We examine the determinants of underwriter spreads on straight/fixed rate Eurobonds issued by U.S. firms between 1990 and 1998. We find that underwriter spreads are influenced by: (i) the governing law as it influences the timely and orderly renegotiation of contract terms, with bonds governed...

This paper brings together the literature on determination of home bias in equity holdings and the portfolio balance model of exchange rates to consider whether the dollar might be affected by a change in transactions costs that alters international portfolio allocations. Our empirical findings...

We explore the relation between international financial integration and the level of entrepreneurial activity in a country. Using a unique data set of approximately 24 million firms in nearly 100 countries in 1999 and 2004, we find suggestive evidence that international financial integration has...

Recent work (including that of the author) on the impact of FDI has been based on microlevel (i.e. firms, establishments or plants) data, since this allows much greater control when examining such issues as whether FDI plants are more productive or innovative; whether there are spillovers to...

This paper examines the key issues relating to the UK pension system. It reviews the current system of pension provision, describes and analyses the reforms since 1980, examines the legal regulatory and accounting framework for occupational pension schemes, assesses the different types of risks...

Creditors of a distressed borrower face a coordination problem. Even if the fundamentals are sound, fear of premature foreclosure by others may lead to pre-emptive actions, undermining the project. Recognition of this problem lies behind corporate bankruptcy provisions across the world, and it...

This paper studies how the introduction of social learning with costs to delay affects coordination games with incomplete information. We present a tractable noisy dynamic coordination game with social learning and costs to delay. We show that this game has a unique monotone equilibrium. A...

In this paper, I first provide a unifying approach to Mean-Variance analysis and Value at Risk, which highlights both their similarities and differences. Then I use it to explain how fund managers can take investment decisions within the well-known Mean-Variance allocation framework that satisfy...

In this paper we introduce an analytic-interactive mediation approach to facilitate conflict resolution in collective bargaining. Based on field observations of labor-management negotiations in the German railway industry, we develop an approach which combines human mediation with IT-based...

Global accountability is commonly understood as a contractual mechanism between principals and agents where standards of behavior are objective and respond to functional needs, agents are autonomous, motivations are self-interested and practices are procedural. This paper theorizes an...