In this paper we discuss the continued transition of financial markets towards trade standardization and the clearing of transactions, outlining the role of central clearing counterparties CCPs in reducing systemic and idiosyncratic risk. We contrast this with a discussion on bespoke non-cleared...

In this paper, using new estimates of the size of the UK's capital market, we examine financial development and investor protection laws in Britain c.1900 to test the influential law and finance hypothesis. Our evidence suggests that there was not a close correlation between financial...

Over the period 1980-2007 multinational firms' investment grew four times faster than worldwide GDP. Yet the evidence on whether global diversification is valuable is inconclusive. This paper uses detailed FDI data for 251 UK multinational firms and 4,676 subsidiaries to show that multinational...

This paper presents evidence that subsidiaries of multinational firms have higher valuations than locally matched firms. Using a unique sample of 251 UK multinational firms and 4,676 subsidiaries, the paper finds that multinational firms achieve, on average, an international diversification...

Credit risk has recently been identified as a cause of declining international diversification capacity; in this paper we offer an alternative methodology to create an equity portfolio with exposure to global credit risk and controlled market risk. Following the factor decomposition methodology,...

This paper contributes to the emerging literature on the effect of religion on corporate decision making and financial reporting. We argue that financial statement analytical tools could violate several commands of the Islamic law. Specifically, traditional liquidity ratios imply undervaluation,...

All conceivable solutions to the internal rate of return equation are shown to have meaning as well as use. Internal rates of return are the units in which value is measured and the quantities of such units. This result implies a single internal rate of return cannot be an investment criterion....

Based on a review of international and regional responses to the global financial and economic crisis and its implications for finance in Asia, Douglas Arner and Lotte Schou-Zibell draw lessons for Asian financial systems with regard to the scope of regulation; financial standards; supervision,...

The paper provides the IMF staff views on policy options to mitigate the risks posed by institutions perceived as too-important-to-fail (“TITF"). These institutions have become bigger and more complex since the crisis, and risky practices have started to reappear. The paper emphasizes the need...

This paper examines the effect of ownership structure of a controlling shareholder on the financial constraints of non-financial firms in 22 economies for the 1982-2009 period. We find that the overinvestment propensity of a controlling shareholder becomes less severe with an increase in...