| 1. |
- Lundgren, Jens, 1977-
(författare)
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Market liberalization and market integration : Essays on the Nordic electricity market
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis consists of four self-contained papers related to the Nordic electricity market.Paper [I] examine how the reform of the Nordic electricity markets has affected competition in the electric power supply market, Nord Pool. The question is if the common power market has been competitive or if electric power generators have had market power during the period 1996 -2004. Moreover, since there was a stepwise evolution from national markets to a multinational power market, we also ask how the degree of market power has evolved during this integration process. The results show that electric power generators have had a small, but statistically significant, degree of market power during the whole period. However, studying the integration effect, i.e. how the market power has been affected by additional countries joining Nord Pool, it show that the degree of market power has been reduced and finally vanished as the market has expanded and more countries joined the collaboration.Paper [II] analyse how the deregulation of the Swedish electricity market has affected the price of electric power and how the change in electric power price, in turn, has affected consumers’ welfare. The result shows that the change in pricing principle of electric power following the deregulation has increased consumer welfare over the period studied (1996-2006), with welfare gains about 100 SEK per customer per year, indicating a three per cent welfare gain for the average customer.Paper [III] study whether (and to what extent) the multinational electricity market integration has affected the price dynamics at the Nordic power exchange. The results shows that a larger electricity market seems to reduce the probability of sudden price jumps, but also that the effect on volatility seem to depend on the characteristics, i.e. production structure, of the integrated markets.In Paper [IV] a two-stage study is conducted to investigate the extent to which shocks in the demand and supply for electricity translate into price jumps, and the extent to which this process is affected by the prevailing market structure. The main findings from the study is that whether demand and supply shocks translate into price jumps largely depends on the prevailing market structure, i.e. on how far the market works from capacity constraints. A notable feature of the empirical analysis is also that the marginal effects from positive demand and negative supply shocks on the jump probabilities are mostly insignificant and of small magnitude.
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| 2. |
- Anchev, Stefan, 1986-
(författare)
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Information and financial markets
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The results in this thesis are consistent with the hypotheses that: 1) the incomplete dissemination of information across investors helps in explaining the occurrence and the persistence of cross-sectional stock return anomalies, 2) the properties of the investor base of a stock have implications for the informativeness of the stock's price and 3) a greater quantity of firm disclosure places less sophisticated investors at an information disadvantage. Overall, the thesis provides new empirical evidence about the role of information in financial markets.Investor Base and Stock Return AnomaliesAfter controlling for market capitalization, the predictability of future stock returns associated with each of the earnings-to-price ratio, the book-to-market ratio, the past return, the total volatility of returns and the return on assets is more pronounced among stocks with smaller total and/or institutional investor bases. These results appear even after controlling for several other stock characteristics and potential risk factors and they are both statistically and economically meaningful. Thus, they are consistent with the hypothesis that the incomplete dissemination of information across investors helps in explaining the occurrence and the persistence of cross-sectional stock return anomalies.Investor Base and Stock Price InformativenessThe relative idiosyncratic volatility of future stock returns is: 1) negatively associated with the absolute size of the total and the institutional investor base, 2) positively associated with the institutional ownership, 3) negatively (positively) associated with the average stock portfolio size (Herfindahl index) of the investor base and 4) positively associated with the indirect (i.e., through nominees) ownership. These results appear after controlling for several other stock characteristics and they are both statistically and economically meaningful. Thus, they are consistent with the hypothesis that the properties of the investor base of a stock have implications for the informativeness of the stock's price.Individual Investors and Quantity of Firm DisclosureWhen the amount of information disclosed by a firm is greater (or increases), the stock portfolio weights that individual investors allocate (through trading) to that firm's stock are lower (or decrease) and suboptimal. The former result is less pronounced or nonexistent for more financially competent individuals and for positions in firms with a poorer information environment. When they do allocate greater portfolio weights to the stock of a firm that discloses more, individuals, regardless of their financial competence, earn lower returns. Overall, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that a greater quantity of firm disclosure places less sophisticated investors at an information disadvantage.
