À partir du protectorat français en 1885 jusqu'à la naissance d'une banque d'émission en 1925, Madagascar eut un système bancaire et monétaire sommaire totalement contrôlé par des banques d'affaires. Pendant cette période, un réseau bancaire formé par la première banque de Madagascar "Le Comptoir National d'Escompte de Paris" s'était mis en place. Arrivée dans le pays suite à l'appel du gouvernement français, la banque parisienne apporta son soutien au projet colonial. Profitant de l'extension de l'empire colonial français à Madagascar, le CNEP avait crée un réseau d'agences et de sous-agences essaimés dans la colonie. Forte de l'expérience de son personnel et de sa connaissance des affaires locales, la banque était dans une position de monopole en ce qui concerne les activités financières de la Grande île faute de concurrent. Le CNEP devenait ainsi un élément incontournable dans la réalisation du projet de développement de la colonie. La période de la Première Guerre mondiale démontra cependant la fragilité du système bancaire et monétaire de la Colonie à cause de la coupure des communications avec la métropole. Le réseau malgache du CNEP révélait ses limites face au développement croissant de l'économie locale. Les contraintes monétaires engendrées par la guerre (la thésaurisation des pièces métalliques par les indigènes et l'arrêt des envois de billets décidé par la Banque de France) et l'acuité du problème de crédit agricole dans la colonie relancèrent le projet fort ancien d'une banque d'émission. La création de la banque de Madagascar en 1925 apporta une nouvelle politique financière à la colonie. La Banque s'occupait principalement de la circulation monétaire et du réescompte des papiers de commerce. Le bilan positif des émissions de la Banque avait permis à la colonie d'avoir une stabilité monétaire. En matière de crédit, le taux de l'argent avait beaucoup baissé (6% en moyenne alors qu'il était de l'ordre de 10 à 12%). La Banque rapportait financièrement à la colonie (redevances sur la circulation fiduciaire, impôts sur les sociétés, participations aux bénéfices, contributions financières à la caisse de crédit agricole, etc). Les statistiques commerciales et douanières de la colonie attestent le rôle économique de la Banque d'émission depuis sa création jusqu'en 1946 où une nouvelle politique coloniale fut mise en place. / From the French protectorate in 1885 until the birth of a bank of issue in 1925, Madagascar was a summary banking and monetary system totally controlled by investment banks. During this period, a banking network formed by the first bank Madagascar "The National Counter Discount Bank of Paris" had set up. Arrived in the country following the call of the French government, the Paris bank gave his support to the colonial project. Taking advantage of the extension of the French colonial empire in Madagascar, CNEP had created a network of agencies and sub-agencies swarmed in the colony. With the experience of its staff and its knowledge of local affairs, the bank was in a monopoly position with regard to the financial activities of the Big Island for lack of competitor. The CNEP thus became a key element in the realization of the colony development project. The period of the First World War, however, demonstrated the fragility of the banking and monetary system of the colony because of the cut communications with the metropolis. The Malagasy network CNEP revealed its limitations with the growing development of the local economy. The monetary constraints caused by war (hoarding metal parts by indigenous and stop ticket send decided by the Bank of France) and the acuity of the agricultural credit problem in the colony relaunched the very old draft a bank of issue. The creation of the Bank of Madagascar in 1925 brought a new financial policy in the colony. The Bank was mainly involved in the circulation of money and rediscounting commercial paper. The positive results of the Bank's emissions had allowed the colony to have a monetary stability. In terms of credit, the cash rate had fallen considerably (6% on average, while in the range of 10 to 12%). The Bank financially brought to the colony (royalties in circulation, corporate taxes, profit sharing, financial contributions to agricultural credit fund, etc.). Trade and customs statistics of the colony demonstrate the economic role of the bank of issue from its inception until 1946 when a new colonial policy was implemented.

Une solution au problème du sous-développement est apparue dans le transfert international de technologie, qui combine à la fois assistance, formation, coopération, et parfois aide financière. Devant l'intérêt de ce processus, les Nations Unies ont entamé un processus de légifération. On se souvient encore du «Code international de Conduite pour le transfert de technologie », qui apparaissait comme une avancée majeure des pays en développement dans le progrès économique. Malgré l’échec de cette tentative, le processus est resté au cœur des échanges internationaux, la technologie s’imposant comme l’instrument de mesure du développement. C’est pourquoi les pays les moins développés s’adonnent à une véritable course à la technologie, gage de leur droit au développement. Ce qui fit évoluer les mécanismes juridiques de transferts, eux-mêmes désormais liés aux technologies transférées. On assiste donc sur l’échiquier international à une série de lois relatives au transfert de technologies et à sa propriété intellectuelle, qui témoignent non seulement de la sécurité juridique des transactions, mais aussi de la nouvelle vision des relations économiques, notamment celle de tenir compte des effets de la technologie sur l’environnement. Avec un droit de la propriété intellectuelle existant mais pas répressif, les pays de l’Afrique subsaharienne tentent particulièrement d’obtenir leur développement par le canal des investissements. Ils créent en ce sens des cadres réglementaires favorables. Partenariat international, investissement privé et public, brevets,... tous ces moyens d’accès à la technologie qui méritent d’être examinés au fond.Cette thèse est rédigée dans l'objectif de comparer et promouvoir une acquisition de technologies adaptée pour les pays en développement, mais aussi favoriser l'implantation des entreprises étrangères dans ces pays. / A solution to the underdevelopment appeared in the international transfer of technology, which combines assistance, training, cooperation, and sometimes financial assistance.Given the interest of this process, the United Nations began a making process policy. We still remember of the "International Code of Conduct for the transfer of technology ", which appeared as a major breakthrough in economic progress for developing countries. Despite the failure of this attempt, the process has remained at the heart of international trade, like technology itself is considered as the instrument of measuring development.This is why the least developed countries are engaged in a race to technology, guarantee of their right to development.There is, on an international scale, a series of laws relating to technology transfer and intellectual property, which reflect the legal security of transactions, and also the new vision of economic relations, notably to take account the effects of technology on the environment.With an existing but not repressive law of intellectual property, sub-Saharan Africa trying to get their development by investment. For that, they set up favorable laws.International partnerships, private and public investment, patents, ... all these ways of access to the technology which deserve to be examined.This thesis is written with the objective to compare and promote technology acquisition adapted for developing countries, but also promote the establishment of foreign companies in these countries.

