Diss. Univ. Zürich, 2007. / Im Buchh.: Zürich etc. : Schulthess. Bibliogr.

The debate concerning face veiling has been brought in to view by several governments in Europe. Luca Mavelli studies the debate regarding the burqa using the concept of securitization and from that the objective of this study is to analyze the medial- and the political discourse in Sweden regarding the burqa. The formulated questions drawn from this is; who are the securitizing actors? According to the securitization actors, who can de defined as a referent object? Wherein is the threat according to the securitizing actors? Is it possible to recognize a difference between the medial and the political discourse? Furthermore the paper adopts the theoretical framework that is the concept of securitization, formulated by the Copenhagen School of security. The methodological foundation is based on a social constructivist approach and consequently uses Norman Faircloughs critical discourse analyzes as an analytical tool. Conclusions show that the two discourses often express similar results but a difference is apparent in how the debate is presented. Representatives of the political parties are defined as securitizing actors and to a certain degree so is the media. Furthermore, according to the securitizing actors the referent objects are Swedish traditions and culture, the threat lies in the values that are attached to the burqa.

This research paper takes departure from the contradictions of understandings regarding the purpose of operation EUNAVFOR Med, which operates in the Mediterranean aiming at disrupting the business model of human smugglers. The alteration of opinions concerns the question(s) regarding, to what extent the operation should be considered a securitization, and if so, of what? Research has consequently been drawn from the Copenhagen’s School theory of securitization, looking deeper into the involvement of the main actors in the operation, the EU, the human smugglers and the migrants, in order to identify if this operation could indeed be considered a securitization act. By placing the main actors of the operation in the center of the theoretical framework this research has been able to identify how this operation can be understood from a securitization theory and also what has been securitized. The methodological approach is based upon Norman Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis, framing both the structure and the analytical apparatus of the research paper, enabling an even broader understanding of the case. The result showed that there are indeed indicators demonstrating that operation EUNAVFOR Med could be considered a successful securitization of human smugglers. Also, in line with this operation, there are several indicators that shows how the EU has managed to pull a securitization move of migration, arguing that the migrants has formed an ‘uncontrolled problem’ for the EU.

The thesis focuses on analysis of trends in investment banking in the period 2006 -- 2010. The main trends are securitization, consolidation of investment banking and new regulation. The thesis analyses the trends in detail and explains interconnections and impact on the whole investment banking industry. The development is illustrated on a few particular investment banks and bank holding companies in Europe and the United States of America. The last part presents new regulations and proposed changes in the investment banking industry.

Thesis advisor: Susanto Basu / This dissertation examines the fluctuations of the aggregate economy when frictions in financial markets are present. I focus on the the asymmetric information problems between creditors and debtors on the quality of debtor's projects and I analyze how these frictions cause the fluctuations in aggregate economy which is potentially inefficient. The first chapter examines the interaction between the perverse incentives and the general equilibrium effects of misallocated bank credit. This essay is intended to elucidate the mechanism of zombie lending in Japan. By incorporating a soft budget problem into a neo-classical dynamic general equilibrium model, the model shows that an inefficient zombie lending regime can be selected as an equilibrium. In this equilibrium, the incentives and the general equilibrium effects are interdependent. The inefficient use of resources crowds out investment when banks have incentives to bail out insolvent firms. On the other hand, the general equilibrium effects give rise to the perverse incentives endogenously through the formation of the liquidation value and the continuation value of insolvent firms. In the worst case, agents fail to resolve non-performing loan problems, and the model economy permanently falls into an inefficient regime. The second chapter proposes a model that generate boom-and-bust cycles by securitization of subprime mortgages. I construct a dynamic housing choice model in which mortgages are financed by securitization and I assume that creditors have errors in measuring the default risks of subprime mortgages. With this setup, the resource availability for housing fluctuates endogenously and it causes the boom-and-bust cycles. Particularly, there are two channels that change the resource availability: the security design of the securitized assets and the evolution of house price inflation. I illustrate that subprime mortgages can be cheaply financed by securitization when creditors mismeasure the quality of the subprime mortgages. This ignites a boom in the model. However, the boom can be terminated as the profitability of securitization declines along with the decline in the expectation of house price inflation. This is because the house price inflation is tied with the liquidation value of the defaulted mortgages. As the expectation of the house price inflation slows down, the subprime mortgages become more risky and the securitization becomes less profitable. Eventually, issuers of securitized assets withdraw from the securitization market and the boom collapses. The last chapter explores the transmission mechanisms of international business cycles when the borrowing capacity of multinational enterprises (MNEs) is limited. I embed MNEs that face borrowing constraints in a two-country international business cycle model. I show that the net worth of MNEs plays a significant role in generating the international business cycle co-movement: the wealth effect in response to the change in MNEs' net worth has a strong multiplier effect on domestic and foreign investment of MNEs. Output moves in the same direction between the two countries due to the synchronized investment. The model is also able to generate reasonable cross-country correlations in real estate price and consumption. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics.

