The introduction of the single currency (Euro) in Europe has been referred to as the ‘world’s largest economic experiment’ and has led to major research on the effects of the adoption of a common currency on economic activity with considerable emphasis on its effect on trade flows at the macroeconomic level. However, the investigation of the euro effect on individual sectors has received very little attention and this provides the motivation for the research. The main contribution of this thesis is to the sectoral analysis of the single currency’s effect on bi-lateral trade flows, specifically the effects on the transport equipment manufacturing sector. In order to achieve this, a comparison of the different estimation methods applied in the gravity model literature will be employed to investigate this effect and to identify the factors affecting trade in this sector. This study uses a panel data set which comprises the most recent information on bilateral trade for the EU15 countries from 1990 to 2008. This research aims to build on the results obtained in previous studies by employing a more refined empirical methodology and associated tests. The purpose of the tests is to ensure that the euro’s effect on trade is isolated from the other pro- trade policies of the European integration processes, particularly the introduction of the Single Market. The desirable feature of this approach is that, while other studies limit their attention to a particular issue (zero trade flow, time trend, sectoral analysis, cross-correlation, etc.), very few, if any, apply a selection of techniques. Overall, the results demonstrate that the single currency’s effect on trade in this sector is limited with only the fixed effects formulation with year dummy variables showing a significant positive effect of the euro. An obvious policy implication for countries looking to adopt a single currency is that they should be cautious regarding the potential for growth in intra-bloc trade in a particular sector, although they will benefit from the on-going process of integration.

A common finding in the international trade literature is that economic integration leads to export diversification. By documenting a positive link between joining the European Economic and Monetary Union and bilateral export concentration, the leading essay shows that this is not always the case. Using a panel data approach, I find that exports between the Eurozone members are on average more concentrated than those among countries which do not share the euro. Central to this outcome is that some economic integration agreements, such as the European Economic and Monetary Union, may lead to a drop in not only trade but horizontal FDI costs as well. Theoretically, the results can be explained by the substitutability between exporting and horizontal FDI within a two-sector, two-firm type model which allows for sectoral trade cost heterogeneity. Since the early 1970s, a series of international environmental agreements (IEAs) were signed, ratified, and enforced throughout the developed and developing nations. Regarding IEAs as potential barriers to trade, the second essay seeks to quantify their impact on industry-level exports by using a gravity regression approach. I proceed by classifying industries into dirty and clean based on their average emission intensities and find that the ratification of IEAs is associated with a significant reduction in export flows. The decrease is more pronounced for industries which are classified as dirty or for those which are characterized by high emission intensities per unit of output. Additionally, climate change IEAs bring about a compositional shift towards cleaner exports. Lastly, climate change and acid rain IEAs are found to engender leakage effects. No such evidence is recovered for ozone depletion accords. The third essay adds to the literature on the Kyoto protocol and the carbon content of bilateral trade. It does so by analyzing the effect of ratifying the Kyoto protocol on exports, the carbon dioxide (CO2) intensity of exports, and the CO2 emissions embodied in exports within a novel dataset of 149 countries. For parties that took on binding emission caps, the ratification of Kyoto protocol leads to (i) lower CO2 emissions embodied in exports, (ii) lower CO2 emission intensities, but (iii) higher overall exports. For the same group of countries, a year-by-year analysis underlines a permanent decline in both the CO2 emission intensity and the CO2 content of their exports. Furthermore, the analysis also points out to a short-run decline in exports. In the long run, however, exports are estimated to recover. Also, the commitment type or whether a party was designated as a transition economy at the time of ratification are found to shape the above three outcomes.

