In recent years corruption has come to be considered as a pervasive phenomenon, and a major obstacle in the process of economic development. However, there exist few studies that discuss the factors that cause corruption and why some countries are more corrupt than others. This research contributes to that rather scanty literature and focuses on the causes of corruption. More importantly, the study empirically investigates various causes of corruption, in particular the role of economic development, democracy and economic freedom in explaining the observed variations in corruption across countries, and the nexus between democracy and economic freedom in combating corruption. The study first tests the reliability of the recent quantitative innovations in the study of corruption in terms of the Corruption Perception Index, constructed by Transparency International. Using theoretical and empirical analysis, various hypotheses regarding corruption and its determinants are examined using panel data for 100 countries during the period 1995 to 2004. The empirical findings show that the subjective indexing process of corruption perception eventually converges to a common consensus. In evaluating the relationship between economic development and corruption, the results suggest that income per capita, education, unemployment, income inequality, economic freedom and democracy are among the factors which determine and help explain the cross-country differences in corruption. Furthermore, the assessment of the relationship between democracy and corruption shows that an ‘electoral democracy’, represented by ‘political rights’, is not in itself sufficient to reduce corruption. Instead, for low levels of corruption to exist, the presence of an advanced fully-formed mature democracy is required. A characteristic of a mature democracy is the existence of an environment where the probability of being caught, if acting corruptly, is very high. In addition, the examination of the interaction between economic freedom and democracy suggests that economic freedom reduces corruption in any political environment, and the effect is substantially larger with a high level of democracy. The interesting and important findings of the analysis indicate that there exists a non-linear relationship between corruption and the level of income as well as democracy. The findings suggest that developed countries have succeeded in controlling corruption through higher levels of economic development along with the economic and political freedoms that their peoples enjoy.

The purpose of this thesis is to describe how the factors influence the level of adaptation and standardization of a marketing strategy and subsequently analyze how the factors influence the level of adaptation and standardization of Swedish MNCs’ in the German market. The relevant factors for the decision towards standardization and adaptation are found out using a framework composed by Viswanathan & Dickson (2007). The factors chosen are homogeneity of customer response to the marketing-mix, transferability of competitive advantage, homogeneity of economic freedom and decision variables.   This thesis does so in a deductive and qualitative approach using Swedish retailer Clas Ohlson as a case study. Underlying this is a contextualized and interpretivist point of view. Data was collected through focus group interviews with German and Swedish students and complemented through data mining.   An analysis of the empirical data shows a high homogeneity of customer response to the marketing-mix, the possibility of transferring the competitive advantage and a high homogeneity of economic freedom was discovered. When applying the frame of reference on the empirical data, Swedish MNCs, especially Swedish retailers, are recommended to choose a high degree of standardization for their IMS in the German market. It was discovered that the used framework does to some extent not cover a wish proposed by the German participants calling for a partial adaptation of the international marketing strategy. This disproves the assumption underlying the frame of reference as the majority of factors suggest standardization, yet from a consumer perspective, there is the wish to partially adapt. In the conclusion managerial implications, limitations and research implications are mentioned as well.

Hong Kong is considered to be the most economically free country in the world, but also has the highest amount of income inequality of any developed country. The Hong Kong government is able to sustain laissez faire policies due to its monopoly on land supply. Maintaining high property values allows the government to maximize revenue from property tax, which acts as a hidden tax. A major contributor to income inequality is the formation of oligopolies in Hong Kong that creates an anticompetitive environment. The interests of the government and oligarchs are aligned as both obtain significant portions of revenue from the property sector. As globalization makes Hong Kong even more vulnerable to external shocks, the government faces the challenges of increasing competition, diversifying its revenue streams, and closing the income gap while standing by its principles in order maintain regional competitiveness as an international business hub.

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the partial requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand Department of African Literature, March 2017 / XL2018

<p>This paper investigates the impact of Economic Freedom on FDI inflows to developing countries and the Middle East in particular. Four forms of Economic Freedom were tested as variables determining FDI inflow. These four variables were Freedom from Corruption, Government Size, Trade Freedom and Investment Freedom. Cross-sectional data for twelve Middle Eastern countries and forty-three other developing countries were gathered for 1995 and 2006. It was revealed that only Trade Freedom and Invest-ment Freedom were significant in both Middle East and other regions. Apart from one case, the general positive sign of the significant variables confirms our hypothesis re-garding the positive effects of these Economic Freedoms on FDI inflows. Based on these findings it can be recommended to improve the investment environment and re-duce the barriers to trade in order to attract more FDI.</p>

This paper investigates the impact of Economic Freedom on FDI inflows to developing countries and the Middle East in particular. Four forms of Economic Freedom were tested as variables determining FDI inflow. These four variables were Freedom from Corruption, Government Size, Trade Freedom and Investment Freedom. Cross-sectional data for twelve Middle Eastern countries and forty-three other developing countries were gathered for 1995 and 2006. It was revealed that only Trade Freedom and Invest-ment Freedom were significant in both Middle East and other regions. Apart from one case, the general positive sign of the significant variables confirms our hypothesis re-garding the positive effects of these Economic Freedoms on FDI inflows. Based on these findings it can be recommended to improve the investment environment and re-duce the barriers to trade in order to attract more FDI.

