Objectives: The main objectives of the study include, to identify whether there is any direct impact of labor, capital/investment, technological advancement and institutional quality on economic growth; understanding the marginal effect of capital and technological advancement for different levels of institutional quality; determining how these relationships vary on the group of countries based on their income groups – poorer to richer. Method: Panel data for the period 2006–2020 and 40 countries was considered for the analysis. In order to examine the relationships for all the countries, fixed effect OLS was applied. In addition, to identify the nature of the relationships for the countries based on their income group, quantile fixed effect regression was conducted. To control the time effect, the variable, year, was considered as dummy variable. Findings: The study finds that the rate participation of the labor force negatively impacts economic growth whereas institutional quality, capital formation, and advancement of technology positively impact economic growth. The study also finds that the relationship between economic growth and labor, capital, R&D and institutional quality vary across the income group of countries. In case of the 10th quantile, that is the lowest income group countries, none of the independent variables have been found to be impacting the dependent variable, economic growth. This statement has been found true for the two subsequent upper groups of countries – that is for 25th and 50th quantile – as well. However, in the case of 75th and 90th quantile, institutional quality has been found to impact economic growth positively.The positive impact, however, has been found decreasing with increasing of income group of countries. On the other hand, the findings of the study implies that the impact of capital on economic growth will likely to be significant with gradual improvement in the quality of institutions and it has been the case for all the income group countries. In addition, the study finds, the impact of advancement of technology on economic growth gradually decrease with the improvement of institutional quality. Other than this lowest income group of countries, for all other income group countries, the impact of technological advancement tends to have a positive impact with the gradual improvement of the quality of institutions of an economy.

Diss. (sammanfattning), Stockholm : Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, 2006. / Härtill 5 appendix.

Researchers tend to disagree on the direction of the relation among R&D and economic growth, suggesting that if economic performance determines R&D investments countries might overinvest in their R&D expenditure. The purpose of this thesis is therefore to shed new light to this question by first establishing a relation among the variables and thereafter investigate the Granger causality between them. This paper is based on a panel study consisting of 60 countries, with various levels of income during the period 1996-2015. Using a fixed effects model, we can establish a positive relation between growth in R&D expenditure and GDP growth and using Granger causality tests and the Toda-Yamamoto augmented Granger causality tests, we can conclude that the growth of R&D expenditure determines economic performance in the short-run for countries in all income levels, however no conclusions can be made regarding the direction of Granger causality in the long-run. Hence, our results show that R&D investments stimulate economic growth and should, to some extent, be favoured by policy regardless of a nation's level of development.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:53:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:09:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:53:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:09:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Devido à intensificação das alterações climáticas por causas antrópicas, ao reconhecimento da importância ambiental das Matas Ciliares e sua intensa degradação, este trabalho apresenta uma análise das possibilidades de obtenção de crédito de carbono para comunidade de baixa renda, como parte de um incentivo para a restauração destas áreas. Dois caminhos são demonstrados: i) via projetos de Mecanismo de Desenvolvimento Limpo (MDL), no âmbito do Protocolo de Quioto, que geram créditos chamados Reduções Certificadas de Emissões, e ii) via projetos do esquema voluntário, que geram Reduções de Emissões Voluntárias. Ambos encontram dificuldades na elaboração e implantação destes projetos, como por exemplo, a elegibilidade de uma área a ser restaurada, estudo de linha de base, monitoramento, riscos de não-permanência do carbono estocado, estrutura técnico-operacional, custos operacionais e transacionais, mercado regulado em consolidação, garantia do recebimento dos créditos. Apesar disto, este segundo mercado apresenta maior flexibilidade e aceitação dos projetos florestais. Os benefícios sócio-ambientais destes projetos são significativos e a valoração de seus serviços ambientais pode reverter-se em incentivos financeiros para a comunidade de baixa renda, desde que adequadamente remunerado. O crédito de carbono pode auxiliar na implantação destes projetos, contribuindo com a restauração local destas áreas e com o seqüestro de carbono da atmosfera, sendo esta uma questão global. / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

The purpose of this study is to investigate if growth in ICT investments affects output growth differently across four income groups. Our panel data analysis is based on a sample of 101 countries in the period 1995-2015, where we conduct an augmented Cobb-Douglas production function with GDP growth as dependent variable. We divide the regression sample into high-, upper middle-, lower middle- and low-income countries to account for income disparities across countries. The outcomes are measured by estimating both ordinary least square and a fixed effects model. The impact of capital investments is measured by using two variables; growth of ICT capital services and non-ICT capital services. In addition, we control for exports and the growth in labor quality. Our major findings show that there are only significant contributions to growth in the top-three richest countries, with exception for the middle-income countries when controlling for fixed effects.

