Poyang Lake is continuously shrinking and losing its function on account of deforestation and reclamation, causing water quality deterioration, frequent floods and ecological damages that impede economic growth. The research mainly analyzes the cause of Poyang Lake reclamation, its development, and pros and cons through historical literatures. The fact is found from 13th -19th centuries that farmers individually reclaimed the lake had caused external uneconomic problems. It not only negatively impacted local ecology but resulted in economic burden to the local government, who originally considered that the reclamation could bring in tax increases; however, the local financial resources are not sufficient to resolve existing problems. Under the contradictions among economic development, ecological protection, individual benefits and the overall security, the problems will continuously exist. The results of this research give an overall introduction concerning Poyang Lake in China. By illustrating the causes and impacts of reclamation and governances for lake, a relation among a specific political system, economic growth, ecological changes and policies can be demonstrated and underlying factors of flood disaster in China can be summarized.

This thesis tests Oliver Williamson’s proposition that transaction cost economics can explain the limits of firm size. Williamson suggests that diseconomies of scale are manifested through four interrelated factors: atmospheric consequences due to specialisation, bureaucratic insularity, incentive limits of the employment relation and communication distortion due to bounded rationality. Furthermore, Williamson argues that diseconomies of scale are counteracted by economies of scale and can be moderated by adoption of the multidivisional organisation form and by high internal asset specificity. Combined, these influences tend to cancel out and thus there is not a strong, directly observable, relationship between a large firm’s size and performance. A review of the relevant literature, including transaction cost economics, sociological studies of bureaucracy, information-processing perspectives on the firm, agency theory, and studies of incentives and motivation within firms, as well as empirical studies of trends in firm size and industry concentration, corroborates Williamson’s theoretical framework and translates it into five hypotheses: (1) Bureaucratic failure, in the form of atmospheric consequences, bureaucratic insularity, incentive limits and communication distortion, increases with firm size; (2) Large firms exhibit economies of scale; (3) Diseconomies of scale from bureaucratic failure have a negative impact on firm performance; (4) Economies of scale increase the relative profitability of large firms over smaller firms; and (5) Diseconomies of scale are moderated by two transaction cost-related factors: organisation form and asset specificity. The hypotheses were tested by applying structural equation models to primary and secondary cross-sectional data from 784 large US manufacturing firms. The statistical analyses confirm the hypotheses. Thus, diseconomies of scale influence the growth and profitability of firms negatively, while economies of scale and the moderating factors have positive influences. This implies that executives and directors of large firms should pay attention to bureaucratic failure.

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Este estudo apresenta uma discussão sobre os congestionamentos, especialmente sobre os fatores estruturais, permitindo que seja visualizado o cenário para os próximos anos. Destaca a possibilidade de adoção de medidas para combater esse problema que afeta as cidades brasileiras de médio e grande portes. São citadas medidas de restrição à circulação de veículos, lembrando que, em países em desenvolvimento, esse tipo de medida enfrenta dificuldades para serem implantadas. A partir disso chama a atenção para as deseconomias que os congestionamentos imputam à sociedade, especialmente em relação ao tempo perdido. Destaca ainda a necessidade de se quantificar essas perdas, pois quando projetos de transportes são analisados, leva-se em conta sua capacidade de reduzir ou eliminar essas perdas, fazendo-se uso de indicadores, como o valor do tempo de viagem. São analisados alguns estudos brasileiros que estimaram os valores de tempo de viagem, comparando-se esses valores a fim de encontrar relações entre eles, discutindo também os fatores que influenciam a atribuição do valor do tempo de viagem. Por fim, o estudo analisa os impactos do uso do valor do tempo na avaliação de projetos, fazendo uso de cinco sistemáticas de cálculo, nas quais o valor do tempo de viagem é obtido através de fórmulas diferentes. Os resultados apresentados indicam uma diferença de mais de 69% entre o menor e o maior valor calculado. / The aim of this study is to analyse road congestion, especially considering structural aspects and the scenarios for the future. It emphasizes the possibility of using special tools for facing these problems which affect medium and biggest cities. Although traffic restrictions are major tools to face congestion, they have presented some problems when used in emerging countries. The study also consider the externalities caused by congestion, especially in terms of travel time spent on queues. The main methods for quantifying the travel time losses were identified in order to estimate the benefits coming from transport projects. Some Brazilian cases that estimate the value of travel time are analysed and the values obtained are compared in order to found relationships amongst them. The main factors affecting the value of time in each study are also considered. Finally, the impacts of the value of time on the appraisal of transport project are analysed based on five ways for calculating such impacts. Thus the value of time is obtained from the five different approaches. The results show a different of more than 69% between the smallest and the biggest value.

