The Impact of a Fixed Exchange Rate Regime on Growth and Volatility in an Oil-‐‑dependent Economy
By Shihab Osman Malik and Faisal Bandar Alsaadi This study examines the relationship between the fixed exchange rate regime, economic growth, and output volatility in oil-‐‑producing Saudi Arabia over the post-‐‑Bretton Woods period (1973–2016). We assess the implications of the current exchange rate regime on macroeconomic and growth performance, and evaluate its sustainability in the […]
Macroeconomic and Capital Market Determinants of Venture Capital Investment
By Jeffrey Zeren This thesis explores the impact of macroeconomic, equity and credit market conditions on venture capital investment. The theoretical methodology outlines the logical foundation that supports the relationships between each explanatory variable and the supply and demand of venture financing. The hypotheses suggested by theory are tested using five multi-vector ordinary least squares […]
The Puzzle of Mobile Money Markets: An Example of Goldilocks Conditions
By Ricardo Martínez-Cid and Gonzalo Pernas This paper investigates the supply-side and demand-side factors that explain the success of mobile money markets. Namely, we argue that there exists a set of Goldilocks conditions that best supports mobile money services. A population must have exposure to financial services to understand mobile money and have a high […]
The Investment Cost of Currency Crises in Emerging Markets: An Empirical Treatment from 1994-2015
By Eric Ramoutar Currency crises – large and sudden depreciations in the value of a country’s currency – have been an unfortunate by-product of increased financial openness over the last half century. This study extends the already vast literature on the impact of currency crises by estimating how currency crises affect domestic investment in emerging […]
Modeling Variation in U.S. Bank Holding Companies’ Net Interest Margins
By Daniel Dorchuck This study explores variation in US bank holding companies’ (BHCs) net inter-est margins (NIMs) and the effects of interest rate risk exposure on NIMs. Interest rate risk (IRR) is intrinsic in maturity transformation and financial intermediation as banks take on short-term liabilities in the form of deposits and create assets in the form […]
Proposing an Alternative to the European Central Bank’s Fiscal Convergence Criteria
By Junaid Arefeen The recent onset of the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone has brought the viabil-ity of the Eurozone as a currency area into question. The unsustainable debt and deficit balances accumulated by several Eurozone nations since the adoption of the common currency in 1999, and the consequent incidence of high levels of sovereign […]
Understanding the Argentine Peso’s Devaluation in 2014 —Analysis on Argentina’s Fiscal Sustainability from 1993 to 2013
By Feng Pan This research analyzes the fiscal sustainability of Argentina from 1993 to 2013. Specifically, it explains the peso devaluation in early 2014 and suggests that it is primarily due to the fundamental problems in Argentina’s economy. This paper highlights Argentina’s inability to enhance its fiscal conditions and suggests possible future economic developments in […]
The Rise of Mobile Money in Kenya: The Changing Landscape of M-PESA’s Impact on Financial Inclusion
By Hong Zhu M-PESA, the hugely popular mobile money system in Kenya, has been celebrated for its potential to “bank the unbanked” and increase access to financial services. This paper provides evidence to support this idea and explores mechanisms through which this might be the case. It specifically looks at the savings products held by […]
Book-building versus Auctions: An investigation into which IPO pricing and selling method more effectively promotes the aims of an IPO issuer
by Amrith Krushnakumaar Abstract In recent years, book-building has emerged as a method of choice among investment banks in the U.S and around the world for pricing and selling initial public offerings (IPOs). Proponents of the book-building method argue that discriminatory share allocations, the pooling of IPOs and other standard book-building practices price new shares […]
Could the Kaminsky-Reinhart Model Have Predicted the 2002 Uruguayan Currency and Banking Crises?
by Steven R. Vickers Abstract Because currency and banking crises cause substantial and prolonged disruptions to an economy, economists have long sought ways to predict these events in advance. One recent theory advanced is the “leading indicators” approach of Kaminsky (1998) and Kaminsky and Reinhart (1999). Kaminsky (1998) presents four separate composite indicators, and Kaminsky […]
