In the construction industry, there are various methods for how the client and contractor should work together. Historically, most contracts have been awarded through traditional cooperation, resulting in limited collaboration between the contractor and the client. In recent times, partnering has become increasingly common, based on close collaboration between the client and the contractor. As partnering has gained popularity, the profitability of different collaboration forms has come under scrutiny, as well as which collaboration form contributes to the highest quality of the final product and the lowest cost for the client. The purpose of this work is to examine how incentives and competition will affect the different parties’ approach to risk management within the different collaboration forms. This will be done through three different methods: a literature study, a case study, and interviews, clearly demonstrating how risk management varies depending on the collaboration form applied in the project. The literature study forms the basis for the analysis of the case study and the formulation of the questions asked in the interviews. The case study compares the risk and opportunity assessments of two ongoing construction projects, one using traditional cooperation and the other using partnering. The interview study is based on seven interviews with relevant respondents, each offering their perspective on the collaboration forms. The work shows that incentives and competition will influence the parties eagerness to work with risk management to the extent that it is profitable. Since many partnering agreements have somewhat loose reins, it means that the client must take on greater responsibility for a partnering project to become profitable. The work also highlights that competition will have a significant impact on the contractor's risk allocations depending on the collaboration form applied in the project.

This study aims to understand a swedish BID (business improvement district) partnership as a local form of urban governance in neighborhood improvement. The study explores challenges with the collaborative governance of various actors with a majority of private property owners. It highlights the need of public meta-governance and the challenges the network's public leader face in its governing of the network. As a framework for this, the study uses governance theory, which discusses the effective and democratic implications for network governance and how it can be improved by a meta-governor. It also uses various perspectives of BIDs as governance networks and its influence as urban actors. The empirical data is collected through qualitative interviews with involved network actors as well as the network leader, and focus is on their perceptions of the partnership's role and challenges with the collaborative governance. The findings of the study demonstrate the complexity of a multi-organisation partnership as well as the challenges to manage it. The results suggest that the partnership's practice of meta-governance do not live up to the definition presented by the theorists, due to a weak political accountability, and the network actors' governing are therefore left to be determined by their intentions. However, if their intentions are good, the network has the potential to create a well-functioning and committed local democracy with an effective decision-making process with less bureaucracy. Of importance for the discipline of urban studies, the identified aspects of diverging interests and the partnership's weak bond with public deliberation, BIDs as a way of managing space should be questioned in ways of who's interest is taken into consideration in the planning and development of our public spaces.

This thesis is among the first market microstructure studies of an index futures market with designated market makers in the academic literature. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate intraday patterns of key variables, the relative size of the components of the quoted bid-ask spread, and the order decisions of uninformed traders, in a continuous dealer market for index futures with market makers. Overall, our findings aim to contribute to a better understanding of the roles of market makers and public customers in price formation. Intraday patterns of financial market variables such as trade price, volume, trade size, quoted spreads, depth, and volatility separately for designated market makers and public customers are examined. The lack of relevant and appropriate data in futures markets, as evidenced by Hasbrouck (2003) and Kurov (2005), has inhibited the growth of market microstructure in futures markets. Individual orders, quotes, trader identification, and transactions from June 2003 to December 2004, for FTSEurofirst 80 and 100 index futures are used in the study. Inclusion of the parties to order execution distinguishes this data set from most other futures microstructure sources. As this thesis is the first known academic study of the extant market microstructure of the FTSEurofirst index futures, the institutional aspects of the trading process for the FTSEurofirst index futures are also explored. An alternative method for estimating three cost components as a proportion of the bid-ask spread is developed. A framework is developed for the order decision process of an uninformed trader for the first time in a futures market with market makers. The results of this thesis may have implications for other financial markets and the field of market microstructure.

