Business Commons^™

Three Essays In Volatility, Yu Hu

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For a typical firm, idiosyncratic volatility is as sensitive to the relative value of assets in place as to growth options. However, for firms dominated by assets in place (growth options), idiosyncratic volatility is more sensitive to the relative value of assets in place (growth options). Binding irreversibility constraint (uncertainty) makes the effect of assets in place (growth options) more pronounced.

The institutional ownership in China’s (the U.S.) stock market is positively (negatively) related to idiosyncratic volatility. Our dynamic tests show two-way Granger-causality between institutional ownership and idiosyncratic volatility in the U.S. and one-way Granger-causality in China. It indicates that …

Me, Myself And My Future-Self: How Self-Motives Impact Personal Financial Decision Making, Patricia Torres

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The role of self-motives on consumer behavior has been a subject of interest for researchers in the fields of marketing and psychology. With regard to consumer well-being, most of studies have focused on health-related issues (diet, physical activity, tobacco use, substance abuse). However, there is a specific area that is of significant interest in the American context: financial decision making, specifically, personal savings and debt (mis) management. Both the 2008 financial crisis and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic exposed Americans’ lack of savings and its devastating consequences. A record-high consumer debt (Federal Reserve, 2018) combined with a lack of savings (Northwestern …

Three Essays In Corporate Governance, Dung Thanh Nguyen

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines exploring how a board structure protects and creates shareholder value. The main responsibilities of a board of directors are to enhance the shareholder value by setting a strategic direction for the firm, monitoring, and advising managers. A structure of a board of directors could range from board size, independent board ratio to gender diversity, inside-outside chairperson, committee designs. How exactly a board structure could create value and through what channels are one of the biggest challenges in corporate finance.

In the first essay, I use board structure changes brought by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX; 2002) and subsequent …