Nous démontrons qu’il existe une récurrence dans la pensée de Keynes en matière de fluctuations, à savoir que l’investissement est le facteur majeur guidant les fluctuations économiques. La première partie explore les écrits datant d’avant 1925 environ, en analysant les thématiques et problèmes qui en émergent et qui anticipent ceux du Treatise on Money (1930). La seconde partie se focalise sur le Treatise à proprement parler, ainsi que la transition de cet ouvrage à la Théorie Générale de l’Emploi, de l’Intérêt et de la Monnaie (1936) suite à la crise économique du début des années 1930. La troisième et dernière partie aborde ainsi la réponse apportée par la Théorie Générale à ce problème, en démontrant que la théorie de l’investissement qui y est développée est au coeur de son analyse des fluctuations et cycles économiques. / The dissertation argues that there is a recurrence in Keynes’s thought as regards economic fluctuations: investment is considered as the primary factor driving these fluctuations. The first part explains how, in the author’s early writings, some topics and problems that would be discussed in the Treatise on Money (1930) would emerge out of an interest for monetary instability. The second part focuses on the Treatise as such, but also on the transition between this book and the General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936) following the economic crisis of the Great Depression. Finally the third part discusses the answer given by the General Theory to this problem, by showing that investment as understood and explained in this book is at the center of an analysis of economic fluctuations and business cycles.

Remittances (money sent home by migrants) to developing countries are estimated to have reached US$ 325 billion in 2010 (World Bank, 2011). These amounts reflect only officially recorded transfers, transferred through formal channels and calculated as the sum of three items of the Balance of Payments Statistics, namely: compensation of employees, workers’ remittances and migrants’ transfers (Salomone, 2006; Aggarwal et al. 2011). Unrecorded remittances could represent 50 to 100% of recorded flows (World Bank, 2006; Hagen-Zanker and Siegel, 2007).<p>Remittances are three times the size of official development assistance (ODA) and the second source of external funds after foreign direct investment (FDI) for developing countries. Given their weight in receiving countries’ economies and household livelihood in many developing countries (for instance, remittances flows represent more than 25% of Lesotho’ and Moldavia’s gross domestic product in 2008), there is increasing policy and research interest in remittances as development resource. Furthermore, unlike FDI and ODA, remittances have the particularity to be directly affected to families, even those in remote areas, where development funds don’t arrive (Shaw, 2006). The thesis addresses the relationship between microfinance and the impact remittances have on domestic investment in developing countries. <p>Like other sources of external finance, remittances allow the economy to invest in human and physical capital (health, education), which contribute to growth (Ziesemer, 2006; Acosta et al. 2008). However, as remittances may be either directly consumed (remittances allow households to smooth their consumption, see for instance Lucas and Stark, 1985 and Glytsos, 2005) or used to invest in physical and human capital, it appears that their impact on domestic investment is perceived to be low or limited, given the amount of money they represent each year. According to literature, this is due to the small share that is dedicated to the launch or the support of economic activities. Actually, the allocation between consumption and investment, which depends on various factors such as the level of dependence households have with remittances, the migrant gender, and the existence of a credit constraint, varies on average around 10-20% of remittances that are not directly consumed (Salomone, 2006; Sorensen, 2004; Orozco, 2004). In the thesis we focus on the share of remittances that is saved and wonder how to maximize its impact, whatever this share. We are interested in the role of microfinance institutions, as actors of the financial sector, on this issue. Actually, two recent contributions, Mundaca (2009), and Giuliano and Ruiz-Arranz (2009), stress the role of the development of the financial sector. More precisely, the thesis focuses on a set of questions or issues that may be important for the microfinance industry to consider when interested in remittances flows and the deposits they may generate. <p>Financial development is generally defined as “increasing efficiency of allocating financial resources and monitoring capital projects, through encouraging competition and increasing the importance of the financial system. In other words, the development is about structure, size and efficiency of a financial system” (Huang, 2006). A large line of research work provides evidence that development of a financial system is a key driver of economic growth. <p>King and Levine (1993) argue that greater financial development increases economic growth. Levine and Zervos (1993) shows that growth is related to stock market activity, among other variables. Levine (1999) finds a significant effect of determinants of financial intermediation on economic growth. Beck et al. (2004) find strong evidence in favor of the financial-services view which stresses that financial systems provide key financial services, crucial for firm creation, industrial expansion, and economic growth. Levine (1997), Levine et al. (2000), and Beck et al. (2000) also stress the impact of financial development on growth. There is also an empirical literature that argues that the expansion and the deepening of the financial system lead to higher investment (see for instance Rajan and Zingales, 1998; Demirgüç-Kunt and Macksimovic, 1998). <p>By providing financial services to people whom traditionally do not have access to financial institutions, microfinance institutions (MFIs) may contribute to increasing the size of the financial system in many developing countries. Actually, according to the CFSI’s 2011 