This thesis examines the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on Vietnamese economy based on Partial Adjustment Model and time series data from 1976 to 2004. FDI is shown to have not only short run but also long run effect on gross domestic product (GDP) of Vietnam. However, elasticity of GDP with respect to FDI is small and it will take many years to fully manifest itself. The impact of trade openness on GDP has also been examined and it is shown to be stronger than that of FDI. The paper offers a number of explanations and discusses briefly suggestions in order to increase the contribution of FDI to Vietnam’s economic development.

During the year of 2007, the world has experienced historically high oil prices both in nominal and in real terms, which has reopened discussions about energy sustainability. We therefore found it interesting to research oil dependencies and elasticities for Brazil, China, Norway, South Korea, Sweden and USA; and their possible oil consumption response to a Peak Oil phenomenon. Peak Oil in this thesis, implies that oil production will reach its climax and decline thereafter. To help draw conclusions, appropriate statistical analysis on macroeconomic variables was used as well as the modified Nerlove’s partial adjustment equation to calculate price and income elasticities both in the short and long-run. Regression results have shown that short-run price elasticities were low in all countries; in addition income elasticities were also inelastic but more elastic in relation to oil price elasticities. This indicates that oil consumption is more sensitive to changes in income than to changes in oil price. It was concluded that oil dependencies among nations differ and the trend is that developing countries are increasing their oil dependency while developed countries tend to decrease their oil dependency over time. Peak Oil will lead to higher oil prices, which in the short-run will change developing countries oil consumption to a greater extent than developed countries, but in the long-run their response are more similar. It was also noticed, that when GDP decreases in net-oil-importing countries, oil consumption will decrease even further. The opposite could be true for net-oil-exporting countries like Norway and Brazil. / Under år 2007 har världen upplevt historiskt höga oljepriser, både i nominella och reala termer, vilket återigen har lyft upp energiförsörjningen på agendan. Vi fann det därför intressant att undersöka oljeberoenden i Brasilien, Kina, Norge, Sydkorea, Sverige, USA och se hur dessa länders oljekonsumption kan påverkas av Peak Oil. Peak oil betyder att oljeproduktionen når sitt maximum och minskar därefter. För att kunna dra slutsatser har lämpliga statistiska verktyg använts på olika makroekonomiska variabler och applicerat ”Nerlove’s partial adjustment model” på data har pris-och inkomstelasticiteten av olja i varje land både på kort och lång sikt kunnat utvinnas. Från regressionen har framträtt; priselasticiteten var låg på kort sikt i alla länder och detta gäller även för inkomstelasticiteten, dock var inkomstelasticiteten relativt mer elastisk i alla länder. Detta indikerar att oljekonsumtionen är mer känslig för förändringar i inkomst än för förändringar i pris. Slutsatsen från studien är att olika länder har olika nivåer av oljeberoende och att utvecklingsländer tenderar att öka sitt relativa oljeberoende över tid medan de industrialiserade länderna tenderar att minska sitt relativa oljeberoende över tid. Peak Oil leder till högre oljepriser vilket på kort sikt kommer att påverka utvecklingsländernas oljekonsumtion mer än de industrialiserade ländernas, dock minskar skillnaden på lång sikt. En observering från denna forskning är att när BNP minskar hos olje-importörerna kommer även oljekonsumtionen att minska. För oljeexportörer som Brasilien och Norge kan oljekonsumptionen öka när BNP inkomsterna ökar från Peak Oil.

