[pt] Tendo em vista a importância das fontes de financiamento das empresas brasileiras inserida num contexto de particularidades e características do mercado brasileiro, e num contexto de juros baixos internacionais, esse trabalho visa a analisar os determinantes da estrutura de capital das empresas de capital aberto listadas na Bovespa (Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo) no Brasil no período de 2004 a 2006. Há de se levar em consideração que o período estudado foi atípico uma vez que o mercado de emissão de ações no Brasil renasceu em 2004 e permaneceu aquecido nos últimos três anos, contrariando a Pecking Order Theory, de que a última alternativa cogitada para o levantamento de fontes seria a emissão de ações. Segundo a teoria, tenta-se evitar ao máximo a entrada de novos acionistas na atividade da empresa. Entretanto, entre 2004 e 2006, 81 empresas recorreram à bolsa e boa parte delas não tinham um alto endividamento e hoje estão com uma dívida líquida baixa. Esse estudo visa também a investigar se existe uma diferença entre esses fatores determinantes quando se discrimina as empresas de maior das de menor porte. O referencial teórico baseia-se nas teorias dos custos de agência, hierarquia de preferência por fontes de financiamento (pecking order theory), na teoria fiscal, teoria da sinalização e na trade-off theory. Dos diversos fatores determinantes propostos na literatura, elegemos alguns fatores quantitativos para analisar empiricamente suas importâncias e validades. Os fatores eleitos foram a influência das variáveis de controle, tamanho da empresa, lucratividade, tranqüilidade dos ativos e oportunidades de crescimento sobre a estrutura de capital das empresas brasileiras. / [en] In view of the importance of the sources of financing of the Brazilian companies, and taking into account the context of particularities and characteristics of the Brazilian market and the context of low international interest rates, this work aims to analyse the determinants of capital structure of Brazilian companies listed in Bovespa (Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo) in the period between 2004 and 2006. One should bear in mind that the period under study was not typical, once the IPOs in Brazil were reborn in 2004 and remained heated in the last three years, contrasting with the Pecking Order Theory, which defends that the last financing alternative would be the issue of shares. According to this theory, the entrance of new shareholders is avoided to the last extent. However, between 2004 and 2006, 81 companies used the stock market for funding and most of them did not have high levels of debt and remain nowadays with low net debt. This study also aims to investigate if there is a difference between the determinants of capital structure, in case larger and smaller companies are discriminated. The theories studied encompass the cost of agency theory, the pecking order theory, the fiscal theory, the signaling theory and the trade-off theory. Out of the many factors determinants of the capital structure proposed, we selected a few of them, mainly quantitative, to analyse empirically its relevance and validity. The factors in question were: the influence of control, company size, profitability, assets tangibility and growth opportunities concerning the Brazilian companies.

Com o objetivo de analisar a rentabilidade econômica da produção de mudas de alface produzidas em bandejas com diferentes volumes de substrato e formato de célula, foram realizados levantamentos de custos de um produtor de mudas localizado no estado de São Paulo, nas safras de verão e de inverno. Para avaliar os custos de produção para cada safra de cultivo, foi usado a metodologia adotada pelo Centro de Estudos Avançados em Economia Aplicada (CEPEA), onde se calcula o Custo Total de produção pela soma entre o Custo Anual de Recuperação do Patrimônio (CARP) e o Custo Operacional (CO). O CARP é uma metodologia que considera o fator depreciação e custo de oportunidade do capital imobilizado para aquisição dos bens envolvidos, e o CO envolve todos os custos operacionais da atividade (viveiro de produção de mudas). O custo total de produção por área (m2), custo total de produção por muda e custo total de produção por bandeja foram superiores na safra de inverno em relação à safra de verão. Para o custo de produção por muda, os valores obtidos seguiram a seguinte ordem (R$): 84 células > 105 células > 128 células achatada alta > 128 células achatada baixa > 128 células cônicas > 200 células cônicas. Já para o custo de produção por bandeja, a ordem foi a seguinte: 84 células > 105 células > 128 células achatada alta > 128 células achatada baixa > 200 células cônicas > 128 células cônicas. Para o lucro da atividade, a ordem dos lucros foi (R$): 128 células achatada alta > 128 células achatada baixa > 84 células > 105 células > 200 células cônicas > 128 células cônicas. Além da rentabilidade econômica, dois experimentos foram conduzidos no viveiro especializado na produção de mudas, durante os períodos de 25 de dezembro de 2015 a 3 de fevereiro de 2016 e 26 de janeiro a 26 de fevereiro de 2016. Os períodos de cultivo foram de 28 e 40 dias para o primeiro ciclo (mudas convencionais