published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

A theorem due to Scarf in 1967 is examined in detail. Several versions of this theorem exist, some which appear at first unrelated. Two versions can be shown to be equivalent to a result due to Sperner in 1928: for a proper labelling of the vertices in a simplicial subdivision of an n-simplex, there exists at least one elementary simplex which carries all labels {0,1,..., n}. A third version is more akin to Dantzig's simplex method and is also examined. In recent years many new applications in combinatorics have been found, and we present several of them. Two applications are in the area of fair division: cake cutting and rent partitioning. Two others are graph theoretic: showing the existence of a fractional stable matching in a hypergraph and the existence of a fractional kernel in a directed graph. For these last two, we also show the second implies the first.

Master of Arts / Department of Economics / Yang-Ming Chang / This report examines the role of the privatization in Sri Lanka and assesses its effectiveness. The focus was given for the evolution of privatization and how socio-political factors such as rent-seeking, inconsistency policy making, market competition, political uncertainty and role of supporting institutions have affected the privatization process. After the independence in 1948, several reforms have been taken place in Sri Lanka. In 1977, a market oriented policy package which brought huge amount of foreign aids into the country was introduced. Further the privatization in Sri Lanka can be addressed as: Sporadic attempt, Systematic approach and Structured approach. The appointment of short-term governments and changing of the leadership has always been a hurdle for a successful privatization in Sri Lanka. In order to establish a successful privatization, it requires having the changing of ownership from public sector to private sector, creating a competitive market environment and forming a proper institutional framework. Unfortunately, due to less emphasis was given to the latter two factors: the privatization has always given undesirable outcomes. In the whole history of privatization in Sri Lanka, the highest value for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) was recorded in 2008. It is clear that the reason for the FDI value escalation in 2008 is the improved confidence of foreign investors by addressing security concerns. In conclusion, it is time to investigate whether the current regulatory model is the most appropriate arrangement for the prevailing economic, social and cultural circumstances in Sri Lanka.

Master of Science / Department of Agricultural Economics / Mykel R. Taylor / Land value research has been conducted over many decades with efforts being focused on a broad spectrum of topics encompassing many different issues. The research in this thesis will focus on understanding the relationship between net farm income, cash rent, and land value. This research could provide insight and direction in determining future land value behavior. Understanding land prices is important to many different segments of the agricultural industry. Those involved in the industry want to know where land values are going and what the future looks like. Although certain segments may not be directly affected by land value movements, if value decreases the environment of the agriculture industry is changed. Farmers and ranchers are interested in future land values as they make purchase and sale decisions or as they consider future growth of their operation. Agribusinesses understand the affect a decrease in land value would do to farmer’s decisions regarding capital purchases. Additionally, agriculture finance institutions are interested in the future movement of land value as they are concerned about the affects adverse movements in land value would have on their customer’s balance sheet and ultimately their collateral position. In this paper the relationship between land value and cash rent; where land value is a function of historical cash rent and cash rent is a function of net returns to the land will be tested for its’ existence in Kansas. Data were collected for the nine crop reporting districts in Kansas from 1973 through 2012.

This thesis deals with the question whether a state public enterprise is the source of political capital in the conception of the theory of rent-seeking on the example of the Czechoslovak state spa. The theoretical part explains the concept of political capital and the concept of rent-seeking theory from the view of Public Choice Theory. The analytical part is concerned with the fate of state spas in Czechoslovakia. The probe into the historical period of the First Republic is examined what happens to these spas, what is their place in the state budget, what is their fulfillment of stated objectives and which characters of rent-seeking in the form of political capital are observed at this state company. Based on this analysis it is concluded that the state spa enterprise is practical example of the theory of rent seeking and the source of political capital.

