The subject matter of this paper is an analysis of the current system of political parties funding in the Czech Republic. The aim of the thesis is to critically assess the current legal regulation and to point out potential shortcomings and possibilities for improvement. At a time when public confidence in political parties is characterized by a systematic and long-term downward trend, it is a recent and widely discussed topic. We may well ask whether the legal regulation of this issue does not provide room for improvement and innovation. The extensive topic is structured into two areas - the question of financial resources and the question of control and transparency. The paper is composed of five chapters. Chapter one deals with the political parties in general and with the law of political parties, especially with constitutional aspects. The second chapter examines the financing of political parties, its basic principles, models and division. In brief, it covers also the development of funding. The subject of the third chapter is a detailed description of the funding of political parties in the Czech Republic. In the fourth chapter the thesis deals with control, transparency and enforcement, at both the general and the specific level, when Czech regulation is subject to scrutiny. Chapter Five is...

The first three years of the twentieth century were a crucial time in the development of state-funded education in England. The rising tide of Germanophobia in the wake of the South African War impressed Conservative politicians with the need to improve England's educational system in order that she remain competitive in the world. With the aid of a very few Liberal imperialists, the Conservatives were able to shepherd through a series of bills which established state funded secondary schools throughout all of England, an expansion on the system created by the Education Act of 1870 in terms of both curriculum and breadth of jurisdiction. The Liberals opposed much of this legislation based on their allegiance to their nonconformist constituents, who viewed the expanse of state-funded schools as a threat to their voluntary schools and as an attempt to enforce Anglican uniformity. The fact that these MPs opposed these bills, and later modified them greatly when Liberal, and later Labour, governments came to power in the decade immediately preceding the first World War, should in no way diminish the importance of these pieces of Conservative legislation. This essay fits into the historiography of its topic in that it provides a detailed examination of debates which have often been overlooked due to historians' emphasis on the later Liberal legislation.

<p>An abundance of research in the social sciences has demonstrated a persistent bias against nonnative English speakers (Giles & Billings, 2004; Gluszek & Dovidio, 2010). Yet, organizational scholars have only begun to investigate the underlying mechanisms that drive the bias against nonnative speakers and subsequently design interventions to mitigate these biases. In this dissertation, I offer an integrative model to organize past explanations for accent-based bias into a coherent framework, and posit that nonnative accents elicit social perceptions that have implications at the personal, relational, and group level. I also seek to complement the existing emphasis on main effects of accents, which focuses on the general tendency to discriminate against those with accents, by examining moderators that shed light on the conditions under which accent-based bias is most likely to occur. Specifically, I explore the idea that people’s beliefs about the controllability of accents can moderate their evaluations toward nonnative speakers, such that those who believe that accents can be controlled are more likely to demonstrate a bias against nonnative speakers. I empirically test my theoretical model in three studies in the context of entrepreneurial funding decisions. Results generally supported the proposed model. By examining the micro foundations of accent-based bias, the ideas explored in this dissertation set the stage for future research in an increasingly multilingual world.</p> / Dissertation

This thesis deals with the financial fundraising, whose task is to find for a non-profit organizations from various sources with sufficient funds to fulfill the mission of serving.The goal is to characterize the possible sources of funding non-governmental organizations and describe the ways how to gain support from different sources. They also point out other activities related to fundraising and supporting its success. The practical part shlould serve as the application of the fundraising practices of civil associations and also specific explanation of reasons for not using certain types of fundraising that other non-profit organization uses. In the theoretical part, there are explained the sources of funding, different types of fundraising methods and approaching donors (fundraising methods). Because of the close relation to fundraising, there is also the issue describes the budgeting. The thesis also deals with relationships with potential and existing donors. Later there is an issue of PR as Public Relations influence the views of potential donors to the organization and the decision granting or with holding allowance. Practical part serves as a practical application of usability practices in fundraising.

