Anotace: Diplomová práce je rozdělena do tří kapitol. První část je věnována úvodu do problematiky a snahy o uchopení tématu, které je velmi obšírné. Svoji pozornost jsem zaměřila především na názory odborníků z různých oblastí na problematiku globalizace. Dále pak na historický vývoj globalizace a její etapizaci a hlavní faktory ovlivňující globalizační procesy. Taktéž jsem se zmínila o vztahu globalizace, regionalismu a světové ekonomiky. V druhé části jsem přiblížila tři oblasti dopadů globalizačních procesů - oblast ekonomickou, ekologickou a sociální. V závěrečné části se již blíže věnuji vybraným důsledkům. Mým cílem bylo prokázat, nakolik globalizace ovlivňuje vybrané problémy a postihnout jak pozitivní, tak i negativní dopady. Abstract: The diploma thesis is divided into three chapters. The first part is devoted to an introduction to the problem and attempts to grasp a subject that is very wide. I focused my attention primarily on the views of experts from various scientific fields on the issue of globalization. Furthermore, the historical development of globalization and its phasing and the main factors influencing the processes of globalization. I also mentioned the relationship between globalization, regionalism and the global economy. In the second part, I approached the three areas of the...

This thesis deals with the evaluation of the socio-economic consequences of the current migration wave in Europe based on the comparison of individual macroeconomic indicators in the member states of the European Union, which were most affected by migration, whether as transit or destination country. The monitored indicators are for example GDP growth, unemployment rate, growth of public expenditures and others. The first part of the thesis defines the theoretical foundations of migration based on sociological theories and defines the key concepts for the topic, such as economic migration, migrant, integration. The second, practical part of the thesis, focuses on monitoring the specific socioeconomic consequences of the migration crisis for selected countries and evaluates its pros and cons. It follows from this assessment that migration to Europe is an economically sustainable phenomenon. The work focuses more on the possibilities and positives or negatives of the integration of migrants into the labor market, also due to the potential threat of an aging Europe in the future. Using several foreign studies and models, it demonstrates the need to change the integration of migrants to benefit the European countries' pension system. It also pays attention to the social and political consequences of...

We examine the effect of tax burden differences between organizational forms on multinationals choosing an organizational form for a newly established foreign affiliate. Analyzing micro-level data on inbound foreign direct investment relations in Germany, we find that a higher tax burden on foreign income earned in a corporate subsidiary significantly increases the tendency of a multinational to choose a non-corporate flow-through. Income-shifting opportunities, industry-specific risk, country-level differences in regulatory quality, and host-country experience moderate this effect and thus shape the cost-benefit relation of organizational forms in cross-border settings. In addition, we document that multinationals establishing a new affiliate as a flow-through on the basis of a tax benefit invest less in that affiliate and exhibit a more complex group structure. Taken together, our results provide evidence on how tax rules shape group structures of multinationals and suggest that an asymmetric taxation of organizational forms has economic consequences. / Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

Academic literature has increasingly shown escape foreign direct investment (FDI) to be a strategic motive used by firms investing abroad to diversify their risk to their home market. Internationalisation allows firms to mitigate the risk of being based in uncertain environments characterised by underdeveloped institutions and economic weakness (institutional voids), which are seen as comparative disadvantages. By expanding abroad, firms reduce their dependence on the home market for their revenues and profits. To date, most existing research has explored the characteristics, drivers and motivations for outbound FDI from emerging economies, but has paid relatively less attention to the economic consequences of such investments. The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of the economic consequences of escape FDI. Understanding the economic consequences of escape FDI will enable managers of South African multinational firms (MNEs) to develop and implement internationalisation strategies that create value, as measured by an increase in market capitalisation, for the firm. Quantitative, explanatory research methods were adopted in order to gain new insights into the economic consequences of escape FDI. The study adopted a longitudinal, multi-industry design and was deductive in nature. The population was 85 firms, which were investigated over a 5-year period, with an interval between 2013 and 2018. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics followed by confirmatory regression analysis. The key finding was that South African MNEs who invested in emerging markets, particularly in multiple host countries in Africa whilst adopting a “portfolio approach” to their international investments, delivered exceptional performance, creating significant value in the process. The secondary finding was that individual firms who either invested in emerging markets or developed markets created and destroyed value evenly, confirming existing literature that firms are heterogeneous and that a firms place in time and space, and thus context, matters fundamentally. The findings from this research add to the extant literature in the field of international business by introducing the “portfolio approach” to international investment strategy and performance. The implications for management is that firms need to understand their ownership advantages in designing and implementing international investment strategies because escape based FDI and related economic performance can have profound direct consequences for the firm itself, but indirectly on the wider community as a whole. / Mini Dissertation (MPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MPhil (International Business) / Unrestricted

