This thesis provides an assessment of monetary integration in the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) focusing upon its feasibility and trade implications, in order to inform policy about the group’s deep integration scheme. The first aspect of the original contribution of the thesis focuses on one of the main issues in the debate of the monetary union in the WAMZ, namely the degree of asymmetry in macroeconomic shocks. The study examines the real effective exchange rate (REER) behaviour among the prospective candidates to assess the degree of potential costs of giving up monetary policy autonomy. The evidence reported from VECM, impulse response and variance decomposition analysis points to heterogeneous economies. Therefore, idiosyncratic shocks imply the need for different policy responses to adjust to macroeconomic shocks. The findings strengthen the case for policy autonomy in the region. The second aspect of original contribution of the thesis evaluates the potential effect of a common currency on trade among WAMZ member countries. Using the existing currency union in ECOWAS, the CFA franc zone, the chapter estimates the effect of a common currency on bilateral trade over the period 1980-2016 using the gravity model. The main conclusion reached is that membership of the CFA franc zone has promoted bilateral trade among members by 60%. The findings support the hypothesis that a common currency increases bilateral trade, which is a helpful guide for a WAMZ monetary union. In summary, the thesis demonstrates that in the long term, a common currency would promote intra-community trade, but at present, a monetary union is not feasible due to asymmetric macroeconomic shocks. Therefore WAMZ deep integration scheme would require members instituting adequate alternative adjustment mechanisms such as fiscal transfer schemes. / Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for the financial support and Division of Economics (now Accounting, Finance and Economics Group) for the offering of the Graduate Teaching Assistant Studentship

<p dir="ltr">This thesis investigated the international trade dynamics of wood pellets within the context of renewable energy transitions amid climate change concerns. In the first chapter, by employing gravity models with different estimators and specifications, we analyzed the determinants of trade flows of wood pellets. Additionally, we forecasted the future trade values of wood pellets under five shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP) scenarios. Our results showed the effects of some factors such as GDP of exporters, contiguity, and the distance between the two trading countries, were consistent with the economic theory. On the other hand, some other factors exhibited unexpected effects or conflicting results across the models. Regarding projections under five SSP scenarios, our results indicated substantial growth in trade flows, although potential overestimations are acknowledged due to the imposed assumptions. SSP3, which reflects a nationalistic scenario, is projected to have the smallest trade flows, while SSP5 anticipates the highest trade flows due to diminishing inequality and high GDP growth. Also, regional shifts in trade patterns were forecasted, with East Asia and Southeast Asia gaining prominence in imports and exports, respectively. Conversely, Europe’s imports and exports as well as North America’s exports are expected to decrease their shares in the global trade. Overall, our findings emphasize the complexity of trade determinants and underscore the need for nuanced forecasting methodologies to anticipate future trade dynamics accurately amidst evolving global scenarios of wood pellet trade.</p><p dir="ltr">The second chapter evaluated the effects of the Paris Agreement on the international trade of wood pellets. The growing concern about climate change has encouraged the global communities to take actions toward climate-change mitigation. As a form of such efforts, the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015 by 196 parties around the world and went into force in 2016. As a means to mitigate climate change, wood pellets have been used as fuels alternative to fossil fuels. Traditionally, Europe was the primary importer of wood pellets, mostly sourced from the United States and Canada. In the last decade, there has also been a significant uptake in East Asia, indicating shifting trade patterns and market dynamics in the wood pellet industry. This study employed an event-study framework to analyze the impact of the Paris Agreement on the global trade of wood pellets from 2014 to 2019, using import and export data at the regional level. Our results revealed distinct patterns in responses to the Paris Agreement in terms of adjustment speed and magnitude. Europe exhibited a rapid increase in both imports and exports immediately after the Paris Agreement. East Asia demonstrated a delayed yet substantial rise in imports, particularly after 2018. North America also swiftly expanded exports, following the agreement, while Southeast Asia emerged as an important exporter, particularly in supporting the East Asian market from 2017 onwards. We also found an increase in exports of non-pellet wood fuels from Africa. This finding indicates that international climate agreements not only contribute to the overall expansion of the global market of wood pellets but also reshape the market by involving more countries in international efforts to mitigate climate change.</p>

No description available.

