The dissertation investigates the effects of real exchange rate undervaluations upon long-run economic growth and development and focuses on three issues. Rodrik (2008) claims that weak institutions hurt the development of the tradable sector more than that of the nontradable sector and that undervaluation can foster growth by diminishing the distortion created by weak institutions between the two sectors. Using the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) dataset on four components of institutional quality, Chapter One of my dissertation examines the effects of investment profile, law and order, corruption, and bureaucratic quality upon the relative development of the tradable sector to the nontradable sector, which is measured by the ratio of industry value added to services valued added. On the basis of comparison of the two sectors, the panel evidence of 131 countries indicates that none of the four components mentioned above is positively associated with the relative development of the tradable sector to the nontradable sector. That is, the tradable sector does not suffer disproportionately (compared to the nontradable sector) from institutional weaknesses. Our results cast skepticism upon one of Rodrik's explanations on the growth-promoting effects of real undervaluation because the existence of such a distortion is not supported empirically. Chapter Two concentrates on the effect of real undervaluations on one key aspect of economic development, the income distribution. Based upon the recent availability of an undervaluation index and two databases on Gini coefficients, this study investigates how real undervaluations affect levels and changes in income inequality. The panel evidence of 136 countries indicates that real undervaluations are associated with a decline in levels of income inequality but have no significant association with changes in income inequality. Therefore, the relationship between real undervaluations and levels of income inequality is likely to stem from reverse causality. My main findings may help policymakers who attempt to use an undervaluation policy fully realize that real undervaluations will not hurt the distribution of income. Moreover, I also revisit Rodrik's growth regressions so as to investigate whether or not the same positive association between real undervaluations and economic growth held in Rodrik (2008) reoccurs in my sample. The results are somewhat mixed, depending upon which dataset is employed. Motivated by two distinct characteristics in economic performance of East Asia and Latin America in the past half century, Chapter Three explores the possibility that the difference in levels of domestic savings is one of the historical reasons that countries pursued different exchange rate policies. My panel evidence is somewhat mixed. The results based on the sample of all countries are consistent with the theoretical claim that real undervaluations can mitigate more imbalances and stimulate higher growth when the level of domestic savings is high. However, for the sample of developing countries, the results indicate that initial level of domestic savings does not matter for the growth-promoting effect of real undervaluation. On the contrary, it does matter across developed countries where internal imbalances are supposed to be less common relative to developing countries. This study suggests that more theoretical and empirical investigation is necessary in the future to disclose further the mechanism through which real undervaluations boost long-run growth.

The growth performance of the South African economy over the past two and a half decades has been disappointing. The economy has not reached the high growth rates of the 1960s, which is desperately needed to alleviate poverty in the country. While the sources of growth have been a subject of much debate, recently the notion that the Real Exchange Rate (RER) level of a country matters for growth has attracted attention. While it is generally expected that the value of the currency should not remain constant and that the exchange rate fluctuates over time, in the long-term, it is expected to converge to an equilibrium level South Africa follows an inflation targeting framework and a free floating exchange rate regime. The exchange rate has been highly volatile since the abolishment of the dual exchange rate system in 1995. This implies that there were periods of overvaluation and undervaluation from the equilibrium level; in other words the rand experienced times of misalignment. In the event of misalignments, the RER is moved to levels which make it difficult for an economy to sustain international competitiveness over the long-run, and this is harmful to growth rates in the economy. This is especially true for countries, such as South Africa, which is heavily dependent on exports. The RER is therefore very powerful and has been argued to be the cause of loss of competitiveness and growth slowdowns. This study investigates this notion for South Africa. The main aim of this study is therefore to investigate the effects of RER misalignment on economic growth in South Africa. This implies that the study aims to determine the level of RER equilibrium, the misalignment in the real value of the rand, and how this misalignment has affected economic growth in the country. The Behavioural Equilibrium Exchange Rate (BEER) approach is followed to determine the Equilibrium Exchange Rate (EER), which allows for the use of fundamental macroeconomic variables to determine the real equilibrium level of the rand. Identified fundamental variables, which are the main drivers of the current RER in South Africa, include GDP per capita, trade openness, terms of trade, gross fixed capital formation and the real interest rate differential. A Vector Error-Correction Mechanism (VECM) is used in the estimation of the Real Equilibrium Exchange Rate (REER). Misalignment is calculated as the difference between the actual and the equilibrium real exchange rate. It is found that during the period under investigation (1985 to 2011) there have been substantial