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This paper investigates the formation of the ownership structure and the corporate governance system of the Ukraine as a country in transition. Numerous studies consider that privatization results in the establishment of a proprietors’ motivation mechanism. On the other hand it causes ownership concentration in the hands of a few shareholders and managers. The goal of economic reform in transition and, largely, its pace, is measured by the degree to which shareholders participate in short- and long-term corporate value creation. Shareholder access to such created value depends on the ability of corporate “insiders”, especially executives and management, to claim a disproportionate share of corporate value (the “insider effect”). An econometric analysis of the correlation between privatization and macroeconomic factors studies the degree of effectiveness of economic reforming in Ukrainian regions.

This study develops comprehensive full-sector macro-econometric models for the Nigerian economy with the aim of explaining and providing a long-term solution for the persistent growth-poverty divergence experienced by the country. The models are applied to testing the hypothesis of existing structural supply-side constraints versus demand-side constraints impeding the growth and development of the country. Structural inadequacies have been the major setback to the achievement of the developmental objectives in the Nigerian economy. The last four decades has revealed several macroeconomic instabilities that hinder much improvement in the performance of the economy. Much of these structural inadequacies have been blamed on the persistent poor governance experienced by the country over the years. The poor political leadership and instability, corruption and the mismanagement of the oil resources have halted an appropriate and sound economic policy that should have alleviated poverty among the majority of the population. A review of the historical performance of the Nigerian economy reveals significant socio-economic constraints as the predominant impediments to high and sticky levels of poverty in the economy. As such, a model of the Nigerian economy suitable for policy analysis needs to capture the long-run supply-side characteristics of the economy. A price block is incorporated to specify the price adjustment between the production or supply-side sector and real aggregate demand sector. The institutional characteristics with associated policy behaviour are incorporated through a public and monetary sector, whereas the interaction with the rest of the world is presented by a foreign sector, with specific attention given to the oil sector. The models are estimated with time-series data from 1970 to 2006 using the Engle-Granger two-step cointegration technique, capturing both the long-run and short-run dynamic properties of the economy. The full-sector models are subjected to a series of policy scenarios to evaluate the various options for government. It is evident from the policy options assessed in this study that there is a need for an improvement in the quality of government spending. Fiscal policy expansion should tend towards increasing the component of government expenditure that will lead to sustained growth and also an improvement in the standard of living of the citizens. In order to be able to reap the benefits of a positive external shock, there is a need to increase the level of competitiveness and the productive capacity of the country. Investment in basic infrastructure such as power and roads is very crucial at this stage of the Nigerian economy. There is an urgent need to refocus the government role in certain critical areas of the economy. Government institutions need to be strengthened by improving the coordination that exists within the government structures. The political environment needs to be more secure in order to attract more private investment. The maintenance of public order, ensuring property rights, a sound regulatory structure and also creating a framework that will increase the provision of public goods and services and the maintenance of infrastructure are urgent elements required in order to achieve the set macroeconomic objectives. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Economics / unrestricted