e \"mudões\", respectivamente) e de 31 dias para todas as bandejas, no segundo ciclo. Os experimentos (primeiro e segundo ciclo) foram instalados em delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado com quatro repetições, sendo os tratamentos constituídos por 6 diferentes tipos de bandejas para produção de mudas (128 células com formato cônico,128 células achatada baixa, 128 células achatada alta, 84 células, 105 células e 200 células com formato cônico). As mudas convencionais são destinadas para a produção hidropônica com uso de berçário, e os \"mudões\" para sistemas de cultivo hidropônico sem uso de berçário. As características agronômicas avaliadas foram massas frescas e secas das partes aéreas e das raízes, área foliar, comprimento total, área superficial, diâmetro médio, volume total e número total de raízes. Para mudões, que são destinados ao cultivo hidropônico sem a utilização da fase de berçário, as bandejas de 105 células resultaram em mudas com crescimento similar àquelas produzidas em bandejas de 84 células. Através desses resultados é possível recomendar as bandejas de 105 células por possibilitarem maior rendimento por área ao produtor de mudas. As mudas produzidas em bandejas de 84 e 105 células foram mais desenvolvidas, em geral, no primeiro ciclo do que no segundo ciclo. Para mudas convencionais, de maneira geral, as bandejas de 200 células cônicas resultaram em menor desenvolvimento das plântulas comparadas às bandejas de 128 células cônicas, achatadas baixas e achatadas altas. As bandejas de 200 células cônicas resultaram em maior massa fresca da parte aérea, área foliar, comprimento total das raízes e número total de raízes no segundo ciclo em relação ao primeiro, devido ao período de cultivo ter sido superior no segundo ciclo (31 dias após a semeadura). / The objective of this study was to analyze the economic profitability of lettuce seedling production in trays with different cell volume and format through cost survey of production related to a grower located at Sao Paulo State. In order to evaluate the production costs for each growth period, the methodology adopted by Center of Advanced Studies on Applied Economy (CEPEA) was used to calculate the Total Cost of Production by the sum between the Annual Cost of Recovery (CARP) and the Operating Cost (CO). The CARP is a methodology that considers the factor of depreciation and opportunity cost of immobilized capital to acquire the assets involved, and the CO involves all operational costs of the activity (nursery of seedling production). The total cost of production per square meter (m2), total cost of production per seedling and total cost of production per tray were higher in the winter season as compared to the summer season. For the production cost per seedling, the values obtained were in the following order (R $): 84 cells> 105 cells> 128 flattened high cell> 128 flattened low cell> 128 conic cells > 200 conic cells. For the cost of production per tray, the order was as follows: 84 cells> 105 cells> 128 flattened high cells> 128 flattened low cells > 200 conic cells > 128 conic cells. For the profit of the activity, the order of profits was (R $): 128 flattened high cells > 128 flattened low cells > 84 cells> 105 cells> 200 conic cells> 128 conic cells. Besides the economic profitability, two experiments were conducted in the nursery specialized in the seedling production of lettuce during the periods of December 25, 2015 to February 3, 2016 and January 26 to February 26, 2016. The growing periods were 28 And 40 days for the first cycle (conventional seedlings and \"large seedlings\", respectively) and 31 days for all trays in the second cycle. The experiments (first and second cycle) were installed in a completely randomized experimental design with four replicates, and the treatments consisted of 6 different types of trays for seedlings production (128 cells with conical shape, 128 flattened low cells, 128 flattened high cells, 84 cells, 105 cells and 200 cells with conical shape). The conventional seedlings are destined for hydroponic production with the use of nursery phase and the \"large seedlings\" are used to hydroponic systems without of nursery phase. The agronomic characteristics evaluated were fresh and dry masses of the aerial parts and roots, leaf area, total length, surface area, mean diameter, total volume and total number of roots. For \"large seedlings\", trays of 105 cells resulted in seedlings with growth similar to those produced in trays of 84 cells. Through these results, it is possible to recommend the trays of 105 cells because they allow greater yield per square meter to the grower of seedlings. The seedlings produced in trays of 84 and 105 cells, in general, were more developed in the first cycle than in the second cycle. For conventional seedlings, the trays of 200 conical cells resulted in lower seedling development as compared to trays of 128 conical cells, flattened low and flattened tall cells. The trays of 200 conical cells resulted in higher fresh shoot mass, leaf area, total root length and total number of roots in the second cycle as compared to the first, because the growing period was higher in the second cycle (31 days after sowing).

