<p>  </p> <p>This dissertation assesses three aspects of the economic implications of heat stress-related labor-capacity losses. Given that low-income countries around the tropics are at most risk, our analyses focus on these and the vulnerable households within them. First, we consider the optimal allocation of labor for small-scale agricultural households. We build an agricultural household that takes into consideration that these households will be affected by heat stress as producers, consumers, and workers simultaneously. Using this model and a sample of households from Pakistan, we determine that for most households it would be optimal to increase their supply of family labor to agricultural self-employment. However, if work preferences are also affected, even modestly, then decreased supply of family labor to agriculture would be observed. </p> <p>Next, we turn to country-level welfare losses across the globe focusing on the role of trade in mitigating or exacerbating these. We consider nine West African economies and determine which benefit from international trade, which are made worse-off, and we fully delineate the factors and channels that determine this. Broadly, we find that net exporters of agricultural commodities will benefit via global price changes, and conversely net importers will be made worse off by global price changes. However, countries that experience especially large labor capacity losses in their export sectors can also see loss-mitigating effects from trade as their export prices rise more sharply that the global average. An alternative perspective shows that some countries are affected more by their own heat stress-related productivity losses, while others are affected more due to global changes. </p> <p>Lastly, we consider the poverty impacts of heat stress-induced labor capacity losses in West Africa. Using a macro model, we determine changes in real incomes of households near poverty in seven West African countries, then use household microsimulations to determine poverty impacts. We find that poverty impacts are heterogenous in direction and magnitude across household-types and countries. In five of the seven countries, poverty headcounts increase, ranging from 1.5% in Cote d’Ivoire to 7.8% in Nigeria. In two countries, there is either little change or a decrease in poverty: in Cameroon poverty increases by 0.6% and in Guinea it decreases by 1.7%. The key channel behind this heterogeneity is how loss of labor productivity affects relative returns to factors of production. Returns to unskilled agricultural labor can increase due to increased demand for this labor to dampen losses of agricultural output. </p>

Existing studies of household overcrowding in Sweden are often descriptive and examine patterns at a large scale. Levels of overcrowding have increased since the mid-1980s and the highest shares are found in the largest cities among residents with a low income, a migration background, living in rental apartments, and often with children. The aim of this thesis is to increase the understanding of the measurements of household overcrowding, its development over time, its spatial patterns and its determinants at a small-scale neighborhood level with application to the City of Stockholm. It examines how the associations between overcrowding and other neighborhood characteristics can be understood in different neighborhood settings and what the implications are of using different scales and definitions of overcrowding. Cluster, correlation and regression analyses have been conducted using administrative data aggregated to key code areas and city districts. The results demonstrate that there are two types of overcrowding within the City of Stockholm, which are spatially separated and associated differently with socio-economic, demographic and housing characteristics of neighborhoods. It is suggested that explanatory segregation theories related to preference and economic and discriminatory structures are needed to understand the uneven spatial distribution of overcrowding in the City of Stockholm.

This Master Thesis in General Management aims on defining the relationship between a country's degree of development and household asset management in the European Union. Both of the variables are defined by relevant sub-variables where the relationships are being observed. There were used datasets gathered by respected European Statistical Agency Eurostat for 2019. Master Thesis focuses on the European Union area and it aims at defining the crucial relationships between the variables in order to draw the conclusions that would help in pursuing the degree of development in different countries. In the Master Thesis, we were using quantitative research reflecting on the statistically expressed relationships using the correlation pattern. There were used 29 numbers for each of the variables representing the total number of European Union members in 2019 (28) plus the European Union average. There were found statistically significant relationships based on which we were able to define a proper generalization together with the causation pattern for the European Union countries and households.

I performed a secondary analysis of existing data and determined that when interacting with physicians during primary care visits for chronic illness treatment, patients using opioids are less likely to continue presenting concerns designed to reinforce their social and emotional uniqueness during the second half of primary care visits when physicians provide empathic support of their concerns in the first half of visits.

