Multilevel Approach to Sustainability Report Assurance Decisions

Using generalised linear mixed models as a statistical tool, this paper analyses the factors that explain the decision of a company to assure their sustainability report and of the choice of a Big 4 auditor as assuror. Specifically, we investigate the variables that affect the two dependent variables, existence of assurance and the profile of the assuror, at two different levels: the characteristics of the reporting company, and the country in which the company is located. Previous literature has explained this relationship as the result of linear regression models, considering only the fixed effects of the factors. Taking into account random effects, we are able to arrive at more precise conclusions on the effect of country (legal tradition and European membership) and company variables (size, public or non‐public, industry and integrated reporting), on the existence of assurance and the profile of the assuror.     

From scratch to efficiency gains after a financial crisis? A tale of a restructured banking system

We study the efficiency of the Argentine banking system after the 2001–2002 crisis. The financial system had to be restructured from scratch and recovered jointly with the economy, but its productivity and average cost levels have been stagnant since 2007. The analysis includes efficiency frontier estimations for retail banks and a comparison of subsamples for different categories of banks for the period 2005–15. We try to determine whether public banks are more efficient than private ones, whether privatized are more efficient than always private, as well as national versus foreign entities. Our findings show a modest average efficiency of the system and quite similar efficiency rankings for the different groups of banks. On average, public tend to be slightly more cost efficient than private, and national are slightly more efficient than foreign.     

Financial development and the effect of cross-border bank flows on house prices

We analyze the role of financial development as a buffer to diminish the effect of cross-border bank flows shocks on house prices across 38 countries. In less financially developed countries, the observed response is markedly positive. As development increases, the response is tempered and becomes less important. Cross-border bank flows shocks are important in explaining the historical dynamics of house prices in financially less developed countries, while monetary policy shocks are key in the most financially developed markets. Heterogeneity in responses within each level of financial development is associated with levels of maximum loan-to-value ratios and a ratio of cross-border bank inflows over total liabilities abroad.