<p>My dissertation, consisting of three related essays, aims to understand the role of macroeconomic risks in the stock and bond markets. In the first chapter, I build a financial intermediary sector with a leverage constraint a la Gertler and Kiyotaki (2010) into an endowment economy with an independently and identically distributed consumption growth process and recursive preferences. I use a global method to solve the model, and show that accounting for occasionally binding constraint is important for quantifying the asset pricing implications. Quantitatively, the model generates a procyclical and persistent variation of price-dividend ratio, and a high and countercyclical equity premium. As a distinct prediction from the model, in the credit crunch, high TED spread, due to a liquidity premium, coincides with low stock price and high stock market volatility, a pattern I confirm in the data.</p><p>In the second chapter, which is coauthored with Hengjie Ai and Mariano Croce, we model investment options as intangible capital in a production economy in which younger vintages of assets in place have lower exposure to aggregate productivity risk. In equilibrium, physical capital requires a substantially higher expected return than intangible capital. Quantitatively, our model rationalizes a significant share of the observed difference in the average return of book-to-market-sorted portfolios (value premium). Our economy also produces (1) a high premium of the aggregate stock market over the risk-free interest rate, (2) a low and smooth risk-free interest rate, and (3) key features of the consumption and investment dynamics in the U.S. data.</p><p>In the third chapter, I study the joint determinants of stock and bond returns in Bansal and Yaron (2004) long-run risks model framework with regime shifts in consumption and inflation dynamics -- in particular, the means, volatilities, and the correlation structure between consumption growth and inflation are regime-dependent. This general equilibrium framework can (1) generate time-varying and switching signs of stock and bond correlations, as well as switching signs of bond risk premium; (2) quantitatively reproduce various other salient empirical features in stock and bond markets, including time-varying equity and bond return premia, regime shifts in real and nominal yield curve, the violation of expectations hypothesis of bond returns. The model shows that term structure of interest rates and stock-bond correlation are intimately related to business cycles, while long-run risks play a more important role to account for high equity premium than business cycle risks.</p> / Dissertation

本研究首先建構一個無窮交替的兩期疊代模型，說明當經濟體系的年輕人口面臨流動性偏好之衝擊時，金融中介機構(銀行)可藉由其資產配置的功能，來分散年輕存款者的流動性風險，並達成極大化代表性個人效用之目的。 另外，當存款者具有不同的風險趨避程度時，本文亦分別考量金融中介機構是否受限於法定存款準備率的情形下，分析中間財貨生產部門不完全競爭程度的改變與各項政府政策變動如何影響其資產配置功能，並透過該管道來影響經濟體系的經濟成長率及名目利率。最後，我們將進一步分析在受限制的法定存款準備率之下，各項參數的變動將如何對社會福利水準產生影響。 / This study will first construct a two-period-lives overlapping generation model, indicating that when the young agents in the economy are facing “ liquidity preference shock”, financial intermediaries (banks) could disperse liquidity risk of young agents by the function of asset allocation, and to reach a purpose of representative individuals’ utility maximization. In addition, when depositors have different degrees of risk aversion, this text also considers the condition whether financial intermediaries binds reserve requirement rate respectively, analyzing how to through the changes of the extent of imperfect competition of the intermediate goods production sector and the government policy affect its function of asset allocation, and the impact on productivity growth rate and nominal interest rate of the economy mainly influenced by this channel. Finally, we will further analyze how to affect the social welfare through changes in the economic parameters under the condition of binding reserve requirement rate.

