This thesis explores the impact of sectoral competition on inflation in Turkey. To this end, panel data analyses investigating the determinants of deviation of sectoral price inflation from the consumer price inflation, and the resulting effect of the changes in the level of sectoral competition on this deviation measure are conducted in both static and dynamic frameworks. The empirical analyses covers the 1995-2001 period and 62 manufacturing sectors classified according to International Standard of Industrial Classification (ISIC) Rev. 2 at 4-digit level. The findings of the empirical analyses are particularly important for the assessment of the theoretical foundations and empirical basis of the recent proposals favoring enhancement of competition with disinflationary motives. The static analyses suggest that sectoral concentration is insignificant in explaining deviations of sectoral inflation from consumer inflation, while dynamic analyses suggest enhancing competition may lead to higher levels of sectoral inflation. The interpretation of the results indicates that enhancing competition may not be a viable tool for disinflationary purposes in Turkey.

Net asset value (NAV) is commonly used to represent the value of a property company. For listed property companies a secondary valuation occurs simultaneously as the company’s stocks are traded on the stock market. Historically, a deviation between the NAV and the market capitalisation has been found for property companies implying that the stock market values the company differently. This thesis examines the deviation to NAV for 14 Swedish listed property companies during 2006-2015. The examination explains the deviation from the basis of a rational and an irrational approach. The thesis investigates empirically which factors that have affected the deviation by the use of a panel data regression analysis. The rational approach investigates the impact of company-specific, share-specific and corporate governance variables. The results of the thesis show that the rational variables can explain the deviation to NAV to some extent. The main contribution comes from companyspecific variables. Larger companies, companies focused on fewer locations, companies with a better reputation among asset managers and companies with a higher amount of insider ownership are negatively correlated to the discount to NAV. These company characteristics thus suggest a decrease in discounts to NAV (increase in premiums). At the same time companies with a higher loan to value, focus on property type and systematic risk increase the discount to NAV (decrease in premiums). The final rational model produces an adjusted R-square of 37.4% for the Swedish listed property market during the investigated period. The irrational approach investigates the impact of noise traders. The results show that the contribution of market sentiment is significant. The confidence indicator for the households has the greatest impact on the discount to NAV and an inclusion of the variable increases the adjusted R-square to 53.6%. An investigation into the justification of using the Noise Trader Theory is conducted and concludes that the use of a proxy for market sentiment is justified. / Substansvärdet (NAV) används ofta för att representera värdet av ett fastighetsbolag. För börsnoterade fastighetsbolag sker samtidigt en sekundär värdering eftersom deras aktier köps och säljs på aktiemarknaden. Historiskt sett har fastighetsbolagens substansvärden skilt sig från börspriserna av deras aktier vilket tyder på att aktiemarknaden värderar bolagen annorlunda och det uppstår då en substansrabatt eller substanspremie. Denna uppsats utvärderar detta fenomen för 14 svenska börsnoterade fastighetsbolag under åren 2006-2015 utifrån en rationell och en irrationell utgångspunkt. Uppsatsen testar empiriskt vilka faktorer som påverkar skillnaden under perioden genom en regressionsanalys med paneldata. Den rationella utgångspunkten undersöker effekterna av variabler knutna till företaget, aktien samt företagets bolagsstyrning. Resultatet visar att rationella variabler kan förklara substansrabatter och substanspremier till en viss grad. Det största bidraget kommer från de företagsspecifika variablerna. Större företag, företag fokuserade på ett mindre antal orter, företag med ett bättre rykte och företag vars styrelse har ett stort aktieinnehav tenderar att ha en minskad substansrabatt alternativt en ökad substanspremie. Å andra sidan tenderar företag med hög belåningsgrad, ett fåtal fastighetstyper och hög systematisk risk att ha en ökad substansrabatt alternativt en minskad substanspremie. Den slutliga modellen av rationella variabler genererar ett justerat R-square om 37,4% för svenska börsnoterade fastighetsbolag. Den irrationella utgångspunkten i denna uppsats undersöker variabler knutna till ett irrationellt handlande. Resultatet visar signifikant utfall för irrationellt handlande, där en konfidensindikator för hushållen visar störst inverkan och genererar ett justerat R-square om 53,6%. Uppsatsen undersöker möjligheten att använda irrationellt handlande som förklaringsvariabler till varför substansrabatter och substanspremier uppstår. Resultatet visar att det är motiverat att inkludera irrationella förklaringsvariabler.

