Journal of Teaching in International Business, 1994
... Another student is the DL manager responsible for record keep-ing and for keeping track of th... more ... Another student is the DL manager responsible for record keep-ing and for keeping track of the bank's net FX balance. ... It is the FX manager's responsibility to record transactions, monitor the net deutsche mark exposure of the bank, and set bid and offer $/DM rates according to ...
... A correct forecast (ie one that predicts the true direction of exchange rate changes relative... more ... A correct forecast (ie one that predicts the true direction of exchange rate changes relative to the forward rate) may be more important than an accurate forecast in some currency hedging situations (Dufey and Mirus 1981, Bilson 1983, Levich 1983, and Kwok and Lubecke 1990 ...
ABSTRACT Recent research suggests that collectivism breeds corruption in bank lending. This findi... more ABSTRACT Recent research suggests that collectivism breeds corruption in bank lending. This finding, together with the stickiness of culture, poses a direct challenge to economic growth in collectivist societies. In this paper, we address this grim outlook by examining the types of firms that are susceptible to the detrimental effect of collectivism on lending integrity and the formal institutions that can help alleviate such effect. We find that the adverse effect of collectivism on bank corruption is more severe in small and medium-sized firms, privately owned firms, and non-exporting firms, while it is considerably weaker in countries with more effective private monitoring, a higher (lower) fraction of foreign-owned (government-owned) banks, a more competitive banking sector, better information sharing, and stronger legal and political institutions. Our findings are robust to using alternative measures of collectivism and alternative dependent variables. These results highlight how firm-level characteristics and formal institutions interact with collectivism in affecting firms’ access to bank credit.
ABSTRACT In this paper, we contrast the universalist and cultural perspectives on “good” corporat... more ABSTRACT In this paper, we contrast the universalist and cultural perspectives on “good” corporate governance practices. Using a new database from Governance Metrics International featuring highly granular measures of corporate governance practices across a large number of countries for the period 2006-2011, we find that the national cultural dimension of individualism is positively associated with accountability and transparent disclosure, and with corporate behavior standards, and that uncertainty avoidance is negatively associated with accountability and transparent disclosure, and with minority shareholder protection. We further find that within countries, there is a largely positive association between firm-level “good” corporate governance practices and firm performance; however, across countries, the association is largely negative. We conclude that national culture matters in firms’ adoption of “good” corporate governance practices, and that the effect of these “good” corporate governance practices on firm performance depends on whether firms are compared within a country or across countries.
Abstract: Listed companies in China upon meeting certain requirements can issue two types of shar... more Abstract: Listed companies in China upon meeting certain requirements can issue two types of shares: A shares and B shares. Local investors in China can only buy and sell A shares, while foreign investors can only trade B shares. We argue that foreign investors may receive ...
This paper investigates the impact of salient political and economic news on the intraday trading... more This paper investigates the impact of salient political and economic news on the intraday trading activity, namely, the stock return volatility, the stock price volatility, the number of shares traded, and the trading frequency. Using transactions data on 33 constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index in the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK), we find that political news has
This cross-disciplinary study examines the way national culture affects consumption patterns of l... more This cross-disciplinary study examines the way national culture affects consumption patterns of life insurance across countries. Life insurance is a service that is abstract, complex, and focused on unsure future benefits. Because of the uncertainty and ambiguity inherent in the life insurance product, consumers are more likely to respond according to their cultural prescriptions. Our research hypotheses are tested empirically
ABSTRACT Using a hand-collected database of 271 privatizations from 37 countries over three decad... more ABSTRACT Using a hand-collected database of 271 privatizations from 37 countries over three decades (1981-2006), we investigate the impact of collectivism on residual state ownership. We find that the continued role of the government in privatized firms is related to collectivism: collectivism, as measured by the Hofstede (2001) proxy, is positively related to residual state ownership. We find that our results are economically significant, as a one-standard deviation increase in the proxy for collectivism results in a 13% increase in residual state ownership. Our results hold when we use a cross-country average, different measures of collectivism and government control, different time periods, and out-of-sample evidence, as well as when we add possible omitted variables. Results also show that the relationship is stronger for large and strategic firms.
