This book develops a new framework (stakeholder model) that helps understand corporate finance and governance in modern society, where (especially in developed countries) the sources of people's happiness have shifted from monetary to non-monetary factors. The book takes a more comprehensive approach by explicitly incorporating the (monetary and non-monetary) interests of stakeholders and by examining the value creation of corporations from a much broader perspective. Specifically, the book addresses contemporary issues concerning corporate finance and governance all over the world, including: How should we define firm value in stakeholder society? What is the role of modern corporations? What are the principles of corporate financing decisions? To what extent should shareholder rights be enhanced? What determines the effectiveness of the board of directors? How can we understand the diversity of financial and governance systems among different countries? The book will answer these questions theoretically and empirically.The theoretical analyses build upon recent developments in incomplete contract theory, relational contract theory, multitask principal-agent models, economics of happiness, behavioral economics and neuroeconomics. The empirical studies presented in the book use large datasets on corporate finance, and survey and interview evidence from Japan, Germany, and the US. The book demonstrates how we can apply those insights to understand the legal and institutional diversity of corporate governance across developed countries.

An incisive and essential guide to building a complete system for derivative scripting In Volume 2 of Modern Computational Finance Scripting for Derivatives and xVA, quantitative finance experts and practitioners Drs. Antoine Savine and Jesper Andreasen deliver an indispensable and insightful roadmap to the interrogation, aggregation, and manipulation of cash-flows in a variety of ways. The book demonstrates how to facilitate portfolio-wide risk assessment and regulatory calculations (like xVA). Complete with a professional scripting library written in modern C++, this stand-alone volume walks readers through the construction of a comprehensive risk and valuation tool. This essential book also offers: Effective strategies for improving scripting libraries, from basic examples--like support for dates and vectors--to advanced improvements, including American Monte Carlo techniques Exploration of the concepts of fuzzy logic and risk sensitivities, including support for smoothing and condition domains Discussion of the application of scripting to xVA, complete with a full treatment of branching Perfect for quantitative analysts, risk professionals, system developers, derivatives traders, and financial analysts, Modern Computational Finance Scripting for Derivatives and xVA Volume 2 is also a must-read resource for students and teachers in master's and PhD finance programs.

In today's aggressive marketplace, listed companies can no longer rely on their numbers to do the talking. If companies can't communicate their achievements and strategy, mounting research evidence suggests, they will be overlooked, their cost of capital will increase and stock price will suffer. In Strategic Financial and Investor Communication: the stock price story Ian Westbrook, principal of Australia's leading independent financial communications firm, argues just this: stock price is more a story than a number. Moreover, the book will teach you how to tell your own story by guiding you through the fast-paced world of financial corporate communication with a professional's pragmatism as well as academic rigour. Whether you're a student or a professional of PR, investor relations or corporate communications, this much-needed guide will teach you how to tell a compelling story about your company that the stockbroker, fund manager and corporate media cannot ignore.

The digitalization revolution has significantly altered conditions for financing new and small firms. Crowdfunding is at the forefront of this movement. While research in this area has increased significantly, it is heavily fragmented. Reflecting on this, the Handbook of Research on Crowdfunding reviews and synthesizes current knowledge on crowdfunding finance and provides an agenda for further research. This Handbook covers the role of crowdfunding and the platforms used, as well as discussing the characteristics of crowdfunders themselves and the businesses that seek finance from the 'crowd'. It also investigates the process once crowdfunding is complete, and how it is used by non-profit, social and creative ventures as well as for-profit businesses. Potential negative aspects are also discussed, including inequality, risk, fraud and regulation. Finally, the future of crowdfunding, including new finance models, is outlined. Bringing together a wealth of previously fragmented knowledge, this Handbook is a key reference for all entrepreneurial finance researchers as well as those interested in the effects of crowdfunding more generally across entrepreneurship, innovation, management and economics.