report, the one thousand-plus MFIs that report to the Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX) have 88 million borrowers and 76 million savers. Total assets of these MFIs amount to US$ 60 billion (CFSI, 2011). <p>The quite recent literature on remittances, financial development and growth can be categorized under two main approaches (Brown et al. 2011). One approach explores the relationship between remittances and financial development, with a view to assessing their impact on the level of financial development in receiving countries. The underlying argument is that remittances potentially contribute to financial development through both demand- and supply- side effects: by increasing households’ demand for and use of banking services, and by increasing the availability of loanable funds to the financial sector. According to this approach which consider the direct relationship between remittances and financial development, remittances have an impact on both financial outreach and depth in receiving countries, respectively through the fostering of financial literacy among remittances receivers and through the increasing availability of funds (see for instance Gupta et al. 2009, Aggarwal et al. 2011, Brown et al. 2011). <p>The second approach examines the remittances – financial development relationship indirectly by investigating how the given level of financial development in a country affects the impact of remittances on growth. This growth-focused approach allows for interactions between remittances and financial development in estimating growth equations for remittances receiving countries. Within the set of studies related to this approach, two opposing positions have emerged. The first position hypothesizes that the greater availability of financial services helps channel remittances to better use, thus boosting their overall impact on growth. Remittances are seen as financial flows in search of good investment projects, and good financial institutions are needed to facilitate the channeling of remittances to such investments. In this sense, remittances and financial system are complements. This position is supported by Mundaca (2009) who find that financial intermediation increases the responsiveness of growth to remittances in Latin America and the Caribbean over the 1970-2002 period. Other few studies also argue that channeling remittances through the banking sector enhances their development impact (see for instance Hinojosa Ojeda, 2003 and Terry and Wilson, 2005). <p>The other position argues that remittances contribute to investment and growth by substituting for inefficiencies in credit and capital markets. Remittances provide an alternative source of funding for profitable investments by alleviating liquidity constraints. In this sense, remittances promote growth more in less financially developed countries by substituting for lack of credits from financial institutions. This hypothesis is supported by Giuliano and Ruiz-Arranz (2009) who argue that poor households use remittances to finance informal investment in poorly developed financial markets with liquidity constraints. In their study, they interact remittances with a measure of financial development in standard growth equations, for a sample of 73 countries over the 1975-2002 period. Ramirez and Sharma (2009) obtain similar results using data from 23 Latin American countries over the 1990-2005 period. <p>The thesis contributes to existing knowledge on this indirect, growth-focused approach. Given the two existing opposite views on remittances impact on investment and the level of financial intermediation (a high level of financial development implies a high level of financial intermediation), in the thesis we first analyze the relationship that links these variables. We then analyses questions related to microfinance institutions (MFIs), as financial intermediaries. <p>Our focus on microfinance is made from two different perspectives, leading to different research questions. First, from the demand or microfinance clients’ perspective, we question about the interest for them to have MFIs entering the money transfers market (through the money transfer facilities and/or financial products that may be directly linked to remittances). The underlying argument is that MFIs enter the remittances market by providing money transfer services because there is a need for such services (and for other financial services) from their (potential) clients who are remittances receivers and migrants. According to this point of view, MFIs can contribute to recycle remittances flows into the financial system by contributing to the financial inclusion of remittances receivers and migrants thanks to the supply of adapted financial products. The occurrence of this assumption can therefore be measured by considering the involvement of MFIs on the remittances market as a determinant of financial inclusion indicators. Second, from the supply or MFIs’ perspective, we question about the rationale for MFIs to enter the remittances market. Here, the underlying argument is that MFIs are interested in operating on the remittances market because working with migrants can potentially contributes to the improvement of their financial and social performances. According to this perspective, remittances market opportunities as well as MFIs’ characteristics will determine the offer of money transfer services by MFIs. This supply approach therefore leads to the consideration of money transfers activities in MFIs as depending on remittances market opportunities and institutional variables. <p>Therefore, our papers related to microfinance will be articulated around these two questions (interest for clients and rationale for MFIs to have MFIs operating on the money transfers industry) by focusing, as argued earlier, on the deposits resulting from remittances flows. <p>As a matter of facts, by studying the relationship between microfinance and remittances respectively through the demand and the supply perspective, we raise causality issues related to MFIs’ money transfer activities and their impacts on MFIs performances. Actually, MFIs’ characteristics such as the right to collect public savings, as a potential source