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| 3. |
- Liu, Yuna, 1984-
(författare)
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Essays on Stock Market Integration - On Stock Market Efficiency, Price Jumps and Stock Market Correlations
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis consists of four self-contained papers related to the change of market structure and the quality of equity market.In Paper [I] we found, by using of a Flexible Dynamic Component Correlations (FDCC) model, that the creation of a common cross-border stock trading platform has increased the long-run trends in conditional correlations between foreign and domestic stock market returns.In Paper [II] we study whether the creation of a uniform Nordic and Baltic stock trading platform has affected weak-form information efficiency. The results indicate that the stock market consolidations have had a positive effect on the information efficiency and turnover for an average firm. The merger effects are, however, asymmetrically distributed in the sense that relatively large (small) firms located on relatively large (small) markets experience an improved (reduced) information efficiency and turnover. Although the results indicate that changes in the level of investor attention (measured by turnover) may explain part of the changes in information efficiency, they also lend support to the hypothesis that merger effects may partially be driven by changes in the composition of informed versus uninformed investors following a stock.Paper [III] analyzes whether the measured level of trust in different countries can explain bilateral stock market correlations. One finding is that generalized trust among nations is a robust predictor for stock market correlations. Another is that the trust effect is larger for countries which are close to each other. This indicates that distance mitigates the trust effect. Finally, we confirm the effect of trust upon stock market correlations, by using particular trust data (bilateral trust between country A and country B) as an alternative measurement of trust.In Paper [IV] we present the impact of the stock market mergers that took place in the Nordic countries during 2000 – 2007 on the probabilities for stock price jumps, i.e. for relatively extreme price movements. The main finding is that stock market mergers, on average, reduce the likelihood of observing stock price jumps. The effects are asymmetric in the sense that the probability of sudden price jumps is reduced for large and medium size firms whereas the effect is ambiguous for small size firms. The results also indicate that the market risk has been reduced after the stock market consolidations took place.
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| 4. |
- Vosilov, Rustam, 1986-
(författare)
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Essays on Art Markets : insight from the international sculpture auction market
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the viability of sculpture as a potential alternative investment. This goal is achieved through partly assessing the market quality of the auction market for sculptures and partly by studying their long-run diversification potential. The assessment of the sculpture market quality, together with the long-run co-movement analysis are objectives met through conducting four individual studies.In Paper I, I find that auction house art experts' relative estimate range positively affects realized prices. The effect is robust across the mid- low- and high-end segments of the international sculpture market. Interpreting the art experts' price estimate range as a proxy for the prevailing divergence of investor opinion in the art market, the findings are consistent with the disagreement model of Miller (1977). This evidence is contradictory to the predictions of the general auction model in Milgrom (1982) and does not lend support to the interpretation of the price estimate range as a proxy only for uncertainty. Moreover, the study gives insight into the price determinants of sculpture using a unique large dataset of over 65,000 sculpture sales at international auctions.Paper II is the first study to find evidence of a home bias in prices of art sold at international art auctions. All else equal, art prices are higher when they are auctioned in the home country of the artist compared to outside of the artist's home country. Moreover, the home bias in prices is more pronounced in the low-end sculpture market segment than in the high-end segment, indicating that familiarity can be a potential explanation of the bias. Furthermore, the home bias is found to be partly related to patriotism. The findings indicate that the home bias in prices increases as the relative level of patriotism rises in the home country of the artist, and that patriotism is a more persistent source of the home bias in art prices than familiarity.Paper III examines the absolute and time-varying weak-form market efficiency of the international sculpture auction market. The results indicate that the sculpture market efficiency varies over time lending support to the Adaptive Markets Hypothesis. Moreover, I find that the times of peaking relative market inefficiency coincide with distress in the wider economy and financial markets. Additionally, I find evidence that auction house art experts' pre-sale estimate accuracy Granger causes developments in time-varying market efficiency, highlighting the importance of art experts.Paper IV analyzes the dynamic relationship between the international sculpture market and the traditional financial investments during the period 1985-2013. Three international sculpture price indices are constructed to proxy for the general sculpture market price movements along with the low- and high-end segments of the international sculpture market. The results show that price development in the sculpture market does not move together with government bond prices in the long run. When it comes to equity markets, I find significant cointegrated dynamics between sculpture indices and the world equity markets. On the other hand, there is no such relationship when the S&P 500 is considered. Furthermore, cointegration is detected when analyzing the sculpture markets with the world GDP per capita. Granger-causality tests reveal that sculpture prices, in general, are Granger-caused by GDP per capita. Moreover, the Granger-causality tests indicate that sculpture price developments follow the world equity price movements, but not those of the S&P 500.
