Yes

Family Matters – Essays of Families, Firms and Funding in the Philippines 1850–2014 is a study of family business groups in the Philippines. It consists of an introductory essay and four separate papers. The introductory essay frames the thesis in the vast literature on family firms and family business groups in emerging economies, discusses sources and methodology, and provides an overview of Philippine economic history to give the overarching economic context to the separate papers. The first paper deals with the role of institutions in understanding the dominance and prevalence of family business groups in the Philippines. The literature posits that weak institutions can help explain the predominance of family business groups in emerging economies. This paper takes a historical perspective to examine whether that explanation holds over time, examining the development of core property rights and core economic institutions over time and how family firms have responded. The second paper studies funding options in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and whether the rapidly growing financial system was driven from above or below. The paper examines the impact it had on the explicit goal of stimulating investment and growth in the early twentieth century and what that meant for family firms. The third paper studies capital market developments since the Asian crisis and in particular the growth of the corporate bond market in the Philippines; how this development and how it affected family business groups. The fourth paper deals with governance and management capabilities and examines professionalization of family firms over time to seek to answer the question of longevity. Management literature provides studies and models for family firms but these are fairly recent whereas the family firms that have been in business for several generations have found ways to manage for the long term. The paper analyses what three select groups have done in terms of professionalization and management.

My dissertation investigates financial sector development, economic growth and stability through the analysis of Chinese and international evidence. My first chapter is the introduction. The second chapter investigates the effects of Chinese financial and fiscal policies on the Chinese economic recovery in the 2008 economic stimulus Plan, covering the period from the Great Recession to 2014. This chapter explores the effects of the increase in bank credit growth with significant strain of banking health on firm-level output, employment and investment. The results demonstrate that the increase in government expenditure due to the fiscal policies has the significant effects on the very same firm-level indicators. The effects of such policies are shown to depend on firm characteristics such as size, liability ratio, profitability, ownership and industry. Regarding the dynamic effects of the policies, it is documented that the roles of Chinese financial and fiscal policies are effective but temporary on the Chinese economic recovery within about 2 years. In the third chapter, I investigate the effects of financial sector development on the growth volatility by using the data of 50 countries. The empirical results show that the aggregate growth volatility declines from 1997 to 2014 in the global perspective while the advanced countries have much smaller growth volatility than the developing countries. Using the dynamic panel threshold model, I find that financial sector development significantly reduces growth volatility, especially in its lower regime. Financial sector development magnifies the shock of inflation volatility towards growth volatility in its higher regime. My results reveal the importance of keeping financial sector development at an optimal level, which is beneficial to reduce aggregate fluctuations and dampen the inflation shocks. The fourth chapter examines the asymmetric roles of bank credit on the business cycle by using international evidence. The empirical results present that bank credit is pro-cyclical and amplifies the business cycle. This effect is larger in the economic peak and trough, which forms a U-shaped curve. The U-shaped influences are robust for alternative financial factors, including M2 supply and stock price. This paper contributes to explore the distinct roles of bank credit on the economy in different business cycle phases.

The role of the financial sector in helping an economy grow has been the subject of debate for a long time. Recently, however, consensus has been reached, through empirical evidence, showing the importance of financial sector development in achieving economic growth (ADB, 2009). Using the Global Financial Development Database (GFDD) model, the study done here will provide an analysis of financial sector development in Sub-Saharan Africa and its effect on economic growth, using data for 40 countries, in the years from 2000-2014. This analysis was done using a cross-sectional regression analysis of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with data provided from the World Bank. The regression shows significantly positive results between economic growth and firms using banks to finance investments, bank cost to income ratio and bank credit to bank deposits, while significantly negative results are shown in financial system deposits and stock market total value traded. However, seeing as financial sector development is diverse and dynamic, these measurements and the regression done here will not provide a comprehensive picture of the state of financial sector development in SSA.

