Narrow Your Choices

Refine By Countries

Refine By Series

Refine By Language

Refine By Date

—

Refine By IMF Taxonomy

Refine By JEL Taxonomy

Refine by LOC Taxonomy

Refine By THEMA Taxonomy

  • Print
  • Save

Business and Economics > Investments: Stocks

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 33 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
Clear All Modify Search
Cover IMF Working Papers
Mitigating Climate Change at the Firm Level: Mind the Laggards
Damien Capelle
,
Divya Kirti
,
Nicola Pierri
, and
German Villegas Bauer
Using self-reported data on emissions for a global sample of 4,000 large, listed firms, we document large heterogeneity in environmental performance within the same industry and country. Laggards—firms with high emissions relative to the scale of their operations—are larger, operate older physical capital stocks, are less knowledge intensive and productive, and adopt worse management practices. To rationalize these findings, we build a novel general equilibrium heterogeneous-firm model in which firms choose capital vintages and R&D expenditure and hence emissions. The model matches the full empirical distribution of firm-level heterogeneity among other moments. Our counter-factual analysis shows that this heterogeneity matters for assessing the macroeconomic costs of mitigation policies, the channels through which policies act, and their distributional effects. We also quantify the gains from technology transfers to EMDEs.
Keywords:
Climate Change; Productivity; Technology Adoption; Capital Vintages; Emissions; R&D expenditure; capital vintage; management practice; emission intensity; emission Intensity; Carbon tax; Greenhouse gas emissions; Consumption; Stocks; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Measurement and Use of Cash by Half the World’s Population
Mr. Tanai Khiaonarong
and
David Humphrey
The use of cash for payments is not well measured. We view the value of cash withdrawn from ATMs, or as a share of all payments, as a more accurate and timely measure of cash use compared to the standard measure of currency in circulation, or as a ratio to GDP. These two measures are compared for 14 advanced and emerging market economies. When aggregated, the trend in cash use for payments is currently falling for half the world’s population. Such a measure can help inform policy decisions regarding CBDC and regulatory decisions concerning access to and use of cash.
Keywords:
Cash; payments; access to cash; central bank digital currency; cash use; ATM cash; aggregate Currency value; value of cash; use of cash; Currencies; Monetary base; Purchasing power parity; Stocks; Payment systems
Cover IMF Working Papers
Capital Flow Data – A Guide for Empirical Analysis and Real-time Tracking
Mr. Robin Koepke
and
Simon Paetzold
This paper provides an analytical overview of the most widely used capital flow datasets. The paper is written as a guide for academics who embark on empirical research projects and for policymakers who need timely information on capital flow developments to inform their decisions. We address common misconceptions about capital flow data and discuss differences between high-frequency proxies for portfolio flows. In a nowcasting “horse race” we show that high-frequency proxies have significant predictive content for portfolio flows from the balance of payments (BoP). We also construct a new dataset for academic use, consisting of monthly portfolio flows broadly consistent with BoP data.
Keywords:
WP; flow data; portfolio flow; debt flow; flow proxy; IMF balance of payments statistic; portfolio flows; fund flows; balance of payments; coincident indicators; IIF data; IMF balance of payments data; Capital flows; Stocks; Balance of payments statistics; Flow of funds; Emerging and frontier financial markets; Africa; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Bank Capital and the Cost of Equity
Mohamed Belkhir
,
Samy Ben Naceur
,
Mr. Ralph Chami
, and
Anis Semet
Using a sample of publicly listed banks from 62 countries over the 1991-2017 period, we investigate the impact of capital on banks’ cost of equity. Consistent with the theoretical prediction that more equity in the capital mix leads to a fall in firms’ costs of equity, we find that better capitalized banks enjoy lower equity costs. Our baseline estimations indicate that a 1 percentage point increase in a bank’s equity-to-assets ratio lowers its cost of equity by about 18 basis points. Our results also suggest that the form of capital that investors value the most is sheer equity capital; other forms of capital, such as Tier 2 regulatory capital, are less (or not at all) valued by investors. Additionally, our main finding that capital has a negative effect on banks’ cost of equity holds in both developed and developing countries. The results of this paper provide the missing evidence in the debate on the effects of higher capital requirements on banks’ funding costs.