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| 5. |
- Zetterdahl, Emma, 1986-
(författare)
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Take a risk : social interaction, gender identity, and the role of family ties in financial decision-making
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis consists of an introductory part and four self-contained papers related to individual financial behavior and risk-taking in financial markets.In Paper [I] we estimate within-family and community social interaction effects upon an individual’s stock market entry, participation, and exit decision. Interestingly, community sentiment towards the stock market (based on portfolio outcomes in the community) does not influence individuals’ likelihood to enter, while a positive sentiment increases (decreases) the likelihood of participation (exit). Overall, the results stress the importance of accounting for family social influence and highlight potentially important differences between family and community effects in individuals’ stock market participation.In Paper [II] novel evidence is provided indicating that the influence from family (parents and partners) and peer social interaction on individuals’ stock market participation vary over different types of individuals. Results imply that individuals’ exposure to, and valuation of, stock market related social signals are of importance and thus, contribute to the understanding of the heterogeneous influence of social interaction. Overall, the results are interesting and enhance the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of social interaction on individuals’ financial decision making.In Paper [III] the impact of divorce on individual financial behavior is empirically examined in a dynamic setting. Evidence that divorcing individuals increase their saving rates before the divorce is presented. This may be seen as a response to the increase in background risk that divorce produces. After the divorce, a negative divorce effect on individual saving rates and risky asset shares are established, which may lead to disparities in wealth accumulation possibilities between married and divorced. Women are, on average, shown to not adjust their precautionary savings to the same extent as men before the divorce. I also provide tentative evidence that women reduce their financial risk-taking more than men after a divorce, which could be a result of inequalities in financial positions or an adjustment towards individual preferences. Paper [IV] provides novel empirical evidence that gender identity is of importance for individuals’ financial risk-taking. Specifically, by use of matching and by dividing male and females into those with “traditional” versus “nontraditional” gender identities, comparison of average risk-taking between groupings indicate that over a third (about 35-40%) of the identified total gender risk differential is explained by differences in gender identities. Results further indicate that risky financial market participation is 19 percentage points higher in groups of women with nontraditional, compared with traditional, gender identities. The results, obtained while conditioning upon a vast number of controls, are robust towards a large number of alternative explanations and indicate that some individuals (mainly women) partly are fostered by society, through identity formation and socially constructed norms, to a relatively lower financial risk-taking.
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| 6. |
- Holmberg, Ulf, 1983-
(författare)
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Essays on credit markets and banking
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis consists of four self-contained papers related to banking, credit markets and financial stability. Paper [I] presents a credit market model and finds, using an agent based modeling approach, that credit crunches have a tendency to occur; even when credit markets are almost entirely transparent in the absence of external shocks. We find evidence supporting the asset deterioration hypothesis and results that emphasize the importance of accurate firm quality estimates. In addition, we find that an increase in the debt’s time to maturity, homogenous expected default rates and a conservative lending approach, reduces the probability of a credit crunch. Thus, our results suggest some up till now partially overlooked components contributing to the financial stability of an economy. Paper [II] derives an econometric disequilibrium model for time series data. This is done by error correcting the supply of some good. The model separates between a continuously clearing market and a clearing market in the long-run such that we are able to obtain a novel test of clearing markets. We apply the model to the Swedish market for short-term business loans, and find that this market is characterized by a long-run nonmarket clearing equilibrium. Paper [III] studies the risk-return profile of centralized and decentralized banks. We address the conditions that favor a particular lending regime while acknowledging the effects on lending and returns caused by the course of the business cycle. To analyze these issues, we develop a model which incorporates two stylized facts; (i) banks in which lendingdecisions are decentralized tend to have a lower cost associated with screening potential borrowers and (ii) decentralized decision-making may generate inefficient outcomes because of lack of coordination. Simulations are used to compare the two banking regimes. Among the results, it is found that even though a bank group where decisions are decentralizedmay end up with a portfolio of loans which is (relatively) poorly diversified between regions, the ability to effectively screen potential borrowers may nevertheless give a decentralized bank a lower overall risk in the lending portfolio than when decisions are centralized. In Paper [IV], we argue that the practice used in the valuation of a portfolio of assets is important for the calculation of the Value at Risk. In particular, a seller seeking to liquidate a large portfolio may not face horizontal demand curves. We propose a partially new approach for incorporating this fact in the Value at Risk and Expected Shortfall measures and in an empirical illustration, we compare it to a competing approach. We find substantial differences.
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| 7. |
- Stålnacke, Oscar, 1988-
(författare)
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What do you expect? : individual investors' subjective expectations, information usage, and social interactions in financial decision-making
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis consists of an introductory part and four self-contained papers related to individual investors’ subjective expectations and their financial behavior. Paper [I] analyzes multiple measures of individual investors’ expectations of risk and return using survey data on a random sample of individual investors in Sweden. The results indicate that, even though expectations from different measures are correlated, the magnitude of especially the risk expectations varies considerably between measures. The variations in the expectations mainly relate to differences in the responses to the questions underlying the different measures, rather than to the methods used to obtain them. Evaluation of the measures using three different comparisons indicates that the expectation measure proposed by Dominitz and Manski (2011) is the only measure for which it is possible to distinguish between individuals’ expectations using all of the considered comparisons.Paper [II] addresses the relationship between sophistication and the expectations of individual investors with respect to risk and return. The findings show that sophisticated investors have lower (higher) risk (return) expectations that are closer to objective measures than less sophisticated investors. These results are important, since they enhance the understanding of the underlying mechanisms through which sophistication could influence individuals’ financial decisions.Paper [III] provides new evidence for the sources of information individual investors’ use when making financial decisions and the relationship between how frequently investors use this information and their expectations of the risk and return in a stock market index, their confidence in these expectations, and their portfolio risk and return. The findings indicate that individual investors use different sources of filtered financial information (e.g., information packaged by a professional intermediary) more frequently than unfiltered financial information (e.g., information from annual reports and financial statements). However, an increase in the frequency with which investors use filtered financial information is positively related to their confidence in their stock-market expectations and to the risk in their stock portfolios. For investors who instead use unfiltered financial information more frequently than filtered financial information, the results indicate that they have more accurate stock-market expectations, lower portfolio risk, and higher portfolio return.Paper [IV] links individual investors’ financial risk-taking to the behavior of peers within their community. By using detailed data at the individual level, it is found that the risk-taking among peers affects individuals’ choice of portfolio risk. The results hold for the full sample of individuals concerning their choice of the overall proportion of risky assets and stock market participants’ choice of total and systematic stock-portfolio risk. Overall, the results stress that interaction with peers is an important channel through which individual risk-taking is affected.
