Financial markets have become increasingly integrated, both domestically and internationally. Asset prices react to other asset price shocks both within and across asset classes. This paper presents a framework for analyzing the degree of financial transmission between money, bond and equity markets and exchange rates within and between the United States and Taiwan. The empirical model concentrates on monthly return over an 11-year period of 1995-2005 for seven asset prices: short-term interest rates, bond yield and equity market returns in both economies, as well as the exchange rate. The results are as followed: First, Johansen cointegration test indicates that there is one cointegrating equation between seven variables. This finding means that there is a long-run equilibrium relationship among the variables. Second, the error correction terms of the US short-term and long-term interest rates, Taiwan short-term interest rate and exchange rate are significant at the 95% level in the Vector Error Correction Model. The deviation from long-run equilibrium is corrected gradually through a series of partial short-run adjustments. The third key result of the paper is that there is a feedback relationship between the US short-term interest rate and equity market return by using the Granger Causality test. Also, the US short-term and long-term interest rates Granger-cause Taiwan short-term interest rates. This result underline that the US financial markets are the main driver of global financial markets.

This thesis analyzes some aspects of electromagnetic wave propagation in double negative materials. Double negative materials have negative refractive indices. They are backward-wave materials. Plane waves undergo negative refraction at interfaces between double positive and double negative media. Causality principle implies these properties. High frequency plane wave scattering from a double negative infinitely long cylinder has been analyzed by using modified Watson transform, geometrical optics and Mie series. Mie series results and the modified Watson transform results have been found to be in good agreement. Hence, the physical mechanism of the scattering has been revealed.

The causal relationship between energy consumption and economic growth has been a controversial subject of the empirical literature. However, there is no common consensus neither on the existence nor on the direction of the causal relationship between energy consumption and economic growth. The purpose of this study is to investigate the causal relationship between energy consumption and economic growth using a consistent data set. Recently developed Granger causality tests in panel data models are used to uncover the existence and direction of causality between energy consumption economic growth in 21 low-income, 35 middle-income, and 26 high-income countries over the period 1990&ndash / 2004. The empirical results explicitly support that the Granger causality from energy consumption to economic growth is more common in high-income countries than low-income and middle-income countries. Furthermore, the Granger causality from economic growth to energy consumption is more common in low-income and middle-income countries than high-income countries.

<p>Advertising expenditures are increasing on a yearly basis. An interesting question emerges from this: What are the macroeconomic effects of increasing advertising spending? Does the aggregate consumption increase or does it only rearrange consumption between different products and markets? The relationship between advertising and consumption was found in the literature, this relationship was further developed and the relationship between advertising and household loans emerged as an interesting subject.</p><p>An econometric analysis method was used to test the relationship between the aggregated advertising expenditure and the aggregated sum of household loans, in order to investigate whether advertising spending cause changes in the use of total household loans in Sweden.</p><p>The research did not conclude that aggregate advertising spending causes changes in the use of total household loans in Sweden. However, evidence was found which supports that household loans cause advertising expenditures. An implication of the findings is that the relationship between aggregated sum of household loans and advertising might be as interrelated as between advertising and consumption, and should be further researched. Another implication is that it might not be appropriate to purely look at advertising and consumption to increase the further understanding of the two variables. Introducing household loans as a funding variable to the consumption function can be seen as a new and interesting approach.</p>

Die Glücksgöttin Fortuna in Rom ist wohl eine der bekanntesten Gottheiten, die menschliche Geschicke leiten sollen. Andere Schlagwörter in diesem Zusammenhang sind Zufall, Pech, Schicksal, Glückssträhne etc. Geht man davon aus, dass Menschen zu diesen Konstrukten greifen, weil sie die Geschehnisse in der Welt und die ihnen zugrunde liegenden Ursache-Wirkung-Beziehungen nicht verstehen, so ist eine Klärung des Kausalitätsprinzips nötig. Bisher ist es nicht gelungen, Kausalgesetze in der Geschichte zu ermitteln. Nichtsdestotrotz existiert eine Vielzahl von Ansätzen zur Untersuchung ursächlicher Beziehungen. Einige ausgewählte Konzepte werden in dieser Arbeit anhand von Fallbeispielen vorgestellt.

In this dissertation was examined the hydraulic pattern of media-priming effects by looking into Granger causality (a statistical test to determine if one time series is useful in forecasting another) between media coverage and the importance of issues people perceive. The hydraulic pattern hypothesis, an argument that increase in the importance of an issue is accompanied by decrease in a similar amount of importance, is embedded in most media-effect theories but has rarely been tested. To test the causality with media coverage, time series of six issues and six candidate variables were created. This research is distinct from previous studies of priming in that it tests aggregate-level influence of media coverage on popular evaluation of political-campaign candidate in a long-term setting. In the findings, media coverage of issues induced changes in the Granger-caused issue-weight of the issue that it covered, confirming the main effects of priming. The hydraulic pattern was also confirmed. Active media coverage of an issue, induced Granger-caused changes in five other issue-weights. It was found that it takes 7–8 days after the media coverage to establish a causal relationship of priming effects. vii In another finding, the result showed that the time-lag of the hydraulic pattern preceded the main priming effects. As regards the debated relationship of priming effects with political knowledge, this research found that high knowledge groups are more susceptible to the main priming effects. However, the impact of political knowledge on the hydraulic pattern was the opposite. This means that less knowledgeable people may be more vulnerable; that is, they are more likely to lose sight of other issues when the media primes a certain issue. In the test of attribute priming, the causality of the hydraulic pattern was also established to a lesser degree. Especially, personality-related candidate attributes like trustworthiness were robust regarding the hydraulic-pattern effects. In all of these analyses, the measurement of optimal time-lag was utilized instead of the durability concept used in previous studies. With this study design and new measurements, this research contributes to the literature by providing new insight into the theoretical conundrums related to priming theory. One of such insight is that the priming effects that matter at the poll, are relatively slow and deliberative processes, and are differentiated from the temperamental daily effects of news. / text

