The main objective of this thesis is to point out to situation of Public finance in Czech Republic and analyse it from perspective of institutional framework of budgeting system to find weak its weak points. Simultaneously the similar analysis is compiled for institutional framework and budgeting procedures of EU budget in an effort to find such components, which would be usefull for solving recognized problems in Czech parallel. Theoretical background is provided throught description of particular budgeting systems based on so called Interinstitutional Treatment in case of EU Budget and by Budgeting rule law in case of Czech institutional framework. For better comprehension of Bugeting system in Czech Republic there is incorporated part dealing its evolution since 1918 with accent to recent decades, when the distinctive changes in budgeting rule law were ammended.

The master's thesis discusses an alternative concept of development aid in the form of charter cities created by Paul Romer, American economist. It describes this mechanism, institutional framework and analyzes its potential to work in practice. Besides the first attempts to put model cities into practice, the thesis also points to a number of myths that have appeared around the project and which are the subject of study. Due to absence of direct charter cities the concept is compared (based on ex-post analysis) with cities and economic zones that were established with goal to achieve economic growth. Similar procedure is applied even in testing of basic assumptions of this model to find out whether this is a viable project.

International trade has been a staple of the world economy for centuries. In today‟s world, as the pressure of globalization takes hold, and as the role of the state recedes while the role of regions increase, the need to maximize the benefits of international trade and investment inflows becomes even more accentuated. Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in particular, has perennially been on the periphery of global trade and investments, contributing no more than 3-4%, notwithstanding SSA having proportionately much higher population and natural resource base. To improve SSA ability to be competitive in international trade as well as to multiply intra-african trade, the continent‟s leaders have long resorted to forming regional economic communities (RECs). But more than five decades of regional economic integration in SSA has produced mostly failed RECs. Yet regional integration is being touted as SSA surest bet for relevance in the global economy. Therein lies the paradox! How can an undertaking that have produced mostly failures be the self-same route out of global economic irrelevance? In this study, it is shown that the model for regional integration adopted by many SSA RECs, the linear model, also considered the Eurocentric model of regional integration, buttressed by an intergovernmental legal framework, does not suit the peculiar circumstances of the region and is the cause for the near total failure of regional integration on the continent. This research, using the ECOWAS specialized institutions as case studies – the West African Power Pool (WAPP) and the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) – argues for a paradigm shift in the conceptualisation of regionalism on the continent. It argues for a shift to developmental regionalism, buttressed by strong supranational legal framework. The study shows that the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, now recognises the nexus between the development of trade-related infrastructure and intra-african trade on the one hand, as well as the nexus between the development regionalism and the expansion of SSA trade with the rest of the world, on the other hand. Accordingly, the study concludes that ECOWAS institutionalization of a regional electricity market via the establishment of regional institutions of WAPP and ERERA is the new model for regional integration in SSA. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2015 / Centre for Human Rights / LLM / Unrestricted

Les Systèmes de Santé, comme institution essentielle de l’état social, contribuent à la garantie et à l’amélioration du niveau du bien être et de la qualité de vie de la population. Le récepteur de ces politiques est l’ensemble social ou une partie de l’ensemble social. Il est clair, donc, qu’il est aussi important d’étudier les politiques de santé nationales que l’administration publique, puisque celle-ci joue un rôle dominant. Le contenu du Système de Santé, les modèles administratifs et les ressources disponibles caractérisent les politiques des états et se différencient des autres. La combinaison de la politique sociale avec le Système de Santé s’influence par les conditions économiques et sociales de chaque pays. L’évolution diachronique du Système de Santé depuis 1974 jusqu'à aujourd’hui, constitue le pylône principal de notre devoir. L’approche se fera à travers tous les rapports introductifs des lois de l’état grec. Nous allons analyser les sources primaires et utiliser tous les éléments qui ont un rapport avec le contenu du devoir. Les remarques seront illustrées dans les chapitres relatifs durant la progression du devoir. [...] / Health System as a fundamental institution of the welfare state aids in securing and improving the level of welfare and quality of life of the population. The addressees are the members of or the whole community. Therefore, it is made clear that it is important to study the health policies and public administration, whose role is dominant. The content of the Health System, the administration models and the resources available define the policies of the states and are differentiated as opposed to the rest. The combination of welfare policies and the Health System is affected by the economical and social condition of each country. The longitudinal evolution of the Health System from 1974 to 2008 is the main pillar of our study. The subject will be approached through all the explanatory reports of the laws of the Greek republic. The primary sources will be processed and information related to the content of the study will be drawn. [...]

