In this dissertation, I investigate the role of oil resources and economic and political institutional quality on the economic performance of Iran. To this end, I examine four related themes. First and foremost, I provide a detailed picture of the economic structure of Iran and compare its performance with other oil and non-oil economies of the Middle East and the Middle Easterb region. As we get a clear picture of the relative economic position of Iran in the MENA region, I go further into macroeconomic analyses of oil wealth effects on the Iranian economy. The second theme investigated in this dissertation is the interaction of political power structure with oil rents and their effects on Iranian economic growth. This study is the first examination which takes into consideration political factionalism interaction with oil rents in the case of Iran. The results show that oil resources have a direct positive effect on economic growth in Iran. However, the interaction effect of factionalism (as a proxy for political asymmetry degree) with oil rents is negative and significant. The third theme which is examined in this study is illegal trade in Iran. This topic is also related to natural resource management in Iran. A large number of fuel products smuggled from Iran are due to heavy subsidies within the country. In this study, I measure the amount of illegal trade in Iran, identifying the major causes and indicators of smuggling. The average of illegal trade in Iran’s total trade is 13%. The value of annual illegal trade, on average, is within the range of $ 2.5 - 3 billion. The fourth topic which is examined in this dissertation is macroeconomic populism in Iran. The main source of financing populism spending in Iran is the oil revenues. Therefore, it is connected to the management of natural resources.

Economic growth alone may not solve the problem of poverty. Our behavioral analyses reveal that human capital is one of the key forces of reducing poverty and promoting economic growth. However, one''s human capital accumulation is restricted by his personal lifetime funds. Then the efficiency of national funds allocation in China is investigated. Results show that an equal allocation of national funds should be adopted by Chinese government, with which the economy can develop in a way both fast and just.:Acknowledgements IV Short Table of Contents VI List of Figures XI List of Tables XIII List of Abbreviations XIV List of Used Symbols XV 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Motivation 1 1.2 Important Concepts 2 1.2.1 Poverty 2 1.2.2 Absolute Poverty and Relative Poverty 3 1.2.3 The Household Responsibility System (HRS) 7 1.3 The Plan and Novelty of theWork 9 2 The Efforts, Features, and Problems of the Reduction of Peasants’ Poverty in the Past Three Decades in China 11 2.1 How Did the Problem of Peasants’ Poverty Originate and Evolve? 11 2.2 China’s Poverty Reduction Efforts 15 2.2.1 Phase 1: Rural Reforms and the Implementation of the HRS 15 2.2.2 Phase 2: County-Based Poverty Reduction during 1986-1993 16 2.2.3 Phase 3: The 8-7 Poverty Reduction Plan during 1994-2000 18 2.2.4 Phase 4: The New Century Rural Poverty Alleviation Plan for 2001-2010 19 2.3 Features of the Peasants’ Poverty Reduction 20 2.3.1 The Overall Achievement Is Remarkable 20 2.3.2 The Decline in the Incidence of Poverty Was Uneven 23 2.3.3 The Role of Human Capital Is Crucial in Income Generating 25 2.3.4 Migration Is a Path out of Poverty, But it Is Restricted by many Factors 26 2.4 Existing Problems in China’s Poverty Reduction Course 31 2.4.1 The Total Funds for Poverty Alleviation Programs Are Insufficient 31 2.4.2 The Official Poverty Line Is Too Low to Reflect the Real Situation of Peasants’ Poverty 33 2.4.3 The Overall Economic Growth Has Become Less Responsive to Poverty Reduction 35 2.4.4 Vulnerability to Poverty Extensively Exists 36 3 Literature Review on the Peasants’ Economic Behaviour 39 3.1 About the Rationality of Peasants 39 3.2 The Economic Behavior of Chinese Peasants before the Land Collectivization Movement in the Late 1950s 43 3.3 The Economic Behavior of Peasants after 1978 under the HRS and the “Hukou” System 45 4 The Job Choice and Land Rent Determination 47 4.1 Assumptions 47 4.2 The Job Choice 48 4.3 The Land Rent Determination and the Corresponding Optimal Farm Scale 50 4.4 The Empirical Evidence 54 4.4.1 Evidence for Proposition 1 55 4.4.2 Evidence for Proposition 2 56 4.4.3 A Case of the Land Rental Activities in L village 61 4.4.4 Summary 64 5 The Human Capital Accumulation 65 5.1 Introduction 65 5.2 The Basic Model 70 5.3 An Extension to the Case of an Imperfect Capital Market 77 5.4 Summary 79 6 The Rural-Urban Migration 81 6.1 A Review of Todaro’s Work 81 6.2 A Review of the Harris-Todaro Model 88 6.3 Remarks on the Above Models 95 6.4 Our Model 96 6.5 Empirical Evidence 101 6.6 Conclusions 102 7 The National Funds Allocation Efficiency in China 103 7.1 Introduction 103 7.2 Literature Review 106 7.3 Possible Relations between the Expected PLE and the PLF 109 7.3 Empirical Analysis 115 7.3.1 The Trends of Per-Capita Income of Urban and Rural Residents 115 7.3.2 The Trends of Per-Capita Earnings of Urban and Rural Residents 117 7.3.3 The Trends of Per-Capita Non-Earning Income of Urban and Rural Residents 118 7.3.4 An Estimate for the Relationship between the Expected PLE and PLF in China 120 7.4 Concluding Remarks 122 8 Review and Conclusions 123 8.1 Review 123 8.2 Conclusions 125 8.3 Suggestions to Further Research 125 Appendix 127 References 132

