Cette thèse comprend trois essais en économie de l’environnement et des ressources naturelles sous incertitude. Le premier essai propose un modèle de jeu différentiel qui analyse la pollution globale à travers la quête à l’hégémonie politique entre pays. Le second essai utilise des données boursières pour estimer une version stochastique de la règle de Hotelling et ainsi inférer sur le rôle des ressources naturelles non renouvelables dans la diversification du risque. Le troisième essai montre comment la prise en compte des perspectives futures modifie la règle de Hotelling dans un contexte de diversification du risque. / My thesis is composed of three essays on environmental and natural resource economics under uncertainty. The first essay proposes a differential game analysis of the quest for hegemony among countries as a generator of global pollution. The second essay uses stock market data on market capitalization to estimate a stochastic version of the Hotelling rule of exhaustible resource exploitation and uses it to infer on the riskiness of investment in nonrenewable resources and its effect on the resource price paths. The third essay shows how uncertainty about future prospects modifies the Hotelling rule in a context of risk diversification.

This thesis investigates the determinants of the use of debt and leasing in the UK using a comprehensive measure of debt and leases, in recognition of the link between lease and debt-type financing decisions, based on financial contracting theory and the tax advantage hypothesis. The design of the study takes account three lacunae in our current understanding of this topic. Firstly, despite the fact that the capital structure literature is voluminous, it is perhaps surprising that relatively little research has been carried out on lease finance, given its significant role as a major source of finance for many firms. Secondly, the role of tax in the capital structure decision is unclear. Empirically testing for tax effects is challenging because spurious relationships may exist between the financing decision and many commonly used tax proxies. More importantly, our understanding of the impact of taxes on UK financing decisions is far from complete, especially since several major corporate tax reforms have taken place in the last decade. Thirdly, empirical evidence on capital structure determinants is also voluminous but far from conclusive. Notably, contradictory signs and significance levels are commonly observed. Using the standard regression approach invariably involves identification of the average behaviour of firms, and therefore does not measure diversity across firms. In response to these three major issues, this study employs empirical research methods, namely cross-sectional pooled regression, static and dynamic panel data regression, and quantile regression to analyse a large sample of 361 non-financial firms, drawn from the FTSE 350 and FTSE All-Small indices over the tax years 1995 through 2003. The operating lease data are estimated using the constructive capitalisation method while the simulated before-financing marginal tax rate is used to proxy for the firms’ tax status. The endogeneity of corporate tax status is evident since the use of simple tax proxy, the effective tax rate, leads to a spurious negative relation between debt usage and tax rates. The problem was avoided with a better measure of tax variable that is the simulated before-financing marginal tax rate where it is found that the empirical relationships between the tax factor and debt and leasing are consistent with those theoretical predictions. Furthermore, there is a clear distinction between the effect of taxes on debt and leasing where the firm’s marginal tax status is only relevant when managers make decisions on debt financing. The use of quantile regression method in the present study represents a novel approach in investigating the determinants of the use of debt and leasing. The results reveal that the determinants of debt and leasing are heterogeneous across the whole distribution of firms, consistent with the notion of heterogeneity as promoted by Beattie et al. (2006), but contradicting their claim that the large-scale regression approach cannot measure firms’ diversity. This finding implies that average model results (e.g., from OLS or panel data models) may not apply to the tails of debt and leasing levels, and hence assuming that the determinants of debt and leasing decisions are the same for all firms in the economy is clearly unrealistic. Using the dynamic panel data model, this thesis confirms that debt and leasing are substitutes rather than complements, and that the degree of substitutability is more pronounced among smaller firms, where the degree of information asymmetry is greater. More importantly, the use of a joint specification for debt and leasing improves our understanding of the determinants of the two fixed-claim financing instruments. There is also significant evidence to support the view that firm characteristics affect contracting costs which in turn impact on the choice between alternative forms of finance, namely equity, debt and leasing.