The work is divided into 2 parts. First part deals with general level of consumer protection. It specifies consumers discretions and duties, analyses concrete laws that govern consumer protection and institutional reinsurance of consumer protecion in the Czech Republic. The second part analyses situation in foodstuff area, it warns against traps of the market and underline quality brands, which can make consumer's choice easier.

La présente thèse analyse la relation entre le régime politique et le système financier. Plus précisément, les investigations empiriques menées dans le cadre de cette thèse visent à étudier le rôle de la démocratie dans le développement et la structure des systèmes financiers. Pour cela, nous procédons en trois étapes. Dans un premier temps, nous examinons l’impact de l’événement de la transition démocratique sur le développement du secteur financier des pays qui sont passés vers un régime démocratique. Ainsi, après avoir défini ce qu’on entend par un système financier développé et mis en évidence les facteurs qui déterminent son évolution, nous montrons que la transition vers un régime démocratique accroît la taille du système financier à moyen et long terme. En revanche, cette dernière n’aura pas d’effet à court terme (chapitre 1). Puis, dans un second temps, nous nous intéressons aux facteurs qui conditionnent l’efficacité de ce régime politique. En effet, étant donné que les échanges d’arguments théoriques témoignent d’un manque de consensus autour de la relation entre la démocratie et le développement, il nous semble que cette question peut s’appréhender autrement à travers la prise en compte du rôle du cadre institutionnel dans l’analyse de cette relation (chapitre 2). Ainsi, nous montrons que la démocratie contribuerait au développement du secteur financier en présence de bonnes institutions, tandis qu’elle briderait son évolution lorsque la qualité des institutions se trouve en deçà d’un certain seuil. Enfin, nous tentons d’élargir la littérature existante en abordant la question du rôle de la démocratie dans l’explication de l’architecture des systèmes financiers (chapitre 3). Après avoir passé en revue les principaux facteurs qui influencent la forme du système financier, nous montrons que le régime politique constitue un facteur déterminant de la structure financière des économies émergentes. Plus précisément, nous trouvons que plus de démocratie réduit la part des financements intermédiés et élargit la place des marchés boursiers. / This thesis analyzes the relationship between the political regime and the financial system. Specifically, the empirical research conducted throughout this thesis aims to study the role of democracy in the development and structure of financial systems. To this end, we proceed in three steps. First, we examine the impact of the event of the democratic transition in the financial development of the countries that have moved towards democracy. Thus, having defined what is meant by a developed financial system and highlighted the factors that determine its evolution, we show that the transition to a democratic regime increases the size of the financial system in the medium and long term. However, it will have no short-term effect (chapter 1). In a second step, we focus on the factors that influence the effectiveness of this political regime. Indeed, since the exchange of theoretical arguments reflect a lack of consensus on the relationship between democracy and development, it seems important to otherwise understand this issue through the consideration of the role of the institutional environment in the analysis of this relationship (chapter 2). Thus, we show that democracy contributes to the development of the financial sector in the presence of good institutions while it hinders its development where institutional quality is below a certain threshold. Finally, we try to extend the existing literature by questioning the role of democracy in the explanation of the financial system architecture (chapter 3). Having reviewed the main factors influencing the shape of the financial system, we show that the political system is a determining factor in the financial structure of emerging economies. More precisely, we find that further democracy reduces the share of intermediated financing and expands the role of stock markets.

