This thesis analyzes Japanese patent agents’ business in international patenting activities during the interwar period. The patent system in Japan has been open to foreign inventors since the country became a signatory of the Paris Convention in 1899. According to the Patent Law, all patents from abroad had be submitted to the Patent Office through the hands of the local agents. The key brokering role of these agents in international technology transfer around the patent system, however, has long been overlooked. This thesis investigates their technology intermediation using a mixed method: employing a fine-tuned Optical Character Recognition (OCR) model and natural language processing tools, I create a new dataset including the agents recorded in all patents granted in Japan from 1922 to 1940. Additionally, guided by the macro, quantitative analysis, this thesis also rediscovers various scattered primary sources to reconstruct the agents’ business scope and individual career. This thesis employs the theories on brokers and brokerage from sociology and anthropology, particularly examining the agents’ position in the international information network through the analytical lenses of brokers, gatekeepers and compradors. The main findings are that a specialized subdivision of this occupation focused specifically on the international patenting activities during these two decades, and a few of the most prestigious agents managed to balance their domestic and foreign clienteles. They actively aided foreign patentees in filling applications in Japan and finding local buyers for their inventions. Their business also extended to the neighboring countries, and particularly to Manchukuo, as the intellectual property protection institutions were slowly established in this region, simultaneously with the expansion of the Japanese Empire. As the only established specialist group in East Asia, these agents were an organic part of the emerging international professional community. Among these agents, the foreigners working in Japan and their successors sought to connect directly with international clients, while the large local patent agents relied more on transnational liaisons to reach foreign inventors.

This study examines the development of monetary theory and various policy frameworks as implemented at the time of writing. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of monetary policy on disintermediation and re–intermediation throughout the periods of the various monetary policy frameworks in South Africa, specifically between 1970 and 2010. In order to achieve the research objective given above, a review was firstly conducted of the literature on monetary theory and policy. This literature review gave attention to the various methods of evaluating the extent of disintermediation, elaborating on the various factors that influence the disintermediation process. The literature suggests that the occurrence of disintermediation can be determined by comparing income velocity data to real interest rate data. The second step in achieving the research objective was to examine the South African income velocity data in comparison to the South African real interest rate data over the period 1970 to 2010. The study found that disintermediation arises from the application of semi–direct or direct monetary controls, which in turn creates abnormal interest rate gaps. Despite the different monetary frameworks adopted in South Africa from 1970 to 2010, a uniform response can be noted. It is observed that whenever real interest rates trough, income velocity in turn peaks, indicating disintermediation. The opposite is true for a high real interest rate environment; income velocity declines, indicating re–intermediation, as returns are sought for in the banking sector. It is also observed that monetary policy implementation proves difficult owing to its forward–looking nature. Complications arise out of the elasticity of transmission mechanisms, the lag effect thereof and models that are backward looking based on historical data. In short, the study found that care should be taken by monetary authorities not to over–act in either direction, whether monetary tightening or easing. / Thesis (M.Com. (Economics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

This study examines the development of monetary theory and various policy frameworks as implemented at the time of writing. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of monetary policy on disintermediation and re–intermediation throughout the periods of the various monetary policy frameworks in South Africa, specifically between 1970 and 2010. In order to achieve the research objective given above, a review was firstly conducted of the literature on monetary theory and policy. This literature review gave attention to the various methods of evaluating the extent of disintermediation, elaborating on the various factors that influence the disintermediation process. The literature suggests that the occurrence of disintermediation can be determined by comparing income velocity data to real interest rate data. The second step in achieving the research objective was to examine the South African income velocity data in comparison to the South African real interest rate data over the period 1970 to 2010. The study found that disintermediation arises from the application of semi–direct or direct monetary controls, which in turn creates abnormal interest rate gaps. Despite the different monetary frameworks