Finance Commons^™

Two Essays In Finance And Economics: “Investment Opportunities In Commodity And Stock Markets For G7 Countries” And “Global And Local Factors Affecting Sovereign Yield Spreads”, Selma Izadi

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In chapter 1, I investigate the return links and dynamic conditional correlations between the equity and commodity returns for G7 countries from 2000:01 to 2014:10. The commodity futures include BCOM Index which contains the futures and spot price of 22 commodities, Brent and Crude oil futures, gold and silver futures, Wheat, Corn and Soybean futures and CRB index. The finding indicates that during the full sample period GOLD, WHEAT and CORN have the smallest dynamic conditional correlations with all the Equity indexes. In addition, the correlations between the GOLD/Equity pairs are negative during the financial crisis. This fact indicates the …

Evaluating The Impacts Of Respondent Errors In Arms: A Case Of Farm Service Agency Loans, Louise Nicole Mcminn

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many studies have used the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) to research various aspects involving the agricultural sector in the United States. Since nonresponse and inaccurate reporting may cause significant bias in statistical analysis, research was conducted to determine the magnitude of response error on the farm debt section of the ARMS Phase III. A multinomial logit model identified demographic, structural, and financial characteristics of FSA Farm Loan Program (FLP) borrowers who refused to indicate if they had end of year farm debt, or who accurately or inaccurately classified their farm operations as having end …

An Examination Of U.S. Restaurant Firms' Internationalization In A Risk Context, Soyeon Jung

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this dissertation is to advance the theoretical and practical understanding

of the relationship between publicly traded U.S. restaurant firms’ internationalization as a

corporate strategy and risks using a comprehensive set of risk measures: 1) market-based risk (i.e., systematic and unsystematic risk) and 2) accounting-based risk (i.e., standard deviation of return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and earnings per share (EPS) during the period of 2000-2013. This dissertation further investigates linear, nonlinear, and lagged effects of internationalization on restaurant firms’ risks. In summary, the findings of this dissertation reveal that internationalization tends to mitigate systematic risk, …

Three Essays On Macroeconomic Implications Of Contemporary Financial Intermediation, Hyun Woong Park

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation contributes to the growing literature on macroeconomic models with a financial intermediary sector. The first two chapters use the circuit of capital modeling methodology to study the relation between growth and profitability in capitalist economy where credit is essential, and the third uses a more standard macrodynamic model to investigate how securitized banking, which relies on short-term collateralized borrowing, as opposed to traditional commercial banking, generates procyclical bank leverage, which in turn leads to supply-led fluctuation in credits and ultimately to a boom-bust cycle of asset prices. In chapter 1, I extend the baseline model of circuit of …

A Study On The Legal Issues Of Ship Finance Lease In China, Lei Sun

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Study On Arctic Northeast Passage By Cost-Benefit Analysis, Chengwei Hong

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Empirical Research Of The Chinese Coastal Coal Freight Index Derivatives Hedging Effectiveness, Zhong Ren

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Effect Of The Construction Of Ftz Upon The Development Of Shanghai International Shipping Center, Yun Zhou

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Florida’S Timeshare Resale Accountability Act And Securitization Announcements On Vacation Ownership Shareholder Wealth, James R. Drake, Iii

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The focus of this study deals with the vacation ownership, or timeshare, industry, and is two-fold. First, it examines the passage of a criminal law in Florida that deals with the resale of timeshare properties and measures the law’s effects on the timeshare industry in terms of shareholder wealth. Second, the study examines the effect of the announcement of the sale of asset-backed securities in the timeshare industry, also in terms of shareholder wealth. The cumulative abnormal returns of publicly traded lodging corporations that operate in the timeshare industry are calculated and analyzed for both studies.

