Abstract: In this paper, we examine the various links among foreign direct investment (FDI), financial markets, and economic growth We explore whether countries with better financial systems can exploit FDI more efficiently Empirical analysis, using crosscountry data between 1975- 1995, shows that FDI alone plays an ambiguous role in contributing to economic growth However, countries with well-developed financial markets gain significantly from FDI The results are robust to different measures of financial market development, the inclusion of other determinants of economic growth, and consideration of endogeneity

Abstract: Various systems for collecting individual post-sale market data for products or services, and determining aggregate post-sale market data therefrom, are provided. In such systems, a sale of a product or service may trigger a third party, such as a payment provider, to arrange for the collection of individual post-sale market data from the consumer. Alternatively, such post-sale market data may be directly provided by smart devices and the like. Dependent upon the type of product or service involved, a schedule for continuously submitting post-sale market data for the product or service may be provided and the consumer may be encouraged to submit post-sale market data in accordance therewith through a variety of incentives. The received, individual, post-sale market data may be aggregated by one or more sources to determine aggregate post-sale market data for the product or service. Individual post-sale market data may be normalized based on identifiable traits of the individual submitting the post-sale market data prior to such aggregation. The submitted individual data and/or the determined aggregate post-sale market data may then be provided to consumers in order to assist them in making purchasing decisions. The collection and dissemination of post-sale market data may be accomplished, for example, via a software agent, such as a shopping bot, which may provide desired post-sale market data to a consumer prior to a sale and which may initiate collection of individual post-sale market data after a sale is recognized. Various other on-line and off-line embodiments are proposed for the collection, aggregation and dissemination of such post-sale market data.

Abstract: E-finance is defined as “The provision of financial services and markets using electronic communication and computation” In this paper we outline research issues related to e-finance that we believe set the stage for further work in this field Three areas are focused on These are the use of electronic payments systems, the operations of financial services firms and the operation of financial markets A number of research issues are raised For example, is the widespread use of paper-based checks efficient? Will the financial services industry be fundamentally changed by the advent of the Internet? Why have there been such large differences in changes to market microstructure across different financial markets?

Abstract: This article is concerned with labour market transactions in the occupational labour markets (OLM) of the media production industries of Germany and the UK. In both countries, labour markets are characterized by a high inter-firm mobility of workers and patterns of short-term employment and freelance work. In this environment, missing standards produce uncertainty about skill levels of workers and qualification needs of firms. As a result, co-operation costs increase and opportunism becomes possible. It will be argued that, in the absence of manifest labour market institutions such as apprenticeships or skill certificates, which traditionally safeguard OLM transactions, the use of intermediaries and restriction of access will take over as informal mechanisms for governing the labour market. Labour market data from interviews with media firms in Germany and the UK, and from surveys on German and British media professionals, are used in order to test this hypothesis.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system for processing trade data and market data to produce risk management reports and delivering reports, simultaneously, to multiple related and unrelated users over a distributed network. In one aspect of the invention, the risk management analysis includes the assessment of risk through mark-to-market, profit and loss, 'greek', FAS 133, and related reports. Further, market and trade data may be collected electronically from exchanges, information service provides, and other sources to be aggregated for use in the risk management analysis.

Abstract: What macroeconomic and financial variables play key roles in the foreign direct investment decision (FDI) of firms? This question is addressed in this paper using a large panel data set of cross-border Merger & Acquisition (M&A) deals for the period 1990-1999. Various econometric specifications are built around the simple "gravity model" commonly used in the trade literature. Interestingly, financial variables and other institutional factors seem to play a significant role in M&A flows. In particular the size of financial markets, as measured by the stock market capitalization to GDP ratio and the credit provided to the private sector by financial institutions to GDP ratio in the domestic economy, have sizeable positive effects on the incentives for domestic firms to invest abroad.

Abstract: Without doubt a well-developed financial sector is related to efficient resource allocation and growth, but there is modest consensus on the direction of that link, on the notion of what is meant by "well developed", on which subset of the financial market is crucial and thus which organisational set-up provides optimal returns for both architects and market participants alike. With sluggish growth, torn down market barriers and systemic change in the EU accession countries the direction, magnitude, sustainability, institutional set-up of the finance-growth nexus (and which), becomes one of the core issues of both macroeconomic theory and practice. This paper reviews the economic theory available, provides a well structured overview of 54 empirical studies conducted since 1964, sets the stage for constructing a data base encompassing the major three segments of financial markets (stock, bond and bank credit) and provides the methodological background for combining cross-country production function and time-series approaches in order to answer the following questions: (1) What is the direction of the finance-growth nexus, (2) which segment of the financial sector drives whatever nexus there is, and (3) what are the features of a growth supportive financial architecture.

Abstract: This study provides a thorough assessment of the likely effects of financial market integration on the ability of European countries to grow faster and on how the possible benefits will be distributed among the Community countries and industries. It achieves several conclusions strongly supportive of the idea that promoting financial market integration is an important step in promoting economic growth in Europe.

Abstract: There is a large body of literature that studies the relationship between financial structure (that is, the degree to which the financial system is either market- or intermediary-based) and long-run economic growth.