of efficiency gains, may significantly determine the supply of a money transfer service (MFIs’ perspective), while a money transfer service may itself be the determinant of some MFIs’ performance indicators related to financial inclusion, such as the volume of deposits made by clients (demand approach). However, given currently existing data on MFIs’ involvement on the remittances market we cannot consider simultaneously both perspectives in order to implement causality treatment techniques. Actually, the indicator of MFIs’ involvement we will use in our regressions is time invariant, therefore we are not able to build instrumental variables for instance (such as lagged values of our variable of interest) to eliminate econometric issues in our regressions. Nevertheless, through these two approaches taken separately, we contribute to some extend to the knowledge by putting in perspective different issues at stake for the microfinance industry. <p>Before we tackle our research questions we have an introductory chapter related to remittances flows: what are their trends, determinants and characteristics? The chapter also includes the definition of money transfer activities that we will use in the thesis, as well as an overview of MFIs’ involvement on the money transfers market. <p>Then, our research framework is divided into 4 sub-questions. The first one, treated in Chapter 2, is about the relationship between our variables of interest. What is the impact of the financial sector development (FSD) on the remittances’ impact on investment? This chapter aims at stressing the relationship existing between financial intermediation and remittances’ impacts on investment, which motivated our focus on MFIs (as financial intermediaries between remittances and the formal economy) in the following chapters. We focus on two transaction costs that decline with FSD. The first is the “Cost of Bank Depositing”, henceforth CDEP, which measures the difficulties of savers, particularly the less well-off, of depositing their savings in the formal banking system. The second transaction cost is the “Cost of External Finance”, henceforth CEXF, which measures the marginal cost for the banking system of borrowing in global financial markets. This cost is notably associated with the robustness of the country’s financial sector. In a stylized model of the lendable funds market, we analyze how both these variables affect the marginal effect of remittances on investment. We test model’s propositions using country-level data on remittances, investment, and proxies for both CDEP and CEXF, on a sample of 100 developing countries. We perform empirical tests using both cross-section and panel-data with country fixed effects, over the period 1975-2004. The results demonstrate, theoretically and empirically, that remittances and ease of access to the banking sector act as complements to stimulate domestic investment, while remittances and external borrowing are substitutes. We find that remittances flows stimulate local investment, as a part of remittances indeed become banks’ deposits, which increases the availability of lendable funds, reduces the interest rate and stimulates investment. In terms of policy implication, results suggest that enhancing financial sector development is crucial as it allows remittances to better fuel domestic investment. This is even truer when the access to international funds is difficult or costly. Improving the financial inclusion of remittances receivers by developing domestic banks’ ability to collect their savings is then a straightforward recommendation to policymakers who want to improve remittances impact on investment. <p>The second question, developed in Chapter 3 is related to the demand perspective of the relationship between microfinance and remittances. We want to assess whether there is a need from remittances receivers for financial products that may be linked to remittances. We aboard this question by assessing whether the supply of MTA leads to higher volume of deposits mobilized by MFIs, meaning that MFIs actually contribute or succeed in turning remittances into deposits. Using an original database of 114 MFIs –operating in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), South Asia (SA), East Asia and the Pacific (EAP), and Africa–, we perform empirical tests to study whether MFIs are able to capture migrants’ savings thanks to their money transfer activity. We test the impact of money transfer activity on deposits, using the natural logarithm of deposits as explained variable. Our main result suggests that money transfer activity has a significant positive impact on savings collection. MFIs involved in the remittances market thus attract more savings than MFIs that are not involved in it, probably coming from migrants and remittances receivers who are in need of adapted financial services. This confirms the opportunity MFIs may represent as a tool or a channel to improve remittances impact on investment. In that sense, MFIs should then be encouraged to operate on the remittances market, and to design financial products dedicated to migrants and remittances receivers. <p>The third question, developed in Chapter 4, is related to the supply approach of the relationship between remittances and microfinance. More precisely, we try to identify factors that seem to explain the availability of such service in the scope of services provided by MFIs. In this chapter, we focus first on potential sources of efficiency gains linked to the money transfer activity as a rationale for diversification (i.e. the expansion of the offer). And second, using an original database of 435 MFIs –operating in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), South Asia (SA), East Asia and the Pacific (EAP), and Africa–, we perform empirical tests using cross-section over the year 2006, to identify which environmental and institutional parameters have an impact on the willingness of a MFI to provide a money transfer service. We test the impact of various variables that are related to one of the rationale for MFIs to enter the money transfer market, namely economies of scale and scope as a source of efficiency gains, on the probability to have a money