<p dir="ltr">Airport parking revenues become essential in maintaining daily aeronautical and non-aeronautical operations and financing capital expenditures. There exist significant variations between different airports in terms of their parking revenues, and such variations will not be eliminated when airport parking revenue is standardized by passenger volume. Given the limited empirical research on airport parking revenues, this study examines the variation of airport parking revenue per locally originating passenger using random-effects regression on a five-year panel dataset. Our regression results reveal a significant positive relationship between airport economy parking price and airport parking revenue per locally originating passenger. Additionally, we find a significant positive relationship between household vehicle ownership and airport parking revenue per locally originating passenger. However, the number of offsite parking service providers can lead to a significant negative effect on airport parking revenue per locally originating passenger. Based on these findings, airport operators can implement strategic management initiatives tailored to local market conditions, with the goal of optimizing airport parking revenues and improving passenger welfare.</p>

This thesis presents an analysis of the dynamic process of economic growth, national welfare and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. An assessment of the methodological designs of applied growth research is undertaken in order to polarise the limitations associated with cross-sectional growth regressions. The cross-country cross- sectional methodology that has been the dominant feature of empirical growth analysis may suffer from an endogeneity and omitted variable bias. A panel data approach is adopted in order to address the econometric issues associated with cross-sectional study designs. To highlight the discrepancies between theory and empirics, a rudimentary description of the Solow model is offered. Extensions of the Solow paradigm are also discussed and form the basis of the theoretical foundations of the research. The relationship between health and economic growth within the existing literature has considered the consequences of poor population health in determining national income levels. Disease-specific effects have been included in growth regressions to capture the output losses associated with the widespread reduction in human capabilities. This thesis contributes to the existing literature by testing the empirical relationship between economic growth and the HIV/AIDS epidemic for a broad cross-section of countries. Previous empirical studies have not presented a unified account of the epidemic's effects in determining cross- country productivity differentials. The way in which the epidemic might impede economic prosperity is considered by drawing upon the existing literature. The strengths and limitations of previous study estimates are considered in relation to the study design. A more robust empirical estimator for growth regressions is proposed in the form of a system Generalised Method of Moments estimator. The research extends on previous study estimates by considering the epidemic's effect across the conditional quantiles of the growth distribution. A central prediction of the neoclassical growth paradigm relates to the convergence hypothesis in which poorer economies are considered to achieve faster growth rates. By drawing upon the distributional changes in national income over time for the entire cross-section of countries, this thesis will assess the potential barriers that may violate the theoretical predictions of the convergence hypothesis. An empirical assessment of the role of convergence clubs, mortality and poverty traps will be presented through an analysis of the changes in health and income inequality over time. The distributional shifts that have occurred over the period under analysis consider the consequences of growth as a measure of national welfare.

Non-linearities and dynamic interactions between state variables are characteristic of complex social systems and processes. In this thesis, we present a new methodology to model these non-linearities and interactions from the large panel datasets available for some of these systems. We build macro-level statistical models that can verify theoretical predictions, and use polynomial basis functions so that each term in the model represents a specific mechanism. This bridges the existing gap between macro-level theories supported by statistical models and micro-level mechanistic models supported by behavioural evidence. We apply this methodology to two important problems in the social sciences, the demographic transition and the transition to democracy. The demographic transition is an important problem for economists and development scientists. Research has shown that economic growth reduces mortality and fertility rates, which reduction in turn results in faster economic growth. We build a non-linear dynamic model and show how this data-driven model extends existing mechanistic models. We also show policy applications for our models, especially in setting development targets for the Millennium Development Goals or the Sustainable Development Goals. The transition to democracy is an important problem for political scientists and sociologists. Research has shown that economic growth and overall human development transforms socio-cultural values and drives political institutions towards democracy. We model the interactions between the state variables and find that changes in institutional freedoms precedes changes in socio-cultural values. We show applications of our models in studying development traps. This thesis comprises the comprehensive summary and seven papers. Papers I and II describe two similar but complementary methodologies to build non-linear dynamic models from panel datasets. Papers III and IV deal with the demographic transition and policy applications. Papers V and VI describe the transition to democracy and applications. Paper VII describes an application to sustainable development.

