In these days, pop-economics has become popular. Economics of food has its place in this area. The aim is to confirm the hypothesis that the economic, political, and social development influence people's diet and changes the food culture. The research method is quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data and scientific articles about the Czech Republic and the USA. The thesis describes the current state of knowledge in economic development. Then it describes historical milestones in this area and the current situation. It focuses on events that have had the biggest impact on the quality and quantity of food consumed by individuals. It describes the development from the beginning of the 20th century to the present days with the main focus on the last 50 years. The hypothesis is confirmed and it is demonstrated that the described changes have an impact on the diet and food culture.

Submitted by Cesar Fukushima (fukushimacesar@gmail.com) on 2018-05-11T19:35:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 CESAR_T_FUKUSHIMA_FINAL.pdf: 1330741 bytes, checksum: fa16e039db18efc7ce1d52fbc317312f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Simone de Andrade Lopes Pires (simone.lopes@fgv.br) on 2018-05-14T20:52:37Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 CESAR_T_FUKUSHIMA_FINAL.pdf: 1330741 bytes, checksum: fa16e039db18efc7ce1d52fbc317312f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzane Guimarães (suzane.guimaraes@fgv.br) on 2018-05-15T12:49:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 CESAR_T_FUKUSHIMA_FINAL.pdf: 1330741 bytes, checksum: fa16e039db18efc7ce1d52fbc317312f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-15T12:49:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CESAR_T_FUKUSHIMA_FINAL.pdf: 1330741 bytes, checksum: fa16e039db18efc7ce1d52fbc317312f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-04-17 / O presente trabalho consiste em uma análise do consumo das famílias utilizando-se a hipótese da renda permanente e do ciclo de vida, com base nos indicadores de consumo, crédito, renda e juros no Brasil durante o período de 2003 a 2017, em um ambiente econômico que apresentou um ciclo de expansão, seguido por duas crises econômicas, sendo que a segunda crise (após 2015) trouxe agravamentos ao ambiente econômico do país. Para tanto, utilizaram-se a metodologia proposta por Campbell e Mankiw (1989) e o Vetor Auto Regressivo (VAR) sobre as séries históricas de renda, crédito, taxa de juros e volume de crédito à pessoa física. Com base na metodologia de Markov Switching-VAR, buscou-se analisar quebras estruturais no comportamento do consumidor no período analisado. O resultado mostrou duas quebras estruturais, uma entre o segundo trimestre de 2003 e o quarto trimestre de 2007 e outra entre o primeiro trimestre de 2008 e o segundo trimestre de 2015. Em todos os períodos, o modelo de Campbell e Mankiw apresentou comportamentos similares, nos quais se rejeita a hipótese da renda permanente. No período entre o terceiro trimestre de 2015 e o terceiro trimestre de 2017, momento de grande impacto da crise econômica brasileira, obteve-se uma rejeição da hipótese da renda permanente com aumento significativo da restrição à liquidez e ao crédito. Segundo o modelo VAR, que tenta identificar o comportamento dinâmico das variáveis em estudo, observou-se que choques gerados individualmente na renda e no crédito têm impacto positivo no consumo, ou seja, geram um incremento no consumo das famílias; no entanto um choque nos juros tem um efeito inversamente proporcional no consumo, o que está de acordo com a rejeição da hipótese da renda permanente. / The present work consists of an analysis of household consumption using the permanent income and life cycle hypothesis, based on consumption, credit, income and interest rate indicators in Brazil from 2003 to 2017, in an economic environment that presented a cycle of expansion, followed by two economic crisis, with the second crisis (after 2015) aggravating to the country's economic environment. In this work the employed methodology was the one proposed by Campbell and Mankiw (1989) together with the Vector Auto Regressive (VAR), on the historical series of income, credit, interest rate and volume of credit to individuals. Based on the Markov SwitchingVAR methodology, we sought to analyze structural breaks in consumer behavior during the analyzed period. The result showed two structural breaks, one between the second quarter of 2003 and the fourth quarter of 2007, and another between the first quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2015. In all periods, the Campbell and Mankiw model showed similar behavior, in which we reject the hypothesis of permanent income. Between the third quarter of 2015 and the third quarter of 2017, a period of great impact of the Brazilian economic crisis, the hypothesis of permanent income was rejected, with a significant increase in the restriction on liquidity and credit. According to the VAR model, which tries to identify the dynamic behavior of the variables under study, we have observed that shocks individually generated on income and credit have a positive impact on consumption, ie, it generates an increase in household consumption. On the other hand, a shock on the interest rate causes an inversely proportional effect on consumption, which is in line with the rejection of the hypothesis of permanent income.

