Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
International Payment Flows and the Potential of the RMB as a Significant Payment Currency

The gravity model can explain the bilateral inter-country payment flows by currency very well. The economic sizes of the origin and destination countries significantly and positively affect bilateral payment flow denominated in any given currency, while distance and other factors that increase trade costs or information friction significantly and negatively affect the bilateral payment flow denominated in any given currency. In addition, the GDP of the issuing country, the strength of trade relationship between each country and the issuing country, the co-movement between the exchange rates of each country and the currency in question, significantly and positively affect the bilateral payment flow denominated in the currency. Most importantly, financial development and openness of the issuing country positively affect the bilateral payment flow denominated in the currency between two countries. We carry out two sets of counterfactuals, both of which demonstrate that the increase in China’s level of financial development &amp; openness would be much more important than the increase in the economic size of China for the RMB to become a significant global payment currency.
Optimal Carbon Disclosure

The act of disclosing carbon emissions can increase the firm value, while the extent depends on the level of disclosed emissions. As a consequence, the firm aims at timing voluntary disclosures optimally to maximize the firm value im- pact. However, limited decision making capacities of the management restrict the attention that it can allocate to disclosure. This paper describes the induced value of disclosing carbon emissions voluntarily in terms of a real option under limited attention. The real option model is calibrated with reported and predicted non-reported emissions of S&amp;P 500 firms. The attention allocated to disclosure increases with the carbon emissions of those firms. We argue that this indicates a larger marginal benefit of allocating attention and enhances real option values for firms with high emissions. Further, the attention spent on carbon disclosure increased in recent years, which suggests a stronger economic interest of firms in reporting their carbon emissions. The latter effect might also illustrate the growing public focus on the environmental reputation of firms.
Analysis of Net Trade, FDI and GDP Growth Using Cointegration, VECM, Granger Causality and a Regression Approach: A Case Study of Sub Saharan African Region

Net trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) are both important factors of economic growth and development in Sub Saharan African (SSA) region. Many different studies have shown the impact of trade and FDI in economy growth in SSA countries. However, few is known about the effect in SSA region in overall. To use these factors in policy making and development planning, the following questions need to be addressed. As both factors impact the economy growth, can net trade (NT) historical performance be used to forecast FDI? Is there any short-run or long-run relationship effect among GDP growth, FDI and net trade? This paper has implemented the cointegration methodology to analyze the impact of net trade and FDI on GDP growth, used the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) for long-run and short-run relationship effect, an Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression to determine the significant impact of FDI and net trade on GDP growth and finally the granger causality test. This study shows a positive long-run relationship effect of FDI on GDP. The positive short-run effect of both FDI and net trade is also detected on GDP growth. The regression result shows that net trade has a significant impact on GDP growth and finally from the Granger causality test, the study shows that net trade Grangercause FDI.
Systematic risk of European banks

Which factors determine the systematic risk of European banks? The issue is very important for regulators and decision-makers in financial markets. This study follows the Beaver-Kettler-Scholes (1970)’s pioneering approach, which estimates true betas of not-financial firms by correcting the observed market betas through the fundamental financial/accounting ratios that better explain the systematic risk; by extending this approach to commercial banks, we empirically estimate the fundamental betas of a sample of more than 100 European commercial banks in 2006-2015 period. The emerging findings show that size, diversification, derivatives, and TEXAS ratio increase the systematic risk of banks and that the risk weighting of assets, based on Basel rules, does not correctly catch the bank risks, since it influences negatively their beta. <br><br>This evidence weakens the dominant belief that growing up through M&amp;As is the panacea for European banks. <br>
Market and Learning Orientation Effect Through Organization Governance on Competitive Advantage of Universities in Jakarta