Non-equity Crowdfunding: Funding Success and Dynamics on Hithit Veronika Machová Abstract Non-equity crowdfunding, as an innovative way of financing new ideas, has been growing enormously over recent years. Crowdfunding projects are often characterized by a predetermined monetary goal and the length of the campaign. Furthermore, potential contributors can observe the level of funding provided by others, which suggests that details of previous contributions play an essential role in funding behavior. We obtain data from the Czech crowdfunding platform Hithit, which allow us to empirically analyze the determinants of success and the funding dynamics of crowdfunding projects. Outcomes from several probit regressions indicate that shorter campaigns and campaigns offering private rewards of lower value are more likely to be successful-but these results do not demonstrate causality. A short campaign signals confidence; this positive signaling effect outweighs the marketing- opportunities effect of a long campaign. Applying fixed effects model to panel data, we show that the amount of contributions is negatively associated with the level of funding already achieved, providing evidence of free-riding effect. However, the effect of past contributions is reversed in the final phase of the campaign as the risk of...

Cette thèse étudie les conditions d’accès des banques européennes au financement interbancaire non sécurisé entre 2006 et 2012. Elle contient trois essais empiriques explorant des micro-données relatives aux transactions interbancaires. La première étude empirique adopte une approche en termes de paires banque prêteuse/banque emprunteuse et montre que, une fois le risque de contrepartie et les imperfections de marché contrôlées, les banques ayant un risque de liquidité plus élevé paient une prime de taux d’intérêt. Nous montrons également que cette prime est augmentée par les banques disposant d’excès de liquidités, sans doute motivées par la thésaurisation ou des stratégies de “short-squeezing” des banques en besoin de liquidité. Cette étude souligne finalement l’imperfection du marché interbancaire et l’importance des diverses interventions de la BCE qui ont cherché à réduire le risque de liquidité des banques au cours de la crise. La seconde étude, par le biais d’un model 2P-FRM, explore empiriquement l’impact des relations de clientèle entre banques sur la structure de maturité de la dette interbancaire. Les résultats dévoilent que l’accès aux prêts interbancaires longs et non sécurisés est facilité par les relations durables avant et durant les périodes de stress. Cependant, lors des moments aigus de la crise suivant la chute de la banque Lehman, ces effets positifs des variables bilatérales de relations fortes, calculées comme la concentration des actifs sur une banque emprunteuse, ne sont pas là. La deuxième partie de notre modèle montre que la part en volume des crédits à terme est plus faible pour les couples de banques partenaires. Finalement, notre variable unilatérale de relation interbancaire, qui mesure la concentration du réseau d’emprunt de la banque prêteuse, s’avère impacter négativement les prêts à terme post-Lehman. Cela confirme l’hypothèse que le propre risque de refinancement court du prêteur peut être l’origine du gel post-Lehman des prêts interbancaires à terme. Finalement, le troisième essai explore le lien entre la segmentation du marché interbancaire et le noeud de corrélation des risques souverains/bancaires. En utilisant les changements des primes des CDS souverains et bancaires, nous proposons une mesure originale de corrélation partielle des spillovers souverains-banques, qui permet d’attribuer une direction pays-banques à la contagion. Les résultats montrent que ces spillovers accentuent la segmentation du marché monétaire Italien lors de la phase critique de la crise des dettes souveraines. De plus, l’étude montre que, même si l’impact pays d’origine/banques est important, la contagion venant d’autres souverains en crise est loin d’être négligeable. / This thesis studies European banks’ terms to access to unsecured interbank funding during the period 2006 to 2012. It contains three empirical essays exploring micro-data on interbank transactions. The first empirical study adopts a bank pair panel approach evidencing that, once counterparty risk and other market imperfections are controlled for, banks with higher funding liquidity risk (liquidity-short banks) pay an interest rate premium. The bank pair level analysis also permits to show that this premium is charged by liquidity-long banks, probably motivated by strategic short-squeezing or prudential hoarding purposes during the crisis. This study emphasizes the imperfection of interbank markets and the importance of theECB’s emergency interventions dedicated to dampening banks’ funding risk concerns. The second essay explores empirically the impact of relationship lending on the interbank debt maturity structure of banks by mean of a two-part fractional response model. The findings show that durable bilateral liquidity partnerships can positively impact the probability of contracting term loans before and during periods of acute stress. The positive effects of the bilateral relationship lending variable measured as asset-side concentration, is however, not straightforward, especially after the Lehman default. The second part of our model shows that the post-Lehman maturity shift is pronounced for partner banks. Finally, we find that our unilateral (lender level) relationship variable impacts negatively long term lending confirming the rollover risk viewpoint of the term interbank market freeze. Finally, the third essay investigates the link between interbank market segmentation and bank–sovereign risk nexus. Using bank and country CDS spread changes it suggests an original partial correlation based measurement of sovereign/bank spillovers providing us with a direction of contagion. Empirical findings from this part of the thesis evidence that bank-sovereign risk correlation is a significant source of fragmentation during the most acute phase of the sovereign debt crisis. Moreover, the study shows that, even if home country/bank ties impact seriously interbank market integration, the risk from other distressed countries is far from negligible.

