Download or read book Political and Economic Determinants of the Likelihood of Privatizing Argentine Public Banks written by Robert Cull and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper studies the political economy of bank privatization in Argentina following institutional changes related to the implementation of the Convertibility plan and the Tequila Crisis. The empirical results strongly support the hypothesis that political incentives affect the likelihood of privatization. We find: (i) poorly performing banks were more likely to be privatized; (ii) overstaffing tended to reduce the probability of privatization; (iii) large banks were less likely to be privatized; and (iv) higher provincial unemployment and higher shares of public employees reduced the probability of privatization. Although the hypotheses were tested for a specific industry in a specific country, making it possible to control for enterprise performance and institutional characteristics, it seems reasonable that similar results might hold in other industries and countries.

Download or read book The Political Economy of Privatization written by George R. G. Clarke and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998 with total page 31 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Political incentives appear to affect the likelihood of privatization. Provinces in Argentina whose governors belonged to a fiscally conservative party were more likely to privatize, and fiscal and economic crises increased the likelihood of privatization. Clarke and Cull study the political economy of bank privatization in Argentina. The results of their study strongly support the hypothesis that political incentives affect the likelihood of privatization. They find that: * Provinces whose governors belonged to the fiscally conservative Partido Justicialista were more likely to privatize. * Fiscal and economic crises increased the likelihood of privatization. * Poorly performing banks were more likely to be privatized. They tested the hypotheses for a specific industry in a specific country, making it possible to control for enterprise performance and institutional characteristics. It seems reasonable to expect that similar results might hold in other industries and countries. This paper-a product of the Development Research Group-is part of a larger effort in the group to investigate the determinants of structural change in development countries' banking sectors. The authors may be contacted at [email protected] or [email protected].

Download or read book Bank Privatization in Argentina A Model of Political Constraints and Differential Outcomes written by Robert Cull and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: July 2001 In describing outcomes, the literature on privatization has paid little attention to politicians' incentives, perhaps because it lacked the kinds of evidence needed to do so. Evidence from the privatization of provincial Argentine banks in the 1990s indicates that transaction contract features vary systematically with proxies for politicians' incentives. Will variation in transaction features have implications for post-privatization performance? Based on results from country case studies, many researchers have claimed that political constraints affect bank privatization transactions, which in turn affect the post-privatization performance of the banking sector. But no study has either econometrically tested how political constraints affect bank privatization transactions or theoretically modeled the privatization transaction. Clarke and Cull present a simple theoretical framework that models the inherent tradeoffs faced by governments and potential buyers in privatization transactions involving banks. The potential buyer is concerned about the probability that the bank will remain solvent, about the profits it will earn after privatization, and about the price paid for the assets and liabilities. The government is concerned about the price received for the assets, about layoffs, and about service coverage after privatization. The evidence from bank privatization transactions in Argentina in the 1990s supports several of their theoretical predictions. In particular, provinces with high fiscal deficits were willing to accept layoffs and to guarantee a larger part of the privatized bank's portfolio in return for a higher price. The tequila crisis (Mexico's economic crisis in 1994-95) meant that politicians could protect fewer jobs and had to assume a greater share of their public banks' assets. Evidence of better performance at banks privatized after Mexico's crisis suggests that, by tying politicians' hands, the crisis may have brought unforeseen benefits. This conjecture awaits further empirical validation, but Clarke and Cull hope that by explicitly incorporating the incentives politicians face, analysis can begin to address the question of why some privatizations succeed more than others. This paper--a joint product of Regulation and Competition Policy and Finance, Development Research Group--is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the causes and consequences of bank privatization. The authors may be contacted at [email protected] or [email protected].

