Financial integration, productivity and capital accumulation

Understanding the mechanism through which financial globalization affects economic performance is crucial for evaluating the costs and benefits of opening financial markets. This paper is a first attempt at disentangling the effects of financial integration on the two main determinants of economic performance: productivity (TFP) and investment. I provide empirical evidence from a sample of 70 countries observed between 1975 and 1999. The results for both de jure and de facto indicators suggest that financial integration has a positive direct effect on productivity, while it does not directly affect capital accumulation. I also control for indirect effects of financial globalization through financial development and banking and currency crises. While financial integration does not systematically increase domestic financial depth, it may raise the likelihood of banking crises, though only to a minor extent. Yet, the overall effect of financial liberalization remains positive for productivity and negligible for investment.     

The Role of Market Size in the Formation of Jurisdictions

Administrative and political reorganization is being actively debated even in the mature, stable economies of Western Europe. This paper investigates the possibility that such a reorganization is tied to the integration of economic markets. The paper describes a model where heterogeneous individuals form coalitions for the provision of a public good and shows that the number and composition of these jurisdictions depend on the overall size of the market. The range of economic activities engaged in by jurisdiction members increases when the size of the market increases, and so does the range of their preferences over the public good. The result is a change in the endogenous borders of the jurisdictions, and a reorganization of all coalitions. The optimal number of jurisdictions is unique and increases with market size. In the absence of compensating transfers, however, the decentralized equilibrium need not be optimal and is not unique, although     

Long-run consequences of finite exchange rate bubbles

This paper draws on the literature on exchange rate instability and on sunk-cost hysteresis to analyze the long-run effects of exchange rate bubbles. To address the issue, after discussing the implications of sunk-cost hysteresis for aggregate supply, we propose two versions of the Dornbusch (1976) model of exchange rate determination. We modify it so as to allow for endogenous adjustment in productive capacity, with the aggregate investment function being linear with respect to the exchange rate in one version and non-linear in the other. For both versions, we provide solutions for a Blanchard-type bubble developing on the foreign exchange market. We find that, if capacity adjusts non-linearly, such a bubble will affect the steady state of the economy.     

Value creation in banking through strategic alliances and joint ventures

A large number of studies (DeYoung et al., 2009) analyze merger outcomes in the financial industry, while other forms of business cooperation are still poorly investigated. Our paper examines results of strategic alliances and joint ventures in European and US banking over the period 1999–2009. First, we estimate abnormal returns around the deal announcement date and then these are regressed on a large set of explanatory variables. We show that joint ventures create shareholder value when involving non-banking financial partners and allowing banks to expand abroad, while international strategic alliances tend to destroy shareholder value.     

Foreign market conditions and export performance: does ‘crowdedness’ reduce exports?

Abstract This paper analyzes the link between firm exports and the competitive environment in foreign markets. We derive a theory‐based econometric specification linking market‐specific exports to foreign demand and the degree of a market’s ‘crowdedness,’ which depends on the number and efficiency of firms competing there and the barriers impeding their access. Estimates on a large sample of Italian firms indicate that increased crowdedness has reduced Italian exports, but only by 0.2%–0.3% per year. This is substantially less than the contribution of other factors such as higher unit labour costs or weak demand growth in the EU15.     

The Aftermarket Performance of Initial Public Offerings: The Brazilian Experience

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes the behavior of share prices in the first aftermarket year at the moment the company goes public for the first time, specifically in the case of Brazil. First, we present evidence drawn from the international capital markets and how returns may be characterized. Next, we analyze current Brazilian capital markets and returns on shares for 30 companies that went public in the country between January 2004 and July 2006. We found that Brazilian initial public offerings averaged large positive returns both in the short-term and for a one-year period.

RESUMEN. Este trabajo busca evidenciar cómo el precio de las acciones en IPOs tiende a comportarse en el mercado secundario durante el primero año de negociaciones, específicamente en el caso brasileño. En primer lugar, se presentan las evidencias en el mercado internacional de capitales y mostramos que tipo de retornos se suele obtener. Luego, se lleva a cabo un análisis del mercado de capitales brasileño y de la rentabilidad en 30 IPOs, ocurridos entre enero de 2004 y julio de 2006 en el país. Se nota que el desempeño de IPOs en Brasil tiene fuertes tendencias positivas, tanto para el corto plazo como para un año.

RESUMEO. Este estudo analisa o comportamento dos preços de ações no primeiro ano após a abertura de capital de uma empresa, especificamente no caso do Brasil. Primeiramente, apresentamos dados do mercado de capitais internacionais e como os retornos tendem a ser. Depois disto, analisamos o mercado de capitais brasileiro e os retornos das ações de 30 empresas que abriram o capital no país entre janeiro de 2004 e julho de 2006. Constatamos que os lançamentos de ações (IPOs) brasileiros proporcionaram, em média, retornos positivos grandes a curto prazo e também por um período de um ano.     

Trust and trustworthiness in networked exchange

This paper focuses on the interaction between network structure, the role of information, and the level of trust and trustworthiness in 3-node networks. We extend the investment game with one Sender and one Receiver to networked versions — one characterized by one Sender and two Receivers ([1s-2r]) and one characterized by two Senders and one Receiver ([2s-1r]) — under two information conditions, full and partial. We develop a comparative model of trust for the networked exchange environments and generate two hypotheses: (1) what counts as a signal of trust depends on investment behavior along the other link in the network and (2) this type of trust can be leveraged under full information, increasing the rate of cooperation on the side of the exchange with multiple traders. The results generally support our hypotheses: trust is comparative and under full information, the [1s-2r] network shows higher trustworthiness and the [2s-1r] network displays higher trust.     

Firms’ growth: Does the innovation system matter?

The paper investigates the effects of external sources of knowledge on firm growth. In line with the knowledge spillovers literature, we focus on the relationship between firms and universities, considered as a crucial source of knowledge. To this purpose, we analyse a sample of UK public companies in the period 1995 to 2006. Our findings confirm that both universities’ knowledge input and output are important determinants of the growth of entrepreneurial firms.     

Pension Reform and Economic Performance Under Imperfect Capital Markets

We consider an overlapping generations model where heterogeneous agents take decisions on consumption and investment in education under the assumption of imperfect capital markets. We study how the introduction of a pay-as-you-go and of a fully funded pension scheme affects output and lifetime opportunities, and then analyse the impact of a pension reform. The standard neutrality result for fully funded pension schemes does not hold in this framework. We establish the conditions under which a fully funded scheme is associated with a higher investment in human capital. We show that the transition path may involve poverty traps