In this paper, we evaluate firm-, industry- and country-specific factors determining a firm's capital structure. The empirical validity of several capital structure theories has been ambiguous so far. We shed light on the main drivers of leverage and depict differences in industry and country...

In this paper, we examine the financial integration process amongst 17 EMU countries from January 2002 to June 2013 over a normal period as well as for the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and Eurozone Debt Crisis (EDC) periods. We classify the economies in three groups (A, B and C) based on their...

The massive stocks of foreign exchange reserves, mostly held in the form of U.S. T-Bonds by emerging economies, are still an important puzzle. Why do emerging economies continue to willingly loan to the United States despite the low rates of return? We propose that a dynamic general equilibrium...

The European Monetary Union is characterized by a crisis of governance, this has become more evident with the crisis of the euro which has shown the weaknesses of the European institutions and stressed the heterogeneity of member countries. The global financial crisis struck the euro area very...

This paper investigates the role of multilateral development banks in promoting economic integration in different regional blocs. The experience of financing regional public goods by several multilateral development banks is studied (Inter-American Development Bank, Central American Bank for...

The correlation analysis was conducted on dynamic of GDP and company failure rate for Poland, Europe and USA for the period 2003-2011; it was found a negative correlation. An analysis was undertaken for the relation between the rate of corporate failure in Poland and the rate of change of overall...

The Eurocrisis challenges our definition of a common future in Europe. As first step, this article describes a vision of a future Europe without the Euro as state of political and economic marginalisation. I am contrasting this vision by demanding European values and civic duties that make the...

The problem posed by a potential exit from a political union or federation of states is not a new one. In the current crisis the potential exit from a monetary union is particularly relevant. Not long ago, potential exit has been an important topic in Canada. The analyses of the consequences of...

The introduction of the euro was one of the most important events in the process of European integration, especially in the financial sector. However, next to its many advantages, the joint currency and single monetary policy increased the probability of property bubbles in the EU low income...

Efforts to promote regional integration in North Africa to date have often been constrained by political differences as well as diversity in economic performance, pace of economic reforms and openness, and disparities in legal and regulatory frameworks. Overlapping preferential trade agreements...