Magister Economicae - MEcon / The "new" South Africa faces a big challenge. Unemployment, poverty and economic hardship still characterise the life of the majority of South Africans. Most people expect this to change under democracy. This will only be possible, however, if the economy can grow fast enough. What type of economic policies can a future government adopt to bring about economic growth and the reduction of poverty? More specifically, can the government raise taxes in order to spend more on the poor without reducing economic growth? The increased expenditure, given the existing deficit, will pressurise government to increase taxes. If this were to happen, the question that comes to mind is whether a savings constraint will develop. At the moment South Africa is not experiencing a savings constraint. This can be attributed to the fact that investment declined more than saving over the past few years. However, if investment has to increase over the next few years to achieve higher economic growth, the question arises whether domestic saving will increase enough to finance it. This will be difficult if an increasing tax burden has a negative impact on saving. Saving has long been recognized as a major factor in the process of economic development, directly by its diversion of resources into the formation of capital, and indirectly through changes in technology which are implemented when new capital is put to use. Few would dispute that domestic saving is important for the financing of development and it is evident that a country will require higher saving rates if it wants to invest more.

Background The aim of diploma thesis was to evaluate resting energy expenditure (REE) and substrate oxidation in Czech lactating women and their relation to measured anthropometric parameters. Methods The indirect calorimetry was used to asses REE. Subsequently, the oxidation of substrates was calculated. At the same time were measured anthropometric parameters of breastfeeding women. Then the correlation was investigated. The total amount of examination were three times. First was in the time three weeks after birth, the second one was three months postpartum and the last was six months after birth. Results The mean values of REE in lactating women were 1577±93 kcal/day in the time of three weeks after birth. Three months after birth it was 1622±140 kcal/day. Six months after birth it was 1545±80 kcal/day. Significant positive correlation was proved between REE and triceps skinfold thickness (r = 0,98; P < 0,05) and also chest circumference (r = 0,99; P < 0,05). Both were three weeks after birth. Breastfeeding women had a value of lipid oxidation 60 % of substrate oxidation three weeks postpartum, which decreased to 46 % three months postpartum due to sharp increase (from 8 % to 18 %) of carbohydrate oxidation value. This increase could correspond to the preferential use of glucose by the mammary...

A FAREWELL TO ARMS: NON-MILITARISATION AND THE PARADOX OF MILITARY INSECURITY Nathan James Frank Williams Abstract A small number of scholars and political leaders have praised the economic and social benefits of 'non-militarisation' - the policy of possessing no national armed forces. While 26 states currently practice this policy, the security implications of non-militarisation have, until now, largely escaped critical assessment. However, it is this very question of security in the absence of a military which is perhaps the decisive issue for any state considering non- militarisation. Barbey's (2015b) study suggests that, since World War II, non-militarised states have been immune to interstate war. However, since World War II, intrastate war has proven to be both the more frequent and destructive form of warfare. Using a mixed-methods approach this dissertation seeks to quantify and explain the causal effect of non-militarisation on intrastate conflict. It begins by testing the hypothesis that non-militarised states suffer less years of intrastate war than states with a military, using cross-sectional logit analysis on all country-years between 1989-2008. It consistently finds a sizable negative relationship, suggesting that in a given year the probability of intrastate war occurring in a...

To measure physical activity in a wheelchair user is important. Disabled people have been found to be less active and it has negative health implications. By relating to ones own physical activity in concrete form it is easier to reinforce a positive attitude towards being physically active. The aim of this thesis is to show how a system can be built, that is able to collect measurements from sensors, with usability in mind. The system consists of software that integrates an iPhone, Apple Watch and a Tacx rotation sensor mounted on a wheelchair. With the help of a physics model these measurements can estimate energy expenditure of a wheelchair user. The system was tested with four participants performing subjectively decided low, moderate and vigorous physical activity while the system collected data. In terms of absolute energy expenditure the system was inaccurate. On the other hand, correlations were found between the calculated energy expenditures and physical activity. Using measurements from the rotations sensor a correlation of 0.7315 was found between the calculated energy expenditure and physical activity, a correlation of 0.5385 using measurements from the GPS and a correlation of 0.6452 using measurements from Apples own proprietary algorithm. The created system is a promising prototype towards objective measurement of physical activity in wheelchair users.

The purpose of this paper was to determine the economic, sociopolitical, and other related factors which account for the variation in state expenditures across time. Utah was selected as the test state and data were collected from school records, political rosters, employment statistics, and a variety of federal government documents. Particular emphasis was placed on three areas: the cause-effect relationships between variables, relating the model to a body of economic theory, and demonstrating how the model may be applied in forecasting state expenditure needs. Supply-and-demand analysis was the underlying economic theory. A simultaneous-equation model consisting of four equations--demand for state expenditures, supply of state expenditures, federal grants to states, and an equilibrium condition--was constructed and tested . The paper also discusses the problems of serial correlation and mulli-collinearity.