Thesis advisor: Arthur Lewbel / The thesis includes two essays. The first essay, Inequality Moments in Estimation of Discrete Games with Incomplete Information and Multiple Equilibria, develops a method for estimation of static discrete games with incomplete information, which delivers consistent estimates of parameters even when games have multiple equilibria. Every Bayes-Nash equilibrium in a discrete game of incomplete information is associated with a set of choice probabilities. I use maximum and minimum equilibrium choice probabilities as upper and lower bounds on empirical choice probabilities to construct moment inequalities. In general, estimation with moment inequalities results in partial identification. I show that point identification is achievable if the payoffs are functions of a sufficient number of explanatory variables with a real line domain and outcome-specific coefficients associated with them. The second essay, Tenancy Rent Control and Credible Commitment in Maintenance, co-authored with Richard Arnott, investigates the effect of tenancy rent control on maintenance and welfare. Under tenancy rent control, rents are regulated within a tenancy but not between tenancies. The essay analyzes the effects of tenancy rent control on housing quality, maintenance, and rehabilitation. Since the discounted revenue received over a fixed-duration tenancy depends only on the starting rent, intuitively the landlord has an incentive to spruce up the unit between tenancies in order to show it well, but little incentive to maintain the unit well during the tenancy. The essay formalizes this intuition, and presents numerical examples illustrating the efficiency loss from this effect. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics.

Este trabalho discute a dinâmica do mercado de edifícios de escritórios para locação, especificamente o comportamento oscilatório resultante do equilíbrio dinâmico entre a oferta e a demanda por espaços de escritório. O papel dos sistemas de informação atualmente existentes na indução e manutenção destes movimentos é verificado, sendo analisada a produção dos indicadores de mercado e os problemas relacionados com a abrangência e a consistência dos bancos de dados atualmente existentes. Com base nesta discussão, é apresentada uma sistemática para a construção de um índice mercado oriundo da locação em empreendimentos de base imobiliária compostos por edifícios de escritórios, que permita observar a variação temporal da referência de preço pelo uso do espaço, possibilitando tanto a comparação entre segmentos deste mercado, segregados por regiões de ocupação típica e classificação dos edifícios, quanto entre outras tipologias de real estate. A sistemática do trabalho incorpora diferentes aspectos de sistemáticas análogas, reconhecendo os métodos existentes para construção de índices de preços para então, a partir de ajustes nestes métodos, fazer uma aplicação específica ao mercado de edifícos de escritórios para locação. Para ilustrar a sistemática é construído um protótipo do índice, utilizando o ‘aluguel efetivo’ como referência de preços. O uso de expectativas racionais acerca do comportamento futuro do mercado beneficia os empreendedores ao permitir a consecução de análises conceitualmente bem estruturadas. Além disto, o meio acadêmico se beneficia por contar com uma ferramenta que possibilita a construção de séries históricas, auxiliando na realização de estudos setoriais / This work discusses the office market dynamics, specifically the oscillatory behavior resultant of the dynamic balance between supply and demand for office spaces. The role of contemporary information systems, in the induction and maintenance of these movements, is discussed; being analyzed the production of market indicators and problems related with the broadness and consistence of the current databases. Based on this discussion, it is presented a method for the construction of a market index originating from office’s leases, that allows to observe the temporal fluctuation of the price reference for the use of the space, namely the ‘effective rent ', making possible the comparison so much among segments of this market, segregated by areas of typical occupation and classification of the enterprises, as with other typologies of real estate. The methodology of the research incorporates different aspects of similar methods existent, being analyzed the available tools for calculation of ‘effective rent ', soon after recognizing the existent methods for construction of price indexes, making some fittings in these methods, to do a specific application to the office market. The use of rational expectations about the future behavior of the market benefits the entrepreneurs by allowing the attainment of conceptually well-structured analyses. Besides, the academy benefits for counting with a tool that makes possible the construction of historical series, aiding in the accomplishment of sectorial studies.

