The main approach to the solution of the debt crisis, which started in EU in 2010, was the adoption of measures focusing on fiscal consolidation. But despite them it is still not possible to claim that the debt crisis has been resolved, and the economic stagnation of EU continues. This thesis follows alternative approach to the solution of debt crisis, specifically the measures revolving around fostering of economic growth. It looks into how different extent of implementation of competitiveness strategies, whose goal together with the improvement of country competitiveness is to also improve economic growth, influenced the impact of debt crisis on selected countries. Based on this analysis we draw a conclusion whether or not measures focused on the economic growth could be a more effective solution of the debt crisis.

In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted A/RES/70/1, 2015, a resolution that entails 17 integrative and indivisible UN Sustainable Development Goals, by the name of 2030 Agenda, a plan of action that calls for the transformation of the world to ecologically, economically and socially sustainable planet where peace and prosperity endure. With its indivisibility and universality characteristics, the Agenda puzzled the world states, demanding a new form of governance style for its realization. With the use of qualitative research methodology, this thesis, therefore, examines how the Agenda's policies are coordinated by the Swedish Government Agencies and what activities and mechanisms they use to integrate the Agenda' policies into their daily operational activities. Through collaborative governance and sociological institutionalism theoretical lens, results show that Government agencies use several mechanisms such as collaboration, dissemination of knowledge, leadership and communications to enhance the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Sweden. Nevertheless, some challenges hinder the agencies from working with the Agenda on a full scale, that if addressed properly, it could have improved the current conditions.

Many regions of the world would like to replicate the financial and monetary integration of the European Monetary Union (EMU). Member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have shown an interest in such an arrangement. ASEAN is a political, cultural, and economic association that includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Many of these nations are experiencing rapid economic development while others are still relatively poor and under developed. As such, they appear to be an unlikely group for currency unification. Older studies suggest that multiple currency union groupings may be possible in the short run that could be unified into a whole at an unspecified time in the future. The issue has been studied for some time and appeared defunct with the onset of the Asian Financial Crisis. More than a decade has passed and another more global financial crisis has ensued leaving many Asian countries in better shape than their highly developed trading partners in the west. This leads to the need for further examination of the possible unification of some or all ASEAN members into a Regional Currency Arrangement. This dissertation evaluates the readiness of the ASEAN nations for monetary union using data from the post Asian Financial Crisis period. Results of a formal G-PPP test show the area is an optimum currency area. Analysis of other criteria shows incredible diversity across the countries in the region that would make unification a challenge. Coordination of monetary policy would be most difficult given the variety of inflation rates and differences in depth of financial system development as explored in chapter 2. Trade has increased in the region leading to better linkages among economies but the data shows that reaching full integration of all countries by the 2020 deadline without disruptions in some economies may still be difficult.

This thesis consists of three essays. The first essay, “A Theory of Bank Illiquidity and Default with Hidden Trades”, develops a theory of banking to explore how the availability of trading opportunities for both banks and individual investors affects the link between illiquidity and default in the financial system. The results show that default emerges only in the presence of systemic risk, and when an unpredicted crisis hits the economy. Moreover, in contrast to the previous literature, default is not an efficient outcome of the economy. The second essay, “Financial Liberalization with Hidden Trades”, studies how the availability of unregulated market-based channels for the circulation of liquidity in the financial system affects the process of financial integration, and the efficiency of the corresponding equilibrium, in a two-country economy with comparative advantages. The results show that the only level of integration which the two countries are able to coordinate is the one where the two banking systems are autarkic, but international hidden trades are possible. Moreover, the resulting consumption allocation is constrained efficient. The third essay, “Bank Liquidity, Stock Market Participation, and Economic Growth”, develops a dynamic growth model with fully microfounded banks and markets to explain the observed decreasing trend in the relative liquidity of many financial systems around the world. The main result characterizes the threshold after which the agents in the economy are rich enough to access the market, where the relative liquidity is lower, and shows that the relative liquidity of the whole financial system (banks and markets) drops because of the increasing market participation. Some evidence consistent with this theoretical prediction is provided: a one-unit increase in an index of securities market liberalization leads to a drop in the relative liquidity of between 13 and 22 per cent.

