Country indices as represented by iShares exhibit non-normal return distributions with both skewness and kurtosis. Davidson and Duclos (2000) and Memmel (2003) provide procedures for determining the statistical significance of stochastic dominance measures and the Sharpe Ratio, respectively....

In this paper, we first extend the stochastic dominance (SD) theory by introducing the first three orders of both ascending SD (ASD) and descending SD (DSD) to decisions in business planning and investment to risk-averse and risk- loving decision makers so that they can compare both return and...

Most studies of exchange rate exposure of stock returns do not address three relevant aspects simultaneously. They are, namely: sensitivity of stock returns to exchange rate changes; sensitivity of volatility of stock returns to volatility of changes in foreign exchange market; and the...

Trade policy has been a very contentious issue in the discourse on African development. Using panel data for 33 African countries spanning the period 1986-2000, we examine the relationship between trade liberalization and macroeconomic instability in Africa. We focus on instabilities in output,...

This paper explores the relationship between unemployment (U) and job vacancies (V) in the Singapore labour market. Empirical analysis using the framework of the UV Curve (also known as the Beveridge Curve) indicates that Singapore’s labour market appears to have improved in its matching...

This paper provides an empirical explanation to the observed disparity in cross-border M&A inflows to developing and developed countries over the last two decades. We show two main results. First, the disparity can be attributed to the difference in the quality of institutions between the two...

The Asian financial crisis increased economic disparities in the East Asian region, thus making monetary integration more difficult, but rekindled political interest in Asian monetary and exchange rate cooperation. This paper applies the theory of Generalized Purchasing Power Parity (G-PPP),...

This paper develops a simple model to examine the reasons behind the capital inflow surges into selected Asian economies in the 1990s prior to the financial crisis of 1997-98. The simple analytical model reveals that persistent uncovered interest differentials and consequent capital inflows may...

The paper examines the impact of stock market liberalisation on four industry-level economic variables, i) growth in real value added, ii) growth in real wages per worker, iii) growth in the number of employees and iv) growth in the number of firms using data on 18 developing countries for the...