adopted in South Africa from 1970 to 2010, a uniform response can be noted. It is observed that whenever real interest rates trough, income velocity in turn peaks, indicating disintermediation. The opposite is true for a high real interest rate environment; income velocity declines, indicating re–intermediation, as returns are sought for in the banking sector. It is also observed that monetary policy implementation proves difficult owing to its forward–looking nature. Complications arise out of the elasticity of transmission mechanisms, the lag effect thereof and models that are backward looking based on historical data. In short, the study found that care should be taken by monetary authorities not to over–act in either direction, whether monetary tightening or easing. / Thesis (M.Com. (Economics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

This thesis examines both conventional and unconventional monetary policies in a DSGE model with an interbank market friction. The recent crisis during 2007-2009 affected economies worldwide and forced central banks to implement not just conventional monetary policies, but also direct interventions in financial markets. We investigate a DSGE model with financial frictions, to test conventional and unconventional monetary policies. The thesis starts by using the Gertler and Kiyotaki (2010)'s modelling framework, to examine eight different shocks under imperfect interbank market conditions. Unlike Gertler and Kiyotaki (2010) who consider the two extreme cases for the banking system, I firstly extend the analysis to a case in between the two extreme cases that they examined. The shocks considered include supply and demand shocks and also two shocks from the financial system itself (an interbank market shock and a shock to the deposit market). It is found that a negative shock to the interbank market has only a moderate impact to the banking system. However, a shock to the deposit market has a much stronger impact. Even though the impacts of these shocks are not large it is shown that thefinancial frictions magnify the effects of other shocks. The model is extended to include price stickiness. A modified Taylor rule is analysed to test how conventional monetary policy should respond to the shocks in the presence of financial frictions. Specifically the credit spread is added as a third term in the monetary policy rule. The stabilising properties of the policy rule are analysed and a welfare analysis is conducted. The model is further developed to include unconventional monetary policy in the form of direct lending to private sector firms from the central bank. A policy rule for unconventional policy is tested and its stabilising and welfare properties are analysed.

Having the author been involved in banking and finance for almost 25 years, this thesis intends to reflect on the role of banks with emphasis on cross border lending and credit rating, their effectiveness and the impacts of cultural differences. Perhaps this would not differ substantially from a researcher or a scholar, yet the exploratory approach taken in this research will be somewhat different as it deliberately seeks to answer a number of questions relevant to practitioners in today’s banking. In trying to achieve this goal, this thesis hopefully may find its way to international bankers wondering about the perspectives of their business in general and their profession in specific. It even may perhaps improve the understanding of their clients. The Basel committee which published the new Basel II framework on bank regulation and supervision was the result of long and careful discussions, wide consultations and comprehensive impact studies. Whereas Basel II covers the entire risk profile and supervision of financial institutions, this research is limited to the cross border lending by banks to companies and provides the views from both practicing international bankers and their customers on their 3 expectations regarding Basel II, credit rating and the relevance of context and culture differences. Bankers all over the world are being trained on how to read balance sheets, yet less attention is being paid as to by whom they are being created and how precisely these balance sheets came into existence, other than the accountancy standards applied. Bankers furthermore seem to agree on the fact that credit risks in large part are related to the management competencies, effective corporate governance and integrity of management and organization. The argument could be made that the assessment of management capabilities, governance and integrity may be hindered in those cases where the culture is little understood. In a three days conferences titled; “The Future of Relationship Banking”, 80 senior executives from international banks and large companies were gathered in Punta del Este, Uruguay and were asked to speak about these aspects. A transcript of the conference is provided as annex to this thesis (Annex 1) and serves to triangulate the findings of the research. Main findings of three management papers were presented by the researcher during the conference. A survey was performed during the conference and in addition, through an online survey, in total over 100 practitioners in the field participated in the survey. Results show a variation of conclusions, but very especially seem to confirm the view, contrary to the approach taken in Basel II, that cultural differences and context are felt to be highly relevant in cross border lending.

