The text discusses some used methods for estimating potential product and output gaps based on aggregated data for the Czech Republic. Though these methods exhibit some common features, an empirical comparison demonstrates that the various techniques differ substantially. In particular, the correlation of output gaps calculated with different methods is generally low , the methods imply different turning points. To conclude, the methods for estimating potential product a used have only limited information content for macroeconomics.

In this paper is tested validity of the neoclassical migration model. For this purpose, were used Fixed effects model and VAR model. Data contain period of years 2001 to 2010 from 14 regions of the Czech republic and dataset contains 140 observations. Empirical results of Fixed effects model show that socioeconomic determinants had signifficant influence on regional rate of migration in the Czech republic. The direction and strength of influence of the most explanatory variables corresponded to the neoclassical theory. Estimations of VAR model indicate that regional migration did not decrease disparities within regions. These results questioned validity of neoclassical migration model.

The aim of this PhD thesis is to analyze the history and current situation of hedge funds and assess their potential to destabilize financial markets. The findings of the analysis are used to validate the assumptions underlying the major regulatory changes of hedge funds in the key global economic centres after the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. Since their inception early last century hedge funds have gone through a period of great expansion in the sixties, followed by a decline due to large losses sustained in the early seventies. The nineties meant a real breakthrough for hedge funds as a result of which they became prominent players in the alternative investment space. As of today, there is over ten thousand hedge funds that globally manage close to 3 trillion US dollars. Compared to mutual funds and other financial institutions the volume of assets under management is still relatively small, the rate of growth over the past fifteen years has however been very significant. What is emphasized with respect to the impact of hedge funds on financial markets is the contribution to increasing the liquidity and efficiency and their role on the financial derivatives market where hedge funds are actively involved in the transfer of risk. They are at the same time subject of criticism for their purported destabilizing effect on financial markets and contribution to fluctuations in the prices of investment instruments. Although the share of hedge funds in triggering major financial crises has not been conclusively established, these investment entities were one of the targets of the wide-ranging regulatory changes following the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. The dissertation first discusses the history and current situation of hedge funds and defines the term hedge fund. The following section describes the basic characteristics and principles of their functioning and reviews the regulation in the major domiciles. The final chapter is focused on the empirical analysis of the impact of hedge funds on financial markets. The inputs for this analysis include a global hedge fund index and representative market indices and data from the CFTC on positions in the 10 year US government treasury note futures. In the first step the descriptive statistics for the transformed time series are presented. The second part of the analysis focuses on lagged correlations between returns and volatility of the global hedge fund index and representative market indices. Granger causality tests are applied in the following section to determine the relationships between the returns and volatility of hedge fund and representative market indices. In the final step of the analysis Granger causality tests are used to analyze the link between the changes in positions in the 10-year US treasury note futures held by hedge funds and the change in settlement prices of these futures with the aim to assess whether hedge funds have the capacity to move the market. In conclusion, the results of this analysis are discussed in light of the recent regulatory changes and the potential for the future growth of hedge funds is assessed.

Thesis (M. A. Agricultural Science (Agricultural Economics) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / The relationship between farm and retail prices provides insights into marketing efficiency, consumer and farmer welfare. In light of this, much focus has been given to price transmission studies. Thus, price transmission studies have become increasingly important in Sub Saharan Africa because of its nature of providing clear insights information into our markets. Despite its importance in markets, there are a few studies analysing the mechanism through which prices are determined and transmitted from farm gate to retail markets in dairy markets in South Africa. The aim of the study was to investigate and analyse the nature of price transmission mechanism of pasteurised liquid milk and cheese in South Africa. The specific objectives were to determine the correlation between the milk production and quantity of milk processed in South Africa. Furthermore, there was a need to determine the direction of causality between the farm gate, processor and retail prices of cheese and pasteurised liquid milk in South Africa. It was also necessary to determine whether the price transmission of pasteurised liquid milk and cheese was symmetric or asymmetric in South Africa. The study used secondary time series data that covered a sample size of 17 years (2000 -2016) of pasteurised liquid milk and cheese in South Africa. Pearson correlation coefficient, Granger causality test and Vector Error Correction Model were used for data analysis. Pearson correlation results revealed that milk produced is perfectly correlated with the quantity of milk processed and it was positive. The Granger causality tests revealed that there was a no causal relationship between farm gate and processor, retail and processor and also between farm gate and retail for cheese. However, signs of independent causal relationship from farm gate to retail prices were visible. It also suggested a bidirectional causal relationship between processor and farm gate prices and also between retail and processor prices of pasteurised liquid milk. On the other hand, a unidirectional causality was found from retail to farm gate prices. The VECM results for pasteurised liquid milk showed asymmetric price transmission implying that retailers and processors react quicker to price increases than to price decrease. ii It is recommended that more focus be placed on investment in emerging dairy farmers in order to increase production. This can be done through the input price subsidies, grants and education on modern technologies. The government should also implement the price monitoring cell in order to protect the consumers from unfair prices passed on by the retailers. / Services SETA and National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC)

