Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1938.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1946. / Cover title: Problem of water supply in Peru and suggestions for improvements.

We propose a classification framework for the operations management literature that has looked at pricing and ordering in supply chains when supply and/or demand are uncertain. We then focus on developing three new models for managing supply and demand uncertainties in supply chains. In the first model, we study a two period sourcing problem of a firm under two sets of contracts. The contracts differ in terms of acquisition costs and the level of risk that they impose on the firm. We provide the conditions where the optimum solution is unique and also explore the behaviour of the optimum solution analytically and numerically. One application of our model is in the agribusiness supply chain and we provide numerical examples based on data from the almond industry in California. In the second model we look at a joint ordering, pricing and capacity planning problem. We characterize the optimum policy both in single and multi-period cases. In addition, we study the impact of fixed production costs on the optimum policy. The third model is devoted to coordination between a buyer and a supplier where there is a possibility of improving the supplier by both players. We analyze the problem under a Stackelberg game setting where the buyer is the leader. We show that the buyer either tries to amplify the investment of the supplier by order inflation or assumes all the investment costs. We investigate the behaviour of the optimum solution under different strategies. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The South African .economy was hit hard by the electricity crisis of 2008 where increasing demand for electricity outstripped the available supply that led to load shedding. Many jobs were lost, industries could not keep up with international competition and as a result jobs were lost in the process affecting many households in the country. This is the context within the debate around the introduction of private sector participation in the electricity industry to assist Eskom to meet the demand and stimulate economic growth. This dissertation examines the introduction of the Independent Power Producers and its impact on the industry. It has been found that to level the playing field in the industry, the horizontal structure of the electricity industry will have to disaggregate. International experience has shown that this structure is perfect for meeting the increasing electricity demand and for economic growth. / Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2012

The aim of this essay is to examine the influence of childcare costs on mother’s employment in European countries. Previous literature indicates that having a child represents a penalty for a woman’s career and integration into the labour market. An empirical analysis has been conducted using the OLS method and cross-national data. We have focused our study on 17 European countries and on data from one particular year.Our findings suggest that a high childcare cost is related to a low maternal employment rate and/or a high share of employed mothers working part-time. As a result, the variations in childcare cost may be partly responsible for the variation in mother’s employment across European countries.The main limitation of this analysis is the small number of observations. Due to the lack of statistical significance of most of the coefficient, we can only suggest a hypothesis that needs to be investigated by further research.

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Inaug.-diss.--Basel. / Curriculum vitae.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2003. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 164 p.; also contains graphics. Includes abstract and vita. Advisor: Allan Randall, Dept. of Agricultural, Environmental & Development Economics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-157).

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