本文將貿易政策與環境政策做連結, 建構一雙邊貿易之架構, 設立一三階段之序列賽局,以之探討: 當具有跨國性質之消費性污染存在時, 在考量兩國政府皆有誘因在環境政策上採取非合作的態度下, 兩國政府應如何藉由貿易政策之協定, 訂定其最適之出口品補貼政策, 以矯正環境政策非合作下之不效率。 本文研究發現: 在兩國政府僅能夠進行政策的部分合作時, 當需求參數愈大, 兩國政府之最適貿易政策是應將給予其各自國家出口品之單位補貼調升;但若伴隨消費財貨所排放之污染對環境具有較高之邊際污染, 或是其本身之外溢效果愈強, 兩國政府對出口品之最適補貼則應該調降。我們同時也發現, 此時即使各國政府之最適貿易政策是調降出口補貼, 會使得各國之污染稅稅率更低, 但卻不會使其更加偏離兩國政府在環境政策上合作下之最適稅率, 並且仍會為全球帶來更高之社會福利。 / This paper constructs a reciprocal-market model, which contains a three-stage game to investigate how the two countries decide the optimal export subsidy agreement when they do not coordinate their environmental policy. We find that the level of optimal export subsidy should decrease with the strength of transboundary pollution, which is associated to consumption activities. In addition, the export subsidy agreement should increase with the demand parameter. We also find that even a reduction in the export subsidy will decrease the non-coordinated environmental tax rate, it will not deviate the tax rate away from the coordinated one and still enhance the social welfare.

自從「京都議定書」在2005年2月16日經160個國家簽署生效後，為兼顧環境保護及經濟發展，各國政府便開始鼓勵其國內能源產業發展生質燃料作為替代燃料，以減少溫室氣體排放。然生質燃料產業起步階段，因技術與市場交易機制均未成熟，故有賴政府的補貼才能順利推廣。是以，目前生質燃料的補貼是否應受到WTO協定之規範仍是備受爭議，而實有討論與研究之必要。 本論文主要研究目的，遂在分析目前德國、美國、巴西等主要生質燃料生產國為鼓勵、推廣生質燃料產業之發展，其獎勵措施所涉及的補貼是否會對未受補貼的國內外競爭者形成不公平待遇，以及是否違反WTO補貼暨平衡稅措施協定及農業協定補貼規範的情形，以政策事實套法律要件的方式，深入討論現階段各國生質燃料補貼措施：市場保證、價格補貼、投資補貼、稅賦優惠四種措施態樣，在和平條款落日後，於生質燃料製程上游、中游、下游的協定管轄情形與適法性，以期對目前生質燃料補貼政策作一完整的評估與建議。 / Since the Kyoto Protocol was signed by 160 countries and entered into forced on 16 Feburauy 2005, the governments of above countries began encouraging their enery industries to develop biofuels as substitute to reduce green house gases in pursuit of environmental protection and economic development. While the technologies and trading mechanisms of biofuel industries were immature at the preliminary stage, the prevalence of the biofuels will be dependent on government subsidies. Therefore, whether biofuels subsidies shall be subject to the rules of WTO Agreements is still a controversial issue and needs to be discussed and studied. The main purpose of the thesis is to analyze the domestic policies and incentives of those key biofuel-producuing countries such as Germany, United States and Brazil, and find if such subsidizing measures constitute unfair treatments to foreign compeitiors and violate the SCM Agreement or Agriculture Agrmment under the WTO. In order to conduct a comprehensive analysis and come up with feasible suggestions, the thesis will take the four main incentives, the so-called“Market Assurance”, “Price Support”, “Investment Support”and “Tax credit”as facts to conduct legal analysis as well as discuss the applicability of agreements when Peace Clause came to an end and analyze the legality of each incentive from upstream to downstream of the biofuel production process.

