At the current level of the world and Russian economy development industrial enterprises can get important advantages due to the effective formation and use of intangible resources which have a significant impact on the activities of these enterprises. The purpose of the thesis is to assess the impact of intangible assets on the industrial complex enterprises activities. The information and empirical base of the research was based on legislative acts and regulations governing commercial organizations and enterprises accounting of intangible assets, normative acts, monographic research, periodical materials, international accounting and reporting standards, guidelines, scientific works and publications of foreign and domestic economists, official statistic data of the intangible assets use by commercial organizations, reporting documents of the investigated industrial enterprise. Domestic and foreign literary sources analysis shows the unified approaches absence to the study of the problems of accounting and valuation of industrial enterprises intangible assets. Therefore, in the course of writing the master’s thesis the author’s definition of “intangible assets” was given, the classification of industrial enterprises intangible assets was clarified, and a multifactor model for evaluating the industrial enterprise’s activities results taking into account the influence of various factors including intangible assets considered and not accounted for was developed. This multifactor model which was tested on research enterprise will help to give not only an assessment of the degree of these factors impact, but also allow for a predictive check of changes in the results of the enterprise’s activity under various development scenarios. / При современном уровне развития мировой и российской экономики промышленные предприятия могут получить существенные преимущества за счет эффективного формирования и применения нематериальных ресурсов, которые оказывают значительное влияние на деятельность этих предприятий. Целью диссертационной работы является оценка влияния нематериальных активов на результаты деятельности предприятий промышленного комплекса. Информационно-эмпирическая база исследования основывалась на законодательных актах и положениях, регламентирующих коммерческие организации и ведение бухгалтерского учета нематериальных активов предприятиями, нормативных актах, монографических исследованиях, материалах периодической печати, международных стандартах учета и отчетности, методических рекомендациях, научных трудах и публикациях зарубежных и отечественных экономистов, официальных статистических данных об использовании нематериальных активов коммерческими субъектами, отчетных документах исследуемого промышленного предприятия. Анализ отечественных и зарубежных литературных источников показывает отсутствие единых подходов в изучении проблематики учета и оценки нематериальных активов промышленных предприятий. Поэтому в ходе написания магистерской диссертации дано авторское определение «нематериальные активы», уточнена классификация нематериальных активов промышленных предприятий, а также разработана многофакторная модель оценки результатов деятельности промышленного предприятия с учетом влияния различных факторов, в том числе учитываемых и не учитываемых в балансе нематериальных активов. Данная многофакторная модель, которая была апробирована на исследуемом предприятии, поможет дать не только оценку степени воздействия этих факторов, но также позволит провести прогнозную проверку изменения результатов деятельности предприятия при различных сценариях развития.

The main objective of this thesis was to assess the property structure in the selected company, focusing on amenities, the level and effectiveness of the tangible assets as a basis for evaluating investment activity and its impact on the overall management of the company.

The goal of this study is to analyze the current methods of expression the Value of Long-term Assets. The captures are in such order that after the explanation of basic terms there is application of the Measurment methods to different types of Assets, like tangible or intangible assets.

Capital asset pricing theory assumes a no-tax, after-tax efficiency equivalence; ie., that the efficient information produced in a no-tax analysis is equivalent to that which is produced in an after-tax analysis. However, if the effect of income taxes is not systematic throughout the market, the useful application of the theory may be impaired by this assumption. This research seeks to determine the effect of income tax imposition on the risk-return expectations or individual investors. If the effect of income tax imposition is to produce non-homogeneous after-tax investor risk-return expectations, then the efficiency equivalence hypothesis must be rejected. This efficiency equivalency hypothesis is evaluated by testing two alternative hypotheses, (1) the systematic riskiness of any individual security, both with and without adjustment for the imposition of income tax, is equivalent, and (2) the no-tax and after-tax expected risk-return rank order of each individual security is the same. An after-tax capital asset pricing model is derived. This model is based upon the premise that the current income tax laws, which require investors to share with the taxing government the uncertain returns from risky assets, allow investors to reduce the riskiness of those returns. The returns on investment assets are derived from both capital gains and from ordinary income distributions. However, the tax treatment of capital gains (losses) and ordinary income (dividends/interest) is not the same. This results in an unsystematic effect on the risks and returns of investments, thus, the income tax effect is not likely to be homogeneous as an efficiency equivalence hypothesis would imply. The analysis focuses on the expected risk-return equivalencies for 465 firms, using ex-post data over a 10 year period. The findings of this study imply that income tax effects on the market are not homogeneous. Income tax differentials are apparent in both the observed beta terms and the risk-return rank-ordering of the securities.

