There is a large literature on the effects of the presence of bankers on firms'boards as these bankers may reduce monitoring costs by facilitating information flows between the lender and the borrower, may credibly certify the financial soundness of the firm to other creditors who are not...

Come Š stato possibile che la crisi di un settore marginale della finanza statunitense si sia propagata cosi' rapidamente non solo alle altre economie avanzate, ma anche alle economie emergenti e in via di sviluppo, e abbia determinato conseguenze tanto gravi da indurre molti paesi a ripensare...

This paper tests the effect of founder's tenure on firm performance by taking into account the impact of the changes occurring in the economic environment. We use a large dataset of founder-run firms that includes, in addition to financial data, company data directly collected through a survey...

The current international monetary system (IMS) is fragile because the dollar standard is rapidly deteriorating. The dual role the dollar as the dominant international money and national money cannot be easily reconciled because the US monetary authorities face a conflict between pursuing...

The theoretical literature had identified potential benefits and costs of close bank-firm relationships for both parties, suggesting possible reasons for firms being vaptured by banks and vice versa. In this paper we empirically explore the effects of long-lasting credit relationships on...

The ultimate point of origin of the great financial crisis of 2007-2009 can be traced back to an extremely indebted US economy. The collapse of the real estate market in 2006 was the close point of origin of the crisis. The failure rates of subprime mortgages were the first symptom of a credit...

Distance and national borders are a big hurdle to the expansion of cross-border trade. Further constraints on integration come from heterogeneity in culture and institutions and from the forces of geography, defined as continents and oceans. Of the three sets of factors, the forces of geography...

A well-established result of the theory of antitrust policy is that it might be optimal to tolerate some degree of collusion among firms if the authority in charge is constrained by limited resources and imperfect information. However, few doubts are cast on the common opinion by which stricter...