This paper presents evidence of banks using accounting discretion to overstate the value of distressed assets. In particular, we show that the stock market applies far greater discounts to a bank’s real estate loans and mortgage-backed securities than are implicit in the book values of these...

Cross-border M&As can trigger a higher international taxation of the target’s income. Non-resident dividend withholding taxes may be imposed by the target country, while additional corporate income taxation can be imposed by the acquiring country. This paper examines how these additional tax...

Economic integration in Europe has not led to a ‘race to the bottom’ regarding corporate income taxes. This paper documents trends in the foreign ownership of companies in Europe and it examines whether foreign ownership has exerted a positive influence on corporate income tax levels. Using...

Top commercial banks seemed to have weathered the debt crisis, however it remains to be seen whether their current strength and stability will help reestablish normal credit relationships between private banks and the developing countries. Some losses by private creditors are likely to be part...

The authors investigate the optimal boundary between the public and private production sectors. They use a model in which government and private production coexist -in which a range of production activities can be carried out by either the government or the private sector. In effect, the...

Since 1994, the World Bank has provided partial credit guarantees to private financiers of several large infrastructure projects in developing countries. A major objective of the partial guarantee program is to leverage Bank resources so as to provide developing countries with better private...