My diploma thesis aims to assess the planned amendment to the law on local fees and show the changes that have to occur. The planned amendment changes slightly rights and responsibilities of the municipality in the implementation of local taxes. In my diploma thesis we deal in detail with two kinds of charges - local fee for spa or recreational stays and a local charge of accommodation capacity. Rating of planned amendment preceded by analysis of the municipalities that collect those fees. I am focusing on the revenue side of their budgets. The first two chapters are theoretical. I generally describe how the law in Czech Republic influences the structure of public administration and how it prepares the budget of the municipalities. They are characterized by certain local fees and their legislative framework. The practical part is devoted to analysis of two local taxes in 10 selected municipalities and their final share in nationwide revenue from local taxes. The final part evaluates the planned amendment, indicates and shows possible problems that could occur in the future.

This thesis deals with the situation in financing of tertiary education from both governmental and student perspective. Its objective is to find an efficient system of student support with focus on student loans that would be applicable in the Czech Republic, would promote an equal access to higher education also to students from lower socio-economic classes and at the same time would enable to increase cost-sharing in Czech tertiary education. The designed concept of student loans is based on best practices from selected European countries (Netherlands, United Kingdom and Hungary) in the background of proposed reform of Czech tertiary education. Finally, the concept is validated in a case study dealing with financing of the International Management master's programme at the University of Economics, Prague.

Au cours des dix dernières années, les prix immobiliers ont augmenté de façon considérable. Selon certains observateurs, cette hausse peut au moins en partie être attribuée à une insuffisance de l’offre, elle-même due à des politiques foncières restrictives mises en place par certaines communes. Cette thèse cherche à comprendre ce qui motive une commune à instaurer de telles politiques de maîtrise de la croissance. Nous nous plaçons dans le cadre de la Nouvelle Economie Politique et modélisons cette décision comme le résultat d’un jeu de pouvoir entre différents intérêts liés au foncier, arbitré par des élus locaux opportunistes. Ce jeu de pouvoir oppose principalement les propriétaires immobiliers et fonciers, qui peuvent trouver des alliés parmi les entreprises locales, qui s’associent au sein de growth ou ideas machines. Dans un premier modèle nous décrivons ce jeu d’influence sous différentes hypothèses concernant l’influence du vote et du lobbying. Nous montrons que la rigueur de la politique implémentée peut sous certaines conditions être liée de façon négative à la part des propriétaires dans la population locale – et ceci malgré le fait que ces derniers sont clairement partisans d’une politique stricte. Par ailleurs, la mobilité des individus rend les décisions des communes interdépendantes et nous parvenons à une solution d’équilibre qui s’apparente directement au modèle spatial autorégressif utilisé en économétrie spatiale. Une étude empirique portant sur la taxe locale d’équipement confirme l’hypothèse d’interactions stratégiques et montre que les choix des élus sont avant tout influencés par les habitants-propriétaires et les ideas machines d’un côté et par les agriculteurs de l’autre. Dans une deuxième analyse, nous étudions si les élus locaux se servent des mesures de maîtrise de la croissance d’une manière stratégique afin de faciliter leur réélection. Nous développons un modèle de vote probabiliste dans lequel la composition de la population est endogène à la politique foncière. Une étude empirique confirme que les choix de zonage des élus locaux sont influencés par la mobilité de l’électorat, même si leur comportement ne peut pas être qualifié de stratégique. / Over the last ten years, real estate prices have risen considerably and accordingly to most observers, this can at least partly be attributed to an insufficient supply, due to local growth control measures. This thesis tries to understand what motivates local authorities implementing such policies. Local politicians are considered as opportunistic and their decision is modelled as the result of a political struggle between different land-related interests. This game for influence mainly opposes the owners of developed and undeveloped land, who find allies amongst local business interests that might form growth or ideas machines. Our first model describes this struggle under different hypotheses concerning the influence of voting and lobbying. We show that the growth controls implemented might under some conditions be less strict the greater the percentage of homeowners in the local population – despite the fact that homeowners favour strict policies. When individuals are mobile, local decisions become interdependent, and under imperfect mobility our theoretically derived equilibrium solution can directly be interpreted as a spatial autoregressive model. Our empirical analysis concerning the “taxe locale d’équipement” confirms our predictions concerning strategic interactions and shows that local decisions are influenced by “homevoters” and ideas machines on the one side, and by the local farmers on the other side. Our second model examines if local politicians use growth control policies strategically in order to modify the local electorate in a manner that facilitates their re-election. Our model is based on probabilistic voting and the composition of the local population is considered as endogenous. Our empirical analysis confirms that zoning decisions are influenced by the mobility of the local electorate, even if we cannot ascertain that politicians are acting strategically.