O presente estudo analisou os diversos fatores que influenciam a tomada de decisões na gestão de rentabilidade do portfolio de produtos em empresas de bens de consumo, investigando os aspectos lógicos e comportamentais de liderança que influenciam este processo decisório para ao final do estudo propor um conjunto de diretrizes com oito etapas e vinte e cinco elementos específicos, que devem ser considerados na estruturação do processo decisório relacionado a uma gestão ativa da rentabilidade do portfólio de produtos em empresas de bens de consumo. Esta abordagem de gestão ativa proposta pelas diretrizes orienta o processo de decisão para identificar os desvios e buscar as causas dos problemas, atuando assim de forma mais estruturante e menos paliativa na gestão de rentabilidade do portfolio de produtos. As diretrizes propostas visam guiar as organizações de bens de consumo a adequarem suas práticas de gestão do portfolio de produtos com maior ciência sobre as variáveis que impactam o processo decisório quando se trata da gestão de rentabilidade em questão, envolvendo os aspectos quantitativos e qualitativos e suas inerentes complexidades, principalmente quando há neste processo de gestão diversos produtos, agentes e interesses distintos envolvidos. Como método, este estudo partiu da análise de um caso prático vivenciado pelo autor, para então explorar a teoria e posteriormente retornar à prática realizando três pesquisas de campo, iniciando com um estudo de caso único e seguido por outras duas pesquisas utilizando entrevistas em profundidade com gestores de produtos de outras empresas e especialistas no tema. / The present study analyzed the various factors that influence decision-making in the profitability management of the product portfolio in consumer goods companies, investigating the logical and behavioral aspects of leadership that influence this decision process to then at end of the study propose a set of guidelines with eight steps and twenty-five specific elements which should be considered in the structuring of the decision-making process related to an active profitability management of the product portfolio in consumer goods companies. This active management approach proposed by the guidelines guides the decision process to identify the deviations and to pursue the causes of the problems, thus acting in a more structuring and less palliative way in profitability management of the product portfolio. The proposed guidelines aim to guide consumer goods organizations to adapt their product portfolio management practices with greater knowledge about the variables that impact the decision-making process when it comes to the profitability management in question, involving the quantitative and qualitative aspects and their inherent complexities, especially when there are several products, agents and interests involved in this management process. As a method, this study started with the analysis of a practical case experienced by the author, to then explore the theory and then return to practice by performing three field surveys, starting with a single case study followed by two other surveys using in-depth interviews with product managers from other companies and experts in the subject.

