Finance Commons^™

On The Magnet Effect Of Foreign Direct Investment, Pao Li Chang, Chia-Hui Lu

Research Collection School Of Economics

We extend Antras and Helpman (2004) on firm heterogeneity and organizational choice to a dynamic setting with FDI uncertainty, in which the probability of investment failure decreases with the host country's infrastructure level and increases with the technological complexity facing each firm. Moreover, it decreases over time as the accumulated mass of firms succeeding in FDI increases. We show that a minimum level of infrastructure is required to trigger a first wave of industrial migration. We then formalize the often noted "magnet effect" of FDI - the first wave of industrial migration generates positive externality (information spillover) for subsequent investors, …

Characterizing Exchange Rate Policy In East Asia: A Reconsideration, Hwee Kwan Chow

Research Collection School Of Economics

Frankel and Wei [Frankel, J. A., & Wei, S.-J. (1994). Yen bloc or dollar bloc: Exchange rate policies of the East Asian economies. In I. Takatoshi & A. Krueger (Eds.), Macroeconomic linkages. Chicago: University of Chicago Press] developed and popularized a method for uncovering the implicit weights assigned to major international currencies constituting a currency basket. We extend the methodology in two dimensions: include regional competitive pressure and employ a vector autoregressive (VAR) model to overcome simultaneity bias. With these modifications, we confirm the prominent role of the US dollar in the exchange rate policy of East Asian economies beyond …

Monte Carlo Methods For Estimating, Smoothing, And Filtering One- And Two-Factor Stochastic Volatility Models, Garland B. Durham

Finance

One- and two-factor stochastic volatility models are assessed over three sets of stock returns data: S&P 500, DJIA, and Nasdaq. Estimation is done by simulated maximum likelihood using techniques that are computationally efficient, robust, straightforward to implement, and easy to adapt to different models. The models are evaluated using standard, easily interpretable time-series tools. The results are broadly similar across the three data sets. The tests provide no evidence that even the simple single-factor models are unable to capture the dynamics of volatility adequately; the problem is to get the shape of the conditional returns distribution right. None of the …

The Determinants Of Executive Compensation In The Commercial Banking Industry, David A. Romer

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study is to examine the viability of two basic theories of compensation to explain executive compensation in the banking industry. The two executive compensation motivation theories are sales/sales growth maximization and profit/shareholder wealth maximization. Overall, strong support is found for both theories. This research also seeks to significantly expand, compared to previous research, the number of banks investigated. This study succeeds, with over a four-fold increase in the number of banks analyzed, including over 330 banks not previously used in the literature. This investigation is further motivated by the paucity of banking studies on compensation …

Exchange-Rate Systems And Interest-Rate Behaviour: The Experience Of Hong Kong And Singapore, Yiu Kuen Tse, Paul S. L. Yip

Research Collection School Of Economics

The Currency Board System in Hong Kong and the monitoring band system in Singapore are important benchmarks for two different exchange-rate systems. In this paper we consider the implications of the two exchange-rate systems on the interest-rate behaviour of the two economies. We examine the domestic–US interest differentials under the two exchange-rate regimes during the Asian Financial Crisis as well as the pre-and post-crisis periods. Using a bivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity model, we also investigate whether there is any change in the correlation between the domestic and US interest rates due to the Asian Financial Crisis.

Contributory Pension Scheme: The Case Of Brazil., Mbatomon R. Ako

Bullion

The reform of the pension industry in Nigeria was necessitated by many problems confronting both the public and private sectors pension schemes. The public sector operated largely the Defined Benefit - Pay As You Go (PAYG) scheme, which depended on budgetary provisions from various tiers of governments for funding. This paper discuss the conceptual issues of Contributory pension scheme in Brazil, the structure of the pension system and the features of the pension scheme as well as some other pension reforms in Brazil. The study concluded that. the pension systems were introduced into the country by the colonial administrators. The …

