When do regulations matter for bank risk-taking? An analysis of the interaction between external regulation and board characteristics

PurposeAccording to previous international studies, the impact of external regulation on bank risk is ambiguous. The purpose of this paper is to ask the question, “When do regulations matter for bank risk-taking?” by reporting the first empirical investigation of how the relation between bank regulations (capital requirements, official supervisory power and market discipline) and bank risk-taking is moderated by board monitoring characteristics.Design/methodology/approachUsing SYS-GMM, the analysis of the interaction between bank-level boards of directors’ attributes (board size, board independence and board gender diversity) and external regulation is based on a sample of 493 banks operating in 54 countries over 2001-2015, accounting for three measures of bank risk-taking.FindingsRegulations matter for bank risk-taking conditional on board characteristics: board size, board independence and board diversity. With the exception of capital requirements, the market discipline exerted by external private monitoring and greater supervisory power are unable to mitigate the propensity to greater risk-taking by banks resulting from larger board size, higher board independence and greater gender diversity of the board.Originality/valueThe bank risk empirical literature is still silent as to the interaction between board governance and regulation for the purpose of examining banks’ risk-taking. This paper fills this gap, thus making a significant contribution by extending our knowledge of whether and how board governance moderates the relationship between external regulation and bank risk-taking

An Empirical Analysis of Energy Demand in Namibia

Using a unique database of end-user local energy data and the recently developed Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration, we estimate the long-run elasticities of the Namibian energy demand function at both aggregated level and by type of energy (electricity, petrol and diesel) for the period 1980 to 2002. Our main results show that energy consumption responds positively to changes in GDP and negatively to changes in energy price and air temperature. The differences in price elasticities across fuels uncovered by this study have significant implications for energy taxation by Namibian policy makers. We do not find any significant cross-price elasticities between different fuel types.Energy demand; ARDL; Cointegration

The Ethics of Deferred Prosecution Agreements for MNEs Culpable of Foreign Corruption: Relativistic Pragmatism or Devil’s Pact?

Deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) are legal means, alternative to trial, for the resolution of criminal business cases. Although DPAs are increasingly used in the US and are spreading to other jurisdictions, the ethics of DPAs has hardly been subjected to critical scrutiny. We use a multidisciplinary approach straddling the line between philosophy and law to examine the ethics of DPAs used to resolve cases of multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) foreign corruption. Deontologically, we argue that the normativity of DPAs raises critical concerns related to the notion of justice as punishment, with serious cases of international corruption resolved with minimal retribution for offending MNEs. Taking a utilitarian ethical perspective, we also evaluate the effect of DPAs on MNEs’ tendency to self-regulate or re-offend. Our conclusion, supported by critical analysis of the juridical literature and case evidence on MNEs’ recidivism, is that DPAs do not foster ethical behavior

Do exchange rates have any impact upon UK inward foreign direct investment?

This paper examines the impact of the level and volatility of the real exchange rate on UK foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows from the seven major countries of origin of the investment over the period 1975 to 2001. We use both fixed effects and dynamic generalised methods of moments (GMM) panel estimation techniques, and manufacturing data disaggregated by high and low R&D content of the sector of destination. Our results provide strong evidence that exchange rate volatility has a negative impact on FDI flows into the UK, irrespective of the sector of destination of the investment. On the other hand, the level of the real exchange rate is found to have a statistically insignificant effect on FDI after controlling for endogeneity of the regressors

The Impact of FDI on Nigeria’s Exports: A Sectoral Analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the FDI-exports relationship in Nigeria using disaggregated FDI and export data.Design/methodology/approach – This paper applies the ARDL cointegration approach in examining the long-run relationship between FDI and exports.Findings – Our results suggest that aggregate FDI has a positive and statistically significant long-run impact on total exports. Once exports are disaggregated into oil and non-oil exports, the positive, cointegrating relationship holds only for oil exports. When disaggregated by sector, primary sector and manufacturing sector FDI have a positive and significant long-run relationship with both total exports and oil exports but service sector FDI does not appear to have any significant influence on Nigerian exports.Originality/value – This is the first paper that employs both sectoral FDI and disaggregated export data to examine the FDI-exports nexus in Nigeria

What is the net effect of financial liberalization on bank productivity? A decomposition analysis of bank total factor productivity growth

We employ a unique framework to quantify the net effect of financial liberalization on banks’ total factor productivity (TFP) growth through a decomposition analysis of two effects: a positive direct effect of financial liberalization on bank TFP growth; and a negative indirect effect operating through a higher propensity to systemic banking crisis. The empirical decomposition is based on a sample of 1,530 banks operating in 88 countries over the period 1999-2011. We find that the net effect of financial liberalization on bank TFP growth is positive: the direct positive effect outweighs the negative one. An important policy implication flows from these findings