Economics Commons^™

An Anthropologist Goes Offshore, Or, Creating An Actor-Network Among Finance Elites, Samuel Weeks, Ma, Phd

College of Humanities and Sciences Faculty Papers

This article discusses the methodological implications of a recent study on Luxembourg’s offshore financial center. Insight from actor-network theory was essential in undertaking its ethnographic research with elites from the country’s state and financial institutions. My intention in documenting this approach is to provide a template for ethnographers studying other localized contexts of global politico-economic significance, in which elite actors usually seek to curtail the enquiries of investigators. With this actor-network from Luxembourg as an example, I demonstrate how elite and difficult-to-access milieus can be entered via “networking” coupled with outreach via interviews and email correspondence. As I show, by …

Strategic Behavior, Artistic Integrity, And Tradeoffs In Popular Music, Andrew Weinbach, Phillip Kamau Njoroge, Robert Salvino, Arch Woodside

Finance and Economics

This study examines market concentration's influence on popular music. The data cover popular music from weekly Billboard Hot 100 songs from 1952 to 1989, for which song characteristic data including tempo and duration is available from the Million Song Dataset (MSD). Greater market concentration of the top four artists is found to impact song length, with longer #1 songs and shorter songs in the #2 through #10 spots on the Billboard charts. However, tests for alterations in song construction by top artists that might indicate a form of “sell-out” behavior do not reveal evidence of it.

This article was published …

U.S. International Climate Finance: An Analysis Of Historical Shortfalls And A Proposal For More Equitable Distribution, Maria-Cristina Kealey

Master's Projects and Capstones

Least-developed countries experienced 69% of deaths from climate disasters over the past 50 years despite comprising only 13% of the world’s population. Low-income and climate vulnerable nations around the world are suffering disproportionately as wealthy, high-emitting countries, such as the U.S., profit from the climate crisis. This research provides a comprehensive overview of past U.S. contributions to international climate finance efforts, assesses the climate finance deficit globally and specifically for developing countries, and proposes a more equitable share of U.S. funding from a quantitative and restorative climate justice approach. The primary analyses included quantifying the U.S. share of global greenhouse …

Successful Small Business Strategies Addressing Financially Related Adverse Circumstances, Shirley Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses are a crucial part of the economy of the United States. However, once a small business owner experiences a financially related adverse circumstance, the chances of failure increase exponentially. Grounded in the rational choice theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to identify and explore the effective strategies small business owners use when addressing financially related adverse circumstances. The participants were four small business owners in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area who used successful strategies to address financially related adverse circumstances. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and reviews of organizational documents and analyzed using …

Relationship Lending And Early Refinancing, Jiaqin Hu

Olin Business School Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Abstract: This paper explores debt choice between relationship loans and callable bonds since both financing approaches are commonly used to mitigate agency cost and information asymmetry. By testing loan and firm samples from 1987 to 2015 in the U.S., we find that borrowers with bank relationship is also more likely to issue fixed price callable bonds and early refinance before the due date of public debt. In addition, we find that short term bank loans are substituted with long term public debt at early refinancing stage. Moreover, lenders forming strong relationship with borrowing firms tend to charge higher cost at …

Essays In Household And Labor Finance, Avantika Pal

Olin Business School Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation focuses on two broad questions. First, what is the role of financial regulation in alleviating financial distress of households? Second, how do labor markets shape individual financial outcomes? In Chapter 1, I document a positive impact of foreclosure delays — a widely used measure of foreclosure prevention — on labor income. I present novel evidence showing that foreclosure delays can foster sustained economic recovery through local labor markets by allowing borrowers to re-evaluate their employment decisions and address the root causes of their financial distress. To conduct this study, I leverage a temporary rule introduced by the Consumer …

Trouble, Shu Li

Olin Business School Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Generally, we do not want trouble, but oftentimes trouble is the most interesting thing in finance. This thesis has three essays related to trouble. The first essay suggests predictors of trouble (accounting fraud or financial distress) also predict excess returns for newly-listed firms. The second and third essays offer suggestions about what approaches best mitigate damage from nontraded wealth that can have trouble in the form of big losses. The second paper offers general results, including an indicator of when hedging is good and when it is bad, and the third essay provides technical results used in the second essay.

