This dissertation consists of three essays on income risk and aggregate demand over the business cycle, each addressing an aspect of the Great Recession. The first chapter reframes the standard liquidity trap model to illustrate the costly feedback loop between idiosyncratic risk and aggregate demand. I first show that a liquidity trap can result from excess demand for precautionary savings in times of high uncertainty. Second, I show that the output and welfare costs of the ensuing recession depend crucially on how the drop in demand for output is translated into a reduction in demand for labor. Increased unemployment risk compounds the original rise in idiosyncratic productivity risk and reinforces precautionary motives, deepening the recession. Third, I show that increasing social insurance can raise output and welfare at the zero bound. I decompose these effects to distinguish the component unique to the liquidity trap environment and show that social insurance is most effective at the zero bound when it targets the type of idiosyncratic risk households face, which in turns depends on the labor market adjustment mechanism. The second paper offers a novel model of the connection between the consumer credit and home mortgage markets through an individual’s credit history. This paper introduces a novel justification for the home mortgage interest deduction. In an economy with both housing assets and consumer credit, the mortgage interest deduction is modeled as a subsidy for the accumulation of collateralizable assets by households who have maintained good credit. As such, the subsidy loosens participation constraints and facilitates risk-sharing. Empirical evidence and a calibration exercise reveal that the subsidy has a sizable impact on the availability of credit. The third paper assesses the role of policy uncertainty in the Great Recession. The Great Recession features substantial geographic variation in employment losses, a fact that is often presented as a challenge to uncertainty-based models of the downturn. In this paper we show that there is a substantial correlation between the distribution of employment losses and the increases in local measures of both economic and policy uncertainty. This relationship is robust across a wide range of measures. / Economics

The rebound effect refers to the phenomenon that energy savings from improvements in energy efficiency are lower than expected due to unintended second-order effects. Grasping specific mechanisms related to the rebound effect requires a good understanding of interactions between heterogonous agents on multiple markets. Otherwise, policies aimed at reducing energy use may render counter-expected and unforeseen consequences. In this paper, we propose a formal model, where technological change results from interactions on two markets: between consumers and producers in the market for final goods, and heterogeneous power plants in the electricity market. The analysis provides insights to the role of technological change, supply-demand coevolution, and status-driven consumption in explaining the rebound effect. The model is employed to compare effectiveness of economic policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions associated with production of consumer goods, namely: a tax on electricity and "nuclear obligations" to produce ten percent of electricity from nuclear energy. (author's abstract)

This work is part of a broader, multi-year investigation of Maui Island’s freshwater resources. Maui Island faces multiple resource constraints, including water, land, energy, and capital, and these resource constraints could become relevant over the next forty years. Not only does Maui face potential changes to its water and other systems due to external factors beyond its control, like anthropogenic and other climate changes, but Maui also could make developmental choices that will impact how its resource systems interact. In particular, this work looks at Maui’s freshwater systems as they relate to energy, waste, and environmental systems. This report provides a foundation for future scenario analysis on the island that will aim to characterize potential synergies and hazards of choices like increased food production, local fuel production, and increased use of renewable energies. / text

The use of Kinetic Hydrate Inhibitors (KHI) is one of the optimum methods employed to control gas hydrate formation issues and provide flow assurance in oil and gas production systems. The application of this technology has several advantages to operators, including significant cost savings and extended life of oil and gas systems. This paper will highlight a specific case where a Major operator in the North Sea (UK sector) significantly reduced the cost of well intervention operations by applying a KHI in a subsea gas lift line. Considerable cost savings were realized by reducing volume of chemical required and this enabled the application to be performed from the FPSO eliminating the need for a dedicated Diving Support Vessel (DSV). Furthermore, the application of KHI also reduced manual handling and chemical logistics usually associated with this particular treatment. In order to prevent mineral scale deposition occurring in downhole tubing and near well bore and in the formation; scale inhibitor squeeze applications are standard practice. For subsea wells the fluids can be pumped down in to the well via gas lift lines. However, upon completion of previous scale squeeze operations at this particular location, hydrate formation was observed when a mixture of MEG and water was used following interventions via the gas lift line. By applying 1% KHI with a mixture of MEG and Water, the well was brought back into production following scale squeeze operations without hydrate formation occurring.

