Yes / The current study contributes to the literature in efficiency analysis in two ways: 1) we build on the existing studies in Dynamic Network Data Envelopment Analysis (DNDEA) by proposing a sequential structure incorporating dual-role characteristics of the production factors; 2) we initiate the efforts to complement the proposal of our innovative sequential DNDEA through a behavioural-causal analysis. The proposal of this statistical analysis is very important considering it does not only validate the proposal of the efficiency analysis but also our practice can be generalized to the future studies dealing with designing innovative production process. Finally, we apply these two different analyses to the banking industry. Using a sample of 43 Chinese commercial banks including five different ownership types (state-owned, joint-stock, city, rural, and foreign banks) between 2010 and 2018, we find that the inefficiency level is around 0.14, although slight volatility has been observed. We find that the highest efficiency is dominated by state-owned banks, and although foreign banks are less efficient than joint-stock banks, they are more efficient than city banks. Finally, we find that rural banks have the highest inefficiency.

Thesis advisor: Andrew Jorgenson / Global climate change is among the greatest crises facing humanity in the 21st century. Mitigating the impacts of climate change requires a substantial reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Despite the urgency, climate actions are lacking in many nations. A rich body of cross-national research on human drivers of emissions is devoted to identifying effective leverage points for emission abatement, which primarily focuses on aggregate emission measures such as production-based accounts and consumption-based accounts. However, a nation’s carbon-emitting activities are not monolithic, but can instead be classified into distinct components based on important characteristics such as the supply chain stage to which they belong. These emission components likely have heterogeneous relationships with certain anthropogenic drivers or mitigation measures. Yet, analyses using aggregate emission measures are unable to detect such heterogeneity or inform the unique strategy that might be required to effectively mitigate each emission component. I address this gap using the three empirical chapters of this dissertation. In the first empirical chapter, I propose an analytical framework of Multidimensional Emissions Profile (MEP), which situates nations’ contributions to global greenhouse gas emissions into four distinct components: (1) emissions generated by domestic-oriented supply chain activities; (2) emissions embodied in imports; (3) emissions embodied in exports; and (4) direct emissions of end user activities. I then apply the MEP framework to analyze the relationships between national affluence and the four emission components for 34 high-income nations. I find that as these nations grow wealthier, affluence is increasingly decoupled from direct emissions of end user activities but remains positively associated with the other three emission components in various ways. The findings suggest that emission-suppressing mechanisms associated with growing affluence are effective in mitigating direct end user emissions—typically the smallest component—but not the other three emission components. Therefore, high-income nations should prioritize mitigating emissions generated by supply chain activities outside the end use stage. The second empirical chapter is an examination of how renewable energy deployment is related to these emission components in high-income nations. I find that renewable energy deployment mitigates emissions by domestic-oriented supply chain activities, and with increasing effectiveness over time; yet it remains ineffective in curbing the other three emission components, indicating the existence of structural barriers that prevent the decarbonization effect of renewables from spilling over to these three emission components. These barriers must be overcome in order to achieve the full decarbonization potential of renewable energy deployment. In the third empirical chapter, I investigate the time-varying relationships between domestic income inequality and the four emission components, in order to unpack the multiple pathways linking income inequality to emissions. The results suggest that the relationships change over time, vary across emission components, and differ between measures of income inequality, which indicate variations in the causal pathways, both over time and across emission components. The findings from all three empirical chapters support the validity of the MEP framework. The relationships between greenhouse gas emissions and national affluence, renewable energy deployment, and domestic income inequality are multidimensional: these anthropogenic forces curb some emission components but spur others. Climate policies targeting these anthropogenic forces should optimize their decarbonization benefits while neutralizing the mechanisms through which they drive growth in emissions. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