「傳媒外部性」是指傳媒在生產其內容、或閱聽人於消費該內容的過程中，對於非關該市場交易之第三人產生影響，致使傳媒活動可能侵害第三人的權益，抑或可能創生公共利益的現象。作為一種傳播效果，以及一種構成市場失靈、從而需要公共政策介入的概念工具，「傳媒外部性」可以作為聯繫「傳播效果」與「媒介政策」的研究橋樑，因此對於拓展跨學科的溝通，具有潛在貢獻。 外部性是衍生自主流經濟學的概念，其測量無法不涉及量化指標（如貨幣），惟本研究亦闡明：該概念之內涵不可能、亦不應該完全以量化標準來看待；就此檢討後，本研究參照公法學教授Edwin Baker所提之十種傳媒外部性類目，同時酌量採納傳播效果研究的部分成果，提出本研究分析傳媒外部性的類目指標，並試圖使經濟學與傳播研究在對話中，能豐富各自的內涵。 透過相關文獻的檢視與分類，並針對《壹週刊》內容所創生的外部性予以歸納分析，本研究將歷來對於傳媒外部性的回應方式，分做三類八種。第一類是指行政立法部門的「傳播政策」回應，又可略分為宏觀結構管制（傳播哲學、產權與財源的確立）、微觀結構管制（庇古稅及津貼）、經由政府授權以形成三方對傳媒的共管，以及對傳媒內容的規範等；第二類則為民事與刑事等對於特定傳媒內容之「司法仲裁」回應；第三類回應則涉及「市場規則」，又可略分為媒體素養課程之推廣、媒體監督組織的運作、及傳媒與外部性承受者間的私下協商等。由於傳播政策可以是統合或中介前述三類回應的關鍵，本研究最後就公共政策介入以創生優質傳媒環境的作用，提出初步的反省。 / During the production and consumption process of media content, a certain ‘media externality’ is inevitably created that may benefit or harm the third parties who actually are not present in the market exchange relationship between the producers and their audience. Therefore it’s reasonable to conceive ‘media externality’ as one aspect of communication effects, and as a factor that contributes to market failure, as such, this thesis suggests that we employ ‘media externality’ as a conceptual tool bridging ‘communication research’ and ‘media-policy research’ in a way that both disciplines can contribute to each other. To measure ‘externality’, it’s not possible that quantitative indicators such as ‘money’ be not invoked, meanwhile it’s neither desirable nor feasible if economic calculation or consideration exhausts what we mean by ‘media externality’. Having established this methodological principle, and in addition to bringing in relevant communication effect researches, the author builds and expands upon Edwin Baker’s categorization and proposes my own framework for measuring ‘media externality’. It is hoped that communication science and economics can enrich respective tradition via this dialogue. The ‘Next Weekly’ is then subject to a careful investigation and its externality is subsequently assessed. In all, to deal with media externalities, three models with eight variants can be discerned. To begin with, there is a ‘policy dimension’ comprising macro-structural regulation that attends to communication philosophy, arrangements of media property rights and finances of media production. The second policy element is of a micro-structural regulation nature, including Pigouvian tax or subsidy. Also, the state may stipulate that its regulatory power be shared with the industry and the audience’ alike. The second model indicates civilian or criminal lawsuits. Lastly there is a market response to media externality, be it the promotion of media literacy, operations of media watch groups or individual victim’s compromise with the media. This thesis ends in a reflection, since by its definition communication policy is bound to step in all the other variants, that evaluates the relationship between public policy and a more healthy media ecology.

The thesis deals with the concept of financial systems of municipal budgets, especially in relation to different categories of municipalities and its size. The aim is to analyze the current legal regulation in this field and suggest legislative changes that could improve its existent state. The first chapter provides the theoretical basis for the subsequent analysis as well as for the recommendations presented in further chapters. Basic terms important to municipally policy, independent competence of municipalities and delegated powers of municipalities are defined here together with the basic principles of municipality finance system. The second chapter deals with the regulation of main sources of income of municipally budgets in the Czech Republic. The content of this chapter is concerned to legislation in Act on Budgetary Allocation of Taxes, Act on Local Fees, Act on Property Tax and legal regulation of subsidies. This chapter contains the characteristics of each individual income, presents a critical evaluation of its main advantages and disadvantages in relation to municipalities finance and a short summary of the issue. The third chapter outlines from the previous parts of the thesis and presents an analysis of selected municipalities of different categories and size. Analysis completes the...