Abstract In this paper, we examine the relation among different information asymmetry measures in Taiwan Stock Exchange and exploit the ability of the microstructure measures to measure asymmetric information. We also investigate the role of information asymmetry measures in affecting stock returns. With a random sample of 180 firms, we find that the market microstructure measure is significantly correlated with most of the corporate finance measures that should shed lights on the level of information asymmetry in advance. We also find that the analysts’ forecast measures have no relation with the microstructure measure. One main result is that the adverse selection risk does affect the stock returns. For the whole sample period, the adverse selection component has a significant impact on the stock returns and dominates all other variables except for the number of analysts following. Other significant measures include the volatility, firm size, leverage, and market to book ratio of equity. Although these information asymmetry measures act as competent determinants in the whole- period regression, they do not have consistent performance across quarters. The inconsistent result suggests that these measures may have diverse performance with regard to different periods.

中文摘要 對於資本市場來說是外國公司的買賣價差的三個成分：逆選擇成分、交易成本成分及存貨成本成分相對於本國公司的買賣價差三成分構成有可能不同。 此篇論文中比較相同股票在不同市場所發行股票，其買賣價差三成分。根據本篇實證結果，相同一支股票在美國NYSE或是NASDAQ的逆選擇成分顯著的高於在TSEC發行的逆選擇成分，這暗指著資本市場中有很多不一樣的地方值得探討，像是流通貨幣的不同、或是法規治令的不同以及取得非公開資訊的難易程度也不同。另外，根據之前的研究的顯示，買單接著買單、賣單接著賣單的機率趨勢也很強，我們也發現了這種現象在TSEC很明顯，根據此篇論文的結論，這大部分的原因很可能是因為TSEC有「限價」規定的緣故。 / Abstract The three components, adverse selection component, order processing component and inventory holding cost, of companies which regarded as foreign companies in terms of the capital market are different from those in domestic capital market. In this paper, the adverse selection components of the stocks we choose in NYSE or NASDAQ are significant higher than those in TSEC. It implies the differences of capital markets, such as currency ,regulation and easy or not obtaining the private information of the company. Furthermore, similar to previous studies, there are strong tendencies for buys follow buys and sells follow sells. We find that the most part of proportion of order persistence derives from price limit in TSEC.

This paper investigates the liquidity and the bid-ask spread components of the Taiwan Stock Exchange Capitalization Weighted Stock Index futures contracts, Taiwan Stock Exchange Electronic Sector Index futures contracts, and Taiwan Stock Exchange Banking and Insurance Sector Index futures contracts traded on the Taiwan Futures Exchange, which switched from an electronic periodic call auction market to an electronic continuous auction market on July 29th 2002. It is a rare opportunity to deeply examine the liquidity and transaction cost components of financial derivatives under different trading mechanisms. Using intraday transaction data of transaction and quotes covering from March 2002 to May 2002 for the old trading mechanism and from October 2002 to December 2002 for the new trading mechanism, liquidity measures and bid-ask spread components are examined before and after the enforcement of the electronic continuous auction mechanism. First, for each type of futures contracts, liquidity measures including bid-ask spread, trading volume, trade number, trade size, volatility, and liquidity ratio are explored to show the multifacet of liquidity. Next, the model of Lin, Sanger, and Booth (1995) is used to decompose the spreads of each product in the two periods. The empirical results show that quote spreads, effective spreads, percentage effective spreads, and dollar-weighted percentage effective spreads of the new system are all significantly lower than those measures in the old system for all of the three types of futures contracts. However, other liquidity measures do not show the same patterns. Overall, improvement of liquidity is found for futures contracts but not very consistent though. Multifacet of liquidity is showed by different measures, although two of these measures, including trade size and trade number, may not be suitable for this study. Moreover, the adverse selection is the most important component in the call auction market, which decreases in the continuous auction market. However, the change of other components, including order processing cost and order persistence, does not demonstrate the same pattern. The results indicate that the electronic continuous auction system protects uninformed traders from being hurt by informed traders. However, we also show that each type of futures contracts has its own specific component structure.