Problématique : Dans les pays africains où les soins de santé sont encore payants au point de service, la barrière financière est un des obstacles majeurs au recours aux soins. Les indigents, qui sont les plus démunis, en sont les plus affectés. Pour faire face à ce défi, certains pays ont entrepris l’élaboration de programmes de santé ciblant les indigents pour leur permettre d’avoir un meilleur recours aux soins de santé par l’intermédiaire d’une exemption du paiement. Mais il existe un réel défi à identifier les indigents. De plus, peu d’études ont évalué l’impact de programmes d’exemption du paiement sur leur recours aux soins. Les indigents sont en majorité des personnes âgées avec des besoins importants en santé. Les personnes âgées en Afrique consultent très peu les professionnels de santé et les déterminants de leur recours aux soins sont peu connus. Pourtant, leur proportion est en augmentation dans les pays à faibles et moyens revenus. Ils sont en perte d’autonomie, ont de faibles revenus et présentent une prévalence élevée de maladies chroniques et d’incapacités fonctionnelles. Ces affections surviennent de façon précoce surtout chez les femmes. Objectifs : Cette thèse a pour objectifs : i) de déterminer le caractère équitable d’un processus de sélection communautaire des indigents au Burkina Faso qui vise à les faire bénéficier d’une exemption du paiement des soins; ii) de mesurer l’impact de ce programme d’exemption sur le recours aux soins de santé des indigents ; iii) d’analyser les facteurs associés au recours aux soins de santé par les personnes âgées au Nigéria. Méthode : Le cadre conceptuel de cette étude est le modèle d’Andersen et Newman qui regroupe les déterminants de l’utilisation des soins de santé en facteurs prédisposants (âge, sexe, état matrimonial, occupation), en facteurs facilitants (revenu, existence d’un recours à une aide financière, alimentaire ou instrumentale, cohabitation) et en besoins (présence de maladies chroniques et de limites de la vision, de la force musculaire et de la mobilité). Dans un premier temps, pour déterminer le caractère équitable d’une sélection communautaire des indigents, nous avons réalisé une étude transversale en 2010 dans le district de Ouargaye au Burkina Faso. Au cours de cette enquête, 1687 indigents ont été interrogés. La variable dépendante est la possession de la carte d’exemption du paiement des soins. Des analyses bivariées et une régression logistique ont été réalisées. Dans un deuxième temps, à partir d’un devis quasi expérimental pré/post, nous avons évalué les effets de ce programme d’exemption du paiement des soins sur le recours aux soins de santé des personnes en situation d’indigence au Burkina Faso. Au cours de cette recherche, 1224 indigents ont été interrogés en 2010 sur leur recours aux soins de santé. Parmi eux, 540 ont été sélectionnés et ont reçu une carte d’exemption du paiement des soins. Un an plus tard, un suivi a été réalisé avec un taux de rétention de 55,3%. Des analyses bivariées et une régression logistique ont été réalisées. Dans un troisième temps, à partir des données d’une étude transversale nationale, le General Household Survey de 2012-2013 du Nigéria qui couvre toutes les régions du pays, nous avons étudié le recours aux soins de 3587 personnes âgées dont 850 ont déclaré avoir été malades. Nous avons tenté d’identifier les facteurs qui y sont associés. Des analyses pondérées bivariées et une regression de Poisson pondérée ont été effectuées. Résultats : Au Burkina Faso, l’exemption du paiement des soins a été accordée en majorité aux veufs (ves) (OR=1,40 IC 95% [1,10-1,78]), à ceux qui ne bénéficient pas d’aide financière de leur ménage pour recourir aux soins de santé (OR=1,58 IC 95% [1,26-1,97], qui vivent seuls (OR=1,28 IC 95% [1,01-1,63]), qui vivent avec leurs époux/se (OR=2,00 IC 95% [1,35-2,96], qui ont des troubles de la vision (OR=1,45 IC 95% [1,14-1,84]), qui ont une faible force musculaire et une bonne mobilité (OR=1,73 IC 95% [1,28-2,33]). Le processus de sélection communautaire des indigents n’est pas parfaitement équitable, car très restrictif, bien qu’il ait permis de sélectionner les plus démunis. Il existe des différences de genre concernant les déterminants du recours aux soins chez les indigents. Être veufs (OR=0,53 IC 95% [0,33-0,81]) et avoir des troubles de la vision (OR=0,42 IC 95% [0,28-0,63]) freinent le recours aux soins chez les hommes, mais pas chez les femmes. Les maladies chroniques demeurent un obstacle commun aux hommes (OR=4,05 IC 95% [2,84-5,77]) et aux femmes (OR=2,14 IC 95% [1,54 – 2,97]). Le fait d’être exempté du paiement des soins n’est pas associé à l’augmentation de l’utilisation des services de santé (OR=1,1 IC 95% [0,80-1,51]). Qu’ils aient bénéficié ou pas de l’exemption du paiement des soins, les indigents qui ont un âge supérieur à 69 ans (OR=1,66 IC 95% [1,05-2,64]), qui appartiennent au genre masculin (OR=1,44 IC 95% [0,99-2,08]), qui appartiennent à un ménage à faible revenu (OR=1,71 IC 95% [1,15-2,54]) et ceux qui ont recours à l’aide financière familiale pour accéder aux soins de santé (OR=1,59 IC 95% [1,1-2,28]), sont les plus susceptibles d’augmenter leur utilisation des soins de santé. Au Nigéria, seulement 53% des personnes âgées ont consulté un agent de santé suite à un épisode de maladie. L’absence de scolarisation (PR = 0.73, 95% CI [0.6 0–0.8]), la faiblesse du revenu de ménage (PR = 0.75, 95% CI [0.5–0.9]), et le fait de résider dans les zones du Sud-Sud (PR = 0.59 95% CI [0.4–0.7]) et du Sud-Ouest (PR = 0.60 95% CI [0.4–0.7]), constituent des freins à la consultation d’un agent de santé. Conclusion La sélection communautaire est une des méthodes qui semble avoir permis de sélectionner les indigents avec une prévalence élevée de besoins en santé et d’obstacles économiques au recours aux soins. Cependant, l’exemption du paiement des soins n’est pas suffisante pour améliorer leur recours aux soins. Les déterminants de leur recours aux soins différent selon le genre, mais les maladies chroniques constituent un motif commun. Les personnes âgées et les indigents ont des caractéristiques communes telles que l’âge avancé, mais certains facteurs qui déterminent leurs recours aux soins diffèrent. Le déterminant commun est le facteur financier, soit la capacité contributive de ces personnes dans un contexte où l’utilisateur des services de santé est le payeur. En attendant la couverture universelle de soins, il serait approprié que les interventions pour améliorer le recours aux soins ciblent en premier lieu les populations ayant des besoins importants telles que les indigents et les personnes âgées en ôtant la barrière financière. Pour les indigents par contre, il faudrait y ajouter des mesures additionnelles comme, par exemple l’accompagnement, le transport et les frais d’hébergement. Enfin, les interventions doivent aussi considérer les différences de genre qui existent dans les facteurs qui déterminent leur recours aux soins. / Problem In African countries with point-of-service healthcare user fees, financial barriers are one of the major obstacles to healthcare-seeking behaviour, and the indigent, the poorest members of society, are the most affected. To address this issue, some countries have begun developing health programs targeting indigent people to help them gain better access to healthcare by waiving healthcare fees. Unfortunately, it is a genuine challenge to identify those who are indigent. In addition, few studies have assessed the impact of user fees exemption programs on healthcare-seeking behaviour. The majority of indigent people are older with significant health needs. Older people in Africa do not often consult health professionals. The determinants regarding healthcare-seeking behaviour by older people is little-known, although proportionately, their numbers are increasing in low- and middle- income countries. They are losing their autonomy, have little income and have a high prevalence of chronic diseases and functional disabilities. These problems occur early on, especially among women. Objectives The objectives of this thesis are as follows: (i) to determine the equitable nature of a community-based selection process for indigent people in Burkina Faso that aims to exempt them from paying healthcare user fees; (ii) to measure the impact of this user fees exemption program on healthcare-seeking behaviour among indigent people; (iii) to analyze the factors associated with healthcare-seeking behaviour by older people in Nigeria. Method The conceptual framework of this study is based on the model developed by Andersen and Newman, which groups healthcare use determinants into predisposing factors (age, gender, marital status, occupation), enabling factors (income, means and know-how to access financial, food or instrumental assistance, social relationships), and needs (presence of chronic disease and vision, muscle strength and mobility limitations). To determine the equitable nature of a community-based selection of indigent people, we carried out a cross-sectional study in 2010 in the Ouargaye District of Burkina Faso, in which 1687 indigent people were interviewed. The dependent variable was possession of an exemption card. Bivariate analyses and logistic regression were performed. Next, using a quasi-experimental before/after approach, we assessed the effects of this user fees exemption program on healthcare-seeking behaviour by indigent people in Burkina Faso. To that end, 1224 indigent people were interviewed in 2010 about their healthcare-seeking behaviour. Among them, 540 were selected and received an exemption card. One year later, a follow-up was conducted, with a 55.3% retention rate. Bivariate analyses and logistic regression were performed. Finally, using data from a national cross-sectional study, the Nigerian 2012–2013 General Household Survey, which covers all the country’s regions, we studied healthcare-seeking behaviour by 3587 older people, of whom 850 stated that they were ill. We attempted to identify the associated factors. Weighted bivariate analyses and a weighted Poisson regression were performed. Results In Burkina Faso, healthcare payment waivers were mainly granted to widows or widowers (OR=1.40 IC 95% [1.10–1.78]), to those who do not receive financial support from their household for healthcare (OR=1.58 IC 95% [1.26–1.97], or those who live alone (OR=1.28 IC 95% [1.01–1.63]), or with their spouse (OR=2.00 IC 95% [1.35-2.96], who have vision impairment (OR=1.45 IC 95% [1.14–1.84]), who have limited muscle strength and good mobility (OR=1.73 IC 95% [1.28–2.33]). The community-based selection process of indigent people is not completely equitable, although it did enable the most needy to be selected. There are gender differences concerning healthcare-seeking behaviour determinants among indigent people. Being a widower (OR=0.53 IC 95% [0.33–0.81]), and having vision impairment (OR=0.42 IC 95% [0.28–0.63]) were factors limiting healthcare-seeking behaviour among men but not among women. Chronic diseases remain a common obstacle among men (OR=4.05 IC 95% [2.84–5.77]) and women (OR=2.14 IC 95% [1.54–2.97]). User fees exemption is not associated with an increased use of healthcare services (OR=1.1 IC 95% [0.80–1.51]). Whether they received or did not receive exemption cards, indigent people over the age of 69 (OR=1.66 IC 95% [1.05–2.64]), who were male (OR=1.44 IC 95% [0.99–2.08]), who belong to a low-income household (OR=1.71 IC 95% [1.15–2.54]), and those who had financial assistance from family to access healthcare (OR=1.59 IC 95% [1.1–2.28]), are more likely to increase their use of healthcare. In Nigeria, only 53% of older people consulted a health practitioner after an episode of illness. Lack of education (PR = 0.73, 95% CI [0.60–0.8]), low household income (PR = 0.75, 95% CI [0.5–0.9]), and residence in Nigeria’s South South (PR = 0.59 95% CI [0.4–0.7]) and South West zones (PR = 0.60 95% CI [0.4–0.7]) constituted limitations to consulting a health practitioner. Conclusion Community-based selection is one method that appears to have made it possible to select indigent people with a high prevalence of health needs and obstacles to seeking healthcare. Healthcare payment waivers are not sufficient to increase their healthcare-seeking behaviour. Healthcare use determinants differ according to gender, but chronic disease constitutes a common theme. Elderly and indigent people have common characteristics, such as advanced age, but some factors that determine their healthcare-seeking behaviour differ. The common determinant is the financial factor, i.e., the contributory capacity of these people in a context where the user pays. Until there is universal healthcare coverage, it would be appropriate to ensure that activities to improve healthcare-seeking behaviour primarily target populations with significant needs, such as indigent and elderly people, by removing financial barriers. For indigent people, however, additional measures must be included, such as accompaniment, transportation and accommodation expenses. And activities must also take existing gender differences into account among the factors determining their healthcare-seeking behaviour.

