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on Central and Western Asia |
| By: | Yuksel Gormez (Central Bank of Turkey) |
| Abstract: | The early stages of banking and finance in Turkey were one of its brightest periods, even though it was the toughest because of lack of capital and unfavourable initial conditions. The finance and banking conception was quite rational and potential crises were eliminated through careful choices. In the following years, boom and bust conditions dominated financial services provision with a crisis in every decade under different economic policy frameworks. Since 2001, European convergence has been leading the way and one may argue that Turkish banking and finance is ready for the challenges of the 21st century, supported by fast-increasing foreign participation that has increased capital adequacy ratios. |
| Keywords: | Money; Banking and finance; Turkey. |
| JEL: | E4 G1 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bog:wpaper:83&r=cwa |
| By: | Halicioglu, Ferda |
| Abstract: | This study attempts to examine empirically dynamic causal relationships between carbon emissions, energy consumption, income, and foreign trade in the case of Turkey using the time series data for the period 1960-2005. This research tests the interrelationship between the variables using the bounds testing to cointegration procedure. The bounds test results indicate that there exist two forms of long-run relationships between the variables. In the case of first form of long-relationship, carbon emissions are determined by energy consumption, income and foreign trade. In the case of second long-run relationship, income is determined by carbon emissions, energy consumption and foreign trade. An augmented form of Granger causality analysis is conducted amongst the variables. The long-run relationship of CO2 emissions, energy consumption, income and foreign trade equation is also checked for the parameter stability. The empirical results suggest that income is the most significant variable in explaining the carbon emissions in Turkey which is followed by energy consumption and foreign trade. Moreover, there exists a stable carbon emissions function. The results also provide important policy recommendations. |
| Keywords: | CO2 emissions; energy consumption; income; EKC hypothesis; foreign trade. |
| JEL: | O43 O13 C22 |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:11457&r=cwa |
| By: | Alvaro Escribano Saez; J. Luis Guasch; Manuel De Orte; Jorge Pena |
| Abstract: | Government policies and behavior exert a strong influence on the investment climate through their impact on costs, risks and barriers to competition. Key factors affecting the investment climate through their impact on costs are: corruption, taxes, the regulatory burden and extent of red tape in general, factor markets (labor, intermediate materials and capital), the quality of infrastructure, technological and innovation support, and the availability and cost of finance. While the investment climate surveys are quite useful in identifying major issues and bottlenecks as perceived by firms, the data collected is also meant to provide the basic information for an econometric assessment of the impact or contribution of the investment climate (IC) variables on productivity. We believe that improving the investment climate (IC) is a key policy instrument to promote economic growth and to mitigate the institutional, legal, economic and social factors that are constraining the convergence of per capita income and labor productivity of Turkey relative to more developed countries. For that, we need to identify the main investment climate variables that affect economic performance measures like total factor productivity, employment, wages, exports and foreign direct investment and this is the main goal of this paper. In turn, that quantified impact is used in the advocacy for, and design of, investment-climate reforms. |
| Keywords: | Investment climate, firm level determinants of TFP, Employment, Wages, Exports and FDI, Mean contributions of investment climate |
| JEL: | D24 L60 F18 J23 C01 C33 |
| Date: | 2008–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cte:werepe:we082113&r=cwa |
| By: | Alvaro Escribano Saez; J. Luis Guasch; Manuel De Orte; Jorge Pena |
| Abstract: | Most empirical studies show strong detrimental evidence that regulatory, and administrative, barriers to entry have on productivity and on firm growth. In this paper we evaluate and measure the total factor productivity (TFP) impacts of having; low quality physical infrastructures (electricity, telecommunications, transport, customs, etc.) and bad social infrastructures (rules of law, informality, corruption, etc.). We suggest evaluating the impact on average productivity (TFP) and on the allocative efficiency of production among firms based on several versions of the Olley and Pakes (O&P) decompositions. We evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each the O&P decomposition in terms of their IC explanatory power. Once we have measured those IC impacts, we compare them with other sources of empirical information obtained from firm’s perceptions on main bottlenecks for firm growth and from doing business reports of the World Bank (2007). For the econometric analysis, we use firm level data bases from Turkey’s manufacturing sector based on Investment Climate surveys (ICs) done by the World Bank. These ICs are done in many other developing countries and therefore we propose to make crosscountry comparisons based on a new demean concept of TFP that also reduces the heterogeneity if using several robust productivity measures within each country. |
| Keywords: | Total factor productivity, Investment climate, Firm level determinants of allocative efficiency, Robust productivity impacts, Cross country comparisons of demean TFP |
| JEL: | D61 L60 |
