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作者：Claessens, S; Laeven, L
作者单位：The World Bank
摘要：The relationships among competition in the financial sector, access of firms to external financing, and associated economic growth are ambiguous in theory. Moreover, measuring competition in the financial sector can be complex. In this paper we first estimate for 16 countries an industrial organization-based measure of banking system competition. We then relate this competition measure to growth of industries and find that greater competition in Countries' banking systems allows financially de...
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作者：Ichino, A; Riphahn, RT
作者单位：University of Basel
摘要：Employment protection systems are widely believed to generate distortions in firms' hiring and firing decisions. However, much less is known about the impact of these regulations on workers' behavior. In this paper we provide evidence on the latter question using data from a large Italian bank. Our analysis is based on weekly observations for 545 men and 313 females hired as white-collar workers between January 1993 and February 1995. These workers begin to be protected against firing only aft...
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作者：Kaboski, JP; Townsend, RM
作者单位：University System of Ohio; Ohio State University; University of Chicago
摘要：This paper uses variation in policies and institutional characteristics to evaluate the impacts of village-level rnicrofinance institutions in rural Thailand. To identify impacts, we use policies related to the successful/unsuccessful provision of services as exogenous variation in effective financial intermediation. We find that institutions, particularly those with good policies, can promote asset growth, consumption smoothing and occupational mobility, and can decrease moneylender reliance....
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作者：Edlund, L; Pande, R; Haider, L
作者单位：Columbia University; Yale University
摘要：Political survey data for nine West European countries show that women have become increasingly left-wing compared to men, and that this trend is positively correlated with the rise of nonmarriage in these countries. This pattern is mirrored in German longitudinal data (GSOEP), where transitions out of marriage make women, but not men, significantly more left-leaning. Analysis of public spending data for high-income OECD countries (1980-1998) suggests that the political impact of nonmarriage e...
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作者：Alessie, R; Weber, G; Hochguertel, S
作者单位：Utrecht University; Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; University of Padua; University of Padua
摘要：In this paper we analyse unique data on credit applications received by the leading provider of consumer credit in Italy (Findomestic). The data set covers a five-year period (1995-1999) during which the consumer credit market rapidly expanded in Italy and a new law (the usury law) came into force that set a limit on interest rates charged to consumers. We compute behavioural changes by controlling for changes in the observable characteristics of the Findomestic clientele and argue that, under...
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作者：Francois, P; Zabojnik, J
作者单位：University of British Columbia; Tilburg University; University of Southern California
摘要：Many argue that elements of a society's norms, culture, or social capital are central to under-standings its development. However, these notions have been difficult to capture in economic models. Here we explore a possible role for trustworthiness as corresponding to social capital. Individuals are trustworthy when they perform in accordance with promises, even if this does not maximise their payoffs. The usual focus on incentive structures in motivating behaviour plays no role here. Instead, ...
