Divestitures,wealth effects and corporate governance

We analyse the market reaction to divestiture decisions and determine the impact of corporate governance practices. We find the market reaction is significant and can be determined using internal governance mechanisms. We evaluate the determinants of the decision to sell using a control sample of firms displaying characteristics often associated with divestitures indicating that these firms may face the same incentives to divest but elect not to restructure in this manner. Our results suggest that a combination of strong internal and external governance may force managers to act in a manner that is incompatible with their personal desires.     

Fiscal Policy in an Endogenous Growth Model with Productive Government Spending

The goal of this paper is to analyse the effects of fiscal policy upon the long-run balanced growth rate in an endogenous growth model in which sustained per capita growth is the result of productive government spending. Assuming that labour is supplied inelastically, it is shown that increases in non-productive government spending, i.e. public consumption or lump-sum transfers, always reduce the balanced growth rate, whereas there exists a growth-maximizing investment subsidy rate and income tax rate. Moreover, a rise in a tax on consumption increases economic growth if it raises public investment. If labour supply is elastic the elasticity of labour supply crucially determines the growth-maximizing income tax rate and an increase in the tax on consumption may raise or lower economic growth.     

How ongoing structural change creates a double dividend: outdating of technologies and green growth

Portuguese Economic Journal - In this paper we study how the ongoing transition to newer technologies, what we refer to as dynamic structural change, in a doubly-differentiated R&D-based...     

The Mundellian Trilemma and Optimal Monetary Policy in a World of High Capital Mobility

Open Economies Review - This paper proposes that the Mundellian Trilemma remains valid despite the emergence of a world financial cycle. A clear distinction must be made between monetary policy...     

Reconstructing volatility: Pricing of index options under rough volatility

Avellaneda et al. (2002, 2003) pioneered the pricing and hedging of index options – products highly sensitive to implied volatility and correlation assumptions – with large deviations methods, assuming local volatility dynamics for all components of the index. We present an extension applicable to non-Markovian dynamics and in particular the case of rough volatility dynamics.     

The Economics of the Greenium: How Much is the World Willing to Pay to Save the Earth?

Environmental and Resource Economics - Sadly, not much. This paper provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of the greenium, the price premium the investor pays for green bonds over...     

Who will guard over the guardians?

Human rights have been weaponized and transformed into geopolitical tools to target certain states and not others. The rhetoric of human rights has been distorted by politicians, media, think tanks and the emerging “human rights industry” that serves hegemonic powers and not humanity. This constitutes an affront against human dignity.