SACM - Australia
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://drepo.sdl.edu.sa/handle/20.500.14154/9648
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Item Restricted The Cross-Section of Stock Returns and Factor Premiums in the Saudi Stock Market(Victoria University, 2024-04) Alshaikhmubarek, Asim; Seelanatha, Lalith; Kulendran, NadaThe recent reformation and globalisation of the Saudi stock market have underscored the necessity of investigating the patterns that drive market returns, with factor premiums and asset pricing models serving as crucial analytical tools for this purpose. Therefore, this study examines whether the Fama and French (2015) five-factor model (FF5FM) provides a better explanation for the cross-section of stock returns than the Fama and French (1992) three-factor model (FF3FM), and whether the factors utilised in these asset pricing models have a significant premium in the Saudi stock market. Furthermore, this study introduces a new factor, the Islamic premium, to the Fama and French asset pricing models and examines whether this factor has a significant premium or enhances the models’ ability to describe the variation in average returns. The research also investigates whether the recent global market integration has altered the significance of the factor premiums and the explanatory power of asset pricing models. Finally, to understand the market behaviour during crises, the impact of COVID-19 on stock performance and factor premiums is analysed. A one sample t-test is employed first to examine the significance of all factor premiums. Then, the GRS test for portfolio efficiency is used to compare the performance of the asset pricing models and to identify the most effective model based on the lowest GRS value. Then, this study divides the sample period into two subperiods – pre- and post-global integration – to assess the significance of the factor premiums (using a one-sample t-test) and the performance of the asset pricing models (using the GRS test) in each subperiod. Additionally, a two-sample t-test is conducted to ascertain any significant changes in the factor premiums, and robustness checks are performed using monthly/weekly returns and value-weighted/equal-weighted portfolios across all the methods applied in this study. Finally, panel regression analysis and the Wald test are used to examine the implications of COVID-19 on the performance of stocks in the market. This study finds that the value premium is the only factor that has a significant equity premium across all the examined portfolios. This indicates that future investors in the Saudi stock market could generate higher returns if they invest in stocks with a higher B/M ratio. However, the study also finds that the inverse of the investment premium is significant, which means the stocks with higher investment growth have a significant equity premium. This may be attributed to investors’ potential overreaction to positive news, such as investment growth, and herding behaviour. The study further finds that Fama and French’s FF5FM generally outperforms FF3FM, particularly when using factors constructed from the 2 × 3 sort. Conversely, when employing factors from the 2 × 2 sort, the Islamic premium notably enhances the explanatory power of FF5FM and FF3FM. The study finds evidence that the size effect started to reappear in the market after global integration. More substantial evidence shows that the value premium emerged following changes in market demographics. On the other hand, the inverse of the investment premium was significant before global integration but has disappeared since then. These findings show that after market reforms, investors in the Saudi market have made more informed investment decisions and paid more attention to factor premiums. The study also found that the best asset pricing model for describing variation in the cross-section of stock returns differed before and after the global market integration. From 2018 onward, incorporating Islamic premiums have improved the explanatory power of the Fama and French asset pricing models. Additionally, value-weighted portfolios always give higher returns than equal-weighted portfolios. This could be due to the poor performance of smaller stocks and higher exposure to larger stocks in value-weighted portfolios. Finally, there is evidence that Islamic and less profitable stocks performed poorly compared to non-Islamic and more profitable stocks during the COVID-19 crisis, most likely due to liquidity challenges. Most firms experienced a revenue decline during COVID-19, particularly stocks with low profitability, as they already had cash flow issues. However, the limited financial sources available to Islamic stocks compared to non-Islamic stocks worsened their liquidity position and made them more vulnerable.9 0Item Restricted Equity in Health: Analysing the Accessibility of Australia's Tertiary Public and Private Healthcare(The University of Western Australia, 2026-01-01) azeem, Mazen Ba; Kruger, Estie; Tennant, MarcThis thesis undertakes an exhaustive analysis of tertiary healthcare accessibility in Australia, juxtaposing public and private sector distribution against the backdrop of the socio-economic landscape. It critically assesses healthcare services availability, particularly during the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study employs geospatial analysis and GIS mapping to evaluate the socioeconomic status of the population residing near the facilities, location and accessibility of Emergency Departments (EDs) in tertiary public and private healthcare facilities across the country and explore their readiness in the face of potential pandemics. The socio-economic variables within different buffer zones are scrutinised to reveal the impact on healthcare access during the health crisis. By integrating Australian experiences during COVID-19, the research highlights the variances in healthcare accessibility, accentuating the strains on hospitals with EDs and the innovative implementation of field centres in high-density regions to counteract service gaps. The thesis also discusses the socioeconomic determinants that exacerbate disparities in healthcare provision, offering insights into the stratification of health equity. The findings suggest that, despite Australia's robust healthcare system, critical areas require strategic enhancement to ensure preparedness for future pandemics. Recommendations include the need to address healthcare inequalities and improve service accessibility in Australia’s urban, rural and remote areas, as well as the establishment of temporary healthcare facilities in strategically identified locations to bolster the resilience of healthcare infrastructure. The conclusions drawn herein provide a pathway for policymakers to fortify healthcare systems against the backdrop of socio-economic disparities, aiming for an equitable distribution of healthcare resources.33 0Item Restricted Mutual Fund