Jag använder ett från Världsbanken nyligen utkommet datamaterial över institutionell kvalitet i världens länder för att i en replikeringsstudie undersöka sambandet mellan institutionell utveckling och ekonomisk tillväxt. Modellen har med framgång redan tidigare använts, men i detta arbete är tidsperioden en senare och datamaterialet enligt min bedömning av högre kvalitet. För att kunna göra det senare uttalandet och analysera resultaten på ett uttömmande sätt, innefattar arbetet en översiktlig presentation av institutionella teorier. Eftersom undersökt samband i utgångsläget antas uppvisa dubbelriktad kausalitet, använder jag ett ekonometriskt tillvägagångssätt innehållande instrumentering för att trygga validiteten. Sammantaget visar resultaten en enkelriktad, positiv kausaleffekt från institutionell kvalitet till ekonomisk tillväxt. Det är en bit kvar till en verkligt fruktbar modellkonstruktion, samtidigt som arbetet pekar på att institutioner hör hemma i en sådan.

An ultra-low noise two-stage LNA design for cellular basestations using CMOS is proposed in this thesis work.  This thesis is divided into three parts. First, a literature survey which intends to bring an idea on the types of LNAs available and their respective outcomes in performances, thereby analyze how each design provides different results and is used for different applications. In the second part, technology comparison for 0.12µm, 0.18µm, and 0.25µm technologies transistors using the IBM foundry PDKs are made to analyze which device has the best noise performance. Finally, in the third phase bipolar and CMOS-based two-stage LNAs are designed using IBM 0.12µm technology node, decided from the technology comparison. In this thesis a two-stage architecture is used to obtain low noise figure, high linearity, high gain, and stability for the LNA. For the bipolar design, noise figure of 0.6dB, OIP3 of 40.3dBm and gain of 26.8dB were obtained. For the CMOS design, noise figure of 0.25dB, OIP3 of 46dBm and gain of 26dB were obtained. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to analyze the LNA circuit in terms of design, performance, application and various other parameters. Both designs were able to fulfill the design goals of noise figure < 1 dB, OIP3 > 40 dBm, and gain >18 dB.

In this thesis, one of the current control algorithms for the R744 cycle, which tries tooptimize the performance of the system by two SISO control loops, is compared to acost-effective system with just one actuator. The operation of a key component of thissystem, a two stage orifice expansion valve is examined in a range of typical climateconditions. One alternative control loop for this system, which has been proposed byBehr group, is also scrutinized.The simulation results affirm the preference of using two control-loops instead of oneloop, but refute advantages of the Behr alternate control approach against one-loopcontrol. As far as the economic considerations of the A/C unit are concerned, usinga two-stage orifice expansion valve is desired by the automotive industry, thus basedon the experiment results, an improved logic for control of this system is proposed.In the second part, it is investigated whether the one-actuator control approach isapplicable to a system consisting of two parallel evaporators to allow passengers tocontrol different climate zones. The simulation results show that in the case of usinga two-stage orifice valve for the front evaporator and a fixed expansion valve forthe rear one, a proper distribution of the cooling power between the front and rearcompartment is possible for a broad range of climate conditions.

Catastrophes such as floods, droughts and earthquakes have caused significant human and infrastructural losses throughout history. Nevertheless, researchers struggle to quantify macroeconomic impacts, and the existing literature is ambiguous in its findings. In this study I use econometric methods on panel data from Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), and find that hydrometeorological, climatological and geophysical events all affect economic growth negatively in the short run. Second, while events typically linked to climate change tend to cause negative growth shocks the same year they occur, geophysical disasters do not alter overall economic performance before the next year. With respect to future global warming, these dynamic differences give important insights for the understanding of how economies might be affected by climate change. However, by means of two stage least square methods, I do not find that negative economic shocks caused by weather related disasters increase the likelihood of armed civil conflicts. This latter result is in contrast to conclusions in much of the seminal conflict literature, but similar to findings in other recent cross-country studies that use the instrument variable approach.

