Macroecometric models are extremely important for developing countries as well as for developed countries. They can help and guide planners, policy makers and government leaders to establish priorities in their activities and to chose those policies which permit the most the rapid advance of economic development. The aim of this thesis is to construct a macroeconometric model for the Libyan economy and to use the model to forecast future economic activities under different scenarios. The Background of the Libyan economy is outlined first. Brief reviews of the theory of the background to the model components are given in the first part of the thesis. The specification of the model equations, depending on the economic theory and estimation procedures are carried out in the second part of the thesis. The calculations are carried out with a TSP package. Model validation is carried out in the third part of the thesis. This includes model evaluation (tracking performance and dynamic properties) and multiplier analysis. Model implications, such as forecasting (Ex-Post and Ex-Ante) are described in the last part of the thesis. Two different scenarios are considered. These scenarios explore the effects of different sets of oil prices and production on the Libyan economy, for the period 1996-2005. Several policy implications are derived from the results of the scenarios. The conclusion reached is that the Libyan economy is heavily dependent on Oil Revenues and any shock in this variable will have great effects on the Libyan economy. Also, excessive government spending is the main reason for the high inflation rate, which also leads to the crowding out of private investment.

In its attempt to analyse the impact of East European change upon the European Community and East European liner shipping industries this thesis covers an extensive range of highly topical subject areas. The wide range of non uniform information gleaned from the research and the question of spurious objectivity form the main arguments behind the use of qualitative rather than quantitative assessment throughout. The diverse study area also necessitated a narrowing to the case of Polish Ocean Lines' North Atlantic operations to enable a meaningful analysis to be carried out. The early part of the thesis examines the background to the East European situation before moving on to identify the main issues that directly affect Polish shipping, through the use of a Contextual model. Using the information gained here a newly developed Contextual Matrix Model then enables the main issues to be extracted. These issues indicate that the changes affecting Polish Ocean Lines require an exercise in repositioning. To assess this fully a framework approach is developed to determine Polish Ocean Lines' position for 1988 and 1992. A further framework is then created for the European Community competitors' 1992 position, in order that a positional comparison can be carried out with Polish Ocean Lines. The results of the comparison indicate that repositioning is taking place at Polish Ocean Lines as a direct reaction to the changes occurring throughout East Europe. The discussion concludes that this is a dynamic, volatile and topical area which raises a number of points of possible interest for further research.

The purpose of this study is to perform a rigorous testing and analysis of accounting disclosure practices in a developing country which has adopted the International Accounting Standards (IASs) and has changed towards an economic policy of privatisation after many years of a socialist era. The study also measures the effects on disclosure levels of changes in the economic policy and the new regulations. Furthermore, it investigates the relationship between disclosure levels and company characteristics. A review of the theories which have been used in previous research as a basis for explaining disclosure practices is used to establish a priori expectations. The Egyptian economic and social environment and the Egyptian accounting regulations and standards are outlined. From the theory, previous research and the particular circumstances of Egypt, specific empirical research questions are generated and then transformed into hypotheses. A mandatory disclosure list is created which combines the disclosure requirements of the IASs and national regulations using a technique of segmentation which takes into consideration four factors: a) whether the IASs disclosure item is also required both by local established regulations (Companies Act; CA) and by local new regulations (CML); b) whether the IASs disclosure item is required only by local new regulations; c) whether the IASs disclosure item is available in the native language; and d) in which part of the annual report is the disclosure item located. This technique of segmentation leads to different combinations of disclosure total indices (IASs, CML, CA), partial indices (Partial CML Arabic and Partial IASs not Arabic) and nine sub-indices. This allows detailed statistical analysis and richer interpretation of results. Matched pairs of the annual reports of a sample of Egyptian listed companies in 1991 and 1995 are compared using the aforementioned segmentation of total, partial and sub-indices. Also, a larger sample of 1995 annual reports is analysed to compare the different indices and to investigate any relationship between the indices and selected company characteristics using both univariate and multivariate analysis. The study concludes that accounting disclosure by Egyptian listed companies was significantly greater in 1995 than in 1991. Public sector companies which were the largest in size and actively traded in the Stock Exchange provided the highest CML disclosure. Companies audited by one of the `big-six' offered the highest IASs disclosure. Specific explanations for the increase in various accounting disclosure items and the relationship between various disclosure practices and specific company characteristics are offered based on the segmentation. Theoretical models of agency and capital needs appear to be applicable to the findings regarding Egypt, but the applicability of signalling theory is not clear. Other issues relating to theory are explored in the context of the research findings. Several conclusions are drawn and some policy implications are discussed.

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Material prosperity of countries depends on the use of their endowment of natural resources. Land management decisions, in particular, also affect the conservation of biological diversity, which is an asset for not only for the host country, but also for the rest of the world. There is a growing recognition that the contribution of biological resources both to sustainable national development and to the well being of the international community has been underestimated in the past. Based on both theoretical analysis and case study material from Mexico, this dissertation discusses the land-use related factors giving rise to the loss of biodiversity, as well policy options and management practices that may allow sustainable land use and biodiversity conservation. The introductory chapter summarises the scientific and economic debate, including disagreements about the definition of biodiversity management objectives. Chapter 2 analyses the sequence of land use changes typically observed in a number of tropical countries, and discusses interventions which could alter the incentives for land conversion. The Convention on Biological Diversity stipulates that developing countries should be reimbursed for the 'incremental cost' of activities that help conserving biodiversity. Chapter 3 proposes a model which addresses the allocative and incentive implications of the incremental cost mechanism. The empirical part of the dissertation first discusses the social and economic factors that have been responsible over the last few decades for land us change and depletion of biological resources in the study area in Mexico (chapters 4 and 5). A linear programming economic model is then proposed, for simulating, at the farm level, further impacts over the next decade (chapter 5). Based on a model of aggregation over space and time of farm-level decisions, chapter 6 analyzes the appropriate mix of conservation and sustainable use management options in the study area, providing estimates of their cost implications and discussing possible funding sources. Chapter 7 concludes with policy implications and options for future research.