Business Commons^™

Can Us Economic Variables Predict Chinese Stock Market?, Jeremy Goh, Fuwei Jiang, Jun Tu, Yuchen Wang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In the last few decades, we observed a significant increase in global economic activities and these activities may have an impact on both China's economy and stock market. Given the potential impact, we empirically examine whether US economic variables are leading indicators of the Chinese stock market. Prior to China joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the end of 2001, we find no statistical relationship between US economic variables and the Chinese stock market returns. However, we find US economic variables have statistically significant predictive power for periods after China's admission into the WTO. In addition, we show that …

Sustainable Water Management On Brownfields Sites, Ryan Fenwick, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

This practice guide was developed by the Environmental Finance Center Network (EFCN) through the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities program funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Through a cooperative agreement with HUD, EFCN is providing capacity building and technical assistance to recipients of grants from the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an interagency collaboration that aims to help towns, cities, and regions develop in more economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable ways.

Mexico Consensus Economic Forecast, Volume 15, Number 4, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr, Adam G. Walke

Departmental Papers (E & F)

No abstract provided.

Mexico Consensus Economic Forecast, Volume 15, Number 3, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Adam G. Walke

Departmental Papers (E & F)

No abstract provided.

Green Infrastructure Resource Directory, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Green infrastructure is an approach for managing stormwater that uses vegetation and soils to capture and treat rainwater where it falls. Unlike single-purpose gray infrastructure, green infrastructure realizes multiple benefits at once, including flood mitigation, improved water and air quality, community beautification, provision of recreational opportunities, and energy and cost savings. This resource directory is intended to help communities design, implement, fund, and monitor green infrastructure practices and programs. It was compiled by the Environmental Finance Center Network through the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities program funded by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. …

State Based Determinants Of Inward Fdi Flow In The Us Economy, Lucyna Kornecki, E. M. Ekanayake

Accounting, Economics, Finance, and Information Sciences - Daytona Beach

Inward foreign direct investment (FDI) represents an integral part of the US economy. The flow of international capital has been a key factor expanding economy. The inward US FDI constitutes important factor contributing to output growth in the US economy. This paper investigates factors affecting the inward FDI flow among fifty states of the United States. The analysis uses annual data for the period from 1997 to 2007. The study identifies several state-specific determinants of FDI and investigates the changes in their importance during the study period. Our results show that among the major determinants, the real per capita income, …

Off The Cliff And Back? Credit Conditions And International Trade During The Global Financial Crisis, Davin Chor, Manova Kalina

Research Collection School Of Economics

We examine the collapse of international trade flows during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis using detailed data on the evolution of monthly U.S. imports over the November 2006 - April 2009 period. We show that credit constraints and the reduction in the availability of external capital were an important channel through which the crisis affected trade volumes. We identify the effects of credit tightening by exploiting the variation in the cost of capital across countries and over time, as well as the variation in financial dependence across sectors. We find that countries with higher interbank interest rates and thus tighter …

The Greek Financial Crisis: An Overview Of The Crisis In Entirety And Proposed Measures: Recommended Solutions And Results, Androniki Podaras

Honors College Theses

This paper examines the Greek financial crisis from 2009 in entirety and analyzes the best option for economic growth from this point forth. The history and culture of Greece is discussed, along with a background of the economy and several economic policies that led to the increased debt levels and the poor economic health of the country. The Gross Domestic Product of Greece and the inflation levels are analyzed to show the changes and signs of poor economic health, and one that was affected by the entry into the Eurozone in 2000.

Then, I discuss how this led to the …

Can One Size Fit All? An Application Of Management Theory On The European Sovereign Debt Crisis, Amanda Grayson

Honors College Theses

The European Union is a combination of twenty-seven different and unique cultures under one common government. Can culture help explain the continued problems emanating from the European debt crisis?

In undergraduate management courses around the world, from Harvard University to Beijing International, eager young minds are taught the same fundamental management theories. Among others, one of the most popular would inevitably be Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions.

Geert Hofstede, while working for the IBM research department, undertook a detailed survey and analysis of the various cultures of the world. He defined four dimensions of culture, now expanded to six, that can be …

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: The Value Of Political Connections In Social Networks, Quoc-Anh Do, Yen Teik Lee, Bang Dang Nguyen, Kieu-Trang Nguyen

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper investigates the impact of social-network based political connections on firm value. We focus on the networks of university classmates and alumni among directors of U.S. public firms and congressmen. Comparing firms connected to elected versus defeated politicians in the Regression Discontinuity Design of close elections from 2000 to 2008, we provide evidence that political connections enhance firm value. However, the value of political connections varies in a more complex way than expected. While connections to powerful members of the Senate generate strong positive impact on firm value, connections to newly elected congressmen are less valuable to firms than …

