Social capital, innovation and growth: Evidence from Europe

This paper investigates the interplay between social capital, innovation and per capita income growth in the European Union. We model and identify innovation as an important mechanism that transforms social capital into higher income levels. In an empirical investigation of 102 European regions in the period 1990-2002, we show that higher innovation performance is conducive to per capita income growth and that social capital affects this growth indirectly by fostering innovation. Our estimates suggest that there is no direct role for social capital to foster per capita income growth in our sample of European Union countries.     

Social aspirations in European banks: peer-influenced risk behaviour

We test a sample of 3,586 banks from 33 European countries to determine whether performances above or below a social aspiration level (median performance of peer banks) influence banks’ aggregate risk levels. Our results are consistent with the behavioural theory of the firm and prospect theory in that we find that bank performance below a bank’s social aspiration level is followed by increased aggregate risk, i.e. risk-taking behaviour in the subsequent year. Although under-performing banks tend to be risk-takers, large banks and banks with high aggregate risk levels tend to limit the increase in their aggregate risk levels.     

Outsourcing Central Banking: Lessons from Estonia

An orthodox currency board (CB) renders central banking redundant for interest and exchange rate determination. Thereby, monetary policy is de facto outsourced. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in banking can lead to outsourcing of the second important central bank function, responsibility for banking supervision. Economic and political conditions for outsourcing of central banking are discussed. Estonia's experience with a CB and expanding foreign involvement in banking is reviewed. The Argentine CB experience is discussed briefly to provide a contrast. The conclusion outlines the conditions for successful currency outsourcing to another country or regional authority.     

银行业结构与经济增长

With panel data for 28 Chinese provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) during 1985–2002, this paper assesses the effect of banking structure on economic growth. Banking structure is defined as the relative importance of banks of different size in the banking sector. The market share of small banking institutions is taken as a proxy to measure the banking structure. In dealing with the potential endogeneity problem, this paper constructs an instrumental variable for banking structure with the information on the commercialization reform of state-owned banks initiated in 1994. The estimation results from a two-way fixed-effect model show that increases in the market share of small banking institutions enhance economic growth in contemporary China.     

Reforming the Taxation of Multijurisdictional Enterprises in Europe

In 2001, the European Commission proposed replacing the currentsystem of taxation of multinational companies by the taxationof a consolidated base, computed at the level of all the Europeanentities of a multinational enterprise, and then distributedfor taxation purposes among the various jurisdictions in whichthese entities operate, according to pre-established criteria.In this article, we propose a discussion, especially focusingon two related issues, the choice of the formula and the compositionof the consolidating area—either the entire European Union(EU) or some Member States within an Enhanced Cooperation Agreement—,as well as on their impact on the size and distribution of taxrevenue and economic activity, and on the intensity of tax competition.Our tentative policy conclusion is that the reform deservessupport provided that (i) the formula puts emphasis on criteriathat the firm may not too easily manipulate, (ii) the activitiesof the multijurisdictional enterprise are enough mobile, (iii)the consolidation is made compulsory within the consolidatingarea and (iv) the consolidating area protects its capacity toactually levy tax by adopting a crediting system vis-à-visthe rest of the world. (JEL code: H32, H73, H87)     

Sovereign risk and deposit dynamics: evidence from Europe

The unprecedented expansion of sovereign balance sheets since the beginning of the global crisis has given a new meaning to the term sovereign risk. Developments in Europe since early 2010 revealed new challenges for the functioning of private banks in an environment of heightened sovereign risk and may have contributed to deleveraging. The article uses an innovative way of measuring the perception of sovereign risk and its impact. Using an extension of a common market discipline framework, it shows that exposure to sovereign risk may have limited the ability of banks in Europe to collect deposits. Potential identification issues between deposits and bank efficiency are controlled by using data envelopment analysis (DEA). The results are robust to inclusion of conventional measures of bank performance and the sector-wide holdings of foreign sovereign debt.     

Italian Banking Sector and Value Creation

The finn value is the fundamental topic of corporate finance. The value creation is the aim of economic initiatives, strategies, corporate policies, and all business activities, including banking. It depends, among other things, on size, legal form, and business model. Therefore, this paper wants to demonstrate and explain the differences about the value created in the Italian banking sector, where there is much diversity regarding size, legal form, and business model. This paper estimated and compared the value of Italian listed companies from 2010 to 2012 and found the result： Banks create more value if they are big and operate in investment banking. Furthermore, it proved that legal form hasn＇t influenced performance and value of banks.     

论企业可持续发展与企业社会责任

企业可持续发展和企业社会责任不是一对不可调和的矛盾,两者不是分离的、对立的,而是相互促进、相互协调的,两者统一于企业和社会的发展过程之中。在将企业可持续发展与企业社会责任结合起来进行探讨和研究,并阐述两者共性的基础上,系统而全面的论述了两者的内在深层次的相互关系,以期为企业更好的履行社会责任、促进可持续发展提供理论参考。     

Inflation and Productivity: Empirical Evidence from Europe

The paper investigates the empirical association between inflation and productivity in 15 European countries over the period 1960–97. Modern econometric techniques based on integration and cointegra– tion analysis are used to test for the existence of a long–run relationship between inflation and productivity. Recently developed causality tests for possibly cointegrated VAR models are also applied instead of relying on standard Granger causality tests which are inappropriate in the presence of nonstationary variables.     