As mudanças no mercado global da indústria de defesa ocorridas nos últimos trinta anos impõem desafios significativos para o desenvolvimento e sustentação da uma base industrial de defesa nacional. Países como o Brasil, que se encontram em posições intermediárias da hierarquia internacional de produção de armamentos, enfrentam ainda mais constrangimentos, dado o chamado trilema de modernização da defesa. A experiência de uma série de países intermediários vem mostrando que, apesar das dificuldades, é possível desenvolver estratégias eficientes para superar o trilema da modernização e desenvolver e sustentar a indústria de defesa nacional. O presente trabalho tem o objetivo de compreender as estratégias de desenvolvimento e sustentação da base industrial de defesa nacional, buscando identificar a relação entre três variáveis: a motivação política atribuída à indústria de defesa para a inserção estratégica internacional; os arranjos institucionais arquitetados para gerenciar e promover esta indústria específica; e a configuração do modelo de desenvolvimento e de sustentação da base industrial de defesa nacional. Com este intuito, comparamos estes conceitos em três casos de estudo: África do Sul, Austrália e Brasil Desde o princípio dos anos 2000, o Brasil vem enfatizando a importância estratégica das indústrias de defesa e tem criado políticas específicas voltadas à articulação dos elementos necessários ao fortalecimento desta variável de poder ;?internacional e de desenvolvimento tecnológico. As experiências de outros países podem auxiliar o Brasil a formular um modelo de desenvolvimento e sustentação da base industrial de defesa cada vez mais robusto, eficiente e adaptado aos desafios impostos por constrangimentos estruturais. / The changes in the global defense industry over the last thirty years poses significant challenges to the development and sustainability of a national defense industrial base. Countries such as Brazil, which are in an intermediate position on the international hierarchy of arms production, face even more constraints, given the so-called defence modernization trilemma. The experience of a number of intermediate countries has shown that, despite the difficulties, it is possible to develop efficient strategies to overcome the modernization trilemma and to develop and sustain the national defense industry. The present work aims to understand the strategies of development and sustainability of the national defense industry, identifying the relationship between three variables: the political motivation attributed to the defense industry for the international strategic insertion; the institutional arrangements designed to manage and promote this particular industry; and the configuration of the development model for the national defense industry For this purpose, we compare these concepts in three case studies: South Africa, Australia and Brazil. Since the beginning of the 2000s, Brazil has emphasized the strategic importance of the defense industries and has created specific policies aimed at articulating the elements necessary to strengthen this variable of international power and technological development. The experiences of other countries can help Brazil to formulate a model of development and sustainability of the national defense industry increasingly robust, efficient and adapted to the challenges imposed by structural constraints.

The aim of this thesis is to evaluate shifts in the EU - Russia co-operation in the last decade. It is based on the analysis of relations in terms of their content and their institutional framework. This work efforts to assess the potential of building the Four common spaces between Russia and the EU on the basis of the Russian and the European frame of reference.

Is an institutional framework of participatory mechanism for identifying the poor needs? Institutions not only act to solve poverty : they also contribute to the persistence of poverty, as the core institutional problem is the unresponsiveness of many institutions to the needs of poor people. This study focuses on the case of contemporary Vietnam, with four empirical research questions: (i) what are the poor people’s needs? (ii) how to measure the needs of poor people? (iii) what are the elements and configurations of institutions offering participatory mechanisms? (iv) how are institutional rules of participatory mechanisms established? In the first part of the book, we develop a new approach to account for the multidimensionality of poverty : a ‘mixed methods’ approach that combines the selection of a static set of core dimensions with mechanisms of deliberative participation. Based on Sen’s theoretical framework, we apply participatory assessment methods and data reduction techniques together with linear regression models, so as to measure the capabilities of poor people. Theoretical contributions from political economy, political science and policy analysis are also brought in the picture. In the second part of the book, we use Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) as well as models of regression analysis, to analyze the grassroots institutions and poor people’s participation at the local level (communes). One core conclusion is that the formal institutional logics do allow some needs of poor people to be taken into account, but that this does not empower the poor themselves. Further, a strong independent civil society, combined with the direct involvement of poor people themselves, empowers the poor people at the collective choice level and leads to the best responsiveness of institutions to the poor people’s needs. This study also opens up possibilities for comparisons with other developing or transition countries.

