O programa de transferencia de renda Bolsa Familia e um importante pilar da seguri- dade social brasileira, mas ha um senso comum de que as transferencias do programa incentivam casais beneficiarios a terem mais filhos. Utilizando base de dados do governo federal (Cadunico e Caixa) e valendo-se dos criterios de eligibilidade, prop6e-se uma ine- dita analise quase experimental para estudar os efeitos das transferencias nao condicionais (UCT) e das condicionais (CCT) sobre a fecundidade das beneficiarias entre os anos de 2011 a 2015, atraves de uma regressao descontinua fuzzy. Problemas de medida associa- dos a base (e.g.: manipulacao, arredondamento, atrito) sao remediados com a estimacao nao parametrica proposta por Gerard, Rokkanen & Rothe (2016), em que se determina limites superiores e inferiores aos efeitos de tratamento. Por um lado, nao ha evidencia de que o componente CCT afete a fecundidade das beneficiarias, mas por outro, o com- ponente mais flexivel do Bolsa Familia, o UCT, possivelmente reduziu a fecundidade das beneficiarias mais pobres, sobretudo no Nordeste. Tais resultados sao contraintuitivos em relacao a literatura te6rica ate entao, mas em linha com a grande maioria dos resultados encontrados em programas similares da America Latina. / The Brazilian cash transfer program Balsa Familia is a very, if not the most, important pil- lar of Brazil\'s welfare system. However, there is a common sense that the program\'s trans- fers incentive beneficiary couples to have more children. Using federal data (Cadunico and Caixa databases) and the eligibility rules for the program, I propose a quasi-experimental approach to verify both unconditional (UCT) and conditional transfers (CCT) on the beneficiaries\' fertility rates between 2011 and 2015, through a fuzzy regression disconti- nuity approach. Measure problems associated with the data (e.g.: manipulation, heaping, attriton), are solved using a non parametric estimation proposed by Gerard, Rokkanen & Rothe (2016), which determines lower and upper bounds for treatment effects. On one hand, there is no evidence that the CCT component affects the beneficiaries\' fertility rates, but on another, the more flexible component of Bolsa Familia, UCT, possibly reduced the fertility rates for the most poor. Those results are counter intuitive with the theoretical literature so far, but in line with the majority of other studies analyzing similar transfer programs in Latin America.

Arcella Ehrenberg 1832 is one of the most numerous testacean genera. Arcellinids are an aerobic lineage of testate amoeba that live in a wide variety of environments. Probably their ability to survive in such divergent conditions is related to some de- gree of metabolic flexibility. Anaerobic organisms have gained and lost a number of genes related to energetic metabolism. These processes modify classic mitochondria until loss of function and transformation in mitochondrial related organelles (mitosomes and hydrogenosomes). Here I propose that Arcella intermedia adaptation to microarophilic environments is related to the acquisition of new genes. There are two main modes of acquisition of new genes. The traditional view, where duplication is followed by mutations and neo-functionality of the duplicate. Or genes can be acquired from other species (lateral gene transfers). The second process has a major importance in prokaryotic evolution and is probably under considered in eukaryotic evolution. I also propose in this work that genes related to anaerobic metabolism in Arcella are acquired by lateral gene transfer. However, analysis of genomic and transcriptomic data are absent for A.intermedia. Characterizing genome-scale data from eukaryotes is essential for gene discovery and for inferring transitions over the tree of life. The transcriptome dataset from this work provides the first effort of characterization of expressed sequences in A.intermedia. We used single cell from different moments of growth and whole culture RNA extraction in order to increase the diversity of metabolic moments of the cells. Mapped sequences allowed us to identify functional pathways in A.intermedia cells. In general, it seems that metabolic processes are showing up more, followed by signaling and responses to stimuli. We describe functioning of carbohydrate and energy metabolism including even an anaerobic pathway to produce energy. We found ACS-ADP and PFO genes in A.intermedia. We describe amino acid metabolism, with at least 12 amino acids metabolizing pathways described and