Since the advent of exporting oil in 1999, Sudan’s economy became more reliant on the proceeds of crude oil export. This situation exposed the economy to the negative effect of crude oil price shocks. In general, oil price increase positively impacts the economy of oil exporting countries, while oil importing economies suffer. That is, oil price increase boosts economic activities in oil exporting countries while it retards economic growth in oil importing countries. Unlike developed economies, there is a paucity of research in the relationship between oil Price shocks and the macroeconomy in developing countries. In this context, Sudan lacks appropriate fundamental economic knowledge and understanding of the complex relationship between its macroeconomy and oil price shocks. This research contributed towards filling this gap. To this end, the overall objective of this thesis was to examine the impact of crude oil price shocks on Sudan’s macroeconomy over the period 2000 – 2011. In doing so, this research answered the following question: what was the impact of oil price shocks on the public budget, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and unemployment rates, sectors’ growth rate and current account. The research employs the Convergent Parallel Mixed Methods Design, in which the Vector Auto-Regression (VAR) model and Delphi method are used. The main findings show that negative real crude oil price shocks have a greater influence on the majority of the macroeconomic variables compared to positive shocks. Findings from the public budget VAR model suggests that real crude oil price shocks have asymmetric effect on the public budget. This is attributable to the use of a predetermined crude oil price in the annual public budget. This finding is consistent with those of Jbir and Zouri-Ghorbel (2009) and Ibrahim and Mohamed (2012) in the Tunisian and Iranian economies, respectively. Therefore, adoption of a conservative approach in determining the benchmark price in the public budget is very crucial to avoid persistent withdrawals from the Central Bank. Results obtained from the current account VAR model indicate that negative and positive real oil price shocks have symmetrical effects on the trade and current account balances. This finding is in line with those of Le and Chang (2013) and Allegret et al (2014) in Malaysia and some African oil exporting countries, respectively. However, oil increase improves the trade and current account balance, but at the expense of the non-oil exports. Therefore, there is a need for export restructure, diversification and support for non-oil exports. Furthermore, the GDP growth and unemployment VAR model shows that real crude oil price shocks symmetrically affect the GDP growth rates. Similar results of the negative effect on GDP growth is reported in Nigeria and Iran by Akin and Babajide (2011a) and Farzanegan and Markwardt (2009), respectively. However, negative real crude oil price significantly impacted the unemployment rate. Finally, the sectors’ growth VAR model shows that increase in crude oil price positively affected agricultural and service sector growth rates, while it negatively impacted industrial sector growth. Decrease in real crude oil price influenced agricultural sector to increase, whereas industrial and services sectors growth rates suffer. These findings are consistent with those obtained by Binuomote and Odeniyi (2013) and Ahmed and Wadud (2011) in the in Nigerian Malaysian economies, respectively. The significance of this research is its contribution to the existing body of knowledge on the relationship between crude oil price shocks and the macroeconomy in oil exporting developing countries, mainly Sudan, and the use of the mixed method approach in this research investigation. This research addressed the dynamic interrelationship between the crude oil price shocks and the macroeconomy. The outcome of this research provides key decision makers with the relevant information to design appropriate economic policies to mitigate the negative effects of crude oil price shocks.

This thesis explores the possibility of conducting a more independent monetary policy through the adoption of an inflation targeting regime in a small, open and Euroised transition economy where banks are dependent on foreign financing. The major aim of this research programme is to investigate the effectiveness and determinants of the interest rate and bank lending channels in the case of Republic of Macedonia, since their effectiveness is seen as one of the preconditions for adoption of an inflation targeting regime. This thesis contributes to the existing literature for transition economies in two main ways. Firstly, it investigates the size and determinants of individual bank‟s lending rate adjustments to changes in the „cost of funds‟ rate. Secondly, it examines two loan functions according to the currency disaggregation of loans, and investigates what bank-specific characteristics are the major determinants. The findings with respect to the first research contribution indicate that the size of the short-run adjustment of lending rates to changes in the „cost of funds‟ rate is quite sluggish and heterogeneous among Macedonian banks. Moreover, bank-specific characteristics and macroeconomic variables play different roles in individual bank‟s lending rate setting decisions. These results are consistent with the presence of aggregation bias in previous research that uses sector-level data, due to the suppression of banks‟ heterogeneous behaviour. The results regarding the second research contribution imply that the bank lending channel in Macedonia works mainly through foreign currency loans and the foreign reference rate, whereas the responsiveness of domestic currency loans to the changes in the domestic reference rate is quite low. Moreover, different banks react differently to changes in the domestic and foreign reference rates due to their specific characteristics. These findings suggest that the impact of domestic monetary policy on the Macedonian economy through the interest rate and bank lending channels is quite limited. Therefore, the current monetary policy regime of a fixed exchange rate may be more effective in achieving the price stability aim than adoption of an inflation targeting regime in economies like Macedonia.