Download or read book written by Books Group and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2012-03 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1890 Excerpt: ...and inspection of commercial wares. Four stations are charged with the inspection of foods and beverages. Eight stations are organized with especial reference to more purely scientific research. Fifteen are conducting investigations in vegetable physiology, nine in animal physiology and nutrition, two on soils, three in dairying, four in sugar-beet culture, two in fruit and vine culture, one in agricultural physics, eight in chemistry or chemical technology, four in agricultural technology, two upon commercial agricultural products (especially wine and tobacco), and three upon beer brewing. Nine of the stations have vegetation houses for experiments in vegetable physiology, nine have experimental fields, seven have feeding stalls for experimental purposes, four have experimental gardens, two have special arrangements tor animals under experiment (Haustiergarten), two are equipped with Pettenkofers respiration apparatus, and one with a horse dynamometer. The German stations are like ours in the general character of their work, and in the fact of their connection with educational institutions, but since the latter institutions are under the control of the government, which also supplies a large amount of the revenues of the stations and appointmany of their officers, the stations are more directly subject to governmental supervision than ours. It should be observed that agricultural societies exercise the most important influence in their management; many of the stations were established by these societies and receive a considerable portion of their revenue from them. The revenues are smaller than ours, as are sala-ries and other expenses. A much larger proportion of the revenue comes from analyses of fertilizers and other commercial products. In general, the...

Download or read book The Financial Economics of Privatization written by William L. Megginson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2005-01-13 with total page 533 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 1981, over 100 governments around the world have raised over $1 trillion through the sale of SOEs to private investors. Privatization programs have transformed the role of the state in virtually all-major economies, and have massively increased the capitalization and liquidity of all non-U.S. stock markets. The focus of this book lies on where privatization stands today and what are the next frontiers, the why and how behind countries who privatize certain industries, whether privatization works as an economic tool and important insights relevant to financial institutions such as how to value privatized industries, how share offerings differ from private offerings, and how countries go about harnessing private capital. The book will also represent a key and unique source for information related to the details of asset sales privatization, a summary of statistics of privatized companies from 54 international stock exchanges, regulatory changes and sources for privatization information for investors, government officials, bankers and financial specialists. The volume will serve as an invaluable reference for professionals and as a core or supplementary text in privatization courses.

Download or read book Privatization in Latin America written by Alberto Chong and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2005-03-15 with total page 526 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Privatization is under attack. Beginning in the 1980s, thousands of failing state-owned enterprises worldwide have been turned over to the private sector. But public opinion has turned against privatization. A large political backlash has been brewing for some time, infused by accusations of corruption, abuse of market power, and neglect of the poor. What is the real record of privatization and are the criticisms justified? 'Privatization in Latin America' evaluates the empirical evidence on privatization in a region that has witnessed an extensive decline in the state's share of production over the past 20 years. The book is a compilation of recent studies that provide a comprehensive analysis of the record of and accusations against privatization, with important recommendations for the future. Seven countries are investigated: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. This book will be vital to anyone interested in the privatization debate but especially to those involved in civil service reform, corporate governance, economic policy, finance, and anticorruption efforts. 'Privatization is important but controversial. While economists typically favor it, others are skeptical. This book provides strong scientific evidence that privatization has been beneficial for many Latin American countries, although some privatizations failed and some groups in society lost out. As usual, the devil is in the details: how privatization is carried out and what reforms accompany it are crucial to its success. The book is definitely an invaluable contribution to the privatization debate.' --Oliver Hart, Andrew E. Furer Professor of Economics, Harvard University

Download or read book The Future of State Owned Financial Institutions written by Gerard Caprio and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2010-12-01 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Research suggests that if the majority of a country's financial institutions are owned by the state, that country will experience slower financial development, less efficient financial systems, less private sector credit, and slower GDP growth. Yet more than 40 percent of the world's population live in countries in which public sector institutions dominate the banking system. In The Role of State-Owned Financial Institutions: Policy and Practice noted experts discuss the challenges presented by state-owned financial institutions and offer cross-disciplinary solutions for policymakers and banking regulators. The issues include: methods for effectively managing, reforming, and privatizing state-owned banks; the fiscal costs and contingent liabilities of state-owned banks; macroeconomic implications and the impact of state-owned banking on access to credit in an economy; guidance for effective supervision of state-owned banks; managerial perspectives on improving products, human resources, and risk; management case studies of different methods of privatization, such as initial public offerings, employee stock ownership plans, and strategic investors Contributors include David Binns (Beyster Institute), Robert Cull (World Bank), Ron Gilbert (ESOP Services), James A. Hanson (World Bank), Richard Hemming (International Monetary Fund), Fred Huibers (ING Research), Arminio Fraga (formerly Central Bank of Brazil), Nicholas Lardy (Institute for International Economics), David Marston (International Monetary Fund), Moody's Global Investor Service, Herman Mulder (ABN-Amro), William Nichol (Deutsche Bank AG), Urjit Patel (Infrastructure Development Finance Company, India), and P. S. Srinivas (World Bank).