<p>This licentiate thesis is about the provision of transportinfrastructure and the regional impacts of such provision.Three different techniques have been investigated that can beused for the assessment and forecasting of the effects ofinfrastructure: transport demand models and parametric andnon-parametric econometric estimation techniques. The maininterest is focused around the regional effects of theÖresund fixed link, which was opened on July 1, 2000.</p><p>The thesis is a collection of three papers plus a generalintroduction: papers 1 and 2 are concerned with the effect ofaccessibility in the transport networks on productivity on anindividual firm level. In paper 1, a translog cost function,extended with an accessibility variable, is estimated for 24business aggregates using panel data techniques and tests on adataset covering single workplaces in Scania over the years1990–98. The results are not conclusive, and cannot beused for forecasting of the after-situation. In paper 2, anon-parametric method, propensity score matching, is applied onthe same dataset to test if productivity differs in highaccessibiliby areas compared to those with low accessibility,while controlling for other differences between firms. Theresult here is the same as in the first paper: for no businessthere is a significant difference in productivity that can berelated to accessibility. In paper 3, a framework for theexternal validation of models of transport, landuse andenvironment is developed, with a focus on transport forecastmodels. The scenario assumptions and forecast results ofearlier models are presented and compared. A before-and-afterdatabase under construction for the Öresund region is alsopresented, to be used for validation of such models.</p><p><b>Key words:</b>infrastructure assessment, validation,Öresund, transport demand models, regionalconsequences.</p>

都會區之發展乃是由人口與產業之帶動所形成，因人口與產業的聚集促成了都市之成形，且於人口聚集移動的過程中，住宅區位的選擇便成為人口遷徙之另一種表現態樣，也因此住宅土地使用類別之變動情況，間接說明了人口遷移之方向，後促成了都會區內部居民生活空間結構之改變，進而影響了都會區的擴張與成長。都會區於持續擴張的過程中，如何抑制無效率之擴張蔓延趨勢，乃是未來都市規劃者所需關注之課題。本研究選取台北都會區為研究對象，以之探討台北都會區之住宅開發分佈情形及區位選擇因素，透過結合都會區發展與住宅開發區位影響因素，來探究政府的重大投資建設與其他因素，對於住宅開發之區位影響關係為何？期能有助於有效率地引導都會區內部人口之移動方向與意願。首先，針對台北都會區之發展背景進行說明，其中包含人口變遷之空間圖示分析；同時，藉由分析民國79-94年之住宅開發分佈情形，瞭解其於台北都會區之發展概況；最後，根據相關理論與文獻回顧，找出可能影響住宅開發分佈變遷之替代變數，建立實證模型，以供未來都市發展與住宅政策之規劃實施參考。獲得以下結論： 一、由都會區發展角度切入觀察發現：台北都會區目前處於Hall(1984)的城市演變模型中之相對去中心階段。其住宅開發利用分佈之趨勢與人口之空間分佈變遷走勢，皆是呈現核心地區減少而外圍地區增加之分佈情況，有移往郊區地區分散之趨勢。 二、住宅開發區位影響因素方面：由Panel Data實證模型結果發現：民國84-94年間台北都會區住宅開發分佈影響因素有：各鄉鎮市人口密度、家庭戶數、各鄉鎮市市中心距離最近交流道距離、各鄉鎮市市中心最近捷運車站之有無、景氣指標概況及區域因素。且住宅開發之分佈同時受到區域間之發展差異影響，驗證了台北都會區住宅開發之分佈，符合Newling（1969）都會區發展階段說，其指出整體都會發展過程中，都市內部各不同分區（市中心、郊區）之發展態樣亦有所差異。因此，各不同發展分區之都市發展規劃策略也應有所差異，不應出現一體適用之情況。 三、模型設定之政府重大投資因素為各市鄉鎮市中心距離最近交流道距離，實證結果發現：其顯著地影響台北都會區之住宅開發分佈；距離交流道距離愈近的地區，住宅開發增加情形愈多，此說明了政府重大投資建設對於住宅開發之分佈產生顯著之正面效益。因此，於政府重大政策投資建設之規劃引導下，同時有助於降低都會中心或附近區域內，人口與住宅土地使用過度飽和與擁擠的情況，並促成都會區周圍之其他地區的發展，以有效達到區域均衡發展與防止無秩序之擴張的目的。

