Cette thèse a pour objectif d’approfondir l’analyse des conditions d’émergence et d’incidence de la corruption dans le monde. Nous y soulignons une dimension importante mais jusque-La peu documentée des activités de corruption, à savoir, leur contribution aux stratégies informelles d’adaptation et de gestion du risque mises en place par les agents économiques pour se protéger contre l’instabilité de leur revenu. Le premier chapitre propose un état des lieux de la recherche sur les définitions, les mesures, les typologies et les déterminants de la corruption. Dans le deuxième chapitre, les méthodes usuelles de calcul de l’instabilité macroéconomique sont expliquées, sont appliquées aux données sur les recettes d'exportation d’un échantillon de pays développes et en développement, et sont comparées entre elles. Le troisième chapitre présente et analyse une base de données rétrospectives sur l’Indice de Vulnérabilité Économique, reflétant le risque pour un pays de voir son développement entravé par des chocs naturels et des chocs d’exportations, que nous avons calculé pour un échantillon de 128 pays en développement et couvrant la période 1975- 2008. Dans le quatrième chapitre, nous analysons les effets de l’instabilité des exportations sur la corruption dans les pays développés et en développement. Ces effets sont décomposés en un effet ex post, résultant de l’expérience des agents économiques de l’instabilité des exportations, et un effet ex ante, résultant de leur perception de cette dernière. Nous testons empiriquement ces effets sur les perceptions de la corruption et sur les pots-De-Vin payés par les entreprises. Nous mettons en évidence des effets robustes, significatifs et non linéaires, dont le signe dépend de la fréquence et de la taille des chocs d’exportations. Nos résultats suggèrent également que la contrainte de liquidité est un canal transmission clé de ces effets: lorsque la contrainte de liquidité est forte l’instabilité des exportations aggrave l’incidence à la corruption, alors qu’elle la réduit lorsque cette contrainte se relâche. Ainsi, en l’absence d’État et de marches financiers capables d’atténuer les effets de l’instabilité sur les performances économiques et le bien-Être, il est probable que les agents économiques aient recours à la corruption pour se protéger contre les fluctuations économiques. / This thesis is an attempt to improve the understanding of the causes of corruption emergence and incidence around the world. It highlights an undocumented feature of corrupt transactions, that is, their contribution to informal risk-Coping and risk-Management mechanisms used by economic agents to protect against income fluctuations. We propose in a first introductory chapter a general state of art of researches on corruption definitions, measurements, typologies and determinants. In chapter two, we explain, apply and compare standard methods of computing instability indicators, using export revenue data from sample of developed and developing countries. In chapter three, we build a retrospective Economic Vulnerability Index – i.e. an index reflecting the risk for a country of seeing its development hampered by natural and trade shocks – for a sample of 128 developing countries over 1975-2008. In chapter 4, we analyse the effect of export instability on corruption in developed and developing countries. This effect is decomposed into an ex post effect, resulting from agents’ experience of export instability, and an ex ante effect, resulting from their perception of export instability. We test empirically these effects using data on corruption perceptions and on firms’ bribe payments. We find robust, significant and nonlinear ex post and ex ante effects of instability on corruption, and stress that their direction strongly depends on the frequency and size of export fluctuations. We show that the liquidity constraint is a key channel for these effects: when the liquidity constraint hardens, instability is found to foster corruption; while when it softens, instability is found to reduce it. Thus, corrupt strategies may act as a substitute for financial market imperfections and a low state capacity for mitigating the consequences of economic fluctuations on welfare.

Magister Commercii - MCom / The minithesis argues that microfinance institutions help their clients by offering saving services, through which the clients will be able to get 'chunks of money' on a regular basis . These 'chunks of money' enable them to protect against emergency risks for it acts as a crisis-coping mechanism by building up the asset base in its physical, financial, human, and social sense. The accumulation of an asset base is not only critical in fighting risks ahead of time, but also enables poor clients to protect against losses afterwards . Thus the saving services provided by these institutions are essential in improving their clients' capacity to build up and manage their assets.

