O presente trabalho trata do sistema internacional de proteção ao investimento estrangeiro direto e do atual papel desempenhado pelos países emergentes em sua sistematização. Para tanto, faz uma abordagem histórica do tema da proteção ao investimento estrangeiro desde a década de quarenta até os dias atuais. Ressaltam-se as divergências históricas de entendimento mantidas entre países desenvolvidos (usualmente exportadores de capital) e países em desenvolvimento (historicamente importadores de capital) no que pertine ao nível de proteção que deve ser garantido ao investidor estrangeiro. Após, faz uma análise dos instrumentos internacionais de proteção ao investimento estrangeiro construídos especialmente durante as décadas de setenta e noventa e demonstra que o conteúdo desses instrumentos baseou-se na supremacia do entendimento dos países desenvolvidos. Em momento posterior, analisa o surgimento dos países emergentes como nações exportadoras de capital a partir da década de noventa e como esses países estão conciliando, por meio da assinatura de tratados bilaterais de investimento, a intenção de manter a soberania sobre seus assuntos internos e o interesse de proteger seus investidores no exterior. Por fim, retrata a tradicional posição brasileira com relação ao investimento estrangeiro direto e apresenta alguns contributos para futuras reflexões, baseados especialmente na atual postura adotada por outros países emergentes no que diz respeito à assinatura de tratados bilaterais de investimento. / This paper deals with the international law on foreign direct investment and the current role played by emerging market countries on this matter. In this sense, it presents a historical approach on the protection of foreign investment from the 1940’s onwards. It focuses on the historical disagreements between developed countries (usually capital-exporting countries) and developing countries (historically capitalimporting countries) in what regards the level of protection that must be accorded to a foreign investor. Moreover, it discusses the international instruments for the protection of foreign investment designed between the 1970s and the 1990s and demonstrates that the content of such instruments is based primarily on the developed countries’ understanding of the issue. Furthermore, it analyses the rise of emerging market countries as capital exporting countries since the 1990s and how they are reconciling the will to keep their sovereignty over internal affairs and the willingness to protect their investors abroad through bilateral investment treaties. Finally, it discusses the traditional view held by Brazil on the protection of foreign direct investment and presents some contributions for further research on this issue, with an emphasis on other emerging market countries current attitude towards the signing of bilateral investment treaties.

Submitted by Daniele Santos (danielesantos.htl@gmail.com) on 2017-01-18T19:23:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Mario Sierra_Final aprovado.docx: 1504580 bytes, checksum: a023d401b8aee546043b4e9d5ea9e450 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2017-01-24T16:45:14Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Mario Sierra_Final aprovado.docx: 1504580 bytes, checksum: a023d401b8aee546043b4e9d5ea9e450 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-02T12:45:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mario Sierra_Final aprovado.docx: 1504580 bytes, checksum: a023d401b8aee546043b4e9d5ea9e450 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-11-09 / This research aimed to identify the main investment barriers for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Oil and Gas in Colombia. The first part of the research was the literature review in which the Survey from the Fraser Institute was selected as the primary source of information. This Survey had global coverage and measured 16 factors that are consider critical for investment decisions. Among them, five factors were selected Security, Infrastructure, Disputed Land Claims, Labor Regulation/Employment Agreement and Protected Areas which had negative responses over 50 %. Through interviews with six high executives, one from each Oil Associations of Colombia (Acipet, ACP, ANDI and Campetrol ), one from an Regional Oil Company and one from Oil Service Company, it was possible to get opinions about trends and improvement actions to eliminate investment barriers in the country. Using the content analysis from Bardin, the interviews were reviewed to identify similarities and differences about trends and actions that the government could take to become an effective enabler of FDI in Oil and Gas in Colombia. Main similarities of the interviews were regarding the importance of social development in Oil areas in the country. Most of the barriers in the sectors have as a root cause extreme poverty and poor education. There will not be sustainability on oil exploration and production on those areas if the people do not have basic needs cover and when they depend 100% on non-renewal resource. The government should develop initiative that promote agricultural development in oil areas through education and productivity program. This will have a significant impact on security and facilitate previous consultation project.

