University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Two essays in finance: Market response to catastrophic losses on the insurance industry and return on investment of a land grant university

Kangas, Ward Randall

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Description

Title
Two essays in finance: Market response to catastrophic losses on the insurance industry and return on investment of a land grant university
Author(s)
Kangas, Ward Randall
Issue Date
1996
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
D'Arcy, Stephen P.
Department of Study
Finance
Discipline
Finance
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Education, Finance
  • Business Administration, General
  • Economics, Finance
Language
eng
Abstract
  • Based on data on publicly traded insurance firms, the first essay examines questions about the effect of large catastrophic events on insurance firms. Rather than looking at a single event, thirty catastrophic events were aggregated into quintiles and the cumulative abnormal returns around these events were found to be significantly positive over a 25 day trading window. There is no significant evidence that post-catastrophic stock returns are correlated to the magnitude of the catastrophe.
  • The second essay analyzes the effect of a large land grant university, the University of Illinois, on the State Treasury of Illinois. If the State Treasury were acting as its own agent trying to maximize revenues, would it choose higher education as an investment versus other alternative investments. While it is true the State makes large expenditures for the operations of the University, it is also true that individuals receiving degrees on average receive higher incomes. Taxes or higher incomes offset the cost of operating the University. The study is broken out by the level of student: undergraduate, masters, doctorate, medical professional, and by function of the University. It was found that all levels of education have a positive return not only for the individual, but also for the State Treasury. This is in excess of any non-pecuniary benefits to the State of having a better educated population, or the local taxation effects on the county or city where the campus is located. These returns are found to be higher than other types of investments.
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/23232
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 1996 Kangas, Ward Randall

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