During the business cycle, how the firms' marketing expenses affect the stock returns vary with economy condition. Although prior studies have focused on how change in advertising and research and development (R&D) affect firms during recessions, those studies ignored the interaction between advertising and R&D. Besides, prior studies in the economics field find that the macroeconomics factors will affect firm performance. Therefore, this paper investigates which macroeconomics factor will affect firms spending on advertising and R&D to increase stock return of firms during recessions based on controlling the interaction between advertising and R&D. We match the sample of NYSE-, AMEX-, and NASDAQ-listed firms that are specified as ordinary common shares with monthly returns from the Center for Research in Securities Prices (CRSP) and with advertising and R&D from the yearly merged COMPUSTAT data for 1990 to 2010. In addition, we use the Markov switching model to identify economy condition. Meanwhile we use the portfolio analysis to classify the firms into four portfolios and though the macroeconomic model to discuss which factors impact the excess return. This study finds that controlling the condition of R&D-intensive, the default spread and growth in money supply will both affect high advertising firms, more than low advertising firm in recessions. Moreover, controlling the condition of advertising-intensive, the default spread and growth in money supply will both affect high R&D firms more than low R&D firms in recessions. These consequences may result from that during the recession, the default spread will increase and the same time the investors will not prefer high advertising and R&D firms (risky assets). On the other hand, when government implements expansionary monetary policy, investors will prefer high advertising and R&D firms. In summary, this study discuss how the macroeconomic factors affect the excess return of portfolio during recessions based on controlling the interaction between advertising and R&D. Firms could use these results to improve the performances and increase the stock returns by adjusting their spending on advertising and R&D during recessions.

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Sociology to the Faculty of Humanities,School of Social Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2019 / This study examines the responses of the South African trade union movement to the impacts of the Great Recession. The Great Recession is used to refer to the world economic crisis of 2008/9. Its impact on South Africa had enormous implications for the South African economy and its workers. The report reflects on and critiques how trade unions in South Africa responded to the impacts of the crisis on workers. The focus of the report is on the three trade union federations, COSATU, FEDUSA and NACTU, which were the main federations and ‘official’ representatives of organised labour at the time. The report studies and critically reflects on the theoretical perspectives of the trade unions and their policy and organisational responses to the impacts of the crisis. In its critical engagement with the trade unions’ perspectives and organisational responses, the report is theoretically grounded in a Marxist perspective. These perspectives and responses are studied against the historical background of the international and South African labour movement. The historical background is used to frame the purpose and role of the trade movement, which provides a basis to evaluate the trade union perspectives and responses to the Great Recession. The fundamental proposition of this report is that the trade unions are elementary organisations of labour whose purpose is to organise and defend interests of the workers and to regulate the terms of the relations of the producers with the employers. The historical context also allows comparative analysis of the trade union responses in the Great Recession with the reactions in the previous crises, and the changes that took place in the trade union politics. To understand the trade union politics and responses, the study focuses on the theoretical analysis, policy declarations, and political and organisational reports of the federations and, in some instances, those of their affiliates. Interviews, archival and participatory research also assisted in collecting data. The main conclusion of the report is that the trade union movement failed the workers. The workers have shown determination to fight, reflected in the number and militancy of their strikes. Unfortunately this will to fight was not matched by the political leadership of the trade union movement with political strategy, perspectives, and campaigns to harness this will to struggle and to unite various contingents of the working class into a mass movement that could defeat the neoliberal austerity measures and provide fighting and revolutionary alternatives, as workers have in previous crises internationally. / NG (2020)

No description available.

No / This paper shows that the presence of persistent uninsurable risk concentrated in economic depressions has the potential to resolve two well¿known asset pricing puzzles. It is also shown that the presence of such risk in more normal economic expansions and recessions is likely to be much less relevant in determining equilibrium asset prices.

M.Com. (Financial Economics) / The use of the yield curve spread in forecasting future recessions has become popular as it is a simple tool to use, due to the positive relationship between the yield curve spread and economic activity. The inversion or flattening of the yield curve spread usually signals a future recession. This has been the subject of several studies both internationally and in South Africa. This research provides an analysis of the yield curve spread’s ability to accurately forecast future recessions in South Africa through the use of three probit models. Furthermore, the yield curve spread’s ability to estimate is compared to that of share prices, using the JSE All Share Index. This research extends on studies by Khomo and Aziakpono (2006) and Clay and Keeton (2011), who used the static and dynamic probit models to forecast recessions in South Africa. In addition to these models, this research also makes use of the business cycle conditionally independent probit model for estimation. The findings suggest that share prices improve the yield curve spread’s ability to forecast recessions when estimating using the static probit model; however when comparing the results between the financial variables, the yield curve spread continues to produce the best forecast of recessions in South Africa. These results support those of Khomo and Aziakpono (2006) and Clay and Keeton (2011). Of the three probit models, the dynamic probit model estimate using the yield curve spread produced the most accurate forecast of recessions one quarter ahead. Therefore, the yield curve spread continues to provide the most accurate forecast of recessions in South Africa.

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

Family firms play a significant role in the U.S. economy, making up about 35 percent of S&P 500 or Fortune 500 companies and contributing about 65 percent to the U.S. GDP. This research explores differences in strategic behavior and firm performance between family firms and non-family firms, and further explores whether family firms such as Dell Inc. that use their founding family’s name as part of their firm name (termed family-named firms, or FN firms) behave and perform any differently versus family firms such as Gap Inc. whose firm name does not include their family’s name (termed non-family-named firms, or NFN firms). The first study which is based on a multi-industry sample of 130 publicly listed U.S. family firms over a five-year period (2002–2006), reveals that compared to NFN firms, FN firms have significantly higher levels of corporate citizenship and representation of their customers' voice (i.e., presence of a chief marketing officer) in the top management team. FN firms also have a higher strategic emphasis (i.e., a greater emphasis on value appropriation relative to value creation) compared to NFN firms. Furthermore, FN firms perform better (i.e., have a higher ROA) than NFN firms, and their superior performance is partially mediated by their higher corporate citizenship levels and strategic emphasis. In the second study — an event study of 1294 product introduction announcements of 107 publicly listed U.S. family firms from 2005-2007 — I find that relative to NFN firms, FN firms are rewarded more by the stock market for introducing new products. Superior returns to FN firms’ new product introductions are partially mediated by these firms’ history of trustworthy product-related behavior: FN firms, particularly those with corporate branding, and those wherein a founding family member holds the CEO or Chairman position, are more likely to exhibit a history of avoiding such product-related controversies as product safety issues, and deceptive advertising. The third study explores differences in strategic behavior and firm performance between family firms and non-family firms in the context of 7 U.S. economic recessions between the years 1970 and 2008. Findings based on a sample of 428 U.S. publicly listed firms reveal that family firms consistently outperform non-family firms during economic recessions. This superior performance is partially driven by family firms’ unique strategic behavior: during recessions, family firms maintain higher levels of advertising intensity, exhibit lower financial leverage, and get involved in fewer social and employee-related unethical actions than non-family firms. The three studies taken together have important implications for family firm, branding, CSR, firm valuation, and innovation-related theory and practice. I highlight these implications in my dissertation. / text

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed September 3, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 98-104).

Thesis (doctoral)--Åbo Akademi, 1997. / Extra t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Uppsala universitet, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 168-177).