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Institutional Differences (institutional + difference)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	87%

Selected Abstracts

The Impact of Institutional Differences on Derivatives Usage: a Comparative Study of US and Dutch Firms

EUROPEAN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2003
Gordon M. Bodnar
F30; G15; G32 Abstract This paper examines the influence of institutional differences on corporate risk management practices in the USA and the Netherlands. We compare results to surveys in each country using a strategy that corrects for differences over industry and size classes across the Dutch and US samples. We document several differences in the firms' uses and attitudes towards derivatives and attempt to attribute them to the differences in the institutional environments between the USA and the Netherlands. We find that institutional differences appear to have an important impact on risk management practices and derivatives use across US and Dutch firms. [source]

Can the choice of interpolation method explain the difference between swap prices and futures prices?

ACCOUNTING & FINANCE, Issue 2 2005
Rob Brown
G13 Abstract The standard model linking the swap rate to the rates in a contemporaneous strip of futures interest rate contracts typically produces biased estimates of the swap rate. Institutional differences usually require some form of interpolation to be employed and may in principle explain this empirical result. Using Australian data, we find evidence consistent with this explanation and show that model performance is greatly improved if an alternative interpolation method is used. In doing so, we also provide the first published Australian evidence on the accuracy of the futures-based approach to pricing interest rate swaps. [source]

The Impact of Institutional Differences on Derivatives Usage: a Comparative Study of US and Dutch Firms

Similar Ends, Differing Means: Contractualism and Civil Service Reform in Denmark and New Zealand

GOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2004
Robert Gregory
State sector reform was an integral component of the radical economic and social policy changes enacted by New Zealand governments between 1984 and 1991. This reform replaced the traditional tenured public service with a contractual regime. Through a comparison with Denmark, it is shown that New Zealand's reforms were not unique. Similar reforms were enacted in Denmark. But contrary to what occurred in New Zealand, the Danish reforms had already begun in the 1960s, and have since been gradually expanded. The parallel contractual regimes introduced in the two countries are accounted for by an increasing demand among politicians to secure a civil service that is responsive to political executive demands. However, because of institutional differences and diverging regulatory regimes, the strategic approaches in the two countries have been different. Whereas the New Zealand approach was dominated by an appeal to a coherent and sophisticated body of theoretical knowledge, combined with strict formalization, the Danish strategy has been based on political bargaining with the civil service unions. In both cases the reforms rest on critical assumptions regarding their positive and negative implications. [source]

What have We Learnt from the Convergence Debate?

JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 3 2003
Nazrul Islam
This paper surveys the convergence literature. It begins by laying out different definitions of convergence and by showing the link between the convergence issue and the growth theory debate. The paper then follows the convergence research conducted along four different approaches, namely the cross-section, panel, time-series, and distribution approaches. The paper shows the association of these methodological approaches with various definitions of convergence and highlights the connections among the convergence results. It shows that, despite some impressions to the contrary, there is considerable agreement among the results. Although the convergence research might not have solved the growth debate entirely, it has helped both the neoclassical and the new growth theories to adapt and evolve. The research on convergence has established new stylized facts regarding cross-country growth regularities. It has brought to fore the existence of large technological and institutional differences across countries and has given rise to new methodologies for quantifying and analyzing these differences. This is providing a new information base for analysis of technological and institutional diffusion and for further development of growth theory in general. [source]

Corporate borrowing and profitability in India

MANAGERIAL AND DECISION ECONOMICS, Issue 1 2010
Sumit Majumdar
This paper examines effects of different types of corporate borrowing on firm profitability in India. We show that in contrast to the conventional thinking on the importance of monitored debt in determining firm performance, what matters more is arm's-length lending in the form of fixed deposits in influencing firm profitability. We argue that the strategic implications of fixed deposits can be mainly attributed to the fact that they are both unsecured and privately held, which make the creditors associated with this type of debt the most likely to monitor firms' performance. The results suggest that debt structure matters, and it is important to take into account institutional differences and the heterogeneity of debt in the analysis of capital structure on firm performance. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Competition And Its Regulation: Key Issues

ANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2002
P. Cook
This article examines the role of competition policy in developing countries. The leading international development agencies, such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, have proclaimed their support for private sector,led development as the best strategy for reducing poverty. The benefits of private sector development are dependent on ensuring competitive market conditions, which are often absent in developing countries. However, theoretical notions of competition and the ways in which it is perceived to work vary widely and have implications for the type of competition policy that is to be implemented. Competition laws are widespread in industrialized countries but are only just beginning to be introduced in developing countries. The article examines some of the implications of applying competition policy in developing countries when account is taken of different theoretical perspectives, and of the structural and institutional differences between industrialized and developing countries. [source]

Survival and Decline of the Apprenticeship System in the Australian and UK Construction Industries

BRITISH JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 3 2008
Phillip Toner
The preservation of the apprenticeship system in the Australian construction industry contrasts with its decline in Britain over the last three decades. This decline is conventionally ascribed to changes in industrial structure, specifically a decline in the role of the public sector, intensification of subcontracting and growth of self-employment. Given that the Australian construction industry has undergone similar structural changes to those in the United Kingdom, this difference in outcome requires explanation. This article suggests that the contrasting outcomes are the result of institutional differences in the organization of the training system, employers and labour between the two countries. These institutional differences are, however, diminishing as arrangements for training and industrial relations in Australia are increasingly fashioned in the likeness of the United Kingdom. [source]