Abstract The role of the thesis is to analyze the financial situation of households and changes in living standards in Slovakia since 2000 through the creation of economic crisis to the present. In the thesis are described in detail information about unemployment, income and economically active population, but also the inflow of foreign investment, social security, household indebtedness of individuals and social situation in the Slovak Republic. These indicators compared with countries of European Union Member States. This topic is very interested because of its topicality. I chose Slovakia for two reasons. The first is that I am citizen of the Slovak Republic and the second is the availability of statistical data and work with them. Keywords: social situation, GDP, HDI, unemployment, poverty, FDI

This paper deals with FDI in the Western Balkan countries with an emphasis on the determinants that influence FDI inflow. First, the conditions for investing in the region are examined, and then specific variables are chosen to be analyzed in the second part of the thesis. In the empirical part of the paper, the statistical significance of institutional and macroeconomic variables on the FDI inflow is researched. The concluding chapter evaluates the relationship between the accession process and FDI volume, and potential areas for FDI placement are recommended. As overall follow up to the preceding deductions, the investment outlook is finally presented.

This thesis focuses on the comparison and evaluation of two entry strategies of international pharmaceutical company Fagron on the Czech and Brazilian market. In the theoretical part the internationalization of companies and possible approaches to international business is summarized. I closely describe the most significant forms of entering foreing markets with emphasis on selected impacts of FDI to the receiving economy. Then I describe the basic analyses required to enter foreing market together with specifics of B2B markets and the specific scope of business of the company -- pharmaceutical compounding. After the introduction of company Fagron and its expansion strategy Buy-and-Build I proceed with the analyses of particular entry strategies on the selected markets with the emphasis on their strategic goals, specific impacts and meeting the goals. This part draws from carried out in-depth analyses of the selected markets, which were moved to the appendices due to the limited scope of work. In the last chapter the above-mentioned market entries are compared, with the focus on the most important similarities and differences, and subsequently evaluated.

This diploma thesis analyses trends of foreign direct investment flows in developing countries during the period from 2000 to 2012. It emphasizes on changes caused by global economic crisis in 2008. First chapter is dedicated to theoretical characteristics of FDI and its impact on host economy. The second chapter describes FDI flows from 2000 to 2007, both from global point of view and in particular developing regions. Third chapter is focused on analysis of economic crisis impact on FDI flows and description of trends in developing countries occured as a result of crisis.

This thesis explores three important factors that have been central to the pursuit of economic development in developing countries, particularly those in Africa. These are capital flows, economic integration and financial crises. Chapter 1 examines the causes and consequences of capital flight in African countries. Building on standard portfolio choice model, the study links the phenomenon of capital flight to the domestic investment climate (broadly defined) and shows that African agents move their portfolios abroad as a result of a deteriorating domestic investment climate where the risk-adjusted rate of return is unfavourable. The results presented suggest that economic risk, policy distortions and the poor profitability of African investments explain the variation in capital flight. In addition, employing a PVAR and its corresponding impulse responses, the chapter shows that capital flight shocks worsen economic performance. Chapter 2 explores the (independent) effects of crises and openness on a large sample of African countries using dynamic panel techniques. Focusing on sudden stops, currency, twin and sovereign debt crises, the chapter shows that economic crises are associated with growth collapses in Africa. In contrast, economic openness is found to be beneficial to growth. More importantly, we find that, consistent with standard Mundell-Flemming type models and sticky-price open economy models, greater openness to trade and financial flows mitigates the adverse effects of crises. In the final chapter, we examine whether capital flows such as FDI, foreign aid and migrant remittances crowd-in or crowd-out domestic investment in developing countries. Applying recently developed panel cointegration techniques which can handle cross-sectional heterogeneity, serial correlation and endogeneity, we find that FDI and remittances have a positive and significant effect on domestic investment in the long-run while aid tends to act as a substitute for investment. We also conduct panel Granger causality analysis and find that the effect of FDI on investment is both transitory as well as permanent. That is, it tends to crowd-in domestic investment both in the short-run and in the long-run. We do not find any causal links between foreign aid and investment. The results show that, while remittances do not have causal effects on investment in the short-run, there is a bidirectional (causal) relationship between the two in the long-run.

