Business Commons^™

From Odious Debt To Odious Finance: Avoiding The Externalities Of A Functional Odious Debt Doctrine, Christiana Ochoa

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This Article looks at the generally agreed upon characteristics of the odious debt doctrine and considers the unintended consequences and externalities that would ensue if this doctrine were ever made regularly operative. The enlivened scholarly debate surrounding the odious debt doctrine assumes that debt is the sole finance vehicle for despotic governments. This is simply not the case.

Debt is not the sole finance vehicle; despots are able to raise funds through a wide variety of other methods. These include the pillaging of the nation's natural resources, property, and other valuable asset as well as the exploitation of the nation's …

Three Essays In Options Pricing: 1. Volatilities Implied By Price Changes In The S&P 500 Options And Future Contracts 2. Price Changes In The S&P Options And Futures Contracts: A Regression Analysis 3. Hedging Price Changes In The S&P 500 Options And Futures Contracts: The Effect Of Different Measures Of Implied Volatility, Jitka Hilliard

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this work, I develop a new volatility measure; the volatility implied by price changes in option contracts and their underlyings. I refer to this as implied price change volatility. First, I examine the time series behavior of implied price change volatility and investigate possible moneyness and maturity effects. I compare these characteristics to those of the usual implied volatility measure and the historical volatility of the S&P 500 index. Then, I investigate the performance of the implied price change volatility in a regression setup and in hedging applications. I compare the performance of hedges using daily updated implied price …

An Efficient Method For Maximum Likelihood Estimation Of A Stochastic Volatility Model, Junying, Shirley Huang, Jun Yu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In this paper an efficient, simulation-based, maximumlikelihood (ML) method is proposed for estimating Taylor’sstochastic volatility (SV) model. The new method isbased on the second order Taylor approximation to the integrand.The approximation enables us to transfer the numericalproblem in the Laplace approximation and that inimportance sampling into the problem of inverting two highdimensional symmetric tri-diagonal matrices. A result recentlydeveloped in the linear algebra literature shows thatsuch an inversion has an analytic form, greatly facilitatingthe computations of the likelihood function of the SVmodel. In addition to provide parameter estimation, the newmethod offers an efficient way to filter, smooth, and forecastlatent log-volatility. The …

The Effect Of Rivals When Firms Emerge From Bankruptcy, Gary L. Caton, Jeffrey Donaldson, Jeremy Goh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Studies on the announcement effects of bankruptcy filings have found that when a firm files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection its shareholders suffer significant losses. A recent paper extends these findings by investigating the announcement effect on rival companies, while another examines the equity performance of firms emerging from bankruptcy. We combine these two lines of inquiry by examining the effect on rivals when a firm emerges from the protection of Chapter 11. We find both significant negative stock market returns and significant negative revisions in analysts’ earnings forecasts for rivals of successfully reorganized companies.

Firm Diversification And Earnings Management: Evidence From Seasoned Equity Offerings, Chee Yeow Lim, Tiong Yang Thong, David K. Ding

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Popular press suggests that diversified firms are more aggressive in managing earnings than non-diversified firms. We examine this claim in the seasoned equity offering (SEO) setting, where firms have been shown to have the incentive to manage earnings upwards. Using the cross-sectional modified Jones [(1991) J Accounting Res 29:193–228] model to measure discretionary current accruals, we find that discretionary current accruals are higher among diversified firms than in non-diversified ones. Our evidence is consistent with the view that the extent of firm diversification is directly related to the degree of earnings management. We further show that diversified issuers with high …

The Delinquency Of Subprime Mortgages, Michelle A. Danis, Anthony Pennington-Cross

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

The lag between the time that a borrower stops making payments on a mortgage and the termination of the loan plays a critical role in the costs borne by both borrower and lender on defaulted loans. While the prior literature uses a multinomial logit approach, statistical tests indicate that we cannot accept the associated assumption of Independence of Irrelevant Alternatives (IIA). Using a nested logit specification our results suggest that the recipe for delinquency involves young loans to low credit score borrowers with low or no documentation in housing markets with moderately volatile and flat or declining nominal house prices.