No description available.

Afin de mieux tirer profit de l’Accord d’Association entre l’Amérique centrale et l’Union européenne - UE -, cette étude examine les théories et "l’état de l’art" en matière d’Accords de commerce régionaux pour approfondir ensuite dans les relations commerciales entre l’Amérique centrale et l’UE, leur évolution et leurs déterminants, ainsi que les résultats des négociations de l’Accord, pris comme base pour identifier les opportunités et les défis commerciaux qui se présentent à la région centraméricaine, dans la perspective d’une zone de libre commerce dans le cadre de cet Accord.C’est pourquoi les résultats des tests formels se référant aux relations commerciales entre les deux régions sont décrits en appliquant à un modèle de commerce deux points de vue économétriques, le Modèle de Gravité et la technique de Données de Panel.On observe que pour tirer profit des opportunités de cet Accord, les pays centraméricains se voient face à la nécessité d’effectuer des changements structurels en différents domaines, et parmi ceux-ci des changements visant à augmenter, diversifier et améliorer la qualité de la production exportable, afin de satisfaire la demande et de respecter les normes et les régulations requises pour accéder au marché européen.Pour conclure, un grand nombre de facteurs qui ont limité les exportations de l’Amérique centrale vers l’UE sont macroéconomiques et de caractère structurel, et la réduction des tarifs douaniers en soi n’est pas une condition suffisante pour garantir que l’Accord sera profitable, étant donné que ses bénéfices dépendront des changements qui se produiront en Amérique centrale. / With the object of taking advantage of the Partnership Agreement between Central America and European Union –EU- the study reviews the theories and the “state of the art” regarding Regional Trade Agreements in order to deepen trade relations between Central America and the EU. Its evolution and its determinants as well as the results of the negotiations of the Agreement, as the basis to identity trade opportunities and challenges presented for the Central American region in light of the establishment of a free trade zone within the framework of above-mentioned agreement.For the above-mentioned reason, the results of formal tests regarding trade relations between the two regions are described applying a trade model with two econometric approaches: the Gravity Model and Panel Data technique.As a result, it was identified that in order to take advantage of the opportunities of the Agreement, Central American countries will need to carry out structural changes in different areas among which the ones aimed at increasing, diversifying, and improving the exportable production quality, in order to satisfy the demand and to comply with the norms and regulations necessary to access the European market.It is concluded that many of the factors that have limited Central American exports to the European Union are the ones related to macroeconomics and of a structural nature and that the issue of tariff reduction by itself it is not a sufficient condition to guarantee taking advantage of the Agreement due to the fact that its benefit will be measure in light of the changes that will take place in Central America.