This work deals with the control of the human immune system. A standard immune system model is modified by introducing control signals corresponding to drug cocktail and immune suppressor treatments. The ultimate objective is to use these control signals to 'cure' a chronically-ill patient. Control is challenging for this system due to nonlinearities and time delays. In fact, it is shown that fundamental aspects of the system dynamics are lost when the system is linearised; hence, control approaches involving linearisation are fruitless. Feedback linearisation and some optimal control methods are also investigated and shown to be infeasible. However, it is shown that, for certain parameter values and initial conditions related to the virus and patient, a specific open-loop control scheme using only the drug cocktail achieves the objective. It is also proven that, unfortunately, this control scheme fails for other parameter values and initial conditions. A two-stage open-loop controller that uses both control inputs is then proposed. It is shown in simulation that the two-stage controller works over a larger set of parameters and initial conditions than the single-stage controller, but a rigorous analysis of the two-stage controller remains elusive.

This study examines whether different corporate real estate (CRE) strategies affect the stock outperformance and systemic risk of various companies. The sample of 443 listed companies of 17 industries in Taiwan during 2000 to 2010 was divided into four groups for the different corporate real estate strategies. The pairwise abnormal return and systemic risk of composite and business (without the affect from real estate market) series were empirically examined and compared using a partial adjustment model. This study also conducts the two-stage least squares procedure to determine whether four CRE strategies were considered diversifiable factors when evaluating the firm¡¦s value The results do not indicate an increasingly abnormal return performance associated with the company implementing a certain CRE strategy, but companies with a stable profession and consistent adjustment strategies are considered a good diversifier by stock investors. Aggressive adjustment strategies do not diversify the systematic risk to overall industry, otherwise the scale of total assets would be considered a diversification in companies with aggressive strategies. The companies using an aggressive profession strategy to increase leverage are regarded as risky phenomen for stock investors, and companies with stable profession strategies face higher systemic risk if their book value is greater than their market value. Therefore, this study determines that CRE strategies affect companies¡¦ systematical risk.

This dissertation, which consists of three essays, studies online auctions both theoretically and empirically. The first essay studies a special online auction format used by eBay, “Buy-It- Now” (BIN) auctions, in which bidders are allowed to buy the item at a fixed BIN price set by the seller and end the auction immediately. I construct a two-stage model in which the BIN price is only available to one group of bidders. I find that bidders cutoff is lower in this model, which means, bidders are more likely to accept the BIN option, compared with the models assuming all bidders are offered the BIN. The results explain the high frequency of bidders accepting BIN price, and may also help explain the popularity of temporary BIN auctions in online auction sites, such as eBay, where BIN option is only offered to early bidders. In the second essay, I study how bidders’ risk attitude and time preference affect their behavior in Buy-It-Now auctions. I consider two cases, when both bidders enter the auction at the same time (homogenous bidders) thus BIN option is offered to both of them, and when two bidders enter the auction at two different stages (heterogenous bidders) thus the BIN option is only offered to the early bidder. Bidders’ optimal strategies are derived explicitly in both cases. In particular, given bidders’ risk attitude and time preference, the cutoff valuation, such that a bidder will accept BIN if his valuation is higher than the cutoff valuation and reject it otherwise, is calculated. I find that the cutoff valuation in the case of heterogenous bidders is lower than that in the case of homogenous bidders. The third essay focuses on the empirical modeling of the price processes of online auctions. I generalize the monotone series estimator to model the pooled price processes. Then I apply the model and the estimator to eBay auction data of a palm PDA. The results are shown to capture closely the overall pattern of observed price dynamics. In particular, early bidding, mid-auction draught, and sniping are well approximated by the estimated price curve.