<p>During the year of 2007, the world has experienced historically high oil prices both in nominal and in real terms, which has reopened discussions about energy sustainability. We therefore found it interesting to research oil dependencies and elasticities for Brazil, China, Norway, South Korea, Sweden and USA; and their possible oil consumption response to a Peak Oil phenomenon. Peak Oil in this thesis, implies that oil production will reach its climax and decline thereafter. To help draw conclusions, appropriate statistical analysis on macroeconomic variables was used as well as the modified Nerlove’s partial adjustment equation to calculate price and income elasticities both in the short and long-run. Regression results have shown that short-run price elasticities were low in all countries; in addition income elasticities were also inelastic but more elastic in relation to oil price elasticities. This indicates that oil consumption is more sensitive to changes in income than to changes in oil price. It was concluded that oil dependencies among nations differ and the trend is that developing countries are increasing their oil dependency while developed countries tend to decrease their oil dependency over time. Peak Oil will lead to higher oil prices, which in the short-run will change developing countries oil consumption to a greater extent than developed countries, but in the long-run their response are more similar. It was also noticed, that when GDP decreases in net-oil-importing countries, oil consumption will decrease even further. The opposite could be true for net-oil-exporting countries like Norway and Brazil.</p> / <p>Under år 2007 har världen upplevt historiskt höga oljepriser, både i nominella och reala termer, vilket återigen har lyft upp energiförsörjningen på agendan. Vi fann det därför intressant att undersöka oljeberoenden i Brasilien, Kina, Norge, Sydkorea, Sverige, USA och se hur dessa länders oljekonsumption kan påverkas av Peak Oil. Peak oil betyder att oljeproduktionen når sitt maximum och minskar därefter. För att kunna dra slutsatser har lämpliga statistiska verktyg använts på olika makroekonomiska variabler och applicerat ”Nerlove’s partial adjustment model” på data har pris-och inkomstelasticiteten av olja i varje land både på kort och lång sikt kunnat utvinnas. Från regressionen har framträtt; priselasticiteten var låg på kort sikt i alla länder och detta gäller även för inkomstelasticiteten, dock var inkomstelasticiteten relativt mer elastisk i alla länder. Detta indikerar att oljekonsumtionen är mer känslig för förändringar i inkomst än för förändringar i pris. Slutsatsen från studien är att olika länder har olika nivåer av oljeberoende och att utvecklingsländer tenderar att öka sitt relativa oljeberoende över tid medan de industrialiserade länderna tenderar att minska sitt relativa oljeberoende över tid. Peak Oil leder till högre oljepriser vilket på kort sikt kommer att påverka utvecklingsländernas oljekonsumtion mer än de industrialiserade ländernas, dock minskar skillnaden på lång sikt. En observering från denna forskning är att när BNP minskar hos olje-importörerna kommer även oljekonsumtionen att minska. För oljeexportörer som Brasilien och Norge kan oljekonsumptionen öka när BNP inkomsterna ökar från Peak Oil.</p>

O presente estudo objetiva investigar a materialidade do rating de crédito sobre as decisões de estrutura de capital, uma vez que diferentes níveis de rating podem representar melhores ou piores condições para a captação dos recursos externos necessários ao financiamento empresarial. A hipótese rating de crédito-estrutura de capital sugere que, após um rebaixamento no rating, as empresas adotem um perfil mais conservador nas decisões de estrutura de capital visando restabelecer as condições que possibilitem a recuperação do rating anterior. Essa relação foi estudada por meio da análise do impacto das reclassificações do rating sobre o balanceamento da estrutura de capital ao nível-alvo de endividamento de empresas latino americanas não-financeiras com algum rating designado no período 2000- 2014. Os resultados evidenciam que muitos dos preceitos da hipótese teórica também prevalecem para as empresas latinas, principalmente quando avaliados sob a perspectiva das características institucionais da região. / This study investigates credit rating relevance on firm\'s capital structure decision-making once different rating levels may imply better or worse funding conditions. The credit ratingcapital structure hypothesis suggests that firms adopt conservative capital structure decisions after rating downgrades aiming to retrieve necessary conditions to restore a better rating. This relationship was studied by analyzing the impact of credit rating changes on target leverage balance of the capital structure of non-financial Latin American firms with a credit rating designated during the period of 2000-2014. Results show that many of the theoretical assumptions prevail for Latin American firms, especially if evaluated from a perspective of the region institutional characteristics.

