed the effects of redistributive policies. Not every policy designed to mitigate inequality necessarily does so.

Who Paid the French 75% Tax on Millionaires? Guillot ( 2020 ) shows that it is often not the millionaires themselves. Using a sample of high-income wage earners, she finds that, on average, employers bear more than half of a large, temporary tax increase. There are differences across occupation and sector, with managers bearing a larger share of the tax and athletes bearing much less. Along with using other strategies, high-wage executives re-time the receipt of certain payments to reduce their tax liability.

Family Policies and Child-Related Earnings Gaps in Germany . In this article, policies that are not explicitly redistributive are shown to have important distributional consequences. Bönke et al. ( 2020 ) use administrative data to estimate motherhood wage penalties over a long time period, 1949 to 2015, which includes the implementation of several different parental leave policies. Leave policies increase job security for mothers, as intended, but they have made the motherhood wage penalty grow.

Do Left-wing Governments Decrease Wage Inequality? Empirical Evidence Based on Salaries of Civil Servants . Kauder et al. ( 2020 ) focus on policy makers rather than on a particular policy. Members of German state governments have the ability to set pay structures for certain types of civil servants, including police officers and judges. Despite rhetoric to the contrary, there is no evidence that left-wing politicians set more equitable salary structures.

Regardless of whether a conference is online or in person, the number of sessions I’d like to attend always far exceeds the number I can actually attend. Thus, it is very possible that I missed it, but I saw little discussion of race. The events of 2020 have helped me to think more about racial justice, both within and outside of the economics profession, and it is a topic I hope to see represented in future IIPF programs—whether virtual or, someday, once again in person.

3.3 Kim’s thoughts

I did not get to listen to as many presentations as I wanted to at the IIPF 2020 Congress but limited as my experience was, it provided a virtual escape from the grind of pandemic induced isolation. The 2020 IIPF Congress had no papers about the economic effects of the pandemic on its program. This is not surprising as the program was not only set far in advance of the actual event, but during the Congress itself, the pandemic was very much ongoing and recent. Certainly, not enough time had passed to allow for the collection and analysis of data concerning its economic effects. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but wonder how the pandemic would affect the answers to some of the questions being asked on the program and how the pandemic would shape the future of public finance research.

My curiosity was further whetted after listening to the Congress’ Opening and first Plenary by Ottmar Edenhofer. Edenhofer wove some emerging evidence about how COVID-19 induced lockdowns reduced global emissions, but only to 2006 levels, into his interesting talk on “Pigou in the Post COVID-19 Era—A Tribute on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the Publication of The Economics of Welfare .” Footnote 8 This unexpected positive effect of COVID-19 was not large enough to alleviate the well-known emissions related pressures associated with implementation of Pigouvian remedies, but it pointed to the possibilities that a bit of lemonade might be made from the lemons that the pandemic has presented to the world.

With respect to my own recent research interests on the economics of charity, my thoughts have wandered around questions relating to how the pandemic will affect: individual decisions about whether to donate, how to donate, who to donate to, how much to donate, and when to donate; private and public providers of public goods and services decisions about how much, how, and what to produce; and inequality related tensions caused by changes in the boundaries between the private provision and public provision of public goods and services.

Some musings about the likely effect of the pandemic on individual donation decisions happened in June 2020, just three months after the UK went into the first hard pandemic-induced lockdown. In our article about it, Pinkney and Scharf ( 2020 ), rather disingenuously, we thought that because COVID-19 has increased uncertainty about individual’s future health/economic outcomes and because it has induced changes in government policies, it would disrupt people’s choices! Our reasoning was basic ... COVID-19 induced changes to policy and uncertainty changes people’s underlying present/future constraints (income, prices) and expectations so people re-maximize their own utility subject to new constraints/expectations. This leads to new individual optimal choices and a different overall allocation of resources in the economy. Thus COVID-19 has implications for equity/efficiency and overall welfare.

This is where my mind was at when listening to papers from the 2020 IIPF Congress. I enjoyed the papers that I heard, but I really wondered how the pandemic would affect some of the conclusions. Of particular interest to me were Schön ( 2020 ) and Di Gialleonardo et al. ( 2020 ).

The Role of a Pension Fund . Schön ( 2020 ) examines the role of state pensions when evaluated against a backdrop of two types of demographic change: increasing life expectancy, and fluctuations in cohort size. Both of these demographic changes imply different types of ageing effects. Increasing life expectancy delivers a slow and steady ageing effect, while in comparison, fluctuations in cohort size translate into faster, less permanent and non-monotonic ageing effects. Each type of ageing effect has a different implication for Pay as You Go (PAYGO) pension plan returns: fluctuating cohort sizes lead to positive returns for some and negative returns for others, while increasing life expectancy has a positive impact on returns. Additional analysis suggests that there is a 1.5% differential in returns between generations. Mitigating this differential could be achieved by separately targeting the ageing effect and the cohort effect. The former would require an increase in the retirement age in Germany to 81 by the year 2100 (from 60 in the year 1960). The latter effect could be remedied by stabilizing the pension system through a pension fund, which would amount to more than 40% of GDP were it introduced in 1960.

I really enjoyed this paper. The numbers are quite extraordinary but not surprising, even if they are too big to imagine that such corrections would ever happen in the real world. Working to 81? Not me. Now think about the pandemic. Even though it is too early to determine whether COVID-19 has affected life expectancy or cohort size, the kinds of demographic change that we have seen in the past, it has without a doubt generated enormous costs for individuals, firms and public sectors around the world. The Congressional Budget Office in the U.S., estimates the cost of the pandemic to be on the order of 7.6 trillion dollar’s worth of lost output over the next decade (Congressional Budget Office, 2020 ). But this number is just about lost gross domestic product (GDP). When also taking into account the costs of mortality, morbidity, mental health conditions, as well as direct economic losses, the cost leaps to an astounding 16 trillion dollars, or about 90% of the US’ annual GDP (Cutler and Summers, 2020 ). And other countries are in the same boat. In the UK, government borrowing from April 2020 to 2021 was \(\pounds\) 299 billion, the highest figure recorded since records began in 1946, and the Canadian government’s spending on COVID-19 measured was $240 billion by December 2020, about eight months into the pandemic. I look forward to future research on the role of pensions, but COVID-19 induced pressures on the public finances will surely not permit any kind of blue skies dreams of a world without differentials in PAYGO returns across generations.

The Adequate Rate of Substitution at Retirement and the Role of Pension Funds: Evidence from Italian Data . Di Gialleonardo et al. ( 2020 ) addresses the importance of private pension funds in providing an ageing population in supporting the benefits of state pensions. Using Italian data, the authors estimate an adequate net replacement rate range that would allow maintenance of standards of living in old age of 85.60% to 86.02%. The upshot is that private pension plans are crucial for maintaining a balanced social security system. An immediate inference is that threats to this ‘second pillar’ (the first being state pensions) would threaten the health of the public finances and/or the well-being of the aged population. But what bigger threat to the stability of the second pillar than COVID-19? People’s incomes have been affected by the lockdown and recession. Some have been able to continue fully working from home and may have experienced no change in their income. Others will have lost their jobs and will experience a period of unemployment. Others are able to work from home, but because of the general contraction of all sectors of the economy, are not earning as much money as they did previously. Along with changes in income, social distancing requirements have changed the composition of expenditures and the amount of money that is being spent. The overall effect on people’s disposable incomes, labor/leisure choices and savings decisions are thus uncertain. In addition, the crisis is likely to have caused a structural shift in people’s expectations and in how they discount the future. Contributing factors include uncertainty around how long there will be pressure on health services and equipment, people’s health concerns for themselves and their loved ones, the effectiveness of vaccines against variants, uncertainty about future financial market outcomes, and uncertainty about how the public finances will be brought to order. It is not clear how these channels will affect people’s labor choices and pension/savings decisions. Evidence from economic research tells us that more uncertainty should lead to more precautionary savings. What this means for the second pillar of the social security system is just not clear.

It remains to be seen what are the effects of the current crisis on the public finances and well-being of humanity, but one thing for sure is that there will be many things to look forward to at future IIPF Congresses, as data becomes available and the pandemic effects (hopefully) wind down and become relegated to history.

4 Comments from the new editors-in-chief

4.1 david’s thoughts.

Due to time zone differences as a result of an online format, in addition to family responsibilities at home, I missed being able to see as many papers as I normally would like to see during an IIPF Congress. Thus, I will comment on some papers that I saw at the conference, while also discussing papers that were on the IIPF program that I’ve seen or heard about in other capacities, such as in seminars or from colleagues. I was struck by the large number of papers on the topic of inequality, but also by the many papers that studied—theoretically or empirically—the effect of policies with redistributive goals. I also appreciate the intersection of economic history and public finance, because by understanding the past, we can better understand the future. While none of the papers below combine theory and empirics, I also appreciated the small number of papers on the program that truly attempted to integrate good theory and empirics.

Information, Ethnic Diversity, and Preferences for Redistribution . In a contribution to the behavioral public finance (Bernheim and Taubinsky, 2018 ) literature, Foremny ( 2020 ) discusses the role of people’s misperceptions about the tax law on how individuals think about tax reform. To do this, he conducts a large-scale survey in Spain that documents misunderstandings of marginal versus average tax rates, the tax burden that individuals face, and the level of government responsible for collecting the taxes. He then provides taxpayers with various information treatments in order to see how their views on inequality and redistributive policy change.

