L’objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier la soutenabilité de la dette publique en fonction du niveau de développement des pays. Après avoir revu la littérature économique en matière d’indicateurs de soutenabilité de la dette, nous avons appliqué des méthodes empiriques et statistiques pour analyser la viabilité de la dette des pays développés et en développement. Nous avons ainsi estimé une fonction de réaction budgétaire pour les gouvernements des pays du G7 qui révèle que les gouvernements des pays du G7 ne se sont pas souciés de l’équilibre de leurs finances publiques sur la période 1978-2007 ; et qu’il y a une attention particulière à la soutenabilité des finances publiques au sein de pays appartenant l’union monétaire européenne. Ensuite, nous avons analysé la soutenabilité de la dette de la Côte d’Ivoire, par le biais de méthodes statistiques utilisées par les Institutions Financières Internationales. Le pays présente ainsi un risque modéré du profil d’endettement ; et l’assainissement de ses finances publiques est essentiel pour la viabilité de la dette à long terme. Par ailleurs, l’évaluation de la performance de la gestion de la dette publique ivoirienne révèle que la conception d’une réelle politique nationale d’endettement permettrait de combler les insuffisances des dispositifs existants. En définitive, les conclusions de notre étude suggèrent des réflexions supplémentaires sur l’analyse théorique de la soutenabilité et sur la cadre de gestion internationale de la dette publique. / The purpose of this thesis is to analyse public debt sustainability according to the level of national economic development. After reviewing the economic literature on public debt sustainability indicators, we applied specific empirical methods to compare developed countries and analyse a heavily indebted poor country (HIPC). We first estimated, among G7 governements, an error-correction-type policy reaction function based on an iterative bayesian estimation that compares the different dynamics of public debt evolution. This analysis reveals that on one hand G7 governments did not focus on debt sustainability during the time frame (1978-2007) ; on the other hand, we noticed a particular attention to debt sustainability in Eurozone countries (Germany, France, Italy) as compared to other countries in the sample. Next, we analyzed the debt sustainability of Côte d’Ivoire, a sub-Saharan Heavily Indebted Poor Country using statistical methods developed by the IMF and the World Bank. The results showed that the country has a moderate risk to indebtment ; therefore budget stabilization and diversification of its exports will be critical for its long-term debt sustainability. Beyond these objectives, the evaluation of the public debt management process, based on an international method (DeMPA), also highlights that designing a real national debt policy could fulfill the shortcomings of current policies. Overall, the conclusions of our thesis suggest additional researches and reflections on the theoretical analysis of public debt and on the architecture of the international public debt management frameworks.

Bostadsmarknaden har varit väldigt uppmärksammad de senaste åren på grund av de ökade priserna och lägre bolåneräntor som blivit resultatet av en sänkt reporänta. I detta arbete har skuldsättningen av olika hushållstyper exemplifierats och simulerats utifrån att marknadsvariabler förändras såsom marknadsvärden på bostäder och ränteläget. Utöver detta har skuldsanering satts i relation till en ny typ av skuldlättnad som skulle kunna vara ett alternativ till skuldsanering men också samtidigt förhindra reaförluster och ostabila hushåll under verkningar av exempelvis en ökad räntebörda som hushåll inte klarar av. Denna skuldlättnad är en typ av skuldsanering som bankerna blir obligerade att genomföra då de varit för optimistiska i sin utlåning. Detta skulle göra att bostaden i sig blir mer intressant för bankerna i stället för att endast fokusera på hushållets betalningsförmåga. På detta sätt har bankerna ytterligare ett incitament till att vara försiktiga i sin utlåning, samtidigt som i de fall då denna skuldnedskrivning skulle aktualiseras skulle även hushållen kunna bo kvar i sina bostäder och inte behöva sälja till ett pris möjligen lägre än vad som finns kvar på bolånet. Detta leder till en mer stabil marknad i det fall att priserna skulle sjunka och räntan öka, då inga större realisationsförluster skulle behöva äga rum utan i stället räddas hushållens förmåga att kunna betala för sin bostad. / The housing market has been much discussed the last few years as a consequence of the dramatically increasing prices and the lower interest rates on housing mortgages, which in turn was the consequence of the lowered repo rate. In this thesis the debt constellation of different household types have been exemplified and simulated from market variables such as market values and interest rate levels. Beyond this, debt restructuring has been modified into another type of debt relief that could be an alternative to debt restructuring but also being able to prevent capital losses and instability on the housing market as a consequence of too high interest rates which may force households to sell their house under mortgage levels. This type of debt relief could obligate the banks to relieve the households of the excess debt that they cannot meet. By doing this the banks will have a stronger incentive of making a proper valuation of the residence instead of only focusing on the solvency of the household. This will have the effect that once the household can’t pay for their mortgage they will get the chance to be relieved of excess debt so that they still can live in their residence and not having to sell the property at a low market price so that mortgage still remains after the sell, as this could result in more instability on the housing market. The losses for the banks on debt relief are calculated in these cases to be significantly smaller than the potential capital losses on properties. As a result, fluctuations on the market could be contained to a certain degree by obligating banks to make debt relieves for the households that otherwise would have had to sell, and thus, offering more stability on an instable market.

