Search results for "ECs"
showing 10 items of 2721 documents
Unbundling technology adoption and tfp at the firm level. Do intangibles matter?
2012
We use a panel of European firms to investigate the relationship between intangible assets and productivity. We distinguish between total factor productivity (tfp) and technology adoption, whereas standard estimations consider only a notion of productivity that conflates the two effects. Although we are unable to address simultaneity, we allow for the existence of multiple technologies within sectors through a mixture model approach. We find that intangible assets have nonnegligible effects that both push firms toward better technologies (technology adoption effects) and allow for more efficient exploitation of a given technology (tfp effects).
Decomposing changes in the conditional variance of GDP over time
2017
A well established fact in the growth empirics literature is the increasing (unconditional) variation in output per capita across countries. We propose a nonparametric decomposition of the conditional variation of output per capita across countries to capture different channels over which the variation might be increasing. We find that OECD countries have experienced diminishing conditional variation while other regions have experienced increasing conditional variation. Our decomposition suggests that most of these changes in the conditional variance of output are due to unobserved factors not accounted for by the traditional growth determinants. In addition to this we show that these facto…
The real exchange rate in the long run: Balassa-Samuelson effects reconsidered
2017
Historical data for over hundred years and 14 countries is used to estimate the long-run effect of productivity on the real exchange rate. We find large variations in the productivity effect across four distinct monetary regimes in the sample period. Although the traditional Balassa-Samuelson model is not consistent with these results, we suggest an explanation of the results in terms of contemporary variants of the model that incorporate the terms of trade mechanism. Specifically we argue that changes in trade costs over time may affect the impact of productivity on the real exchange rate over time. We undertake simulations of the modern versions of the Balassa-Samuelson model to show that…
Market risk disclosure in banking: an empirical analysis on four global systemically important European banks
2017
Market risk reporting in banking has assumed such importance during the last decade. The purpose of this paper is to provide a methodology to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative profiles of the market risk disclosure in banking. We propose a hybrid methodology to assess whether or not banks are able to provide a satisfactory degree of information about the market risks they are exposed to. In this paper, we conduct an empirical research of market risk disclosure on a sample of four global systemically important European banks. The paper provides evidences that banks differ in their market risk reporting models, even though they are subject to similar regulatory requirements and accoun…
Financial Globalization, Fiscal Policies and the Distribution of Income
2020
This paper provides evidence that financial globalization—liberalization of the capital account—makes income distribution more uneven by raising the share of income that goes to the richest income deciles. We also offer evidence that changes in domestic fiscal policies in the aftermath of financial globalization are one channel through which these distributional effects could occur. Specifically, we show that episodes of capital account liberalization are followed by greater fiscal consolidation and reduced fiscal redistribution, both of which lead to increased inequality.
How to measure bank credit risk disclosure? Testing a new methodological approach based on the content analysis framework
2020
AbstractRisk disclosure is a crucial factor in enhancing the efficiency of financial markets and promoting financial stability. This paper proposes a methodological tool to analyze credit risk disclosure in bank financial reports, based on the content analysis framework. The authors also uses this methodology to carry out an empirical study on a small sample of large Italian banks. The paper provides preliminary empirical evidence that banks differ in their credit risk disclosure, even though they are subject to homogeneous regulatory and accounting requirements. Furthermore, by carrying out a correlation-based network analysis, the paper provides preliminary evidence on the existence of a …
Credit derivatives disclosure in banks’ risk reporting: Empirical evidence from four large European banks
2019
This paper aims to analyze the derivatives disclosure in banks’ annual risk reports. In this paper, the author uses content analysis to examine the qualitative and quantitative profiles of the derivatives disclosure at a cross-country level, with particular reference to credit derivatives. The empirical research is conducted on a sample of large European banks. The paper also shows that there is room to improve various aspects of derivatives disclosure, and provides some useful insights for further research. The derivatives disclosure in banks’ annual risk reports has deep managerial, financial, regulatory and accounting implications at a firm and industry levels, and the comprehension of t…
FISCAL POLICY AND ASSET PRICES
2011
We assess the role played by fiscal policy in explaining the dynamics of asset markets. Using a panel of ten industrialized countries, we show that a positive fiscal shock has a negative impact in both stock and housing prices. However, while stock prices immediately adjust to the shock and the effect of fiscal policy is temporary, housing prices gradually and persistently fall. As a result, the attempts of fiscal policy to mitigate stock price developments may severely de-stabilize housing markets. The empirical findings also point to: (i) a contractionary effect of fiscal policy on output in line with the existence of crowding-out effects; (ii) a weakening of the effectiveness of fiscal p…
The Rise in Inequality after Pandemics: Can Fiscal Support Play a Mitigating Role?
2021
Abstract Major epidemics of the last two decades (SARS, H1N1, MERS, Ebola, and Zika) have been followed by increases in inequality [Furceri et al. (2020), COVID Economics, 12, 138–157]. In this article, we show that the extent of fiscal consolidation in the years following the onset of these pandemics has played an important role in determining the extent of the increase in inequality. Episodes marked by extreme austerity—measured using either the government’s fiscal balance, health expenditures, or redistribution—have been associated with an increase in the Gini measure of inequality three times as large as in episodes where fiscal policy has been more supportive. We survey the evidence th…
COVID‐19 and tourism: What can we learn from the past?
2020
Abstract The impact of the COVID‐19 crisis on tourism flows is without precedent in terms of speed and severity. In this paper, we try to infer a possible future scenario for the tourism sector, evaluating the medium‐term effects of past pandemics on tourist arrivals. We find that pandemics lead to a persistent decline in tourist arrivals, with the effects being larger in developing and emerging countries. Interestingly, the effects are heterogeneous across countries and episodes, and depend on several economic conditions such as the overall health system performance, the severity of the shock, and the uncertainty induced by the pandemic event.