The present study is concerned with the settlement and agricultural development process as it is taking place in the Wadi Al-Hai agricultural project and the influence of some socio-economic factors on the agricultural exploited area. The Wadi Al-Hai project is one of the most important agricultural development projects in Libya. It is located 85 km south-west of the capital city Tripoli, and includes 417 farms, with each farm being 25 hectares, and consisting of a modern house and all agricultural requirements. For the empirical study, two types of analysis will be used: - Descriptive statistical analysis: describing the study the main features of the structure of agriculture development in the Wadi Al-Hai area, and the economic situation of the farmers in the project. The data for this part were analyzed on the basis of simple but appropriate statistical measures, such as frequency ratios, means and distributions, standard error and the chi-square test. - Econometric Analysis: using economic statistical analysis and the relations between different economic and social variables in a set of mathematical models aiming to explore the potential contributions and influences of such factors in this project. In short, a log-linear cross sectional model is developed aiming at relating the relevant socio-economic factors to the exploited areas. Also the study is based on a survey of 105 settlement households located in the Wadi Al- Hai project. Key socio-economic characteristics of the farmers are related to their experience and quantitative survey data are supplemented by qualitative interview material. Additional documents were provided by the Council of Agricultural Development, Secretariat of Planning. The theoretical analysis is based on economic development and growth with reference to agriculture and agricultural development in Libya. A number of weaknesses in the project are identified such as in the operation of co-operatives, marketing arrangements, extension services and water management. In conclusion, some agricultural policy recommendations are made for the exploitation of natural resources and human resources in the project. Our initial results indicate that all the variables studied have statistically significant effects on the agricultural exploited area in the project.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate corporate governance practices of firms, in particular financial institutions, and their impact on the performance of these institutions. As such it will contribute to the debate on the importance of corporate governance for banks. The investigation will cover examples from developed and transition economies. Corporate scandals in the 1990s and 2000s drew the attention of governments to the importance of corporate governance, and induced legislation to prevent similar situations in the future. This thesis highlights the differences between corporate governance of firms and that of banks and investigates the nature of the relationship between corporate governance practices and performance of banks in the USA (as an example of a developed economy) and Kosova and Montenegro (as examples of South East European (SEE) transition economies). The thesis will also investigate the state of corporate governance in the two SEE countries and its developments since these countries became independent. This thesis will address two methodological issues that have been ignored or not treated jointly by previous research: the endogenous nature of corporate governance; and the dynamic aspect of the relationship with performance. In the context of SEE countries this thesis represents the first attempt to analyse the development of a corporate governance framework for financial institutions in Kosova and Montenegro, involving the creation of an index for the quality of corporate governance and, to the extent that the data permits, the first analysis of the relationship between corporate governance quality and the performance of financial institutions. The thesis investigates these questions by firstly embarking on a critical review of the literature to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the previous work in this area and identify the gap in the literature and secondly engaging in empirical investigation of the relationship. The data used for the empirical part of the thesis consists of published data on corporate governance ranking of US banks and the information on financial operations of banks from the Bankscope database. There are no published datasets on the state of corporate governance in SEE banks. A bank survey was therefore organised by the author to explore the compliance of these banks with OECD Corporate Governance Principles. The data was supplemented with the financial information of individual banks obtained from their annual reports. Using both, cross section and dynamic panel model techniques, the empirical investigation shows that there is a positive relationship between the measure of good corporate governance and the market capitalisation of banks in the USA. A similar relationship also exists between one dimension of corporate governance (shareholders’ rights) and the performance of financial institutions in Kosova and Montenegro. Thus, this research contributes to the scarce empirical research on the relationship between corporate governance and performance of financial institutions in the developed economies, and to the not hitherto investigated relationship in SEE countries.