投資型商品連動於特定資產，保險人除了面臨原有的核保風險，更需承擔部分的財務風險。傳統保險商品的純保費價格等於其預期損失，而投資型商品的保險給付依據投資標的波動，保險人的預期損失不易估算，傳統精算的評價方法不完全適用於投資型商品。保證最低給付的給付結構使得投資型商品其有選擇權的特質，Brennan與Schwartz(1976)首先利用選擇權定價理論探討附有保證最低給付投資型商品之價值與避險策略，爾後亦有許多文獻以此方向加以著墨，但選擇權定價理論是基於市場為完全市場的假設，保險市場為不完全市場，以完全市場假設之理論評定保險商品之價值實不合理。本為假設保險人面臨的風險為核保風險及財務風險，財務市場為完全市場，保險人可以藉由市場上的各種金融商品建構避險組合規避財務風險；而預期死亡人數與實際死亡人數所產生的核保誤差，保險人無法利用避險組合完全地規避，因此保險市場為不完全市場。 在不完全市場中請求權的價值牽涉投資者主觀的風險偏好，不存在唯一的平賭測度，請求權的價格也不唯一，最適避險策略依請求權的價格調整，所以投資型保險商品的價格不再等於其公平價值，真正的成交價格應落於買賣價差之中。本文引用Mercurio(1996)的結果，利用二次效用函數，以極大化保險人期末財富之效用為目標，建構生存險的合理價格範圍。以二元樹模型描述股票的波動，分別模擬五年、十年及十五年投資型生存險之價差範圍，保險人的風險規避程度、保單期限以及保證金額的高低將影響商品價差範圍的大小。 關鍵字：不完全市場、效用函數，買賣價差、最適避險策略 / Investment-linked life (LIL) insurance policies integrate the attributes from the mutual fund by introducing the investment options to the policyholders and life insurance through the benefit payments shielding the unexpected events of the insured. Since the execution of the implied options depends on the policyholder's health status. Actuarial equivalent principal and non-arbitrage pricing theory are used in evaluating the prices for LIL insurance policies. Brennan and Schwartz (1976) initially employ the option pricing theory in examining the pricing and hedging strategy for LIL insurance policies with minimum guarantees. Most published literatures are focusing on this issue adopting the B-S methodology. Since the values of the LIL policies cannot be replicated uniquely through the self-financing strategies due to underwriting risks of the insurance market. Insurance market does not satisfy the completeness assumptions, Due to lack of a unique martingale measure under market incompleteness, the utility assumption of the policyholder is involved in the pricing issue. Insurance pricing must consider the risk attitude of the investors in the market. Hence the cost the LIL insurance policies are not necessarily equal to the fair market prices. The market value should fall within the range of the bid and ask prices. In this study, we follow the approach in Mercurio (1996) by adopting the quadratic utility function and compute the reasonable range of the prices based on maximizing the terminal health utility function. Binary tree method is used in modeling the asset dynamics. Then the numerical computations are performed using endowment LIL insurance policies with 5, 10 and 15 years of duration. Based on the results, we find that the risk attitude of the policyholder, the policy duration and minimum amounts of the guarantees significantly affect the bid-ask price spread of LIL insurance policies. Keywords: market incompleteness; utility function; bid-ask spread; optimal hedging strategy.