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A lower resting energy expenditure (REE) has been suggested to partially explain the disproportionate prevalence of overweight/obesity among black African women, yet no studies have investigated the REE of South African (SA) children. Similarly, physical activity (PA) as a modifiable factor related to childhood energy expenditure is under-researched in the local context. The study determined the relationship between sex and population group (determinant factors), on the one hand, and REE and PA (outcomes) of 6–9-year-old SA children attending two primary schools in the City of Tshwane metropolitan area, on the other, taking phenotypic characteristics as confounders (mediating factors) and the study context into account. In a cross-sectional study with quota sampling, the REE of 6–9-year-old children attending two urban schools in SA was measured with indirect calorimetry (IC), and PA with a pedometer. Multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to assess body composition (BC) (fat-free mass [FFM], FFM index, fat mass [FM] and FM index). Multivariate regression was used to calculate REE and PA adjusted for phenotypic confounders (z-scores of weight-for-age, height-for-age and body mass index-for-age, and BC). Sex and population differences in REE and PA (measured and adjusted) were determined with two-way ANOVA. Ninety-four healthy children (59.6% girls; 52.1% black African) with similar socio-economic status and access to PA participated in the study. Despite variations in BC, sex differences in REE were not significant (41 kcal/day ≈ 172 kJ/day; P = 0.375). The REE in black African participants was significantly lower than in their white counterparts (146 kcal/day ≈ 613 kJ/day; P = 0.002). When adjusting for BC, population differences in REE declined, especially after adjustment for FFM (91 kcal/day ≈ 382 kJ/day; P = 0.039), but remained clinically significant. Average steps/day in girls (10212 [9519;10906]) was lower than in boys (11433 [10588;12277]) (P = 0.029), and lower in black African (9280 [8538;10022]) than in white (12258 [11483;13033]) (P < 0.001) participants. No significant relationship (r = 0.05; P = 0.651) was observed between REE and PA. Within the context of a similar SES and PA environment, the REE and PA of black African children was lower than white. Differences in REE between sexes were not significant, but girls had a lower PA than boys. / Thesis (PhD (Dietetics))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / South African Sugar Association project No. 260 / Human Nutrition / PhD (Dietetics) / Unrestricted

States are facing tough economic times as a result of the housing market bubble exploding. States have been declaring budget deficits and major program cuts, since revenues have not kept up with expenditures and rainy day funds have been practically exhausted. State tax revenues have decreased, resulting from a decline in income tax revenues, one of the major sources of revenues for a large number of states (41 in total). A majority of these states have come to depend heavily on the revenue they collect from income taxes, which can represent as much as 40% of state tax revenue. This thesis focuses on the impact that income tax revenue has on state budgets and how it affects certain expenditures. To provide a more complete understanding on how fiscal policy affects the citizen directly, this thesis compares the changes in state's total tax revenue and spending on education and health programs between states that levy income tax and states that do not. Data from the United States Census Bureau and the National Association of State Budget Officials was analyzed by calculating the growth rate and relevant elasticities during 2006-2010, the years before, during, and after the last recession. Results will show a difference in changes in revenue and expenditure between the two types of states and a more sensitive elasticity for non-income tax states for both revenue and expenditure. With a better understanding of how the tax base behaves and how revenue affects programs, an improved tax policy that could produce more efficient services for citizens might be created.

Recent findings suggest that leptin may be regulated in response to abrupt changes in energy homeostasis. Therefore, it is conceivable that transient changes in energy balance induced by exercise may also regulate leptin synthesis and secretion. As such, we hypothesized that acute increases energy expenditure (i.e. exercise), may regulate leptin concentrations in obese individuals. Fifteen healthy obese males underwent either a single exercise session of moderate intensity (58.4 % ± 4.0 of VO2max) for 60 min (n=8), or served as controls (n=7). The exercise session elicited an energy expenditure of 567±80 Kcal. No significant changes in plasma leptin (pre 23.5± 30.2; post 24.3± 34.3; 24h-post 34.9± 66.6; 48h-post 33.8±64.0 ng/ml), or insulin levels (pre 16.1± 9.2 vs. post 8.1± 9.1; 24h-post 14.3± 9.9; 48h-post 13.8± 10.2 ?U/ml) were detected immediately after the intervention. Baseline plasma leptin levels were positively correlated with BMI (r=0.65; p<0.01), body weight (r=0.64; p<0.01), % body fat (r=0.90; p<0.01) and were negatively correlated with VO2max (r=-0.82; p<0.01). The results of the present study suggest that acute exercise of moderate intensity and duration may not affect leptin concentration.

This dissertation assesses the effects of tax and expenditure limitations (TELs) on principal items of revenue, largest components of expenditure and the levels of public debt of local governments serving urban cores and suburban fringes of the largest metropolitan areas in the US. The first part of the dissertation consists of 4 chapters. Chapter 1 examines the formal aspects of TELs; Chapter 2 explores historical evolution of fiscal limits between 1800 and 2009; Chapter 3 examines substantive nature of TELs; and Chapter 4 reviews the extant research on TELs. The past research suggests that TELs are associated with increased centralization, diminished government responsiveness, and suboptimal outcomes of the entire local public sector. The second part of the dissertation, Chapters 5-6, presents the empirical study of the asymmetrical fiscal effects of TELs on different geographic segments of metropolitan areas. The study employs the quasi-experimental multiple comparison group time series research design and measures fiscal outcomes associated with the imposition of TELs. It relies on a standard fixed effects dummy variable OLS model with constant slope coefficients and variable intercept. The sample (N = 166,530) contains 7 periods of observation at 5 year intervals of 745 metropolitan counties from 270 metropolitan areas. The unit of analysis is the metropolitan county area. The study found that in the urban cores and suburban fringes of metropolitan areas: 1) overall fiscal effects of TELs follow general asymmetrical trends identified by past research; 2) specific fiscal effects varied by comparison group, type of TEL imposed, and measure of fiscal outcome; 3) local governments in the urban cores are more adversely affected by TELs; 4) general revenues and expenditures declined in all comparison groups but urban core local governments experienced larger declines; 5) in all comparison groups own source revenues declined, intergovernmental revenues increased, spending on public education and public safety declined with larger declines in the urban cores; 6) long-term debt (especially non-guaranteed) has been rising more quickly in the urban core segments of metropolitan areas; and 7) in general, the effects of TELs were more negative and more pronounced for local governments experiencing fiscal stress. / Ph. D.