Stijn Claessens
Last Updated: August 15, 2008
Stijn Claessens is Assistant Director in the Research Department of the International Monetary Fund where he leads the Financial Studies Division. He is also a Professor of International Finance Policy at the University of Amsterdam where he taught for three years (2001-2004). Mr. Claessens, a Dutch national, holds a Ph.D. in business economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (1986) and M.A. from Erasmus University, Rotterdam (1984). He started his career teaching at New York University business school (1987) and then worked earlier for fourteen years at the World Bank in various positions (1987-2001). Prior to his current position, he was Senior Adviser in the Financial and Private Sector Vice-Presidency of the World Bank (from 2004-2006). His policy and research interests are firm finance; corporate governance; internationalization of financial services; and riskmanagement. Over his career, Mr. Claessens has provided policy advice to emerging markets in Latin America and Asia and to transition economies. His research has been published in the Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Finance, and Quarterly Journal of Economics. He had edited several books, including International Financial Contagion (Kluwer 2001), Resolution of Financial Distress (World Bank Institute 2001), and A Reader in International Corporate Finance (World Bank). He is a fellow of the London-based CEPR.
Email: sclaessens@imf.org
Fluent In: Dutch.
Referee Activities:
American Economic Review; Journal of International Economics; Journal of International Money and Finance; World Development; World Bank Economic Review; Oxford Economic Papers; Revista de Analisis Economico; Journal of Development Economics; Economic Journal; Journal of Development Studies; International Review of Economics and Finance; International Journal of Finance and Economics; World Bank and National Science Foundation Research Proposals; Journal of Comparative Economics; Quarterly Journal of Economics; Journal of Money Credit and Banking; Contemporary Economic Policy; Pacific-Basin Finance Journal; Transnational Corporations; Journal of Banking and Finance; Journal of Financial Services Research; Financial Management; European Economic Review; Journal of Finance; Journal of Business; Scottish Journal of Political Economy; Swiss Science Foundation; Hong Kong Science Board; Review of Economics and Statistics; International Finance; Welwirtschaftliches Archiv; Austrian National Bank; European Journal of Political Economy; International Finance Review; Review Committee Annual Western Finance Association Meeting, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006; Review of Financial Studies; Journal of the European Economic Association; Economic Development and Cultural Change; Managerial and Decision Economics; Review of Finance; Journal of Financial Intermediation; International Journal of Central Banking; Journal of Financial Economics; and others.
Work in Progress:
Political Connections and Preferential Access to Finance: The Role of Campaign Contributions (with Erik Feijen and Luc Laeven), Journal of Financial Economics, forthcoming.
International Financial Integration through Equity Markets: Which Firms from Which Countries Go Global? (with Sergio L. Schmukler), Journal of International Money and Finance, forthcoming.
Basle II Capital Requirements and Developing Countries: A Political Economy Perspective (with Geoffry R. D. Underhill and Xiaoke Zhang), World Economy, forthcoming.
IMF Books and Working Papers:
Competition in the Financial Sector: Overview of Competition Policies, Working Paper No. 09/45, March 01, 2009
What Happens During Recessions, Crunches, and Busts?, Working Paper No. 08/274, December 01, 2008
Banks and Labor as Stakeholders: Impact on Economic Performance, Working Paper No. 08/229, September 01, 2008
Empirical Evidence on the New International Aid Architecture, Working Paper No. 07/277, December 01, 2007
International Financial Integration Through Equity Markets: Which Firms from Which Countries Go Global?, Working Paper No. 07/138, June 01, 2007
Publications in Refereed Journals
Finance and Inequality: Channels and Evidence (with Enrico Perotti), Journal of Comparative Economics, Vol. 35, pp. 748-73, June 2007.
Government Bonds in Domestic and Foreign Currency: The Role of Institutional Factors (with Daniela Klingebiel and Sergio L. Schmukler), Review of International Economics, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 370-413, May 2007
Strategic Foregin Reserves Risk Management: Analytical Framework (with Jerome Kreuser), Annals of Operations Reseach, volume on "Financial Modeling," ed. by Hercules Vladimirou, November 2006.
