Is the relationship between insurance consumption and its determinants spurious? Is general insurance a luxury service? Do bequest motives matter for life insurance consumption? Is private credit important for the development of life insurance? Do socioeconomic development and informal risk sharing institutions matter for formal insurance consumption? This thesis investigates these and other related issues using international datasets and relatively new panel data method, namely the Common Correlated Effects Pooled (CCEP) estimator. A novelty of the CCEP is that it takes into account the impacts of unobserved common factors. The thesis consists of an introduction, three empirical chapters and conclusions. Chapter 2 studies the relationship between nonlife insurance consumption and income/wealth per capita. Estimation results suggest that income elasticity is below unity and that nonlife insurance is positively related to GDP per capita, the law, risk aversion, infrastructural development, and negatively related to socioeconomic development. Chapter 3 explores life insurance consumption driven by bequest motives. We found that life insurance consumption is positively related to GDP per capita, old age dependency ratio, infrastructural development, and social security and welfare; and negatively related to the extended family institution, savings, inflation, and risk aversion. Estimation results suggest the presence of altruistic, and bequest as exchange old age security motives. Chapter 4 investigates the long run relationship and causality direction between private credit consumption and life insurance development. Life insurance development may be explained by GDP per capita, formal and informal credit consumption, infrastructural development, life expectancy, institutional quality, inflation, and Islam, and Orthodox being the dominant religions. Cointegration test results suggest that life and nonlife insurance consumption and its determinants exhibit a long run relationship; and that there is a long run bi-directional causality relationship between life insurance development and private credit consumption. The thesis concludes that insurance development requires institutional and infrastructural development-in particular- telecommunications infrastructure, to facilitate cost effective insurance supply.

El presente trabajo analiza la existencia de un vínculo entre el crédito privado empleado como proxy de desarrollo financiero y el comercio exterior, para ello usa un panel de datos de 9 años para 94 países. Los resultados obtenidos mediante el método generalizado de momento revelan que el crédito tiene un efecto positivo y significativo en la apertura comercial. Además, se encuentra una relación no lineal entre el crédito privado y el comercio internacional el cual demuestra que cuando los países superan cierto umbral crediticio el efecto del crédito en la apertura comercial deja de ser eficiente. Finalmente, se confirma un efecto diferenciado y adicional del crédito privado en la apertura comercial para países desarrollados. No obstante, se encuentra que los países en desarrollo, con sistemas financieros en progreso, tienen una brecha mayor para su crecimiento a diferencia de los países desarrollados con sistemas financieros avanzados. Dichos resultados tienen relevancia económica en tanto contribuyen a formular políticas económicas que incrementan la cantidad y calidad de crédito privado con el fin de mantener un nivel considerable de comercio exterior lo que contribuirá positivamente al producto bruto interno de cada país. / This paper analyzes the existence of a possible link between private credit used as a proxy for financial development and foreign trade in a nine-year data panel for ninety-four countries. The results obtained using the generalized method of moments reveal that credit has a positive and significant effect on trade openness. Furthermore, there is a non-linear relationship between private credit and international trade, which shows that when countries exceed a certain credit threshold, the effect of credit on trade liberalization ceases to be efficient. Finally, a differentiated and additional effect of private credit on trade openness for developed countries was confirmed. However, it is found that developing countries with financial systems in progress have a greater gap for their growth than developed countries with advanced financial systems. These results are economically relevant as they contribute to a form of economic policies that increase the quantity and quality of private credit in order to maintain a considerable level of foreign trade, which contribute positively to each country's gross domestic product. / Trabajo de investigación