The Diploma thesis deals with general issues in the environment of Czech expertise from the view of ordinary experts. The study fosuses on a critical analysis of expert activities with special regards to remuneration issues, timing of expert fees, expertise, experts‘ inauguration and dismissal from a post and cooperation with government authorities. The methodology used is an array of reactions by experts to individual and specific points, which are then evaluated and possible methods of solution are proposed. The end of the thesis statistically summarises all problems in a graph and highlights the most critical ones.

Ever since it was first introduced in an article in the Journal of Finance 1952, Harry Markowitz’ mean - variance model for portfolio selection has become one of the best known models in finance. The model was one of the first in the world to deal with portfolio optimization mathematically and have directly or indirectly inspired the rest of the world to develop new portfolio optimization methods. Although the model is one of the greatest contributions to modern portfolio theory, critics claim that it may have practical difficulties. Partly because the Markowitz model is based on various assumptions which do not necessarily coincide with the reality. The assumptions which are based on the financial markets and investor behavior contain the simplification that there are no transaction costs associated with financial trading. However, in reality, all financial products are subject to transaction costs such as brokerage fees and taxes. To determine whether this simplification leads to inaccurate results or not, we derive an extension of the mean-variance optimization model which includes brokerage fees occurred under the construction of an investment portfolio. We then compare our extension of the Markowitz model, including transaction costs, with the standard model. The results indicate that brokerage fees have a negligible effect on the standard model if the investor's budget is relatively large. Hence the assumption that no brokerage fees occur when trading financial securities seems to be an acceptable simplification if the budget is relatively high. Finally, we suggest that brokerage fees are negligible if the creation of the portfolio and hence the transactions only occurs once. However if an investor is active and rebalances his portfolio often, the brokerage fees could be of great importance. / Harry Markowitz portföljoptimeringsmodell har sedan den publicerades år 1952 i en artikel i the journal of Finance, blivit en av de mest använda modellerna inom finansvärlden. Modellen var en av dem första i världen att hantera portföljoptimering matematiskt och har direkt eller indirekt inspirerat omvärlden att utveckla nya portföljoptimeringsmetoder. Men trots att Markowitz modell är ett av de största bidragen till dagens portföljoptimeringsteori har kritiker hävdat att den kan ha praktiska svårigheter. Detta delvis på grund av att modellen bygger på olika antaganden som inte nödvändigtvis stämmer överens med verkligheten. Antagandena, som är baserad på den finansiella marknaden och individers investeringsbeteende, leder till förenklingen att transaktionskostnader inte förekommer i samband med finansiell handel. Men i verkligheten förekommer transaktions-kostnader som courtageavgifter och skatter nästintill alltid vid handel av finansiella produkter som t.ex. värdepapper. För att avgöra om modellen påvisar felaktiga resultat på grund av bortfallet av courtageavgifter härleds en utvidgning av Markowitz modell som inkluderar courtageavgifter. Utvidgningen av Markowitz modell jämförs sedan med originalmodellen. Resultaten tyder på att courtageavgifter har en försumbar effekt på originalmodellen om investeraren har en stor investeringsbudget. Slutsatsen är därför att, förenklingen att inga courtageavgifter förekommer är en acceptabel förenkling om investeringsbudgeten är stor. Det föreslås slutligen att courtageavgiften är försumbar om transaktionen av aktier endast sker en gång. Men om en investerare är aktiv och ombalanserar sin portfölj flitigt, kan courtageavgifterna vara av stor betydelse.

