The relevance and reliability of annual financial reports as a basis for making decisions about an organisation came in dispute after a series of corporate collapses. Sustainability reports have similarly suffered weaknesses and stakeholders are unable to form a comprehensive picture of an organisation’s performance and its ability to create and sustain value. Integrated reporting incorporates concise and material information from financial statements and the sustainability report and other sources to enable stakeholders to evaluate the organisation’s performance and to make an informed assessment about its ability to create and sustain value. The focus of this study was to investigate the opinion of employees as stakeholders of a South African bank and their perception of the relevance of the elements in an integrated report, if they had to assess the ability of an organisation to sustain value in the future. A literature study was conducted to address the concept of integrated reporting and the integrated report as well as relevant aspects. Based on the literature study, integrated reporting should enable stakeholders to assess the ability of the organisation to create and sustain value over the short-, medium- and long-term. Special attention has been given to the elements to be included in an integrated report as suggested by the IRC SA’s framework and employees as stakeholders of organisations. The latter has been used as basis of the empirical study that was conducted. The empirical study focused on the opinion of employees regarding the relevance of the eight elements in an integrated report as stakeholders of a South African bank and it was conducted by means of a self-completion questionnaire. The internal consistency and reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by calculating Cronbach alpha coefficients and it had acceptable reliability. Frequency distributions, mean values and standard deviations were calculated as well as independent t-tests and Anovas to determine the differences between the means of different groups within the selected demographic variables and the constructs. Furthermore, effect size values (d-values) were used to indicate if there were practical significant differences between any demographical variables regarding the constructs and individual questions. In the final chapter, conclusions were drawn based on the literature and empirical study. It was evident from the empirical study that most of the respondents found the elements to be either moderately or totally relevant to be included in a report, if the ability of an organisation has to be assessed to sustain value in the future. Recommendations were provided on three elements (business model, remuneration policies and analytical commentary) and the report was concluded by recommending possible future research that could be conducted based on this study. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The relevance and reliability of annual financial reports as a basis for making decisions about an organisation came in dispute after a series of corporate collapses. Sustainability reports have similarly suffered weaknesses and stakeholders are unable to form a comprehensive picture of an organisation’s performance and its ability to create and sustain value. Integrated reporting incorporates concise and material information from financial statements and the sustainability report and other sources to enable stakeholders to evaluate the organisation’s performance and to make an informed assessment about its ability to create and sustain value. The focus of this study was to investigate the opinion of employees as stakeholders of a South African bank and their perception of the relevance of the elements in an integrated report, if they had to assess the ability of an organisation to sustain value in the future. A literature study was conducted to address the concept of integrated reporting and the integrated report as well as relevant aspects. Based on the literature study, integrated reporting should enable stakeholders to assess the ability of the organisation to create and sustain value over the short-, medium- and long-term. Special attention has been given to the elements to be included in an integrated report as suggested by the IRC SA’s framework and employees as stakeholders of organisations. The latter has been used as basis of the empirical study that was conducted. The empirical study focused on the opinion of employees regarding the relevance of the eight elements in an integrated report as stakeholders of a South African bank and it was conducted by means of a self-completion questionnaire. The internal consistency and reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by calculating Cronbach alpha coefficients and it had acceptable reliability. Frequency distributions, mean values and standard deviations were calculated as well as independent t-tests and Anovas to determine the differences between the means of different groups within the selected demographic variables and the constructs. Furthermore, effect size values (d-values) were used to indicate if there were practical significant differences between any demographical variables regarding the constructs and individual questions. In the final chapter, conclusions were drawn based on the literature and empirical study. It was evident from the empirical study that most of the respondents found the elements to be either moderately or totally relevant to be included in a report, if the ability of an organisation has to be assessed to sustain value in the future. Recommendations were provided on three elements (business model, remuneration policies and analytical commentary) and the report was concluded by recommending possible future research that could be conducted based on this study. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

With the discontinuation of Interbank Offered Rates(IBOR), traders found some al-ternative reference rates to replace IBOR. Backward-looking rates are widely accepted new benchmark interest rates. In this thesis, we introduce and subsequently proceed to explore backward-looking rate model and continue doing some re-valuation of interest rate instruments under the backward-looking rates framework.