Um fato relacionado ao uso de telefones celulares para realizar transferência de recursos e pagamento de obrigações é o seu crescimento acelerado ao redor do mundo, com potencial econômico inquestionável. Projeções otimistas sugerem a substituição de instrumentos de pagamentos tradicionais como os cheques de papel e os cartões de plástico pelos instrumentos de pagamentos móveis. A despeito da relevância das organizações e setores envolvidos, poucos trabalhos teóricos e empíricos focaram no tema, especialmente para o Brasil, onde a referida inovação ainda não atingiu patamar de penetração equivalente a de outros países. Com esse baixo desempenho como cenário, quais os fatores internos às organizações ou ambientais seriam mais importantes ao desenvolvimento dessas inovações? Objetivando responder essa pergunta, este trabalho realizou um estudo de caso com três iniciativas de inovação em instrumentos de pagamentos móveis tipificadas como de sucesso em seus países, i.e., Alipay da China, M-Pesa do Quênia e Nubank do Brasil. Com base em determinantes potenciais selecionados na literatura, as informações e dados das empresas e de seus ambientes foram capturados, selecionados e analisados. De maneira complementar, realizou-se a triangulação das informações dos casos com os resultados de um questionário enviado a 43 especialistas de organizações privadas e públicas, com dados analisados pelo modelo de equações estruturais. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que, embebidos em um ambiente regulatório não restritivo, três fatores se associaram ao desenvolvimento de instrumentos de pagamentos móveis, todos relacionados a qualidades dos recursos e da gestão das organizações. O primeiro é o de que organizações com características orgânicas, com comunicação aberta e poder descentralizado, em oposição a organizações de estrutura mecanicista, fechadas e burocráticas, estão associadas ao desenvolvimento da oferta de instrumentos de pagamentos móveis. O segundo fator está integrado à oferta de serviços múltiplos e complementares em um mesmo sistema e sugere a disponibilidade conjunta tanto de serviços de pagamentos móveis como os típicos de mobile banking. O terceiro sugere a adoção de rede antecedente como estratégia para entrada e obtenção de massa crítica mínima, em alternativa ao crescimento vegetativo adotado por algumas fintechs. Como contribuição, apesar de os fatores selecionados não serem inéditos e já terem sido discutidos na literatura, eles usualmente são avaliados de maneira individualizada. Nesse sentido, este estudo sugere que os fatores em conjunto e seus inter-relacionamentos se mostraram como relevantes e devem guiar pesquisas futuras. Para pesquisadores e analistas, os fatores selecionados podem servir como guias em avaliações sobre o setor. Para executivos e gestores, os resultados geraram subsídios para suas tomadas de decisões. / One fact related to the use of mobile phones to carry out resource transfer and payment is its accelerated growth around the world, with unquestionable economic potential. Optimistic projections suggest replacing traditional payment instruments such as paper checks and plastic cards with mobile payment instruments. In spite of the relevance of the organizations and sectors involved, few theoretical and empirical studies focused on the theme, especially for Brazil, where the innovation has not yet reached the level of penetration equivalent to that of other countries. With such a low performance scenario, which internal or organizational factors would be most important to the development of these innovations? In order to answer this question, this paper carried out a case study with three innovation initiatives in mobile payment instruments typified as successful in their countries, i.e. Alipay of China, M-Pesa of Kenya and Nubank of Brazil. Based on potential determinants selected in the literature, the information and data of companies and their environments were captured, selected and analyzed. In a complementary way, the triangulation of the information of the cases was carried out with the results of a questionnaire sent to 43 specialists from private and public organizations, with data analyzed by the structural equations model. The results suggest that, embedded in a non-restrictive regulatory environment, three factors were associated with the development of mobile payment instruments, all related to the qualities of resources and the management of organizations. The first is that organizations with organic characteristics, with open communication and decentralized, as opposed to mechanistic, closed and bureaucratic organizations, are associated with the development of mobile payment instruments\' supply. The second factor is integrated with the supply of multiple and complementary services in the same system and suggests the joint availability of both mobile payment and mobile banking services. The third one suggests the adoption of antecedent network as a strategy for entry and obtaining minimum critical mass, as an alternative to the vegetative growth adopted by some fintechs. As a contribution, although the selected factors are not unpublished and have already been discussed in the literature, they are usually evaluated in an individualized way. In this sense, this study suggests that the factors together and their interrelationships have proved to be relevant and should guide future research. For researchers and analysts, the selected factors can serve as guides in industry assessments. For executives and managers, the results generated support for their decisions.

