The conflict that may arise among holders of competing claims on firms' assets is being studied under the heading of "agency theory." The primary purposes of the research done in this study were to: (1) economically model the individual investor's consumption-investment decision as it is modified by the agency problem, and (2) to econometrically model the firm's decision to issue convertible versus nonconvertible bonds using explanatory variables which measure the extent of the agency problem. Individual investors are assumed to maximize expected utility of consumption by choosing consumption and investment amounts over a single period. A mathematical model of the investor's consumption-investment decision was derived in an environment characterized by agency problems between stockholders and bondholders. It was demonstrated that if the capital markets exhibit conditions known as spanning and competitivity, then the only investors affected by the agency problem are those holding the affected securities prior to the act of expropriation. It was also shown that the agency problem does not vanish in general, even if investors attempt to avoid the expropriation by holding balanced portions of all outstanding claims on a firm's assets. Implications of the theoretical development were then tested by econometrically modelling the firm's choice of convertible versus nonconvertible debt. The explanatory variables included in the model included measures of the more popular reasons for convertible financing, such as the "debt sweetener" hypothesis and the "delayed equity" rationale discussed in most basic finance textbooks. In addition, measures of agency costs were included, since one possible solution to the agency problem is the issuance of convertible bonds. The empirical results showed that the model accounted for a significant portion of the discrimination between convertible and straight debt, and that the variables designed to measure agency costs were marginally significant. / Ph. D.

The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change was used to assess change in investing behavior among Investing For Your Future home-study course participants. The goal of Investing For Your Future is to help people improve their personal finance behaviors leading to financial security in later life. On average, after course participation fourteen of the fifteen investing behaviors were identified in the desired stages of established behavior. The study was based on Prochaska's Transtheoretical Model of Change (1979), including five different stages of behavior. This study investigated at what stage of change course participants are in for certain investing behaviors since completing Investing For Your Future (O'Neill et al., 2000). The stages of behavior are: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance. The desired stage was either the action or maintenance stage, which indicated that the investing behavior has been established. A person in the precontemplation stage is not thinking of future needs, not taking any actions to prepare for investing. Someone in the contemplation stage has set investing goals, but is not otherwise preparing to do the investing behavior. Someone in the preparation stage has both set goals and actively sought after information about the investing behavior. An individual in the action stage has not only done the preparatory actions, but has also engaged in the investing behavior. Finally, an individual in the maintenance stage has met the investing behavior action over an ongoing period of time. The quantitative survey design of this study was adapted from Dillman's Mail and Internet Surveys (2002). A survey questionnaire was created online using multiple choice and open-ended questions and was sent to the sample as a link in an email. The population consisted of Investing For Your Future (O'Neill et al., 2000) online course participants from April 1, 2001 through April 11, 2005. The initial sample consisted of 1,123, however at least 415 members of the sample never received the survey, reducing the sample to 708 people. Upon sending out the email, many error reports were received stating that the recipient did not receive the email. Response rates for the survey were very low, and can be attributed to multiple problems. / Master of Science

The unprecedented growth of the cryptocurrency market over the past decade has attracted significant interest from various stakeholders, including investors, policymakers, and researchers. Cryptocurrencies, digital currencies that operate on blockchain technology, are revolutionary because they offer financial transactions without the need for traditional banking systems. This innovative approach to finance has reshaped the global economic landscape, presenting unique opportunities and substantial challenges. Cryptocurrency, spearheaded by the introduction of Bitcoin in 2008 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, represents a significant shift from traditional fiat currencies to a decentralized digital economy. Bitcoin and its contemporaries rely on a peer-to-peer network, utilizing cryptographic techniques to ensure transaction security and user anonymity, a characteristic has fueled both adoption and controversy. As the market has grown, so have the complexities associated with its expansion, notably in regulation, security, and market dynamics. This dissertation explores these complexities through three distinct but interconnected essays, each focusing on a different aspect of the cryptocurrency environment.

Yes / Extant literature shows the positive impact of institutional development on investor rationality and market efficiency. The authors extend this evidence by investigating the performance-flow relationship in the Chinese mutual fund market before and after the enforcement of the revised Law of the People’s Republic of China on Securities Investment Fund. Empirical evidence reveals that Chinese investors irrationally chase past star performers before institutional reform, but gradually become rational and less obsessed with star-chasing behaviors after reform. Moving one percentile upward in the relative performance among the star funds is associated with money inflows by 0.532% after reform, much lower than 1.433% before reform. The findings confirm the positive influence of institutional development on investor rationality and market efficiency. The successful experience can be borrowed by other emerging markets with less developed institutions. / National Social Science Foundation of China [grant number 15AJY019].

