This report, rooted in the conflict over the control of natural resource wealth, departs from the widely-accepted findings of two disparate literatures. First, while recent analyses correctly conclude that natural resources rents play a contingent role in development, this study deviates from the conventional wisdom attributing the variation of the resource curse to formal institutions. Secondly, as opposed to the recent wave of “political insurance” arguments that ascribe the creation of reforms to weak incumbents attempting to tie the hands of their successors, I argue that actors pursue similar institutional reforms for economic and political reasons. I build on these literatures by examining the commitment to a specific government institution—stabilization funds, which manage the fluctuations of natural resource rents and stop natural resource wealth from being a curse—across three natural resource-rich Latin American countries: Chile, Mexico and Venezuela. Paradoxically, because successful stabilization funds provide greater political benefits when rents are saved, I argue that these institutions only tie the hands of political successors from using rents for political purposes when they are created for economic purposes. / text

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No description available.

Dramatic changes in medical science and a general improvement in living standards has led to significant reduction in the morality rate of certain age groups in South Africa. As a result the average age at which people are likely to die increased significantly in the 2oth century. The implications of this has not only to increase the number of people who survive to retirement age, but it has also seen larger numbers of people live for much longer periods in retirement. Opposite to the above, is the HIVIAids pandemic, which will increase the mortality rates of individuals at a younger age and undoubtedly affect pension plans and the costs thereof. The effect of all these changes have been the ultimate cost of providing a given pension benefit. At first the paper examines the trend in retirement saving away from Defined Benefit (DB) towards Define Contribution (DC) funds. It looks at the reasons why this shift has occurred in South Africa, and provided confirmation of the retirement savings plans away from DB structures and towards DC type of plans in South Africa. Secondly the paper briefly looks at the operation of DC plans in South Africa. The potential consequences of the shift are then reviewed in the context of roleplayers in the retirement savings decision and personal involvement in retirement planning process. Upon completion of the literature study, a model was developed in which data from DC funds were used to make projections regarding the sufficiency and adequacy of funding within DC funds. This study has proved that the shift from DB to DC funds had an enormous impact on provision for retirement. It was found that a significant part of the population will not be independent at retirement and therefore might potentially became a responsibility of the state. The paper suggests that the level of personal involvement in the retirement savings decision may be a critical factor in determining the propensity of an individual to save for retirement. As a result research is proposed to consider the importance of the three elements in the involvement of the individual in the retirement savings decision: the perceived ownership of retirement savings, the awareness of the need to save for retirement and the understanding of how to save for retirement. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

No description available.

In this study, the performance of the Rennies Provident Fund's management strategy is reviewed. The study aims to determine whether the Fund's management strategy created or destroyed shareholder value over the past 17- year period of its existence up to and including the 2004 financial year. First, the Rennies Provident Fund's performance is reviewed against its internally set performance objective of returning CPI (consumer price index) + 3% to its members. Secondly, the Fund's performance is compared to that of similar pension funds. Thirdly, the performance objective that the Fund has set itself is critiqued against the performance objectives of other pension funds. Finally, the value-based performance measurement approach is applied to the fund to determine whether shareholder value has been created or destroyed in absolute money terms during the 2003 financial year. This study finds that the Rennies Provident Fund has on average achieved the required internally set benchmark of returning CPI + 3% over the 17-year period of its existence. However, when the performance of the Fund is compared to available data for similar funds over a 12-year period, this study finds that the Rennies Provident Fund performed poorly. Further, this study also finds that in absolute monetary terms, the Rennies Provident Fund destroyed shareholder value over the 17-year review period. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

