We investigate the cost of capital in a model with an agency conflict between inside managers and outside shareholders. Inside ownership reflects the classic tradeoff between incentives and risk diversification, and the severity of agency costs depends on a parameter representing investor...

This paper is an annual publication issued by the Microeconomic Analysis service of the National Bank of Belgium. The Flemish maritime ports - Antwerp, Ghent, Ostend, Zeebrugge - and the Autonomous Port of Liège play a major role in their respective regional economies and in the Belgian...

The international press has recently reported on the widely-held view in the financial markets that the movement of the Belgian industrial confidence indicator might precede the euro area business cycles. The initial purpose of this paper is to assess whether this market perception is more than...

The Port Autonome de Liège, with its 26 kilometres of berths and several multimodal platforms, plays an important role in the Walloon and Belgian economy. This update paper gives an extensive overview of the economic importance and the latest developments of the Port Autonome de Liège, through...

This paper is a publication issued by the Microeconomic Analysis service of the National Bank of Belgium. This is the outcome of a first research project on the Belgian transport logistics sectors. In the past few years, the logistics business has turned out to play a significant part in wealth...

Since 1 June 2003 the file of the Central Office for Credits to Private Individuals has recorded information relating to all consumer credits and mortgage loans contracted by natural persons for private purposes, as well as any payment defaults resulting from these loans. This registration aims...

The economic impact of the port sector is usually measured at an aggregate level by indicators such as value added, employment and investment. This paper tries to define the economic relevance for the regional as well as for the national economy at a disaggregate level. It attempts to identify,...

This paper is an annual publication prepared by the Microeconomic Analysis unit of the National Bank of Belgium. The Flemish maritime ports -Antwerp, Ghent, Ostend, Zeebrugge- and the Autonomous Port of Liège play a major role in their respective regional economies and in the Belgian economy,...

La Belgique est un des pays européens où le coin fiscal et parafiscal sur les revenus du travail est le plus élevé tandis que le taux d'emploi y est plus faible que la moyenne européenne. Elle est également caractérisée par le rôle prédominant exercé par les cotisations sociales dans...

This paper is a case study that focuses on possible incentive problems in the management of Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs). CLOs are the most important type of special purpose vehicles in the leveraged loan market, and their managers appear to have a considerable impact on performance....