The aim of the thesis – to theoretically analyze and scientifically explain civil liability of the financial intermediary as investor protection instrument, to provide reasoned assessment of the regulation of civil liability of the financial intermediary and its application practice in the USA and the EU, to identify relevant problems and suggest theoretically grounded solutions and recommendations for these problems which would also put an emphasis on practical efficiency of civil liability; thus supplementing the doctrine of the EU and national law in this field. This thesis consists of two related yet relatively independent parts. The first part covers the most common issues of civil liability of the financial intermediary against the investor and extensively analyzes the conditions of civil liability of the financial intermediary, i.e. fault, damages, causation and unlawfulness, last one being of particular importance because due to the massive regulation of the activities of financial intermediaries it covers the widest range of legal issues. The second part of the thesis analyzes the relevant questions of the application of civil liability, which is possible only when the required conditions for the rise of civil liability have been established. Therefore, it analyzes the cases under the law or the contract, where the financial intermediary is relieved of liability even if the conditions of civil liability are met. The main focus of the second part is placed on the... [to full text] / Disertacijoje siekiama teoriškai išanalizuoti ir moksliškai paaiškinti finansų tarpininko civilinę atsakomybę, kaip investuotojų apsaugos priemonę, pateikti argumentuotą finansų tarpininko civilinės atsakomybės teisinio reguliavimo ir taikymo praktikos nagrinėtose JAV ir ES jurisdikcijose įvertinimą, identifikuoti aktualias su tuo susijusias problemas ir pasiūlyti teoriškai pagrįstus, tačiau į praktinį civilinės atsakomybės taikymo efektyvumą orientuotus šių problemų sprendimo būdus, bei rekomendacijas, tokiu būdu papildant ES ir nacionalinės teisės doktriną šioje srityje. Disertacijos struktūrą sudaro dvi susijusios, tačiau kartu ir santykinai savarankiškos dalys. Pirmojoje darbo dalyje analizuojami patys bendriausi su finansų tarpininko civiline atsakomybe prieš investuotoją susiję klausimai ir taip pat plačiai analizuojamos finansų tarpininko civilinės atsakomybės sąlygos – kaltė, žala, priežastinis ryšys ir ypač neteisėtumas – atsakomybės sąlyga, kuri dėl masyvaus finansų tarpininkų veiklos teisinio reguliavimo, apima plačiausią klausimų spektrą. Antroji disertacijos dalis skiriama aktualiems civilinės atsakomybės taikymo, kuris aktualus tik tuomet kai nustatytos visos reikiamos civilinės atsakomybės atsiradimo sąlygos, klausimams analizuoti. Todėl joje nagrinėjami įstatymo ar sutarties nustatyti atvejai, kai net ir egzistuojant visoms civilinės atsakomybės sąlygoms, finansų tarpininkas nuo atsakomybės gali būti atleidžiamas, todėl atsakomybė jam netaikoma. Didžiausias... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Bakgrund: Den svenska värdepappersmarknaden utgörs av en komplex marknadsstruktur med många intermediärer. En av de senast introducerade teknikerna är blockkedjetekniken, som ska förenkla interaktionen mellan aktörer. Tekniken är en distribuerad databas som byg- ger på en kedja av block där transaktioner och information kan registreras utan inblandning av tredje part. Finansiella aktörer undersöker blockkedjeteknikens användningsområden och potential, men som med alla innovationer uppkommer även utmaningar. Det är således av relevans att undersöka vilka användningsområden, utmaningar och påverkan som identi- fieras för blockkedjetekniken på värdepappersmarknaden. Syfte: Studien syftar till att undersöka vilka användningsområden, utmaningar samt påver- kan på marknaden och dess intermediärer som identifieras för blockkedjetekniken på den svenska värdepappersmarknaden. Metod: För att besvara studiens syfte har en kvalitativ ansats tillämpats för att erhålla en djupare förståelse för fenomenet. Det genomfördes fem stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer med verksamma aktörer på den svenska värdepappersmarknaden och en intervju med en sakkunnig inom blockkedjeteknik. Slutsats: Studien visar att blockkedjetekniken har potential att automatisera och effektivi- sera manuella processer. Men teknikens fulla potential begränsas av rådande regelverk och en begränsad volymkapacitet. I studien framgår det att tekniken inte är applicerbar på de affärsområden som omfattar stora volymer, exempelvis clearing och avveckling av aktier. Vid implementering av enbart en blockkedja minskar informationsasymmetrier och transakt- ionskostnader. Men för närvarande finns ingen teknisk lösning för en interaktion mellan olika blockkedjor, vilket kan bidra till en ökad grad av informationsasymmetri. Studien har således bidragit till en ökad förståelse för blockkedjeteknikens potentiella applicerbarhet och påverkan på den svenska värdepappersmarknaden. / Background: The Swedish Securities Market structure is complex with many intermediar- ies. Blockchain is one of the latest introduced technologies, which offers a new way of inter- action. It is a distributed ledger which builds on a chain of blocks where transactions and information is registered without the need for a third party. Financial market players are in- vestigating the potential of the technology and its applications, but as with all new innova- tions there will be challenges. Thus it is of relevance to investigate applications, challenges and potential impact of the Blockchain technology in the Swedish Securities Market. Aim: The study aims to examine potential applications, challenges and impact the Block- chain technology can have on the Swedish Securities Market and its intermediaries. Completion: To fulfill the aim of the study and attain a deeper knowledge about Blockchain a qualitative research method has been applied. Five semi structured interviews were con- ducted with market players operating on the Swedish Securities Market. Furthermore one semi structured interview has been conducted with a Blockchain expert. Conclusion: The study concludes that Blockchain has the potential to automate and streamline manually performed processes. However the full potential is restrained by pre- vailing regulations and technical limitations concerning the volume capacity. The study con- cludes that Blockchain cannot be implemented for business areas which includes large amount of volume transactions, for example clearing and settlement of shares. If only one single Blockchain is implemented the information asymmetry and the transaction costs can be reduced. However there is no solution for enabling interaction between multiple Block- chains, which can increase the degree of information asymmetry. The contribution of the study is an increased knowledge of Blockchain and its potential for the Swedish Securities Market.

