Competition and Financial Stability: A Comparative Study of the Banking Systems in the Developed Countries

Applications are invited for a self-funded, 3 year full-time or 6 year part-time PhD project.

The PhD will be based in Economics and Finance subject area and will be supervised by Dr. Alexis Stenfors (first supervisor), Professor Shabbar Jaffry (second supervisor) and Dr Oleg Badunenko (Brunel University, third supervisor).

The Faculty of Business and Law offers funding to attend conferences (currently £550), training (currently £450), and a work-based placement (currently a maximum of £3,000 tied up to the period of 12 weeks).

The work on this project will:
-Review the banking competition policies in the developed countries in the last two decades;
-Review the stability of the financial systems in the mentioned countries;
-Investigate the potential of the banking system to grow and consolidate;
-Analyze the non-linear nature of the relationship between competition and financial stability.

Project description
In the light of the importance of the banking system in the modern economy, it is essential to control its composition and growth. Hence the competition authorities regulate how a banking system is developing. There are important factors to consider to ensure best practice, such as, the consolidation and expansion practices. In addition, the consumer well-being are closely monitored, and interventions are made to make sure that the disadvantages to all parties involved are minimized. This is especially important in the developed economies, where the banking systems are enormous, and where small regulations may have huge effects on banks and/or consumers and business.

Various measures of competition are proposed in the literature. The research will review their advantages and disadvantages and compare them using empirical analysis. Furthermore, the multivariate analysis of scale economies will be performed to investigate the potential of the banking industry to consolidate or expand. Finally, different measures of financial stability of a banking system will be reviewed and empirically estimated. In this part of the project it will be investigated if the nature between competition and financial stability is nonlinear.

Entry requirements
You’ll need a good first degree from an internationally recognised university (minimum upper second class or equivalent, depending on your chosen course) or a Master’s degree in Economics, Finance or a related area. In exceptional cases, we may consider equivalent professional experience and/or Qualifications. English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0.

How to apply
We’d encourage you to contact Prof Shabbar Jaffry ([Email Address Removed]) to discuss your interest before you apply, quoting the project code.

When you are ready to apply, you can use our online application form (please follow the institution website link to access it) . Make sure you submit a personal statement, proof of your degrees and grades, details of two referees, proof of your English language proficiency and an up-to-date CV. Our ‘How to Apply’ page offers further guidance on the PhD application process.

Please also include a research proposal of 1,000 words outlining the main features of your proposed research design – including how it meets the stated objectives, the challenges this project may present, and how the work will build on or challenge existing research in the above fields.

When applying please quote project code: ECFN4621020