The anticipated and concurring effects of EMU: exchange rate volatility, institutions and growth

Reduced exchange rate volatility and higher and less heterogeneous quality of institutional rules and macroeconomic policies are two of the main (anticipated and concurring) effects expected from a currency union. In this paper we measure the magnitude of these two effects on the Euro area countries, looking at real effective exchange rates (REER) and at different indicators of quality of institutional rules and macroeconomic policies (QIRMP). We find that the first effect is much stronger than the second when we compare relative changes on Euro area countries and the rest of the world in the relevant period. We further evaluate the impact of both effects on economic growth on a larger sample of countries. Our findings show that both have significant impact on levels (more robust) and on rates of growth (weaker) of per capita GDP.real exchange rate; volatility; institutional rules; macroeconomic policy

Observed and "fundamental" price earnings. Is there a dragging anchor for high-tech stocks?

By assuming that a large share of investors follows a fundamental approach to stock picking we build a discounted cash flow (DCF) model (which we assume to be commonly used by fundamentalists) and test on a sample of high-tech stocks whether the strong and the weak version of the model are supported by data. Empirical results show that, even though our "fundamental" price earnings explain a significant share of cross sectional variation of the observed price earnings, the strong version of the discounted cash flow model is rejected for the relevance of additional variables. These are the dividend payout, the number of recommending brokers, the sales to earnings ratio, the institutionals' share and a proxy of firm risk. We argue that all these variables are either signals of firm actual and future capacity of being profitable in a framework of imperfect information and/or proxies for the value of the real option of expansion which represents an important part of value for high-tech stocks. Empirical results of the paper therefore outline a new benchmark for testing market anomalies in which simple rules for building portfolios of value and glamour stocks (size, P/E, book to market), may be replaced by more sophisticated rules based on indicators of the deviation between fundamental and observed firm DCF (plus real option) value

In quest for equity partners: the determinants of the willingness to go public or to find a venture capital partner

The paper presents a theoretical analysis of the determinants affecting the controlling shareholders choice between going public and looking for a venture capital partner when they are in need of external equity financiers. In the model the two choices are strictly connected as controlling shareholders profits under the going public choice represent their outside options in case of failure of reaching an agreement in the bargaining process with the venture capital partner. We show that the relative profitability of the going public choice is inversely related to monitoring costs of new stock exchange shareholders, investment size and directly related to the presence of informational asymmetries between manager and controlling shareholders. In addition, we find that for high values of their ex ante property right share, controlling shareholders prefer the venture capital to the going public financing solution even if the first is socially inefficient. The paper also shows how stock market volatility, competition in the real and financial sector and a more efficient market for corporate control affect the going-public-venture capital choice. Our results are consistent with empirical findings on firm revealed preferences between the two financing choices

The Benefits of economic integration and monetary unions: the negative impact on growth of export portfolio volatility

The elimination of exchange rate volatility among union members is widely considered as one of the main advantages of economic integration and, specifically, of monetary unions. Nonetheless, few papers find evidence of a significant impact of (bilateral) exchange rate volatility on growth. We argue that bilateral exchange rate volatility is an insufficient measure of trading risk since it does not include the volatility induced by trading partners. By devising an “export portfolio risk approach” we find that the variance of a portfolio including exchange rates with trading partners weighted for their relative export shares has significant impact on levels and growth of per capita income after controlling for physical and human capital, institutional and macroeconomic variables, access to ICT and other variables traditionally considered in growth estimates. The effect is robust to sensitivity analysis and to changes in sample composition. Our results sugest that economic integration and monetary unions by reducing export portfolio risk imported from neighbouring partners may have significant effects on growth

In quest for equity partners: the determinants of the willingness to go public or to find a venture capital partner

The paper presents a theoretical analysis of the determinants affecting the controlling shareholders choice between going public and looking for a venture capital partner when they are in need of external equity financiers. In the model the two choices are strictly connected as controlling shareholders profits under the going public choice represent their outside options in case of failure of reaching an agreement in the bargaining process with the venture capital partner. We show that the relative profitability of the going public choice is inversely related to monitoring costs of new stock exchange shareholders, investment size and directly related to the presence of informational asymmetries between manager and controlling shareholders. In addition, we find that for high values of their ex ante property right share, controlling shareholders prefer the venture capital to the going public financing solution even if the first is socially inefficient. The paper also shows how stock market volatility, competition in the real and financial sector and a more efficient market for corporate control affect the going-public-venture capital choice. Our results are consistent with empirical findings on firm revealed preferences between the two financing choices

New national and regional Annex I Habitat records: from #26 to #36

New Italian data on the distribution of the Annex I Habitats 1510*, 2130*, 2250*, 3180*, 3260, 5230*, 6410, 7140, 7220*, 9320 are reported in this contribution. Specifically, 14 new occurrences in Natura 2000 sites are presented and 20 new cells are added in the EEA 10 km × 10 km reference grid. The new data refer to the Italian administrative regions of Abruzzo, Apulia, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Marche, Molise, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany and Umbria

New national and regional Annex I Habitat records: from #60 to #82

New Italian data on the distribution of the Annex I Habitats are reported in this contribution. Specifically, 8 new occurrences in Natura 2000 sites are presented and 49 new cells are added in the EEA 10 km × 10 km reference grid. The new data refer to the Italian administrative regions of Campania, Calabria, Marche, Piedmont, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany and Umbria. Relevés and figures are provided as Supplementary material respectively 1 and 2