Syftet med denna undersökning har varit att studera vad RUT-avdragets införande 2007 har inneburit för anställda inom befintliga svenska aktiebolag inom RUT-branschen. RUTavdraget är en skattesubvention som innebär att privatpersoner kan få hushållsnära tjänster utförda till ett reducerat pris. Undersökningen har gjorts genom att empiriskt studera hur genomsnittlig lönesumma per anställd och genomsnittligt antal anställda i befintliga svenska aktiebolag har förändrats inom RUT-branschen mellan åren 2006 och 2008, allt annat lika. För att studera detta användes en difference-in-difference-metod med fixa effekter och robusta standardfel. Datamaterialet som användes till undersökningen var bokföringsdata från aktiebolag som samlats in av PAR. I undersökningen ingick 2 506 företag inom RUTbranschen och totalt 74 798 observationer. Resultatet visar att i genomsnitt har det inom de befintliga aktiebolagen inom branschen skapats 1,4 nya jobb per företag och årslönerna för de anställda i dessa företag har i genomsnitt ökat med 10 931 kronor per anställd. Totalt innebär det att 3 065 nya jobb har skapats i dessa befintliga aktiebolag, vilket kan sättas i relation till tidigare undersökningar som visat att den totala ökningen av antal anställda i genomsnitt varit ca 5 700 personer. Tidigare har inte löneeffekter till följd av RUT-avdraget studerats, vilket innebär att detta arbete bidrar med ny forskning inom ett område som inte studerats tidigare. / The purpose of this thesis has been to study what the introduction of the RUT deduction 2007 has meant for employees in existing Swedish limited companies in the RUT industry. The RUT deduction is a tax subsidy that allows the public to buy household services at a reduced price. The study has been conducted by empirically studying how average wages per employee and average number of employees in existing Swedish limited companies have changed within the RUT industry between 2006 and 2008, ceteris paribus. For this, a Difference-in-Difference method was used with fixed effects and robust standard errors. The data used for the study was accounting data from companies, collected by PAR. The dataset consisted of 2,506 companies in the RUT industry and a total of 74,798 observations. The result shows that on average, within the existing companies in the industry, 1.4 new jobs have been created per company and the annual salary for employees in these companies has increased by an average of SEK 10,931 per employee. In total, 3,065 new jobs have been created in these existing limited companies, which can be compared with previous studies where the average number of employees on average was approximately 5,700. Previously, wage effects resulting from the RUT deduction have not been studied, which means that this work contributes to new research in a previously unexplored area.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:48:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Lelia Magnabosco.pdf: 3116093 bytes, checksum: 8889140af5e29e0d9e6a55b784c511e7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-05-16 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The Brazilian experience with nationwide systematic housing subsidy programs started with the 1964 reforms of the financial system. Under this system, Housing Companies provided subsidies using resources from local and state governments as well as FGTS funds, while production was supervised by the National Housing Bank (BNH). In the mid 1980s the system faced a crisis and the BNH was extinguished. The entities that coordinated housing policy collapsed and for nearly two decades the country lacked both resources and a clear strategy. In the 2000s, the federal government took a series of initiatives intended to restore and fund the institutions in charge of leading housing policy and started to provide explicit subsidies to the lower-income segments of society. The main housing subsidy programs created during this period were Programa de Subsídio Habitacional (Housing Subsidy Program), in 2003, and Programa Minha Casa Minha Vida (My Home My Life Program), in 2009. Additionally, the Sistema Nacional de Habitação de Interesse Social and the Fundo Nacional de Habitação de Interesse Social (two institutions created to provide subsidies to low income housing), both established in 2005, and the Plano Nacional de Habitação (National Housing Plan), established in 2008, represented an attempt to reorganize the housing policy institutions. The influence of subsidies on the real-estate market dynamics is hardly discussed in the theoretical and empirical literature. Generally, authors treat subsidies as mere income transfer. This dissertation is based on a different assumption. It s assumed that subsidy policies not only transfer income, but also reduce the housing effective cost of acquisition, interfere in saving decisions and in banks decisions regarding the supply of credit. This investigation assumes that the financial market is imperfect, which implies the possibility of credit rationing. These assumptions are based on the observation of the Chilean experience of housing credit and subsidies to low income buyers in the past 30 years. For this reason, this dissertation investigates the subsidy policy in Chile and its relation with credit and real-estate investment. Chapter 1 presents a dynamic model of real-estate investment and analyzes the effects of the subsidy policy in this market. Based on simple premises, this study finds that subsidies change the balance of the housing deficit, increasing the credit supply of banks and the credit demand of families. Chapter 2 applies the key relations of the theoretical model to study the Chilean case. This analysis employs logistic regression models and concludes that the subsidy policies resulted in an increase of the credit supply in Chile, which in turn helped reduce the housing deficit. Chapter 3 analyzes Brazilian housing policy. This analysis identifies the variables affecting the Brazilian