L’interdépendance entre les différents métiers de la banque s’est considérablement renforcée au cours des deux dernières décennies. En effet, la globalisation financière a accru la porosité entre les différents métiers bancaires notamment lors de chocs qui bien qu’initialement circonscrits sur un segment de l’activité des banques contaminent maintenant rapidement la santé financière globale des banques. Cet état de fait est étayé par la crise des subprimes. L’échec de la réglementation bancaire révélé à travers la crise financière globale nous oblige à réexaminer le régime réglementaire en vigueur et à accorder une grande importance aux réformes réglementaires dans le système bancaire. Cette thèse a pour objectif d’identifier les carences de la réglementation bancaire et d’analyser les pistes de réforme réglementaire pour remédier à ces lacunes du régime réglementaire actuel. Ce travail de thèse fournit des évidences empiriques sur le fait que la mise en œuvre conjointe d’une stratégie de levier élevé et d’une stratégie de liquidité risquée a déstabilisé les banques au cours des années récentes. Les réglementations futures doivent donc s’orienter vers la complémentarité entre la réglementation de la capitalisation et la réglementation de la liquidité. En accord avec ces résultats empiriques, ce travail de thèse propose finalement un cadre théorique pour montrer que la prise en compte de la réglementation de la liquidité en tant que le complément de la réglementation de capitalisation est socialement optimale. / The interdependence between different banking businesses has significantly increased over the past two decades. In fact, financial globalization increased the porosity between banking businesses in the case of shocks that rapidly infects the global financial health of banks, although they were initially limited to one segment of banking activities. That was shown by the Subprime crisis. The failure of banking regulation, as the global financial crisis demonstrated, is forcing us to review the existing regulatory regime and to pay attention to regulatory reforms in the banking system. This thesis aims to identify the flaws in the banking regulation and to analyze possible reform avenues. In this study, we provide empirical evidence on the joint use of risky leverage strategy and risky liquidity strategy by banks over the past years. Consequently, the future regulatory reforms have to shift towards the complementarity between capitalization regulation and liquidity regulation. In line with our empirical results, we finally propose a theoretical framework in order to establish that implementing liquidity regulation, as complement to the actual capitalization regulation is socially optimal.

L’objet de cette recherche est d’identifier et analyser les facteurs déterminants de l’évolution du capital-investissement dans l’Europe de l’Est. De plus, notre travail compare les déterminants de LBO, respectivement de l’activité de VC dans les pays d’Europe de l’Est. Le modèle empirique comprend de nombreux déterminants déjà testés dans des études précédentes ainsi que de nouvelles variables telles que la productivité et l’indice de corruption, que nous considérons comme des facteurs importants pour expliquer l’évolution des investissements en capital-investissement en Europe de l’Est. Nos résultats confirment les hypothèses existantes concernant l’importance de certains déterminants sur l’évolution des investissements en capital-investissement en Europe de l’Est. Cependant, dans le contexte de la dernière crise, de nouveaux facteurs sont apparus comme importants pour le marché du capital investissement en Europe, tels que la productivité ou la corruption. La dernière partie de cette recherche montrent que les sociétés de capital-investissement en Europe de l’Est préfèrent les sorties à travers des fusions et acquisitions, suivies des introductions en bourse. De plus, nous validons une relation d'équilibre à long terme entre les investissements en capital-investissement, les introductions en bourse et les fusions et acquisitions. Le test de causalité de Granger montre l'existence d'une causalité unidirectionnelle du nombre de fusions et acquisitions par rapport au volume des investissements en capital-investissement en Europe de l'Est. / The purpose of this research is to identify and analyze the determinants of the evolution of private equity in Eastern Europe. Additionally, this paper compares the determinants of leveraged buyout activity, respectively venture capital activity in Eastern European countries. The empirical model of the first two sections includes many of the determinants already tested in previous studies and also new variables such as productivity and corruption index which we consider important factors in explaining the evolution of private equity investments in Europe. Our results confirm existing hypotheses regarding the importance of some determinants on the evolution of private equity investments in Europe. However, in the context of the last crisis new factors emerged as important for the private equity market in Europe such as productivity or corruption. The last section of this work tests the existence of a causal link between the evolution of private equity and the number of divestments of private equity funds in Eastern Europe during the financial crisis. Our results show that Eastern European private equity firms prefer M&A exits followed by IPOs. Furthermore, we validate a long-term equilibrium relationship between private equity investments, IPO and M&A. The Granger causality test shows the existence of a unidirectional causality of the number of M&A to the volume of private equity investments in Eastern Europe.