Ex–Dividend Day Price And Volume: The Case Of 2003 Dividend Tax Cut, Yi Zhang, Kathleen A. Farrell, Todd A. Brown

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

We examine the impact of the 2003 dividend tax cut, which removes the differential taxation between dividends and capital gains for individual investors, on the ex–dividend day price and trading volume. We find the ex–dividend day price and volume are affected by taxes, risk, and transaction costs. The ex–dividend day price drop ratio (excess return) increases (decreases) and dividend clienteles weaken after the tax cut. Ex–dividend day abnormal volume among high dividend yield stocks decreases after the tax cut consistent with a diminished motivation for tax–induced trading. Our results suggest that individual investors have a measurable effect on the ex–dividend …

How Do Firms Adjust Director Compensation?, Kathleen A. Farrell, Geoffrey C. Friesen, Philip L. Hersch

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

This paper examines outside director compensation for a sample of 237 Fortune 500 firms over the 1998-2004 period. We document a trend towards fixed-value equity compensation and away from cash only and fixed-number equity compensation. Adjustments to director compensation are consistent with firms targeting a market level of compensation, and firms that deviate from their market wage symmetrically adjust compensation back toward the market level. We also document the relation between changes in compensation and changes in equity values, and find that upward adjustments begin sooner than downward adjustments. When equity values rise, we find virtually no immediate offset to …

Incorporating Value And Risk Management Principles In Developing Low-Income Housing Projects, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman

Architectural Engineering

The construction industry is concerned with satisfying its customers’ needs through delivering projects that achieve their objectives and meet their expectations on time, within budget and as specified. Despite the several housing programmes constructed by government authorities, there is a real housing problem for the poor. This problem is attributed to a number of reasons. Amongst them, the inability of the low-incomers to cover the cost of supplied houses and the lack of the constructed projects to achieve users’ satisfaction. This highlighted the need to develop innovative and creative solutions that can deliver housing projects that achieve the satisfaction of …

The Cross-Section Of Stock Return And Volatility, Hongchao Han

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

There has been increasing research on the cross-sectional relation between stock return and volatility. Conclusions are, however, mixed, partially because volatility or variance is modeled or parameterized in various ways. This paper, by using the Jiang and Tian (2005)'s model-free method, estimates daily option implied volatility for all US individual stocks from 1996:01 to 2006:04, and then employs this information to extract monthly volatilities and their idiosyncratic parts for cross-sectional regression analyses. We follow the Fama and French (1992) cross-sectional regression procedure and show that each of the 4 monthly measures of change of total volatility, total volatility, expected idiosyncratic …

Customer Satisfaction And Service Quality In High-Contact Service Firm, Emilina R. Sarreal

DLSU Business & Economics Review

By taking attribute-based measures of service quality, this study establishes clear linkages between customer satisfaction (students) and quality (perception of their experience in the practicum program of the university). The results of this study clearly indicate that student satisfaction is more directly related to functional quality or process of service delivery. The delivery of service through implementation of clear policies and procedures contributed significantly to student satisfaction. The study recommends appropriate internal measures of efficiency and employee compensation as a means to ensure quality and customer satisfaction, and, as a whole, recommends a service marketing system for a high-contact type …

Application Of Accrual And Cash Accounting: Implications For Small And Medium Enterprises In Metro Manila, Cynthia P. Cudia

DLSU Business & Economics Review

This study aims to determine which between the two methods of accounting, accrual or cash method, is more applicable to SMEs in Metro Manila. Accordingly, this study aims to determine the factors that influence SMEs in Metro Manila to apply the chosen accounting method. Some implications of using accrual and cash accounting are specified. This includes implications on qualitative characteristics of financial information, on income statements and balance sheet, on SMEs’ liquidity and profitability positions, and implications of using cash/modified-cash basis converted to accrual basis at year-end. The results of the study provide insights on the applicability of the Exposure …

