This paper critically examines the trade and technology theories which dominate the large and growing literature on the determinants of changes in income inequality in advanced industrial countries during the 1980s and 1990s. Both theories, despite their rather different approaches to the...

The first part of this paper examines the theoretical and empirical case for full capital account liberalisation in developing countries(DCs) and finds it unconvincing. Indeed, analysis and evidence presented here point to a compelling case against it. The second part considers the...

This paper addresses the question of whether growth convergence can be sustained in the global economy without compromising welfare and without causing major crises. It employs a simplified stock-flow analytical framework to examine the proposition that the pace and pattern of global growth is...

In this paper we use interview data to explore the new shareholder activism of mainstream UK institutional investors. We describe contemporary practices of corporate governance monitoring and engagement and how they vary across institutions, and explore the motivations behind them. Existing...

This paper critically examines the Greenspan-Summers-IMF thesis concerning the Asian crisis, which suggested that the fundamental causes of the Asian crisis lay in the microeconomic behavior of economic agents in these societies - in the Asian way of doing business. The paper concentrates on...

Firm level data from financial statements for nearly 8,000 listed companies in 22 emerging and 22 developed countries over the period 1994-00 are examined. Capital structure, asset structure, rates of return and financing patterns are compared across countries and over time. Generally, there are...

This paper explores the question of whether the institution of the stock market is likely to be helpful to low and middle income countries in promoting development of their real economy and ensuring fast industrial growth. The case for and against the stock market inevitably involves a...

This paper examines the extent to which contemporary business-led approaches designed to maximize female human capital are effective in reducing the gendered pay gap in the British labour market. In particular it asks whether the approach outlined by the latest Cabinet Office Review on women's...

This paper considers the Greenspan/Summers/IMF (GSI) argument that the Asian way of doing business was the deep cause of the Asian crisis. The IMF reform programme for the crisis-affected Asian countries suggested they should abandon the Asian business model and adopt the US corporate model. The...

The paper introduces the three articles in this Policy Feature, concerned respectively with competition, corporate governance and selection in emerging markets. Apart from being important in their own right, it is shown how these topics have recently acquired urgent domestic and international...