Submitted by Daniele Santos (danielesantos.htl@gmail.com) on 2017-02-23T14:51:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Todd.pdf: 1104896 bytes, checksum: fcb20db5c4f43bd841fa271202a91405 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2017-02-23T20:43:44Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Todd.pdf: 1104896 bytes, checksum: fcb20db5c4f43bd841fa271202a91405 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-03T14:09:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Todd.pdf: 1104896 bytes, checksum: fcb20db5c4f43bd841fa271202a91405 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-14 / The relationship between foreign direct investment and the security situation of a given country is complex and difficult to define. To further complicate matters, security is only one of many variables that drives the decision of a firm to invest in a particular country. This paper simplifies some of the complexities related to the study of this topic, especially as it relates to security, by expanding on previous research done at the country level and applying it at the regional level. It concludes that the security situation of a given country can be approximated through the the independent variable of the annual per capita murder rate and that this rate is directly related with FDI in a given area. Business leaders can use this simple analysis as a starting point to aid in the decision in which country to invest in and why.

Submitted by Ronald De Oliveira Concer (ronald.concer@gmail.com) on 2017-07-24T16:54:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Download File.pdf: 2492211 bytes, checksum: 4ca114826435b13aca3db43b2093c14f (MD5) / Rejected by Pamela Beltran Tonsa (pamela.tonsa@fgv.br), reason: Boa tarde Ronald, Para que possamos aprovar seu trabalho e necessário alguns ajustes. As primeiras folhas ( capas ) caixa de textos devem estar em português, nada em inglês a não ser seu titulo. AGRADECIMENTO deve estar em Inglês e Português. Deve ter ABSTRACT E RESUMO. ( Contendo as palavras chaves ) Sem estes ajustes não poderemos continuar com o processo. ( obs.: Lembrando que só pode mandar PARA IMPRESSÃO, apos receber a aprovação e a URL ) Qualquer duvida estamos a disposição. Att, Pâmela Tonsa 3799-7852 on 2017-07-24T18:41:24Z (GMT) / Submitted by Ronald De Oliveira Concer (ronald.concer@gmail.com) on 2017-07-25T05:44:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Download File.pdf: 2308058 bytes, checksum: c94e8c23487949c2b6b496d78608f01f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Pamela Beltran Tonsa (pamela.tonsa@fgv.br) on 2017-07-25T11:15:28Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Download File.pdf: 2308058 bytes, checksum: c94e8c23487949c2b6b496d78608f01f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-25T12:17:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Download File.pdf: 2308058 bytes, checksum: c94e8c23487949c2b6b496d78608f01f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-27 / This doctoral thesis is composed by three articles about the influence of the external factors shaping the foreign direct investment (FDI). I propose three discussions specifically about the institutional environment and macroeconomic conditions shaping the FDI behavior. First, the study analyzes the impact of country-specific macroeconomic variables on outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) flows from Brazil. I have applied a vector auto-regression (VAR) in order to determine the key drivers of OFDI flows, and tested the variables for Granger causality. This study improves on previous empirical analyses about home country determinants of outward FDI, which have proposed comparable time series models, mostly with inconclusive results. I argue that some of these studies have been biased by ill-conditioning arising from the estimation of too many factors with too few data points. This study corrects this by using a thresholded VAR, which explicitly imposes a parsimony restriction to the number of coefficients to be estimated. The results corroborate theoretical models of OFDI, and shed more light on the macroeconomic drivers of foreign direct investment from an emerging economy, using Brazil as a case study. In sequence, I discuss the impact of corruption levels on FDI. I have applied a panel data set in order to determine the duration of FDI flows invested abroad based on the corruption levels of the host countries. I argue that the time of permanence of FDI flows could varies since the existence of corruption levels, since the existence of weak institutional environment would create unfavorable conditions, and also shaping the kind of FDI projects which means a short or long term duration. Finally, I propose a discussion on the effectiveness of institutional environment regarding law application and its impact on the firm’s performance. Specifically, I test the conjecture of how different institutional environment perceptions (represented by firms’ expectations about the legal system) result in different performance