In this dissertation three essays were presented. In the first two essays we measure the consumer welfare changes caused by U.S. meat price changes. In the third essay the dynamic structure of international gasoline prices using the time series methodology is investigated. In chapter II, we investigate the U.S. consumer behavior on meat consumption depending on a linear expenditure system (LES), and then we simulate the welfare effects of a set of price changes on the U.S. meat consumption. The simulation results show that the amount of consumer welfare change for each meat is not same across the meats under the same percentage change of price. The simulation results also show that when all the prices are doubled the total amount of CV reaches almost the same amount of current total quarterly expenditures for the three meats. In chapter III, we apply the compensating variation (CV) approach for the measurement of consumer welfare losses associated with beef price changes. We applied the long-run cointegrating relationship in vector error correction model (VECM) to estimate the Marshallian demand function. Apparently, the use of long-run cointegration in VECM in deriving the direct Marshallian demand function to measure the consumer welfare change is the first attempt in the literature. This is one of the contributions of the study. The simulation results show that the amount of consumer welfare change for beef is compatible with the one derived from LES methodology. In chapter IV, an empirical framework to summarize the interdependence of four international gasoline markets (New York, U.S. Gulf Coast, Rotterdam and Singapore) is presented. For that purpose, we employ a structural VECM and directed acyclic graphs (DAGs). To solve the identification problem in structural VECM, we apply DAGs derived from contemporaneous VECM innovations. The impulse response functions show that the time period in which a shock in a market affects the other market is very short. Forecast error variance decompositions (FEVD) shows that in all markets, except the U.S. Gulf Coast market, current and past shocks in their own market explained the most of the volatility in their own market in the Short-run.

The dynamics of the U.S. and Canada natural gas spot markets are evolving through deregulation policies and technological advances. Economic theory suggests that these markets will be integrated. The key question is the extent of integration among the markets. This thesis characterizes the degree of dynamic integration among 11 major natural gas markets, six from the U.S. and five from Canada, and determines each individual markets’ role in price discovery. This is the first study to include numerous Canadian markets in a North American natural gas market study. Causal flows modeling using directed acyclic graphs in conjunction with time series analysis are used to explain the relationships among the markets. Daily gas price data from 1994 to 2009 are used. The 11 natural gas market prices are tied together with nine long-run co-integrating relationships. All markets are included in the co-integration space, providing evidence the markets are integrated. Results show the degree of integration varies by region. Further results indicate no clear price leader exists among the 11 markets. Dawn market is exogenous in contemporaneous time, while Sumas market is an information sink. Henry Hub plays a significant role in the price discovery of markets in the U.S. Midwest and Northeast, but little to markets in the west. The uncertainty of a markets’ price depends primarily on markets located in nearby regions. Policy makers may use information on market integration for important policy matters in efforts of attaining efficiency. Gas traders benefit from knowing the price discovery relationships.

With the liberalization of financial market, the prevalence of international trade and the prosperity of foreign exchange markets ,investors could hedge,speculate or interest arbitrage in markets. Therefore, market efficiency is worthy of investigation and analysis on the international finance extensively. According to simple market efficiency hypothesis, there would be a long-run relationship between spot exchange rate and forward exchange rate if the foreign exchange market is efficient. Under the circumstance, this study firstly tries to examine whether there is a long-run relationship or not between spot exchange rate and forward exchange rate by Linear Cointegration Theory. At the same time, the study tests Simple Market Efficiency Hypothesis is correct or not in practice. Next,in a non-linear threshold cointegrational way, it looks into whether there is an apparent threshold effect or not among variables, and the adjusting behavior in the long-run equilibrium process. The result of the study proves that there are an apparent threshold effect and inconsistent behaviors in the long-run equilibrium process.

