The role of institutions in international finance

Institutions are the “rules of the game” in economics. They set the parameters in which economic activity takes place. Institutions come in many forms: they may be formal such as constitutions, laws and regulation or informal such as cultural norms, codes of conduct and traditions. This thesis explores the role of institutions in three different contexts within the field of international finance. First, it examines the role of migrant networks as an informal institution in promoting foreign direct investment. Second, it analyzes the role of institutions – understood here as the effectiveness and stability of political, legal and bureaucratic circumstances in a country – in promoting international bank lending before and after the global financial crisis in 2008. Third, it investigates the relationship between financial structure and access to finance in developing countries. Here, the market structure of the financial sector as shaped by legal rules and environmental circumstances sets the institutional background for access to finance for firms.