Access to Financial Services: A Review of the Issues and Public Policy Objectives, World Bank Research Observer, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 207-40, Fall 2006.
Ownership and Financing Structures of Listed and Large Non-listed Corporations (with Konstantinos Tzioumis), Corporate Governance: An International Review, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 266-76, July 2006.
Government Bonds in Domestic and Foreign Currency: The Role of Institutional Factors (with Daniela Klingebiel and Sergio L. Schmukler), Review of International Economics, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 370-413, 2007.
Stock Market Development and Internationalization: Do Economic Fundamentals Spur Both Similarly? (with Damiela Klingebiel and Sergio L. Schmukler), Journal of Empirical Finance, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 316-50, June 2006
The Benefits and Costs of Group Affiliation: Evidence from East Asia (with Joseph Fan and Larry Lang), Emerging Markets Review, Vol. 7, pp. 1-26, 2006.
Enforcement and Corporate Governance (with Erik Berglof), World Bank Research Observer, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 121-50, Spring 2006.
Corporate Governance and Development, World Bank Research Observer Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 91-122, Spring 2006.
Bankruptcy Around the World: Explanations of its Relative Use (with Leora Klapper), American Law and Economic Review, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 253-83, June 2005.
Financial Dependence, Banking Sector Competition, and Economic Growth (with Luc Laeven), Journal of European Economic Association, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 179-201, March 2005.
Book review of Economic Crises and Corporate Restructuring in Korea, eds. by Haggard, Kim, and Kim, in Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 1137-8, December 2004.
What Drives Banking Competition? Some International Evidence (with Luc Laeven), Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, Vol. 36, No. 3, Part 2, pp. 563-83, June 2004.
Comment on Borensztein, E., and Mauro, P., "The Case for GDP-Indexed Bonds," Economic Policy. A European Forum, No. 38, pp. 208-10, April 2004.
Financial Development, Property Rights, and Growth (with Luc Laeven), Journal of Finance, Vol. 58, No. 6, pp. 2401-36, December 2003. Nominated for the 2004 Brattle Group Prizes.
Resolution of Corporate Distress in East Asia (with Simeon Djankov and Leora Klapper), Journal of Empirical Finance, Vol. 10, No. 1-2, pp. 199-216, 2003.
Disentangling the Incentive and Entrenchment Effects of Large Shareholdings (with Simeon Djankov, Joseph Fan, and Larry Lang), (renamed from Expropriation of Minority Shareholders in East Asia, May 2001), Journal of Finance, Vol. 57, No. 6, pp. 2741-71, December 2002. Reprinted in Jay Ritter, eds. Recent Developments in Corporate Finance, Vol. II, pp. 254-85, 2005. Also in Kevin Keasev, Steve Thompson, and Mike Wright, eds. Corporate Governance in the New Global Economy, Governance and Expropriation, ed. by Professor Larry H. P. Lang, Spring 2005. Nominated for the 2003 Brattle Group Prizes.
Electronic Finance: Reshaping the Financial Landscape Around the World (with Thomas Glaessner and Daniela Klingebiel), Journal of Financial Services Research, Vol. 22, No. 1/2, pp. 29-61, 2002.
Privatization Benefits in Eastern Europe (with Simeon Djankov), Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 83, No. 3, pp. 307-24, March 2002.
The Political Economy of Bank Distress: Evidence from East Asia (with Paolo Bongini and Giovanni Ferri), Journal of Financial Services Research, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp.5-25, 2001.
How Does Foreign Entry Affect Domestic Banking Markets? (with Asli Demirguc-Kunt and Harry Huizinga), Journal of Banking and Finance, Vol. 25, pp. 891-911, 2001. Listed second for the 2002 Iddo Sarnat Award of the Journal.