This research tries to examine the effects of market orientation and learning orientation toward competitive advantage through organizational governance. The population of this paper are universities under the Regional Coordinating Office for Higher Institutes (Kopertis Wilayah-III) in Jakarta. Data of this paper are collected from 3 (three) biggest private universities in Jakarta, namely: Trisakti University, Atma Jaya Catholic University (UNIKA Atma Jaya) and Bina Nusantara University (BINUS) by using 960 questionnaires and the respondents in this paper are the Head of Academic Division of Trisakti University, Deputy Chancellor I of Atma Jaya Catholic University and Vice Rector in charge of Research &amp; Technology Transfer of Bina Nusantara University. Furthermore, the data will analyzed by using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) through the WarpPLS 4.0 program. <br><br>Computational results show that all hypotheses are acceptable, uch as follows: i). There is a negative and significant effect of market orientation towards organizational governance; ii). There is a positive and significant effect of learning orientation towards organizational governance; iii). There is a positive and significant effect of organizational governance towards the competitive advantage; iv). Market orientation negatively affect competitive advantage but insignificant; and v). There is a positive and significant effect of learning orientation towards competitive advantage. <br><br>The implication of this research shows that even though the organizational governance is influenced negatively and significant by the market orientation, and market orientation also negatively but insignificant affect the competitive advantage, there are no matter with them because they are already have the specific market throughout their operation. Organizational governance and competitive advantage those already generated by these 3 universities are able to improve their marketing performance. This finding also proves that these three universities do have specific learning orientations and differ from each other. In the end, every new academic year, new prospective students will come by themselves to these universities.
Best Practices in Human Resource Management Towards Development of High Performance

This study investigated and explored the effectiveness of best practices in human resource management development. The study utilized the descriptive research method wherein the study is focused on the present situations. Descriptive survey type questionnaire were utilized which was distinguishable aspects of the technique for obtaining and analyzing quantitative data. The hypotheses tested in this study are: a) There is no significant difference in the perception of respondents in the implementation of best practices in human resource management and human resource development in terms of gender, educational attainment and designation; b) There is no significant difference in the perception of respondents in the effectiveness of best practices in human resource management and human resource development in terms of gender, educational attainment and designation;<br><br>Based on the findings obtained in the study, the researcher concluded that the implementation and effectiveness of best practices in human resource management in the organization have a positive impact in human resource development. <br><br>It is concluded that the recruitment and selection process and performance appraisal practices are much implemented and very effective. The organization should continue to ensure that the recruitment and selection process is, and seen to be fair. There should be measures that will ensure that all recruitment and retention practices adhere to the standards and policies of the company. The organization should also ensure that performance appraisal is taken seriously and policy standards rigorously adhered to because this study has established that there is a clear and strong relation between its performance and the attention given to performance management and employee appraisal. <br>
The Relevance of CSR Ratings to Corporations

Using multivariate random effects regressions, we investigate whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) ratings capture the variation in stock prices or can be explained by firm-specific data, such as balance sheet items, income and cash flow statement items, and stock market data. Generally, CSR ratings seem to perform well in capturing the variation in stock price returns. However, changes in CSR ratings appears to be partly explained by certain firm specific data such as revenue and research & development expenses.
Secretary of Board of Directors and Corporate Internal Information: Evidence from Chinese Stock Market

In 2006, the implementation of the new company law confirmed the executive status of the secretary of the board of directors for the first time in a legal sense, and also emphasized the responsibility of the secretary of the board of directors in "handling information disclosure affairs". Internal control information disclosure is the enterprise according to the standard of internal control evaluation of the enterprise internal control system of self-evaluation, investors judge the value of the enterprise. Can the secretary of the board of directors affect the quality of internal control information disclosure of listed companies? The role of his personal background in the process of information disclosure deserves further study. Based on the empirical study of 2400 listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen by using the random effect model (REM), this paper finds that the working time, shareholding situation, multi-position situation and educational background of the secretary of the board of directors have a positive impact on the internal environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and information disclosure quality of internal supervision. However, the gender of the secretary has little impact on the quality of such information disclosure. In addition, this paper also explores state-owned enterprises and gets the same results. It can be seen that the personal background of the secretary for the President has begun to play a role and the implementation of the secretary for the President system is gradually on the right track.
Achieving Long-Term Value Through Stakeholder Theory: Proposed Amendments to the Companies Act 1993

This paper begins by proposing that the objective of the company should be to maximise its long-term value. The paper then discusses Shareholder Value Theory, which requires directors to prioritise the short-term interests of shareholders over the goal of maximising the company’s long-term value. The paper considers how Shareholder Value Theory is supported in New Zealand by the Companies Act 1993 and the structure of the company itself. The paper then discusses the alternate theory known as Stakeholder Theory, which requires directors to consider the interests of all affected stakeholders. It postulates that Stakeholder Theory is consistent with long-term value maximisation and should be implemented into New Zealand’s legislation. Finally, the paper recommends two amendments to the Companies Act 1993 which would encourage directors to act in accordance with Stakeholder Theory. Firstly, broadening the definition of ‘entitled persons’ who may bring a derivative action against directors who breach their duty to further the interests of the company under s 131. Secondly, amending s 131 of the Act to include a list of stakeholders’ interests and guidance on how and when directors ought to consider them. These amendments, by encouraging directors to implement Stakeholder Theory, will lead to long-term value maximisation.
Stability of Beta in Various Sectors in Different Phases of Stock Market