Income Statement Disclosures: An International Financial Reporting Standard Compliance Report Of Ten Selected Publicly Listed Corporations In The Manufacturing Industry, Rodiel C. Ferrer

DLSU Business & Economics Review

This study focuses on compliance audit of ten selected publicly listed corporations in the manufacturing industry. It seeks to ensure that the submitted financial statements of a business entity are in accordance with applicable laws and regulations set forth in the Philippine Accounting Standards. The review’s aim is to establish a recommendatory measure that may support the SEC and other bodies interested in promoting a more unified, synchronized financial report that may be easily understood; to facilitate evaluation; and to provide a uniform basis of financial reporting. As a supplement, it may be used as a tool to identify loopholes, …

Impairment Practices Of Selected Publicly-Listed Companies In The Philippine Mining Industry, Florenz C. Tugas

DLSU Business & Economics Review

As evidenced by new accounting standards, the advent of harmonization of accounting standards has caused a shift from historical basis accounting to fair value accounting. A bigger impact of this shift is manifested through revaluations and impairment. But recent events that concern complexities associated with the practical application of this standard have surfaced causing many companies to not full comply with its provisions. This study, therefore, attempts to investigate the compliance of ten selected companies belonging to the mining industry with provisions of PAS 36; and to determine existing impairment practices in the mining industry. Results reveal that selected companies …

Make Haste Or Waste: A Case Study On Predicting Bankruptcy Of Weyst Oyl Corporation Using Altman's Z-Score Model, Joy S. Rabo

DLSU Business & Economics Review

The motivation for research in corporate bankruptcy prediction is clear: the early detection of financial distress and the use of corrective measures are preferable to filing for protection under the bankruptcy law. This study analyzes if the application of Altman’s Z-score model will send a danger signal to the company management and contribute to the improvement of Weyst Oyl Corporation’s financial status. A used oil treating company established in 1978, Weyst Oyl Corporation, which has consistently been operating profitably for 17 years since its formation, decided in 1996 to acquire machinery which would increase plant capacity. It did so without …

Short-Sale Strategies And Return Predictability, Karl B. Diether, Kuan-Hui Lee, Ingrid M. Werner

Faculty Publications

We examine short selling in US stocks based on new SEC-mandated data for 2005. There is a tremendous amount of short selling in our sample: short sales represent 24% of NYSE and 31% of Nasdaq share volume. Short sellers increase their trading following positive returns and they correctly predict future negative abnormal returns. These patterns are robust to controlling for voluntary liquidity provision and for opportunistic risk-bearing by short sellers. The results are consistent with short sellers trading on short-term overreaction of stock prices. A trading strategy based on daily short-selling activity generates significant positive returns during the sample period.

Investability And Firm Value, Todd Mitton, Thomas O’Connor

Faculty Publications

We study how investability, or openness to foreign equity investors, affects firm value in a sample of over 1,400 firms from 26 emerging markets. We find that, on average, investability is associated with a 9% valuation premium (as measured by Tobin’s q). However, in firm-fixed effects regressions this valuation premium disappears, suggesting that investability does not have a causal effect on firm value. Analysis of the components of Tobin’s q shows that firms that become investable experience significant increases in both market values and physical investment. These effects are strongest for firms that face country-level or firm-level financial constraints prior …

The Importance Of Default Options For Retirement Savings Outcomes: Evidence From The United States, John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian

Faculty Publications

This paper summarizes the empirical evidence on how defaults impact retirement savings outcomes. After outlining the salient features of the various sources of retirement income in the U.S., the paper presents the empirical evidence on how defaults impact retirement savings outcomes at all stages of the savings lifecycle, including savings plan participation, savings rates, asset allocation, and post-retirement savings distributions. The paper then discusses why defaults have such a tremendous impact on savings outcomes. The paper concludes with a discussion of the role of public policy towards retirement saving when defaults matter.

