Microcredit can be an effective tool for tackling the global poverty problem. Making microcredit work better for the poor necessitates a framework that integrates the principles of good governance in the design and implementation of a microcredit program. The integration of good governance...

The primary purpose of this research is to perform an empirical test using Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT) in order to investigate the relationship between the Chinese stock market performance and domestic economic activity.China's stock market was established in early 1990s and has operated...

Stock markets in Africa are small, underdeveloped and generallyundercapitalised by world standards. Until recently they have been perceived astoo risky to invest in by external investors. The “old” perception of Africa as a“single country/block” is slowly receding and countries are...

The ability to successfully exploit the presence of investor overreaction has been identified in a number of stock exchanges, yet numerous examples exist where little or un-exploitable investor overreaction is found.This research attempts to identify an international market where a) useful...

A recent outbreak of bird flu or avian influenza (AI), an especially highly pathogenicstrain (HPAI) of H5N1, started in Hong Kong in January 2003 and caused 159 humandeaths in Asia, Africa and Europe through early 2007. In addition, this outbreak resultedin millions of slaughtered birds and...

The dissertation consists of three essays. Chapter II examines the asymmetriceffects of monetary policy on stock prices by using an unobserved components modelwith Markov-switching. My results show that monetary policy has negative effects onstock prices, which is consistent with the most recent...

Does monetary policy affect the real economy? If so, what is the transmission mechanism or channel through which these effects occur? These two questions are among the most important and controversial in macroeconomics. This dissertation presents some new empirical evidence that addresses each...

This study of self-efficacy's (Bandura, 1977) effects on an individual's likelihood to invest in the stock market and seek financial information attempts to uncover some of the factors that contribute to or hinder stock-market participation in individuals. Study participants are from a racially...

This paper provides an empirical analysis of stock market reactions to monetary policy surprises. Its principal objective is to understand the heterogeneous nature of this type of response by examining a set of possible explanatory factors. I find that a hypothetical unanticipated increase of 25...

The first public share issue in the PRC took place in 1994. By the early 21st century, in the space of less than two decades, the Chinese stock market has become the largest one in Asia, with the exception of Japan. Along with this rapid enlargement of the market, the Chinese stock trading...