A Hierarchical Decision Model For Evaluating The Strategy Readiness Of Quantitative Machine Learning/Data Science-Driven Investment Strategies, Mohammadsaleh Saadatmand

Dissertations and Theses

Big data and computational technologies are increasingly important worldwide in asset and investment management. Many investment management firms are adopting these data science methods and technologies to improve performance across all investment processes. Researchers actively use these methods to develop more effective systematic investment strategies and produce more reliable outcomes less vulnerable to human decision-making biases. However, the success of such a strategy depends heavily on the scientific rigor applied throughout the process. "Best practices involve understanding how to make better decisions in the research design process. A good question is whether we can make better decisions in developing quantitative …

Dreams And Livelihoods In Rural Areas Require Capital, Too: An Investigation Into The Role Of Diminishing Community Banks, Financial Education, And Access To Capital In Rural Areas, Jackson Walton

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Individuals in rural communities face unprecedented economic challenges due to a lack of financial education and a decline in the prevalence of community banks. These problems have continuously grown exponentially without successful attempt at remedy. The community banks that once served as the center of economic activity and prevalence in rural communities are leaving these communities quickly- leaving many without access to lines of credit, personal relationship banking, and without necessary financial education in a world with more financial options than ever. Access to banking and higher financial literacy proficiency rates are almost directly linked to better financial outcomes like …

The Economics Behind The Legalization Of Sports Gambling And Financial Market Relations, John Bassham

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

With the recent legalization of sports gambling, it has become a popular spectacle among sports fans and financial analysts pursuing an understanding of it. This thesis dives into the meticulous relationship between sports gambling and economic factors/financial market relations using academic literature to understand the relationship.

The thesis explores sports gambling from an economic standpoint using incentives to understand the market participants and economic advantages and disadvantages. It also uses academic literature and analytics to make a case for market efficiency while also delving into particular inefficiencies.

Furthermore, this thesis uses characteristics of the stock market in comparison of the …

The Mathematics Of Financial Portfolio Optimization Incorporating Environmental, Social, And Governance Score Information, Ian Driskill

Master's Theses

We numerically investigate the effects that Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) scores have on portfolio optimization with Modern Portfolio Theory assumptions and how ESG scores correlate with the market returns of a rated company's stock. Additionally, we review and analyze a research paper published in the Journal of Financial Economics regarding ESG investing titled “Responsible investing: The ESG-efficient frontier” by Pedersen, Fitzgibbons, and Lukasz. Our overall goal is provide insight for socially responsible inclined investors, to help them understand what ESG scores tell us and how those scores may effect their overall investment returns."

Get Smart About Your Money, Sharonda Singleton Brown, Imani Beverly, Jacquelyn J. Daniel

Georgia Library Quarterly

“Get Smart About Your Money” was an event held at the Atlanta University Center (AUC) Robert W. Woodruff Library for Money Smart Week 2023. The goal of the event was to introduce the new business librarian, promote financial literacy in the Atlanta University Center community, and participate in National Money Smart Week.

How To Get Away With Insider Trading And How To Stop It?, Blade H. Kisler

Honors Theses

The realm of investing, while promising, is often clouded by complexity and opacity, exacerbated by the prevalence of insider trading. This unethical practice allows select individuals to amass vast fortunes by exploiting confidential information unavailable to the public. Particularly alarming is the possibility of insider trading within Congress, where lawmakers wield privileged access to non-public information and could possibly engage in lucrative stock transactions. This paper delves into specific coincidences of Congressional stock trading to underscore the systemic nature of this phenomenon among influential figures.