The passage of Florida’s …

Arbitrage Risk, Investor Sentiment And Maximum Daily Returns, Kenneth A. Tah

Doctoral Dissertations

We test the cross-sectional relation between daily maximum return (MAX) and return in the following month for stocks with high and low idiosyncratic volatility. We use portfolio level analysis and firm-level cross-sectional regression to find that the negative and significant relation between MAX and expected stock return (known as the "MAX effect") is a non-January phenomenon observed predominantly on a sample of stocks with high idiosyncratic volatility. We find that the effect of investor sentiment on the MAX effect depends on arbitrage risk. Our findings suggest that arbitrageurs find it difficult to correct the mispricing of stocks with extreme positive …

Information Propagation In Financial Markets, Garrett A. Mcbrayer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays which examine information flows through financial markets and across firms, and investigates the factors affecting the process of information dissemination. The first essay examines whether the announcement of a credit rating change for a given firm contains information pertinent to the valuations of intra-industry peer firms. I identify an information spillover effect on peer firms surrounding credit rating downgrades. Further, I find that the post-announcement spillover effects are indicative of an overreaction in the market’s response to the downgrade announcement. Peer firms exhibit predictability in their post-announcement returns as a function of their relative …

Three Essays On Capital Regulations And Shadow Banking, Diny Ghuzini

Dissertations

The shadow banking sector is a sector that is comprised of financial intermediaries that do not have access to central bank funds and performs their activities outside the regular banking system. This sector had been rapidly growing in most developed economies. This dissertation focuses on the behavioral difference and interaction of the traditional and shadow banking sectors as displayed by the relative asset position of both sectors, their risk-taking positions, and their business-cycles properties.

The first essay examines the impact of minimum capital requirements on the share of shadow to total banking assets. Previous literature has argued that increased regulation …

The Six-Year Hangover: An Assessment Of The Effectiveness Of Unconventional Monetary Policy In Dealing With Debt Overhang Within The U.S. Economy, Meredith Moshier

Honors Theses

After the Financial Crisis of 2007 to 2008, the Federal Reserve and the federal government used monetary and fiscal policy to buoy the economy out of the recession, but the Fed had to turn to non-standard forms of monetary policy, or unconventional monetary policy. The Federal Reserve used forward guidance, quantitative easing, and the maturity extension program to: lower interest rates, raise inflation expectations, and increase GDP. Six years after the Financial Crisis, the Federal Reserve has begun to taper from unconventional monetary policy. Yet, there has been much debate as to whether unconventional monetary policy is effective or not, …

Peer-To-Peer Lending Industry And Risk Control Measures, Ran Wang

Honors Theses

With the rise of the Internet, a new form of financing, peer-to-peer lending (P2PL), has embraced its opportunities in the 21st Century. After Zopa, the world's first financial company that offers P2P loans, was founded in the UK, the U.S. also seized the trend and witnessed the launch of Prosper in 2006, followed by Lending Club. The IPO of Lending Club in 2014 created a faster momentum for the development of similar companies in the industry and cleared some concerns regarding SEC regulations. However, given the business model that P2PL companies adopt and the economic characteristics of P2P loans borrowers, …

Gender Bias In Microlending: Do Opposites Attract?, Kanyinsola Adepoju

Master's Theses

This study exploits a quasi-random assignment of clients to loan officers using a unique database and survey from a large microfinance bank in Nigeria to show that opposite-sex preferences affect credit demand and supply. We find that clients matched to loan officers of the opposite gender are more likely to receive credit and are more likely to return for an additional loan with the credit lender.

The Effects Of Quantitative Easing In The United States: Implications For Future Central Bank Policy Makers, Matthew Q. Rubino

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the effects of the Federal Reserve’s recent bond buying programs, specifically Quantitative Easing 1, Quantitative Easing 2, Operation Twist (or the Fed’s Maturity Extension Program), and Quantitative Easing 3. In this study, I provide a picture of the economic landscape leading up to the deployment of the programs, an overview of quantitative easing including each program’s respective objectives, and how and why the Fed decided to implement the programs. Using empirical analysis, I measure each program’s effectiveness by applying four models including a yield curve model, an inflation model, a money supply …

How Behavioral Factors Are Being Implemented Into Today's Financial Education Programs, Esperanza Perez

