Collateral is one of the most important features of a debt contract. A substantial theoretical literature motivates the use of collateral as a means to alleviate ex-ante and ex-post information asymmetries between borrowers and lenders and the incidence of credit rationing. Through its seniority...

We provide the first evidence on how the introduction of information sharing via a public credit registry affects banks’ lending decisions. We employ a unique dataset containing detailed information on credit card applications and decisions from one of the leading banks in China. While we do...

This paper studies how credit constraints develop over bank relationships. I analyze a unique dataset of matched loan application and loan contract information and measure credit constraints as the ratio of requested to granted loan amounts. I find that the most important determinants of...

Integrated financial markets provide opportunities for expansion and improved risk sharing, but also pose threats of contagion risk through cross-border exposures. This paper examines cross-border contagion risk over the period 1999-2006. To that purpose we use aggregate cross-border exposures...

In this paper we evaluate applications of (return based) style analysis.The portfolio and positivity constraints imposed by style analysis are useful in constructing mimicking portfolios without short positions.Such mimicking portfolios can be used, e.g., to construct efficient portfolios of...

We develop a theory and empirical test of how the legal system affects the relationship between venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. The theory uses a double moral hazard framework to show how optimal contracts and investor actions depend on the quality of the legal system. The empirical...

In this paper we show how style analysis of mutual funds can be used to circumvent the problem of self-reported investment styles, and to improve relative performance evaluation. Subsequently, we relate style analysis to performance evaluation and present results on the performance of Dutch...

The late-Victorian era was characteristed by especially close links between politicians and firms in the UK. Roughly half of all members of Parliament served as company directors, many as directors of multiple firms. We analyze 467 British companies over the period 1895 to 1904 to investigate...

This paper shows that the finance and growth relationship is as important in resource-based economies as in other economies. This paper also documents less developed financial systems in resource-based economies and banks that are more liquid, better capitalized and more profitable, but give...