housing deficit and reveals a market that behaves very similarly to Chile s. This comparative analysis provides the basis to speculate on the path that the Brazilian housing deficit will take in the coming years. The main conclusion is that a subsidy and credit policy similar to that of Chile is quite effective in fighting housing deficit caused by inadequate houses, but it could increase the number of families living together. Therefore, it fights housing deficit only in part / A experiência brasileira com programas de subsídios habitacionais sistemáticos e de amplitude nacional teve seu início com as reformas do sistema financeiro em 1964. Nesse sistema, os subsídios eram concedidos pelas Companhias Habitacionais, com recursos das prefeituras, de governos estaduais e do FGTS, e a produção era coordenada pelo Banco Nacional da Habitação (BNH). Em meados dos anos 1980, com a crise do sistema e a extinção do BNH, as instituições que coordenavam a política habitacional se desestruturaram e o país viveu por quase duas décadas sem recursos e diretrizes clara. Nos anos 2000, o governo federal tomou uma série de iniciativas com o objetivo de restabelecer e refundar as instituições responsáveis pela condução da política habitacional e passou a fornecer subsídio de forma explícita à população de baixa renda. Os principais programas de subsídio habitacional criados nesse período foram o Programa de Subsídio Habitacional (2003) e o Programa Minha Casa Minha Vida (2009). Além disso, Além disso, o Sistema Nacional de Habitação de Interesse Social e o Fundo Nacional de Habitação de Interesse Social, criados em 2005, e o Plano Nacional de Habitação (2008) buscaram rearticular as instituições da política habitacional. A influência dos subsídios na dinâmica do mercado imobiliário é um tema pouco discutido na literatura teórica e empírica. Os autores, em geral, tratam o subsídio como uma simples transferência de renda. Esta dissertação parte de uma premissa distinta: além de transferir renda, a política de subsídios reduz o custo efetivo de aquisição dos imóveis para as famílias, interfere nas decisões de poupança e nas decisões dos bancos com relação à oferta de crédito. Assume-se que o mercado financeiro é imperfeito, o que implica a possibilidade de racionamento de crédito. Essas premissas baseiam-se na observação da experiência chilena de subsídios e crédito habitacionais para a baixa renda dos últimos 30 anos. Por esse motivo, a dissertação investiga a política de subsídios no Chile e sua relação com o crédito e o investimento imobiliário. O Capítulo 1 apresenta um modelo dinâmico de investimento imobiliário e analisa o efeito da política de subsídios nesse mercado. Com base em premissas intuitivas, verifica-se que o subsídio altera o equilíbrio do mercado habitacional, aumentando a oferta de crédito dos bancos e também a demanda por crédito das famílias. O Capítulo 2 aplica as principais relações do modelo teórico para estudar o caso do Chile. Essa análise, feita por meio de modelos de regressão logística, conclui que as políticas de subsídio levaram a um aumento da oferta de crédito no país, o que contribui para diminuir o déficit habitacional. O Capítulo 3 faz uma análise da política habitacional brasileira. Essa análise identifica os fatores determinantes do déficit habitacional no Brasil e mostra um mercado com comportamento muito semelhante ao do Chile. Essa análise comparada permite especular o rumo que o déficit habitacional brasileiro pode tomar nos próximos anos. A principal conclusão é que a política de crédito e de subsídios aos moldes do Chile é bastante eficaz no combate ao déficit por precariedade, mas pode aumentar a convivência das famílias, tendo efeito parcial no combate ao déficit

Este trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar o balanço econômico de uma política de incentivos para as fontes de energia renovável, analisando em particular o caso das PCHs (Pequenas Centrais Hidrelétrica) inseridas no Proinfa, o Programa de Incentivo às Fontes Alternativas de Energia Elétrica. A análise é desenvolvida tomando por base a internalização de custos e benefícios para a sociedade do referido Programa. Dentre os benefícios, estão destacados o desenvolvimento de uma fonte alternativa de energia que diminui os impactos ambientais devidos às emissões de gases poluentes, tal como o CO2, NOx o SO2 e o material particulado. Dentre seus custos, o imposto a ser cobrado se faz necessário para que programas dessa natureza se realizem. Para tanto, a revisão da literatura se concentra em assuntos concernentes à avaliação de programas de incentivos, bem como sobre o desenho de políticas de subsídio e das formas que a economia encontra para lidar com externalidades. Em seguida, analisam-se as estruturas propostas de incentivos, verificando-se, à luz da teoria, se essas estruturas são apropriadas aos seus fins e procedendo-se a uma análise de custo/benefício destas. / This work has the objective to evaluate the economic balance of an incentive policy for renewable energy source (RES), in particular it analyses the SHP (Small Hydropower Plant) case into the Context of Proinfa, the Brazilian alternative electrical energy source incentive program. This analysis is developed considering the point of view of internalizing the costs and benefits for the society. Among the benefits could be highlighted the development of a RES that reduces environmental impacts caused by pollutant gas emissions, such as CO2, NOx, SOx and particulated material, among the costs is the tax necessary to support this kind of program. To achieve this objective, the literature revision was focused on subjects related to evaluation of an incentive program as well as on the design of subsidy policies and how the economy deals with externalities. Also it is analyzed the incentives framework proposed, verifying based on the economic theory, if this framework is suitable to its own aims, and at the end it is proceed a cost benefit analysis of this structure.