Cette thèse étudie les effets économiques, en termes d’instabilité, de l’adoption obligatoire par les banques des normes comptables internationales IAS/IFRS. La thèse est organisée en deux grandes parties. La première partie (Chapitre I) développe un cadre d’analyse permettant de comprendre les mécanismes par le biais desquels l’introduction obligatoire des normes IAS/IFRS dans le secteur bancaire est susceptible d’influer sur la probabilité de survenance des crises systémiques. À ce stade, nous montrons que des arguments, tant contractuels qu’informationnels, peuvent être mobilisés, en vue de justifier l’hypothèse d’une incidence positive ou négative du passage aux normes IAS/IFRS sur le risque d’instabilité. La deuxième partie de la thèse (Chapitres II, III et IV) présente trois études empiriques, fondées sur des échantillons de banques européennes, en lien avec certaines thématiques évoquées dans le cadre de la première partie. Les résultats de ces études, plus particulièrement, indiquent : (1) que les banques ont amélioré la couverture en capitaux propres de leurs risques, suite au passage aux normes IAS/IFRS, en raison d’un exercice plus efficace de la discipline de marché en environnement IFRS ; (2) que les banques contraintes en liquidité (et seulement ces banques) ont offert plus de crédits, suite à l’adoption des normes IAS/IFRS, en raison d’un accès facilité aux ressources externes en environnement IFRS ; (3) que la comptabilité en juste valeur ne contribue pas à dégrader le pouvoir explicatif d’un modèle de risque de défaut des banques fondé sur des variables financières. Ces résultats, qui vont globalement dans le sens d’une incidence positive du passage obligatoire aux normes IAS/IFRS sur la stabilité des banques, tendent à tempérer les critiques formulées à l’encontre du référentiel comptable international, en arrière-plan de la récente crise bancaire mondiale. / In this thesis, we study the economic consequences, in terms of instability, of the mandatory IAS/IFRS adoption in the banking industry. The thesis is organized as follows. In a first part (Chapter I), we develop a theoretical framework whose purpose is to understand the mechanisms through which the mandatory IAS/IFRS adoption by banks may influence the probability of occurrence of a banking crisis. At this stage, we show that several arguments, derived from the contractual and informational perspectives of accounting, can be mobilized in order to justify the hypothesis that the mandatory IAS/IFRS adoption has a positive or a negative influence on banking stability. The second part of the thesis (Chapters II, III, IV) propose three empirical studies, based on samples of European banks, related to some of the issues discussed in the first part. The results of these studies indicate that: (1) banks have improved capital adequacy following the IAS/IFRS adoption, due to a better market discipline in an IFRS environment; (2) banks constrained in liquidity (and only these banks) have increased their credit supply following the IAS/IFRS adoption, due to an easier access to external resources in an IFRS environment; (3) fair value accounting does not contribute to degrade the explanatory power of a default risk model based on accounting variables. These results, consistent with a positive influence of the IAS/IFRS adoption on bank stability, tend to moderate the criticisms expressed against IFRS accounting standards, in the background of the recent global banking crisis.