No description available.

Afin de légitimer une approche des systèmes d’information plus documentaire que technologique bien peu en accord avec l’air du temps, le besoin impérieux s’est fait ressentir de faire appel aux fondements théoriques de la fonction renseignement et de son exploitation étroitement dépendante de la maîtrise d’une information devenue surabondante. Ce regard, plus analogique que numérique, s’est intéressé à la construction de sens dans une mémoire partagée, organisée autour d’un besoin collectif de savoir qui la conditionne entièrement. Il s’agit d’assurer la cohésion des actions individuelles en s’appuyant sur la synergie des intentions qui orientent l’action collective et lui donnent ainsi tout son sens. Cette recherche s’est fondée sur une expérience professionnelle ponctuellement réussie, bien que peu suivie par une administration trompée par le mirage d’une technologie omnipotente. Ses résultats sont décrits pour tenter de les pérenniser, dans l’idée d’en élargir la portée et d’en promouvoir l’usage chez d’autres professionnels aux besoins analogues, dans des domaines différents comme, par exemple, celui de la recherche scientifique. / Despite the current trend, the pressing need arose to legitimize a documentary approach to information system rather than a technological one, based on the theoretical foundations of intelligence and its exploitation, which is directly connected to the control of an information that has become overabundant. This vision, rather analogical than numerical, focuses on creating sense within a shared memory that is organized around a collective need of knowledge, which directly impacts this memory. The aim is to ensure the cohesion of individual actions by relying on the synergy of intentions, which orient the collective action and give it its meaning. This research was built on a professional experience successful, although little followed by an administration mistaken by the mirage of an omnipotent technology. Its results are described in an attempt to perpetuate them, with the idea of extending their scope and promoting their use to other professionals with similar needs, in different fields such as, for example, scientific research.

A l’heure où le droit du dommage corporel tente de se démarquer de pars les règles qui lui sont propres, la réparation intégrale des dommages corporels ne semble être véritablement obtenue par la victime que dans le cadre de la responsabilité civile. Le préjudice professionnel a gagné en autonomie depuis l’élaboration de la nomenclature Dintilhac distinguant les pertes de gains professionnels du déficit fonctionnel et conceptualisant un nouveau poste de préjudice professionnel « l’incidence professionnelle ». La réparation intégrale « tout le préjudice ; rien que le préjudice ; le préjudice réel » en devient l’expression. Cependant ce principe est souvent malmené et inéluctablement des inégalités de traitement entre les victimes en découlent. En effet, l’influence excessive du recours des tiers payeurs, sur l’évaluation du préjudice professionnel et l’absence d’outils indispensables à la pérennité de la matière laissent perplexes / At a time when the law of personal injury tries to stand out from the rules that are specific to it, full compensation for bodily injury seems to be truly obtained by the victim only in the context of civil liability. Professional prejudice has become more autonomous since the development of the Dintilhac classification distinguishing professional earnings losses from the functional deficit and conceptualizing a new professional harm position « professional incidence ». Comprehensive reparation « all prejudice; nothing but prejudice; the real harm » becomes its expression. However, this principle is often abused and inevitably inequalities of treatment between victims result. Indeed, the excessive influence of third-party payers' recourse on the assessment of professional harm and the absence of tools essential to the sustainability of the matter are puzzling