The thesis is engaged in possibilities of displaced persons social exclusion measurement. The first chapter contains definitions of terms used in the thesis. The following chapter comprises abriged and modified translation of methodology manual of Indicators of poverty and social exclusion, so-called Laeken indicators. In the third chapter there is described role of the Czech Statistical Office from the perspective of Law on State Statistic Service and in relation with homelessness. The next chapter describes history of homelessness, its typology and several aspects of different social science disciplines. The last chapter describes selected social transfers provided in the Czech Republic and designed tool for measurement of social exclusion.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Geography)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Hazardous wastes (HW) refer to wastes that may or tend to cause adverse health effects on the ecosystem and human beings. These wastes pose present or potential risks to human health or living organisms, due to the fact that they are: (i) non-degradable or persistent in nature, (ii) can be biologically magnified, (iii) are highly toxic and even lethal at very low concentrations. Various types of production activities in South Africa generate many by-products, which are usually discarded but often turn out to be sources of acute environmental hazards. If not contained and handled appropriately, waste, including HW can cause significant problems. Unattended HW lying around leads to unhygienic conditions resulting in health problems. Increasing population growth, accompanied by rapid urbanization and industrialization, increases the volume of HW generated in the country. Improper waste management is aesthetically unattractive and impacts negatively on tourism by creating blight on South Africa’s beautiful landscape. The aim of the study is to assess how HW is discarded across different land use zones in the Musina Local Municipality in order to reduce and manage the negative impacts that they exert to the environment and human health. The objective was to: (i) analyse the state and management of hazardous waste discarded by beauty salons of the central business district of Musina; (ii) Elucidate the state and management of hazardous waste discarded by households located in the suburbs of Musina; (iii) Document the state and management of hazardous waste discarded by automotive workshop located in the Industrial zone of Musina and (iv) Develop tailor-made recommendations for the safe management of hazardous waste in the town of Musina, Limpopo Province, South Africa The study was conducted in Musina Local Municipality in Limpopo province, South Africa. Musina is the northern town in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The study sites were divided into three land use zones; central business district (CBD), suburban area, and industrial zone. In terms of methodology observations, a datasheet and a semi-structured questionnaire were used to collect data on HW management across three different land use zones. A total of 73 semi-structured questionnaires (55 in suburban area and 10 in industrial zone and 8 in the Central Business District) were employed to document quantitative and qualitative data. Observations were used to identify the types and document quantity of HW discarded by all participants. The researcher opened the weekly municipal refuse bags that stored discarded products to list and count HW products. The information was captured on a datasheet, which recorded data on type, quantity and separation of hazardous waste from general waste. Data was analysed via descriptive statistics. Results from Central Business District (Salons) shows that nail varnish bottles were the most discarded HW product with 250 discarded per week by all eight salons. Other HW products discarded include artificial nails, hair dye containers, plastic combs, vinyl gloves and disinfectant containers. All salons practice the same disposal method; making use of municipal refuse bags for temporary storage, which is then transported to the municipal landfill site for final disposal. None of the participants separate waste; reasons being lack of awareness of separation management. Shop owners and employees’ attitude towards HW management was neutral while their level of knowledge on the environmental and human health impact was rated low. Seventy-five percent of the respondents were not aware that the products they discard are hazardous. Results from Suburban area (household hazardous waste) shows that home cleaning products were the most discarded Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) product with 237 discarded per week by all 55 sampled households. Other HHW products discarded include personal cleaning products, miscellaneous items, automotive maintenance and gardening products. The 50 households practice the same disposal method; making use of house bin (usually pedal bins). Once the bin is full, they dispose it to the outdoors wheelie bins. The remaining five household dispose of their waste directly to the outdoor bin. None of the participants separated waste; main reasons being lack of awareness of separation management. Participants’ attitude towards HW management was neutral while their level of knowledge on the environmental and human health impact was rated medium. Seventy-three percent of the respondents were aware that the products they discard are hazardous. Results from Industrial Zone (hazardous waste) shows that plastic components were the most discarded hazardous waste (HW) product with 31 discarded per week by all 10 sampled automotive workshops. Other HW products discarded include lead-acid batteries, automotive used oil and paint containers. Automotive workshops practice different storage and disposal method; making use of drums, large containers and old scrap car as a temporary storage place. Once the temporary storage is full, 50% opted for recycling while 30% dispose of their waste to the landfill site; the remaining 20% burn their waste in their premises. A large majority (80%) did not separate their waste; main reasons being a lack of awareness of separation management. Participants’ attitude towards HW management was positive while their level of knowledge on the environmental and human health impact was rated low. Half of the respondents were aware that the products they discard are hazardous. Many studies have looked at the comparison between wastes discarded in the rural versus urban area with little attention on specific enterprises. It is more realistic to consider other enterprises because different activities generated different waste. This study was able to assess how waste is discarded in different enterprises such as salons and automotive workshop with an addition of residential waste. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study of this kind. Future research can look at other enterprises such as HW from restaurant or as far as HW discarded by mining sector. The study recommends that the salon enterprise obtains a HW certificate prior to operating a salon, this will increase awareness and make employees more knowledgeable on issues relating to the management of HW. Most of the wastes discarded by sub-urban area were recyclable materials. The municipality can look into collecting recyclable materials separately and taking it to the recycling facilities. It was shocking to find out that there are automotive industries that burn their waste (without even separating). This poses a serious danger in terms of air pollution and the possibilities of containers exploding; therefore, there is an urgent need to educate people in the automotive industry. Keywords: Hazardous waste, Household Hazardous Waste, Musina, Central Business District

Summary in English. / Bibliography: pages 35-36.

