International market links and volatility transmission

This paper gauges volatility transmission between stock markets by testing conditional independence of their volatility measures. In particular, we check whether the conditional density of the volatility changes if we further condition on the volatility of another market. We employ nonparametric methods to estimate the conditional densities and model-free realized measures of volatility, allowing for both microstructure noise and jumps. We establish the asymptotic normality of the test statistic as well as the first-order validity of the bootstrap analog. Finally, we uncover significant volatility spillovers between the stock markets in China, Japan, UK and US.     

Does family ownership structure affect investment-cash flow sensitivity? Evidence from Italian SMEs

The aim of this article is to investigate whether family control, family management and family ownership concentration affect the investment-cash flow sensitivity of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By analysing a sample of Italian SMEs for the period 2004–2013, I find that family-owned businesses are significantly associated with higher investment-cash flow dependence. This relation, however, is found to be driven by two distinct factors: (i) the presence of a highly concentrated family ownership (ownership concentration channel) and (ii) the active involvement of the family in the business (family management channel).     

Explaining regional disparities in Central and Eastern Europe

The paper analyses the determinants and the evolution of income disparities across regions within Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) over 1991–2011. We add to the literature in different ways. First, we adapt the categories that Rodriguez‐Pose used for studying convergence among old EU members to CEECs regions. This allows us to assess the relevance of geo‐sectoral groups (urban areas, old industrialized areas and peripheral areas) for newcomer regions. Second, we introduce a new category, that of ‘successful Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)‐based restructuring’ in order to capture regions that, often through considerable FDI, manage to reconvert their old industrial base. We then analyze whether this group helps understand catching‐up/falling behind processes in CEECs. We test the relevance of these groups by means of both non‐parametric and spatial regression analyses. We find that they help explain the increase in within‐countries’ regional disparities especially after the turn of the century.     

The Commission,ENP and Construction of Borders

The thrust of the article is to investigate the reasons for the ambiguous character and results of the ENP. The argument is that these are a result of tensions inherent in the discourses produced at various sites in the EU that are involved in the development and implementation of the Policy. These tensions result in the simultaneous construction of mutually exclusive types of borders at the external edges of the EU. The main contribution of the present study to this argument is the detailed empirical evidence it provides for these tensions through the examination of the discourse of the European Commission. The article introduces the concept of soft/ hard borders as a very good analytical tool for studying the ENP and conducts a double-reading of the major types of Commission documents related to this Policy. The main finding is that at present some of the main hurdles the ENP is facing are a result of insufficient transformation of the assumptions and routinised practices that guide policy-making. These lead to underlying themes in Commission discourse that preclude the establishment of the necessary soft external border for the EU. Instead they promote the construction of more traditional hard borders.     

Beyond market failures: the market creating and shaping roles of state investment banks

The paper develops a typological framework of the roles of state investment banks (SIBs) in the economy. The typology identifies four different roles: countercyclical; developmental; venture capitalist; and challenge-led. The paper conceptually elaborates the typology by first providing a historical overview of SIBs, and then discussing how the mainstream “market failure theory” justifies them. It then advances a different conceptualization based on insights from heterodox economics, showing that all roles of SIBs are more about market creating/shaping rather than market-failure fixing. The paper concludes with a proposal of a new agenda for research on SIBs based on our typological framework.     

Financial constraints and the growth and survival of innovative start-ups: An analysis of Italian firms

We study the impact of measures devoted to relieving financial constraints for the growth and survival of Italian innovative start-ups. Using balance sheet data on innovative start-ups and information on the use of the Italian Central Guarantee Fund for small and medium-sized enterprises, we evaluate whether access to the fund, relieving financial constraints, helps innovative start-ups survive and grow. We find innovative start-ups benefit significantly more than similar control firms. We shed light on the relevance of policies aimed at reducing financial constraints for the growth and survival of innovative start-ups, an issue receiving increasing attention at the European level.     

The impact of China's imports on European Union industrial employment

As the EU's biggest supplier of imported goods and a second trading partner, China has become an increasingly important actor on the global economic scene. This paper reports new evidence through analyzing whether the EU labour market is affected by exposure to imports from China. Drawing on a panel dataset of 27 EU countries, over the 2003–2013 period, and using the pooled mean group estimator, the results show that imports from China have a negative effect on industrial employment. This result holds separately for the all analyzed categories: all products, manufactured products as well as for the sub‐groups.     

Convergence in per-capita GDP across European regions: a reappraisal

This paper studies convergence in per-capita GDP across European regions over the period 1980–2000. We use median unbiased estimators of the rate of convergence to the steady-state growth path, while allowing for unrestricted patterns of heterogeneity and spatial correlation across regions. By permitting the model parameters to be completely different across regions, not only we avoid imposing strong a priori assumptions but we are also able to analyze the spatial patterns in the estimated coefficients. Our results differ from those found using conventional estimators. The main differences are: i) the mean rate of convergence is much lower; ii) for most regions this rate is zero; iii) the number of regions for which we reject equality in trend growth rates is substantially lower. We also find significant evidence of correlation of growth rates across neighbor regions and across regions belonging to the same country.     

Asymptotic Revenue Equivalence in Auctions

We study the revenue in auctions of a single object when the number of bidders becomes large. We show that all sequences of auctions belonging to a class of mechanisms have limiting expected revenue equal to the expected best-use value of the object. An important special case that is covered is common value auctions, but more generally not even affiliation of values is assumed. This provides an asymptotic revenue equivalence result for settings beyond that of private values. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: D44, C72.