3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Global Financial Crisis, 2008-2009

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    The impact of the global financial crisis on the capital structure of JSE listed companies in South Africa
    (2018) Steed, Dylan
    The aim of this thesis is to determine whether the Global Financial Crisis had an impact on the capital structure choices of South African firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) as well as to investigate whether their capital structure determinants differed before, during and after the crisis. 171 firms listed on the JSE across 9 different sectors were chosen for this study. The study used panel data over a 9-year period. Data for the three-year period 2004 to 2006 constituted the ‘before the Global Financial Crisis period’; data for the three-year period 2007 to 2009 constituted the ‘Global Financial Crisis period’ and data for the three-year period 2010 to 2012 constituted the ‘after the Global Financial Crisis period’. A panel regression model was used, and three different measures of leverage were tested. The findings indicate that the crisis had a significant impact on the capital structure of JSE listed firms. Firms were found to have lower levels of debt in the period before the crisis when compared with the crisis period. Furthermore, no significant change was found in firm leverage after the crisis, meaning that debt levels remained at similar levels after the crisis when compared with the period during the crisis. When looking at the determinants of the sampled firm’s capital structures, profitability, firm size and asset tangibility were found to have increased in significance in either the during, after-crisis period or both these periods, when compared with the before period. Growth opportunities were also found to be insignificant during the crisis but significant in both the before and after periods. Thus, it was these determinants that provided the mechanism through which JSE listed firms increased their leverage during the crisis. Ultimately, the results of this study point towards firms increasing leverage levels in times of economic crisis and financial distress
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    Forecasting emerging markets interest rates using optimal time-varying financial conditions index
    (2018) Dlamini, Lefu Jonase
    This paper aims to optimise the financial conditions index (FCI) indicator that best describes the monetary policy interest rate setting behaviour of twelve emerging market central banks. This is achieved by analysing and looking at the background of modelling interest rates and forecasting interest rate setting behaviour from various regions globally. Following the credit crisis of 2008, the conventional wisdom and foundations that prevailed before were profoundly shaken. Particularly the conduct and behaviour of central banks in response to financial conditions assumed centre stage. Consequently, there has been a consensus among economists and policymakers on the importance of financial conditions, and the influence thereof, on the interest rate setting. However, in order for central banks to achieve their financial stability objectives, they need to construct an optimal indicator that best describes financial conditions. To construct such an optimal indicator, this paper firstly investigates whether the central banks of emerging markets follow the Taylor rule in setting their interest rates. Secondly, it investigates whether the FCI with optimal time-varying weights better describes interest rate movements in emerging markets, when incorporated in the Taylor rule. Lastly, it evaluates interest rate predictability by comparing various models that include non-optimized FCIs. The paper finds that the majority of emerging countries follow the Taylor rule. It also finds that most emerging markets take into account the information contained in FCIs and the majority of these countries, optimize the variables that enter the FCIs. When evaluating the forecasting accuracy of these models, the paper finds that the optimized model ranks superior in most countries in terms of forecasting accuracy. The optimization and allocation of the variables that enter the optimized FCI happen in a similar manner that was proposed by Markowitz in portfolio allocation theory.
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    The International Monetary Fund interventions in Greece post the 2008 global economic crises
    (2018) Dakile, Dumisani Andrias
    The 2008 global economic crises which originated in the United States of America had a devastating effect to the international community. The International Monetary Fund played a significant role as the Global Development Finance Institutions during the 2008 global economic crises. The purpose of this research is to understand how the IMF intervened in Greece because of the 2008 global economic crises and how such interventions affected the working class and the poor. The researcher adopted a qualitative research methodology, undertook interviews and used questionnaires to experts, academics, trade unionist, embassy representative knowledgeable on the 2008 economic crises and the IMF role in the Greece crises. The researcher also reviewed various documents and reports as a further resource to comprehend, gain more sight and to obtain pertinent and appropriate data on the subject matter. The researcher utilized uniform questions for all the participants across. The research has established the role that was played by the IMF in the Greece crises which has been very controversial, why Greece it continues to be in economic crises and what should be done differently to resolve the Greece crises. It has established how the working class and the poor had been affected the IMF intervention in Greece and lastly it has proposed measures which need to be undertaken by the Greece to resolve the crises.
