I investigate: (i) Agency problems between debt and equity holders, and their impact on capital structure and investment policy; (ii) Agency problems between firm managers and capital providers.The first chapter, "Investment and Financing under Reverse Asset Substitution", shows that banks place...

Many economists have observed that the financial system has a positive and monotoniceffect on economic growth. In this study we reaffirm the finance-growth nexus. We adopta three-tier approach for the study’s methodology using panel data of 66 countries from1986 to 2005. Firstly, we test for...

This paper aims to make an empirical contribution to the discussion of the role of banks and to find out if banking is a declining industry. It takes into account that the role of banks is declining in the United States and the fact that the American economy usually sets the trend for the other...

This paper discusses the relationship between premia for macroeconomic risk in banking, aggregate behavior, and banking crises. We consider a competitive banking system embedded in an overlapping generation model subject to repeated macroeconomic shocks. We highlight how risk premia decline when...

This paper studies the question to what extent premia for macroeconomic risks in banking are sufficient to avoid banking crises. We investigate a competitive banking system embedded in an overlapping generation model subject to repeated macroeconomic shocks. We show that even if banks fully...

We explore the impact of sophistication in risk management as required by Basel II on banking stability and market conditions. We compare a competitive banking system in which only average ratings are available with a competitive system in which banks are able to assess the default risk of...

We investigate the question of whether sophistication in risk management fosters banking stability. We compare a simple banking system in which an average rating is used with a sophisticated banking system in which banks are able to assess the default risk of entrepreneurs individually. Both...

This paper provides a macroeconomic perspective for government interventions in banking crises. We illustrate how vulnerabilities of the banking sector may build up over time and thus destabilize a banking system. A crisis occurs when a large number of banks fail to meet capital requirements or...

This study examines the development of monetary theory and various policy frameworks as implemented at the time of writing. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of monetary policy on disintermediation and re–intermediation throughout the periods of the various monetary policy...

We provide an empirical support for theories of lender specialization using the recently developed market for Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) financing. The legal environment in which DIP financing operates represents a natural laboratory for testing determinants of lending specialization (e.g....