Surveys the development of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) in the USA, Canada, Japan and the EU. Suggests that ESOPs are driven by management in the USA but are culturally approved by both sides of industry in Japan. Describes the European system as emphasizing profit sharing instead...

The conventional wisdom regarding the rationale for employee stock ownership plans (ESOPS) holds that such plans provide incentives for improved worker productivity. This view minimizes the employees' portfolio problem inherent in ESOP participation — employment risk for ESOP participants is...

The paper applies a Factor-GARCH model to evaluate the impact of the market portfolio, as a single common dynamic risk factor, on conditional volatility and risk premia for the returns on size-based equity portfolios of three major European markets; France, Germany and the United Kingdom. The...

Purpose - This paper seeks to test the hypothesis that stock returns in the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) adjust asymmetrically to past information due to differential adjustment costs. Design/methodology/approach -The methodological approach is based on the asymmetric price adjustment model...

Purpose - This study sets out to examine the evolution of competitive conditions in the banking industries of 14 Central and Eastern European (CEE) transition economies for the period 1993-2000. Design/methodology/approach -The basis for the evaluation of competitive conditions is the extant...