| Date: | 2008–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cte:werepe:we082012&r=cwa |
| By: | Donato Masciandaro (Paolo Baffi Centre, Bocconi University); Marc Quintyn (IMF Institute, International Monetary Fund) |
| Abstract: | We propose a path dependence approach to analyze the evolution of the financial supervisory architecture, focusing on the institutional role of the central bank, and then apply our framework to describe the institutional settings in a selected sample of countries. The policymaker who decides to maintain or reform the supervisory architecture is influenced by the existing institutional setting in a systematic way: the more the central bank is actually involved in supervision, the less likely a more concentrated supervisory regime will emerge, and vice versa (path dependence effect). We test the path dependence effect describing and evaluating the evolution and the present state of the architecture of six national supervisory regimes in South Eastern Europe (SEE): Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Serbia and Turkey. The study of the SEE countries confirms the postulated role of the central bank in the institutional setting. In five cases the high involvement of the central bank in supervision is correlated with a multi–authority regime, while in one case a high degree of financial supervision unification is related with low central bank involvement. |
| Keywords: | Financial Supervision; Central Banks; Path Dependence; Political Economy; South Eastern Europe. |
| JEL: | G18 G28 E58 |
| Date: | 2008–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bog:wpaper:89&r=cwa |
| By: | Caprio, Gerard, Jr.; Demirguc-Kunt, Asli; Kane, Edward J. |
| Abstract: | The intensity of recent turbulence in financial markets has surprised nearly everyone. This paper searches out the root causes of the crisis, distinguishing them from scapegoating explanations that have been used in policy circles to divert attention from the underlying breakdown of incentives. Incentive conflicts explain how securitization went wrong, why credit ratings proved so inaccurate, and why it is superficial to blame the crisis on mark-to-market accounting, an unexpected loss of liquidity, or trends in globalization and deregulation in financial markets. The analysis finds disturbing implications of the crisis for Basel II and its implementation. The paper argues that the principal source of financial instability lies in contradictory political and bureaucratic incentives that undermine the effectiveness of financial regulation and supervision in every country in the world. The paper concludes by identifying reforms that would improve incentives by increasing transparency and accountability in government and industry alike. |
| Keywords: | Debt Markets,Banks&Banking Reform,Emerging Markets,Access to Finance,Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress |
| Date: | 2008–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4756&r=cwa |
| By: | Lakshmi Iyer (Harvard Business School, Business, Government and the International Economy Unit) |
| Abstract: | This paper compares economic outcomes across areas in India which were under direct British colonial rule with areas which were under indirect colonial rule. Controlling for selective annexation using a specific policy rule, I find that areas which experienced direct rule have significantly lower levels of access to schools, health centers and roads in the post-colonial period. I find evidence that the quality of governance in the colonial period has a significant persistent effect on post-colonial outcomes. |
| Keywords: | colonial rule, development, public goods |
| JEL: | O11 P16 N45 |
| Date: | 2005–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hbs:wpaper:05-041&r=cwa |
| By: | Praveen Jha; Sakti Golder |
| Keywords: | labour flexibility / labour market / labour policy / labour law / India |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:empelm:2008-01&r=cwa |
| By: | A. Prasad; Charles Frederick Kramer; Hélène Poirson |
| Abstract: | The question of how India should adapt monetary policy to ongoing financial globalization has gained prominence with the recent surge in capital inflows. This paper documents the degree to which India has become financially globalized, both in absolute terms and relative to emerging and developed countries. We find that despite a relatively low degree of openness, India's domestic monetary conditions are highly influenced by global factors. We then review the experiences of countries that have adapted to financial globalization, drawing lessons for India. While we find no strong relationship between the degree of stability in monetary conditions and the broad monetary policy regime, our findings suggest that improvements in monetary operations and communication?sometimes prompted by a shift to an IT regime?have helped stabilize broader monetary conditions. In addition, the experience of countries which used non-standard instruments suggests that room to regulate capital flows effectively through capital controls diminishes as financial integration increases. |
| Keywords: | India , Monetary policy , Globalization , Capital inflows , Economic conditions , Domestic liquidity , Liquidity management , |
| Date: | 2008–05–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:08/131&r=cwa |
| By: | Vandenberg, Paul (International Management Institute, New Delhi) |