catabolism mainly related to TCA cycle intermediates. Calcium, Ras GTPases, PI3K-AK and AMPK-mTOR are the main signaling pathways represented in transcriptomes. We described important pathways for amoeba: endocytosis and phagocytosis and it seems to be similar with the ones already described for other amoeba with a dependence on F-actin and small GTPases of Rho subfamily. We couldn\'t find lots of information about programmed cell death in A.intermedia, however cell growth are similar to pathways described for dinoflagellates. We expect that upcoming genomes will finish the description of functioning of those organisms, but we believe our work already is a good starting point. In order to gain a clearer picture of the presence of anaerobic metabolism genes in Amoebozoa, we conducted BLAST searches in Amoebozoa and Arcellinida data bases for the presence/absence of ACS-ADP, PFO and [FeFe]-H2ase. Other Arcellinida species also presented these genes, Difflugia sp., Difflugia compressa and Cyclopyxis lobostoma. Besides these, the already known Mastigamoeba balamuthi, Entamoeba histolytica and Acanthamoeba castelanii. Amoebozoa sequences don\'t form a monophyletic group in any of the three genes. However, Arcellinida sequences always grouped together. As such distinct amoeba groups have those anaerobic metabolism genes, however, most of the Amoebozoa do not. It is more likely to think of lateral transfers occurring independently among these amoeba groups, generating the possibility of occupying a new niche. The main objective of this work was to start generating tools to understand the ability of some testate amoeba to resist environmental harsh conditions. We found lots of interesting questions but the one we focused on this dissertation was (1) the evolution of anaerobic related genes in testate amoeba lineages. The assembled and annotated sequence data will be available as reference sequences, making the work with this group easier. The results can also potentially be applied as biomonitoring markers for the management of water resources. This work will improve the general knowledge on the evolution and function of freshwater organisms. We expect also to make a contribution on the understanding of the impact of lateral gene transfers in Arcellinida diversity / Arcella Ehrenberg 1832 é um dos gêneros de tecamebas mais numerosos, perten- cente aos Arcellinida. Estas são uma linhagem aeróbia de amebas tecadas que vivem em uma grande variedade de ambientes. Provavelmente, sua capacidade de sobreviver em condições tão divergentes está relacionada a algum grau de flexibilidade metabólica. Os organismos anaeróbicos ganharam e perderam vários genes relacionados ao metabolismo energético. Este processo modifica mitocôndrias clássicas até a perda da função e transformação em organelas relacionadas (mitossomos e hidrogenossomos). Aqui proponho que a adaptação de Arcella intermedia a ambientes microaerófilos está relacionada à aquisição de novos genes. Existem dois modos principais de aquisição de genes. Na visão tradicional, a duplicação gênica é responsável por gerar diversidade, seguida por mutações e neofuncionalidade da duplicata. Alternativamente, os genes podem ser adquiridos de outras espécies (transferências laterais de genes). O segundo processo tem uma grande importância evolutiva e é ainda pouco considerado na evolução eucariótica. Por isso, também proponho neste trabalho que genes relacionados ao metabolismo anaeróbico em Arcella sejam adquiridos por transferência lateral de genes. Entretanto, a análise de dados genômicos e transcriptômicos é inexistente para A.intermedia. A caracterização de dados em escala genômica de eucariotos é essencial para a descoberta de genes e para a inferência transições sobre a árvore da vida. O conjunto de dados de transcriptoma deste trabalho fornece um primeiro esforço de caracterização de sequências expressas em A. intermedia. Utilizamos extrações de célula-única em diferentes momentos de crescimento e extração de RNA de cultura inteira, a fim de aumentar a diversidade de momentos metabólicos das células. Sequências mapeadas permitiram identificar vias funcionais em células de A. intermedia. Em geral, parece que genes relacionados a processos metabo?licos são os que aparecem mais frequentemente, seguidos dos de sinalização e respostas a estímulos. Nós descrevemos a função do metabolismo de carboidratos e energia, incluindo uma via anaeróbica. Encontramos em A.intermedia os genes ACS-ADP e PFO. Descrevemos o metabolismo de aminoácidos, com pelo