The importance of public education in rural development has received increasing attention by local and state policy makers as competition for new industry has intensified throughout rural America. Uncertainty about the relationships of public and private inputs to education output, however, presents problems to state and local officials and parents interested in improving the quality and quantity of the public education system. This research examines the education process in a production function framework to identify the relationships of education inputs to education output. A theoretical model that combines public l and household decision making into an education production process is used as the basis for the empirical model that is developed. The estimated model includes input measures for school, family, volunteer and student inputs to education production and is estimated with cross·sectional data for Virginia counties. The expenditure measure used in the model is specified as a polynomial lag. The model also is specified as a joint-product production process. The results of the analysis provide evidence of the importance of expenditures in education production and indicate that the impact of changes in expenditures occurs over time. The number of and educational levels of teachers also is associated with education output. Household and student inputs also are associated with education output. Volunteer input measures are not statistically significant in the estimated equations, a reflection of the difficulty of specifying and measuring specific volunteer inputs into the education production process. The empirical results do not support a joint production hypothesis between outputs as measured by achievement test scores and the school continuation rate. / Ph. D.

This study has objectives that address current concerns about the possibility of a sudden, negative, shock in domestic consumption of tobacco products. A mostly rural, six-county region of south-central Virginia is the area selected for a focus on these concerns. The study conducts a regional descriptive analysis to introduce the study area and its economic base, and this includes a focus on the regional tobacco trade. Estimates of the economic contribution of tobacco to the study area are generated using input-output analysis and the IMPLAN model. Survey data, interviews and other published sources are employed to verify and change portions of the IMPLAN base model data and to supplement the results. Tobacco’s contribution to the regional economy is estimated for the tobacco production and tobacco stemming and redrying industries, and for other industries and groups. In total, tobacco contributes $756 million in total industry output, nearly $251 million to the value added portion of output and over 6800 jobs. This represents approximately 10.9 percent, 7.5 percent and 6.7 percent of the regional base economy, respectively. Some policy perspectives relating to tobacco production are also analyzed. Economic losses for this study area due to absentee tobacco quota ownership are found to be relatively insignificant when compared to the total regional contribution of tobacco. The regional economic impact of a ten percent decrease in tobacco marketing quota, a ten percent decrease in margin earned by tobacco producers, and two other policy considerations is also estimated. / Master of Science

With the growth of international trade many researchers are questioning the effects on the environment by emissions embodied in international trade flows. The embodied emissions in the import (EEI) and export of Sweden are relatively unexplored despite being a trade-dependent country. However, a few earlier studies indicate that the largest share of embodied CO2 in the international trade of Sweden is in the import from China. This thesis evaluates Sweden’s EEI from China during the years 1995-2009 by using an input-output analysis with the emissions in bilateral trade approach. Different from existing studies, the sector distributions of the EEI are outlined with high transparency and the driving factors for the change in EEI are identified by using a structural decomposition analysis (SDA). Results shows that the EEI increased significantly from 1995-2009 and that the main increase occurred during 2002-2007. The import of electrical and optical equipment, textile products and renting of machinery and equipment contributed to the largest share of the EEI. The EEI induced from the total import were mainly generated from electricity, gas and water supply and other heavy industries. Results from the SDA showed that the scale effect from increased imports from especially heavy industries had a large influence on the growth in embodied CO2 emissions. The service sectors contributed to the second largest share of the increase in the EEI due to scale and structural effects. The technical effect, on the contrary, was markedly offsetting the increase of embodied CO2 emissions both for heavy and light industries.

Recent empirical assessments revealed that footprint indicators calculated with various multi-regional input-output (MRIO) databases deliver deviating results. In this paper, we propose a new method, called structural production layer decomposition (SPLD), which complements existing structural decomposition approaches. SPLD enables differentiating between effects stemming from specific parts in the technology matrix, e.g. trade blocks vs. domestic blocks, while still allowing to link the various effects to the total region footprint. Using the carbon footprint of the EU-28 in 2011 as an example, we analyse the differences between EXIOBASE, Eora, GTAP and WIOD. Identical environmental data are used across all MRIO databases. In all model comparisons, variations in domestic blocks have a more significant impact on the carbon footprint than variations in trade blocks. The results provide a wealth of information for MRIO developers and are relevant for policy makers designing climate policy measures targeted to specific stages along product supply chain.

