This thesis analyzes the interactions between domestic credit expansion, capital inflows and current account imbalances in a framework of empirical models carried out for Brazil and Turkey. In this context, three vector autoregressive (VAR) models are specified covering the time period between January 2002 and March 2012 for Brazil and 2003 January and 2012 March for Turkey. Real effective exchange rate (REER) and relative yield spreads formed with country specific Embi + indexes are also included in the estimations of the models. The analyses of the models show that capital inflows in these countries trigger the domestic credit expansion which create an upward pressure on import demands and affect current account balances negatively. The results support the implementation of domestic credit tightening policies to reduce the current account imbalances in these countries.

Cette thèse a pour objectif d'étudier le lien entre les régimes de change, les mésalignements de change et les déséquilibres globaux. Elle est conduite dans le cadre d'un panel évolutif d'économies allant des pays en développement aux pays développés. Elle couvre trois principaux thèmes. Nous examinons d'abord les mésalignements de change dans la zone CFA et le projet d'union monétaire en Afrique de l'Ouest. Nous étudions ensuite les implications du choix par un pays d'un régime de change sur sa capacité de résilience aux déséquilibres externes. Enfin, nous analysons l'influence des mésalignements de change sur la persistance des déséquilibres globaux, ainsi que les interactions entre les déséquilibres macroéconomiques.Nous montrons que la monnaie ancre (l'euro) joue un rôle prédominant dans l'explication des mésalignements du franc CFA, toute chose égale par ailleurs, y compris les fondamentaux du franc CFA. Sur la base d'une nouvelle méthodologie basée sur la synchronisation des mésalignements que nous proposons, nous mettons en évidence qu'il existe des similarités entre les pays de l'UEMOA, le Ghana, la Gambie et la Sierra Leone dans le cadre d'une union monétaire. En revanche, les cycles ne sont pas suffisamment synchronisés entre ce bloc et le Nigeria qui reste structurellement plus proche des pays de la CEMAC.Concernant les pays d'Afrique subsaharienne, nous montrons que les régimes de change flexibles sont plus efficaces pour limiter déséquilibres externes et pour assurer la soutenabilité externe.Nous montrons que la persistance des déséquilibres de comptes courants est fortement et asymétriquement liés aux mésalignements de change dans les pays développés et que les déséquilibres macroéconomiques interagissent fortement à travers une relation causale. / This thesis aims to study the link between exchange rate regimes, exchange rate misalignments and external imbalances. Our research is conducted in the context of an evolving panel of economies ranging from developing countries to developed countries. Our investigation covers three main themes. We first we examine exchange rate misalignments in the CFA zone and the monetary union project in West Africa. We then we study the implications of the choices made by a country concerning exchange rate regimes with regard to their ability to be resilient to external imbalances in sub-Saharan African countries. Finally, we analyze the influence of exchange rate misalignments on the persistence of global imbalances, as well as the interactions between macroeconomic imbalances.We show that the anchor currency (the euro) plays a predominant role in explaining the CFA franc misalignments, all else being equal, including economics fundamentals of the CFA franc. Relying on a new methodology based on synchronization misalignments that we propose, we highlight that there are some similarities between the WAEMU countries, Ghana, Gambia and Sierra Leone. In contrast, the cycles of misalignments are not sufficiently synchronized between this block and Nigeria, which remains structurally closer to the CAEMC countries.With regard to sub-Saharan Africa, we show that the flexible exchange rate regimes are more effective in limiting external imbalances and to ensure external sustainability.We show that the persistence of current account imbalances is strongly and asymmetrically related to exchange rate misalignments in industrialized countries and that the macroeconomic imbalances strongly interact through a causal relationship.

