The Financial Lives Of Low-Income Rhode Islanders: Challenges And Opportunities, 2015 University of Rhode Island
The Financial Lives Of Low-Income Rhode Islanders: Challenges And Opportunities, Keegan Glennon
Senior Honors Projects
Less fortunate Americans have historically been urged to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps,” implying that prosperity was essentially just a matter of willpower. Over time, however, it has become clear that there are more than a few problems with this conception of American society. If hard work and willpower aren’t all that lower class Americans need to reach prosperity, then what do they need? This has been an issue of much debate ever since the question was first posed. The truth is that that poor Americans face many obstacles in managing their financial lives, and many of these obstacles …
How Does Untimely Death Of An Executive Affect Stock Prices And Company Performance?, 2015 Utah State University
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, 2015 Utah State University
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, 2015 Utah State University
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. …
Health Disparities In Cardiovascular Disease And High Blood Pressure Among Adults In Rural Underserved Communities, 2015 Georgia Southern University
Health Disparities In Cardiovascular Disease And High Blood Pressure Among Adults In Rural Underserved Communities, William Amponsah, Marian M. Tabi, Godfrey A. Gibbison
Finance and Economics Faculty Publications
Purpose: This study examined the factors contributing to health disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) and high blood pressure (HBP) among adults in three rural underserved communities in southeast Georgia. Socioeconomic status as well as geographic location plays a significant role in one’s quality of health outcomes.
Methods: Individuals in three counties in southern Georgia participated in the study. The study was motivated by review of retrospective data from the 2008 Georgia Cardiovascular Health Initiative (CVHI) database to explain the factors contributing to the incidence of health disparities. A survey questionnaire was administered by telephone to adult members of …
The Affordable Care Act: Five Years Later, 2015 Utah State University
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 …
Investment Performance Of Common Stock In Relation To Their Price-Earnings Ratios: Basu 1977 Extended Analysis, 2015 Utah State University
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, 2015 Utah State University
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 …
An Empirical Analysis Of Customer Satisfaction In Short Selling, 2015 Utah State University
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.
Inflation Targeting And Dollarization In Bolivia, 2015 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
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, 2015 Utah State University
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 …
How Low Interest Rates Impede Recovery, 2015 University of Chicago
How Low Interest Rates Impede Recovery, Lester G. Telser
Lester G Telser
A super market and a bank in the money market treat their customers differently. A supermarket stands ready to sell to any customer any amount available of a commodity at a given price without regard to the customer’s credit standing. The credit standing of a potential borrower is paramount to a bank. Whether a bank offers a loan, its size if it does, and the interest rate it asks all depends on its assessment of the credit risk. Keeping interest rates low impedes lending and economic recovery.
Learning About Rare Disasters: Implications For Consumption And Asset Prices, 2015 University of Missouri–St. Louis
Learning About Rare Disasters: Implications For Consumption And Asset Prices, Max Gillman, Michal Kejak, Michal Pakoš
Max Gillman
No abstract provided.
Recent Periods Of Financial Turbulence On The Russian Stock Market And Their Effect On Price Correlation And Value At Risk, 2015 Financial University under the Government of the RF, Moscow
Recent Periods Of Financial Turbulence On The Russian Stock Market And Their Effect On Price Correlation And Value At Risk, Alexander Logoveev, Gregory Cherinko
Undergraduate Economic Review
The aim of this article is to observe and analyze the recent periods of financial turbulence on the Russian stock market and determine their influence on the correlation coefficients between asset prices and the Value at Risk measure for a portfolio. Our task was to describe the previously observed phenomenon of correlation enlargement during times of financial crises deemed in our research as separate Black Swans. Based on up-to-date financial data analysis we determined correlation trends that can be useful in risk management and applied the Value at Risk method.
Helping A Microfinance Institution Select Its Clients: A Risk Analysis Using Social Networks, 2015 College of Wooster
Helping A Microfinance Institution Select Its Clients: A Risk Analysis Using Social Networks, Sayantan Mitra, Varunavi Newar
Black & Gold
This paper formulates an objective mathematical model for a Microfinance Institution (MFI) to measure the credit worthiness associated with a potential client. We use concepts from network theory to determine the credit worthiness of an individual in relation to other households in the community. We use the concept of eigenvector centrality to evaluate the relative credit worthiness in the network. The latter part of the model focuses on the absolute measures of credit worthiness such as income, ownership of assets and risk of the proposed investment. This model would help MFIs reduce the risk of borrowing by ensuring that there …
Financial Literacy And College Students: An Exploration Of College Students’ Attitudes, Behaviors, Influences And Preparedness For Financial Decisions After Graduation, 2015 Bryant University
Financial Literacy And College Students: An Exploration Of College Students’ Attitudes, Behaviors, Influences And Preparedness For Financial Decisions After Graduation, Kerry Quirk
Honors Projects in Finance
Financial literacy is the level of understanding an individual has for different financial topics, including but not limited to, investment vehicles, retirement accounts, saving, budgeting, credit and taxes, and the use of such knowledge to change one’s financial behavior to create a more positive financial position for the future. Past research has shown that college students consistently have low levels of financial literacy. They also lack knowledgeable influences on their financial education. Because many college students will soon enter the workforce after graduation and will be responsible for managing their own salary, retirement accounts and investment options, they can be …
Do Opposites Detract? Intrahousehold Preference Heterogeneity And Inefficient Strategic Savings, 2015 Dartmouth College
Do Opposites Detract? Intrahousehold Preference Heterogeneity And Inefficient Strategic Savings, Simone Schaner
Dartmouth Scholarship
This paper uses a field experiment to test whether intrahousehold heterogeneity in discount factors leads to inefficient strategic savings behavior. I gave married couples in rural Kenya the opportunity to open both joint and individual bank accounts at randomly assigned interest rates. I also directly elicited discount factors for all individuals in the experiment. Couples who are well matched on discount factors are less likely to use costly individual accounts and respond robustly to relative rates of return between accounts, while their poorly matched peers do not. Consequently, poorly matched couples forgo significantly more interest earnings on their savings. (JEL …
Real Arrow-Securities For All: Just And Efficient Insurance Through Macro-Hedging, 2015 Cornell Law School
Real Arrow-Securities For All: Just And Efficient Insurance Through Macro-Hedging, Robert C. Hockett
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
As a new hurricane season opened in June of 2006, it emerged that a number of online gaming sites were offering bettors the opportunity to wager on whether New Orleans might suffer another Katrina calamity. Commentators condemned the announced practice with howls of disgust, labeling it both tasteless and heartless. Perhaps they were right. All I could think about as one who grew up in New Orleans, however, was how risk pools might hereby be broadened to include all the world’s bettors. We shouldn’t condemn these people; we should use them—while requiring that they maintain margin accounts at their betting …
Improving Micro-Finance Productivity Through Data Analysis, 2015 Utah State University
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 …
Mexico Consensus Economic Forecast, Volume 18, Number 2, 2015 University of Texas at El Paso
Mexico Consensus Economic Forecast, Volume 18, Number 2, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Adam G. Walke
Border Region Modeling Project
No abstract provided.