HIM 1990-2015

This research examined 50 financial education programs within the state of Florida. The purpose of the research was to survey financial education program providers to see how they are evolving to meet the sociological, psychological and behavioral factors that affect individual’s financial decision making. In constructing the survey I referenced articles, journals and publications regarding how certain factors can affect an individual and their ability to apply financial education to their daily life. This review of previous research showed that tailored education, to determine a participant’s means, ability and goals, is the best way to help participants achieve financial independence. …

Theory And Experiments Exploring Behavioral, Financial, And Public Economics, Matthew John Mcmahon

Doctoral Dissertations

I study three questions which relate to one another only in that each explores facets of economics. First, I theoretically examine the conditions under which introducing an impure public good decreases total public provision. I introduce a central planner who can tax the private good to correct this and identify the market characteristics that typify this scenario. Second, I test the two standard competing dividend puzzle hypotheses using a laboratory experiment. Evidence from the lab, including variables unobservable in the field, reinforces empirical work supporting the outcome model over the substitute. Last, I obscure from dictators information regarding recipients' income …

How Does Untimely Death Of An Executive Affect Stock Prices And Company Performance?, Yu Zhang

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The main purpose of this project is to investigate if the sudden death of an executive will affect the company’s stock price and/or performance, and to examine any other impacts of an executive’s untimely death. Are executives the most important person in a company? If so, how much is an executive worth in comparison to the company’s overall value? Is a CEO’s pay actually worth what the company is getting in return? Many researchers believe that the CEO and executives are the soul of a company, however, there is limited evidence to prove that hypothesis (Fama and Jesnsen, 1983). There …

The Idiosyncratic Volatility Puzzle: A Behavioral Explanation, Brad Cannon

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The trade-off between risk and return is a fundamental principle in finance. In any finance class, one will likely hear the phrase, “the greater the risk, the greater the return.” The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), one of the most basic and well-known finance models, estimates the expected return of an asset assuming a positive relation between expected return and a single risk factor. Empirically, risk control variables such as the CAPM beta along with other risk factors associated with market cap, book-to-market ratio, and illiquidity are used when pricing assets. Finance is abundant in theories all supporting positive risk-return …

Decimalization And Illiquidity Premiums: An Extended Analysis, Seth E. Williams

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In this study I compare the illiquidity premium related to the bid–ask spread before and after the 2001 change to decimal pricing for New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq stock exchanges. Theory predicts a contraction of the bid-ask spread with a move to more precise pricing, and this association is shown. A disparity between the NYSE and Nasdaq exchanges due to decimalization is shown. A portfolio analysis based on the relationship between the bid-ask spread and next month returns is back-tested, revealing a significant and positive risk-adjusted return for holding the portfolio of stocks with the highest bid-ask spreads. …

An Empirical Analysis Of Customer Satisfaction In Short Selling, Brian Ramaeker

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Using an event study along with basic linear regressions, this paper sets out to find if customer satisfaction factors into asset pricing, and if short sellers predict or react to the announcement, then capitalize on the mispricing. By using customer satisfaction data from the ACSI index and security pricing data from WRDS it is possible to test whether the absolute level of customer satisfaction factors into a short selling investor’s actions within the market, or if an increase or decrease in satisfaction from the previous year is recognized by short sellers.

Investment Performance Of Common Stock In Relation To Their Price-Earnings Ratios: Basu 1977 Extended Analysis, Jordan R. Tilley

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In this study, the work of Basu 1977 is partly replicated using subsequent market data. A trading strategy of investing in assets based on their price-earnings ratio is back-tested, thus also testing the efficient market hypothesis. Market data over the past twenty-five years (1989-2014) was gathered, cleaned, and modeled to test for unexplained return to five portfolios ranked by PE ratio. The data was tested using the single-factor Capital Asset Pricing Model and the Fama-French three-factor model. The dataset was then decomposed by price and similarly modeled to test whether the effectiveness of using PE as a leading indicator is …