In the paper, the interaction between public debt and inflation including mutual impulse response will be analysed. The European sovereign debt crisis brought once again the focus on the consequences of public debt in combination with an expansive monetary policy for the development of consumer prices. Public deficits can lead to inflation if the money supply is expansive. The high level of national debt, not only in the Euro-crisis countries, and the strong increase in total assets of the European Central Bank, as a result of the unconventional monetary policy, caused fears on inflating national debt. The transmission from public debt to inflation through money supply and long-term interest rate will be shown in the paper. Based on these theoretical thoughts, the variables public debt, consumer price index, money supply m3 and long-term interest rate will be analysed within a vector error correction model estimated by Johansen approach. In the empirical part of the article, quarterly data for Germany from 1991 by 2010 are to be examined.

Food inflation in South Africa has been viewed as an important source of underlying inflationary pressures in the economy due to its persistence beyond that of other commodities. Although several studies found food to be one of the factors that influence purchase decisions, there still appears to be an absence of research that directly links food inflation to consumers’ decisions, especially when financing the purchase of new passenger vehicles in South Africa. In this regard, this study investigated whether the increase in the prices of food products has a significant effect on passenger vehicle purchases in South Africa. Leaning on the literature that argues that economic factors do not play much of a role in passenger vehicle purchase decisions in South Africa, it was hypothesised that there is no supported relationship between food inflation and passenger vehicle purchases in South Africa. Using secondary time series data, the Pearson correlation test revealed a negative but insignificant relationship between food inflation and vehicle purchases in South Africa. The ordinary least squares estimate of the purchase function, taking into account several economic factors that influence passenger vehicle purchase decisions in the literature, showed that disposable income of households along with vehicle purchases of the previous period are to be considered as main determinants of vehicle purchases in South Africa. In addition, it was also revealed that new vehicle prices are also a significant determinant of vehicle purchases. The Johansen cointegration test revealed that the variables in the vehicle purchase function were cointegrated in the long run. The vector error correction model showed a long-run relationship, albeit insignificant, between food inflation and vehicle purchases and no relationship between the two variables in the short run. The Granger causality test revealed that food inflation and vehicle purchases are independent from each other, meaning that no causal effect was found between the variables, regardless of the direction of the test. This study concluded that economic factors such as interest rate and fuel price have an insignificant influence on passenger vehicle purchases in South Africa. In the same line, the impact of food inflation on passenger vehicle purchases in South Africa was found to be insignificant, therefore, the conclusion was drawn that the increase in the prices of food products will not play a considerable role in consumers’ decisions regarding passenger vehicle purchase in South Africa. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

The main purpose of this study is to examine the causal relations between energy use, CO2 emissions and economic growth for Sweden. Vector Error Correction model with annual data from 1970 to 2016 has been used in order to determine potential causality between the variables. The empirical findings indicate that in the long-run, causality relationship between energy consumption, CO2 emissions and economic growth cannot be rejected and it is bidirectional. This means that energy is a determining factor for economic growth in Sweden and that applying policies in order to reduce the CO2 emissions has slowed down economic growth in Sweden. This finding is consistent with the Feedback Hypothesis. But in the short-run no causality was found between energy and economic growth. According to Granger causality test results, bidirectional causality between CO2 emissions and energy consumption cannot be rejected in the short-run. Variables’ trends show that in the period under study, energy consumption and economic growth have moved in the same direction; meaning that higher energy consumption has led to higher economic growth. At the same time, lower CO2 emissions have been accompanied by higher economic growth. There is also short-run causality running from capital to economic growth according to VECM results. It can be suggested to the policy makers that in order to maintain economic growth and reduce environmental degradation, energy consumption should be shifted gradually from nonrenewable sources to renewable ones so to avoid decrease in economic growth and ensure lower levels of CO2 emissions in the long-run.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / O presente trabalho estima a elasticidade produto-gasto pÃblico para economia brasileira, no perÃodo de 1950 a 2003, utilizando um modelo vetorial de correÃÃo de erro (VECM) para controlar possÃveis mudanÃas estruturais nas sÃries. Quando existem mudanÃas estruturais, os vÃrios testes estatÃsticos de Dickey-Fuller sÃo viesados em direÃÃo da nÃo rejeiÃÃo de uma raiz unitÃria. Este viÃs significa que o teste de Dickey-Fuller à viesado em direÃÃo da hipÃtese nula de uma raiz unitÃria, mesmo se a sÃrie à estacionÃria dentro de cada subperÃodo. Sem controlar para mudanÃas estruturais, os testes de cointegraÃÃo podem apresentar resultados enganosos, e as estimativas obtidas podem ser viesadas. / Aiming to estimate the elasticity product-public expenditure to the Brazilian economy, during the period 1950-2003, it was used a vector error correction model (VECM) to control for possible structural changes in the series. When structural changes were observed, many of the Dickey-Fuller statistic tests are biased towards the non-rejection of the existence of a unit root. This bias means that the Dickey-Fuller test is biased towards the null hypothesis of unit root, even if the series is stationary within each sub period. Without controlling for structural changes, the cointegration tests may present deceiving results and the estimates obtained may be biased.