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| 8. |
- Lapanan, Nicha, 1987-
(författare)
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Individual investors and socially responsible mutual funds
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis examines the behavior of individual investors towards socially responsible mutual funds. The results are reported in the four self-contained papers.Paper [I] profiles SR individual investors. An understanding of SR investors' characteristics is important for the development of hypotheses and for understanding the adoption of SR investing. We find evidence indicating, for example, that females, more educated, relatively older individuals, those with higher wealth and those living in municipalities with a higher proportion of SR investors are more likely to hold SR equity mutual funds.Paper [II] studies the relation between investments of adult children and their parents. The paper explores the importance of parent-child socialization in the formation of prosocial behavior. The study contributes to the understanding of when prosocial behavior is formed and how parent-child relationships influence it. We find evidence that there is a correlation between parents and children in the investment in SR mutual funds and that parental resources and parental experience are influential in the transmission of this prosocial behavior.Paper [III] documents individual investors' trading behavior in relation to SR equity mutual funds. Results indicate that SR investors are less likely to sell SR than conventional fund as past negative returns decrease. Nonetheless, fund flows of SR and conventional funds are similarly sensitive to past returns. There is, however, evidence that sticky SR investors' fund flows are more sensitive to past positive returns and are less sensitive to past negative returns on their SR than on their conventional funds. Despite sticky SR investors showing behavior in line with values-driven motives, they also appear to be less likely to reinvest in SR than in conventional funds.Paper [IV] examines whether SR investors are willing to forgo higher returns to invest responsibly. Based on administrative data on individual investors' equity mutual fund portfolios, it is found that socially responsible (SR) investors forgo return by investing in a socially responsible manner. In comparison with similar conventional investors (in terms of characteristics), SR investors have an equal performance on their non-SR part of their total portfolio, but an inferior performance on their SR part. Analysis of individuals' money flows to funds further indicate that fund flows of SR investors who invest in only SR funds are less sensitive to past returns. Given that investors who value non-financial fund attributes, e.g., ethical or social, may be presumed to care less about the financial performance, the results lend support to an investment behavior, at least partly, driven by prosocial concerns. Taken together, the findings favor the interpretation that some individuals willingly forgo higher financial returns to invest in accordance with their social preferences.
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| 9. |
- Pettersen, Jostein, 1977-
(författare)
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Translating Lean Production : From Managerial Discourse to Organizational Practice
- 2009
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The majority of organizational change efforts end in failure. These failures can often be ascribed to lack of understanding of the translation processes that accompany the implementation of management concepts. Translation becomes evident when the initial ambitions of an implementation process are changed as they are communicated through the organization, often leading to unwanted results.This thesis deals with the translation of management concepts. The ambition is to contribute to the body of knowledge that is concerned with this theoretical direction through demonstrating how the currently dominating management concept Lean Production is translated as it is passed between contexts.The thesis is based on three studies of management concepts at various levels of abstraction. The first study is based on a review of the major literature on Lean Production. The second study is based on a survey among Swedish production managers on their application of management methods and concepts. The third study comprises a series of interviews within a large Swedish industrial organization, focusing on how Lean Production has been translated during the implementation process.The results show that Lean Production is far from well defined or unequivocal. There is always room for translation as the concept is passed between actors within an organization. It is therefore unreasonable to expect the concept to provide certain results. The results are determined by the way the concept is interpreted and translated within the organization that seeks to implement it. It is argued that insufficient translation competence will increase the risk of an uncontrolled and potentially ineffective translation process, leading to unexpected and undesirable results.Through combining these results with existing theories within the management field, the author presents a tentative model for analyzing the translation of management concepts all the way from the general managerial discourse to the practice that can be observed at the factory floor of a company. It is proposed that this model may be used as a conceptual framework for further studies of the translation of management concepts.
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