The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of fiscal decentralization on the efficiency of social security in China since the realization of social security was promoted and some relevant policies were implemented in 21 century. This study uses China’s provincial-level data of 31 regions from 2000 to 2009 and uses two inputs and three outputs to calculate the efficiency scores as the dependent variables. The inputs are the proportions of expenditures for social security and employment effort to total public expenditures and the proportions of hygiene, social security, and social welfare employed people to total employed people. The outputs are the coverage rate of urban basic pension insurance, the coverage rate of unemployment insurance, and the coverage rate of urban basic medical care insurance. Then, this study establishes four specifications of the Tobit model. Other factors, gross regional product per capita (PGRP), the degree of openness (OPEN), the scale of provincial government (SOG), the quadratic term of the former (SOGSQ), area dummy variables, and time dummy variables, are added into the Tobit model. The primary finding of this study is that fiscal decentralization has a positively non-monotonic influence on the efficiency of social security. This contributes positively to the efficiency of provincial government’s social security, but this positive influence does not always exist.

An economic literature concerns instruments to improve the preference elicitation methods for the reform-based governmental programs. We construct an instrument for the budget allocation method using a Cobb-Douglas functional form. We apply the instrument to the survey data which is collected for Swedish Recreational Fishing Industry to elicit the preferences for governmental management actions. We analyze the elasticity or weights in the instrument by the binary logit and censored regression models and by comparing the significant estimates by the gross and net effects we get results which increase credence to the instrument we apply. / I am heartily thankful to my supervisor, Thomas Laitila, whose guidance and support from the initial to the final level enabled me to develop the thesis.More, I offer my regards to Anders Lunander who supported me in any respect during the completion of the thesis.

nÃo hà / The present study tries to expose a statistical analysis of the data collected from the Comptroller General of Discipline relating to disciplinary procedures applied to military police. In this sense, aims to qualitatively evaluate the statistical results obtained. The work developed correiÃÃo is critical to the performance of military police, considering, discouraging illicit acts by security agents and ensure a welcoming society and security against misconduct of security agents. In our study object the best option was a regression model censored tobit model that was the best fit to the study of variables collected. In the end it describes a qualitative analysis of the results for the variables found. / O presente estudo procura expor uma anÃlise estatÃstica dos dados coletados da Controladoria Geral de Disciplina, referente aos procedimentos disciplinares aplicados aos policiais militares. Neste sentido, visa avaliar qualitativamente os resultados estatÃsticos obtidos. O trabalho de correiÃÃo desenvolvido à de fundamental importÃncia para o desempenho dos policiais militares, haja vista, desencorajar a prÃtica de atos ilÃcitos por agentes de seguranÃa e garantir a sociedade um acolhimento e seguranÃa contra desvios de conduta dos agentes de seguranÃa. Na busca por alcanÃar o objetivo deste estudo, a melhor opÃÃo foi um modelo de regressÃo censurada, o modelo tobit, que foi o que melhor se adequou ao estudo das variÃveis colhidas. No final buscou-se descrever uma anÃlise qualitativa dos resultados referentes Ãs variÃveis encontradas.

我國股市的價格漲跌幅限制已逾三十年的歷史，主管機關維持此一機制的訴求是避免股價波動過於激烈、抑制投機行為。惟停板限制可能帶來的影響，除直覺上的其造成投資者持股風險指標扭曲等問題。經探究中亦歸結出（一）其被引為技術指標、（二）其引致財務風險指標扭曲等問題。 　　經探究GMM、Gibbs Sampler、與Two-Limit-Tobit Model模型的優劣。本研究發現一般使用的GMM估計量並非不偏，雖然可以藉修正增加其效率性，但仍無法藉以衡量各種的停板影響；Gibbs Sampler則過於依賴特定的先驗分佈，有可能因此而造成偏誤；而目前使用Tobit Model的文獻大都忽略停板限制對股價的影響力，據以產生的估計值亦附含偏誤。 　　本研究所採樣本期間為79年1月3日至84年10月9日，使用模型為Two-Limit-Tobit Model。為求嚴謹，在使用之前做資料的處理，並利用CAAR來驗證模型的正確性。實證顯示，漲跌停板的設立顯著改變投資人行為，在停板之前本研究發現存在技術指標與標準差統計量的向上偏誤，進而可能誤導實業界財務決策或學術研究結論。 / Thsi Study explores how price limits, which have remained in Taiwan Securities Exchange for over thirty years, affects both security price behavior and security risk indices. Its empirical results add to our understanding of the social costs and benefits of price limits. The SEC has been advocating the merits of price limits, emphasing that they help eliminating speculative trades and reducing security price volatility. In contrast, it remains a popular thought that price limits increase investors’holding costs and risks. To empirically examine the effects of price limits in Taiwan, this papers adopts Two-Limit-Tobit Model, together with CAAR as an indicator for specification validity. My test results lend support to the notion of (1).Technical Indicator Effect immediately before the price limits are hit; (2).Enhancement Effect the day after. Moreover, price limits contribute to bias in both systematic risk and total risk estimates (namely, β and σ) and thus distort investment decisions. 　　This Study also contributes to the contemporary literature by examining the merits and limitations of GMM, Gibbs Sampler, and Two-Limit-Tobit Model. GMM estimator is subject to statistical bias. One way may gain efficiency via adjustment. And yet GMM ahs pitfalls in directly measuring the price limit effects; The major limitation of the Gibbs Sampler is its reliance on specific prior information and it may lead to bias. And most of the papers adopting Tobit Model simply input the original data into the program, ignoring the fact that price limit may make the following day price data may be contaiminated.