The objective of this study is to make a quantitative evaluation of the impact that the expansion of microcredit has had on the growth of economic activity in the Peruvian regions. Taking as a theoretical framework the theory developed to analyze the relationship between economic growth and financial development and with annual information for 24 regions of the country for the period 2001 - 2008, a panel data model is estimated with per capita GDP growth as a dependent variable; and the loans provided by various types of microfinance institutions, loans from commercial banks and other variables that affect economic growth as explanatory variables. The evidence found suggests that microfinancial expansion has a positive impact on the growth of economic activity in the regions, which is not the case for the expansion of banking intermediation. A comparative static exercise shows that if CMAC, CRAC and specialized bank loans come to reach10% of GDP in each region, the growth rate of GDP per capita would rise by at least 4 percentage points. In the regions with greatest poverty, this increase is much more striking and significant. / El objetivo de este estudio es hacer una evaluación cuantitativa del impacto que la expansión del microcrédito ha tenido sobre crecimiento de la actividad económica en las regiones peruanas. Teniendo como marco conceptual la teoría desarrollada sobre el vínculo entre el crecimiento económico y el desarrollo financiero y con información anual para 24 regiones del país en el período 2001-2008, se estima un modelo de datos de panel que tiene como variable dependiente la tasa de crecimiento del PBI per cápita y como variables explicativas las colocaciones de los distintos tipos de instituciones microfinancieras como porcentaje del PBI, las colocaciones bancarias en porcentaje del PBI y otras variables que afectan el crecimiento económico. La evidencia encontrada sugiere que la expansión microfinanciera tiene un impacto positivo en el crecimiento del nivel de actividad de las regiones a diferencia de lo que ocurre con la expansión de la intermediación bancaria. Un ejercicio de estática comparativa muestra que si las colocaciones de las CMAC, CRAC y bancos especializados llegan a alcanzar el 10% del PBI, la tasa de crecimiento del PBI per cápita se elevaría en por lo menos 4 puntos porcentuales. En las regiones de mayor índice de pobreza este incremento es mucho más impactante y significativo.

Financial intermediation due to misselling harms consumers. The work concerns to regulation of financial intermediaries and relation between financial intermediary and his or her client. The main objective is to analyze how the regulatory of commissions impact financial intermediation. The paper analyzes the current form of legal status of financial intermediation in the European Union and the Czech Republic and results in analyzing the impacts of regulatory proposals that was discussed in Chamber of Deputies Parliament of the Czech Republic. It concludes that if the proposals were accepted, it will not improve the quality of consumer protection, but even can cause damage to the client. The current legislative base moreover provides sufficient resources to prosecuting financial intermediation, which does not respect the client's interest. For analyzing the relation between financial intermediary and his or her client is developed theoretical model based on theory of games.

Collective investments have become a very popular investment vehicle in South Africa because it is, among other things, transparent, liquid and easily accessible. Growing investor knowledge, good market returns and its suitability for diversification, which minimizes risk, also contributes to its popularity. A value chain that adds value to the investor has developed around the collective investment scheme. The role players in this chain include the investment manager, the management company and financial intermediaries. The growth in this part of the collective investment industry has been so dynamic that regulation and the introduction of various new intermediary layers are constantly affecting the value chain and the value added for the investor. Research was conducted to assess the impact of the value chain on the behaviour of the individual investor and the effect this has on wealth creation. The literary review established that the environment surrounding this dynamic and interdependent value chain is well-regulated and that costs and investor behaviour could have a significant impact on investment returns. The empirical study revealed that the average individual investor recognizes the impact of the value chain on his investment, but perceives himself as being knowledgeable enough to avert ineffectiveness in the chain by ensuring desired investment returns through good investment decisions. Over-diversification and irresponsible switching between funds by the investor can, however, destroy value and negate the effect of long-term returns. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

