Actuarial studies and Risk management

The negotiating power of the unions and their role in wage determination depends on the level of centralization of the wage bargaining system as well as on other institutional arrangements. In this study, we estimate a set of wage equations in order to study the employment effects of different unions' stances in wage determination as well as to investigate other characteristics of employment in Greek manufacturing. We discriminate between workers and employees (blueand white-collar workers) and between sectors in order to capture differences in the relative supply as well as differences in the negotiating power among the staff of the same industry. Empirical findings reveal that the persistence of unemployment arises as a result of the great bargaining power of the unions in negotiations at a sectoral level. White-collar workers exhibit a stronger negotiating power compared with blue-collar workers because of differences in the institutional framework.

The role of corporations in allocating resources has been of great importance in the debate about the manner in which enterprises should be governed to enhance economic growth. Corporate governance features seem to be central to the dynamics by which successful firms and economies improve their performance over time as well as relative to each other. In this paper we

Harcourt, Brace and World) implies that diffuse ownership adversely affects firm performance. This paper tries to investigate whether there is strong evidence to support the notion that variations across firms in observed ownership structures result in systematic variations in observed firm performance. We test this hypothesis by assessing the impact of the structure of ownership on corporate performance, measured by profitability, using data for 175 Greek listed firms. Following Demsetz and Villalonga (2001 Ownership Structure and Corporate Performance, Journal of Corporate Finance , 7, 209-233), we model ownership structure, first, as an endogenous variable and, second, we consider two different measures of ownership structure reflecting different groups of shareholders with conflicting interests. Empirical findings suggest that a more concentrated ownership structure positively relates to higher firm profitability. We also find that higher firm profitability requires a less diffused ownership.

Between 1996 and 2003, emerging market economies experienced major financial crises with both high frequency and severity. Since then and until the recent bout of financial turbulence, the drop off in the frequency of such crises has been marked. However, the absence of a crisis episode does not mean that there are not some potential risks looking forward. In this paper, we use the theoretical framework of international banking and the country risk calculus in an effort to study the experience of Greek banks in Southeastern Europe over the past decade. This experience is the product of two factors, that is, value at risk and the probability of a sovereign risk event. We find that lending concentration is high. Using the capital asset pricing model and implementing a two-step identification process, we detect a diversification effect of this concentration risk.

Between 1996 and 2003, emerging market economies experienced major financial crises with both high frequency and severity. Since then and until the recent bout of financial turbulence, the drop off in the frequency of such crises has been marked. However, the absence of a crisis episode does not mean that there are not some potential risks looking forward. In this paper, we use the theoretical framework of international banking and the country risk calculus in an effort to study the experience of Greek banks in Southeastern Europe over the past decade. This experience is the product of two factors, that is, value at risk and the probability of a sovereign risk event. We find that lending concentration is high. Using the capital asset pricing model and implementing a two-step identification process, we detect a diversification effect of this concentration risk.

This study outlines how investment activity evolved in Greece over the last decade and explores its momentum before and after the COVID-19 pandemic era. We concluded that the L-geometry of the 2009-2016 recession has been determined to a great extent by the fact that fresh investment was lower than capital depreciation for a long period after the initial shock. Although investment spending has shown signs of recovery, its further expansion is not expected before 2021 due to the new economic crisis induced by the pandemic. However, although it is anticipated to push the Greek economy into a deep recession in 2020, the new crisis is vastly different from that of 2009 in both shape and duration, and thus it is not anticipated to have long-lasting effects. Exploring its driving forces in Greece, we find that investment activity is inseparably related to economic growth. To examine the relationship between private investment growth and its main drivers, we employ a time-series estimation...

Over the last two years, the Greek residential property market has clearly re-entered an upwards course. The recovery dynamics in house prices accelerated further in the first nine months of 2019, with house prices rising by 7.4% y-o-y, creating equity gains for post-crisis investors and offsetting a small part of the excessive losses incurred during the previous decade. A breakdown of the index by region reveals that house prices in Athens lead the way in the current recovery, increasing by 10.3% y-o-y in the first nine months of 2019, on the back of the rapid expansion of the short-term rental market through the home-sharing economy and the Golden Visa programme. Furthermore, residential investment embarked on an upward trend for the first time in 2018 after almost a decade of consecutive declines, along with the remarkable increase of net capital inflows from abroad for property purchases in Greece.<br><br>A better understanding of the current market recovery path and...

