Emanuele Teti, Alberto Dell’Acqua, Leonardo Etro and Francesca Resmini
This paper aims to investigate the extent to which corporate governance (CG) systems adopted by Latin American listed firms affect their cost of equity capital. Several studies on…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the extent to which corporate governance (CG) systems adopted by Latin American listed firms affect their cost of equity capital. Several studies on the link between the two aforementioned dimensions have been carried out, but none in the context of Latin American firms.
Design/methodology/approach
A CG index is created by taking into account the peculiarities of each country and the recommendations given by the corresponding CG institutes. In particular, to assess the level of CG quality, three sub-indexes have been identified: “Disclosure”, “Board of Directors” and “Shareholder Rights, Ownership and Control Structure”.
Findings
The results indicate a negative relationship between CG quality and the cost of equity. In particular, the “Disclosure” component is the one mostly affecting the cost of equity.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the literature by adding knowledge on the relationship between CG and cost of capital considering, for the first time, the overall Latin American market.
Practical implications
The paper proves that institutional investors all over the world are disposed to pay a premium to invest in firms with effective CG standards; moreover, this premium is higher in emerging countries such as those analyzed in this paper, rather than in developed countries.
Originality/value
To the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper empirically investigating the relationship between CG and cost of capital in Latin America.
Details
Keywords
Minh Tam Thi Bui and Arayah Preechametta
The purpose of this paper is to examine effects of regional economic integration on the concentration of manufacturing firms in provinces of Thailand on the border with Cambodia…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine effects of regional economic integration on the concentration of manufacturing firms in provinces of Thailand on the border with Cambodia. It aims to clarify the interactions between dispersion and agglomeration forces within a firm’s location choice in the presence of economic integration and thereby to explain the feasibility of the border SEZs.
Design/methodology/approach
The theory of industrial clustering and New Economic Geography provides a theoretical framework to understand the locations of economic activities when regional economies are integrated. This paper employs provincial level data to calculate industry location quotients across a 10-year period from 2007 to 2017 in central Thailand and uses firm-level data from industrial censuses in 2006 and 2011 to estimate logit models for two border provinces with Cambodia and three eastern seaboard provinces. Two base models and extended models are tested to explain the persistent agglomeration of Thai firms in each manufacturing industry.
Findings
The authors found a positive correlation between the agglomeration level in 2006 and the choice of firms toward the border provinces in 2011. The disaggregated analysis shows that depending on the initial level of concentration in each industry, there can be agglomeration or dispersion effects. The advantage of low trade costs and labor costs of unskilled migrant workers are not significant factors attracting firms to the border. Firms in industries with increasing returns are more likely to stay in the hub.
Practical implications
The disaggregated analysis by industry provides very important implications for SEZ policy interventions. The important role of agglomeration economies limits the extent to which such policies can be successful. It would be an enormous challenge for policy makers to initiate forces which are strong enough to induce firms to relocate away from areas with high agglomerations. Policy interventions with attractive incentives should be very selective to industries already have a certain degree of concentration in the provinces so as to reinforce the agglomeration effects.
Originality/value
The research extends the empirical literature on SEZs by offering a unique case study of an emerging economy with a strong market foundation rather than a transitional or developed economy. It is also different from other research on SEZs when taking into account the effects of regional integration on border SEZ formation and firms’ location choices. In addition, this study employs firm-level data rather than provincial data to bring empirical insights and fill in the knowledge gap on agglomeration economies in Thailand with the presence of regional economic integration.