Why are socially beneficial reforms not implemented? One simple answer to this question (which has received little attention in the literature) is that this may be caused by generalised uncertainty about the effectiveness of reforms. If agents are unsure about whether a proposed reform will...

We use a Kalman filter type model of financial markets to extract a global stochastic trend from the discrete non-synchronous data on daily stock market index returns of different stock exchanges. The model is tested for robustness. In addition, we derive "most important" hours of world...

Why are socially beneficial reforms not implemented? One simple answer to this question (which has received little attention in the literature) is that this may be caused by generalised uncertainty about the effectiveness of reforms. If agents are unsure about whether a proposed reform will...

We use a Kalman filter type model of financial markets to extract a global stochastic trend from the discrete non-synchronous data on daily stock market index returns of different stock exchanges. The model is tested for robustness. In addition, we derive “most important” hours of world...

The analysis of external economic relations of Russia reveals a paradox: while Europe is the main trade and direct investment partner of Russia, this is far from being the case concerning its currency s role in Russia's financial activities.The dollar is much preferred by economic agents for...

The aim of this paper is to analyze the effect of corruption in bank lending. Corruption is expected to hamper bank lending, as it is closely related to legal enforcement, which has been shown to promote banks' willingness to lend. Nevertheless the similarities between the consequences for bank...

This paper investigates stock market reaction to debt arrangements in Russia. The analysis of the valuation of debt arrangements by stock markets provides information about the use of debt by Russian companies. We apply the event study methodology to check whether debt announcements lead to...

This paper examines financial sector characteristics in resource-dependent economies. Using a unique dataset covering 133 countries, we present empirical evidence that the banking sector tends to be smaller in resource-dependent economies, even when controlling for several other factors which...

The volatility of financial markets has been a relevant topic for transition economies, as the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union have seemingly en-dured high levels of volatility in their financial sectors during the transition process. But what have been the...

The paper investigates the influences of financial development on patterns of industrial specialization across China's regions. We find that industrial sectors reliant on access to external finance are found to concentrate in regions with developed financial markets. Both foreign direct...