This paper attempts to investigate the long-run and short-run relationships between Turkish exports, exchange rate volatility, foreign income, and relative prices by employing quarterly data for the period 1993Q3-2009Q4. Towards this purpose, multivariate cointegration and error correction model (ECM) techniques are used in this study. The long-run estimation results suggest that foreign income and real exchange rate volatility exert positive and statistically significant impacts on Turkish exports, while relative prices affect Turkish exports negatively and significantly. In addition, the results of the ECM model indicate that relative prices have a negative and significant effect, foreign income has an insignificant effect, and nominal exchange rate volatility has a positive and significant effect on Turkish exports.

The past 10-15 years have witnessed a great influx of foreign banks in South Eastern European countries. The rise of foreign ownership and control was dramatic. The questions about foreign bank entry in emerging market economies are still being debated. This paper analyses the development of the banking sector during the transition process in South Eastern Europe. We particularly focus on the position of foreign-owned banks, as it turns out that they play an important role in the development of the financial system of these countries. We are interested in addressing concerns regarding the benefits that would bring and/or the costs that would pose. To this end, we use a balance-sheet indicator based analysis to evaluate the financial conditions and performance advantages of foreign banks compared to domestic competitors. In particular, we are interested in analyzing the background and key characteristics of foreign-owned banks compared to the domestic banks. Moreover, by using panel ...

Constructing a financial stress index, we examine the relationship between financial stability and real estate price fluctuation in Greece, whose experience during the last two decades makes it an ideal laboratory. Employing a VAR and a Bayesian VAR model, we demonstrate the ability of this measure to explain the phases of the housing market (in terms of both residential prices and investment). We find that an adverse shock in financial stability has prolonged adverse effects in the Greek real estate market. Our findings also suggest that residential prices are more sensitive to changes in financial stress conditions than residential investment.

The Berle-Means thesis (1932) implies that diffuse ownership adversely affects firm performance. This paper tries to investigate whether there is strong evidence to support the notion that variations across firms in observed ownership structures result in systematic variations in observed firm performance. We test this hypothesis by assessing the impact of the structure of ownership on corporate performance, measured by profitability, using data for 175 Greek listed firms. Following Demsetz and Villalonga (2001) we model ownership structure, first, as an endogenous variable and, second, we consider two different measures of ownership structure reflecting different groups of shareholders with conflicting interests. Empirical findings suggest that a more concentrated ownership structure positively relates to higher firm profitability. We also find that higher firm profitability requires a less diffused ownership.

The role of corporations in allocating resources has been of great importance in the debate about the manner in which enterprises should be governed to enhance economic growth. Corporate governance features seem to be central to the dynamics by which successful firms and economies improve their performance over time as well as relative to each other. In this paper we try to clarify the relationship between corporate ownership structure and output growth by using the data of La Porta et al. (1999) on ownership structure of large-and medium-sized corporations in 27 wealthy economies. To search for empirical linkages, we use crosscountry growth regressions. The evidence provided in the paper suggests that an environment with a higher percentage of directly and indirectly widely-held companies and a lower degree of state than private ownership is associated with a higher growth rate of per capita income. We also conclude that a higher degree of institutional investment does not seem to enhance the growth performance of an economy.

The initial impetus for undertaking this research study is to examine the evolution of housing affordability in Greece. To this end, we analyze on the one hand the dynamic interaction between demand and supply, which determines the value of houses, and on the other hand the impact of disposable income on the ability to pay rent or service a housing loan. On top of the above, our analysis is further supplemented with the results of a novel survey, which maps the housing needs of the Greek population, as well as current housing affordability concerns. This entails the examination of the ways in which demographic, social and geographical factors influence the housing priorities of new households. Additionally, we investigate the impact of the late emancipation from the parental home, the growth of the sharing economy and the expansion of remote work on the housing market. The Housing Affordability Survey presents the current situation and perceptions of housing tenure, explores respondents' views on housing affordability, illustrates housing choices such as the demand for buying or renting and financing, and examines respondents' expectations of future house price and rent trends.