<p>In this paper I study how the repeal of the Swedish wealth tax (1 of January 2007) has affected people´s labour supply behaviour. This particular issue is relevant because it may help us understand some of the effects of the earnings tax changes that have taken place in Sweden. Accoring to standard economic theory a repealed wealth tax is similar to an income effect for the persons who previously paid the tax. That means that they theoretically will want to consume more leisure, that is decrease their labour supply. The method I am using to test this hypothesis is a difference-in-difference approach where the treatment group consists of persons who previously paid the tax and the control group of comparable persons who did not pay the tax. The data I am using is taken from a Swedish database called LINDA, compiled by the Swedish Central Agency for Statistics (SCB). My main result in this paper is that the repealed wealth tax does not seem to have had any influnece on the labour supply behavior of the persons who previously paid the tax.</p>

The existing literature on current account¡¦s analysis of influencing factors-related issues had had extensive research achievements, but they mostly stressed the discussion of influencing factors from outside the economic body. To better understand and improve government¡¦s ability of controlling variations in current account balance in order to suit the macro economic situation through the use of nimble interest and exchange rate policies, we employ the analytical tool to examine factors that influence Taiwan's excess saving during the period from 1987Q3 to 2009Q1. We modify the current account share of GDP regression by including interest rate, exchange rate and quarterly rate of inflation to reflect the effect of current account dynamics. Empirical evidences indicate that the coefficients of the long-run relationship are significantly crucial. We apply both the linear error-correction model (ECM) and nonlinear smooth transition regression model to investigate the dynamics of current account vis-a-vis interest rate, exchange rate and the quarterly rate of inflation. and find supportings to the appropriateness of nonlinear smooth transition regression model. Furthermore, exchange rate was found having positive impact on current account balances. That is, a depreciation in the exchange rate would improve the current account and an appreciation, on the other hand, will worsen the current account. But the quarterly rate of inflation has a significantly negative effect, with an increase in the quarterly rate of inflation leading to a decrease in current account balances. Finally, from the long run cointegrating relationship, current account balances raises while the interest rate is decreasing, indicating there might exist income effect when interest rates fall. Because a fall in income reduces consumption, and increases saving, in turn, causes current account balances to rise, and vice versa. The empirical results shows all coefficients¡¦ sign can not only explain and interpret real economic phenomena, but also are consistent with theoretical expectations.

Child labour is closely associated with poverty. However, the direction of causality is an empirical question. There is need to control for potential endogeneity in order to be able to adequately estimate the factors that determine child labour. This study proposed a model of an agricultural household to explain the factors that affect the household's decision to involve their children in child labour and the type of influence each factor has on the household. These factors include household resources, child characteristics, community characteristics, school availability, etc. The data was analysed using both Tobit and Logit models. The Tobit model was used to find the relationship between the factors and duration of child work while the Logit model was used for the participation of the child in farm work. The outcome of the analysis showed that among agricultural households in Ethiopia, child labour is a normal good increasing with income. However, the impact on the male child was different from that of the female child, suggesting that gender bias with respect to child labour might exist in Ethiopia. The male child is made to participate more in farm work than the female child, though the females responded more to household land holding (size). This can be attributed to the need for the household decision maker to substitute household chores performed by the female child for farm work. The substitution effect of increase in income on household decision on child farm work is higher than the income effect, irrespective of the gender of the child, although the effect was significant for the male child but not significant for the female child. Also, school availability is a very important factor for both the male and the female child. The impact of household size in this analysis suggests the presence of division of labour, and the significance of the mother's education on the female child's response suggests that the effect of cultural belief system changes with the mother's education. / Dissertation (MSc (Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / MSc (Agric) / Unrestricted

<p>In this paper I study how the repeal of the Swedish wealth tax (1 of January 2007) has affected people´s labour supply behaviour. This particular issue is relevant because it may help us understand some of the effects of the earnings tax changes that have taken place in Sweden. Accoring to standard economic theory a repealed wealth tax is similar to an income effect for the persons who previously paid the tax. That means that they theoretically will want to consume more leisure, that is decrease their labour supply. The method I am using to test this hypothesis is a difference-in-difference approach where the treatment group consists of persons who previously paid the tax and the control group of comparable persons who did not pay the tax. The data I am using is taken from a Swedish database called LINDA, compiled by the Swedish Central Agency for Statistics (SCB). My main result in this paper is that the repealed wealth tax does not seem to have had any influnece on the labour supply behavior of the persons who previously paid the tax.</p>