misalignments in the RER of the rand, though the currency was mostly overvalued. It is also shown that the rand does revert to its equilibrium level over time. The least square method is used to determine the effect of this RER misalignment on economic growth. Additional variables such as the initial level of GDP per capita, trade openness, terms of trade as well as gross fixed capital formation, are included in the growth specification. Trade reforms emphasise the importance of export-led growth in a commodity-rich economy, such as South Africa. The results indicate that the RER misalignment has a positive coefficient; this implies that a misalignment in the rand has not necessarily been harmful to economic growth. Therefore, it can be concluded that in the case of South Africa, misalignment is generally stimulating growth, but more so when the currency is undervalued. The results therefore show that the RER should be kept at competitive levels in order to boost economic growth in the country. The results also show support for the strategy of export-led growth in South Africa. / Thesis (MCom (Economics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The growth performance of the South African economy over the past two and a half decades has been disappointing. The economy has not reached the high growth rates of the 1960s, which is desperately needed to alleviate poverty in the country. While the sources of growth have been a subject of much debate, recently the notion that the Real Exchange Rate (RER) level of a country matters for growth has attracted attention. While it is generally expected that the value of the currency should not remain constant and that the exchange rate fluctuates over time, in the long-term, it is expected to converge to an equilibrium level South Africa follows an inflation targeting framework and a free floating exchange rate regime. The exchange rate has been highly volatile since the abolishment of the dual exchange rate system in 1995. This implies that there were periods of overvaluation and undervaluation from the equilibrium level; in other words the rand experienced times of misalignment. In the event of misalignments, the RER is moved to levels which make it difficult for an economy to sustain international competitiveness over the long-run, and this is harmful to growth rates in the economy. This is especially true for countries, such as South Africa, which is heavily dependent on exports. The RER is therefore very powerful and has been argued to be the cause of loss of competitiveness and growth slowdowns. This study investigates this notion for South Africa. The main aim of this study is therefore to investigate the effects of RER misalignment on economic growth in South Africa. This implies that the study aims to determine the level of RER equilibrium, the misalignment in the real value of the rand, and how this misalignment has affected economic growth in the country. The Behavioural Equilibrium Exchange Rate (BEER) approach is followed to determine the Equilibrium Exchange Rate (EER), which allows for the use of fundamental macroeconomic variables to determine the real equilibrium level of the rand. Identified fundamental variables, which are the main drivers of the current RER in South Africa, include GDP per capita, trade openness, terms of trade, gross fixed capital formation and the real interest rate differential. A Vector Error-Correction Mechanism (VECM) is used in the estimation of the Real Equilibrium Exchange Rate (REER). Misalignment is calculated as the difference between the actual and the equilibrium real exchange rate. It is found that during the period under investigation (1985 to 2011) there have been substantial misalignments in the RER of the rand, though the currency was mostly overvalued. It is also shown that the rand does revert to its equilibrium level over time. The least square method is used to determine the effect of this RER misalignment on economic growth. Additional variables such as the initial level of GDP per capita, trade openness, terms of trade as well as gross fixed capital formation, are included in the growth specification. Trade reforms emphasise the importance of export-led growth in a commodity-rich economy, such as South Africa. The results indicate that the RER misalignment has a positive coefficient; this implies that a misalignment in the rand has not necessarily been harmful to economic growth. Therefore, it can be concluded that in the case of South Africa, misalignment is generally stimulating growth, but more so when the currency is undervalued. The results therefore show that the RER should be kept at competitive levels in order to boost economic growth in the country. The results also show support for the strategy of export-led growth in South Africa. / Thesis (MCom (Economics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Le rachat d'actions est devenu au fil des années une opération financière répondue au même titre que la distribution de dividende. Toutefois, le rachat reste une opération complexe dont la recherche peine à apprécier les motivations et les conséquences. En effet, la décision de rachat est à la fois une décision d'investissement, de distribution, de structure de capital et un moyen de modifier la structure de l'actionnariat. Cette recherche se penche sur les motivations des opérations de rachat d'actions annoncées sur le marché français et analyses leurs conséquences et impacts sur le cours de l'action, les conflits d'agence et la structure de l'actionnariat. / The share repurchase has become in recent years an increasingly important instrument for distributing cash to shareholders. However, the repurchase is a complex operation whose research has difficulties to appreciate its motivations and consequences. Indeed, the decision to repurchase is an investment, payout, and capital structure decision and also the way to change the ownership structure. This research examines the motivations of buyback program of French market and analyzes their implications and impacts in stock price, agency conflicts and ownership structure.