O presente estudo trata dos processos cognitivos na construção do sistema de escrita durante a interação entre crianças em processo de alfabetização por meio do uso de aplicativos de comunicação virtual. Seu objetivo é compreender como tal interação pode favorecer o processo de construção da língua escrita. Baseada no Método Clínico, a coleta de dados foi realizada com alunos de uma turma do 2o ano do Ensino Fundamental de uma escola pública do campo, situada na região Metropolitana de Porto Alegre, durante nove sessões de uso de dois aplicativos nos tablets da escola: o Google Classroom e o Google Hangouts. Sustentada pela teoria da equilibração de Jean Piaget, parte-se de uma proposição teórica inicial pautada em uma visão de que o uso dos aplicativos potencializará os desequilíbrios cognitivos e, portanto, a construção da língua escrita em função do contexto de comunicação. Adotou- se a generalização analítica como estratégia para análise dos dados. A primeira unidade de análise apresenta um panorama com dados sobre o processo de construção da língua escrita de sete sujeitos e sobre os desequilíbrios ocorridos ao longo das sessões. Na segunda unidade, analisa-se como ocorrem os desequilíbrios durante o uso dos aplicativos e quais são as reações dos sujeitos ante as perturbações. Na última unidade, discutem-se as situações desencadeadoras e as circunstâncias para a emergência dos desequilíbrios. Ao final do cruzamento das análises, a proposição teórica é revisada, aprofundando o papel dos desequilíbrios e as condições emergentes para o processo de construção da língua escrita. Conclui-se que as situações de comunicação virtual, seja para uma audiência ou para um interlocutor, potencializam a ocorrência de desequilíbrios, favorecendo o surgimento da necessidade cognitiva e/ou afetiva de compreensão da língua escrita, embora os aplicativos em questão, por si só, não ofereçam as resistências ou os feedbacks necessários ao processo. Os resultados encontrados apontam caminhos para a construção de aplicativos voltados à alfabetização. / The present work is a study of the interaction between children in the early literacy process by using virtual communication apps. It researches the cognitive processes involved in the construction of written language that emerges from this interaction. It aims to understand how such interaction can help the development of writing. Based on the Clinical Method, the data collection was carried out with primary education students from a 2nd-year class at a rural public school in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre. In nine sessions, they used two apps in the school's tablets: Google Classroom and Google Hangouts. Supported by Jean Piaget's theory of equilibration, the study starts with an initial theoretical proposition based on a view that the use of the apps will potentialize the cognitive imbalances due to the communication context and, therefore, the construction of the written language. The study adopted the analytical generalization as the methodological framework. The first unit of analysis presents a panorama of the data regarding the process of construction of the written language of seven subjects and on the imbalances that have occurred throughout the sessions. The second unit analyzes how the imbalances occur during the use of the apps and what are the reactions of the subjects to the disturbances. The last unit discusses the triggering situations and the circumstances of the imbalances emergence. At the end of the analyses triangulation, the theoretical proposition is revised, deepening the understanding of the imbalances role and emerging conditions for the process of construction of written language. The study concludes that situations of virtual communication, whether to an audience or to an interlocutor, create a fertile context for the occurrence of imbalances, favoring the emergence of the cognitive and/or affective necessity to understand how to write. Although, the studied apps, per se, do not create the resistances or feedbacks necessary to the process. The results point towards new paths for the development of literacy apps.

The paper investigates net lending and net borrowing flows of the institutional sectors in Europe since the introduction of the Euro in 1999. Applying a simple statistical apparatus, this paper is novel in describing the sectoral behavior leading up to and during the crisis. We find that (1) many countries of the Northern group were characterized by low public deficits or even budget surpluses, current account surpluses and a private sector in a net lending position. In countries of the Southern periphery, in the Anglo-Saxon countries as well as in many Eastern European Economies private sector net borrowing coincided with a budget deficit and substantial current account deficits. (2) With the onset of the crisis private net lending soared in all countries while all governments incurred deficits, consistent with the notion of a balance sheet recession. (3) Private net lending is pro-cyclical, reinforcing the economic downturn, while public net lending is countercyclical in all countries. (4) Household net lending tends to lead the business cycle, while corporate net lending tends to lag it especially in the Northern group. (5) Prominent concepts asserting causal relationships in sectoral net lending, such as Ricardian equivalence and the twin deficit hypothesis are not supported by the data. (authors' abstract) / Series: Ecological Economic Papers

O presente estudo trata dos processos cognitivos na construção do sistema de escrita durante a interação entre crianças em processo de alfabetização por meio do uso de aplicativos de comunicação virtual. Seu objetivo é compreender como tal interação pode favorecer o processo de construção da língua escrita. Baseada no Método Clínico, a coleta de dados foi realizada com alunos de uma turma do 2o ano do Ensino Fundamental de uma escola pública do campo, situada na região Metropolitana de Porto Alegre, durante nove sessões de uso de dois aplicativos nos tablets da escola: o Google Classroom e o Google Hangouts. Sustentada pela teoria da equilibração de Jean Piaget, parte-se de uma proposição teórica inicial pautada em uma visão de que o uso dos aplicativos potencializará os desequilíbrios cognitivos e, portanto, a construção da língua escrita em função do contexto de comunicação. Adotou- se a generalização analítica como estratégia para análise dos dados. A primeira unidade de análise apresenta um panorama com dados sobre o processo de construção da língua escrita de sete sujeitos e sobre os desequilíbrios ocorridos ao longo das sessões. Na segunda unidade, analisa-se como ocorrem os desequilíbrios durante o uso dos aplicativos e quais são as reações dos sujeitos ante as perturbações. Na última unidade, discutem-se as situações desencadeadoras e as circunstâncias para a emergência dos desequilíbrios. Ao final do cruzamento das análises, a proposição teórica é revisada, aprofundando o papel dos desequilíbrios e as condições emergentes para o processo de construção da língua escrita. Conclui-se que as situações de comunicação virtual, seja para uma audiência ou para um interlocutor, potencializam a ocorrência de desequilíbrios, favorecendo o surgimento da necessidade cognitiva e/ou afetiva de compreensão da língua escrita, embora os aplicativos em questão, por si só, não ofereçam as resistências ou os feedbacks necessários ao processo. Os resultados encontrados apontam caminhos para a construção de aplicativos voltados à alfabetização. / The present work is a study of the interaction between children in the early literacy process by using virtual communication apps. It researches the cognitive processes involved in the construction of written language that emerges from this interaction. It aims to understand how such interaction can help the development of writing. Based on the Clinical Method, the data collection was carried out with primary education students from a 2nd-year class at a rural public school in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre. In nine sessions, they used two apps in the school's tablets: Google Classroom and Google Hangouts. Supported by Jean Piaget's theory of equilibration, the study starts with an initial theoretical proposition based on a view that the use of the apps will potentialize the cognitive imbalances due to the communication context and, therefore, the construction of the written language. The study adopted the analytical generalization as the methodological framework. The first unit of analysis presents a panorama of the data regarding the process of construction of the written language of seven subjects and on the imbalances that have occurred throughout the sessions. The second unit analyzes how the imbalances occur during the use of the apps and what are the reactions of the subjects to the disturbances. The last unit discusses the triggering situations and the circumstances of the imbalances emergence. At the end of the analyses triangulation, the theoretical proposition is revised, deepening the understanding of the imbalances role and emerging conditions for the process of construction of written language. The study concludes that situations of virtual communication, whether to an audience or to an interlocutor, create a fertile context for the occurrence of imbalances, favoring the emergence of the cognitive and/or affective necessity to understand how to write. Although, the studied apps, per se, do not create the resistances or feedbacks necessary to the process. The results point towards new paths for the development of literacy apps.