Cette thèse contribue à la littérature sur les normes prudentielles de la gestion des risques bancaires,la causalité entre le développement financier et la croissance économique et enfin les hypothèses del'aléa moral et de la réglementation du capital des banques. La crise des Subprimes de 2007 aparadoxalement permis de souligner une fois de plus les lacunes des normes prudentielles Bâle I etBâle II, du fait de ses différentes conséquences sur les systèmes bancaires mondiaux. En adoptantune démarche économétrique et en exploitant des données de panel sur un échantillon des banquesd’Afrique subsaharienne et du Maghreb, nous avons utilisé plus particulièrement la technique decausalité au sens de Granger et celle d'estimation GMM afin de mener des études empiriques surcelles-ci, notamment la causalité entre le développement financier et l’économie réelle d’une part, larelation entre le capital et la profitabilité (risque) des banques d’autre part. Les résultats soulignent ladépendance entre certaines variables de la profitabilité des banques et la croissance économiqued’une part, et d’autre part les comportements des banques africaines, en termes de la détention ducapital et à la prise excessive des risques, cadrent parfaitement aux hypothèses de l’aléa moral et dela réglementation du capital du comité de Bâle. / This thesis contributes to the literature on prudential risk management in the banking sector,causality between financial development and economic growth and finally, the study of moral hazardand the regulation of the capital of banks. The Subprime Mortgage Crisis of 2007 paradoxicallyDépôt de thèseDonnées complémentairesmade it possible to once more highlight the inadequacies in the Basel I and Basel II prudentialstandards, because of its various consequences on the global financial system. We adopted andapplied the Granger causality test and the GMM estimation method to panel data on a sample ofbanks in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, in order to conduct empirical studies, in particularon the causality between financial development and the real economy on one hand, the relationbetween capital and the profitability (risk) of banks on the other. The results highlight thedependence between certain variables describing bank profitability and economic growth on onehand, and those describing the characteristics of African banks on the other, in terms of capitalretention and excessive risk taking. This coincides perfectly with the study of moral hazard andcapital regulation set by the Basel Committee.

The research examines how the banking sector in Zambia faired in the wake of the global financial crisis, and the ensuing global recession that followed. Even prior to the crisis, weaknesses within the Zambian Banking sector were already identified by a World Bank/IMF financial sector assessment. The research therefore aims to gain a better understanding of the potential destabilizing factors to the Zambia Banking sector, and provide key players (Policymakers, Regulators and Banks) with knowledge on how best to manage and overcome these adverse effects, in times of a financial crisis. A Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) is estimated using commonly identified macroeconomic and banking sector indicators from selected Anglophonic African countries that were affected by the crisis at the time. The selected variables include, Return on Assets (ROA); Non-Performing Loans (NPL); Foreign Assets (FA); Interbank Lending Rate (IBLR); Liquidity (LQD); Credit to Private Sector (PRV); Foreign Exchange Rate (FOREX); Inflation (INFL); Copper Price (CU); and a ‘dummy’ variable (CRISIS). The direction of causality between the variables is further established using the VAR Granger Causality Test. Results of the model suggests that although the CRISIS was found to cause the ROA, it had no significant effect on its outcome, implying that overall the crisis had very little effect on the Zambian banking sector’s profitability. It was the liquidity (LQD) variable instead which was found to have a significant effect on the ROA. In times of a financial crisis, it is therefore recommended that policy makers and regulators apply more stringent regulatory and monetary policy instruments. This would counter the adverse effects on the liquidity and profitability of the Banking sector, and thus ensure its stability.

