This dissertation consists of three essays, taking different perspectives on human capital. The first essay looks at human capital from a growth perspective. Essays two and three focuses on the individual’s occupational decision and its relation to family background. The first essay attempts to capture the effects on long run economic growth and transitional dynamics of the interaction between human capital and R&amp;D. We do this by allowing for endogenous human capital accumulation in an economy where the number of products and technologies expands because profit maximizing entrepreneurs do R&amp;D. We find that, in the absence of scale effects, long run growth is determined by the economy’s capacity to accumulate human capital. A relative lack of R&amp;D capital causes the economy to grow slowly during its transition to the steady state, while a relative abundance of R&amp;D capital gives high growth rates during transition. In the second essay, the classical Roy-model of selection on the labor market is extended in order to analyze intergenerational mobility. This is done through the introduction of ability uncertainty that is linked to family background. In contrast to to additional human capital models of intergenerational mobility, this mechanism rather than differences in access to capital markets links occupational oucomes of offspring to parents. We study the effects of income redistribution on mobility and talent allocation. It is found that redistribution has implications for intergenerational mobility and talent allocation through its influence on individual occupational choices. However, we conclude that the presence of a trade-off between redistribution and intergenerational mobility depends on the extent of similarity of occupations with regard to ability sensitivity and wage rates, and on the degree of individual risk aversion. Whether redistribution occurs only within an occupation or simultaneously within and across occupations is also inportant for the implicatons for mobility and talent allocation. In essay three, a model of occupational choice and human capital investment is developmed and tested. The model allows family background to influence occupational choice through access to economic resources, differences in costs of schooling, and ability uncertainty linked to background similar to that discussed in essay two. It is predicted that life time utility of children from less well-off background is more sensitive to economic incentives when risk aversion is strong. The model also predicts that people are more sensitive to economic incentives when considering occupations distant from their parent occuations. The implications of the theoretical model are tested and largely confirmed on Swedish data using a mixed multinominal logit framework which explicitly accounts for unobserved ability heterogeneity. / <p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 1998</p>

Unemployment and/or slow economic growth nationally and in poorer regions are two problems which political decision-makers often refer to when they argue for the need to grant different producer subsidies to firms. Moreover, it is often asserted that the problems are due to different market failures. However, it is not certain that market failures exist and political attempts to correct "market-failures" might easily turn into government failures. In the thesis various industrial and regional policy subsidies are examined. The subsidies, which are studied, have become increasingly important in many countries, not least in the EU, over time.The thesis consists of four essays, which examine different aspects of interventionistic policy and political decision making from the perspective of market failure vs. government failure. The purpose of Essay 1 is to study whether Swedish regional policy, which was introduced around 1970, has significantly affected the process of growth of per capita income in Swedish counties. In Essay 2 characteristics of recipient firms are analysed from an interest-group perspective. In Essay 3, the subsidies effect on total factor productivity growth is studied. In the final essay employment effects are examined. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.

This paper aims to examine how and to what extent, a transition of Sweden according to the principles of Omställning Sverige (Transition towns Sweden), have the potential to contribute to a society with increased happiness. The paper is based on a qualitative textual analysis of the key texts in the Swedish Transition towns movement, Omställning Sverige. In the first part of the study the most important transition principles of Omställning Sverige were identified. Four key principles emerged: An altered view of economics, a spiritual change, a stronger local community and increased awareness. These transition principles were then analyzed through the lens of the scientific fields position on happiness, followed by a summarizing conclusion. The altered view of economics which Omställning Sverige advocates, where sustainability and quality of life are priorities over economic growth, is even necessary to secure our basic physiological needs. Such an economy has also improved conditions for economic stability, high employment and higher efficiency in the sense of happiness promoted in relationship to how many natural resources are used. The form of spiritual change that is highlighted represents a shift from a materialistic consumer culture towards a greater focus on altruism, fellowship and a stronger relationship with nature. Also this principle has the potential to promote human well-being because we feel good through empathetic behavior, strong social relationships, identifying with a larger natural world and because a consumer culture contributes to severe mental and social stress in the struggle for social status. Here, however, a deficiency in the Transition towns movement's message emerges. Omställning Sverige lacks a clear commitment to equality within society, which reduces the probability for the advocated mental shift to occur. The third transition principle, a stronger local community, also has the potential to make us happier because it promotes social cohesion and provides a secure foundation in life. However, there is no clear correlation between increased awareness of societal threats and happiness. Along with the increased awareness Omställning Sverige also advocates for a positive vision of the future, active citizenship and a belief in change. Such an approach has the potential to promote our happiness slightly. A positive vision for the future is also the best approach to promote active engagement to counter societal threats. In all the four aspects from which Omställning Sverige were analyzed, the advocated change has the potential to provide a happier society than if current policies were maintained. The main conclusion is therefore that an implementation of the Swedish Transition town movement's principles to a very high extent have the potential to contribute to a happier society. A recomendation to increase the emphasis on equality within the society is at the same time sent out to the transition towns  movement.

