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Book part
Publication date: 30 October 2020

Pierre de Saint-Phalle

In 1767, did Sir James Steuart predict the political and financial crises that started the French Revolution? Étienne de Sénovert, the editor and translator of Steuart’s work…

Abstract

In 1767, did Sir James Steuart predict the political and financial crises that started the French Revolution? Étienne de Sénovert, the editor and translator of Steuart’s work, seems to argue to this effect in the introduction to the first French edition of An Inquiry into the Principles of Political Economy in 1789. The visionary “prediction” set forth by Steuart was the following: if the king of France had introduced public credit, this would have changed the political balance in French political society, making it very unstable. The English and the French governments used different ways of borrowing money in 1760: the French king contracted debts with a network of financiers close to the government, while the English government borrowed on the credit markets through the intermediary of the Bank of England. The second of these methods constitutes public credit and has proved its efficiency. According to Steuart, implementing the English public credit system in France could have dangerous consequences. Landed interests and moneyed interests would compete for the control of the State. The author realized that the French nobility, the landowners, as a social and economic group would have no chance in facing such a powerful rival (the public creditors). In this chapter, the author analyzes Steuart’s “prediction” as a coherent part of his systematic and original approach to political economy. Steuart’s theories about the role of political economy and the role of “interest” are connected to his understanding of institutions. Introducing such a complex support for the value as public credit might have different consequences in France and England. Steuart thinks each country’s economy should be analyzed according to its own institutional and social context.

Steuart’s work was still relevant in 1789 for two reasons. Firstly, the author’s prediction of political antagonism between capitalists and nobility anticipated the political conflict about debt expressed by pamphleteers such as Sieyès, Mirabeau, and Clavière between 1787 and 1789. This is the context of Étienne de Sénovert’s claim: the political narrative built by the revolutionaries of 1789 (rescuing the “sacred” public debt from royal despotism) fitted Steuart’s prediction. This may have been the incentive for the translation and publication of his work in 1789 and 1790. Secondly, Steuart’s financial and monetary theory was at the heart of the project of financial reform that would lead to the assignats. Steuart’s (1767) theory of public finance and state power in 1789 provides a key to the understanding the events of the time, and to how actors tried to make sense of them. Steuart made another crucial observation about the deep effect of what he called “the modern economy” upon the power of the governments of Europe: even an absolute monarch could not damage public credit without destroying his own sovereignty.

Details

Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology: Including a Symposium on Sir James Steuart: The Political Economy of Money and Trade
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-707-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 February 2018

Simplice Asongu and Jacinta Nwachukwu

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how bank size affects the role of information asymmetry on financial access in a panel of 162 banks in 39 African countries for the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how bank size affects the role of information asymmetry on financial access in a panel of 162 banks in 39 African countries for the period 2001-2011.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical evidence is based on instrumental variable fixed effects regressions with overlapping and non-overlapping bank size thresholds to control for the quiet life hypothesis (QLH). The QLH postulates that managers of large banks will use their privileges for private gains at the expense of making financial services more accessible to the general public. Financial access is measured with loan price and loan quantity whereas information asymmetry is implicit in the activities of public credit registries and private credit bureaus.

Findings

The findings with non-overlapping thresholds are broadly consistent with those that are conditional on overlapping thresholds. First, public credit registries have a decreasing effect on the price of loans with the magnitude of reduction comparable across all bank size thresholds. Second, both public credit registries and private credit bureaus enhance the quantity of loans. Third, compared with public credit registries, private credit bureaus have a greater influence in increasing financial access because they have a significantly higher favorable effect on the quantity and price of loans Fourth, the QLH is not apparent because large banks are not associated with lower levels of financial access compared to small banks.

Originality/value

Studies of public credit registries and private credit bureaus in Africa are sparse. This is one of the few to assess linkages between bank size, information asymmetry and financial access.

Details

International Journal of Managerial Finance, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1743-9132

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 June 2020

Aron Gottesman and Iuliana Ismailescu

This paper aims to investigate the relation between the creditworthiness of US institutions of higher education and their student selectivity (i.e. demand and quality).

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the relation between the creditworthiness of US institutions of higher education and their student selectivity (i.e. demand and quality).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors study whether the impact of student selectivity differs across public vs private universities; across the credit quality of the given public university’s state; and across the level of state appropriations for the given public university.

Findings

The authors find that student quality and demand measures are significantly associated with their corresponding institution’s creditworthiness, especially for private universities.

Originality/value

For public universities the association is weak and, contrary to the expectations, does not depend on the state credit quality or level of state funding. The findings are robust to the inclusion of control variables.