A country’s human capital has been neglected as a potential determinant of inwards foreign direct investment (FDI), both in theory and empirical research. When human capital has been included in models of the determinants of FDI, it appears simply as a control variable or one of the variables in a “kitchen sink” approach, usually without any theoretical rationale for its inclusion or critical discussion of the measures used. The mis-specification that may result from this is advanced as one of the potential explanations for the very diverse findings in previous literature and the failure of the meta-regression analysis (MRA) reported in this thesis to find an ‘authentic’ effect of human capital on inwards FDI. Accordingly, this research seeks to fill this gap, by identifying the mechanisms through which human capital is expected to attract FDI to European transition economies and drawing conclusions about the most appropriate measures of human capital given the characteristics of the former communist (education) system. The ‘productivity-enhancing’ skills and traits that (foreign) investors are likely to value in such economies are identified and the manner in which these skills are developed is analysed. In the light of this analysis the conventional human capital measures used in empirical analyses are critically assessed. These contributions are used to develop an empirical model for estimating the effect of human capital on inwards FDI at country-, sector- and industry-level in 12 European transition economies during the period 1995-2008. Consistent with the results of previous studies, as suggested by the MRA, no significant effect of traditional volume measures of human capital on FDI inflows/stocks is found. However, some evidence is presented in this thesis indicating that the quality dimension of human capital as measured by cognitive skills proxies may affect inwards FDI in the manufacturing sector. Accordingly, several potential explanations for the findings and some of their implications for future macro-level research focusing on the effects of human capital are explored.

This doctoral thesis addresses the topic: Manufacturing Strategy of Firms in Emerging Economy: The Study of Nigerian Manufacturing SMEs. The research attempts to fill the knowledge gap by examining the manufacturing strategy process, manufacturing priorities and challenges relating to Nigerian manufacturing SMEs. Extensive reviews of the relevant literature were carried out, providing an insight into the research question and set out research objectives. The extant literature on manufacturing strategy, manufacturing priorities and manufacturing challenges has provided the theoretical perspective of the study. The study adopted a qualitative research method to gain an in-depth insight and understanding of the manufacturing strategy process and practice of Nigerian manufacturing SMEs. The participating manufacturing SMEs were located in six geopolitical zones within Nigeria. Purposive sampling was used in selecting the 17 manufacturing SMEs from the target population. The face to face semi-structured interviews were used as data collection instrument. The data collected from the 17 manufacturing SMEs senior managers were analysed using the template analysis, a form of thematic analysis developed by Professor Nigel King. This analysis identified Nigerian SMEs’ manufacturing challenges, priorities and key decision issue considered important for the manufacturing strategy process and practice. The research findings point to an approach in developing manufacturing strategy in an emerging economy. An approach that is directed towards improving the manufacturing process, product quality, competitiveness, manufacturing capacity and other business needs, which has enabled these manufacturing SMEs to respond to their manufacturing priorities and manufacturing challenges. These findings have possible implications for the government, SMEs, policy makers and managers. This study has made a contribution to knowledge by increasing the understanding of manufacturing strategy of SMEs in context of an emerging economy. The study identified Nigerian manufacturing SMEs priorities, challenges and developed strategy that will aid professional practitioners, policymakers and the government to make manufacturing decisions, thereby contributing to practice.

The case for this PhD by published work is based on reflection on eight years’ reflective practice research into the role of design in entrepreneurial leadership. Specifically, it explores a strategic design approach to socio – economic innovation. It is the culmination of a thirty-year longitudinal study at the interface of leadership, enterprise, innovation and development within the particular challenging environment of the Northern Ireland conflict. One important lesson from the author’s experience of societal crisis has been the pivotal role of innovation in socio - economic regeneration. External environmental pressures are forcing organisations to develop new approaches to cope with uncertainty. These circumstances call for leaders who can innovate whilst navigating complexity. Against this context the research considers entrepreneurial leadership and understands this to be more than the sum of entrepreneurship and leadership but a new phenomenon leveraged in response to the current climate. The focus is on entrepreneurial leadership, strategic design and open innovation as transformational drivers for socio-economic value creation. The study involves a design-led approach that maps transformational drivers against triple helix challenges, to provide a new perspective on the generative role of design. It synthesises organising frameworks that further highlight how entrepreneurial leaders build relationships for developmental innovation. These model the interplay between transfiguring and threshold concepts to yield guiding principles for entrepreneurial leadership practice. They represent antecedent factors for a prospective theory of Design Dynamics. The distinct contribution is an original contextual framework that provides insight into how entrepreneurial leaders employ design to realise innovation. Further, this builds on the extant body of knowledge through the hypothesis of a potential Design Dynamics theory as a support structure to explain and guide entrepreneurial leadership within complex environments. Future research will explore the nature of this structure so that it is applicable to new entrepreneurial contexts.