Στόχος της παρούσας διδακτορικής διατριβής είναι η διερεύνηση της δομής των μισθών και των μισθολογικών διαφορών στην Ελληνική αγορά εργασίας, δεδομένων ορισμένων χαρακτηριστικών της, ιδιαίτερα εκείνων που σχετίζονται με το θεσμικό πλαίσιο που διέπει τη λειτουργία της αγοράς εργασίας και ρυθμίζει τις εργασιακές σχέσεις. Η διδακτορική διατριβή αποτελείται από τέσσερις ξεχωριστές μελέτες, ωστόσο τα ευρήματα και συμπεράσματα της κάθε μίας έχουν γενικότερη εφαρμογή και ερμηνεία. Το πρώτο μέρος της διδακτορικής διατριβής ερευνά τις μισθολογικές διαφορές που οφείλονται στο μέγεθος των επιχειρήσεων, όπως αυτό μετράται από τον συνολικό αριθμό των εργαζόμενων σε αυτές. Οι εκτιμήσεις πραγματοποιούνται μέσω της χρήσης διαστρωματικών ενοποιημένων δεδομένων εργαζόμενων-εργοδοτών. Τα αποτελέσματα των οικονομετρικών εκτιμήσεων υποδεικνύουν την ύπαρξη ενός μισθολογικού πλεονεκτήματος υπέρ των εργαζόμενων σε επιχειρήσεις μεγαλύτερου μεγέθους, το μέγεθος του οποίου είναι ανάλογο με αντίστοιχα εκτιμημένα πλεονεκτήματα τα οποία αναφέρονται στη διεθνή βιβλιογραφία. Επίσης, εξετάζεται η εγκυρότητα διαφόρων πιθανών ερμηνειών που έχουν προταθεί στην σχετική βιβλιογραφία. Σύμφωνα με τα αποτελέσματα των εκτιμήσεων, οι διαφορές σε ανθρώπινο κεφάλαιο, η ύπαρξη ανταποδοτικών αμοιβών, οι μισθοί αποδοτικότητας και η λειτουργία εσωτερικών αγορών εργασίας είναι παράγοντες ικανοί να ερμηνεύσουν το μεγαλύτερο μέρος του μισθολογικού πλεονεκτήματος υπέρ των εργαζόμενων σε μεγαλύτερες επιχειρήσεις. Επίσης, τα αποτελέσματα των εκτιμήσεών υποδεικνύουν ότι το υπό εξέταση μισθολογικό πλεονέκτημα μεταβάλλεται, ανάλογα με τον κλάδο οικονομικής δραστηριότητας. Σκοπός του δεύτερου κεφαλαίου της παρούσας διδακτορικής διατριβής, είναι η διερεύνηση των επιπτώσεων της σύναψης επιχειρησιακών συλλογικών συμβάσεων εργασίας στη δομή των μισθών στην αγορά εργασίας. Για τους σκοπούς της ανάλυσης χρησιμοποιούνται ενοποιημένα στοιχεία εργαζόμενων-εργοδοτών για το έτος 2006, εκτιμήσεις μη δεσμευμένων ποσοστημορίων καθώς και οι σχετικές μέθοδοι διαχωρισμού επιδράσεων. Τα αποτελέσματα επιβεβαιώνουν την ύπαρξη ενός μισθολογικού πλεονεκτήματος υπέρ των εργαζόμενων που καλύπτονται από επιχειρησιακές συλλογικές συμβάσεις εργασίας, το οποίο ακολουθεί μια κοίλη τάση κατά μήκος κατανομής των ατομικών αμοιβών. Επιπλέον, οι μισθολογικές διαφορές μεταξύ των εργαζόμενων που καλύπτονται από επιχειρησιακές συλλογικές συμβάσεις και εκείνων που καλύπτονται από συλλογικές συμβάσεις που υπογράφονται σε πιο κεντρικά επίπεδα διαπραγμάτευσης, οφείλονται σε διαφορές στον τρόπο συλλογικής διαπραγμάτευσης για όσους βρίσκονται στο αριστερό ήμισυ της συνολικής κατανομής των ατομικών αμοιβών, ενώ για όσους βρίσκονται στο δεξί ήμισυ της κατανομής, το μεγαλύτερο μέρος των μισθολογικών διαφορών εξηγείται από διαφορές στο ανθρώπινο κεφάλαιο και στα χαρακτηριστικά των επιχειρήσεων. Το τρίτο μέρος της διδακτορικής διατριβής ερευνά την ύπαρξη μιας καμπύλης μισθών στην Ελληνική αγορά εργασίας χρησιμοποιώντας μικροοικονομικά δεδομένα για την περίοδο 2001-2012.Τα εκτιμημένα αποτελέσματα υποδεικνύουν ότι ο “εμπειρικός νόμος της Οικονομικής Επιστήμης” σύμφωνα με τον οποίο υπάρχει μια βραχυχρόνια αρνητική σχέση μεταξύ ατομικών αμοιβών και τρέχουσας περιφερειακής ανεργίας, μπορεί να επιβεβαιωθεί μόνο για την περίοδο μετά το 2010, όπου μια σειρά δημοσιονομικών μέτρων και μεταρρυθμίσεων του θεσμικού πλαισίου των εργασιακών σχέσεων έλαβαν μέρος, με στόχο τη μείωση του μισθολογικού κόστους και την αύξηση του βαθμού ευελιξίας της αγοράς εργασίας. Πριν το 2010, δεν ήταν δυνατός ο προσδιορισμός μιας συστηματικής σχέσης μεταξύ ατομικών αμοιβών και περιφερειακής ανεργίας. Η ανυπαρξία μιας τέτοιας σχέσης, μπορεί να αποδοθεί κυρίως σε θεσμικές δυσκαμψίες οι οποίες απαγόρευαν τις μισθολογικές προσαρμογές προς τα κάτω. Το συμπέρασμα αυτό ενισχύεται από το γεγονός ότι η ύπαρξη καμπύλης μισθών πριν το 2010, δεν επιβεβαιώνεται ανεξάρτητα από το επίπεδο των συλλογικών διαπραγματεύσεων στο οποίο προσδιορίζονται οι αμοιβές στην Ελληνική αγορά εργασίας. Τέλος, το τέταρτο μέρος της παρούσας διδακτορικής διατριβής πραγματοποιεί την πρώτη αποτίμηση μιας πρόσφατης θεσμικής μεταρρύθμισης στην Ελληνική αγορά εργασίας. Σκοπός της μεταρρύθμισης αυτής είναι η αποκέντρωση του συστήματος των συλλογικών διαπραγματεύσεων έτσι ώστε να διευκολύνεται η προσαρμογή των μισθών στα χαρακτηριστικά