The purpose of the chapter is to analyze Africa's economic successes in the past half century, to understand not only what made it possible but also and more importantly what risk factors may eventually bring it to an end or compromise it. While it may not be possible for Africa to alter, for...

The onset of the housing and subsequent financial crisis in 2008 marked the steepest economic downturn in the United. States, since the Great Depression in the late 1920s and 1930s. This most recent financial crisis has been characterized by massive layoffs and displacement. Given the depth of...

There are relatively few studies that use micro data to shed light on the relationship between finance and economic growth - the few that exists show that there is a positive relationship between debt and future productivity growth. Meanwhile, several new macro-econometric studies have shown...

Severe recessions and financial crises are frequent. Their effect on the economy is persistent and often exceeds initial projections. They can also be a strong driver of widening inequality. Therefore it is important that measures be taken to minimise the risk of such events while strengthening...

Drawing on the 2013 Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) and complementary administrative data sources, we simulate household balance sheets at the micro level for the 2005-14 period. We use this dataset to tell the story of household leveraging and deleveraging over a tumultuous...

There are relatively few studies that use micro data to shed light on the relationship between finance and economic growth - the few that exists show that there is a positive relationship between debt and future productivity growth. Meanwhile, several new macro-econometric studies have shown...

Over the past 20 years, Portugal has gone through a boom, a slump, a sudden stop, and now a timid recovery. Unemployment has decreased, but remains high, and output is still far below potential. Competitiveness has improved, but more is needed to keep the current account in check as the economy...

The onset of the housing and subsequent financial crisis in 2008 marked the steepest economic downturn in the United. States, since the Great Depression in the late 1920s and 1930s. This most recent financial crisis has been characterized by massive layoffs and displacement. Given the depth of...

Drawing on the 2013 Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) and complementary administrative data sources, we simulate household balance sheets at the micro level for the 2005-14 period. We use this dataset to tell the story of household leveraging and deleveraging over a tumultuous...

A main goal of health insurance is to smooth out the financial risk that comes with health shocks and health care. Nevertheless, there has been relatively sparse evidence on how health insurance affects financial outcomes. The few studies that exist focus on the effect of gaining health...

Severe recessions and financial crises are frequent. Their effect on the economy is persistent and often exceeds initial projections. They can also be a strong driver of widening inequality. Therefore it is important that measures be taken to minimise the risk of such events while strengthening...

Since the Great Recession of 2007-9 the financialisation of the US economy has reached a watershed characterised by stagnant financial profits, falling mortgage debt and rising public debt. The reliance of households on the formal financial system appears to have weakened for the first time in...

We study the relationship between debt and growth in EU countries in the years 1995-2015. We investigate the debt-growth nexus in two alternative empirical set-ups: the traditional cross-county panel regressions and mean group estimations. We find evidence of a positive long-run relationship...

We provide an explanation of the low willingness to save that is observed in many poor countries. Our explanation is based on the hypothesis that people have an over-optimistic outlook. As discussed in the psychological literature, an illusionary positive view of the future may be a good thing....

Mit diesem Beitrag soll ein grundlegender Zugang zur investitionsrechnerischen Bewertung von riskanten, ausfallgefährdeten Krediten geschaffen werden. Gegenübergestellt werden die Diskontierung von vereinbarten Zahlungen mit der Effektivverzinsung äquivalenter Kredite und die Diskontierung...

This study explores the role of taxes in explaining companies' financing decisions. We test whether the corporate tax shields explanation of capital structure is applicable to firms listed on the Spanish stock exchange over the period 2007-2013. Taxes are found to be economically and...

This study inspects if there is greater convergence with Germany amongst the Eurozone founding members and if their relations with the hegemonic economy have been more symmetrical after "euroization". The dimensions explored are those inspired by the optimum currency areas (OCA) framework. To...

This study analyzes the effect of individual finances (specifically creditworthiness and severely delinquent debt) on mortality risk. A large (approximately 170,000 individuals) subsample of a quarterly panel data set of individual credit reports is utilized in an instrumental variables design....

The empirical effects of place-based tax incentive schemes designed to aid low income communities are unclear. While a growing number of studies find beneficial effects on employment, there is little investigation into other behaviors of households affected by such programs. We analyze the...

Using nationally representative Norwegian data we show family-owned workplaces are less likely to close than observationally similar non-family-owned workplaces. But this changed during the Crisis when the family businesses' closure hazard soared. This hike in 2009 was not related to performance...