Financial Sector Outcomes In Nigeria: A Quantitative Evaluation., Abeng M. Okoi

Bullion

Prior to the adoption of the economic reforms measures of the 1980's, most African economies were predominantly characterised by extensive public ownership, management and control of productive and social infrastructures and institutions. This paper discuss the trend of investments and pension schemes with its risks and challenges in Nigeria. The study however confirmed the non applicability of the financial reform theory hypothesized by McKinnon and Shaw in Nigeria 'This Paper quantitatively examine the outcomes of financial sector reforms in Nigeria with a view to validating the applicability of the Mckinnon Shaw hypothesis of financial liberalization. The impact of reforms on …

Pakistan’S Investment Scenario And Capital Markets, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Most media reports, editorials, commentators and talk show experts vehemently assert that growth in Pakistanis consumption led and fuelled by bank credit. If they are right then the latest data available is indeed very intriguing. Gross fixed capital formation during 2005-06 was Rs.1.42 trillion – an increase of 30.7 % over last year. This was over and above an increase of 28.6 % recorded in 2004-05. In constant price terms (after adjusting for inflation) this translated into real growth rates of 10.3 % and 9.3 % respectively. Consequently, Investment – GDP ratio rose to 20 %. This trend is confirmed …

Financial Services Liberalization With Emphasis On The Egyptian Banking Sector, Noha Hatem Abdel Razek

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Growth Accounting For A Follower-Economy In A World Of Ideas: The Example Of Singapore, Kong Weng Ho, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

In this paper, we take another approach to accounting for the sources of Singapore’s economic growth by being explicit about the channels through which Singapore, as a technological follower, benefits from international R&D spillovers. Taking into account the channels through which technology developed in the G5 countries diffuses to technological followers, we show that 57.5 percent of Singapore’s real GDP per worker growth rate over the 1970-2002 period is due to multifactor productivity growth. In particular, about 52 percent of the growth is accounted for by an increase in the effectiveness of accessing ideas developed by the technology leaders through …

Fair Enough: Ethics And Entrepreneurship, Robert G. Crawford

Faculty Publications

The "new" is presumptively something that ought to be but isn't. On what grounds should that something be permitted? In business, why are some things legal for sale - deemed moral - while other similar things are deemed illegal - or immoral? Is the ground of this approval process rational? Or is the ground for making such decisions just competing moral perspectives?

Projecting The Economic Impact Of The Fayetteville Shale Play For 2005-2008, Jeffery T. Collins, Katherine A. Deck

Publications and Presentations

This study projects the general economic impact from exploration and development activities related to the Fayetteville Shale. The Fayetteville Shale is an unconventional gas reservoir located on the Arkansas side of the Arkoma Basin, ranging in thickness from 50 to 325 feet and ranging in depth from 1,500 to 6,500 feet. The Fayetteville Shale is aerially extensive and may be present across numerous counties in central and eastern Arkansas, including the counties of Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Independence, Johnson, St. Francis, Prairie, Van Buren, White, and Woodruff.

Assessing The Economic Impact Of The Fayetteville, Arkansas Smoking Ban, Jeffery T. Collins

Publications and Presentations

This report is the third in a series of studies examining the impact of the implementation of the smoke-free ordinance in Fayetteville, Arkansas in March of 2004. The ban on smoking in public places in Fayetteville provides an opportunity to scientifically investigate the economic impact of this change in public policy. By comparing pre-ban historical economic growth rates to post-ban growth rates both within the city of Fayetteville and in comparable communities, some measure of the impact can be developed. Variables of interest include hotel, motel, and restaurant (HMR) taxes, employment, and sales taxes. The changes in these variables need …

External Debt, Adjustment, And Growth, Roberto S. Mariano, Delano Villanueva

Research Collection School Of Economics

High ratios of external debt to GDP in selected Asian countries have contributed to the initiation, propagation, and severity of the financial and economic crises in recent years, reflecting runaway fiscal deficits and excessive foreign borrowing by the private sector. More importantly, the servicing of large debt stocks has diverted scarce resources from investment and long-term growth.

