In this paper we analyze a model of voluntary disclosure by firms in financial markets. We focus on externalities that arise when firm values are correlated and the disclosures made by one firm affect the valuation of other firms. In our model, firms can choose the precision of their disclosure,...

Without doubt a well-developed financial sector is related to efficient resource allocation and growth, but there is modest consensus on the direction of that link, on the notion of what is meant by quot;well developedquot;, on which subset of the financial market is crucial and thus which...

In this essay I discuss the debate about the rationale for investor protection in the retail financial sector by means of conduct of business regulation. The two theses I examine have been heavily informed, on the one hand, by the simultaneous debate surrounding the general issue of consumer...

This paper examines the effects of bank relationships on underwriter choice in the Japanese corporate-bond market following the 1993 deregulation. Bank relationships have significant positive effects on a firm's underwriter choice. Relationship firms receive a small but significant fee discount...

This paper tests the hypothesis that during systemic banking crises, access to finance is opportunistically tightened by incumbents to eliminate or weaken competition from mainly young firms. We find this to be especially true in more corrupt countries. To do so, we employ a methodology similar...

This report summarises the scientific content and results of the European Science Foundation Exploratory Workshop on 'Economic Geography and European Finance' held at Jesus College, Oxford University, 16-19 September 2004. The objective of the workshop was to further our understanding of the...

We examine how analysts establish target prices for IPO firms and whether comparable firms used to support target prices are helpful in explaining IPO offer prices. From 1996 to 2000, the average target price is set at a level more than twice the offer price that was established less than a...

This paper analyzes some major developmental issues in the specific areas of the Armenian banking sector (particularly raised by the Armenian authorities) and insurance sector and provides recommendations for addressing those issues. The paper argues that over the past seven years, the Armenian...

Recent high correlations among hedge fund returns could suggest concentrations of risk comparable to those preceding the hedge fund crisis of 1998. A comparison of the current rise in correlations with the elevation before the 1998 event, however, reveals a key difference. The current increase...