menos 12 vias metabólicas de aminoácidos descritas e catabolismo relacionado a intermediários do ciclo de TCA. Cálcio, Ras GTPases, PI3K-AK e AMPK-mTOR são as principais vias de sinalização representadas nos transcriptomas. Descrevemos importantes vias para amebas, que são endocitose e fagocitose. Parecem ser vias semelhantes àquelas já descritas para outras amebas, com dependência de F-actina e pequenas GTPases da subfamília Rho. Não conseguimos encontrar muitas informações sobre a morte celular programada em A. intermedia, mas o crescimento celular é semelhante com as vias descritas para os dinoflagelados. Esperamos que os próximos genomas terminem a descrição da função desses organismos, mas acreditamos que nosso trabalho já é um bom ponto de partida. A fim de obter uma visão mais clara da presença de genes de metabolismo anaeróbico em Amoebozoa, realizamos buscas no BLAST em bancos de dados de Amoebozoa e Arcellinida, para a presença/ausência de ACS-ADP, PFO e [FeFe] -H2ase. Outras espécies de Arcellinida também apresentaram estes genes, Difflugia sp, Difflugia compressa e Cyclopyxis lobostoma. Além destes, os já conhecidos Mastigamoeba balamuthi, Entamoeba histolytica e Acanthamoeba castelanii. Sequências de amebozoários não formam um grupo monofilético em nenhum dos três genes. No entanto, as sequencias de Arcellinida sempre se agrupam. Como são grupos de Amoebozoa de tal maneira distintos que possuem estes genes de metabolismo anaeróbico, e sendo que a maioria não possui, é mais provável que sejam transferências laterais independentes entre esses grupos de ameba, gerando a possibilidade de ocupar um novo nicho. O objetivo principal deste trabalho foi gerar ferramentas para entender a capacidade de algumas amebas tecadas em resistir a condições adversas do meio ambiente. Encontramos muitas questões interessantes, mas a que teve nosso foco nesta dissertação foi (1) a evolução de genes relacionados ao metabolismo anaeró?bio em linhagens de amebas tecadas. Os dados da sequência reunidos e anotados estarão disponíveis como sequências de referência, facilitando o trabalho com esse grupo. Os resultados também podem ser aplicados aos marcadores de biomonitoramento para o gerenciamento dos recursos hídricos. Este trabalho irá melhorar o conhecimento geral sobre a evolução e função de organismos de água doce. Esperamos tambem contribuir para a compreensão do impacto das transferências laterais na diversidade de Arcellinida

by Lam Tak-Cheung. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-66). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Evolution of the Mobile Agent Paradigm --- p.2 / Chapter 1.2 --- Beneficial Aspects of Mobile Agents --- p.3 / Chapter 1.3 --- Security Threats of Mobile Agents --- p.4 / Chapter 1.4 --- Organization of the Thesis --- p.6 / Chapter 2. --- Background of Cryptographic Theories --- p.7 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.7 / Chapter 2.2 --- Encryption and Decryption --- p.7 / Chapter 2.3 --- Six Cryptographic Primitives --- p.8 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Symmetric Encryption --- p.8 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Asymmetric Encryption --- p.9 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Digital Signature --- p.9 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Message Digest --- p.10 / Chapter 2.3.5 --- Digital Certificate --- p.11 / Chapter 2.3.6 --- Zero-Knowledge Proof --- p.11 / Chapter 2.4 --- RSA Public Key Cryptosystem --- p.12 / Chapter 2.5 --- Blind Signature --- p.13 / Chapter 2.6 --- Secret Sharing --- p.14 / Chapter 2.7 --- Conclusion Remarks --- p.14 / Chapter 3. --- Background of Mobile Agent Clones --- p.15 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.15 / Chapter 3.2 --- Types of Agent Clones --- p.15 / Chapter 3.3 --- Mobile Agent Cloning Problems --- p.16 / Chapter 3.4 --- Baek's Detection Scheme for Mobile Agent Clones --- p.17 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- The Main Idea --- p.17 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Shortcomings of Baek's Scheme --- p.18 / Chapter 3.5 --- Conclusion Remarks --- p.19 / Chapter 4. --- Background of E-cash --- p.20 / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.20 / Chapter 4.2 --- The General E-cash Model --- p.21 / Chapter 4.3 --- Chaum-Pedersen's General Transferable E-cash --- p.22 / Chapter 4.4 --- Ferguson's Single-term Off-line E-coins --- p.23 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Technical Background of the Secure Tools --- p.24 