From the mid-1970s until the crisis in 2007, the world of finance enjoyed thirty euphoric years as the general public, businesses and governments put their blind trust in financial techniques, professions and institutions. Shaken up by a structural crisis and a crisis of legitimacy, today's financial sector can no longer afford to avoid the issues summed up by the key question: what is next for the role of ethics and responsibility in finance? Many see an unbridgeable gap between ethics and responsibility and financial practice. Ethics and Responsibility in Finance paves the way for the dialogue that is needed in order to solve the current problems and allow the return of a refined ethical thinking in the financial sector. This book opens with an in-depth analysis of the operational implications of two key notions: ethics and responsibility. It then addresses ethical dilemmas that are characteristic to each of the three actors involved in any financial transaction. This begins with the discussion of the dilemmas of the ultimate owner of funds: the individual or collective saver, as in the case of pension funds. The analysis then turns to financial intermediaries such as banks, insurance companies, asset managers, and consultants, who work in a web of different loyalties. Finally, the dilemmas of the user of funds are addressed - the household taking a mortgage, an enterprise or a public authority which borrows - all of which have to be clear on the reasons and values driving their decisions. This volume is of great interest to those who study banking, corporate finance and ethics philosophy.

Published in 1999, this text aims to target International Finance and give the basic currency markets: the eurocurrency, the spot, the forward, the futures, and the options markets. It focuses on global financial management, foreign exchange markets, exchange rate determination, financing globalization, managing echange rate exposure, arbitrage and swaps, financing international trade, and the international monetary systems. It includes case studies at the end of each chapter.

This collection considers the financial crisis from a managerial perspective, focussing on the business implications for the financial industry. Topics examined include governance, information needs and strategy of financial intermediaries and investors. The contributions build on the existing literature and present some unique insights on governance, credit quality evaluation and performance measurement. In a fast growing or steady market, it is possible for even an inefficient financial system to satisfy investors' and firms' needs. However, the current financial crisis has brought into sharp relief the limits of the inefficient practices adopted by the market, and made clear the importance of developing more effective governance mechanisms, more detailed and complete information databases and new strategies. The crisis has also brought to the fore issues about the governance of financial intermediaries that had not been previously addressed. These include board diversity, internal monitoring procedures and the existence of interlocking directorates. More broadly, the financial crisis has radically altered the international framework, with an increasingly consolidated financial sector, and the rise of new markets (such as China) that now play a predominant role in the worldwide market. Studies on the competition and on the performance in this new scenario are essential in order to understand the implications of recent events.

This primer succinctly summarises key theoretical concepts in fiscal choice for both practitioners and scholars. The author contends that fiscal choice is ultimately a choice of both politics and economics. The book first introduces budget institutions and processes at various levels of government, which restrict budget decision makers' discretion. It also explains budget decision makers' efforts to make rational resource allocations. It then shows how and why such efforts are stymied by the decision makers' capacity and institutional settings. The book's unique benefit is its emphasis on all the essential topics, with short, module-type chapters which can be read in any order.

By the author of the modern classic "The Black Swan," this collection of aphorisms and meditations expresses his major ideas in ways you least expect.
"The Bed of Procrustes" takes its title from Greek mythology: the story of a man who made his visitors fit his bed to perfection by either stretching them or cutting their limbs. It represents Taleb's view of modern civilization's hubristic side effects--modifying humans to satisfy technology, blaming reality for not fitting economic models, inventing diseases to sell drugs, defining intelligence as what can be tested in a classroom, and convincing people that employment is not slavery.
Playful and irreverent, these aphorisms will surprise you by exposing self-delusions you have been living with but never recognized.
With a rare combination of pointed wit and potent wisdom, Taleb plows through human illusions, contrasting the classical values of courage, elegance, and erudition against the modern diseases of nerdiness, philistinism, and phoniness.

Corporate groups outside the US are often controlled by a complex of ownership links, which typically form a pyramidal structure: a private holding company sits at the top of a control pyramid of several tiers of companies; firms in the lowest tier are the group's publicly listed companies. The usual practice of expropriation in such groups is to pass bad assets to companies down the pyramid and to pass the proceeds up the pyramid via internal transactions. For this collection Larry Lang has selected some of the most significant previously published articles by leading academics which investigate this process and its consequences. The volume explores the nature of ownership structure in countries outside the US and examines how controlling owners expropriate minority shareholders. It includes articles which analyse the pros and cons of the various finance and accounting issues resulting from this separation of ownership and control, and presents some country-specific studies which examine the impact of this disjunction. The editor has written an authoritative introduction which provides explanatory information and points the way for future research in this area.

