Finance Commons^™

Converged Subset Portfolios: An Extension To Subset Optimization, Coleman Cornell

CMC Senior Theses

The limited span of useful data, coupled with increasingly expansive asset universes, cripples the traditional mean-variance problem. When optimizing in these environments, the pronounced effect of estimation error yields extremely unstable portfolios when evaluated out-of-sample. As a proposed solution to the "curse of dimensionality," Gillen (2016) presents subset optimization as a technique to reduce the impact of estimation error. Instead of optimizing jointly over the entire asset universe, subset optimization na\"ively aggregates over many "subset portfolios" that each optimize over a much smaller random sample of assets. Given the inefficiencies when using naive aggregation, converged subset optimization is presented as …

Diversifying Investment Portfolios With Collectible Sneakers: Expected Returns And Benefits Of Diversification, Samuel Soo

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis seeks to identify if collectible sneakers can provide diversification benefits to an investor’s portfolio. Using data from a global collectible sneaker marketplace, StockX, I constructed an index to compare it with other traditional assets, including the S&P 500 index and 5-year US Treasury Bills. By calculating key metrics including expected returns, volatility, and correlation, I analyzed the risk-return characteristics of the collectible sneaker asset class compared to other traditional asset classes. From the data analysis I performed, I found that collectible sneakers did not outperform returns significantly compared to traditional asset classes, but had low correlations, which provides …

Gambling Autonomy: The Impact Of Latin American Central Bank Independence On Risk Aversion Within Monetary Policy Implementation, Julia Duarte Schulman

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the effect of Latin American central bank independence (CBI) on risk-averse behaviors in monetary policy. Using a fixed effects panel regression, I document how multiple forms of monetary policy are influenced by different macroeconomic variables, conflicting policy targets and central bank independence benchmarks. The results show that increasing CBI has a positive impact on risk aversion, especially in policies targeting inflation and money supply. Additionally, the results show that interest rates and reserve requirements were especially susceptible to changes in independence, while the monetary base and volume of domestic credit were less influenced. Finally, as time and …

The Effect Of Female Managers On Mutual Fund Performance During Down Markets, Madison Gates, Madison I. Gates

Scripps Senior Theses

Women in the finance industry have long been underrepresented. The mutual fund industry is no exception, with female managers in the United States falling stagnant at only 11% from 2000 to 2019. Given this low and stagnant number, this study seeks to understand if female managers impact mutual fund performance, specifically comparing down and up market periods. The data for this research was compiled from individual US mutual fund prospectus and fact sheet information in order to create a unique dataset containing the returns for every year between 2000 and 2019 as well as gender make-up, average experience, and team …

Threshold Effects Of Terms Of Trade On Latin American Growth, Andre C. Vianna, Andre V. Mollick

School of Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

This paper investigates nonlinear relationships between terms of trade volatility (totvol) and economic growth in 14 Latin American economies from 1997 to 2014. In the 2000s, Latin American countries experienced accelerated economic growth often attributed to commodity price booms. We split the sample into two regimes based on totvol thresholds determined by bootstrap techniques. Fixed-effects, instrumental variable and dynamic panel regressions address endogeneity in trade-growth, subject to traditional economic channels such as domestic investment, population growth, exchange rate, government size, and institutions. We find statistically significant thresholds and stronger trade-growth links during the 2000s commodity boom and in larger economies.

Are Investment Banks Helpful Or Hurtful? An Analysis Of Intraday Volatility In The Direct Listing Process As Compared To Investment Bank-Involvement In Traditional Ipos, Alexis Paff

Scripps Senior Theses

In this paper, I carry out an empirical analysis of the pricing volatility of direct listings as compared to traditional IPOs. Direct listings solve an efficiency problem in the US going-public market, in which well-funded, late-stage firms lack incentives to pursue a public listing, which would create liquidity for preexisting shareholders and allow for a more diverse body of public shareholders. Direct listings have been allowed on the New York Stock Exchange since early 2018, and four firms, Spotify, Slack, Asana, and Palantir, have gone public through this new listing mechanism. While underwriters are heavily involved in the IPO process, …

Meta Analysis On Mosque Economics, Aisyah As-Salafiyah, Aam Slamet Rusydiana, Muhammad Isa Mustafa