Under de senaste åren har investeringsintresset ökat kraftigt, och i synnerhet intresset för att investera i fonder. Detta medför en problematik då valet att investera i aktivt eller passivt förvaltade fonder inte är självklart. Tidigare studier pekar åt olika håll när det kommer till detta dilemma. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilken förvaltningsstrategi som har gett mest avkastning i förhållande till den tagna risken och avgiften. Då marknaden under de senaste åren har varit volatil ger detta mer relevans till studiens syfte. Studiens valda tidsperiod sträcker sig mellan 2017-04-21 och 2022-04-21. För att vidare undersöka om det lönar sig att investera i aktivt förvaltade fonder med högre avgift, formuleras två hypoteser. Studien undersöker ett urval på totalt 110 aktivt och passivt förvaltade svenska aktiefonder som enbart är exponerade mot svenska bolag.           Studiens resultat av de två förvaltningsstrategiernas genomsnittliga prestations- och riskmått skiljer sig inte avsevärt gentemot varandra. Studiens resultat pekar på att indexfonderna har presterat marginellt bättre än de aktivt förvaltade fonderna och i genomsnitt har dessa gett högst avkastning till lägst tagen risk. Studiens båda hypoteser förkastades då samtliga korrelationskoefficienter påvisade svaga icke-samband samt att de inte var signifikanta på en 5% signifikansnivå. Sammanfattningsvis medför en högre avgift nödvändigtvis inte en högre avkastning eller riskjusterad avkastning. / In the recent years, the interest in investing on the stock market has increased sharply, and in particular the interest to invest in funds. This entails a problem as the choice to invest in actively or passively managed funds is not self-evident. Previous studies point in different directions when it comes to this dilemma. The purpose of this study is to examine which management strategy has given the most return in relation to the risk and the fee. As the market in recent years has been volatile, this gives the purpose of why this study is relevant. This study's investigates the market from 2017-04-21 and 2022-04-21. To further investigate whether it is profitable to invest in actively managed funds with a higher fee compared to index funds, two hypotheses are formulated. The study investigates a sample of 110 actively and passive managed Swedish equity funds that are only exposed to Swedish companies.  The conclusion of the performance and risk measures of the two management strategies do not differ significantly from each other. Marginally the result of this study indicates that the index funds have an average higher return at the lowest risk. Both hypotheses of this study were rejected when all correlation coefficients showed weak non-correlations and that they were not significant at a 5% significance level. In summary, a higher fee does not necessarily lead to a higher return or a higher risk-adjusted return.