Cette thèse apporte un nouvel éclairage au débat sur la dégradation de l'environnement et le développement. Elle analyse les déterminants et les effets macroéconomiques de la dégradation de l'environnement. Elle est subdivisée en deux parties. La première partie analyse les effets de l'éducation et des institutions démocratiques sur la qualité de l'environnement. Le premier chapitre analyse le rôle de l'éducation dans la protection de l'environnement. Les résultats empiriques indiquent que l’effet dépend du niveau de développement. Contrairement à l’échantillon des pays en développement où elle n’a pas effet, l'éducation est source de pollution dans les pays développés. Cependant, cet effet est atténué en présence de bonnes institutions démocratiques. Le deuxième chapitre étudie l'impact des institutions démocratiques sur la qualité de l'environnement. Nous montrons qu´elles ont un effet direct et positif sur la qualité de l'environnement. Celui-Ci est plus élevé pour les polluants locaux que pour les polluants globaux. De plus, ce chapitre identifie des canaux indirects par lesquels l´amélioration de la démocratie dégrade l'environnement. En effet, en favorisant l´adoption de politiques de redistribution des revenus et de politiques économiques, la démocratie a un effet indirect et négatif sur la protection de l'environnement. La deuxième partie propose deux essais sur les effets du changement climatique et des politiques environnementales sur le développement. Le troisième chapitre met en évidence un effet négatif et significatif de la variabilité climatique sur la sécurité alimentaire dans les pays en développement. Cet effet apparait plus élevé dans les pays africains. Par ailleurs, cet effet est exacerbée dans les pays à conflit et ceux vulnérables aux chocs des prix des biens alimentaires. Le quatrième chapitre analyse l’effet de la similitude des politiques environnementales sur le commerce bilatéral. Contrairement aux études précédentes qui utilisent des indicateurs partiels de réglementation environnementale (indicateurs axés sur les moyens ou sur les résultats), nous construisons on un indicateur de politique environnementale révélé. Les résultats suggèrent que la similitude dans les politiques environnementales n'a pas d'effet sur les flux commerciaux bilatéraux. En outre les résultats ne dépendent ni du niveau de développement de pays partenaires ni des caractéristiques des biens exportés (biens manufacturés et biens primaires). / This dissertation is a contribution to the debate on environmental degradation and development. It focuses on the determinants and macroeconomic effects of environmental degradation. It is structured in two parts. The first part analyses the effects of education and democratic institutions on environmental quality. The first chapter analyses the role of education in environmental quality. No evidence of an effect of education on carbon dioxide emissions. However, this effect depends crucially on the sample of countries according to their levels of development. While the effect remains insignificant in developing countries, education does matter for carbon dioxide emissions in developed ones. Moreover, when controlling for the quality of democratic institutions, the positive effect of education on carbon dioxide emissions is mitigated in developed countries while remaining insignificant in developing ones. The second chapter explores the effect of democratic institutions on environmental quality. We evidence that democratic institutions do have a direct and positive effect on environmental quality. This positive effect is stronger for local pollutants than for global ones. More interestingly, it identifies the indirect channels through which democracy affects environmental degradation. Indeed, by increasing people’s preferences for redistribution and economic policies, democratic institutions have indirect and negative effects on environmental protection through income inequality and investments. In the second part, the dissertation provides two essays on the effects of environmental policies and climate change on development. The third chapter investigates the effects of climatic variability on food security. The results show that climatic variability reduces food security in developing countries. The adverse effect is higher for African sub-Saharan countries than for other developing countries. Second, the negative effect of climatic variability on food security is exacerbated in countries facing conditions of conflict and is high for the countries that are vulnerable to food price shocks. The fourth chapter provides new evidence about the effect of a gap in environmental policies between trading partners on trade flow. While previous papers have used partial measures of environmental regulations (input-Oriented or output-Oriented indicators), we compute an index of a country’s environmental policy. Results suggest that a similarity in environmental policies has no effect on bilateral trade flows. Moreover results do not appear to be conditional on the level of development of the countries trading or on the characteristics of exported goods (manufactured goods and primary commodities).

No description available.

This study aims to investigate the settlement patterns of Altinova in the Early Bronze Age and its reflection to social and cultural phenomena. Altinova, which is the most arable plain in Eastern Anatolia, is situated in the borders of Elazig province. The region in the Early Bronze Age was the conjunction and interaction area for two main cultural complexes in the Near East, which were Syro-Mesopotamia and Transcaucasia, with a strong local character. The effect of the foreign and local cultural interactions to the settlement patterns of Altinova in the Early Bronze Age and its reflection in the socio-economic structures have been discussed in the social perspective. In addition, the settlement distribution and its system were analyzed through the quantitative methods, that were gravity model, rank-size analysis, and nearest neighbor analysis. The results of these quantitative analyses with the archaeological data have been discussed in the social and theoretical context.