Download or read book The World Bank Research Program 2001 written by World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication is a compilation of reports on research projects initiated, under way, or completed in fiscal year 2001 (July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2001). The abstracts cover 150 research projects from the World Bank and grouped under 11 major headings including poverty and social development, health and population, education, labor and employment, environment, infrastructure and urban development, and agriculture and rural development. The abstracts detail the questions addressed, the analytical methods used, the findings to date and their policy implications. Each abstract identifies the expected completion date of each project, the research team, and reports or publications produced.

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Capitalism written by Dennis C. Mueller and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-04-19 with total page 574 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The financial crisis that began in 2008 and its lingering aftermath have caused many intellectuals and politicians to question the virtues of capitalist systems. The 19 original essays in this Handbook, written by leading scholars from Asia, North America, and Europe, analyze both the strengths and weaknesses of capitalist systems. The volume opens with essays on the historical and legal origins of capitalism. These are followed by chapters describing the nature, institutions, and advantages of capitalism: entrepreneurship, innovation, property rights, contracts, capital markets, and the modern corporation. The next set of chapters discusses the problems that can arise in capitalist systems including monopoly, principal agent problems, financial bubbles, excessive managerial compensation, and empire building through wealth-destroying mergers. Two subsequent essays examine in detail the properties of the "Asian model" of capitalism as exemplified by Japan and South Korea, and capitalist systems where ownership and control are largely separated as in the United States and United Kingdom. The handbook concludes with an essay on capitalism in the 21st century by Nobel Prize winner Edmund Phelps.

Download or read book Des institutions pour les march s Rapport 2002 written by and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2002 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The World Development Report, now in its 24th edition, is the standard reference work for international economic data. It contains an appendix of social and economic statistics for more than 200 countries. World Development Report 2001--Institutions for Markets--focuses on the performance of transition countries in their progress toward market economies. This edition is centered around the issues related to market reform and how reforms can improve and sustain living standards. It answers such questions as: How can institutions better support markets? and What are the institutions which make markets effective in delivering inclusive growth?

Download or read book Further Evidence on the Link Between Finance and Growth written by Allen N. Berger and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2003 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Corporate Governance and Bank Performance written by and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2005 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: "The authors jointly analyze the static, selection, and dynamic effects of domestic, foreign, and state ownership on bank performance. They argue that it is important to include indicators of all the relevant governance effects in the same model. "Nonrobustness" checks (which purposely exclude some indicators) support this argument. Using data from Argentina in the 1990s, their strongest and most robust results concern state ownership. State-owned banks have poor long-term performance (static effect), those undergoing privatization had particularly poor performance beforehand (selection effect), and these banks dramatically improved following privatization (dynamic effect. However, much of the measured improvement is likely due to placing nonperforming loans into residual entities, leaving "good" privatized banks."--World Bank web site.

Download or read book Reforming Infrastructure written by Ioannis Nicolaos Kessides and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2004 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, railways, and water supply, are often vertically and horizontally integrated state monopolies. This results in weak services, especially in developing and transition economies, and for poor people. Common problems include low productivity, high costs, bad quality, insufficient revenue, and investment shortfalls. Many countries over the past two decades have restructured, privatized and regulated their infrastructure. This report identifies the challenges involved in this massive policy redirection. It also assesses the outcomes of these changes, as well as their distributional consequences for poor households and other disadvantaged groups. It recommends directions for future reforms and research to improve infrastructure performance, identifying pricing policies that strike a balance between economic efficiency and social equity, suggesting rules governing access to bottleneck infrastructure facilities, and proposing ways to increase poor people's access to these crucial services.