The first essay compares six common models, linear, quadratic, Cobb-Douglas, translog, logarithmic, and transcendental, to estimate wheat yield and area functions for Saudi Arabia. Data cover 1990-2016 for all the variables that affect wheat supply. After testing the models using Box-Cox, multicollinearity, and autocorrelation tests, we decide that the Cobb-Douglas models provide the best fit for both yield and area. We find the price elasticity of wheat is inelastic. Yield price elasticities are more inelastic than area elasticities. The impact of government policy number 335 has a larger effect on area than yield. The cultivated area of wheat, the one-year lag of yield, and the number of machines per hectare are the most influential factors affecting wheat yield. The primary factors influencing the area models are a one-year lag of both cultivated area and yield, as well as the number of machines per hectare. The second essay estimates the residual demand elasticity that rice exporters face in Saudi Arabia. The inverse residual demand methods, as proposed by Reed and Saghaian 2004, are used for rice exporters to Saudi Arabia during the period 1993-2014. Estimation results of the elasticities of the residual demand indicate that Australia, India, and Pakistan enjoy market power, while Egypt faces a perfectly elastic demand curve. We find Thailand and the US had positive inverse residual demand which means they also have no market power. The last essay is about the virtual water trade in Saudi Arabia. Using the concept of virtual water introduced by Allan 1994 and developed by Hoekstra and Hung (2002), we estimate virtual water trade for 20 crops of Saudi Arabia during 2000-2016. Our result shows the average virtual water trade was 12.5 billion m3/year. Saudi has net virtual water imports, with the most significant virtual water imports coming from cereals & alfalfa and vegetables; and there is net virtual water export of fruit. Saudi virtual water trade reduces pressure on water resources by 52%. Distance plays a role in Saudi virtual water export; we found that more than 90% of exports go to neighboring countries, including 45% to GCC countries. More than 30% of virtual water imports come from Europe. A Gravity model is used to investigate whether water scarcity variables influence trade. We compare the OLS, Fixed effects, Random effects, and PPML estimators to get the best model. The AIC, and tests for multicollinearity, and heteroskedasticity assist in determining estimation procedures and the final models. We cluster the errors by distance to improve the specific country effect variables such as economic mass variables. For the cereals and alfalfa group, we find that water-related variables influence virtual water imports of cereals, millet, sorghum, corn, barley, and sesame. Therefore, we suggest that a basic gravity model be applied to the other crops. In the vegetable group, we find that related water variables impact virtual water trade for all crops except marrow. Dates are the only fruit crop that are not influenced by the water-related variables.

This study examines whether different corporate real estate (CRE) strategies affect the stock outperformance and systemic risk of various companies. The sample of 443 listed companies of 17 industries in Taiwan during 2000 to 2010 was divided into four groups for the different corporate real estate strategies. The pairwise abnormal return and systemic risk of composite and business (without the affect from real estate market) series were empirically examined and compared using a partial adjustment model. This study also conducts the two-stage least squares procedure to determine whether four CRE strategies were considered diversifiable factors when evaluating the firm¡¦s value The results do not indicate an increasingly abnormal return performance associated with the company implementing a certain CRE strategy, but companies with a stable profession and consistent adjustment strategies are considered a good diversifier by stock investors. Aggressive adjustment strategies do not diversify the systematic risk to overall industry, otherwise the scale of total assets would be considered a diversification in companies with aggressive strategies. The companies using an aggressive profession strategy to increase leverage are regarded as risky phenomen for stock investors, and companies with stable profession strategies face higher systemic risk if their book value is greater than their market value. Therefore, this study determines that CRE strategies affect companies¡¦ systematical risk.

