How does the sovereign credit ratings history provided by independent ratings agencies affect domestic financial sector development and international capital inflows to emerging countries? We address this question utilizing a comprehensive dataset of sovereign credit ratings from Standard and Poor’s from 1995-2003 for a cross-section of 51 emerging markets. Within a panel data estimation framew...

Financial globalization, the integration of countries with the global financial system, has increased substantially since the 1970s and particularly with more force since the 1990s. In fact, the gold standard period of 1880-1914 saw a major wave of financial globalization, as cross-border capital flows surged, incorporating countries in the center and the periphery at that time into a worldwide...

Banks finance their loans and other assets with a mix of deposits, debt, and equity capital. Maintaining adequate capital is important for banks because it absorbs losses and protects them from failure. Capital also protects the financial system and overall economy from the costs that can arise from bank failures. For example, one of the reasons policymakers were concerned about financial stabi...

To understand the link between financial intermediation activities and the real economy, we put forward a general equilibrium model where agency frictions in the financial sector affect the efficiency of capital reallocation across firms and generate aggregate economic fluctuations. We develop a recursive policy iteration approach to fully characterize the nonlinear equilibrium dynamics and the...

We estimate the parameters of pricing kernels that depend on both aggregate wealth and state variables that describe the investment opportunity set, using FTSE 100 and S&P 500 index option returns as the returns to be priced. The coefficients of the state variables are highly significant and remarkably consistent across specifications of the pricing kernel, and across the two markets. The resul...

This paper develops a theory of capital allocation in opaque financial intermediaries. The model endogenizes risk management and capital structure decisions, and it provides a simple setting within which to address questions relating to capital budgeting, performance measurement, and employee compensation. It provides a theoretical foundation for understanding the appropriate use, and misuse, o...

This paper suggests, first, that a simple theoretical framework is useful in explaining financial crises in emerging economies. Second, it reviews the East Asian financial crises of 1997-98 . Third, the paper examines the origins of Argentina’s crisis of 2001-02. Fourth, it presents a comparative analysis of both crises, highlighting their similarities and differences. Finally, the conclusions ...

In modern economics, Intellectual capital is described as an intangible asset which can be used as a source of sustainable competitive advantage. However, intellectual capital components have to interact in themselves to create value. The paper seeks to examine the impact of intellectual capital on firms’ market value and financial performance. The efficiency of the value added by corporate int...

The objective of this paper is to examine whether India has reached a stage of financial development when full capital account convertibility could be introduced. In its report on capital account convertibility the Tarapore Committee provided a succinct and subtle definition: capital account convertibility is the freedom to convert local financial assets into foreign financial assets and vice-v...