Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1994. / Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 216-221).

This paper studies if a change in political risk has a significant impact on the stock returns of countries. Additionally, the paper assesses if this change in political risk impacts stock returns differently in emerging and developed countries. The paper conducts a risk based portfolio analysis and a linear cross-sectional regression analysis in order to find a conclusive result. The portfolio analysis, which replicates a study carried out by Diamonte, Liew, and Stevens (1996), reveals that there is a difference in the impact that change in political risk has in developed and emerging countries. The regression analysis finds that change in political risk does impact stock returns but there is no statistically significant difference in this impact between emerging and developed countries. The regression analysis also finds that the existing level of risk does not significantly affect the impact that growth in political risk has on stock returns.

In this thesis, we analyse financial contagion between Southern European (Greek, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish) and Central Eastern European (Czech, Polish and Hungarian) stock markets respectively sovereign bond markets in the period from January 2001 to June 2016. A quantile regression framework is applied to analyse contagion based on measuring of occurrences and degrees of co-exceedances. We use conditional variance (volatility) of analysed markets to find direction of the contagion. Our results show that during the analysed period contagion between stock markets exists. Contagion between stock markets is stronger during the financial and sovereign debt crisis. Direction of contagion is from Southern European to Central Eastern European Countries. We do not find evidence of contagion between Sothern European and Central Eastern European sovereign bond markets. Our results show "flight to quality", but not "flight from quality".

This paper aims to measure, compare and model Sovereign Risk. The risk position of South Africa compared to Emerging Markets as well as in comparison to Developed Markets is considered. Particular interest is taken in how the South African Sovereign Risk environment, and its associated determinants, differs and conforms to that of other Emerging Markets. This effectively highlights how the South African economy is similar to the Emerging Markets and where it behaves differently. Regression, optimisation techniques, dimension reduction techniques as well as Machine Learning techniques, through the use of sentiment analysis, is utilised in this research.

The transfer pricing, literature indicates that an investigation of some aspects of this subject could usefully be undertaken in order to contribute to the understanding of transfer pricing in both domestic and international markets. This study aims at exploring the current state of transfer pricing practice and establishing the importance attached to the ranking of transfer pricing determinants (i. e. objectives and environmental variables) and the extent to which the ranking varies across markets, industry, and according to the transfer pricing method used. It also seeks to discover interrelationship among the transfer pricing determinants in order to produce a reduced set of basic factors. Lastly, it aims at evaluating the relationship between transfer pricing determinants and transfer pricing methods and at discovering a means of predicting the latter from the company's perception of the relative importance of these determinants. To achieve the above objectives, an empirical study covering both domestic and international markets was undertaken in UK companies. The conclusions are concerned with transfer pricing policy, methods currently used, and problems apparent in practice. The overall ranking-by survey respondents of the transfer pricing determinants is given as well as the results of tests of certain hypotheses which relate to this ranking. The transfer pricing determinants used in the survey for domestic and international. markets (twelve and twenty respectively) have been reduced by Factor Analysis to four and six factors. The study made use of the results to obtain measures of the ranking of discovered factors. Finally, the relationship between the transfer pricing determinants and transfer pricing methods was quantitatively evaluated in the form of a set of classification functions by using Multi-Discriminant Analysis. The classification functions are able to predict the transfer pricing method actually used in companies with an acceptable degree of success. The study's results have been reviewed with a small number of senior managers who are involved in establishing transfer pricing policy within their companies. / Egyptian Government and Al-Azher University

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The Industrial Organization literature investigates the product market decisions of a firm while the corporate finance literature explores the financing decisions of the firm. But the truth is both the financing decisions and the product market decisions are interdependent and should be modeled together to develop a better understanding of a firm's decisions. This thesis takes a step in that direction. The manager of a firm caters to the equity holders of the firm who are protected by limited liability. Ex-ante debt is issued and at the time of product market decision, debt is exogenous. The traditional product market capital market interaction literature has argued that debt financing leads to more aggressive product market strategies. If debt is treated as endogenous and/or the switching state of nature is endogenous, it can be shown that debt financing may lead to less aggressive product market strategies. Further, if external financing consists of both debt and equity financing, it is shown that a financially constrained firm shall produce less than what it would have produced if it was not financially constrained. Finally, managerial compensation is reported to be one of the reasons for product market aggressiveness of a firm in the context of product market capital market interaction. / Ph. D.

This thesis examines the housing market, focusing upon the manner in which housing strategies are formulated by local authorities. The case for housing strategies which examine the needs and demands of all housing tenures has been recognised since 1977. At that time, the introduction of Housing Investment Programme and Strategies attempted to focus local housing policy and production in a strategic manner but since then the strategic policy elements have been continuously eroded. Moreover, since 1977 the housing market has changed considerably. The situation that exists at present is one where speculative housebuilders produce most new housing supply, whilst social housing is now largely provided by housing associations, rather than by local authorities. Now would appear to be an opportune time to reexamine the formulation of housing strategies, with a view to producing a strategy which is more attuned to the needs and demands of the housing market in the 1990s. This study investigates the manner in which the local authority may produce housing strategies which are more structured to the housing production processes of the 1990s. In so doing, it focuses upon three main areas. Firstly, the manner in which the housing market requires an integrated overall approach towards housing provision. In practical terms, this would lead local authorities to attempt to integrate, within an enabling context, the roles of the housing and planning departments. Secondly, as the private sector is responsible for most new housing supply, it is important that it is more closely integrated in policy formulation. This thesis suggests that greater co-ordination between the agency of enablement (local authorities) and the agency of implementation (housebuilders) should ensure that policies are more likely to be realised. The third area examined is the degree to which a local authority can gain a better understanding of local housing markets to ensure that more effective local housing strategies are developed.

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