民國89年6月我國立法院通過公司買回本公司股份法案，庫藏股制度正式實施，本論文之主要目的在利用市場資料，探析我國上市（櫃）公司買回庫藏股之市場反應及其資訊內涵。本研究以民國89年8月至90年2月間公告買回庫藏股之公司，及依同產業及相似買回比率配對之公司組成研究樣本，首先採事件研究法探討庫藏股法令制定與修正之相關事件日市場反應，以及宣告買回庫藏股之市場反應及其影響因素，並以關聯性研究法實證宣告買回庫藏股市場反應之資訊內涵及買回目的之影響因素。 　　在市場反應議題之主要研究發現為：（1）在庫藏股立法初期、降低操作困難度及解除指撥特別盈餘公積規定等有助於庫藏股制度之推行:投資人有正面顯著之回應；（2）宣告買回樣本之股票累積異常報酬顯著高於未宣告買回之樣本；（3）維護股東權益買回目的者之股票累積異常報酬顯著高於轉讓與員工為目的者；（4）宣告買回比率愈多市場反應愈佳；及 （5）價格回升之公司其實際執行率較低。 　　在資訊內涵議題之主要實證結果顯示，我國宣告買回庫藏股之資訊本質顯著支持企業價值低估假說，公司價值被低估程度愈高，宣告買回庫藏股之市場反應愈大。至於自由現金流量假說、資本結構調整假說及剝奪債權人假說則無法解釋我國宣告買回庫藏股之資訊內涵。在買回庫藏股目的之實證結果顯示，高淨值市價比之公司偏向以維護股東權益為買回目的，而研發活動愈密集之公司傾向以轉讓與員工為買回目的。 / The enactment of Article 28-2 of the Securities and Exchange Act on June 30, 2000 allows firms listed in Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) and Over-The-Counter (OTC) to repurchase their owner shares under certain conditions. Based on the use of a control sample design and firms listed in TSE and OTC over the period of August 2000 to February 2001, this research examines the market reaction to various events including: (1) the enactment of the law and amendment of regulations with regard to share buyback, (2) the announcement of repurchase ratio and purpose, and (3) the disclosure of actual buyback ratio. In addition, this study tests hypotheses underlying market reaction around the announcement of share repurchases in the open market. 　　The empirical findings indicate that (1) market reacts favorably to establishment of stock repurchases system, (2) cumulative abnormal return (CAR) for the share buyback announcement sample is found to be greater than that for the control sample, (3) CAR for firms aimed at retaining the interests of equity shareholders as buyback purpose is found to be higher than that for transfer to employees as purpose, (4) the higher the announced buyback ratio, the greater the market reaction, and (5) the actual buyback ratio is less for firms with stock price recovery. 　　This study also finds undervaluation hypothesis explains the market reaction on the announcement date. With respect to the disclosure of share buyback purposes, the analysis indicates that firms with higher book-to-market ratio are more likely to announce protecting shareholders equity as the buyback purpose, whilst firms with higher demand for research & development activities are prone to announce transfer shares to their employees as the buyback purpose.

This study examined the effect of real exchange rate misalignments on economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by employing 15 countries. The sample is subdivided into 7 lowincome countries and 8 middle-income countries. The dataset spans 41 years covering the period 1970-2010. The study examined this broad issue in piecewise fashion. In the first part, the study examined the validity of the Balassa-Samuelson Hypothesis (BSH) using a simplified regression model and within-effects estimations. The study found a negative and highly significant coefficient of the relative productivity term for the two subsamples (i.e. low-income SSA countries and middle-income SSA countries), in addition to the full sample. Thus, the study found a well-established BSH for the SSA countries considered. Second, the study examined the impact of the real exchange rate undervaluation on economic growth using a standard regression model with key control variables. The study constructed an index of undervaluation, following Rodrik (2008). The study also constructed a Hodrick- Prescott based undervaluation index in order to evaluate the robustness of the main undervaluation index. Generally, the study found undervaluation to promote growth and overvaluation to reduce it. The study found the effect of undervaluation on economic growth to weaken as countries migrate from the low-income bracket to the middle-income bracket. Moreover, the study examined whether the choice of the undervaluation measure mattered. The study found the choice of the undervaluation measure to matter. The Rodrik-type index appeared to overestimate the size of the impact of undervaluation on economic growth. Finally, the study examined whether the impact of undervaluation on growth was linear. The evidence showed that the impact of undervaluation on growth was linear, at least, for this study. The linear impact of real exchange rate movements on economic growth implied that undervaluation enhanced economic growth just as overvaluation hindered it. / Economics / D. Phil. (Economics)

