| The first chapter of this thesis provides empirical evidence on the role of fundamentalists and technicians in determining the movement of the exchange rate for a currency which is pegged to a basket of currencies. This paper uses a new data set and a new fundamental variable. The new fundamental variable (nxat) is a linear combination of net exports and net foreign assets. This new variable shows a significant effect on determining the exchange rate of the Kuwaiti Dinnar with some major currencies. This paper has new evidence explaining what might affect the exchange rate for a currency which is pegged to a basket.; The second chapter provides new evidence for evaluating the efficiency of Islamic banks. It uses a non-parametric (DEA) model to compare Islamic banks to conventional banks. It finds that being an Islamic bank will not make the bank more efficient. In contrast to all previous work considering Islamic and conventional banks, this paper uses a new combination of inputs and outputs. This new combination, which includes both investments and loans as outputs, is more appropriate when examining the weight of them on the balance sheet for both kinds of banks.; The third chapter investigates the sources of macroeconomic fluctuations in one of the major oil-exporting countries using the VAR model. It finds that the impact of oil price shocks on the Kuwait economy is minimal. This study uses both new data sets and more macroeconomic variables. This result might reflect the conservative financing policy, the use of stabilization, and saving funds by Kuwait Government. |