Consumer expenditure on food away from home in the United States has grown substantially in recent decades. Changes in the food service system, increased complexity of family structure, and the food policies made by government agencies have continued to influence the marketing, distribution, retailing, and demand for food products and the food industry. This study explores consumption behavior on food away from home (FAFH) and determines the differentiated impacts of economic and demographic variables on FAFH by type of meal and by type of facility among different household types. Each of the two systems of expenditures is estimated with two alternative econometric procedures to accommodate censoring in the dependent variables: the trivariate Tobit estimator and the multivariate sample selection estimator. Data for this study come from the 2008 and 2009 Consumer Expenditure Surveys, the most recent U.S. national household expenditure surveys conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Joint statistical significance of error correlations among equations justifies estimation of the sample selection systems. The opposite marginal effects on probabilities and expenditure levels of some variables highlight the advantage of the sample selection system over the Tobit system. Segmentation of the sample by household types is also justified with formal statistical tests. The empirical results indicate that the effects of demographic and socioeconomic factors on FAFH consumption vary by type of meal and by type of facility. Income, work hours, race, education, geographical region, and household composition are important factors. Food stamps have no impact on FAFH for married couples without children and single parenthood has conflicting effects on probabilities and conditional levels of expenditures.

China is the world’s largest pork producer and consumer, and Hubei Province is one of the top pork production provinces in China. Since problems and risks have led to large-scale reduction of pork production and farmers’ income, Chinese government offers various policy measures to help farmers. Breeding sow insurance is considered as one of the most effective measures started in 2007. To better understand farmer’s need for breeding sow insurance and make proper policy insights, our research is the first empirical study in Hubei Province and one of the pioneer studies investigate farmer’s willingness to pay(WTP) for breeding sow insurance premium and preferred coverage level. Survey questionnaires were distributed to breeding sow farmers in 5 townships from Shayang County, Hubei Province. Based on random utility theory, we use tobit model to examine the factors that affect farmer’s WTP and preferred coverage level. The results showed that famers’ average WTP for premium was ¥14.4 and average preferred coverage level was ¥1191, both exceeded current values. Farmers’ trust towards insurance companies, household income, and knowledge about breeding sow insurance significantly affect their WTP and preferred coverage level.

This thesis investigates why and how macroeconomic volatility in source countries interacts with their FDI outflows. The study focuses on FDI flowing out from OECD countries to less developed countries in the ASEAN region. Using a panel data encompassing 52 country-pairs over the period 1996-2011, I find a negative correlation between FDI outflows and macroeconomic volatility in source countries. More specifically the empirical results suggest an adverse relationship between inflation and output volatility (business cycles fluctuations) and FDI flows – the more macroeconomic volatility in developed economies the lesser FDI flows to less developed economies, which is explained by Keynesian theories. These findings derive from a gravity model approach, which enabled me to control for host country determinants. In order to estimate these relationships I adopted a random effects model and a tobit model. The reason behind the use of these two models derives from the different views within this branch of research because of censored FDI statistics. The thesis is inspired by Éric Rougier’s et al. work on how macroeconomic volatility in European countries interacts with FDI flows to the MENA region (2012).

Many factors influence quality of higher education. Current research mostly works with economic factors (GDP, higher education expenditures etc.). However, there are also publications that examine an impact of sociological aspects on quality of higher education. My research examined the impact of income inequality on quality of tertiary education. In the analysis of socioeconomic data of 76 countries I have proven that there is no linear relationship between income inequality and quality of tertiary education. According to my results the size of population, GDP per capita and being English speaking country are main drivers of quality of tertiary education. Modified model without outliers also shows that there is a positive effect of R&D expenditures on quality of tertiary education.

Different management regimes consisting of range of site indices and planting densities were simulated to evaluate price premiums required for growing high-quality southern pines across the southern United States. Optimal management regimes were identified maximizing the land expectation value. Growing high-quality pines on longer rotations are economically feasible, however, forest landowners need premiums which ranged from $1.40/ton to $9.81/ton for 10-year rotation extension and increased significantly with rotation ages. In uneven-aged management, price premiums for 5-year cutting cycle extension ranged from $1.75/ton to $2.25/ton. Additionally, sawmill’s willingness-to-pay price premiums for high-quality pine sawtimber were calculated using a mail survey. Sawmills showed a considerable interest in paying price premiums which ranged from $4.22/ton to $12.98/ton. Factors affecting mean WTP price premiums were sawlog size, procurement radius, grade, mill’s capacity, and employees. These findings will help landowners in deciding whether to extend rotation ages of their forest for growing higher quality pines.

In this thesis, I conducted an analysis of the consumption patterns associated with demographic and socio-economic characteristics, using Tobit and double-hurdle models. Data were collected for 11,574 households from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics for the year of 2014. Specific determinants included household size, age, income, gender, education, race, region, marital status, and whether the household lived in a coastal state. The results reveal that seafood expenditures are sequential decisions. Asian racial groups, households headed by married couples, a large number of members in households, higher income households, and households residing in the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts were variables that significantly impacted seafood expenditures.