新古典理論探析土地利用區位之決定，純粹從資源與技術因素探討理性人的經濟行為，而忽略經濟活動中人的受限理性因素，以及制度運行的交易成本因素，致無法圓滿解釋殯葬用地區位之形成。本文將抗爭交易成本當成都市地租理論的自變項，嘗試修正Alonso等人的新古典競租模型，並建構適合殯葬設施用途的競租理論，進而分析陰宅之負擔地租能力提高是否入侵陽宅用地，及抗爭阻力大小與殯葬用地區位距市申心遠近之關係。經實證結果發現，由於高額抗爭交易成本之存在，縱使人們對於陰宅需求增加，陰宅之負擔地租能力提高，亦可能無法入侵陽宅用地，迫使開發者往更遠離市中心之區位設置殯葬設施。高額抗爭交易成本隱含制度供給不足現象，同時阻礙了土地資源利用之合理有效配置。其次，殯葬設施設置之抗爭阻力大小與地點距離並無必然關係，顯示忽略交易成本因素，而純粹以地點距離為區位選擇考量的公共政策之缺陷。上開分析不但能深化新古典都市地租理論之意涵，也將有助於對鄰避型設施設置區位問題之掌握與了解，提供改善鄰避衝突公共政策問題之理論基礎。 經藉由交易成本理論觀點，探析殯葬用地區位管理政策之結果，發現我國之政策設計主要係基於確保公共衛生及避免妨害生活環境，於主要法規規範設置地點及距離，而忽略抗爭交易成本之制度因素存在。至於相關法規規範土地使用分區，其禁止設置的分區較多，容許設置的分區較少，有待調整改進。源於上述政策缺陷，本文研擬改進構想，包括賦予抗爭與反抗爭之間更多自主協商空間；強化殯葬設施規劃之人間性與文化性；改革不合時宜之殯葬禮儀文化；以及地方政府應慎選適當地點劃設專用區，供設置經營殯葬設施使用等，如欲落實至應用層面，有待制定法律將改進構想納入其中。 本文共分七章，第一章為緒論、第二章由文獻評述中獲得啟發，以建立分析架構。第三章從殯葬用地區位選擇之發展歷史中，探究在都市發展的過程中，殯葬用地相對於非殯葬用地的區位變遷情形，及其影響此種變遷的制度或非制度因素。第四章檢視傳統新古典區位理論運用於探究殯葬用地區位之限制，並從新制度主義交易成本理論之修正觀點建立本文之研究假設。第五章依研究假設實證估算抗爭交易成本之存在，並比較分析各殯葬設施設置抗爭案例，以了解抗爭交易成本大小與殯葬設施區位之關係及其隱含的制度、經濟與規劃意義。第六章根據實證分析結果，並配套考量行政管制及文化等其他制度因素，進而嘗試研議提供政府從事殯葬用地規劃與管理之參考決策。第七章為結論與建議。 關鍵字：殯葬用地、區位、交易成本、新古典競租模型、新制度主義 / Neo-classicalism explores the decision of the location of the land use by mainly analyzing the human economic behavior through the factors of resources and techniques. However, the theory is not able to explain the formation of the location of funerary lands well because it neglects people are restricted by the factors of bounded rationality in the economic activities and the transaction costs when the institutions is functioning. The paper tries to amend the Neoclassical Bid-Rent Model of Alonso by defining the factor of resisting transaction costs as the independent variable of the urban land rent theory, and establishes the suitable Bid-Rent theory for firnerary facilities. Furthermore, the paper analyzes if enhancing the ability of affording the rent of the firnerary Land will invade the nonfunerary land, the relationship between the degree of resisting obstruction and the distance from the firnerary land to the CBD. Through the identification, the funerary land won't invade the nonfunerary land due to the high resisting transaction cost even increasing the demand and the ability of affording the rent of the funerary land, thus, it will force the developer to establish the funerary facilities far away CBD. High resisting transaction costs imply the lack of system supply and hinder the reasonable and efficient allocation of the land resource use simultaneously. This expose the defect of the public policy for location decision only considering the site distance but neglect the factor of the transaction cost. The above analysis will not only deeply elaborate the Neo-Classical Urban Land Theory, but will also be helpful to understand the issue of sitting NIMBY facilities and to provide the basis of the theory to improve the public policies of NIMBY conflicts. Exploring the administrative policy of location selection through the transaction costs theory,The paper find out that in order to preserve public health and prevent disorder of living environment, the law regulates the site and distance from populous or water conservation areas without considering the transaction costs. In addition, the zoning system concerning the construction of funerary facilities puts more emphasis on prohibition than permission, which needs to be improved. Owing to the policy limitations, the paper proposes the improvement of the policies as follows. First, leave more spaces for negotiation between resistance parties and developers. Second, design the funerary facilities to meet human and cultural needs. Third, reform the culture of funeral rites. Fourth, choose the suitable site and plan special zones to provide the suitable areas for construction and management of funerary facilities. The relevant laws have to be amended or to be established so that the policies suggestion will be put to practice. Keywords : Funerary Lands, Location, Transaction Costs, Neoclassical Bid-Rent Model, Neoinstitutionalism