transfer service provided by a given MFI. Our main result suggests that the size, as well as the fact that an MFI collects savings have a positive and significant impact on this probability, while the level of financial development negatively impact it. This confirms among other things that the ability to realize economies of scale through a potential increase of collected deposits may be a determinant of managers’ choice to diversify. Policies that contribute to reduce entry barriers in low financially developed countries should then, among other things, be encouraged to have MFIs fully playing their role of intermediaries between remittances and the (formal) economy. <p>The chapter 5 questions about the institutional consequences for MFIs to collect migrants’ savings. The aim of this chapter is to give an insight on the opportunity migrants’ money (including remittances) could represent for the microfinance industry as a source of stable medium- and long-term funds. It is therefore related to the supply approach and the motivation for MFIs to enter the remittances market by analyzing the impact of migrants’ deposits (which include remittances) on another potential source of efficiency gains, namely the internal capital market. Through a case study approach, this chapter is devoted to the analysis of funding risk in microfinance, comparing migrants’ and locals’ time deposits. Migrants’ time deposits are expected to be of longer term and more stable (in terms of early withdrawals) than locals’ deposits. This assumption had never been tested yet. Based on an original database of 7,828 deposit contracts issued between 2002 and 2008 by 12 village banks belonging to a major Malian rural microfinance network (PASECA-Kayes), we used the Cox proportional hazard model to identify the variables that have an impact on the probability to have early withdrawals, and the technique of re-sampling to calculate withdrawal rates and deposits at risk. Results from the Cox methodology suggest that the migration status is not a direct determinant for the probability to have an early withdrawal. However, this probability increases with the amount deposited and the term of the contract which are both higher for migrants compared to non-migrants. The re-sampling method results suggest that withdrawal rates are not the same for the two categories of depositors observed. We find higher withdrawal rate distributions for migrants than for locals. The value at risk is also higher on migrants’ deposits than on locals’ deposits. However, as migrants tend to deposit for longer term than locals, through the calculation of durations we have measured to which extend migrants’ deposits still have a positive impact on MFIs’ liabilities. It appears that migrants’ money has a marginal but positive impact on time deposits durations, either when considering early withdrawals, which impacts are very limited, except in 2007 (the worst year in terms of amount withdrawn early). As our results show that MFIs that receive migrants’ deposits are not necessarily better-off than without migrants’ money in terms of funding risk - and durations - this paper has stressed the importance of assessing more carefully the role of migrants for the microfinance industry. <p><p><p><p> / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

L’inflation est un facteur important à considérer pour les agents participant aux marchés financiers puisqu’elle vient éroder la valeur des actifs qu’ils possèdent. Depuis quelques d’années, l’émission d’obligations à rendement réel permet de corriger cet effet en remboursant les investisseurs pour l’inflation ayant affecté l’économie pendant la période de détention. La coexistence d’obligations à rendement réel et nominal est potentiellement intéressante puisqu’elle permet de mesurer l’inflation anticipée par les investisseurs. En effet, selon la loi de Fisher, l’écart entre le rendement des obligations nominales et celui des obligations réelles (le taux d’inflation neutre) mesure le taux d’inflation prévu par les marchés. Pour les décideurs politiques, les investisseurs et autres agents intervenant sur les marchés, il est important de connaître tout indicateur pouvant aider à prévoir l’inflation. Cependant, le taux d’inflation neutre n’a pas une corrélation parfaite avec l’inflation anticipée. Plusieurs facteurs peuvent potentiellement expliquer cette divergence. Par exemple, plusieurs études semblent établir que l'existence de primes diverses affecte le taux d’inflation neutre (TINM) et pourrait réduire la capacité de ce nouvel indicateur à mesurer avec exactitude les anticipations d’inflation à long terme du marché. Dans ce contexte, l'objectif principal de cette étude est d’expliquer l’évolution et les déterminants du taux d’inflation neutre et en quoi ces déterminants et primes viennent affecter l’équation de Fisher et l’interprétation du TINM comme mesure des anticipations inflationnistes. / Inflation is an important consideration for agents participating in financial markets, because it erodes the value of assets. For several years, the issuance of real return bonds (RRBs) has offered one way to correct this effect, by compensating investors for inflation born during the holding period. The coexistence of real and nominal bond yields is potentially interesting since it might allow to measure the inflation anticipated by investors. Indeed, under Fisher’s law, using the difference between real (indexed) and nominal bond yields (the BEIR) can be used to measure inflation expectations. For policy makers, investors and other agents involved in the markets, it is important to analyze any indicator that can help predict inflation. However, the BEIR may not exhibit a perfect correlation with expected inflation. Several factors may partly explain the discrepancy. For example, several studies show that various premiums affecting the BEIR might reduce the ability of this new indicator to measure correctly the market’s long-term inflation expectations. The main objective of this study is to explain the behaviour of the BEIR and how this behaviour, as well as the existence of these premiums, impact Fisher’s equation and the BEIR’s ability to correctly measure inflation expectations.

