The aim of this work is to compare the German, Italian, Swedish and English law as to see the principal policies and regulatory cornerstones that will lead us to understand and comprehend the way in which Hedge Funds and their relationship with retail investors is developing. To attain our goal...

In order to explain cross-country differences in the effects of capital market liberalization, this paper proposes a model of international asset markets in which investors in different countries each face constraints on portfolio choice. The model demonstrates that liberalization, i.e. the...

Many researchers claim that the stock markets are getting more and more integrated. In other words, it is believed that there are stronger financial market linkages or co-movements among the stock markets around the globe. We attempt to determine whether there are financial market linkages or...

Accounting certification in the former Soviet republics lacks credibility. Accountants are not familiar with International Financial Reporting Standards or International Standards on Auditing. Certifications can be bought. Audit opinions can be sold. Financial statements that are auditing by...

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union each of the former Soviet republics has started the process of moving away from central planning and toward a market economy. Part of that process involves private sector institution building. One private sector institution that has generally experienced a...

One of the reasons for governments to use capital controls is to obtain some degree of monetary independence. This paper investigates the link between capital controls and interest differentials/ forward premia. This to test whether they can indeed give governments the power to drive exchange...

Asset securitization is a burgeoning trend in Russia as companies burdened by poor credit ratings seek access to capital at lower costs than they would be allowed in traditional equity or debt markets. In other countries, non-performing loan portfolios are assets that are frequently securitized....

By combining new data on bilateral asset holdings with data on securities regulation in an empirical gravity model, it is found that bilateral differences in securities regulation lead to decreased portfolio holdings. Hence, regulatory harmonization can foster financial integration. The results...

The correlation structure of the world equity markets varies considerably over the past 150 years. We show that correlations were high during periods of economic and financial integration. We decompose the benefits of international diversification into two parts: a component that measures...

I review the crises and contagion literature as it has been formed during the last decade. The focus of the paper is to describe the main channels through which crises spread as they have been described in empirical studies and then present theoretical papers that support those views....