A presente tese, a partir de três ensaios, faz uso de diferentes especificações da curva de Phillips, para discutir distintos objetivos embasados em assuntos relevantes como o processo de determinação de preços e seus custos sociais para a economia brasileira. Neste sentido, o primeiro ensaio utiliza de uma equação de transferência para a especificação da curva de Phillips, a partir do método das variáveis instrumentais, para alcançar a taxa de desemprego não aceleradora da inflação (NAIRU). Este método, para dados trimestrais de 2000 a 2013, possibilitou identificar uma mudança no coeficiente de correlação entre a taxa de desemprego e a taxa de inflação, que passou de um trade-off (negativo) para uma relação positiva, além da permanência da taxa NAIRU acima da taxa de desemprego no período em questão. Preocupando-se com este resultado expressivo, o segundo ensaio se comprometeu em analisar se esse adveio de possíveis não linearidades presentes na curva, preocupação que já havia sido retratada pelo trabalho seminal de Phillips (1958), indicando que a relação da taxa de variação dos salários nominais e a taxa de desemprego seria altamente não linear. Nesse contexto, utilizando o modelo de vetores autorregressivos que considera a não-linearidade dos parâmetros (quebras estruturais), variáveis exógenas de controle (para contornar o problema de omissão de variáveis) para o período de 1995 a 2014, estimou-se a Curva de Phillips Novo-Keynesiana Hibrida (CPNKH) para identificar possíveis quebras estruturais para dados da economia brasileira. O modelo estimado foi caracterizado por um MSIH(2)VAR(1) e foi possível confirmar a não linearidade a partir do teste da razão de verossimilhança, com a identificação de dois períodos bem distintos ao longo da amostra. Além disso, foi verificada uma representatividade maior para o termo inercial (Backward Looking) indicando que as expectativas de inflação contribuem menos para a explicação do processo inflacionário recente da economia brasileira. Uma vez que um dos principais objetivos do Regime de Metas de Inflação (RMI) é ancorar a formação de preços a partir das expectativas futuras dos agentes econômicos, além disso, dada a não linearidade encontrada para dados da economia brasileira no segundo ensaio, e dada as diferentes significâncias, importâncias e patamares para os componentes da curva que representam as expectativas (futuras e passadas), o terceiro ensaio se comprometeu em, ao invés de confiar exclusivamente em uma única medida de tendência central, analisar os quantis de toda a distribuição condicional da variável resposta (taxa de inflação). Utilizando do método da regressão quantílica inversa, que utiliza os blocos em movimento bootstrap de Fitzenberger (1997), descrito por Chernozhukov e Hansen (2005), para o período de maio de 2001 a agosto de 2016, foi possível identificar a importância adquirida pelas expectativas futuras ao longo dos períodos analisados. Quando se faz estimações considerando somente a média condicional, o termo inercial é maior e significativo para praticamente todas as especificações e modelos apresentados. Utilizando do modelo da regressão quantílica inversa, por outro lado, é possível verificar que o termo Forward Looking ganha força e domina o Backward Looking nos três períodos analisados, em diferentes níveis de inflação, demonstrando, assim, o comportamento assimétrico (não linear) do processo inflacionário. Desta forma, foi possível mostrar o amadurecimento do objetivo do RMI e averiguar que os componentes expectacionais da CPNKH, para dados da economia brasileira, foram capazes de manter sua importância e significância em toda distribuição condicional no processo de determinação de preços recente. / The present dissertation, based on three essays, makes use of different specifications for the Phillips curve, to discuss different objectives based on relevant issues such as the process of price determination and its social costs for the Brazilian economy. In this sense, the first assay uses a transfer equation for the specification of the Phillips curve, using the instrumental variables method, to reach the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU). This method, for quarterly data from 2000 to 2013, enable the identification of a change in the coefficient of correlation between the unemployment rate and the inflation rate, which transitioned from a trade-off to a positive relation, in addition to the permanence of the NAIRU above the unemployment rate in the period in question. Concerning with this expressive result, the second essay undertook to analyze whether this resulted from possible non-linearities present in the curve, a concern that had already been portrayed by the seminal work of Phillips (1958), indicating that the relation of the rate of change of wages and the unemployment rate would be highly