Competition and Scope for Financial Services (with Daniela Klingebiel), World Bank Research Observer, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 18-40, Spring 2001.
Contagion: Understanding How It Spreads (with Rudiger Dornbusch and Yung Chul Park), World Bank Research Observer, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 177-97, August 2000. Reprinted in New International Financial Architecture, Nouriel Roubini and Marc Uzan, eds. (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishers).
The Separation of Ownership and Control in East Asian Corporations (with Simeon Djankov and Larry Lang), Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 58, No. 1-2, pp. 81-112, October 2000. Reprinted in Corporate Governance: Critical Perspectives on Business and Management, ed. by Thomas Clarke, Vol. 5, Ch. 52 (London: Rutledge), 2005.
Ownership Concentration and Corporate Performance in the Czech Republic (with Simeon Djankov), Journal of Comparative Econimics, Vol. 27, pp. 498-513, 1999.
Corporate Governance and Equity Prices: Evidence from the Czech and Slovak Republics, Journal of Finance, Vol. 52, No. 4, pp. 1641-58, 1997.
.........................................................
Refereed Books and Book Chapters
A Framework for Strategic Foreign Reserves Risk Management (with Jerome Kreuser) in Risk Management for Central Bank Foreign Reserves, ed. by Carlos Bernadel, Pierre Cardon, Joachim Coche, Francis X. Diebold, and Simone Manganelli (Frankfurt: European Central Bank), pp. 47-73, 2004.
The Future of Stock Exchanges in European Accession Countries (with Ruben Lee and Josef Zechner), (London: Corporation of London/CEPR), May 2003.
Regulatory Reform and Trade Liberalization in Financial Services, in Domestic Regulation and Service Trade Liberalization, ed. by Aaditya Mattoo and Pierre Sauve (Washington: World Bank, Oxford University Press), pp. 129-46, 2003.
The Growing Importance of Networks in Finance and Its Effects on Competition (with Gergely Dobos, Daniela Klingebiel, and Luc Laeven), in Innovations in Financial and Economic Networks, ed. by Anna Nagurney (Northhampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishers), pp. 110-35, 2003.
Benefits and Costs of Integrated Financial Service Provision, in Brookings-Wharton Papers on Financial Services 2003, ed. by Robert E. Litan and Richard Herring (Washington: The Brookings Institution), pp. 85-139, 2003.
E-Finance in Emerging Markets: Is Leapfrogging Possible? (with Thomas Glaessner and Daniela Klingebiel), in Financial Markets, Institutions, and Instruments, New York University Salomon Center, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Boston: Blackwell Publishing), February 2002.
Resolution of Financial Distress: An International Perspective on the Design of Bankruptcy Laws, ed. by Stijn Claessens, Simeon Djankov, and Ashoka Mody (Washington: World Bank Institute for Development Studies), 2001.
International Financial Contagion, ed. by Stijn Claessens and Kristin Forbes (Boston: Kluwer Academic Press), 2001.
The Internationalization of Financial Services: Issues and Lessons for Developing Countries, ed. by Stijn Claessens and Marion Jansen (The Hague: World Bank and World Trade Organization, Kluwer Law International), November 2000.
Other Papers, Books, Comments
Competitive Implications of Cross-Border Banking, in Cross-Border Banking: Regulatory Challenges, ed. by Gerard Caprio, Douglas D. Evanoff, and George G. Kaufman (New Jersey: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.), pp. 151-82, 2006.
The Search for Stability in an Integrated Global Financial System, in Global Issues for Global Citizens: An Introduction to Key Development Challenges, ed. by Vinay Bhargava (Washington: World Bank), pp. 51-71, 2006.
A Reader in International Corporate Finance(with Luc Laeven), (Washington: World Bank), 2006.
International Financial Contagion: An Overview of the Issues and the Book (with Kristin Forbes) in International Financial Contagion, ed. by Stijn Claessens and Kristin Forbes (Boston: Kluwer Academic Press), 2001.