The current Greek debt crisis has forced the Greek government to adopt austerity measures. In this paper, the most favourable debt reduction strategies among all the other strategies, for both Greece and its creditors will be examined. These strategies have been recently suggested in the economic world, to help achieve deficit reduction and enhance the growth rate of Greece. This is very important for the economic world - to avoid the insolvency of Greece and to find the best debt reduction strategy which is favourable for both the parties, so that the Greek public debt-to-GDP ratio can reach a level of sustainability within a reasonable timespan. In an endeavour to answer the research question, a simulation framework has been carried out based on the economic model as given by Cline, (2011). When using this economic model, g has been made endogenous and it is dependent on the extent of austerity. This has been taken into consideration while carrying out the simulation exercises for this paper. Furthermore, three different debt reduction strategies (the lowering of interest rates, debt write-off and increasing the primary surplus) have been implemented, considering the different scenarios of the economy, when executing these simulation exercises. After carrying out the simulation framework, it has been concluded that the further reduction of the interest rate would be the most favorable debt reduction strategy for both Greece and its creditors. This interest rate strategy would not only lower the Greek public debt-to-GDP to a sustainable level within a reasonable time period, but will also keep the growth rate positive in the long run during this period of weak economic recovery.

Capital structure is one of the most frequent topics in the finance literature. This literature has its origins in studies of the manufacturing industry. Much of the results of this work have been applied indiscriminately to other industries without thorough validation. Only limited studies have considered financial structure in hospitality industry. The service industry is different than manufacturing industry, and even the hospitality industry is not homogeneous. The restaurant industry and lodging industry are quite different from each other. Of interest to this present study is to seek to understand how the patterns of capital structure are shaped within the context of the multi-unit casual themed restaurant industry. Restaurant industry is well known for a high bankruptcy rate. Many multi-unit restaurants exist in the casual themed restaurants strategic group in the Unites States, and many small independent restaurants are also present. The firm's strategic choice and its relationship with financial structure became a topic for my research. Publicly traded casual themed restaurants have been selected in this study. Hypothetically a common capital structure exists among firms within this strategic group. In this study, an investigation can consider the relationship among financial ratios as well as the uniqueness of the financial structure of the casual themed restaurants. / Master of Science

The importance of software code quality is increasing rapidly. With more code being written every day, its maintenance and support are becoming harder and more expensive. New automatic code review tools are developed to reach quality goals. One of these tools is SonarQube. However, people keep their leading role in the development process. Sometimes they sacrifice quality in order to speed up the development. This is called Technical Debt. In some particular cases, this process can be admitted by the developer. This is called Self-Admitted Technical Debt (SATD). Code quality can also be measured by such static code analysis tools as SonarQube. On this occasion, different issues can be detected. The purpose of this study is to find a connection between code quality issues, found by SonarQube and those marked as SATD. The research questions include: 1) Is there a connection between the size of the project and the SATD percentage? 2) Which types of issues are the most widespread in the code, marked by SATD? 3) Did the introduction of SATD influence the bug fixing time? As a result of research, a certain percentage of SATD was found. It is between 0%–20.83%. No connection between the size of the project and the percentage of SATD was found. There are certain issues that seem to relate to the SATD, such as “Duplicated code”, “Unused method parameters should be removed”, “Cognitive Complexity of methods should not be too high”, etc. The introduction of SATD has a minor positive effect on bug fixing time. We hope that our findings can help to improve the code quality evaluation approaches and development policies

Bad debt deductions and doubtful debt allowances provide relief to taxpayers who would be subject to income tax on amounts accrued to them which may never be received. No definition of a bad or doubtful debt is provided in the Income Tax Act. This dissertation considered current legislation, historical court cases, academic writing and the views expressed by SARS through explanatory memoranda and directives in order to establish when a debt becomes bad or doubtful and the extent of the relief granted. This dissertation also considered the future of the doubtful debt allowance in light of the change of accounting standards from IAS 39 to IFRS 9. There are no specific requirements for a debt to become bad or doubtful. Whether a debt is bad is a factual question taking into account all relevant facts. Whether a debt is doubtful and the extent of the allowance granted is determined by the Commissioner, but that determination must be reasonable. The Commissioner relies on IAS 39 rules of impairment as the starting point for determination of a doubtful debt allowance. IFRS 9 determines impairment in a significantly different manner to IAS 39, abandoning the requirement that a “loss event” must have occurred. Adoption of IFRS 9 will result in a change to the determination of doubtful debt allowances, for example, by reducing the generally accepted rate of 25% of identified doubtful debts or by requiring the taxpayer to compile a list of debts which would have qualified as doubtful under IAS 39.