Details

Journal of Financial Economic Policy, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-6385

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1997

Anghel N. Rugina

The equation of unified knowledge says that S = f (A,P) which means that the practical solution to a given problem is a function of the existing, empirical, actual realities and…

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Abstract

The equation of unified knowledge says that S = f (A,P) which means that the practical solution to a given problem is a function of the existing, empirical, actual realities and the future, potential, best possible conditions of general stable equilibrium which both pure and practical reason, exhaustive in the Kantian sense, show as being within the realm of potential realities beyond any doubt. The first classical revolution in economic thinking, included in factor “P” of the equation, conceived the economic and financial problems in terms of a model of ideal conditions of stable equilibrium but neglected the full consideration of the existing, actual conditions. That is the main reason why, in the end, it failed. The second modern revolution, included in factor “A” of the equation, conceived the economic and financial problems in terms of the existing, actual conditions, usually in disequilibrium or unstable equilibrium (in case of stagnation) and neglected the sense of right direction expressed in factor “P” or the realization of general, stable equilibrium. That is the main reason why the modern revolution failed in the past and is failing in front of our eyes in the present. The equation of unified knowledge, perceived as a sui generis synthesis between classical and modern thinking has been applied rigorously and systematically in writing the enclosed American‐British economic, monetary, financial and social stabilization plans. In the final analysis, a new economic philosophy, based on a synthesis between classical and modern thinking, called here the new economics of unified knowledge, is applied to solve the malaise of the twentieth century which resulted from a confusion between thinking in terms of stable equilibrium on the one hand and disequilibrium or unstable equilibrium on the other.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 24 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 October 2021

Mara Mataveli, Juan Carlos Ayala and Alfonso J. Gil

Banks play a crucial role in the sustainable development of exports as they finance much of the trade. Additionally, in Brazil's case, banks provide exporting companies with…

Abstract

Purpose

Banks play a crucial role in the sustainable development of exports as they finance much of the trade. Additionally, in Brazil's case, banks provide exporting companies with advisory and training services, which facilitate the internationalization process. This work aims to analyze the role of public and private banks in the export process of companies in Brazil.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews are conducted with a sample of 318 Brazilian exporting companies. Two research questions are posed: What type of export services do companies use from public and private banks in Brazil? Is exporting companies' access to credit, as a type of banking service, related to their size or export experience? A descriptive study of the functions of public and private banks in helping Brazilian exports is presented. Hypotheses are proposed regarding companies' access to credit and its relationship with their size and export experience.

Findings

It is found that public and private banks in Brazil provide exporting companies with banking services, other services related to technical aspects, and export consulting. There are significant differences in access to credit in both public and private banks, depending on the exporting company's size.

Originality/value

This work contributes to the internationalization literature on the role of banks in supporting exports in an emerging country like Brazil.

Details

European Journal of Management Studies, vol. 26 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2183-4172

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 19 February 2020

Richard Sturn

This chapter discusses the evolution of German views on public debt 1850–1920, referring to three strands of secondary literature: (1) German retrospectives on public finance, (2…

Abstract

This chapter discusses the evolution of German views on public debt 1850–1920, referring to three strands of secondary literature: (1) German retrospectives on public finance, (2) the historical literature with a public choice perspective, and (3) contributions to public/constitutional law, mainly referring to Lorenz von Stein. The skeptic view of public debt endorsed by authors of the second half of the period is shown to be related to politico-economic issues of state agency combined with new state functions, rather than to the rejection of Dietzel’s Proto-Keynesian macroeconomic reasoning.

Details

Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology: Including a Symposium on Public Finance in the History of Economic Thought
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-699-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 19 February 2020

Javier San Julián Arrupe

Since the early modern age, the debt of the State was a constant source for concern to the Spanish governments. Episodes of defaults caused by enormous expenditure to keep the…

Abstract

Since the early modern age, the debt of the State was a constant source for concern to the Spanish governments. Episodes of defaults caused by enormous expenditure to keep the Empire slowly faded out until a certain reorganization of public finance was attained in the central decades of the nineteenth century. The core idea that finance ministers and economists, in general, had at that time was to balance the public budget controlling expenses, in order to handle the problem of public debt. However, alternative views on government finance existed. Focusing on a crucial period for the consolidation of Spanish liberal regime and its public finance, this chapter shows that, among a predominant concern for reducing public expenditure as the best way to stabilize the economy and promote economic growth, the character of Luis María Pastor emerges to support government expansionary policies financed with credit. Far from fearing deficit, Pastor, one of the leaders of the Spanish liberal school of economic thought, believed that investment in infrastructures financed through debt was the key to economic growth. Through a multiplicative effect, a program of public investment would enhance economic growth, eventually solving the long-term insufficiency of Spanish finance. This gives evidence that ideas on public finance of classical liberal economists were far from uniform, contributing to a more precise view on the body of doctrines of this school.