non-linear. In this context, using the autoregressive vector model that considers the non-linearity of the parameters (structural breaks), exogenous variables of control (to circumvent the problem of omission of variables) for the period from 1995 to 2014, it was estimated the Phillips New-Keynesian Hybrid (CPNKH) to identify possible structural breaks for Brazilian economy data. The estimated model was characterized by a MSIH (2) VAR (1) and it was possible to confirm the nonlinearity from the likelihood ratio test, with the identification of two distinct periods throughout the sample. In addition, it was verified a greater representativeness for the inertial term (Backward Looking), indicating that the expectations of inflation contributed less to the explanation of the recent inflationary process of the Brazilian economy. Since one of the main objectives of the Inflation Targeting Regime (ITR) is to anchor the formation of prices based on the future expectations of the economic agents, in addition, given the non-linearity found for the data of the Brazilian economy in the second essay, and considering the different significance, importance and thresholds for the components of the curve that represent (future and past) expectations, the third assay committed to, instead of relying solely on a single measure of central tendency, analyze the quantiles of the entire conditional distribution of the response variable (inflation rate). Using the reverse quantum regression method, which uses the Fitzenberger (1997) bootstrap blocks, described by Chernozhukov and Hansen (2005), for the period from May 2001 to August 2016, it was possible to identify the importance acquired by the expectations over the periods analyzed. When estimating only the conditional average, the inertial term is larger and significant for practically all the specifications and models presented. On the other hand, it is possible to verify the Forward Looking term gaining importance and dominating the Backward Looking in the three analyzed periods, at different levels of inflation, thus, demonstrating the asymmetric (non-linear) behavior of the inflationary process. In this way, it was possible to show the maturity of the objective of the ITR as to verify that the expected components of the CPNKH for the Brazilian economy data were able to maintain its importance and significance in all conditional distribution in the recent pricing process.

A presente tese, a partir de três ensaios, faz uso de diferentes especificações da curva de Phillips, para discutir distintos objetivos embasados em assuntos relevantes como o processo de determinação de preços e seus custos sociais para a economia brasileira. Neste sentido, o primeiro ensaio utiliza de uma equação de transferência para a especificação da curva de Phillips, a partir do método das variáveis instrumentais, para alcançar a taxa de desemprego não aceleradora da inflação (NAIRU). Este método, para dados trimestrais de 2000 a 2013, possibilitou identificar uma mudança no coeficiente de correlação entre a taxa de desemprego e a taxa de inflação, que passou de um trade-off (negativo) para uma relação positiva, além da permanência da taxa NAIRU acima da taxa de desemprego no período em questão. Preocupando-se com este resultado expressivo, o segundo ensaio se comprometeu em analisar se esse adveio de possíveis não linearidades presentes na curva, preocupação que já havia sido retratada pelo trabalho seminal de Phillips (1958), indicando que a relação da taxa de variação dos salários nominais e a taxa de desemprego seria altamente não linear. Nesse contexto, utilizando o modelo de vetores autorregressivos que considera a não-linearidade dos parâmetros (quebras estruturais), variáveis exógenas de controle (para contornar o problema de omissão de variáveis) para o período de 1995 a 2014, estimou-se a Curva de Phillips Novo-Keynesiana Hibrida (CPNKH) para identificar possíveis quebras estruturais para dados da economia brasileira. O modelo estimado foi caracterizado por um MSIH(2)VAR(1) e foi possível confirmar a não linearidade a partir do teste da razão de verossimilhança, com a identificação de dois períodos bem distintos ao longo da amostra. Além disso, foi verificada uma representatividade maior para o termo inercial (Backward Looking) indicando que as expectativas de inflação contribuem menos para a explicação do processo inflacionário recente da economia brasileira. Uma vez que um dos principais objetivos do Regime de Metas de Inflação (RMI) é ancorar a formação de preços a partir das expectativas futuras dos agentes econômicos, além disso, dada a não linearidade encontrada para dados da economia brasileira no segundo ensaio, e dada as diferentes significâncias, importâncias e patamares para os componentes da curva que representam as expectativas (futuras e passadas), o terceiro ensaio se