This paper uses a new data source on share prices to examine how stock markets in 23 countries reacted to the crash of October 1987. It records substantial variations across countries. In general there is no evidence that these differences are related to the structure of markets. However,...

<i> Does a Change in the Ownership of Firms, from Public to Private, Make a Difference? </i> (di Elisabetta Bertero) - ABSTRACT: The economic impact of privatisation is hard to assess. This paper extends the analysis of Florio (2002) in four directions. It argues that a welfare assessment of...

This paper investigates whether financial pressure has an impact on the performance of state-owned firms. By combining different theoretical frameworks, we explore the conditions under which debt discipline becomes effective even for state firms. Using a panel of 1318 Italian state and private...

The economic impact of privatisation is hard to assess. This paper extends the analysis of Florio (2004) in four directions. It argues that a welfare assessment of privatisation must include an evaluation of the performance of public enterprises in light of their originally broad set of...

This paper presents some new evidence on the hypothesis that financial liberalization will lead to a convergence in the structure of financial systems and firms' capital structure towards market-based systems. The paper focuses on the interesting case of France, where major reforms have...

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate on the redesigning of financial systems in Central and Eastern European and developing countries by focusing attention on specific financial institutions appropriate to easing the transition and fostering the creation of markets. The paper...