L'économie de la Chine a connu au cours des trois dernières décennies une effervescence sans précédent. Dorénavant ouvert sur le monde, ce nouveau marché de près de 1,3 milliard d'individus possède un potentiel commercial et des perspectives de croissance n'ayant aucun équivalent en Occident. Toutefois, partir à la conquête de l'Empire du Milieu peut s'avérer être une aventure périlleuse pour celui qui ne maîtrise pas le cadre contextuel et légal dans lequel les affaires s'opèrent en ces lieux. Le présent mémoire se veut une étude en deux parties des considérations afin de mener à terme avec succès un projet d'investissement en sol chinois. Dans un premier temps, la présente étude tente de démystifier le climat économique, social et légal entourant le monde des affaires en Chine. L'investisseur étranger a tout intérêt à comprendre cet environnement dans lequel nos repères occidentaux sont parfois inexistants. Il s'agit donc, initialement, de comprendre l'évolution récente de ce pays et les transformations profondes que la Chine a connues dans les dernières décennies. Du socialisme à l'économie de marché, le plus grand marché potentiel sur terre s'est ouvert progressivement sur le monde. Sans délai, l'investissement étranger a alors afflué massivement en ces lieux. Fort de l'évolution de son environnement légal, qui se poursuit d'ailleurs toujours à l'heure actuelle, quels sont les principaux enjeux et défis pour un investisseur étranger en Chine? Parmi différentes considérations, l'investisseur étranger doit s'intéresser particulièrement à la place qu'occupent les autorités gouvernementales dans les transactions privées, à la force obligatoire des ententes commerciales et à la résolution de conflits éventuels. Dans un second temps, la présente étude couvre les principales formes juridiques d'investissement accessibles aux investisseurs étrangers afin d'exploiter ou de participer à l'exploitation d'une entreprise en sol chinois. Il s'agit, pour chacune d'entre elles, d'analyser le droit positif posé par le législateur ainsi que de le compléter avec certains éléments pratiques soulevés par des observateurs en la matière. Il s'ensuivra une analyse des différents mécanismes d'acquisition d'entreprise par les investisseurs étrangers. Ultimement, l'étude de cette seconde partie mènera à une analyse comparative des incidences pratiques relativement aux différentes formes d'établissement ou d'acquisition d'entreprise. / Over the last thirty years, turmoil is the key word that may well describe China's economic context. This sizable market of 1.3 billion people has now opened to the World and is boasting trade characteristics and growth potential beyond comparison with any Western market. However, it may become treacherous for anyone to set sail to conquer the Middle Kingdom without being aware of its business context. The present study intends to analyse the aspects which will help complete successfully an investment project in China. We will attempt in a first phase to demystify the economic, social and legal climate of the Chinese Business scene. A foreign investor will greatly benefit from acquiring a better sense of that environment in which our Western references are somehow limited. We will focus on the recent evolution in order to understand the major changes put in place in China over the last decade. One of the largest markets on Earth moved from a stiffly controlled economy to an open market economy with the immediate consequence that foreign investments from all over started to move in. Keeping in sight the constant development of the legal framework, we will identify the main challenges for a foreign investor in China. Among these considerations, we will analyse the role of the government in private transactions, the binding force of contracts and the settlements of disputes. In the second phase the present study, we will analyse the main investment forms available to foreign investors in order to operate or take part in the operation of a business in China. For every venture, the positive law set by the legislator must be analysed and reviewed in light of a number of elements pointed out by observers of that context. Following that, we will analyse the mechanisms available to foreign investors when acquiring a business. Finally we will complete the second phase with a comparative analysis of practical impacts regarding the establishement of different forms of enterprises or the acquisition of such enterprises.

L’arbitrage public international est demeuré un domaine exclusif aux États souverains jusqu’à la fin des années 50, alors que sont apparus les traités bilatéraux relatifs aux investissements (TBI). La principale caractéristique de ces TBI est sans conteste le recours direct de l’investisseur étranger en arbitrage international contre des États récalcitrants, une alternative aux tribunaux locaux souvent inefficaces. Plus récemment, en 1998, l’organe d’appel de l’OMC est allé jusqu’à accepter l’opinion d’amicus curiae dans un différend opposant des États et aujourd’hui, l’admission de ce type d’opinion est expressément prévue dans plusieurs TBI de nouvelle génération. Mais si l’investisseur bénéficie d’un recours devant une instance arbitrale neutre, il en va tout autrement pour la population locale qui se trouve souvent lésée par la présence, sur son territoire, d’investisseurs étrangers. Le droit de présenter une opinion ne peut remplacer le droit de faire valoir une réclamation. Se pose donc la question : est-ce que, dans le contexte actuel du droit de l’investissement international, des tiers (par rapport aux parties signataires de TBI et par rapport aux parties au différend) peuvent prétendre à une voie de recours direct en arbitrage international? Nous sommes d’avis qu’une telle voie de recours est actuellement possible et que le contexte de l’arbitrage relatif à l’investissement constitue un terrain fertile pour la mise en place de ce droit, étant donné la place déjà faite aux investisseurs. Nous verrons que les principales objections à l’admission de tiers à l’arbitrage international peuvent être rejetées. L’objection de l’absence du consentement des parties intéressées tombe quand on constate les nombreux cas d’arbitrage international où la portée du consentement a été étendue pour inclure des non-parties ou encore pour soumettre à l’arbitrage des matières non envisagées au départ. Par ailleurs, l’absence de qualité pour agir en droit international est un problème théorique, car les investisseurs y ont déjà accès malgré l’absence de cette qualité. Reste donc à déterminer quelle pourrait être la base d’un recours en droit substantiel international pour qu’un tiers puisse faire valoir une réclamation. Nous verrons qu’il existe des instruments juridiques et des principes internationaux dont la contravention pourrait très bien engager la responsabilité de l’État ou de l’investisseur fautif, tout comme il est possible de bien circonscrire les critères d’admissibilité des tiers à la procédure d’arbitrage international. / International arbitration has remained an exclusive domain sovereign states until, in the late 50s, came the first bilateral investment treaties (BITs). The main feature of these BITs is undoubtedly the right, granted to investors, to direct international arbitration against recalcitrant States, an alternative to often ineffective local justice. More recently, in 1998, the appellate body of the WTO went to accept the opinion of an independent amicus curiae in a dispute between State members. Today, the admission of such opinions is clearly provided for in several recent BITs. But if investors benefit from a right of action before a neutral international arbitration body, the situation is quite different for the local population, who is often affected by the presence of foreign investors on its territory. The right to submit an opinion cannot replace the right to legal action. This therefore raises one question: in the current context of international investment law, is it possible for third parties (non signatories of BITs and not parties to the dispute) are entitled to a remedy direct international arbitration? We are of the opinion that the answer to this question is: yes. And the context of investment arbitration, because of the right to direct arbitration against States already granted to investors, constitutes a fertile ground for the implementation of this right of action in favour of third parties. The objection based on the absence of the parties’ consent to such right of action has been set aside in many international arbitration cases where the scope of consent has been extended to include non-parties or to submit to arbitration matters not contemplated at first. Also, the objection based on the absence of legal standing of third parties in International Law proves to be theoretical as foreign investors already have access to international justice despite the lack of this quality. There remains to determine what substantial International Law will constitute a valid legal basis for a third party claim. We will see that there exists legal instruments and international principles and that their violation by States or investors may result in the obligation to compensate the prejudice suffered, as well as it is possible to clearly define and indentify who the third parties could be.