The use of Kinetic Hydrate Inhibitors (KHI) is one of the optimum methods employed to control gas hydrate formation issues and provide flow assurance in oil and gas production systems. The application of this technology has several advantages to operators, including significant cost savings and extended life of oil and gas systems. This paper will highlight a specific case where a Major operator in the North Sea (UK sector) significantly reduced the cost of well intervention operations by applying a KHI in a subsea gas lift line. Considerable cost savings were realized by reducing volume of chemical required and this enabled the application to be performed from the FPSO eliminating the need for a dedicated Diving Support Vessel (DSV). Furthermore, the application of KHI also reduced manual handling and chemical logistics usually associated with this particular treatment. In order to prevent mineral scale deposition occurring in downhole tubing and near well bore and in the formation; scale inhibitor squeeze applications are standard practice. For subsea wells the fluids can be pumped down in to the well via gas lift lines. However, upon completion of previous scale squeeze operations at this particular location, hydrate formation was observed when a mixture of MEG and water was used following interventions via the gas lift line. By applying 1% KHI with a mixture of MEG and Water, the well was brought back into production following scale squeeze operations without hydrate formation occurring.

<p><font face="Times-Roman" size="3"><font face="Times-Roman" size="3"><font face="Times-Roman" size="3"><font face="Times-Roman" size="3"> <p align="left">The purpose of this research effort is to contribute to the discussion on consumer indebtedness and poverty, analyse the causes and levels of indebtedness as well as the role played by both the consumer and the credit provider in the growth of consumer indebtedness among the sampled population of the Cape Flats area of West Bank in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The methodology used in this study included both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The research methods comprised of a comprehensive literature study and secondary data analysis, immersion in the case study area in order to observe the consumer credit market dynamics and its trends. In-depth informal and semi-formal interviewing, focus group discussions as well as a questionnaire survey were also used to gather primary data.</p> </font></font></font></font></p>

This thesis utilises the second fundamental law of capitalism in order to study the development of income inequality in Sweden, from the start of the 19th century to the beginning of the 21stcentury. The law is studied from a historical perspective (examination of national accounts as time series), and empirically analysed (regression analysis). The results retrieved indicate that the income diverging force of savings exceed the income converging force of growth (via income, innovation, and education). This means that income inequality is predicted to increase. The main conclusion drawn is that choosing whether to save or not on behalf of every individual affects the capital stock of the aggregate economy. When individual savings pile up the aggregate capital stock increases, and if this increase surpasses the growth in national income the capital-to-income ratio increases. This ratio is in a sense a measure of how capitalistic the country is. More income inequality is expected to be found the higher this ratio gets.

Pensionen är en viktig del av en individs framtida liv som mycket väl kan innebära skillnaden mellan ett lyckligt eller miserabelt liv som pensionerad. I vardagen kan vi höra om pensionen och var vi bör vända oss, vare sig det gäller media, affischer eller annan reklam, men vet vi tillräckligt för att kunna pensionsplanera? Denna kvantitativa studie använder sig av data från en norsk enkätundersökning på internet, för att ta reda på vilka faktorer som kan påverka individers pensionsplanering i form av privat sparande. Studien lyckas bekräfta en positiv relation mellan privat sparande och fyra variabler; årsinkomst, åldersgrupp, tankar kring pension samt sysselsättning. / The pension is an important part of an individual’s future life which could very well be the difference between a happy or a miserable life as a retired individual. In everyday life we hear about retirement and where we should turn, whether it is media, posters or other advertising, but do we know enough to be able to forge a retirement plan? This quantitative study uses data from a Norwegian internet based survey, to find out what factors can influence individuals’ retirement planning in the form of private savings. The study succeeds confirm a positive relationship between private saving and four variables; annual income, age cohort, thoughts on retirement and employment.