Bakgrund och problem: Efter införandet av IFRS 2 ska svenska börsbolag behandla aktierelaterade ersättningar som en kostnad i redovisningen. Då detta inte krävdes tidigare, medförde de nya reglerna diskussioner om vilka konsekvenserna skulle bli. Frågan är om kostnadsföringen av dessa ersättningar lett till att bolag utformat sina aktierelaterade incitamentsprogram annorlunda efter införandet av IFRS 2. Syfte: Att undersöka om införandet av IFRS 2 har påverkat svenska börsbolags utformning av aktierelaterade incitamentsprogram samt förklara orsaken till en eventuell förändring. Metod/Empiri: Information har samlats in via årsredovisningar från 42 svenska noterade bolag under en tidsperiod av tio år. Datamaterialet analyseras genom observationer och regressionsanalyser där isolering sker av påverkan från företagsspecifika faktorer. Slutsatser: Studien visar på att förekomsten av optionsprogram minskar under åren 2003 och 2005 samtidigt som antalet aktieprogram ökar. Förändringen sker samtidigt som införandeprocessen av IFRS 2 och stämmer överens med antagandet om att kostnadsföringen av aktierelaterade ersättningar ligger bakom förändringen. Att kostnadsföring påverkar bolagsbeslut i utformning av incitamentsprogram överensstämmer med studier, som visar att beslutsfattare i bolag anser att bolagets intressenter koncentrerar sig på den redovisade vinsten. / Background and problem: Swedish listed companies treat share-based payments as an expense since the adoption of IFRS 2. The adoption meant a change compared to previous accounting treatment, which triggered discussions regarding the consequences of such expensing. The question is if the expensing of share-based payments resulted in changes in the design of share-based incentive programs. Aim: Investigate whether the adoption of IFRS 2 has affected the design of share-based incentive programs in Swedish listed companies and explain the reason for such change. Method/Empirics: Information has been collected through annual reports from 42 Swedish listed companies over a period of ten years. In order to analyze the impact of IFRS 2, observations are made together with regression analysis where the impact of firm-specific determinants is accounted for. Conclusions: The existence of option plans are reduced between 2003 and 2005, while the number of share plans is increasing. The change takes place at the same time as the implementation process of IFRS 2 and is consistent with the assumption that the mandatory expensing of share-based payments is causing the change. The reason for expensing affecting corporate decisions regarding share-based incentive programs is that decision makers believes that company stakeholders focuses on reported earnings.

This dissertation investigates the economic consequences from hedge accounting signals and risk management disclosure. I first examine the product market consequences to these accounting signals and related disclosure in Chapter 1, then stock market reactions to disclosure requirements in Chapter 2. Chapter 1 examines potential entrants’ strategic entry decisions in response to incumbents’ accounting information and related disclosure. I predict that potential entrants are more likely to enter markets in which the incumbents’ accounting information suggests higher future production costs that are specific to the incumbents themselves. I further hypothesize that the relation is stronger when the accounting signals are accompanied by more disclosure. Using detailed U.S. airline industry data and hedge accounting disclosure under SFAS 133, I find that potential entrants are more likely to enter routes in which the incumbents’ lower accumulated other comprehensive income from fuel hedges suggests their higher future production costs. This entry pattern is stronger when incumbents have more transparent annual report disclosure regarding their fuel hedge programs. The entry pattern is also stronger after a systematic increase in risk management disclosure requirements following the (exogenous) adoption of SFAS 161. Chapter 2 analyzes stock returns of U.S. airlines around events leading up to the adoption of SFAS 161. SFAS 161 enhanced the disclosure requirements for derivatives and hedging activities. I find that U.S. airlines experienced statistically significant positive returns around the key events leading up to the adoption of SFAS 161. I then examine the cross-sectional variation of the returns around these events. Regression results provide initial support for the real effects theory that greater disclosure requirements could distort firms’ hedging and production decisions and lead to suboptimal behavior. In summary, this dissertation provides evidence that competitors use hedge accounting signals and related disclosure in making product market decisions. Meanwhile, additional risk-management disclosures may also distort firms’ hedging and production behavior, leading to suboptimal decisions. This dissertation sheds light on the ongoing projects by the FASB and the IASB on hedge accounting and disclosure and informs the regulators that costs and benefits should be weighted in hedge accounting policy setting.