Stijn Claessens is Assistant Director in the Research Department of the International Monetary Fund where he leads the Financial Studies Division. He is also a Professor of International Finance Policy at the University of Amsterdam where he taught for three years (2001-2004). Mr. Claessens, a Dutch national, holds a Ph.D. in business economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (1986) and M.A. from Erasmus University, Rotterdam (1984). He started his career teaching at New York University business school (1987) and then worked earlier for fourteen years at the World Bank in various positions (1987-2001). Prior to his current position, he was Senior Adviser in the Financial and Private Sector Vice-Presidency of the World Bank (from 2004-2006). His policy and research interests are firm finance; corporate governance; internationalization of financial services; and riskmanagement. Over his career, Mr. Claessens has provided policy advice to emerging markets in Latin America and Asia and to transition economies. His research has been published in the Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Finance, and Quarterly Journal of Economics. He had edited several books, including International Financial Contagion (Kluwer 2001), Resolution of Financial Distress (World Bank Institute 2001), and A Reader in International Corporate Finance (World Bank). He is a fellow of the London-based CEPR.
Email: sclaessens@imf.org
Fluent In: Dutch.
Referee Activities:
American Economic Review; Journal of International Economics; Journal of International Money and Finance; World Development; World Bank Economic Review; Oxford Economic Papers; Revista de Analisis Economico; Journal of Development Economics; Economic Journal; Journal of Development Studies; International Review of Economics and Finance; International Journal of Finance and Economics; World Bank and National Science Foundation Research Proposals; Journal of Comparative Economics; Quarterly Journal of Economics; Journal of Money Credit and Banking; Contemporary Economic Policy; Pacific-Basin Finance Journal; Transnational Corporations; Journal of Banking and Finance; Journal of Financial Services Research; Financial Management; European Economic Review; Journal of Finance; Journal of Business; Scottish Journal of Political Economy; Swiss Science Foundation; Hong Kong Science Board; Review of Economics and Statistics; International Finance; Welwirtschaftliches Archiv; Austrian National Bank; European Journal of Political Economy; International Finance Review; Review Committee Annual Western Finance Association Meeting, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006; Review of Financial Studies; Journal of the European Economic Association; Economic Development and Cultural Change; Managerial and Decision Economics; Review of Finance; Journal of Financial Intermediation; International Journal of Central Banking; Journal of Financial Economics; and others.
Work in Progress:
Political Connections and Preferential Access to Finance: The Role of Campaign Contributions (with Erik Feijen and Luc Laeven), Journal of Financial Economics, forthcoming.
International Financial Integration through Equity Markets: Which Firms from Which Countries Go Global? (with Sergio L. Schmukler), Journal of International Money and Finance, forthcoming.
Basle II Capital Requirements and Developing Countries: A Political Economy Perspective (with Geoffry R. D. Underhill and Xiaoke Zhang), World Economy, forthcoming.
IMF Books and Working Papers:
Competition in the Financial Sector: Overview of Competition Policies, Working Paper No. 09/45, March 01, 2009
What Happens During Recessions, Crunches, and Busts?, Working Paper No. 08/274, December 01, 2008
Banks and Labor as Stakeholders: Impact on Economic Performance, Working Paper No. 08/229, September 01, 2008
Empirical Evidence on the New International Aid Architecture, Working Paper No. 07/277, December 01, 2007
International Financial Integration Through Equity Markets: Which Firms from Which Countries Go Global?, Working Paper No. 07/138, June 01, 2007
Publications in Refereed Journals
Finance and Inequality: Channels and Evidence (with Enrico Perotti), Journal of Comparative Economics, Vol. 35, pp. 748-73, June 2007.
Government Bonds in Domestic and Foreign Currency: The Role of Institutional Factors (with Daniela Klingebiel and Sergio L. Schmukler), Review of International Economics, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 370-413, May 2007
Strategic Foregin Reserves Risk Management: Analytical Framework (with Jerome Kreuser), Annals of Operations Reseach, volume on "Financial Modeling," ed. by Hercules Vladimirou, November 2006.
