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The purpose of this research is to determine whether the trading of equity index futures contracts on the South African Futures Exchange (SAFEX) results in an increase in the volatility of the underlying spot indices. Since equity index futures contracts were first listed in the USA in 1975, various studies have been undertaken to determine whether the volatility of shares in the underlying indices increases as a result of the trading of such futures contracts. These studies have lead to the development of two schools of thought: [a] Trading activity in equity index futures contracts leads to an increase in the volatility of index shares. [b] Trading activity in equity index futures contracts does not lead to an increase in the volatility of the index shares and could in fact lead to greater stability in equity markets. Although some evidence of higher volatility in expiration periods was found, volatility in the expiration periods was not consistently higher than in the corresponding pre‐expiration period.

The paper starts by setting out the regulatory structure for derivatives markets in the USA and some of the problems associated with it. It then considers the provisions afforded by Title V of the Futures Trading Practices Act of 1992 and the extent to which these redress regulatory uncertainty.

The question being assessed is whether changes in the degree of global geopolitical risk (GPR), as defined by the framework developed by Iacoviello (2018), can be used to improve allocative efficiency, thereby increasing investment returns on oil commodities.

Using the linear and nonlinear model, this paper analyzes the impact of GPR on returns of oil prices (BRENT, WTI and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), as well as the short- and long-run relationship between GPR and oil prices.

The results of the impulse response function indicates that oil prices do not respond to shocks in GPR. The results of the Granger causality test show that oil returns are not caused by GPR. The regression analysis and autoregressive distributed lag results show that there is no significant impact of GPR on the returns of oil.

This is unique among the literature in that it identifies and isolates the relationship between GPR and oil market pricing. Insight into the lag in market response and the degree to which GPR can be used to estimate oil prices using curvilinear models are derived from the analysis.

The main purpose of this paper is to compute the appropriate margin level for the stock index futures traded on the Taiwan Futures Exchange (TAIFEX) and, then, to examine the appropriateness of the real margin requirement set by the TAIFEX.

This paper develops a new approach assuming the future's prices follow a geometric Brownian motion process. Compared with the extreme value theory that has been intensively used to determine the appropriate futures margin levels, one of the advantages of the present model is no need to specify the frequency at which extremes are taken.

The evidences indicate that the theoretical margins obtained by the proposed model can provide a more accurate and flexible margin level in accordance with the market volatility.

The main limitation of this approach is that the natural logarithm of the futures prices is assumed to follow a Brownian motion process. However, such an assumption might not be practical for financial returns.

The research is helpful for the clearinghouse to set up its margins policy, especially under various conditions of volatility risks.

This paper proposes a theoretical procedure to set an appropriate futures margin for the TAIFEX. This paper also provides a better understanding of Taiwan's futures market that is newly launched and is useful for investors to hedge and speculate.

The purpose of this study is to provide further evidence on the importance of international diversification, and to determine the optimal allocation of assets in a portfolio comprising domestic (Australian) and international assets. The study focuses on stock index futures contracts in five countries ‐ Australia, USA, UK, Hong Kong and Japan. Daily data for the five selected contracts over the period from 1 January 1990 to 31 December 2000 is employed in the study. Consistent with previous studies, the results confirm the importance of international diversification and indicate that the portfolio risk is reduced considerably when more international assets are added sequentially to the portfolio. Empirical analysis also shows that the optimal asset allocation results in higher risk reduction and better returns when compared with an equally weighted portfolio.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the validity of the purchasing power parity (PPP) hypothesis for two Southern African countries, namely: Lesotho and Zambia.

The authors utilized four econometric tests to examine the existence of the PPP hypothesis in Lesotho and Zambia. These tests include two unit root tests without structural breaks – the Dickey-Fuller generalized least squares (DF-GLS) test and the Ng-Perron test; and two unit root tests with structural breaks – the Perron test and the Zivot-Andrews test. The authors’ empirical analysis is based on an annual data set with varying time periods. The sample period spanned 1960-2010 and 1955-2010, for Lesotho and Zambia, respectively.

The authors found that the PPP hypothesis was supported in the case of Lesotho, but rejected in the case of Zambia.