Positive youth development is a holistic approach that considers both internal (e.g., life skills and positive psychosocial characteristics) and external (e.g., coach and parent) developmental assets. The positive youth development framework has largely been used to examine multi-sport and recreational/high-school level programmes as a means to understand how participation within these environments can contribute to positive psychosocial development. The aim of the present thesis, comprised of four distinct studies, was to understand how a positive youth development approach might be applied to and integrated within the performance environment of British swimming. Study 1 comprised a two-stage investigation focused on identification and consensus related to a specific set of psychosocial assets appropriate for swimming. Following a content analysis of existing literature, a dialectical methodology was utilised to interview a panel of 10 experts from professional (coach and practitioner) and academic fields within swimming and youth sport. Five higher order categories containing 17 internal assets emerged; namely, self-perceptions, behavioural skills, social skills, approach characteristics and emotional competence. In Study 2, coaches (n=181) attitudes towards and perceptions of the 17 psychosocial assets were examined via a bespoke quantitative survey. The five-factor higher order model that emerged from the first study was quantitatively tested and supported. Coach characteristics were also examined regarding coaches overall value of the assets. Results indicated that assets within self-perceptions, behavioural skills and approach characteristic groups were more valued than those within social and emotional categories. Full-time, paid coaches provided higher value ratings for all asset groups compared to part-time, volunteer coaches. Study 3 replicated and extended Study 2 by examining attitudes of British swimming parents (n=249) towards the psychosocial assets, in conjunction with perceptions of their parenting style and levels of social support provided to their children within a swimming environment. Structural equation modelling was used to test hypothesised relationships between parental perceptions of parenting style, social support availability and value placed on the five internal groups of assets. Results indicated that parents asset value profiles were very similar to those of swimming coaches, with swimming specific assets of self-perceptions, behavioural skills and approach characteristics valued more than the less specific assets within social and emotional subgroups. Further, parents who reported high levels of esteem support also placed greater value on all assets apart from self-perceptions, and parents who reported a warm style were more likely to provide this esteem support. vi Finally, Study 4 examined perceptions of autonomy supportive coach and parenting styles and social support availability in addition to motivational goal orientation, perceived sport competence and self-esteem in a sample of 246 swimmers. Hypothesised relationships between coach and parenting style, perceived social support availability and the asset related outcomes were tested using structural equation modelling. Results revealed that autonomy supportive coach and parenting styles both positively predict respective perceptions of social support availability. Athletes also reported that coach social support positively predicted both task and ego orientation, while parental emotional support positively predicted task orientation only. Both task and ego orientation positively predicted perceived sport competence which, in turn, positively predicted self-esteem. Overall, the findings of this thesis revealed a comprehensive list of internal assets that were highly valued by both coaches and parents, although the assets contained within the social and emotional groups were valued to a lesser degree, prompting calls for greater awareness on the relevance and applicability of these assets within British swimming. Furthermore, the styles that coaches and parents operate within positively predict the types of perceived social support availability which, in turn, predict internal asset value and level. Specifically, an autonomy supportive coaching style and a parenting style characterised by a high degree of warmth are both thought important elements to promote, with parental esteem and emotional support found to be most related to internal asset value and level, respectively. Links between social support, motivational goal orientation, perceived sport competence and self-esteem were also tested and supported. Overall, therefore, this thesis provides a unique contribution to the sport psychology and positive youth development literature by illustrating key areas of development (i.e., the internal assets) and by demonstrating one mechanism through which a degree of this development occurs (i.e., social support).

Formal savings accounts can be an effective device for households to accumulate assets over time and thus have more funds available to better afford an expensive one-time payment, in the form of either addressing an economic shock or paying for an important life event. I explore this relationship using a field experiment in rural Malawi conducted from 2008-2010, and find that adoption of a formal savings account has no effect on the frequency of economic shocks that a household experiences, nor does it affect how households respond to shocks. However, I find that account adoption does significantly increase the frequency of a household’s expenditures on the life event of payment of secondary school fees. These findings indicate that, given enough time, adoption of a formal savings account allows a household to better accumulate its excess income, and therefore better afford expenditures that involve a decision by the household, as economic shocks tend to be exogenous and payments surrounding life events endogenous. These results support the effectiveness of a policy that extends formal financial services to rural, poor populations who may not have access to such services, as households can use excess funds to finance important life events that help future generations to escape a poverty trap.

published_or_final_version / Management Studies / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

This thesis deals with the perceptions of agroforestry among farmers in Babati, north- central Tanzania. The focus is on which resources farmers perceive that they need to adopt agroforestry and which risks that are connected with agroforestry adoption. It is also to see how farmers perceive that the access to resources changes after agroforestry adoption and how their livelihoods change. The data has been collected through qualitative interviews with agroforestry farmers, conventional farmers and extension officers. After that the data has been analyzed through the sustainable livelihood approach and a risk perception theory. The results show that some of the obstacles or risks that farmers perceive with agroforestry adoption are high input costs, dependency on short-term benefits, competition between trees and crops and lack of education from extension services. Without financial capital and human capital in terms of knowledge there might be too many risks connected with adoption. If agroforestry however is adopted the farmers perceive that the access to firewood, timber and fruits increase which increase their incomes and therefore financial capital. They also perceive that the fruits improve food security and that the timber improves the housing. The firewood is also perceived to improve the situation for women as they do not have to walk as far to collect the firewood. Agroforestry is also perceived to provide environmental services like erosion prevention and increased soil fertility, therefore it increases natural capital. Some trees can also be used as natural pesticides. The increased soil fertility or the access to natural pesticides, however does not seem to affect the use of industrial fertilizers or pesticides. Agroforestry is also not perceived to have any effects on biodiversity or water quality. Even if agroforestry may not be a good choice for all farmers, it can for some farmers increase their ability to cope with stress and shocks like future climate change. This is because the agroforestry system can work as a buffer against increased climatic variability.

It is estimated in the last five years Chinese investors have poured over $93 billion into the United States residential real estate market targeting high-end housing sectors. I analyze the implications of the investment and how it has affected the Bay Area housing prices. In order to find out why large outflows are targeting the United States I compare China’s economy with Japan’s economy in the late 1980’s when Japanese investors invested over $300 billion into high profile real estate properties. I find many similarities, suggesting China has a bubble economy such as Japan before the lost decade. To combat their bubble, China has implemented new restrictions on capital outflows in order to stabilize their volatile markets. In terms of the Bay Area real estate market I gathered evidence a recession is imminent due to the demand falling for high-end housing. The housing market mirrors economic health and indicates whether an economy is in a boom or bust.