How One Trade Could Change The World: High Frequency Trading And The Flash Crash Of 2010, Sarah Perlman

Honors Projects in Finance

Financial markets are controlled directly by a small population of people, but have direct effects on almost every aspect of the global community. Financial markets are now flooded with computerized algorithms that have drastically changed the face of trading. As with any advances in technology, there are always unforeseen events that create new challenges, and adjustments that need to be made. In our increasingly global and technological world, one wrong click of the mouse in New York could affect the stock markets in London, Tokyo, and Brazil. On May 6th, 2010, such a situation occurred and caused the Dow Jones …

Mexico Consensus Economic Forecast, Volume 15, Number 2, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Adam G. Walke

Departmental Papers (E & F)

No abstract provided.

What Determines Public Pension Investment Risk-Taking Policy, Nancy Mohan, Ting Zhang

Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

State public pension plans, mostly defined benefit plans, cover pension benefits for 12.8 million active public employees and 5.9 million retirees and other annuitants. However, by the end of 2009, public pension plans had accumulated a total funding deficit of $697 billion (measured by the difference between actuarial pension assets and liabilities). On average, public pension funds cover 75 percent of their liabilities, but individual state results vary greatly.

The 2008 stock market crash strongly affected pension asset value in that equity allocation on average accounted for 56 percent of invested assets. The average 2009 pension asset beta of 0.63 …

Fair Value Accounting: How Bad Decisions Bring Blame To Beneficial Accounting Procedures, Thomas John Ciulla

Senior Honors Theses

The Great Recession has sparked a debate amongst accounting professionals and economic analysts. There has been a concerted effort to blame fair value accounting and FAS 157 as the recession’s root cause and an attempt to challenge FASB to return to the historic cost principle. This paper examines the guidelines and procedures for mark to market as established by FASB, observes the events leading up to the recession, conditions that materialized at the start of the recession, evaluates the role fair value played in the financial crisis, and considers how fair value should be used in the future.

The Effect Of Bank Activity Restriction On Life Insurers’ Efficiency: Evidence From European Markets, Rongrong Zhang

Finance and Economics Faculty Publications

This paper examines the relation between bank entry restrictions into insurance operations and life insurers’ operating efficiency for a sample of 21 European countries over 1995-2003. Controlling for insurance market penetration, insurance risk retention, legal environment, and the economic development of the hosting country, we document that insurers operate more efficiently in markets with lower bank entry restrictions. Our results suggest that financial deregulation has positive spill-over effect, supporting the deregulation efforts in the global financial markets.

Upjohn Institute Policy Paper: Public Pension Crisis And Investment Risk Taking: Underfunding, Fiscal Constraints, Public Accounting, And Policy Implications, Nancy Mohan, Ting Zhang

Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

Public pension funds that cover retirement benefits for almost 20 million active or retired employees have been significantly underfunded. An important, though largely overlooked, issue related to pension underfunding is the excessive investment risk levels assumed by public plans. Our analysis suggests government accounting standards strongly affect public fund investment risk, as higher return assumptions (used to discount pension liabilities) are associated with higher investment risk.

Public funds undertake more risk if they are underfunded and have lower investment returns in previous years, consistent with the risk transfer hypothesis. Furthermore, pension funds in states facing fiscal constraints allocate more assets …

Mexico Consensus Economic Forecast, Volume 15, Number 1, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Adam G. Walke

Departmental Papers (E & F)

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Institutional Arrangements On Educational Efficiency, Trevor Collier

Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

Per-pupil expenditures on education in the United States have grown immensely in recent decades, yet student achievement has been stagnant. An abundance of research has sought to solve this enigma, much of it centered on the incentive structure facing administrators. Some recent papers use TIMSS data to analyze the relationship between institutional arrangements—that typically do not vary within a single country—and student achievement. Similarly, we utilize TIMSS 1999 to determine if there is an indirect relationship between institutional arrangements and student achievement, via a relationship with school efficiency. Our results show that the specified link between institutional arrangements and student …

What Are Analysts Really Good At?, Ohad Kadan, Leonardo Madureira, Rong Wang, Tzachi. Zach

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Sell-side analysts employ different benchmarks when defining their stock recommendations. Forexample, a ‘buy’ for some brokers means the stock is expected to outperform its peers in the same sector(“industry benchmarkers”), while for other brokers it means the stock is expected to outperform themarket (“market benchmarkers”), or just some absolute return (“total benchmarkers”). We use thesebenchmarks to analyze the role of stock picking, industry picking and market timing in contributing to theperformance of stock recommendations. We are able to do so given that different benchmarks suggest theuse of different sets of abilities. Analysis of the relation between analysts’ recommendations and theirlong-term …