We use a bivariate probit model with sample selection to investigate the factors affecting financial exclusion of Bolivian households. We find evidence that for heads of households, being female and indigenous is likely to result in exclusion from formal credit mechanisms, though being employed...

A growing economics literature argues that taxation can strengthen the quality of governance and public sector institutions by making governments more responsive and accountable to their citizens, building capacity, and improving public policy. In this paper, we provide empirical support for...

The literature on the economics of fiscal decentralization stresses the potential for both positive and negative effects on the quality of governance in a country. The empirical evidence on the issue is scant. In this paper, we add to the empirical evidence by testing for a relationship between...

In an empirical contribution to the literature of foreign aid, we estimate the impact of foreign aid on democracy in a panel of 93 developing economies during 1971-2010. We find that foreign aid promotes democracy, with the result robust to different estimation methodologies and control...

We compare the characteristics of 77 homegrown Islamic terrorists in the UK to a representative sample of 1363 UK Muslims. UK Muslims are more likely to participate in terrorist acts if they are better educated and young. Other predictors of UK Muslims being involved in terrorism are employment...

This paper examines the evidence of cost efficiencies resulting from hypothetical mergers in the Italian banking market. The approach adopted is similar to that of Shaffer (1992, 1993) where bank mergers are simulated and then total costs are calculated using the hybrid translog methodology for...

A growing economics literature argues that taxation can strengthen the quality of governance and public sector institutions by making governments more responsive and accountable to their citizens, building capacity, and improving public policy. In this paper, we provide empirical support for...

We employ a self-developed dictionary designed to analyze bank financial statements to study the link between disclosure and bank risk in a sample of 225 European banks over the period 2011-2017. Disclosure is associated with reduced default risk for all but the most aggressive risk-taking...

This paper examines how for parent banks headquartered in the US and EU countries bank risk during the financial crisis of 2008-2009 was related to the size of banks’ internal capital market (ICM) and other bank characteristics in the pre-crisis period of 2002-2007. The results suggest that...