IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cpr/ceprdp/3168.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

What Do State-Owned Firms Maximize? Evidence from the Italian Banks

Author

Listed:
  • Sapienza, Paola

Abstract

This Paper studies the objective function of state-owned banks. Using information on individual loan contracts, I compare the interest rate charged to two sets of companies with identical characteristics borrowing respectively from state-owned and privately owned banks. State-owned banks charge lower interest rates than do privately owned banks to similar or identical firms, even if the company is able to borrow more from privately owned banks. State-owned banks mostly favour firms located in depressed areas and large firms. The lending behaviour of state-owned banks is affected by the electoral results of the party affiliated with the bank: the stronger the political party in the area where the firm is borrowing, the lower the interest rates charged. This result is robust to including bank and firm fixed effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Sapienza, Paola, 2002. "What Do State-Owned Firms Maximize? Evidence from the Italian Banks," CEPR Discussion Papers 3168, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:3168
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=3168
    Download Restriction: CEPR Discussion Papers are free to download for our researchers, subscribers and members. If you fall into one of these categories but have trouble downloading our papers, please contact us at subscribers@cepr.org
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. repec:hrv:faseco:33077889 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert Vishny, 1997. "Privatization in the United States," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 28(3), pages 447-471, Autumn.
    3. Tirole, Jean, 1994. "The Internal Organization of Government," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 46(1), pages 1-29, January.
    4. Abhijit V. Banerjee, 1997. "A Theory of Misgovernance," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 112(4), pages 1289-1332.
    5. Rajan, Raghuram G & Zingales, Luigi, 1998. "Financial Dependence and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 559-586, June.
    6. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2002. "Government Ownership of Banks," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 265-301, February.
    7. Altman, Edward I. & Marco, Giancarlo & Varetto, Franco, 1994. "Corporate distress diagnosis: Comparisons using linear discriminant analysis and neural networks (the Italian experience)," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 505-529, May.
    8. Andrei Shleifer, 1998. "State versus Private Ownership," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 133-150, Fall.
    9. Oliver Hart & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1997. "The Proper Scope of Government: Theory and an Application to Prisons," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 112(4), pages 1127-1161.
    10. Barberis, Nicholas & Maxim Boycko & Andrei Shleifer & Natalia Tsukanova, 1996. "How Does Privatization Work? Evidence from the Russian Shops," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(4), pages 764-790, August.
    11. Rafael La Porta & Florencio López-de-Silanes, 1999. "The Benefits of Privatization: Evidence from Mexico," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 114(4), pages 1193-1242.
    12. Paola Sapienza, 2002. "The Effects of Banking Mergers on Loan Contracts," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 329-367, February.
    13. Barca, Fabrizio & Trento, Sandro, 1997. "State Ownership and the Evolution of Italian Corporate Governance," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 6(3), pages 533-559, September.
    14. Detragiache, Enrica & Garella, Paolo & Guiso, Luigi, 1997. "Multiple Versus Single Banking Relationships," CEPR Discussion Papers 1649, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Stiglitz, Joseph E & Weiss, Andrew, 1981. "Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(3), pages 393-410, June.
    16. repec:hrv:faseco:30727607 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Bruce C. Greenwald & Joseph E. Stiglitz, 1986. "Externalities in Economies with Imperfect Information and Incomplete Markets," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 101(2), pages 229-264.
    18. Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1994. "Politicians and Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 109(4), pages 995-1025.
    19. repec:hrv:faseco:30727606 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Marco Pagano & Fabio Panetta & and Luigi Zingales, 1998. "Why Do Companies Go Public? An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 53(1), pages 27-64, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ling Huang & Haiyue Liu & Jack Hou & Fulong Xiao, 2022. "Long‐term financing effects of Chinese non‐SOEs Belt and Road OFDI," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(S1), pages 1819-1850, April.
    2. Kleff, Volker & Weber, Martin, 2005. "Payout Policy and Owners? Interests: Evidence from German Savings Banks," ZEW Discussion Papers 05-59, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    3. Gianpaolo Rossini, 2019. "State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and Non Transparent Trade Policies," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 5(3), pages 433-453, October.
    4. Mariarosaria Agostino & Leone Leonida & Francesco Trivieri, 2005. "Profits persistence and ownership: evidence from the Italian banking sector," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(14), pages 1615-1621.
    5. Farabullini,F. & Hester,D.D., 2001. "The performance of some recently privatized Italian banks," Working papers 10, Wisconsin Madison - Social Systems.
    6. Acharya, Viral V & Hasan, Iftekhar & Saunders, Anthony, 2002. "The Effects of Focus and Diversification on Bank Risk and Return: Evidence from Individual Bank Loan Portfolios," CEPR Discussion Papers 3252, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Alexandre Rands, 2005. "The Impact of States Owned Banks on Interest Rates Spread," Working Papers 42, Datamétrica Consultoria Econômica, revised 2005.