levels of firms. I contend that the mere existence of a law system does not ensure their enforcement. Therefore, firms respond distinctively towards each environment to increase their performance. This suggests the need to examine more carefully the interaction of institutions. / Esta tese é composta por três artigos que tratam da influência do ambiente externo como fator de moldagem dos fluxos de investimento direto estrangeiro (IDE). São propostos três ensaios tendo em vista discutir como o ambiente institucional e condições macroeconômicas moldam os fluxos de investimento direto estrangeiro. O primeiro ensaio analisa o impacto de variáveis macroeconômicas na saída de investimento direto estrangeiro no caso brasileiro. Utiliza-se como metodologia vetor auto regressivo (VAR) e causalidade de Granger para determinar os determinantes dos fluxos de IDE das empresas brasileiras no exterior. Este estudo contribui para a literatura em negócios internacionais mediante da melhoria de análises empíricas já realizadas sobre o tema. A literatura existente, comparada ao uso de séries temporais mostra-se inconclusiva. Argumenta-se que alguns destes estudos são enviesados pela falta de coerência na especificação dos dados. Nesta ótica, o ensaio corrige usando thresholded VAR, do qual impõe restrições no tratamento dos dados e no número de coeficientes a ser estimado. Os resultados corroboram com os modelos de IDE existentes e oferece um novo olhar sobre os vetores que IDE de um país emergente, neste caso, usando o caso brasileiro. Em seguida, é discutido o impacto dos níveis de corrupção no IDE. Foi aplicado a metodologia de dados em painel para determinar a duração dos fluxos de IDE e a respectiva interação com os níveis de corrupção dos países hospedeiros. Argumenta-se que o tempo de permanência dos fluxos de IDE varia de acordo com os níveis de corrupção, uma vez que um ambiente institucional fraco é cria condições desfavoráveis. Desta maneira, níveis de corrupção moldam o tipo de projeto de investimento externo, no que condiz o seu tempo de duração. Por fim, propõe-se uma discussão acerca da efetiva do ambiente institucional tendo em vista a aplicação das leis e o impacto no desempenho das empresas. É testado, especificamente, como as diferenças na percepção do ambiente institucional (representado pela expectativa do Sistema Legal pela ótica empresarial) resulta em distintos níveis de desempenho. Neste trabalho, afirmase que a mera existência do sistema legal não garante a sua efetividade. Destarte, empresas reagem de maneira distinta em cada ambiente em prol de aumentar seu desempenho. Tal distinção ressalta um olhar mais apurado e cuidadoso em como as instituições interagem.

Submitted by Cláudia Wirz Leite Sá (clwirz@yahoo.com.br) on 2011-09-30T04:08:51Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Claudia Wirz.pdf: 772696 bytes, checksum: d3908fdd3e13fa53dcd21658a5baebcd (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Gisele Isaura Hannickel (gisele.hannickel@fgv.br) on 2011-09-30T13:32:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Claudia Wirz.pdf: 772696 bytes, checksum: d3908fdd3e13fa53dcd21658a5baebcd (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Gisele Isaura Hannickel (gisele.hannickel@fgv.br) on 2011-09-30T13:34:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Claudia Wirz.pdf: 772696 bytes, checksum: d3908fdd3e13fa53dcd21658a5baebcd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2011-09-30T13:35:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Claudia Wirz.pdf: 772696 bytes, checksum: d3908fdd3e13fa53dcd21658a5baebcd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-30 / The general objective of this study was to identify the factors that influence the decision to participate with foreign direct investment (FDI) in emerging markets in the generation of electric power. To achieve the objective proposed, first, it was identified, systematized and integrated theories, treatments and theoretical approaches on the field of economics, strategy and internationalization of enterprises that influence the strategic decision to participate with foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing countries in electric power industry, as well it was identified in the literature the main factors that determine the strategic choice to participate with foreign direct investment (FDI) in emerging markets. Based on this systematization and integration, a framework was developed incorporating new elements, which in the specific case of the electric power industry in emerging countries were not previously addressed in FDI strategies. In this work it was also identified relationships between the concepts, dimensions, subdimensions, and the variables to be tested in later studies. This study also identified and described the main features of FDI in the electric power industry in emerging countries, with two important contributions: it was observed that the investment in new technologies took place in developed countries and there was the migration of mature