The purpose of the study was to investigate and report what representatives of Indiana public high schools have been doing in the areas of fund raising procedures and practices utilized in student extra curricular fund raising activities. A review of related literature was conducted to ascertain research and findings in the area.A questionnaire was developed and field tested through a pilot study sample. The study population consisted of 355 Indiana public high school principals.Principals returned 316 of 355 survey questionnaires. Data obtained from questionnaires were analyzed, summarized, and presented, in narrative form. Tables were developed to report the raw data.Major findings were1. Indiana Law prescribes the financial procedures to be followed in accounting for student activity funds through the utilization of the "Extra Curricular Account."2. Principals are responsible for establishing policy and procedures for fund raising-activities in seventy-four percent of responding schools.3. Fifty-four percent of participating Indiana public high schools do not have an official school board policy governing fund raising activities throughout the school corporation.4. Ninety-nine percent of responding Indiana public high school-student bodies conduct fund raising activities within the school community.5. Principals reported approximately $6,386,494 dollars raised through fund raising activities conducted in participating Indiana public high schools during school year 1980-81.6. Candy sales are the most common fund raising activities utilized by students to raise funds. Major conclusions based upon the findings of the study were:1. Public high school officials in Indiana need fund raising activities to support and maintain student extra curricular activities at the current level of implementation.2. Principals are primarily responsible for direction and supervision of fund raising activities in the high schools3. High school fund raising programs tend to exploit school communities and cause patrons to complain.4. School administrators should re-evaluate fund raising activities and determine the feasibility of each activity.5. General school board policies governing fund raising activities conducted by schools are needed.

Dramatic changes in medical science and a general improvement in living standards has led to significant reduction in the morality rate of certain age groups in South Africa. As a result the average age at which people are likely to die increased significantly in the 2oth century. The implications of this has not only to increase the number of people who survive to retirement age, but it has also seen larger numbers of people live for much longer periods in retirement. Opposite to the above, is the HIVIAids pandemic, which will increase the mortality rates of individuals at a younger age and undoubtedly affect pension plans and the costs thereof. The effect of all these changes have been the ultimate cost of providing a given pension benefit. At first the paper examines the trend in retirement saving away from Defined Benefit (DB) towards Define Contribution (DC) funds. It looks at the reasons why this shift has occurred in South Africa, and provided confirmation of the retirement savings plans away from DB structures and towards DC type of plans in South Africa. Secondly the paper briefly looks at the operation of DC plans in South Africa. The potential consequences of the shift are then reviewed in the context of roleplayers in the retirement savings decision and personal involvement in retirement planning process. Upon completion of the literature study, a model was developed in which data from DC funds were used to make projections regarding the sufficiency and adequacy of funding within DC funds. This study has proved that the shift from DB to DC funds had an enormous impact on provision for retirement. It was found that a significant part of the population will not be independent at retirement and therefore might potentially became a responsibility of the state. The paper suggests that the level of personal involvement in the retirement savings decision may be a critical factor in determining the propensity of an individual to save for retirement. As a result research is proposed to consider the importance of the three elements in the involvement of the individual in the retirement savings decision: the perceived ownership of retirement savings, the awareness of the need to save for retirement and the understanding of how to save for retirement. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

This dissertation consists of three stand-alone but interrelated empirical studies investigating various aspects of the well-documented ??home bias anomaly?? in international investment. The findings help to understand the international investment allocation behaviour of mutual funds as well as their implications for asset pricing and mutual fund evaluation. The first study investigates the roles of various firm attributes that encapsulate the deadweight costs in determining firm level investment bias. The main findings suggest that firm characteristics related to transaction costs, corporate governance and information asymmetry create significant barriers for fund managers. In addition, foreign funds are more constrained than domestic funds by information asymmetry, even in developed and liberalized markets. Moreover, this study stylises the international investment allocation model in Cooper and Kaplanis (1986) with a quadratic cost function, which reveals the marginal influence of market level deadweight costs on the relationship between firm characteristics and investment bias. It is found that when market level cross-border barriers are exacerbated, as in the case of emerging and restricted financial markets, foreign fund managers become more sensitive to market level deadweight costs and ignore firm characteristics. In general, these findings imply that the market level ??home bias anomaly?? is an outcome of the complementary effects of investment barriers at both firm and market levels. The second study examines the role of firm level investment bias in predicting future stock returns. It is found that both firm level foreign and domestic biases contain valuable information with respect to firm prospects. However, domestic bias is more informative than foreign bias in terms of subsequent stock returns, partially because of information asymmetry. The third study explores the determinants of fund level investment bias and its ability to predict fund performance. It is found that fund portfolio attributes determine fund level investment biases after controlling for market and fund investment objective specific effects, and fund level investment bias is positively related to fund performance due to lower deadweight costs. Moreover, good macroeconomic environments foster the development of the mutual fund industry.