Financial Supervision: Integrated or Specialized?The case of Latin America and the Caribbean

This paper discusses the relative merits of the two approaches of financial regulation and supervision for the case of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In doing so, it reviews the main arguments advanced in the specialized literature in pro and against of each approach. All the theoretical arguments are contrasted with available country experiences from around the world and discussed with a focus on the Latin American and Caribbean countries. A methodology to analyze the efficacy and the efficiency of each approach in meeting the main objectives of financial regulation is also provided. The paper concludes that in the present circumstances, the net benefits of adopting an integrated approach probably exceed the net benefits stemming from the adoption of a specialized approach for most of the countries in the region.     

The application of proxy methods for estimating the cost of equity for unlisted companies: evidence from listed firms

Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting - The Campbell and Vuolteenaho (Am Econ Rev 94(5):1249–1275, 2004) two–beta model decomposes the systematic risk in the sensitivity of cash...     

Chile: the secular food crisis

In order to consider the failure of Chilean agriculture over the past 50 years to meet domestic food demands, the author examines the policies of the Alessandri, Frei and Allende governments with regard to land reform, agriculture and food prices. The ‘free market’ and structuralist approaches to the issue are discussed, and the author concludes that the highly concentrated land tenure system appears to be a decisive factor in explaining the crisis in Chilean agriculture.     

Team Management： A Reflection on Leadership to Achieve Success

This study aims at rethinking the posture and attitude of professionals in, managerial and leadership positions, regarding the organizational management, showing that it is possible to motivate a team, valuing the human and maintaining a good working environment, with respect and collective participation towards a common good by focusing on problem solving regardless the resources that the company can offer to encourage and satisfy its employees. In order to prepare this study, survey was conducted from empirical studies, literature surveys, and qualitative and quantitative approaches were used in a company linked to the tobacco sector. The results show that companies are still adapting to new paradigms of the market and seek to achieve greater productivity with the accomplishment of teamwork, considering aspects such as leadership, motivation, and interpersonal relationships.     

Why and When Do Governments Initiate Public Enterprise Reform?

Initiating public enterprise reform is a complex decision influencedby economic factors as well as the ideological biases and personalitiesof political leaders. Nevertheless, the use of a contractingframework yields important generalizations about what drivesthe decision. This article argues that the decision dependsfundamentally on the potential efficiency gains from the reformand its associated transactions costs. Costs arise because ofasymmetries in information and opportunism, problems that usuallyplague contract negotiations. The article identifies observablevariables that may affect either the potential gains or thetransactions costs, uses them to construct a simple probit decision-makingmodel, and tests the model using data from fifteen developingcountries over a twenty-year period.     

Deliberation Councils, Government-Business-Citizen Partnerships, and Public Policy-Making: Cases from Singapore, Malaysia, and Canada

The authors assert that one of the least appreciated but important institutional factors underlying the remarkable growth in the East Asian miracle economies is the deliberation council: a consultative arrangement linking government, business and civil society. They describe three such councils, two in Southeast Asia and one in North America, and reveal the critical features of effective councils which can be found regardless of the political, social and economic contexts in which they operate. Efforts to adapt and apply successful councils in other contexts should consider the following common features: focus on clear and specific mandates; staffing by credible individuals who represent a broad cross section of stakeholders; process and procedures for collaboration which are transparent, systematic, and straightforward; decision making via unanimity rule; and communication of council decisions through one voice, the chairperson. The authors contend that councils of this nature are helpful, if not critical, in stabilizing the policy environment, and promoting business development in the Asia-Pacific region especially in periods of fiscal crisis.