In recent years there has been an increased interest in the extent to which managers can improve their property portfolio position through international diversification. Much of this interest has centred on the use of various statistical/econometric tests of time-varying correlations and...

The local Hurst exponent, a measure employed to detect the presence of dependence in a time series, may also be used to investigate the source of intraday variation observed in the returns in foreign exchange markets. Given that changes in the local Hurst exponent may be due to either a...

An important assumption underlying traditional theories of financial time-series behaviour is that consecutive changes in the price of an asset (ie. asset returns) are independent of each other. For analysts seeking to predict the future value of an asset, this implies that the best step-ahead...

The objective of this chapter is to evaluate the theoretical debate on the choice of an exchange rate regime in light of the empirical evidence with a view to suggesting appropriate exchange rate regimes that are conducive for poverty reduction. Due to its obvious implications for poverty, the...

There is now a consensus that economic growth is a dominant determinant of poverty. That is, poverty reduction requires sustained economic growth significantly above the population growth so that per capita income continues to rise. Economic growth raises mean income and reduces the proportion...

In recent years the world economy has become closely integrated due to increasing trade and financial capital flows across countries. In this study we investigate the cointegrating relationships between the stock price indices of 7 emerging Asian economies (Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore,...

This paper presents a critique of the traditional textbook representation of fiscal policy, and highlights the misleading policy implications perpetuated by this analysis. In particular, the conclusion that fiscal deficits are likely to be associated with higher interest rates is disputed, as is...

This paper will attempt to provide a comprehensive review and introduce the concept of international financial integration. In addition, it provides a review on the available indicators used as proxies for international financial integration in empirical studies. It also proposes a more detailed...

An increase in the credit rating on an organisation?s debt is generally perceived positively, as higher credit ratings are, in the main, associated with lower perceived volatility in the market value of the assets of the entity that has issued the debt. If banks price their assets to realise a...

The main objective of this thesis is to examine the extent of and the potential for Arab economic integration. It adds to the growing literature on the issue of economic integration by throwing the spotlight on several issues hitherto little considered in the existing literature. The thesis...