In the context of the survey, he shows that individuals underestimate the marginal tax rate in their survey response relative to “true” tax liability obtained from a tax simulator. Consistent with Gideon ( 2017 ), taxpayers appear to confuse the average and marginal tax rates and underestimate their true tax liability. Moreover, although revenue from the personal income tax is split equally between the central government and regional governments in Spain, only 10% of taxpayers are aware of this split. Most people think that tax revenues disproportionately fund central government revenues.

Taxpayers then receive different treatments. One group is given information that regional governments indeed have the power to change marginal tax rates and that tax revenue is evenly split between regional and central governments. Another treatment shows individuals how much taxes they should have paid for an additional hundred Euros earned.

After the treatment, individuals are then asked about various reform options. After receiving the correct information about their marginal tax rates, individuals are more likely to support more progressive tax reforms. Such a result suggests that people’s pre-treatment views on progressivity are influenced by their personal beliefs that their own marginal tax rates are too high. Moreover, individuals that received information on the distribution of tax revenues between the regional and central government are more likely to regard inequality as a problem. This latter view represents an important contribution in a multicultural (and multi-tiered) country with strong regional identities, such as Spain. It suggests that people are more inclined to view inequality as a problem, when they know that the tax revenue funds services for individuals similar to them (i.e. in the same region). See Alesina and Stantcheva ( 2020 ) on the role of ethnicity.

The paper represents an important contribution because policymakers often use polling as an influential tool to decide what reforms are politically popular. This paper suggests that any polling numbers may be a result of misinformation and misunderstandings about policy. In turn, the polls that politicians use to shape their views of democracy, and the political platforms they will advocate for, may have substantial error compared to if individuals had perfect information about the tax system. This may lead to even more incremental change than is socially desirable. Thus, if polling is biased as a result of people’s own misperceptions, how should politicians use voter preferences to dictate policies? Should polls be used to help make policy? Should governments try to correct this misinformation or does failing to correct for it lead to its own policy goals? These are some of the important questions raised by the analysis in this paper that the literature should address in the future.

Taxing Mobile and Overconfident Top Earners . Against the backdrop of increasing inequality, bonus payment and incentive pay for top earnings has increased dramatically in recent years, as has rent seeking by CEOs (Piketty et al., 2014 ). At the same time, the behavioral literature suggests that individuals, especially top earners, may overestimate their abilities and are overconfident. Haufler and Nishimura ( 2020 ) construct a theoretical model where overconfident managers receive compensation in the form of a fixed wage and a bonus payment, but face a tax rate on the bonus payment. The authors then consider an open economy with mobility and study how tax competition for mobile overconfident managers affects the compensation structure for firms and the tax rate that governments set.

The authors first show that the share of the bonus compensation is increasing in the overconfidence of managers. The increased reliance on bonuses thus makes the distribution of income more unequal. Despite increasing the bonuses, higher levels of overconfidence are negatively related to the revenue maximizing bonus tax rates among competing governments. Intuitively, because managers are overconfident, they anticipate paying the bonus tax at a higher probability than they actually would pay the tax, which raises the elasticity of migration. Thus, overconfidence makes labor more mobile in response to expected tax payments. Factoring in this higher elasticity, governments set a lower tax rate on bonuses. Thus, whether revenue rises or falls depends on two offsetting factors: the increased tax base from added reliance on bonuses in contracts and the lower tax rate as a result of higher migration elasticities. The authors show that in their model, the former effect dominates and revenues increase in overconfidence.

Under a more general interpretation of the bonus tax, it can be viewed as an additional tax rate on top incomes. Given research shows that tax systems have become less progressive in recent years (Egger et al., 2019 ), the authors identify an interesting interaction between increased mobility and behavioral factors such as overconfidence. But, overconfidence may arise along other dimensions. For example, what if behavioral concerns influence people’s perceptions about their ability to be caught in the act of tax evasion? Moreover, to what extent do incentive contracts reflect shareholder value theories or rent extraction by managers? In particular, future research might explore whether the effects depend on if incentive contracts are productivity enhancing or are tools for rent extraction. Regardless, given recent trends and the ability of top earners to move across regions, Footnote 9 tax competition remains an important factor influencing the taxation of top earners.

Delaying Retirement and Mortality: Evidence from Pension Reforms . In addition to the income distribution, public policies and government programs can have important consequences on the demographic distribution within countries, which may then affect the solvency of social security programs. Malkova ( 2020a ) studies the effect of major pension reforms, that induce individuals to delay retirement, on mortality rates later in life. The paper is motivated by the fact that many countries around the world have policies that provide financial incentives to delay retirement, and thus knowing how public pensions influence health status and longevity later in life is critical for understanding the long-term policies of aging societies.

The literature linking work at older ages and mortality has not reached a consensus. The paper contributes to the literature, by examining the effect of a voluntary delay in retirement in a historical context. Previous work mostly focused on estimating effects of changing the statutory retirement ages, or providing early retirement options to specific groups of workers. Moreover, the historical perspective that the paper takes allows it to study the long-run effects that are essential to make an accurate cost-benefit evaluation of the reform.

To do this, the paper evaluates a 1964 pension reform in Soviet Russia, that provided financial incentives to delay retirement. Before the reform, if pensioners kept working, they kept on average 30% of the pension. After the reform, pensioners kept on average 56% of the pension. Men became eligible for pensions at age 60. Of course, one may be concerned that the pension reform’s financial incentives were limited in Soviet Russia, but Malkova ( 2020b ) shows that financial incentives were critical, and these pension reforms increased employment rates by 47% five years after the reform.

To now study the effect of the reform on mortality, the author digitizes previously unexplored hand-written datasets from the national archives in Russia. The data contain precise internal data from Soviet records on the number of deaths by age, state, and gender. This represents the most comprehensive database of Soviet mortality records, and is an important historical contribution that allows the author to trace out long-run effects of the reform.

The paper exploits a generalized difference-in-differences design by comparing the age cohort that reached the pensionable age of 60 for men after the reform (treatment group) to the age cohort that reached pensionable age prior to the reform (control group), i.e. when they had less financial incentive to keep working, once they became eligible for pensions. Twelve years after the reform, mortality rates went up by 14% among men, suggesting that working longer had adverse health consequences. Given much of the Soviet economy was in manufacturing and more blue collar jobs, the external validity of the study applies to certain types of occupations, but occupations that are important today in many countries.

Critically, this paper shows that policies designed to encourage people to delay retirement can have unintended consequences on their health status. Although the individuals willingly decide to work longer, they may have imperfect information on the long-term consequences of working longer. Again, misconceptions may play a critical role. The results of this study suggest that policies that delay retirement may not pass a benefit-cost test, especially when considering strenuous jobs. Thus, a standard policy option used to reform old-age support programs may have unintended negative consequences. If the costs of delaying retirement ages are reflected in higher mortality rates, what are other policies that aging societies can adopt to reform their social security systems? Understanding the demographic effects Footnote 10 of public policies remains critical to determining the best policies for the long-term.

4.2 Nadine’s thoughts

My research productivity slumped during the first COVID-19 lockdown when I shared my home office with our kids. Attending the 2020 congress was one of the first opportunities to breathe some “research air” again and I greatly enjoyed the many great papers presented. Below I sketch some papers that I particularly liked (but there were many others as well!).

Corporate Taxes and Multi-product Exporters: Theory and Evidence from Trade Dynamics . Flach et al. ( 2020 ) study the link between corporate taxes and international trade. While we, by now, have a good understanding of how corporate taxation impacts firm location, investment choices, profit allocation and financing decisions, it is largely unclear if and how they affect firm competitiveness and trade patterns. This gap in the literature is quite striking given that improving the competitive stance of domestic firms in international product markets is one of the most commonly stated policy goals when corporate tax rates are cut.

Flach et al. ( 2020 ) introduce tax policy in a trade model of multi-product firms. Producers face tougher competition in export markets with lower corporate tax rates. The model predicts that a lower corporate tax rate in the destination market increases the price elasticity of export demand, as effective production costs of local firms are reduced. Faced with stronger competition, firms that sell to the destination market drop high cost varieties and hence reduce the exported product range. The authors take these predictions to the data and find strong support for their theoretical predictions.

Do Tax Loss Provisions Distort Venture Capital Funding of Start-ups? In another interesting paper, Bührle ( 2020 ) assesses how corporate taxation impacts start-ups and venture capital funding. The paper is particularly topical as entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals were hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis and there are considerable concerns among policymakers and academics that company foundation rates may decline in response (from already low levels in many European countries). Instruments that foster start-up activity and entrepreneurship are thus high on policymakers’ agendas.

In her research, Bührle ( 2020 ) focuses on anti-tax loss trafficking rules, which disallow the use of loss carryforwards after a change in ownership. The rationale for these rules is to prevent abusive transactions, where firms buy bankrupt corporate shells with loss carryforwards to reduce their corporate tax burden. Bührle ( 2020 ), in turn, shows that there is a downside to these provisions, as they may impair venture capital funding and the formation of new companies and start-up firms: if, due to the anti-tax loss trafficking regulation, accumulated losses become worthless when venture capital investors exit the company, this lowers company value and therefore incentives to grant venture capital in the first place.

Using rich data on venture capital-funded companies and exploiting variation in anti-loss trafficking rules in European countries, Bührle ( 2020 ) finds that strict anti-loss trafficking provisions indeed impair venture capital funding, while less restrictive regulations do not exert adverse effects. More mature companies and companies in high-tech industries are reported to be negatively affected.