The systemic approach to innovation can be studied from various perspectives, with the approach of limiting geographical or sectoral issues. This study aimed to adapt a typological approach to innovation systems for showing the weight of institutions for innovation and the ability to technological adoption. To this end, the national perspective was defined as a viable means for the treatment of rules, norms and behaviors as a key element in driving for innovation within a country. The study used a typological approach of national innovation systems (NIS) which consists in grouping division between countries like innovation systems "mature", "immature" and "other", the second, further subdivided into three categories. Data from 113 countries were selected according to the descriptions of the adopted typology, for the period from 2006 to 2014. Data were arranged to relate to innovation and technology adoption capacity with institutional variable "economic freedom". To step econometric data were arranged in panel being made to estimate models with fixed and random effects, dealing with relations between the dependent variables "innovation" and "technology adoption capacity" and the independent variable "economic freedom". The estimation results of the models of fixed and random effects show that the use of panel data econometric approach provided obtaining statistically significant, indicating a good grip of the model to hypotheses at work. After estimating the models were employed, the Wald test and the Hausman test indicated that the adoption of the model with random effects for both the model on innovation and to the technological adoption. It was found that the "economic freedom" is statistically significant in the explanation of "innovation" for almost all studied groups, except ECEC group. In conducting the explanation of the latter fact, they were raised some research that helped in the understanding that the socialist period lived in these countries caused major obstacles for the market process needed in the emergence of innovation. Economic freedom is statistically significant for technology adoption in all groups, this time there was no exception. In addition to the confirmation of the positive relationship the existence of economic freedom to innovation and the ability of technology adoption, research availed interesting results on the question of a possible relationship of poverty and innovation. It was found that economic freedom has a greater impact for innovation and imitation in poorer countries than in richer countries. To explain this result, the survey took the marginalist theory, indicating that there is a diminishing marginal utility in respect of national innovation systems to economic freedom. Thus, the more scarce institutional attributes guided by freedom, more grouping tend to attribute greater value to these institutions in driving the innovation process. / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A abordagem sistêmica de inovação pode ser estudada a partir de várias perspectivas, tendo como limitadores da abordagem questões territoriais ou setoriais. A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo adaptar uma abordagem tipológica sobre sistemas de inovação com o intuito de evidenciar o peso das instituições para a inovação e a capacidade de adoção tecnológica. Para tanto, foi definida a perspectiva nacional como um meio viável para o tratamento das regras, normas e condutas como elemento essencial na condução para a inovação dentro de um país. O trabalho utilizou uma abordagem tipológica de sistemas nacionais de inovação (SNI) que consiste na divisão em agrupamento entre países como sistemas de inovação “maduros”, “não maduros” e “outros”, sendo o segundo, ainda subdividido em três categorias. Foram selecionados dados de 113 países seguindo as descrições da tipologia adotada, referentes ao período de 2006 a 2014. Os dados coletados foram dispostos de maneira a relacionar a inovação e a capacidade de adoção tecnológica com a variável institucional “liberdade econômica”. Para a etapa econométrica os dados foram dispostos em painel, sendo efetuada a estimação de modelos com efeitos fixos e aleatórios, tratando das relações entre as variáveis dependentes “inovação” e “capacidade de adoção tecnológica” e a variável independente “liberdade econômica”. Os resultados da estimação dos modelos de efeitos fixos e aleatórios apontam que o emprego da abordagem econométrica de dados em painel proporcionou a obtenção de estatísticas significantes, indicando uma boa aderência do modelo às hipóteses levantadas no trabalho. Após a estimação dos modelos foram empregados os testes de Wald e o teste de Hausman que indicaram a adoção do modelo com efeitos aleatórios tanto para o modelo sobre inovação quanto para o de adoção tecnológica. Verificou-se que a “liberdade econômica” é significante estatisticamente na explicação da “inovação” para quase todos os agrupamentos estudados, exceto o agrupamento ECEC. Na condução da explicação deste último fato, foram levantadas algumas pesquisas que auxiliaram no entendimento de que o período socialista vivido nestes países causou grandes entraves para o processo de mercado necessário no surgimento da inovação. A liberdade econômica se apresentou estatisticamente significante para a adoção tecnológica em todos os agrupamentos, desta vez não houve nenhuma exceção. Além da constatação da existência da relação positiva da liberdade econômica com a inovação e a capacidade de adoção tecnológica, a pesquisa auferiu resultados interessantes quanto à questão de uma possível relação da pobreza e a inovação. Verificou-se que a liberdade econômica detém um impacto maior para a inovação e a imitação em países mais pobres do que em países mais ricos. Para explicar este resultado, a pesquisa fez uso da teoria marginalista, indicando a existência de uma utilidade marginal decrescente na relação dos sistemas nacionais de inovação com a liberdade econômica. Deste modo, quanto mais escasso de atributos institucionais pautados em liberdade, mais o agrupamento tenderá a atribuir maior valor a estas instituições na condução do processo de inovação.