Univ., Diss.--Bremen, 2006.

Univ., Diss. u.d.T.: Harttgen, Kenneth: Four essays on the empirical analysis of determinants, distribution and dynamics of poverty--Göttingen, 2007. / Parallelt.: Four essays on the empirical analysis of determinants, distribution and dynamics of poverty.

Ohio, Ohio State Univ., Diss.--Columbus, 2002. / Kopie, ersch. im Verl. UMI, Ann Arbor, Mich. - Enth. 3 Beitr.

Luftverkehrsprognosen stellen ein wichtiges Instrument dar, die Luftverkehrsinfrastruktur zu beeinflussen. Hinter vielen der Projekte, die von Luftverkehrsprognosen begleitet werden, stehen Interessen. Dies gilt insbesondere für Ausbauvorhaben von Flughäfen, die von eindeutigen Zielen und Wünschen getragen werden. Die Gutachter, die im Rahmen solcher Ausbauvorhaben tätig werden, sind der Gefahr ausgesetzt, beeinflusste Prognosen zu erstellen. Die Art und Intensität dieser Beeinflussung sowie die Methodik dieser Analysen sind Gegenstand dieses Aufsatzes. Zunächst wurden neuere Ergebnisse der OECD und EU erarbeitet und denen der Flughafenstudien gegenübergestellt. Nachfolgend wurde die Intensität der Beeinflussung auf Grundlage einer eigenen Untersuchung analysiert. Dabei wurden politische Entscheidungsträger im Rhein-Main-Gebiet nach Ihrer Verwendung von Studien und deren Ergebnisse befragt. Die Impact Study, als häufigste Forschungsmethodik, wurde in ihre Bestandteile zerlegt und mit der Full Cost-Benefit-Analyse, welche die durch die FAA empfohlene Methode ist, verglichen. Grundsätzlich sind solche Gutachten meist externe Analysen aus privatwirtschaftlicher Hand, die einerseits im Auftrag von regionalen Entscheidungsträgern, aber andererseits auch im Auftrag von Flughafen- und Fluggesellschaften angefertigt wurden. Die Unabhängigkeit der Prognosen ist damit gefährdet. Auf Grundlage der (neutralen) OECD- und EU-Ergebnisse zeigte sich, dass etwaige regionale Wirtschaftsimpulse und damit einhergehendes Beschäftigungswachstum durch erhöhten Flugverkehr nicht zu finden sind. Die kritische Analyse von „bezahlten Studien“ ist demnach von Bedeutung. Die Mehrzahl der politischen Amts- und Entscheidungsträger in Deutschland trifft allerdings Entscheidungen auf Basis keiner oder ausschließlich nicht-neutraler, bezahlter Auftragsstudien. Historisch betrachtet ist dies kein Novum. Bereits in den 60er Jahren kann man solche Studien und Entscheidungen nachweisen. Bezüglich des Forschungsdesign zeigte sich, dass Impact-Studien kaum für zur Beurteilung des Luftverkehrs geeignet sind. Sie beziehen die relevanten Effekte nur teilweise in ihre Berechnungen ein. Es wurde eine Reihe von systematischen Fehlern identifiziert. Die FAA-Richtlinien in den USA für methodisch korrekte Studien greifen nur wenig. Für weitere Forschung sehen wir die wichtige Aufgabe, die Methodik der Full Cost-Benefit-Analyse für die Prognose möglicher Effekte zur Anwendung zu bringen. / Aviation traffic forecasts and airport analyses are important instruments which influence decisions on aviation related infrastructure. Behind many of such infrastructure projects, which are supported by forecast analyses, one finds political interests. This is especially the case for aviation projects, such as infrastructure enlargement projects of airports, which are motivated by distinct goals and desires. Referees who act within this framework are exposed to the risk of producing biased results. The form and degree of intensity of such influence and manipulation, as well as the methodology of such forecast analyses, are the subject of this working paper. To begin with, newer research results by the OECD and the EU have been formulated and further compared to results of studies commissioned by airport operators. Subsequently, the degree of intensity of such influence has been analysed on the basis of our own research. A survey was thereby produced, investigating the application of neutral and non-neutral studies in the decision-making processes of the public administration in the Rhein-Main-area. Impact studies, which are currently the most used method, have been segmented and compared with studies using full cost-benefit-analysis, the recommended method by the FAA. With regard to these results, it can be argued that most forecast analyses are produced by private consultancies, by order of public entities but also by order of airport operators. The independence of such research and its results is therefore endangered. Recent OECD and EU research results have shown that eventual effects, such as regional economic stimulus and employment growth, are absent. Thus, care in the application of study results in this field is necessary. However, the majority of policy makers (in Germany) unfortunately base their decisions mostly on non-neutral studies. Historically seen, this is not a novelty. Regarding the research design, impact studies are hardly suitable for airport studies. Further, it can be shown that impact studies incorporate mostly only non-negative items in their cash flow calculations, compared to full cost-benefit-analyses which incorporate all relevant items. A number of systematic flaws are further identified. The regulation-guidelines by the FAA, which demand to incorporate all items, have had little impact on the research design of airport studies in the US so far. The promotion and fostering of full cost-benefit-analyses is necessary to lift the quality of airport studies.