Tax Evasion, Public Goods and Tax Progressivity: Evidence from Taxing the Ghosts . The 2020 congress program also featured many interesting papers on tax evasion. Tax evasion is a prevalent problem around the world and often hard to tackle as authorities lack appropriate monitoring techniques. Digitization offers new options to shed light on the shadow economy. In this regard, I particularly liked Rubolino ( 2020 ), which is on the “Ghost Buildings Program,” where Italian authorities used high-resolution aerial photographs of the entire country to identify buildings that were not registered on official land registry maps and thus escaped property and income taxation, the waste disposal tax and payment of a registration fee. The program was highly successful and detected more than two million ghost buildings that were hidden from the tax authorities.

Rubolino ( 2020 ) shows that the intervention resulted in a significant increase in tax revenue collection at the local level. Rubolino ( 2020 ) documents that the intervention changed the composition of the local public revenues: municipal tax collection increased while central government grants shrank (central government reduced transfers to municipalities based on the projected ghost buildings’ tax payments). Substituting government grants with tax revenue is shown to affect public spending choices as suggested by political agency models: municipalities, in response to the Ghost Buildings program, spent more resources on schools and less on administration—a finding, which is in line with the notion that spending is geared toward salient spending categories that please voters when revenue is raised through taxes rather than through grant money.

In It Together? Inequality and the Joint Distribution of Income and Wealth in Switzerland . Finally, I appreciated the many interesting papers on economic inequality in the program. The COVID-19 crisis, for me, served as a strong reminder that inequality has many faces: there are inequalities in income, inequalities in wealth, health and unemployment risks, childcare and housework, just to name a few.

Martinez ( 2020 ) assesses the interaction of two dimensions of inequality: income and wealth. Martinez ( 2020 ) uses rich data from individual tax filings in Switzerland to study the joint distribution of wealth and income. Several interesting descriptive findings emerge. First, she documents a strong positive correlation between wealth and income, especially at the very top (which rejects the narrative of billionaires who only earn little income); second, wealth mobility across time is documented to be significantly smaller than income mobility, especially in the tails of the distribution; third, inter-vivos gifts and inheritances increase intragenerational wealth mobility. But at the same time, there is strong correlation between the wealth rank of those leaving and those receiving an inheritance.

Martinez ( 2020 ) discusses implications of these patterns for the design of redistributive taxation, for the design of pension systems and for counter-cyclical fiscal policy. Her research is a great example that even purely descriptive evidence offers very valuable insights for economic policy.

5 Conclusion

Where will the field of public economics go from here? How will conferences and the research presented at those conferences be shaped by the pandemic? These are important, but difficult, questions to answer. Many classic issues in public economics will remain important research areas for years to come—a testament to the timeless nature of some questions in public finance. Nevertheless, the pandemic has opened up new and interesting questions that public economists can shed light on—especially relating to inequality, welfare implications, and how to optimally design policy responses by using empirically estimated causal estimates. As noted in Wildasin ( 2021 ), many questions in public economics remain “open.”

As we noted in the introduction, the field of public finance is becoming increasingly broad, drawing inspiration from other fields in economics: health economics, international trade, industrial organization, urban, labor economics, macroeconomics. The writer Samuel Johnson said “Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” Our good friend, and a former ITAX editor, David Wildasin often changes this to say “When you are tired of public finance, you are tired of economics; for there is in public finance all that economics can afford.” His justification—public economics is like London, because public economics touches on everything (and every field) that economics has to offer. Footnote 11 Our review of the conference program indicates that this is true.

At the same time, public economics could benefit from interdisciplinary research spanning academic disciplines: political science, sociology, law, finance, accounting, public health, etc. Some of this work has already begun, with tax lawyers working with economists to determine taxing rights, tax accountants working with economists on issues of tax evasion, and the pandemic has prompted collaborations with public health and epidemiology scholars. We have much to contribute to these other disciplines, and we have much to learn from them.

We were impressed with how the IIPF congress featured so many papers at the crossroads of public finance and a different field in economics. It is refreshing to see the conference being used as a vehicle to break down field-based silos in the discipline of economics. We hope future congresses can break down those silos at an even broader academic level to shed light on important topics.

We were also impressed by papers that combined theory and empirics. In this way, theory provides useful empirical predictions or sheds light on identification strategies, and the empirical analysis provides empirical results that allows authors to refine the theory to make it more realistic. We hope future work will have an ever tighter link between theory and empirics, including author teams that draw from both backgrounds.

Finally, one of the most refreshing aspects of the IIPF Congress is the participation from scholars across many different countries of the world. Given the importance of institutions, and the details of country-specific policies, we also appreciated the work on the Congress program that featured multi-national and sometimes multi-continent research teams. The field of public economics is better and more diverse because of these collaborations.

We hope to see you at the next Congress of the IIPF conference!

Please note that we are not writing referee reports on these papers (or making promises about what would happen if they are submitted to International Tax and Public Finance ). Instead, these are just a handful of the papers that we saw that, based on their presentation, struck us as important for the field of public finance. And please note—this is a biased sample. Like everyone else, we attended sessions that seemed interesting to us, so what we highlight says as much about our own interests as the field’s. Of course, the sample of papers presented at the conference is also not random and may have depended on people’s desire to travel to Iceland and, when the Congress went virtual, those whose authors were still willing to present the paper.

We thank David Wildasin for reminding us of the cancellation of the 1991 congress due to political turmoil and for his report on the status working ’digitally’ then: “The internet was in its comparative infancy in those days: we had email (still something of a novelty then) but MIME attachments had not yet arrived and Mosaic (first web browser) was not yet available. (When I started using email in the 1980s, I would copy a TeX file in plain text into an email message to send to co-authors who could then run TeX on the text on their computers to see the output; no .pdf attachments!)”.

Kleven ( 2018 ) focuses on NBER working papers over time. In contrast, we focus on the IIPF, which is more internationally diverse. We do not focus on changes over time, but rather a simple snapshot in time.

Ron still remains an editor.

For information on the award, see https://www.iipf.org/itaxaward.html .

It is worth noting that this is a key part of current Brexit problems since goods originating from, say, China that go to the EU pay tariffs once there and then again when entering the UK as they do not contain enough EU value-added to qualify for reduced tariffs.

Indeed, this is what Davies et al. ( 2018 ) find in using transaction level data for French firms.

A paper based on his talk appears in the special issue of this journal, Edenhofer et al. ( 2021 ). In addition to that article, this special issue also features other peer-reviewed papers that were presented at the conference (Acosta-Ormaechea and Morozumi, 2021 ; Herzfeld, 2021 ; Lappi, 2021 ; Mukunoki and Okoshi, 2021 ; Muthitacharoen et al., 2021 ; van der Ploeg, 2021 ) as well as an introduction (Chiroleu-Assouline and Runkel, 2021 ).

See, for example, Kleven et al. ( 2020 ).

See Malkova ( 2018 ) for a paper that studies the other end of the demographic distribution, fertility.

A full statement, reproduced in Appendix  1 , comes from Wildasin ( 2020 ).

Acosta-Ormaechea, S., & Morozumi, A. (2021). The value-added tax and growth: Design matters. International Tax and Public Finance . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-021-09681-2 .

Advani, A., Koenig, F., Pessina, L. & Summers, A. (2020, August). Importing inequality: Top income growth and the globalization of the elite . Working Paper.

Alesina, A. & Stantcheva, S. (2020). Diversity, immigration, and redistribution . NBER Working Paper 26620.

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Baskaran, T. & Hessami, Z. (2020, August). A leaky pipeline: Recontest rates and the underrepresentation of women in politics . Working Paper.

Bazzoli, M., DiCaro, P., Figari, F., Fiorio, C. & Manzo, M. (2020, August). Size, heterogeneity, and distributional effects of self-employment income tax evasion in Italy . Working Paper.

Bernheim, B. D., & Taubinsky, D. (2018). Behavioral public economics. Handbook of Behavioral Economics, 1 , 381–516.

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Bönke, T., Glogowsky, U., Hansen, E., Luethen, H. & Sachs, D. (2020, August). Family policies and child-related earnings gaps in Germany . Working Paper.

Brun Bjørkheim, J. & Nygård, O. (2020, August). Gender differences in tax evasion: Evidence from Norwegian microdata . Working Paper.

Bührle, A. T. (2020, August). Do tax loss provisions distort venture capital funding of start-ups? Working Paper.

Chiroleu-Assouline, M., & Runkel, M. (2021). Introduction to IIPF 2020 special issue in ITAX – Reflections on the interactions between environmental economics and public finance. International Tax and Public Finance . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-021-09697-8 .

Cipullo, D. (2020, August). Gender gaps in political careers: Evidence from competitive elections . Working Paper.

Congressional Budget Office. (2020). An update to the economic outlook: 2020 to 2030. Washington DC.

Cutler, D. M., & Summers, L. H. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic and the $16 trillion virus. Journal of the American Medical Association, 324 (15), 1495–1496.

Davies, R., Martin, J., Parenti, M., & Toubal, F. (2018). Knocking on tax haven’s door: Multinational firms and transfer pricing. Review of Economics and Statistics, 100 (1), 120–134.

Di Gialleonardo, L., Mare, M., Motroni, A., & Porcelli, F. (2020, August). The adequate rate of substitution at retirement and the role of pension funds: Evidence from Italian data . Working Paper.