Differences in financial systems are often named as a prime candidate for the current state of global imbalances. This paper focuses on cross-country heterogeneity in access to international financial markets that derives from the presence of capital controls and argues that the process of capital liberalization over the past decades can explain a substantial fraction of US net external liabilities. We present a simple two-country model with an internationally traded bond, in which capital controls are reflected in the presence of borrowing and lending constraints on that bond. In a US versus the rest of the world (RoW) scenario, we perform experiments that are largely consistent with countrie' liberalization experiences. A reduction in the RoW's controls on capital outflows and/or a tightening in the RoW's borrowing constraint enables the US economy to better insure against consumption risk relative to the rest of the world, and therefore decreases its motives for precautionary asset holdings relative to the rest of the world. As a result of these asymmetric shifts in countries' barriers to capital mobility, the US runs a long run external deficit.

The thesis deals with a role of foreign exchange reserves in developing countries. Main attention is devoted to the trends in development in foreign exchange reserves in recent years. The individual questions are analyzed in the context of accumulation of foreign exchange reserves. There are described connections between exchange reserves and individual periods of economic emergence in the developing countries. The thesis presents the meaning of exchange reserves in different types of foreign exchange regimes. There is described influence of exchange reserves on implementation of monetary policy. Foreign exchange reserves are divided in dependence on their origin. There is defined the relationship between accumulation of exchange reserves and net international investment position. The thesis deals with the role of foreign exchange reserves in global imbalances too. In the empirical part there are analyzed some questions described in theoretical part, using the cases of the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary.

Previous research conducted on the US markets has found that retailers' trading imbalances can contribute to excess return opportunities, especially on Small Cap stocks. Therefore, we argue that this can be seen as an anomaly. However, anomalies that are found historically may not tell the whole truth. This is because these anomalies have been established on respective studies' specific markets and time periods. Researchers that have investigated the issue argue that it is essential to further challenge anomalies by replicating them in other settings to see if the evidence still holds. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine if the retailers' trading imbalance anomaly can be replicated on Swedish Small Cap listed firms. We have examined this by using cross-sectional regressions in the spirit of Fama and MacBeth. This thesis concludes that the retailers’ trading imbalances cannot be replicated when applied to the chosen setting. We argue that the reasons for this are that retailers’ trading imbalances are not persistent, are not compensated when providing liquidity into the markets, and that it does not contain useful information about future stock returns. In addition, we also argue that inherent differences in the US markets compared to the Swedish Small Cap listed firms are affecting our possibility to successfully replicate the anomaly.

This thesis analyses determinants for structural reforms in the euro area. First, it is theoretically scrutinized how the common monetary policy of the European Central Bank causes a reform bias between small and large countries. Second, it is examined how private market adjustment, structural reforms and their interaction affect the intra-euro area current account balances of euro area countries. Third, it is analysed how an asymmetric foreign asset and liability distribution across the euro area affects single countries need for structural reforms of labour markets. Fourth, the impact of fiscal stabilization policy on structural reform activity will be examined.

Title: Influence of physiotherapist intervention on shoulder muscular imbalance and movement stereotype in users of mechanical wheelchair. Objectives: The aim of the work is to find out to what extent a twelve-week strength training under the professional guidance of a physiotherapist can affect the users of mechanical wheelchairs (paraplegics) and their functional muscle tension in the shoulder area. Methods: This pilot multiple qualitative research took place from January to July 2021. Three paraplegics aged 39 to 46 participated voluntarily in the research. A kinesiological analysis was performed on each proband with an examination of the movement stereotype while riding a mechanical wheelchair. A diagnostic method with a tensiomyograph was performed for individual muscles of the shoulder girdle. Kinesological analysis and muscle measurements were performed before and after the intervention, which took place three times a week. Due to the unfavorable epidemic situation, it was carried out in the form of video transmission at home. The comparative method was used in the comparison section before and after the end of the physiotherapist's intervention during the training cycle of each proband. The obtained results were processed by the TMG 100 software, which meets the requirements for data...