This dissertation investigates the economic consequences from hedge accounting signals and risk management disclosure. I first examine the product market consequences to these accounting signals and related disclosure in Chapter 1, then stock market reactions to disclosure requirements in Chapter 2. Chapter 1 examines potential entrants’ strategic entry decisions in response to incumbents’ accounting information and related disclosure. I predict that potential entrants are more likely to enter markets in which the incumbents’ accounting information suggests higher future production costs that are specific to the incumbents themselves. I further hypothesize that the relation is stronger when the accounting signals are accompanied by more disclosure. Using detailed U.S. airline industry data and hedge accounting disclosure under SFAS 133, I find that potential entrants are more likely to enter routes in which the incumbents’ lower accumulated other comprehensive income from fuel hedges suggests their higher future production costs. This entry pattern is stronger when incumbents have more transparent annual report disclosure regarding their fuel hedge programs. The entry pattern is also stronger after a systematic increase in risk management disclosure requirements following the (exogenous) adoption of SFAS 161. Chapter 2 analyzes stock returns of U.S. airlines around events leading up to the adoption of SFAS 161. SFAS 161 enhanced the disclosure requirements for derivatives and hedging activities. I find that U.S. airlines experienced statistically significant positive returns around the key events leading up to the adoption of SFAS 161. I then examine the cross-sectional variation of the returns around these events. Regression results provide initial support for the real effects theory that greater disclosure requirements could distort firms’ hedging and production decisions and lead to suboptimal behavior. In summary, this dissertation provides evidence that competitors use hedge accounting signals and related disclosure in making product market decisions. Meanwhile, additional risk-management disclosures may also distort firms’ hedging and production behavior, leading to suboptimal decisions. This dissertation sheds light on the ongoing projects by the FASB and the IASB on hedge accounting and disclosure and informs the regulators that costs and benefits should be weighted in hedge accounting policy setting.

The perennial controversy in business combinations accounting and its dialectic with stakeholders’ interests under the complexity of the Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) activity is the centrepiece of analysis in this thesis. It is argued here that the accounting regulation should be as neutral as possible for the economic activity, although it is recognised that accounting changes may result in economic effects. In the case of the changes for business combinations accounting in the USA, lobbying was so fierce that in order to achieve the abolition of accounting choice in M&A accounting, it forced the standard-setter to compromise and to change substantially some of its earlier proposals. Such fierce lobbying cast doubts about whether it was effectively possible to mitigate such economic effects, resulting in a possible impact of the accounting changes on the M&A activity. The occurrence of M&A in waves is yet to be fully theorised. Nevertheless, existing literature established relationships between M&A activity and some key economic and financial factors, and has provided several interesting theories and other meaningful contributions for this thesis. It was therefore possible to examine whether the changes in the accounting rules produced any significant impact on the M&A activity. The findings obtained from the testing of the research hypotheses suggest that the new M&A accounting rules did not result in significant impacts on overall M&A activity. Nevertheless, from the study of managers’ perceptions, and from the examination of annual reports of S&P 500 companies, a considerable impact on the financial reporting was found.

