Conventional explanations of diversification and multinationality both point to size/growth related motives and firm-specific intangible assets as the driving forces. However, previous empirical studies have rarely exploited this commonality by investigating multinationality and diversification...

Conventional explanations of diversification and multinationality both point to the existence of intangible assets as a driving force. Using a new database of leading EU firms in 100 NACE 3-digit industries, we devise a classificatory scheme which allows us to analyze multinationality and...

This paper investigates the relationship between investment and internal finance by addressing two recent topics within the theory of imperfect capital markets: the financial accelerator hypothesis and the controversy over the source of the investment-cash flow sensitivity. Using a panel of...

This paper reports the results from a project designed to track the evolution of industrial and corporate structure of EU manufacturing alongside the ongoing European integration process. At the heart of the work is the construction of an "EU market share matrix" for 1993. This includes...

This paper investigates whether financial pressure has an impact on the performance of state-owned firms. By combining different theoretical frameworks, we explore the conditions under which debt discipline becomes effective even for state firms. Using a panel of 1318 Italian state and private...

We investigate implications for the cost of capital in a model with agency conflicts between inside and outside shareholders, where the severity of agency costs depends on a parameter representing investor protection. Using firm-level data for Italy and Germany we find significant differences in...