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study tries to review the research around the Mosques economy on reputable journal. It uses descriptive statistical analysis based on selected 103 article publications or papers related to the Mosques economy, with national and international journal. The entire sample journal publications have published for twelve years from 2009 to 2020. The Results show that mosques economy research study case is still dominated by Indonesia (76 studies), following by Malaysia (14 studies) and Bangladesh (3 studies). In addition, the average time of journal publication, between 9 and 10 years. There are at least 43 journals that published mosques economy articles …

The Relevance Of Credit Risk In The Determination Of Commercial Banks’ Profitability: Evidence From Ghana, Godwin Kwabla Ekpe

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Existing empirical literature on the relationship between credit risk and bank’s profitability is replete with mixed results. This research investigates the probable effect of credit risk on banks’ profitability by examining the nature of the relationship between two measures of credit risk (Loss provisioning rate and Actual provisioning charge rate) and two measures ofprofitability (Return on assets and Return on Equity). The investigation is conducted using data on the Ghanaian banking industry. Various modeling techniques are used to fit the data, including frequentist beta regression and Bayesian beta regression models. The results across all models suggest negative linear relationship between …

Essays On U.S. Narrative Tax Changes And Volatility In Housing Market, Masud Alam

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three independent but methodologically similar chapters focusing on the impact of U.S. tax policy changes and understanding the risk-return examination of the U.S. real estate investment trusts (REIT) equity returns. The first and second chapters examine how the U.S. federal and state level economies are likely to react to narrative personal and corporate income tax changes. The third chapter investigates the responses of the U.S. real estate investment trusts (REIT) equity returns to volatility in the U.S. housing market as measured by a newly constructed risk index.

The first chapter examines the short- and long-run effects …

Informal Institutions And Comparative Advantage Of South-Based Mnes: Theory And Evidence, Pao-Li Chang, Yuting Chen

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper builds a theory based on “informal institutions” to characterize the comparative advantage of South-based MNEs. MNEs headquartered in countries with poorer state institutions are shown to endogenously invest more in firm-specific institutional capital to compensate for the lack of state institutions, and as an optimal response, undertake FDI in countries with weaker institutions. We conduct an extensive test of the theory using worldwide firm-level greenfield FDI flows during 2009–2016, employing (among others) variations in the interaction of prevalence of informal institutions at home and state institutional qualities of host countries, as well as heterogeneity across sectors and firms …

Volatility Spillover Between Stock Market And Currency Market Of Pakistan In The Presence Of Structural Breaks, Muhammad Jamil, Hifsa Mobeen

Business Review

This study examines the volatility transmission between the currency market and the stock market of Pakistan in the presence of structural breaks. For this purpose, daily data from the stock market and currency market is analyzed. An empirical investigation is conducted using the bivariate EGARCH model and the test for multiple structural breaks developed by Bai and Perron (2003). This study analyses these markets with the inclusion of sudden changes. Results of the EGARCH model suggest that volatility spillover is positive and bidirectional between these markets of Pakistan.

Innovations In Money And Banking Markets, Eduardo Guimaraes Minuci

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The U.S. banking industry has experienced several technological and banking regulatory changes in the past two decades. This dissertation is composed of three papers that review and investigate how these banking and technological innovations have impacted depositors, bank provision of monetary assets, and bank performance. The order in which the papers are presented follows the order in which they were produced as the production of one paper helped spark ideas that led to the next.

Motivated by the fact that money has become more heterogeneous in terms of its returns, Chapter 1 focus on innovations in money markets by focusing …

The Impact Of The Yield Curve On Bank Equity Returns: Evidence From Canada, Robert N. Killins, Peter V. Egly, Sourav Batabyal

School of Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

We examine the reaction of Canadian banks equity returns to changes in yield curve spreads. We find that Canadian banks equity returns are positively impacted by contemporaneous (and lagged) yield curve spreads. Our results also suggest that Canadian banks have become more sensitive to changes in the slope of the yield curve in the post 2007-2009 financial crisis. We also find an asymmetric impact of the slope of the yield curve on Canadian bank equity returns. For equity investors, the yield curve’s relevance varies with spreadmaturities. Our findings have important implications for the estimations of banks’ cost of capital and …

