International trade in financial services is a topic of some importance both to the financial services sector itself and in international trade negotiations. Unfortunately, intrinsic problems in defining and measuring trade in services, combined with a lack of data in many countries, have made...

Using data for the period from 1855 to 1947 and the two sub-periods, 1855-1902 and 1903-47, the article examines whether the organic growth rates of 38 Swedish life insurance firms are independent of size, as predicted by Gibrat's (1931) Law of Proportionate Effects. Using panel unit root tests...

This study uses 1991-99 data gathered from the United Kingdom's life insurance industry to test empirically the notion that the reported annual surplus of a life insurer may be influenced by four firm-specific characteristics: namely, reinsurance, output mix, organizational form and firm size....

This paper examines the determinants of external credit ratings attained by insurance firms in the United Kingdom (UK) and of the likelihood that insurers will have such an assessment. Using panel data relating to A.M. Best-rated and Standard and Poor's (S&P)-rated insurers over the period...

The main aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between changes in dividend payout, earnings and share price movement, and to evaluate the joint effects of earnings and dividend changes. Managers of a firm usually have more information about the firm's prospects than its shareholders;...

In the insurance industry, claims tend to constitute the major proportion of the total annual outgoings across almost all product lines. This preliminary study develops a cost function of insurance claims and applies the model to 1988-93 data from the UK life insurance industry. In general, the...

The study tests empirically whether the leasing decision of United Kingdom companies is determined by four company-specific characteristics. The findings suggest that there is a positive relationship between the propensity to lease and both leverage and ownership structure. The study offers only...

This study examines the cost efficiency of non-life Takaful insurance firms operating in 10 Islamic countries. Non-parametric data envelopment analysis is used to compute cost efficiency scores and a second-stage logit transformation regression model is then estimated to test the influence of...