Este estudo apresenta uma discussão sobre os congestionamentos, especialmente sobre os fatores estruturais, permitindo que seja visualizado o cenário para os próximos anos. Destaca a possibilidade de adoção de medidas para combater esse problema que afeta as cidades brasileiras de médio e grande portes. São citadas medidas de restrição à circulação de veículos, lembrando que, em países em desenvolvimento, esse tipo de medida enfrenta dificuldades para serem implantadas. A partir disso chama a atenção para as deseconomias que os congestionamentos imputam à sociedade, especialmente em relação ao tempo perdido. Destaca ainda a necessidade de se quantificar essas perdas, pois quando projetos de transportes são analisados, leva-se em conta sua capacidade de reduzir ou eliminar essas perdas, fazendo-se uso de indicadores, como o valor do tempo de viagem. São analisados alguns estudos brasileiros que estimaram os valores de tempo de viagem, comparando-se esses valores a fim de encontrar relações entre eles, discutindo também os fatores que influenciam a atribuição do valor do tempo de viagem. Por fim, o estudo analisa os impactos do uso do valor do tempo na avaliação de projetos, fazendo uso de cinco sistemáticas de cálculo, nas quais o valor do tempo de viagem é obtido através de fórmulas diferentes. Os resultados apresentados indicam uma diferença de mais de 69% entre o menor e o maior valor calculado. / The aim of this study is to analyse road congestion, especially considering structural aspects and the scenarios for the future. It emphasizes the possibility of using special tools for facing these problems which affect medium and biggest cities. Although traffic restrictions are major tools to face congestion, they have presented some problems when used in emerging countries. The study also consider the externalities caused by congestion, especially in terms of travel time spent on queues. The main methods for quantifying the travel time losses were identified in order to estimate the benefits coming from transport projects. Some Brazilian cases that estimate the value of travel time are analysed and the values obtained are compared in order to found relationships amongst them. The main factors affecting the value of time in each study are also considered. Finally, the impacts of the value of time on the appraisal of transport project are analysed based on five ways for calculating such impacts. Thus the value of time is obtained from the five different approaches. The results show a different of more than 69% between the smallest and the biggest value.

Este estudo apresenta uma discussão sobre os congestionamentos, especialmente sobre os fatores estruturais, permitindo que seja visualizado o cenário para os próximos anos. Destaca a possibilidade de adoção de medidas para combater esse problema que afeta as cidades brasileiras de médio e grande portes. São citadas medidas de restrição à circulação de veículos, lembrando que, em países em desenvolvimento, esse tipo de medida enfrenta dificuldades para serem implantadas. A partir disso chama a atenção para as deseconomias que os congestionamentos imputam à sociedade, especialmente em relação ao tempo perdido. Destaca ainda a necessidade de se quantificar essas perdas, pois quando projetos de transportes são analisados, leva-se em conta sua capacidade de reduzir ou eliminar essas perdas, fazendo-se uso de indicadores, como o valor do tempo de viagem. São analisados alguns estudos brasileiros que estimaram os valores de tempo de viagem, comparando-se esses valores a fim de encontrar relações entre eles, discutindo também os fatores que influenciam a atribuição do valor do tempo de viagem. Por fim, o estudo analisa os impactos do uso do valor do tempo na avaliação de projetos, fazendo uso de cinco sistemáticas de cálculo, nas quais o valor do tempo de viagem é obtido através de fórmulas diferentes. Os resultados apresentados indicam uma diferença de mais de 69% entre o menor e o maior valor calculado. / The aim of this study is to analyse road congestion, especially considering structural aspects and the scenarios for the future. It emphasizes the possibility of using special tools for facing these problems which affect medium and biggest cities. Although traffic restrictions are major tools to face congestion, they have presented some problems when used in emerging countries. The study also consider the externalities caused by congestion, especially in terms of travel time spent on queues. The main methods for quantifying the travel time losses were identified in order to estimate the benefits coming from transport projects. Some Brazilian cases that estimate the value of travel time are analysed and the values obtained are compared in order to found relationships amongst them. The main factors affecting the value of time in each study are also considered. Finally, the impacts of the value of time on the appraisal of transport project are analysed based on five ways for calculating such impacts. Thus the value of time is obtained from the five different approaches. The results show a different of more than 69% between the smallest and the biggest value.