本論文的研究主軸為本國市場效果的實證研究, 文章除驗證新貿易理論對創意商品的適用性, 並解析貿易成本與需求規模對本國市場效果的交互影響與其間的非線性關係。實證資料以經創意商品(creative goods)貿易為例。選擇創意商品,除因其具有文化創意特色,可歸為異質產品並且可凸顯無形貿易成本的影響, 且此類商品根據國際商品統一分類代碼(Harmonized system code ; HS code) 六位碼編組而成, 商品分類可謂細緻, 可避免如Schumacher and Siliverstovs (2006)以及Hallak (2010) 指出以總和商品可能相互抵消效果而致的合成謬誤。並且根據UNCTAD(2008) , 此類商品受景氣波動的干擾較少。由於全球創意商品貿易以經濟合作開發組織(The rganization for economic cooperation and development;OECD) 國家為主流, 且OECD 國家創意商品貿易具有產業內貿易特性, 故而樣本國家以OECD 國家為主, 並於林德效果檢測時擴及至全球創意商品貿易。 實證估計式以Hsu et al. (2012) 推導的引力模型結構式為理論基礎, 加入一個由貿易成本與相對需求組成的非線性本國市場效果設定項,驗證本國市場效果的相關假說。此一本國市場效果設定項除具有理論基礎之外, 並具有實證意涵與對應的假說檢定, 可為實證工作提供重要基石。 估計式中除加入例行的需求規模、貿易成本以及控制貿易成本對商品流動的多邊阻力(multilateral resistance; MR)外,並加入需求與貿易成本的非線性交互作用項。相較過去文獻如Feenstra et al. (1998, 2001) 或Hanson and Xiang (2004) 側重需求與貿易型態關係的確認, 加入此項不 但可以匡正實證估計是錯誤設定造成估計偏誤, 得以正確驗證本國市場效果, 並且能解析本國市場效果成因的作用機制與政策意涵。 實證過程圍繞兩個命題: 命題1 : 如果本國市場效果存在, 但引力模型忽略或未控制本國市場效果, 將使估計產生偏誤。 命題2 : 相對需求與貿易成本對本國市場效果具有非線性影響關係。相對需求增加, 本國市場效果將強化。相對需求對本國市場效果的邊際影響, 會隨相對需求上升及貿易成本下降而遞減。貿易成本增加, 本國市場效果將弱化。隨著貿易成本愈高其對本國市場效果的邊際影響力遞減。 根據2000年至2005年OECD創意商品貿易資料的實證結果,除確認本國市場效果顯著外,各項相關假說檢定並與Hsu et al. (2012) 的理論預期一致。包括實證估計式忽略本國市場效果設定項, 將使估計結果產生偏誤; 貿易成本、相對需求對本國市場效果以顯著的非線性方式交互影響本國市場效果。而由比較靜態分析的實務案例, 再次確認推論與實證結果的一致性。 為進一步檢測命題2 , 確認相對需求與貿易成本對本國市場效果的非線性影響關係。在此以貿易雙方的相對需求與相對貿易強度進行分量迴歸(quantile regression model ; QR) 估計, 捕捉不同貿易強度相對需求的非線性變化特徵, 並檢定相對需求的邊際影響是否隨不同分量而有顯著的差異。在此, 除創意商品貿易資料外, 並加入OECD 會員國的國際貿易商品統計(international trade by commodity Statistics;ITCS) 國際商品統一分類編碼(HS Code) 二位碼的製造業商品貿易資料為估計樣本。實證結果再次應證相對需求與貿易成本對本國市場效果的非線性影響關係, 並且不論是根據分量迴歸檢定結果, 或以估計係數的信賴區間圖示, 都顯示不同分量下, 相對需求對本國市場效果的邊際影響確實存在非線性影響關係, 並且貿易強度與相對需求間呈現正向的變化關係, 約有90% 以上的商品類別, 相對需求的邊際變動軌跡呈現遞增型式, 符合理論預期的顯著非線性變化關係。 最後以偏好相似理論Linder (1961) ,即林德假說(Linder hppothesis) ; 以需求結構因素解析國際產業內貿易之可能原因。林德假說提出重疊需求(overlapping demand) 的概念, 認為影響一國需求結構的主要因素是所得水準, 即一國的人均所得水準決定了該國特定的偏好模式, 若兩國之間收入水準相似, 則兩國偏好模式可能愈相似, 需求結構也將愈相近, 也就是說重疊需求的量愈大, 從而兩國間貿易量也就愈大。反之, 兩國所得水準相差越大, 需求結構差異也就越大, 從而相互間貿易強度也就越低。本文以Hallak (2010)之一般均衡理論與期建構的實證結構式為基礎, 以UNCTAD(2008) 全球及OECD 國家創意商品貿易資料配合分量迴歸估計, 結果顯示林德假說確實適用於解釋OECD 以及全球創意商品貿易現象, 並且根據貿易流量高低之不同分量係數檢定結果也顯示林德效果確實存有差異, 不同分量下林德效果的邊際效果確實有顯著差異。 / This thesis proposes and extends theory-based gravity equations to test the presence of the ‘home market effect’ in the global trade in creative goods. Traditional neoclassical models based on comparative advantage suggest that, all else equal, a country with idiosyncratically strong demand for a good will result in it being an importer of that good. Contrary to traditional trade theory, the home market effect emphasizes the advantages of a large home market as a foundation for exports of a good. The HME is the most obvious characteristic of new trade theory. The home market effect is caused by increasing returns to scale and trade costs. When it is more profitable for a firm to operate in a single country because of increasing returns to scale, the firm will base itself in the country where most of its products are consumed in order to minimize trade cost costs. The home market effect implies a link between market size and exports. Here, we imply the framework derived from Hsu’s (2012) model, in which an HME term is appended to the traditional gravity model to capture the home market effect. It is different from Feenstra (1998, 2001) and Hanson (2004) who focused on the linkage between the relative size and the direction of trade. The HME term consists of both the relative market size of the domestic market versus the relative proximity to foreign markets, trade costs and their interactions. It means that except for the traditional gravity equation that includes