Modelling multivariate financial time series using copulas. What are the chances that the losses in the market value of investments exceed the anticipated levels? Given that one country's financial market collapsed, what are the chances that it would lead to financial crises in other countries? These questions often arise in risk management and international finance. This project takes a significant step forward from the existing literature to develop new flexible and innovative methods to an ....Modelling multivariate financial time series using copulas. What are the chances that the losses in the market value of investments exceed the anticipated levels? Given that one country's financial market collapsed, what are the chances that it would lead to financial crises in other countries? These questions often arise in risk management and international finance. This project takes a significant step forward from the existing literature to develop new flexible and innovative methods to answer the foregoing type of questions. Further, this project proposes new measures of market risks that are suitable for communicating to the broader public as well as the experts.Read moreRead less
When Markets Fail: A Comparative Assessment of Costs and Benefits of Trade Interruption. Stock exchanges worldwide provide the opportunity to instantaneously and continuously trade securities. The introduction of automated trading systems has considerably enhanced this opportunity. Surprisingly, exchanges still have (and use) the discretion to occasionally suspend trading in certain stocks. These trading halts are used to prevent a disorderly or uninformed response to pertinent company informati ....When Markets Fail: A Comparative Assessment of Costs and Benefits of Trade Interruption. Stock exchanges worldwide provide the opportunity to instantaneously and continuously trade securities. The introduction of automated trading systems has considerably enhanced this opportunity. Surprisingly, exchanges still have (and use) the discretion to occasionally suspend trading in certain stocks. These trading halts are used to prevent a disorderly or uninformed response to pertinent company information releases. Practitioners and academics tend to believe that trading halts do not serve this role well. We propose a new methodology to more accurately measure the costs and benefits of trade suspensions. We compare their impact on different trading systems, and evaluate their intertemporal performance.Read moreRead less
A Synthesis of Agency and Managerial Power Theories and Its Applications to Corporate Governance, Management Compensation, and Firm Performance. The existing models of corporate governance in economics and finance based on agency theory do not successfully portray all modern corporations. Thus the importance of a new and rigorous way to study corporate governance can be hardly exaggerated. This project will provide a synthesized theory of corporate governance and is expected to produce highest- ....A Synthesis of Agency and Managerial Power Theories and Its Applications to Corporate Governance, Management Compensation, and Firm Performance. The existing models of corporate governance in economics and finance based on agency theory do not successfully portray all modern corporations. Thus the importance of a new and rigorous way to study corporate governance can be hardly exaggerated. This project will provide a synthesized theory of corporate governance and is expected to produce highest-quality research publishable in top-tier journals. This will, among others, enhance Australia's standing as a knowledge nation. This project is also expected to contribute to the discussions on how to improve corporate governance and regulation of management compensation both in Australia and abroad. Read moreRead less
The impact of payout policy changes on firm value and short selling activities across different taxation regimes. Brealey et al (2011) assert that we don't know enough yet about how payout policy varies across firms. This project examines the information content of dividend changes and repurchase programs and the long-term market impact of these announcements, controlling for the substitution effect of repurchases/dividends in different institutional/tax regimes. This project also examines wheth ....The impact of payout policy changes on firm value and short selling activities across different taxation regimes. Brealey et al (2011) assert that we don't know enough yet about how payout policy varies across firms. This project examines the information content of dividend changes and repurchase programs and the long-term market impact of these announcements, controlling for the substitution effect of repurchases/dividends in different institutional/tax regimes. This project also examines whether short sellers manifest abnormal behaviour around the announcement of dividend changes and repurchase programs, and whether earnings are manipulated upwards to maintain the dividend or downwards prior to the announcement of repurchase programs. The findings will be of major interest to academics, managers, investors and regulators.Read moreRead less
Superannuation Funds: Ensuring the Financial Health of Australians in Retirement. Superannuation is relevant to all Australians, providing a foundation for their lifestyle in retirement. The protection and enhancement of superannuation savings have been high priorities of both government and regulatory agencies. Recent legislative changes include mandated choice of superannuation fund and increased disclosure requirements. Regulators have also flagged the need for increased corporate governance ....Superannuation Funds: Ensuring the Financial Health of Australians in Retirement. Superannuation is relevant to all Australians, providing a foundation for their lifestyle in retirement. The protection and enhancement of superannuation savings have been high priorities of both government and regulatory agencies. Recent legislative changes include mandated choice of superannuation fund and increased disclosure requirements. Regulators have also flagged the need for increased corporate governance among superannuation funds. This project assesses the impact of these developments through an assessment of competition, performance and accountability within the superannuation industry. Monitoring the industry in this way will strongly contribute to the financial and economic health of Australians in retirement.