In Brazil, economic data on fisheries are generally scarce, and difficult to interpret with respect to costs and fishery viability, thus making it difficult to practice consistent policy and industrial decision-making. This thesis aims to provide a cost-benefit analysis of seventeen commercial fishing fleets that operated during 2013-2014 in four port regions of the South Brazil Shelf: Angra dos Reis (AR), Santos and Guarujá (SG), Itajaí and Navegantes (IN) and Rio Grande (RG). The fleet types included the following: shrimp-trawlers, pair-bottom-trawlers, single-bottom-trawlers, bottom-gillnetters, octopus-pots, purse-seiners, surface-longliners and pole-and-line. Based on an unprecedented set of field survey data collected through interviews with vessel captains and owners, this study has the following goals: (1) to describe, calculate and compare the cost structure and gross profitability for all fleets; (2) to identify the factors (e.g., technical features and economic indicators) that determine fleet gross profit (from AR, SG and IN) using generalized additive models (GAMLSS); and (3) to assess the net profitability and viability of the fleets through the following three economic performance indicators: net profit margin (NPM), net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR). Additionally, the effects of fuel subsidy policies on profitability among South Brazil\'s fleets were evaluated. Generally, operational costs were higher than labor and fixed costs except for longliners, purse-seiners (from AR) and bottom-gillnetters (from RG), whereas labor costs were higher or had the same importance as operational costs. Fuel was the primary operational cost for all the fleets except pair-bottom-trawlers (SG) and purse-seiners (AR), for which vessel maintenance is the principal operational cost. Gross profitability varied significantly among the fleets and was clearly related to the following main factors: fuel consumption, vessel maintenance expense, ice costs, fish price and catch volume. Particularly for trawlers (from SG and IN) and all purse-seiners, technical features (i.e., vessel size and number of fishing trips, respectively) also explained profitability. Moreover, landing cost was a significant factor for those fleets\' profit. Economic performance indicators exhibited intra-fleet heterogeneity depending on region and revealed that 24% of the fleets were unviable (NPV less than zero), 23% were in fragile condition (IRRs and NPM lower than 11%), and 53% had achieved good economic returns whose IRR values exceeded 12% and whose NPM was > 10%. The worst economic performance was observed for single-bottom-trawlers (RG) and purse-seiners (SG) and the best for tuna-longliners (RG) and pair-bottom-trawlers (SG). Overall, subsidies were ineffective in increasing Rio Grande fleet profits and may be masking poor economic performance, primarily for single-bottom-trawlers (RG). Findings should guide private-sector decisions on how to protect the economic performance of the fleets, on fishery management measures (e.g., input controls, recovery plans for overfished stocks), and improve current governmental programs (e.g. the fuel subsidy program). / No Brasil, os dados econômicos sobre as pescarias são geralmente escassos, dificultando o conhecimento sobre os custos e a viabilidade da pesca, tornando difícil a prática de tomada de decisões políticas