Sveriges kulturhistoriska bebyggelse bär viktiga historiska spår och har varit en starktbidragande faktor till samhällets utveckling. Dessa byggnader utgör konkretahistorieberättare som åskådliggör hur samhället har förändrats med tiden. Bevarandet avhistoriska byggnader av detta slag, är därför mycket viktigt för att dessa värden inte skallgå förlorade. Respektive kommun har i detaljplanen möjlighet att skydda bevarandevärdbebyggelse genom att skapa varsamhets- och skyddsbestämmelser för de fastigheter ochområden som anses vara värdefulla ur ett kulturhistoriskt perspektiv. De flesta av dessabyggnader tillhör dock äldre byggnadsbestånd och kräver därför regelbundet underhållsochrenoveringsarbete för att överleva och uppfylla dagens krav på såväl energieffektivitetsom intern komfort. I renoveringsfasen för denna typ av bebyggelse uppstår emellertidofta komplikationer, då byggnadernas arkitektoniska värdebärare inte får förvanskas.Östra Sätra i Gävle, är utnämnt till riksintresse och kulturhistoriskt värdefullt till grund försin tidstypiska miljonprogrammsarkitektur med trafikseparering. Fastighetsbolaget ABGavlegårdarna, som äger och förvaltar husen i Östra Sätra, har vid renoveringen av ettantal punkthus i området, erfarit merkostnader till följd av varsamhetskraven för området.Merkostnaderna uppkom till följd av att konventionella tekniska lösningar och materialvalinte kunde tillämpas vid renoveringen.Detta examensarbete syftar till att kvantifiera dessa merkostnader med målsättningen attutgöra ett underlag för AB Gavlegårdarna för fortsatt dialog med Gävle Kommun, medavseende på det fortsatta förnyelsearbetet i Östra Sätra. Arbetet avgränsas till trepunkthus, Pinnmovägen 26, Glaciärvägen 23 och Glaciärvägen 21, där merkostnaderna förbalkonger, fasadbeklädnad och fönster ligger i fokus.Resultatet visar betydande merkostnader för samtliga av de studeradebyggnadskomponenterna. Merkostnaden för balkonger, fasadbeklädnad och fönsteruppgick till 22,6%, 1,7% respektive 0,5% av den totala renoveringskostnaden förrespektive punkthus.För att minimera merkostnaderna och motsättningarna för dessa typer avrenoveringsprojekt krävs tidig dialog mellan fastighetsägare och bygglovshandläggare,med en tydlig beslutsgrund i en antikvarisk förundersökning. / The Swedish stock of heritage buildings carries important historical trails and has been amajor contributing factor to the development of society. These buildings constitutespecific storytellers that illustrate how society has developed over time. The preservationof heritage buildings of this kind is therefore very important in order to assure that thesevalues are not lost over time. Each township has an opportunity to preserve thesebuildings by creating regulations in the zoning-plan with respect to cultural values.Buildings like these often belong to older building stocks and require regular maintenanceand renovation work in order to survive and meet today's demands regarding energyefficiency and internal comfort. In the renovation phase of this type of buildings,complications often occur due to the prohibition to vitiate historical buildingsarchitectural values.The east part of Sätra, in Gävle, is declared to be a historically valuable district of nationalinterest due to its million-program architecture with traffic separation. The district isowned by the property management company AB Gavlegårdarna who has experiencedlarge additional costs during the renovation phase of some tower blocks in the area, due tothe regulations of cultural values. These additional costs occur due to the fact thatconventional construction techniques and materials could not be used during therenovation.This thesis aims to quantify these additional costs with the goal to provide a basis for ABGavlegårdarna for a continued dialogue with the municipality of Gävle, with respect to theongoing renewal of Eastern Sätra. The thesis is confined to three tower blocks,Pinnmovägen 26 Glaciärvägen 23 and Glaciärvägen 21 where the additional cost ofbalconies, building plaster and windows are in focus.The results show significant additional costs for all of the studied building components.The additional cost for balconies, building plaster and windows amounted to 22,6%, 1,7%and 0,5% of the total renovation cost for each of the tower blocks.Minimizing the additional costs and contradictions of these types of renovation projectsrequire early dialogue between the property owners and the building permitadministrators with basis in a properly executed antiquarian investigation.