The aim of the study is to verify a hypothesis, whether a company’s financial statement items can be modelled using econometric techniques incorporating accounting and macroeconomic variables. For the modelling and forecasting are selected items, necessary to calculate a company’s free cash flow (FCF) of four Lithuanian companies: telecommunication provider TEO LT, cheese manufacturer Rokiškio sūris, producer of household refrigerators Snaigė and distributor and supplier of electric energy VST. From their financial statements are taken such items as operating profit, current assets and current liabilities, long - term assets and long - term liabilities, and modeled as endogenous variables. Two types of exogenous variables are used: accounting variables (revenues and various types of expenditures) and macroeconomic variables (interest rates, disposable income or net earnings, growth of gross domestic product, country’s export, foreign direct investment and inflation). Initial econometric analysis of the variables includes verification of seasonality and stationarity according to the time series graphs and unit - root tests as well as correlation and causality analysis using cross - correlation matrices and Granger causality tests. For the modelling are selected two types of econometric methods: structural simultaneous - equations models (SEM), estimating them using two - stage least squares technique, and vector autoregression (VAR) models. After estimation of the models... [to full text] / Darbo tikslas yra patikrinti hipotezę, ar įmonės finansinės atskaitomybės straipsniai gali būti modeliuojami naudojant ekonometrinius metodus įtraukiant apskaitos ir makroekonominius kintamuosius. Modeliavimui ir prognozavimui yra pasirinkti įmonės laisvam pinigų srautui (angl. free cash flow, FCF) apskaičiuoti reikalingi straipsniai ir keturios Lietuvos įmonės: telekomunikacijų paslaugų teikėja „TEO LT“, sūrių gamybos įmonė „Rokiškio sūris“, buitinių šaldytuvų gamintoja „Snaigė“ bei elektros energijos skirstytoja ir tiekėja VST. Iš šių bendrovių finansinių atskaitomybių yra paimti tokie straipsniai, kaip veiklos pelnas, trumpalaikis turtas ir trumpalaikiai įsipareigojimai, ilgalaikis turtas ir ilgalaikiai įsipareigojimai. Šie rodikliai yra modeliuojami kaip endogeniniai kintamieji. Modeliuojant naudojami egzogeniniai kintamieji yra dviejų tipų: apskaitos kintamieji (pardavimai ir įvairios sąnaudos) bei makroekonominiai kintamieji (palūkanų normos, disponuojamos pajamos, neto darbo užmokestis, bendrojo vidaus produkto augimas, šalies eksportas, tiesioginės užsienio investicijos ir infliacija). Pradinė ekonometrinė kintamųjų analizė apima sezoniškumo ir stacionarumo tikrinimą pagal laiko eilučių grafikus ir vienetinės šaknies testus bei koreliacijų ir priežastingumo analizę, naudojant kryžmines koreliacijas ir Granger priežastingumo testus. Modeliavimui yra pasirinkti du ekonometriniai metodai: struktūrinių vienalaikių lygčių modeliai (angl. structural simultaneous – equation... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

The accurate (exact) prediction of tax revenue is a very important task for state budget planning. Both underestimation and overestimation of the planned revenue could cause problems in case the revenue is used to finance government functions. In the past few years planning of profit tax revenue was not very exact: the sum of the profit tax collected was considerably smaller or considerably larger than the planned profit tax revenue. The difference between the actual and planned revenue was about 12–56 % every year. There are several related factors which aggravate profit tax revenue modelling. It is doubtful if the indicator of profit tax revenue is stationary. The assumption of the stationarity of indicators is usually made when applying econometric models to the indicators. This problem is caused by a frequent change of the Profit tax law. In addition, transitional processes, invoked by privatization, integration to EU, and etc were typical of the Lithuanian economy in the past few years. Therefore very general equations used to describe the profit tax revenue of macroeconometric models of many countries are not relevant to model and predict the profit tax revenue in Lithuania. In order to predict budget revenues accurately, their modelling methodology needs to be created so as to be effective in the situation where regression relations are complicated while disposable series of observations are rather short (the quarterly profit indicators have been known since 1998 in... [to full text]

The accurate (exact) prediction of tax revenue is a very important task for state budget planning. Both underestimation and overestimation of the planned revenue could cause problems in case the revenue is used to finance government functions. In the past few years planning of profit tax revenue was not very exact: the sum of the profit tax collected was considerably smaller or considerably larger than the planned profit tax revenue. The difference between the actual and planned revenue was about 12–56 % every year. There are several related factors which aggravate profit tax revenue modelling. It is doubtful if the indicator of profit tax revenue is stationary. The assumption of the stationarity of indicators is usually made when applying econometric models to the indicators. This problem is caused by a frequent change of the Profit tax law. In addition, transitional processes, invoked by privatization, integration to EU, and etc were typical of the Lithuanian economy in the past few years. Therefore very general equations used to describe the profit tax revenue of macroeconometric models of many countries are not relevant to model and predict the profit tax revenue in Lithuania. In order to predict budget revenues accurately, their modelling methodology needs to be created so as to be effective in the situation where regression relations are complicated while disposable series of observations are rather short (the quarterly profit indicators have been known since 1998 in... [to full text]