Microfinance relates to the provision, by specialized microfinance institutions (MFIs), of small-scale financial services - such as credit, savings, and insurance - to the poorer sections of the population. These sections have traditionally been excluded by the financial system. Microfinance is viewed as a system put into place in order to overcome market failures that are created by banks and that are omnipresent in the developing world. In development policy, microfinance has received considerable attention during the last twenty years, and the industry has grown substantially. Interestingly, the sector has been more successful in reaching out to people in some countries than in others. The sector has also developed in an unequal way within countries. The reasons why this happened are not directly apparent. This doctoral dissertation addresses the uneven development of the microfinance sector and aims at identifying factors that explain it. The dissertation consists of three main parts. The first part, which consists of two papers, combines different datasets on the outreach of MFIs to assess in which countries MFIs have developed most. The papers indicate that the microfinance sector is more present in the richer countries of the developing world. It also reaches more clients in countries that receive more international aid. Population density also plays a stimulating role, which partially explains why the sector is still underdeveloped in rural areas. The second part of the dissertation, which exists of one paper, explores in more depth the relationship between traditional financial sector development and microfinance institutions. The paper, co-authored with Bert D’Espallier, shows that MFIs reach more clients and are more profitable in countries where access to the traditional financial system is low. This is in line with the market-failure hypothesis. Along the same line, we find that MFIs serve poorer people in countries with well-developed financial systems. This observation is an important element to take into account in the debate on mission drift of the sector, where it is feared that MFIs drift away from serving the poor. The paper shows that MFIs in countries with well-developed banking sectors have less space to move up market and consequently to drift from the sector’s general mission. The third and final part of the dissertation is a quantitative study on the spread and expansion process of MFIs in one Latin American country, Peru. The roles that district characteristics play in the decision to open an MFI branch are scrutinized. The paper finds that MFIs mainly increase financial access in districts with higher levels of development. Districts where banks are already present also have a higher probability that MFIs will open a branch there. This demonstrates that the two kinds of institutions co-exist in several districts, but most probably serve another clientele. Overall, although strategies differ between different types of Peruvian MFIs, the paper finds that they do not seem to be driven by a pure developmental logic that would push them towards the poorest or totally unbanked regions of the country. On the whole, the main conclusions of the dissertation can be summarized as follows. First, the dissertation demonstrates that the outreach of the microfinance sector is influenced by a number of macro factors. Consequently, country-specific and macro-economic factors should be taken into account when evaluating MFI performance. Second, the dissertation shows that MFIs substitute the traditional banking sector. MFIs thus fulfill an important part of their mission, i.e. they have helped to increase financial access in the developing world. However, the study also suggests that MFIs still fail to serve a significant number of poor people. This leads to a third important observation, namely that MFIs may in fact not strive to serve the poor as such. Rather, it seems that they are currently focusing on the un-served market in general. The observation indicates that there is a need for a more thorough investigation on the issue of whom the unbanked in the developing countries are and whom MFIs actually strive to serve. Finally, since the outreach and performance of MFIs is dependent on the presence of a stimulating macro-environment, it remains a challenge to serve the financially excluded in the more remote areas of the developing countries and the people in the poorest ones.

This thesis analyzes the bank-specific, industry-specific and macroeconomic determinants of bank profitability (ROA) in 31 OECD Countries between 2000 and 2009 using a panel data. Each country

The purpose of this study is to examine economic growth impact on financial sector development in the Baltic States by investigating interrelation between indicators of these two economic areas. Research is based on scientific literature and empirical analysis. Statistical data is collected mostly from World Bank database in the period between 1994-2009. Indicators like liquid liabilities to GDP and private credit to GDP ratio are used to measure the financial sector size and activity. Economic growth is analyzed throughout total production and factors which are suggested by three economic growth theories. Analysis of GDP is made by expenditure approach. Statistical data showed positive financial sector development in Baltic States during the research period. Estonia had highest developed financial sector, then followed Latvia and Lithuania. The main reason for strongest financial performance in Estonia can be explained by highest export and import activity, financial capital accumulation and lowest real interest rates, unemployment and population. Financial sector development in Latvia was supported by high education expenditure and capital formation in the private sector. Lowest performance of financial activity in Lithuania can be justified by greatest unemployment, population and lowest financial capital attraction. This work confirms Patrick's (1966) demand-following hypothesis which states that growing economy leads to increasing demand of financial services and so... [to full text] / Šių studijų tikslas yra ištirti ekonomikos augimo įtaką finansinio sektoriaus plėtrai Baltijos šalyse, nagrinėjant tarpusavio ryšį tarp šių dviejų ekonominiu sričių vystymosi rodiklių. Tyrimas remiasi moksline literatūra ir empirine analize. Statistiniai duomenys yra surinkti daugiausiai iš Pasaulio Banko duomenų bazės 1994-2009 metų laikotarpyje. Indikatoriai kaip likvidţių įsipareigojimų santykis su BVP ir privačių kreditų santykis su BVP yra naudojami matuojant finansinio sektoriaus dydį ir aktyvumą. Ekonomikos augimas analizuojamas per bendrą produkciją ir indikatorius, kurie buvo pasiūlyti trijų ekonomikos augimo teorijų. BVP analizuojamas išlaidų metodu. Statistiniai duomenys parodė pozityvų finansinio sektoriaus vystymąsi Baltijos šalyse tiriamajame laikotarpyje. Estija turėjo labiausiai išvystytą finansinį sektorių, po jos sekė Latvija ir galiausiai Lietuva. Stipri finansinė padėtis Estijoje gali būti paaiškinama dėl aukšto eksporto ir importo aktyvumo, finansinio kapitalo akumuliacijos ir ţemos palūkanų normos, ţemo nedarbo ir populiacijos. Finansinio sektoriaus plėtra Latvijoje buvo paremta didelėmis švietimo išlaidomis ir kapitalo formavimu privačiame sektoriuje. Silpnesnį finansinį sektorių Lietuvoje greičiausiai sąlygojo didţiausias nedarbas, populiacija, ir maţiausias finansinio kapitalo pritraukimas. Šis darbas patvirtina Patricko (1966) paklausos-sekimo hipotezę, kuri teigia, kad ekonomikos augimas veda prie didėjančios finansinių paslaugų paklausos ir taip... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