    8. Cruz, Rita. & Kühn, Stefan. & Milasi, Santo. & Pignatti, Clemente. & Silvander, Johanna. & Spiezia, Vincenzo. & Torres, Raymond., 2014. "Portugal : tackling the jobs crisis in Portugal," Studies on Growth with Equity, International Labour Office, Research Department, number 994853263402676, December.
    9. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2009. "Does Local Financial Development Matter?," Springer Books, in: Damiano Bruno Silipo (ed.), The Banks and the Italian Economy, chapter 0, pages 31-66, Springer.
    10. Mr. Michael Andrews, 2005. "State-Owned Banks, Stability, Privatization, and Growth: Practical Policy Decisions in a World Without Empirical Proof," IMF Working Papers 2005/010, International Monetary Fund.
    11. Claeys, Sophie & Vander Vennet, Rudi, 2008. "Determinants of bank interest margins in Central and Eastern Europe: A comparison with the West," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 197-216, June.
    12. International Labour Office, 2014. "Portugal : tackling the jobs crisis in Portugal," Studies on Growth with Equity 485326, International Labour Office, Research Department.
    13. Maria-Eleni K. Agoraki & Georgios P. Kouretas, 2019. "The determinants of net interest margin during transition," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 1005-1029, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sapienza, Paola, 2004. "The effects of government ownership on bank lending," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 357-384, May.
    2. Johansson, Anders C. & Luo, Danglun & Rickne, Johanna & Zheng, Wei, 2017. "Government intervention in the capital allocation process: Excess employment as an IPO selection rule in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 271-281.
    3. Andrei Shleifer, 1998. "State versus Private Ownership," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 133-150, Fall.
    4. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2002. "Government Ownership of Banks," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 265-301, February.
    5. Johansson, Anders C. & Luo, Danglun & Rickne, Johanna & Zheng, Wei, 2016. "Government Intervention in the Capital Allocation Process: Firm Employment as an IPO Selection Rule in China," Stockholm School of Economics Asia Working Paper Series 2016-40, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm China Economic Research Institute.
    6. World Bank, "undated". "South Asia Economic Focus, Spring 2020," World Bank Publications - Reports 33478, The World Bank Group.
    7. Francisco, Manuela & Mascaro, Yira & Mendoza, Juan Carlos & Yaron, Jacob, 2008. "Measuring the performance and achievement of social objectives of development finance institutions," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4506, The World Bank.
    8. Körner, Tobias & Schnabel, Isabel, 2010. "Public Ownership of Banks and Economic Growth - The Role of Heterogeneity," CEPR Discussion Papers 8138, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Alberto Chong & Florencio de, 2003. "The Truth about Privatization in Latin America," Yale School of Management Working Papers ysm436, Yale School of Management.
    10. Boyreau-Debray, Genevieve & Wei, Shang-Jin, 2004. "Pitfalls of a State-Dominated Financial System: The Case of China," CEPR Discussion Papers 4471, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Meghana Ayyagari & Asli Demirguc-Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2021. "Are large firms born or made? Evidence from developing countries," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 191-219, June.
    12. Emerson Erik Schmitz, 2020. "Effects of State-Owned Banks’ Programs to Stimulate Credit: evidence from Brazil," Working Papers Series 519, Central Bank of Brazil, Research Department.
    13. Liu, Jinyu & Wang, Zhengwei & Zhu, Wuxiang, 2021. "Does privatization reform alleviate ownership discrimination? Evidence from the Split-share structure reform in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    14. Michal Jurek, 2014. "Role and impact of different types of financial institutions on economic performance and stability of the real sector in selected EU member states," Working papers wpaper36, Financialisation, Economy, Society & Sustainable Development (FESSUD) Project.
    15. Feng, Xunan & Johansson , Anders C. & Wang, Ying, 2018. "Strengthened State Capitalism: Nationalized Firms in China," Stockholm School of Economics Asia Working Paper Series 2018-51, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm China Economic Research Institute.
    16. Emerson Erik Schmitz & Thiago Christiano Silva, 2020. "Financial Intermediation, Human Capital Development and Economic Growth," Working Papers Series 533, Central Bank of Brazil, Research Department.
    17. Paul H. Jensen & Robin E. Stonecash, 2004. "The Efficiency of Public Sector Outsourcing Contracts: A Literature Review," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2004n29, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    18. Iannotta, Giuliano & Nocera, Giacomo & Sironi, Andrea, 2013. "The impact of government ownership on bank risk," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 152-176.
    19. Bennedsen, Morten & Schultz, Christian, 2011. "Arm's length delegation of public services," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7), pages 543-552.
    20. World Bank, 2015. "Governance Reforms of State-Owned Enterprises," World Bank Publications - Reports 22749, The World Bank Group.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    government; ownership;

    JEL classification:

    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • L32 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Public Enterprises; Public-Private Enterprises

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:3168. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: . General contact details of provider: https://www.cepr.org .

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cepr.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.