This thesis consists of three chapters, each dealing with a different aspect of the impact of climate change on agriculture: the analysis of past evidence, the possible new solutions and the anticipation of future problems. The topics chosen are different but complementary and reflect the complex and multifaceted impact of this phenomenon on agriculture. This work uses global spatial data and information from the literature, combines weather forecast with a crop model, and uses an economic model coupled with robust econometric estimation approaches. The findings indicate that major crop yields in tropical and subtropical regions will likely suffer adverse effects, while temperate and continental areas, historically less favourable for agriculture, may experience mainly positive impacts. Under a medium development scenario, global crop production is projected to remain largely unaffected, masking a compensatory mechanism between tropical and temperate regions. Adaptation covers a significant positive role, and short- and medium-range weather forecasting can be an important and affordable tool for farmers to adapt their agricultural practices, if they know how to use it. The adoption of such meteorological information can enable rural households in developing countries to increase yields of staple crops, although the potential contribution of it may be hampered by social and economic barriers. However, adaptation in agriculture can have negative externalities, potentially creating a vicious circle, and the livestock sector is particularly vulnerable. Indeed, changing climate conditions may induce farmers to adjust the distribution of grazing livestock per unit of land in order to maximise profits. Temperate and continental countries may increase the number of grazing livestock per unit of land as climatic conditions improve for agricultural purposes, thereby increasing carbon dioxide emissions. On the other hand, tropical areas, mainly populated by developing countries, will see a deterioration of agricultural conditions and less livestock can be raised on rangelands and pasturelands. Once again, countries with pressing agricultural productivity needs bear a disproportionate burden of climate change effects, exacerbating already precarious living conditions. Conversely, northern countries, primarily developed, are likely to experience more beneficial effects.

This thesis develops a new structure that explicitly combines two CGE models, a national and a regional, in an integrated structure that gives the thesis model the name IRES, in short for the Integrated Regional Equation System. The typical features of the integrated structure are the adding-up conditions and the two-way linkages between the national and the regional modules facilitated by the interface shifters. The adding-up conditions ensure the two modules produce consistent results and updated databases. The inclusion of the interface shifters on the one hand plays a role in ensuring compatibility of results of the two modules, i.e. no distortion occurs because technical or taste changes are transferred across modules. On the other hand, the interface shifters assist the operation of IRES in different modes: the model can be used as a top-down model, a bottom-up model or an integrated model where national and regional shocks can be introduced at the same time. Hence, IRES has more flexibility in its application than a regional model or a national model alone, as IRES can make use of availability of data at any levels in the economy. IRES has a new labour market in which regional migration is no longer the only factor that settles the labour market as in the original setting of the MMRF model. Regional unemployment and regional participation rates are modelled to response to changes in regional employment growth using elasticities estimated econometrically in this thesis. IRES implements historical patterns of regional migration so that results of regional migration are consistent with observed patterns. Altogether, regional migration, regional unemployment and participation rates determine the equilibrium of the labour market. IRES adopts new approaches to modelling margin demands and indirect taxes. These new approaches are very effective in reducing the size of IRES but they do not compromise the use of the model. These approaches are readily applicable to any other regional CGE models.

Brain drain and brain circulation are forms of skilled labour migration which have a significant impact on New Zealand’s economic growth. Based on their importance, it is suggested that economies rethink how they compete for skilled labour in an international labour market. This research study reviews economic and non-economic factors that influence an individual’s decisions to stay or leave New Zealand. Data is collected from a survey sample of Lincoln University final year undergraduate and postgraduate students, who represent New Zealand’s future skilled labour. The research study employs a data reduction technique called factor analysis to collate large sets of variables into small sets for econometric analysis. The key econometric tool, logit analysis, provides probabilities of graduates leaving New Zealand and marginal effects of changes in key economic and non-economic variables. These key findings, providing new knowledge, are used to engage in a policy discussion in the last chapter. The research study importantly maintains focus on three key stakeholders, the government, the business community and the individual/student when addressing and analysing New Zealand’s brain drain and brain circulation issues.