This paper considers the linkages between output growth and output volatility for the sample of G7 countries over the period 1958M2-2011M7, thereby paying particular attention to spillovers within and between countries. Using the VAR-based spillover index approach by Diebold and Yilmaz (2012), we identify several empirical regularities: i) output growth and volatility are highly intertwined, with spillovers taking place into all four directions; ii) the importance of spillovers has increased after the mid 1980s and reached unprecedented levels during the recent financial and economic crisis; iii) the US has been the largest transmitter of output and volatility shocks to other countries. Generalized impulse response analyses point to moderate growth-growth spillovers and sizable volatility-volatility spillovers across countries, suggesting that volatility shocks quintuplicate in the long run. The cross-variable effects turn out negative: volatilty shocks lead to lower economic growth, growth shocks tend to reduce output volatility. Our findings underline the increased vulnerability of the G7 countries to destabilizing shocks and their detrimental effects on economic growth, which are sizeably amplified through international spillover effects and the associated repercussions. / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

This thesis examines the development of the micro-insurance sector in less developed countries, using the theoretical approach of new institutional economics. The main research questions are whether it is the insufficient compatibility between formal and informal institutions that hinders the development of micro-insurance below what had been widely predicted by the academic community? And what has to be done institutionally to make this industry an active contributor to economic growth? To investigate these questions, three distinct empirical studies, of which one is based on field work data generated for the thesis specifically, were carried out using a Probit model, a system of Generalized Method of Movements model, and a Vector Error Correction model. The hypotheses tests suggest that (i) the relevant informal institutions have a significant influence on the decision of individuals to enrol into micro-insurance product in Nigeria; (ii) by controlling for institutional quality, a positive development of the institution of micro-insurance contributes to reducing the size of the informal economy in Nigeria and other less developed countries); and (iii) that micro-insurance has both short and long term positive impacts on the economic growth in Nigeria.:Table of contents Versicherungen 2 Table of contents 3 List of tables 8 List of figures 9 list of Appendices 11 List of Abbreviations 12 Acknowledgement 15 Abstract 17 Chapter 1 19 1. Overview of the study 19 1.1 Introduction 19 1.2 Aims and objectives 23 1.3 Structure of the Thesis 23 1.4 reference 26 Chapter 2 29 2. Theories and concepts of (micro) insurance 29 2.1 The poor and risk 29 2.2 The theoretical framework of insurance 36 2.3 The meaning of micro-insurance 40 2.4 The two faces of micro-insurance 42 2.5 Micro-insurance and traditional insurance 44 2.6 Demand and supply of micro-insurance 48 2.7 Micro-insurance supply chain 53 2.8 Reference 59 Chapter 3 65 3. New institutional economy 65 3.1 Introduction 65 3.2 Institution 65 3.3 Institution and organization 67 3.4 Neoclassical Approach 68 3.5 