Embora o Brasil tenha uma das maiores reservas de minério de ferro do mundo, estimada em 170 bilhões de toneladas, e também possua siderúrgicas próximas às minas de ferro, como a Usiminas, por exemplo, o Brasil exporta minério de ferro e importa produtos semi-acabados de aço de outros países, como o Japão e a China. O objetivo desta pesquisa é modelar a cadeia de valor global de ferro e aço e analisar sua dinâmica estrutural para verificar se esse modelo é capaz de determinar os fatores que impulsionam a geração de valor e que levaram alguns países a ter maior impacto sobre seu desenvolvimento econômico do que outros. A modelagem da cadeia de valor usa a técnica padrão de análise de entrada-saída de balanço de massa (método de modelagem estrutural ampliado de Leontief), detalhado na revisão da literatura. Para obter esses resultados, foi necessário coletar e consolidar diferentes bancos de dados utilizando ferramentas capazes de conciliar, tratar e analisar o grande volume de dados presentes nesses diferentes bancos de dados, em diferentes unidades e níveis de agregação. A análise da dinâmica estrutural revelou uma série de aspectos fundamentais para entender a guerra comercial entre os EUA e a China. A China passou de 10% da produção mundial de aço bruto para 50% em 20 anos, reduzindo a relevância de outros países no contexto da cadeia de ferro e aço. Além disso, a análise revelou que o Brasil exporta quase exclusivamente minério de ferro bruto. A Austrália, por exemplo, conseguiu agregar mais valor do que o Brasil. Isso revela, portanto, que a análise da dinâmica estrutural modelada por hipergrafos pode gerar informações semânticas relevantes sobre o contexto, atores e interesses envolvidos e pode servir como um mapa para orientar decisões e políticas voltadas para uma melhor inserção e atuação de um país em uma cadeia global de produção / Although Brazil has one of the largest reserves of iron ore in the world, estimated at 170 billion tons, and also steel mills near the iron mines, such as Usiminas, e.g., Brazil exports iron ore and imports (semi-)finished steel products from other countries, such as Japan and China. The objective of this research is to model the global value chain of iron and steel and to analyse its structural dynamics to verify if this model is able to determine the factors that drive the generation of value and that have led some countries to have greater impact on their economic development than others. Value chain modelling uses the standard mass balance input-output analysis technique (Leontief\'s extended structural modelling method), detailed in the literature review. To obtain these results, it was necessary to collect and consolidate different databases using tools able to reconcile, treat and analyse the large volume of data present in these different databases, in different units and levels of aggregation. The analysis of the structural dynamics revealed a series of fundamental aspects to understand the commercial war between the USA and China. China has shifted from 10% of the world\'s crude steel production to 50% in 20 years, reducing the relevance of other countries in the context of the iron and steel chain. In addition, the analysis revealed that Brazil exports almost exclusively crude iron ore. Australia, for example, was able to add more value than Brazil. This reveals, therefore, that the analysis of the structural dynamics modelled by hyper-graphs can generate relevant semantic information about the context, actors and interests involved and can serve as a map to guide decisions and policies aimed at a better insertion and performance of a country in a global value chain

This article develops a novel methodological framework to investigate the exposure of eco- nomic systems to the risk of physical capital stranding. Combining Input-Output (IO) and network theory, we define measures to identify both the sectors likely to trigger relevant capital stranding cascades and those most exposed to capital stranding risk. We show how, in a sample of ten European countries, mining is among the sectors with the highest external asset strand- ing multipliers. The sectors most affected by capital stranding triggered by decarbonisation include electricity and gas; coke and refined petroleum products; basic metals; and transporta- tion. From these sectors, stranding would frequently cascade down to chemicals; metal products; motor vehicles water and waste services; wholesale and retail trade; and public administration. Finally, we provide an estimate for the lower-bound amount of assets at risk of transition-related stranding, which is in the range of 0.6-8.2% of the overall productive capital stock for our sample of countries, mainly concentrated in the electricity and gas sector, manufacturing, and mining. These results confirm the systemic relevance of transition-related risks on European societies. / Series: Ecological Economic Papers