A inserção dos assentamentos de reforma agrária federal, a partir da década de 1980, na Zona da Mata pernambucana, aproximou os representantes dos movimentos sociais rurais e os trabalhadores rurais do sonho da melhor distribuição de terras e da possibilidade de acesso a sua terra de trabalho. Tal configuração se fez realidade para apenas alguns trabalhadores, porém estes, mesmo possuindo sua parcela para a realização do plantio continuou, através do trabalho flexível, subordinando sua força de trabalho aos representantes do agronegócio da cana de açúcar. Este panorama suscitou alguns questionamentos, entre eles: Como se apresenta de fato a atual estrutura fundiária do território da microrregião de Vitória de Santo Antão após a inserção dos assentamentos de reforma agrária federal? A então chamada reforma agrária brasileira tem sido capaz de formar uma nova configuração do espaço agrário? E por qual motivo o assentado, que via regra é um ex-assalariado da cana, passa a cultivar cana de açúcar depois que recebe uma parcela? Essas indagações direcionaram a pesquisa o seguinte objetivo: buscar, compreender e analisar as relações socioterritoriais a partir do processo de inserção dos assentamentos de reforma agrária federal no território da microrregião de Vitória de Santo Antão, além de buscar identificar a forma de subordinação dos assentados da reforma agrária aos representantes do capital do agronegócio. Diante das questões levantadas, esta pesquisa se faz relevante por debater questões teóricas associadas com o conhecimento empírico, pertinentes ao conhecimento geográfico e que visam explicar a atual configuração do espaço agrário diante da inserção dos assentamentos de reforma agrária e a subordinação dos trabalhadores assentados ao agronegócio. Visando alcançar o objetivo geral foram feitos os seguintes procedimentos metodológicos. Levantamento e leitura bibliográfica a respeitos das questões conceituais de espaço, território, renda da terra e trabalho flexível, além de trabalhos de campo visando a aplicação de entrevistas, questionários e produção iconográfica foram fundamentais para se chegar a algumas conclusões. A permanência da estrutura fundiária latifundiária e monocultora foi uma delas. Além desta conclusão, notou-se também que os assentados do território da microrregião de Vitória de Santo Antão permanecem subordinando a sua força de trabalho ao agronegócio canavieiro, só que agora dentro das características do trabalho flexível. Em função deste modo de trabalho os assentados não percebem mesmo tendo deixado de ser assalariado da cana, continuam subordinando a sua força de trabalho ao agronegócio canavieiro. / The insertion of the agrarian reform federal, from the 1980s, in the Zona da Mata, approached representatives of social movements and rural workers dream of better land distribution and the possibility of access to their land work. This configuration became reality for only a few workers, but these, despite having its share to achieve the planting continued, through flexible working, subordinating their workforce representatives of agribusiness sugarcane. This scenario has raised some questions, among them: As shown in fact the current structure of the land territory of the region of Vitoria de Santo Antao after insertion of agrarian reform federal? The so-called land reform in Brazil has been able to form a new configuration of agrarian space? And for what reason the settler who saw rule is a former employee of the cane begins to cultivate sugarcane after it receives a portion? These questions directed the research the following objective: to seek, understand and analyze the socio-territorial relations from the insertion process of agrarian reform in the federal territory of the region of Vitória de Santo Antão, and seek to identify the form of subordination of the settlers agrarian reform to representatives of agribusiness capital. Given the issues raised, this research is relevant for discussing theoretical issues associated with the empirical knowledge relevant to the geographical knowledge and aimed at explaining the current configuration of the agrarian space before inserting the agrarian reform settlers and the subordination of workers to agribusiness. In order to achieve the overall goal were made the following methodological procedures. Reading literature survey and to respect the conceptual issues of space, territory, land rent and flexible working as well as field work towards the implementation of interviews, questionnaires and iconographic production were essential to reach some conclusions. The permanence of land ownership and landholding monoculture was one. In addition to this conclusion, it was noted also that the settlers of the territory of the region of Vitória de Santo Antão remain making its workforce sugarcane agribusiness, only now within the characteristics of flexible working. According to this way of working the settlers do not realize even though no longer employed by the cane, still making its workforce sugarcane agribusiness.