In the past three decades, there is a growing trend of conducting fiscal decentralization in both transition countries and developed countries. The primary reason for this interest is the theoretical prediction that fiscal decentralization could promote economic development through enhancing or improving the efficiency of the public sector. Despite general acceptance of the contribution of fiscal decentralization to economic growth in theoretical literature, none of the previous fiscal decentralization studies have been successfully verified the growth effect of fiscal decentralization. Moreover, a majority of the empirical research analyzes the relationship without taking institutional factors into consideration, which may result in a biased conclusion. Utilizing fixed effects panel data regression models, this thesis is dedicated to examining the impact of fiscal decentralization on economic growth across 27 EU countries over the period 1995-2015. It first analyzes how the effect of fiscal decentralization on economic growth could differ in Western European (WE) and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Then, it examines the complementarity between fiscal decentralization and well-established institutional mechanism in enhancing economic growth in these two groups of EU countries by...

Previous studies raise debates on which factors significantly affect the economic growth in different countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, the purpose of our study is to examine and analyze how the selected macroeconomic factors can have different effects on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. To concretize this, a panel data and regression analysis have been applied to 36 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa during the period of 2006-2019. The thesis is composed of data over corruption index, foreign direct investment (FDI), GDP per capita growth, population growth, education, economic freedom, and socioeconomic indicators such as political rights. To investigate these factors various macroeconomics theories have been applied, such as the Solow, Romer and Kremerian model, which explains the impact of population growth andeducation on economic growth. Moreover, the Electric Paradigm (OLI), the Institutional theory and some previous studies have been used to explain the effect of corruption, FDI, economic freedom, and political rights on economic growth. A linear regression model was made in the econometric panel data analysis to investigate the selected factors. The result of this study shows that population growth and economic freedom have a significant impact on economic growth. Other factors, however, were statistically nonsignificant.

The purpose of this study has been to investigate and analyze the factors that contribute toeconomic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Many previous studies done on my subject havecome to different results, as many factors may have either a positive or a negative effect oneconomic growth. The study has also applied appropriate macroeconomic theories to be ableto draw a connection between economic growth and growth factors. The study consists of a dependent variable which is growth and 7 independent variableswhich are as follows: corruption, education, health, trade, foreign direct investment (FDI),economic freedom, and population growth.In order to be able to explain the study's factors on economic growth, growth theories havebeen applied, i.e. Solow and Romer models as well as Kremerian models that explain theimpact which population growth, education, and health have on economic growth. Inaddition, the electrical paradigm (OLI), and institutional theory have been applied to explainthe effects of FDI, economic freedom, and corruption.The collected data applied in the study is taken from various types of databases, including The World Bank, Transparency International, UNDP, and the Fraser Institute. I will examine20 out of a total of 48 possible countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and the study is limited to athirteen-year time period between the years 2006-2019.In order to investigate how the studied factors affect the economic growth in Sub-Saharan,the study was based on a fixed effect model that is implemented in the econometric analysisof the panel data. The final results of the study demonstrate that economic freedom andcorruption are statistically significant for economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. In contrast,FDI, health, education, trade, and population growth are all non-significant. / Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka samt analysera om de bidragande faktorernabidrar till den ekonomiska tillväxten i Sub-Sahara. I många tidigare studier inom mitt ämnehar man kommit fram till olika resultat, då många faktorer påverkar den ekonomiskatillväxten antingen positivt eller negativt. Studien har även tillämpat relevantamakroekonomiska teorier för att kunna dra ett samband mellan den ekonomiska tillväxtenoch tillväxtfaktorerna. Studien består utav en beroende variabel vilket är tillväxt samt 7 oberoende variabler vilket ärföljande: korruption, utbildning, hälsa, handel, utländska direktinvesteringar (FDI),ekonomisk frihet och befolkningstillväxt.För att kunna förklara de studerade faktorerna på den ekonomiska tillväxten har mantillämpat tillväxtteorier alltså Solow och Romer-modellen samt Kremerian modellen somförklarar vilken inverkan befolkningstillväxten, utbildning och hälsa har på den ekonomiskatillväxten. Därutöver har det elektriska paradigmet (OLI), institutionella teorin tillämpats föratt kunna förklara effekterna av FDI, ekonomisk frihet samt korruption.Den insamlade data som tillämpas i studien är hämtad från olika typer av databaser blandannat The World bank, Transparency international, UNDP och Fraser Institute. Jag kommeratt undersöka 20 av totalt 48 möjliga länder i Sub-Sahara Afrika och studien är avgränsad tillen tretton års tidsperiod mellan år 2006- 2019.För att kunna undersöka hur de studerade faktorerna påverkar den ekonomiska tillväxten iSub-Sahara har studien utgått från en fasta effekt modell som implementeras i denekonometriska analysen av paneldata. Studiens slutgiltiga resultat påvisar att ekonomiskfrihet och korruption är statistiskt signifikant för den ekonomiska tillväxten i Sub-Sahara.Däremot är FDI, hälsa, utbildning, handel, befolkningstillväxt icke-signifikanta.