A partir das demonstrações contábeis publicadas, com a utilização de modelagem econométrica, esta tese teve como objetivo principal estimar a composição da estrutura de custos e despesas que tiveram rentabilidade e lucratividade operacional acima da média dos setores selecionados. Extraíram-se inferências sobre a composição da estrutura de custos e despesas das empresas e efetuou-se uma análise relacionando essa estrutura com a rentabilidade e a lucratividade operacional acima da média de cada setor selecionado dentro do período de 2005 a 2009. As variáveis de análise foram extraídas da base de dados Economática. Foram selecionados os setores Têxtil e Siderurgia/Metalurgia, porque apresentaram maior quantidade de dados completos no período estudado. A técnica de modelagem quantitativa empregada foi a análise de regressão com dados em painel, com utilização do modelo de efeito fixo, com coeficiente angular constante e intercepto variando entre as entidades. A partir dos dados dos modelos, foi calculada a composição média de custos e despesas fixas (CDF) e custos e despesas variáveis (CDV) sobre o total de custos e despesas totais (CDT). Paralelamente, também foi calculada a margem operacional média (MO) e a rentabilidade operacional média (RO) dessas empresas para o mesmo período estudado. Além disso, uma breve discussão das características individuais de cada setor e uma análise do contexto econômico do período de 2005 à 2009 foi realizada para compreender possíveis influências no desempenho das empresas nos setores pesquisados. Desta análise constatou-se que o período com menor participação de CDF foi o ano de 2008, coincidindo com o período de intensificação da crise financeira nos mercados maduros. Com base na pesquisa realizada, constatou-se uma correlação forte e negativa entre CDF e os indicadores de desempenho (MO e RO). Constatou-se ainda que a estrutura de custos e despesas do setor Siderúrgico/Metalúrgico permite maior participação de CDF do que a do setor Têxtil. No setor Siderúrgico/Metalúrgico o intervalo da proporção de CDF nas empresas com desempenho acima da média no período foi de 30,34% a 30,60%, enquanto que no setor Têxtil foi de 20,15% a 20,76%. / The main objective of this dissertation is to estimate the composition of the cost and expense structure of companies using their published financial statements, with the use of econometric modeling. Inferences was drawn up for the composition of cost and expense structure of the companies and an analysis was made linking this structure with return on assets and operating profitability above average of each selected industry within the period 2005 to 2009. The variables of analysis have been extracted from Economática database. The Textile and Steel/Metallurgy industries were selected because they presented more complete data in the period investigated. The quantitative modeling technique employed was regression analysis with Panel data, using the fixed effect model with constant angular coefficient and intercept ranging between entities. Data from the models was calculated as the average composition of fixed costs and expenses (CDF) and variable costs and expenses (CDV) on the total costs and expenses (CDT). In parallel, was also calculated the average operating margin (MO) and the average operating return on assets (RO) of these companies for the same period. In addition, economic scenario data of the period was reviewed in order to identify if there was any possible significant influence on the variation of costs and expenses structure. The study results show that the period with lower participation of CDF was in 2008, coinciding with the period of intensification of the financial crisis in mature markets. Also the cost and expense structure with less participation of CDF is related to greater MO and RO. It was also found that the cost and expense structure of Steel/Metallurgical industry allows greater participation of CDF than the textile sector. In the Steel/Metallurgical industry, the percentage range of CDF in companies with above-average performance in the period was of 30.34% to 30.60%, while in the Textile sector was of 20.15% to 20.76%.

