http://repub.eur.nl/res/concept/jel-F02/ Recent publications classified by JEL Code F02 en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22342/ 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Using long time series for sovereign bond markets of fifteen industrialized economies from 1875 to 2009, I find that financial market integration by the end of the 20th century was higher than in earlier periods and exhibited a J-shaped trend with a trough in the 1920s. The main reason for the higher financial integration seen today is the recent extensive globalization. Around the turn of the 20th century, countries frequently drifted apart. Conversely, in recent years, the bond markets of most countries have moved together. Both policy variables and the global market environment play a role in explaining the time variation in integration, while 'unexplained' changes in the overall level of country risk are also empirically important. My methodology, based on principal components analysis, is immune to outliers and accounts for global and country-specific shocks and, hence, can capture trends in financial integration more accurately than standard techniques such as simple correlations. Volosovych, V. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/32335/ 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z Th is study assesses the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on gendered labour markets in rural Indonesia. It focuses on the gender composition of the workforce, female and male workers’ employment conditions and gender wage inequality. Th e research strategy of »between-methods triangulation« is chosen, denoting the combination of quantitative and qualitative types of data generation and analysis. Two underlying mechanisms have been identifi ed. A »cost eff ect« associated with transnational corporations’ (TNCs’) greater orientation towards the world market is the preferential recruitment of, on average, lower paid female workers. In light of global competitive cost considerations, this appears as a rational strategy for TNCs. Conversely, foreign fi rms’ advanced technological endowments relative to domestic companies require a well-educated workforce with technical skills. In light of these perspectives, gender gaps in education and, on average, women’s weaker labour market attachment disadvantage female workers’ employment in TNCs. Both eff ects are mediated by a »reproductive constraint«. Th is refers to the asymmetric distribution of reproductive obligations between female and male household members, whereby female input into the domestic economy is more demanding relative to that of males. Siegmann, K.A. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/7189/ 2005-12-21T00:00:00Z The debate on globalization has long been characterized by theses of institutional convergence and divergence. The emergence of Anglo-Saxon shareholder capitalism as the dominant paradigm since the start of the 1990s is associated with the pursuit of global strategies by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) and the consolidation of a multilateral trade regime. Yet the link between actual MNE strategies and developments in the institutional arena remains an understudied phenomenon. Tensions between multiple levels of institution building – unilateralism, regionalism and multilateralism – create an environment of strategic uncertainty for MNEss. Consequently, MNEs’ actual international strategies reveal much about perceptions of the institutional environment in which they operate and allows for the documentation of more subtle paradigm shifts. The internationalization strategies pursued by MNEs from the Triad over the 1990s reveal that a multilateral strategic reality was anticipated by only an elite few, while the vast majority of firms operated in a unilaterally- or at best regionally-determined institutional environment. This contribution suggests that institutional restructuring is multifaceted and sometimes contradictory, casting a new and more subtle light on the globalization debate. Muller, A.R. Tulder, R.J.M. van http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/6614/ 2004-07-21T00:00:00Z This paper studies the degree of integration of China's domestic market and investigates the determinants of inter-provincial trade barriers under the rubric endogenous trade policy theory. I rely on industry-level trade flows extracted from provincial input-output tables to develop a model that analyzes the magnitude and evolution of Chinese provinces' engagement in domestic trade by computing all-inclusive indicators of trade barriers. Results underline that over the 1990s, not only was China's domestic market fragmentation along provincial borders great, but it also has become more severe at least between 1992 and 1997. The investigation of province-level and industry-level trade barriers confirms the relevance of applying the framework of endogenous protection to explain the level of impediments to trade between Chinese provinces. Findings emphasize that provinces' domestic trade protection pursues a dual objective of socioeconomic stability preservation and fiscal revenues maximization. Poncet, S. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/6843/ 2001-10-03T00:00:00Z Next to technological progress and deregulation, the introduction of the euro is widely considered to be an important catalyst for bank consolidation in Europe. In order to assess the public policy issues surrounding bank mergers, this paper analyzes the efficiency effects of 52 horizontal bank mergers over the period 1994-1998, i.e. the period immediately preceding the start of EMU. We find evidence of substantial unexploited scale economies and large X-inefficiencies in European banking. The dynamic merger analysis indicates that the cost efficiency of merging banks is positively affected by the merger, while the relative degree of profit efficiency improves only marginally. We do not find any evidence that merging banks are able to exercise greater market power in the deposit market. Hence, the bank M&As in this study appear to be socially beneficial. Huizinga, H.P. Nelissen, J.H.M. Vennet, R. Vander http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/6934/ 2000-10-23T00:00:00Z This paper considers whether political business cycles exist in Eastern European accession countries. Section I introduces the overall objectives of the work. Section II provides a short introduction to the political business cycle literature. It also considers the role of exchange rates, capital mobility, and central bank independence in restricting or encouraging political business cycles. Section III lays out the accession process to date as well as the exchange rate regimes accession states have used. Section IV tests empirically whether there have been political business cycles during the time period 1990 to 1999 for the 10 Eastern European accession countries, with estimations based on a Mundell-Fleming model. It finds that countries with flexible exchange rates have looser monetary policies in election years than in non-election years in countries with dependent central banks. If a country has a fixed exchange rate regime, it manipulates its economy in election years through running larger budgets instead of through looser monetary policy. Section V concludes with some policy implications for the European Union's enlargement process and EMU. Hallerberg, M. Vinhas de Souza, L. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12956/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z We derive the equilibrium joint distribution of exchange rate and commodity price in a two-country rational expectations model. The correlation between commodity price and exchange rate appears crucial for the stability of commodity markets. This result arises from the common practice to quote commodity prices in consuming countries' currency, which subjects producing countries to the currency risk. Welfare results of commodity price stabilization are obtained and facilitate the interpretation of the position taken by industrialized countries long opposed to international commodity agreements. We apply our model to the Philippines and investigate the potential effects of the International Sugar Agreement (ISA) on the various conditional volatilities of the model. We conclude on the relative ineffectiveness of these agreements in limiting fluctuations of sugar prices. Kofman, P. Viaene, J.M.A.