Thesis advisor: Philip Strahan / In my first essay, I study how the rise of non-bank loan investment from CLOs, mutual funds, and hedge funds influenced contracting relationships between firms and their senior lenders. Contrary to common perception that non-bank investors diluted the incentive for banks to monitor firms, I find evidence that bank underwriters embraced tighter contracts to mitigate agency and holdout problems associated with less-informed and dispersed non-bank investors. While recent studies show that non-bank loan investors lowered the cost and expanded the availability of capital ex ante, I conclude that tighter contracts also assigned stronger control rights to lenders and imposed higher renegotiation costs to firms ex post. In my second essay, we examine the drivers of M&A activity in bankruptcy. M&A in bankruptcy is counter-cyclical, and is more likely when the costs of financing a reorganization are greater than financing costs to a potential acquirer. Consistent with a senior creditor liquidation bias, the greater use of secured debt leads to more sales in bankruptcy - but, this result holds only for sales that preserve going concern value. We also show that overall creditor recovery rates are higher, and unsecured creditor recoveries and post-bankruptcy survival rates are not different, when bankrupt firms sell businesses as going concerns. Finally, in my third essay, we examine whether corporate credit rating analysts are rewarded based on ratings accuracy or bias. Overall, accurate analysts are more likely to be promoted. However, analysts who disproportionately downgrade firms compared to the corresponding S&P rating are less likely to be promoted despite being more accurate than analysts who disproportionately upgrade firms. Further, analysts whose rating decisions lead to significantly negative announcement returns are also less likely to be promoted. We conclude that Moody's rewards accurate analysts but punishes analysts for negative bias. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Finance.

O trabalho apresenta um processo de classificação de risco dos Certificados de Recebíveis Imobiliários (CRIs), quanto à expectativa de perda presente na carteira de créditos imobiliários, objeto de securitização. O texto, primeiramente, descreve o andamento das operações de securitização no Brasil e no mundo, além de aspectos particulares dessas operações. Em seguida, com maior ênfase, são descritas as principais etapas do processo de rating praticado pelas instituições classificadoras, assim como também, são identificados e analisados os riscos presentes nos CRIs. Riscos estes de origem mercadológica, macroeconômica, legal, e também, associados aos atributos dos créditos que compõem a carteira. Vale destacar, que o processo de classificação proposto tem como foco o investidor que compra o título, aplicando-se ainda, apenas aos CRIs lastreados em créditos imobiliários residenciais. Quanto ao processo de classificação em si, este envolve a simulação do fluxo de caixa da operação; a arbitragem de fronteiras de flutuação do comportamento das variáveis de risco manipuladas no cenário de referência; a geração randômica de uma amostra de laboratório, seguida da análise estatística do nível de perda presente na mesma e; enquadramento do resultado da análise estatística em uma matriz classificatória para obtenção da nota de risco dos CRIs. Portanto, ao fim do trabalho terão sido apresentados procedimentos que se entendem como válidos à análise da perda potencial de carteiras de créditos imobiliários residenciais, além de recomendações e orientações quanto a sua real aplicabilidade no mercado brasileiro. / The work presents a classification process of risk of Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) in relation to the loss expectation in the housing loans portfolio that is object of securitization. Firstly, it is described how the operations of securitization are accomplished in Brazil and in the world, and beyond it is showed particular aspects of these operations. After that, it is emphasized the main stages of the risk classification process carried out by rating agencies, as well as are identified and analyzed the risks in the MBS. Those risks arise from areas as marketing, macroeconomics, legal origins, and also they are associated with the credits attributes that comprise the portfolio. It is important to consider that the risk classification process focus on the investor who purchases the stock quotes and it is applied only to the MBS collateralized in housing loans. How much to the process of classification in itself, this involves the simulation of the cash flow of the securitization operation for certain expected scene; the arbitration of borders of fluctuation for each variable of risk manipulated in the reference scene; use of laboratory sample, generated by the random method, for analysis statistics of the level of present loss in the same and; framing of the result of the analysis statistics in a matrix of classification to obtain the note of risk of the MBS. As main conclusions, some procedures are presented that enable the analysis of the portfolio potential loss of residential home loans, beyond recommendations and orientations in regard to its real applicability in the Brazilian market.

In the past few years, the European Union has been affected by several terrorist attacks and many states have suffered from this. As a reaction to these terrorist attacks, the EU has adopted through treaties several strategies and measures to tackle the issues of terrorism. The purpose of this essay is to analyze the EU’s security policy between the years 2015 and 2017. Both of the main questions are answered through different theories that are provided for the essay. The first one is formulated to answer if the security policy has successfully been securitized and the other is answered through a perspective of realism and liberalism. Furthermore, the report is a qualitative idea analysis and is based on primary sources. The conclusion of the essay regarding the first question is that a complete securitization of terrorists has been fulfilled after the terrorist attacks in Paris 2015. The result regarding the second question shows that the European security policy has liberal tendencies.

The aim of this report is to analyze the Swedish security service Säkerhetspolisen (SÄPO) actions against terrorism in Sweden. The report will also focus on analyzing the new strategies that the state has implemented for SÄPO after the terrorist attack which happened in Sweden 7th of June 2017 on Drottninggatan. Both of the questions is answered through a perspective of liberalism and realism. This report is grounded on an empirical investigation method and is a qualitative idea analysis. Furthermore, to make this study reliable, the idea analysis is mostly based on primary sources. The conclusions of this report are that SÄPO’s strategies are mostly grounded on liberalized fragments, such as corporation and justice. However, the new strategies of SÄPO against terrorism have become more realistic after the attack on Drottninggatan. SÄPO will be emphasized as the main actor against terrorism. Liberalism and realism as theories will illustrate different views on how Sweden will or should provide security for the country itself.

Since the 1980’s the concept of security has broadened from traditional military security to new additional arenas, with each contributing to national security. The post-Cold War era and the current interconnectedness combined with the expanded concept has resulted in new perceptions of security and situations for states. The research questions of the thesis, How does the port of Gävle relate to the selected tendencies of national security? and Could the selling of the port be considered a matter of national security? aims to exemplify these problematics and examines the chosen case by utilizing the key aspects of economic security. What can be concluded is that the selling of the port could be considered a case of national security. This is based upon the selected characteristics of economic security, which to different degrees was exhibited in the case. As several aspects of the port is recognized as significant in terms of economy, strategy and infrastructure would an incident or intentional act against the port have large consequences for the region and in extensions the nation.