Abstract: The structure of the U.S. financial services industry has fundamentally changed during the past quarter century. Rapid improvements in information technology and the creation of innovative financial instruments have produced a dramatic increase in competition and spurred deregulation, thereby eroding traditional barriers that separated banks from securities firms and life insurance companies. In response to these trends, major banks, securities broker-dealers and life insurers have aggressively expanded by merging with their direct competitors and by acquiring firms in other financial sectors. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 has encouraged this consolidation trend by authorizing the creation of financial holding companies that engage in a full range of banking, securities and insurance activities. The Act's proponents claim that the new financial supermarkets will produce favorable economies of scale and scope, offer convenient one-stop shopping to customers, and achieve a safer diversification of risks. This article contends that the motivations for and probable outcomes of financial conglomeration are very different. Managers of large, diversified financial firms have sought growth in order to build personal empires, to increase market power and to secure membership in the exclusive club of too big to fail (TBTF) institutions. By virtue of their TBTF status, major financial holding companies are largely insulated from market discipline and regulatory oversight, and they have perverse incentives to take excessive risks at the expense of the federal safety net for financial institutions. Based on past experience, the new financial megafirms are likely to encounter diseconomies of scale and scope, shrinking profit margins, increased customer dissatisfaction, and greater vulnerability to sudden disruptions in the financial markets. In addition, current policies create a near-certainty that federal regulators will prop up these gigantic financial firms during economic crises. In light of the challenges posed by financial holding companies, federal regulators have tried to strengthen capital regulation and increase market discipline. However, these incremental regulatory initiatives cannot control the potential risks of financial conglomerates, because they do not solve the problems of supervisory forbearance and moral hazard created by the TBTF doctrine. This article calls for more far-reaching reforms to our financial regulatory system in order to compel financial conglomerates to internalize the costs of their risk-taking.

Abstract: In the context of investment analysis, we formulate an abstract online computing problem called a planning game and develop general tools for solving such a game. We then use the tools to investigate a practical buy-and-hold trading problem faced by long-term investors in stocks. We obtain the unique optimal static online algorithm for the problem and determine its exact competitive ratio. We also compare this algorithm with the popular dollar averaging strategy using actual market data.

Abstract: A method of creating a price prediction model that forecasts short-term price fluctuations in financial instruments by collecting, analyzing and classifying financial news for a financial instrument into categories. Distributions for the changes in price of the financial instrument for a set period of time and distributions for the changes in price of the financial instrument as a result of the financial news for each news category for a set period of time are then obtained. If the distributions for the changes in price of the financial instrument are statistically significantly different than the distributions for the changes in price of the financial instrument for a particular news category, and the mean for the change in price is greater or less than zero, a signal is produced indicating the trading action that should be taken for the financial instrument.

Abstract: The article analyses the Brazilian experience on financing economic activity from the 1964-67 reform until the nineties. Two issues are addressed: first, what conditions explain the development of a model based on public and on external credit” in Brazil, quite different from the capital market based system conceived in the 1964-67 reform; second, what are the perspectives for the development of an alternative model in the country, led by the national private sector. Based on international experience, two alternatives are considered: a) the expansion of the capital market, in order to make possible a large scale direct financing; b) the formation of a private banking credit system, complementing or replacing both public and external credit. Despite incontestable improvements, tendencies observed up to 1997 suggest the persistence of the “short-termist” profile that always characterised the Brazilian financial system. Thus, the development of both capital market and banking credit models depends on financial policies devoted to this goal. General guidelines for such policies are suggested in the last section of the paper.

Abstract: Like many other developing countries Pakistan also undertook the process of financial restructuring through reforms in early 1990s to establish a more market-based system of financial intermediation and government financing, conduct the monetary policy more efficiently through greater reliance on indirect instruments and increase the contribution to the rapid development of the stock markets. These reforms were primarily designed to correct the dissertations implicit in the administrated structure of rates of returns on various financial instruments, to abolish the directed and subsidized schemes, to allow free entry of private banks in the financial sector in order to enhance the competition and efficiency in the financial sector and to strengthen the State Bank of Pakistan. This study discus the financial restructuring strategy and the stages it has passed over time and history of financial reforms carried out so far in Pakistan.

Abstract: This paper reviews both the theoretical and empirical literature on the impact of common currencies on financial markets and evaluates the first three years of experience with Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).

Abstract: The "dividend puzzle," i.e., the love stockholders have for dividends, has always been one of the great mysteries of modern finance/financial economics. Six classes of dividend theories have been advanced during the last five decades, almost all using the logic of the economic person. Unfortunately, all these models suffer from either a lack of verifiability or contradicting empirical evidence. This paper takes an approach that has been largely ignored so far by dividend research. Instead of analyzing large volumes of market data based on yet another "rational" model, we study the perception of dividends by top corporate decision-makers. The respondents' answers to a survey instrument are then analyzed and compared with accounting, economic, and market data. The results are surprising in terms of both similarity and dissimilarity of perception. We hope that our results and this type of research will open up new ways of looking at this puzzle.