Download or read book The Handbook of Economic Development and Institutions written by Jean-Marie Baland and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-21 with total page 786 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive reference on the most current economics of development and institutions The essential role that institutions play in understanding economic development has long been recognized across the social sciences, including in economics. Academic and policy interest in this subject has never been higher. The Handbook of Economic Development and Institutions is the first to bring together in one single volume the most cutting-edge work in this area by the best-known international economists. The volume’s editors, themselves leading scholars in the discipline, provide a comprehensive introduction, and the stellar contributors offer up-to-date analysis into institutional change and its interactions with the dynamics of economic development. This book focuses on three critical issues: the definitions of institutions in order to argue for a causal link to development, the complex interplay between formal and informal institutions, and the evolution and coevolution of institutions and their interactions with the political economy of development. Topics examined include the relationship between institutions and growth, educational systems, the role of the media, and the intersection between traditional systems of patronage and political institutions. Each chapter—covering the frontier research in its area and pointing to new areas of research—is the product of extensive workshopping on the part of the contributors. The definitive reference work on this topic, The Handbook of Economic Development and Institutions will be essential for academics, researchers, and professionals working in the field.

Download or read book The State of State Reforms in Latin America written by Eduardo Lora and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2006-10-23 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Latin America suffered a profound state crisis in the 1980s, which prompted not only the wave of macroeconomic and deregulation reforms known as the Washington Consensus, but also a wide variety of institutional or 'second generation' reforms. 'The State of State Reform in Latin America' reviews and assesses the outcomes of these less studied institutional reforms. This book examines four major areas of institutional reform: a. political institutions and the state organization; b. fiscal institutions, such as budget, tax and decentralization institutions; c. public institutions in charge of sectoral economic policies (financial, industrial, and infrastructure); and d. social sector institutions (pensions, social protection, and education). In each of these areas, the authors summarize the reform objectives, describe and measure their scope, assess the main outcomes, and identify the obstacles for implementation, especially those of an institutional nature.

Download or read book Bureaucrats in Business written by and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1995 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Refer review of this policy book in 'Journal of International Development, vol. 10, 7, 1998. pp.841-855.

Download or read book Reforms and Economic Transformation in India written by Jagdish Bhagwati and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-10-05 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reforms and Economic Transformation in India is the second volume in the series Studies in Indian Economic Policies. The first volume, India's Reforms: How They Produced Inclusive Growth (OUP, 2012), systematically demonstrated that reforms-led growth in India led to reduced poverty among all social groups. They also led to shifts in attitudes whereby citizens overwhelmingly acknowledge the benefits that accelerated growth has brought them and as voters, they now reward the governments that deliver superior economic outcomes and punish those that fail to do so. This latest volume takes as its starting point the fact that while reforms have undoubtedly delivered in terms of poverty reduction and associated social objectives, the impact has not been as substantial as seen in other reform-oriented economies such as South Korea and Taiwan in the 1960s and 1970s, and more recently, in China. The overarching hypothesis of the volume is that the smaller reduction in poverty has been the result of slower transformation of the economy from a primarily agrarian to a modern, industrial one. Even as the GDP share of agriculture has seen rapid decline, its employment share has declined very gradually. More than half of the workforce in India still remains in agriculture. In addition, non-farm workers are overwhelmingly in the informal sector. Against this background, the nine original essays by eminent economists pursue three broad themes using firm level data in both industry and services. The papers in part I ask why the transformation in India has been slow in terms of the movement of workers out of agriculture, into industry and services, and from informal to formal employment. They address what India needs to do to speed up this transformation. They specifically show that severe labor-market distortions and policy bias against large firms has been a key factor behind the slow transformation. The papers in part II analyze the transformation that reforms have brought about within and across enterprises. For example, they investigate the impact of privatization on enterprise profitability. Part III addresses the manner in which the reforms have helped promote social transformation. Here the papers analyze the impact the reforms have had on the fortunes of the socially disadvantaged groups in terms of wage and education outcomes and as entrepreneurs.