In this paper I study how the repeal of the Swedish wealth tax (1 of January 2007) has affected people´s labour supply behaviour. This particular issue is relevant because it may help us understand some of the effects of the earnings tax changes that have taken place in Sweden. Accoring to standard economic theory a repealed wealth tax is similar to an income effect for the persons who previously paid the tax. That means that they theoretically will want to consume more leisure, that is decrease their labour supply. The method I am using to test this hypothesis is a difference-in-difference approach where the treatment group consists of persons who previously paid the tax and the control group of comparable persons who did not pay the tax. The data I am using is taken from a Swedish database called LINDA, compiled by the Swedish Central Agency for Statistics (SCB). My main result in this paper is that the repealed wealth tax does not seem to have had any influnece on the labour supply behavior of the persons who previously paid the tax.

The overriding theme of my dissertation is the use of short-term weather fluctuations to study how people allocate their time across activities. In Chapter 1, a theoretical model is developed to distinguish malfeasant from legitimate forms of employee sickness absenteeism. In this model, individuals' marginal utility of indoor leisure is increasing in their sickness levels, while their marginal utility of outdoor leisure is an increasing function of the interaction of their health and the quality of outdoor weather. In equilibrium, sickness absenteeism occurs at both ends of the sickness distribution -- among the relatively sick and among the most healthy facing the best weather. The positive relation between marginal changes in weather quality and levels of sickness absenteeism in the workplace reflects the substitution of the inframarginal employees who are the least sick away from work activities towards outdoor leisure activities. The model in Chapter 1 suggests an empirical strategy to identify a shirking component in overall reported sickness absenteeism. Not only does this approach avoid attributing entirely legitimate forms of absenteeism to shirking, but unlike previous studies using employee dismissal rates, it is able to distinguish shirking activity whether or not that activity is detected by employers. In order to exploit exogenous weather fluctuations to identify shirking activity, we need a one-dimensional measure of weather “quality”. The primary objective of Chapter 2 is to construct a weather quality index that captures the influence of the weather on workers' preferences for outdoor leisure activity. The weather quality index takes into account the multifaceted nature of weather conditions, and measures how various weather elements -- temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind speed, and cloud cover -- come together to affect the propensity of employees to engage in high-utility outdoor recreational activities. The resulting index provides a ranking of different weather conditions in terms of their outdoor recreational values, which can then be used to capture the incentives of employees to shirk contractual work hours in response to purely exogenous weather changes. Chapter 3 empirically tests the existence of weather-induced substitution between work and outdoor leisure activities and examines how this type of behaviour varies across workers facing different shirking incentives. Linking 12 years of employee data from Canada's monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS), which queries reasons for employees' absences, to weather quality measured using the index constructed in Chapter 2, a clear positive relationship is found between the quality of outside weather conditions and short-term reported sickness absenteeism. Moreover, consistent with a key proposition of the theoretical model in Chapter 1, the empirical relation between weather and sickness absenteeism tends to be larger when existing shirking incentives are low, such as when sick pay is less generous and when probability of getting fired if caught shirking is high. There is, however, little evidence that firms are able to adjust shirking incentives through the payment of efficiency wages. Finally, Chapter 4 examines another type of substitution induced by weather shocks -- the substitution between outdoor and indoor physical activities. The Chapter begins with a theoretical model of the decision to participate in physical activities, which assumes that when adverse weather shocks deter outdoor physical activities, indoor physical activities are the only viable option for individuals to stay physically active. However, because the indoor options are more costly, substituting from outdoor to indoor physical activities is easier for higher-income individuals. This suggests an explanation for the stylized fact that rates of physical activity participation are low among lower socioeconomic groups. Linking time-use data from Canadian General Social Survey with archival weather data, the results of the empirical analysis in this chapter provides evidence of a positive income effect enabling substitution from outdoor to indoor physical activities when outside weather is not conducive for participating in outdoor activities. By exploiting the role that income plays in maintaining physical activity levels when less costly outdoor options are limited, this chapter formally illustrates a credible causal link between people's income levels and their participation in leisure time physical activities and provides direct evidence of this link. The results have important policy implications for promoting physical activities, especially among lower income population.