Bakgrund Denna uppsats behandlar de nya EU-kraven som föreslås träda i kraft från och med det räkenskapsår som inleds närmast efter den 31 december 2016. Uppsatsen har undersökt hur Stora Enso arbetar med hållbarhetsrapportering enligt Global Reporting Initiatives riktlinjer. Detta eftersom att Stora Enso var det första börsnoterade företaget i Sverige vars hållbarhetsrapportering granskats av en tredje part. Vidare siktar denna uppsats på att ge de företag som ej tidigare har erfarenhet från hållbarhetsrapportering en inspirationskälla, som stöd i upprättningen av egna hållbarhetsrapporter. Syfte Syftet med den här fallstudien är att beskriva hur ett företag som redan innan EU-kraven börjat tillämpats rapporterat i enlighet med dessa, och hur de aktivt arbetar med hållbarhetsrapportering. Metod Fallstudie: intervjuer och dokumentanalys. Slutsats Det är viktigt att hela tiden fortsätta förbättra företagets hållbara utveckling och dess mål. Stora Ensos hållbarhetsrapportering kopplades ihop med den hållbara utvecklingen i stort, och här sågs att rapporteringen har hjälpt Stora Enso att uppnå och utveckla sina hållbarhetsmål. Utan hållbarhetsrapporteringen skulle Stora Ensos positiva utveckling inte varit lika omfattande. Utifrån de intervjuer som genomfördes konstaterades det att GRI:s riktlinjer medför både en fördel och en nackdel: de är väldigt omfattande. / Background This study describes the new requirements from the European Union, which are supposed to come in to effect in the first financial year that ushers after December 31th 2016. We have examined how Stora Enso works with its sustainability reports according to the Global Reporting Inititative's guidelines. Stora Enso was considered a suitable candidate because it was the first publicly listed company in Sweden which had its sustainability report audited by a third party. Furthermore, this study aims to give inspiration and support to companies without previous experience with sustainability reporting. Purpose The purpose of this case study is to describe how a specific company reported in accordance with the EU-directives regarding sustainability reporting, even before they come in to effect. And also describe how they actively works with their sustainability reporting. Methods Case study: interviews and public documents. Conclusion It is important that the company keeps improving their sustainable development and their goals. Stora Ensos sustainability reporting was connected to the sustainable development, without the sustainability reports Stora Enso would have had a harder time developing in a sustainable manner and probably not had such a big positive change. From the interviews that was performed, we concluded that GRI’s guidelines brings both an advantage and a disadvantage: it is comprehensive.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / In the United Kingdom, a central issue of contemporary foreign policy is whether or not to enter into full membership of the European Monetary Union (EMU). Membership has profound implications for the development of the European Union (EU) and the future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and potentially upon the much heralded Anglo-American 'special relationship'. On a practical level, excluding the political implications of membership, joining the EMU means surrendering the pound sterling for the euro and in doing so the British would also surrender control of monetary policy. This thesis will examine the historical links between British defence and monetary policy and argues that there are strong historical bonds that link the two in the political psychology of Britain. This link has created for Britain twin nationalistic icons in the pound and the military. This thesis illustrates that a paradox exists in that membership in the EMU would improve British defence spending and yet nationalistic forces resist membership. At the same time, forces in Britain in favor of monetary integration, unable to accomplish it but pressured to show they are dedicated to the project of European integration, paradoxically commit to further defence integration thought the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

近幾年來我國資本市場籌資狀況，可轉換公司債為國內多數企業之首選，企業透過發行可轉換公司債取得所需資金，除考量支付較銀行借款為低之利率水準的利息外，亦希望避免採現金募資方式所造成之資本快速膨脹，導致企業獲利能力遭到稀釋，甚至影響企業經營權之掌控。 海外可轉換公司債(ECB)為歐洲債券(Eurobond)和可轉換公司債(Convertible Bond)的結合，是一種屬於海外金融商品，係以純公司債再附加一不可分割之普通股買進轉換權(Equity Call Option)。持有人可於發行後特定期間內，以約定價格（即轉換價格或轉換比率），將公司債轉換成發行公司之普通股股票，所以海外可轉換公司債係一種可轉換為國內股票，且在境外流通或掛牌之上市公司債，同時具備債券及股票投資兩種功能；當股價上漲時，持有者可享受股價上漲之報酬，當股價下跌時，持有者仍可收取固定之債券利息，故本研究欲以海外可轉換公司債做為探討之主題。 本研究個案公司其營運內容為國際散裝航運業務，主要從事國際間散裝貨運運輸。本研究將分析個案公司於2009年至2012年間，發行海外可轉換公司債之原因，對於個案公司經營績效及財務結構會有何影響？籌資完成後，那些因素造成公司在後續的經營管理過程中，影響公司的經營績效及財務結構。本研究希望藉由上述的實證分析，期望使個案公司之經營管理階層能了解此募資方式，是否有達到公司募集資金時之目的，藉以提供個案公司經營管理階層在爾後籌資時決策之參考。