Access to Financial Services: A Review of the Issues and Public Policy Objectives, World Bank Research Observer, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 207-40, Fall 2006.
Ownership and Financing Structures of Listed and Large Non-listed Corporations (with Konstantinos Tzioumis), Corporate Governance: An International Review, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 266-76, July 2006.
Government Bonds in Domestic and Foreign Currency: The Role of Institutional Factors (with Daniela Klingebiel and Sergio L. Schmukler), Review of International Economics, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 370-413, 2007.
Stock Market Development and Internationalization: Do Economic Fundamentals Spur Both Similarly? (with Damiela Klingebiel and Sergio L. Schmukler), Journal of Empirical Finance, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 316-50, June 2006
The Benefits and Costs of Group Affiliation: Evidence from East Asia (with Joseph Fan and Larry Lang), Emerging Markets Review, Vol. 7, pp. 1-26, 2006.
Enforcement and Corporate Governance (with Erik Berglof), World Bank Research Observer, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 121-50, Spring 2006.
Corporate Governance and Development, World Bank Research Observer Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 91-122, Spring 2006.
Bankruptcy Around the World: Explanations of its Relative Use (with Leora Klapper), American Law and Economic Review, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 253-83, June 2005.
Financial Dependence, Banking Sector Competition, and Economic Growth (with Luc Laeven), Journal of European Economic Association, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 179-201, March 2005.
Book review of Economic Crises and Corporate Restructuring in Korea, eds. by Haggard, Kim, and Kim, in Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 1137-8, December 2004.
What Drives Banking Competition? Some International Evidence (with Luc Laeven), Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, Vol. 36, No. 3, Part 2, pp. 563-83, June 2004.
Comment on Borensztein, E., and Mauro, P., "The Case for GDP-Indexed Bonds," Economic Policy. A European Forum, No. 38, pp. 208-10, April 2004.
Financial Development, Property Rights, and Growth (with Luc Laeven), Journal of Finance, Vol. 58, No. 6, pp. 2401-36, December 2003. Nominated for the 2004 Brattle Group Prizes.
Resolution of Corporate Distress in East Asia (with Simeon Djankov and Leora Klapper), Journal of Empirical Finance, Vol. 10, No. 1-2, pp. 199-216, 2003.
Disentangling the Incentive and Entrenchment Effects of Large Shareholdings (with Simeon Djankov, Joseph Fan, and Larry Lang), (renamed from Expropriation of Minority Shareholders in East Asia, May 2001), Journal of Finance, Vol. 57, No. 6, pp. 2741-71, December 2002. Reprinted in Jay Ritter, eds. Recent Developments in Corporate Finance, Vol. II, pp. 254-85, 2005. Also in Kevin Keasev, Steve Thompson, and Mike Wright, eds. Corporate Governance in the New Global Economy, Governance and Expropriation, ed. by Professor Larry H. P. Lang, Spring 2005. Nominated for the 2003 Brattle Group Prizes.
Electronic Finance: Reshaping the Financial Landscape Around the World (with Thomas Glaessner and Daniela Klingebiel), Journal of Financial Services Research, Vol. 22, No. 1/2, pp. 29-61, 2002.
Privatization Benefits in Eastern Europe (with Simeon Djankov), Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 83, No. 3, pp. 307-24, March 2002.
The Political Economy of Bank Distress: Evidence from East Asia (with Paolo Bongini and Giovanni Ferri), Journal of Financial Services Research, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp.5-25, 2001.
How Does Foreign Entry Affect Domestic Banking Markets? (with Asli Demirguc-Kunt and Harry Huizinga), Journal of Banking and Finance, Vol. 25, pp. 891-911, 2001. Listed second for the 2002 Iddo Sarnat Award of the Journal.