SMMEs play an integral role in economic growth and development in both industrialised and developing countries by creating new jobs. It is therefore necessary to help them set up and expand their operations, develop new products, and invest in new staff or production facilities through allowing them access to finance. Access to funding remains a key aspect in SMME development and growth and in South Africa this still remain a problem. Small businesses, but particularly micro businesses, often do not fulfil the criteria to obtain the required amount of debt finance for longer-term growth. Typical problems are the lack of appropriate collateral, excessive outstanding debt and lack of proven business skills. For business people to obtain an unsecured loan solely on the strength of their character requires a major leap of faith on the part of the creditor. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report of 2009 states that many entrepreneurs complain that there is lack of access to funding in South Africa. However, the country is no worse off with this issue than other developing countries. The report also mentions that often the entrepreneurs applying for funding are under prepared and do not provide sufficient relevant information. South Africa has a number of funding institutions and they include micro–financiers, banks, venture capitalists (VCs) and government–supported institutions which include Khula, the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) and the Industrial Development Council (IDC). ii This study looked at the perceived impact of the human capital of the SMME’s founder in accessing funding and if access to funding is perceived to have a positive impact on SMMEs’ growth. The perceived impact of the human capital of knowledge, formal education and expertise in attracting external funding and enhancing the growth of SMMEs was explored using the human capital theory framework. This exploration was done by testing the attitudes of 68 entrepreneurs. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data and to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that accessing funding is positively related to the SMME’s growth. In terms of human capital factors, the results indicated that knowledge, education and expertise are all perceived to be very important in accessing funding. Knowledge rated the highest in terms of the factors important in accessing funding. The study did not establish any relationship between the demographics of the SMME and the perceived importance of human capital factors in accessing funding. The study discusses the implications of the finding for funders and policy–makers. This study was simplistic in that it focused only on the perceived impact of human capital factors in accessing funding rather than all other factors as discussed in entrepreneurship theory.

This dissertation is a histo-graphic account of the origins and evolution of private health funding in South Africa. It commences with a history of medicine within the context of the provision of health care and health funding. The arrival of the Dutch and the influence of the different rulers are highlighted throughout the different eras, up to the formation of the first private medical scheme in 1889. From this point onward, the historical development of private health funding is recorded with due consideration of the appointed commissions of enquiry and legislative developments. The dissertation concludes with a review of the study.

Thesis advisor: Richard, S.J. McGowan / As urbanized areas have grown across the United States, roads have quickly developed with them. Yet many cities have developed this infrastructure at the cost of failing to adequately fund urban mass transit, in spite of the important services it provides for the poor, commuters, and the environment. Consequently, many urban mass transit systems have struggled with deficits, increased fares, and reduced service. This study examines six major systems in the United States and analyzes data from these systems to provide policy recommendations regarding urban mass transit funding. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics Honors Program. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Economics.

Total valuation adjustment (XVA) is a new technique which takes multiple material financial factors into consideration when pricing derivatives. This paper explores how funding costs and counterparty credit risk affect pricing the American option based on no-arbitrage analysis. We review previous studies of European option pricing with different funding costs. The conclusions help to compute the no- arbitrage price of the American option in the model with different borrowing and lending rates. Another model with counterparty credit risk is set up, and this pricing approach is referred to as credit valuation adjustment (CVA). A defaultable bond issued by the counterparty is used to hedge the loss from the option's default. We incorporate these two models to assess the XVA of an American option. The collateral, which protects the option investors from default, is considered in our benchmark model. To illustrate our results, numerical experiments are designed to demonstrate the relationship between XVA and parameters, which include the funding rates, bond's rate of return, and number of periods.