The German meat market is facing considerable changes. Along with the boom of case-ready and discount stores, butchers and smaller retailers loose market shares, and private labels become widely accepted. The consumers' preferences are often neglected by these trends. This contribution discusses...

This paper examines the performance of Islamic banks (IBs) and conventional banks (CBs) during the recent global crisis by examining the impact of the crisis on profitability, credit and asset growth, and external ratings in a group of countries where the two types of banks have significant...

The existing literature suggests a number of alternative methods to test for the presence of contagion during financial market crises. This paper reviews those methods and shows how they are related in a unified framework. A number of extensions are also suggested that allow for multivariate...

The 2009 conferences will provide many opportunities for the presentation of important new research and for productive, structured dialogue on the major challenges facing the global response to the financial crisis. Conference organisers are developing a wide variety of session types that meet...

This note analyzes levels and trends of health expenditures by country, income group, and region in the context of overall government revenue, expenditure, and GDP trends between 1995 and 2010. The study uses available data from the World Health Organization's (WHO) National Health Accounts, the...

Modern portfolio theory suggests that the best strategy to reduce portfolio risk is to diversify internationally rather than nationally. However, despite the gains from international portfolio diversification investors still overweight their portfolios with the domestic assets. This is referred...

Research suggests that informational differences, including familiarity with domestic securities, underlie home equity bias. We suggest that home bias can arise more subtly. The bias may simply occur because individuals are more comfortable with domestic companies, irrespective of information or...

Modern portfolio theory suggests that the best strategy to reduce portfolio risk is to diversify internationally rather than nationally. However, despite the gains from international portfolio diversification investors still overweight their portfolios with the domestic assets. This is referred...

Research suggests that informational differences, including familiarity with domestic securities, underlie home equity bias. We suggest that home bias can arise more subtly. The bias may simply occur because individuals are more comfortable with domestic companies, irrespective of information or...

On May 11-12, 2011, SUERF, the Belgian Financial Forum, the Brussels Finance Institute and the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) jointly organised the 29th SUERF Colloquium New paradigms in money and finance? The papers included in this SUERF Study are based on contributions to the...