consistentes. Esta tese tem como objetivo fornecer uma análise de custo-benefício de dezessete frotas de pesca comercial que operaram durante 2013-2014 em quatro regiões da Plataforma Continental Sul do Brasil: Angra dos Reis (AR), Santos e Guarujá (SG), Itajaí e Navegantes (IN) e Rio Grande (RG). Os tipos de frotas analisadas foram: arrasto de fundo duplo (camarões), parelhas, arrasto de fundo simples, emalhe de fundo, pesca de potes (polvo), traineiras, espinhel de superfície e pesca com vara-e-isca-viva. Com base em um conjunto sem precedentes de dados de pesquisa de campo coletados através de entrevistas com mestres e proprietários de barcos pesqueiros, este estudo teve como objetivo: (1) descrever, calcular e comparar a estrutura de custos e a lucratividade bruta das frotas; (2) identificar os fatores (características técnicas e indicadores econômicos) que determinam o lucro bruto das frotas (de AR, SG e IN) usando modelos aditivos generalizados (GAMLSS); e (3) avaliar a lucratividade e a rentabilidade líquida, e a viabilidade das frotas por meio dos seguintes indicadores de desempenho econômico: margem de lucro líquido (NPM), valor presente líquido (NPV) e taxa de retorno interno (IRR). Além disso, os efeitos da política de subsídio ao combustível sobre a rentabilidade das frotas do sul do Brasil foram avaliados. Geralmente, os custos operacionais foram maiores que os custos de mão-de-obra e custos fixos, exceto para as frotas de espinhel de superfície, traineiras (de AR) e emalhe de fundo (de RG), onde os custos de mão-de-obra foram maiores ou tiveram a mesma importância que os custos operacionais. O combustível foi o principal custo operacional para todas as frotas, exceto para as parelhas (SG) e as traineiras (AR), para os quais a manutenção do barco foi o principal custo operacional. O lucro bruto variou significativamente entre as frotas e esteve relacionada aos seguintes fatores: consumo de combustível, despesas de manutenção de embarcações, custos com gelo, preço do peixe e volume de captura. Particularmente para as frotas de arrasto de fundo (de SG e IN), parelhas (SG) e traineira, as características técnicas (ou seja, tamanho da embarcação e número de viagens de pesca, respectivamente) também explicaram a lucratividade. Além disso, o custo com o desembarque foi um fator significativo para o lucro dessas frotas. Os indicadores de desempenho econômico apresentaram heterogeneidade intra-frota dependendo da região e revelaram que 24% das frotas estavam inviáveis (NPV inferior a zero), 23% estavam em vulnerabilidade (IRRs e NPM inferiores a 11%) e 53% alcançaram bons retornos econômicos cujos valores de IRR excederam 12% e o NPM foi > 10%. O pior desempenho econômico foi observado para as frotas de arrasto-simples de RG e para as traineiras de SG, e os melhores para os atuneiros (RG) e parelhas (SG). Em geral, os subsídios foram ineficazes no aumento dos lucros das frotas de Rio Grande e podem estar mascarando o baixo desempenho econômico, principalmente para a frota de arrasto-simples. Os resultados apresentados podem ser utilizados para orientar nas decisões do setor privado sobre como proteger o desempenho econômico das frotas, as medidas de manejo da pesca (por exemplo, controles de entrada, planos de manejo para recuperação dos estoques sobrepescados), e ainda melhorar os programas governamentais atuais (por exemplo, o programa de subsídio ao combustível).