Reports of gang violence have become a prominent focus in the media. The rhetoric used in reporting gang related crime will have an impact on the reader's perception of the seriousness of gang crime. The media coverage can result in outbreaks of ‘moral panic’, where by aspecific group is demonized and held responsible for societal problems. The aim of this thesis is to study representations of gang related crime, and specifically two rival gangs from Rinkeby, Stockholm, “Shottaz” and “Dödspatrullen”, in the two Swedish newspapers Aftonbladet and Svenska Dagbladet, between the years 2019 and 2022. This is done using critical discourse analysis as method and theory, complemented by the concept of moral panic. The analysis is based on Fairclough’s three-dimensional methodological framework; a sample of newspaper articles dealing with gang crime are analyzed with a focus on the degree of modality, intertextuality and interdiscoursivity. The resultant findings indicate the nature of a dominant discourse and another, less prominent counter discourse. The dominant discourse can be assumed to play a role in triggering moral panic; the findings indicate a link between the story society tells itself about gang crime and a concomitant societal moral panic relating to gang crime. Only one of the newspaper articles analyzed for this study interviews peopleactually affected by gang conflict. This identified counter discourse offers a more nuanced representation of the conflict between “Shottaz” and “Dödspatrullen”, and of the Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby. Music also contributes to the alternative counter narrative, telling a story at odds with that which this study indicates to be the dominant societal discourse.

The history of the mining industry indicates a lack of understanding among the decision-makers of the impact the closure of mines has on the industry and the associated effects on the society and surrounding environment. The policies of the mining industry do make provision for a planned mine closure, but not for an unexpected closure. This detrimental aspect of closures in the mining industry is highlighted in the present study. The present study investigates how mineworkers’ dependency on their employment at a mine affects their ability to sustain their livelihoods. Vulnerable livelihoods leave the community at a greater risk to be affected by a disaster, than the livelihoods of a community that is resilient and has sustainable resources. Even though mineworkers are not considered as poor at the time of their employment, a mine closure could render them into a status called ‘transitional poverty’. This study also highlights that mineworkers who are skilled for mining operations only do not overcome the status of ‘transitional poverty’ and hence enter a phase called ‘chronic poverty’. This stage constitutes their inability to negotiate livelihood strategies and livelihood outcomes that could sustain a household. Thus humanitarian assistance would be needed from outside sources. Planning for unexpected mine closures should also be on the agenda of the mining industry due to the extreme consequences such an event holds for the mining community experiencing the event. In the case under investigation, the unexpected mine closures occurred in the Grootvlei mine in Springs and the Orkney mine owned by the Aurora Empowerment Systems Ltd. at the time of this study. These closures left the surrounding communities in need of food, shelter and clean water. The inhabitants gradually lost their livelihood assets. A contingency planning model is proposed at the end of this study to address the short-term and long-term consequences of an unexpected mine closure. / M Development and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The history of the mining industry indicates a lack of understanding among the decision-makers of the impact the closure of mines has on the industry and the associated effects on the society and surrounding environment. The policies of the mining industry do make provision for a planned mine closure, but not for an unexpected closure. This detrimental aspect of closures in the mining industry is highlighted in the present study. The present study investigates how mineworkers’ dependency on their employment at a mine affects their ability to sustain their livelihoods. Vulnerable livelihoods leave the community at a greater risk to be affected by a disaster, than the livelihoods of a community that is resilient and has sustainable resources. Even though mineworkers are not considered as poor at the time of their employment, a mine closure could render them into a status called ‘transitional poverty’. This study also highlights that mineworkers who are skilled for mining operations only do not overcome the status of ‘transitional poverty’ and hence enter a phase called ‘chronic poverty’. This stage constitutes their inability to negotiate livelihood strategies and livelihood outcomes that could sustain a household. Thus humanitarian assistance would be needed from outside sources. Planning for unexpected mine closures should