This thesis consists of an introductory chapter and four papers, which relate to environmental policy in the presence of transboundary environmental damage. Paper [I] concerns public policy in a multi-jurisdiction framework with transboundary environmental damage. Each jurisdiction is assumed large in the sense that its government is able to infuence the world-market producer price of the externality-generating good. This gives rise to additional incentives of relevance for national public policy in the non-cooperative Nash equilibrium. With the uncoordinated equilibrium as the reference case, the welfare effects from coordinated changes in public policy variables are analyzed. Paper [II] analyses welfare effects of coordinated changes in environmental and capital taxation in the presence of transboundary environmental externalities and wage bargaining externalities. In the wage bargaining between frms and labor unions, firms use the threat of moving abroad to moderate wage claims, which means that domestic policy infuences wage formation abroad. The specific framework implies welfare effects of policy coordination that correspond to each of the respective international interaction mentioned above. In paper [III], national governments face political pressure from environmental and industrial lobby groups, while pollution taxes are determined in an international negotiation. It is shown that a general increase in the environmental concern and the weight the governments attach to social welfare both tend to increase the pollution tax. However, allowing for asymmetries between the countries means that a general increase in the environmental concern has the potential to reduce the pollution tax. Paper [IV] studies national environmental policies in an economic federation characterized by decentralized leadership. The federal government sets emission targets for each member country, which are implemented by the national governments. Although all national governments have commitment power vis-à-vis the federal government, one of them also has commitment power vis-à-vis the other member countries. This creates incentives to act strategically toward the federal government, as well as toward other members.

Sustainability has consolidated as a global paradigm. Consequently, different sectors have adopted its principles to develop better practices for the environment and society. Within the transportation field, carsharing has emerged as a potential solution to reduce congestion and carbon emissions.  In Stockholm, one of the world’s leading cities on the sustainability agenda, carsharing has been growing steadily, with more companies participating in the market and more users adopting it. Likewise, the local administration conceives it as a tool that could contribute to sustainability. However, the private and the public sector assert that carsharing is far from its potential. The conditions established by the local government could be a factor that explains this situation.  Accordingly, this thesis aims to analyze Stockholm’s policy and administrative framework for carsharing, with a focus on its coordination and implementation. This was made by conducting interviews with public officers and carsharing companies and by analyzing Stockholm’s policy and administrative documents related to carsharing through the lens of policy integration and coordination. The illustrative example of charging stations and its implications for carsharing is used to analyze policy coherence, and to reveal the implementation divergences between the private carsharing sector and local public authorities.

The present thesis evaluates the responses of the contemporary Greek foreign policy structures and processes, conceptualised as the Greek foreign policy system, in the face of the transformation of world politics. This transformation, precipitated by the concurrent complex processes of globalisation and regionalisation, pose empirical and analytical challenges to the national management of foreign policy. Consequently, government departments and agencies assigned with responsibility for the conduct of what has been traditionally termed foreign policy, namely the national foreign policy machinery with the foreign ministry and the diplomatic network at its core, find themselves challenged as roles and responsibilities are relocated. Such change underpins the machinery s institutional responses and the need to rethink its role and structure. The thesis synthesises several literatures, primarily those identified with international relations, transformational foreign policy analysis, and new approaches to diplomatic studies informed by insights from institutionalist approaches. This is combined with extensive fieldwork within the Greek bureaucracy and the diplomatic network, and seeks to cast light on a relatively understudied area: namely the organisation and nature of the Greek foreign policy system in an era of considerable change. The thesis draws a dual image of the contemporary Greek foreign policy system which displays elements of both continuity and change. According to the first image, the Greek foreign policy machinery embraces contemporary foreign policy developments, and is enmeshed in a process of change and adaptation as a response to its changing operational environment. The second image depicts the foreign policy system as traditionalist conforming to geopolitical approaches, which are linked to compartmentalisation in the organisation of foreign policy. This image is supported by evidence which suggests that the Greek foreign policy machinery is infused with elements of hierarchy, centralisation and verticality in its organisation, which prevent the adoption of integrated and horizontal models prescribed by globalist approaches to the management of foreign policy.

