This research aims to explore if rational choice theory can be applied to explain money laundering in Hong Kong by drawing on the characteristics of stooges and their motives for colluding in money laundering activities and the effectiveness of imprisonment or other forms of punishments as a means of deterrence. An actor has limited cognitive capacity, makes decisions based on incomplete information and his actions reflect personal optimal beliefs (Piquero and Tibbetts, 2002; Hindmoor, 2006). Findings from the seven in-depth interviews conducted as part of the research and documentary reviews of local court cases support that financial reward is the major reason “why” offenders engage in money laundering activities at both the individual and institutional level. The findings also show that, in addition to ignorant and vulnerable individuals being chosen as stooges, well-regarded individuals and charitable organizations are also possible candidates. The research highlights a luring process experienced by the stooges which supports the psychosocial dynamics of rational choice. The research findings also challenge one of the cornerstones of classical criminology that maximum penalty is an effective means of deterrence. / published_or_final_version / Criminology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

No description available.

This thesis studies the role of the banking system in several aspects of the macroeconomy, including the likelihood of financial crises, volatility of asset prices and the transmission of monetary policy. In chapter 2, I analyze the accumulation of international reserves by central banks as insurance against financial crises. In the model, private banks borrow from foreign creditors to invest in domestic projects. By lending to banks in response to liquidity shocks, the central bank can reduce the liquidation of bank assets and lower the probability of bank runs. I show that the central bank will hold more reserves when private banks hold lower reserves. I also find that if the central bank can borrow additional loans from external sources, then domestic banks will hold fewer reserves by themselves. If the borrowing cost of external loan is very high, then the central bank may actually want to accumulate more reserves in order to avoid borrowing from external sources at high costs. In chapter 3, I show that the ability of banks to supply liquidity through money creation is important for financial stability. By supplying liquidity, banks can smooth the sale of assets and stabilize asset prices. I find that without elastic money, the attempt of non-bank mutual funds to raise cash by selling assets will only add more volatility into the market. Elastic money provided by banks can help mutual funds better smooth the consumption of their shareholders. In chapter 4, we consider the role of elastic money in an different environment where liquidity shocks affect agents asymmetrically. We show how money growth and interest rate policy can be used to adjust the consumption level of households. We find that the optimal policy is affected by the sensitivity of the supply price to the interest rate. When the supply price is more sensitive to the interest rate, it would be better to adopt a higher inflation rate, and to make the zero-bound of nominal interest rate less likely to be binding. / Thesis (Ph.D, Economics) -- Queen's University, 2007-07-06 11:55:49.942

This thesis seeks to contribute to the theoretical and empirical debate surrounding five key issues in the demand for money. These issues are identified as: stability, functional form, causality, dynamics and competing theories. Each is examined through the application of current econometric methods to Canadian data. In addition to providing information about Canadian money demand, efforts are made to assess the practical nature of the econometric techniques employed. / Contributions include: an assessment of relative sensitivity of various stability tests; a discussion of stability of monetary aggregates wherein a demand shift in the current account component of narrow money in the mid-1970s is identified; empirical and theoretical analyses of the appropriateness of a semilogarithmic functional form; technical improvements in the study of causality for Canada; discussion and assessment of variable dynamics in the equilibrating adjustment process; and construction of a statistically-optimum and economically-rational price expectations series.

