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Kyoto University (京都大学) / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第17511号 / 工博第3670号 / 新制||工||1558(附属図書館) / 30277 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科機械理工学専攻 / (主査)教授 西脇 眞二, 教授 田畑 修, 教授 蓮尾 昌裕 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当

The aim of the thesis is to find the optimal tax system based on the employees taxation model. The basic question is how the tax system influences the work supply and how it changes the wealth distribution. The model uses the distribution of gross monthly wages from ČSÚ data. In the first part there is an introduction of tax theory. In the second part there is a definition of optimal tax system. In the third part there is a description of tax model and its parameters are defined. In the fourth part there is a presentation of the results of the model taxation. The last part of the thesis chooses the optimal tax system. The thesis comes to a conclusion that the optimal tax system is presented by a proportional taxation due its lowest loss of product. The change of wealth distribution should be realized by transfers.

The price strategy and the right propose of price level play fundamental part in every company with successfull leadership. Especially nowadays, when the sensitivity of customers is growing and not only in the sphere of price but also promotion. It seems, in the case of product category of juices Pfanner, which are processed in this graduation theses, is this fact valid especially. What the price and sales development do the main players note in this market is analysed pursuant to secondary data of research agency MEMRB Retail Services. The reception of brand image and the customers behavior comes from study TNS AISA. The graduation these is trying to find the answer especially on these questions: Can the company Pfanner keep the high quality brand image and increase sales at the same time? What level of price can, together with certain promotion activities, ensure higher turnover but at the same time not damage the long time builded brand image? What is the optimal level of common and action price of Pfanner products?

I use a canonical model similar to that of Golosov, Tsyvinski, and Werning (2006) to highlight salient properties of the standard tax system used to decentralize constrained efficient allocations. I first show that while labor and wealth taxes are mainly used for efficiency purposes, risk-sharing is achieved through lump-sum transfers. I then show through various examples that ignoring parts of the optimal tax system---a recurring theme in the literature---can lead to sizable welfare losses. In order to evaluate the causal effect of student loans on labor market outcomes, we exploit the eligibility for the need-based Stafford loan program (subsidized Stafford loans) to implement a regression kink design. Using a nationally representative sample of students graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1993, we establish that student loan debt leads to lower earnings after graduation. Estimates show that an additional hundred dollars of Stafford loan reduces 1994 annual income by about 0.1%. Extrapolating this result, earnings for an individual with the mean level of borrowing are 5% lower than those of an individual with no debt. The impact of an additional hundred dollars of student debt decreases income by 0.4% in 1997, and the impact of debt on earnings vanishes by 2003. Economic theory shows that there exists a simple mechanism consistent with the empirical finding, whereby more debt leads individuals to quickly find employment rather than wait for an ideal job. Crucial for this result is that student debt is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. Indeed, when debt is dischargeable, higher debt can cause individuals to search for higher paying jobs that are harder to find. Absent government or otherwise imposed restrictions, competitive loan markets are incompatible with identifiable subsets of the population subsidizing others. We use that insight to identify and measure inefficiencies in government student loan programs using linked survey and administrative data from the Beginning Postsecondary Student (BPS) longitudinal surveys. We use loan repayment histories to compute realized returns for borrowers. We then estimate considerable heterogeneity in expected returns based on ex ante observable characteristics, which suggests inefficiencies that private lenders might exploit by cream-skimming more profitable borrowers. We explore the potential for cream-skimming under different assumptions about the costs of capital for private lenders and study its implications for the pool of government student loan borrowers and expected returns to the government. Finally, we analyze the extent to which student loan limits can be modified based on borrower characteristics to equate expected returns and alleviate concerns about cream-skimming.

A quadrotor is a type of small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with four rotors. Various control techniques have been successfully applied to the quadrotor. In this thesis, two control methods, including linear quadratic regulator (LQR) and H2-optimal control, are applied to the autonomous navigation and control of a quadorotor named QBall-X4 that is developed by Quanser. The continuous-time dynamic model is established using the Euler-Lagrange approach. Due to the nonlinearities in the quadrotor dynamics, we propose a simplified linear model, which is further used for the controller design in this thesis. According to the simplified quadrotor dynamics, we design an LQR controller to regulate the quadrotor system from its initial position to the desired position. The effectiveness of the controller is verified by simulation studies. However, the LQR control system is operated in the nominal model, and it can not present guaranteed performance when system uncertainties exist. The main emphasis is placed on designing an H2-optimal controller that minimizes the H2-norm of the transfer function. The solution is obtained by using the state-space approach and linear matrix inequality (LMI) method, respectively. In contrast to LQR control method, which is normally applied to a system with no disturbance, the H2-optimal controller takes the form of an observer together with a state feedback control gain to deal with the system uncertainties and disturbances. The simulation results and experimental study verify that the proposed H2-optimal controller is an effective option for the quadrotor with the attendance of uncertainties and disturbances. / Graduate

