Banking deregulation and credit risk: Evidence from the EU

This paper studies the effect of banking deregulation on credit risk. Its theoretical model shows that a bank is willing to invest more resources in screening borrowers when there is an entry threat, even though loan rates are driven lower. Thus, deregulation may result in improved loan quality and lower credit risk. This result is tested using bank-level balance sheet data and macroeconomic data for the European Union. The data reveal that competition intensified after the completion of the Second Banking Directive, while loan quality improved in most markets. Evidence is found that the loan quality improvement is associated with lower interest margin.     

The Impact of Deregulation on Casino Win in Atlantic City

This paper examines the impact of deregulation on thedemand for casino gaming in Atlantic City. Specifically, the paper analyzes the impact ofexpanded operating hours and floor space devoted toslot machines. Using monthly win data between June1978 and July 1996, the analysis reveals that expandedfloor space had a significant, positive impact on win,resulting in an average monthly increase of over $2million. This shows the importance of developing aregulatory structure rigid enough to ensure thehonesty and integrity of the gaming industry, butflexible enough to allow management to respond tochanging market conditions.     

美国航空业放松规制研究及对我国的借鉴

本文详细介绍了美国航空业放松规制的历程,从这个放松规制的案例分析中证明了放松规制有利于提升产业绩效。随后通过介绍我国航空业的放松规制的事实,批驳了我国行政垄断行业不能放松规制的观点。基于此,笔者提出我国需要进一步放松仍在行政垄断的产业,放松规制势在必行。     

Do Financial Liberalization Policies Promote Exports? Evidence from China's Panel Data

This paper empirically tests whether a country's financial reform promotes expansion of its exports measured by the constant-price total value of exports. We test the hypothesis on dynamic panel data of China. We use system GMM (generalized method of moments) estimation to deal with the potential endogeneity problem of important explanatory variables, including financial deregulation. We find that the estimated coefficient on financial deregulation in both ordinary least squares and system GMM estimation is positive and insignificant at the 5 percent level after controlling for other factors affecting export expansion and for fixed time and province effects.     

西方国家对劳动派遣放松规制的背景及其启示——兼评《中华人民共和国劳动合同法（草案）》相关条款

自20世纪90年代以来，西方国家和国际劳工组织对劳动派遣的政策已呈现出放松规制的迹象。西方国家是在严格规制的原有基础上和劳动力供给不足的市场环境中，在劳动派遣作为典型雇佣关系补充形式且以雇佣型劳动派遣为主的情形下，在严格控制派遣机构资格并有社会合作伙伴广泛参与监管的同时，对劳动派遣放松规制，这也是强化与放松并存的结构性规制。我国劳动派遣业的发展具有不同于西方国家的背景，虽然也应当强化规制与放松规制并举，但现阶段应当侧重强化规制；并且，应当基于我国国情，就从严规制和从宽规制的事项作出选择。     

The role of institutional investors in propagating the 2007 financial crisis in Southern Europe

The 2007 financial crisis has affected Southern European companies (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Greek) more than others. From a Minskyan bubble-burst cycle perspective (Minsky, 1986), we study the relation between institutional ownership structure and corporate risk-taking for a sample of non-financial listed companies from Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece for the period 2001–2014. Our results suggest that the financial deregulation process, that lead to the financialization of the world economy before the 2007 financial crisis and the favourable macroeconomic scenario encouraged corporate risk-taking in those countries. We also find that the lack of effective control mechanisms provided an incentive for investment funds to assume a proactive role, encouraging companies to overinvest in risky projects.     

Asymmetric rivalry between strategic groups: response,speed of response and ex ante vs. ex post competitive interaction in the spanish bank deposit market

The objective of this study is to examine asymmetric rivalry between strategic groups in a given industry. Two research hypotheses argue for the existence of asymmetric rivalry in the sense that strategic groups of small companies have a greater degree of response but a slower speed of response to the actions of strategic groups of large companies, than vice versa. To test this, we use an ex post approach that examines the news releases published on the strategic actions and reactions of firms. A third hypothesis compares ex ante competitive expectations with ex post asymmetric rivalry between strategic groups. To test this, we compare ex post news on actions/reactions with an ex ante approach that estimates conjectural variations. The empirical application carried out on bank deposits in the Spanish market defines strategic groups in terms of size due to the historical and institutional conditions of the industry (deregulatory change). The results obtained show that rivalry patterns between strategic groups in terms of company size can be predicted as asymmetric in the sense that smaller bank strategic groups have a greater degree of response (Stackelberg ‘leader–follower’ competitive interaction), and a slower speed of response to the actions of larger bank strategic groups than is found the other way around. Moreover, ex ante expectations of aggressiveness on the part of larger strategic groups characterize greater ex post reactions from the smaller‐size strategic groups. Therefore, the size distribution of strategic groups is valuable to research on complex industries with deregulation changes. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Policy matters. The long run effects of aggregate demand and mark-up shocks on the Italian unemployment rate

This paper estimates a VAR including labor productivity, real wage and unemployment rate, to identify the dynamic effects of technology, demand, and mark-up shocks, respectively, on the Italian labor market. Identification is achieved by imposing recursive restrictions on the matrix of long run multipliers. Our results show that both mark up and aggregate demand shocks permanently reduce the unemployment rate. Finally, technology shocks do not significantly affect the unemployment rate in the long run. These findings convey important policy implications: expansionary aggregate demand and deregulation policies reducing the mark up permanently decrease the Italian unemployment rate.Jel classification: C32, E32, J29This paper has been produced as part of a CEPR Research Network on New Approaches to the Study of Economic Fluctuations. We would like to thank Marcello DAmato, Mario Forni, Marco Lippi and Antonio Ribba for useful comments. We are also grateful to Bernd Sussmuth for pointing out to us several significant improvements to the paper.First version received: November 2001/Final version received: October 2002     

Liberalization of Opening Hours with Free Entry

Abstract. This paper studies competition in prices and opening hours in a model with free entry. It is shown that under free competition market failures arise: Entry is excessive and opening hours are under‐provided. The larger the demand elasticity, the larger market failures are going to be. Restrictions on opening hours aggravate this failure. We analyze the impact of a liberalization of opening hours. The model predicts that prices will remain constant in the short run but increase in the long run. Concentration in the retail sector will rise. Additionally, employment in the retail sector increases.     

Trade credit and the joint effects of supplier and customer financial characteristics

We examine how access to bank credit affects trade credit in the supplier–customer relationships of U.S. public firms. For identification, we use exogenous liquidity shocks to supplier firms in the form of staggered changes to interstate bank branching laws. Using a variety of tests, we show that supplier firms with greater access to banking liquidity offer more trade credit to their customers. We also show that when bank branching restrictions are relaxed in the supplier’s state, the supplier–customer relationship is more likely to survive.