Les villes sont de plus en plus au cœur d’enjeux contradictoires. D’un côté le e-commerce a considérablement augmenté les flux circulant en ville. D’un autre côté on aspire à créer des espaces de vie agréables et piétons, dans lesquels les véhicules de marchandises sont souvent proscrits. L’approvisionnement est pourtant indispensable pour conserver l’attractivité de la ville.Face à cela, la logistique urbaine est apparue, visant à organiser le dernier maillon de la chaine logistique en élaborant des solutions dont les aires de livraison, la réglementation ou encore les Centres de Distribution Urbaine (CDU). Il s’agit d’une plateforme de mutualisation logistique, localisée à proximité du centre-ville et des grands axes routiers. Sa mission est de consolider le fret à destination de la ville afin de réduire le nombre de camions et d’utiliser des modes de livraison doux tel le véhicule électrique ou le triporteur.Pourtant les CDU peinent à atteindre une zone d’équilibre économique. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’identifier si un CDU peut être rentable dans une ville européenne de taille moyenne. Nous montrerons que oui mais sous certaines conditions que nous préciserons et testerons.Pour cela, nous avons développé deux modèles, l’un économique basé sur les coûts opérationnels du CDU, et l’autre physique basé sur les temps du processus de livraison. Ce dernier présente l’intérêt d’identifier des leviers pour améliorer la performance économique du CDU et de pouvoir tester leur impact. Nous avons illustré certains leviers dans une étude de cas au cours de laquelle l’impact de la morphologie, le type de véhicules ou encore le prix de vente, par ex., ont été testés. / The supply of freight inside cities is the last link of global logistics. Cities are actually in the middle of contradictory issues. On one hand the e-commerce revolution has significantly increased the ingoing flow inside the city. On the other hand people yearn to create pleasant pedestrian spaces of life in which vehicles are not welcome. Yet, freight supply is required to keep the attractiveness of city. It is necessary to provide solutions meeting all these needs.A lot of solutions have been studied to face city logistics issues. Among them, we focus our research on a flow pooling solution exploiting an Urban Consolidation Centre (UCC). It consists of a centralization platform for the distribution of freight intended for the city centre. The purpose is to pool freight from different carriers to limit the use of resources in urban areas. This kind of project is particularly designed to avoid semis from entering the city. Thus, the warehouse is located as close as possible to city centres as well as being as accessible as possible for carriers.Despite the enthusiasm for the UCC concept, this type of solution has not shown much success until now. That is why we choose to concentrate our approach on the observation and assessment of logistics costs to operate a UCC in real life with the aim to answer the question: Can an UCC be viable in a middle size European city? Particularly, we show this is the case but with some specific conditions that we present in details.To do so, we developed two models: the first one is an economical model based on operational costs and the second is a physical model based on the study of process ‘times. The combination between both models gave the opportunity to highlight some levers. Then we tested these levers on case studies and we suggest some improvement of the performance thanks to a new logistics organisation called « Physical Internet ».

Denna kvalitativa studie syftar till att få en djupare förståelse för hur små- till medelstora företag inom fordonsindustrin arbetar med Working Capital Management och hur användbara teorier kopplade till rörelsekapital är inom praktiken. Working Capital Management, som på svenska innebär styrning av rörelsekapitalet, syftar till att hitta en effektiv balans mellan rörelsekapitalets olika delar. Datainsamling till studien har skett via primära och sekundära källor, där de primära källorna är intervjuer och de sekundära tidigare empiriska studier samt tryckta källor. Fyra bolag som uppfyllt studiens krav har valts ut där två utav respondenterna var VD för respektive bolag och de andra två ekonomichefer. Intervjufrågorna baserades på den teoretiska referensramen där den empiriska datan sedan sammanställdes. Utifrån den teoretiska referensramen och den empiriska datan analyserades huruvida teorierna stämde överens med samtliga bolag. Slutsatsen av den här studien är att bolagen påverkas mycket av de större aktörerna inom fordonsindustrin vilket styr deras arbete med Working Capital Management. Däremot påverkas de olika mycket beroende på vilka kredittider bolagen har. Bolagen styrs också mycket av andra externa faktorer, där ett dotterbolag är mer styrt från övriga koncernen än vad ett moderbolag är. Slutligen kan arbetet med Working Capital Management ses som en påverkande faktor i bolagens val av finansiering, där bolagens tankesätt ligger mest i enlighet med POT.