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Protocol Details --- p.27 / Chapter 4.5 --- Conclusion Remarks --- p.30 / Chapter 5. --- A Mobile Agent Clone Detection System using General Transferable E-cash --- p.31 / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.31 / Chapter 5.2 --- Terminologies --- p.33 / Chapter 5.3 --- Mobile Agent Clone Detection System with Transferable E-cash --- p.34 / Chapter 5.4 --- Security and Privacy Analysis --- p.37 / Chapter 5.5 --- Attack Scenarios --- p.39 / Chapter 5.5.1 --- The Chosen Host Response Attack --- p.39 / Chapter 5.5.2 --- The Truncation and Substitution Attack --- p.40 / Chapter 5.6 --- An Alternative Scheme without Itinerary Privacy --- p.41 / Chapter 5.7 --- Conclusion Remarks --- p.43 / Chapter 6. --- Specific Implementation of the Mobile Agent Clone Detection System with Transferable Ferguson's E-coin --- p.45 / Chapter 6.1 --- Introduction --- p.45 / Chapter 6.2 --- The Clone Detection Environment --- p.46 / Chapter 6.3 --- Protocols --- p.48 / Chapter 6.3.2 --- Withdrawing E-tokens --- p.48 / Chapter 6.3.2 --- The Agent Creation Protocol --- p.51 / Chapter 6.3.3 --- The Agent Migration Protocol --- p.51 / Chapter 6.3.4 --- Clone Detection and Culprit Identification --- p.52 / Chapter 6.4 --- Security and Privacy Analysis --- p.54 / Chapter 6.5 --- Complexity Analysis --- p.55 / Chapter 6.5.1 --- Compact Passport --- p.55 / Chapter 6.5.2 --- Passport growth in size --- p.56 / Chapter 6.6 --- Conclusion Remarks --- p.56 / Chapter 7. --- Conclusions --- p.58 / Appendix 一 Papers derived from this thesis Bibliography

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Cette thèse explore et analyse l’œuvre littéraire et artistique de plusieurs artistes et écrivains qui ont eu un lien avec le mouvement surréaliste et se sont exilés au Mexique. Les œuvres de Remedios Varo, Leonora Carrington, Wolfgang Paalen, Alice Rahon, Kati Horna, José Horna, Benjamin Péret, César Moro et Luis Buñuel sont pour plusieurs méconnues ou peu accessibles au grand public. Leurs archives sont dispersées dans le monde et parfois ignorées. Nous avons entrepris de reconstituer une chronologie de cet épisode spécifique de leur vie, d’inventorier leurs œuvres, en particulier celles des années d’exil au Mexique (1938-1963), de montrer le dialogue esthétique qui s’est créé dans le moment exceptionnel de leur rencontre au Mexique, à la fois à partir de leur passé surréaliste et du cœur même de l’expérience exilique qu’ils partagent. Les préoccupations, les activités et les relations qui rapprochent ces artistes conduisent à s’interroger sur la possible définition d’un mouvement. Leurs interactions amicales et artistiques suggèrent, pour un temps au moins, la détermination de points communs esthétiques, littéraires et culturels. Le creuset créatif de leur exil commun est aussi un point de départ pour analyser la réception de ces œuvres et se demander s’il existe une poétique de l’exil spécifique à ces artistes qui ont vécu en proximité sur le sol mexicain. Pour traiter cette question, cette thèse analyse les représentations communes à ces artistes et observe le rôle déterminant qu’ils ont sur l’art et la littérature latino-américains de la seconde moitié du XXe siècle. / This thesis intends to explore and analyse the literary and visual work of a number of exiled artists and writers who have a particular link with the surrealist movement, and fled to Mexico. Several elements of the work of Remedios Varo, Leonora Carrington, Wolfgang Paalen, Alice Rahon, Kati Horna, José Horna, Benjamin Péret, César Moro and Luis Buñuel are often unknown or rarely accessible to a large public. Their archives are scattered around the world and are often ignored. Our aim is to establish a chronological reconstitution of their lives, to inventory their work –particularly from 1938 to 1963, focusing on the exile phase – as well as to examine the aesthetic dialogue between them. The basis, activities and relationships that connect these artists come not only from their surrealist past but also from the exile they share; nevertheless, their interactions challenge their connection as a group. Their artworks communicate with each other and their exile is our starting point in order to analyse the reception of these works. Is there an inherent poetry of the exile in the work of these artists? We will answer this question by studying their common representations and by observing their strong influence in Latin American art and literature from the second half of the 20th century.

