Workers' Remittances to Former Soviet States

Workers' remittances are an important source of external finance for many former Soviet countries. Nevertheless, the determinants of remittances are only rarely analyzed. Using panel-data estimation techniques the study comes to the following major results: Remittances are highly persistent. They can only be partly explained by income. Furthermore, the performance of the domestic banking sector and the access of the private sector to credit play an important role. Better international integration and a better quality of institutions lead to an increase in remittances.remittances, migration, economic development, panel data model

Bringing home the money: what determines worker's remittances to transition countries?

remittances, migration, dynamic panel data models

Private Savings in Eastern European EU-Accession Countries: Evidence from a Dynamic Panel Data Model

After the collapse in early transition years, saving rates in Eastern European EUaccession countries have recovered strongly. Is private saving in these countries now driven by the same forces as in the EU? A GMM estimator is applied to analyze the determinants of private saving in both country groups. Main results are: saving rates are persistent; income growth increases saving, whereas public saving crowds out private saving. Domestic saving and foreign capital operate as substitutes. Long-run effects of income growth and public saving are larger in the EU than in the candidate countries, indicating that saving behavior in the EU is determined to a larger extent by long-run perspectives than in the candidate countries.Dynamic panel data model, private savings, Eastern European EU-accession countries, GMM estimator

The Eastern Enlargement of the EU - An Initial Assessment: Growing Imports to the New Member States from the Euro Zone

On 1 May 2004 eight former socialist countries - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia - joined the European Union. In the accession year the new EU member states have experienced powerful macroeconomic dynamics, and convergence of per capita income within the new EU-25 was progressing. However, it is remarkable that, for the accession countries, the eastern enlargement of the EU had not the particularly strong impact on growth for the accession countries that many had expected - macroeconomic growth decreased in many of the new member states in the period after entry, although it is still high. This is probably due to stronger trade links which developed between the euro-zone countries and the new member states after their accession. Whereas the new member states were confronted with relatively weak demand from the euro zone, the euro-zone countries in turn could profit from the dynamic development in the new member stat

Relationship Banking and SMEs: A Theoretical Analysis

Reliable information on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is rare and costly for financial intermediaries. To compensate for this, relationship banking is often considered as the appropriate lending technique in the case of SMEs. In this paper we offer a theoretical model to analyze the pricing behavior of banks in a Bertrand competition framework with monitoring costs. We show that the lack of reliable information leads to comparably high interest rates even if a long-term relationship between borrower and bank exists. The paper offers a theoretical explanation why SME managers consider external finance as a major constraint to their business.Relationship banking; Financial constraints; Small and medium sized enterprises; Accounting

Migration and Money: What determines Remittances? Evidence from Germany

The determinants of migrants' remittances are the subject of this study based on German SOEP data. For our analysis of the probability and amount of remittances, we do not restrict ourselves on immigrants with a foreign citizenship, but focus on all individuals with a migration background. Major findings are: first, the degree of integration into German society matters. Second, the probability to remit is not dominated by income. Third, foreigners living in Germany are not a homogenous group concerning their remittance behavior: people with Turkish and former Yugoslavian citizenship, who are facing a comparable strong pressure for return migration, remit significantly more than others. The study points to potentially interesting directions for future research: (a) deeper investigations of the extent to which the legal status of the migrant influences cross-border transfer behavior and (b) reconsidering the theoretical arguments since the motive for remittances might have changed during the ongoing globalization process.remittances, international migration, altruism

Outward FDI and Domestic Investment

This paper examines the impact of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) on domestic investment by applying co-integration techniques to macroeconomic time series data for the United Sates and Germany. We show that the two countries differ: In the case of the US, OFDI has positive long-run effects on domestic investment while in the case of Germany the reverse effect is reported.Foreign Direct Investment, Investment, Open Economy Macroeconomics

Relationship banking and SMEs: a theoretical analysis

Relationship Banking, Financial Constraints, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Accounting

Migration and Money - What Determines Remittances?: Evidence from Germany

The determinants of migrants' remittances are the subject of this study based on German SOEP data. For our analysis of the probability and amount of remittances, we do not restrict ourselves on immigrants with a foreign citizenship, but focus on all individuals with a migration background. Major findings are: first, the degree of integration into German society matters. Second, the probability to remit is not dominated by income. Third, foreigners living in Germany are not a homogenous group concerning their remittance behavior: people with Turkish and former Yugoslavian citizenship, who are facing a comparable strong pressure for return migration, remit significantly more than others. The study points to potentially interesting directions for future research: (a) deeper investigations of the extent to which the legal status of the migrant influences cross-border transfer behavior and (b) reconsidering the theoretical arguments since the motive for remittances might have changed during the ongoing globalization process..Remittances, international migration, altruism