jrge
Editor’s Choice - Exchange Rate Flexibility and the Integration of the Securities Market in East Asia
|
|
Abstract: This paper discusses the time-varying degree of flexibility in exchange rate regimes and assesses the extent to which securities markets are integrated in East Asia. The dynamic conditional correlation model developed by Engle (2002) is used to analyze the time-varying characteristics of the conditional correlations of exchange rates as well as of bond and equity returns in emerging Asian economies. First, the presented analyses find that the flexibility of Asia’s exchange rate regimes increased substantially after the Asian crisis of 1997-98. Second, we show that Asia’s equity markets are becoming more globally and regionally integrated, whereas the bond markets in the region are still divided by national borders. These results suggest the existence of more scope for policymakers to promote financial integration in Asia, particularly in its bond markets. Keywords: Exchange rate flexibility, integration of the securities market, East Asia, dynamic conditional correlation.Download Full Article |
Editor’s Choice - Whose Governance? IMF Austerities in a Small Island State: The Case of Jamaica
|
|
Abstract: The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have for a long time embarked on what can be described as a ‘trustee’ relationship with countries in the Commonwealth Caribbean. From the latter half of the 1970s, countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Barbados as well as Grenada were ‘forced’ because of their chronic need for ‘hard’ currency loans to approach the IMF and the World Bank. These loans were accompanied by structural adjustment measures. This paper attempts, for the first time, to evaluate, in the case of Jamaica, whether the measures introduced by the Lending Agencies resulted in some measure of economic growth in the countries under review. The paper then examines the new agreements entered into by these countries and the measures that accompanied them. The overarching argument is that the forces of globalization as well as austerity measures introduced by lending agencies such the IMF and the World Bank prevents rather than encourages small island governments1 to embark on ‘national’ development plans and programs. In other words, the primary argument of this paper is that these countries are constrained in their ability to ‘govern’ themselves; rather their economic decisions are largely crafted by the forces of globalization and further reinforced by international lending agencies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Keywords: International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB), Jamaica, Globalization, National Development, Structural Adjustment, Agreements.Download Full Article |
Editor’s Choice : Absence of an Optimal Capital Structure in the Famous Tradeoff Theory!
|
|
Abstract: Within modern theory of capital structure and capital cost by Brusov-Filatova-Orekhova the analysis of wide known tradeoff theory has been made. It is shown that suggestion of risky debt financing (and growing credit rate near the bankruptcy) in opposite to waiting result does not lead to growing of weighted average cost of capital, WACC, which still decreases with leverage. This means the absence of minimum in the dependence of WACC on leverage as well as the absence of maximum in the dependence of company capitalization on leverage. Thus, it seems that the optimal capital structure is absent in famous tradeoff theory. The explanation to this fact has been done. Keywords: Tradeoff theory, debt financing, company capital cost, optimal capital structure, leverage, Modigliani–Miller theory, Brusov–Filatova–Orekhova theory.Download Full Article |
Editor’s Choice : A Qualitatively New Effect in Corporative Finance: Abnormal Dependence of Cost of Equity of Company on Leverage
|
|
Abstract: Qualitatively new effect in corporative finance is discovered: decreasing of cost of equity ke with leverage L. This effect, which is absent in perpetuity Modigliani–Miller limit, takes place under account of finite lifetime of the company at profit tax rate, which exceeds some value T*. At some ratios between cost of debt and cost of equity the discovered effect takes place at profit tax rate, existing in western countries and Russia. This provides the practical meaning of discussed effect. Its accounting is important at modification of tax low and can change the dividend policy of the company. In paper the complete and detailed investigation of discussed effect, discovered within Brusov – Filatova – Orekhova theory (BFO theory), has been done. It has been shown, that the absence of the effect at some particular set of parameters is connected to the fact, that in these cases T* exceeds 100% (profit tax rate is situated in ”non– financial” region). Keywords: Taxes, company capital cost and capital structure, leverage, Modigliani–Miller theory, Brusov – Filatova – Orekhova theory..Download Full Article |
|
|
Abstract: We extend the Glick and Rogoff (1995) aggregate time-series, empirical, intertemporal model of country-investment to a sectoral-level, and estimate it for New Zealand. We fit the model to panel data of eleven industries from 1988-2009. The sectoral-level investment growth is a function of lagged investment level, sector-specific total factor productivity shocks (TFP), country-specific TFP shocks, and global TFP shocks. The estimates seem robust to government spending shocks and Terms of Trade shocks. Keywords: Investments, total factor productivity, panel data. |