Why Do Governments Sell Privatised Companies Abroad?

This paper provides an empirical analysis of Governments' decisions to sell privatised companies on both international and domestic markets in a sample of 392 privatisations in 42 countries. Political theories of privatisation find strong support in our analyses: market oriented Governments favour domestic investors in the allocation of shares. Furthermore, the need to penetrate foreign markets and to warrant better legal protection to shareholders also appear as relevant. Significant differences emerge in OECD and non-OECD countries. In wealthy economies stock market liquidity favours cross-listing, while in emerging countries Governments resort to cross-list in order to "import" liquidity and to develop domestic stock markets. Legal institutions also play a different role. In OECD countries, weak shareholder protection induces Governments to cross-list, in order to borrow the reputation and best practices of established exchanges. On the other hand, creditors' protection is more relevant in non-OECD countries, where weak legal protection of creditors reduces the scope of bank finance, forcing Governments to look for external finance abroad.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39677/3/wp293.pd

Why Do Governments Sell Privatised Companies Abroad?

This paper provides an empirical analysis of Governments' decisions to sell privatised companies on both international and domestic markets in a sample of 392 privatisations in 42 countries. Political theories of privatisation find strong support in our analyses: market oriented Governments favour domestic investors in the allocation of shares. Furthermore, the need to penetrate foreign markets and to warrant better legal protection to shareholders also appear as relevant. Significant differences emerge in OECD and non-OECD countries. In wealthy economies stock market liquidity favours cross-listing, while in emerging countries Governments resort to cross-list in order to "import" liquidity and to develop domestic stock markets. Legal institutions also play a different role. In OECD countries, weak shareholder protection induces Governments to cross-list, in order to borrow the reputation and best practices of established exchanges. On the other hand, creditors' protection is more relevant in non-OECD countries, where weak legal protection of creditors reduces the scope of bank finance, forcing Governments to look for external finance abroad.privitisation, cross-listing, international financial markets, political economy, investor protection

Prepaid card markets and regulation

Prepaid cards, also commonly referred to as stored-value cards, are typically credit card-sized pieces of plastic that contain or represent an amount of pre-loaded value. They include a wide range of payment products, such as gift cards, payroll cards, teen cards, and travel cards. Despite significant product innovations, it is unclear whether and how existing federal and state laws that apply to other financial products (e.g., checks, credit cards, deposit accounts) apply to the different varieties of prepaid cards. Overall, the law in this area is very much unsettled. In an effort to understand the legal and regulatory issues facing prepaid cards, the Center invited Judith Rinearson, chief counsel to American Express’ electronic stored-value business, to present a workshop on the topic. This paper provides highlights from Rinearson’s presentation. It analyzes the different kinds of prepaid card products on the market and the federal and state laws that potentially apply to them.Regulation E: Electronic Fund Transfers ; Stored-value cards

Banking and Financial Sector in South-eastern Europe

Financial and banking systems play a crucial role for the reconstruction of war-worn countries, for the completion of the transition process and for the economic development. Financial systems in transitino countries had to be build from the scratch, often without any consolidated experience in Western-styly financial activities. Notwithstanding considerable efforts on the legal and institutional fronts, financial systems usually remain fragile and too thin in order to fulfill their economic functions. Financial and banking sectors are usually the weakest component of the economic setting through which domestic and external shocks could be exacerbated and became pervasive. Aim of this paper is to summaries the reform efforts and the structural evolution of financial system, particularly of the banking secto in Europea south-east countries (Albania, Bosnia H., Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Yugoslavia plus Slovenia. Reforms and economic development in this area are at a very different stage but it could be of some interest to summaries some common regional features such as development patterns in the last decade, banking reforms, size and role of financial and banking crisis. This could be done in the first part opf the paper; country specific profile could be added in a second part.