The thesis deals with the issue of excessive debt of households. In the first part the analysis of development of indebtedness of households was made and it was found out, that consumer loans are the most risky. Consumer loans are associated with the highest ratio of defaulting loans and are the leading cause of bankruptcies of individuals in the Czech Republic. The following chapter analyzes institutional environment of credit market and detects current weaknesses. These weaknesses consist in insufficient oversight of nonbank provider of consumer loans, absence of upper limit of annual percentage rate for consumer credit and credit availability to risk groups of households. Another cause of overindebtedness of households is insufficient financial literacy in Czech Republic. The reduced consumption has been identified as the most significant impact of overindebtedness of households. It is caused by transferring funds from households with a higher propensity to consume to households with a lower propensity to consume. Lower household consumption leads also to lower government revenue collected through the value added tax. Another economic impact we can see for example in increasing poverty of households, increasing criminality, higher government spending on health care or potential political radicalization. The thesis results are proposals of legislative measures that would mitigate the economic impact of overindebtedness of households. These measures lie primarily in the regulation of consumer credit market and greater consumer protection. The specific options are an extension of supervision by the Czech National Bank on nonbank providers of consumer loans, determining the upper limit of annual percentage rate, more thorough application of the legal obligation to examine the ability of borrowers to repay loans. Another option is to reduce the limit of 30 % of paid-up commitments in insolvency law.

In my dissertation, I investigate the relationship between household consumption expenditures and transitory income shocks. In the first two essays, I pay particular attention to household expenditures in the aftermath of natural disasters, which are becoming more frequent and costly in the U.S. since 1980. Additionally, I study specialty farm producers' risk attitudes after an income shock due to natural disasters. Although the permanent income hypothesis predicts that households smooth consumption over their lifetimes, credit-constrained households may find consumption smoothing impractical. This dissertation brings forth evidence regarding heterogeneity in the effect of income shocks on household expenditures. First, I find that floods and hurricanes affect food-at-home (FAH) spending in different ways. The average 15-day decrease in FAH spending is about $2 in the 90 days after a flood and about $7 in the 30 days after a hurricane. In other words, floods have a prolonged effect and hurricanes have an immediate effect. I find that floods and hurricanes remain a threat to the FAH expenditures of vulnerable households, for instance, low-income households and households in coastal states. Second, Indiana specialty farm households reduce their monthly expenses of food and miscellaneous categories by about $119 and $280, respectively, after an income loss of 20%-32%. I also find that Indiana specialty producers are less willing to take financial risk after an income loss experience, i.e., they have a decreasing absolute risk aversion. Finally, in the third essay, I show that Australian households exhibit loss aversion in consumption expenditures which also means that they behave asymmetrically in their consumption response to income shocks. However, it is only working-age younger households that show asymmetric consumption behavior as opposed to the symmetric behavior of retirement-age households. The main message of these various findings is clear: after an income shock, the magnitude of change in consumption expenditures and the saliency of certain expenditure categories for adjustment are context- and population-dependent. Hence, income support policies and post-disaster relief programs may benefit from a better understanding of the consumption behavior of beneficiary population, to achieve maximum impact through better targeting.