Institutional economic approach 70 3.6 New institutional economics 72 3.6.1 Property right 73 3.6.2 Transaction costs 76 3.6.3 Agency theory 78 3.7 New institutional economics and insurance 79 3.8 Conclusion 84 3.9 Reference 86 Chapter 4 90 4. Methodology 90 4.1 Introduction 90 4.3 Mixed-research strategy 92 4.3.1 Qualitative research 92 4.3.2 Quantitative research 93 4.4 The research method 95 4.4.1 Data collection 96 4.4.2 The sampling framework 96 4.4.3 Sample size and sampling technique 97 4.4.4 Questionnaire design 98 4.5 Instrument validity and reliability 98 4.5.1 Pre-testing of the instruments 100 4.6 Analytical approaches 100 4.7 Reference 102 Chapter 5 105 5. Nigeria and the development of micro-insurance industry 105 5.1 Introduction 105 5.2 Broad country context 106 5.3 Insurance Sector 109 5.4 Segments of the Nigerian insurance industry 110 5.4.1 Non-life insurance 112 5.5 Regulatory Landscape 115 5.5.1 Market development and restructuring initiative (MDRI): 117 5.6 Nigerian Insurance industry vs Global peers 118 5.7 Problems of the insurance industry in Nigeria 120 5.8 Micro-insurance in Nigeria 123 5.9 Reason to be optimistic 125 5.10 Distribution Channel of Micro-Insurance 127 5.11 Conclusion 129 5.12 Reference 130 Chapter 6 133 6. The effect of Societal norms on the likelihood of individuals to enrol in different forms of Micro-insurance products 133 6.1 Introduction 133 6.2 Institution, Values and Norms 134 6.3 Methods and variables 137 6.3.1 Dependent Variable: Micro-insurance enrolment 137 6.3.2 Independent variables 138 6.4 Justification for control variables 144 6.4.1 Formal institutional variables 144 6.4.2. Personal Characteristics 145 6.5 Model estimation 149 6.6 Result, analysis and discussion of findings 151 6.6.1 Presentation of the result 151 6.6.2 Analysis of the impact of values and norms 152 6.6.3 Analysis of the impact of formal institutions 156 6.6.4 Analysis of the impact of personal characteristics 158 6.7 Robustness of the Result 161 6.8 Conclusion 162 6.9 Reference 164 6.10 Appendix 171 Chapter 7 179 7. The Role of Institutions in the relationship between micro-insurance development and Size of the Informal economy in Sub-Saharan Africa 179 7.1 Introduction 179 7.2 A theoretical review of Informal economy 183 7.3 Theoretical and conceptual review 186 7.4 Data 186 7.5 Descriptive statistics 194 7.6 Model specification and estimation strategy 197 7.7 Empirical Results 200 7.8 Estimation and interpretation of system GMM 202 7.9 Robustness Checks 205 7.10 Conclusion 207 7.11 Reference 208 7.12 Appendix 213 Chapter 8 221 8. How does micro-insurance impact the economic growth of Nigeria? 221 8.1 Introduction 221 8.2 The conceptual and theoretical framework 224 8.3 Literature review 225 8.4 Theoretical model and empirical analysis 228 8.5 Empirical result and findings 229 8.5.1 Descriptive statistics 229 8.5.2 Stationarity test 230 8.5.3 Co-integration test 233 8.5.4 Vector error correction model (VECM) 235 8.6 Diagnostic test on VEC Model (robustness of the model) 237 8.7 Conclusion and recommendation 238 8.8 Reference 241 8.9 Appendix 246 Chapter 9 250 9. The conclusion and policy recommendations 250 9.1 Introduction 250 9.2 Summary of the study 250 9.3 Research conclusions and implications 252 9.4 Contributions of the research 254 9.5 Research limitations 256 9.6 Direction for future research 257 9.7 reference 259

No description available.

