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. 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. Key words:infrastructure assessment, validation,Öresund, transport demand models, regionalconsequences.

In modern world, economic growth is the main object of many countries. And the rate of inflation is another central subject for the macro economic policy in many countries and it is an important criteria to measure whether the macro economy in a country works steadily and healthy. So the relationship between these two indexes---economic growth rate and the inflation rate is always debated. There are three possible relations between the two variables: positive, negative and no effect. And many theories and empirical results are carried out to test the relationship. This paper analyses the relationship between inflation and gross domestic product (GDP) in OECD countries while at the same time considering the influence of variables such as: investment rate, trade balance, fertility rate, direct foreign investment and tax. The main object is to asses the effect of inflation on economic growth. The second aim is to check the effect of tax rate on the economic growth rate. Tax is also important for the economy. Econometrics techniques for panel data are used for the analysis.

iv Abstract As real estate is an important part of the wealth composition of households, this the impact of the financial stimulus that was observed throughout 2020 and how it might have affected housing prices in various European countries. For this the thesis runs a Vector Error Correction Model with the following independent variables: population, exchange rate, inflation, short-term interest rate, unemployment rate and the compensation of employees. The time frame for this regression is restricted to 2000Q1 to 2019Q4 in order to exclude the housing price development throughout 2020 that is already affected by the financial stimulus. These regression results are then used in combination with the 2020 actuals of all independent variables to approximate the expected housing price without financial stimulus. This gives an indication of a potential overpricing in the markets and provides an understanding of how financial stimulus might be connected to housing prices. Another analysis in this thesis then provides an understanding of the leader-follower relationship of housing prices and rental prices and provides an analysis on how this might be connected to the level of home ownership in a particular market. JEL Classification F62, J11, R30 Keywords Real Estate, Covid-19, Financial Stimulus Title The effect...

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The use of conservation easements has been increasing in the United States. However, patterns of growth over time are different for individual states. Little is known on how determinants of conservation easements interact with one another and affect the choice of conservation approaches. The study objective was to analyze conservation easement trends and examine underlying choice determinants in the United States. Panel data models were employed to assess determinants of easement acres and contracts from 1995 to 2015. Findings revealed that the northern United States has the most percentage of land area under conservation easements. The growth in conservation easements was positively related to gross state products, land market values, air quality, and land use, while it was negatively related to state population density, conservation spending, easement duration and endangered species. Public policymakers would use these findings to integrate easement efforts into local planning to meet conservation and land-use objectives.

A replacement female's value is primarily determined by her reproductive potential and the expected value of calves produced. To improve sales revenues, sellers benefit from understanding the buyers' valuation of physical characteristics related to reproductive potential and calf values. The goal of this research is to identify the impact of physical characteristics on the valuation of individual replacement females through a hedonic pricing model. Results suggest all facets of pregnancy (i.e. pregnancy status, months pregnant, expected due-date, and cow-calf pairs) are crucial to the valuation. Particularly, pregnant replacement females are discounted relative to non-pregnant, ascending in value as months pregnant increases and reaching a premium over non-pregnant status at approximately five months. It is suspected that newly pregnant replacements are discounted due to higher abortion risks. Finally, the largest premiums were observed for cow-calf pairs, where risk of abortion is zero and the replacement female has proven her reproductive potential.

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The unemployment rate is one of the most important indicators of economic growth. Reducing unemployment is crucial to ensuring inclusive growth in a country. This paper analyses the relationship between the unemployment rate and other macroeconomic variables in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The purpose of the study is to compare and understand the observed unemployment disparities between southernmost and the rest of the SADC countries. It draws on the theoretical framework of the Phillips curve and Okun's law and uses static panel data and fully modified ordinary least squares techniques (FM-OLS) to estimate the empirical model. Annual data for the period 1991 to 2020 are used. Analyses are conducted both at the aggregate SADC data level and at the subgroup level, i.e. at the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and non-SACU country levels. Diagnostic tests are conducted to ensure the robustness of the models. The empirical results of this study show that labour productivity, external debt and population have significant effects on unemployment across the SADC region. Inflation, labour productivity and population have significant effects in SACU, while external debt, labour productivity and population have significant effects in non-SACU countries. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth and foreign direct investment (FDI) have mixed but insignificant effects on the unemployment rate, indicating a low employment elasticity of growth in the region.

No / This paper attempts to explain the factors that determine the geographical allocation of foreign aid. Its novelty is that it develops a rigorous theoretical model and conducts the corresponding empirical investigations based on a large panel dataset. We run regressions for different major donors (United States, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and multilateral organizations). with the explicit objective of establishing whether the United States, in light of its geopolitical hegemony, behaves differently from others. We find that all the donors respond to recipient need in their allocation of aid, but that the United States puts less emphasis on this than the other donors with the exception of Japan. We also find that the United States puts more emphasis on donor¿recipient linkages than do the other donors suggesting that the United States attaches greater importance to issues of donor interest, for example, geopolitical, commercial, and other links with specific recipients.

Yes / We examine the effects of banking supervisory architecture on central bank preferences, quantified through a recently proposed measure of central bank conservatism. Using a dynamic panel data specification we document that central banks serving both monetary policy and banking supervision functions are less inflation conservative than those with only a price stability mandate.