technologies to developing countries (compatible with product life cycle theory of Vernon) and that some studies attribute low returns to foreign investors in regulated sectors, while others highlight the high profits in international investments in regulated industries, such as the energy sector. Finally, a new concept of developing country was proposed, through the inclusion of human (human assets) and technological factors (degree of industrialization and innovation capacity) in addition to the economic factors currently used (income and economic vulnerability). It is recommended that further research be undertaken, for example, with respect to the impact of the various technologies for generation of electric power on the decision to enter emerging countries by FDI, consolidation of the data bases of the various institutions responsible for gathering information on FDI, research into the varying perceptions presented by specialists and companies in relation to the FDI strategy of companies. It is also possible to replicate this study in other segments and industries. / A presente tese tem como objetivo geral identificar os fatores que influenciam a escolha de participar no mercado de países emergentes por meio de investimento externo direto (IED) na geração de energia elétrica. Para atingir o objetivo proposto, primeiramente, foram identificadas, sistematizadas e integradas teorias, tratamentos teóricos e abordagens do campo da economia, estratégia e internacionalização de empresas que influenciam a decisão estratégica de investimento externo direto na geração de energia elétrica em países emergentes, bem como foram identificados na literatura os principais fatores considerados intervenientes ou determinantes para a escolha estratégica de realizar investimentos externos diretos em países emergentes. Com base nesta sistematização e integração, foi elaborado um framework incorporando novos elementos, que em se tratar do setor específico de energia elétrica e o contexto específico de países emergentes incorpora novos elementos, não previamente contemplados de maneira explícita em se tratar de IED. Ao longo do trabalho também foram identificadas relações entre os conceitos, as dimensões, as subdimensões e as variáveis, a serem testadas posteriormente. O presente estudo também identificou e descreveu as principais características do IED no setor de elétrico e no segmento de geração em países emergentes, com duas contribuições relevantes: há o investimento em novas tecnologias nos países desenvolvidos e a migração de tecnologias maduras para os países em desenvolvimento (compatível com a teoria do ciclo de vida do produto de Vernon) e alguns estudos atribuem baixos retornos aos investidores estrangeiros em setores regulados, enquanto outros destacam os altos ganhos nos investimentos internacionais em indústrias reguladas, como o setor de energia. Por fim, foi proposta a formação de um novo conceito de países emergentes, por meio da inserção de fatores humanos (ativos humanos) e tecnológicos (ao exemplo do grau de industrialização e da capacidade de inovação), aos fatores econômicos (renda e vulnerabilidade econômica) atualmente utilizados. A título de sugestão, considera-se pertinente a continuação da investigação iniciada nesta tese, por meio da realização de pesquisas sobre os impactos das tecnologias de geração de energia elétrica na decisão de realizar IED em países emergentes, realização de cruzamento de bancos de dados das diversas instituições atuantes no cadastramento de IED, realização de pesquisa sobre as diferenças de percepções apresentadas por especialistas e empresas com relação à estratégia de IED das empresas. Também é possível reaplicar o estudo em outros segmentos e setores.

The dissertation consists of three papers presenting applications of meta-analysis in international economics. The first paper examines the effect of common currency on international trade, while the remaining two papers address the relationship between foreign investment and the productivity of domestic firms. An introductory chapter puts these applications into perspective. In the first application I present a meta-analysis of the effect of currency unions on trade, focusing on the euro area. I find strong publication bias in the literature. The estimated trade- promoting effect of currency unions other than the euro reaches more than 60%. In contrast, the euro's trade-promoting effect is insignificant when I correct for publication bias. The empirical literature on this topic shows signs of the so-called economics research cycle: the relation between the reported t-statistics and publication years has an inverse U-shaped form. During the last decade more than 100 researchers have examined productivity spillovers from foreign affiliates to local firms in upstream or downstream sectors. Yet results vary broadly across methods and countries. To examine these vertical spillovers in a systematic way, in the second application I collect 3,626 estimates of spillovers and review the literature quantitatively....