Journal of Teaching in International Business, 1994
... Another student is the DL manager responsible for record keep-ing and for keeping track of th... more ... Another student is the DL manager responsible for record keep-ing and for keeping track of the bank's net FX balance. ... It is the FX manager's responsibility to record transactions, monitor the net deutsche mark exposure of the bank, and set bid and offer $/DM rates according to ...
... A correct forecast (ie one that predicts the true direction of exchange rate changes relative... more ... A correct forecast (ie one that predicts the true direction of exchange rate changes relative to the forward rate) may be more important than an accurate forecast in some currency hedging situations (Dufey and Mirus 1981, Bilson 1983, Levich 1983, and Kwok and Lubecke 1990 ...
ABSTRACT Recent research suggests that collectivism breeds corruption in bank lending. This findi... more ABSTRACT Recent research suggests that collectivism breeds corruption in bank lending. This finding, together with the stickiness of culture, poses a direct challenge to economic growth in collectivist societies. In this paper, we address this grim outlook by examining the types of firms that are susceptible to the detrimental effect of collectivism on lending integrity and the formal institutions that can help alleviate such effect. We find that the adverse effect of collectivism on bank corruption is more severe in small and medium-sized firms, privately owned firms, and non-exporting firms, while it is considerably weaker in countries with more effective private monitoring, a higher (lower) fraction of foreign-owned (government-owned) banks, a more competitive banking sector, better information sharing, and stronger legal and political institutions. Our findings are robust to using alternative measures of collectivism and alternative dependent variables. These results highlight how firm-level characteristics and formal institutions interact with collectivism in affecting firms’ access to bank credit.
ABSTRACT In this paper, we contrast the universalist and cultural perspectives on “good” corporat... more ABSTRACT In this paper, we contrast the universalist and cultural perspectives on “good” corporate governance practices. Using a new database from Governance Metrics International featuring highly granular measures of corporate governance practices across a large number of countries for the period 2006-2011, we find that the national cultural dimension of individualism is positively associated with accountability and transparent disclosure, and with corporate behavior standards, and that uncertainty avoidance is negatively associated with accountability and transparent disclosure, and with minority shareholder protection. We further find that within countries, there is a largely positive association between firm-level “good” corporate governance practices and firm performance; however, across countries, the association is largely negative. We conclude that national culture matters in firms’ adoption of “good” corporate governance practices, and that the effect of these “good” corporate governance practices on firm performance depends on whether firms are compared within a country or across countries.
Abstract: Listed companies in China upon meeting certain requirements can issue two types of shar... more Abstract: Listed companies in China upon meeting certain requirements can issue two types of shares: A shares and B shares. Local investors in China can only buy and sell A shares, while foreign investors can only trade B shares. We argue that foreign investors may receive ...
This paper investigates the impact of salient political and economic news on the intraday trading... more This paper investigates the impact of salient political and economic news on the intraday trading activity, namely, the stock return volatility, the stock price volatility, the number of shares traded, and the trading frequency. Using transactions data on 33 constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index in the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK), we find that political news has
This cross-disciplinary study examines the way national culture affects consumption patterns of l... more This cross-disciplinary study examines the way national culture affects consumption patterns of life insurance across countries. Life insurance is a service that is abstract, complex, and focused on unsure future benefits. Because of the uncertainty and ambiguity inherent in the life insurance product, consumers are more likely to respond according to their cultural prescriptions. Our research hypotheses are tested empirically
ABSTRACT Using a hand-collected database of 271 privatizations from 37 countries over three decad... more ABSTRACT Using a hand-collected database of 271 privatizations from 37 countries over three decades (1981-2006), we investigate the impact of collectivism on residual state ownership. We find that the continued role of the government in privatized firms is related to collectivism: collectivism, as measured by the Hofstede (2001) proxy, is positively related to residual state ownership. We find that our results are economically significant, as a one-standard deviation increase in the proxy for collectivism results in a 13% increase in residual state ownership. Our results hold when we use a cross-country average, different measures of collectivism and government control, different time periods, and out-of-sample evidence, as well as when we add possible omitted variables. Results also show that the relationship is stronger for large and strategic firms.
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Papers by Chuck Kwok