As cooperativas de crédito são instituições financeiras que têm como finalidade principal a prestação de serviços bancários e de intermediação financeira voltando-se para a geração de benefícios ao cooperado, através de benefícios econômicos encontrados sob a forma cooperativada. Considerando o objetivo destas organizações, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar a eficiência das mesmas considerando duas vertentes: 1) a atividade de intermediação financeira; e 2) a atividade de prestação de serviços bancários, a partir de variáveis contábeis. A técnica utilizada para a avaliação da eficiência foi a Análise Envoltória de Dados e foram analisados os determinantes da eficiência por meio de regressões do tipo Tobit. A amostra é composta por 315 cooperativas singulares listadas na base de dados do Banco Central do Brasil e foram utilizados os dados dos balancetes anuais e semestrais (soma dos semestres para as contas de resultado de cada ano) apresentados para período de 2007 a 2014. Os resultados indicaram baixa eficiência das cooperativas na prestação de serviços bancários, com 73% da amostra apresentando ineficiência ao longo de todos os anos do período em análise. Na atividade de intermediação financeira 20 cooperativas foram eficientes ao longo do período completo, com as demais apresentando graus de ineficiência abaixo de 16% em todos os anos. Quanto aos determinantes da eficiência, verificou-se como principais fatores na atividade de intermediação financeira a Imobilização, a Insolvência, o Descasamento Passivo e as Despesas Administrativas, enquanto na atividade de prestação de serviços os principais determinantes foram a Captação por Floating e as Despesas Administrativas. Os resultados da eficiência na intermediação financeira indicaram baixos graus de ineficiência, enquanto os altos graus de ineficiência na prestação de serviços bancários alertaram para a pouca importância dada ao fornecimentos destes serviços e para a importância de se utilizar dois modelos distintos para a avaliação da eficiência em cooperativas de crédito, dado o comportamento desvinculado entre as duas atividades avaliadas. / Credit unions are financial institutions whose main purpose is the provision of banking and financial intermediation turning to the generation of benefits to the cooperative through economic benefits found in the cooperative form. Considering the purpose of these organizations, this study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of these organizations considering two aspects: 1) the financial intermediation activity and 2) the activity of banking services. For this aim it was used accounting variables. The technique used for the assessment of efficiency was the Data Envelopment Analysis and the determinants of efficiency were analyzed using Tobit regressions. The sample is composed of 315 individual cooperatives listed in the Central Bank\'s database of Brazil and it was used the data of the annual and semi-annual balance sheets (sum of semesters for the result accounts of each year) presented for the period 2007 to 2014. The results indicated low efficiency of cooperatives in providing banking services, with 73% of the sample showing inefficiency over each year of the period. In the financial intermediation activity 20 cooperatives were effective over the entire period, and the other cooperatives presented degrees of inefficiency below 16% in every year of the period. As the determinants of efficiency, it was as key determinants in financial intermediation activity: the immobilization, the insolvency, the mismatch liabilities and the administrative expenses, while in activity of providing services the main determinants were the capture by floating and the administrative expenses. The results of efficiency in financial intermediation were considered satisfactory, but the high degree of inefficiency in the provision of banking services warned of the low priority given to the provision of such services and the importance of using two different models for the assessment of efficiency in credit cooperatives, given the unlinked behavior between the two activities evaluated.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T19:26:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Monica Aparecida Viana.pdf: 1898737 bytes, checksum: 702e1934655c7b6ab221e0fcf38daa7f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-01-28 / Fundação Araucária de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico do Paraná / The study of complex networks has been widely applied to various areas of science, such as biology, philosophy, sociology, technology, physics, chemistry, among others. We directed this study of networks for not much explored area, the area of literature. We apply the theory of complex networks in networks generated from the scansion of poetic works, more specifically sonnets of Camoens and Bocage. The aim is to identify structures of significant motifs within networks and observe the scope thereof in the work in its original structure. To identify these motifs, it was necessary to develop a method of locating motifs in networks that were not based on their recurrence, but in its significance within the structure. We then decided to use a standard measure in identifying poetic syllables, syllables that represent these network nodes, indicating the most relevant within each structure analyzed network. The measure chosen is called centrality of intermediation, it tells us how important a node within a network. After the identification of all significant motifs we performed the same location of the original structures of the works. The motifs were duly highlighted with different colors, allowing to analyze the sound of them and the authors define these characteristics by identifying a specific identity of each author. We were able to observe the end of the analysis that the developed method, based on the measure of the centrality of mediation was effective, since the significant motifs have wide scope in poetic structure of the analyzed works, demonstrating how to study a complex network is not