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. …
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 …
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 …
Anchoring Bias, Idiosyncratic Volatility And The Cross-Section Of Stock Returns,
2015
Louisiana Tech University
Anchoring Bias, Idiosyncratic Volatility And The Cross-Section Of Stock Returns, Cedric Tresor Luma Mbanga
Doctoral Dissertations
Ang, Hodrick, Xing and Zhang (2006) document an anomaly in the cross-section of stock returns. They show that high idiosyncratic volatility (IVOL) firms earn lower returns in the following month. Specifically, they find after sorting stocks in quintile portfolios based on the previous month's IVOL that a zero-investment portfolio long the most volatile quintile of stocks and short the least yields about -1% during the subsequent month. The evidence reported in Ang, Hodrick, Xing and Zhang (2006) is primarily puzzling because traditional asset pricing theories suggest that (i) only systematic risk should be priced, (ii) to the extent that markets …
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 …
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 …
Somali Remittances Campaign,
2015
SIT Graduate Institute
Somali Remittances Campaign, Ammar Mohammed
Capstone Collection
The world changed after 9/11, and so did the US banking regulations. One change was that it has become increasingly difficult for families and communities in Somalia to receive remittances from relatives and friends living in the United States. Those funds are essential to the livelihoods of 40% of the population, especially women and children. It further has a negative impact on the national economy of one of the world’s poorest countries. However, US banks has become increasingly willing to assume the costs of complying with the government’s Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations or to …
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 …
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.
China's Yuan: Asia's Future Anchor Currency?,
2015
Singapore Management University
China's Yuan: Asia's Future Anchor Currency?, Hwee Kwan Chow
Research Collection School Of Economics
The yuan is becoming more widely used in pricing and settling intra-regional trade and investment. Asian currencies' movements are likely to shift more in tandem with the yuan, leading to it becoming one of Asia's lead currencies. Singapore is now the world's second-most- important offshore yuan trading hub after Hong Kong.
Analyzing Options Market Toxicity And The Black-Scholes Formula In The Presence Of Jump Diffusion As Simulated With Agent-Based Modeling,
2015
Collin County Community College District
Analyzing Options Market Toxicity And The Black-Scholes Formula In The Presence Of Jump Diffusion As Simulated With Agent-Based Modeling, William D. Elliott
Undergraduate Economic Review
This paper presents new and significant research on the Black-Scholes Formula using the agent-based modeling software NetLogo. The software was used to simulate an options market subject to jump diffusion. Since the widely-used Black-Scholes Formula has at times proven unreliable, this research sought to understand circumstances that render the formula ineffective. It was hypothesized that markets would become difficult to trade in or “toxic” at low price volatility but high jump volatility. Further, it was predicted that kurtosis would alert the presence of toxic markets by accurately and consistently conveying whether jump diffusion was present.
Retirement Planning Among Middle-Aged And Older Hispanics,
2015
Pepperdine University
Retirement Planning Among Middle-Aged And Older Hispanics, Luisa Blanco, Emma Aguila, Arturo Gongora, Beverly Weidmer, O. Kenrik Duru
School of Public Policy Working Papers
The goal of this study is to deepen the understanding of how middle age and older Hispanics plan for retirement, where we conducted four focus groups in the Los Angeles area with a total of 38 participants. Our study provides interesting findings, specifically for women since 84 percent of the participants were female. We find that that most participants, whether they were already retired or not, are not well prepared for retirement since they have been unable to save for retirement and have not made specific retirement plans, such as determining desired retirement age, estimating retirement budget, and collecting information …