A \'Niágara Rosada\' (Vitis labrusca) é a principal cultivar de mesa produzida no Estado de São Paulo. Esta cultivar apresenta maior rusticidade e menor custo de produção em relação às cultivares de uva fina (Vitis vinifera L.) por ser mais resistente às doenças fúngicas, ter menor custo com mão-de-obra e insumos, pelo menor número de pulverizações e pela ausência de alguns tratos culturais. No Estado de São Paulo, sua produção concentra-se, principalmente, nos Escritórios de Desenvolvimento Rural (EDR) de Campinas, Itapetininga e Jales, e é cultivada sob diferentes sistemas de produção. O objetivo do trabalho foi analisar a viabilidade econômica da cultivar \'Niágara Rosada\' nos principais EDRs produtores do Estado de São Paulo. Para isso, foram realizados painéis e estudos de caso com produtores para elaboração do custo de produção, rentabilidade da cultura e análise de investimento, para o ano de 2012, nas diferentes regiões produtoras. No EDR de Campinas, foi avaliado o período de safra principal e temporã, no qual o Custo Total (CT) foi R$ 1,57 por quilo, com uma Receita Líquida Total (RLT) de R$ 0,89 por quilo de uva. Ao considerar apenas a safra principal do EDR de Campinas, a queda na produção elevou o custo e diminuiu a rentabilidade de forma que o CT foi de R$ 1,81 por quilo e a RLT de R$ 0,17 por quilo. No EDR de Itapetininga, para a safra principal, o CT calculado no painel foi de R$ 1,33 por quilo, e a RLT foi de R$ 0,47 por quilo, enquanto que para a safra temporã, a menor produtividade elevou o CT para R$ 2,04 por quilo, mas o melhor preço de venda proporcionou uma RLT de R$ 0,75 por quilo. No EDR de Jales, o CT foi R$ 2,36 por quilo, contudo o elevado preço de venda na entressafra paulista gerou uma RLT de R$ 083 por quilo. Na análise de investimento ao longo de oito anos de produção, considerando-se o valor da terra, o EDR de Campinas apresentou o menor Valor Presente Líquido (VPL), de R$ 12.142,02 por hectare, com uma Taxa Interna de Retorno (TIR) de 3% ao ano e um payback anualizado de oito anos. No EDR de Itapetininga, considerou-se a média de custos e receitas entre as duas safras (principal e temporã), e o VPL resultante foi de R$ 28.313,03 por hectare e a TIR de 8% ao ano, com um payback anualizado no sexto ano de produção. No EDR de Jales, por conta dos preços de venda elevados obtidos na entressafra, o VPL foi o mais elevado, com R$ 97.596,77 por hectare, TIR de 14% ao ano e payback anualizado em cinco anos. Com base nos resultados foi possível verificar que a atividade é rentável, independente do sistema de condução e possui retorno positivo nos moldes da agricultura familiar, apesar de cada EDR possuir suas características tanto para a produção quanto para a comercialização da uva \'Niágara Rosada\' que exigem conhecimento da cultura e boa gestão da propriedade por conta dos viticultores. / The \'Niagara Rosada\' (Vitis labrusca) is the main cultivar of table grape produced in São Paulo State. This cultivar is rustic and has lower production cost than other grapes cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.). In São Paulo State, its production is concentrated in the Rural Development Offices (RDO) of Campinas, Itapetininga and Jales, and this grape has been cultivated in different production systems. This work aims to analyze the economic viability of \'Niagara Rosada\' at main RDO producers of São Paulo State. Therefore, panels and case studies were made with grape growers to assess the production cost and to calculate profitability and investment analysis for the crop. At Campinas RDO, the main season and the second season were evaluated, and the Total Cost (TC) obtained was R$ 1.57 per kilo, with R$ 0.89 per kilo of Total Net Revenue (TNR). Considering only the Campinas RDO main season, the decrease of grape production increased the production cost and reduced profitability, the TC reached was R$ 1.81 per kilo and TNR R$ 0.17 per kilo. At Itapetininga RDO main season, the TC calculated in the panel was R$ 1.33 per kilo, and the TNR was R$ 0.47 per kilo. Meanwhile, at second season, the lower productivity increased TC to R$ 2.04 per kilo, but the higher price caused a TNR of R$ 0.75 per kilo. At Jales RDO, TC was increased to R$ 2.36 per kilo, however the high selling