University College London - School of Slavonic and East European Studies Univerzita Karlova v Praze - Charles University in Prague - Faculty of Social Sciences International Masters in Economy, State & Society - Economics and Business Andrés Morales Interiano UCL Student Number: 14082525 The Czech Republic's Participation in the Association Agreement between the European Union and Central America and its Policy Implications Master's Thesis Supervisors: Dr Filipa Figueira (UCL) and Dr Pavel Vacek (Charles University) 20 May 2016 - Prague, Czech Republic Abstract: Preferential Trade Agreements have become evermore popular in the worldwide market economy and have raised much interest in academics and policy-makers alike. This paper studies the participation that the Czech Republic had in the Association Agreement between the European Union and Central America during the pre- negotiation and negotiation rounds, and the effects that it brought to the Czech Republic's trade policies and trade flow with the mentioned region. It focuses on a qualitative approach of the Political Economy of Regionalism and liberal perspective to explain how the Czech Republic participated in this agreement previous to its signature in 2012 and views some of the consequences it has caused after its provisional application. It finds...

The energy sector of Ukraine is of strategic importance not only within the national economy, but is also significant from a European perspective, because it includes transit energy networks that are essential for a large part of Europe. The fundamental problem still remains low energy efficiency of the economy, obsolete infrastructure, dysfunctional system and the absence of major reforms. At the moment, another round of reforms is taking place under the influence of a rapprochement with the European Union, to modernize the sector and adapt it to European standards. This work describes the development of the sector and the reform efforts since independence until today with a particular focus on the gas sector and the period 2014 to 2017. This is particularly the developments in the energy market, pricing policies, availability, security and decentralization of the system. In addition, the work also focuses on the development of energy efficiency, the environment and renewable energy sources. Following on the theoretical basis (especially the theory of institutional economics) through analysis of described facts assesses developments in the reforms and their impact on the whole sector including evaluation of the role and influence of oligarchs in these reform attempts. In terms of reforms, four...

This thesis intends to verify and quantify relationship between microeconomics, macroe- conomics and social variables with annual beer consumption per capita. To assess dif- ferences in tastes in groups of countries, the concept of beer, wine and spirit drinking countries is used to separate the influences. Firstly, the general model for all European countries is estimated with the use of panel data techniques on data from 2000 to 2013. The results and findings from the first model are subsequently used as a building blocks for specific model for The Czech Republic. The Czech Republic has over a long period the highest annual consumption per capita. Still the share consumed in hospitality expe- riences persistent downward trend. All data are collected on annual basis and with only country-aggregated level of detail. Keywords Beer, Wine, Spirits, Consumption Patterns, Beer Demand, Beer Drinking Countries, Be- havioral Economics Author's e-mail Vladimir.Zobal@gmail.com Supervisor's e-mail Karel-Janda@seznam.cz 1

The thesis interprets the development of Foucault's thinking and within The Order of Things it subjects the whole concept of economy to critical reflection and defines the structure and dynamics on which the term is built. My work progresses from the abstract issue of Foucault's thinking to specific theories related to the topic. The first part is focused on the key changes and breaks across the author's thinking and work and forms the basis for a comparison of The Order of Things with a broader view of Foucault's thinking. Then I follow with economic theory basis in The Order of Things and define terms such as monetary theory, value theory, wealth analysis and other that are directly connected with economic issues. I focus on authors of economic theories who have influenced Foucault's thinking or are differently connected with my explication, e.g. Adam Smith, David Ricardo or Karl Marx. In the final part of the thesis I compare Foucault's thoughts and conclusions with the philosophy of Louis Althusser in his book Reading Capital which is based on Karl Marx's theories. The focus is mainly on the interpretation of modern episteme which is in The Order of Things directly related to the term of economy. I introduce common and different attributes of Althusser's and Foucault's thinking and present my...

This thesis studies the spillover of the financial market uncertainty arising from the United States to three major European stock markets by analyzing the impulse response functions that were estimated using the local projections method. European stock markets are represented by their corresponding in- dices: the DAX 30 index for Germany, the CAC 40 for France, and the FTSE 100 for the United Kingdom. The results prove the existence of uncertainty spillover from the United States into Europe with the negative relationship be- tween the performance of a particular stock market and the uncertainty shock emerging from the US. Additional analysis examines the response to uncer- tainty shock for the two subsamples based on the Lehman Brothers collapse. The results show a possible interesting improvement in the ability to recover from uncertainty shock since the collapse of Lehman Brothers and can serve as a starting point for the further analyses in the field. JEL Classification F12, F21, F23, H25, H71, H87 Keywords Uncertainty, financial market, stock market, United States, Europe Title The US Financial Market Uncertainty and Its Spillover to European Stock Markets

