TY  - JOUR
AU  - Stulz,Rene M.
TI  - The Limits of Financial Globalization
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 11070
PY  - 2005
Y2  - January 2005
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11070
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11070.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Rene M. Stulz
The Ohio State University
Fisher College of Business
806A Fisher Hall
Columbus, OH 43210-1144
Tel: 614/292-1970
Fax: 614/292-2359
E-Mail: stulz_1@cob.osu.edu
AB  - Despite the dramatic reduction in explicit barriers to international investment activity over the last 60 years, the impact of financial globalization has been remarkably limited. I argue that country attributes are still critical to financial decision-making because of what I call the twin agency problems. These twin agency problems arise because rulers of sovereign states and corporate insiders pursue their own interests at the expense of outside investors. When these twin agency problems are significant, diffuse ownership is inefficient and corporate insiders must co-invest with other investors, retaining substantial equity. The resulting ownership concentration limits economic growth, financial development, and the ability of a country to take advantage of financial globalization. The twin agency problems help explain why the impact of financial globalization has been limited and why financial globalization can lead to capital flight and financial crises. The impact of financial globalization will remain limited as long as these agency problems are significant.
ER  -