Most countries show a relative decoupling of economic growth from domestic resource use, implying increased resource efficiency. However, international trade facilitates the exchange of products between regions with disparate resource productivity. Hence, for an understanding of resource efficiency from a consumption perspective that takes into account the impacts in the upstream supply chains, there is a need to assess the environmental pressures embodied in trade. We use EXIOBASE3, a new multiregional input-output database, to examine the rate of increase in resource efficiency, and investigate the ways in which international trade contributes to the displacement of pressures on the environment from the consumption of a population. We look at the environmental pressures of energy use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, material use, water use, and land use. Material use stands out as the only indicator growing in both absolute and relative terms to population and gross domestic product (GDP), while land use is the only indicator showing absolute decoupling from both references. Energy, GHG, and water use show relative decoupling. As a percentage of total global environmental pressure, we calculate the net impact displaced through trade rising from 23% to 32% for material use (1995¿2011), 23% to 26% for water use, 20% to 29% for energy use, 20% to 26% for land use, and 19% to 24% for GHG emissions. The results show a substantial disparity between trade-related impacts for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and non-OECD countries. At the product group level, we observe the most rapid growth in environmental footprints in clothing and footwear. The analysis points to implications for future policies aiming to achieve environmental targets, while fully considering potential displacement effects through international trade.

This dissertation follows the increasing extent of the European Union's intervention into rural areas. The main objective of the dissertation is to analyse and evaluate the impacts of measures supporting job creation, within the Rural Development Programme of the Czech Republic for 2007--2013, on regional production, income and employment in the Vysočina region. Specifically, it concerns the measures under Axis 3 Pillar 2 of the EU Common Agricultural Policy supporting diversification into non-agricultural activities, micro-businesses and tourism development. The sub-objective is to analyse the coefficients and multipliers, which would identify the sectors with the greatest potential for further development in terms of production, income and employment in the Vysočina region. Within the main objective three alternatives impacts that arise when there is a change of the final demand for production of a given industry are analysed and these can be measured by changes in production, income or employment. Two formulated hypotheses are analysed in detail In the individual chapters the dissertation is focused on the theoretical aspects of rural development dealing with the aspects of rural development policy implementation, describing the models and empirical analysis of the impact of measures supporting rural economic development. It also describes the characteristics of the Vysočina region, offering a methodology and construction of a regional input-output table and the input-output model for the Vysočina region, and finally, it includes a methodology and application of the impact analysis for the region. In order to achieve the main objective Leontief's structural input-output analysis is used (Leontief, 1966). The regional short-term macroeconomic input-output model built on the example of the Vysočina region serves as a tool for the analysis. A part of the analysis is the identification of factors that influence the size of the impact found. To perform the impact analysis the author constructed a regional input-output table for the Vysočina region. The regionalization of the national commodity symmetric input-output table (CZSO, 2010f) is performed using the GRIT method (Jensen et al., 1979). The selected method is suitable for assessing the short-term impact of political measures, where the found effects can be attributed exclusively to the political measures observed. All the restrictions typical of input-output analysis have been taken into account. The scientific contribution of the dissertation is the creation of a regional macroeconomic input-output model for the Vysočina region based on Leontief's input - output analysis, and its use to determine the impact of the realised funds on the monitored measures of production, income and employment in the Vysočina region. The other scientific contribution is the construction of a regional input-output table for the Vysočina region. This serves as a data source for the input-output analysis since regional input-output tables are not available in the Czech Republic.