Recent cross-country comparisons of bank efficiency have been based on pooled estimates of banks across countries and have typically assumed a common frontier and that differences in performance among banks are primarily due to disparities in certain country-specific aspects of banking...

This paper stresses the importance of understanding operational choices, strategies, and performances of stock exchanges as regular operating firms [J. Finance 52 (1999) 655; J. Financial Markets 2 (1999) 329]. Using unbalanced panel data on 49 stock exchanges over the period 1989-1998, the paper...

Do closer political ties with a global superpower improve sovereign borrowing conditions? We use data on voting at the United Nations General Assembly along with foreign aid flows to construct an index of political ties and find evidence that suggests closer political ties leads to both better...

The paper analyzes the experiences and developments of Hungarian banking sector during the transitional process from a centralized economy to a market-oriented system. The paper identifies that early reorganization initiatives, flexible approaches to privatization, and liberal policies towards...

Arguably, eliminating suspensions of payments periods when banks jointly refuse to convert their liabilities into outside money or other assets was an important impetus for creating the Federal Reserve. Friedman and Schwartz suggest that a suspension in 1930 would have decreased the severity of...

We study empirically the effect of focus (specialization) vs. diversification on the return and the risk of banks using data from 105 Italian banks over the period 1993-1999. Specifically, we analyze the tradeoffs between (loan portfolio) focus and diversification using a unique data set that is...

We aim to assess the accuracy of accounting and stock market indicators to predict rating changes of banks. We conduct a stepwise process to determine the optimal set of early indicators by tracing upgrades and downgrades by rating agencies as well as other relevant factors. Our results indicate...

This paper investigates the existence and extent of economies of scale and scope among stock exchanges. Evidence from 38 exchanges in 32 countries and 4 continents around the world for the years 1989-1998 indicates the existence of significant economies of scale and scope. The degree of such...

The controversy over whether investment-cash flow sensitivity is a good indicator of financing constraints is still unresolved. We tackle it from several different angles and cross-validate our analysis with both balance sheet and qualitative data on self-declared credit rationing and financing...

China is reforming its banking system, partially privatizing and permitting minority foreign ownership of three of the dominant 'big four' state-owned banks. This paper seeks to help predict the effects of this change by analysing the efficiency of virtually all Chinese banks in the years...