This unique collection of new, previously unpublished papers demonstrates the importance of corporate governance throughout the different stages of the life-cycle of firms and organisations, and in particular in the crucial transitions between stages. In so doing it redresses an imbalance created by the wealth of literature and research devoted to the study of corporate governance in mature firms only. The book gives equal consideration to the monitoring and control functions of corporate governance mechanisms, and to the resource and strategic roles of governance in the decision-making process. In so doing it attempts to provide a framework through which to understand the factors that affect the balance between the possible functions of corporate governance. It is suggested in these papers that an analysis of the firm's governance life-cycles cannot be separated from the economic and institutional dynamics in a particular country, and as such the book reviews the role of the corporate governance life-cycle in different industrial and institutional contexts.

Philip Brown is one of the most admired and respected accounting academics alive today. He was a pioneer in capital markets research in accounting, and his 1968 article, co-authored with Ray Ball, "An Empirical Evaluation of Accounting Income Numbers," arguably had a greater impact on the course of accounting research, directly and indirectly, than any other article during the second half of the twentieth century. Since that time, his innovative research has focused on issues that bridge accounting and finance, including the relationships between net profit reports and the stock market, the long-run performance of acquiring firms, statutory sanctions and voluntary corporate disclosure, and the politics and future of national accounting standards to name a few. This volume brings together the greatest hits of Brown's career, including several articles that were published in out-of-the-way places, for easier use by students and researchers in the field. With a foreword written by Stephen A. Zeff, and an introduction that discusses the evolution of Brown's research interests and explains the context for each of the essays included in the volume, this book offers the reader a unique look inside this remarkable 50-year career.

This book analyzes the European Great Recession of 2008-12, its economic and social causes, its historical roots, and the policies adopted by the European Union to find a way out of it. It contains explicit debates with several economists and analysts on some of the most controversial questions about the causes of the crisis and the policies applied by the European Union. It presents the cases of Iceland, Greece and Ireland, the countries that first declined into crisis in Europe, each of them in a different way. Iceland is a case study for reckless banking practices, Greece of reckless public spending, and Ireland of reckless household indebtedness. At least seven other countries, mostly from the peripheries of Europe, had similarly reckless banking and spending practices. In the center of the book are the economic and social causes of the crisis. Contemporary advanced capitalism became financialized, de-industrialized and globalized and got rid of the "straitjacket" of regulations. Solid banking was replaced by high-risk, "casino-type" activity. The European common currency also had a structural problem - monetary unification without a federal state and fiscal unification. The other side of the same coin is European hyper-consumerism. A new lifestyle emerged during two super-prosperous periods in the 1950s to 1960s, and during the 1990s to 2006. Trying to find an exit policy, the European Union turned to strict austerity measures to curb the budget deficit and indebtedness. This book critically analyzes the debate around austerity policy. The creation of important supra-national institutions, and of a financial supervisory authority and stability mechanisms, strengthens integration. The correction of the euro's structural mistake by creating a quasi-fiscal unification is even more important. The introduction of mandatory fiscal rules and their supervision promises a long-term solution for a well-functioning common currency. These measures, meanwhile, create a two-tier European Union with a fast-track core. This book suggests that the European Union will emerge stronger from the crisis. This book will be of particular interest to students and researchers of economics, history, political science and international finance, but will also prove profitable reading for practitioners and the interested public.

Despite a plethora of techniques to analyse the financial performance of a business, there has been no single methodology that has been overwhelmingly preferred by users. This could be an indication that either the methods themselves are deficient or they are limited by other factors that are not easily overcome. Unlike the current offerings in the field, which focus on issues relating to business performance management or non-financial aspects (such as market efficiency, satisfaction and workforce productivity), this book offers a solution to a major gap in the literature and understanding for those seeking to measure, analyse and benchmark the financial performance of any organisation (for-profit, not-for-profit and government agencies). It clearly identifies why current techniques fail; proposes and evidences a solution that overcomes these issues by including two algorithms that can be combined, to solve this problem; and demonstrates the practical application of the technique to the benefit of users in order to pinpoint real performance levels and insights. One of the largest issues this book will help to overcome is the inability to compare the accounts of businesses/organisations from different countries that report in different currencies. This technique eliminates the need for currency translations and the issues that arise with that process. This book is an invaluable and practical guide to assist accounting and finance practitioners in measuring and comparing financial performance across firms with different business models, different accounting policies and different scales of operations.