| Abstract: | The survey analyzes policies that provide flexibility for employers and security for workers in Asia. The cases exhibit distinct sub-regional patterns. India and Sri Lanka, in South Asia, provide (employer-based) ‘employment security’ and have not transitioned to broader systems of ‘labour market security’ as envisioned by the flexicurity model. China and Korea, in Northeast Asia, have made that transition over the past decade by reducing restrictions on retrenchment while introducing unemployment insurance and active measures. In Southeast Asia, Singapore and Malaysia offer flexible systems with strong active policies but low security in terms of employment protection and passive measures. The above characterizations apply to the formal economy. In China, India and Sri Lanka, where the informal and rural economies are large, governments have used public works, self-employment programs and skills training to support labour market outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Labour flexibility / employment security / employment policy / labour policy / China / Korea R / India / Malaysia / Singapore / Sri Lanka |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:empelm:2008-04&r=cwa |
| By: | Michal Bauer (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic); Julie Chytilová (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic); Jonathan Morduch (NYU) |
| Abstract: | This paper draws a link between self-control problems and the contractual mechanisms of microcredit. We use a series of “lab experiments in the field” which were designed to elicit measures of time discounting on a sample of 573 individuals in rural Karnataka, India. Evidence from the experiments were integrated with individual survey data on the economic and financial lives of villagers. One third of participants made choices consistent with hyperbolic preferences (more impatient now than in the future), and would be made better off if they could discipline their time inconsistent preferences. While hyperbolic preferences have been often associated with saving behavior, we describe links to borrowing as well. We find that “hyperbolic” women save a lower share of their savings at home and save less in total levels. Women with hyperbolic preferences are also more likely to borrow--and to do so through microcredit institutions specifically. The finding highlights the role of the fixed and frequent installment schedule ubiquitous in microcredit contracts. While microcredit contracts are celebrated for mitigating informational asymmetries, the evidence suggests that they also offer helpful structure for people with self-discipline problems who seek to accumulate capital but who lack suitable contractual saving devices. |
| Keywords: | banking; : time preference, hyperbolic discounting, loan contracts, microfinance |
| JEL: | C93 D91 O12 |
| Date: | 2008–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fau:wpaper:wp2008_28&r=cwa |
| By: | Yoko Oguro; Kyoji Fukao; Yougesh Khatri |
| Abstract: | This paper theoretically and empirically investigates export sensitivity to exchange rates in the context of intra-industry trade (IIT). It is assumed that more IIT implies a smaller elasticity of substitution among differentiated products and vice versa. The model presented suggests the gap in production costs between two countries has an influence on IIT as well. Industry-level pane regressions of thirty-eight trading pairs provide strong empirical support for the idea that the exchange rate sensitivity of exports declines in concert with the extent of ITT. An obvious policy implication is that the effectiveness of exchange rates in addressing trade imbalances will diminish as the extent of IIT increases. |
| Keywords: | Working Paper , India , Globalization , Monetary policy , Capital inflows , Economic conditions , Liquidity management , |
| Date: | 2008–05–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:08/134&r=cwa |
| By: | Bakht, Zaid; Salimullah, Md.; Yamagata, Tatsufumi; Yunus, Mohammad |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the technical efficiency and profitability of the knitwear industry in Bangladesh taking into account the sector’s role in poverty reduction. While stochastic frontier analysis was invoked to assess technical efficiency, three alternative measures, namely the rate of return, total factor productivity and the Solow residual, were used to gauge the extent and determinants of the profitability of the industry based on firm-level data collected in 2001. The estimation results indicate the high profitability of the knitwear firms. In Bangladesh, the dynamic development of the industry has entailed great diversity in efficiency in comparison with the garment industries of other developing countries. While there is a significant scale effect in profitability and productivity, no supporting evidence was found for the positive impact on competitiveness of industrial upgrading in terms of usage of expensive machinery and vertical integration and industrial agglomeration. |
| Keywords: | Bangladesh, Knitwear, Poverty reduction, Productivity, Profitability, Stochastic frontier analysis, Apparel industry, Textile industry |
| JEL: | D24 J31 L67 O14 O53 |
| Date: | 2008–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper169&r=cwa |
| By: | Jayant Kumar, Jayant Kumar; Neeraj Parnami, Neeraj Parnami |
| Abstract: | The marriages of Intellectual Property and Insurance may sound a magical word for all those companies which are playing the game of intellectual property in their business. These companies manage their intellectual property under the guidance of IP management and an IP policy in the company. These companies earn a huge amount of money in this game; but there are also chances for the companies to face the risks ahead. These expected risks can be minimized to some extent, if the companies understand the meaning and the importance of this new term “Intellectual Property Insurance”. In order to make the companies appreciate the depth significance of the term, the paper is written and the paper emphasizes the need of IP insurance in the business, the role of IP insurance in mitigating the risks involved in the business and the framework of IP insurance policy etc. |
| Keywords: | Intellectual Property; Insurance; Intellectual Property Insurance |
| JEL: | O3 M13 |
| Date: | 2008–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:11465&r=cwa |