Keywords:
WP; bank capital; capital requirement; financial risk; capital measure; Cost of equity; Banking regulation; Financial stability; return on equity; bank capitalization; bank cost; capitalized bank; bank capital measure; funding cost; financial leverage decrease; risk profile; Stocks; Capital adequacy requirements; Stock markets; Return on investment; Loan loss provisions; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Portfolio Inflows Eclipsing Banking Inflows: Alternative Facts?
Mr. Eugenio M Cerutti
and
Mr. Gee Hee Hong
Superficial examination of aggregate gross cross-border capital inflow data suggests that there was no substitution between portfolio inflows and bank loans in recent years. However, our novel analysis of disaggregate inflows (both by types of instrument and borrower) shows interesting heterogeneity. There has been substitution of bank loans for portfolio debt securities not only in the case of corporate and sovereign borrowers in advanced countries, but also sovereign borrowers in emerging countries. In the case of corporate borrowers in emerging markets, the relationship corresponds to complementarity across types of gross capital inflows, especially during periods of positive capital gross inflows after the global financial crisis. A large part of these patterns does not seem to be driven by a common phenomenon across countries associated with the global financial cycle, but rather by country-specific factors.
Keywords:
WP; capital flows; portfolio inflows; bank inflows; global financial cycle; portfolio debt; loan inflow; AE corporate; borrower type; investment loan; factor loading; debt inflow; debt optimization operation; Loans; Capital inflows; Securities; Stocks; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Financial Frictions, Underinvestment, and Investment Composition: Evidence from Indian Corporates
Miss Sonali Das
and
Mr. Volodymyr Tulin
This paper studies private investment in India against the backdrop of a significant investment decline over the past decade. We analyze the potential causes of weaker investment at the firm level, using both firm-level financial statements and a novel dataset on firms’ investment project decisions, and find that financial frictions have played a role in the slowdown. Firms with higher financial leverage invest less, as do firms with lower earnings relative to their interest expenses. Consistent with the notion of credit constraints leading to pro-cyclical investment, we also find that firms with higher leverage are (i) less likely to undertake new investment projects, (ii) less likely to complete investment projects once begun, and (iii) undertake shorter-term investment projects.
Keywords:
WP; firm; investment; investment rate; financial leverage; Corporate Leverage; India; investment project; Project length; firm investment; investment expenditure; investment decision; investment slowdown; Stocks; Exports; Capital adequacy requirements; Financial frictions; Private investment; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Push Factors and Capital Flows to Emerging Markets: Why Knowing Your Lender Matters More Than Fundamentals
Mr. Eugenio M Cerutti
,
Mr. Stijn Claessens
, and
Mr. Damien Puy
This paper analyzes the behavior of gross capital inflows across 34 emerging markets (EMs). We first confirm that aggregate inflows to EMs co-move considerably. We then report three findings: (i) the aggregate co-movement conceals significant heterogeneity across asset types as only bank-related and portfolio bond and equity inflows do co-move; (ii) while global push factors in advanced economies mostly explain the common dynamics, their relative importance varies by type of flow; and (iii) the sensitivity to common dynamics varies significantly across borrower countries, with market structure characteristics (especially the composition of the foreign investor base and the level of liquidity) rather than borrower country’s institutional fundamentals strongly affecting sensitivities. Countries relying more on international funds and global banks are found to be more sensitive to push factors. Our findings suggest that EMs need to closely monitor their lenders and investors to assess their inflow exposures to global push factors.
Keywords:
WP; equity; equity flow; portfolio equity; Push factors; capital flows; emerging markets; mutual funds; global banks; bond flow; MSCI emerging market index; market characteristic; investor base; inflows to EMs; equity inflow; Bonds; Stocks; Stock markets; Capital inflows; Global; Europe; Africa; Asia and Pacific
Cover Policy Papers
Improving Public Investment Efficiency in the G-20
International Monetary Fund
