The thesis focuses on central bank independence (CBI) in 20 selected African countries over 1990-2008. Firstly, we measure the degree of CBI. Secondly, we measure the effects of CBI on macroeconomic performance. Thirdly, we measure the effects of fiscal dominance (FD) on CBI and macroeconomic performance. The thesis has 5 chapters. Chapter 1 is the introduction. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 are stand-alone related papers on CBI and macroeconomic performance. Chapter 5 is the conclusion. Chapter 1 introduces the study. We give a brief background of the study, its motivation, the main objectives and the hypotheses to be tested. We describe the innovations that we make to CBI measurement, effects of CBI on macroeconomic performance, and the effects of FD on CBI and macroeconomic performance. We highlight the key findings and notable limitations of the study. Finally, we conclude with a brief outline of the rest of the chapters namely 2, 3, 4 and 5. Chapter 2 measures CBI. We develop a comprehensive set of CBI indices. We follow the methodologies developed by Grilli et al. (1991) and Cukierman et al. (1992). Firstly, we measure CBI in legal (de jure) and in factual (de facto) terms. Secondly, we measure CBI in political terms and in economic terms. We measure factual CBI by the annual average turnover rate (TOR) of central bank (CB) governors. We use central bank Acts and their amendments as well as country constitutions (where applicable) to calculate the legal CBI indices. The results suggest that legal CBI is low but factual CBI is high. Political CBI is low but economic CBI is high. In overall terms, both legal and factual CBI have improved from their late 1980 levels. The levels of legal CBI over 1990-2008 are slightly above what characterized developed countries in the late 1980s. Factual CBI has improved significantly in most African countries, but it still varies considerably across the countries. The variations seem to reflect different political, economic and legal conditions. The results suggest that legal CBI still deviates considerably from actual CB practices in Africa. Factual CBI seems to proxy actual CBI better than legal CBI. However, to some extent, factual CBI seems to reflect subservience of some CB governors in Africa. We conclude that African governments still need to grant their CBs, more CBI in line with modern-day CBs, world-wide. Specifically, they need to consider constitutionalizing CBI, so that it is not easily violated by some political authorities.

This paper aims to make an empirical contribution to the discussion of the role of banks and to find out if banking is a declining industry. It takes into account that the role of banks is declining in the United States and the fact that the American economy usually sets the trend for the other economies. This implies that there are increasing trends of disintermediation, securitization and an increase in the importance of nonbank financial intermediaries (Schmidt, Hackethal and Tyrell 1997). This paper seeks to find out if this is indeed the case in the U.S and if so then is it happening in other European and African economies. Another important reason for this study is to find out what factors are causing the structures of financial systems to change and what impact these changes have on financial institution intermediation. Comparisons are made between developed countries in Europe and developing countries in Africa to observe the trends of intermediation/disintermediation.

Modern financial networks are complicated structures that can contain multiple types of nodes and connections between those nodes. Banks, governments and even individual people weave into an intricate network of debt, risk correlations and many other forms of interconnectedness. We explore multiple types of financial network models with a focus on understanding the dynamics and causes of cascading failures in such systems. In particular, we apply real-world data from multiple sources to these models to better understand real-world financial networks. We use the results of the Federal Reserve "Banking Organization Systemic Risk Report" (FR Y-15), which surveys the largest US banks on their level of interconnectedness, to find relationships between various measures of network connectivity and systemic risk in the US financial sector. This network model is then stress-tested under a number of scenarios to determine systemic risks inherent in the various network structures. We also use detailed historical balance sheet data from the Venezuelan banking system to build a bipartite network model and find relationships between the changing network structure over time and the response of the system to various shocks. We find that the relationship between interconnectedness and systemic risk is highly dependent on the system and model but that it is always a significant one. These models are useful tools that add value to regulators in creating new measurements of systemic risk in financial networks. These models could be used as macroprudential tools for monitoring the health of the entire banking system as a whole rather than only of individual banks.