FDI investment is a vital factor for the developing countries economic growth. Apart from working as a catalyst of increasing total output level, FDI is a source of clean energy, technology transfer and energy efficiency. There have been very limited studies on the impact of FDI on renewable energy consumption in the context of Bangladesh. In fact, to my best knowledge there hasn’t been any studies on Bangladesh regarding this relationship with recent data available. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to reveal the relationship between FDI and renewable energy consumption in Bangladesh with annual Data spanning from 1980 to 2016. Johansen’s cointegration test showed that variables are cointegrated in the long run. Through Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), the paper shows there is short run and long run causality between FDI and Renewable Energy Consumption and the causality is negative. Granger causality test reveals that the direction of causality is running from FDI to Renewable Energy Consumption. Policies regarding attracting more sectoral FDI should be considered to improve investment scenario in Renewable energy sector.

Yes / This paper develops a model of optimal choice over an array of different assets, including domestic and foreign bonds, domestic and foreign equities and domestic and foreign real money balances in order to examine the determination of the real exchange rate in the long-run. The model is tested empirically using data from the UK and the USA. The results show that all the coefficients of the model are right signed and significant and consequently financial assets may play a significant role in the determination of the real exchange rate.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:25:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Eli Hadad Junior.pdf: 290403 bytes, checksum: 413b010b2b66c535b71df800b9626c61 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-10 / The dissertation analyzes data of the Brazilian household consumption and income between the years 1947 and 2009. The study aims to evaluate to what extent the aggregate consumption of Brazilian household may approximate be a random walk. The dissertation uses Johansen's cointegration techniques (1988, 1991) and super exogeneity tests as proposed by Engle and Hendry et al. (1983). The dissertation attempts to evaluate whether interventions that affect consumption will impact the dynamics of aggregate income. These interventions can occur through credit policies and tax changes, among other macroeconomic shocks. Finally, a decomposition is made following the methodology proposed by Gonzalo-Granger (1995) and evaluating the importance of shocks in permanent and temporary changes in consumption. / A dissertação analisa os dados de consumo e renda das famílias brasileiras entre os anos de 1947 e 2009. O trabalho visa avaliar em que medida o consumo agregado das famílias brasileiras pode ser bem aproximando a partir de um passeio aleatório puro. O trabalho utiliza técnicas de cointegração de Johansen (1988, 1991) e testes de super exogeneidade na forma proposta por Hendry, Engle et al. (1983). A dissertação procura avaliar se intervenções que afetam o consumo das famílias geram impacto na dinâmica da renda agregada das mesmas. Tais intervenções podem ser por políticas de crédito, alterações tributárias, choque macroeconômicos entre outras. Por fim uma decomposição entre fatores permanentes e transitórios será feita pela metodologia proposta por Gonzalo-Granger (1995) com o objetivo de avaliar-se a importância dos choques permanentes e transitórios para as variações do consumo.