Mexican Northern Border Municipalities, Financial Dependence And Institutions, Jorge Ibarra Salazar, Andre V. Mollick

School of Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

Mexican northern border municipalities have experienced economic and populational growth rates that are much higher than other Mexican regions resulting in higher demand for public services and infrastructure. The different institutional framework, both fiscal and legal, faced by municipalities in every Mexican State might impact the fiscal behavior of local governments. This article examines whether border municipalities are more financially dependent on central authorities due to the high demand for public services in their jurisdictions and their inability to obtain sufficient funding. Several econometric models are estimated for 300 Mexican municipalities in the year 2000. A strong and negative relationship …

Modeling And Simulation Of Value -At -Risk In The Financial Market Area, Xiangyin Zheng

Doctoral Dissertations

Value-at-Risk (VaR) is a statistical approach to measure market risk. It is widely used by banks, securities firms, commodity and energy merchants, and other trading organizations. The main focus of this research is measuring and analyzing market risk by modeling and simulation of Value-at-Risk for portfolios in the financial market area. The objectives are (1) predicting possible future loss for a financial portfolio from VaR measurement, and (2) identifying how the distributions of the risk factors affect the distribution of the portfolio. Results from (1) and (2) provide valuable information for portfolio optimization and risk management.

The model systems chosen …

Three Essays On Banking And Corporate Finance, Fang Zhao

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is composed of three essays on banking and corporate finance. The first essay studies the relationship between interest-rate derivative usage and bank lending. Using recent data that cover a full business cycle, this paper documents a direct relationship between interest-rate derivative usage by U.S. banks and growth in their commercial and industrial (C&I) loan portfolios. This positive association holds for interest-rate options contracts, forward contracts, and futures contracts. This result is consistent with the implication of Diamond's model (1984) that predicts that a bank's use of derivatives permits better management of systematic risk exposure, thereby lowering the cost …

Is The Nigerian Curricula In Economics Relevant For The Nigerian Economy Of The 21st Century., J. A. Achilike

Bullion

The loopholes in Nigeria's educational system have created a death of capacity in the Nigerian economy. No nation can develop without qualitative education. The paper examines the relevance of the economics curricula in Nigeria's tertiary institutions in meeting the challenges of the 21st century. It highlights its problems and examines the efforts of National University Commission and Ministry of Education in meeting the challenges of economics education in Nigeria. Finally the study concludes that, the Nigerian Economics curricular is critically under developed and does not follow government economic policies, but if all the recommendations are adopted the Nigerian economics curricula …

Profiting From Mean-Reverting Yield Curve Trading Strategies, Choong Tze Chua, Winston T. H. Koh, Krishna Ramaswamy

Research Collection School Of Economics

This article studies a set of yield curve trading strategies that are based on the view that the yield curve mean reverts to an unconditional curve. These mean-reverting trading strategies exploit deviations in the level, slope, and curvature of the yield curve from historical norms. Some mean-reverting strategies were found to have significant positive profits. Furthermore, the profitability of one of these strategies significantly outperforms, on a risk-adjusted basis, alternative strategies of an investment bond or equity index.

Underpriced Default Spread Exacerbates Market Crashes, Winston T. H. Koh, Roberto S. S. Mariano, Andrey Pavlov, Sock Yong Phang, Augustine H. H. Tan, Susan M. Wachter

Research Collection School Of Economics

In this paper, we develop a specific observable symptom of a banking system that underprices the default spread in non-recourse asset-backed lending. Using three different data sets for 18 countries and property types, we find that, following a negative demand shock, the “underpricing” economies experience far deeper asset market crashes than economies in which the put option is correctly priced. Furthermore, only one of the countries in our sample continues to exhibit the underpricing symptom following a market crash. This indicates that market crashes have a cleansing effect and eliminate underpricing at least for a period of time. This makes …