Edenhofer, O., Franks, M., & Kalkuhl, M. (2021). Pigou in the 21st century: A tribute on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the publication of The Economics of Welfare. Internatinal Tax and Public Finance . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-020-09653-y .

Egger, P. H., Nigai, S., & Strecker, N. M. (2019). The taxing deed of globalization. American Economic Review, 109 (2), 353–390.

Engstrøm, P., Hagen, J. & Johansson, E. (2020, August). Estimating tax noncompliance among self-employed with evidence from pleasure boat registers . Working Paper.

Flach, L., Irlacher, M. & Unger, F. (2020, August). Corporate taxes and multi-product exporters: Theory and evidence from trade dynamics . Working paper.

Foremny, D. (2020, February). Information, ethnic diversity, and preferences for redistribution . Working paper.

Gideon, M. (2017). Do individuals perceive income tax rates correctly? Public Finance Review, 45 (1), 97–117.

Guillot, M. (2020, August). Who paid the French 75 % tax on millionaires? Effects on top wage earners and their employers . Working Paper.

Haufler, A., Nishimura, Y. (2020, September). Taxing mobile and overconfident top earners . CESifo Working Paper 8550.

Herzfeld, M. (2021). Designing international tax reform: Lessons from TCJA. International Tax and Public Finance . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-021-09675-0 .

Hines, Jr., J. R. (2020, August). Corporate taxation and the distribution of income . Working Paper.

Kauder, B., Krause, M. & Potrafke, N. (2020, August). Do left-wing governments decrease wage inequality? Empirical evidence based on salaries of civil servants . Working Paper.

Kleven, H., Landais, C., Muñoz, M., & Stantcheva, S. (2020). Taxation and migration: Evidence and policy implications. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 34 (2), 119–142.

Kleven, H. J. (2018). Slides: Language trends in public economics.

Lappi, P. (2021). Lobbying for size and slice of the quota. International Tax and Public Finance . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-021-09684-z .

Leenders, W., Lejour, A., Rabate, S. & vant Riet, M. (2020, August). Offshore tax evasion and wealth inequality: Evidence from a tax amnesty in the Netherlands . Working Paper.

Lobel, F., Scot, T., & Zuniga, P. (2020, August). Corporate taxation and evasion responses: Evidence from a minimum tax in Honduras. Working Paper.

Malkova, O. (2018). Can maternity benefits have long-term effects on childbearing? Evidence from Soviet Russia. Review of Economics and Statistics, 100 (4), 691–703.

Malkova, O. (2020a). Delaying retirement and mortality: Evidence from pension reforms . Working Paper.

Malkova, O. (2020b). Did Soviet elderly employment respond to financial incentives? Evidence from pension reforms. Journal of Public Economics, 182 , 104111.

Martin, J., Parenti, M. & Toubal, F. (2020, August). Corporate tax avoidence and industry concentration . Working Paper.

Martinez, I. Z. (2020, August). In it together? Inequality and the joint distribution of income and wealth in Switzerland . Working Paper.

Miethe, J. (2020, August). The elusive banker: Using hurricanes to uncover (non-)activity in offshore financial centers . Working Paper.

Mukunoki, H., & Okoshi, H. (2021). Tariff elimination versus tax avoidance: Free trade agreements and transfer pricing. International Tax and Public Finance . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-021-09689-8 .

Muthitacharoen, A., Wanichthaworn, W., & Burong, T. (2021). VAT threshold and small business behavior: Evidence from Thai tax returns. International Tax and Public Finance . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-021-09672-3 .

Nivala, A., Harju, J., Kotakorpi, K. & Matikka, T. (2020, August). Descriptive evidence from risk based tax audits on firms in Finland . Working Paper.

Piketty, T., Saez, E., & Stantcheva, S. (2014). Optimal taxation of top labor incomes: A tale of three elasticities. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 6 (1), 230–271.

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Public Finance: The “London” in the World of Economics

This section presents Wildasin ( 2020 )’s version of Samuel Johnson’s quote “Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” Legend has it that Wildasin first rephrased this quote when he was giving an introductory lecture about public finance for an audience of incoming PhD students at Vanderbilt, ca. 1994, attempting to convince them to take public economics over other fields. Since then, one variant or another, has been used by others in the profession. We reproduce it here because it is quite apt for our survey and because it resonates with us.

Wildasin ( 2020 ) paraphrases:

Verse Boswell asked Samuel Johnson about public finance: “Is it interesting?”

Verse Johnson replied, “The happiness of public finance is not to be conceived but by those who have studied it.”

Verse Boswell: “Why, sir, you find nobody at all intellectual who is willing to depart from the study of public finance?”

Verse Johnson: “No, Sir. When you are tired of public finance, you are tired of economics; for there is in public finance all that economics can afford.”

Wildasin ( 2020 ) concludes, “public finance brings us into contact with every subfield of economics: labor, economics of the family, IO, macro/monetary, urban, health, education, finance, history, political economy, international,—you name it!

And into contact with law, accounting, business, political science, sociology ... using every conceivable tool in our collective analytical toolkits!

What a privilege to work in such a rich field!”

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Agrawal, D.R., Davies, R.B., LaLumia, S. et al. A snapshot of public finance research from immediately prior to the pandemic: IIPF 2020. Int Tax Public Finance 28 , 1276–1297 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-021-09693-y

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50 Best Finance Dissertation Topics For Research Students 2024

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Finance Dissertation Made Easier!

Embarking on your dissertation adventure? Look no further! Choosing the right finance dissertation topics is like laying the foundation for your research journey in Finance, and we're here to light up your path. In this blog, we're diving deep into why dissertation topics in finance matter so much. We've got some golden writing tips to share with you! We're also unveiling the secret recipe for structuring a stellar finance dissertation and exploring intriguing topics across various finance sub-fields. Whether you're captivated by cryptocurrency, risk management strategies, or exploring the wonders of Internet banking, microfinance, retail and commercial banking - our buffet of Finance dissertation topics will surely set your research spirit on fire!

What is a Finance Dissertation?

Finance dissertations are academic papers that delve into specific finance topics chosen by students, covering areas such as stock markets, banking, risk management, and healthcare finance. These dissertations require extensive research to create a compelling report and contribute to the student's confidence and satisfaction in the field of Finance. Now, let's understand why these dissertations are so important and why choosing the right Finance dissertation topics is crucial!

Why Are Finance Dissertation Topics Important?

Choosing the dissertation topics for Finance students is essential as it will influence the course of your research. It determines the direction and scope of your study. You must make sure that the Finance dissertation topics you choose are relevant to your field of interest, or you may end up finding it more challenging to write. Here are a few reasons why finance thesis topics are important:

1. Relevance

Opting for relevant finance thesis topics ensures that your research contributes to the existing body of knowledge and addresses contemporary issues in the field of Finance. Choosing a dissertation topic in Finance that is relevant to the industry can make a meaningful impact and advance understanding in your chosen area.

2. Personal Interest

Selecting Finance dissertation topics that align with your interests and career goals is vital. When genuinely passionate about your research area, you are more likely to stay motivated during the dissertation process. Your interest will drive you to explore the subject thoroughly and produce high-quality work.

3. Future Opportunities

Well-chosen Finance dissertation topics can open doors to various future opportunities. It can enhance your employability by showcasing your expertise in a specific finance area. It may lead to potential research collaborations and invitations to conferences in your field of interest.

4. Academic Supervision

Your choice of topics for dissertation in Finance also influences the availability of academic supervisors with expertise in your chosen area. Selecting a well-defined research area increases the likelihood of finding a supervisor to guide you effectively throughout the dissertation. Their knowledge and guidance will greatly contribute to the success of your research.

Writing Tips for Finance Dissertation

A lot of planning, formatting, and structuring goes into writing a dissertation. It starts with deciding on topics for a dissertation in Finance and conducting tons of research, deciding on methods, and so on. However, you can navigate the process more effectively with proper planning and organisation. Below are some tips to assist you along the way, and here is a blog on the 10 tips on writing a dissertation that can give you more information, should you need it!

1. Select a Manageable Topic

Choosing Finance research topics within the given timeframe and resources is important. Select a research area that interests you and aligns with your career goals. It will help you stay inspired throughout the dissertation process.

2. Conduct a Thorough Literature Review

A comprehensive literature review forms the backbone of your research. After choosing the Finance dissertation topics, dive deep into academic papers, books, and industry reports, gaining a solid understanding of your chosen area to identify research gaps and establish the significance of your study.

3. Define Clear Research Objectives

Clearly define your dissertation's research questions and objectives. It will provide a clear direction for your research and guide your data collection, analysis, and overall structure. Ensure your objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

4. Collect and Analyse Data

Depending on your research methodology and your Finance dissertation topics, collect and analyze relevant data to support your findings. It may involve conducting surveys, interviews, experiments, and analyzing existing datasets. Choose appropriate statistical techniques and qualitative methods to derive meaningful insights from your data.

5. Structure and Organization

Pay attention to the structure and organization of your dissertation. Follow a logical progression of chapters and sections, ensuring that each chapter contributes to the overall coherence of your study. Use headings, subheadings, and clear signposts to guide the reader through your work.

6. Proofread and Edit

Once you have completed the writing process, take the time to proofread and edit your dissertation carefully. Check for clarity, coherence, and proper grammar. Ensure that your arguments are well-supported, and eliminate any inconsistencies or repetitions. Pay attention to formatting, citation styles, and consistency in referencing throughout your dissertation.