Discussing Economic Factors' Effects On Personal Saving Rate, Zhong Wang

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Business capital and investment are increasingly moving abroad as globalization occurs, and worldwide economic integration is accordingly strengthened. The extremely low personal saving rate in the United States and the extremely high personal saving rate in China are always a concern for economists. This project uses data from the United States and economic and econometric methodologies to analyze and discuss several economic factors that affect the U.S. personal saving rate. The result shows that the housing and stock market booms, an increasing interest rate, and a decrease in the ratio of workers to retirees cause the decrease in personal saving …

Inflation Targeting And Dollarization In Bolivia, Hugo Vaca Pereira Rocha

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis attempts to test the effectiveness of the IT regime as a nominal anchor (reference for monetary policy) to the Bolivian Central Bank through the use of the Taylor rule. In order to use the Taylor Rule, it will be necessary to collect data from the monetary aggregates, interest rates (preferably US interest rates since the boliviano is pegged to the US dollar), and Bolivian Central Bank international reserves. Depending upon the results of the coefficients found it would be possible to make some initial conclusions. The reason why this amount of data will be required is that this …

Exploring The Relationship Between Utah's Wages And Utah's Real Estate Values, S. Scott Laneri

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper uses a variety of multiple regression analysis techniques to attempt to answer whether a direct relationship exists between Utah's employee wages and Utah's residential real estate values. Unexpected declines in real estate values can have seriously negative impacts on businesses, individuals, and local governments in Utah. Conversely, unexpected increases represent missed opportunities. Researchers have used various statistical and mathematical methods to explain or predict changes in real estate values, but no method has consistently predicted values for a long period of time or across multiple geographical areas. This paper focuses on exploring the relationship between variables in Utah …

The Affordable Care Act: Five Years Later, Andrew Dana Izatt

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The challenges facing the American health care system are well known and manifold. The United States pays substantially more for its health care than any other developed, industrialized nation. Per capita health care spending in 2012 was $8,745, up from $356 in 1970 without marked improvements in life expectancy, quality of life, or outcomes. But despite all of our health spending, large portions of our population go without health insurance. Being uninsured carries real consequences. A report published in the American Journal of Public Health, by researchers at Harvard Medical School, using statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and …

Anchoring Bias, Idiosyncratic Volatility And The Cross-Section Of Stock Returns, Cedric Tresor Luma Mbanga

Doctoral Dissertations

Ang, Hodrick, Xing and Zhang (2006) document an anomaly in the cross-section of stock returns. They show that high idiosyncratic volatility (IVOL) firms earn lower returns in the following month. Specifically, they find after sorting stocks in quintile portfolios based on the previous month's IVOL that a zero-investment portfolio long the most volatile quintile of stocks and short the least yields about -1% during the subsequent month. The evidence reported in Ang, Hodrick, Xing and Zhang (2006) is primarily puzzling because traditional asset pricing theories suggest that (i) only systematic risk should be priced, (ii) to the extent that markets …

Improving Micro-Finance Productivity Through Data Analysis, Ryan D. Taylor

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

After nearly three months of gathering, creating, organizing, and analyzing data from social entrepreneurship programs in Peru and Ghana, correlations have been found within the data which may be used in the pursuit to eliminate poverty around the globe. These correlations were found through completing both linear relationship analyses and multi-variable regression analyses. The most statistically significant factors when looking at correlational relationships with number of missed and late payments were APR, loan duration, loan date (year fraction), gender or principle loan participant, and participation in incentive programs. The most poignant of these variables in terms of statistical significance was …

Somali Remittances Campaign, Ammar Mohammed

Capstone Collection

The world changed after 9/11, and so did the US banking regulations. One change was that it has become increasingly difficult for families and communities in Somalia to receive remittances from relatives and friends living in the United States. Those funds are essential to the livelihoods of 40% of the population, especially women and children. It further has a negative impact on the national economy of one of the world’s poorest countries. However, US banks has become increasingly willing to assume the costs of complying with the government’s Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations or to …