While financial institutions' aggregate investments have grown substantially worldwide, the size of their individual shareholdings, and ultimately their incentive to monitor, may be limited by the free-rider problem, regulations, and a preference for diversification and liquidity. We compare...

In light of the growing significance of trade in financial services, and the emphasis placed on trade in financial services during the Uruguay round of trade negotiations, this article is the first study of the determinants of intra-industry trade (IIT) in insurance services. The article...

Bancassurance has received much attention from both researchers and policymakers, as it is a major step towards the creation of universal financial markets in the 21st century which are no longer segregated based on industry operations. This study is the first comprehensive study to identify and...

This article examines the determinants of life insurance consumption in OECD countries. Consistent with previous results, we find a significant positive income elasticity of life insurance demand. Demand also increases with the number of dependents and level of education, and decreases with life...

We study the foreign exchange exposure of U.S. insurers. The evidence shows that no systematic difference exists in the currency risk profiles of life and non-life segments within the insurance industry. This suggests that life and non-life insurers have similar risk exposure management...