EXTERNAL GOVERNANCE AND THE COST OF EQUITY FINANCING

We examine whether and how competitive pressure in the product market influences the cost of equity capital. Using a large panel of U.S. public firms, we find that intensification of product market competition results in lower equity financing costs. Our results are statistically significant and economically sizable. In line with the view of the disciplinary role of product market competition, we show that corporate governance, payout policy, and investment policy are channels through which competitive pressure influences the cost of equity capital.     

Convergence Across the EU Regions: Economic Composition and Structural Transformation

This paper refers to 1995–2006 and analyzes the role and sources of within- and between-sectors convergence in the context of the economic catching-up process across the European Union regions. The perspective adopted here overcomes the prevailing theoretical and empirical contributions referred to as the one-sector economic growth model by Solow that neglects the implications of economic composition and structural transformation on regional aggregate growth and catching-up. Further, a comparison between the results from the fixed effects panel data model and cross-regions ordinary least square estimates allow consideration of the technological differences in the economic and sectoral speeds of convergence. The growth-accounting approach integrates these results and underlines the role of structural composition and change on the process of economic and between-sectors catching-up.     

Financial development,ICT diffusion and economic growth: Lessons from MENA region

This paper aims to test jointly two economic puzzles: the effect of financial development and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on economic growth. Theories predict a positive effect of financial development and ICT on growth but empirical studies on these relationships produced mixed results. Further, we investigate the interaction between financial development and ICT Diffusion to test whether the impact of financial development on growth is strengthened by better ICT infrastructure. In this paper we assess empirically these relationships in some MENA countries. The empirical study is based on estimation of a dynamic panel model with system GMM estimators. There are three main findings. First, our empirical results join empirical literature that find a negative direct effect of financial development on economic growth. This ambiguous relationship may be linked to many phenomenons but there are not yet clear explanations of this puzzle. Second, the estimates reveal a positive and significant direct effect of ICT proxies on economic growth. This implies that MENA countries need to reinforce their ICT policies and improve using of new Information and Communication Technology. Finally, the interaction between ICT penetration and financial development is found positive and significant in the growth regression. This implies that economies in Mena region can benefit from financial development only once a threshold of ICT development is reached.     

The Dynamic Relationship Between Corruption–Inflation: Evidence From Panel Vector Autoregression

This paper aims to explain the mixed causality nexus between corruption and inflation. For that, we apply a panel vector autoregression model on a large sample of 180 countries over the period 1996–2014. Using two corruption indexes and subsample estimations, results provide evidence that the inflation–corruption nexus is bidirectional. The causal effect is more important from corruption to inflation. Interactions remain significant but heterogeneous across subsamples with different income levels. The corruption effect is persistent only in low–middle income economies and its adverse effect on inflation is weaker in high‐income economies. The two‐way relationship between inflation and corruption reflects the inability to control inflation and the situation of the poverty trap in some countries.     

Impact of Climate Change and International Prices Uncertainty on the Sudanese Sorghum Market: A Stochastic Approach

This paper simulates the possible sorghum price change and the related probability of occurrence under different rainfall scenarios and in a context of price uncertainty in international markets. The empirical investigation is based on the stochastic approach. Results indicate an expected increase in sorghum price due to a high level of uncertainty in precipitation and in international market price, the most change likely produced by the latter, and the need to alter the agricultural view of policy making to include a market perspective.     

Can fiat currencies really hedge Bitcoin? Evidence from dynamic short-term perspective

Decisions in Economics and Finance - Whereas much research has largely investigated the safe haven, diversifier and hedge proprieties of cryptocurrency, very few papers have analyzed the hedging...     

Competitive pressure and firm investment efficiency: Evidence from corporate employment decisions

This study examines the link between product market competition and labour investment efficiency. We find that competitive pressure distorts the efficiency of corporate employment decisions by creating an underinvestment problem. This finding withstands a battery of robustness checks and remains unchanged after accounting for endogeneity concerns. Additional analysis shows that the relationship between product market competition and labour investment efficiency is stronger for firms facing higher competitive threats, greater financial constraints, higher information asymmetry and higher labour adjustment costs. Our results suggest that as competition increases bankruptcy risk, it leads managers to underinvest in labour to avoid incurring labour-related costs.