This study analyzes whether mutual fund distributors are more likely to recommend products with higher sales compensation to maximize their profit. The lists of the 'fund of the month' on their webpages are utilized from April of 2015 to August of 2015. A simple comparative analysis shows that...

We study the effect of changes in firms' ESG ratings on the cost of debt of U.S. firms using a methodology change of an ESG rating provider. We find that loan spreads of downgraded ESG-rated firms in the secondary corporate loan market increase by about 10% compared to non-downgraded ESG-rated...

There have been significant changes in the financing of early-stage innovative companies since the beginning of this decade. The importance of institutional venture capital funds' investments declined in financing startups and early-stage ventures. At the same time, alternative sources of...

The study extends the debate on finance versus institutions and measurement of property rights institutions. We assess the relationships between various components of property rights institutions and private investment, notably: political, economic and institutional governances. Comparative...

We document a significant decline in the level of generalized trust among finance professionals relative to the decline of trust in the general U.S. population. This decline occurs across all subsectors and at all hierarchy levels and is unique to the finance industry. It is related to a lack of...

This paper aims to investigate the effect of financial development on economic complexity using a panel dataset of 24 African countries over the period 1983-2017. The empirical evidence is based on two different approaches. First, we adopt the Hoechle (2007) procedure which produces...

This study investigates the association between institutional investors' ownership and sell-side analysts' stock recommendations in the context of the heterogeneous nature of institutional investors. Based on a sample of 281 Malaysian public listed companies over the period 2008-2013 (732...

1989 bereits wurde in einem Gutachten auf die "unterdurchschnittliche Ertragskraft" der Landesbanken verwiesen und der Zusammenschluss zu einem einzigen Spitzeninstitut gefordert. 20 Jahre später allerdings, inmitten der bislang schwersten Krise der Landesbanken, bewahrte das hiesige...

Credit rating agencies (CRAs) very often have been criticized for announcing inaccurate credit ratings and are suspected of being exposed to conflicts of interest. Despite these objections CRAs remained largely unregulated. Based on Pagano & Immordino (2007), we study the optimal regulation of...

Business Angels (BAs) are an important financing source for SMEs, and seed and start-up companies in particular. BAs are even more important in countries and regions lacking an institutionalised VC infrastructure, often being the only major source of equity finance for young innovative SMEs. An...