Thesis (D.B.A.)--Alliant International University, San Diego, 2005. / (UnM)AAI3193761. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-11, Section: A, page: 4095. Chairperson: Hamid Rahman.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / (UMI)AAI3265436. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-05, Section: A, page: 2100. Adviser: Robert C. Higgins.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Nov. 17, 2008). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-12, Section: A, page: 4608. Adviser: Charles Trzcinka.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on May 11, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-08, Section: A, page: 3233. Advisers: Shibo Li; Rockney G. Walters.

Thèse (D.B.A.)--Université de Sherbrooke (Canada), 2008. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 1 février 2007). In ProQuest dissertations and theses. Publié aussi en version papier.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jul 23, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-11, Section: A, page: 4394. Adviser: James M. Wahlen.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jul 15, 2010). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-12, Section: A, page: 4770. Advisers: Craig Holden; Scott Smart.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-11, Section: A, page: 4251. Adviser: Joseph T. Mahoney. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-123) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p> This dissertation contains three essays on international finance, focusing mainly on the investment preferences of investors when making foreign portfolio allocation decisions. In particular, it explores (i) the factors that influence investors' decisions to over- or under-weight foreign markets, (ii) the effect of home bias on portfolio performance, and (iii) the importance of bilateral linkages during and after the global financial crisis. Throughout these three chapters, I also assess similarities and differences between two assets, equities and bonds, and investigate distinctions between developed and emerging markets investors. The first chapter shows that international investors heavily tilt their foreign portfolios toward more familiar and less risky destinations, particularly those with more developed financial markets. The second chapter delves deeper into how investors allocate their portfolios between domestic and foreign assets, finding strong empirical evidence that actual portfolios are sub-optimally allocated and that home bias hinders risk-adjusted performance. Finally, the third chapter shows that bilateral trade linkages, market correlations, country risk, and the regulatory environment were important determinants of portfolio adjustment patterns during and after the global financial crisis. Taken as a whole, the results of my dissertation underscore the importance of recognizing the bilateral factors that play an important role influencing international investors' allocation decisions.</p>

<p> This dissertation consists of two chapters that concern with the consumption cycle and corporate finance. The first chapter analyzes the role of durability in characterizing the consumption cycle. There is strong empirical evidence demonstrating that decreases in residential investments and durable expenditures are early indicators of economic downturns. Analogously, once the economy goes into recession, early increases in residential investments and durable expenditures signal economic recoveries. So far, little work has been done detailing the mechanisms explaining these important empirical stylized facts. In this article, I develop a general equilibrium asset pricing production model that includes durability and substitutability between perishable and durable service consumption. Results indicate that large shocks in the productivity of the capital accumulation process and a high elasticity of intertemporal substitution are both needed to create the correct timing of changes in durable expenditures and nondurable consumption characterized in the data. The study also uses this general equilibrium model as a framework to make predictions about the term structure of forward contracts settled on a national housing price index. Such work will create a foundation for further developing this important derivatives market.</p><p> The second chapter analyzes the link between debt maturity and the term spread. This chapter is co-authored with Pratish Anilkumar Patel. Evidence shows that a firm's debt maturity and term spread are intricately linked. Firms issue short term debt when the term spread is significantly positive and they increase maturity as the term spread decreases. The current literature explains this link with market frictions such as agency problems, asymmetric information, and liquidity risk. We explain the link between debt maturity and term spread using the trade-off theory of capital structure. When the term spread is small or even negative, transaction costs of debt rollover outweigh bankruptcy costs. Therefore, the firm optimally chooses to increase debt maturity. On the other hand, when the term spread is significantly positive, bankruptcy costs outweigh transaction costs of debt rollover. Therefore shorter debt maturity is optimal as it minimizes the chance of bankruptcy. In addition, we contribute to the current discussion in the literature concerning the speed of adjustments of capital structure, finding that firms are active in adjusting their capital structure. The model is consistent with a variety of stylized facts concerning debt maturity.</p>