Le marché français, caractérisé en particulier par une forte segmentation, d’une faible sophistication des investisseurs et une domination des banques, serait peu compétitif. Sur le plan théorique, nous cherchons à illustrer, à l’aide des deux modèles simples, les effets d’une absence relative de compétition entre les fonds. Le premier met en évidence le rôle de la compétition dans la création des incitations implicites. Le second tente d’illustrer le fait que cette absence de compétition (liée à la domination des banques sur le marché français) conduirait à une performance plus faible pour les fonds. Sur le plan empirique, nous vérifions, d’une part, l’existence de ce manque de compétition du marché français. D’autre part, nous mettons en évidence l’existence d’un conflit d’intérêt direct entre les investisseurs et les fonds, résultant direct du manque de compétition du marché. Au niveau de la rentabilité des fonds, le manque de compétition du marché reflète dans le fait que les investisseurs ne réagissent pas fortement à la rentabilité relative des fonds. Au niveau des frais, l’insensibilité des investisseurs individuels aux frais des fonds pourrait traduire une moindre concurrence du marché. Nous observons également une discrimination par les frais entre les investisseurs institutionnels et les investisseurs individuels. Ces derniers paient plus chers pour une rentabilité plus faible. Toutefois, le marché commence à montrer des signes de compétition, reflétant dans le fait que les investisseurs individuels commencent à faire attention au rapport qualité-prix des fonds. Par ailleurs, un plus grand degré de sophistication des investisseurs institutionnels pourrait expliquer le fait que nous ne constatons aucun lien entre les frais et la rentabilité des fonds dans ce segment. En effet, ces investisseurs, susceptibles d’être plus sophistiqués, pourraient estimer la qualité de la gestion par des mesures plus complexes de la performance. Enfin, nous fournissons une preuve de l’existence d’un conflit d’intérêt entre les investisseurs et les fonds : les déséconomies d’échelle de performance. / The French market, characterized especially by a strong segmentation, low sophistication of investors and a domination of banks, would not be competitive. On the theoretical side, we try to illustrate, using two simple models, the effects of a lack of competition. The first one highlights the role of competition in the creation of implicit incentives. The second one shows that the lack of competition leads to weak funds’ performance. Empirically, we verify firstly the existence of this lack of competition in the French market. Secondly, we show the existence of a conflict of interest between investors and funds. The lack of competition reflects by the fact that investors do not react strongly to funds’ performance and individual investors are not sensitive to fund fees. We also observe a price discrimination between institutional and individual investors. The latter pays more for lower return. However, the market begins to show some signs of competition. In fact, individual investors start to pay attention to the “price-quality” rapport. In addition, a greater degree of sophistication of institutional investors may explain the fact that we do not obtain any relation between fees and return in this segment. Indeed, these investors may be more sophisticated and could estimate the quality of a fund by more complex measures of performance. Finally, we provide evidence for the existence of a conflict of interest between investors and funds: diseconomies of scale.