regular variables such as market size, trade cost and multilateral resistance, which are used to control the obstruction of trade costs on goods traded as the regressors, the extended gravity model appends an HME term which is based on a theoretical foundation that can guide the hypothesis testing and own its empirical content, and can provide a fundamental guideline for empirical study as well as quantitative scenarios. The extended model can reinvestigate the adaptations to the new trade theory for the trade in creative goods, and analyze and infer the intersection and non-linear relationship for the trade cost and relative market size. We apply the bilateral trade in creative goods in OECD countries as an empirical case study. The creative goods have certain characteristics. The first is that they contain creative and cultural features which can be treated as differentiated goods so that they can withstand the impact of the trade cost. They consist of an HS code of 6 digits, and the classification is sophisticated so that it can avert the fallacious synthesis of Schumacher (2006) and Hallak (2010). Besides, the creative goods fluctuate smoothly as the business cycle is depressed (UNCTAD, 2008). The empirical issues surround two hypotheses: Hypothesis One: There will be biased estimates if there exists an HME, but it has been ignored or has been not controlled well in empirical studies. Hypothesis Two: There exists a non-linear relationship between relative market size and trade costs with the HME. A rise in the relative market size will strengthen the HME and the marginal effect of the relative market size will decline if the relative market size increases or the trade cost decreases. Trade cost increases will weaken the HME and the marginal effect of the trade cost will go up if the trade cost falls. The estimation results of applying the data for the OECD trade in creative goods from 2000 to 2005 show that the HME exists and thus confirm the hypotheses mentioned above. In order to investigate Hypothesis Two more precisely, we apply quantile regression (QR) to re-examine and capture the non-linear relationship between the relative market size and trade intensity. Furthermore, we adopt bootstrapping, a non-parametric approach used to construct statistical inferences, to test whether the marginal effect of the relative market size on trade intensity will be significantly different for different percentiles. One advantage of QR, relative to OLS (ordinary least squares), is that the QR estimates are more robust against outliers in the response measurements. However, the main attraction of quantile regression goes beyond that. In practice, we often prefer using different measures of central tendency and statistical dispersion to obtain a more comprehensive analysis of the relationship between variables. QR has been attributed to the complexity of interactions between different factors leading to data with an unequal variation in one variable for different ranges of another variable. We employ UNCTAD (2008) trade in creative goods and ITCS databanks for the classification of manufacturing goods at the HS code 2-digit level for OECD countries. The results support the non-linear relationship between relative market size and trade intensity, and confirm that the marginal effects of relative market size on trade intensity are obviously different and show they are positively related, so that the higher the ratio of relative market size, the greater that the intensity of bilateral trade will be. Contrary to the HME focus on the supply approach, the