The Importance of Being Politically Connected. The literature on the importance of political connections to firms and their value implications is scant. This project aims to develop a framework that depicts the interplay of political connections, institutional factors, corporate governance, media coverage and firm value. In particular, it investigates how political connections enhance the value of firms in China and how this changes as the market transitions.
Surviving financial crises: a study of the Australian Government securities market. This project assesses the capacity of the Australian Government securities market to meet investor demand in times of financial crises. The outcomes will provide governments in Australia and other countries with the necessary tools to enhance the efficiency of securities markets and to flag liquidity problems in a timely manner.
The impact of COVID-19 economic stimulus measures on corporate stakeholders. Australia's economic response to COVID-19 saw cash injections to companies and bailouts of some insolvent firms. This project aims to quantify the market value of these government subsidies and how it was shared across corporate stakeholders. The project expects to generate new knowledge for the design of financial stability regimes by developing the world-first dynamic structural model of firm assets that allows for go ....The impact of COVID-19 economic stimulus measures on corporate stakeholders. Australia's economic response to COVID-19 saw cash injections to companies and bailouts of some insolvent firms. This project aims to quantify the market value of these government subsidies and how it was shared across corporate stakeholders. The project expects to generate new knowledge for the design of financial stability regimes by developing the world-first dynamic structural model of firm assets that allows for government interventions both prior to and at default. Expected outcomes include a novel public dataset that tracks expected future subsidies and how they are shared by stakeholders. These forecasts should provide significant benefits to taxpayers as they fund the subsidies and gain from them as claimants to Australian firms.Read moreRead less
The Aging Population, Superannuation and Corporate Dividend Policy. The project intends to examine how population wealth and age affect one important aspect of corporate decision-making, namely dividend policy. Researchers invest considerable effort in understanding how demographics impact upon the need for, and structure of, government systems including social security and taxation, but relatively little is known about its effect on capital markets or corporate decision-making. Although individ ....The Aging Population, Superannuation and Corporate Dividend Policy. The project intends to examine how population wealth and age affect one important aspect of corporate decision-making, namely dividend policy. Researchers invest considerable effort in understanding how demographics impact upon the need for, and structure of, government systems including social security and taxation, but relatively little is known about its effect on capital markets or corporate decision-making. Although individual investors are, by nature, atomistic, the project argues changes in investor preferences will ultimately prompt companies to alter their dividend policies. Pressure on firms to update these policies will come from superannuation and pension fund managers who, as fiduciaries, will invest money consistent with clients' revised preferences. The project aims to more fully characterise how Australia's ageing population will affect the public and private sectors.Read moreRead less
Investment Opportunities and the Impact of Interaction Between Global Integration, International Capital Flows and Price Movements in Emerging Stock Markets. Emerging stock markets now represent an integral component of international investment portfolios comprising billions of dollars. But stocks in these markets are perceived as excessively volatile and frequently inconsistent with economic fundamentals. This project investigates the linkage between emerging stock prices and both local and glo ....Investment Opportunities and the Impact of Interaction Between Global Integration, International Capital Flows and Price Movements in Emerging Stock Markets. Emerging stock markets now represent an integral component of international investment portfolios comprising billions of dollars. But stocks in these markets are perceived as excessively volatile and frequently inconsistent with economic fundamentals. This project investigates the linkage between emerging stock prices and both local and global economic influences; develops quantifiable time-varying measures of capital market integration based on fundamentals allowing ranking across markets; and explores how integration levels are affected by capital flows. The project will benefit the investment community and governments in understanding, and modelling, the impact of policy and trade flows on market integration and the consequent effect on stock markets.Read moreRead less
Investment Evaluation and Price Formation in Markets for Oil and Mineral Resources. The project will examine and quantify price movements and the associated risk of mineral and oil prices leading to the development of better risk management models. The findings will help Australian exporters and importers understand and manage price risks more effectively. The investment community also benefits from the quantification of these risks, in particular, managers of large pension and mutual funds. The ....Investment Evaluation and Price Formation in Markets for Oil and Mineral Resources. The project will examine and quantify price movements and the associated risk of mineral and oil prices leading to the development of better risk management models. The findings will help Australian exporters and importers understand and manage price risks more effectively. The investment community also benefits from the quantification of these risks, in particular, managers of large pension and mutual funds. The aim of the proposed models is better forecasting of global mineral and oil price movements leading to improved management of economic policy in this important sector. Read moreRead less
Banking System Competition and the Macro-economy. Australia has one of the most concentrated banking sectors in the world, generating concerns regarding its efficiency. This project aims to develop unified frameworks to understand and evaluate quantitatively how the structure of the banking industry affects the macro-economy and provide policy recommendations for establishing a healthy and efficient banking industry. This project expects to improve understanding of the welfare trade-off between ....Banking System Competition and the Macro-economy. Australia has one of the most concentrated banking sectors in the world, generating concerns regarding its efficiency. This project aims to develop unified frameworks to understand and evaluate quantitatively how the structure of the banking industry affects the macro-economy and provide policy recommendations for establishing a healthy and efficient banking industry. This project expects to improve understanding of the welfare trade-off between bank competition and economic well-being to enable policymakers to better determine the optimal concentration of banking sector in Australia. This will enhance the productivity and international competitiveness of Australia’s financial system and the broader economy.Read moreRead less
How do company announcements affect trading frequency in stocks? This project addresses the question of how financial markets respond to news by investigating how company announcements affect trading patterns in Australian banking stocks. Analysis will be based on new extensions to autoregressive conditional hazard (ACH) models, with research focussing on how to incorporate announcement variables into an ACH framework and how to modify standard ACH analysis to account for simultaneous transactio ....How do company announcements affect trading frequency in stocks? This project addresses the question of how financial markets respond to news by investigating how company announcements affect trading patterns in Australian banking stocks. Analysis will be based on new extensions to autoregressive conditional hazard (ACH) models, with research focussing on how to incorporate announcement variables into an ACH framework and how to modify standard ACH analysis to account for simultaneous transactions, market frictions and spillover effects. The results of this research will assist government and companies in choosing announcement times, aid traders in portfolio adjustment and will lead to a better understanding of the microstructure of Australian stock markets.Read moreRead less
Floor trading versus computer trading - Does it matter? Computer systems for securities trading date from the 1980s. These systems are large, costly and extremely complex. Outcomes from their introduction were unforeseen and the relevant research literature is sparse. This project will investigate experimentally with a simulated trading system the effects on trading behaviour of important system parameters. Intelligent support systems for traders will also be developed and tested. The project ....Floor trading versus computer trading - Does it matter? Computer systems for securities trading date from the 1980s. These systems are large, costly and extremely complex. Outcomes from their introduction were unforeseen and the relevant research literature is sparse. This project will investigate experimentally with a simulated trading system the effects on trading behaviour of important system parameters. Intelligent support systems for traders will also be developed and tested. The project team combines needed expertise from the areas of human decision making, finance, and advanced information technologies. Results will be important for theory of market microstructure and interactive intelligent systems and also for an important industry in Australia.Read moreRead less
Generating multi-component scaffolding to influence the differentiation of embryonic stem cells. Nervous system diseases are debilitating and will develop in over 50 per cent of people at some time in their life. This project will develop strategies so that stem cells can be utilised to encourage brain repair for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. The technology developed will also be of benefit for the treatment of other nervous system disorders.