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Finance Dissertation Topics

Now that you know what a finance dissertation is and why they are important, it's time to have a look at some of the best Finance dissertation topics. For your convenience, we have segregated these topics into categories, including cryptocurrency, risk management, internet banking, and so many more. So, let's dive right in and explore the best Finance dissertation topics:

Dissertation topics in Finance related to Cryptocurrency

1. The Impact of Regulatory Frameworks on the Volatility and Liquidity of Cryptocurrencies.

2. Exploring the Factors Influencing Cryptocurrency Adoption: A Comparative Study.

3. Assessing the Efficiency and Market Integration of Cryptocurrency Exchanges.

4. An Analysis of the Relationship between Cryptocurrency Prices and Macroeconomic Factors.

5. The Role of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) in Financing Startups: Opportunities and Challenges.

Dissertation topics in Finance related to Risk Management

1. The Effectiveness of Different Risk Management Strategies in Mitigating Financial Risks in Banking Institutions.

2. The Role of Derivatives in Hedging Financial Risks: A Comparative Study.

3. Analyzing the Impact of Risk Management Practices on Firm Performance: A Case Study of a Specific Industry.

4. The Use of Stress Testing in Evaluating Systemic Risk: Lessons from the Global Financial Crisis.

5. Assessing the Relationship between Corporate Governance and Risk Management in Financial Institutions.

Dissertation topics in Finance related to Internet Banking

1. Customer Adoption of Internet Banking: An Empirical Study on Factors Influencing Usage.

Enhancing Security in Internet Banking: Exploring Biometric Authentication Technologies.

2. The Impact of Mobile Banking Applications on Customer Engagement and Satisfaction.

3. Evaluating the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Internet Banking Services in Emerging Markets.

4. The Role of Social Media in Shaping Customer Perception and Adoption of Internet Banking.

Dissertation topics in Finance related to Microfinance

1. The Impact of Microfinance on Poverty Alleviation: A Comparative Study of Different Models.

2. Exploring the Role of Microfinance in Empowering Women Entrepreneurs.

3. Assessing the Financial Sustainability of Microfinance Institutions in Developing Countries.

4. The Effectiveness of Microfinance in Promoting Rural Development: Evidence from a Specific Region.

5. Analyzing the Relationship between Microfinance and Entrepreneurial Success: A Longitudinal Study.

Dissertation topics in Finance related to Retail and Commercial Banking

1. The Impact of Digital Transformation on Retail and Commercial Banking: A Case Study of a Specific Bank.

2. Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty in Retail Banking: An Analysis of Service Quality Dimensions.

3. Analyzing the Relationship between Bank Branch Expansion and Financial Performance.

4. The Role of Fintech Startups in Disrupting Retail and Commercial Banking: Opportunities and Challenges.

5. Assessing the Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions on the Performance of Retail and Commercial Banks.

Dissertation topics in Finance related to Alternative Investment

1. The Performance and Risk Characteristics of Hedge Funds: A Comparative Analysis.

2. Exploring the Role of Private Equity in Financing and Growing Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.

3. Analyzing the Relationship between Real Estate Investments and Portfolio Diversification.

4. The Potential of Impact Investing: Evaluating the Social and Financial Returns.

5. Assessing the Risk-Return Tradeoff in Cryptocurrency Investments: A Comparative Study.

Dissertation topics in Finance related to International Affairs

1. The Impact of Exchange Rate Volatility on International Trade: A Case Study of a Specific Industry.

2. Analyzing the Effectiveness of Capital Controls in Managing Financial Crises: Comparative Study of Different Countries.

3. The Role of International Financial Institutions in Promoting Economic Development in Developing Countries.

4. Evaluating the Implications of Trade Wars on Global Financial Markets.

5. Assessing the Role of Central Banks in Managing Financial Stability in a Globalized Economy.

Dissertation topics in Finance related to Sustainable Finance

1. The impact of sustainable investing on financial performance.

2. The role of green bonds in financing climate change mitigation and adaptation.

3. The development of carbon markets.

4. The use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in investment decision-making.

5. The challenges and opportunities of sustainable Finance in emerging markets.

Dissertation topics in Finance related to Investment Banking

1. The valuation of distressed assets.

2. The pricing of derivatives.

3. The risk management of financial institutions.

4. The regulation of investment banks.

5. The impact of technology on the investment banking industry.

Dissertation topics in Finance related to Actuarial Science

1. The development of new actuarial models for pricing insurance products.

2. The use of big data in actuarial analysis.

3. The impact of climate change on insurance risk.

4. The design of pension plans that are sustainable in the long term.

5. The use of actuarial science to manage risk in other industries, such as healthcare and Finance.

Tips To Find Good Finance Dissertation Topics 

Embarking on a financial dissertation journey requires careful consideration of various factors. Your choice of topic in finance research topics is pivotal, as it sets the stage for the entire research process. Finding a good financial dissertation topic is essential to blend your interests with the current trends in the financial landscape. We suggest the following tips that can help you pick the perfect dissertation topic:

1. Identify your interests and strengths 

2. Check for current relevance

3. Feedback from your superiors

4. Finalise the research methods

5. Gather the data

6. Work on the outline of your dissertation

7. Make a draft and proofread it

In this blog, we have discussed the importance of finance thesis topics and provided valuable writing tips and tips for finding the right topic, too. We have also presented a list of topics within various subfields of Finance. With this, we hope you have great ideas for finance dissertations. Good luck with your finance research journey!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do i research for my dissertation project topics in finance, what is the best topic for dissertation topics for mba finance, what is the hardest finance topic, how do i choose the right topic for my dissertation in finance, where can i find a dissertation topic in finance.

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Research in Finance

• Recent Chapters

All books in this series (20 titles)

Recent chapters in this series (17 titles)

• Corporate Board Gender Diversity and Dividend Decisions: Evidence from India
• Do Country-Level and Firm-Level Governance Quality Influence Bank Sustainability Performance?
• Exploring a State-owned Bank's Adoption of Sustainable Finance: Evidence from a Developing Country
• How Green Is Green Banking? An Analysis of Slack and Green Practices in the Banking Industry
• Relationship Between Financial Market Freedom and Economic Growth: An Empirical Evidence from India
• The Effect of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) Adoption on Earnings Management: Empirical Evidence from an Emerging Country
• The Impact of Labor Rights on Equity Market Returns: A Cross-Country Analysis
• An Empirical Analysis of The Determinants of Bank Internationalization: The Case of India and Nigeria
• Contributing Factors of Long-Term ADR Holding Period Returns: an Up-To-Date Analysis
• Corporate Board Subcommittees and Firm Performance: Evidence from India
• Do Indian Stock Market Message Board Discussions Really Matter? A Machine Learning-based Approach
• Identification of Alternative Insurance Model using Fuzzy AHP
• Impact of Management Control Systems on Sponsors’ Profitability in Ppp Infrastructure Ventures
• Impact of Ownership Structure and Board Characteristics on Firm Value: Evidence From China and India
• Investment in Technology: Does It Proliferate the Profitability and Performance of the Indian Banks?
• Suggested Model for Explaining Financial Distress in Egypt: Toward a Comprehensive Model
• Rita Biswas
• Michael Michaelidis

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200 Unique Finance Research Topics to Impress Your Professor

In the ever-evolving landscape of finance, the quest for an exceptional research topic becomes the cornerstone of academic distinction. Are you looking for an interesting research topic that will help your finance paper stand out? You’re in luck, as we have curated a comprehensive list of 200 unparalleled topics for you to come up with an impressive idea for your assignment. While a professional  Custom writing service  the research topic on finance that we will present here will get you started on your own. Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

Unique Finance Research Topics for You to Score Big

As we have tried our best to serve you with unique topics, choosing a research topic from these lists will help you unleash your financial prowess. Let’s get to reading the first one: 

Top Finance Research Topics or Finance Report Topics

• Merger and acquisition: an analytical study of the benefits and obstacles.
• Capital asset valuation model: possible solutions to some deficiencies.
• The impact of commodity market manipulation on future trading.
• Continuous time models: a comparative analysis of their application in various financial environments.
• How speculation undermines the stability of banking in national markets.
• Branding: its effect on consumer behavior
• Regulation of Investments of Pension Funds and Insurance Companies
• Strategic Asset Allocation for the International Reserves of the Central Bank
• Budget Independence of the Central Bank
• Financial in the Department
• Financing of the Livestock Sector in the USA and the Trust as an Alternative
• Implications of the Retirement and Pension
• Financing of Agroindustry
• Oligopolistic practices in the marking of the interest rate in the Banking System
• Non-Traditional Financing Mechanisms applicable to SMEs
• Design a cost accounting proposal for Telecommunications Companies
• Impact of the implementation of the electronic payment system
• Contribution of Microcredit to economic development through Public Banking
• Electronic Money in the process of Financial Inclusion in some countries
• Mitigation of Risks assumed by the Central Banks
• Strategic planning in the field of financial crime

The finance research paper topics we mentioned above will help you sort things out for your assignments.