Bursting The Auto Loan Bubble In The Wake Of Covid-19, Pamela Foohey

Scholarly Works

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, auto loans outstanding in the United States had soared to record highs. The boom in lending spanned new and used cars and traditional and subprime loans. With loan delinquencies also hitting new highs almost every quarter, predictions that the auto lending market could burst soon abounded. When the economy came to a grinding halt and unemployment skyrocketed in the wake of the pandemic, auto lenders knew they were facing a crisis. Throughout 2020, auto lenders granted more payment forbearances to consumers, while slashing interest rates on new loans. Auto manufacturers similarly made promises to buyers, such …

Pulling Back The Curtain: A Student Collaborative Case Study Of Equity Issues In Colorado’S School Finance System, Amy Jo Schwartz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

After the Great Recession, a seven percent decrease in funding ended decades of academic growth and further widened the achievement gap between White and Black students (Jackson et al., 2020). Colorado’s school-finance system is particularly distorted and inequitable because of a series of tax-limiting policies which, combined, have led Colorado to become one of the lowest-funded per pupil states in the country (Resnick et al., 2015). The purpose of this study is to describe the policymaking context, as it relates to equity within Colorado’s school-finance system and explore policy alternatives to improve equity within the system. The study was designed …

The Impact Of Microfinance On Women Empowerment In The Case Of Vietnam, Long Bui Thanh

Doctoral

In recent years, most microfinance programs have focused on gender issues with significant support given to poor female clients with the goal of facilitating their access to capital. An interesting fact to be considered is that women are regarded as wonderful clients, as they appear to engage in a more efficient manner in the saving process and the repayment of microloans when compared to men. Based on existing studies, researchers suggest that women are also more responsible regarding the management of finances in the context of poor families (Aggarwal et al., 2015; D'Espallier et al., 2011; Mayoux, 2005).

The Impact Of Disparity In Infrastructure Development On Aceh's Economic Performance: An Inter-Provincial Analysis, Mutiara Fahmi

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

This study provides empirical findings on regional disparity in infrastructural facilities in 23 districts/municipalities of Aceh Province and the impact of the disparity on the economic performance of Aceh Province, specifically on those of economic growth, poverty, and unemployment. The unit of analysis is the district level and the Infrastructure Development Index (IDI) is used as the variable computed by using the multivariate method. Regional disparity is measured by the Coefficient of Variation and the impact of IDI on the provinces economy is analyzed using the econometric model. The analysis shows that infrastructure development disparity exists and that IDI generally …

Public Health Spending, Governance Quality And Poverty Alleviation, Mohamad Komarudin

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

Poverty alleviation has become the main priority program in most developing countries. This research empirically studies the correlation between public health spending, governance quality, and poverty alleviation in developing countries. The panel data were estimated via a random-effects (RE) model and robustness check using instrumental variables (IV) (two-stage least-squares [2SLS]) and first-difference generalized method of moments (GMM) because of the endogeneity problem. The results suggest that public health spending has a significant effect on reducing the poverty rate, and that countries with better governance tend to reduce poverty than countries with poor governance. Increasing public health spending by one percentage …

The Role Of Banking Services In Determining The Destination Countries For Indonesia's Non-Oil And Gas Export, Rini Satriani

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

This study aims to examine whether the risk factor and banking services play a significant role in determining not only the export performance of a country but also the pattern of export destination markets, with the reference to the case of Indonesia. These two indicators are interrelated because the risk factor in export transactions can be mitigated by banking sector. Using the data of export Letter of Credits (LCs) for non-oil and gas exports of Indonesia as a banking instrument to mitigate special risk transactions to 102 export destination countries as well as a panel data methodology for the 2011-2018 …

A Decomposition Analysis Of Fertility: Evidence From Dki Jakarta And East Nusa Tenggara, Farma Mangunsong

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

Fertility control has been one of the priorities of development in Indonesia. However, the 2000 and 2010 population censuses showed an increase in fertility indicators. To identify the sources of increased fertility in developed and less developed areas, DKI Jakarta and East Nusa Tenggara Provinces were selected for comparison. Using 2000 and 2010 census data, the decomposition analysis shows that the increase in Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of DKI Jakarta was dominated by the increase in nuptiality rate, while the increase in TFR of East Nusa Tenggara was mainly caused by the increase in Marital Fertility Rate (MFR). The highest …