This thesis uses innovative approaches to analyse energy policy interventions aimed at enhancing the environmental sustainability of energy use as well as its consequential welfare implications. First, we examine the relationship between energy efficiency improvement and CO2 emissions at the macro level. We use the Index Decomposition Analysis to derive energy efficiency by separating out the impact of shifts in economic activity on energy intensity. We then employ econometric models to relate energy efficiency and CO2 emissions accounting for non-economic factors such as consumers lifestyle and attitudes. The applications for 13 OPEC and 30 OECD countries show that at the country-group and individual country level, increase in energy intensity for OPEC is associated with both deteriorations in energy efficiency and shifts towards energy-intensive activities. The model results suggest that the reduction in energy efficiency in general go in tandem with substantial increases in CO2 emissions. The decline in energy intensity for OECD can be attributed mainly to improvements in energy efficiency which is found to compensate for the impact on CO2 emissions of income changes. The results confirm the empirical relevance of energy efficiency improvements for the mitigation of CO2 emissions. The method developed in this chapter further enables the separate assessment of non-economic behavioural factors which according to the results exert a non-trivial influence on CO2 emissions. Secondly, having empirically confirmed the relationship between energy efficiency improvements and CO2 emission at the macro level in Chapter 2, we investigate potential underlying drivers of energy efficiency improvements taking into account potential asymmetric effects of energy price change in Chapter 3. This is crucial for designing effective and efficient policy measures that can promote energy efficiency. In addition to the Index Decomposition Analysis used to estimate the economy-wide energy efficiency in Chapter 2, we also use Stochastic Frontier Analysis and Data Envelop Analysis as alternative methods. The driving factors are examined using static and dynamic panel model methods that account for both observed and unobserved country heterogeneity. The application for 32 OECD countries shows that none of the three methods leads to correspondence in term of ranking between energy efficiency estimates and energy intensity at the country level corroborating the criticism that energy intensity is a poor proxy for energy efficiency. The panel-data regression results using the results of the three methods show similarities in the impacts of the determinants on the energy efficiency levels. Also, we find insignificant evidence of asymmetric effects of total energy price but there is proof of asymmetry using energy specific prices. Thirdly, in Chapter 4 we offer an improved understanding of the impacts to expect of abolishing fuel price subsidy on fuel consumption, and also of the welfare and distributional impacts at the household level. We develop a two-step approach for this purpose. Key aspect of the first step is a two-stage budgeting model to estimate various fuel types elasticities using micro-data. Relying on these estimates and the information on households expenditure shares for different commodities, the second step estimates the welfare (direct and indirect) and distributional impacts. The application for Nigeria emphasises the relevance of this approach. We find heterogeneous elasticities of fuel demand among household groups. The distributional impact of abolishing the kerosene subsidy shows a regressive welfare loss. Although we find a progressive loss for petrol, the loss gap between the low- and high-income groups is small relative to the loss gap from stopping kerosene subsidy, making the low-income groups to suffer a higher total welfare loss. Finally, from the highlighted results, we draw the following concluding remarks in chapter 5. Energy efficiency appears a key option to mitigate CO2 emissions but there is also a need for additional policies aiming for behavioural change; energy specific prices and allowing for asymmetry in analysing the changes in energy efficiency is more appropriate and informative in formulating reliable energy policies; the hypothesis that only the rich would be worse-off from fuel subsidy removal is rejected and the results further suggest that timing of the fuel subsidy removal would be crucial as a higher international oil price will lead to higher deregulated fuel price and consequently, larger welfare loss.

In Brazil, economic data on fisheries are generally scarce, and difficult to interpret with respect to costs and fishery viability, thus making it difficult to practice consistent policy and industrial decision-making. This thesis aims to provide a cost-benefit analysis of seventeen commercial fishing fleets that operated during 2013-2014 in four port regions of the South Brazil Shelf: Angra dos Reis (AR), Santos and Guarujá (SG), Itajaí and Navegantes (IN) and Rio Grande (RG). The fleet types included the following: shrimp-trawlers, pair-bottom-trawlers, single-bottom-trawlers, bottom-gillnetters, octopus-pots, purse-seiners, surface-longliners and pole-and-line. Based on an unprecedented set of field survey data collected through interviews with vessel captains and owners, this study has the following goals: (1) to describe, calculate and compare the cost structure and gross profitability for all fleets; (2) to identify the factors (e.g., technical features and economic indicators) that determine fleet gross profit (from AR, SG and IN) using generalized additive models (GAMLSS); and (3) to assess