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Making sense and transparency in finance literature: Evidence from trends in readability

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  • Lahmar, Oumaima
  • Piras, Luca

Abstract

Transparency continues to interest finance scholarship, as regards not just to financial reporting, but to a host of areas. Concomitantly, there is a growing emphasis on the transparency of the finance research process, with journals initiating requirements for uploading data and codes. However, little consideration is given to the transparency of finance scholarly texts, despite new emphasis by academic institutions and accreditation bodies on articles having an impact on practitioners. We use textual analysis to investigate the readability of articles in a selection of finance journals. Results evidence that academic articles are becoming less readable. Whether readability straightforwardly implies transparency is unclear, still, we consider these issues alongside our findings. Our study should be of great interest to those concerned with the state of finance scholarship.

Suggested Citation

  • Lahmar, Oumaima & Piras, Luca, 2023. "Making sense and transparency in finance literature: Evidence from trends in readability," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:64:y:2023:i:c:s0275531923000260
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2023.101900
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Biddle, Gary C. & Hilary, Gilles & Verdi, Rodrigo S., 2009. "How does financial reporting quality relate to investment efficiency?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2-3), pages 112-131, December.
    2. Hun‐Tong Tan & Elaine Ying Wang & Bo Zhou, 2014. "When the Use of Positive Language Backfires: The Joint Effect of Tone, Readability, and Investor Sophistication on Earnings Judgments," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 273-302, March.
    3. Hart, Oliver, 1995. "Firms, Contracts, and Financial Structure," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198288817.
    4. Forssbaeck, Jens & Oxelheim, Lars, 2014. "The Oxford Handbook of Economic and Institutional Transparency," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199917693.
    5. John Conlisk, 1996. "Why Bounded Rationality?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 34(2), pages 669-700, June.
    6. Samuel B. Bonsall & Brian P. Miller, 2017. "The impact of narrative disclosure readability on bond ratings and the cost of debt," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 608-643, June.
    7. Tim Loughran & Bill Mcdonald, 2011. "When Is a Liability Not a Liability? Textual Analysis, Dictionaries, and 10‐Ks," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(1), pages 35-65, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yao, Yanzhen & Wei, Lu & Jing, Haozhe & Chen, Meiqi & Li, Zhan, 2024. "The impact of readability of risk disclosures in bond prospectuses on credit risk premium," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PA).
    2. Lin, Sin-Jin & Zeng, Jhih-Hong & Chang, Te-Min & Hsu, Ming-Fu, 2024. "Linguistic complexity consideration for advanced risk decision making and handling," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    3. Moreno, Alonso, 2024. "Impression management in bilingual corporate reporting: An analysis of textual characteristics in Spanish and English," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Readability; Transparency; Academic writing; Natural language processing; Textual analysis; Finance literature;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G00 - Financial Economics - - General - - - General
    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)

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