Through the provision of both social and economic infrastructure, public investment can serve as an important catalyst for economic growth. A significant body of theoretical and empirical research underscores the positive relationship between investment in high-quality public infrastructure and economy-wide productivity.1 Against the background of a steady decline in public investment as a share of GDP in advanced economies, evidence of infrastructure bottlenecks in emerging economies, and the sluggish global economic recovery, the G-20 has called for ramping up public investment to raise long-run economic growth (G-20, 2014).2 However, the economic and social impact of public investment crucially depends on its efficiency. Despite anecdotal evidence of projects plagued by time delays, cost overruns, and inadequate maintenance, there are few robust empirical studies of the determinants of public investment efficiency. This paper explores the link between public investment management (PIM) institutions and the efficiency of public investment for the G-20 countries. Based on the analysis from a recent IMF study, the paper finds that better PIM enhances public infrastructure quality, and pinpoints key institutional reforms needs to boost public investment efficiency (IMF 2015). These findings and recommendations are based on a comprehensive data set on investment, infrastructure and capital stocks, and two analytical innovations: (i) a new cross-country Public Investment Efficiency Index (PIE-X); and (ii) a new Public Investment Management Assessment (PIMA) which is applied to G-20 countries.
Keywords:
PP; G20 industrial nations; country; evaluation; government; efficiency gap; efficiency frontier; stop-go investment policy; management cycle; GG investment growth; performance measure; selected G-20 economy; measures in the G-20; quite a few emerging G-20 country; management practice; PPP capital stock in G-20 economy; Public investment spending; Public investment and public-private partnerships (PPP); Infrastructure; Public Investment Management Assessment (PIMA); Stocks; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Asia’s Stock Markets: Are There Crouching Tigers and Hidden Dragons?
Mr. Fabian Lipinsky
and
Ms. Li L Ong
Stock markets play a key role in corporate financing in Asia. However, despite their increasing importance in terms of size and cross-border investment activity, the region’s markets are reputed to be more “idiosyncratic” and less reliant on economic and corporate fundamentals in their pricing. Using a model that draws on international asset pricing and economic theory, as well as accounting literature, we find evidence of greater idiosyncratic influences in the pricing of Asia’s stock markets, compared to their G-7 counterparts, beyond the identified systematic factors and local fundamentals. We also show proof of a significant relationship between the strength of implementation of securities regulations and the “noise” in stock pricing, which suggests that improvements in the regulation of securities markets in Asia could enhance the role of stock markets as stable and reliable sources of financing into the future.
Keywords:
WP; IOSCO; business cycle; arbitrage pricing theory; Asian financial crisis; fundamentals; global financial crisis; idiosyncratic factors; integration; securities regulation; stock market; stock pricing; term structure of interest rates; Tokyo SE group; stock market return; Shenzhen SE; London SE group; market liquidity; stock market volatility; Asia's stock markets; Shanghai SE; Indonesia SE; Osaka SE; stock market capitalization; Santiago SE; Stock markets; Asset prices; Securities markets; Stocks; Asia and Pacific; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Do Inflows or Outflows Dominate? Global Implications of Capital Account Liberalization in China
Mr. Tamim Bayoumi
and
Ms. Franziska L Ohnsorge
This paper assesses the implications of Chinese capital account liberalization for capital flows. Stylized facts from capital account liberalization in advanced and large emerging market economies illustrate that capital account liberalization has historically generated large gross capital in- and outflows, but the direction of net flows has depended on many factors. An econometric portfolio allocation model finds that capital controls significantly dampen cross-border portfolio asset holdings. The model also suggests that capital account liberalization in China may trigger net portfolio outflows as large domestic savings seek to diversify abroad.
Keywords:
WP; bond yield; foreign currency; sovereign bond; Capital account liberalization; portfolio flows; capital flows; financial development; portfolio assets; capital account; portfolio investment outflow; FDI liberalization; outflow restriction; average equity; inflow restriction; portfolio investment flow; portfolio investment inflow; market portfolio; investment outflow; Stock markets; Capital account; Bonds; Stocks; Global