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O presente estudo objetiva investigar a materialidade do rating de crédito sobre as decisões de estrutura de capital, uma vez que diferentes níveis de rating podem representar melhores ou piores condições para a captação dos recursos externos necessários ao financiamento empresarial. A hipótese rating de crédito-estrutura de capital sugere que, após um rebaixamento no rating, as empresas adotem um perfil mais conservador nas decisões de estrutura de capital visando restabelecer as condições que possibilitem a recuperação do rating anterior. Essa relação foi estudada por meio da análise do impacto das reclassificações do rating sobre o balanceamento da estrutura de capital ao nível-alvo de endividamento de empresas latino americanas não-financeiras com algum rating designado no período 2000- 2014. Os resultados evidenciam que muitos dos preceitos da hipótese teórica também prevalecem para as empresas latinas, principalmente quando avaliados sob a perspectiva das características institucionais da região. / This study investigates credit rating relevance on firm\'s capital structure decision-making once different rating levels may imply better or worse funding conditions. The credit ratingcapital structure hypothesis suggests that firms adopt conservative capital structure decisions after rating downgrades aiming to retrieve necessary conditions to restore a better rating. This relationship was studied by analyzing the impact of credit rating changes on target leverage balance of the capital structure of non-financial Latin American firms with a credit rating designated during the period of 2000-2014. Results show that many of the theoretical assumptions prevail for Latin American firms, especially if evaluated from a perspective of the region institutional characteristics.

目前我國地價制度，主要係依地價調查估計規則規定，查估公告土地現值及公告地價。價格評估主要採區段地價方式，可能造成忽略土地個別因素影響，造成評估價格明顯遠離市價。近年來我國推行地價基準地制度，期透過引進不動產估價技術規則之規範，以個別估價方式評估基準地價格，以真實反映價格與市場波動情形。然基準地評價屬一序列式之估價方式，其評估過程是否為獨立且客觀仍須進一步加以驗證。本文依循Quan-Quigley部分調整模型之理念，對高雄市地價基準地之重估價案例進行研究，透過迴歸分析分別衡量估值與當期市場價格、前期估值之關係，推估地價人員之信心水準，並進一步分析地價基準地制度是否能確實反映市場價值波動情形。研究結果顯示估價人員存在價格部分調整策略，信心水準值偏低，存在嚴重依賴前期估值之行為，隱含地價基準地評價存在估價平滑之現象。 / Previous studies defined appraisal smoothing as reduced volatility or the lag structure of appraisal-based index as compared to transaction-based index. Most of these studies examined by aggregate level and used extensive data sets to de-smooth the appraisal-based index. This paper aims to observe smoothing behavior amongst appraisers in Taiwan. It uses re-appraisal data of the land value benchmark in Kaohsiung city and modifies the partial adjustment model, developed by Quan and Quigley. Use the concept of regression analysis to measure the ratio between the current appraisal, current market value and the pre-appraisal. By establish the confidence value, we may observe the behavior of appraisers and public assessors, and distinguish if the behavior is rational or not.

The first chapter investigates how corporate governance influences firms’ capital structure behavior. Based on the premise that costs associated with deviations from the target capital structure are positively correlated to the extent of deviation, we hypothesize that the initial deviation from the target will be shorter for a firm with good corporate governance than for a firm with poor corporate governance. We also hypothesize that the former group will employ a higher speed of adjustment towards target than the latter group due primarily to the following reasons. First, a firm with well-placed governance system will adjust at a faster rate because longer it stays deviated, the higher the loss of value it faces. Second, firms with better governance structures enjoy lower adjustment costs. We develop three sets of measures for the quality of corporate governance and analyze how they influence a firm’s rebalancing behavior in presence of relevant control variables. Our results are consistent with the hypotheses. The second chapter explores investors’ reactions to new information on REITs and non-REITs option markets. The real estate market can be fairly volatile; what remains unclear is whether price changes are excessively volatile relative to fundamentals. This study attempts to examine the latter by using the methodology based on Stein (1989), which utilizes option data. The advantage of using option data rather than stock data to assess the reactions to information is that option valuation is not affected by changes in risk premium. Under volatility mean reversion, the changes in implied volatilities of long-term options should be less than those of short-term options. If not, an excessive reaction is suggested. Specifically, the study compares the changes in implied volatilities of options on REITs and non-REITs. Because real estate transactions typically involve a great degree of leverage, reactions can be greater for REITs than for non-REITs; on the other hand, there are several reasons that REITs are subject to potentially a lower degree of excessive reactions. Empirical results indicate that the reactions to information are stronger in non-REITs than in REITs. Moreover, we find that down markets are associated with stronger reactions, which we argue might be due to a leverage effect.