This book analyzes the European Great Recession of 2008-12, its economic and social causes, its historical roots, and the policies adopted by the European Union to find a way out of it. It contains explicit debates with several economists and analysts on some of the most controversial questions about the causes of the crisis and the policies applied by the European Union. It presents the cases of Iceland, Greece and Ireland, the countries that first declined into crisis in Europe, each of them in a different way. Iceland is a case study for reckless banking practices, Greece of reckless public spending, and Ireland of reckless household indebtedness. At least seven other countries, mostly from the peripheries of Europe, had similarly reckless banking and spending practices. In the center of the book are the economic and social causes of the crisis. Contemporary advanced capitalism became financialized, de-industrialized and globalized and got rid of the "straitjacket" of regulations. Solid banking was replaced by high-risk, "casino-type" activity. The European common currency also had a structural problem - monetary unification without a federal state and fiscal unification. The other side of the same coin is European hyper-consumerism. A new lifestyle emerged during two super-prosperous periods in the 1950s to 1960s, and during the 1990s to 2006. Trying to find an exit policy, the European Union turned to strict austerity measures to curb the budget deficit and indebtedness. This book critically analyzes the debate around austerity policy. The creation of important supra-national institutions, and of a financial supervisory authority and stability mechanisms, strengthens integration. The correction of the euro's structural mistake by creating a quasi-fiscal unification is even more important. The introduction of mandatory fiscal rules and their supervision promises a long-term solution for a well-functioning common currency. These measures, meanwhile, create a two-tier European Union with a fast-track core. This book suggests that the European Union will emerge stronger from the crisis. This book will be of particular interest to students and researchers of economics, history, political science and international finance, but will also prove profitable reading for practitioners and the interested public.

The conditions for successful manufacturing have changed considerably in recent years. New technologies such as information technology and biotechnology are considered important players in eradicating poverty in developing countries, but the risky nature of projects based on new technologies forces firms to raise investment capital by means other than conventional capital markets. This book examines the role of venture capital institutions in financing technology-based ventures both in developed and developing countries. It also explores that part of venture capital activity which is hitherto vastly under-researched; namely the ability of venture capital institutions to render a whole host of value-added support functions. These include setting up management teams and designing strategic plans for fledgling enterprises. The latter issue is operationalized through a series of carefully chosen case studies. Financial Systems, Corporate Investment in Innovation, and Venture Capital will be a valuable text for scholars and students of the theory and practice of financing innovation. It will also be a valuable source for governments, NGOs, financial institutions and multilateral agencies interested in the practicalities of promoting technology-based small and medium enterprises.

This revised and fully expanded edition of Understanding Investments continues to incorporate the elements of traditional textbooks on investments, but goes further in that the material is presented from an intuitive, practical point of view, and the supplementary material included in each chapter lends itself to both class discussion and further reading by students. It provides the essential tools to navigate complex, global financial markets and instruments including relevant (and classic) academic research and market perspectives. The author has developed a number of key innovative features. One unique feature is its economic angle, whereby each chapter includes a section dedicated to the economic analysis of that chapter's material. Additionally, all chapters contain sections on strategies that investors can apply in specific situations and the pros and cons of each are also discussed. The book provides further clarification of some of the concepts discussed in the previous edition, thereby offering a more detailed analysis and discussion, with more real-world examples. The author has added new, shorter text boxes, labeled "Market Flash" to highlight the use of, or changes in current practices in the field; updates on strategies as applied by professionals; provision of useful information for an investor; updates on regulations; and anything else that might be relevant in discussing and applying a concept. This second edition also includes new sections on core issues in the field of investments, such as alternative investments, disruptive technologies, and future trends in investment management. This textbook is intended for undergraduate students majoring or minoring in finance and also for students in economics and related disciplines who wish to take an elective course in finance or investments.

