Combinatorial auctions are an important class of market mechanisms in which participants are allowed to bid on bundles of multiple heterogeneous items. In this paper, we discuss several complex issues that are encountered in the design of combinatorial auctions. These issues are related to the formulation of the winner determination problem, the expression of combined bids, the design of progressive combinatorial auctions that require less information revelation, and the need for decision support tools to help participants make profitable bidding decisions. For each issue, we survey the existing literature and propose avenues for further research.

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This study explores the determinants of the financial performance and sustainability of Moroccan Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). Through the use of panel data concerning 10 MFIs (available on the MIX platform) with different time frames, three OLS models are run and aim to explain MFIs financial performance and sustainability using independent variables related to the size of the MFIs, the quality of their loan portfolios, the degree of outreach, and their productivity. The results obtained show that: (1) the personnel productivity contributes significantly to the MFIs’ Return on Assets and their sustainability, and (2) the loan repayment level of MFIs customers is an important determinant of their sustainability.

This paper investigates the validity of the Fama-French Three Factor (FF3F) and the Carhart Four Factor (C4F) models in Morocco. Monthly returns of Casablanca Stock Exchange-listed companies are extracted from Reuters DATASTREAM over a 5 years’ period (2013-2017). Market, size, value and momentum effect-mimicking exogenous variables are formed and regressed against the returns of size and value-sorted portfolios over a total of 8 multivariate linear regressions. While the size and value effects were found to partially hold, the momentum effect was found to be insignificant. Additionally, the C4F Model did not exhibit a better explanatory power compared to the FF3F Model. It appears that both models cannot be fully relied on in order to predict cross-sections of return in the Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE), as they both only partially hold in the latter. Ultimately, this study brings value to the existing literature by testing two widely explored asset pricing models in an emerging market where equity research-oriented inquiries are relatively scarce or basic. Even if the models do not fully hold in the Moroccan context, this study posits whether the individual anomalistic factors hold in the CSE, which might be useful for future asset pricing models augmenting endeavors.