Cette thèse prend la forme de quatre essais. Elle présente une analyse de la performance ex-post des entreprises européennes qui ont fermé leur capital en le privatisant. Le sujet de la « trajectoire ex-post des Buyouts européennes » est assez vaste, c’est pour cela que nous avons essayé de l’étudier et de l’analyser à travers des perspectives différentes et en utilisant différentes méthodes quantitatives.Au cours de notre étude nous utilisons à la fois des mesures objectifves et perceptuelles pour établir les performances de ces entreprises et pour trouver les raisons pour lesquelles elles ont une meilleure performance. Ce recueil d’essais aborde ces problématiques, assez reliées les unes avec les autres, qui concernent la performance ex-post des sociétés européennes qui ont subi un procès de privatisation de leur capital avec des transactions qui les font passer du domaine publique au domaine privé (PTP). Les trois premiers essais concernent leurs performances économiques ; et les relations de leurs performances financières avec : l'évaluation de l'innovation ; l'application des techniques de gestion comme l’organisation apprenante (LO) ; et la mise en œuvre de la Responsabilité Social des Entreprises (RSE). Le comportement du marché dans quatre pays européens pendant le même période est également étudié dans le quatrième essai. Un comportement grégaire de ces marchés pendant la crise a été observé.Les résultats présentés sont soutenus par des preuves descriptives et quantitatives importantes et substantielles. L'hypothèse sous-jacente commune testée qui est celle que établient les entreprises ayant subi un procès PTP ont de meilleurs résultats dans la période ex-post, et qu’elles obtiennent une meilleure performance dans les champs de l'innovation, des LO et de la RSE, est bien prouvé / This dissertation, takes the form of four essays. It presents an analysis of the ex-post performance of the European companies that have gone private. “Ex-post journey of the European Buyouts” is a broad topic, which we tried to investigate and analyze through different perspectives using different quantitative methods.We have used both objective and perception based measures to dig out the performance and reach out the possible reasons behind their better performance. This collection of essays addresses the research questions, which are much related to each other, concerning the ex-post performance of European companies after public-to-private (PTP) transactions. The first three essays concern their economic performance, and linkage of their financial performance with: the assessment of innovation and application of management techniques like Learning Organization (LO), implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The market behaviour in the Four European countries during the similar period is also investigated in the fourth essay. We found the herd behavior in these markets during crisis.The results presented are supported by large and substantial descriptive and quantitative evidence. The common underlying hypothesis which we wished to test, that PTP firms perform better in the ex-post period and show better on the scales of innovation, LO and CSR, is well

L'économie de la Chine a connu au cours des trois dernières décennies une effervescence sans précédent. Dorénavant ouvert sur le monde, ce nouveau marché de près de 1,3 milliard d'individus possède un potentiel commercial et des perspectives de croissance n'ayant aucun équivalent en Occident. Toutefois, partir à la conquête de l'Empire du Milieu peut s'avérer être une aventure périlleuse pour celui qui ne maîtrise pas le cadre contextuel et légal dans lequel les affaires s'opèrent en ces lieux. Le présent mémoire se veut une étude en deux parties des considérations afin de mener à terme avec succès un projet d'investissement en sol chinois. Dans un premier temps, la présente étude tente de démystifier le climat économique, social et légal entourant le monde des affaires en Chine. L'investisseur étranger a tout intérêt à comprendre cet environnement dans lequel nos repères occidentaux sont parfois inexistants. Il s'agit donc, initialement, de comprendre l'évolution récente de ce pays et les transformations profondes que la Chine a connues dans les dernières décennies. Du socialisme à l'économie de marché, le plus grand marché potentiel sur terre s'est ouvert progressivement sur le monde. Sans délai, l'investissement étranger a alors afflué massivement en ces lieux. Fort de l'évolution de son environnement légal, qui se poursuit d'ailleurs toujours à l'heure actuelle, quels sont les principaux enjeux et défis pour un investisseur étranger en Chine? Parmi différentes considérations, l'investisseur étranger doit s'intéresser particulièrement à la place qu'occupent les autorités gouvernementales dans les transactions privées, à la force obligatoire des ententes commerciales et à la résolution de conflits éventuels. Dans un second temps, la présente étude couvre les principales formes juridiques d'investissement accessibles aux investisseurs étrangers afin d'exploiter ou de participer à l'exploitation d'une entreprise en sol chinois. Il s'agit, pour chacune d'entre elles, d'analyser le droit positif posé par le législateur ainsi que de le compléter avec certains éléments pratiques soulevés par des observateurs en la matière. Il s'ensuivra une analyse des différents mécanismes d'acquisition d'entreprise par les investisseurs étrangers. Ultimement, l'étude de cette seconde partie mènera à une analyse comparative des incidences pratiques relativement aux différentes formes d'établissement ou d'acquisition d'entreprise. / Over the last thirty years, turmoil is the key word that may well describe China's economic context. This sizable market of 1.3 billion people has now opened to the World and is boasting trade characteristics and growth potential beyond comparison with any Western market. However, it may become treacherous for anyone to set sail to conquer the Middle Kingdom without being aware of its business context. The present study intends to analyse the aspects which will help complete successfully an investment project in China. We will attempt in a first phase to demystify the economic, social and legal climate of the Chinese Business scene. A foreign investor will greatly benefit from acquiring a better sense of that environment in which our Western references are somehow limited. We will focus on the recent evolution in order to understand the major changes put in place in China over the last decade. One of the largest markets on Earth moved from a stiffly controlled economy to an open market economy with the immediate consequence that foreign investments from all over started to move in. Keeping in sight the constant development of the legal framework, we will identify the main challenges for a foreign investor in China. Among these considerations, we will analyse the role of the government in private transactions, the binding force of contracts and the settlements of disputes. In the second phase the present study, we will analyse the main investment forms available to foreign investors in order to operate or take part in the operation of a business in China. For every venture, the positive law set by the legislator must be analysed and reviewed in light of a number of elements pointed out by observers of that context. Following that, we will analyse the mechanisms available to foreign investors when acquiring a business. Finally we will complete the second phase with a comparative analysis of practical impacts regarding the establishement of different forms of enterprises or the acquisition of such enterprises.