Nyanländande Generation Y håller på att positionera sig på arbetsmarknaden och omfattas av individer födda inom intervallet 1980 – 1995. Det återfinns dessvärre ytterst lite forskning gällande generationens investeringsbeteende. Mestadels av tidigare forskning har hittills handlat om hur tidigare generationer, så som Baby Boomers och Generation X, tenderar att investera. Denna studie har därför försökt bidra till att fylla ut tomrummet i kunskapen beträffande Generation Y. Studien utreder investeringsbeteendet hos Generation Y genom att undersöka hur specifika karaktäristika påverkar deras sä̈tt att investera. Således är syftet med denna studie att kartlägga och analysera hur Generation Y:s särskilda karaktäristika påverkar deras investeringsbeteende. Tillvägagångssättet har varit att det först konstruerades en modell utifrån den redan tillgängliga forskningen, varpå uppsatsen därefter avsåg att testa validiteten och kvaliteten i våra antaganden och i den upprä̈ttade modellen. Uppsatsen utfördes med hjälp av en kvantitativ metod med positivistisk filosofi och deduktiv ansats. Undersökningsverktyget som till största grad användes för studien var en internetbaserad enkät där respondenterna fick ta del av en rad olika påståenden. Respondenterna som har deltagit i denna studie är till majoriteten bosatta i Sverige och omfattar respondenter som vid undersökningstillfället var 15 – 70 år. Denna studie indikerar slutligen att Generation Y har ett särskilt investeringsbeteende och att deras specifika sätt att investera på grundar sig i deras särskilda karaktäristika, vilket också påvisas med hjälp av ett antal statistiska modeller. Resultatet åskådliggör ytterligare att även demografiska faktorer som modersmål, kön och ålder påverkar investeringsbeteendet. Ett förslag till framtida forskning kan vara att komplettera uppsatsens kvantitativa metod med en kvalitativ metod. Detta tillvägagångssätt hade således kunnat bidra till en djupare förståelse för forskningen och ett bättre resultat och har därför varit av stort värde för uppsatsen. / The newly arriving Generation Y, that embraces the individuals born within 1980 – 1995, is on the way of positioning themselves on the labour-market. Unfortunately, there has not been done much research on the investment behavior of this generation. Mostly of previous research has been about how previous generations, the Baby Boomers and Generation X, tend to invest. This study therefore sought to help fill the gap in knowledge regarding the Generation Y. This study investigates the investment behavior of Generation Y by examining how specific characteristics affect their approach to investing. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify and analyze how Generation Y’s specific characteristics affect their investment behavior. The approach has initially been that a model was constructed based on the already available research, whereupon the paper then aimed to test the validity and quality of our assumptions and of the established model. The essay was performed by a quantitative method with a positivistic philosophy and deductive logic. The research tool for this study was, to the biggest extent, an online survey in which a variety of claims were presented to the respondents. The respondents who participated in this study, with the majority residing in Sweden, were at the time of the study 15 – 70 years old. This study indicates that Generation Y has a particular investment behavior and that their specific way of investing is based on certain characteristics, which is also shown by the several statistical models that have been used. The result further illustrates that also demographic factors, such as native language, gender and age, has affection on the investment behavior of Generation Y. A proposal for future research might be to supplement the essay’s quantitative method with a qualitative one. This approach could possibly contribute to a deeper understanding of science and a better result, and would therefore be of great value to the essay.

Unreliable and unsustainable electricity supply has been experienced in South Africa since 2007. Eskom implemented Demand Side Management (DSM) as a short-term solution to alleviate this problem. Several compressed-air DSM projects were implemented to help reduce the strain on the electrical network. Compressed air is an integral part of production in deep-level mining, and is extensively utilised. Problems are encountered with the effective management and repairing of leaks, since the majority of mines have little to no procedures in place for leak management. Awareness of the condition of the compressed-air system and leaks needed to be created at management level in order to achieve the best results. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of proper leak management on compressed-air systems in the mining industry. Peak-clipping DSM projects implemented in the mining industry were used for evaluation of results. Contribution to the sustainability of compressed-air DSM projects savings through successful leak documentation was the prime focus of this study. This was achieved through the development of a Compressed Air Leakage Documentation System (CALDS). This entailed the electronic field-data capture and record keeping of field data, using rugged PDA devices suitable for the extreme environmental conditions encountered in deep-level mining. Report generation on the status of detected leaks created awareness of compressedair- system performance and leak-repair tracking at management level. Audible detection was sufficient for this study, since the focus was on the larger more-severe leaks. Leaks were expressed in monetary terms to indicate the severity. It was found that successful management of leaks could contribute to an increase of as much as 85% in project savings. The results also showed that creating awareness through documentation of leaks, and the effect this has on the system, resulted in regular repairing of these leaks. Sustainability of projects was maintained during an evaluation period of ten months, with projects achieving on average 125% of target savings. The study showed that effective reporting on compressed-air leaks resulted in increased system efficiency and sustainable DSM project savings. It was also seen that leak detection by outsourced companies did not necessarily result in financial savings. When the mine took responsibility for its own leak detection and repairs, significant savings were realised. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.