Corporate Finance Research Titles

Embark on a captivating journey into corporate finance with our meticulously curated research topics . We know interesting finance topics are hard to find but today is your lucky day. Our professional essay writers will assist you to choose finance topics to write about. So, here you go: Here you go:

• Using interest rate bootstrapping to price corporate debt analysis.
• Corporate Organizations: The Impact of Independent Audits on Accountability and Transparency.
• Stock Buybacks: A Critical Look at How Companies Can Buy Back at Optimum Prices.
• Mergers and Acquisitions: Reasons Companies Overpay for Bad Acquisitions.
• Corporate Finance: Ethical Concerns and Possible Solutions
• Constraints for potential participation in tourism
• Economics and business management
• Systematic Review, Analysis, and Evaluation of Research in Corporate Finance
• Corporate governance: improving their performance.
• Valuation of the Wall Street Stock Exchange Companies
• Valuation of Companies In San Andreas
• Valuation of Companies In San Francisco
• Valuation of Companies In Las Angeles
• Valuation of Companies In New York
• Valuation of Companies In Mexico
• Bioeconomy and sustainable development goals
• Social networks and financial restrictions
• Balanced scorecard of an IT consulting company
• Proposal to improve the process of preparing and managing investment projects
• Design a strategic growth plan for the company
• Bank concentration, institutional investors and financial restrictions
• Realities and challenges: internal communications at an American Company
• How does the development of institutional investors affect the volatility of growth?
• Early entrepreneurship and financial development: a global approach
• Analysis and resolution of methodologies to estimate the share price
• Design of a management control system
• New organizational culture in the States
• Using the discounted cash flow method
• Design of an innovation management system
• Business plan for an information technology company
• Management of high-net-worth clients
• Investor behavior in multinational companies
• Redesign the formulation process and management control

These Financial and History research paper topics allows students to create unique and captivating content for their assignments. Students can start a good research in finance topics after reading our expert’s list.

Healthcare Finance Topics

Navigate the intersection of healthcare and finance with our compelling array of research topics. Here you go with the list of amazing financial research topics:

• The impact of healthcare reimbursement models on patient outcomes.
• Cost-effectiveness analysis of pharmaceutical interventions.
• Financial implications of value-based healthcare delivery.
• The role of health insurance in reducing healthcare disparities.
• Financial challenges and opportunities in telemedicine adoption.
• Financing strategies for healthcare infrastructure development.
• The economics of healthcare technology innovation.
• Analyzing the financial sustainability of public healthcare systems.
• The impact of healthcare mergers and acquisitions on costs and quality.
• Financing long-term care services for an aging population.
• Financial implications of healthcare fraud and abuse.
• Evaluating the financial viability of healthcare startups.
• The economics of healthcare workforce planning and staffing.
• Financial incentives for healthcare providers to adopt evidence-based practices.
• The role of health savings accounts (HSAs) in healthcare financing.
• Financing strategies for addressing mental health and addiction treatment.
• The economics of healthcare quality improvement initiatives.
• Analyzing the financial impact of healthcare policy reforms.
• The role of healthcare finance in supporting global health initiatives.
• Financial challenges and solutions in managing healthcare costs for chronic diseases.

Our experts have presented the best research topics in finance and healthcare for you. Students may choose the one that suits their abilities.

Business Finance Research Topics

Explore the full potential of business finance by choosing a topic for research from our carefully picked list. Here you go:

• Application of trade finance: its importance for the business sector.
• Business Modernization: Roles of Trade Finance in Business Modernization.
• Feasibility of the Implementation of a quinoa processing plant for export in the company
• Validation of the theory of return on investment in the commercial management of logistics companies
• Financial consulting unit for the implementation of information systems
• Internal control financial system
• Proposal to improve the works trust supervision process in a technical-financial consulting company
• Short-term financial planning and profitability case: Pacific Savings and Credit Cooperative
• Business plan for the launch of a financial products
• Strengthening the strategy toward value creation
• Impact of operational risk management on regulatory capital and the global capital ratio of microfinance entities
• The discounted cash flow and the real options method in the valuation of a company in the mass consumption sector
• Estimation of financial solvency to assess the risk of bankruptcy
• Participation associations are an effective tool for seeking financing
• Analysis and design of a process architecture for a small mining
• Analysis of the ROI in the commercial management of department stores
• Analysis of the evolution of the value of the industrial sector through the model of the net present value of growth options
• The impact of capital budgeting techniques on investment decisions.
• Financial risk management strategies in multinational corporations.
• The role of financial derivatives in hedging against market volatility.
• Analyzing the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms in mitigating agency problems.
• Financial implications of mergers and acquisitions on shareholder value.
• The relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance.
• The impact of corporate taxation on firm profitability and investment decisions.

Our finance topics for research business and marketing are handpicked by our experts and it allows you to bypass the lengthy processes.

International Financial Research Paper Topics

Uncover the complexities of global finance with these great research topics.

• Interaction of the USA financial system with international financial markets
• Repercussions on economic theory and policy
• The financial crisis of 2008-2011. Causes, spread, and consequences
• Effects of external shocks on the United States economy
• The economic problems in the nineties
• The debt crisis and emerging markets
• The Big Short Crises: Causes and Impact
• Crypto-currency crashes
• Exchange collapses and balance of payments crises
• First, second, and third-generation economic crisis models
• Financial crises in emerging countries
• Financial deregulation and capital flows.
• Long-term evolution, Relationship with the exchange rate regime.
• Relationship between financial flows and FDI, short and long-term.
• Push and pull factors and determinants of capital flows
• External financial markets. Eurocurrencies and Euromarkets
• The North American market
• Oil market and independency with international financial affairs
• The forward exchange markets
• Taxonomy and operation of international financial markets
• Models of external restriction and growth
• Real exchange rate and growth.
• Exchange policy in developing countries.
• Real effects of exchange rate policy.
• Currency substitution and dollarization
• Relationship between the euro and the dollar
• SME: credibility and external commitment policies as a form of stabilization
• Consequences of global monetary conditions on international prices
• Economic integration and financial integration in Europe
• The role of international reserves in the different stages of the international monetary system
• Evolution from the European Monetary System (EMS) to the single currency
• Analysis of costs and benefits
• International macroeconomic cycles and their transmission.
• Economic interdependence and coordination of monetary and exchange policies
• The strategic approach and the theory of games in the global economy
• International liquidity generation mechanisms
• The international monetary system
• The flotation bands. Theory and evidence.
• Crawling peg. Theory and evidence.
• Exchange rate administered. Theory and evidence.
• Inflation Targeting. Theory and evidence.
• Volatility and exchange rate regime
• Stabilization plans based on the exchange rate
• Costs and benefits of macroeconomic efficiency and macroeconomic flexibility
• Effects of fiscal and monetary policy.
• Nominal volatility and absolute volatility.
• The efficiency of the asset market and the premium for risk: Different ways to cover risks

Personal Financial Topics for Research

Check out our list of hand-picked personal finance topics:

• Paying debts, as well as savings and investment
• The balance between the present and the future
• How to improve personal finances
• Create a spending plan
• Salary, unemployment benefit, pension.
• Personal finance applications for mobile
• Net profit on your investments
• Plan a reduction of expenses
• Personal finance books
• Investing in Stock Exchange
• Investment in Cryptocurrencies
• Research interest rates on loans, credit cards, and similar investment instruments.
• SMEs and businesses
• Discussing the Importance of Financial protection
• Creation of capital and assets
• Financial instruments – What Do We Need to Know About Them?
• Inflation and loss of purchasing power
• Evaluation of possible saving methods with a limited budget.
• The effect of rising interest rates and inflation on personal finance.
• Define your financial goals and create a budget
• The US banks that no longer want more money from their customers
• GameStop: Amateur Investors Taking on Wall Street

Hopefully, this blog post has allowed you to explore the different aspects of finance. So get creative and choose a topic that speaks to you. When delving into how to write an 8-page paper , these carefully curated lists covering topics from corporate finance to personal finance provide all the necessary guidance and resources.

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7 Important Finance Trends (2024-2027)

You may also like:

• Soaring Fintech Startups
• Important Fintech Trends
• Growing Cryptocurrency Trends

From crypto to DeFi, the world of finance is changing faster than ever.

And financial services (like banks, insurance, and money management) are scrambling to keep up.

Many of these new trends come on the back of changing technology. While others are the result of a renewed focus on the customer.

Let’s look at a handful of current and developing finance trends that are set to explode over the coming months.

1. The Financial Services Industry Embraces Blockchain

For years, blockchain technology has been synonymous with cryptocurrency. However, experts believe that the technology will now become more integrated with existing financial systems.

For example, using blockchain would allow banks to conduct cheaper, more efficient transactions while maintaining tight security.

It can also be used to handle peer-to-peer lending, an industry that could see a growth of up to $150 billion by 2025.

More banks are transitioning to cloud-based banking in 2024, and blockchain will no doubt play a role in this.

HSBC and Wells Fargo already use blockchain technology to settle forex trades .

Paypal, Mastercard, and JP Morgan all allow users to make payments on their networks using blockchain currencies .

This involves cryptocurrency, of course, but it shows banks’ willingness to embrace blockchain.

It’s not just banks incorporating blockchain, either.

AXA, the French multinational insurance company, uses blockchain technology when insuring clients against flight delays.

An Ethereum blockchain then connects both the insurance contract and air traffic data.

As soon as a flight is over two hours late, the system takes notice and automatically triggers the insurance payout.

2. More People Download Personal Finance Apps

During the pandemic, downloads of personal finance apps grew roughly 90% .

Finance apps like Mint, Prism, and EveryDollar provided exactly what people were looking for and their popularity went through the roof.

These apps not only help people manage their money , but they offer ways to invest in stocks and crypto.

It’s not just the ability to manage your money remotely that’s attracting people, either. People specifically like having the power to run their financial world (literally) in the palm of their hand.

And as the US adopts open banking , which will make financial apps even safer, this number will likely increase. And skeptical users who harbored security concerns might be persuaded to take a second look.