Performance, Performance Persistence and Impact of Unprecedented Factors on Mutual Fund Performance in Saudi Arabia(Victoria University, 2024-02-23) Alqadhib, Haidar Mohammed; Kulendran, NadaThis empirical study comprehensively analyses the performance of active and passive equity mutual funds in Saudi Arabia during 2010–2020. This analysis also encompasses subsample periods coinciding with various significant market events (SMEs), such as the periods before and after the financial reforms of 2015, the Saudi Arabian market-specific financial crises in 2014–2016 and 2019–2020, and bullish and bearish market conditions. Furthermore, it explores whether mutual fund risk-adjusted performance varies when using different benchmark indices. In addition, this study examines whether the performance persistence of individual active funds is linked to genuine stock-picking skills or is merely a result of pure luck. Moreover, given the extreme participation of individual traders in the Saudi Arabian market, the study examines whether investor sentiment influences mutual fund performance, along with other factors, such as oil price volatility, compliance with Islamic law, management expense ratios, fund flows, fund age and fund size. Last, it measures the impact of the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), including the increase in confirmed new cases and confirmed fatalities, on mutual fund performance during the peak of the pandemic in Saudi Arabia. The study applied various econometric models to examine the proposed hypotheses. First, the mean-difference measure was used to calculate the benchmark-adjusted performance, while time-series regression-based models (specifically, the Jensen single-factor model and the Fama–French–Carhart 6-factor model) were applied to estimate the risk-adjusted performance. Further, structural break tests were used to examine significant variations in fund performance across SMEs and to compare the performance of both active and passive mutual funds. Second, a bootstrap statistical technique was employed to investigate whether the performance persistence of individual active funds can be significantly attributed to genuine stock-picking skills or was merely the result of luck. Last, a panel regression model was used to examine both the potential impact of investor sentiment and the impact of COVID-19 spread on mutual fund performance. The findings regarding the benchmark-adjusted and risk-adjusted performance indicate that active funds outperformed the benchmark indices. However, there is no evidence to support the outperformance of passive funds to these indices. Moreover, structural break tests demonstrated a significant superior performance of active funds over passive funds. In addition, the empirical evidence revealed that the performance of mutual funds during periods of SMEs differed significantly from that in the overall sample period. Regarding the investigation of performance persistence, the study’s findings confirm that genuine stock-picking skills underlie the observed performance persistence across a large number of active funds. Turning to the investigation of the potential influence of investor sentiment on fund performance, the findings suggest a positive and significant impact of investor sentiment on active mutual fund performance. In contrast, the impact of investor sentiment on passive fund performance is comparatively subdued. Last, the study finds that the proliferation of the COVID-19 pandemic exerted a significant and negative impact on the performance of active mutual funds.21 0Item Restricted Australian skilled migration policy & COVID 19: A study on the policy induced vulnerabilities among migrant nurses in Victoria, Australia(Saudi Digital Library, 2023-11-24) Asiri, Khalid; Stratton, GregoryWithin Australia, nurses form the largest workforce segment within the healthcare system and play an essential role in the overall success of the sector. Following the pandemic, research has demonstrated rising challenges in nurse wellbeing, concerns for safety, increase in workload as well as reduction in available resources. The COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted policy- induced pressures on skilled migrant nurses and midwives within Australia. Policy changes introduced following the pandemic have resulted in the stress, uncertainty, and job loss of various skilled migrant nurses within Australia. The key purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in skilled nurse migration policy during the pandemic. The research highlighted how skilled nurses within Australia have been impacted by Australian government policy measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. The methodology for the purpose of this research was based on using a combination of qualitative and quantitative secondary data that is readily available in resources provided by the university database and using a content analysis to reach conclusions. Research findings showed various short and long-term impacts on skilled nurses that were researched and reported during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. Changes in the requirements of special care, a higher volume of patients, and increased demand for healthcare professionals have all put increased pressure on nurses during COVID-19. Additionally, being a migrant nurse meant less government support, family support, and policy support was provided leading to more burdens on nurses. Research showed that COVID-19 pushed migrant nurses toward lower professional development, low personal satisfaction, and low job retention. Specifically, higher levels of discrimination and prioritization of Australian citizens and residents created major barriers to migrant nurses in Australia. As a result of the challenges posed by COVID-19, comprehensive support measures for migrant nurses is required. Clinical reflective supervision, access to psychological resources, peer support, mentoring, health and wellness programs, and professional development opportunities may all help to enhance career advancement and create leadership within the workforce.21 0Item Restricted Deep Learning-Based Frameworks for Automated Identifying Depression Through Social Media(Saudi Digital Library, 2023-04-01) Zogan, Hamad; Xu, GuandongThe data generated by users on Twitter is precious for healthcare technology as it can reveal important patterns that can greatly benefit the field in multiple ways. Notably, most of the recent depression detection models are limited to detecting a large number of posts. The objective of this study is to integrate user posts and behavior to create a broad spectrum of behavioral, and semantic representations of users. This will enable the automatic selection of the most significant user-generated information and the development of an explainable deep-learning architecture to identify depression. Furthermore, this study aims to create new tasks that model user narratives in social media.61 0