also be on the agenda of the mining industry due to the extreme consequences such an event holds for the mining community experiencing the event. In the case under investigation, the unexpected mine closures occurred in the Grootvlei mine in Springs and the Orkney mine owned by the Aurora Empowerment Systems Ltd. at the time of this study. These closures left the surrounding communities in need of food, shelter and clean water. The inhabitants gradually lost their livelihood assets. A contingency planning model is proposed at the end of this study to address the short-term and long-term consequences of an unexpected mine closure. / M Development and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Introduktion: Ensamstående mödrars ekonomiska utsatthet utgör en riskfaktor för gruppens psykiska välmående. Ett problem som är känt sedan tidigare men som fortfarande är aktuellt än idag. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturöversikten är att undersöka hur ensamstående mödrar påverkas mentaltav sin ekonomiska utsatthet. Metod: Genom en systematisk granskning av artiklar utförs en innehållsanalys med hjälp av textkondensering. Resultat: Undersökningen visade på att ensamstående mödrars psykiska välmående påverkas av deras ekonomiska situation och att den psykiska ohälsan bland målgruppen fortfarande är hög. Identifierade teman: Socioekonomi, Kombinera arbetsliv och privatliv, Jämställdhet. Diskussion: Samband mellan ekonomi och psykisk ohälsa existerar men i framtida forskning behöver mer fokus ligga på policys och åtgärder eftersom problemet med psykisk ohälsa består inom målgruppen. / Introduction: The financial vulnerability of single mothers is a risk factor for the group's mental well-being. A problem that has been known for a long time but is still relevant today. Aim: The purpose of the literature review is to investigate how single mothers are mentally affecte ed by their financial vulnerability. Method: Through a systematic review of articles, a content analysis is performed using text condensation. Results: The study showed that the mental well-being of single mothers is affected by their financial situation and that mental illness among the target group is still high. Identified themes: Socio-economics, Combining working life and private life, Gender equality. Discussion: The link between economics and mental illness exists, but in future research more focusneeds to be on policies and measures as the problem of mental illness persists within the target group.

Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie är att söka kunskap om hur lärare i förskolan resonerar om förskolans kompenserande uppdrag när de planerar utbildningen som inkluderar fysisk och motorisk aktivitet. Vid insamling av empiriska data skickades ett kvalitativt frågeformulär med strukturerade intervjufrågor till lärare i förskolan som befann sig i olika geografiska områden inom ramen för socioekonomisk status. Resultatet belyste tre teman. Medvetenhet, tydlighet och detalj. Dessa teman visade sig skilja sig i grader kopplade till hur lärare i förskolan resonerar om den kompenserande uppgiften när de planerar för fysisk och motorisk aktivitet. Medvetenhet är något som framträder starkast i resultaten baserat på båda urvalsområdena, medan det för det socioekonomiskt utsatta området även klarhet och detaljer i stor utsträckning framgår av resonemanget. Denna medvetenhet görs bäst i beskrivningarna av lärarna i förskolan när de beskriver kompensationsuppgiften som helhet. När en riktning om hur uppdraget används vid planering av fysisk och motorisk aktivitet syns både diffusa och tydliga svar, varav alla teman, medvetenhet, tydliga och detaljerade, till stor del samlas i svaren från förskolan geografiskt belägen i socio -ekonomiskt missgynnade områden. / The purpose of this qualitative study is to seek knowledge about how teachers in preschool reason about the preschool’s compensatory assignment when they plan the education that includes physical and motor activity. When collecting empirical data, a qualitative questionnaire, with structured interview questions, was sent out to teachers in preschool who was located in different geographical areas within the framework of socioeconomic status.  The result highlighted three themes. Awareness, clarity and detail. These themes turned out to differ in degrees linked to how teachers in preschool reason about the compensatory task when planning for physical and motor activity. Awareness is something that emerges most strongly in the results based on both selection areas, while for the socio-economically vulnerable area, clarity and detail also appear to a great extent in the reasoning. This awareness is best done in the descriptions of the teachers in preschool when describing the compensatory assignment as a whole. When a direction on how the assignment is used in the planning of physical and motor activity, both diffuse and clear answers are visible, of wich all the themes, awareness, clear and detailed, are largely gathered in the answers from preschool geographically located in socio-economically disadvantaged areas.

