Foreign ownership, bank information environments, and the international mobility of corporate governance

This paper investigates how foreign ownership shapes bank information environments. Using a sample of listed banks from 60 countries over 1997–2012, we show that foreign ownership is significantly associated with greater (lower) informativeness (synchronicity) in bank stock prices. We also find that stock returns of foreign-owned banks reflect more information about future earnings. In addition, the positive association between price informativeness and foreign ownership is stronger for foreign-owned banks in countries with stronger governance, stronger banking supervision, and lower monitoring costs. Overall, our evidence suggests that foreign ownership reduces bank opacity by exporting governance, yielding important implications for regulators and governments

Méthodologie de diagnostic et de gestion des réseaux de fossés agricoles infiltrants pour la limitation de la contamination des masses d'eau par les pesticides

Méthodologie de diagnostic et de gestion des réseaux de fossés agricoles infiltrants pour la limitation de la contamination des masses d?eau par les pesticides. Rapport final 201

An experimental study of water table recharge by seepage losses from a ditch with intermittent flow

Fanned catchments in the Mediterranean area often exhibit dense networks of ditches which are also preferential zones of water table recharge, and thereby of groundwater contamination. This study presents an experimental analysis of seepage losses and related groundwater recharge patterns during a typical Mediterranean runoff event at the scale of a ditch located above a shallow water table. The objectives were (i) to evaluate the patterns of water table recharge by seepage in a ditch, (ii) to study the main flow processes occurring during recharge, and (iii) to estimate solute propagation in case of contaminated flow in the ditch. The field observation indicated three major points. Firstly, they showed that seepage losses during a runoff event in a ditch can rapidly lead to a significant recharge of a shallow water table. Secondly, the recharge induces a groundwater mound much larger than the event plume. The infiltrated water and the accompanying solutes remained in the vicinity of the ditch. The patterns Of groundwater recharge and contamination appeared very different. Lastly, both unsaturated and saturated-piston flow processes were observed which suggests that a variably-saturated flow modelling approach ought to be used to simulate the ditch-water shallow table interaction. Finally, the study indicates that the patterns of water table recharge and contamination in Mediterranean catchments with dense ditches network vary largely in space and time, and will require dense monitoring networks to estimate the evolution of the average contamination levels

Contrasting soil property patterns between ditch bed and neighbouring field profiles evidence the need of specific approaches when assessing water and pesticide fate in farmed landscapes

Farm ditch networks, infrastructures designed to regulate excess water in cropped landscapes, constitute pesticide dispersal pathways or buffer zones, depending on their soil properties. Despite the key role that ditch soils play in the regulation of water and pesticide fate, their properties, especially in intermittently flooded ditches, remain poorly characterized. Therefore, our aim was to evaluate the specificity of ditch material properties to determine whether ditches require an approach that differs from that of field soils when studying water and pesticide fate in farmed landscapes. We thus analysed the variations in the pedological, herbicide sorption and flow properties of soil materials along a 2D cross-section of an intermittently flooded ditch in the Roujan catchment of southern France. We found that the upper part of the ditch bed soil profile is composed of 3 horizons that formed after the original creation of the ditch, most likely via the deposition of field-eroded particles and the accumulation of organic matter. These specific horizons have greater porosity, mostly due to their dense root systems, and contain up to 2 times more organic carbon than the neighbouring banks or field soils. Consequently, the hydraulic conductivity is greater, and the sorption of hydrophobic herbicides is up to 2 times greater in ditch bed materials than it is in soils located farther away from the ditch surface. Moreover, significant macroporal flow was evidenced in both profiles but with different contribution to the global flow. The contrasts in the hydrodynamic and sorption properties between both the ditch bed and banks materials likely results in significantly different water and pesticide infiltration patterns in ditches compared to crop fields. Given these differences, we recommend investigating the specific properties of ditch beds when studying and modelling water and pesticide fate in croplands

Estimating the role of a ditch network in groundwater recharge in a Mediterranean catchment using a water balance approach

Water balance variables were monitored in a farmed Mediterranean catchment characterized by a dense ditch network to allow for the separate estimation of the diffuse and concentrated recharge terms during flood events. The 27 ha central part of the catchment was equipped with (i) rain gauges, (ii) ditch gauge stations, (iii) piezometers, (iv) neutron probes, and (v) an eddy covariance mast including a 3D sonic anemometer and a fast hygrometer. The water balance was calculated for two autumnal rain and flood events. We also estimated the uncertainty of this approach with Monte Carlo simulations. Results show, that although ditch area represents only 6% of the total study area, concentrated recharge appeared to be the main source of groundwater recharge. Indeed, it was 40-50% of the total groundwater recharge for autumnal events, which are the major annual recharge events. This indicate that both, concentrated and diffuse recharge should be taken into account in any hydrological modeling approach for Mediterranean catchments. This also means that, since they collect overland flow that is often largely contaminated by chemicals, ditches may be a place where groundwater contamination is likely to occur. The uncertainty analysis indicates that recharge estimates based on water balance exhibit large uncertainty ranges. Nevertheless, Monte Carlo simulations showed that concentrated recharge was higher than expected based on their area