The topic of the this thesis is the analysis of further action of the companies located in Industrial zone "Karviná -- Nové Pole". There is made an analysis using the criteria of individual companies operating in industrial zone "Nové Pole" which are threatened by expansion of coal mining in the case of breaking the existing limits. The introductory part deals with basic terminology related to industrial zones, different types of zones and legislation associated with their construction. The theoretical part also focuses on support the development of industrial zones and the systém of investment incentives on the Moravian-Silesian Region. Practical part is about the evaluation of current situation of particular companies and the result is that companies will be more or less interested in staying in industrial zone "Nové Pole".

This thesis analyze the economic development and FDI prospects in the context of the Free Trade Agreements that Mexico has signed in the context of NAFTA with the United States and Canada, as well as EU-MEXICO FTA with the European Union. The analysis will be focused around the regional allocation of FDI, the analysis of the main industrial sectors where FDI lands and on the most active foreign investors in the country. However, a new series of reforms and measures to advance liberalization have triggered the interest of other countries to invest in Mexico; Most notably, from Europe. These new FDI inflows are being allocated in different regions and shifting away from manufacturing industries into the service sectors and on to new investment opportunities in strategic industries.

This thesis examines Chinese foreign direct investments in Sub-Saharan Africa and their influence on Chinese foreign policy on the continent between the years 2004 and 2010. It is often believed that oil and raw materials are the principal determinants of Chinese investments in Africa. However, this research suggests that even though there exists strong correlation between the existence of reserves of raw materials and FDI distribution, such motivation is not the only one. Pragmatism, manifested by the Chinese government in FDI allocation, can lead the People's Republic to invest in controversial countries with bad governance like Sudan. China is then forced to keep closer relations with such countries and thus promote their stability to protect its investments. Tools of such efforts include foreign policy, closer cooperation on multilateral level, which includes establishment of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and foreign aid.

Attirer les investissements directs étrangers (IDE) est l'une des préoccupations majeures des pouvoirs publics compte tenu des effets bénéfiques engendrés par leur présence dans un territoire donné. Afin d'inciter aux investissements ces pays ont adopté plusieurs mesures telles que l'investissement en capital humain. Cette thèse examiner l'importance du capital humain en tant que déterminant des investissements directs étrangers. Les données issues d'une enquête menée auprès d'un échantillon de 52 entreprises à participation étrangères implantées en Tunisie nous permettent, à l'aide d'un modèle économétrique de type logit, d'estimer la probabilité de réaliser un investissement étranger sous forme de création d'une nouvelle filiale afin d'identifier les facteurs d'attractivité ayant une dimension qualitative. Les résultats montrent qu'en dehors de la proximité géographique des pays de l'union européenne, d'un bon marché et de la présence d'un tissu local aussi bien d'entreprises du même secteur que d'autres secteurs, la décision d'installer une nouvelle filiale est liée positivement et significativement à la disponibilité d'une main-d'œuvre qualifiée. / Attracting Foreign Direct Investrnents (FDI) is one of the primary concerns of the public authorities on account of their positive effects on a given territory. In order to activate investments, those countries have adopted several measures such as investment in human capital. This doctoral thesis analyses the importance of the human capital as a determinant of the Foreign Direct Investments. A survey was led with a sample of 52 companies with foreign participation implanted in Tunisia. By means of an economic model of type logit, the data that have arisen from that survey allow us to estimate the probability of the realization of a foreign investment in the form of creation of a new subsidiary in order to identify the factors of attractiveness that have a qualitative dimension. The results show that - except the geographical nearness of the countries of the European Union, a good market and the presence of a local network, the decision to establish a new subsidiary is connected positively and significantly to the availability of a qualified workforce.

For many decades, regionalism was considered a potential solution to the different crises faced by the African continent. So-called old regionalism, as implemented between the 1960s and late 1980s, yielded limited success in addressing the multidimensional challenges on the continent, resulting in a re-evaluation of Africa’s approach to continental cooperation and integration, with a view to continental development. With new trends emerging in international relations following the end of the Cold War, new regionalism was introduced as an innovative way to deal with relations between regional partners. With the launch of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Africa officially declared its endorsement of new regionalism. This study assesses the potential of NEPAD to deal with the numerous developmental challenges facing Africa. It explores how new regionalism could contribute to the resolution of a range of crises and challenges on the continent. The study focuses on Africa’s past regionalist experience, the role of new regionalism in addressing Africa’s trade and investment dilemma, as well as its role in promoting good governance and peace in Africa. The study concludes that notwithstanding the positive contribution of new regionalism, especially through its multidimensional approach, NEPAD will face tremendous challenges, mostly due to the failure of new regionalism in acknowledging the influence of other operational contexts – international and domestic – on the success of regionalist ventures. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Political Sciences / unrestricted