A constituição da moderna propriedade da terra é um marco na mudança do significado da terra como poder econômico, em que se metamorfoseia a riqueza-terra em mercadoria, que só aparece como tal, porque a terra passa ser instrumentalizada como um capital (fictício). É no embate com a moderna propriedade que a produção da favela emerge no urbano como uma forma de apropriação da terra, predominantemente, não mercantil, revelando-se como um processo de desmercantilização social. A instrumentalização da terra como capital fictício tornou-se mais evidente na atualidade, em decorrência do contexto de financeirização mundial e seus impactos na produção imobiliária. Tal fato acarretou uma reestruturação na produção do urbano, consequentemente, na produção da favela na cidade. Cabe uma crítica ao processo de urbanização a partir dos significados da apropriação da terra e das formas de produção, que possibilite pensar novos caminhos alternativos para ressignificação da propriedade. Assim, essa tese tem como objetivo abordar alguns significados da terra na relação com o capital na cidade, observando as mudanças nessa relação em diferentes momentos, buscando associá-los à produção e (re)significação da favela na cidade de Fortaleza. Tem-se como hipótese que na produção da cidade, a produção da favela implicou em mudanças cujas dinâmicas estão associadas a ressignificações que a apropriação da terra representou na produção do espaço: Inicialmente, significando instrumento de poder, a partir da constituição da moderna propriedade, capaz de apropriar de parte da mais-valia e do custo de reprodução da força de trabalho, passa a ser instrumentalizada como capital fictício, condição inerente ao processo de mercantilização. E, atualmente, em um contexto de dominância das finanças, tal significado é potencializado, revelando-se capaz de incrementar o valor, por aumentar os preços e os negócios imobiliários, reforçando o processo de mercantilização da terra, que se torna cada vez mais inacessível para aqueles que não podem pagar. Nesse movimento, a favela emerge como recriação das formas não mercantis de apropriação da terra e da moradia ou como um processo de desmercantilização popular, apresentando-se ora como produto ora como fronteira ao capital. / The establishment of the modern land ownership is a milestone for the shift in the meaning of land as economic power, in which land wealth is metamorphosed into commodity, which in turn can only present itself as such, because the land has evolved into the form of fictitious capital. From the struggle with the modern land ownership, the production of favelas has emerged in cities as a form of appropriation of land, predominantly non-tradable land, revealing itself as a process of social decommodification. The instrumentalization of land tenure as fictitious capital became more evident today, due to the context of global financialization and its impacts on real estate production. This fact has unleashed the restructuration of the production of the cities, hence, the restructuration of the production of favelas. It is worth to analyze the process of urbanization from the meanings of land appropriation and forms of production, providing new alternative lines of thought about the resignification of ownership. In this sense, this thesis aims to address some meanings of the land in relation to capital in the city, scrutinizing the changes in this relationship at different times, seeking to associate them with the production and resignification of the favela in the city of Fortaleza. The argument of this thesis is: in the production of the city, the production of favelas implies in changes whose dynamics are associated with resignification on the appropriation of the land in the production of the space. Firstly, the appropriation of land meant instrument of power. Then, since the establishment of the modern land ownership, one could take part of the surplus value and the reproduction cost of labor power, so under this condition the land started to be used as fictitious capital, inherent condition for the commodification process. Currently, in the context of predominance of finance regime, the significance of land as fictitious capital is intensified, being unveiled as capable of increasing the exchange value, pushing higher the price of real state, reinforcing the process of land commodification, consequently making land even more unfordable. In this movement, favela emerges as a recreation of non-tradable forms of appropriation of land and housing and as a process of grassroots decommodification, representing both product and hindrance for capital.

Esta tese tem o objetivo de demonstrar as paridades entre os cortiços de São Paulo (Brasil) e as ilhas da cidade do Porto (Portugal). Por meio das semelhanças no que concerne às tipologias e ao modo de morar, pretendemos demonstrar a importância de um levantamento aprimorado para conhecer essas habitações e propor projetos de intervenção mais participatvos. / This thesis aims to demonstrate the parities between the tenements of São Paulo, Brazil, and the islands in the city of Porto, Portugal. Through the similarities, within the typologies and the way of living, demonstrate the importance of an improved survey, to know these dwellings and to propose more participative intervention projects.