Identifying and measuring risk has been a constant endeavor for identifying assets related to investment. Various theories have been propounded for pricing of assets considering the risk element. The most common and widely accepted method has been the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) model, which takes into consideration the systematic risk of the asset. It linearly measures returns based on beta which in turn measures this risk. However, one of the major point of contention has been the stability of beta over long period of time and change of systematic risk over different phases of market. Besides, there exists dual-beta, which is upside beta and downside beta, depending upon the market movement in the respective direction. It has been observed that there has been a significant difference in upward and downward beta. Furthermore, even dual-beta are not constant over different phases of the market. It is in this context that the current paper explores the stability and duality of beta in 11 Sectors in Indian market, namely auto, banking, capital goods, consumer durable, FMCG, health, IT, metal, oil, power and realty. They were represented by their respective indices of Bombay Stock Exchange in different phases of the market. The study observes that there is a change in systematic risk of most of the sectors over different phases and there also exists a difference in upside and downside beta.
Ethics and Corporate Lobbying

We explore the exogenous effects of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLGOA), on U.S. corporations. We find that the average market reaction to the reform, which aimed to mitigate unethical lobbying practices, by lobbying firms is positive, implying the reform benefited these shareholders on average. We also uncover heterogeneity of lobbying firms’ response to the reform. Following the Act, firms with a history of active lobbying reduced their lobbying activity, whereas firms with little prior lobbying activity increased their lobbying efforts. Finally, we find that after the enactment of these reforms, firms that engage in active lobbying, and especially those with a good ethical reputation, are more likely to appoint politically connected directors relative to non-lobbying firms.
Analysts’ Disagreement, Self-Selection, and Stock Returns

Two ex-ante variables are introduced to characterize the analysts’ biased behavior, namely the analysts’ disagreement and self-selection in analysts’ earnings forecasts. The study investigates the impact of the analysts’ disagreement and self-selection on the stock returns. A theoretical analysis derives how the stock returns are correlated with the two variables. There are two channels through which the stocks are priced according to the analysts’ disagreement. The first one is the risk channel as the analysts’ disagreement is associated with earnings uncertainty. The stock price will be discounted before the actual earnings announcement. The second one is the optimistic bias channel. The optimistic bias channel means that the stock is overpriced if the investors do not correct the analysts’ bias. The self-selection is negatively correlated with the stock return through the optimistic bias channel as more self-selection means more optimistic bias as low forecasting values are not revealed. The empirical analysis using data from the Chinese stock market supports the theoretical conclusion.
Does Status Equal Substance? The Effects of Specialist Social Status on Auditor Assessments of Complex Estimates

Auditors rely on specialists in auditing complex estimates, but do they rely on specialists for the right reasons? We examine whether specialists’ high social status influences auditor assessments of specialists’ competence and, in turn, auditors’ conclusions about the reasonableness of client estimates. We argue that specialist social status most likely affects auditor conclusions under conditions of heightened ambiguity, specifically when (1) the specialist disagrees with the client or (2) when the specialist agrees with the client but offers poor justification for the conclusion. We first conduct a survey with highly experienced auditors to distinguish characteristics that are diagnostic of high social status but not of competence. We then conduct two experiments in which we vary status characteristics of the specialist and hold competence constant. Encouragingly, we find that auditors are more willing to disagree with the client's estimate when a high (as opposed to moderate) social status specialist disagrees with it. Contrary to expectations, auditors seem to ignore the quality of specialists' justifications and instead anchor on specialists' conclusions. Moreover, supplemental analyses suggest that auditors unintentionally mistake social status for competence, but intentionally use social status to guide their reliance on the specialist in forming a conclusion about the client’s estimate. That is, auditors know that high social status is not a valid signal of competence, but use this signal in their judgments anyway. Our evidence suggests that this stems from beliefs that a high social status specialist’s clout and social influence is necessary to push back on an aggressive client estimate. We discuss practical and theoretical implications, including that it may be advantageous to separate competence assessments from determinations of how to use the specialist’s input. It may also be advantageous for firms, regulators, and standard setters to recognize that auditors are influenced by specialist attributes other than competence, including the specialist’s social status.
Corporate Life Cycle and Firms’ Performance: An Empirical Study on DSE Listed Companies (Miscellaneous Sector)