xiii, 97 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This dissertation consists of three essays that empirically address aspects of three common questions posed in the Mexican immigration literature: What characteristics define migrants from Mexico? How does US border-enforcement policy affect migrant behavior? What role does foreign direct investment (FDI) into Mexico play in altering incentives for migration to the United States? The first essay (Chapter II) examines selection patterns of Mexican migrants based on migration frequency. Studies of Mexican migrant selection have largely ignored its temporary and repeated nature. In particular, the literature has not appropriately distinguished between migrants that travel to the United States only once and those who migrate multiple times. I model the selection process of repeat migrants in two stages: selection into initial migration and selection into repeat migration. Allowing for unobservable differences between non-migrants, single-episode migrants and repeat migrants, I find negative selection of repeat migrants relative to non-migrants and no significant differences between the unobservable attributes of repeat and single-episode migrants. The second essay (Chapter III) addresses how border enforcement influences migrant behavior. Increases in border enforcement during the 1990s were distributed non-uniformly along the border, targeting regions believed to experience episodes of high volumes of illegal border crossings. I examine how geographic and time-series variation in annual border enforcement influences US destination choices for undocumented Mexican migrants. While increased enforcement diverts migrants to alternative crossing locations, I show that their final destinations tend to be robust to border enforcement. Thus, in terms of policy, there may be benefits to coordination in enforcement efforts across sectors. The third essay (Chapter IV) addresses the claim that Mexico-bound FDI reduces immigration to the United States by increasing employment opportunities and raising Mexican wages. I use annual, state-level FDI from 1994 to 2004 to examine how FDI flows influence US-migration propensity. FDI flows reduce the probability of migration to the United States and increase the probability of an employment change in Mexico for non-migrants. Further, FDI is found to increase the likelihood of employment changes for household heads in Mexican states bordering the United States, but not the likelihood of employment in interior states. / Adviser: Glen R. Waddell

Cette thèse a pour objectif d'analyser et d'identifier les effets des investissements directs étrangers (IDE) sur le marché du travail français. Le premier chapitre dresse un état des lieux de la littérature récente sur cette question. Les autres chapitres analysent empiriquement et théoriquement l'effet des IDE sur le marché du travail. A l'aide de données récentes et détaillées sur les firmes et les employés français, plusieurs aspects du marché du travail sont abordés. Dans un premier temps, la thèse analyse l'effet des IDE sur l'emploi (chapitre 2), puis s'intéresse à leurs effets sur les salaires français (chapitre 3). Le chapitre 4 quant à lui, identifie un canal potentiel par lequel l'IDE affecterait le marché du travail. Ce canal est le changement organisationnel au sein de la maison mère. Enfin, le chapitre 5 identifie les conséquences du changement organisationnel en terme de mobilité de la main d’œuvre au sein des firmes multinationales. Les résultats montrent un effet sélectif de l'IDE sur l'emploi et les salaires. Seuls les IDE vers un pays à bas salaires affectent le marché du travail et seuls les cadres sont impactés positivement par les stratégies d'implantation à l'étranger des firmes. L'emploi semble être la variable d'ajustement en marge extensive, alors que les salaires s'ajustent en marge intensive. Les IDE sont également responsables d'un changement organisationnel au sein de la maison-mère, provoquant d'une part, un déplacement de l'autorité du chef d'entreprise vers les cadres et d'autre part, une augmentation de la mobilité des travailleurs qualifiés au sein de la firme. / This thesis aims to analyze and identify the effects of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) on the French labor market. The first chapter provides an overview of the recent literature on this topic. The other chapters of the thesis analyze empirically and theoretically the effect of FDI on the labor market. Thank to recent and detailed data on French firms and employees, the thesis looks at several aspects of the labor market. First, the study starts by analyzing the effect of FDI on employment (chapter 2) and then looks at the effects on French hourly gross wages (chapter 3). Chapter 4 identifies one possible channel through which FDI affects the labor market, which is organizational change. Finally, Chapter 5 identifies the impact of organizational change on labor mobility within multinational companies. The results show a selective effect of FDI on employment and wages. Only FDI to low-wage countries affect the labor market and only managers' employment is positively affected by offshoring strategies of their firm. Results also show that employment is the main adjustment variable at the extensive margin, while wage is the main adjustment variable at the intensive margin. Results of chapter 4 and 5 highlight the role of FDI on organizational change within the mother company, which is materialized on the one hand, by a decentralization of authority from the CEO to managers and, on the other hand, by an increase of inhouse labor-mobility of skilled workers.

