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Human activities lead to the emission of carbon and carbon equivalents into the atmosphere which leads to climate change. Some of the negative impacts of climate change include increased frequency of flooding and drought. These lead to loss of soil and crucial soil nutrients which affects agricultural production leading to food insecurity, increased poverty, and may have a significant impact on the quality of life. The majority of Africa’s population are smallholder rain-dependent farmers. Their success depends on actual rainfall (amount and distribution) whose variability is projected to increase due to climate change. As the impact of climate change is felt, the inhabitants’ activities may further exacerbate land degradation through unsustainable agricultural practices. To escape from these adverse impacts requires investment. To this end, climate finance has been offering funds for investments in climate-smart agricultural projects. This has the possibility of enhancing Africa’s adaptive capacity, food security and economic growth. This thesis estimates weather-related yield risk in agriculture and the possible use of climate finance instruments for risk weather management. First, the global climate finance landscape was reviewed. This provided an overview of the available financing mechanisms, the sources of climate finance and the overall distribution of the finances across the various regions and sectors. It also highlighted the opportunities and challenges faced by climate finance investments as well as the innovative approaches that have been adopted to tap the available climate risk finance. Upon establishing the current climate finance landscape and the approaches adopted for climate risk management in agriculture, this study estimated the probable risk in Kenya's agriculture as a result of weather events such as drought. To achieve this, the national annual maize yield data from 1961 to 2014 was utilised. The yield variation was calculated by comparing th

Based on agency theory, this thesis investigates the link between agency costs and earnings management (EM) using data from listed public companies in China from 1999 to 2014. In this thesis, I examine whether EM reduces agency costs in China, where companies suffer from agency problems. Using static and dynamic models to test the agency costs/EM nexus, I find a significant and positive relationship between agency costs and EM based on a static model that suggests opportunistic EM in China. These results are consistent with suggestions in the literature that EM can be used opportunistically by managers with regard to agency costs (e.g., Dechow & Sloan, 1991; Guidry, Leone, & Rock, 1999; Healy, 1985; Holthausen, Larcker, & Sloan, 1995). However, I find an insignificant relationship between agency costs and EM using a dynamic model that takes into account the endogeneity issue. Therefore, my results suggest that engagement in EM has no significant influence on agency costs in China. Furthermore, board size, board independence, firm size, leverage and CEO duality, which are conventionally thought to be important in explaining agency costs, do not have a significant impact. The results add support to the growing literature on the relevance of endogeneity issues in corporate governance studies, since failing to take these into account can lead to spurious results. This thesis examines both principal-agent and principal-principal agency costs. The concept of traditional principal-agent agency conflict caused by the separation of ownership and management was conceived in a developed market context. However, in emerging economies, principal-principal agency conflicts are the major concerns in corporate governance. Emerging economies are characterized by weak legal protection, high information asymmetry, and concentrated ownership structures, which provide the economic and institutional roots for principal-principal agency conflicts. Based on agency theory, Jiraporn, Miller

Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) traditionally have a mission to provide credit to the poorest of the poor and promote sustainable pathways towards a better tomorrow. Importantly, promoting financial inclusion by providing services as alternatives to the informal financial sector of moneylenders, MFIs assist in economic and social growth. In Nepal, the increasing demand for cash to meet social and religious obligations in largely subsistent village economies is increasingly supported by short-term seasonal migration. The removal of working-age males from communities produces a range of unanticipated and not necessarily desirable outcomes. MFIs, it is suggested, can ameliorate the problem and positively contribute to improved sustainable development outcomes. Potentially, significant gains in outreach are realistically achievable in the context of remote village settings where there is currently little access to cash. It is observed that cash requirements among the rural poor are increasing as more and more activities, such as the purchase of chattels and livestock plus other transactions such as religious festivals and weddings, now require money. This study examines the impact of corporate governance practices on MFIs’ outreach and financial performance in Nepal. In particular, it examines the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms in MFIs and their outreach and financial performance. How the Nepalese central bank, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), through its corporate governance directives for Banking and Financial Institutions (BFIs) influences corporate governance practices of MFIs is analysed in this study. The good governance practices may enable the MFIs to perform better and increase MFIs’ social mission as well as their sustainability. Good governance practices can reduce the hierarchical time-consuming bureaucracy and wasteful utilization of resources necessarily diverted from MFIs’ mission. Defined structures of governance clarify the responsibiliti