Bundling In Advance Sales: Theory And Evidence From Round-Trip Versus Two One-Way Tickets*, Diego Escobari, Paan Jindapon, Nicholas G. Rupp

School of Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

We theoretically derive an optimal price for a bundle of two goods that are sold in advance to risk-averse buyers. The theory predicts that a round-trip ticket is less expensive than two one-way tickets when demands for the outbound and the inbound are uncertain and positively correlated. Using a unique airlines dataset, we find evidence that is consistent with the theory; round-trip bundle discounts exist and they are larger for passengers who buy early in advance, stay on a Saturday night, and have higher valuations. We also find that the bundle discounts decrease with competition.

Gender Equity In Labor Market Opportunities And Aggregate Technical Efficiency: A Case Of Equity Promoting Efficiency, Gautam Hazarika, Maroula Khraiche, Levent Kutlu

School of Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

This study applies a panel data stochastic frontier analysis to country data towards examining the effect of gender equity in labor market opportunities upon efficiency in the production of GDP. It finds that aggregate technical efficiency is improved by a widening of women’s labor market opportunities as indicated by a rise in their share of employment, but that this effect is dampened by patriarchal cultural norms whose strength is measured by the proportion of the population tracing its ancestry to ethnic groups who adopted the plough as an agricultural implement. That aggregate technical efficiency rises in women’s share of employment …

A Red Awakening: An Analysis Of China’S Quest For Global Dominance Through Economic Alternative Warfare Methods, Sarah Beddingfield

Senior Honors Theses

In the 2023 annual meeting of China’s parliament, Chinese President Xi made it clear to his political leaders and the world that he was preparing for war. This should come as no surprise after analysis of China's grand strategy points clearly to the intent to surpass the U.S. as the premier global superpower in all respects. China has been building towards this goal for years through untraditional methods of warfare, forcing the national security community to reevaluate its own strategy and assess the Chinese threat through a different lens. This thesis seeks to address one specific area in which China …

Breaking Barriers: Exploring The Intersectionality Of Minority Status, Migration Fear, And Diversity, Alptug Yunus Yorulmaz

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays that examine the intersectionality of minority status, migration fear, and racial diversity: 1) The first essay discusses the importance of ethnic diversity in financial advisory firms. Studies illustrate examples of taste-based discrimination and the challenges faced by minorities in accessing capital. Furthermore, studies conclude a lack of trust in financial advisors, despite their significant role in the financial industry. This essay examines how racial diversity in advisory firms can foster representation and guidance for both minority and non-minority clients. 2) The second essay examines the association between minority entrepreneurial success and migration fear. Studies …

Better The Devil You Know: Improved Forecasts From Imperfect Models, Dong Hwan Oh, Andrew John Patton

Research Collection School Of Economics

Many important economic decisions are based on a parametric forecasting model that is known to be good but imperfect. We propose methods to improve out-of-sample forecasts from a misspecified model by estimating its parameters using a form of local M estimation (thereby nesting local OLS and local MLE), drawing on information from a state variable that is correlated with the misspecification of the model. We theoretically consider the forecast environments in which our approach is likely to offer improvements over standard methods, and we find significant forecast improvements from applying the proposed method across four distinct empirical analyses including volatility …

Jargon To Jackpot: The Financial Impact Of Infusing Pop Culture References In Social Media, Madelynn Solow

Business and Economics Honors Papers

This research explores the impact of incorporating pop culture references in a company's Twitter feed on the company's stock price. Pop culture is integral to people's everyday lives, providing a sense of familiarity and fun between individuals. Many companies have started leveraging pop culture references on social media platforms like Twitter to establish a relatable and engaging connection with diverse consumer demographics. The primary purpose of this research is to investigate whether this strategy is beneficial within the stock market. It is hypothesized that incorporating pop culture references on Twitter can lead to increased sales and higher stock prices, as …

