Národohospodářská fakulta Vysoké školy ekonomické v Praze, nám. Winstona Churchilla 4, 130 67 Praha 3 tel.: +420 224 095 521, fax: +420 224 221 718, URL: http://nf.vse.cz
REVIEW OF THE DIPLOMA THESIS OPPONENT
Student’s name and surname:Kseniia Koka ...
Thesis title: U.S. Banking system in the Great Depression and Great Recession – Differences and Parallels ...
Thesis opponent: Ing. Petr Chalupecký...
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Assessment of the main aspects of the thesis:
1 Structure of the thesis (logical and systematic construction) ☐ ☒ ☐ ☐ 2 Goal of the thesis (unambiguity of formulation, adequacy) ☒ ☐ ☐ ☐
3 Quality of the theoretical part ☐ ☒ ☐ ☐
4 Quality of the application/analytical/empirical part ☐ ☒ ☐ ☐
5 Adequacy of the methods to the goal of the thesis ☐ ☒ ☐ ☐
6 Sources (topicality, relevance, frequency) ☒ ☐ ☐ ☐
7 Quality of conclusions, fulfillment of the goal of the thesis ☐ ☒ ☐ ☐ 8 Formal aspects (formatting, stylistics, references) ☐ ☒ ☐ ☐
Verbal assessment (describe the strongest and weakest aspects of the thesis; especially in case of a low assessment 3-4, concrete reproaches need to be expressed):
A comparison of Great Depression and Great Recession concerning financial industry is a fruitful topic despite many differences characterizing both periods, namely institutional ones.
To highlight strong aspects of the thesis I put relatively narrow focus on the topic. This makes the work tight and compact. I also appreciate the selection of resources. There is a vast number of studies dedicated to the analysis of the Great Depression, so the limited choice is necessary.
In my opinion Mrs. Koka did not omit any important one despite her focus on the most recent studies. The same is for the Great Recession. There are other positive aspects of the Thesis that are worth mentioning. Elaboration of the history of both crises is brief and complex. My only objection is that that space dedicated each of the crisis is not equal, so the reader learns more on the Great Depression than the Great Recession. Chapter 3 provides coherent and acceptable conclusions despite using mostly descriptive method. Vast using of statistical data and its presentation in graphs and tables is another strong aspect of the Thesis.
On the other hand, I have to mention several weak aspects of the Thesis. I would prefer to include proper introduction of analytical tools and methods concerning banking system,
business cycles and monetary policy in the theoretical part. And I would welcome a comparison of institutional environment in the two periods too, for example the size, the importance of banking sector and its structure, régimes of monetary policy etc. This will enable to elaborate practical part more profoundly, especially chapter four where some recommendations are given. From formal point of view there are several omissions of references in the text.
Complex assessment (it is necessary to state whether the thesis complies with the Methodological guidelines of the Faculty of Economics, University of Economics, Prague as concerns the quality of the content, the extent and formal requirements and whether the thesis is being recommended to the defense or not; the thesis can also be nominated to a special award, etc. ):
The thesis satisfies all requirements of the Faculty of Economics on this type of thesis. Despite my reservations I recommend it to the defense.
Questions to the defense:
1. What are main institutional differences of U.S. banking sector in periods under the study?
2. Describe two main mechanisms underlying monetary policy of the 1920s and 1930s.
Suggested grade: Very good
Date: 16.09.2021 ...
Thesis opponent’s signature Instructions to the reviewer: The reviewer needs to fill in the verbal assessment which is adequately informative with respect to the purpose of the defense.
Assessment scale: 1 = excellent, 2 = very good, 3 = good, 4 = failed.