This dissertation work provides a kaleidoscope of alternative empirical estimation techniques while illuminating and challenging conventional approaches and established findings in the Corporate Finance literature. In particular, the observed „conglomerate discount“ and the effect of diversication and concentrated ownership on firm value are revisited in the course of my cumulated doctoral thesis. In doing so, the main emphasis lies on the inference of causation in the presence of endogeneity concerns, namely by considering potential distortions caused by unobserved heterogeneity, reverse causality or non-random self-selection.

The theory of planned behaviour proposes that behaviour is predicted by behavioural intention which is, in turn, predicted by attitudes toward the behaviour, subjective norms regarding the behaviour and perceived control over the behaviour. Implied within this theory is that each of the three base components (attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control) influences intentions. However, despite being one of the most widely used theories in social psychology, few studies have investigated this basic premise. In addition, research on cognitive dissonance, public commitment, confirmation bias, implemental mindset, and the false consensus effect suggest that there may be a reverse-causal influence of intentions back on the base components of the theory. This potential reverse-causal sequence was tested in three studies. The first was correlational, the second was a lab-based experiment, and the third was a quasi-experimental field study. Study 1 employed a cross-lagged correlation design and showed that a reciprocal relation between intentions and base components was plausible. For the behaviour of supporting an environmental organization, Study 1 showed that attitudes were likely to influence intention-setting and that intention-setting subsequently influenced subjective norms. Study 2 employed a modified version of a free choice paradigm in which participants chose to set an intention to support one of two environmental organizations (using different support behaviours). Consequently participants rated the base components for the chosen organization higher and the rejected organization lower. However, this effect was primarily observed if participants were not initially committed to supporting an organization before the study began. Study 3 was a field study in which chemistry lab users who were exposed to an intervention that targeted behavioural intentions subsequently perceived more positive subjective norms (one aspect of subjective norms was changed). Together, the three studies demonstrate that a reverse-causal relation between intentions and base components is plausible and, thus, the theory of planned behaviour should be modified to include a reciprocal relation between these constructs. Intentions are most likely to influence base components that are least relevant to actual behaviour. When attitudes, subjective norms or perceived behavioural control are associated with actual behaviour, the one that is most strongly associated is least likely to change in response to setting an intention to engage in that behaviour. Other, less relevant, base components are more likely to change. / Graduate / 0451 / 0621 / 0768

Uppsatsen handlar om tre informanter som intervjuats angående sin syn på alternativa behandlingar och alternativa diskurser i kontrast till dominerande diskurser inom medicin och samhälle. Viktiga avsnitt rör till exempel sådant som vad är healing, hur kan en behandling gå till, grundläggande synsätt i alternativa diskurser och hur man ser på sjukdom. / This paper is about three informants. I have interviewed them in the context of their views about alternative discourses in contrast to the dominating discourses in medicine and society. Important parts in the paper touch healing, how treatment is carried out, basic thinking in alternative discourses and how disease is perceived?

Den, i olika forskningsartiklar, återkommande uppfattningen om att enperson som är autonomt orienterad är mer benägen till att utveckla enmotivation till personlig utveckling ledde till denna undersökning.Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur autonomi påverkar människortill motivation till personlig utveckling. Studien tar sin utgångspunkt iself-determination theory och dess underteori causality orientationstheory, med de tre orienteringarna kontrollerad, impersonell ochautonomi, vilka handlar om orsak till varför en person handlar på ettvisst sätt och effekten därav. De olika orienteringarna mättes med enenkät konstruerad efter general causality orientation scale ochmotivation till personlig utveckling mättes med egenkonstrueradefrågor. Enkäten lades ut på fyra olika sidor på Internet medförhoppning om att nå ett brett deltagande. Studien visade att denkontrollerade orienteringen var den av de tre orienteringarna sompåverkade människor i högst grad till motivation till personligutveckling. I studien ingick 62 stycken försöksdeltagare.Den, i olika forskningsartiklar, återkommande uppfattningen om att enperson som är autonomt orienterad är mer benägen till att utveckla enmotivation till personlig utveckling ledde till denna undersökning.Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur autonomi påverkar människortill motivation till personlig utveckling. Studien tar sin utgångspunkt iself-determination theory och dess underteori causality orientationstheory, med de tre orienteringarna kontrollerad, impersonell ochautonomi, vilka handlar om orsak till varför en person handlar på ettvisst sätt och effekten därav. De olika orienteringarna mättes med enenkät konstruerad efter general causality orientation scale ochmotivation till personlig utveckling mättes med egenkonstrueradefrågor. Enkäten lades ut på fyra olika sidor på Internet medförhoppning om att nå ett brett deltagande. Studien visade att denkontrollerade orienteringen var den av de tre orienteringarna sompåverkade människor i högst grad till motivation till personligutveckling. I studien ingick 62 stycken försöksdeltagare.