他國低估匯率造成貿易嚴重扭曲問題近年來越發受到重視，而美國國會為解決主要貿易對手國長期壓抑匯率以提升出口競爭力，導致美國貿易赤字不斷上升之問題，遂陸續提出諸多匯率改革相關法案，期望以具體之制裁手段防止他國持續刻意壓低匯率。 本文先以美國現行法案──1988年匯率與國際經濟政策協調法案作為出發點，探討美國現行法案之不足，以點出美國國會為何認為有於後續改革法案中加入制裁手段之必要，並得出2010年公平貿易貨幣改革法案與2011年貨幣匯率監督改革法案此二法案所提倡之將他國根本性匯率低估或匯率失調情形視為可課徵平衡稅之補貼，為國會多數支持之手段。再以經濟學及國際貿易法學之分析連貫後續討論：匯率低估是否等同對進口課徵關稅並對出口提供補貼？2010年公平貿易貨幣改革法案與2011年貨幣匯率監督改革法案欲將他國根本性匯率低估或匯率失調情形視為可課徵平衡稅之補貼，是否符合WTO有關補貼之規範？前者以Staiger及Sykes兩位學者使用之兩國兩財模型作為討論主軸，後者則以補貼三要件──「財務補助」、「受有利益」及「特定性」加以檢驗。最後皆得出匯率低估僅在特定之情況下始可能構成補貼之結論。 惟在研究過程中，本文發現若僅單憑國際貿易法學之角度去解析匯率低估是否構成補貼，將受法律文字之主觀影響而導致某些謬誤產生。為解決此一問題，本文乃提出以經濟學之分析輔佐國際貿易法裁決之建議，以期能提升國際貿易法裁決之客觀性與公平性。 / The serious trade distortion problem caused by currency undervaluation has given rise to more and more attention. The United States also faces the increasing trade deficit problem caused by some major trading partners that manipulate the value of their currencies in relation to the United States dollar to gain export competitive advantage. The U.S. Congress thus brings up many currency exchange rate reform acts, hoping to use the specific sanction policies to prevent other countries from intentionally depressing exchange rates consistently. This article starts from the U.S. currency act in force──Exchange Rates and International Economic Policy Coordination Act of 1988 to discover the insufficiency in order to point out why the U.S. Congress consider it necessary to put the sanction policies in follow-up currency reform acts. We then conclude that the policies that brought up by "Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act (2010)" and "Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act of 2011" to deem the "fundamentally undervalued currency" or "misaligned currency" as contervailable subsidies come out in favor of the majority of the U.S. Congress. Follow up we use the analysis of the economies and international trade laws to link the following discussion: is the currency undervaluation equals to import tariffs and export subsidies? Are the policies that deem the "fundamentally undervalued currency" or "misaligned currency" as contervailable subsidies consistent with the WTO’s subsidy regulations? The former one is discussed with the "two countries and two goods model" brought up by Staiger and Sykes while the latter one is examined by three elements: "financial contribution", "benefits" and "specific". The answers are both that the currency undervaluation will be contervailable subsidy in some very specific cases. However, during this research, we find out that if just use the view of international trade laws to analyze whether the currency undervaluation is a contervailable subsidy, we may be affected by the literalism and make mistakes. To solve this problem, we recommend that using the analysis of economies to support the ruling of international trade laws, hoping to increase the objectivity and fairness.

I evaluate four possible approaches the United States may take to address China's practice of undervaluing the renminbi: 1) a challenge under Article XV of the GATT and the associated IMF provisions; 2) countervailing duties; 3) antidumping measures; and 4) safeguard measures. I conclude that the first three approaches are unlikely to succeed; there are a number of legal and political obstacles to the pursuit of these remedies. While the current WTO safeguards regime is likely insufficient, a new safeguards regime can--and should--be developed. I review and critique Dani Rodrik's proposal for a new safeguards regime and set out my own basic blueprint for a significantly expanded safeguards regime, emphasizing that flexibility in the realm of international trade law would help to secure overall stability in international trade itself. In order to be effective shock absorbers, safeguards must become far more flexible.

I evaluate four possible approaches the United States may take to address China's practice of undervaluing the renminbi: 1) a challenge under Article XV of the GATT and the associated IMF provisions; 2) countervailing duties; 3) antidumping measures; and 4) safeguard measures. I conclude that the first three approaches are unlikely to succeed; there are a number of legal and political obstacles to the pursuit of these remedies. While the current WTO safeguards regime is likely insufficient, a new safeguards regime can--and should--be developed. I review and critique Dani Rodrik's proposal for a new safeguards regime and set out my own basic blueprint for a significantly expanded safeguards regime, emphasizing that flexibility in the realm of international trade law would help to secure overall stability in international trade itself. In order to be effective shock absorbers, safeguards must become far more flexible.