comprometeu em, ao invés de confiar exclusivamente em uma única medida de tendência central, analisar os quantis de toda a distribuição condicional da variável resposta (taxa de inflação). Utilizando do método da regressão quantílica inversa, que utiliza os blocos em movimento bootstrap de Fitzenberger (1997), descrito por Chernozhukov e Hansen (2005), para o período de maio de 2001 a agosto de 2016, foi possível identificar a importância adquirida pelas expectativas futuras ao longo dos períodos analisados. Quando se faz estimações considerando somente a média condicional, o termo inercial é maior e significativo para praticamente todas as especificações e modelos apresentados. Utilizando do modelo da regressão quantílica inversa, por outro lado, é possível verificar que o termo Forward Looking ganha força e domina o Backward Looking nos três períodos analisados, em diferentes níveis de inflação, demonstrando, assim, o comportamento assimétrico (não linear) do processo inflacionário. Desta forma, foi possível mostrar o amadurecimento do objetivo do RMI e averiguar que os componentes expectacionais da CPNKH, para dados da economia brasileira, foram capazes de manter sua importância e significância em toda distribuição condicional no processo de determinação de preços recente. / The present dissertation, based on three essays, makes use of different specifications for the Phillips curve, to discuss different objectives based on relevant issues such as the process of price determination and its social costs for the Brazilian economy. In this sense, the first assay uses a transfer equation for the specification of the Phillips curve, using the instrumental variables method, to reach the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU). This method, for quarterly data from 2000 to 2013, enable the identification of a change in the coefficient of correlation between the unemployment rate and the inflation rate, which transitioned from a trade-off to a positive relation, in addition to the permanence of the NAIRU above the unemployment rate in the period in question. Concerning with this expressive result, the second essay undertook to analyze whether this resulted from possible non-linearities present in the curve, a concern that had already been portrayed by the seminal work of Phillips (1958), indicating that the relation of the rate of change of wages and the unemployment rate would be highly non-linear. In this context, using the autoregressive vector model that considers the non-linearity of the parameters (structural breaks), exogenous variables of control (to circumvent the problem of omission of variables) for the period from 1995 to 2014, it was estimated the Phillips New-Keynesian Hybrid (CPNKH) to identify possible structural breaks for Brazilian economy data. The estimated model was characterized by a MSIH (2) VAR (1) and it was possible to confirm the nonlinearity from the likelihood ratio test, with the identification of two distinct periods throughout the sample. In addition, it was verified a greater representativeness for the inertial term (Backward Looking), indicating that the expectations of inflation contributed less to the explanation of the recent inflationary process of the Brazilian economy. Since one of the main objectives of the Inflation Targeting Regime (ITR) is to anchor the formation of prices based on the future expectations of the economic agents, in addition, given the non-linearity found for the data of the Brazilian economy in the second essay, and considering the different significance, importance and thresholds for the components of the curve that represent (future and past) expectations, the third assay committed to, instead of relying solely on a single measure of central tendency, analyze the quantiles of the entire conditional distribution of the response variable (inflation rate). Using the reverse quantum regression method, which uses the Fitzenberger (1997) bootstrap blocks, described by Chernozhukov and Hansen (2005), for the period from May 2001 to August 2016, it was possible to identify the importance acquired by the expectations over the periods analyzed. When estimating only the conditional average, the inertial term is larger and significant for practically all the specifications and models presented. On the other hand, it is possible to verify the Forward Looking term gaining importance and dominating the Backward Looking in the three analyzed periods, at different levels of inflation, thus, demonstrating the asymmetric (non-linear) behavior of the inflationary process. In this way, it was possible to show the maturity of the objective of the ITR as to verify that the expected components of the CPNKH for the Brazilian economy data were able to maintain its importance and significance in all conditional distribution in the recent pricing process.