The main objective of this thesis is to find information of how, or if, the selected macroeconomic variables consumer price index, interest rate, exchange rate, industrial production, oil price and money supply have affected the Swedish stock market (OMXafgx) during the time-period 1973-2017. Findings in this research proves that all variables are co-integrated with the Swedish stock market, but only one of the variables selected, industrial production, have a short- and a longrun relationship affecting the Swedish stock market. A negative long run relation is also identified for money supply. / Huvudsyftet med denna uppsats är att finna information om hur, eller om, de utvalda makroekonomiska variablerna konsumentpris index, ränta, växelkurs, industriproduktion, oljepris och penningmängd har någon påverkan på den svenska aktiemarknaden (OMXafgx) från 2973-2017. Resultaten från denna undersökning visar att alla variablerna är samintegrerade med den svenska aktiemarknaden. Dock är det endast industriproduktion som har en kort- och långsiktig relation som påverkar den svenska aktiemarknaden. En negativ långsiktig relation identifieras även för penningmängd.

No description available.

Air pollution and meteorological conditions impact COVID-19 mortality rates. This research studied Quito, Ecuador, using Granger causality tests and regression models to investigate the relationship between pollutants, meteorological variables, human mobility, and excess deaths. Results suggested that Mobility as defined by Google Mobility Index, Facebook Isolation Index, in addition to Nitrogen Dioxide, and Sulphur Dioxide significantly impact excess deaths, while Carbon Monoxide and Relative Humidity have mixed results. Measures to reduce Carbon Monoxide emissions and increase humidity levels may mitigate the impact of air pollution on COVID-19 mortality rates. Further research is needed to investigate the impact of pollutants on COVID-19 transmission in other locations. Healthcare decision-makers must monitor and mitigate the impact of pollutants, promote healthy air quality policies, and encourage physical activity in safe environments. They must also consider meteorological conditions and implement measures such as increased ventilation and air conditioning to reduce exposure. Additionally, they must consider human mobility and reduce it to slow the spread of the diseases. Decisionmakers must monitor and track excess deaths during the pandemic to understand the impact of pollutants, meteorological conditions, and human mobility on human health. Public education is critical to raising awareness of air quality and its impact on health. Encouraging individuals to reduce their exposure to pollutants and meteorological conditions can play a critical role in mitigating the impact of air pollution on respiratory health during the pandemic.

Bakgrund: Prognoser för den framtida konjunkturutvecklingen är av värde för såväl allmänheten som beslutsfattare i många led. De förlitar sig på olika former av ekonomiska prognoser för att justera sina förväntningar på efterfrågan och prissättning därefter.Forskningen kring transportsektorn som en konjunkturindikator har visat olika resultat beroende på flera faktorer men Tyskland som har en liknande transportsektor som Sverige introducerade nyligen ett nytt konjunktursmått som var baserat på tunga transporter. Syfte: Uppsatsen syftar till att med statistiska metoder undersöka om det finns eventuella samband mellan efterfrågan på transport genom tunga fordon och hela eller delar av den ekonomiska utvecklingen i Sverige som är av sådant slag att olika variabler kopplat till godstransport kan användas för att prognostisera ekonomisk upp- och nedgång. Genomförande: För att uppfylla studiens syfte har sekundärdata samlats in från OECD samt SCB & Trafa. Variablerna som hämtats är BNP, IPI, transportarbete & nyregistreringar. För att klargöra huruvida variablerna samspelar på kort & lång sikt så testar vi för kointegration och Granger-Kausalitet. Slutsats: Vi finner inga bevis på att transportarbete eller nyregistreringar innehåller värdefull information för att prognosticera framtida konjunkturvärden. Vi finner samband mellan BNP & IPI och nyregistreringar både på kort och lång sikt men tvärtom från vad studien syftade till visar vi att BNP och IPI föregår nyregistreringar i testet för Granger-kausalitet. / Background: Predicting economic growth is valuable for both the general public and decision makers in different parts of society. They rely on different kinds of econometric predictions to adjust their expectations related to price and demand. Studies based around the ability of transportation to predict future values of economic growth has shown differing results depending on various factors but Germany, who has a relatively similar transportation sector as Sweden, has recently implemented a new economic growth measure based on road freight. Aim: Through econometrical methods we aimed to study the relationship between the transportation sector, more specifically the road freight part, and economic growth and study road freights ability to predict future economic growth in Sweden. Completion: To fulfill the aim of the study we collected secondary data from SCB and OECD & Trafa. Our data collection consisted of four variables which was GDP and IPI as economic growth proxies and new registrations for road freight vehicles and road freight per kilometer were chosen as variables for the road freight sector. To understand how road freight could predict future economic growth for both short- and long term we tested for Granger-causality and cointegration. Conclusion: Our study shows no evidence for road freight being a valuable indicator for predicting future economic growth. Relationships were found between GDP & IPI and new registrations on short- and long term but in contradiction to our studies purpose the relationship was found to be from GDP & IPI to new registrations and not the other way around.