對一開放經濟體系而言，當面臨國際經濟波動的衝擊時，經濟成長率會受到國際經濟波動的衝擊幅度以及其外債負擔額度所影響。本論文第二章建立一個開放經濟的貨幣內生成長模型，在爬行釘住匯率制度下，生產技術以實物資本作為生產要素投入，加上貨幣進入交易成本的設定，從最適均衡的角度來探討當一國經濟體系遭受國際經濟波動的衝擊時，如何透過風險貼水管道來影響經濟成長的表現，以及探討國際金融危機傳遞的過程，同時並探究外債減輕政策的成效。我們發現在最適均衡成長下，當一國面臨國際經濟波動的衝擊時，不但會使長期外債−資本比率下降與實質貨幣−資本比率上升外，同時也伴隨者對國內實質資本需求的減少，進而降低經濟成長率。國際經濟波動所帶來的不利影響會因外債的減輕而獲得紓緩，而有助於經濟成長。 第三章利用亞洲及拉丁美洲20個國家的追蹤資料，檢定過度債務假說的存在以及外債對金融部門發展與經濟成長的影響。實證結果顯示，外債對GDP比率對一國經濟成長具有顯著的負面影響效果，過度債務假說成立；過度債務會透過抑制金融部門的發展，進而妨礙一國的經濟成長。此外，本章的實證結果也顯示一國金融部門的發展與經濟成長，彼此間存在顯著的雙向交互影響關係。 在第四章中，我們同樣利用亞洲及拉丁美洲國家的追蹤資料，藉以衡量外債、國外直接投資、及經濟成長之間的交叉影響效果。實證結果顯示，在這些國家中，國外直接投資對經濟成長具有正面的貢獻，但是過度債務會不利於這些國家的經濟成長。最後，我們也發現一國金融部門發展的健全程度在這之間扮演了重要的角色，即金融市場愈健全的國家，其國外直接投資所帶來對經濟成長的貢獻程度也就愈大。 / For a small open economy, sovereign debt and default have important effects on both economic fluctuations and growth. The instability caused by high levels of external debt may adversely affect economic growth. Consequently, the purpose of chapter 2 is to set out a framework for developing countries embedding nominal money balances to facilitate transactions cost model. Output is produced using a stock of broad-concept productive capital, the international financial externality, and investment expenditures involving adjustment costs. We provide a theoretical formalization that is the base for and explanation of the contagion of financial crises, and find that debt relief is expected to stimulate growth by releasing resources from debt service to investments in infrastructure and reduce the risk of spread. Such investments, in turn, enhance domestic investment, besides attracting private foreign investment. Moreover, we have also found that debt relief will raise the real output capital ratio, the market value of capital, and the real balance-capital ratio, and promote economic growth in the long run. In chapter 3, we use panel data of 20 high external debt countries selected from Asia and Latin-America to investigate the financial sector development-debt-growth nexus within the framework of an endogenous growth and financial development mechanism. First, we found that among 20 high external debt countries, the external debt-to-GDP ratio is significantly negatively correlated with economic growth rates, indicating that excessive debt is detrimental to the growth of an economy. Second, we introduced the simultaneous GMM equations between financial sector development and economic growth to evaluate the interaction effects among economic growth, external debt, and financial sector development. In empirical results, we find that the negative impact of high debt on growth appears to operate through a strong negative effect, in terms of compulsion to resort to financially repressive policies. In addition, we also find a two-way relationship between financial sector development and economic growth. Further, this dissertation also aims to investigate how the link between FDI and economic growth in developing countries. Chapter 4 explores the interplay between foreign direct investment (FDI), external debt and economic growth using panel data analysis for a sample of Asian and Latin American countries. First we use several different panel data models to investigate the determinants of economic growth. Our results suggest that FDI contribute positively to long-term economic growth in these countries, and the percentage of external debt to GDP is negatively correlated with the economic growth rate, indicate that debt overhang impeded growth in Asia and Latin America. Secondly, we introduced the simultaneous GMM equation between FDI and economic growth to examine the various linkages among the relevant determinants of FDI, external debt and economic growth. In empirical results, we find financial development plays an important role in influencing the effects of FDI on output, countries with well-developed financial markets gain significantly from FDI in terms of their growth rates. Furthermore, the negative impact of the short-term debt to external debt ratio, on growth appears to operate through a negative effect on FDI inflows. In addition, we also find evidence that the hypotheses of growth-driven FDI and FDI-led growth are developed on the basis of recent studies on economic effects of FDI in both regions.