A presente tese, a partir de três ensaios, faz uso de diferentes especificações da curva de Phillips, para discutir distintos objetivos embasados em assuntos relevantes como o processo de determinação de preços e seus custos sociais para a economia brasileira. Neste sentido, o primeiro ensaio utiliza de uma equação de transferência para a especificação da curva de Phillips, a partir do método das variáveis instrumentais, para alcançar a taxa de desemprego não aceleradora da inflação (NAIRU). Este método, para dados trimestrais de 2000 a 2013, possibilitou identificar uma mudança no coeficiente de correlação entre a taxa de desemprego e a taxa de inflação, que passou de um trade-off (negativo) para uma relação positiva, além da permanência da taxa NAIRU acima da taxa de desemprego no período em questão. Preocupando-se com este resultado expressivo, o segundo ensaio se comprometeu em analisar se esse adveio de possíveis não linearidades presentes na curva, preocupação que já havia sido retratada pelo trabalho seminal de Phillips (1958), indicando que a relação da taxa de variação dos salários nominais e a taxa de desemprego seria altamente não linear. Nesse contexto, utilizando o modelo de vetores autorregressivos que considera a não-linearidade dos parâmetros (quebras estruturais), variáveis exógenas de controle (para contornar o problema de omissão de variáveis) para o período de 1995 a 2014, estimou-se a Curva de Phillips Novo-Keynesiana Hibrida (CPNKH) para identificar possíveis quebras estruturais para dados da economia brasileira. O modelo estimado foi caracterizado por um MSIH(2)VAR(1) e foi possível confirmar a não linearidade a partir do teste da razão de verossimilhança, com a identificação de dois períodos bem distintos ao longo da amostra. Além disso, foi verificada uma representatividade maior para o termo inercial (Backward Looking) indicando que as expectativas de inflação contribuem menos para a explicação do processo inflacionário recente da economia brasileira. Uma vez que um dos principais objetivos do Regime de Metas de Inflação (RMI) é ancorar a formação de preços a partir das expectativas futuras dos agentes econômicos, além disso, dada a não linearidade encontrada para dados da economia brasileira no segundo ensaio, e dada as diferentes significâncias, importâncias e patamares para os componentes da curva que representam as expectativas (futuras e passadas), o terceiro ensaio se comprometeu em, ao invés de confiar exclusivamente em uma única medida de tendência central, analisar os quantis de toda a distribuição condicional da variável resposta (taxa de inflação). Utilizando do método da regressão quantílica inversa, que utiliza os blocos em movimento bootstrap de Fitzenberger (1997), descrito por Chernozhukov e Hansen (2005), para o período de maio de 2001 a agosto de 2016, foi possível identificar a importância adquirida pelas expectativas futuras ao longo dos períodos analisados. Quando se faz estimações considerando somente a média condicional, o termo inercial é maior e significativo para praticamente todas as especificações e modelos apresentados. Utilizando do modelo da regressão quantílica inversa, por outro lado, é possível verificar que o termo Forward Looking ganha força e domina o Backward Looking nos três períodos analisados, em diferentes níveis de inflação, demonstrando, assim, o comportamento assimétrico (não linear) do processo inflacionário. Desta forma, foi possível mostrar o amadurecimento do objetivo do RMI e averiguar que os componentes expectacionais da CPNKH, para dados da economia brasileira, foram capazes de manter sua importância e significância em toda distribuição condicional no processo de determinação de preços recente. / The present dissertation, based on three essays, makes use of different specifications for the Phillips curve, to discuss different objectives based on relevant issues such as the process of price determination and its social costs for the Brazilian economy. In this sense, the first assay uses a transfer equation for the specification of the Phillips curve, using the instrumental variables method, to reach the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU). This method, for quarterly data from 2000 to 2013, enable the identification of a change in the coefficient of correlation between the unemployment rate and the inflation rate, which transitioned from a trade-off to a positive relation, in addition to the permanence of the NAIRU above the unemployment rate in the period in question. Concerning with this expressive result, the second essay undertook to analyze whether this resulted from possible non-linearities present in the curve, a concern that had already been portrayed by the seminal work of Phillips (1958), indicating that the relation of the rate of change