O objetivo geral da tese é estudar os fatores que influenciaram o volume de crédito privado em três grupos de países - Grupo OCDE, BRICs e América Latina e Caribe -, entre 2004 e 2010. Com a utilização da regressão de dados em painel, os modelos desenvolvidos indicam que, para o Grupo OCDE, o Consumo Privado foi o fator relevante de maior impacto sobre a razão Crédito/PIB, e o sinal positivo de seu coeficiente indica a importância das decisões de consumo das famílias para a liquidez do setor privado, além de refletir o eventual direcionamento do crédito ao consumo. Nos BRIC\'s e na América Latina e Caribe, o sinal negativo obtido pelo saldo da Balança de Transações Correntes foi o elemento mais significativo e de maior intensidade sobre a variável dependente, sinalizando dependência de poupança externa. Além disso, foi observado que, em todos os grupos de países estudados, a magnitude do Comércio Internacional afetou positivamente o grau de endividamento privado nas economias. O significado, para os tomadores de decisão, dos resultados encontrados é analisado no final do trabalho. / The main goal of this thesis is to investigate the private credit determinants in a country between 2004 and 2010, when OECD\'s richer countries, BRIC\'s and Latin American and Caribbean faced Private Credit/GDP ratio\'s increasing. Assuming heterogeneity among regions and applying regression panel data models the outputs indicate in OECD\'s richer countries, Private Credit/GDP ratio was mainly positively influenced by the Household Consumption. In BRIC\'s and Latin America and Caribbean, the Current Account Balance was the most relevant determinant. Furthermore, International Trade affected positively Private Credit/GDP in all country groups. Finally, the significance of these findings for decision makers is analyzed.

O objetivo geral da tese é estudar os fatores que influenciaram o volume de crédito privado em três grupos de países - Grupo OCDE, BRICs e América Latina e Caribe -, entre 2004 e 2010. Com a utilização da regressão de dados em painel, os modelos desenvolvidos indicam que, para o Grupo OCDE, o Consumo Privado foi o fator relevante de maior impacto sobre a razão Crédito/PIB, e o sinal positivo de seu coeficiente indica a importância das decisões de consumo das famílias para a liquidez do setor privado, além de refletir o eventual direcionamento do crédito ao consumo. Nos BRIC\'s e na América Latina e Caribe, o sinal negativo obtido pelo saldo da Balança de Transações Correntes foi o elemento mais significativo e de maior intensidade sobre a variável dependente, sinalizando dependência de poupança externa. Além disso, foi observado que, em todos os grupos de países estudados, a magnitude do Comércio Internacional afetou positivamente o grau de endividamento privado nas economias. O significado, para os tomadores de decisão, dos resultados encontrados é analisado no final do trabalho. / The main goal of this thesis is to investigate the private credit determinants in a country between 2004 and 2010, when OECD\'s richer countries, BRIC\'s and Latin American and Caribbean faced Private Credit/GDP ratio\'s increasing. Assuming heterogeneity among regions and applying regression panel data models the outputs indicate in OECD\'s richer countries, Private Credit/GDP ratio was mainly positively influenced by the Household Consumption. In BRIC\'s and Latin America and Caribbean, the Current Account Balance was the most relevant determinant. Furthermore, International Trade affected positively Private Credit/GDP in all country groups. Finally, the significance of these findings for decision makers is analyzed.

This dissertation consists of two essays. First essay investigates Fortune 500 companies that implemented Six Sigma. Since the 1980s, industrial organizations have adopted practices such as Six Sigma to maintain and enhance competitiveness. The purpose of this study is to look at the long run stock price and the operating performance of Fortune 500 companies that were identified to have implemented Six Sigma compared to the overall market performance as well as the performance of industry and size matched firms. Even though our sample firms improved several variables after implementing Six Sigma, their operating performances were not quite close to the performances of the matching firms. After implementing Six Sigma, compared to the industry and size matched firms, the only variable that improved out of 14 variables we looked at, is the growth in staff levels. The findings may contribute to understanding the reasons that underlie the so-called jobless recovery. Second essay investigates the real estate price indices in 19 emerging markets. The main objectives of the central banks are not necessarily in line with the goals for asset prices, particularly house prices; however house price changes can have important implications for economic activity and inflation. The consequences of excess changes in house prices also should be watched carefully by central banks and other government agencies that regulate financial institutions for the purpose of financial stability. This essay searches for a link between house prices, broad money, private credit and the macro-economy among 19 emerging markets. We are also trying to explain which variables predict the emerging markets real estate index returns. Our results show that money market rate, growth in GDP and CPI as well as log of private credit and money supply have significant predictive power on growth in real estate price indices a quarter ahead. We also show that there is multidirectional causality among all of the variables. A unique data is being used for the emerging markets real estate price indexes in this study. The data is provided by aDubaibased private company which offers emerging markets real estate information to its customers.