The main purpose of the study is to examine the cointegration relationships among economic growth, foreign direct investment and financial sector development in 4 East Asian countries, namely Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand between the years 1971-2008 by autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach. In the existing literature, there is no study examining the causal relationships among economic growth, foreign direct investment and financial sector development by applying ARDL methodology for these East Asian countries. The contribution of this study to the literature, the cointegration relationships are constructed to observe the direct linkage among these variables by ARDL approach. If cointegration relationships exist among these variables, then the effect of each regressor on the dependent variable is also investigated. The results of the study indicate that foreign direct investment and financial sector development could be long run forcing variables of economic growth. Additionally, economic growth and financial sector development could be long run forcing variables of foreign direct investment. However, there is not sufficient evidence that economic growth and foreign direct investment together are long run key determinants of financial sector development in a country as obtained in this study.

Darbo tema yra aktuali tuo, kad tarptautinės reitingų agentūros, įvertindamos skolų krizę Europoje, pastaruoju metu daugeliui šalių mažino valstybės kredito reitingus ar blogino jų perspektyvas. Nors po prieš trejus metus patirto nuosmukio Baltijos šalių reitingai ir stabilizavosi, jų aukštesnių reikšmių išlaikymas Baltijos valstybėms yra svarbus užsienio investicijų pritraukimo ir šių šalių finansų sektoriaus vystymosi veiksnys. Vis dėlto, reitingų gerėjimas gali turėti ir priešingą poveikį.Todėl svarbu išsiaiškinti situaciją Baltijos šalyse. Tiriamojo darbo objektas yra Baltijos šalių ilgalaikio ir trumpalaikio skolinimosi užsienio valiuta reitingai bei ilgalaikio ir trumpalaikio skolinimosi nacionaline valiuta reitingai. Šio darbo tikslas - atlikus teorinę valstybės kredito reitingų ir jų įtakos šalies finansų sektoriaus vystymuisi ir užsienio investicijų srautams analizę, nustatyti valstybės kredito reitingų įtaką finansų sektoriaus vystymuisi ir užsienio investicijų srautams Baltijos šalyse. Darbo tikslui pasiekti buvo suformuluoti uždaviniai: atlikti teorinę valstybės kredito reitingų ir jų įtakos šalies finansų sektoriaus vystymuisi ir užsienio investicijų srautams analizę, išanalizuoti Baltijos šalių finansų sektoriaus išsivystymo lygį bei užsienio investicijų srautų ir kredito reitingų šiose šalyse pokyčių tendencijas, reitingus įtakojusius veiksnius, nustatyti valstybės kredito reitingų įtaką finansų sektoriaus vystymuisi ir užsienio investicijų srautams Baltijos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The topic of the work is relevant due to the fact, that international credit rating agencies, assessing the debt crisis in Europe, recently downgraded credit ratings or their outlook for many countries. Despite the fact that sovereign credit ratings of Baltic states have stabilized after the decline occured three years ago, higher ratings are the essential factor for Baltic states, seeking to attract foreign investment and promote their financial sector development. Though, the improvements of ratings may have the opposite effect. Therefore, it is important to clarify the situation in Baltic states. The object of the research work – the Baltic states‘ short and long term in foreign and local currency ratings. The purpose of this paper is to establish the impact of sovereign credit ratings on the financial sector development and international capital flows in the Baltic states, doing theoretical analysis on sovereign credit ratings and their impact on the financial sector development and international capital flows in a country. In order to achieve an objective, the following tasks have been fomulated: to accomplish above-mentioned theoretical analysis, to analyse the level of financial sector development, changes in trends of international capital flows and sovereign credit ratings in the Baltic states, reveal the main factors, which affected ratings in these countries and ascertain the influence of these ratings on the financial sector development and international capital... [to full text]