necessary know it completely, just know the significant motifs that comprise it. Regarding the sound and finding an identity for each author, this result still remains vacant. It was possible to identify the sound partially in some works, but nothing that allows, decisively, set a specific identity for a given author. / O estudo de redes complexas tem sido amplamente aplicado a diversas areas da ciencia, tais como: biologia, filosofia, sociologia, tecnologia, física, quımica, entre outras. Direcionamos esse estudo de redes para uma area nao muito explorada, a area da literatura. Aplicamos a teoria das redes complexas em redes geradas a partir da escansao de obras poeticas, mais especificamente sonetos de Camoes e Bocage. O intuito e identificar estruturas de motifs significativos dentro das redes e, observar a abrangencia dos mesmos na obra em sua estrutura original. Para identificar estes motifs, fez-se necessario desenvolver um metodo de localizacao de motifs em redes que nao fosse baseado na sua recorrencia, mas sim na sua significˆancia dentro da estrutura. Optamos entao em utilizar uma medida padrao na identificacao de sılabas poeticas, sılabas essas que representam os nos da rede, indicando quais as mais relevantes dentro de cada estrutura de rede analisada. A medida escolhida e chamada de centralidade de intermediacao, a mesma nos informa o quao importante um no ´e dentro de uma rede. Apos a identificacao de todos os motifs significativos realizamos a localizacao dos mesmos nas estruturas originais das obras. Os motifs foram devidamente destacados com cores diferentes, permitindo assim analisar a sonoridade dos mesmos e definir os autores por meio destas caracterısticas, identificando uma identidade especıfica de cada autor. Pudemos observar ao termino das analises que o metodo desenvolvido, com base na medida da centralidade de intermediacao mostrou-se eficaz, visto que os motifs significativos possuem ampla abrangencia na estrutura po´etica das obras analisadas, comprovando assim que para estudar uma rede complexa nao e necessario conhece-la inteiramente, basta conhecer os motifs significativos que compoem a mesma. Em relacao a sonoridade e busca de uma identidade para cada autor, ainda permanece vago esse resultado. Foi possıvel identificar a sonoridade de forma parcial em algumas obras, mas nada que permita, de forma decisiva, definir uma identidade especıfica para um determinado autor.

O desenvolvimento tecnológico experimentado nos últimos anos é causa de uma grande transformação no mercado de valores mobiliários. Essa transformação não se restringe aos produtos e instrumentos, cada vez mais sofisticados, mas atinge a própria estrutura de negociação. Assim, testemunhamos o abandono dos pregões viva-voz e o surgimento de sistemas de negociação eletrônica, que aumentaram a velocidade das transações e mudaram a forma de acesso ao mercado secundário de valores mobiliários. O presente trabalho aborda essa questão com foco na atividade de intermediação, procurando demonstrar como essa atividade é afetada pelo acesso eletrônico ao mercado, inclusive pela disciplina regulatória que tal forma de acesso impõe. / Technological development experienced in recent years is causing a major transformation in the securities market. This transformation is not restricted to products and financial instruments, more and more sophisticated, but reaches the very structure of trading. Thus, we witness the abandonment of open outcry system and the emergence of electronic trading systems, which increased trading speed and changed the access to secondary market securities. This paper addresses this issue with a focus on the intermediation activity, seeking to demonstrate how this activity is affected by direct electronic access, including the regulatory discipline that such form of access imposes.

Markets are arenas of social interaction for the exchange of products and services that are embedded in specific networks, cultures, and political relations. The study of how new markets come into being is a lively area of scholarly debate, and the purpose of this thesis is to shed light on the dynamics of these early moments of market formation. These nascent markets are characterized by the lack of shared meanings and settled rules around their participants, processes, and infrastructure. I approach them with arguments from economic sociology and from theories of organizations and institutions. The empirical context is a longitudinal study of the UK social investment market from 2000 to 2015, a field that intersects the social, financial, and public sectors. Social investment refers to the combination of financial returns and social impact, but the contest over its meaning and practice is itself a part of this analysis. The core data collection is based on interviews, reports, field events, and online sources, which provide an empirical basis to understand the social, cultural, and political processes that are shaping this market. I build on different traditions in the sociology of markets to explore changes over time in the rules, identities, practices, and dominant actors during the early moments of the UK social investment market. My first main finding is that the initial period of uncontested ambiguity is followed by efforts from mainstream organizations to reduce that ambiguity by reshaping rules and practices. This then results in a period of collaborative contestation, where peripheral actors challenge the core features of the field and hinder the path to stability. The second finding is about the role played by intermediary organizations in nascent markets, which consists of building the market infrastructure by connecting actors, developing a language, and establishing rules and practices. These findings point to the importance of theorizing about ambiguity in the early moments of markets. I contribute to this endeavor by specifying some of its features and dynamics, and by emphasizing the centrality of intermediation. I also further our understanding of those markets that span across the worlds of business, policy, and civil society.