[From the Introduction]. Economic deregulation in many industrialised countries during the 1980s, the liberalisation of capital movements within the European Union (EU) in 1990, and the establishment of the single market for financial services have radically transformed the regulatory framework...

[From the Introduction]. In light of these challenges that face EU policy makers, this paper attempts to address two fundamental questions: What is innovation? And what kind of policy is best suited for the job − one anchored in competition policy or industrial policy? Evaluation of the...

Given the theoretical presumption of most institutionalist approaches based on the Coase-theorem that institutions contribute to cooperation and thus to problem solving beyond the hierarchical coordination of the nation state, the question comes up whether this assumption proves true empirically...

In this paper, I examine the microfoundations of associational activity in order to discern the conditions under which transnational business association become strong and effective advocates for pursuing members' political goals. Drawing on Albert Hirschman's notion of exit, I argue that the...

This paper focuses on the development of reference interest rates in the Czech Republic after the currency crisis of May 1997 and covers the period to the years 2002/2003 (that is to the time just before the country’s entry into the European Union) when the currency exchange of the Czech...

This paper outlines the changing financial scene in The Czech Republic, which is following the global pattern of institutional investors taking over the role of commercial banks as relationship banking is gradually giving way to transaction-driven banking. Investment-grade companies have become...

[From the introduction]. This paper tries to understand whether the EU system of interest representation is indeed Americanizing. How important are sector-wide groups at the European and at the national level for the political activities of their members? Are comprehensive business groups...

Our main working hypothesis is that the restructuring and catching up of Central and Eastern European economies (CEEEs) enterprises are faster through their integration into international networks than through independent strategies. For instance, the Polish or Hungarian car industry, not to...

This ECMI Policy Brief attempts to contribute to the ongoing policy debate on MiFID art. 65.1, which tasks the Commission with conducting a study to report on whether the trade transparency requirements that currently apply to share trading ought to be extended to non-equity markets. It presents...

As the European Commission is currently in the process of preparing its White Paper on the enhancement of the EU framework for investment funds (scheduled for November 2006), now is a good time to reflect on whether the UCITS framework needs a radical overhaul if the regulatory landscape is...