Chief executive officer pay, incentives, talent and risk-taking: Excessive pay, regulation and the global financial crisis. The Prime Minister has requested the regulators, APRA and Treasury, to come up with rules that would prevent a repeat of the trillion dollar bailouts and guarantees to the financial sector and banks at risk of failure. Excessive pay and risk-taking by bank executives shoulder made the blame for the global crisis that has already cost Australian investors and taxpayers a siz ....Chief executive officer pay, incentives, talent and risk-taking: Excessive pay, regulation and the global financial crisis. The Prime Minister has requested the regulators, APRA and Treasury, to come up with rules that would prevent a repeat of the trillion dollar bailouts and guarantees to the financial sector and banks at risk of failure. Excessive pay and risk-taking by bank executives shoulder made the blame for the global crisis that has already cost Australian investors and taxpayers a sizeable portion of the nation's wealth. The project will greatly assist the regulators in this task. It will also identify compensation practices that reward good long-term performance without excessive pay. This could dramatically raise the performance of Australian companies and ameliorate the problem of dissatisfied investors and taxpayers.Read moreRead less
Information and market price manipulation in trade. As we can see from the financial crisis, speculative trading in financial markets can have real world effects. Inside traders can exploit their information for more profits. At this stage, we do not fully understand the role of diverse information in the financial system and we need better ways to model price manipulation and information in a dynamic setting. This proposal seeks to supply a reference framework for analyzing price manipulatio ....Information and market price manipulation in trade. As we can see from the financial crisis, speculative trading in financial markets can have real world effects. Inside traders can exploit their information for more profits. At this stage, we do not fully understand the role of diverse information in the financial system and we need better ways to model price manipulation and information in a dynamic setting. This proposal seeks to supply a reference framework for analyzing price manipulation. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the informed trader's dynamic strategy. By strengthening this research area, this project will give new momentum to Australian economic theory.Read moreRead less
Evaluating the Performance of Active Australian Equity Managers Utilising their Daily Portfolio Holdings and Trades. The aim is to evaluate the performance of active institutional Australian equity fund managers by statistical and mathematical modelling of their trades. Using a unique dataset of daily portfolio holdings and trades, we compare the trading styles of those who have persistently outperformed the market with those that have not so as to reveal drivers of superior performance. Such a ....Evaluating the Performance of Active Australian Equity Managers Utilising their Daily Portfolio Holdings and Trades. The aim is to evaluate the performance of active institutional Australian equity fund managers by statistical and mathematical modelling of their trades. Using a unique dataset of daily portfolio holdings and trades, we compare the trading styles of those who have persistently outperformed the market with those that have not so as to reveal drivers of superior performance. Such a study has been impossible until now due to non-disclosure of trades. Understanding the fundamental origins of fund performance enhances the overall returns to investors, provides a new ratings system yielding superior information, and redirects the nest-eggs of "mums and dads" towards better-performing managers.Read moreRead less
An International Comparison of Corporate Financial Policy. Our research contributes to the finance discipline, corporate decision making and public policy. Existing empirical literature provides managers with insights on the impact of firm characteristics on corporate financial decisions. However, beyond suggesting that well-functioning banks, equity and bond markets are an integral part of corporate financing, no insight is provided as to the role played by the public policy, legal structures a ....An International Comparison of Corporate Financial Policy. Our research contributes to the finance discipline, corporate decision making and public policy. Existing empirical literature provides managers with insights on the impact of firm characteristics on corporate financial decisions. However, beyond suggesting that well-functioning banks, equity and bond markets are an integral part of corporate financing, no insight is provided as to the role played by the public policy, legal structures and the suppliers of capital. In a market such as Australia, where superannuation is a large and increasing part of corporate funding, this is a glaring omission. This study seeks to examine the impact of public policy, legal and institutional structures on these financial choices.Read moreRead less
Valuation, Investment Timing and Equity Financing of Commercial Real Estate in the Australian Market. Commercial real estate represents a significant component of the investment opportunities available in Australia. This sector is currently valued at approximately $1,500 billion with in excess of 85% of development financed via property trusts. The effective management of these assets requires an understanding of the tools available and their impact on risk and return. Despite its importance th ....Valuation, Investment Timing and Equity Financing of Commercial Real Estate in the Australian Market. Commercial real estate represents a significant component of the investment opportunities available in Australia. This sector is currently valued at approximately $1,500 billion with in excess of 85% of development financed via property trusts. The effective management of these assets requires an understanding of the tools available and their impact on risk and return. Despite its importance there is limited empirical evidence on the factors that influence land pricing, the development process and the provision of equity financing to this sector. Here we propose to undertake two interrelated studies designed to address this gap, providing management with a benchmark for assessing investment alternatives within the real estate sector.Read moreRead less
