University of Technology Sydney

25862 Empirical Corporate Finance

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Business: Finance
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level:

Postgraduate

Result type: Grade and marks

There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.

Description

The purpose of this subject is to understand the investment and financing decisions made by firms. The main issue is how the delegation of decision-making power and information asymmetry affect outcomes, and how deviations from optimality can be mitigated through various incentive mechanisms. The subject involves game theory and covers some classic papers in finance as well as their empirical tests.

For more information, contact your PhD supervisor.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
1. Analyze data and test hypotheses.
2. Read and critically assess papers in the finance literature.
3. Construct written work which is logically and professionally presented.
4. Communicate ideas in a succinct and clear manner.
5. be able to work in teams

Teaching and learning strategies

In order to obtain the full benefit from the subject, students are required to follow the following points below.

  1. Read the assigned reading for each class and be prepared to ask critical questions and to answer specific questions about the readings.
  2. Attend all seminar classes and arrive on time.
  3. Actively participate in class: Answer questions posed by the instructor, and ask your own questions.
  4. If issues are still not clear, first ask your classmates, then ask me, send me a mail, or come to my office during the consultation hours.

The design of the subject presupposes that students are interested in the topics and will endeavour to learn the material presented. Lectures and class discussions and presentations are allaimed to facilitate your learning. However, ultimately, the time and effort each student devotes to the course will determine how much he or she learns from it.

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Empirical Assignment (Individual)

Weight: 20%

Assessment task 2: Referee Report (Individual)

Weight: 25%

Assessment task 3: Project (Group)

Weight: 35%

Assessment task 4: In-class Multiple Choice Test (Individual)*

Weight: 10%
Criteria:

*Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero.

Assessment task 5: Class Participation (Individual)*

Weight: 10%
Criteria:

*Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero.

Minimum requirements

In order to pass this course, you must:

  • achieve a composite mark of at least 50; and
  • successfully satisfy all assessment tasks and course requirements

References

Journal articles and other readings will be made available via Blackboard.