時至今日，公立大學在財務收入來源方面有企業捐贈及教育部穩定來源支持，反觀私立大專院校，其收入來源卻是不穩定，可能造成其財務困難進而影響其辦學成效，故私立大學需思量如何作好其資金運用。本研究希望藉由相關文獻之彙總整理，歸納出影響私立大專校院資金運用之因素，以本期餘絀為衡量指標，分析在財務及非財務面的經營產出上的差異，提供學校經營者管理上的建議。 / 在財務構面影響因素，以短期流動比率與本期餘絀呈現負向且較顯著的影響，顯示在短期私立學校財務狀況過於保守，未充分使用其當前的借款投資能力。而長期負債比例可能因受教育部限制而不具顯著影響。另外，學校會在辦學及捐贈方面的收入，有所抉擇。 / 而在非財務構面方面，在師資水準方面：私立大學的生師比，與本期餘絀有正向關係，間接反映出私立大學的生師比較高，而教育素質較為低落的狀況。在研究生比例與本期餘絀有負向關係，顯現出私立大學願意投資花費更多在碩博士生的教學品質上，朝向「研究型」導向的大學邁進。在退學比例與本期餘絀產生負向且顯著性的影響，反應私立大學也會有自動淘汰品質不佳學生的機制。 / 最後觀察時間趨勢與區域特定固定效果的存在與否，亦會對本期餘絀產想影響。在特定的時間內，會因政府政策修改而對本期餘絀呈現大量正向增加趨勢；且學校皆因各自擁有的特定群體特性，而擁有正向的區域特定固定效果，其中以醫學院為背景的學校，由於本身有其它附設醫院做支持，顯著地展現其較佳結餘能力。

This thesis aims to study the macroeconomic performance of China. China has been experiencing rapid economic growth and it has been changing gradually from a planned to a market economy since it initiated the well known “open door policy” combined with a “coastal development strategy” in 1978. However, rapid growth has occurred on the background of increasing regional disparity. Meanwhile, unemployment has increased significantly during last two decades, and has become one of the most pressing problems of the Chinese economy today. Moreover, another major challenge facing the Chinese economy is how to deal with various shocks, and to ensure the sustainability and balance of economic growth in the face of the increasing economic uncertainties associated with its deep reform and integration into the world trade and financial system. Based on the above concerns and literature review, this study, firstly, uses an augmented Solow-Swan model of Mankiw, Romer and Weil (1992) to assess the role FDI plays in underlying regional differences in economic growth across Chinese provinces over the reform period 1978-2008. My analysis indicates that the augmented Solow growth model appears to provide a good description of regional growth patterns in China over the period 1978-2008 and the data display conditional convergence. After controlling for FDI and other determinants of growth, provinces that were initially poor tend to grow faster and the evidence in favour of conditional convergence becomes even stronger after splitting the data into subsamples. I then focus on the study of the relationship between unemployment and growth at both national level and regional level in order to find out how unemployment affects China’s economic growth and economic reform progress overall. I find that Okun’s relationship does not hold in China universally and, furthermore, the nature of the observed relationship has changed during the transition progress. I argue that there are hump shaped relationships both between growth and unemployment and between the speed of transition and unemployment in China. The results are consistent with several theoretical and empirical studies in the literature. Finally, structural VAR methodology pioneered by Bayoumi and Eichengreen (1993) is used to identify and decompose supply and demand shocks to two variables, (the log of) output (annual real GDP) and (the log of) prices (annual GDP deflator). I then compute and discuss the correlation of such shocks across provinces and show how it has evolved over the four main sub-periods of China’s history. Moreover, I investigate which factors contribute to economic integration or divergence in the Chinese economy.

This thesis studies the effect of innovation activities and productivity by using the CDM-model and extend the existing knowledge by using the CIS-dataset in combination with official statistics performing a such detailed regional analysis that have not been done before. By using the different labour market codes interacted with the industry codes I can capture informative deviations between different industries in different regions. The results show a significant variation between the different regions and industries, and that the urban and metropolitan areas are more innovative and more productive than the rural areas. However, the financial sector and health sectors showed a steady innovation input activity across most regions while the metropolitan areas showed to invest less in innovation inputs in the real estate sector compered to rural and urban areas.