Régiók, határok és hálózatok [=Regions, Borders and Networks]

Regons, Borders and Networks The title of the conference "Borders and Regions" was considered by the majority of the lecturers as problems of a region at the border of a larger region (country, European Union). This lecture deals rather with the relation of a region to its own border: sets out the main functions of the frontiers of a region and concludes how certain networks can help to fulfil the same tasks. Nowadays both in strict sense and figuratively there is a shift from using sharp administrative borders towards creating indistinct frontiers. Sharp spatial borders become concentration of tension rather then solving problems (iron curtain, US—Mexican border etc.). As an analogy we can also refer to the general shift from regulation with sharp administrative limits towards market-type regulation with softer frontiers (in economy, environmental protection etc.). Over the roles supplied by a frontier zone (buffer, filter and barrier) it is a characteristic spatial structure within the region that has a chance to select the external effects arriving to the region. The physical networks that are spatial imprints of the existing relation systems have four possible roles as internal provision, external accessibility, to assure through-cut and of avoiding a region. The condition of the good operation of a region is the good local provision, that is the existence of appropriate internal networks. Out of its existence the pattern of the structure is also determining: creating appropriate internal transport network in a region it is an important target to built out multilateral net structures so, that a similar provisional position be able to decrease (and not increase) the differences originated from the position of there different localities. The measure of good accessibility is the multilaterality and multidirectionality of relations. There are two important levels of accessibility links to be distinguished: the direct main, large-scale axes and the transborder extension of the subordinated internal provision networks. In case of similarly developed linked regions, we can expect that the advantages due to the improvement of the relation will also be symmetrical between the regions. Improving accessibility between developed and less developed regions, it is not so clear, that the result is similar: we also have to take into account whether the internal structure in the underdeveloped side able to develop at a measure needed by externally controlled changes. In order to defend and develop the internal structure, the through traffic crossing the region has to be led with minimised harmfulness and with minimised troubling of internal relations. We have to learn, that it is impossible to eliminate through traffic, but on the other side it is not at all an aim to attract more of it into the region. With the metaphors Island, Basin and Crossroad we try to describe the relation between a region and its environs. The Island represents the isolated region without external relations. A Basin disposes with clearly interpretable frontiers, while there are gates along this frontier that are able to both let and filter the inflow. In the same time the internal structure is also able to select: there are incoming elemen[ easily melting into the structure, while other elements are not. The Crossroad is a part of the space where the internal structures have no role or importance; everything serves those arriving, everything is determined by external structures. By forming the transport network we can influence the endowments of a region. In connection with that task now in Hungary (and in Eastern Central Europe) we just have to strengthen the Basin-characteristics and as we are able we have to decrease the danger to be involved into a Crossroad role. Understanding such role of the networks gives us a possibility that the networks, in frame of a conscious development policy be ready to take over a part from the role of the frontiers and by that development a functional harmony could be created between the tasks of the frontiers and the internal structures

Credit Card Fraud: A New Perspective On Tackling An Intransigent Problem

This article offers a new perspective on battling credit card fraud. It departs from a focus on post factum liability, which characterizes most legal scholarship and federal legislation on credit card fraud and applies corrective mechanisms only after the damage is done. Instead, this article focuses on preempting credit card fraud by tackling the root causes of the problem: the built-in incentives that keep the credit card industry from fighting fraud on a system-wide basis. This article examines how credit card companies and banks have created a self-interested infrastructure that insulates them from the liabilities and costs of credit card fraud. Contrary to widespread belief, retailers, not card companies or banks, absorb much of the loss caused by thieves who shop with stolen credit cards. Also, credit card companies and banks earn fees from every credit card transaction, including those that are fraudulent. In addressing these problems, this article advocates broad reforms, including legislation that would mandate data security standards for the industry, empower multiple stakeholders to create the new standards, and offer companies incentives to comply by capping bank fees for those that are compliant, while deregulating fees for those that are not compliant

Banking the unbanked using prepaid platforms and mobile telephones in the United States

The rapid growth of mobile phone usage and the continuous rise in wireless coverage fuel the expectations that access to financial services trough mobile phones could transform the way financial services are provided. The emergence of new and more efficient business models, can potentially resolve supply inefficiencies that explain the large unbanked population that exists in the USA, much larger than in most developed countries. Nearly 40 million US households (approximately 73 million people) are financially underserved (CFSI, 2007), of which 15 million households (approximately 28 million people) are totally unbanked. This problem is explained by the non adequacy of the value proposals offered by financial institutions to the demands of the US customers. The areas of poor alignment refer mostly to the design of products and the marketing and distribution networks used. To resolve these misalignments, this paper will argue that business models based on prepaid cards as products and mobile phones as transactional and distribution channels could be used in order to close the supply gap. We will call the business model proposed based on prepaid products and mobile phones mobile banking, since these two elements are the basis of the business model used companies such as Smart Money and G-Cash in the Phillipines, Wizzit in South Africa and M-Pesa in Kenya.prepaid platform; unbanked; financial services; mobile phones; prepaid cards;