Biodiesel has been suggested as an alternative fuel to the petroleum diesel fuel. It beneficially reduces regulated emission gases, but increases NOx (nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide) Thus, the increase in NOx is the barrier for potential growth of the biodiesel fuel. In general, NOx formation is dominated by flame temperature. Interestingly, soot can play a role as a heat sink as well as a heat transfer media to high temperature gases. Thus, the cooling effect of soot may change the flame temperature and therefore, NOx emissions. In this study, emphasis is placed on the relationship between soot and NO (Nitric oxide) formation. For the experimental study, a metallic fuel additive is used since barium is known to be effective to suppress soot formation during combustion. The barium additive is applied to #2D (Number 2 diesel fuel) by volume basis: 0.1, 0.25 and 0.5 %-v, and to the palm olein oil by 0.25 %-v. All the tests are carried out in a four-cylinder medium duty diesel engine, 4045 DI diesel engine, manufactured by John Deere. For the analysis, an analytical model is used to estimate combustion temperature, NO concentration and soot emissivity. The results show that NO concentration does not have the expected trade-off relation with soot. Rather, NO concentration is found to be more strongly affected by ambient temperature and combustion characteristics than by soot. The results of the analytical model show the reasonable NO estimation and the improvement on temperature calculation. However, the model is not able to explain the detailed changes of soot emissivity by the different fuels since the emissivity correlation is developed empirically for diesel fuel.

In this essay, we use two stage data envelopment analysis (Two-stage DEA) with an application to evaluate the efficiency of six teams from Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) during 2004 to 2005. In the essay, we use three methods to develop the research. First, we use the Window Analysis based on fewer DMUs situation. Second, the modification across different period has been made by Malmquist Index Analysis. Last one is Cross Efficiency; we use it for ranking efficiency performance for those teams during 2004 to 2005. According to above methods, it shows that: 1. the efficiency performance of Brother Elephants, Sinon Bulls, Chinatrust Whales, Uni Lions in the management stage is better than it in the production stage, vice versa Macoto Cobras and La new Bears in the production stage is better than management stage. 2. Each team is over optimal scale in the production stage during 2004 to 2005. 3. The result of overall performance during is shown as following place: Bulls, Elephants, Lions, Cobras, Whales, Bears; the orders in production stage are Cobras, Whales, Bulls, Bears, Elephants, Lions; the orders in management stage are Elephants, Bulls, Lions, Cobras, Bears, Whales. 4. The Malmquist Productivity Index across different period each year indicates that only La new Bears reach 4.7% according average growth rate.

Carbon dioxide is a natural refrigerant that has been considered for certain refrigeration and air conditioning applications. The coefficient of performance (COP) of carbon dioxide cycles is low compared to classical vapor compression cycles. The aim of this portion of the thesis is to present a thermodynamic analysis of carbon dioxide cycles in order to evaluate the potential performance of a refrigeration cycle using carbon dioxide. A thermodynamic model for the cycle is proposed which can simulate the operation of a carbon dioxide refrigeration cycle. This model takes into account the practical effects of the thermo-physical properties of carbon dioxide as a refrigerant in a trans-critical cycle. One and two-stage compression processes were considered for comparison purposes. A sensitivity analysis has been conducted so that cycle performance can be estimated. The effect of cycle components on system capacity and cycle performance was investigated. The second portion of the thesis deals with the concept of reheat air conditioning, and looks at the performance of different reheat cycles. The thesis looks at reheat systems that utilize different placements of the reheat coil. The overall performance of these reheat systems is then calculated. These systems require no additional electric power to reheat the air after it is cooled and dehumidified in the evaporator. Instead, they use heat from the condenser heat exchanger to reheat the air during partial load conditions. Four different reheat configurations are discussed and analyzed to determine performance levels. Visual Basic programs were written for each of the four cycles to simulate the different configurations and to evaluate key performance parameters. Graphs were developed based on these programs, where critical variables were changed to monitor trends in coefficient of performance. The thermodynamic cycle of each reheat configuration is developed, with equations presented with figures depicting the cycles. Refrigerant 134a was used in the programs throughout the reheat section of the thesis. The reheat coefficient of performance is used as the basis for cycle comparison. The relative performance of the four cycles is illustrated in the figures and explained in the Results and Discussion section at the end of chapter 3.