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on Corporate Finance |
| By: | David B. Audretsch (Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena, Germany; Indiana University, USA); Max Keilbach (Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Whereas initially physical capital and later, knowledge capital were viewed as crucial for growth, more recently a very different factor, entrepreneurship capital, has emerged as a driving force of economic growth. In this paper, we define a region's capacity to create new firms start-ups as the region's entrepreneurship capital. We then investigate the local embeddedness of this variable and which variables have an impact on this variable. Using data for Germany, we find that knowledge-based entrepreneurship capital is driven by local levels of knowledge creation and the acceptance of new ideas, indicating that local knowledge flows play an important role. Low-tech entrepreneurship capital is rather increased by regional unemployment and driven by direct incentives such as subsidies. All three measures are locally clustered, indicating that indeed, entrepreneurship capital is a phenomenon that is driven by local culture, and is therefore locally bounded. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship capital, Local Clusters, Knowledge Spillovers, Spatial Econometrics |
| JEL: | L60 O30 G30 |
| Date: | 2007–07–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2007-029&r=cfn |
| By: | Oskar Kowalewski; Ivan Stetsyuk; Oleksandr Talavera |
| Abstract: | This study examines the relation between corporate governance practices measured by Transparency Disclosure Index (TDI) and dividend policy in Poland. Our empirical approach, constructs measures of the quality of the corporate governance for 110 non-financial companies listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange between 1998 and 2004. We find evidence that an increase in the TDI or its subindices leads to an increase in the dividend-to-cash-flow ratio. These results support the hypothesis that companies with weak shareholder rights pay dividends less generously than do firms with high corporate governance standards. Therefore, minority shareholders often use power to extract dividends. We also find that large and more profitable companies have a higher dividend payout ratio, while riskier and more indebted firms prefer to pay lower dividends. |
| Keywords: | Corporate governance, dividend policy, agency theory |
| JEL: | G30 G32 G35 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp702&r=cfn |
| By: | Nataliya Fedorenko; Dorothea Schäfer; Oleksandr Talavera |
| Abstract: | The paper focuses on the effects of three different internal bank ratings - Risk-, Property- and Creditworthiness-Rating - on the loan maturity. We use a sample of about 5,000 loans given to sole proprietors and corporate borrowers by two German banks from January 2003 till July 2005. The estimation results for corporate borrowers are consistent with Diamond's (1991) predictions of non-monotonic relationship between ratings and maturity. The best rated and the worst rated loans tend to have shorter maturities than loans with an intermediate rating. However, our results for sole proprietors conflict with the predictions of Diamond and with the majority of the empirical literature. We find a negative association between ratings and maturity of the loans given to sole proprietors. |
| Keywords: | loan maturity, internal bank ratings, risk of default, creditworthiness |
| JEL: | C25 D82 G20 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp704&r=cfn |
| By: | John K. Ashton (Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia); Khac Pham (Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia) |
| Abstract: | This study provides an empirical assessment of the efficiency and interest rate changes occurring during 61 UK retail bank mergers. Key findings of the work include the general efficiency enhancing influence of UK bank mergers and the limited effect of merger on retail interest rates. Furthermore, different banking products appear to be influenced differently by mergers. It is proposed that future assessments of bank competition and mergers require an accommodation of different types of bank customer. |
| Keywords: | Retail banking, mergers, efficiency and price effects |
| JEL: | G14 G21 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ccp:wpaper:wp07-09&r=cfn |