This dissertation investigates changes in size, composition, and fiscal authority of government expenditure brought on by social disturbance by examining the effects of German reunification on government spending. This research tests several hypotheses using data on total spending and six major sub-policy spending categories between 1972 and 2006. First, this study identifies strong evidence of a large upward displacement effect following reunification, with a particular emphasis on social security spending. Second, this study finds a strong and positive correlation between per capita GDP and total spending as well as social security, education, and public safety spending, which confirms Wagner's Law. Results also reveal that unemployment rate is strongly and positively related to total spending and several sub policy categories both before and after reunification. Additionally, this study finds that the proportions of the youth and elderly populations are negatively associated with total spending after reunification. However, the proportion of the youth population is positively associated with per capita education spending, as the proportion of elderly population with social security spending. The results also show that economic openness has a strong positive impact on both total spending and economic services spending; however, the relationship between economic openness and social security, education, and health spending after reunification is negative. The right party control variable has no significant impact on total spending after reunification, though party control does seem to influence social security and defense spending. Furthermore, the election variable does not have a significant impact on spending except for a positive and significant impact on social security spending after reunification. On the other hand, the coalition government and the proportion of public employees variables have strong and positive impacts on total spending and several sub-policy categories after reunification. The deficit ratio variable is found to have a positive and significant impact on total spending and public safety spending after reunification. Lastly, using a traditional expenditure ratio and a composite ratio to measure fiscal decentralization, this study finds that after reunification there is a trend towards fiscal centralization in total spending and social security, economic services, health, and public safety spending. / Ph. D.

By investigating the scope of future wind turbine projects in north Swedish coastal regions and Lapland inland, identification of especially sensitive areas and the effect of wind farm location for the white- tailed sea eagles (WSE) Haliaeetus albicilla at these sites were evaluated. Since the 1980s the WSE the population growth has been stable and intensified in the last two decades, the upgoing trend is evident especially at coastal areas of the Bothnian Sea and Lapland inland, these regions are also considered suitable for wind farm projects. The scope of this analysis consists of an investigation of the density-dependent effect and interference regarding WSE population for each concerned wind farm by using an option with 4 MW wind turbines and a 6 MW alternative. The purpose with this comparison was to identify where wind turbines impact is most critical for WSEs and to which extent wind farms affected land area usage as well as the carrying capacity levels.One of the key findings was in Norrbotten where the 6 MW wind turbines reduced land area usage by 37,59%. In Västerbotten the highest concentration of WSEs was found and where the interference was most severe, in one of the wind farms three WSEs were observed inside the WF area which was the highest number noticed for this category in the study.Based on the low occurrence of WSEs and the accessible land area in the north-east part of Sweden (Pajala), it was considered the least critical area in terms of risk mitigation for WSE interference. A similar scenario was noticed in the southern part of Gävleborg, however in this case it was mainly a slowdown of population growth related to issues with habitat preference that enabled further possibilities for wind power investments.