Yes / This paper undertakes a comparison between five multifactor variants of the capital asset pricing model. These include additional factors based on size, book to market value, momentum, liquidity and a new investor protection metric based on the product of institutional quality in a country and the proportion of free float shares, which captures the impact of controlling block holders. Using monthly returns of 909 blue chip firms from 18 Middle East & North African equity markets for 16 years, we show that a two factor CAPM augmented with a factor mimicking portfolio based on the investor protection metric yields the highest explanatory power. Analysis of Kalman filter time varying investor protection betas reveals investor protection premiums in Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Tunisia and corresponding discounts in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Yes / We assess the impact of investor sentiment on future stock returns in 50 global stock markets. Using the consumer confidence index (CCI) as the sentiment proxy, we document a negative relationship between investor sentiment and future stock returns at the global level. While the separation between developed and emerging markets does not disrupt the negative pattern, investor sentiment has a more instant impact in emerging markets, but a more enduring impact in developed markets. Individual stock markets reveal heterogeneity in the sentiment-return relationship. This heterogeneity can be explained by cross-market differences in culture and institutions, along with intelligence and education, to varying degrees influenced by the extent of individual investor market participation.

Yes / Although a cornerstone of traditional finance theory, empirical evidence in support of a positive mean-variance relation is far from conclusive, with the behavior of retail investors commonly thought to be one of the root causes of departures from this expected relationship. The behavior of institutional investors, conventionally thought to be sophisticated and rational, has recently come under closer scrutiny, including in relation to investor sentiment. Drawing together these two strands of literature, this paper examines the impact of institutional investor sentiment on the mean-variance relation in six regions, including Asia (excl. Japan), Eastern Europe, Eurozone, Japan, Latin America, and the US, and across thirtyeight markets. Empirical evidence supports the differential impact of institutional investor sentiment on the mean-variance relation (i.e., positive or negative), both across regions and across markets. In particular, for markets with cultural proneness to overreaction and a low level of market integrity institutional investor sentiment tends to distort the risk-return tradeoff.

Yes / This study reexamines the need for Chinese enterprises to disclose climate risk information in the context of their significant contribution to climate change. The paper proposes climate risk disclosure indicators based on a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2020 and their annual reports. It explores the relationship and influencing mechanism between corporate climate risk disclosure and carbon emissions levels. The results of empirical research show that disclosing climate risk information reduces carbon emissions levels, and this mitigating effect is significantly enhanced by the moderating effects of executive environmental experience, investor attention, and government environmental supervision. Heterogeneity analysis further indicates that state-owned enterprises, those with a solid corporate green culture, or industries with high pollution emissions can better exert the carbon emission reduction effect of climate risk disclosure. In addition, physical climate risk disclosure is preferred in terms of short-term carbon emissions. In contrast, transformational climate risk disclosure is selected for long-term carbon reduction goals. Finally, empirical economic analysis indicates that high-quality climate risk disclosure can appropriately mitigate the negative impact of corporate carbon emissions on solvency and profitability compared to firms with lower disclosure levels, highlighting the importance of climate risk disclosure quality. / This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China [No. 72091515], the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2022JJ40647), and Excellent Young Scholar Project of the Hunan Provincial Department of Education (23B0004). / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 12 July 2025.

Investment decision-making is a critical theme in entrepreneurial research. This study aims to explore how different types of investors are influenced by regulatory, political, economic, environmental, and societal changes following the rise of sustainable policies such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Grounded in the External Enablement Framework and employing a qualitative, multi-case methodology, this thesis identifies eight key factors that influence investor decisions in sustainable entrepreneurship. It finds that external enablers like regulatory and societal changes motivate investments, while inhibitors such as stringent regulations and economic crises deter them. Additionally, investor preferences are shaped by past experiences, personal ethics, and team authenticity. The findings provide organizations with valuable insights into the factors that influence investment decisions in sustainable entrepreneurial ventures. Investors can gain a better understanding of external factors and opportunities, entrepreneurs can identify key considerations and potential new areas for growth, and policymakers can develop more market-oriented policies and or regulations to support sustainable investment and entrepreneurship.

This thesis highlights the gap in previous literature and research of activist short selling in the context of the Swedish market. This thesis investigates the impacts of short sell research reports on the Swedish financial markets, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics, implications, and outcomes related to this phenomenon. The study is conducted through empirical research involving semi-structured interviews, allowing for in-depth exploration and understanding of various perspectives, with investor relations representatives from targeted firms, legal experts, analytics and short sell research firms. From our empirical findings key research questions are addressed.  Firstly, the study examines the market dynamics and industry-specific factors driving increased attention from short sell research firms towards Swedish companies, highlighting factors such as market volatility, valuation challenges, and transparency concerns. Secondly, it explores how the emergence of short sell research reports shapes market dynamics, investor behaviour, and market integrity, noting both positive contributions to market efficiency and challenges regarding the accuracy and validity of the reports. Thirdly, the responses of targeted companies to allegation made in these reports are analysed, emphasizing the importance of a prompt, transparent response to maintain investor confidence. Fourthly, concerns about market manipulation are evaluated, considering the regulatory framework and the need for balance between market freedom and regulatory oversight.  This thesis contributes insights into market dynamics, conflicts of interest in financial analysis, and regulatory mechanisms, offering practical recommendations for stakeholders, including targeted companies, investors, and regulatory authorities. The recommendations from the study focuses on enhancing transparency, communication strategies, and regulatory compliance. Overall, this thesis enriches the understanding of short sell activism and its impact on financial markets, offering valuable insights for practitioners, researchers, and regulators.