The relative political stability in Uganda resulted In increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and growth in several national/multi-national organisations. Furthermore, business leadership in Uganda has experienced change as the older generation hand over the reins to the younger generation of business leaders who are relatively more exposed to the Mrican management philosophy and leadership models which are congruent with African culture and contextual issues. This study investigated within a Ugandan context, leadership attributes that are perceived as contributors to or inhibitors of outstanding leadership. It then determine whether, when analysed by ethnicity (i.e. Bantu speaking versus non-Bantu speaking), the researcher could identify meaningful differences in the culturally endorsed leadership profiles; and link societal cultural attlibutes to preferred leadership attributes. A triangulation method was used to conduct this cross-cultural research, which combined archival data, a quantitative survey and personal interviews. The sample comprised of 163 junior, middle and senior managers from over 15 organisations within Uganda. An adapted version of Project GLOBE questionnaire was used for the quantitative survey, and results showed that out of the nine societal cultural dimensions, only Power Distance and Institutional Collectivism cultural dimensions indicate significant differences between Bantu speaking as compared to non-Bantu speaking managers. Furthermore, out of the six leadership dimensions only Humane Orientation and Charismatic / Value Based leadership dimensions, indicated significant differences between the above mentioned. However, these results contrasted some avers of the personal interviews. The study concludes that societal cultural differences do exist between the Bantu speaking and non-Bantu speaking managers and this may require some marginal differences In the leadership attributes that a leader portrays. Nevertheless, irrespective of ethnicity, the most preferred leaders' attributes in Uganda are Decisiveness, Performance Oriented and Charisma 2: Inspirational; whilst the least preferred leaders' attributes were Face-Saver, Self Centred and Malevolent. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / D. Econ. (Business Leadership)

Quels sont les effets du droit et de la régulation sur les institutions financières? Cette thèse propose d’apporter des réponses à cette question tout au long de trois chapitres. Le premier chapitre étudie l’impact du droit des entreprises en difficulté sur la prise de risque des banques. Les principaux résultats montrent qu’une meilleure protection des créanciers augmente le risque systémique des banques. Ces résultats sont observés dans les pays développés où les banques sont davantage engagées dans les instruments complexes, elles sont plus grandes et plus interconnectées que celles dans les pays en voie de développement. Le second chapitre expose l’émergence des startups fintechs et présente la première étude empirique consacrée aux déterminants technologiques et économiques de ce secteur. Les résultats indiquent que les pays présentent davantage de créations de startups fintech quand les marchés de capitaux sont bien développés, que les nouvelles technologies sont facilement accessibles et que les personnes possèdent plus d’abonnements de téléphonie mobile. Le troisième examine les déterminants juridiques de l’implantation des banques à l’étranger à travers les investissements directs. L’étude constate que certains pays accueillent plus de banques étrangères quand les restrictions réglementaires sur l’investissement étranger direct sont limitées, que le coût lié au paiement des impôts est plus bas et les gouvernements moins corrompus. / What are the effects of law and regulation on financial institutions? The thesis proceeds in answering this question along three chapters. The first chapter investigates the effect of creditor rights on banks systemic risk. It provides evidence that countries adopting laws with more favorable protection to creditors in bankruptcy have higher contribution to systemic risk. The effect of creditor protection on bank systemic risk is found in developed countries, but not in developing countries. The second chapter explores the emergence of fintech startups and presents empirical evidence on the technological and economic determinants of this financial sector. The main findings show that countries witness more fintech startup formations when the latest technology is readily available, the economy is well-developed, and people have more mobile telephone subscriptions. The third chapter examines the legal determinants of the presence of foreign banks. The results show that host countries attract more foreign banks when regulatory restrictions on foreign direct investment are low, when the compliance cost for paying taxes is low, and when host-country governments are less corrupt.