This study aimed to develop a causal chain that illustrates the path through which a variety of factors influence consumer financial vulnerability. In order to achieve the stated aim, it was necessary to firstly identify the factors that gave rise to consumers being financially vulnerable. Secondly, the nature of the causal chain between the identified factors was determined. Thirdly, the causes of consumer financial vulnerability according to key informants in the financial services industry were determined. Finally, based on the results of the first three stages, possible explanations for consumer financial vulnerability were provided. Before the construction of the causal chain could be explored, a theoretical framework regarding household financial position as well as financial attitudes and behaviours was provided. The theoretical framework was supported by a description of the linkages through which consumers function and transact in an economy by applying chain reasoning. The chain reasoning was extended by providing financial statements reflecting the results of consumers’ interactions in the macroeconomy with an extract from the national accounts of South Africa presenting the income statements, balance sheets and relevant financial ratios of consumers for the period in which the research was conducted (2008 to 2009). For this study, the explanatory sequential mixed methods design was deemed appropriate to achieve the proposed research objectives. The research process firstly consisted of a quantitative strand where the possible causes for consumer financial vulnerability were identified after which the results were validated with data obtained in the second phase by means of four focus group discussions. To determine the factors giving rise to and establish the causal chain of overall consumer financial vulnerability, regression analysis was conducted. Based on the results of the regression analysis, it became evident that the financial vulnerability chain is not a singular linear process but rather a non-linear process (with contemporaneous and singular linkages) with a variety of factors influencing financial vulnerability, but also influencing each other over time. / Management Accounting / D. Accounting Science

In the first paper, the effects of trade openness and conflict risk on income inequality are investigated. I obtain that the effect of trade openness on inequality depends on the level of conflict risk. More precisely, there exists a threshold effect: trade openness worsens income inequality in countries where the risk of internal and external conflicts is high. Moreover, I find that countries with higher risk of conflicts are more unequal, and that more ethnically diverse countries increase income inequality. Finally, I obtain that democratic regimes decrease inequality. In the second paper, we analyze the general-equilibrium consequences of property right enforcement in the natural resource sector. Assuming that exclusion requires both private and public enforcement efforts, we compare states that differ by their ability to provide protection services. This ability is referred to as state capacity. We obtain that public protection services can effectively act as either substitutes or complements to private enforcement, and this strongly depends on state capacity. Under low state capacity, an increase in state protection services leads to a drop in national income as labor is drawn away from the directly productive activities. The opposite holds for high-capacity states. As a result, public protection services have an ambiguous effect on national income even though they can unambiguously increase resource rents. In the third paper, we argue that the right to hold dual citizenship can generate important social and economic benefits beyond its political dimension. We assemble a large panel dataset on dual citizenship. We find that in developing countries, dual citizenship recognition increases remittance inflows by US$1.19 billion, GDP and household consumption, and improves child survival. In developed countries, however, dual citizenship recognition decreases remittance inflows by US$1.44 billion, but increases FDI by US$828 billion, raises household consumption, gross capital formation and trade, and provides incentives for skilled workers to move to other countries.

In the first paper, the effects of trade openness and conflict risk on income inequality are investigated. I obtain that the effect of trade openness on inequality depends on the level of conflict risk. More precisely, there exists a threshold effect: trade openness worsens income inequality in countries where the risk of internal and external conflicts is high. Moreover, I find that countries with higher risk of conflicts are more unequal, and that more ethnically diverse countries increase income inequality. Finally, I obtain that democratic regimes decrease inequality. In the second paper, we analyze the general-equilibrium consequences of property right enforcement in the natural resource sector. Assuming that exclusion requires both private and public enforcement efforts, we compare states that differ by their ability to provide protection services. This ability is referred to as state capacity. We obtain that public protection services can effectively act as either substitutes or complements to private enforcement, and this strongly depends on state capacity. Under low state capacity, an increase in state protection services leads to a drop in national income as labor is drawn away from the directly productive activities. The opposite holds for high-capacity states. As a result, public protection services have an ambiguous effect on national income even though they can unambiguously increase resource rents. In the third paper, we argue that the right to hold dual citizenship can generate important social and economic benefits beyond its political dimension. We assemble a large panel dataset on dual citizenship. We find that in developing countries, dual citizenship recognition increases remittance inflows by US$1.19 billion, GDP and household consumption, and improves child survival. In developed countries, however, dual citizenship recognition decreases remittance inflows by US$1.44 billion, but increases FDI by US$828 billion, raises household consumption, gross capital formation and trade, and provides incentives for skilled workers to move to other countries.