How Are Preferences Revealed?, John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian

Faculty Publications

Revealed preferences are tastes that rationalize an economic agent's observed actions. Normative preferences represent the agent's actual interests. It sometimes makes sense to assume that revealed preferences are identical to normative preferences. But there are many cases where this assumption is violated. We identify five factors that increase the likelihood of a disparity between revealed preferences and normative preferences: passive choice, complexity, limited personal experience, third-party marketing, and intertemporal choice. We then discuss six approaches that jointly contribute to the identification of normative preferences: structural estimation, active decisions, asymptotic choice, aggregated revealed preferences, reported preferences, and informed preferences. Each …

Estimating The Dynamics Of Mutual Fund Alphas And Betas, Harry Mamaysky, Matthew Spiegel, Hong Zhang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This article develops a Kalman filter model to track dynamic mutual fund factor loadings. It then uses the estimates to analyze whether managers with market-timing ability can be identified ex ante. The primary findings are as follows: (i) Ordinary least squares (OLS) timing models produce false positives (nonzero alphas) at too high a rate with either daily or monthly data. In contrast, the Kalman filter model produces them at approximately the correct rate with monthly data; (ii) In monthly data, though the OLS models fail to detect any timing among fund managers, the Kalman filter does; (iii) The alpha and …

Teaching Business Calculus: Methodologies, Techniques, Issues, And Prospects, Frederick A. Halcon

DLSU Business & Economics Review

Calculus, as a subject matter, is an area in mathematics that deals with limits, rates of change, derivatives and integrals. University education often incorporates calculus in the curriculum with emphasis given to its applications in real-life situations. It is a common notion that calculus, as a course or subject, is intricate and complex. However, treating business calculus in the most elementary manner and making abstract concepts more concrete can prove to be effective teaching strategies inside the classroom. This study attempts to review certain literature so as to equip instructors of business calculus with the necessary teaching pedagogy intended to …

Balance Sheet Disclosures: An Ifrs/Pfrs Compliance Report Of Ten Publicly Listed Companies In The Food Industry, Heminigilda E. Salendrez

DLSU Business & Economics Review

From the beginning of January 2005, publicly traded companies in the Philippines have had to comply with the Philippine Accounting Standards (PAS) and the Philippine Financial Reporting Standards (PFRS) for their consolidated financial statements. It has been suggested that the new accounting standards will facilitate the process of international harmonization of financial statements. This study shows the outcome of the examination of ten publicly listed companies in the food industry’s financial reporting practices as regards their compliance with the financial reporting requirement embodied in PAS/PFRS and Securities Regulation code Rule 68 and 68.1.

A Framework For Analysis Of Ambidexterity And Performance In Small-To-Medium-Sized Firms, Edgardo N. Bolinao

DLSU Business & Economics Review

Ambidextrous organizations provide a practical model for forward-looking executives seeking to pioneer disruptive innovations while pursuing incremental gains. The relationships described in this study are based on the organizational-context literature, in particular Ghoshal and Bartlett’s (1994) framework for organizational effectiveness, suggesting that contextual ambidexterity emerges when owner-managers in a business unit develop a supportive organization context. This perspective suggests that superior business-unit performance is not achieved primarily though charismatic leadership nor through some formal organizational structure, nor strong company culture; but rather through building a rational set of systems and processes that collectively define a context that allows the transcending …

The Importance Of Default Options For Retirement Saving Outcomes: Evidence From The United States, John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian

Faculty Publications

If transaction costs are small, standard economic theory would suggest that defaults should have little impact on economic outcomes. Agents with well-defined preferences will opt out of any default that does not maximize their utility, regardless of the nature of the default. In practice, however, defaults can have quite sizeable effects on economic outcomes. Recent research has highlighted the important role that defaults play in a wide range of settings: organ donation decisions (Johnson and Goldstein 2003; Abadie and Gay 2004), car insurance plan choices (Johnson et al. 1993), car option purchases (Park, Jun, and McInnis 2000), and consent to …