Living by a commercial ethic and resisting English encroachment from New England, the Dutch made at least 40 land purchases by written deed from their Indian neighbors from 1630 to 1664. In the past, scholars have seen only a European instrument of dispossession in the so-called "Indian deeds" that document land transfers from Indians to Europeans. In fact, they are colonial phenomena with uniquely Indian qualities. This is particularly true of the Dutch-Indian deeds signed or marked between 1630 and 1664. The Dutch-Indian deeds of the seventeenth century exhibit a middle ground of land tenures, in which the Dutch were compelled to yield to aspects of Indian land tenure and law in order to successfully purchase the land and retain it without facing retaliation. Indians, for their part, partook in the sale rituals of the literate world -- deed-signing -- but resisted European notions of land deals as fixed, permanent agreements. The Dutch-Indian deeds thus emerge as fluid agreements that were a compromise between Dutch and Indian land tenures and legal conventions.

M.Comm. / The object of this study is to critically appraise the fundamental models, technical methods and statistical techniques that constitute the bulk of exchange rate forecasting methodology. Specifically, can any single approach, or combination of techniques, predict or explain the volatile currency movements characterising exchange rate behaviour in the modern international currency market? International currency markets are indeed complex in nature, and the layperson may be excused for not grasping the distinction between the fundamental, technical and statistical techniques described in the hypothesis. It is vital, however, for the comprehension of this study that the distinction between these approaches be explained, and the logic underlying their individual methodologies examined. It may prima facie seem that this study is based on a contradiction. Surely if one wants to predict an economic variable of any kind, one should refer to the economic theory upon which it is based as the starting point of an analysis. Consequently, if the objective is to forecast the future value of a currency, surely there are a great many economic texts that deal with this very question in voluminous detail. Why, then, should yet another paper be written when so much literature already exists? The answer lies not so much in the scope as in the purpose of this work. The aim of this study can be paraphrased. as follows: to provide a comprehensive and critical examination of the various methods of exchange rate forecasting and to explain why economic theory is still deficient in this important area. The question of whether or not short-term' exchange rates are able to be forecast at all will also be critically examined. This study will attempt to elucidate that while fundamental currency speculation models do provide a certain degree of guidance to currency-traders in their daily prognostications, these models are, in the context of modern capital markets, inadequate. At best, these models will be shown as trackers of long-term exchange rate trends, and not always accurate ones at that. Further, it will be demonstrated that the modern trading floors are characterised (if not defined) by split-second price changes, where the long-term'' can mean a minute, and he who hesitates is lost. It is in this setting that traders must do battle for profit, and where the fundamental models that seem to serve so well in textbooks are anachronisms. The study then shifts its focus to a subset of technical analysis known as charting, the objective being to fill the void which arises due to the fundamental models' inadequacies in the short-term. The charting techniques utilised in this study deviate from their fundamental counterparts in that they attempt to explain future exchangerate trends in terms of past performance. That is, exogenous changes are factored out of the forecasting equation, to give way to a methodology based on trendextrapolation. The performance of these models, especially as they pertain to the medium- and short-term., will then be determined. Finally, in an attempt to supplement the use of charts as a forecasting tool, statistical analysis will be considered. The model utilised in this section will be a rudimentary auto-regressive process. Its simplicity, however, belies its consequence. That is, considering that no ubiquitous statistical model dominates exchange rate theory, it is reasonable to assume that an auto-regressive process, such as the one contributed by this study, will not be subordinate to other, more complex, quantitative offerings. Thus this study attempts to provide the necessary insights in order to perspicaciously 1 It should be noted here that the terms "short-term" and "short run" are interchangeable. For the purposes of consistency, only the former term shall be employed throughout this study. 2 The terms "long-term" and "long run" are also interchangeable. For the purposes of consistency, only the former term shall be employed throughout this study. ascertain the proficiency of statistical analysis as an accurate forecaster of exchange rate fluctuations. All of the models and methods examined in this study adopt a pragmatic acid-test. That is to say, if the predictions made as a result of adherence to the models do not comply accurately and consistently with real findings, then the models themselves should be revised. This revision can be in terms of the time-frame to which the model pertains, the application of the model, or the model itself. It must, however, be stressed that a model whose very raison d'etre lies in its ability to predict exchange rate movements must be able to do so without qualifications or exceptions. The methodology adopted in analysing the models themselves is therefore positive as opposed to normative. Thus, even in the "organised chaos" of the modern exchange rate markets, the application of the models should yield satisfactory results. In other words, despite the unprecedented volumes, speed and volatility of the currencies that are traded in the modern arena, the models themselves should still be able to achieve their purpose - to forecast the extent and direction of changes in the par value of a currency. The next logical question is: what is meant by the "organised chaos", and specifically why should this influence the predictive ability of the fundamental, technical and statistical methods of exchange rate forecasting? The answer to this can be introduced as follows. On an almost daily basis, currency traders move an excess of one trillion dollars throughout the world. Adding to the gravity of this somewhat overwhelming statistic is that most of these are intercomputer transactions occurring instantaneously via inter-bank wire-transfers. In fact, the volume of currency traded is so great that if one were to sum the trading of all the Saudi oil, American wheat, European aircraft and Japanese cars, the monetary result would seem pithy in comparison (Millman, 1995:xxi). It is, however, not only the sheer volumes of currencies traded that characterise the international money markets. It is perhaps more importantly the unanticipated and unparalleled volatility of the markets themselves which provides the greatest quandary for those who conform to 'traditional' methods of exchange rate determination. It is all too common, in fact, for currency prices to change on a minute-to-minute or even second-to-second basis. Exchange rates are thus in a constant state of flux. The significant though infrequent changes of past years have been terminally disposed of. The inception of the microcomputer and the floating exchange rate system currently dominating the greater world economy has irrevocably altered what was considered a flawed order. It is this very metamorphosis which will be examined in detail, specifically how fundamental models have assumed a differing purpose to those used by modern speculators, hedgers and arbitrageurs in their specific fields of application. Thus it will be shown how the changing paradigm of the world economy and consequently the currency trading floors themselves necessitate neoteric predictive powers, that is, the power to forecast currency changes not in terms of years, months or even weeks, but rather in terms of days, minutes and seconds. The object of this thesis will therefore be to show that a definite dichotomy has developed between the exchange rate models espoused in economic textbooks and the techniques upon which the de facto day-to-day buying and selling of currencies depend. The efficacy of this study consequently hinges on one decisive question - is there truly a consistent and precise method of forecasting exchange rates?