In 2007, the government of Rwanda launched a medium-term programme of four years, as stated in its Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS). A part of this programme is a prudent monetary policy which is one of the responsibilities of the National Bank of Rwanda (NBR), especially via its role of controlling liquidity in the national economy for ensuring macroeconomic stability. The National Bank of Rwanda adjusts base money to ensure that the level of the monetary aggregate M2 is consistent with price stability. To effectively implement this monetary policy, two conditions are necessarily required: (i) a stable demand function for money; (ii) a stable long-run relationship between the money stock and the price level. Using a cointegration analysis we investigated the effectiveness of this policy through examining whether these two conditions are fulfilled for the years 1996:Q1 to 2008:Q3. This study confirmed the stability of the money demand function and found that the money stock in the Rwandan economy and prices trend together in the long-run. Thus, targeting the monetary aggregate M2 is a good indicator of the price level. Moreover, we found that at a five point six per cent (5.6%) significance level, the Rwandan money market needs 3.5 quarters to eliminate a half disequilibrium discrepancy in the money demand model. At a six point five per cent (6.5%) significance level, the Rwandan money market needs 4.5 quarters to eliminate a half disequilibrium discrepancy in the money supply model. Monetary policy implemented by the National Bank of Rwanda remains effective as it is still possible to achieve the overall objective of price stability through targeting the monetary aggregate M2. / Thesis (M.Comm.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

This Master of Laws thesis provides an analysis of Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench civil money judgment cases, sampled quantitatively for 1995 and 2004, to examine the length of time from the filing of a claim to judgment being issued, before and after the implementation of Manitoba Queen s Bench Rule 20A. The historical roots of Manitoba court procedure and certain enforcement processes are examined to explain historically: if you get the judgment, how do you get the money? The procedural law is rooted in the English medieval common law system of judicial writs, most recently made more efficient by Manitoba Queen s Bench Rule 20A. This remains basic to issues of law reform for all common law jurisdictions, including Saskatchewan s Enforcement of Money Judgments Act, and this thesis concludes with a set of qualitative recommendations.

This Master of Laws thesis provides an analysis of Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench civil money judgment cases, sampled quantitatively for 1995 and 2004, to examine the length of time from the filing of a claim to judgment being issued, before and after the implementation of Manitoba Queen s Bench Rule 20A. The historical roots of Manitoba court procedure and certain enforcement processes are examined to explain historically: if you get the judgment, how do you get the money? The procedural law is rooted in the English medieval common law system of judicial writs, most recently made more efficient by Manitoba Queen s Bench Rule 20A. This remains basic to issues of law reform for all common law jurisdictions, including Saskatchewan s Enforcement of Money Judgments Act, and this thesis concludes with a set of qualitative recommendations.

No description available.

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1973. / Bibliography: leaves [207]-212. / ix, 212 l graphs, tables

This thesis investigates the accounting and other practices performed as part of trials experienced by interested actors in forming a Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme. Prompted by the high visibility of PPP schemes and a lack of understanding about the situated roles and effects of accounting and other practices in motivating and appraising such schemes, two practice-oriented research problems are investigated. Firstly, how does an ambition for a PPP scheme form in particular times and places. Secondly, what is the agency of accounting and other appraisal processes in trialling a proposed PPP scheme. Following an introductory section, this thesis proceeds via three papers. The first paper reviews the extant accounting-related literature on PPP schemes along five research themes adapted from Broadbent & Laughlin (1999, 2004), highlighting the literary contributions and future research opportunities in this area. The second and third papers focus on the experiences of interested actors in trialling possibilities for a public housing PPP in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), using field-based research. The aim of the second paper is to understand how an ambition for a PPP can become accepted through efforts to ??envisage value?? for such schemes in particular times and places. The third paper investigates the roles and effects of accounting and other appraisal practices mobilised to translate an ambition for a PPP scheme into an agreement that promises a ??Value for Money?? (VFM) outcome. Collectively, these papers contribute to extant knowledge about the involvement of accounting and other practices in the performance of ??value?? in PPP schemes by: (i) illustrating how an ambition for a PPP scheme forms through ??envisaging value??; (ii) explicating the agency of accounting and other practices in conferring VFM with situated meaning; (iii) contradicting the dominant status attributed to the involvement of accounting calculations in PPP schemes; and (iv) highlighting the various ways in which interested actors can cope with and act in the face of significant uncertainties. Overall, these contributions further our understanding of how proposed PPP schemes are (per)formed through the complex of activities (including accounting) and interests tied to the achievement of such schemes.