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O presente estudo de caso aborda temas como a Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho (QVT) intrinsecamente ligada à movimentação de militares. O propósito desta dissertação é analisar a QVT dos militares pertencentes ao Comando da 3ª Região Militar (Cmdo da 3ª RM), com o intuito de identificar e, consequentemente, minimizar os aspectos negativos, e maximizar a QVT neste ambiente. O segmento inicial situa o estudo e a formação do profissional militar na atualidade. Posteriormente, segue o referencial teórico, dissertando sobre QVT, sua origem e sua evolução conceitual na abordagem organizacional, tendo como ponto de partida a adaptação do modelo de Walton (1973) para critérios de avaliação da qualidade de vida, contendo questões ligadas às competências e atribuições do militar, distribuído em 25 categorias, na tentativa de análise da QVT, em que o maior destaque se apresenta na forma de dois aspectos importantes: o relacionamento e o trabalho. A análise contempla também a integração social no trabalho, e juntamente com a gestão formam os fatores mais críticos para a amostra em estudo, de 38 (trinta e oito) respondentes. Os resultados obtidos indicaram que o Cmdo da 3ª RM apresenta aspectos de QVT a serem melhorados. Combinações importantes derivadas da análise do conjunto dos achados deste estudo destacam a relevância do ferramental da qualidade de vida no trabalho, como instrumento de apoio à gestão de recursos humanos, sobretudo na medida em que potencializam canais de diálogo, entre comando e comandados. O trabalho justifica-se pela importância deste tema e pela carência de trabalhos técnicos nesta área, e aplica-se não somente a Organizações Militares como a qualquer organização, por incluir uma metodologia baseada em conceitos gerais de QVT. / This case study discusses topics such as the Quality of Life at Work (QLW) intrinsically related to military personnel transfers. The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze the QLW of the military personnel of the Command of the 3rd Military Region (CMD 3rd MR), in order to identify and consequently minimize the negative aspects and maximize QLW in that environment. Initially, the current educational background and training of military personnel are discussed. Later, the theoretical framework on QLW, its origin and its conceptual evolution in the organizational approach is presented, taking as a starting point the adaptation of Walton's model (1973) for criteria for assessing the quality of life, with questions related to skills and tasks of the military personnel, categorized in twenty-five areas in an attempt to analyze the QLW; in that model two important aspects are highlighted: relationship and work. The analysis also considers the social interactions at work and the management, which are the most critical factors for the sample being studied ‒ 38 (thirty-eight) participants. The results indicated that the CMD 3rd MR presents aspects of QLW that should be improved. Based on important combinations found in the analysis of this study, we can notice that it is very important to use tools to measure the quality of life at work to support the management of human resources, especially in order to improve the communication in the chain of command. The work is justified by the importance of this matter and by the lack of studies in this area and it also applies not only to military organizations, but to any organization, since it uses a methodology based on general concepts of QLW.

Social assistance programmes (SAPs), understood as non-contributory transfers aimed at ad-dressing poverty, have spread in developing countries since the late 1990s. National govern-ments in Latin America have sought to extend the coverage of SAPs through human devel-opment conditional cash transfer programmes (CCTs). CCTs share several implementation features. First, they employ targeting and selection methods based on means, and proxy means, tests. Research on targeting and selection methods has evolved hand in hand with the adoption of CCTs in Latin America, Africa and South East Asia. Second, CCTs involve the provision of cash transfers directly to households, but with conditions attached to human development objectives. Transfers are given to households in poverty contingent on investment in the human capital formation of their children. A third feature relates to the presence of programme exit conditions. To date, scarce research is available on the design and outcomes associated with exit condi-tions from CCTs. This thesis thus contributes to the literature in the implementation of SAPs by providing a critical examination of exit conditions in SAPs with specific emphasis on CCTs. The thesis provides a systematic theoretical and empirical analysis of the role of exit conditions in the implementation of CCTs. The thesis develops and tests two basic principles underlying the role of exit conditions. First, the exhausted-effectiveness principle suggests that the effectiveness of a CCT varies over time. The research reported in this examines the effectiveness of programme over time with the aim of identifying potential thresholds after which a given SAP's effectiveness de-clines. A two-period child human capital investment model is developed to study analytically the conditions in which programme effectiveness varies over time. This is examined empirically in order to demonstrate the existence of the time-varying effectiveness associated with the implementation of the Colombia's CCT, Familias en Accion. A continuous treatment effect model is estimated following Hirano and Imbens (2004), in which the length of exposure allows for the graphical analysis of dose-response functions. The results indicate that the design of SAPs must take account of time-varying effectiveness. Second, a principle of the non-recurrence of poverty states that beneficiaries should be able to exit an effective programme when two conditions apply: (i) they are not in poverty; and (ii) they face a low probability of becoming poor in the near future. This principle acknowledges the implications of poverty dynamics for the implementation of SAPs with a particular focus on exit conditions. This thesis characterises the poverty dynamics of beneficiary households through the estimation of a Markovian poverty transition model using data from the Familias en Accion programme. The findings from the empirical work suggest that programme participation should not end when households are non-poor, but attention must be paid to probabilities of recurrence, in order to secure non-recurrence in the near future. Taken together, the exhausted-effectiveness principle interacts with the non-recurrence of poverty principle in the sense that the first sets a maximum length of exposure to the intervention, while the second determines minimum levels of exposure.