The effectiveness of interest rate pass-through is crucial when shaping monetary policy. In this paper we use error correction framework in order to estimate the speed and the completeness of pass through in Slovakia. Our thesis brings a unique research on how the financial crisis and Euro adoption affect the pass-through. In Slovakia those events occur at the same time; we attempt to distinguish between what phenomenon has greater impact. We also distinguish between what bank characteristics have impact on individual bank's spread during financial crisis. Our results suggest that the interest rate pass-through completeness increases in long term. We however found evidence of decreasing pass-through in case of deposit rates during crisis. Banks are unwiling to lower them and hence harm their competitve position. The pass-through in Slovakia is found to be relatively fast and consistent throughout periods. With the crisis, the speed for mortgages rates however decreases. We conclude that the impact of financial crisis outweights the impact of Euro adoption. Concerning the banks' characteristics, we conclude that higher portion of loans on assets, higher costs over income and better liquidity position decrease the spread. This is explained by the size of Slovakian banking market; banks lower their spread to...

The diploma thesis The development and the present of economic weekly magazines in Czech republic focuses on the transformation of the print media with weekly periodicity in selected segment. Thesis describes concrete graphic and content changes of Czech economic weekly magazines in the period of six years from 2006 until 2012 and deals with their possition on the Czech media market. The aim of the work is - inter alia - to exemplify the development of sold copies and total readership and describe the causality with fundamental changes in visual style and content of the journals.

The importance of international trade cannot be neglected as it represents an important channel of wealth creation in the actual globalised world. Thus, the present writer aims to identify how the commercial flows have changed after the adoption of Euro and once the financial crisis has burst. Furthermore the main factors that influence trade are researched by using the gravitational econometric model and employing panel data for 14 EU member countries. The results show that the intensity of commercial exchanges are highly influenced by the level of development (GDP) of the country and the amount of FDI that are attracted, while the use of a common currency appears to be not too significant. At the same time, indicators are more sensible during the crisis period than the stable one, hence even small changes in independent variables can lead to higher decrease in trade. Key words: European trade, liberalization, competitiveness, financial crisis, contagion, Euro, gravitational model.