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Thesis advisor: Utku M. Unver / The Market Design approach, which involves the creation of markets with desirable properties, has been successfully applied to study a wide range of real-world economic problems. The market design approach is helpful in scenarios where money can’t be used as a medium of exchange to facilitate transactions. The allocation of school/college seats to students, assigning residency positions to physicians, cadet-branch matching, and exchange of organs like kidneys and liver are some problems that have been successfully studied using the market design approach. Typically, the market design approach concerns with the setting up of two-sided markets with agents on each side of the market having preferences over each other or agents on one side and objects (school seats, military branches, public health goods like beds, ventilators, etc.) on the other side with agents having preferences over the objects and objects having priority over the agents. Priority ranking of agents can be considered an entitlement ranking where agents with higher priority have the right for the object compared to the agent with lower priority. The insights from the matching theory are then used to create a mechanism that matches agents with agents or objects for the given set of preferences/priority ranking satisfying desirable properties. Primary among these properties is stability, an equilibrium concept for matching. Stable matching ensures that matched agents/objects on the two sides of the market do not have an incentive to break up their respective matching and form a better matching for themselves. In the market design problem of matching agents to objects, stability ensures that the agent’s priority for objects is not violated. Other properties include strategy-proofness, where agents do not have an incentive to misreport their preferences. Strategy-proof mechanisms are simple and ensure that high-information agents cannot game the system at the expense of low-information agents. The priority ranking thus used in matching agents to objects has been subject to much criticism. The underlying process that generates the priority rankings can be inherently discriminatory. Exam scores are used to generate the priority ranking in allocating school seats to students. In the New York City school system, there has been a growing call for abolishing exams since it is considered to favor students with more resources. Similarly, the priority system used in the exchange of organs like kidneys and liver and triage allocation of scarce resources and services like hospital beds, vaccines, and ventilators has received much criticism. Triage protocols are developed with a utilitarian notion of maximum benefit given the constraints. This can result in people with better access to health care resources being better positioned under a triage protocol than those with lesser access. The dissertation comprises two essays, joint work with Kenzo Imamura where I study the pairwise kidney-exchange problem and a ventilator sharing problem where I study the triage allocation of ventilator slots under sharing. In the first essay, I consider the problem of allocating ventilator slots for sharing under a triage protocol that generates the priority order. The triage protocol is considered discriminatory since patients with better access to health care through their life cycle have a better chance to be placed ahead in the order when compared with patients with lesser access to healthcare services. I consider the allocation of ventilator slots under a system of reserves, where slots are set-aside for types of patients to address the shortcoming of the triage protocol. Sharing is possible between patients who are compatible. In addition to addressing the shortcomings of the generated priority order, I focus on the question of what respecting the generating priority order in a sharing environment means. In the second essay, we consider the pairwise-kidney exchange problem, where incompatible patient donor pairs are matched with each other subject to patient donor pairs being compatible with each other and acceptable to each other under a priority order. The priority order is generated using a composite score which includes variables like the area of patient donor location and post-transplant medical survivability, among other factors. In response to the concerns, two mechanisms have been developed in the literature for pairwise-kidney exchange, a mechanism that facilitates pairwise-kidney exchange under a strict priority order and an egalitarian mechanism that doesn’t have a priority ordering among compatible patients. Owing to the utilitarian nature of priority order ranking, the egalitarian mechanism has not been considered for adoption. We develop a compromise mechanism between the egalitarian mechanism and the mechanism which respects strict priority order. We show that the compromise mechanism carries forward nice properties like strategy-proofness, which incentivizes each patient-donor pair to reveal their complete set of compatible patient-donor pairs and bridges the concern of a need for priority order with egalitarianism. The predominant literature in Matching theory considers matching agents with agents/objects under a priority order considering all agents to be equal and the priority ordering to be the only difference in consideration among agents. My dissertation contributes to the matching literature where different agents can vary in ways other than the priority ordering, and we try to find solutions that strive to address the inequity. I thank my advisors for their generous advice and feedback in shaping my dissertation. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics.