Competition and Scope for Financial Services (with Daniela Klingebiel), World Bank Research Observer, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 18-40, Spring 2001.
Contagion: Understanding How It Spreads (with Rudiger Dornbusch and Yung Chul Park), World Bank Research Observer, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 177-97, August 2000. Reprinted in New International Financial Architecture, Nouriel Roubini and Marc Uzan, eds. (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishers).
The Separation of Ownership and Control in East Asian Corporations (with Simeon Djankov and Larry Lang), Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 58, No. 1-2, pp. 81-112, October 2000. Reprinted in Corporate Governance: Critical Perspectives on Business and Management, ed. by Thomas Clarke, Vol. 5, Ch. 52 (London: Rutledge), 2005.
Ownership Concentration and Corporate Performance in the Czech Republic (with Simeon Djankov), Journal of Comparative Econimics, Vol. 27, pp. 498-513, 1999.
Corporate Governance and Equity Prices: Evidence from the Czech and Slovak Republics, Journal of Finance, Vol. 52, No. 4, pp. 1641-58, 1997.
.........................................................
Refereed Books and Book Chapters
A Framework for Strategic Foreign Reserves Risk Management (with Jerome Kreuser) in Risk Management for Central Bank Foreign Reserves, ed. by Carlos Bernadel, Pierre Cardon, Joachim Coche, Francis X. Diebold, and Simone Manganelli (Frankfurt: European Central Bank), pp. 47-73, 2004.
The Future of Stock Exchanges in European Accession Countries (with Ruben Lee and Josef Zechner), (London: Corporation of London/CEPR), May 2003.
Regulatory Reform and Trade Liberalization in Financial Services, in Domestic Regulation and Service Trade Liberalization, ed. by Aaditya Mattoo and Pierre Sauve (Washington: World Bank, Oxford University Press), pp. 129-46, 2003.
The Growing Importance of Networks in Finance and Its Effects on Competition (with Gergely Dobos, Daniela Klingebiel, and Luc Laeven), in Innovations in Financial and Economic Networks, ed. by Anna Nagurney (Northhampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishers), pp. 110-35, 2003.
Benefits and Costs of Integrated Financial Service Provision, in Brookings-Wharton Papers on Financial Services 2003, ed. by Robert E. Litan and Richard Herring (Washington: The Brookings Institution), pp. 85-139, 2003.
E-Finance in Emerging Markets: Is Leapfrogging Possible? (with Thomas Glaessner and Daniela Klingebiel), in Financial Markets, Institutions, and Instruments, New York University Salomon Center, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Boston: Blackwell Publishing), February 2002.
Resolution of Financial Distress: An International Perspective on the Design of Bankruptcy Laws, ed. by Stijn Claessens, Simeon Djankov, and Ashoka Mody (Washington: World Bank Institute for Development Studies), 2001.
International Financial Contagion, ed. by Stijn Claessens and Kristin Forbes (Boston: Kluwer Academic Press), 2001.
The Internationalization of Financial Services: Issues and Lessons for Developing Countries, ed. by Stijn Claessens and Marion Jansen (The Hague: World Bank and World Trade Organization, Kluwer Law International), November 2000.
Other Papers, Books, Comments
Competitive Implications of Cross-Border Banking, in Cross-Border Banking: Regulatory Challenges, ed. by Gerard Caprio, Douglas D. Evanoff, and George G. Kaufman (New Jersey: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.), pp. 151-82, 2006.
The Search for Stability in an Integrated Global Financial System, in Global Issues for Global Citizens: An Introduction to Key Development Challenges, ed. by Vinay Bhargava (Washington: World Bank), pp. 51-71, 2006.
A Reader in International Corporate Finance(with Luc Laeven), (Washington: World Bank), 2006.
International Financial Contagion: An Overview of the Issues and the Book (with Kristin Forbes) in International Financial Contagion, ed. by Stijn Claessens and Kristin Forbes (Boston: Kluwer Academic Press), 2001.