prices in the off-season in São Paulo State resulted in TNR of R$ 0.83 per kilo. For the investment analysis during eight producing years, considering the land value, Campinas RDO showed the lowest Net Present Value (NPV), R$ 12,142.02 by hectare, with an Intern Rate Return (IRR) of 3% by year and discounted payback of eight years. At Itapetininga RDO, was considered a cost and revenue average between two seasons (main and second) and NPV obtained was R$ 28,313.03 per hectare and IRR of 8% by year, with a discounted payback at the sixth year of production. At Jales RDO, due high selling prices, the NPV was the highest, R$ 97,596.77 per hectare, 14% of IRR by year and discounted payback at five years. According to the results, it was possible to conclude that grape production is profitable, despite the production system, and has a positive return for familiar agriculture. Despite that, each RDO has its own characteristics in terms of production and commercialization of grapes, requiring knowledge and good management by the grape growers.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T14:32:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Eriton Luiz Mainardes.pdf: 1287247 bytes, checksum: 12fe1af45599beece827a8e3c399fd09 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study aimed to analyze the economic feasibility in canola production (Brassica napus var oleifera) for the Campos Gerais region - PR. Therefore, was interviewed eight producers, and used information from four of them for economic analysis. The variables analyzed were: cost of production, economic analysis (hurdle rate, net present value, internal rate of return, payback, profitability index and profitability index), sensitivity analysis and vegetable oil costs. Compared to canola with wheat (Triticum aestivum) - to be the main crop in the autumn and winter period - and soybean (Glycine max) - by liquidity in the world market. It was concluded that despite the economic analysis indicates superior results of canola production compared to the wheat crop and vegetable oil production is more attractive financially than soybeans, the culture of canola is still insignificant in the region of Campos Gerais (PR). The producers interviewed pointed to limit the culture of expansion financing the limited crop; the incipient technical assistance; adaptations of agricultural machinery; reduced number of pesticides released into the culture in the state of Paraná; canola be host of the soybean white mold disease (Sclerotinia sclerotiorun); the production process - marketing the seed sale - be coordinated by private companies; variable productivity; transportation, processing and storage with smaller grains to other crops. / Este trabalho teve como objetivo analisar a viabilidade econômica na produção de canola (Brassica napus var. oleifera) para região dos Campos Gerais – PR. Para tanto foram entrevistados oito produtores, sendo usadas informações de quatro deles para análises econômicas. As variáveis analisadas foram: custo de produção, análises econômicas (taxa mínima de atratividade, valor presente líquido, taxa interna de retorno, payback, índice de lucratividade e índice de rentabilidade), análise de sensibilidade e custos de óleo vegetal. Comparou-se a canola com a cultura do trigo (Triticum aestivum) - por ser o principal cultivo no período de outono e inverno - e da soja (Glycine max) - por sua liquidez no mercado mundial. Concluiu-se que apesar da análise econômica indicar resultados superiores da produção da canola em comparação com a cultura do trigo e da produção de óleo vegetal ser mais atraente financeiramente que a soja, a cultura da canola ainda é inexpressiva na região dos Campos Gerais (PR). Os produtores entrevistados apontaram como limitantes à expansão da cultura o financiamento da lavoura limitado; a assistência técnica incipiente; adaptações de máquinas agrícolas; reduzido número de agrotóxicos liberados para a cultura no estado do Paraná; a canola ser hospedeira da doença da soja mofo branco (Sclerotinia sclerotiorun); o processo produtivo – da venda de sementes à comercialização - ser coordenado por empresas privadas; produtividade variável; transporte, beneficiamento e armazenamento com grãos menores que as demais culturas.