This paper is the first to simultaneously explore the exchange rate policies, trends, and the PPP for these two countries. The implication of this finding is that Lesotho is unlikely to profit immensely from trade and investment arbitrages; whereas Zambia is more likely to profit immensely from trade and investment arbitrage by trading with the USA. Moreover, the authors’ findings indicate that the PPP doctrine may be a useful guide for the exchange rate and other macroeconomic adjustment policies in Lesotho but not in Zambia.

Today, the transport industry is facing increasing demands on reducing both the environmental impact and cost of freight transports. Another demand, coming from the end consumers, is the demand for ecological accountability, so‐called ecological foot‐printing, meaning that the emission of every freight movement is distributed to the freight. Previous research shows that transport planning, system integration and control are some of the key factors to achieve more sustainable transport setups. One of the major obstacles preventing these factors is the complexity of international supply chains, with several involved actors. Smart Freight is a holistic concept, integrating transport management and state‐of‐the‐art technologies for freight tracking and vehicle monitoring, in order to enable improved management and accountability of freight transportation. The purpose of this research is to explore how Smart Freight can be used to control, track and reduce the environmental impact of goods transportation. This research is based on two in‐depth case studies and a demonstration prototype of one of the studied transport setups. An extensive amount of data was collected between 2006 and 2008 through interviews, video filming, document studies, physical travel with the freight flows, seminars, prototype building, literature and desktop studies. The result of this research highlights the weaknesses in today’s control of transport operations and presents a model for how Smart Freight enables a more environmentally friendly and accountable transport system.

In order to succeed in an action under the Equal Pay Act 1970, should the woman and the man be employed by the same employer on like work at the same time or would the woman still be covered by the Act if she were employed on like work in succession to the man? This is the question which had to be solved in Macarthys Ltd v. Smith. Unfortunately it was not. Their Lordships interpreted the relevant section in different ways and since Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome was also subject to different interpretations, the case has been referred to the European Court of Justice.

This concluding chapter summarises the main themes and topics discussed in this book, synthesising the key issues facing contemporary anti-racism efforts. It reflects on a possible anti-racist future(s) in a context of greater sociocultural affiliations and more interconnected local and global environments. Ideas about race and ethnicity have adapted, and racial hierarchies, structures and processes continuously shape the way social groups engage, interact and live with difference. This raises questions regarding the enduring influence of race and racism. What will the state of multiracial societies be in the evolving digital economy that has transformed the structural and institutional environment affecting everyday life? What kind of an anti-racist future can be imagined that will contribute to ensuring greater social equity? This chapter ponders on a range of possibilities to chart directions towards an anti-racist future that fosters increased intercultural understanding for relational engagements across difference. It draws conclusions and lessons for an anti-racist future and lays out some directions for future research.

The purpose of this paper is to explore socio-economic implications of decentralized autonomous self-owned businesses.

The authors take the approach of a case study analysis.

Unlike dark scenarios according to which almost half of our jobs are at risk in the wake of new emerging technologies such as AI and Blockchain (Frey and Osborne, 2013), the authors envision a world of decentralized autonomous self-owned businesses, using the example of the taxi market. The authors, first, outline their characteristics and how they work. Second, they elaborate on the socio-economic implications of markets where this novel kind of business enters. Third and most important, the authors argue that so-called robo-economic systems would be tantamount to a post-capitalistic society that is enforced by applying capitalistic principles.

The presented scenario of this paper is very futuristic and furthermore reduces a complex system quite drastically to be able to focus on the two implications of interest. Therefore, we are confronted with the necessity to take assumptions on socio-technical feasibilities and individual preferences. Most of these assumptions can be challenged (see Section 6.3).

The scenario presented by the authors stands in contrast to the fear that increased automation inherently leads to increased inequality. There is a general debate going on whether automation and digitalization will lead to a massive loss of employment, because machines will replace humans in many fields of work. Frey and Osborne (2013) estimate that nearly every second job is at risk to disappear in the coming decades because of computerization. Hence, many people fear to be left behind because of this development and inequality will increase tremendously as only those who own the machines will benefit directly from the profit share. In the scenario, however, the profits are mostly distributed among the consumers via reduced prices.

The proposed scenario seems to reconcile socialism (less private property) with liberalism (a radicalization of markets) and shows an effective way to tackle market power, the problem that certain persons and firms would benefit almost exclusively from the increased profit margins promised by automation.