We describe a “business as usual” (BAU) economy in which pollution is a by-product of productive activity by the current generation but “damages” production for future generations. Over time, conditions in the BAU economy become dire: it gets increasingly polluted, consumption falls and...

This paper empirically studies whether it pays off (in terms of economic growth) to fulfill the convergence criteria on the public budget and participation in the Euro-zone. The analysis is based on data of European economies with a special focus on twelve Euro–zone members and a control group...

Using nationally representative Norwegian data we show family-owned workplaces are less likely to close than observationally similar non-family-owned workplaces. But this changed during the Crisis when the family businesses' closure hazard soared. This hike in 2009 was not related to performance...

The empirical effects of place-based tax incentive schemes designed to aid low income communities are unclear. While a growing number of studies find beneficial effects on employment, there is little investigation into other behaviors of households affected by such programs. We analyze the...

This study inspects if there is greater convergence with Germany amongst the Eurozone founding members and if their relations with the hegemonic economy have been more symmetrical after "euroization". The dimensions explored are those inspired by the optimum currency areas (OCA) framework. To...

Mit diesem Beitrag soll ein grundlegender Zugang zur investitionsrechnerischen Bewertung von riskanten, ausfallgefährdeten Krediten geschaffen werden. Gegenübergestellt werden die Diskontierung von vereinbarten Zahlungen mit der Effektivverzinsung äquivalenter Kredite und die Diskontierung...

We describe a "business as usual" (BAU) economy in which pollution is a by-product of productive activity by the current generation but "damages" production for future generations. Over time, conditions in the BAU economy become dire: it gets increasingly polluted, consumption falls and...

This study explores the role of taxes in explaining companies’ financing decisions. We test whether the corporate tax shields explanation of capital structure is applicable to firms listed on the Spanish stock exchange over the period 2007-2013. Taxes are found to be economically and...

This paper uses the large and heterogeneous house price shocks in Denmark from 2006-2009 to provide new evidence on the contested determinants of the correlation between house prices and saving. Crucially, to compare the savings behaviour of home-owners who experienced di fferent house price...

This study analyzes the effect of individual finances (specifically creditworthiness and severely delinquent debt) on mortality risk. A large (approximately 170,000 individuals) subsample of a quarterly panel data set of individual credit reports is utilized in an instrumental variables design....

This paper empirically studies whether it pays off (in terms of economic growth) to fulfill the convergence criteria on the public budget and participation in the Euro-zone. The analysis is based on data of European economies with a special focus on twelve Euro-zone members and a control group...

Financial structure of the company refers to the structure of financing of business assets and concerns the relationship between their own and borrowed sources of financing. One of the company’s financial goals is to provide optimal financial structure that has the purpose of maximizing...

The paper focuses on public finance and the aspect of fiscal consolidation in Poland as economic consequences after the financial crisis in 2008. The study assumes that there is a wide range of needs for fiscal consolidation implementation in European post-crisis countries. Budgets of the vast...

One of the elements of company’s evaluation is ratio analysis. It includes computation of bankruptcy risk metrics. There are multiple such measures, of which two seem to be quite universal and commonly applied. These are current ratio and indebtedness ratio. In this study, the accuracy of...

A simple descriptive circuit theory of money is proposed, allowing for four actors (banks, government, firms and workers) and interest. A number of conclusions is readily made on the basis of the model. First, in an economy without a government sector (no taxes, no subsidies) and without banks...

The research on women entrepreneurship has mainly studied these topics: i) the characteristics and motivations (Brush and Hisrich, 1991; Pablo-Martí et al., 2014), ii) the strategic choice (Verheul et al., 2008), iii) the role of leadership (Schwartz, 1976; Justo et al. 2006)), iv) the entry barriers...

This paper reviews the steps that China has taken towards financial reform with a particular focus on capital account liberalisation and internationalisation of the use of the renminbi. After a slowdown in reform momentum during the global financial crisis, there is a clear push towards reform,...

At present, the world-economy is exceedingly fragile. Debt levels of nations peak. Monetary assets increase, too, and concentrate in the hands of few. In this paper, I show that a mechanism at the root of today’s monetary system entails an inherently fragile economy. I simulate the...

In a paper for the Review of Keynesian Economics, Steve Keen recently provided a restatement of his claim that "effective demand equals income plus the change in debt". The aim of the present article is to provide a detailed critique of Keen's argument using an analytical framework pioneered by...

The Italian Great Recession has a double-dip pattern. After the start of the global financial crisis, Italy experienced a second serious recession in 2011 because of the sovereign debt crisis. The reaction of Italian governments was mild at the beginning and more convinced since the start of the...