The Micro-Foundations Of Intertemporal Price Discrimination, Winston T. H. Koh

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper investigates the optimality of intertemporal price discrimination for a durable-good monopoly in a model where infinitely-lived households face an intertemporal budget constraint, and consume both durable goods and non-durable goods. We prove that the optimal price of the durable good is not constant, and may decrease or increase over time. Some households may choose to purchase the durable good at a later date, and pay lower or higher prices, since the gain in discounted utility of consuming more of the non-durable good more than compensates for the loss in utility from delaying the consumption of the durable good. …

Effects Of Technological Improvement In The Ict Producing Sector On Business Activity, Hian Teck Hoon, Edmund S. Phelps

Research Collection School Of Economics

It seems to be taken for granted by many commentators that the sharp decline in prices of computers, telecommunications equipment and software resulting from the technological improvements in the information and communications technology (ICT)-producing sector is good for jobs and is a major driving force behind the non-inflationary employment miracle and booming stock market in the latter half of the nineties in the U.S. and their recurrence since 2004. We show that, in our model, a technical improvement in the ICT-producing sector by itself cannot explain a simultaneous increase in employment and a rise in firms’ valuation (or Tobin’s Q …

Competition Policy In Indonesia, Malcolm Dowling

Research Collection School Of Economics

The Indonesian economy was dominated by the government in the decades of the 1970s and 1980s through its control of major mining, manufacturing and agricultural activities. Hill (2000) estimates that as much as 40% of non-agricultural GDP was accounted for by government entities in the late 1980s There were still a lot of government corporations up until the late 1980s and early 1990s and governmental control over the banking system was still substantial.

Promoting Low Impact Development In Your Community, New England Environmental Finance Center

Planning

Low Impact Development (LID) is an approach to stormwater management and site development that is gaining popularity throughout the country. Its attractiveness lies in its potential to lessen off-site stormwater impacts, reduce costs to municipalities and developers, and promote development that is “softer on the land” compared with typical traditional development. The approach, which is applicable to residential, commercial and industrial projects, and in urban, suburban and rural settings, often is linked with efforts by governments and citizens to foster more sustainable communities.

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 1, Spring 2006

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Economic Impact Of The 6th Annual Bikes, Blues, And Bbq Festival On The City Of Fayetteville, Jeffery T. Collins

Publications and Presentations

This report presents the results of the surveys used to develop estimates of the economic impact of the Bikes, Blues and BBQ (BBBBQ) festival on the city of Fayetteville in 2005. In order to fully estimate the economic impact of the festival, its influence was assessed on three different constituent groups: Fayetteville residents, local businesses, and BBBBQ visitors.

The visitor survey was developed by the Center for Business and Economic Research and was administered September 28-October 1, 2005 by University of Arkansas students who were hired and trained by the Center for Business and Economic Research. The resident and local …

Indiana State University Financial Report 2006, Indiana State University

Financial Reports

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of Changes In Contributions Of State Lotteries To Education Over Time, Andrea Lee Parker

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Arkansas is one of many states in this country that is experiencing an education funding crisis. Despite the fact that states have started taking more responsibility for the funding of their public schools since the mid-1950s, litigation over education funding has occurred in almost every state in the United States. Litigation in Arkansas began in the 1980s and continues today with the Lake View case. Several alternatives have been proposed to reform the state's education system and its methods of funding, including school consolidation, raising taxes, and adopting an education-supporting lottery. Lotteries have become very popular revenue raising mechanisms in …

Semi-Strong Form Market Hypothesis: Evidence From Cnbc's Jim Cramer's Mad Money Stock Recommendations, Elizabeth Dodson

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Mad Money has become one of the most popular shows on CNBC. The host, Jim Cramer, has an outlandish style and personality that viewers find intoxicating. Cramer's goal for the show is to make people money. Does he succeed? This paper finds that investors can expect to gain above-average, risk adjusted returns by following Cramer's stock recommendations and trading accordingly. These findings challenge the semi-strong form market hypothesis. According to this hypothesis investors should not recognize gains trading on public information since it states that the market has already adjusted prices for that information. It also contributes to current literature …

Nova Southeastern University 2006-2007 Annual Report, Nova Southeastern University

NSU Annual Reports

No abstract provided.