Consolidation, Scale Economics and Technological Change in Japanese Banking

The paper examines the technological structure of the Japanese banking sector before the onset of the banking crisis and structural reforms of the 90s in order to shade light on the logic of the recent trend to consolidation in the industry. While diseconomies of scale are shown to be pervasive in the large banks, defying the rationale for consolidation, the paper presents evidence of an underlying technological progress that operates to significantly increase the industry’s efficient minimum size, generating economies at larger banks, thus justifying the ongoing trend in consolidation. The results suggest that, to the extent that consumers can benefit from lower costs of bank production, policies that promote a more concentrated banking structure might be consistent with public interest.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57258/1/wp878 .pd

Banking Fragility and Disclosure: International Evidence

Motivated by recent public policy debates on the role of market discipline in banking stability, I examine the impact of greater bank disclosure in mitigating the likelihood of systemic banking crisis. In a cross sectional study of banking systems across 49 countries in the 90s, I find that banking crises are less likely in countries with financial reporting regimes characterized by (i) comprehensive disclosure (ii) informative disclosure, (iii) timely disclosure and (iv) more stringent auditing.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40134/3/wp748.pd

Consolidation, Scale Economies and Technological Change in Japanese Banking

The paper examines the technological structure of the Japanese banking sector before the onset of the banking crisis and structural reforms of the 90s in order to shade light on the logic of the recent trend to consolidation in the industry. While diseconomies of scale are shown to be pervasive in the large banks, defying the rationale for consolidation, the paper presents evidence of an underlying technological progress that operates to significantly increase the industry’s efficient minimum size, generating economies at larger banks, thus justifying the ongoing trend in consolidation. The results suggest that, to the extent that consumers can benefit from lower costs of bank production, policies that promote a more concentrated banking structure might be consistent with public interest.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40133/3/wp747.pd

Stock Markets Liquidity, Corporate Governance and Small Firms

While the importance of equity markets as a vehicle for capital formation is well recognized, their role in providing economically valuable governance services, particularly to small and medium enterprises (SME), has not received much attention. The paper examines the role of public policy in promoting the governance role of secondary equity markets for the benefit of SMEs. The paper first outlines the mechanisms through which equity markets could promote good governance in small firms, showing that equity markets serve as a monitoring and control conduit for outsiders to enforce good governance at the firm. It then establishes that the ability of equity markets to deliver good governance is closely related to those markets’ liquidity, presenting further international evidence that firms supported by liquid equity markets realize improved economic performance. Thus, the governance services of secondary equity markets have real economic value to the firms. The paper then argues that public policy can have a positive impact on the effectiveness of equity markets in delivering governance services through enhancing market liquidity. It examines the impact on market liquidity of two significant U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulatory reforms applied to The Nasdaq Stock Market: SEC’s ‘trade reporting’ rules of 1992, and SEC’s “order handling” reforms of 1997. The paper concludes that public policies that increase market transparency and efficiency -- such as “trade reporting” requirements and better “order handling” rules -- promote the effectiveness of the secondary equity markets in delivering corporate governance through increased market liquidity.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57263/1/wp883 .pd

Banking Fragility & Disclosure: International Evidence

Motivated by recent public policy debates on the role of market discipline in banking stability, the study examines the impact of greater bank disclosure in mitigating the likelihood of systemic banking crisis. In a cross sectional study of banking systems across forty-nine countries in the nineties, it finds evidence that banking crises are less likely in countries with regulatory regimes that require extensive bank disclosure and stringent auditing.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57254/1/wp874 .pd

Financial Development and Technology

Research in development economics reveals that the bulk of cross-country differences in economic growth is attributable to differences in productivity. By some accounts, productivity contributes to more than 60 percent of countries’ growth in per capita GDP. I examine a particular channel through which financial development could explain cross-country and crossindustry differences in realized productivity. I argue that financial development induces technological innovations ñ a major stimulus of productivity - through facilitating capital mobilization and risk sharing. In a panel of industries across thirty eight countries, I find that financial development explains the cross-country differences in industry rates of technological progress, rates of real cost reduction and rates of productivity growth. I find that the effect of financial development on productivity and technological progress is heterogeneous across industrial sectors that differ in their needs for financing innovation. In particular, industries whose younger firms depend more on external finance realize faster rate of technological change in countries with more developed banking sector.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57259/1/wp879 .pd

Financial Architecture and Economic Performance: International Evidence

The paper examines the relations between the architecture of an economy's financial system - its degree of market orientation - and economic performance in the real sector. We argue that the relative effectiveness of bank-based versus market-based financial systems depends on the strength of the contractual environment and the extent of agency problems in the economy. We find that while market-based systems outperform bank-based systems among countries with developed financial sectors, bank-based systems fare better among countries with underdeveloped financial sectors. Countries dominated by small firms grow faster in bank-based systems and those dominated by larger firms in market-based systems. The findings suggest that recent trends in financial development policies that indiscriminately prescribe market-oriented financial-system-architecture to emerging and transition economies might be misguided because suitable financial architecture, in and of itself, could be a source of value.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39833/3/wp449.pd

Financial Development and Technology

Research in development economics reveals that the bulk of cross-country differences in economic growth is attributable to differences in productivity. By some accounts, productivity contributes to more than 60 percent of countries’ growth in per capita GDP. I examine a particular channel through which financial development could explain cross-country and crossindustry differences in realized productivity. I argue that financial development induces technological innovations – a major stimulus of productivity - through facilitating capital mobilization and risk sharing. In a panel of industries across thirty eight countries, I find that financial development explains the cross-country differences in industry rates of technological progress, rates of real cost reduction and rates of productivity growth. I find that the effect of financial development on productivity and technological progress is heterogeneous across industrial sectors that differ in their needs for financing innovation. In particular, industries whose younger firms depend more on external finance realize faster rate of technological change in countries with more developed banking sector.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40135/3/wp749.pd

High-frequency, resonant acousto-optic modulators fabricated in a MEMS foundry platform

We report the design and characterization of high frequency, resonant acousto-optic modulators (AOM) in a MEMS foundry process. The doubly-resonant cavity design, with short ($L{\sim}10.5\, {\mu}m$) acoustic and optical cavity lengths, allows us to measure acousto-optic modulation at GHz frequencies with high modulation efficiency. In contrast to traditional AOMs, these devices rely on the perturbation induced by the displacement of cavity boundaries, which can be significantly enhanced in a suspended geometry. This platform can serve as the building block for fast 2D spatial light modulators (SLM), low-cost integrated free space optical links and optically enhanced low-noise RF receivers.Comment: References and Figure 8 update

Financial Architecture and Economic Performance: International Evidence

The paper examines the relations between the architecture of an economy's financial system - its degree of market orientation - and economic performance in the real sector. We argue that the relative effectiveness of bank-based versus market-based financial systems depends on the strength of the contractual environment and the extent of agency problems in the economy. We find that while market-based systems outperform bank-based systems among countries with developed financial sectors, bank-based systems fare better among countries with underdeveloped financial sectors. Countries dominated by small firms grow faster in bank-based systems and those dominated by larger firms in market-based systems. The findings suggest that recent trends in financial development policies that indiscriminately prescribe market-oriented financial-system-architecture to emerging and transition economies might be misguided because suitable financial architecture, in and of itself, could be a source of value.Banking and Finance, Corporate Governance