The high debt-to-income ratios and the low financial literacy levels among Canadian immigrants are hindering public welfare, macroeconomic policies, and economic growth. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore why immigrants to Lloydminster, Canada possess high debt-to-income ratios in their financial portfolios by examining pertinent themes and patterns between their debt profiles and their financial literacy levels. The life cycle hypothesis, rational choice theory, and bounded rationality theory grounded the study. Data collection from the purposeful sample included semistructured face-to-face interviews with 13 adult immigrants and a focus group discussion with 6 adult immigrants, all of whom lived, worked, or owned a business in the city of Lloydminster. The application of Yin's 5-step data analytic procedure revealed key findings that described the pattern between immigrants' debt profiles and their financial literacy levels including environmental curiosity, excellent credit score, family survival, rational decision making, social institutions, economic institutions, pressure impacting financial decisions, credit facility impacting financial decisions, emotions impacting financial decisions, and discount deals impacting financial decisions. Immigrants to Canada can utilize the findings from this study to develop their financial literacy levels and stay committed to making sensible financial decisions, thus triggering positive social change. Sound spending habits could have positive implications for Canada's Gross Domestic Product growth and immigrants' wellbeing.

En milieu rural malgache, la terre constitue le principal moyen d’existence des paysans. Toute la vie des ménages est centrée sur l’exploitation agricole, qui mobilise hommes et femmes, membres de la famille et de la communauté comme main-d’œuvre. Mais depuis quelques décennies, particulièrement dans les régions des Hauts-Plateaux, les parcelles cultivables, héritées et partagées depuis plusieurs générations, deviennent de plus en plus exiguës. Les revenus agricoles ne permettent donc plus aux familles de subvenir à leurs besoins fondamentaux. Ainsi, face à la menace d’insécurité alimentaire, aux besoins croissants de ressources monétaires (éducation, santé, etc.), aux risques liés aux parcours de la vie et à l’exploitation agricole, les ménages sont contraints de diversifier leurs sources de revenu. Pour avoir davantage de revenus monétaires, ils vendent leur force de travail hors de l’exploitation familiale. Les modes d’organisation économique se trouvent alors modifiés et les ménages doivent opter pour de nouvelles stratégies à court, moyen ou long terme dans leurs activités productives. Ce travail de thèse analyse, pour deux communes rurales des Hauts-Plateaux, la mise en œuvre des différentes stratégies à travers les structures des ménages et les réseaux de solidarités intergénérationnelle et communautaire. La recherche montre que l’organisation actuelle des activités permet d’assurer à la fois la continuité de l’exploitation agricole, la survie de la famille et la cohésion sociale. / In Madagascar rural areas, the land is the main livelihood of farmers. The community and all family members’, men and women, are involved on farming. But in recent decades, arable plots on the Central Highlands, inherited from ancestors and shared for many generations become more and more cramped. The incomes are insufficient for family’s basic needs. Thus, facing the food insecurity threatens, the increases of need for money (education, health, etc.), the life and farm risks, households are forced to diversify their sources of income. To earn more, they sell their labor outside the family farm. Then, the economic organization style is modified and households must find new short and medium term strategies in their productive activities. This book analyzes the implementation of different strategies through household structures and networks of solidarity (intergenerational and community) in two rural towns in the Highlands. Research shows that current organization of activities ensures the continuity of the farm, the family survival and social cohesion.

La Nouvelle-Calédonie est une collectivité d’outre-mer française sui generis. Selon les indicateurs internationaux, elle est développée mais marquée par de fortes inégalités de ressources au sein de sa population. Derrière ce constat, se dessinent les modalités de deux systèmes économiques (domestique et marchand) qui cohabitent mais n’attribuent pas le même sens au salariat, aux inégalités de ressources et à la solidarité. En réponse à ces inégalités, une politique de développement est instaurée depuis 1989. Son objet est de créer les conditions sociales et politiques propices au déploiement d’une économie stable par le « rééquilibrage » des inégalités provinciales (Iles Loyauté, Nord et Sud) et en faveur de la population autochtone notamment, les Kanak. A partir des recensements de la population et de l’enquête Budget Consommation des Ménages nous proposons une évaluation de cette politique provinciale sur vingt ans. Après un état des lieux de l’évolution des inégalités de diplôme, d’accès à l’emploi et de niveau de vie, notre attention se porte sur les plus vulnérables, c’est-à-dire les ménages vivant sous le seuil de pauvreté relatif. Leur structure de consommation caractérise un système hybride entre les rouages de l’économie marchande et non marchande traduisant une logique d’intégration sociale qui repose sur un mécanisme de compensation des solidarités privées et publiques. Ce mécanisme est questionné par le renforcement de la solidarité publique depuis les années 2000. / New Caledonia is a French overseas collectivity with a sui generis status. According to international indicators New Caledonia is a developed territory, however significant resource inequalities exist. Research findings show that two economical systems (domestic and market economies) coexist with differences in wage earning, resource inequalities and solidarity. In 1989 a development policy was introduced to "adjust" the inequalities that exist among the three Provinces (Loyalty Islands, North Province and South Province). The objective of the policy has been to create a social and political environment favourable for a stable economy that would especially benefit the indigenous population, the Kanak. Based on population censuses and a household budget survey, a 20-year assessment of this provincial policy is offered. After providing an overview of the evolution of inequalities in academic degrees, employment opportunities and standards of living, I will focus on the most vulnerable groups, i.e. households below the relative poverty line. Their consumption structure is characterised by a hybrid system between the market economy and the non-market economy, which means that their social inclusion depends on both public and private solidarities. This mechanism is questioned by the strengthening of the welfare system since the 2000s.