The theory of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) has been developed almost exclusively from the study of large deals by large firms. In this paper we argue that the behaviour and success of M&As by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) may be significantly different. Accordingly, we revisit...

Both in the US and in Europe anti money laundering policy switched from a rule-to a risk-based reporting system in order to avoid over-reporting by the private sector. However, reporting increased in most countries, while the quality of information decreased. Governments drowned in data because...

IMF programs consist of granting loans, and of conditionality that countries have to follow in order to qualify for them. The paper uses a pooled time-series cross section analysis, covering 98 countries over the period 1970-2000 in order to find out which effect IMF programs have on the...

Since the early 1980s, the interest in the nature and size of the non-measured economy (both the informal and the illegal one) was born among researchers in the US. Since then, several models to estimate the shadow and/or the underground economy appeared in the literature, each with its own...

In this paper we seek to contribute to the literature on competition and innovation by focusing on individual firms within the U.S. banking industry in the period 1984-2004. We measure innovation by estimating technology gaps and find evidence of an inverted-U relationship between competition...

Although works councils have, by and large, equally extensive legal rights in Germany and the Netherlands, this is the first econometric analysis that investigates the influence of Dutch works councils on firm performance. We use a nation-wide Dutch dataset with information on...

In the European Union, energy markets are increasingly being liberalized. A case in point is the European natural gas industry. The general expectation is that more competition will lead to lower prices and higher volumes, and hence higher welfare. This paper indicates that this might not happen...