La question de l’efficacité de l’aide publique au développement est complexe et protéiforme. L’aide se présente sous de nombreuses formes et implique de nombreux instruments et acteurs, dont les objectifs et mêmes les philosophies diffèrent fortement entre les pays et les organisations. De cet enchevêtrement, les économistes ont jusqu’alors échoué dans leurs recherches de relations macroéconomiques robustes censées guider l’action publique. Ainsi, aucun consensus ne semble pour l’instant émerger de ce débat. Dès lors, l’orientation des politiques de développement a essentiellement été influencée par des hypothèses contestables reposant sur des fondements empiriques fragiles. Ce travail tente d’apporter de nouveaux éléments au débat sur l’efficacité de l’aide au travers de sept essais. Les trois premiers chapitres se consacrent à la question de la relation entre aide et croissance du point de vue statistique. Les nouvelles approches qui y sont proposées tentent de surmonter la plupart des défauts de la littérature empirique existante. Nous y montrons que la relation entre aide et croissance est extrêmement complexe et qu’il est difficile de l’appréhender à l’aide des méthodes économétriques usuelles. De plus, bien que l’aide semble globalement efficace en termes de croissance du PIB, son efficacité dépend de différents facteurs révélés par la présence de seuils aussi bien conditionnels que non-Conditionnels. Parmi ces facteurs, la vulnérabilité économique semble jouer un rôle primordial et sa prise en compte s’avère indispensable pour une compréhension globale du lien entre l’aide et la croissance économique. Dans une seconde partie, les deux chapitres suivants s’intéressent plus particulièrement à l’aide sectorielle, à travers l’étude de l’efficacité de deux initiatives largement reconnues que sont l’aide à la scolarisation primaire universelle et l’aide au commerce. Leur efficacité sera alors déterminée non plus en termes de croissance du PIB mais en termes de scolarisation et de performance à l’exportation. A l’instar des trois premiers chapitres, nos résultats semblent confirmer la présence d’une relation significative entre l’aide et les objectifs visés. Nos conclusions, notamment celles en termes d’éducation, vont clairement à l’encontre de l’idée selon laquelle l’aide aurait fait plus de mal que de bien. Enfin, en se basant sur les résultats précédents, les chapitres six et sept explorent, dans une troisième partie, les possibilités d’amélioration des stratégies actuelles d’allocation de l’aide mises en œuvre notamment par les grands bailleurs multilatéraux. Une de nos principales observations est que la vulnérabilité économique est un facteur important devant être pris en compte dans le design des méthodes d’allocation de l’aide. / Aid effectiveness is a complex issue. Aid comes in many instruments, has many targets and involves many stakeholders whose objectives, methods and philosophy greatly differ across countries and institutions. From this mixed bag, economists have struggled finding strong regularities at the macroeconomic level to guide the political debate and consensus have failed to emerge. Hence, political stances have often been influenced by strong assumptions based on weak or at least hotly debated evidence. This work is an attempt to provide new perspectives on the aid effectiveness debate through seven essays. The first three chapters address the technical question of the aid/growth relationship issue using new approaches and new statistical instruments in an attempt to overcome most of the caveats of the aid empirical literature. We show that the aid/growth relationship is complex and difficult to measure using common statistical methods. Moreover, while aid is globally effective, its effectiveness depends on different factors reflected by the existence of conditional and unconditional thresholds. Among those factors, economic vulnerability seems to be a key component that has to be taken into account in order to identify this relationship. In a second part, we try to assess the effectiveness of two flagship initiatives which are Aid for Trade and Universal Primary Education with regards to the outcomes they ultimately target, namely, export performance for the former and school enrolment, gender parity and repetition rate in primary school for the later. As in the first three chapters, our results support the existence of a significant relationship between aid and the targeted outcomes. Those results, notably for the education sector, clearly argue against the idea that aid has done more bad then good. Finally, based on previous results, in a third part, chapters six and seven explore the mean to improve the current aid allocation strategies used notably by the Multilateral Development Banks. One of the main conclusions is that economic vulnerability is a central factor to be taken into account in the design of aid allocation strategies.