of wages and the unemployment rate would be highly non-linear. In this context, using the autoregressive vector model that considers the non-linearity of the parameters (structural breaks), exogenous variables of control (to circumvent the problem of omission of variables) for the period from 1995 to 2014, it was estimated the Phillips New-Keynesian Hybrid (CPNKH) to identify possible structural breaks for Brazilian economy data. The estimated model was characterized by a MSIH (2) VAR (1) and it was possible to confirm the nonlinearity from the likelihood ratio test, with the identification of two distinct periods throughout the sample. In addition, it was verified a greater representativeness for the inertial term (Backward Looking), indicating that the expectations of inflation contributed less to the explanation of the recent inflationary process of the Brazilian economy. Since one of the main objectives of the Inflation Targeting Regime (ITR) is to anchor the formation of prices based on the future expectations of the economic agents, in addition, given the non-linearity found for the data of the Brazilian economy in the second essay, and considering the different significance, importance and thresholds for the components of the curve that represent (future and past) expectations, the third assay committed to, instead of relying solely on a single measure of central tendency, analyze the quantiles of the entire conditional distribution of the response variable (inflation rate). Using the reverse quantum regression method, which uses the Fitzenberger (1997) bootstrap blocks, described by Chernozhukov and Hansen (2005), for the period from May 2001 to August 2016, it was possible to identify the importance acquired by the expectations over the periods analyzed. When estimating only the conditional average, the inertial term is larger and significant for practically all the specifications and models presented. On the other hand, it is possible to verify the Forward Looking term gaining importance and dominating the Backward Looking in the three analyzed periods, at different levels of inflation, thus, demonstrating the asymmetric (non-linear) behavior of the inflationary process. In this way, it was possible to show the maturity of the objective of the ITR as to verify that the expected components of the CPNKH for the Brazilian economy data were able to maintain its importance and significance in all conditional distribution in the recent pricing process.

abstract: Principles of climate mitigation in environmental ethics often draw on either considerations of fairness and forward-looking concerns, or on justice and backward-looking concerns. That is, according to some theorists, considerations of the current distribution of climate benefits and burdens are foremost, while others take repairing historic wrongs as paramount. Some theorists integrate considerations of fairness and justice to formulate hybrid climate principles. Such an integrative approach is promising particularly in the context of environmental harm to indigenous subsistence peoples, who are among those suffering the most from climate change. I argue that existing integrative climate principles tend not to sufficiently emphasize considerations of backward-looking justice. This is a problem for indigenous peoples seeking reparations for environmental harm and violations of their human rights. Specifically, indigenous people in the Arctic suffer a cultural harm from climate change as they lose their land, and their way of life, to erosion, cementing their status as climate refugees. I argue that the current climate situation facing Native Arctic people is unfair according to Rawls' second principle of justice. In addition, the situation is unjust as indigenous people suffer from emissions by others and few attempts are made for reparations. Thus, Rawlsian fairness combined with reparative justice provide a befitting theoretical framework. I conclude that an acceptable climate principle will adequately integrate considerations of both fairness and justice, both forward-looking and backward-looking considerations. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Philosophy 2014

2008年次貸風暴橫掃全球金融市場，Basel II制度歷經多年的實施，卻無法有效防阻金融風暴的發生。觀察2008已採用內部模型法之主要國際金融機構之年報，亦發現採用蒙地卡羅模擬法之代表銀行『德意志銀行』於該年度竟發生了35次穿透，市場風險管理到底出了什麼問題？這是被極度關心的現象，產官學界也對此現象提出了許多議題。2012年的現在，次貸的風暴尚未遠去，新的歐債危機也正在蔓延，若金融風暴再次來臨，市場風險管理是否能克服次貸風暴後所凸顯的缺失，市場風險管理的價值除被動管理外，是否還可以進階到主動預警，以作為經營決策的重要參考資訊？這些都是國內金融機構需積極面對的急迫的市場風險管理議題。 個案金控的市場風險管理機制致力於解決次貸以來所凸顯的市場風險管理議題、提升市場風險衡量的精準度、擴大市場風險管理之應用範圍，並將市場風險管理的價值由被動管理角色進階到主動預警角色，以期作為經營決策的重要參考。經過多年的淬煉，其發展理念與經驗應具相當參考價值，故本論文以個案金融控股公司(以下簡稱個案金控)之實務經驗進行個案研究，除分析個案金控市場風險管理機制的基礎架構外，也將研究重心放在個案金控如何在此基礎架構下，開發多種進階市場風險量化管理功能。 本論文除研究個案金控如何完善市場風險值量化機制外，也對各量化功能的實施結果進行分析，以期研究成果可更客觀的作為其他金融控股公司未來發展進階市場風險衡量機制之參考。