This study investigates 12 DSE listed miscellaneous companies' performance based on Dickinson's cash flow and life-cycle measure theory. This correlational research is conducted using the magnitude of cash flows and other variables. Finally, the interpreted regression analysis shows the profitability status of firms in their life-cycle proxies. The result shows strong evidence about the positive association of long-term debt, short-term liquidity, and meeting frequency with sample firms' profitability. Likewise, this research shows a negative association of inventories, Female BOD members, Board Size, and independent Board of directors with sample firms' profitability (ROA). This research also shows a robust positive association between firms' profitability and the life-cycle decline stage. <br><br>The report has five chapters. Chapter one is the introductory part, comprising the research objective, limitations, theoretical and practical contribution of the study, and thesis framework. The second chapter is 'Literature Review,' which contains corporate life cycle theory and research objective, summaries of related research papers, and articles. Chapter three is 'Research Methodology,' which includes detailed data collection methods, sample size description, research model (Regression model), and specific definitions of variables. Chapter four is 'Results analysis,' comprising descriptive statistics, correlation statistics, regression results with interpretation, and other relevant tables and figures. Finally, Chapter Five is 'Findings, Recommendations &amp; Conclusion' - including significant findings and recommendations with further research scope at the end of this thesis report.
India's Missing Working Women: Tracing the Journey of Women's Economic Contribution Over the Last Seven Decades

India today is an economic powerhouse on the global stage. However, it faces a queer conundrum. Despite considerable gains in female education, decreases in fertility rates and increasing economic growth, only a fourth of its women are in the labor force, amongst the lowest in the world. Based on analysis of time series data over the last seven decades (1950-2018), this paper finds that women's labor force and workforce participation rates have secularly declined to their lowest levels since Independence. Women's wages have consistently been below men, with weighted average wage gaps increasing from 59% in 1993, to 72% in 2018. The fall in labor force participation has been led by women in rural areas, while female unemployment rates have remained higher than men in urban areas. We find that occupational segregation and concentration of women in low-growth sectors, income effect of rising household earnings, increased mechanization and gender gaps in tertiary education and skill training are leading factors behind the observed labor market outcomes. Recent high-frequency data shows that 15 million women lost their jobs in the first month of the COVID-19 induced lockdown. Even as the overall size of the labor force shrunk by 3% between November 2019 to November 2020, the size of the labor force shrunk by 13% for women, vs. 2% for men. Bringing women back to the workforce requires a differentiated approach, targeting different segments, especially informal workers, microentrepreneurs and the formal sector. Therefore, a diverse mix of targeted policy interventions like gender quotas in public works, easier access to credit for female micro-entrepreneurs, preferential procurement for women-owned business, greater flexibility in workplace arrangements and gender targets for skill training among others would help retain and promote workforce participation for women.
Land Use and Fiscal Competition

This paper explores the effects of fiscal competition on local land use. A theoretical analysis considers the tradeoff faced by a local government deciding about the amount of land made available for commercial or residential uses, when its expansion has adverse effects on the quality of life. The analysis shows that, in an environment with mobile tax bases, jurisdictions are subject to fiscal incentives to expand this land use. Fiscal redistribution through equalization grants, however, reduces these incentives. Based on the theoretical analysis, the effect of fiscal competition on commercial and residential land use is investigated empirically using a large dataset of German municipalities. In order to identify differences in the exposure to fiscal competition, I exploit institutional characteristics of the system of fiscal equalization to which these municipalities are subjected. This enables me to provide causal evidence using a regression discontinuity analysis. The results show that commercial and residential land use is expanded 2-3 times faster and agricultural land use declines more rapidly in municipalities exposed to fiscal competition.
Smile Dynamics II

In a previous article we highlighted how traditional stochastic volatility and Jump/Lévy models impose structural constraints on how the short forward skew, the spot/vol correlation, and the term structure of the vol-of-vol are related. Here we propose a model that enables them to be controlled separately and also prices options on realized variance consistently. We present pricing examples for a reverse cliquet, a Napoleon, an accumulator and an option on variance.