The main purpose on this thesis is to analyze utility differences between Swedish counties and to determine the relative quality of life (QoL) for these regions. This is achieved by using migration data to estimate the counties attractiveness in line with Tiebout’s (1957) idea that individuals reveales their preferences for a region by choosing where to settle. The methods used are mainly based on the work by Wall’s (2001) and Nakajima and Tabuchi (2011). I estimate a pooled OLS based on cross-county migration data for the period 2000 to 2016, which reveals that most of the Swedish counties have a relative QoL that does not differ from the average QoL for Sweden. However, some counties, mainly northern ones, seem to perform worse than the average. Additionally, I estimate the relative utility differentials for the Swedish counties and find that they have stayed relatively constant in relation to each other during the time period.

This thesis provides a discussion and analysis of the factors that influence real estate return. The result is a combination of capital growth and rental profit, which are affected predominantly by changing location values, leverage, interest rates, and property use. These are analysed separately and brought together with formulas for calculating the total return, and demonstrations for how this return may be affected by changes in the underlying parameters.

<p>2019-01-15</p>

<p>2019-01-15</p>

No description available.

No description available.

The overall purpose of this thesis is to investigate the determinants of technological change in the renewable energy sector, with a special emphasis on the role of knowledge spillovers and convergence across countries. The thesis consists of a preface and five self-contained papers. In Paper I technological change is broken down into the three major development stages laid out by Joseph Schumpeter: invention, innovation and diffusion. Econometric models of each of these stages are specified in the empirical context of wind power. The models are estimated employing a panel dataset consisting of eight western European countries over the time period 1991-2008. The results display evidence of national and international knowledge spillovers in the invention (i.e., patenting) model. The results from the technology learning models indicate evidence of global learning-by-doing, and that the prices of input factors have been important determinants of wind power costs. In line with previous research, the diffusion model results show that investment costs have influenced the development of installed wind power capacity. Paper II investigates how wind power inventions in European countries have affected the technological development achievements in neighboring countries. Data on the number of patents granted at the European Patent Office (EPO) during the period 1978-2008 in the eight technologically leading wind power countries in Europe are employed in a patent production function framework. The presence of international knowledge spillovers is found to constitute a statistically significant determinant of a country’s patent production. Geographical distance is also taken into consideration, and the results suggest that knowledge spillovers are subject to spatial transaction costs: with longer distances the role of international spillovers becomes weaker. Paper III investigates the convergence of inventive capabilities in the EU. Data on total patents per capita in 13 EU countries over the period 1990-2011 are analyzed using both parametric and non-parametric techniques. Converging inventive abilities may be important for the future of the EU given that rapid technological change has resulted in major structural changes in the Member States’ economies during the last decades. The β-convergence and σ-convergence tests suggest convergence in inventive capabilities, and this finding gains some support when analyzing the intra-distributional dynamics of the invention capabilities. Paper IV specifically investigates whether the generation of renewable energy patents per capita has converged or diverged across 13 EU countries over the period 1990-2012. The results indicate the presence of conditional β- and σ-divergence in renewable energy invention abilities. This could be critical for assessing the future prospects of EU policy in the renewable energy field; divergence in terms of invention outcomes could imply a less rapid and yet more expensive goal fulfillment due to free-rider behavior and sub-optimal investment levels. Finally, Paper V tests for convergence/divergence based on countries’ public spending to renewable energy R&amp;D. The empirical analysis focuses on the presence of conditional β-convergence across 13 EU countries over the period 1990-2012. The results suggest divergence in public R&amp;D-based knowledge accumulation, and this is consistent with free-riding behavior on the part of some EU Member States. Energy import dependence and electricity deregulation also affect this divergence pattern. For instance, the higher the energy import dependence, the lower is the speed of divergence across the EU countries in terms of public R&amp;D support. Overall, the diverging pathways in terms of both public R&amp;D and private patenting efforts may raise concerns about an unfair burden-sharing in terms of renewable energy development efforts.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of transport innovation on housing prices. More precisely, I study the effects on housing prices of the new commuter line (J38) between Uppsala and Älvsjö that started on December 9, 2012. The properties covered in the analysis are located around the 11 station stops between Uppsala and Älvsjö. This transport innovation was initiated to increase integration between Uppsala County and Stockholm County. Using the start of the J38 line as a quasi-experiment in a hedonic price model, I compare the changes in housing prices in treated areas and untreated areas after the introduction of the new line. Separate models are estimated for properties in “Housing Cooperative” (Bostadsrätt), and in “Home Ownership” (Äganderätt). The models include contract prices at which the property is sold, house characteristics, distance to nearest rail station, bus station, water and time-fixed effects. The results suggest that apartment prices (in housing cooperative) were negatively affected by the new line, whereas the effect for house prices (home ownership) is not statistically significant different from zero. Key words: Housing Prices, Transport Innovation, Housing cooperative, Home Ownership, Distance to Commuter Station, Hedonic Price Model, Difference-in-Difference.

Den ekonomiska situationen skiljer sig åt mellan länder i världen och tillväxt är ett instrument som ofta utnyttjas för att studera länders ekonomiska situation. Ett område inom studier av tillväxt är konvergens. Konvergens innebär att länder, som har ett lägre initialt BNP, har en högre tillväxt och växer därmed, över tid, ikapp länder med ett högre initialt BNP. Denna uppsats fokuserar på den ekonomiska situationen i Europeiska unionen, EU. EU består av länder som samarbetar för en ekonomisk och social sammanhållning, men trots detta finns det skillnader i den ekonomiska situationen mellan medlemsländerna. För att studera tillväxt och förekomsten av konvergens inom EU utförs en kvantitativ undersökning. Undersökningen baseras på paneldata för EU-25 över tidsperioden 1994 till 2013. Tre regressionsmodeller skapas, en modell för de 25 EU-länderna och två olika modeller för regioner i utvalda länder inom EU. I alla modeller är BNP-tillväxt beroende variabel och den huvudsakliga förklarande variabeln är BNP per capita. Övriga förklarande variabler varierar mellan modellerna. De resultat som framkommer i uppsatsen går i linje med en stor del av de resultat som visas i tidigare studier. En konvergens kan observeras mellan länder men är dock inte lika uppenbar på regionnivå. Resultatet för regionerna i uppsatsen visar att storstäderna växer fortare än övriga områden, vilket talar emot förekomsten av konvergens. Något som också framkommer i uppsatsens resultat är att ett inträde i EU har en positiv effekt på tillväxten hos länder. Uppsatsen avslutas med en diskussionsdel där resultaten diskuteras och analyseras. I slutet av diskussionen presenteras förslag till framtida studier.

The use of resources is growing while the supply of resources may be waning out. This has made the European Union and Sweden interested in making the move towards a more circular economy. Landfilling is connected with a use-and-discard, or linear, economy. The waste tax, or tax on landfilled waste, was introduced in Sweden in 2000 in order to deal with landfilling. In this paper we want to look at the effect of this tax on a circular economy indicator. Using data collected between 1998 and 2007 this paper aims to examine the effect that the waste tax has had on the share of people employed in the recycling industry. Our theory is that with increasing costs for landfilling, recycling becomes a relatively cheaperoption, raising the levels of recycling, which raises the labour demanded for recycling companies, increasing employment. This theory is tested through the use of OLS regressions. The results support the theory that an increase in the tax on waste increases the share of people employed in the recycling industry.