Cillian Ryan

The Implications of WTO and GATS for the Banking Sector in Africa

In this paper we assess the implications of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) for the banking sector in African signatory countries. With emphasis on the free trade element, we first review the relevant provisions of the GATS for banking services and the main exemptions held by African countries. We then analyse the main efficiency indicators for a sample of the top banks in 18 African economies for the period 1997-1998. We also use univariate statistics to analyse the dispersion of the key bank pricing and liquidity indicators in these economies for the period 1994-1998. The main findings imply that although full liberalization, implicit in the WTO and GATS protocols, will lead to a substantial shake-up of the African banking industry. However, provided they have an appropriate regulatory framework and allow sufficient lead time, most African countries have little to fear from liberalization at least in terms of the continuing existence of a locally owned banking industry; and indeed, these countries could reasonably expect to be able to restructure and compete, at the very least in African-wide or regional markets. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2003.

Technology Transfer and Merger Activities with Trade and Tariffs

In order to better understand the effects of globalization on merger incentives this paper considers a set of commonly observed mergers whereby a restructured target (with improved managerial or technical capability) continues to supply the market. In contrast to the market-concentrating merger literature it finds that trade barriers tend to encourage mergers, including potentially welfare-reducing, tariff-jumping mergers. Multilateral trade liberalization, however, encourages welfare-improving mergers. Hence, and despite the skepticism of regulatory authorities towards the existence of cost synergies as a consequence of mergers, this paper suggests that in order to assess the impact of trade liberalization under the WTO on merger incentives, and consequently on prices, quantities, and welfare, accurate information on ex ante cost differences and the transferability of managerial and technical techniques is required.

The Role of Banks in Financial Integration: Some New Theory and Evidence from New EU Members

Over the last two decades, there have been major changes in the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) as their economies collapsed and they undertook the journey from centralised economies to market-based systems. The initial effects of the transformation process involved substantial reductions in output and the need for a complete restructuring of industry.

The Implications of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATTS) for the Banking Sector in the Gulf Region

The prospective WTO Millennium Round of negotiations will highlight critical economic issues regarding the application and implementation of the WTO rules to international trade in goods and services. In this book, a distinguished group of academic experts considers the agenda and areas of interest for the next Round in light of Seattle, the functions of the WTO and competition policy issues arising from trade liberalization.

Continuity, Change and Consumption: British Economy Trends, 1945-1995

This article surveys four aspects of Britains post‐war economic experience. We explore the main features of employment and production, and some major developments in the housing and energy markets. This is followed by a brief scrutiny of currency changes, and then by a more detailed look at wages, inflation and unemployment. The main part of the paper is devoted to consumption. Consumption is the ultimate aim of economic activity and in our view merits pride of place. We examine British trends in consumption per head in the light of historical and international comparisons, its fluctuations relative to trend, the distribution of consumption across households and categories of goods, the behaviour of personal savings and finally the co‐dynamics of consumption and capital. We begin by offering a brief chronology of how the 50 years since 1945 may be viewed from the standpoint of government economic policy.