by Ip Sai Wing. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-72). / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iv / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vi / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.vii / Chapter / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter II. --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.5 / Chapter III. --- A REVIEW OF THE BANKING INDUSTRY IN CHINA --- p.12 / People's Bank of China --- p.13 / The Four Specialized Banks --- p.15 / Bank of China --- p.15 / Industrial and Commercial Bank of China --- p.16 / Agricultural Bank of China --- p.17 / People's Construction Bank of China --- p.18 / Summary --- p.18 / Chapter IV. --- RECENT DEVELOPMENTS OF CHINA'S BANKING REFORMS .… --- p.20 / Brief Commentary on the New Regulations --- p.21 / Establishment and Registration --- p.22 / Scope of Business --- p.23 / Supervision and Administration --- p.24 / The Policy Banks in the Banking Reforms --- p.25 / The State Development Bank --- p.25 / The Export and Import Bank of China --- p.26 / The Agricultural Bank of China --- p.27 / Outlook for the Policy Banks --- p.27 / Chapter V. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.29 / Indepth Interview --- p.30 / Questionnaire --- p.30 / Sampling --- p.32 / Chapter VI. --- FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS --- p.34 / Profile of the Respondents --- p.34 / Overall Mean Ratings of the Positive Factors --- p.36 / Inter-group Comparison for Positive Factors --- p.40 / Overall Mean Ratings of the Negative Factors --- p.42 / Inter-group Comparison for Negative Factors --- p.46 / Chapter VII. --- CONCLUSIONS --- p.51 / Positive Factors --- p.51 / Negative Factors --- p.53 / Summary --- p.56 / Recommendations --- p.58 / Limitations --- p.60 / APPENDIX --- p.61 / Chapter I. --- The New Structure of China's Banking System --- p.61 / Chapter II. --- The Covering Letter and the Questionnaire --- p.62 / Chapter III. --- List of Foreign Banks with Offices in China --- p.67 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.70

by Lum Chor-wah. / Abstract also in Chinese / Bibliography: leaves 147-149 / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1983

Chen Chan-hung, Cicada. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1981. / Bibliography: leaves 68-69.

by Sin Chui-Yi Abby. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-109). / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.i / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF TABLES --- p.v / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.vii / CHAPTER / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Objectives --- p.4 / Chapter II. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.5 / Secondary Research --- p.5 / Primary Research --- p.5 / Definition --- p.8 / Limitations --- p.8 / Chapter III. --- THE CHINA BANKING SYSTEM --- p.10 / Banking Structure --- p.10 / Banking Reform --- p.14 / Chapter IV. --- FOREIGN BANKS IN CHINA --- p.17 / Representative Office --- p.20 / Branches --- p.23 / Distribution --- p.25 / Customers of the Foreign Banks --- p.32 / Services Provided by the Foreign Banks --- p.33 / Commercial loans --- p.33 / Project financing --- p.38 / Trade financing --- p.41 / Advisory services and consultation --- p.43 / Chapter V. --- JAPANESE BANKING ACTIVITIES IN THE PRC --- p.45 / Growth of Japanese Banks --- p.45 / Historical Development of Japanese Banks in the PRC --- p.46 / Operations of Japanese Banks in the PRC --- p.49 / Japanese Banks in Hong Kong --- p.54 / Chapter VI. --- FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY --- p.55 / Company Profile --- p.55 / Motives for Entry --- p.57 / Time Span --- p.60 / Business Objectives --- p.62 / Banking Services --- p.63 / Major Problems Encountered --- p.66 / Attitudes towards Risks and Overall Investment Climate --- p.70 / Attitudes towards Risks --- p.70 / Attitudes towards Overall Investment Climate --- p.77 / Competitive Advantages of Japanese Banks --- p.80 / Business Results to date Measured up to Expectation --- p.82 / Chapter VII. --- SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION --- p.84 / Highlights of the Findings of the Survey --- p.84 / Conclusions --- p.86 / APPENDICES --- p.87 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.106

by Dai Sek-Hang Jennifer. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1987. / Bibliography: leaves 53-54.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston University

Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Mathematical Sciences, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.