While several researchers have explored the private rental sector from the tenants’ perspective very little is known about landlords and their experiences. The purpose of this study was to understand more in-depth the nature, motives, and challenges of landlords. A case study of landlords in Hamilton, Ontario, is based on survey research, involving the administration of an online questionnaire and then follow-up face-to-face interviews. A local association of landlords, Hamilton and District Apartment Association, assisted in advertising and promoting this research through their registered email list and on their website. The results of the study show that Hamilton’s landlords are a diverse group with mixed motives. They find many aspects of the job rewarding, including good landlord-tenant relations, opportunities for profit/investment, and the flexibility of the work involved, among other things. In contrast, they reported many concerns regarding responsibilities, tenants, the government, and the negative perceptions of them that are held by tenants, councillors and the general public. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

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WALKING DOWN AN ENDLESS GRID OF AISLES IN A SUPERMARKET, COMPELS ONE TO HURRY THROUGH THE TASK OF BUYING FOOD. BEFORE SUPERMARKETS AND INDUSTRIALIZATION, COMMUNITIES PURCHASED THEIR GOODS AT THE LOCAL MARKET. THE ENERGY AND EXCITEMENT OF FISHERMAN YELLING, VENDORS BARTERING, AND PEOPLE GOSSIPING WAS INVIGORATING. THE SOCIAL VIBRANCE AND COMMUNITY NETWORK OF HISTORIC MARKETS HAS LARGELY BEEN LOST DUE TO THE CONVIENCE AND CAPITALISTIC MINDSET OF SUPERMARKETS. THIS THESIS IS AN EXPLORATION OF THE OPPORTUNITY ARCHITECTURE HAS IN REDEFINING THE MARKET BY IMPLEMENTING IDEAS ABOUT THRESHOLD AND TRANSITION COUPLED WITH THE PROPOSITION OF GATHERING PEOPLE AND PROGRAMS. WITH THE SUPPORTING ANALYSIS OF THE HISTORIC BOROUGH MARKET IN LONDON, I IMPLEMENTED THESE IDEAS ABOUT MARKET IN MISSOULA, MONTANA. THROUGHOUT THIS EXPLORATION, I INVESTIGATED THE ROLE LIGHT AND MOVEMENT PLAYED IN THE DESIGNING OF A WALL AND HOW CENTRALITY CAN DEVELOP RULES ABOUT CONCENTRIC AND RADIAL STRUCTURES. / Master of Architecture / THE INDUSTRIALIZATION OF FOOD AND RISE OF SUPERMARKETS ALLOWED FOR CONVENIENCE AND EFFICIENCY BUT SACRIFICED HUMAN CONNECTION. THIS THESIS ANALYZES THE HISTORIC BOROUGH MARKET OF LONDON, ENGLAND TO UNDERSTAND ARCHITECTURE'S ROLE IN REDEFINING THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE. BY IMPLEMENTING IDEAS ABOUT THRESHOLD AND TRANSITION COUPLED WITH THE PROPOSITIONS OF GATHERING PEOPLE AND PROGRAMS, ARCHITECTURE CAN TRANSFORM OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MARKETPLACE.

This dissertation attempts to construct a theory which states that forms of enterprise are determined to a large extent by potential market failure. In the four independent, but closely interrelated chapters, I derive this hypothesis through theoretical reasoning, and suppose it by referring to empirical observations. Chapter 1, Forms of enterprise as a response to market failure, proposes the main idea that forms of enterprise are determined by market failure. I take three representative types of firms - capitalist firms, worker owned firms, and consumer cooperatives - and consider their relationship with three major causes for failure of markets: asymmetric information, externalities, and market power. Chapter 2, Firms owned by raw material suppliers: A case of food manufacturing firms run by agriculture cooperatives in Japan, is a case study which complements chapter 1. It deals with food processing farmers' cooperatives. These firms are owned by the suppliers of raw materials, and therefore classified as the fourth type of firms. I consider comparative efficiency of this type of firms from the viewpoint of market power and asymmetric information. Chapter 3, Asymmetric information on production-related risks and the form of enterprise: Capitalist firms versus consumer cooperatives, considers an efficient enterprise form when there is asymmetric information on accident risks in the market. Chapter 4, Market power and the form of enterprise: Capitalist firms, worker owned firms, or consumer cooperatives, considers an efficient enterprise form when there is market power in various markets. / Ph. D.