Abstract: Decentralization can complement market liberalization by strengthening incentives of agents to exploit local information in response to market signals. In China, however, banks centralized lending authority following financial reforms in the mid-1990s. We offer a new theory of financial decentralization in which centralization provides a credible commitment not to refinance bad projects by reducing available information. Using data from Chinese rural financial institutions, we empirically assess the determinants of decentralization and the likelihood of collateral seizure, strongly confirming the predictions of the refinancing model. We conclude that the inability of financial systems to exploit local information in weak institutional environments may limit the efficiency of financial intermediation despite financial market liberalization.

Abstract: This book brings together the experience of central banks and national statistical agencies in countries that focus their monetary policy on inflation targets. Inflation targeting has led to a close interface between these two sets of institutions. When the performance of a central bank is measured in terms of specified price indices, which are usually compiled and disseminated by the national statistical agency, the role of national statistical agencies becomes central to the credibility of monetary policy. Data needs and uses have also shifted, with implications for national and international statistics compilation: market data have gained in importance; less emphasis is placed on traditional monetary aggregates; and greater attention is paid to timeliness, adherence to sound economic accounting standards, and other aspects of data quality.

Abstract: Due to underlying technological and organizational differences, industries differ in their need for external finance. Since services provided by the financial sector are largely immobile across countries, the pattern of industrial specialization should be influenced by the degree of financial development. We find this effect to be strong. In fact, the financial sector has greater impact on industrial specialization among OECD countries than differences in human and physical capital. We also show that the causality indeed run from the financial sector to specialization. Further, financial sectors are a source of comparative advantage in a way consistent with the Hecksher-Ohlin-Vanek model. Results on which aspects of financial systems that are of importance for specialization and comparative advantage are also presented.

Abstract: The poor are in a disadvantaged position in the financial market. In this article, a review is given of public policy initiatives that are implemented to help the poor as well as an examination of how the poor are served in the financial market, using data from the 1995 and 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances provided by the Federal Reserve Board. Specifically, poor households' use of depository and credit products, the financial institutions that provide these products to the poor, and the way in which the poor conduct their financial business (e.g., visit to branch offices, ATMs, etc.) are compared to that of non-poor households. Marketing and public policy implications are drawn from the findings.

Abstract: The paper briefly describes three interrelated developments in global capital markets: the sustained rise in gross capital flows relative to net flows; the increasing importance of securitised forms of capital flows; and the growing concentration of financial institutions and financial markets. It examines why these developments have contributed to a sharp rise in the volatility of capital flows and asset prices. Finally, it considers the implications for the ongoing development of capital markets and financial institutions. The implications include the increasing foreign penetration of financial systems in emerging markets; the new emphasis on developing adequate liquidity in financial markets; the rise in competition among financial institutions and markets, including cross-border competition; pressures for modernisation and convergence of national regulatory and legal frameworks; the development of new financial instruments to price and to redistribute various financial risks; and the development of local financial markets as a defence against volatile international capital flows.

Abstract: A system and a method for integrating design/engineering-to-procurement business process supply chain are provided. A buyer/user can access the technologies to perform design calculations using dynamic, real-time market data, and proceed to procure the selected equipment. A seller/user can list equipment and services on the system, and provide necessary data for design and engineering and transactions. A seller can also access and use technologies. A database consisting of technical and financial data specific to this fully integrated system is provided. The system is web-centric and can be accessed via the Internet or on local intranets. The system provides links to back offices systems, external catalogs, external marketplaces, and other services such as financial and fulfillment. A design methodology that integrates the engineering calculations with optimization of equipment selection based on dynamic market data is presented using a gas pipeline example. A new reliability based method for equipment design, which uses specific probabilistic material data from the marketplace is provided. This method also provides optimization methodology, which combine technical and financial data to obtain risk weighted optimal results.

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to stimulate thinking as to how we might produce timely and more reliable estimates of changes in the value of portfolios, price indices based on a portfolio of properties, and other aggregate measures of trends in property values. It is argued that a traditional market value appraisal of each individual property may not be necessary or optimal when the objective is to value portfolios or get a leading indicator of shifts in market value at an aggregate level. Rather, it is more important to use a critical mass of current market data that captures systematic movements in property values. Although a traditional market value appraisal is always more likely to capture the unique unsystematic characteristics of an individual property, automated valuation models using a database of valuation data may provide the best way to get real time interim updates of real estate portfolios and create more timely real estate indices.

Abstract: Technical financial analysis is an ideal domain for the development of data fusion techniques. There exists a wide base of diverse application requirements such as: the analysis of consumer credit, financial economics, options pricing, portfolio analysis, yield curves, risk management, strategic investment and trading models. Across this broad spectrum is a technical drive to incorporate methods of extracting information from data. Financial analysis invariably has to contend with multiple sources of data (news reports, company accounts, market data, mulitvariate time series), on different time scales (quarterly government indicators vs foreign exchange tick data) and with differing levels of accuracy from the qualitative to the quantitative. Hence it is an ideal medium for the development of pattern recognition and information fusion methods.