Details

Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology: Including a Symposium on Public Finance in the History of Economic Thought
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-699-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 October 2020

Yutaka Furuya

It is deservedly recognized that James Steuart advanced a monetary theory in which paper money played an important role. The successful establishment of Scottish banknote…

Abstract

It is deservedly recognized that James Steuart advanced a monetary theory in which paper money played an important role. The successful establishment of Scottish banknote circulation and theoretical influences from his fellow countrymen such as John Law can be pointed out as backgrounds for his monetary theory. Little attention has been given however to the point that Steuart deduced theory on banks and banknotes quite differently from his predecessors. It is of great significance that Steuart’s theory on banks and banknotes in his first draft of The Principles of Political Oeconomy was, in the following years, drastically expanded and reconstructed. The theory in his first draft written in 1764 was based on the opinion that banknotes should be issued only on landed securities, in consideration of ideas from the Scottish banking system. He then expanded the theory into a dynamic three-stage banking theory where he concluded that as economies and credit grew, banks should issue notes not only on the basis of landed securities but also by discounting bills and giving public credit. By this expansion, banknotes gained a broad and central role in his monetary theory, and the expansion gave his monetary theory more ingenious evolutionary aspects.

Details

Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology: Including a Symposium on Sir James Steuart: The Political Economy of Money and Trade
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-707-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 May 2017

Todd Hubbs and Todd Kuethe

Agricultural producers rely on debt capital to support many functions of their enterprise, yet private credit markets are frequently characterized by an imbalance between supply…

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Abstract

Purpose

Agricultural producers rely on debt capital to support many functions of their enterprise, yet private credit markets are frequently characterized by an imbalance between supply and demand. As a result, a number of public lending programs exist to mitigate the perceived market failures of private credit markets that serve agricultural producers. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a structural disequilibrium model to examine the potential for excess demand or supply in the private market for non-real estate farm loans between 1978 and 2014.

Findings

The model demonstrates that the market is frequently characterized by disequilibrium, fluctuating between periods of excess demand and excess supply. These disequilibrium periods motivate the discussion of public intervention as a policy proposal within the agricultural sector.

Originality/value

This study uses traditional disequilibrium modeling to evaluate the private credit market for agriculture lending in a manner that has not been attempted previously in the literature. The model uses maximum likelihood methods with non-linear solution algorithms to investigate excess supply and demand in the sector.

Details

Agricultural Finance Review, vol. 77 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-1466

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 May 2018

Qiang Li, Liwen Chen and Yong Zeng

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mechanism how the platform obtains and uses undisclosed information to determine individual borrowers’ credit score and to examine…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mechanism how the platform obtains and uses undisclosed information to determine individual borrowers’ credit score and to examine the effectiveness of credit scoring in predicting default. The motivation stems from the fact that there is little evidence about the role of P2P platform, which has been positioned as a kind of information intermediary.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of 5,176 unsecured P2P loans having expired before December 31, 2015 on Renrendai.com and an approach of two-stage regression, the paper first estimates the undisclosed information embedded in credit score by regressing credit score on four types of public information about a borrower’s creditworthiness. Then, the authors use a Logit regression to examine the role of the excess information in predicting the default probability.

Findings

The certification information provided by the platform is the most important determinant for a borrower’s credit score and the undisclosed information embedded in credit score can predict the loan performance better than the public information of posted listings. Moreover, the predictive ability of the undisclosed information is better for high-risk borrowers than for low-risk ones.

Research limitations/implications

Providing a credit score for each individual is a way for P2P platforms to play an information intermediary role. More evidence about whether or how a platform plays its role are worthy to be exploited by investigating a platform’s operating policies in detail and doing cross-platform comparative studies.

Practical implications

The results about the effect of various types of information on loan performance can provide an insightful guidance for P2P platforms to optimize their mechanism on information disclosure and credit scoring.

Originality/value

The existing literature mainly focuses on the effects of information voluntarily disclosed by borrowers and the behaviors of investors on P2P lending outcomes. The paper highlights the information intermediary role played by the platform and presents empirical evidence that credit scoring for individual borrowers is a way for P2P platforms to promote the direct lending for individual.

Details

China Finance Review International, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-1398

Keywords

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