Square’s Cash App remains the most popular personal finance app available, and among its list of benefits is a rewards system , which ties into what we discussed above about customer loyalty programs.

3. More People Get Their Money Professionally Managed

A new kind of wealth manager is quickly becoming the de facto money manager for many consumers: RIA.

A Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) is a firm that is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and specializes in giving financial advice and managing investments.

Compared to typical broker-dealers, RIA’s have what is known as a fiduciary duty to their clients.

This means that they are required to put their client’s interests before their own when making financial decisions.

This kind of high-touch and client-focused model is gaining traction in the US.

At the end of 2020, RIA’s managed a collective $110 trillion supplied by over 60 million clients around the US This is compared to roughly $20 trillion at the beginning of this century.

In addition, there are now just under 14,000 RIAs nationwide, employing close to a million people.

Even at this growth rate, 47% of RIAs still believe that the industry has a lot of room to grow.

A study by Schwab found that over half of investors prefer to have a fiduciary (an RIA) manage their money compared to any other model.

Overall, it seems that the growth of the RIA industry is leading more Americans to consider letting a professional manage their money.

4. Loyalty Programs Drive Repeat Business

From half-full punch cards sitting in the back of your wallet to website-specific rewards programs, the idea of a loyalty program is nothing new.

However, we’re seeing an uptick in loyalty programs in the finance world.

Loyalty programs have long been a popular way to keep customers coming back, but they’re usually offered in retail and the food industry.

Now, loyalty programs are practically mandatory, even in the financial services industry. Many believe that they’re only going to get bigger, better, and more competitive.

In August of 2021, an American Banker/Monigle Agency survey of banking customers found that, regardless of financial institution or product, “rewards and loyalty remain paramount to the customer experience” .

Most customers, 80% of millennials and 68% of non-millennials would be willing to sign up for a premium loyalty program offered by their favorite brands.

Repeat customers spend at least 33% more than new customers.

And more than 80% of millennials and almost 75% of baby boomers like to get rewards simply for engaging with their favorite brands, whether or not they make a purchase.

A good example of this is CitiBank’s “thankyou” rewards program, which lets customers earn points by simply using their mobile apps or ATMs.

A survey conducted by McKinsey & Company showed that consumers who belong to paid loyalty programs are 62% more likely to spend more money on that brand.

Interestingly, when it comes to free loyalty programs, that number is only 30%.

Banks are losing the “tender wars”  to companies like PayPal and programs like Buy Now, Pay Later. Offering a good loyalty program may be one of their few remaining options to bring consumers back.

5. Banks Further Embrace the Cloud

Banks were already gravitating towards the cloud pre-pandemic, but the pandemic really sped things up .

As people grow warier of physical contact, the demand for digital services rises, so banks need a way to scale up quickly.

The cloud provides just that.

Market research company IDC estimates that global spending on cloud services will surpass $1.3 trillion by 2025, just three years away.

Banks and credit unions will be a part of that, with heavy hitters like JPMorgan Chase and Arvest Bank already converting part of their core systems to a  cloud-native platform .

Jim Marous of The Financial Brand believes that cloud banking is the future , citing the fact that IBM has developed cloud solutions specifically for the financial industry.

Microsoft introduced its own offering last year with Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services.

According to Genpact, banking industry CIOs claimed that updating their applications to function in the cloud helped their companies to adapt in 2021.

Another survey, this one conducted by Harris Poll and Google Cloud, showed that, of the 1,300 financial services leaders polled, 83% of them were using the cloud as part of their primary infrastructure.

MANTL is one of the companies that is focused on the cloud banking market.

The company basically helps traditional banks expand into the digital market .

MANTL does this by developing products that allow banks to automate back-office functions, set up an online presence, and onboard customers digitally.

Overall, the company boasts that its customers can expect to receive four times more account applications with a digital offering powered by MANTL.

Artificial intelligence plays a big role in the adoption of cloud services. Not only does AI provide chatbots, but it can also analyze transactions, monitor suspicious activity, and perform other tasks just as well if not better than human counterparts.

Investing in AI would generally cost more than banks would be willing to consider, but if AI was packaged with cloud services , that would become a very appealing offer.

6. Banks Move Past Overdraft Fees

Overdraft fees have long been a thorn in the side of bank customers everywhere. They’re known for not only being excessive but also having a tendency to snowball and reach absurd amounts.

According to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, overdraft and non-sufficient funds revenue totaled $15.47 billion in 2019 .

Of course, that doesn’t mean that banks will just up and get rid of them (though Ally Financial did just that last year and Capital One followed suit in January ), but multiple institutions are implementing new features designed to help customers avoid fees at all costs.

Bank of America added a feature called Balance Connect , which allows users to automatically transfer money to and from accounts to prevent possible overdraft fees.

There’s still a fee of $12 per transfer, but that’s less than the usual overdraft fee. Plus, there’s less chance of it compounding as dramatically.

PNC is offering a new feature called Low Cash Mode that will let customers change the order in which transactions are processed in order to avoid overdrafts.

JPMorgan Chase is giving customers more opportunities to restore overdraft balances before they get charged a fee. They’re also letting customers access direct deposited paychecks two days early.

There are two major factors in banks suddenly looking to eliminate or lessen overdraft fees:

One, everyone is doing it, and no bank wants to be the last one charging overdraft fees. In an age where consumers want loyalty programs, going the opposite direction is a good way to go out of business.

Two, with the release of the CFPB report mentioned above, the agency announced its intentions to begin zeroing in on banks that have, as Director Rohit Chopra puts it, “become hooked on overdraft fees to feed their profit model” .

7. More Non-Tech People Get into Crypto

As of November of 2021, total cryptocurrency market capitalization had topped out at $2.79 trillion .

Venture capitalist firms purchased over $27 billion in crypto in 2021, almost five times more than they spent in 2020.

In a move that should signify that crypto is, in fact, getting even bigger, US President Joe Biden recently signed a bill that requires all crypto exchanges to be reported to the IRS .

This sort of oversight wouldn’t be necessary if cryptocurrencies weren’t poised to become even more popular.

The very first Bitcoin ETF - exchange-traded fund - hit the New York Stock Exchange in October, allowing traders to invest in a more conventional way .

Instead of buying crypto, they’re instead able to invest in companies that have a financial stake in crypto. So, they’re still susceptible to its volatile nature, they’re just inserting a middleman.

Interest in cryptocurrency isn’t limited to the private sector, either.

As of September 2021, the El Salvador government now demands that all of its local merchants accept Bitcoin as legal tender.

This prompted other Central American countries, like Honduras and Guatemala, to begin looking into central bank digital currencies.

This also had an impact on the US, where 27% of Americans polled answered in favor of adopting Bitcoin .

While some countries, namely China, are strongly opposed to cryptocurrency, the vast majority are considering how they can bring crypto into the fold.

Things are definitely moving away from traditional financial practices.

Unsurprisingly, everything is going digital.

Financial services are looking at the cloud and the blockchain, customers are looking at mobile banking, and everyone is looking at crypto. It’s an exciting time to be in the financial services industry.

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Top 140 Finance Research Paper Topics

Why finance topics? The search for interesting finance topics is a constant one. Of course, this is understandable because knowledge of hot topics in finance puts you ahead of the game. Students or researchers who major in business will, at one point or the other in their careers, make presentations, and submit research papers, essays,or help with dissertation or projects. With the headache of writing these papers aside, the challenge of picking finance topics always looms around. We have, therefore, carried out extensive research to present you with these 30 finance topics that will make your paper worth reading! When in doubt, this list of finance topics will surely come in handy to shed some light on that darkness!

Finding Excellent Topics in Finance

We offer you 30 researchable topics in finance. But why should we only catch fish for you if we can teach you how to fish too? The need to find unique topics in finance is on the increase. Here are some excellent tips that will help you choose appropriate finance topics:

• Find out unanswered questions from previous research works or develop on areas that require additional study.
• Read several theses to form ideas.
• Check economics topics . They may be more general but you can narrow down some of them.
• Search online for related topics that are unique, or make them unique to suit your purpose.
• Discuss your chosen topic with other students or people who have experience writing dissertations asking for their input.

Research Topics In Finance

In financial research, unique topics are pivotal to the overall success of the study. The reason for this is simple. Now put yourself in the shoes of professors who have read hundreds of theses and essays. They already know common topics that students like to write or work on. A hot research topic in finance will surely catch the attention of your professor and will likely earn you better grades. Writing finance research papers becomes much easier when you have superb finance research topics.

Here is a finance research topics list that will spark people’s interest in your research work and make your finance research paper worth reading! Ready for these research topics in finance? Read on!

• Merger and Acquisition: An Analytical Study of the Benefits and Set-backs.
• Capital Asset Pricing Model: Possible Solutions to its Inadequacies.
• Global Financial Crisis: A Critical Study of the Role of Auditors and Stakeholders.
• The Impact of Manipulating the Commodity Market on Future Commerce.
• Continuous-time Models: An exhaustive Comparative Analysis of its Application in Divers financial Environments.
• How Speculations Undermine the Stability of Banking in Asian Markets.
• Branding: Its Effect on Consumer Behavior.
• An effective strategy for managing inventory and controlling your budget.
• An analytical report on the various investments in tax-saving products.
• Using a systematic investment strategy to build stability for retail investments.
• How income tax is planned and implemented in India’s economy.
• A detailed analysis of how the Indian banking system operates.
• How does multi-level marketing work in different economies around the world?
• A detailed report on electronic payment and how it can be improved.
• A case study regarding senior citizen investment portfolios.
• Are there potential risks and rewards when comparing savings to investments?
• Is ratio analysis an effective component of financial statement analysis?
• How the Indian economy functions with its current banking operations.