This paper investigates the determinants of mutual fund portfolio manager ownership and its association with fund performance. Using hand-collected data of 1,420 U.S. equity funds from 32 fund families, we find that variations in fund manager holdings are broadly consistent with optimal contracting theory instead of the result of managers' personal investment consideration. Portfolio manager ownership is positively and significantly correlated with variables that proxy for intensity of agency conflicts. Specifically, portfolio managers hold more mutual fund shares when the size of concurrently managed hedge fund increases and when the advisor is affiliated to the bank. In addition, fund managers invest more in funds with primary investment in growth stock, non-index funds, and solo-managed funds. Regarding to the alternative governance mechanism, higher threat of dismissal for outsourced funds, stronger monitoring from institutional investors, and long-term performance based bonus work as substitutes of fund manager ownership while director ownership works as a compliment. Finally, we find little evidence supporting the notion that funds with higher portfolio manager ownership perform better.

Scattered data collected at sample points may be used to determine simple functions to best fit the data. An ideal choice for these simple functions is bivariate splines. Triangulation of the sample points creates partitions over which the bivariate splines may be defined. But the optimality of the approximation is dependent on the choice of triangulation. An algorithm, referred to as an Edge Swapping Algorithm, has been developed to transform an arbitrary triangulation of the sample points into an optimal triangulation for representation of the scattered data. A Matlab package has been completed that implements this algorithm for any triangulation on a given set of sample points.

This dissertation empirically examines refunding decisions employed by issuers of tax-exempt bonds. Callable bonds contain embedded call options by virtue of provisions in bond indentures that permit the issuing firm to buy back the bond at a predetermined strike price. Such an embedded American call option has two components to its value, the intrinsic value and the time value. The issuer can realize at least as much as the intrinsic value by exercising immediately, when the option is in-the-money. Usually it is optimal for the holder of an in-the money American option to wait rather than exercise immediately, because the option has time value. It is rational for the holder to exercise the option when the total value of the option is no more than the intrinsic value. Option pricing theory can be used to identify two sub-optimal refunding strategies: those that refund too early, and those that refund too late. In such cases the holder incurs losses. I analyze the refunding decisions for two different samples of tax-exempt bonds issued between 1986 and 1993: the first consists of 2,620 bonds that are called, and the second contains 23,976 bonds that are never called. The generalized Vasicek (1977) model in the Heath, Jarrow, and Morton (1992) framework is used to construct binomial trees for interest rates, bond prices, and call option prices. The option pricing lattice is then used to compute the loss in value from sub-optimal refunding strategies, refunding efficiency, and months from optimal time for bonds in these two samples. Results suggest that sub-optimal refunding decisions cause losses to the issuers, which are present across bond and issuer characteristics. For the pooled sample of 26,596 bonds, the loss in value from sub-optimal refunding decisions totaled $7.2 billion, amounting to a loss of about 1.75% of total principal amount. Results indicate that issuers either wait too long to refund or never refund and cannot realize the present value saving of switching a high coupon bond with a low coupon bond, over a longer period of time. These results critically depend on the assumptions of underlying term structure model and are sensitive to model calibrated parameter values. / Ph. D.

Lubrication is used during the drilling of aluminum to counter the formation of a built-up-edge (BUE), among other reasons. The elimination of the use of lubricants in drilling of aluminum is important because of the associated high costs of cleaning and disassembly involved in lubrication. The optimal conditions sought in this work include the elimination of the use of lubricants along with the possible attainment of a high material removal rate, which could help in reduction of cost and increase productivity at the same time. BUE has been found to be almost always present in the process of metal cutting at low to moderate speeds. It has been found that a necessary condition for the formation of a BUE is the presence of a negative stress gradient away and normal to the tool rake face. The quantitative equivalence of the effects of temperature and strain rate on flow stress described by the Zener-Hollomon parameter (Z) [5]. The relationship between the Zener-Hollomon parameter (Z) and chip flow stress implies that a negative Z gradient could be considered equivalent to a negative stress gradient. A series of computer simulations with varied cutting conditions were analyzed to determine the combination of machining variables which yielded a low predicted BUE preferably with a high material removal rate. The results presented here include cases which have a low predicted BUE as well as a high material removal rate.