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    On teaching economics 1: a qualitative case study of a South African university
    (2016) Ojo, Emmanuel Oluseun
    The global financial crisis of 2007–2008 changed the way the world thinks about economics as a discipline and brought about awareness of how economics is taught at universities. In view of an on-going global debate about the economics curriculum and its teaching, this doctoral study places the South African context within the global higher education sphere and explores how introductory economics is taught in first-year at a South African university. This study explored the teaching of Economics 1 at a mainstream, globally-ranked public university in South Africa with very similar content and structure to the Economics 1 curriculum in the West. The main aim of the doctoral study was to investigate the qualitatively different ways in which university teachers (lecturers and tutors) teaching Economics 1 at a South African university conceive of, experience and understand their teaching and tutoring roles. On the basis of this, three research questions were asked: (I) What are the qualitatively different ways in which lecturers at ‘the University’ understand teaching Economics 1?; (II) What are the qualitatively different ways tutors at ‘the University’ understand teaching Economics 1?; and (III) What is/are the implication(s) for students’ learning of teaching Economics 1 within the current setting at ‘the University’ through the lenses of relevant conceptual frameworks and the outcome of the empirical study? Teaching in higher education, the disciplinary context of economics’ undergraduate teaching and its implications for students’ learning underpinned the choice of the literature, the three conceptual frameworks and the research methodology. By asking the three research questions above to guide the research process, the empirical study used a qualitative methodology – phenomenography – that aims to explore the qualitatively different ways in which a group of people experience a specific phenomenon, in this case teaching Economics 1 in higher education. On the basis of phenomenography as a conceptual framework in itself, this doctoral study further analysed the empirical data using two conceptual frameworks - a four-context framework for teaching in higher education and the concept of semantic gravity, relating to segmented and cumulative learning, as conceptual lenses. Two sets of conceptions of teaching emerged on the basis of answering the first two research questions. A careful, comparative analysis of these two sets (lecturers’ and tutors’ sets of conceptions of teaching) led to six conceptions of teaching Economics 1 in higher education as follows: (I) team collaboration to implement the economics curriculum; (II) having a thorough knowledge of the content; (III) implementing the curriculum in order for students to pass assessment; (IV) helping students learn key economics concepts and representations to facilitate learning; (V) engaging students through their real-life economics context to acquire economic knowledge; and (VI) helping students think like economists. The first three are characterised as being teacher-centred and the later three as student-centred. Applying the concept of semantic gravity (Maton, 2009), I argue that the latter two more complete conceptions of teaching imply cumulative learning in which students are able to acquire higher-order principles whereby they are able to apply the knowledge acquired through the teaching of Economics 1 in new contexts. The first four conceptions are seen as favouring segmented learning. According to this analysis, the fourth conception, although characterized as student oriented, should be regarded as favouring segmented learning which is not in line with the aims of higher education. As for the four-context model of teaching in higher education, the analysis from the empirical data showed that there is a very strong connection between the pedagogical and disciplinary contexts in relation to the six conceptions of teaching emerging from the analysis, though the disciplinary context is stronger than the pedagogical context. In summary, three implications can be drawn from this doctoral study on the basis of the empirical data, literature and conceptual frameworks as the basis for improving undergraduate economics education. These are as follows: (1) the need to make the economics curriculum aligned with real-life contexts of undergraduate students; (2) the need to rethink the economics curriculum in light of the current global debates within the discipline of economics; and (3) the need to bring pedagogical development into the team. Key words/phrases: Conceptions of Teaching; Teaching in Higher Education; Higher Education Research; Undergraduate Economics Education; and Phenomenography
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