Spirituality And Organizational Culture: Cultivating The Abcs Of An Inspiring Workplace, Stanley E. Fawcett, James C. Brau, Gary K. Rhoads, David Whitlark, Amydee M. Fawcett

Faculty Publications

Perhaps the greatest source of unique advantage is an organization’s workforce. Unfortunately, while many managers talk about the importance or their people, they often fail to cultivate a organizational spirit that leverages their people’s creativity, insight and passion. A senior executive at a Fortune 500 company commented on this reality, saying, “People are either the bridge or the barrier.” One of today’s primary leadership challenges is to overcome practices that limit workers’ involvement. The goal is to create a workplace that inspires creativity and contribution. The question becomes, “What practices cultivate a culture that can transform an organization’s workforce into …

Determinants Of Financial Health Of Us General Aviation Airports, Vitaly S. Guzhva, Massoud Bazargan, David A. Byers

Management, Marketing and Operations - Daytona Beach

This survey-based study investigates the current financial environment of US general aviation airports. Due to a dearth of data and research on the financial performance of general aviation airports, the paper provides vital information regarding the critical needs and major revenue sources of such airports.The findings suggest that general aviation airports can be self-sustaining regardless of their location, runway length and other airport-specific characteristics.The attitudes of the airport manager towards the importance of financial self-sustainability, positive relationships with local communities, and utilisation of non-traditional and non-aviation revenue sources are found to be critical for the financial health of general aviation …

Security Design That Addresses Agency Conflicts And Information Asymmetry, Manish Tewari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the role of structured derivative securities to meet diverse corporate financing objectives in the light of agency theory and asymmetric information. The focus is on the nonconvertible callable-puttable fixed-coupon bonds. The primary objective is to discern the marginal role of the put and put-deferred features in addressing the agency issues and asymmetric information. A sample of (159) securities issued over the period (1977-2005) are examined using Merton's (1974) structural contingent claims valuation model. The put option as well as the deferred put option incorporated in these securities is found to mitigate the asset substitution issue. It …

The Relationship Between Corportate Social Responsibility And Shareholder Value: An Empirical Test Of The Risk Management Hypothesis, Paul C. Godfrey, Craig B. Merrill, Jared M. Hansen

Faculty Publications

Do shareholders gain when managers disperse corporate resources through activities classified as corporate social responsibility (CSR)? Strategy scholars have recently developed a theoretical model that links such activities to shareholder value when a firm suffers a negative event; we test key portions of this theory of the ‘insurance-like’ property of CSR activity. We posit that such activity leads to positive attributions from stakeholders, who then temper their negative judgments and sanctions toward firms because of this goodwill. We extend the risk management model by theorizing that some types of CSR activities will be more likely to create goodwill and offer …

Tugba Basaran On Savings Services For The Poor: An Operational Guide Edited By Madeline Hirschland. Bloomfield, Ct: Kumarian Press, 2005. 380pp., Tugba Basaran

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Savings Services for the Poor: An Operational Guide edited by Madeline Hirschland. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, 2005. 380pp.

Cost Structures In Defined Contribution Systems: The Case Of Singapore's Central Provident Fund, Benedict S. K. Koh, Olivia S. Mitchell, Joelle H. Y. Fong

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Retirement systems are increasingly asked to do an ever-better job of enhancing the performance of pension investments. The Singaporean Central Provident Fund permits pension system participants to keep their money in a government-run investment pool, or if they wish, they may select professionally managed unit trusts for their retirement accumulations. Opting for investment choice also exposes members to additional investment costs not charged by the government-managed account. This paper explores the charges levied by the private fund managers and we show that foreign ownership, active style of management and equity/balanced funds tend to be most expensive. We conclude with a …