Les interdépendances poussent les États fédéraux à coordonner leurs politiques publiques tout en limitant les conflits potentiels, ce qui consiste souvent en un défi important. Dans plusieurs pays, cette coordination s’effectue principalement au sein d’institutions intergouvernementales, comme les conseils, forums ou agences. Ces mécanismes permettent notamment aux gouvernements de s’entendre sur des priorités communes et d’harmoniser leurs politiques publiques. Au Canada, par contre, les institutions intergouvernementales sont souvent vues comme étant peu efficaces, ce qui force les gouvernements à recourir à des réseaux informels d’acteurs. Cette thèse examine la complémentarité des institutions formelles et des relations informelles entre fonctionnaires et ses effets sur la coordination des politiques publiques au Canada. Pour ce faire, trois études se penchent sur diverses variables politiques et institutionnelles pour démontrer que les fonctionnaires ont une marge de manœuvre importante dans la mise en place des politiques intergouvernementales, et que, par conséquent la politisation joue un rôle minime dans le cadre des relations intergouvernementales canadiennes. La première étude porte sur l’incidence de la partisannerie politique sur la participation aux activités intergouvernementales. Elle explore le cas du Québec, où se sont succédés au pouvoir des partis nationalistes et fédéralistes. Le rôle de la partisannerie entre 1970 et 2015 est analysé à l’aide de méthodes mixtes : une analyse de contenu de communiqués intergouvernementaux, des régressions temporelles et des entretiens semi-dirigés menés auprès des fonctionnaires provinciaux. Les résultats montrent que le parti au pouvoir, qu’il soit nationaliste ou fédéraliste, a peu ou pas d’effet sur la participation de la province aux relations intergouvernementales. Plutôt, il est argumenté que les activités intergouvernementales sont principalement conduites par des fonctionnaires pour qui les relations ne sont pas politisées. Ainsi, le Québec participe systématiquement aux discussions intergouvernementales et signe beaucoup plus d’ententes que ce qui est généralement présumé. La deuxième étude vérifie si l’institutionnalisation des mécanismes intergouvernementaux a une réelle influence sur la coordination politique. Après l’analyse de 39 forums sectoriels et des régressions multiniveaux, la recherche ne trouve aucune preuve de l’effet de l’institutionnalisation. Plutôt, l’effet des institutions formelles est limité par la grande importance des réseaux informels de fonctionnaires dans la mise en œuvre des politiques intergouvernementales. De plus, il ressort que les secteurs techniques produisent généralement plus de coordination que les secteurs davantage politisés. La dernière étude examine la réactivité des gouvernements fédéraux et provinciaux aux rencontres intergouvernementales lorsqu’ils définissent leurs priorités politiques. L’analyse se base sur une comparaison longitudinale des rencontres ministérielles avec les priorités politiques mentionnées dans les discours du Trône fédéraux et provinciaux entre 1969 et 2009. Les résultats montrent que plus les ministres d’un secteur se rencontrent, plus l’attention accordée à ce secteur par les gouvernements est grande, confirmant ainsi l’importance des relations intergouvernementales au Canada. Ces résultats tiennent également compte de l’opinion publique, une variable longtemps reconnue comme influençant l’attention politique aux enjeux. / Policy interdependencies create an important challenge for federal states in that the latter must coordinate policies while mitigating possible conflicts. In many countries, this is done through intergovernmental institutions, such as councils, forums or agencies. These venues provide a means for constituent units to negotiate common priorities and harmonize policies. However, Canadian intergovernmental mechanisms are often seen as weakly institutionalized, meaning governments need to rely on informal networks of actors to achieve compromises. This dissertation examines the role of the interaction between formal institutions and informal relations between bureaucratic agents in shaping policy coordination in Canada. Through three studies that examine the effect of different political and institutional variables on coordination, it is argued that public servants exercise important discretion when implementing intergovernmental policy, thus minimizing the effect of politicization in Canadian intergovernmental relations. The first study focuses on partisanship as a relevant factor in explaining intergovernmental activity in Canada. It explores the case of Quebec, which has been governed by alternating nationalist and federalist parties. The role of partisanship in relation to the province’s intergovernmental activity from 1970 to 2015 is assessed through mixed methods: a content analysis of joint press releases, a Poisson time-series regression analysis and qualitative interviews with intergovernmental officials. The findings show that the party in power has little to no effect on the province’s participation in IGR. Instead, public servants, whose relations are not politicized, are the primary actors partaking in intergovernmental activity. As a result, Quebec systematically participates in IGR discussions and signs a larger amount of agreements than commonly thought. The second study examines whether the institutionalization of intergovernmental arrangements influences policy coordination. Through a study of 39 Canadian sectoral forums and the use of a multi-level regression analysis, it finds no empirical evidence to support this claim. Instead, it argues that informal networks of officials are where most intergovernmental activity occurs, thereby limiting the effect of formal institutions. This finding is reinforced by the fact that technical sectors typically produce more coordination than sectors that are prone to politicization. The last study investigates the responsiveness of federal and provincial governments to intergovernmental meetings when defining their policy priorities. The analysis is based on a longitudinal comparison of ministerial meetings with issue priorities mentioned in federal and provincial Speeches from the Throne over the period of 1969 to 2009. The results show that the more often ministers in a given policy domain meet, the more attention a government gives to that sector, thus confirming the importance of intergovernmental relations in Canada. These results hold even when controlling for the effect of public opinion, a known driver of policy attention to issues.