Quantification issues in corporate valuation, the cost of capital, and optimal capital structure. An estimate of the firm's cost of capital is probably the most important calculation required in corporate finance. It is used as the discount rate in valuation and capital budgeting decisions and forms the basis of pricing structures for many regulated industries. Corporate finance theory has identified the key inputs used to calculate the cost of capital, but the current literature falls short o ....Quantification issues in corporate valuation, the cost of capital, and optimal capital structure. An estimate of the firm's cost of capital is probably the most important calculation required in corporate finance. It is used as the discount rate in valuation and capital budgeting decisions and forms the basis of pricing structures for many regulated industries. Corporate finance theory has identified the key inputs used to calculate the cost of capital, but the current literature falls short of precisely quantifying and measuring many of these inputs. The outcomes from this project will be a framework to quantify three key aspects of the cost of capital - the value of dividend imputation tax credits, the assessment of the optimal capital structure for the firm (in particular, the quantification of bankruptcy and agency costs associated with debt financing), and the estimation of the firm's marginal tax rate.Read moreRead less
Privatisation, Regulation and Institutional Structures of Airports: An International Study. Airports are typically locational monopolies possessing strong market power - abuse of this is controlled by public ownership, regulation or not-for-profit operation. All these pose problems for achieving economic efficiency while meeting environmental standards. Design of efficient regulation, and the Australian experiment with price monitored private airports, will be analysed. Using data from Austr ....Privatisation, Regulation and Institutional Structures of Airports: An International Study. Airports are typically locational monopolies possessing strong market power - abuse of this is controlled by public ownership, regulation or not-for-profit operation. All these pose problems for achieving economic efficiency while meeting environmental standards. Design of efficient regulation, and the Australian experiment with price monitored private airports, will be analysed. Using data from Australian and overseas airports, the performance of airports operating under the alternative systems will be evaluated, enabling an assessment of performance and privatisation; a comparison of private, public and not-for-profit systems; and pointing out how better governance options can be designed.Read moreRead less
Estimation of School Cost Functions. The main objective of the project is to determine the efficient school size for government schools. To achieve this cost functions for WA government schools will be estimated. Knowledge of the cost functions will shed light on whether regional non-government schools are disadvantaged by Federal and Sate funding models, the impact of school size and expenditure on outcomes and the extent of savings or costs as the enrolment shares of private and public schools ....Estimation of School Cost Functions. The main objective of the project is to determine the efficient school size for government schools. To achieve this cost functions for WA government schools will be estimated. Knowledge of the cost functions will shed light on whether regional non-government schools are disadvantaged by Federal and Sate funding models, the impact of school size and expenditure on outcomes and the extent of savings or costs as the enrolment shares of private and public schools changes. Knowledge of the latter is critical to the proper functioning of the Enrolment Benchmark Adjustment (EBA) used to address cost-shifting in Commonwealth-State education funding arrangements.Read moreRead less
Survival of Australia's Family Farms: Capital Raising and Credit Access. Family-run farms are an integral part of rural Australia. Given the evolving global financial crisis and the expanding complexity of managing a family farm in Australia due to increasing competition from large incorporated holdings and overseas producers, a persisting drought, rising climate variability, and constraining carbon markets, one critical issue for the sustainability of family farms is their ability to access an ....Survival of Australia's Family Farms: Capital Raising and Credit Access. Family-run farms are an integral part of rural Australia. Given the evolving global financial crisis and the expanding complexity of managing a family farm in Australia due to increasing competition from large incorporated holdings and overseas producers, a persisting drought, rising climate variability, and constraining carbon markets, one critical issue for the sustainability of family farms is their ability to access and manage successfully competitive sources of credit. This study examines the extent to which family farms are currently at a disadvantage, and what policies could be implemented to ensure their sustainability into the future via access to competitive lines of credit and appropriate financial management practices.Read moreRead less
Tackling the Tough Problems in Productivity Measurement: Infrastructure, Services and R&D. Productivity is seen as a main driver of economic growth and welfare improvements. Productivity indexes are used in a variety of policy contexts, in particular in determining the effectiveness (or otherwise) of government policies. Most industrialized countries have productivity accounts, but measurement problems persist and may even be more problematic in the future given an expansion in new goods and ser ....Tackling the Tough Problems in Productivity Measurement: Infrastructure, Services and R&D. Productivity is seen as a main driver of economic growth and welfare improvements. Productivity indexes are used in a variety of policy contexts, in particular in determining the effectiveness (or otherwise) of government policies. Most industrialized countries have productivity accounts, but measurement problems persist and may even be more problematic in the future given an expansion in new goods and services. Improved productivity measurement and an improved understanding of its sources can inform aggregate and regional policy. The project includes collaboration with the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Productivity Commission, with the participation of the Reserve Bank of Australia.Read moreRead less