Mthokozisi Mlilo

University of the Witwatersrand | wits · Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management

Purpose This study investigates the influence of capital controls on financial market structure in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This is especially relevant as the former restrictions are relatively common on the sub-continent. At the same time, the sub-region’s financial markets are highly bank-based and focused on the short term, with stock markets b...

The study investigates the performance gap between female-owned enterprises (FOE) and their male-owned (MOE) peers, using data obtained from 1,522 firms included in the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) on Kenya and South Africa. We find that FOEs underperform their MOE counterparts and that the performance differential in both countries is drive...

Excessive directors’ remuneration is usually cited as one of the drivers of the massive income inequality prevalent in South Africa. We draw insights from agency and board power theories to establish whether board remuneration, directors’ shareholding and the interaction between the two factors influences an entity's financial performance. Based on...

Purpose This study aims to investigate the association between corporate carbon risk and debt maturity and the moderating role of voluntary disclosure, within the context of South Africa, an emerging player in the climate policy debate. Design/methodology/approach Based on the insights drawn from agency as well as information asymmetry theories, t...

The study examines whether corporate carbon risk exposure is associated with financial reporting quality and whether voluntary carbon disclosure mediates the relationship. We analyze data drawn from firms traded on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), for the period 2011 to 2015. We document robust evidence that firms with higher carbon risk expo...

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of political stability and political rights on firm-level earnings (both accrual-based and real) management. Design/methodology/approach The authors develop models that link political stability, political rights, and the interplay between the two and earnings (both accrual-based and real) management. T...

The study examines the interplay among corporate carbon risk, voluntary disclosure, and cost of capital within the context of South Africa, a “rising power” in the climate policy debate. We develop a system of simultaneous equations models and analyze data drawn from firms traded on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE), for the period 2010 to...

We examine the impact of institutional ownership and product market competition on earnings management (both accrual-based and real) using data from non-financial firms in 41 countries around the world for the period 1995–2016. Overall all, we document an asymmetry in the role institutional ownership and product market competition play in curbing a...

Using data on 239 listed South African firms and covering the period 1996-2010, we apply a quantile regression approach to investigate the effect of capital structure determinants on leverage. The paper’s main contribution is to assess the effect of the predictor variables across the distribution of leverage. That is, does the effect of a capital s...

Direction of causality between government expenditure and output growth is pertinent for a developing country since a sizeable volume of economic resources is in the hands of the public sector. This paper investigates the Wagner's law in South Africa over the post-apartheid era, 1994-2015. This paper is unique to present studies since it uses disag...

Direction of causality between government expenditure and output growth is pertinent for a developing country since a sizeable volume of economic resources is in the hands of the public sector. This paper investigates the Wagner's law in South Africa over the post-apartheid era, 1994-2015. This paper is unique to present studies since it uses disag...

We provide strong evidence of a positive shock to government spending on increase in employment (public and private), an appreciation of the real effective exchange rate and deterioration in the trade balance; but it has no effect on output for South Africa during the period 1994:1-2008:4. We also document that positive shocks to net taxes generate...

Using data on 239 listed South African firms and covering the period 1996-2010, we apply a quantile regression approach to investigate the effect of capital structure determinants on leverage. The paper's main contribution is to assess the effect of the predictor variables across the distribution of leverage. That is, does the effect of a capital s...

The study seeks to investigate the determinants of firm level earnings management (EM) within the context of 44 countries around the world. A sample of 29 430 non-financial companies over the period 1996-2012 were analysed using a series of models that link firm-, industry-, and country-specific characteristics, on the one hand, and EM, on the othe...