Finance Research Topics For MBA

Here are some great finance research topics you can use toward your MBA. It’s sure to intrigue your professor and get you to look at finance from a different perspective.

• Investment analysis of a company of your choice.
• A detailed report on working capital management.
• Financial plans and considerations for saving taxes and salaried employees.
• A detailed analysis of the cost and costing models of the company of your choice.
• The awareness of investments in financial assets and equity trading preference with financial intermediaries.
• The perspective of investors and their involvement with life insurance investments.
• A detailed analysis of the perception of mutual fund investors.
• The comparative study between UIL and the traditional products.
• A detailed report on how the ABC company manages cash.

Corporate Risk Management Topics

These are some key topics you can use relating to corporate risk management.

• A detailed report on the fundamentals of corporate risk management.
• The analytical concepts relating to effective corporate and financial management within a company.
• How does corporate risk management affect the financial market and its products?
• What are risk models and how are they evaluated?
• How is market risk effectively measured and managed in today’s economy?
• How can a company be vigilant of potential credit risks they can face?
• What are the differences between operational and integrated risks in the corporate world?
• Is liquidity an effective strategy to lower financial risk to a company?
• How risk management can connect with and benefit investment management.
• The current issues that are affecting the modern marketplace and the financial risks they bring.

Healthcare Finance Research Topics

These are some key topics you can use relating to healthcare finance research.

• Is it better for the government to pay for an individual’s healthcare?
• The origins of healthcare finance.
• An analysis of Canada and their healthcare finance system.
• Is healthcare financing a right or a privilege?
• The changing policies of healthcare in the U.S.
• Can healthcare be improved in first-world countries?
• Can the healthcare system be improved or remade?
• How much influence does the government have on healthcare in a country?
• The impact of growing global health spending.
• Is free healthcare achievable worldwide?

Corporate Finance Topics

Corporate finance deals with processes such as financing, structuring of capital, and making investment decisions. It seeks to maximize shareholder value by implementing diverse strategies in long and short-term financial planning.

Corporate finance research topics broadly cover areas like tools for risk management, trend research in advanced finance, physical and electronic techniques in securities markets, research trends in advance finance, investment analysis, and management of government debt. The following corporate finance topics will surely minimize any risk of mistakes!

• Using the Bootstrapped Interest Rates to Price Corporate Debt Capital Market Instruments.
• Corporate Organizations: The Impact of Audit Independence on Accountability and Transparency.
• Buybacks: A Critical Analysis of how Firms can Buy Back at Optimal Prices.
• Merge and Acquisitions: Reasons why Firms still Overpay for bad Acquisitions.
• Corporate Finance: Ethical Concerns and Possible Solutions.
• Understanding the investment patterns relative to smaller and medium-capitalization businesses.
• A detailed analysis of the different streams of investment relating to mutual funds.
• Equity investors and how they manage their portfolios and perception of potential risks.
• How does investor preference operate in the commodity market in Karvy Stock Broking Limited?
• An analysis of the performance of mutual funds in the public and private sectors.
• Understanding how Videcon manages its working capital.
• The Visa Port trust and how it conducts ratio analysis.
• How the gold monetization scheme has affected the Indian economy and banking operations.
• How does SWIFT work and what are the potential risks and rewards?
• A detailed analysis of the FMC and SEBI merger.

Business Finance Topics

Every decision made in a business has financial implications. It is, therefore, essential that business people have a fundamental understanding of finance. To show your knowledge, you must be able to write articles on finance topics in areas such as financial analysis, valuation, management, etc. Here are some juicy business finance topics!

• Application of Business Finance: Its importance to the Business Sector.
• The Importance of Business Finance in the Establishment of Business Enterprises.
• Modernization of Business: Roles of Business Finance in Business Modernization.
• A detailed study on providing financial aid to self-help groups and projects.
• Is tax an effective incentive for selling life insurance to the public?
• Understanding how the performance of mutual funds can change within the private and public sectors.
• Is there a preference for different investment options from financial classes?
• A detailed analysis of retail investors and their preferences and choices.
• A study on investors and their perspective on investing in private insurance companies.
• How analyzing financial statements can assess a business’s performance.
• Increasing the accountability of corporate entities.
• Ethical concerns connected to business finance and how they can be managed.
• The level of tax paid by small to medium businesses.

International Finance Topics

As the world is now a global village, business transactions occur all around the world. No more are we limited to local trade, and this is why the study of international is essential and relevant. Here are some international finance topics that will suit your research purpose!

• Stock Exchange: How Important are the Functions of a Bank Office?
• Global Economic Crises: Possible Precautions to prevent Global Financial crisis.
• Bond Rating: the Effect of Changes on the Price of Stocks.
• How the Banking Industry can Decrease the Impact of Financial Crisis.
• Is it possible for a country to budget funds for healthcare for the homeless?
• The negative impact of private healthcare payments on impoverished communities.
• What sectors in healthcare require more funding at the moment?
• The dilemma of unequal access to adequate healthcare in third world countries.
• Can cancer treatment be more inexpensive to the public?
• The problem with the high pricing of medication in the U.S.
• Is there a better way to establish healthcare financing in the U.S?
• What are the benefits of healthcare finance systems in Canada and the UK?
• How can third-world countries improve their healthcare systems without hurting their economy?
• Is financing research a priority in healthcare and medicine?
• Does free healthcare hurt the tax system of a country?
• Why is free and privatized healthcare present in different economies?
• How does government funding affect healthcare finance systems?
• How do patient management systems work?
• Where does affordable healthcare financing fit in growing economies?
• The economic impact of COVID-19 in various countries.
• The healthcare policies of the Serbian government.

Finance Research Paper Ideas

Writing a research paper requires an independent investigation of a chosen subject and the analysis of the remarkable outcomes of that research. A finance researcher will, therefore, need to have enough finance research paper topics from which to choose at his fingertip. Carefully selecting a finance thesis topic out of the many finance research papers topics will require some skill. Here are some exciting finance paper topics!

• Behavioral Finance versus Traditional Finance: Differences and Similarities.
• Budgetary Controls: The Impact of this Control on Organizational performance.
• Electronic Banking: The Effect of e-Banking on Consumer Satisfaction.
• Credit and Bad Debts: Novel Techniques of management in commercial Banks.
• Loan Default: A Critical Assessment of the Impact of Loan Defaults on the Profitability of Banks.
• A detailed analysis of the best risk management methods used in the manufacturing industry.
• Identifying and measuring financial risks in a derivative marketplace.
• Exploring the potential risks that can occur in the banking sector and how they can be avoided.
• The risks that online transactions bring.
• What are the methods used to ensure quantitive risk management is achieved?
• A better understanding of policy evaluation and asset management.
• What makes traditional finance so different from behavioral?
• The significance of budgetary control in a corporate organization.
• How do loans benefit the profitability of banks?
• How do commercial banks assist their clients that are in bad debt?
• The various considerations we need to be aware of before making investment decisions.

Personal Finance Topics

Personal finance covers the aspects of managing your money, including saving and investing. It comprises aspects such as investments, retirement planning, budgeting, estate planning, mortgages, banking, tax, and insurance. Researching in this area will surely be of direct impact on the quality of living. Here are some great personal finance topics that are eager to have you work on them!

• Evaluation of Possible Methods of Saving while on a Budget.
• The Effect of Increase in Interest Rate and Inflation on Personal Finance.
• Benefits of Working from Home to both Employers and Employees.
• Will dental services be considered an essential medical service soon?
• Is affordable or free healthcare a right that everyone should be entitled to?
• The best ways to save money while on a tight budget.
• What happens to personal finance when inflation and interest rates rise?
• The financial benefits of working from home.
• Does innovations in personal finance act as an incentive for households to take risks?
• A detailed analysis of credit scores.
• The importance of credit and vehicle loans.
• A detailed analysis of employee benefits and what should be considered.
• The effect of tax on making certain financial decisions.
• The best ways to manage your credit.
• The difficulties that come with mobile banking.

Finance Topics For Presentation

Sometimes, you may need to present a topic in a seminar. The idea is that you can whet the appetite of your audience with the highlights of your subject matter. Choosing these finance seminar topics requires a slightly different approach in that you must be thoroughly familiar with that topic before giving the presentation. Interesting and easy-to-grasp finance topics are, therefore, necessary for presentations. Here are some topic examples that fit perfectly into this category.

• Analysis of the Year-over-Year Trend.
• Maximizing Pension Using Life Insurance.
• The Architecture of the Global Financial System.
• Non-communicable diseases and the burden they have on economies.
• Is there a connection between a country’s population and its healthcare budget?
• The spending capability of medical innovations in a third-world economy.
• The long-term effects of healthcare finance systems in the U.S.
• A detailed analysis of pharmaceutical marketing in eastern Europe.
• Understanding the reduction in medical expenses in Greece.
• Private payment for healthcare in Bulgaria.
• A complete change in healthcare policy worldwide. Is it necessary?
• The significance of electronic banking on the public.
• The evolution of banking and its operations.

So here we are! Surely, with this essay on finance topics that you have read, you’ll need only a few minutes to decide your topic and plunge into proper research! If you need professional help, don’t hesitate to contact our economics thesis writers .

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