Facultad de Derecho, Empresa y Políticas

In this paper, we explore two of the most relevant theories that explain financial policy in small and medium enterprises (SMEs): pecking order theory and trade-off theory. Panel data methodology is used to test the empirical hypotheses over a sample of 6482 Spanish SMEs during the five-year period 1994–1998. The results suggest that both theoretical approaches contribute to explain capital structure in SMEs. However, while we find evidence that SMEs attempt to achieve a target or optimum leverage (trade-off model), there is less support for the view that SMEs adjust their leverage level to their financing requirements (pecking order model).

The principal aim of this paper is to test how firm characteristics affect Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) capital structure. We carry out an empirical analysis over a panel data of 6482 non–financial Spanish SMEs along the five-year period 1994–1998, modelling the leverage ratio as a function of firm specific attributes hypothesized by capital structure theory. Our results suggest that non–debt tax shields and profitability are both negatively related to SME leverage, while size, growth options and asset structure influence positively on SME capital structure; they also confirm a maturity matching behaviour in this firm group.

This paper analyzes the performance of various asset classes traded in the Spanish Capital Market. We compare the relative behavior of stock and corporate bond market indices, risk factors, and option-based expected market risk premia of the IBEX-35 at alternative horizons. We finally discuss the spillover volatility connections between the stock market portfolio, the general index of corporate bonds, the long-term government bond, and risk-neutral volatility and skewness. The stock market index is a net sender of volatility to the rest of asset classes, especially during the Great Recession and the Eurozone debt crises. The government bond is a net sender of volatility to corporate bonds and risk-neutral volatility and skewness. In fact, during stressed periods, the returns of the government bond have a positive exposure to the market stock return, which suggests that the Spanish long-term bond is a risky asset rather than being a hedging asset. This fact, together with the strong counter-cyclical behavior of the expected market risk premium at any horizon, suggests that the Spanish corporations are badly affected during recessions with a negative impact on investment and output growth. It is not surprising how rapidly the Spanish economy deteriorates at the beginning of recessions. Note that the ultimate objective is to learn about the Spanish real economy through the lens of financial markets

This paper analyzes the factor structure and cross-sectional variability of a set of expected excess returns extracted from option prices and a non-parametric and out-of-sample stochastic discount factor. We argue that the existing potential segmentation between the equity and option markets makes advisable to avoid using only option prices to extract expected equity risk premia. This set of expected risk premia forecast significantly future realized returns, and the first two principal components explain 94.1% of the variability of expected returns. A multi-factor model with the market, quality, funding illiquidity, the default premium and the market-wide variance risk premium as factors explain significantly the cross-sectional variability of expected excess returns. The (asymptotically) different from zero adjusted cross-sectional R-squared statistic is 83.6%.

This paper studies the joint behavior of equity (VIX) and Treasury (MOVE) risk-neutral volatilities to understand the total and directional connectedness between both option-based implied volatilities, as well as their economic and monetary drivers. Moreover, we analyze whether risk aversion and financial, macroeconomic and policy uncertainty affect connectedness dynamics. Most of the time, but especially during bad economic times, we find significant net spillovers from Treasury to equity risk-neutral volatility. Future and contemporaneous good times increase the spillovers from VIX to MOVE, while bad economic times increase the directional connectedness from MOVE to VIX.

As soon as transitional justice mechanisms are instruments to address the problems of "justice" that any peace process pose, it is important to choose the most appropriate one for each different situation. This is the reason why we need to know about the situation in the country or territory concerned, which are the crimes that must be addressed and what is the social context to which it should be applied. The paper starts from the special situation of vulnerability in which women are in many of the countries affected by armed conflicts or situations of serious social crisis, including the occupied territories. Gender-based violence and crimes targeted specifically against women increase in these contexts and this has been especially dramatic in recent years (for instance the use of rape as war weapon or the increase of serious sexual and physical assaults in these contexts). Women have been invisible in peace processes throughout the twentieth century and, of course, only after the 90ties, transitional justice mechanisms have had a gender perspective. The twenty-first century seems to begin with hope in this field and UNSC Resolution 1325 (2000) is an example of the fact that International Community is waking up to this question. Women must have a very important role in building peace and, transitional justice should have a gender perspective. However, only after understanding and analysing the origins, consequences and the special features presented by this violence in general and in each specific context, we will be able to determine the appropriate mechanism for its punishment and prevention and for using these mechanisms in order to decrease women vulnerability in these societies. If the mechanism selected to solve the problems of transitional justice in the occupied territories is not the appropriate for the punishment of such crimes, it will be necessary to know their strengths and weaknesses to address gender questions. Once this is done, we will be able to make the necessary institutional reforms in order to meet the needs of women. Therefore it is our goal to make a review of the main mechanisms of transitional justice (International Criminal Courts, Mixed Courts, Truth Commissions, Internal Courts) identifying, with specific cases, the benefits and challenges of their use for the punishment of crimes of gender.