Showing 1 - 10 of 44
This paper analyzes the relationship between the terms on bank loans and local crime rates, employing a sample of over 300,000 bank-firm relationships. Controlling for firm, market and bank characteristics the results show that where the crime rate is higher borrowers pay higher interest rates,...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005092587
The recent financial crisis has clearly demonstrated the exposure of defined contribution (DC) pension scheme members to extreme financial market risks. This paper argues that the government might offer DC plan members a minimum return guarantee, funded by risk based premia. Option pricing...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10008560236
In most advanced countries, future retirees will have to rely less on social security schemes and more on private pension plans, which mostly leave to the worker the choice between ashing-in or annuitizing pension wealth at retirement. Therefore, a better understanding of the determinants of the...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10009020150
Participation in supplementary pension funds allows workers to exploit tax benefits and payroll employees to take advantage of employer contributions. The simulations reported in the paper show that these two components can considerably increase workers' retirement wealth. Data show that returns...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005113692
After the crisis, from 2008 to 2010 the share of indebted households decreased both owing to a reduction in loan demand and stricter supply conditions. The reduction regarded mortgages and involved low-income households and the self-employed. Recourse to consumer credit remained stable; it...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011100340
Half a decade of crisis has had a substantial impact on the market for credit to Italian households. From 2008 through 2012 the share of indebted households decreased by 4 percentage points, to 23 per cent; among young households it fell by 12 points. The decline involved consumer credit and...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011100365
The paper investigates the relationship between the underground economy and financial deepening. Entrepreneurs can only access external finance by disclosing credible information in formal documentation. This may be impossible for many informal producers, who lack proper accounting records....
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005113532
The paper empirically tests the relationship between underground labour and schooling achievement for Italy; a country ranking badly in both respects when compared to other high-income economies; with a marked duality between North and South. In order to identify underground workers; we exploit...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005113540
We contribute to the debate on how to assess the size of the underground or shadow economy with a reinterpretation of the traditional Currency Demand Approach (CDA) � la Tanzi. We introduce three main innovations. First, we take as dependent variable in the money demand equation a direct...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011099617
Organized crime is widely regarded as damaging to the economy, to say nothing of people�s lives. Yet little is known about the mechanism at work. This paper helps fill the gap by analyzing the impact of organized crime on the allocation of public subsidies to businesses. We assemble an...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011099636