Magister Educationis - MEd / The purpose of the study is to understand the roles, functions and perceived performance of the Tertiary Education Council (TEC) in higher education governance in Botswana. The study describes the relationship between the government, the TEC and higher education institutions in Botswana. The main objectives of the study are to: a) Examine the roles and functions of the TEC in Botswana’s higher education regarding policy formulation, quality assurance and coordination in the planning and development of tertiary education. b) Explore potential tensions between the roles and functions of the TEC and those of some of its stakeholders. c) Establish the performance of the TEC in relation to the three functions of policy formulation, quality assurance and coordination in the planning and development of tertiary education. The study is located within the broader framework of higher education governance. It examines the different models of higher education governance (such as state control, state interference and state supervision models) and the relationship involved between different stakeholders in governance of higher education. Furthermore, the framework focuses on the implications of the dynamics of higher education governance on the roles and functions of buffer bodies. The study adopted a single case study approach and it was designed to allow for the use of multiple sources of evidence. Data was collected through a review of both institutional and policy documents, semi-structured interviews with eight informants from the TEC and the Ministry of Education and Skills Development, as well as a survey targeting institutional heads of higher education institutions in Botswana. The use of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection provided useful and in-depth data and allowed for triangulation. The data was analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings of the study reveal that there are differing conceptions of the TEC’s role in higher education in Botswana. Whereas the TEC sees itself as ‘middleman’ between the government and higher education institutions, the higher education institutions conceptualise the role of the TEC as an extension of government. The differing views on the TEC’s role, as either buffer or agent, result in different expectations of the roles and functions of the TEC. In addition, the study revealed that Botswana’s higher education system is characterised by fragmentation and duplication of roles, which limit the mandate of the TEC, thereby creating tensions between the TEC and other constituencies in the Botswana higher education system. The study thus contributes to the understanding of the roles and functions of the TEC in the governance of higher education in Botswana. It also contributes to the understanding of the relationship between the different stakeholders involved in the governance of higher education and the implications of this relationship on the roles and functions of buffer bodies. Overall, the study shows the complexities involved in the governance of higher education in a young and evolving system of higher education, and in a context in which the roles and functions of the key players are contested and inconsistently understood.

[pt] Essa tese discute o papel das expectativas dos agentes a respeito da condução das políticas monetária e fiscal na determinação dos efeitos dessas políticas, na dinâmica da economia e na volatilidades das variáveis macroeconômicas. O primeiro capítulo mostra que considerar as expectativas dos agentes a respeito de possíveis mudanças de regime tem efeitos importantes nas respostas das variáveis macroeconômicas aos choques, mesmo que essa mudança de regime não se materialize ao longo da trajetória observada após o choque. O reconhecimento da possibilidade de mudanças de regime também tem consequências importantes para a volatilidade das variáveis endógenas que são mais altas do que as obtidas no modelo linear e muito dependentes dos parâmetros de política escolhidos pelas autoridades fiscal e monetária em cada regime. O segundo capítulo discute o papel das expectativas a respeito das políticas futuras na determinação da profundidade de uma crise quando a economia atinge o limite inferior de zero para as taxas de juros nominais. Ele mostra que ao analisar o impacto de um estímulo fiscal durante um episódios de taxa de juros zero, deve-se olhar para além dos multiplicadores no curto prazo. Para ter efeitos positivos maiores, as políticas monetária e fiscal devem durar mais do que a crise e precisam ser coordenadas. O terceiro capítulo apresenta uma avaliação dos estímulos fiscais em termos das perdas de bem-estar, tornando claro que essa avaliação deve considerar não apenas o efeitos das políticas sobre a inflação e o produto no curto prazo, mas também o valor presente descontado da inflação e do produto nos períodos futuros. Ele também apresenta uma análise de como se obtém o nível ótimo da taxa de juros nominal uma vez que a economia não está mais em crise se a autoridade monetária pretende usar o canal das expectativas para reduzir a profundidade da crise. / [en] This thesis discusses the role of agents expectations regarding the conduction of monetary and fiscal policies in determining policy outcomes, economic dynamics and the volatilities of macroeconomic variables. The first Chapter shows that accounting for agents’ expectations of a possible regime change has critical effects in the responses of macroeconomic variables to shocks, even if this switch does not materialize itself along the path observed after the shock. Recognizing the possibility of regime switches also have important consequences for the volatilities of endogenous variables, which are higher than those obtained in the linear model and very dependent on the policy parameters chosen by monetary and fiscal authorities in each regime. In the second Chapter, I discuss the role of expectations in determining the depth of a crisis when the economy hits the zero lower bound on nominal interest rates. I show that when analysing the impact of a fiscal stimulus during a zero interest rate episode, there is more than just short-run multipliers. To have larger positive effects on output and inflation, monetary and fiscal policies should last longer than the duration of the shock and be coordinated in their actions. The third Chapter presents a thoughtful evaluation of a fiscal stimulus in terms of the implied welfare losses making clear that it should account not only for the effects of policies on short-run output and inflation, but also for the present discounted value of output and inflation in future periods as well. It also analyses how to obtain the optimal level for the nominal interest rate once the economy gets out of the crisis state, if the monetary authority wants to use the expectations channel to undermine the depth of the crisis.