The overriding theme of my dissertation is the use of short-term weather fluctuations to study how people allocate their time across activities. In Chapter 1, a theoretical model is developed to distinguish malfeasant from legitimate forms of employee sickness absenteeism. In this model, individuals' marginal utility of indoor leisure is increasing in their sickness levels, while their marginal utility of outdoor leisure is an increasing function of the interaction of their health and the quality of outdoor weather. In equilibrium, sickness absenteeism occurs at both ends of the sickness distribution -- among the relatively sick and among the most healthy facing the best weather. The positive relation between marginal changes in weather quality and levels of sickness absenteeism in the workplace reflects the substitution of the inframarginal employees who are the least sick away from work activities towards outdoor leisure activities. The model in Chapter 1 suggests an empirical strategy to identify a shirking component in overall reported sickness absenteeism. Not only does this approach avoid attributing entirely legitimate forms of absenteeism to shirking, but unlike previous studies using employee dismissal rates, it is able to distinguish shirking activity whether or not that activity is detected by employers. In order to exploit exogenous weather fluctuations to identify shirking activity, we need a one-dimensional measure of weather “quality”. The primary objective of Chapter 2 is to construct a weather quality index that captures the influence of the weather on workers' preferences for outdoor leisure activity. The weather quality index takes into account the multifaceted nature of weather conditions, and measures how various weather elements -- temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind speed, and cloud cover -- come together to affect the propensity of employees to engage in high-utility outdoor recreational activities. The resulting index provides a ranking of different weather conditions in terms of their outdoor recreational values, which can then be used to capture the incentives of employees to shirk contractual work hours in response to purely exogenous weather changes. Chapter 3 empirically tests the existence of weather-induced substitution between work and outdoor leisure activities and examines how this type of behaviour varies across workers facing different shirking incentives. Linking 12 years of employee data from Canada's monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS), which queries reasons for employees' absences, to weather quality measured using the index constructed in Chapter 2, a clear positive relationship is found between the quality of outside weather conditions and short-term reported sickness absenteeism. Moreover, consistent with a key proposition of the theoretical model in Chapter 1, the empirical relation between weather and sickness absenteeism tends to be larger when existing shirking incentives are low, such as when sick pay is less generous and when probability of getting fired if caught shirking is high. There is, however, little evidence that firms are able to adjust shirking incentives through the payment of efficiency wages. Finally, Chapter 4 examines another type of substitution induced by weather shocks -- the substitution between outdoor and indoor physical activities. The Chapter begins with a theoretical model of the decision to participate in physical activities, which assumes that when adverse weather shocks deter outdoor physical activities, indoor physical activities are the only viable option for individuals to stay physically active. However, because the indoor options are more costly, substituting from outdoor to indoor physical activities is easier for higher-income individuals. This suggests an explanation for the stylized fact that rates of physical activity participation are low among lower socioeconomic groups. Linking time-use data from Canadian General Social Survey with archival weather data, the results of the empirical analysis in this chapter provides evidence of a positive income effect enabling substitution from outdoor to indoor physical activities when outside weather is not conducive for participating in outdoor activities. By exploiting the role that income plays in maintaining physical activity levels when less costly outdoor options are limited, this chapter formally illustrates a credible causal link between people's income levels and their participation in leisure time physical activities and provides direct evidence of this link. The results have important policy implications for promoting physical activities, especially among lower income population.

本文結合H-O模型與Blanchard(1985)的跨代模型來分析一小型經濟體系實 施永久性進口限額政策之後，對經濟體系中的各個變數之影響。結果發現 在無資本累積模型下，影響經常帳的效果有所得效果與財富效果。而在有 資本累積模型下，影響經常帳的效果則有資產替代效果。

The thesis focuses on the issue of individuals' preferences regarding the acquisition of a child during the business cycle expressed in unemployment rates for men and women. Fixed effects model involving robust estimates of standard deviations on a panel dataset tested for the period 1980-2012 confirmed the significance of the relationship between sex-specific unemployment rates and fertility rate of the United States of America. The results of the analysis show a negative relationship documenting pro-cyclical nature of the fertility. There is a less willingness of couples to conceive a child with the growth in unemployment. It does not show the prevalence of substitution effect of reducing opprtunity costs for women during the recession over the effect of reduction in income. Among other statistically significant variables that affect fertility belong the degree of attainment of university education, the poverty rate and abortion rate.

This study investigated the impact of import prices on inflation in Namibia, using quarterly time series data over the period 1998Q2-2017Q4. The variables used in the study are inflation rate, M2, real GDP and import prices. The study found that all the variables are integrated of order one (1), and upon testing for cointegration using Johansen test, there was no cointegration. Therefore, the model was analysed using ordinary least squares (OLS) techniques of vector autoregression (VAR) approach, granger causality test and the impulse response function. The results of the study revealed that import prices granger causes inflation at 1% level of significance. Inflation is also granger caused by real GDP and broad money supply (M2) does not Granger cause inflation. The study further revealed that the shocks to import prices are significant in explaining variation in inflation both in the short run and in the long term. / Economics / M. Com. (Economics)