This unique and detailed Handbook provides a comprehensive source of analysis and research on alternative investment funds in the EU, the US and other leading jurisdictions. Expert contributors offer an unparalleled perspective on the contemporary alternative funds industry, the main areas of regulatory policy concern surrounding its activities, and the role that alternative funds have played in recent financial crises, as well as an account of the rules governing their operation in selected jurisdictions. Providing insight and analysis of the contemporary investment funds industry at a time of crisis and transition, the Research Handbook on Hedge Funds, Private Equity and Alternative Investments will be a valuable tool for scholars, practitioners and policy makers alike. Contributors include: J. Adams, P. Athanassiou, A. Brav, T. Bullman, L. Chincarini, D.K. Das, A. Erskine, F. Goltz, N. Greene, D. Harrison, A. Hankova, M. Jickling, W. Jiang, H. Kim, V. Krepely Pool, M. Lamandini, N. Lang, F.-S. Lhabitant, H. McVea, T. Oatley, L. Phalippou, D. Schroeder, M. Stromqvist, W.K. Winecoff, P. Yeoh

Most existing texts covering topics in Islamic finance discuss the potential of Islamic banking; very few talk about other forms of financing and the investment activities of Islamic firms from the standpoint of owners and managers. This book fills this gap by looking at the traditional as well as non-traditional financing and investment activities of shariah-compliant companies. The chapters in this edited text offer a full range of topics on corporate finance for Islamic firms, including global comparisons of shariah screening, dividend policy and capital structure of Islamic firms, details of global Islamic equity markets, trends and performance of sukuk markets, and a brief account of derivative securities that can be used in Islamic finance. This is a useful reference for anyone who wishes to learn more about the performance of shariah-compliant companies vis-a-vis conventional firms. The book includes both technical and non-technical information that would be suitable for classroom teaching as well as a reference for postgraduate research students.

Originally published in 1992, Capital Mobilization and Regional Financial Markets, argues that barriers to financial flows within regions may be as important in affecting capital flows as interregional barriers. The book conjectures that regional markets allow efficient mobilization of local funds and develops an analytical framework to motivate an investigation of region financial development in the Pacific Coast states between 1850 and 1920.

The increasing capital flows in the emerging markets and developed countries have raised various concerns worldwide. One main concern is the impact of the sharp decline of capital flows - so-called sudden stops - on financial markets and the stability of banking systems and the economy. The sudden stops and banking crises have been identified as the two main features of most financial crises, including the recent Asian Financial Crisis and Global Financial Crisis. However, how capital flows and banking crises are connected still remains unanswered. Most current studies on capital flows are empirical work, which faces various challenges. The challenges include how data has been collected and measured in each country and how sensitive the results are to the data and the adopted methodologies. Moreover, the links between capital flows and banking systems have been neglected. This book helps provide some insight into the challenges faced by empirical studies and the lessons of the recent crises. The book develops theoretical analysis to deepen our understanding on how capital flows, banking systems and financial markets are linked with each other and provides constructive policy implications by overcoming the empirical challenges.

First published in 1982, Bond Duration and Immunization is a collection of seminal papers featuring articles from high profile academics such as Frederick McCaulay, John Hicks, and F.M. Redington. This collection also features several articles published in British actuarial journals often unavailable outside of the UK, and a strong collection of articles which contextually offer a significant contribution to the field. This strong collection will appeal to anyone working or researching in the area of bond duration and immunization.

Originally published in 1973, Stock Exchange and Investment Analysis provides a detailed description of the London Stock Exchange and outlines both the principles and practice of finance, investment, and investment analysis. Split into four sections, the book provides critical analysis of the Stock Exchange and its functions, and the securities available to investors. It also addresses the latest developments in the field of investments and provides a detailed discussion on taxation and portfolio analysis. This book will be of interest to academics working in the field of finance and economics.

Originally published in 1994, Stock Exchange Automation addresses the pivotal role played by capital markets in the market economics. Capital markets are an essential component of the free market system. The book argues that the capital markets function as an allocator of investable funds among competing uses. The movement toward automated markets requires that we understand how automation changes market behaviour. The book also examines the concept of market microstructure theory, and the implication that some forms of automation should affect prices. Theories of price formation in the specialist based trading system hypothesise that the trading mechanism induces short term price volatility.