Realization of comparative advantage (David Ricardo) raises issues of income distribution that emerge when specialization gains are achieved. While the Stolper-Samuelson theorem 'predicts' that because of trade liberalization in 'rich countries' like Austria or Germany wages may fall and real...

1) Financing Firms in East European Countries: An Asymmetric Information and Agency Costs Approach, by Debora Revoltella 2) Seven Years of Financial Market Reform in Central Europe, by Peter H. Haiss and Gerhard Fink.

This paper analyses capacity building and institutional development in the banking and capital market sectors of formerly planned economies in Central and Eastern Europe. While the existing literature mostly addresses the specific situation of banks and capital markets in a particular country or...

This paper presents an analysis of the effects that Austria's accession to the EU had on several key financial ratios of small business firms in the retail and wholesale trade sectors. These two industries were selected because before 1995 they were protected in many respects, thus vulnerable to...

The paper focuses on the question whether banks and capital markets in Central Europe are capable of exerting a positive influence on enterprise performance at the present stage of the economic transformation. These markets are characterised by privileged, collaborative interfirm/interbank...

What is the impact of financial sector segments at different stages of development? We apply a production function approach to investigate the impact of the credit, bond and stock segments in nine EU-accession countries over early years of transition (1996-2000) and compare these to mature...