Effects of Corporate Policies and Governance Practices on Ownership Structure: Evidence from Chilean Firms

We analyze the effects of financing policies, dividends, and corporate governance on ownership structure in Chilean companies. We used a sample of 185 companies listed on the Santiago Stock Exchange that answered the NCG 341 survey on Corporate Governance Practices in 2013. The two-limit Tobit regression (TLTR) results show that debt and dividend policies exert a negative effect on controlling shareholder ownership and a positive effect on minority shareholder ownership. The results show that these policies facilitate control over corporate management determined by the interests of controlling shareholders, as well as protect minority shareholders’ rights by complementing their monitoring role. Corporate governance practices have significant effects on the ownership structure of Chilean companies.Este artículo se propone analizar el impacto de las políticas de financiamiento, dividendos y gobierno corporativo sobre la estructura de propiedad en compañías chilenas. Se usó una muestra de 185 compañías listadas en la Bolsa de Comercio de Santiago, que contestaron la encuesta NCG 341 sobre Prácticas de Gobierno Corporativo en 2013. Los resultados de las regresiones Tobit de dos límites (TLTR) demuestran que las políticas de endeudamiento y de dividendos negativamente afectan la propiedad de los accionistas controladores y protegen los derechos de los accionistas minoritarios al complementar su rol de monitoreo. Las prácticas de gobierno corporativo tienen efectos significativos sobre la estructura de propiedad de las compañías chilenas

Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets

The turning to the XXI century has been marked by reforms in corporate governance practices around the world. Whether due to shocks caused by the economic crisis in East Asia, Russia and Latin America, or by financial scandals in the United States and Europe, the fact is that the way of doing business has changed in terms of demands for greater corporate transparency and accountability, shifts in control of ownership, empowerment of new types of owners and so on. Consequently, countries and firms have adapted their corporate governance policies and practices to this new governance environment. In this chapter, we discuss the foundation of corporate governance, that is, corporate ownership. In particular, we explore the current patterns of the ownership structure of publicly listed firms in six emerging countries. To do so, we have collected firm ownership data for listed firms in Brazil, Chile, South Korea, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland during the first decade of the XXI century, and we compare our data with existing ownership research of these countries in the late 1990s. We conclude that although concentration of corporate shareholdings continues to be a common denominator among these emerging countries, the processes and structures controlling firms across countries is remarkably different. For instance, the privatization process in the 1990s, in spite of having different motivations and goals in Latin American and Eastern Europe shaped much of the corporate ownership transformations. Our chapter offers a comparative analysis of the corporate ownership changes in emerging markets.

Electricity Sector Reform in Developing Countries: A Survey of Empirical Evidence on Determinants and Performance

This paper reviews the empirical evidence on electricity reform in developing countries. We find that country institutions and sector governance play an important role in success and failure of reform; reforms appear to have increased operating efficiency and expanded access to urban customers; they have to a lesser degree passed on efficiency gains to customers, tackled distributional effects, or improved rural access. Moreover, some of the literature is not methodologically robust or on a par with general development economics literature and findings on some issues are limited and inconclusive while some important areas are yet to be addressed. Until we know more, implementation of reforms will be more based on ideology and economic theory rather than solid economic evidence.The World Bank Electricity Research Programme and the CMI Electricity Project (IR-45

Postprivatization Corporate Governance: the Role of Ownership Structure and Investor Protection

We investigate the role of ownership structure and investor protection in postprivatization corporate governance. We find that the government relinquishes control over time, mainly to the benefit of local institutions and foreign investors. We also show that private ownership tends to concentrate over time. In addition to firm-level variables, investor protection, political and social stability explain the cross-firm differences in ownership concentration. We find that the positive effect of ownership concentration on firm performance matters more in countries with weak investor protection and that private domestic ownership leads to higher performance.Corporate governance, privatization, performance

Growth of the Spanish Multinational in Latin America during the 1990s

During the 1990s, Spain changed from a net recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) to one of the most important investors in Latin America. Fieldwork in this article identifies trends and directions of Spanish acquisitions, with an emphasis on the 1990 to 2001 period. An overview of the emergence of the Spanish MNC is followed by statistical analysis of their competitive (i.e. ownership) advantage as measured by the relative strength of market size, wage differentials and cultural affinity. This analysis helped in explaining the link between strategic decisions of the Spanish MNCs and their choice of geography and industrial sector. Empirical analysis finds Spanish MNCs responded to privatisation opportunities and to gain access to specific foreign markets rather than to an attempt to create global export platforms.Latin America; FDI; Spanish MNC; Dunning

Asegurar la estabilidad y el crecimiento en una región propensa a las sacudidas: los retos de políticas para América Latina

(Disponible en idioma inglés únicamente) ¿Cuáles son los motivos y los costos de la inestabilidad en América Latina? Debido a que no existe el consenso sobre estas cuestiones fundamentales, no hay consenso sobre la respuesta más apropiada a la inestabilidad macroeconómica en América Latina y en países propensos a las sacudidas de otras regiones. Se presentan nuevos elementos de juicio sobre estos aspectos contenciosos y se tratan las implicaciones de políticas para la región.

Bank Credit and the 2008 Financial Crisis: A cross-country Comparison

The purpose of this paper is to empirically study the macroeconomic, structural and banking determinants of bank credit growth in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Using standard cross-section econometric techniques on a sample covering over 80 countries, analyzed in the period from January 2002 to May 2009, this paper finds that larger bank credit booms in the 24 months before the crisis and lower GDP growth of main trading partners after are among the most relevant determinants of the post-crisis bank credit slowdown. Structural variables such as financial depth and integration were also important determinants of bank credit growth after the crisis. Finally, countercyclical monetary policy and liquidity played a critical role in alleviating bank credit contraction after the 2008 financial crisis, suggesting that countries should pursue appropriate institutional and macroeconomic frameworks conducive to countercyclical monetary policies.

‘Electricity Sector Reform in Developing Countries: A Survey of Empirical Evidence on Determinants and Performance’

This paper reviews the empirical evidence on electricity reform in developing countries. We find that country institutions and sector governance play an important role in success and failure of reform; reforms appear to have increased operating efficiency and expanded access to urban customers; they have to a lesser degree passed on efficiency gains to customers, tackled distributional effects, or improved rural access. Moreover, some of the literature is not methodologically robust or on a par with general development economics literature and findings on some issues are limited and inconclusive while some important areas are yet to be addressed. Until we know more, implementation of reforms will be more based on ideology and economic theory rather than solid economic evidence.Electricity, reform, developing countries

The entry of multinational banks into Latin America: a source of stability or financial fragility?

This paper aims to contribute to the debate regarding the presence of foreign banks in Latin America. To clarify the discussion, we shall conduct a survey of the theoretical and empirical literature devoted to internationalisation in the banking sector so as to provide a better analysis of the determinants that currently underpin foreign banking investments. The international banks concerned come mainly from the European Union, particularly Spain, and primarily focus their investments in the region’s large emerging economies. They display profitability indicators that are on a par with those of domestic banks, generate a significantly lower level of operational efficiency, but are more efficient in their management of risk. Multinational banks can help reinforce banking stability by spreading new risk management methods, by introducing new control procedures and strengthening asset solidity. However, they are partly responsible for the credit squeeze from which Latin America is suffering. Foreign banks can be the cause of new sources of banking fragility such as the exposure to foreign exchange risks, the increase in market influence, persistently high intermediation spreads and the moral hazard.Foreign banks, multinational banks, Latin America, financial stability, credit squeeze, banking fragility