334 research outputs found
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The coordination poblems with banks
No full textConsider a two-period situation. In the first period a consumer and a firm bargain over the price of a bond. The objective is a project which takes one period to come on stream. Both agents prefer production but the consumer is less patient than the firm. The outcome is underproduction. A condition for the intervention of a bank exists. It is shown that intermediation is unstable. The potentially stabilising role of money is discussed
Ownership effects on bank performance: A Panel study of Indian banks
No full textIn this paper, we use Panel Regression techniques to analyse the effects of ownership on bank performance in the context of an emerging economy, India. The literature points to mixed results in this context. We find that with the entire sample of public sector banks, old private sector banks and new private sector banks, ownership does not seem to have any effect on the Return On Assets but, public sector banks do seem to have higher Net Interest Margin and Operating Cost Ratio. However, when the State Bank of India and its seven associates are dropped from the sample, we find that new private sector banks start showing a higher return on assets
How close does the apple fall to the tree? Some evidence on intergenerational occupational mobility from India
No full textUsing data from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) 2005, we examine intergenerational
occupational mobility in India, an issue on which very few systematic and rigorous studies exist. We
group individuals into classes and document patterns of mobility at the rural, urban and all-India levels,
and for different caste groups. We find substantial intergenerational persistence, particularly in the case
of low-skilled and low-paying occupations, e.g. almost half the children of agricultural labourers end up
becoming agricultural labourers. We also document differences across caste groups. Overall, our
results suggest considerable inequality of opportunity in India
Having customers share the perception of quality differences: One century of debates about quality assessments on the French wine market
No full textThe wine market is a pretty paradoxical research object for the economical and marketing studies. In
France alone, every year, hundreds of thousands of new brand differentiated products are marketed.
How can so many brands survive to any rationalization process? One could think this situation to be
tied to a kind of French paradox, but the number of wine brands is also increasing in all wine
producing countries whether “old”, like Spain or “new” as US. Furthermore whereas most of the
market theories explain the existence of markets thanks to the happy meeting of a demand with a
corresponding supply, how could we explain the growth of the so called quality wine market, where it
is so difficult to find two drinkers, even to expert drinkers, agreeing about the quality of a wine,
ruining therefore the possibility of existence of any “demand”. The wine market is an interesting field
case that helps us revise some of our most widely shared hypothesis on the empirical functioning of
the markets. Which are the market procedures sustaining the happy encounter between a drinker and
a wine? Is it the wine quality? Is it it’s a good product signalisation? Are there social distinctive
processes? Is it a general opacity of the market? Is it the good adjustment to the consumers taste? In
order to disentangle this complicated question and explain how consumer-product agreements are
managed in order to perform sales and, at a larger scale, a market, this communication will draw
back the evolution of the wine market in France during the last century.
During this period, faced with repeated crisis, the wine market actors did not stand without reaction.
Next to the limitation of the production, the wine quality emerged as a major stake during all the 20th
century. In order to help its recognition, it became first labelled with origin denomination labels. But
soon, new difficulties led to reconsider the quality labels efficiency. During the period considered,
each new crisis brought in the same way critics of the old measures and new solutions. So, difficulties
after difficulties, ever larger collectives proposed and set up ever more adapted procedures for the
marketing of the wines. So the 20th century has seen the coming out of a series of procedures aimed at
facilitating the quality recognition of the wines. But step by step, the authors acknowledged as able to
define quality were changing, such as quality itself, and new market organisations appeared.
Nevertheless, far from sweeping away the old procedures, the new solutions cohabited with them
making the wine market appear today as a complex multilayered sandwich of market procedures that
fostered the development of a market of hundred of thousands of win
Progress in human development - Are we on the right path?