We investigate the effects of house- and condominium prices on a household's debt-to-income based on the type of municipality. With data from 2010-2017 for all of Sweden's municipalities we use a panel data regression and find that both house- and condominium price has a significant effect on debt-to-income with control variables of age, age! and education added to the model. The difference in effect on debt-to-income, depending on the type of the municipality is most significant between rural and metropolitan when we investigate condominium prices and between rural and urban when we investigate house prices meaning that there is a difference in effect depending on the type of the municipality. We determine that the effect of condominium price is highest for metropolitan, and the effect of house price is highest for urban.

Debt financing can be seen as both an opportunity to increase profits as well as a financial risk and is thus an important issue for company owners to consider. This study examines the portfolio companies of the investment firms Investor and Indsutrivärden, and how their debt policies have developed from 2004 to 2022. In addition, factors that have been taken into consideration in their debt decisions are studied as well. The thesis uses a mixed methods approach by creating time series of debt levels and by conducting a content analysis of the companies’ reports and presentations. The findings show that Investor’s and Industrivärden’s portfolio companies take similar approaches to their debt policies. However, changes in the debt policies of Industrivärden’s portfolio companies indicate an impact of leadership changes within Industrivärden. Generally, the companies try to minimise the risks of their debt, considering factors such as liquidity and refinancing, financial flexibility, and credit ratings. Macroeconomic risks are also considered, which is exemplified in the management of debt maturities. Over time, an increased focus on green financing and the use of the debt-to-EBITDA ratio is identified. Consequently, the thesis contributes to the literature on corporate debt and ownership.

Technical Debt (TD) is a concept referring to technical deficiencies and sub-optimal decisions made in software development that may save time in the short term but lead to long-term obstacles. The concept also implies increased future costs, often growing with interest, caused by slower development rates and the need for refactorings. The high-paced environment of tech start-ups often leads to companies taking shortcuts in their development process, prioritizing iteration speed and time-to-market over longterm scalability. Oftentimes resulting in the accumulation of TD through sub-optimal technology choices, modularity, or architecture. Start-ups also play an important role in the innovation of many industries, hence, their contribution to differing markets and new products is valuable. Poorly managed TD in start-ups may lead to large obstacles when initiating a scale-up phase, leading to a possible development in industries slowing down, and it is therefore important to create the best possible conditions for start-ups to succeed in managing their TD, which is where this study aims to provide aid. A multiple-case study was performed with several tech start-ups in the Stockholm area on how TD has emerged and has been managed through its journey. The findings show that start-up companies are often inclined to deliberately accumulate TD in the early stages, in order to facilitate swift market establishment and proof of concept for their product. Further, the negative consequences of early accumulated TD were found to be limited. However, TD should not be left to grow for too long even in a start-up phase, since the findings show that this often results in large costs. Instead, start-ups should plan for there factoring of early accumulated TD by expecting a technological pivot. Furthermore, in the continuous management of TD, the results show that team composition, including personality traits and in-house competence, often impacts the success of managing TD more than meticulous planning, motivating the management in the start-ups to more thoroughly consider how they build their teams, and what competencies are present in the company, or needed. / Teknisk Skuld är ett begrepp som syftar på suboptimala beslut som fattas inom mjukvaruutveckling som kan spara tid på kort sikt, men som innebär framtida kostnader, ofta med ränta, genom refaktorering eller långsammare utvecklingstid. Den snabba miljön hos tech start-ups leder ofta till att företag tar genvägar i sin utveckling, vad gäller till exempel teknikval, modularitet eller arkitektur. Start-ups spelar också en viktig roll i innovationen i många branscher, och är därför värdefulla i olika marknader och nya produkter. Dåligt skött teknisk skuld i nystartade företag kan leda till stora hinder närman initierar en uppskalningsfas, vilket leder till att eventuell utveckling i branscher bromsar in, och det är därför viktigt att skapa de bästa möjliga förutsättningarna för start-ups att lyckas hantera sina tekniska skuld, vilket denna studie syftar till att bidra till. I den här artikeln genomfördes en flerfallsstudie med flera nystartade teknikföretag i Stockholmsområdet om hur teknisk skuld har vuxit fram och hanterats genom sin resa. Resultaten visar att teknisk skuld inte anses vara dåligt i mycket tidiga skeden, där ackumuleringen av teknisk skuld ofta skapar marknadsetablering och samlar bevis för vad produkten bör vara för, och tidigt ackumulerad teknisk skuld är oftast lättare att hantera än i senare skeden. Teknisk skuld bör dock inte lämnas att växa för länge även i en uppstartsfas, eftersom resultaten visar att detta ofta leder till alldeles för stora kostnader. Istället bör nystartade företag planera för omstrukturering av tidigt ackumulerad teknisk skuld genom att förvänta sig en teknisk pivot. Vidare, i den kontinuerliga hanteringen av teknisk skuld, visar resultaten att team-sammansättning, inklusive personlighetsdrag och intern kompetens, ofta påverkar framgången med att hantera teknisk skuld mer än noggrann planering, vilket motiverar ledningen i nystartade företag att mer noggrant överväga hur de bygger sina team och vilka kompetenser som finns i företaget, eller vilka som behövs.

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