This study aimed to develop a causal chain that illustrates the path through which a variety of factors influence consumer financial vulnerability. In order to achieve the stated aim, it was necessary to firstly identify the factors that gave rise to consumers being financially vulnerable. Secondly, the nature of the causal chain between the identified factors was determined. Thirdly, the causes of consumer financial vulnerability according to key informants in the financial services industry were determined. Finally, based on the results of the first three stages, possible explanations for consumer financial vulnerability were provided. Before the construction of the causal chain could be explored, a theoretical framework regarding household financial position as well as financial attitudes and behaviours was provided. The theoretical framework was supported by a description of the linkages through which consumers function and transact in an economy by applying chain reasoning. The chain reasoning was extended by providing financial statements reflecting the results of consumers’ interactions in the macroeconomy with an extract from the national accounts of South Africa presenting the income statements, balance sheets and relevant financial ratios of consumers for the period in which the research was conducted (2008 to 2009). For this study, the explanatory sequential mixed methods design was deemed appropriate to achieve the proposed research objectives. The research process firstly consisted of a quantitative strand where the possible causes for consumer financial vulnerability were identified after which the results were validated with data obtained in the second phase by means of four focus group discussions. To determine the factors giving rise to and establish the causal chain of overall consumer financial vulnerability, regression analysis was conducted. Based on the results of the regression analysis, it became evident that the financial vulnerability chain is not a singular linear process but rather a non-linear process (with contemporaneous and singular linkages) with a variety of factors influencing financial vulnerability, but also influencing each other over time. / Management Accounting / D. Accounting Science

In the first paper, the effects of trade openness and conflict risk on income inequality are investigated. I obtain that the effect of trade openness on inequality depends on the level of conflict risk. More precisely, there exists a threshold effect: trade openness worsens income inequality in countries where the risk of internal and external conflicts is high. Moreover, I find that countries with higher risk of conflicts are more unequal, and that more ethnically diverse countries increase income inequality. Finally, I obtain that democratic regimes decrease inequality. In the second paper, we analyze the general-equilibrium consequences of property right enforcement in the natural resource sector. Assuming that exclusion requires both private and public enforcement efforts, we compare states that differ by their ability to provide protection services. This ability is referred to as state capacity. We obtain that public protection services can effectively act as either substitutes or complements to private enforcement, and this strongly depends on state capacity. Under low state capacity, an increase in state protection services leads to a drop in national income as labor is drawn away from the directly productive activities. The opposite holds for high-capacity states. As a result, public protection services have an ambiguous effect on national income even though they can unambiguously increase resource rents. In the third paper, we argue that the right to hold dual citizenship can generate important social and economic benefits beyond its political dimension. We assemble a large panel dataset on dual citizenship. We find that in developing countries, dual citizenship recognition increases remittance inflows by US$1.19 billion, GDP and household consumption, and improves child survival. In developed countries, however, dual citizenship recognition decreases remittance inflows by US$1.44 billion, but increases FDI by US$828 billion, raises household consumption, gross capital formation and trade, and provides incentives for skilled workers to move to other countries.

The main goal of this dissertation thesis is to quantify the environmental burden associated with household consumption in the Czech Republic. Emissions of three groups of gases were selected to express the burden on the environment, namely emissions causing climate change, acidification and the formation of photosmog. These emissions arise from the consumption of fuels in households, and they are usually referred to as direct household emissions. Or they arise in the production and distribution of goods and services, and they are usually referred to as indirect household emissions. Although indirect emissions come from combustion in energy production and other industrial processes and agricultural activities, not from households, they are a consequence of household demand for final products. Therefore, such emissions are considered to be a consequence of household consumption. The resulting emission values are given for the average household and households divided into expenditure deciles. Emissions increase with expenditure per household member in total consumption and in individual consumption groups across all deciles. In the case of climate change-related emissions, more than half come from heating (41%) and electricity (21%). For acidification, heating (31%) and food (24%) are the dominant...