Diversification evidence from international equity markets using extreme values and stochastic copulas

Tail dependence plays an important role in financial risk management and determination of whether two markets crash or boom together. However, the linear correlation is unable to capture the dependence structure among financial data. Moreover, given the reality of fat-tail or skewed distribution of financial data, normality assumption for risk measure may be misleading in portfolio development. This paper proposes the use of conditional extreme value theory and time-varying copula to capture the tail dependence between the Australian financial market and other selected international stock markets. Conditional extreme value theory enables the model adequacy and the tail behavior of individual financial variable, while the time-varying copula can fully disclose the changes of dependence structure over time. The combination of both proved to be useful in determining the tail dependence. The empirical results show an outperformance of the model in the analysis of tail dependence, which has an important implication in cross-market diversification and asset pricing allocation.     

The impact of minimum wages on employment of low‐wage workers

This study provides empirical evidence on the impact of a minimum wage increase on employment of workers in the formal sector who have wages below the minimum level in Vietnam. Using the difference‐in‐differences with propensity score matching and the Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys of 2004 and 2006, the article finds that the minimum wage increase in 2005 reduced the proportion of workers having a formal sector job among low‐wage workers. Most workers who lost formal sector jobs became self‐employed.     

Marketing Metrics Use in a Transition Economy: The Case of Vietnam

ABSTRACT

This article explores the use of marketing metrics by a sample of Vietnamese firms, providing an example of the use of marketing metrics in a “transition” economy as it grows and becomes more market and marketing driven. The analysis reports usage frequency and then develops a set of “correlation chains” linking firm characteristics, metric use, and various indicators of performance. Vietnamese managers generally report that several types of metrics are used. Ownership structure and industry also impact which metrics are utilized. An initial assessment of chains relating metric use to firm performance indicates that the impact is complex and indirect.     

Retail fairness: Exploring consumer perceptions of fairness towards retailers’ marketing tactics

The concept of fairness has received great attention in consumer behavior research lately. However, the focus of these studies has mainly been the understanding of fairness in terms of pricing rather than exploring the consumers’ perceptions of fairness itself. This study explores the consumers’ perceptions of fairness as an outcome of a retailer’s marketing tactics. Based on 36 in-depth interviews this study submits a conceptualization of retail fairness from the consumers’ point-of-view. The concept of retail fairness constitutes of three dimensions and nine sub-dimensions, expanding our knowledge of the construct. The study posits a crucial link between increased honesty, ethical, and moral behavior and the understanding of retail fairness. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Demand uncertainty: Exporting delays and exporting failures

This paper presents a model of trade that explains why firms wait to export and why many exporters fail. Firms face uncertain demands that are only realized after the firm enters the destination. The model retools the timing of the resolution of uncertainty found in models with heterogeneity of firm productivity. This retooling addresses several shortcomings. First, the imperfect correlation of demands reconciles the sales variation observed in and across destinations. Second, since demands for the firm's output are correlated across destinations, a firm can use previously realized demands to forecast unknown demands in untested destinations. The option to forecast demands causes firms to delay exporting in order to gather more information about foreign demand. Third, since uncertainty is resolved after entry, many firms enter a destination and then exit after learning that they cannot profit. This prediction reconciles the high rate of exit seen in the first years of exporting. Finally, when faced with multiple destinations to which they can export, many firms will choose to sequentially export in order to slowly learn more about its chances for success in untested markets.     

Assessing the impacts of oil price fluctuations on stock returns in emerging markets

This paper investigates the effects of oil price shocks on stock market returns in emerging countries. It differs from previous works in three main aspects: i) we distinguish three groups of countries, the largest net-oil importing countries, the moderately oil-dependent countries, and the largest net-oil exporting countries; ii) The potential influence of bullish and bearish market conditions on the causal relationship between oil and stock returns is controlled for in our analysis; iii) The empirical investigation is based on an analysis of long-term correlation and a conditional multifactor pricing model. Using data from twenty-five emerging countries, our results suggest that oil price risk is significantly priced in emerging markets, and that the oil impact is asymmetric with respect to market phases.     

Asymmetric capital structure adjustments: New evidence from dynamic panel threshold models

We develop a dynamic panel threshold model of capital structure to test the dynamic trade-off theory, allowing for asymmetries in firms' adjustments toward target leverage. Our novel estimation approach is able to consistently estimate heterogeneous speeds of adjustment in different regimes as well as to properly test for the threshold effect. We consider several proxies for adjustment costs that affect the asymmetries in capital structure adjustments and find evidence that firms with large financing imbalance (or a deficit), large investment or low earnings volatility adjust faster than those with the opposite characteristics. Firms not only adjust at different rates but also seem to adjust toward heterogeneous leverage targets. Moreover, we document a consistent pattern that firms undertaking quick adjustment are over-levered with a financing deficit and rely heavily on equity issues to make such adjustment.     

The impact of microcredit on self‐employment profits in Vietnam

This study examines the impact of microcredit on household self‐employment profits in Vietnam. For two indicators of credit participation – a dichotomous participation dummy and the accumulated amount of microcredit received per household – the analysis reveals a positive effect on household profits. The analysis also reveals that an instrumental variable method within a fixed‐effects framework can control for the possible endogeneity of credit and thereby identify the true effect of credit.