This study uses factor analysis to simplify the complex relationships among stock markets and to reduce the number of markets required for portfolio construction. Our sample consists of the US and 11 Asia-Pacific stock markets. We find that the reduced portfolio obtained from factor analysis has...

The recent financial crisis has plagued banking institutions around the world. Using a non-parametric (data envelopment analysis) approach, we measure operating and profit efficiency of 21 commercial banks from four countries during 2004-2010. The results suggest that for the most part there is...

The compensation hypothesis predicts a positive causation from international economic openness to the size of the public sector, as governments step in to perform a risk mitigating role to counterbalance the increasing exposure to external risk and the economic dislocations caused by growing...