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Does Australian Corporate Taxation Matter? On a GDP-weighted basis the average OECD corporate rate has fallen from 44 percent in 1985 to 31 percent in 2004. Australia operates a flat thirty percent corporate tax rate and this compares well with the current OECD average. Yet, the Business Council of Australia argues that the Australian corporate tax rate is 'uncompetitive'. Certainly, the corporate tax burden (i.e. corporate tax revenue as a proportion of GDP) is very high in Australia, the thi ....Does Australian Corporate Taxation Matter? On a GDP-weighted basis the average OECD corporate rate has fallen from 44 percent in 1985 to 31 percent in 2004. Australia operates a flat thirty percent corporate tax rate and this compares well with the current OECD average. Yet, the Business Council of Australia argues that the Australian corporate tax rate is 'uncompetitive'. Certainly, the corporate tax burden (i.e. corporate tax revenue as a proportion of GDP) is very high in Australia, the third highest in the OECD, and the highest in the Asia-Pacific region. This project will evaluate the extent that the corporate tax burden is a hinderance to Australian firms and economic behaviour. Read moreRead less
Multifractal models in finance via the crossing tree. High level mathematical modelling is an established part of the modern finance industry, in particular the Black-Scholes option pricing formula is now an indispensable financial tool.
To remain competitive the Australian financial sector needs to keep up with developments in mathematical finance, which is only possible if the Australian academic community remains active in the field.
The work on multifractal modelling proposed here is innov ....Multifractal models in finance via the crossing tree. High level mathematical modelling is an established part of the modern finance industry, in particular the Black-Scholes option pricing formula is now an indispensable financial tool.
To remain competitive the Australian financial sector needs to keep up with developments in mathematical finance, which is only possible if the Australian academic community remains active in the field.
The work on multifractal modelling proposed here is innovative both in its theoretical aspects and its applied methodology, and will ensure that Australian research remains at the cutting edge of this highly competitive and fast moving field.Read moreRead less
Financial tunnelling: shareholder protection and wealth changes during two decades of capital management activities in Australia. Companies raise capital and distribute capital and profits through various mechanisms, often structured to benefit important shareholders such as institutions. This study examines the extent to which minority shareholders have had wealth destroyed through company capital management activities, and offers corporate governance solutions.
A Wavelet Multiscaling Approach to Multifactor Asset Pricing Models. Risk and return are two fundamental concepts underlying business decisions involving $millions daily. Even for publicly listed companies risk is difficult to measure, particularly when the time dimension over which decisions are being made is ill-defined - potentially leading to sub-optimal decisions. This project focuses on the time scale question by developing an innovative methodology (based on wavelet multiscaling) that imp ....A Wavelet Multiscaling Approach to Multifactor Asset Pricing Models. Risk and return are two fundamental concepts underlying business decisions involving $millions daily. Even for publicly listed companies risk is difficult to measure, particularly when the time dimension over which decisions are being made is ill-defined - potentially leading to sub-optimal decisions. This project focuses on the time scale question by developing an innovative methodology (based on wavelet multiscaling) that improves our understanding of risk and return. The project will help enhance risk control, and provide improved tools and knowledge to aid formation of superior globally diversified portfolios over different time scales - thereby delivering considerable long-term economic benefits.Read moreRead less
Measuring the Effects of Interest Rate Volatility. Interest rate changes have important implications for highly influential macroeconomic variables and, for the investor, have direct implications for asset prices, net worth and future wealth. By considering unresearched areas concerning the behaviour and influence of interest rates our research will be of interest to an academic audience, government, regulators and market practitioners. Attention to Australia, the US and Asia means that the rese ....Measuring the Effects of Interest Rate Volatility. Interest rate changes have important implications for highly influential macroeconomic variables and, for the investor, have direct implications for asset prices, net worth and future wealth. By considering unresearched areas concerning the behaviour and influence of interest rates our research will be of interest to an academic audience, government, regulators and market practitioners. Attention to Australia, the US and Asia means that the research will be directly relevant to Australian decision-makers. Further, the project will yield papers for publication in top international journals, reinforcing Australia's reputation as a leading centre for financial research and enhance it's reputation for cutting-edge work.Read moreRead less