the net profitability and viability of the fleets through the following three economic performance indicators: net profit margin (NPM), net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR). Additionally, the effects of fuel subsidy policies on profitability among South Brazil\'s fleets were evaluated. Generally, operational costs were higher than labor and fixed costs except for longliners, purse-seiners (from AR) and bottom-gillnetters (from RG), whereas labor costs were higher or had the same importance as operational costs. Fuel was the primary operational cost for all the fleets except pair-bottom-trawlers (SG) and purse-seiners (AR), for which vessel maintenance is the principal operational cost. Gross profitability varied significantly among the fleets and was clearly related to the following main factors: fuel consumption, vessel maintenance expense, ice costs, fish price and catch volume. Particularly for trawlers (from SG and IN) and all purse-seiners, technical features (i.e., vessel size and number of fishing trips, respectively) also explained profitability. Moreover, landing cost was a significant factor for those fleets\' profit. Economic performance indicators exhibited intra-fleet heterogeneity depending on region and revealed that 24% of the fleets were unviable (NPV less than zero), 23% were in fragile condition (IRRs and NPM lower than 11%), and 53% had achieved good economic returns whose IRR values exceeded 12% and whose NPM was > 10%. The worst economic performance was observed for single-bottom-trawlers (RG) and purse-seiners (SG) and the best for tuna-longliners (RG) and pair-bottom-trawlers (SG). Overall, subsidies were ineffective in increasing Rio Grande fleet profits and may be masking poor economic performance, primarily for single-bottom-trawlers (RG). Findings should guide private-sector decisions on how to protect the economic performance of the fleets, on fishery management measures (e.g., input controls, recovery plans for overfished stocks), and improve current governmental programs (e.g. the fuel subsidy program). / No Brasil, os dados econômicos sobre as pescarias são geralmente escassos, dificultando o conhecimento sobre os custos e a viabilidade da pesca, tornando difícil a prática de tomada de decisões políticas consistentes. Esta tese tem como objetivo fornecer uma análise de custo-benefício de dezessete frotas de pesca comercial que operaram durante 2013-2014 em quatro regiões da Plataforma Continental Sul do Brasil: Angra dos Reis (AR), Santos e Guarujá (SG), Itajaí e Navegantes (IN) e Rio Grande (RG). Os tipos de frotas analisadas foram: arrasto de fundo duplo (camarões), parelhas, arrasto de fundo simples, emalhe de fundo, pesca de potes (polvo), traineiras, espinhel de superfície e pesca com vara-e-isca-viva. Com base em um conjunto sem precedentes de dados de pesquisa de campo coletados através de entrevistas com mestres e proprietários de barcos pesqueiros, este estudo teve como objetivo: (1) descrever, calcular e comparar a estrutura de custos e a lucratividade bruta das frotas; (2) identificar os fatores (características técnicas e indicadores econômicos) que determinam o lucro bruto das frotas (de AR, SG e IN) usando modelos aditivos generalizados (GAMLSS); e (3) avaliar a lucratividade e a rentabilidade líquida, e a viabilidade das frotas por meio dos seguintes indicadores de desempenho econômico: margem de lucro líquido (NPM), valor presente líquido (NPV) e taxa de retorno interno (IRR). Além disso, os efeitos da política de subsídio ao combustível sobre a rentabilidade das frotas do sul do Brasil foram avaliados. Geralmente, os custos operacionais foram maiores que os custos de mão-de-obra e custos fixos, exceto para as frotas de espinhel de superfície, traineiras (de AR) e emalhe de fundo (de RG), onde os custos de mão-de-obra foram maiores ou tiveram a mesma importância que os custos operacionais. O combustível foi o principal custo operacional para todas as frotas, exceto para as parelhas (SG) e as traineiras (AR), para os quais a manutenção do barco foi o principal custo operacional. O lucro bruto variou significativamente entre as frotas e esteve relacionada aos seguintes fatores: consumo de combustível, despesas de manutenção de embarcações, custos com gelo, preço do peixe e volume de captura. Particularmente para as frotas de arrasto de fundo (de SG e IN), parelhas (SG) e traineira, as características técnicas (ou seja, tamanho da embarcação e número de viagens de pesca, respectivamente) também explicaram a lucratividade. Além disso, o custo com o desembarque foi um fator significativo para o lucro dessas frotas. Os indicadores de desempenho econômico apresentaram heterogeneidade intra-frota dependendo da região e revelaram que 24% das frotas estavam inviáveis (NPV inferior a zero), 23% estavam em vulnerabilidade (IRRs e NPM inferiores a 11%) e 53% alcançaram bons retornos econômicos cujos valores de IRR excederam 12% e o NPM foi > 10%. O pior desempenho econômico foi observado para as frotas de arrasto-simples de RG e para as traineiras de SG, e os melhores para os atuneiros (RG) e parelhas (SG). Em geral, os subsídios foram ineficazes no aumento dos lucros das frotas de Rio Grande e podem estar mascarando o baixo desempenho econômico, principalmente para a frota de arrasto-simples. Os resultados apresentados podem ser utilizados para orientar nas decisões do setor privado sobre como proteger o desempenho econômico das frotas, as medidas de manejo da pesca (por exemplo, controles de entrada, planos de manejo para recuperação dos estoques sobrepescados), e ainda melhorar os programas governamentais atuais (por exemplo, o programa de subsídio ao combustível).