在政府提倡金融自由化、國際化的引導下，台灣金融管制解放，金融機構擺脫過去寡占經營的局面紛紛林立，為了因應市場競爭，各種金融產品不斷推陳出新，放款限制亦不斷寬鬆，造成市場一片蓬勃。然而從1997年金融危機的發生，導致企業跳票的個案中，使我們注意到企業在自由化時期藉籌措資金之便，大行金錢投機遊戲，以股票質押再行借款投資。此種高度的財務槓桿操作，一旦面臨危機衝擊，抵押品價值下滑，勢必發生連鎖反應而危及營運。 本研究從市場資訊不對稱觀點說明，公司抵押品價值（淨值）下滑，對借款者的債務保障價值減少，加速資訊不對稱之二大問題───道德危機和逆選擇，促使經濟雪上加霜，引發全面性危機。本研究的實證結果如下： 1.台灣自1990年代後，紛紛以股票質押借款，放款隨股價變動而有循環性調整，銀行抵押放款捲入股價波動，脆弱的金融體系一旦因應景氣情勢緊縮信用，對經濟產生進一步抵押品效果。 2.由此次台灣企業財務危機教訓可知，出問題的多為股票質押，不動產質押因應危機的反映較低且台灣不動產不景氣已多年，銀行資本已消化部分壞帳。實證結果亦顯示股票質押相對不動產更有助長經濟向下沉淪的力量。 3.各國經濟結構有別，對抵押品寄予不同程度擔保。所得低的國家，債信程度亦低，金融機構愈仰賴抵押品進行貸款評估，但其效果並不顯著，表示所得並不是唯一考量債信的因素之一。儲蓄對利率的敏感度也是各國因應危機受創不一的因素，當政府為了捍衛匯率，提高利率的結果,無可避免的重創經濟體系，而逃離的資金對利率敏感度低下，卻不易回流至金融體系，整體而言，勢必對一國景氣恢愎速度造成阻力。 4.放款對股價彈性大小變動的幅度和綜合危機判斷指數成負相關。代表愈仰賴抵押品作為貸款條件的國家在面臨危機發生時，會因抵押品效果使經濟更加惡化。

Collective investments have become a very popular investment vehicle in South Africa because it is, among other things, transparent, liquid and easily accessible. Growing investor knowledge, good market returns and its suitability for diversification, which minimizes risk, also contributes to its popularity. A value chain that adds value to the investor has developed around the collective investment scheme. The role players in this chain include the investment manager, the management company and financial intermediaries. The growth in this part of the collective investment industry has been so dynamic that regulation and the introduction of various new intermediary layers are constantly affecting the value chain and the value added for the investor. Research was conducted to assess the impact of the value chain on the behaviour of the individual investor and the effect this has on wealth creation. The literary review established that the environment surrounding this dynamic and interdependent value chain is well-regulated and that costs and investor behaviour could have a significant impact on investment returns. The empirical study revealed that the average individual investor recognizes the impact of the value chain on his investment, but perceives himself as being knowledgeable enough to avert ineffectiveness in the chain by ensuring desired investment returns through good investment decisions. Over-diversification and irresponsible switching between funds by the investor can, however, destroy value and negate the effect of long-term returns. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

The role that banks as key intermediaries play in the modern economy activities is unquestionable, it is admitted that banks remain one of the key financial intermediaries that provide a variety of services in the economy of every state. However, not all financial intermediaries have a significant impact on modern economies, only a stable and profitable banking sector can adequately play the role of financial intermediary in economy. The bank, as an intermediary in the modern economy must be profitable, and this profitability depends on a number of factors that are referred to in this study as determinants of bank profitability. The effect of internal and external determinants of the bank profitability in South Africa is the main focus of this study. It utilized annual time series internal and external data for the period 2001 to 2013. Quantitative approach methodology using secondary data and panel data technique to measure the impact of the determinants was used in the study. The sample consists of nine banks, followed for 12 years and sampled annually. The results for bank-specific consist of four statistically significant variables such as bank size, non-interest income and non-interest expense and credit risk and four non-significant variables (equity capital, loan, saving deposit, fixe term deposit) also the industry-specific consist only one significant variable (market concentration) while macro-economic determinants consist of three non-significant variables (economic growth, inflation, and lending interest rate). In conclusion, the empirical result shows that the bank specific factors are directly controlled by the Management thereby it has a positive correlation to the bank profitability while the industry specific (market concentration) also positively affects the bank profitability. However, the macroeconomic variables which are beyond the scope of management control were non-significant to profitability but show positive sign. Therefore, the variables which are significant affect positively the bank profitability, and the non-significant variables affect the bank profitability negatively. The findings were consistent with mixed results found in prior literature. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)