Banking in Central and Eastern Europe

MOCT-MOST: Economic Policy in Transitional Economies -     

试论我国商业银行的金融创新

加入WTO后,我国商业银行已不可能依靠对外资银行的限制来对国内银行业进行保护,中资银行将直接面对国际金融市场的竞争,直接面对资金实力雄厚、管理手段先进、服务质量高效的国外金融机构的竞争。要在竞争中求生存、谋发展,惟有加快金融创新的步伐。     

X效率与股东回报：基于上市商业银行的实证分析

以我国16家上市商业银行为例,探寻银行X效率对股东回报的作用机理。研究发现：提升我国商业银行的X效率能够有效改善股东回报能力;与技术进步相比,技术效率改进能够更有力地解释股东回报变化;技术效率的正向作用主要以纯技术效率为传导渠道,而与规模效率关系不大。简言之,推动技术进步与纯技术效率改进是提高我国商业银行股东回报,进而提升自身竞争力的关键所在。     

外汇风险暴露、货币错配与银行稳定性——来自银行微观数据的经验证明

本文通过2011～2016年银行业资产负债表的微观数据,研究了我国银行由于货币错配而形成的外汇风险暴露与银行系统稳定性的内在关联。研究发现,银行潜在的外汇风险暴露程度对银行稳定性有着显著的负面影响,且外汇风险暴露会随着本国汇率对外的贬值对银行系统稳定性造成不利的影响。此外,研究亦发现外汇风险暴露程度对银行稳定性的影响在大型国有商业银行和其他商业银行之间存在着水平性差异,其他商业银行由于经营管理更具谨慎性,其银行稳定性受到外汇风险暴露的影响较小,而大型国有商业银行在资源配置管理上缺乏审慎性,其系统稳定性更易受到外汇风险暴露的影响。     

Institutional arrangements and price rebalancing: empirical evidence from the United States and Europe

This paper explores the rebalancing of prices for voice service in the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) from conceptual and empirical perspectives. We determine the overall cost and structure of a standardized basket of residential and business services. Our data indicate that during the 1994–2000 period the degree of rate rebalancing was significantly higher in the EU than in the US. While the developments at the level of EU Member States are more heterogeneous and the process of rate rebalancing is not completed, these findings correspond to the predictions derived from our comparative institutional analysis.     

Wage-setting and capital in unionized markets: Evidence from South Europe

The present paper analyzes the optimal response of real wages to the installed capital stock in a dynamic monopoly union. We use data from five Southern European countries during the period 1970–2010. We explore how this rent-extraction response changes over time and across countries depending on the labor market regulatory environment or regime. Regimes are allowed to be determined endogenously by the econometric methodology and seem to be consistent with relevant anecdotal evidence. We find that wages responded positively to the capital stock during periods of heavy regulation, while this response was significantly lower or even negative when labor markets became more flexible.     

The U.S. Banking and Corporate Structure: Some Implications for Industrial Policy

This paper argues that a fundamental aspect of the process of financialization is the transformation and evolution of certain key institutions. In national spaces, these include those that play essential roles in financing economic activity, such as the central bank and the commercial banking sector, and also the institutions that determine the quantity and form of public expenditure. In Latin American countries, these changes have reduced the possibilities of national authorities to influence financial processes.     

社会信用文化、金融体系结构与金融业组织形式

本文以银行业绩效为依托,纳入社会信用文化这一新的影响因子,试图在一个更广阔的层面上综合考察决定金融业绩效的各种因素,并尝试在这一过程中探求社会信用文化、金融体系结构和金融业组织形式及其绩效表现之间的内在联系机制。实证结果表明,社会信用文化对金融体系的效率和金融体系结构的选择具有重要影响,而法律传统、政府治理及管理能力也在金融体系结构和金融业组织形式的选择上起着重要作用,并最终影响到金融业运行效率。     

Productivity growth and inflation in Europe: Evidence from panel cointegration tests

In this paper we investigate the productivity growth – inflation nexus in fifteen European countries over the period 1961–1999 using panel unit root and panel cointegration tests. Emphasis is placed on the distinction between long-run and short-run causality using recently developed tests appropriate for heterogeneous panel. The empirical results are relevant for the role of the EMU and the Treaty of Maastricht in catching up, real convergence, and the future growth prospects of Europe. The policy implications of the findings are discussed in detail.     

Bank-led restructuring in Poland: the conciliation process in action1

Poland's 1993 Enterprise and Bank Restructuring Programme (EBRP) tried to force state-owned commercial banks to build institutional capacity and resolve their problem loans. The outcome of its innovative bank-led workout (‘conciliation’) process, documented in this study of 62 firms, is decidedly mixed. The EBRP forced banks to confront their problems, helped them to build instituional capacity in their workout units, and furthered the difficult task of weeding out and closing clearly unviable firms. Yet it had limited power to promote needed restructuring or privatization in firms. The conciliation agreements were relatively unsophisticated and include few tangible requirements for operational or management change. The first two years of implementation saw a slowdown (over earlier years) in the rate of layoffs, a decline in average operating profitablility, and very little real privatization. The main impact of conciliation appears to have been to reduce debt service and thereby give firms ‘breathing room’.