L’arbitrage public international est demeuré un domaine exclusif aux États souverains jusqu’à la fin des années 50, alors que sont apparus les traités bilatéraux relatifs aux investissements (TBI). La principale caractéristique de ces TBI est sans conteste le recours direct de l’investisseur étranger en arbitrage international contre des États récalcitrants, une alternative aux tribunaux locaux souvent inefficaces. Plus récemment, en 1998, l’organe d’appel de l’OMC est allé jusqu’à accepter l’opinion d’amicus curiae dans un différend opposant des États et aujourd’hui, l’admission de ce type d’opinion est expressément prévue dans plusieurs TBI de nouvelle génération. Mais si l’investisseur bénéficie d’un recours devant une instance arbitrale neutre, il en va tout autrement pour la population locale qui se trouve souvent lésée par la présence, sur son territoire, d’investisseurs étrangers. Le droit de présenter une opinion ne peut remplacer le droit de faire valoir une réclamation. Se pose donc la question : est-ce que, dans le contexte actuel du droit de l’investissement international, des tiers (par rapport aux parties signataires de TBI et par rapport aux parties au différend) peuvent prétendre à une voie de recours direct en arbitrage international? Nous sommes d’avis qu’une telle voie de recours est actuellement possible et que le contexte de l’arbitrage relatif à l’investissement constitue un terrain fertile pour la mise en place de ce droit, étant donné la place déjà faite aux investisseurs. Nous verrons que les principales objections à l’admission de tiers à l’arbitrage international peuvent être rejetées. L’objection de l’absence du consentement des parties intéressées tombe quand on constate les nombreux cas d’arbitrage international où la portée du consentement a été étendue pour inclure des non-parties ou encore pour soumettre à l’arbitrage des matières non envisagées au départ. Par ailleurs, l’absence de qualité pour agir en droit international est un problème théorique, car les investisseurs y ont déjà accès malgré l’absence de cette qualité. Reste donc à déterminer quelle pourrait être la base d’un recours en droit substantiel international pour qu’un tiers puisse faire valoir une réclamation. Nous verrons qu’il existe des instruments juridiques et des principes internationaux dont la contravention pourrait très bien engager la responsabilité de l’État ou de l’investisseur fautif, tout comme il est possible de bien circonscrire les critères d’admissibilité des tiers à la procédure d’arbitrage international. / International arbitration has remained an exclusive domain sovereign states until, in the late 50s, came the first bilateral investment treaties (BITs). The main feature of these BITs is undoubtedly the right, granted to investors, to direct international arbitration against recalcitrant States, an alternative to often ineffective local justice. More recently, in 1998, the appellate body of the WTO went to accept the opinion of an independent amicus curiae in a dispute between State members. Today, the admission of such opinions is clearly provided for in several recent BITs. But if investors benefit from a right of action before a neutral international arbitration body, the situation is quite different for the local population, who is often affected by the presence of foreign investors on its territory. The right to submit an opinion cannot replace the right to legal action. This therefore raises one question: in the current context of international investment law, is it possible for third parties (non signatories of BITs and not parties to the dispute) are entitled to a remedy direct international arbitration? We are of the opinion that the answer to this question is: yes. And the context of investment arbitration, because of the right to direct arbitration against States already granted to investors, constitutes a fertile ground for the implementation of this right of action in favour of third parties. The objection based on the absence of the parties’ consent to such right of action has been set aside in many international arbitration cases where the scope of consent has been extended to include non-parties or to submit to arbitration matters not contemplated at first. Also, the objection based on the absence of legal standing of third parties in International Law proves to be theoretical as foreign investors already have access to international justice despite the lack of this quality. There remains to determine what substantial International Law will constitute a valid legal basis for a third party claim. We will see that there exists legal instruments and international principles and that their violation by States or investors may result in the obligation to compensate the prejudice suffered, as well as it is possible to clearly define and indentify who the third parties could be.