We set out in this study to determine whether individuals with higher levels of financial literacy are more likely to be active participants in the derivatives markets. Our empirical results, based upon an official National Survey undertaken by the Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan, reveal that even after controlling for stock market participation rates, financial literacy represents a significant benefit to individuals since it helps them to lower the entry barriers to purchasing complex derivatives products. We also find that household wealth, gender, residential location and diverse sources of information have significant effects on participation rates in the derivatives markets. Furthermore, when taking into consideration issues of accessibility or measurement error, the positive effects of financial literacy on derivatives market participation are found to remain largely unchanged.

This paper investigates whether or not private benefits of control by managers and large shareholders influence the financing cost of firms. Evidence shows that lending banks demand a significantly higher loan spread, higher fees, shorter loan maturity, smaller loan size, stricter covenants, and greater collateral on firms with greater private benefits of control. Results are stronger for firms with weak corporate governance quality, supporting the agency cost viewpoint. Such evidence implies that banks consider higher private benefits of control as a type of agency problem when they make lending decisions.