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the United States Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have reaffirmed their commitment to accomplishing the convergence of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and US Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (US GAAP), following their March 2010 progress report. Among the standards subject to this convergence project, is IAS 23 - Borrowing Costs. Taken at face value, the convergence of IAS 23 (IFRS) and SFAS 34 (US GAAP), and looking at convergence in general, the idea is productive and beneficial. It will lead to more comparative information as it eliminates the differences. The downside, however, could very easily be that convergence might just be taking place for the sake of convergence, and that the end result might not necessarily lead to more comparative and cost effective information. When specifically considering the convergence of the two borrowing costs standards (SFAS 34 and IAS 23), it is clear that differences remain even after their convergence, and therefore it does not promote comparability. The revision of IAS 23 might actually have been more costly and less beneficial, rather than the other way around. The first article in this dissertation claims that the mandatory capitalisation of borrowing costs is more costly than not, and that the IASB did not adequately consider the cost implications in their decision to change IAS 23, as well as that the benefits obtained from the capitalisation of borrowing costs are not that noticeable in practice. Participants in this study also seemed to agree that the application of IAS 23 is fairly difficult. Delving deeper into the technical aspects of IAS 23, a number of questions also arise relating to its application. This appears to be substantiated by the findings in the second article where instances were identified where the opinions of the participants relating to, for instance, what would be regarded as a 'substantial period of time', were divided. Differences relating to the above above viii may lead to one person capitalising borrowing costs, while another in the same situation would not. On the upside, a few instances were identified where participants were not as divided in their views. Therefore, although there appear to be some uncertainties within IAS 23, there are fewer than one would have expected. In summary, the revised IAS 23, in other words, the mandatory capitalisation of borrowing costs on qualifying assets, was viewed by participants as being more costly and difficult to apply than not and they felt that some technical uncertainties do exist within IAS 23. Recommendations have been made in this dissertation based on the useful information obtained. / Thesis (M.Com. (Accountancy))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the United States Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have reaffirmed their commitment to accomplishing the convergence of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and US Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (US GAAP), following their March 2010 progress report. Among the standards subject to this convergence project, is IAS 23 - Borrowing Costs. Taken at face value, the convergence of IAS 23 (IFRS) and SFAS 34 (US GAAP), and looking at convergence in general, the idea is productive and beneficial. It will lead to more comparative information as it eliminates the differences. The downside, however, could very easily be that convergence might just be taking place for the sake of convergence, and that the end result might not necessarily lead to more comparative and cost effective information. When specifically considering the convergence of the two borrowing costs standards (SFAS 34 and IAS 23), it is clear that differences remain even after their convergence, and therefore it does not promote comparability. The revision of IAS 23 might actually have been more costly and less beneficial, rather than the other way around. The first article in this dissertation claims that the mandatory capitalisation of borrowing costs is more costly than not, and that the IASB did not adequately consider the cost implications in their decision to change IAS 23, as well as that the benefits obtained from the capitalisation of borrowing costs are not that noticeable in practice. Participants in this study also seemed to agree that the application of IAS 23 is fairly difficult. Delving deeper into the technical aspects of IAS 23, a number of questions also arise relating to its application. This appears to be substantiated by the findings in the second article where instances were identified where the opinions of the participants relating to, for instance, what would be regarded as a 'substantial period of time', were divided. Differences relating to the above above viii may lead to one person capitalising borrowing costs, while another in the same situation would not. On the upside, a few instances were identified where participants were not as divided in their views. Therefore, although there appear to be some uncertainties within IAS 23, there are fewer than one would have expected. In summary, the revised IAS 23, in other words, the mandatory capitalisation of borrowing costs on qualifying assets, was viewed by participants as being more costly and difficult to apply than not and they felt that some technical uncertainties do exist within IAS 23. Recommendations have been made in this dissertation based on the useful information obtained. / Thesis (M.Com. (Accountancy))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The thesis examined the comprehensive causal relationship between the banking sector, stock market development and economic growth in a multi-variate framework using Zimbabwean time series data from 1988 to 2015. Three banking sector development proxies (total financial sector credit, banking credit to private sector and broad money M3) and three stock market development proxies (stock market capitalization, value traded and turnover ratio) were employed to estimate both long and short run relationships between banking sector, stock market and economic growth in Zimbabwe. The study employs the vector error correction model (VECM) as the main estimation technique and the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach as a robustness testing technique. Results showed that in Zimbabwe a significant causal relationship from banking sector and stock market development to economic growth exists in the long run without any feedback effects. In the short run, however, a negative yet statistically significant causal relationship runs from economic growth to banking sector and stock market development in Zimbabwe. The study further concludes that there is a unidirectional causal relationship running from stock market development to banking sector development in Zimbabwe in both short and long run periods. Nonetheless this relationship between banking sector and stock markets has been found to be more significant in the short run than in the long run. The thesis adopts the complementary view and recommends for the spontaneity implementation of monetary policies as the economy grows. Monetary authorities should thus formulate policies to promote both banks and stock markets with corresponding growth in Zimbabwe’s economy. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)