Obesity, being one of the most crucial health problems, affects an increasing part of the world population as it has severe health, social, psychological and economic consequences. Its main cause lies in today's obesogenic environment characterised by a passive lifestyle, easy access to energy- dense foods and their aggressive marketing strategies. Because of significant changes in both production and consumption, it is not possible to blame obesity merely on individual lifestyle choices. An important feature of today's obesity epidemic is its uneven distribution. Obesity prevalence is besides other things determined by education, income, gender, family status and age. Analysis of available data showed that also in the Czech Republic the occurrence of obesity has been increasing and the number of overweight and obese people is higher than the number of people with normal weight. The assumption that there be higher prevalence of excess weight among men was confirmed, however, the expected higher prevalence of obesity among women was disproved; both genders suffer from obesity equally, yet the tendency towards obesity increases more significantly among men. The hypothesis about negative dependence of education, income and BMI was confirmed only partially in the Czech Republic: contrary to expectations, groups...

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This dissertation is an ethnographic study about smartphones consumption by low-income women from different age groups in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul. Based on the ethnography, which I choose to use as a theoretical-methodological approach because of its qualitative and empirical character, with participant observation, interviews and duration of twelve months, I try to understand in this work which are and how the practices of smartphone consumption occur among women from the low-income groups from different districts of the city. I also try to investigate the social and cultural practices that are found in the relation between women and their smartphones, as well as verify if the cell phone brings possibilities of female empowerment. Understanding what women intend to communicate through the use of smartphones, which strategies they use, and to identify the relevance of mobile devices on a day-by-day basis and in the women surveyed lives are also part of the specific objectives of the work. Theoretically, this dissertation mainly addresses anthropological researches on cell phones and social media, studies on consumption and material culture and work on gender and technology. As research considerations it is possible to state that: smartphones have become everyday; there is a gender consumption of the devices, related to what is to be a woman, to motherhood, to sexuality, to love and to family relations; currently the smartphones move the jobs of the working women, mainly the autonomous ones; and these artifacts, through their various functionalities, enable low-income women to feel included in the digital world and to know new ways of sociability, communication and how to be a woman. Women are in a relationship with their cell phones. / Esta dissertação é um estudo etnográfico sobre o consumo de smartphones por mulheres de camadas populares de diferentes faixas etárias da cidade de Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul. A partir da etnografia, que escolho usar como abordagem teórico-metodológica por seu caráter qualitativo e empírico, com observação participante, entrevistas em profundidade e duração de doze meses, busco compreender neste trabalho quais são e como ocorrem as práticas de consumo de smartphones entre mulheres de camadas populares pertencentes a diferentes bairros da cidade. Procuro ainda investigar as práticas sociais e culturais que se encontram na relação entre mulheres e os seus smartphones, bem como verificar se o telefone celular traz possibilidades de empoderamento feminino. Entender o que as mulheres pretendem comunicar através do uso do smartphone, que estratégias elas utilizam para isso e identificar a relevância dos dispositivos móveis no dia a dia e na vida das mulheres pesquisadas também fazem parte dos objetivos específicos do trabalho. Teoricamente esta dissertação aborda principalmente pesquisas antropológicas sobre telefones celulares e mídias sociais, estudos sobre consumo e cultura material e trabalhos sobre gênero e tecnologia. Como considerações da pesquisa é possível afirmar que: os smartphones se tornaram cotidianos; existe um consumo de gênero dos aparelhos, relacionado ao que é ser mulher, a maternidade, a sexualidade, a relações amorosas e familiares; os smartphones, atualmente, movem os trabalhos das mulheres trabalhadoras, principalmente as autônomas; e esses artefatos, através de suas diversas funcionalidades, possibilitam que mulheres de baixa renda se sintam incluídas no mundo digital e conheçam novas formas de sociabilidade, de comunicação e de ser mulher. As mulheres estão em um relacionamento sério com seus celulares.