The phenomenon of "fake news", or misleading online content, is increasingly worrisome due to its large-scale socio-economic impact. Researchers and practitioners attempted to understand what drives the virality and believability of fake news and how to reduce its influence. This research aims to shed light on these questions. Building upon a theoretical account positing that people share fake news because they simply fail to engage in deliberate thinking, we designed an accuracy prompt intervention to encourage people to think effortfully. In a pre-registered study conducted via Prolific (N = 520), we find limited evidence supporting accuracy prompts stylized as warning labels, but only for increasing sharing discernment in true, not fake news. The veracity of news articles does not impact sharing intentions, despite having a sizeable effect on accuracy judgments. This and other findings support the dual processing theory of cognition in the context of fake news. Predispositions towards more intuitive thinking increased belief in fake news and higher distrust in true news. Conversely, a better ability to engage in effortful thinking increases truth discernment. In addition, confirmation bias decreases truth discernment and increases sharing intentions. Politically concordant true headlines are...

Znojmo brewery complex, although there is a very attractive site of the historic center, one of the largest unused areas in the city. The recovery of this territory is a major task which will Znojmo face in the coming years. In a small town with little development potential, is probably not possible to expect a single realization of the operation, but rather a series of successive interventions.

South Africa and the rest of the world currently face an exacerbating threat of environmental degradation, which can be partly ascribed to the fact that some parts of society still place economic growth as a priority over environmental conservation. This study shows that such an approach is only profitable over the short term and actually causes more harm than good. On the other hand, the world is still recovering from the major 2008 global financial crisis. To tip the scale back into balance, it is crucial that economic -, social -, and environmental development be sustainable; from now and into the future. This study recognises that, to achieve sustainable development at all three levels, a transition to a green economy is needed. In essence a green economy requires investment in the environment for the benefit of both society and the economy. This study then goes on to show that ecotourism can be used as a manner to invest in the environment, whilst at the same time uplifting society and improving the economy. Subsequently it is identified as a key driver of a green economy. However, a daunting reality is that ecotourism developments and - activities also threaten the environment. This study therefore argues that ecotourism has to be regulated effectively; otherwise it will not live up to its purpose and may, as a result, curtail South Africa’s efforts of a transition to a green economy, instead of positively contributing to it. This study asks the question: Does South Africa’s environmental legislation provide for the effective regulation of ecotourism? This question is answered by considering whether various relevant pieces of national environmental legislation measure up to certain criteria that is inherent to the effective regulation of ecotourism. Finally this study serves to show that; from an environmental law perspective, and to the extent that this study investigated the ecotourism environment, ecotourism as a phenomenon is regulated effectively in South Africa. However, it appears that there still remains tremendous scope for improvement. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

South Africa and the rest of the world currently face an exacerbating threat of environmental degradation, which can be partly ascribed to the fact that some parts of society still place economic growth as a priority over environmental conservation. This study shows that such an approach is only profitable over the short term and actually causes more harm than good. On the other hand, the world is still recovering from the major 2008 global financial crisis. To tip the scale back into balance, it is crucial that economic -, social -, and environmental development be sustainable; from now and into the future. This study recognises that, to achieve sustainable development at all three levels, a transition to a green economy is needed. In essence a green economy requires investment in the environment for the benefit of both society and the economy. This study then goes on to show that ecotourism can be used as a manner to invest in the environment, whilst at the same time uplifting society and improving the economy. Subsequently it is identified as a key driver of a green economy. However, a daunting reality is that ecotourism developments and - activities also threaten the environment. This study therefore argues that ecotourism has to be regulated effectively; otherwise it will not live up to its purpose and may, as a result, curtail South Africa’s efforts of a transition to a green economy, instead of positively contributing to it. This study asks the question: Does South Africa’s environmental legislation provide for the effective regulation of ecotourism? This question is answered by considering whether various relevant pieces of national environmental legislation measure up to certain criteria that is inherent to the effective regulation of ecotourism. Finally this study serves to show that; from an environmental law perspective, and to the extent that this study investigated the ecotourism environment, ecotourism as a phenomenon is regulated effectively in South Africa. However, it appears that there still remains tremendous scope for improvement. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The diploma thesis on the topic "Teaching of Economics at a Secondary Vocational School from the Didactics of Social Sciences Perspective" is divided into two parts. The first part is a theoretical one, where the author defines the theoretical didactic concepts in detail, and they are then used in the second, practical part of the thesis. This part presents a proposal of a didactic unit, which deals with the teaching of wage calculation. It includes a worksheet and methodical sheet as well, the detailed didactic preparation and detailed reflection of the implemented didactic unit in the classroom and online teaching. Repeatedly practising this didactic unit, it can be noted that the proposed form of teaching is effective and accepted by students. Personal and social skills, mathematical skills and critical thinking training also go beyond the main topic.