Some firms allow their CEO to hold the position of Chair of the Board of Directors while other firms choose to split those two positions between two different individuals. This dissertation first examines whether agency control mechanisms, agency problems, and other firm characteristics are...

EFFICIENCY AND ACCURACY OF ALTERNATIVE IMPLEMENTATIONS OF NO-ARBITRAGE TERM STRUCTURE MODELS OF THE HEATH-JARROW-MORTON CLASSTae Young ParkAbstractModels of the term structure of interest rates play a central role in the modern theory of pricing bonds and other interest rate claims. Term...

The Nonlinear Behavior of Stock Prices:The Impact of Firm Size, Seasonality, and Trading FrequencyDebra Ann Skaradzinski(ABSTRACT)Statistically significant prediction of stock price changes requires security returns correlation with, or dependence upon, some variable(s) across time. Since a...

EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERCEIVED COST OF ATTENDANCE AND COLLEGE MATRICULATIONRoderick Ashley HallABSTRACTResearchers have consistently found that students and their parents have a distorted view of the costs of college attendance (Grodsky & Jones, 2004; Horn, Chen, & Chapman, 2003; Ikenberry...

Altinkiliç and Hansen (2000) show that underwriter spreads in seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) overwhelmingly reflect variable costs. This research attempts to begin filling the gap created by this result, as to what are the important constituents of the variable costs. In particular, I...

This dissertation examines two different topics relatedto the issuance of a convertible debt security. The firstessay addresses the question of how managers set theequity value in a convertible debt issue. A convertibledebt security has value derived from an equitycomponent and a debt component....

Since the 1970s, dividends have not only become less common (Fama and French, 2001), they have become less sticky, too. Today, it is not uncommon for a firm to cease dividend payments within three years of initiation. I examine the differences between firms that continue to pay dividends for a...

This dissertation consists of two essays. The first provides evidence that the recent revival of shelf equity offers is related to changes in how firms use shelf registration. During 1990-2003 firms that make shelf filings have no immediate intent and low probability of issuance, lower...

Theoretical models suggest that ownership structure may be an important determinant of securities' market characteristics. For example, the presence of informed traders leads to greater bid-ask spreads (Copeland and Galai (1983), and Glosten and Milgrom (1985)), and strategic trading of informed...

The dissertation empiricallyexamines the efficacy of internalcontrol mechanisms by analyzing 94forced turnovers of chief executiveofficers (CEOs). It seeks to answertwo primary questions: One, dogovernance-related characteristicsinfluence the promptness with whichpoorly-performing CEOs...