των επιχειρήσεων και στις επικρατούσες συνθήκες στην αγορά εργασίας. Για τους σκοπούς αυτής της μελέτης, αναπτύχθηκε μια μοναδική βάση δεδομένων αποτελούμενη από πληροφορίες που προέρχονται από το σύνολο των επιχειρησιακών συμβάσεων που υπογράφηκαν στην ελληνική αγορά εργασίας τα τελευταία χρόνια. Τα αποτελέσματα μιας σειράς εκτιμήσεων υποδειγμάτων περιορισμένων εξαρτημένων μεταβλητών υποδεικνύουν ότι η εισαγωγή της νέας εργασιακής νομοθεσίας επηρεάζει σημαντικά την πιθανότητα τα διαπραγματευόμενα μέρη να συμφωνήσουν σε προς τα κάτω μισθολογική προσαρμογή, ειδικά στο επίπεδο του κατώτατου μισθού που περιγράφεται στην Εθνική Γενική Συλλογική Σύμβαση Εργασίας, ενώ οι τρέχουσες συνθήκες που επικρατούν στην αγορά εργασίας είναι επίσης σημαντικοί προσδιοριστικοί παράγοντες των συμφωνηθεισών μισθολογικών προσαρμογών. / The purpose of this doctoral thesis, is the investigation of the wage structure and the wage differentials in the Greek labour market, given some specific characteristics, especially those pertaining to the institutional framework which underlies it and governs the labour relations. This thesis consists of four distinct essays, however, their findings and conclusions can be more generally applied. The first part of this doctoral thesis examines the establishment size-wage premium in Greece using a matched employer-employee dataset. The results of the econometric estimation suggest that such a premium is also present in the Greek market sector and its magnitude is in line with those reported in other economies. The validity of various explanations of the size-wage premium, put forward in the pertinent economics literature, is also tested. This exercise suggests that in the Greek case, human capital, compensating wage differentials, incentive payment schemes and internal labor markets are primarily responsible for its presence. Lastly, the analysis reveals that the premium is sector-specific. The second part of this doctoral thesis analyzes the effect of firm-level contracting on the wage structure in the Greek private sector. Using a matched employer–employee dataset for 2006, unconditional quantile regressions and relevant decomposition methods, leads to the identification of a wage premium associated with firm-level contracting, which follows a hump-shaped profile across the wage distribution. Furthermore, the wage differential between workers under firm-level and broader-level collective agreements can be primarily attributed to differences in the regime-specific wage setting structure, for those below the median of the unconditional wage distribution, and to differences in worker and firm-specific characteristics for those in the upper tail. The third part of this doctoral thesis investigates the existence of a wage curve in Greece using microdata for the period 2001-2012. According to the estimated results, the implied by the “empirical law of Economics” short-run negative relationship between regional unemployment and wage levels can be only identified for the period after 2010 where, due to the increasing unemployment rate, a series of fiscal cuts and reforms of the collective bargaining system were imposed in order to reduce the labour cost in the private sector of the economy. Regarding the period before this structural break, a systematic relationship between regional unemployment and individual wage levels could not be identified. This finding can be mainly attributed to institutional rigidities which prevented downward wage flexibility, since a wage curve could not be established at any level of collective bargaining either. Finally, the fourth part of this doctoral thesis uses a unique dataset developed from official firm-level collective agreements signed during the period 2009-2012 to perform a first evaluation of a recent institutional reform which decentralized the highly regulated Greek labour relations framework in order to facilitate wage adjustments to firm-specific and prevailing labour market conditions. The estimated results from a series of limited dependent variable models indicate that the new labour law affects significantly the probability of a bargained downward wage adjustment, especially to the national minimum level, while the prevailing labour market conditions are also important determinants of the bargained wage cuts.