No full textThe conventional measure of Human Development Index (HDI) is a linear average across dimensions,
HDI1. Under this, poor attainments in any dimension gets perfectly compensated for better
attainments in any other dimension HDI2, which is based on Euclidean distance measuring shortfall
from the ideal, addresses the above anomaly. In our analysis of progress, we use HDI2 to develop the
notion of an ideal path and penalty to capture deviation from this; and a measure of fluctuation. The
measures are applied to 127 countries for the period 1990-2004. The results show that Sub-Saharan
countries have suffered on account of sharp decline in health suggesting prevalence of human
immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) epidemic. In case of
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the income dimension got jolted in the nineties indicating
their economic collapse after Soviet disintegration. We also find some of the emerging economies
progressing well along the ideal path. On the eve of the 20th anniversary of Human Development
Report, this paper is timely and would engage academia and public policy to have a critical look
favouring a balanced development across the three dimensions of HDI – health, education and
standard of living
How much should you own? Cross-ownership and privatization
No full textThis paper examines the interdependence of cross-ownership and level of privatization in case of
differentiated products mixed duopoly. It shows that it is optimal for the private firm not to own any
(own the entire) portion of the privatized share of its rival firm, if the level of privatization is very low
(very high). In equilibrium, the government makes sure that cross-ownership is not attracted. However,
in most of the situations, the possibility of cross-ownership adversely affects the prospect of
privatization. Results of this paper have strong implications to antitrust regulations and divestment
policies
Econometric approach to water use estimation in power plants
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to examine water use estimation in hydel and thermal electric power plants
in selected regions i.e. Coastal, Rayalaseema and Telangana regions of Andhra Pradesh. The study
primarily focuses on the realistic fundamental premise that thermal electric and hydro electric energy
generation is responsible for the largest monthly volume of water withdrawals in four seasons (i.e.
summer, rainy, winter and post monsoon season) of a year. These enormous water withdrawals by these
hydel and thermal power plants can have significant influence on local surface water resources.
However there are very few studies of determinants of water use in hydel and thermal electric
generation. Analysis of hydel and thermal electric water use data in the existing power plants clearly
indicates that there is wide variability in unitary hydel and thermal electric water use within the system.
The multivariate regression procedures were used to identify the significant determinants of thermal
and hydel water withdrawals in various power plants i.e. five hydel and four thermal power plants. The
estimated regression coefficients indicate that the best explanatory variables for the total quantity of
hydel water withdrawals are storage capacity, tail water level and actual generation and thermal water
withdrawals are condenser cooling and ash disposal. The unit variability of unit water usage indicates
that there is significant potential for water conservation in existing power plants. Apart from this as
water is no longer available as a free good; it calculates the real value of water in selected power plants
using Water Valuation Techniques such as Residual Value and Opportunity costs
The Future of financial liberalization in South Asia
No full textThe paper defines financial liberalization, distinguishing between liberalization of domestic financial
markets and capital account convertibility. It then examines the stages and the strategy of Indian
financial reform. The Indian strategy followed a well thought out sequence whereby full capital account
liberalization was to come after deepening domestic markets, and improving government finances. One
alone is dangerous without the others. The experience of the global crisis has validated the Indian
strategy and also shown that foreign entry has benefits but cannot resolve all issues. Deepening
domestic markets and better domestic and international regulation is a necessary prerequisite for full
convertibility. The direction of future liberalization should be such as meets Indian needs of financial
inclusion, infrastructure finance, and domestic market deepening
An Economic policy and legal analysis of the micro finance institutions (development & regulation) bill, 2011
No full textIn response to the Second Micro Finance Crisis in Andhra Pradesh, which took place in October 2010,
the Ministry of Finance has pro- posed a new Micro Finance Institutions (Development & Regulation)
Bill. This paper undertakes a detailed analysis of the draft Bill in terms of both economic policy and
law. This analysis reveals many weak links, including: a lack of clarity on the objectives of the Bill; an
insufficient focus on protection of the rights of the micro-borrower; lack of clarity about the definition of
thrift; the loss of accountability that comes with multiple regulatory agencies; concerns about the rule
of law; and constitutional issues about powers of the Centre versus the State Government
A Regulatory approach to financial product advice and distribution
No full textFinancial distribution, where the distributor is the agent of both the product provider and the customer,
has been found to inherently work against the interests of customers, in the form of high service fees and
perverse incentives in sales practices. This paper proposes segregation of financial advice from
financial distribution. It proposes a Financial Advisers Bill, 2012, to promote the development of a
market for advice. The Bill suggests that financial advisers be recognised as professionals and be
regulated under a new statutory body called the Institute of Financial Advisers of India. The paper
suggests that regulation of distributors continue to remain under the purview of product regulators. It
outlines alternative models in which the distribution market may be organised. It also points out that the
Ministry of Finance and the Financial Stability and Development Council need to play an active role in
co-ordinating the setting of common standards for distribution across all product regulators