In this paper we analyse bank efficiency in Germany for four cross-sections of data during the period 1995-2001. Under the assumption of cost minimisation we obtain firm-specific efficiency estimates using stochastic frontier analysis. To explicitly allow for different risk preferences when...

This paper investigates the forces driving output growth, namely technological, efficiency, and input changes, in 80 countries over the period 1970-2000. Relevant past studies typically assume that: (i) countries use resources efficiently, and (ii) the underlying production technology is the...

Are firms doing good? And, if so, why do they engage in social responsibility? To find out, we model corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a choice of the firm to self-restrain from the full exploitation of a production set that contains negative externalities. Compared to such an...

Cost and profit efficiency (CE and PE) are key to evaluate bank performance. But efficiency improvements may imply deteriorating profitability and excessive risk-taking. The dynamic reactions of performance in response to efficiency changes remain unclear on both theoretical and empirical...

This study investigates if the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) distorted price competition in U.S. banking. Political indicators reveal bailout expectations after 2009, manifested as beliefs about the predicted probability of receiving equity support relative to failing during the TARP...

We show that the presence of executive directors with prior experience in the finance industry is pervasive on the boards of European national banking supervisors. Up to one executive out of three has previously held positions in the industry he/she supervises. Appointments of such executives...