Immigrant entrepreneurship is an important feature of the economy. With the growing numbers of visible ethnic minority communities, their presence in the labour market is of increasing importance in contemporary society. The Chinese are an under- researched group as documented by various authors and publications (Parker, 1994; Pang and Lau, 1998). The dissertation aims to address this failing. The Chinese are often associated with heavy concentration in the catering trade, in the form of restaurants and takeaways. The reason for this continued dominance is an interesting issue to explore. This thesis investigates the Chinese in Newcastle upon Tyne and their experiences, mainly within the catering trade, which offers both employment and self-employment opportunities. As will be revealed, this form of labour market participation can lead to social exclusion but at the same time, the creation of a stronger community. One possible element in the decision to enter self-employment is the existence of racial discrimination in the labour market. However, occupational choice is a more complex issue than simply an outcome of discrimination. The two principal research questions that guide this study are: 'Is self-employment a choice or a necessity?' and 'Does discrimination play a role in occupational choice?' An original and unique framework for analysis has been adopted based on prior knowledge held by the researcher by living the experiences as a member of the Chinese ethnic group. This stock of knowledge or indeed 'social capital' formed the basis for ideas and questions used in each of the three stages of research: self- completion questionnaires, semi-structured follow-up interviews and a focus group session. The implementation of these stages has been conducted in order to gain an understanding of the issues surrounding the two main research questions and to provide an insight into the experiences of the Chinese. However, due to the nature of voluntary responses in the chosen methodology, the research does not aim to generalise the Chinese community, as it remains a small-scale qualitative study.

This study involves a detailed analysis of the dynamics of the oil sector in Libya, and reviews the process of economic development in order to identify key issues and priorities for future development. As with many other developing countries, Libya has received insignificant FDI inflows over the study period 1962-2003. The experience of the developing world in particular suggests that it is far from certain whether FDI will indeed act as an engine of transition in Libya. Libya places great importance on foreign capital in the oil sector as a critical element of economic growth. The main aim of this study is to identify and analyze the economic factors giving rise to FDI inflows to the Libyan oil sector during the study period. It reviews FDI trends in Libya, both in the regional and international contexts, and takes into account the evolution of various policies and measures introduced in order to attract FDI. Primary data were collected through a questionnaire-based survey from a sample of 35 foreign oil companies in Libya, along with 20 interviews with government officials. Using annual time series data, the study finds that the nationalization of foreign oil companies in 1972 has negatively influenced FDI inflows; whereas country wealth and the lagged value of FDI positively influence FDI inflows to the Libyan oil sector. Since sanctions were lifted, Libya's relations with the world are becoming normalized and there are opportunities for foreign investment in every sector of the economy associated with the government's new open policy of adopting FDI, which is already visibly growing. Libya is considering changing its 40-years old hydrocarbon legislation to improve the terms for foreign investment. Therefore, the Libyan foreign investment environment is promising for the foreseeable future.

The local economic information base for the UK does not meet the demand for local economic indicators emerging from the private and public sectors. This thesis identifies an 'information gap' between the need for and provision of local economic indicators in the public and private sectors. The existence of this 'gap' emerges in the literature review. Empirical evidence of the gap is provided by the thesis' postal survey (which investigates the use of local economic information in forecasting). The dearth of local economic indicators is then confirmed in the analysis of guided interviews with practitioners. The literature review and practitioner interviews identify a rising need for local economic indicators over the last decade. The increased political significance of local space has led to a growth in the need for information at this scale from the public sector. Organisational restructuring and the privatisation of utilities has also led an increase in demand from the private sector for local economic information. This need has been compounded by deficiencies in those local economic indicators which are currently available, in terms of quality, organisation and accessibility. The literature suggests that standardisation of the criteria for organising local economic indicators into a database would greatly assist the organisations that seek this information. However, no such set of criteria has been forthcoming. The thesis therefore incorporates a feasibility study which focuses on the establishment of a standardised local economic database. The research findings steer suggestions for its development, and local economic indicators for the Local Authority District (LAD) ofLuton are collected and organised into a database as a case study. The methodology is documented, and can be reproduced to develop a similar database for any other LAD in the UK.