In 2011 Sweden introduced tuition fees for citizens of countries outside the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland, choosing to study at Swedish universities. The purpose of this thesis has been to explore how institutions of higher education in Sweden has adapted to this change by studying the case of Lund University. Within Lund University we have studied both centrally placed functions and functions at the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Social Sciences, namely Graduate School. We have performed interviews with teachers as well as administrative staff on different levels. Our study is centred around organization pertaining to marketing and recruitment towards fee-paying students as well as services for fee-paying students during their time of study at Lund University. We have also been interested in finding out whether the relation between the university and the students has changed during the time passed and if there has been any adaptations of the offered education. Our study shows that the tuition fees contributed to a more focused attention on international marketing, the development of new practices within communication and service to international students and the creation of a wider range of international educational programmes. We have also found that administrative staff within the university, to a certain extent, think about students in terms of customers. / År 2011 infördes studieavgifter för studenter från tredjeland som valde att studera vid universitetet och högskolor Sverige. Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att utforska hur lärosäten i Sverige anpassat sig till denna förändring genom att studera fallet Lunds universitet. Inom Lunds universitet har vi studerat funktioner både centralt och på fakultetsnivå, vi har genomfört intervjuer med lärare samt med personer på olika nivåer inom administrationen. Vi har inkluderat både Lunds Tekniska Högskola, LTH, och Graduate School som driver ett antal internationella mastersprogram vid den Samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten. I vår studie har vi fokuserat på̊ organisering som berör rekrytering av och marknadsföring mot betalande studenter till universitetet samt servicefunktioner riktade till betalande studenter under studietiden. Vi har även utforskat om relationen till studenterna har förändrats samt om det skett en anpassning av utbildningsutbudet. Vår studie visar att studieavgiftsreformen bidrog till ett ökat fokus på internationell marknadsföring och positionering, att nya praktiker inom kommunikation och service till internationella studenter utvecklats samt att antalet program med internationell rekrytering utökats. Studien visar även att tjänstemän inom universitetet i viss utsträckning tänker på studenter i termer av kunder.

The topic of my diploma thesis is a policy of cost- sharing in the Czech higer education system. Discussion of the cost- sharing policy implementation in the Czech higer education system has taken place for almost twenty years. Yet no form of tutition fees at higer education institutions was introduced. The cost- sharing seems to be a controversial element in the effort to reform the system of Czech higher education financing. The Czech higher education system needs a reform. There are many problems: worsening financial situation of higher education institution, a low efficiency of the system, inequitable access to higher education etc. Policy making is a complex process, which comprise of many factors. In this process, stakeholders plays a very important role. Stakeholders are those, who are interested in the policy or those who are influenced by it. In my thesis I want to clarify a dispute about the policy of cost- sharing in the Czech higher education. To reach this goal, I try to describe the attitudes of higher education policy stakeholders to the cost- sharing in the period of 1992- 2012.

Motor fuel taxes have been collected as a principal source of highway funding for close to a century. They account for approximately two thirds of all the highway user fees and about half of all highway expenditures. Federal fuel taxes have not kept pace with the inflation in general and increasing traffic demand and resulting construction, maintenance and operation costs of the transportation assets in particular. Lack of political will, combined with rising anti-tax sentiment among the populace, has kept the federal tax level not only well below its initial intents, but also at a unsustainable level in future. Mileage based user fees are possibly an alternative to the fuel taxes, which have been the main mechanism for funding the transportation system. Mileage based user fees have been successfully utilized in many parts of the world with glowing results. Germany‟s “TollCollect”, a quasi government enterprise has utilized GPS technology in collecting the users‟ fee from the truck operators. The system has been a financial engine providing much needed funding for many major transportation projects. Oregon Department of Transportation, in a federally co-funded pilot project, examined the practicality of the mileage based user fee collection at the fuel pumps. According to the Oregon study, there are not any major technical difficulties in mileage based user fee collection at the pump. Study participants (general motorist) did not express any objection to the mileage based user fee collection. This dissertation evaluates revenue impacts of several pricing policies including: Current per gallon fuel taxes, conversion to a mileage based user fee, time of day user fee application, iv area type user fee and congestion priced user fees. State of Florida‟s years 2015-2035 fuel revenue forecast is used as a case study. A model is constructed to estimate annual vehicle miles travelled for the analyses period. Fuel efficiencies, current per gallon fuel taxes and their corresponding mileage-based user fee equivalents are the input to a financial model developed for comparisons. Results demonstrate that decrease in fuel revenues due to vehicles fuel efficiency improvements can be offset by replacing current per gallon fuel taxes with a mileage-based user fee. Pricing the user fee according to area type, roadway classification, time of day and congestion level can not only generate more revenues but also assist in demand management.