nÃo hà / Este estudo investiga o impacto dos instrumentos de polÃtica monetÃria e fiscal sobreas os recursos arrecadados pelo Governo Federal e disponÃveis aos demais entes federados do Brasil. As variÃveis dependentes estudadas foram o Imposto de Renda (IR), o Imposto sobre Produtos Industrializados (IPI) e algumas componentes daquele, tais como o Imposto de Renda Retido na Fonte e o Imposto de Renda Pessoa JurÃdica de empresas nÃo financeiras, enquanto os controles foram a taxa SELIC, os meios de pagamento restritos (M1) e a taxa de cÃmbio (real/dÃlar). Modelos economÃtricos tradicionais de sÃries temporais foram estimados com dados mensais entre janeiro de 2008 a dezembro de 2012 e os resultados obtidos permitiram inferir com elevada robustez que: i) variaÃÃes positivas no dÃlar proporcionam diminuiÃÃes nas arrecadaÃÃes de ambos os impostos; ii) elevaÃÃes na taxa SELIC e nos meios de pagamento restritos (M1), diferentemente do observado no cÃmbio, tendem a proporcionar aumentos na arrecadaÃÃo de ambos os impostos. Em conjunto, tais resultados justificam a preocupaÃÃo e a necessidade de intervenÃÃo da autoridade monetÃria no intuito de regular o comportamento desses controles. / This work investigates the impact of the instruments of monetary and fiscal policy on the funds raised by the Federal Government and available to other federal entities (cities and states) in Brazil. The dependent variables were the Income Tax (IT), the Tax on Industrialized Products, while controls were the official interest rate (SELIC), the restricted means of payment (M1) and exchange rate (real / U.S. dollar). Traditional econometric time series models were estimated using monthly data from January 2008 to December 2012 and the results allowed to infer that: i) increases in the dollar provide decreases in both taxes; ii) increases in the interest rate and restricted means of payment (M1) tend to provide increases in both taxes. Together, these results justify the concern and the need for intervention by the monetary authority in order to regulate the behavior of these controls.

Normative economic theory provides justification for at least partially centralized renewable energy provision due to the large, positive externalities associated with renewable energy production. However, the United States is one of the few countries without centralized renewable energy policy. Instead, the federal government actively chooses decentralized renewable energy provision by using fiscal transfers to support subnational renewable energy development. This dissertation explores why U.S. legislators choose decentralized renewable energy provision by asking two primary questions. First, what is the motivation for using federal fiscal transfers for decentralized renewable energy output considering what we know about positive spillovers and market failure associated with decentralized renewable energy production? Second, do fiscal transfers for decentralized renewable energy provision increase renewable energy production at the local level? The theoretical model proposed in Chapter Four posits why policymakers choose decentralized renewable energy provision. The chapter argues that the current political price associated with a specific policy issue affects legislators’ choices regarding good provision. I hypothesize that when the political price associated with vying for centralized good provision is high, legislators are incentivized to choose decentralized good provision. Chapter Five applies this theory to empirically evaluate the choice to decentralize renewable energy provision. The chapter examines whether the current political price of renewable energy policy affects the likelihood of a legislator proposing decentralized funding for renewable energy provision. I hypothesize that legislators will propose funding to support decentralized renewable energy development when the political price associated with renewable energy policies is high at a given time. The results show that when the political price of renewable energy policy is low, a policymaker is less likely to use grants to support renewable energy projects, finding support for the hypothesis. Chapter Six empirically evaluates the effectiveness of renewable energy grants at the local level to further understand the theoretical model proposed in Chapter Four. I hypothesize that receiving a renewable energy grant increases renewable energy output at the local level. The results support this hypothesis by showing that receiving a renewable energy grant is associated with significant and positive increases in solar energy production. These findings provide further insight into legislative decision-making and the role of renewable energy grants in renewable energy development in the U.S.