Linder hypothesis is based on the demand approach used to examine the intra-industry trade. The Linder hypothesis is a conjecture based on trade patterns, that proposes that the more similar the demand structures of countries are, the more the countries will trade with each other. Furthermore, international trade will also be vigorous if there are similar demand structures between two countries, even if they possess similar factor endowments and technologies. We also apply the data for trade in creative goods but extend the sample from the OECD countries to the global countries. Based on the general equilibrium framework of Hallak (2010), we use Newey-West estimators and QR as empirical methodology. Examinations of the Linder hypothesis have led to the observation of a “Linder effect” that is consistent with the hypothesis. Econometric tests of the hypothesis usually serve as a proxy for the demand structure in a country based on its per capita income (per capita GDP which is denoted as yit, where i stands for the country index, and t is for time). It is convenient to assume that the closer are the levels of per capita GDP, the closer will be the consumer preferences. Here, we use the gaps in income between countries such as (ln yit-ln yjt), ln |yit-yjt| and product in income such as ln (yit*yjt) as Linder effects. Neither the results in the income gap or income product show that the Linder hypothesis explains the trade in creative goods for the OECD and Global countries well, and the marginal effects for the Linder effect for different levels of trade intensity are dissimilar. Thus the larger the income gap, the more sensitive is the trade intensity.

高速公路系統建設可提升區域與區域之間的可及性與易行性，同時達到節省旅行時間和成本、高速公路交流道沿線地區土地價值上升等效果。此外，高速公路系統建設對於周圍地區人口、產業可產生相當程度之影響，例如大量的人口遷移、區域交通影響衝擊、社會和經濟層面產生重大變化等，進而改變國家及區域發展方向。於此情況下，合宜地評估及分析高速公路系統建設開發對國家及區域發展之影響，將有助於其推展並降低對地區之不利影響。 本研究希望以我國從1976至2010年來，共九條高速公路系統 建設為研究主軸，利用台灣城際運輸系統需求模式(TMD2008)之旅行時間資料、內政部戶口普查及工商普查資料為基礎，並運用事前事後比較(before and after analysis)與空間自相關分析(Spatial Autocorrelation analysis)等分析方法對高速公路系統建設所造成區域人口、產業之空間變動進行評估，分析高速公路系統建設對於區域人口、產業及交通可及性之空間分布變化影響。最後則建構高速公路可及性對區域人口及產業空間影響模型，並針對歷年來高速公路系統建設對國家及區域發展的影響進行實證分析。 / The benefits of highway infrastructure investments include promoted inter-regional accessibility and mobility, saved travel time and cost and increased land value in freeway interchange areas. In sum, highway infrastructure investments play an important role in national and regional development. It contributes to the population re-distribution, the growth of economic activities, and more importantly, the land use change. Therefore, how to effectively evaluate the impact of highway investments on national and regional development is an important research topic. The analytical results in this study can be applied to increase the accuracy of population and economic projection, and to manage transportation policy decisions. Between 1976 and 2010, there were nine highway systems had been built in Taiwan. This study emphasizes on the impact of highway investments on the spatial distribution of population and industry, and regional accessibility change. In this paper, we utilize before and after analysis and Spatial Autocorrelation analysis with Geographic Information System to analyze demographic data, economic data and TDM2008 database in order to perform the spatial analysis of population and industry re-distribution along highway constructions. Finally, a spatial gravity model is built to verify and describe the related spatial impacts so that several influential factors can be identified by this empirical study.