Wal-Mart has plans to open a store in the town of Blacksburg, Virginia. The fact that there is already a Wal-Mart store, in the town of Christiansburg, just four miles away from the proposed location makes this idea ridiculous for some. A large group of Blacksburg residents are opposed to the idea of a Wal-Mart in their town. The usual complaints are about how it will affect small businesses and traffic. The core concept of the "big box" store is not the problem. The idea of being able to get everything you need, from motor oil, to toothpaste, is appealing to consumers. The "one-stop-shopping" concept is not the problem; the big box design is. Retailers like Wal-Mart, K-mart, and Target cause adverse effects on the communities they service because their design is does not embrace the surrounding areas. This thesis project is an architectural alternative to the big box store design. I propose two corrective strategies. The first correction is the removal of the sea of asphalt that acts as a barrier between the store and the street. Parking is coveted in this country; therefore, the car will not be banished. However, an activity as monotonous as parking can not be permitted to take center stage. A parking structure is proposed to be located behind the retail area. This allows the main activity, shopping, to be accessible directly from the street; and for the architecture of the shops to directly interact as close as it can with the fabric of the town. Instead of one big box, several small structures make up a market place atmosphere. This allows each shop to have its own identity while still being part of a holistic place. The shopper is not funneled through a maze of merchandise all under one roof with no windows. Individual shops, each with their own entries and exits, restore a sense of orientation and give individuals an opportunity to choose how to spend their time. Wal-Mart has expressed an interest in exploring new store designs more fitting to small communities. This thesis is an example of what a new design concept might be. / Master of Architecture

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This thesis examines the changes in the investment behavior of parent companies that issue tracking stocks as a financial engineering instrument. Several authors and researchers have different perspectives on the performance and efficiency of this instrument. This thesis studies the efficiency of internal capital market, taking evidence from the performance of tracking stocks. Subsequently, the real question of this thesis is whether the sensitivity of investment in parent companies changes before and after the issue of tracking stocks. In the analyses performed, I obtained results consistent with the view that the sensitivity of investment increases after the tracking stock issue. However, the results are not conclusive and not statistically significant. I conclude that the results represent at best weak evidence that investment in the parent company becomes more sensitive to investment opportunity after the tracking stock issue.

The efficient market hypothesis and behavioural finance have been the cause of much debate for decades, with one theory advocating market efficiency and the other opposing it. The efficient market hypothesis (EMH) assumes that investors always act rationally and stock prices adjust rapidly to new information and should reflect all available information. In contrast, behavioural finance suggests that markets are not rational and investors make irrational decisions, which may lead them to over- or under-price stocks. Researchers for years have been empirically testing these assumptions in stock markets. However, there has been no consensus on which asset-pricing models perform better in capturing the effect of market anomalies and what impact these market anomalies have on the expected returns of different stock market’s sectors. The aim of the study was to test the effect of selected market anomalies on expected return in different sectors of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). More specifically, the study aimed to compare the performance of different asset-pricing models and their ability to account for market anomalies in different sectors of the JSE. Additionally, this study tested the applicability of the recent Fama and French five (FF5-factor) model, in estimating the expected return on the JSE. The study used a quantitative approach with secondary data over a period of 12 years starting from January 2002 to December 2014. The sample used in the study consists of monthly data obtained from McGregor BFA and the South African Reserve Bank. The study examined for the effects of size, value, January and momentum variables across six sectors of the JSE. This was accomplished by the use of various asset-pricing models such as the Capital asset pricing model (CAPM), the Fama and French three-factor model (FF3-factor), the Carhart four-factor model (C4F) and the recent five-factor model of Fama and French (FF5-factor). The study showed that whenever the asset-pricing models were not restricted, they tend to capture the market anomalies in four out of the six sectors examined. However, no market anomalies were found present in two of the six sectors analysed. In contrast, when the asset-pricing models are restricted, the asset-pricing models only seem to capture the effects of market anomalies in one of the six examined sectors. The findings in this study suggest that market anomalies are sensitive to model specifications, as restricting the models tends to capture the different market anomalies across the sectors of the JSE. The study also found that market anomalies differ across sectors and that some sectors are more efficient than others. The study also reveals that the FF5-factor model is able to account for expected returns on the JSE. In addition, the FF5-factor model tends to perform better when the model is restricted. It is also evident from the findings presented in this study, that the value anomaly loses its predictive power when profitability and investment variables are included in the model. Overall, the study illustrated that market anomalies have an effect on returns of the JSE, that the model specifications play an important role in an asset-pricing model and that the FF5-factor model is applicable on the JSE, however, it is not certain whether four or five factors apply to the South African market.