This thesis contributes via the concept of efficiency in four distinct fields of the fi nancial economics and banking literature: technological heterogeneity, liquidity creation, profitability, and stability of banks. In Chapter 1 we motivate the analysis by presenting the main developments that have been taking place in the banking sector as far as these four elds are concerned and highlight their importance to the appropriate functioning of the nancial system and of the economy overall. In Chapter 2 we address the issue that conventional surveys on bank efficiency draw conclusions based on the assumption that all banks in a sample use the same production technology. However, efficiency estimates can be severely distorted if the existence of unobserved differences in technological regimes is not taken into consideration. We estimate the unobserved heterogeneity in banking technologies using a latent class stochastic frontier model. In order to arrive at a policy implication that is valid across time and markets, we present two applications of the model using separately data from the UK and Greek banking sector over the periods 1987-2011 and 1993-2011 respectively. To increase the precision of our inferences, we adopt two distinct empirical methodologies: a panel data method and a pooled cross-section modelling strategy. Our results reveal that bank-heterogeneity in both banking sectors can be controlled for two technological regimes. We find a trade-o¤ between the level of sophistication within a fi nancial system and its level of aggregate efficiency. Consistency among the results is established under both methodologies. Further, we propose a methodology with regard to M&As activity of UK and Greek banks within a latent class context. We examine numerous potential M&A scenarios among banks that belong to different technological regimes, and we test whether there is a transition of the new banks to a more efficient technological class resulting from this M&A activity. We find strong evidence that new financial institutions can be better equipped to withstand potential adverse economic conditions. Finally, we cast doubt on what the true motivation for M&A activity is and we extract important policy inferences in terms of social welfare. In Chapter 3 we introduce the "Cost Efficiency - Liquidity Creation Hypothesis" (CELCH) according to which a rise in a bank s cost efficiency level increases its level of liquidity creation. By employing a novel stress test scenario under a PVAR methodology, we test the CELCH and the direction of causality among liquidity creation and cost efficiency variables in the UK and Greek banking sector. Moreover using new measures of liquidity creation (Berger and Bouwman, 2009) we address the question of whether potential M&As can enhance liquidity creation and create additional credit channels in the economy. We evaluate and compare the robustness of potential consolidation scenarios by employing half - life measures (Chortareas and Kapetanios 2013). We show a positive impact of cost efficiency on liquidity creation in line with CELCH. The empirical evidence further suggests that potential consolidation activity can enhance the ow of credit in the economy. Bank shocks seem to be the most persistent on both liquidity creation and cost efficiency and the UK banking system is found to withstand more effectively adverse economic conditions. Finally, we cast doubts on the strategy followed by policy authorities regarding the recent wave of M&As in the Greek banking sector. In Chapter 4, we attempt to shed light on the trade-o¤ between fi nancial stability and efficiency. We highlight that current tests of banking efficiency do not take into account whether banks managers are taking too much or too little risk relative to the value maximising amount. We assume that moving from an intermediary bank type balance sheet to an investment bank type not only changes the risk-return combination of the balance sheet but also increases the banks degree of instability, that is the probability of insolvency when adverse effects occur. To this extent, we propose a new efficiency measure which incorporates all the aforementioned ambiguous points. An empirical investigation of US commercial banks between 2003-2012 suggests that our proposed risk-adjusted index has superior explanatory power with respect to banks profi tability and gives better predictions compared to conventional banking efficiency measures. This holds after various robustness checks. Chapter 5 summarizes the main findings of all three distinct studies and concludes by highlighting the importance and the contributing points of the thesis in the banking and financial economics literature.

In an effort to make more spectrum available, recent initiatives by the FCC let mobile providers offer spot service of their licensed spectrum to secondary users, hence paving the way to dynamic secondary spectrum markets. This dissertation investigates secondary spectrum markets under different regulatory regimes by identifying profitability conditions and possible competitive outcomes in an oligopoly model. We consider pricing in a market where multiple providers compete for secondary demand. First, we analyze the market outcomes when providers adopt a coordinated access policy, where, besides pricing, a provider can elect to apply admission control on secondary users based on the state of its network. We next consider a competition when providers implement an uncoordinated access policy (i.e., no admission control). Through our analysis, we identify profitability conditions and fundamental price thresholds, including break-even and market sharing prices. We prove that regardless of the specific form of the secondary demand function, competition under coordinated access always leads to a price war outcome. In contrast, under uncoordinated access, market sharing becomes a viable market outcome if the intervals of prices for which the providers are willing to share the market overlap. We then turn our attention to how a network provider use carrier (spectrum) aggregation in order to lower its break-even price and gain an edge over its competition. To this end, we determine the optimal (minimum) level of carrier aggregation that a smaller provider needs. Under a quality-driven (QD) regime, we establish an efficient way of numerically calculating the optimal carrier aggregation and derive scaling laws. We extend the results to delay-related metrics and show their applications to profitable pricing in secondary spectrum markets. Finally, we consider the problem of profitability over a spatial topology, where identifying system behavior suffers from the curse of dimensionality. Hence, we propose an approximation model that captures system behavior to the first-order and provide an expression to calculate the break-even price at each network location and provide simulation results for accuracy comparison. All of our results hold for general forms of demand, thus avoid restricting assumptions of customer preferences and the valuation of the spectrum.