Essays In Corporate Governance, Jun Mok Kim

Olin Business School Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This thesis consists of two essays that deal with institutional investors and corporate governance. In particular the first chapter studies the relationship between higher temperatures and institutions’ proxy voting. Analyzing voting decisions by U.S. mutual funds, I find that heat exposure negatively correlates with voting against management. The findings concentrate on companies or shareholder proposals where a stockholding in the firm represents a larger share of an institution’s portfolio. The heat-voting relationship is stronger when an institutional shareholder is experiencing unusually hotter temperatures. My results suggest potentially significant but hidden corporate governance implications of climate change. The second chapter studies …

The Effect Of Massage Therapy On Test Anxiety Experienced By Traditional-Aged Undergraduate Business Students, Jorge A. Pazmiño

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Test anxiety impacts traditional-aged undergraduate business students and influences their academic performance and overall well-being. This study explored the efficacy of massage therapy (MT) as a means of mitigating test anxiety within this demographic. Building on existing literature that addresses the consequences of anxiety and alternative coping mechanisms, this research study focused on MT as a potential strategy for test anxiety management. The study employed the Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale–College Version (AMAS-C) to gather data from participants at a private liberal arts institution in the East South-Central region of the United States. An experimental group received an MT intervention, while …

Capital Structure Decision And Its Impact On The Financial Performance Of Real Estate Companies Listed On The Egyptian Exchange, Walid Nabil Badr Ali

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Financial performance has been an ongoing challenge for real estate companies in Egypt due to the devaluation of the currency in 2016, an increase in interest rates, and inflation that led to an increase in the price of construction inputs, plus the effect of COVID-19 on the local and world economy. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between company capital structure and the financial performance of real estate companies in the Egyptian exchange during the years 2016 to 2020. The research questions focused on the effects of capital structure. Three financial performance measures, return …

U.S. Government Agency Podcasts, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Presents podcasts from U.S. Government agencies which can be discovered through the U.S. Government Publishing Office's Catalog of Government Publications. Agencies whose podcasts are presented include the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Peace Corps, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Government Accountability Office (GAO), National Park Service, Department of Justice, Federal Reserve System, and U.S. Naval War College.

Green Transition And Financial Stability: The Role Of Green Monetary And Macroprudential Policies And Vouchers, Ying Tung Chan, Maria Teresa Punzi, Hong Zhao

Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics

This paper analyzes a mix of alternative policies in supporting the green transition and the phase-out of fossil fuels, without compromising financial stability. An environmental dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (E-DSGE) model with two sectors (green and brown) and endogenous default is developed to assess potential climate-induced financial stability threats that can be mainly generated through physical and transition risks mechanism. Those risks are evaluated through a compound capital depreciation shock and a carbon tax shock. The paper offers several findings. First of all, a too stringent carbon tax would increase the medium-term default rate in both sectors, harming financial stability …

“Njangi Never Dies”: The Social Impacts And Non-Financial Benefits Of Njangis In Batoufam And Yaoundé, Cameroon, Georgia Schaefer-Brown

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Rotating Credits and Savings Associations (ROSCAs) are present in much of the developing world and are incredibly common in Cameroon. The financial impacts of ROSCAs have been researched extensively, but there has been less research on the social impacts and non-financial benefits. This research aims to fill this gap and add to the discussion of ROSCAs in Cameroon (called njangis), as well as demonstrate how njangis are social institutions. This project is in the specific context of njangis in Batoufam and Yaoundé, Cameroon. Interviews and observations informed the conclusion that there are extensive social impacts and non-financial benefits within the …

Financial Regulation Beyond Stability, Kathryn Judge

Faculty Scholarship

This essay briefly reviews the ways stability has dominated regulatory and academic discourse about financial regulation. It then uses anti-money laundering (AML) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHL Banks) — the oldest government foray into housing policy — as case studies to show that banks and the financial system are already deeply engaged in efforts to further other important government policies. These case studies affirm just how hard it can be to promote healthy public-private coordination, while also revealing why such arrangements have become so pervasive. More than anything, the aim here is to force acknowledgment of the myriad …

Capital Expenditure Dynamics In Asean: Unveiling Determinants And The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Non-Financial Corporations, Solikin M. Juhro, Dhaha Praviandi Kuantan, Charvin Lim

Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking

This study investigates the intricate determinants influencing the capital expenditure behavior of Non-Financial Corporations (NFCs) in major ASEAN countries over the past decade. Employing a fixed effect panel analysis encompassing 1,488 NFCs in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, our study unveils a robust and statistically significant relationship between corporate financial performance and capital expenditure. Notably, indicators such as profitability, market value, and cash flow rate demonstrate a positive association with heightened capital expenditure. Furthermore, macroeconomic conditions and policy-related variables emerge as influential factors affecting capital expenditure decisions. Stringent financial conditions tend to hamper firm investment decisions, whilst interest rate …

Did Covid-19 Disrupt The Stock Market Return And Volatility? A Meta-Analytic Approach, Masagus M. Ridhwan, Solikin M. Juhro, Affandi Ismail, Peter Nijkamp, Kelvin Ramadhan Hidayat

Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking

We provide a quantitative synthesis of the literature utilizing meta-regression analysis on the measurable effect of the combined health and economic crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic on stock market returns and volatility. This study is conducted based on 104 studies published during the period 2020 to 2022. We find strong evidence of a negative publication bias for COVID-19 impacts on stock market returns and a positive bias on volatility. We document that COVID-19 has a moderate negative effect on stock market returns. Estimates based on intraday stock returns show a greater effect compared to those using daily returns, whereas …

القيادة الحكيمة ودورها في تعزيز الرِيادة الاستراتيجية: دراسة استطلاعية لآراء عينة من القيادات الإدارية في شركة آسياسيل للاتصالات /العراق, ايمان بشير محمد, مريم منعم الحلوجي, معن وعد الله المعاضيدي

Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economics Sciences

يستهدف البحث الحالي بيان دور القيادة الحكيمة في تعزيز الرِيادة الاستراتيجية كونهُ أحد الموضوعات الحديثة في الفكر الإداري, ولتحقيق أهداف البحث الحالي تم الاعتماد على الاستبانة في جمع البيانات وألتي صُممت لهذا الغرض، ووزعت على (40) شخصاً من القيادات الادارية في شركة آسياسيل للاتصالات/ العراق، واستخدم المنهج الوصفي التحليلي, إذ تم جمع البيانات وتحليلها واختبار الفرضيات باِستخدام العديد من الأساليب الإحصائية منها البرنامج الاحصائي (SPSS VR26)، وقد توصل البحث الى نتائج عديدة أهمها وجود علاقة ذات دلاله احصائية بين القيادة الحكيمة والرِيادة الاستراتيجية، ما يعني انهُ كلما امتلكت القيادات المبحوثة الحكمة كلما كان لها دور في تعزيز الرِيادة الاستراتيجية وابعادها …

القياس المحاسبي للأنفاق المخصص للاستثمارات الخضراء – خطوة لتمويل ودعم رؤية العراق 2030 للاستدامة: دراسة تطبيقية في الشركات الصناعية العراقية, عبد الجبار علوان جبر

Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economics Sciences

يهدف البحث الى بيان اسهام الشركات الصناعية في تمويل ودعم رؤية العراق للتنمية المستدامة 2030 ، من خلال القياس المحاسبي للنفقات الخضراء التي تستثمر فيها الشركات الصناعية، ومعرفة مقدار ما تنفقه تلك الشركات في الجوانب الاجتماعية والبيئية ذات الصلة بتحقيق اهداف التنمية المستدامة. ولتحقيق ذلك عمد الباحث الى تحليل البيانات المالية المنشورة للشركات الصناعية العراقية للسنوات ( 2015 – 2022 ) لتحديد وقياس عناصر الانفاق الاجتماعي المتعلق بالمزايا العينية للعاملين والمجتمع ، والانفاق البيئي على إدارة المخلفات والتخلص منها للمحافظة على البيئة، التي تشكل ابعاد الاستدامة ، واعتماد التحليل الاحصائي وفقاً لبرنامج(spss ) لمعرفة مستوى التأثير والعلاقة بين كل من …