This thesis is devoted to the study of the applications of the error theory using Dirichlet forms. Our work is split into three parts. The first one deals with the models described by stochastic differential equations. After a short technical chapter, an innovative model for order books is proposed. We assume that the bid-ask spread is not an imperfection, but an intrinsic property of exchange markets instead. The uncertainty is carried by the Brownian motion guiding the asset. We find that spread evolutions can be evaluated using closed formulae and we estimate the impact of the underlying uncertainty on the related contingent claims. Afterwards, we deal with the PBS model, a new model to price European options. The seminal idea is to distinguish the market volatility with respect to the parameter used by traders for hedging. We assume the former constant, while the latter volatility being an erroneous subjective estimation of the former. We prove that this model anticipates a bid-ask spread and a smiled implied volatility curve. Major properties of this model are the existence of closed formulae for prices, the impact of the underlying drift and an efficient calibration strategy. The second part deals with the models described by partial differential equations. Linear and non-linear PDEs are examined separately. In the first case, we show some interesting relations between the error and wavelets theories. When non-linear PDEs are concerned, we study the sensitivity of the solution using error theory. Except when exact solution exists, two possible approaches are detailed: first, we analyze the sensitivity obtained by taking "derivatives" of the discrete governing equations. Then, we study the PDEs solved by the sensitivity of the theoretical solutions. In both cases, we show that sharp and bias solve linear PDE depending on the solution of the former PDE itself and we suggest algorithms to evaluate numerically the sensitivities. Finally, the third part is devoted to stochastic partial differential equations. Our analysis is split into two chapters. First, we study the transmission of an uncertainty, present on starting conditions, on the solution of SPDE. Then, we analyze the impact of a perturbation of the functional terms of SPDE and the coefficient of the related Green function. In both cases, we show that the sharp and bias verify linear SPDE depending on the solution of the former SPDE itself

This DPhil thesis analyses the Takeover Bid Directive in the light of EU Law and examines the extent to which this Directive facilitates the exercise of the fundamental freedom of establishment and the free movement of capital in the internal market. Since the Directive is based on the EC Treaty chapter on freedom of establishment (Articles 43 and 44(2)(g) EC Treaty), it should in principle contribute to cross frontier corporate mobility in the internal market through takeover bids; this was the aim of the Commission in its various proposals. Takeover bids and the EC Treaty provisions on freedom of establishment are closely related. The Directive forms part of the EU company law harmonization programme whose weaknesses and limits are also explored. However, the Takeover Bid Directive is an EU company law instrument with strong links to EU capital market law. The initial aims of the EU legislature were to establish an internal market for companies and to achieve market integration in the field of EU company law. However, the Takeover Bid Directive is a compromise and watered down version of a proposal which the Commission envisaged would lead to a more effective pan-European takeover regime than that which actually proved possible. The need for compromise was the result of the very different legal and policy approaches of the Member States in the field of takeover regulation. Some provisions of the Directive are obligatory for all Member States. These provisions include the mandatory bid rule, the squeeze-out right, and the sell-out right. All these obligatory provisions of the Directive are in their present form open to criticism. The two key provisions of the Directive have been made optional for Member States. These are the non-frustration rule, requiring the board to obtain the prior authorization of the general meeting of shareholders before taking any action which could result in the frustration of the bid; and the breakthrough rule, requiring that any restrictions on the transfer of securities or voting rights provided for in the articles of association of the offeree company or in contractual agreements between the offeree company and the holders of its securities or in contractual agreements between holders of the offeree company’s securities shall not apply vis-à-vis the offeror during the time allowed for acceptance of the bid. Nevertheless, Member States, which opt out, are obliged to allow individual companies to opt in. Moreover, a reciprocity rule was also adopted, which allows Member States to permit those companies, which apply these provisions, to opt out again if they are the target of a bidder, which does not itself apply the same takeover provisions. Additionally, the non-frustration and the breakthrough rule are not fully comprehensive and even when a company applies them, it might still be able to evade their application since some corporate and financial structures remain outside the Directive’s scope. Finally, this thesis discusses the extent to which obstacles to cross border takeovers addressed by the Directive, or indeed left intact by the Directive, are to be regarded as restrictions on the right of establishment stricto sensu, or simply as obstacles in practice to making a successful takeover bid. More specifically, it scrutinizes the horizontal direct effect of the EC fundamental freedoms and seeks to analyze the extent to which conduct of the board and articles in the corporate constitution might be said to constitute restrictions on the freedom of establishment and on the free movement of capital.