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本文旨在研究地下經濟規模與金融發展對實質人均GDP成長率之影響。我們使用二種不同金融發展資料，分別為私部門信貸規模及股市成交值規模。使用的資料型式為追蹤資料，時間由西元1981年至2008年，國家共22個，其中有14個已開發國家，8個開發中國家。模型部分共採用三種型式，首先為一般線性模型，其次為納入地下經濟規模與金融發展交互作用之非線性模型，最後則是門檻迴歸模型。 結果顯示，在一般線性模型中，地下經濟規模及私部門信貸規模對實質人均GDP成長率的影響並不顯著，而股市成交值規模對實質人均GDP成長率有顯著正面影響。 而在納入地下經濟規模與金融發展之交互作用項後，私部門信貸規模與地下經濟規模的交互作用項對實質人均GDP成長率有顯著負面影響，而股市成交值規模與地下經濟規模之交互作用項對實質人均GDP成長率有負面影響，但不顯著。由上面的結果，我們推斷地下經濟規模與實質人均GDP成長率可能存在著非線性的關係。 在門檻迴歸中，若把顯著水準設在10%，我們發現納入私部門信貸規模與股市成交值規模的模型存在顯著的門檻效果。在門檻迴歸中，若把私部門信貸規模或是股市成交值規模當作門檻變數，當金融發展程度低時，地下經濟規模對實質人均GDP成長率有顯著正面影響，而當金融發展程度高時，地下經濟規模對實質人均GDP成長率的影響並不顯著。 總結來說，我們建議低度金融發展國家適度的允許地下部門發展，因為政府無法干預地下部門，因此地下部門的營運較有效率，適度允許反而有助於提高資本投資的效率，進而促進實質人均GDP成長率。相反地，我們建議高度金融發展國家的政府應限制地下部門的發展。 / This paper focuses on linear effects and nonlinear effects of underground economy and financial development on the growth rate of real GDP per capita. Utilizing two alternative measures of financial development, including the size of private credit and stock trade. The analysis relies on a sample of 22 countries for the period 1981-2008, including 14 developed countries and 8 developing countries. We use three different models, including linear model, nonlinear regression with a cross-term and panel threshold model. The results show that in the linear model, underground economy and private credit have no significant impact on the growth rate of real GDP per capita, but stock trade has a significant positive impact on the growth rate of real GDP per capita. Moreover, the interaction between private credit and underground economy has a significant negative impact on the growth rate of real GDP per capita, on the other hand, the interaction between stock trade and underground economy has an insignificant negative impact on the growth rate of real GDP per capita. Hence, we speculate there have a nonlinear effect between underground economy and the growth rate of real GDP per capita. In the panel threshold model, if the level of significance is set in 10%, we find that the model with private credit and stock trade have threshold effect, it implies that the sample can be split into two regimes: High degree of financial development and Low degree of financial development. Underground economy has a significant positive impact on the growth rate of real GDP per capita when private credit is low, so does stock trade. In conclusion, we suggest that it may be optimal for countries with a less developed formal financial sector to accept more tax evasion, because it accelerates the efficiency in capital investment and then facilates the growth rate of real GDP per capita. On the contrary, countries with a more developed formal financial sector should impose more tax compliance.