Luftverkehrsprognosen stellen ein wichtiges Instrument dar, die Luftverkehrsinfrastruktur zu beeinflussen. Hinter vielen der Projekte, die von Luftverkehrsprognosen begleitet werden, stehen Interessen. Dies gilt insbesondere für Ausbauvorhaben von Flughäfen, die von eindeutigen Zielen und Wünschen getragen werden. Die Gutachter, die im Rahmen solcher Ausbauvorhaben tätig werden, sind der Gefahr ausgesetzt, beeinflusste Prognosen zu erstellen. Die Art und Intensität dieser Beeinflussung sowie die Methodik dieser Analysen sind Gegenstand dieses Aufsatzes. Zunächst wurden neuere Ergebnisse der OECD und EU erarbeitet und denen der Flughafenstudien gegenübergestellt. Nachfolgend wurde die Intensität der Beeinflussung auf Grundlage einer eigenen Untersuchung analysiert. Dabei wurden politische Entscheidungsträger im Rhein-Main-Gebiet nach Ihrer Verwendung von Studien und deren Ergebnisse befragt. Die Impact Study, als häufigste Forschungsmethodik, wurde in ihre Bestandteile zerlegt und mit der Full Cost-Benefit-Analyse, welche die durch die FAA empfohlene Methode ist, verglichen. Grundsätzlich sind solche Gutachten meist externe Analysen aus privatwirtschaftlicher Hand, die einerseits im Auftrag von regionalen Entscheidungsträgern, aber andererseits auch im Auftrag von Flughafen- und Fluggesellschaften angefertigt wurden. Die Unabhängigkeit der Prognosen ist damit gefährdet. Auf Grundlage der (neutralen) OECD- und EU-Ergebnisse zeigte sich, dass etwaige regionale Wirtschaftsimpulse und damit einhergehendes Beschäftigungswachstum durch erhöhten Flugverkehr nicht zu finden sind. Die kritische Analyse von „bezahlten Studien“ ist demnach von Bedeutung. Die Mehrzahl der politischen Amts- und Entscheidungsträger in Deutschland trifft allerdings Entscheidungen auf Basis keiner oder ausschließlich nicht-neutraler, bezahlter Auftragsstudien. Historisch betrachtet ist dies kein Novum. Bereits in den 60er Jahren kann man solche Studien und Entscheidungen nachweisen. Bezüglich des Forschungsdesign zeigte sich, dass Impact-Studien kaum für zur Beurteilung des Luftverkehrs geeignet sind. Sie beziehen die relevanten Effekte nur teilweise in ihre Berechnungen ein. Es wurde eine Reihe von systematischen Fehlern identifiziert. Die FAA-Richtlinien in den USA für methodisch korrekte Studien greifen nur wenig. Für weitere Forschung sehen wir die wichtige Aufgabe, die Methodik der Full Cost-Benefit-Analyse für die Prognose möglicher Effekte zur Anwendung zu bringen. / Aviation traffic forecasts and airport analyses are important instruments which influence decisions on aviation related infrastructure. Behind many of such infrastructure projects, which are supported by forecast analyses, one finds political interests. This is especially the case for aviation projects, such as infrastructure enlargement projects of airports, which are motivated by distinct goals and desires. Referees who act within this framework are exposed to the risk of producing biased results. The form and degree of intensity of such influence and manipulation, as well as the methodology of such forecast analyses, are the subject of this working paper. To begin with, newer research results by the OECD and the EU have been formulated and further compared to results of studies commissioned by airport operators. Subsequently, the degree of intensity of such influence has been analysed on the basis of our own research. A survey was thereby produced, investigating the application of neutral and non-neutral studies in the decision-making processes of the public administration in the Rhein-Main-area. Impact studies, which are currently the most used method, have been segmented and compared with studies using full cost-benefit-analysis, the recommended method by the FAA. With regard to these results, it can be argued that most forecast analyses are produced by private consultancies, by order of public entities but also by order of airport operators. The independence of such research and its results is therefore endangered. Recent OECD and EU research results have shown that eventual effects, such as regional economic stimulus and employment growth, are absent. Thus, care in the application of study results in this field is necessary. However, the majority of policy makers (in Germany) unfortunately base their decisions mostly on non-neutral studies. Historically seen, this is not a novelty. Regarding the research design, impact studies are hardly suitable for airport studies. Further, it can be shown that impact studies incorporate mostly only non-negative items in their cash flow calculations, compared to full cost-benefit-analyses which incorporate all relevant items. A number of systematic flaws are further identified. The regulation-guidelines by the FAA, which demand to incorporate all items, have had little impact on the research design of airport studies in the US so far. The promotion and fostering of full cost-benefit-analyses is necessary to lift the quality of airport studies.