Sverige är ett av världens mest globaliserade länder och globalisering känns därmed som en självklarhet i dagens samhälle. Att något är en självklarhet behöver dock inte betyda att det är bra, varför det finns anledning till att undersöka vilken effekt globaliseringen egentligen har haft och kan komma att få på den svenska välfärden. Eftersom välfärd ofta mäts som tillväxt i BNP är det också detta mått som används i denna uppsats.   Syftet med denna uppsats är tudelat där den första delen består av att ta fram en modell inne­fattande faktorer av globalisering, som förklarar Sveriges BNP-utveckling mellan åren 1980 och 2008. Den andra delen av syftet är att, genom användande av den framtagna modellen, analysera hur globalisering har påverkat och kan komma att påverka den svenska BNP-tillväxten fram till år 2050. Studiens metod består av en teoretisk och en empirisk del. Det teoretiska momentet utgörs av en litteraturstudie i dels globalisering och dels tillväxt vilken mynnar ut i en Solow-modell med humankapital som är utvidgad med faktorer av globalisering. Uppsatsens empiriska del består av insamling och bearbetning av statistik samt skattning och tillämpning av modellen för att skapa de olika scenarier som behövs för att uppfylla syftets andra del. Slutsatsen för denna uppsats är att globalisering är en långsiktig källa till tillväxt. Studiens resultat visar att ekonomisk globalisering har haft mycket stora positiva effekter på den svenska tillväxten sedan år 1980. Med globalisering har Sverige haft en genomsnittlig årlig tillväxttakt på drygt två procent medan motsvarande siffra för ett scenario med helt avstannad globalisering ligger mycket nära noll. Globaliseringens effekter på den framtida BNP-tillväxten är dock ännu större. En simulering av den fortsatta utvecklingen med bibe­hållen globaliserings­­takt ger en tillväxttakt för år 2050 på nästan fyra procent, vilket är tre och en halv procentenheter högre än för det alternativa scenariot. Studiens resultat visar också att även med en halverad globaliseringstakt uppnås stora positiva effekter på både den historiska och den framtida tillväxten. / Sweden is one of the most globalized countries in the world and globalization is therefore a natural phenomenon in the Swedish society. However, that something is natural does not necessarily mean that it is good, why there is reason to examine the effect of globalization on the Swedish welfare. Since welfare is often measured as growth in GDP, this measure is also used in this study. The purpose of this thesis is divided in two parts where the first consists of developing a model, including factors of globalization, which explains the growth in Swedish GDP between the years 1980 and 2008. The second part of the purpose is to, by use of the developed model, analyze how globalization has previously affected and in the future may affect the economic growth in Sweden to the year 2050. The method of this study is divided in a theoretical and an empirical part. The theoretical element consists of a literature study in globalization and growth that results in a human capital augmented Solow model that includes factors of economic globalization. The empirical element of the thesis consists of collecting and working with statistical data as well as estimation and use of the model to create the different scenarios that is needed to fulfill the second part of the purpose. The conclusion of this thesis is that globalization is a long-run source for economic growth. The results of the study show that economic globalization has had large positive effects on the Swedish growth since 1980. During globalization Sweden has had an average annual growth rate of just over two percent while the corresponding figure for a scenario with no globalization is close to zero. The effects of globalization on the future growth are even larger. A simulation with continuing globalization shows a growth rate for year 2050 of four percent, which is three and a half percent units higher than for the alternative scenario. The results of the study also show that even a slower rate of globalization attains large positive effects on both the historical and the future growth.

Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka om utbildningens kvalitet har en signifikant påverkan på ekonomisk tillväxt. I uppsatsen tillämpas en regressionsanalys baserad på sekundärdata. Den beroende variabeln är real BNP per capita tillväxt vilken används för att mäta ekonomisk tillväxt. Den oberoende variabeln i fokus är testresultat från internationella prov och används som mått för utbildningens kvalitet. Kontrollvariabler i uppsatsen är initial BNP per capita, genomsnittlig utbildningstid, fertilitet, investeringar och graden av handelsöppenhet. I studien ingår data för 49 länder och omfattar åren från 2000 till och med 2010. I regressionsmodellen som inkluderar samtliga kontrollvariabler visar testresultatvariabeln en signifikant positiv relation till ekonomisk tillväxt. Det här betyder alltså att utbildningens kvalitet har en påverkan på ekonomisk tillväxt. Utifrån detta går det att härleda ett antal teoretiska förklarningar till hur utbildningens kvalitet har kunnat påverka ekonomisk tillväxt. I och med innovationer i informationsteknik samt den generella teknologiutvecklingen som präglat 2000-talet, dras slutsatsen att utbildningens kvalitet troligtvis har påverkat utvecklandet av färdigheter relaterade till innovationsförmåga och anpassningsbarhet till ny teknologi hos individer. Det här i följd har påverkat den ekonomiska tillväxten i ett land. / The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the quality of education has a significant impact on economic growth. This paper applied a regression analysis based on secondary data. The dependent variable is real GDP per capita growth, which is used to measure economic growth. The independent variable in focus is test results from international tests and is used as a measure of educational quality. Control variables in the paper are initial GDP per capita, average years of schooling, fertility, investments and the degree of trade openness. The study includes data for 49 countries and covers the years from 2000 to 2010. The regression model that includes all control variables shows that the test result variable has a significant positive relationship to economic growth. This means that the quality of education has an impact on economic growth. Based on this it is possible to derive a number of theoretical explanations of how the quality of education has been able to influence economic growth. With innovations in information technology, as well as the general technology trend that characterized the 2000s, it’s concluded that the quality of education is likely to have influenced the development of skills related to innovation and adaptability to new technologies in individuals. Consequently, this affects the economic growth of a country.

Bakgrunden till examensarbetet är att aktiviteter kopplat till den globala ekonomin samt tillväxt av denna har skapat en situation som i dagsläget inte uppfyller den ekologiska dimensionen av hållbarhet. Lösningar för att minska den miljöpåverkan som sker idag samtidigt som ekonomisk tillväxt sker har kritiserats och istället föreslås ekonomier med låg eller ingen tillväxt. Med bakgrund till detta har forskningsprojektet Bortom BNP-tillväxt startat och examensarbetet genomförs hos ekonomiska modeller som är ett av projektets arbetspaket.Syftet med examensarbetet är dels att utreda hur en eventuell hållbarhetsproblematik med en fortsatt BNP-tillväxt ser ut för att avgöra om en konflikt mellan ekonomisk och ekologisk hållbarhet existerar. Syftet går också ut på att simulera en neoklassisk jämviktsmodell för att studera hur en sådan reagerar för olika tillväxtscenarier (tillväxt, nolltillväxt och negativ tillväxt). För att avgöra detta studeras parametrarna BNP, konsumtion, investeringar, mängd kapital och mängd arbetade timmar. Tanken är att kartläggningen av en eventuell konflikt mellan ekologisk och ekonomisk hållbarhet i kombination med analysen av jämviktsmodellen ska kunna användas för att avgöra hur ekonomiska modeller som tar hänsyn till både den ekologiska och den ekonomiska dimensionen av hållbarhet ska kunna utformas.Huruvida en konflikt mellan den ekonomiska och ekologiska dimensionen av hållbarhet existerar utreds med hjälp av en litteraturstudie. Vidare ställs den neoklassiska jämviktsmodellen inte upp från grunden, istället används en redan färdig jämviktsmodell för den finska ekonomin som sedan utvecklas efter förutsättningar i svenska data. Modellen simuleras mellan 1990-2035 för scenarierna tillväxt, nolltillväxt och negativ tillväxt. Dessutom görs en simulering av nolltillväxt där arbetstiden successivt minskar.Litteraturstudien visar att en potentiell konflikt mellan den ekologiska och den ekonomiska dimensionen av hållbarhet existerar. Simuleringarna för den neoklassiska jämviktsmodellen ger tillförlitliga resultat för parametrarna BNP, konsumtion och mängd arbetade timmar. Modellens stora svaghet är dock investeringar som avviker i jämförelse med data, något som antagligen också är skälet till att mindre avvikelser uppkommer för mängden kapital.Jämviktsmodellen och litteraturstudien diskuteras sedan och slutsatsen dras att den största svagheten hos den neoklassiska jämviktsmodellen är att den inte tar hänsyn till naturresurser (inklusive energi) som produktionsfaktor samt hur föroreningar påverkar dessa. Ett förslag som i sin tur tas fram utifrån slutsatserna är att uppdatera ekonomiska modeller (exempelvis jämviktsmodellen) för att inkludera naturresurser som produktionsfaktor så att modellerna även tar hänsyn till den ekologiska dimensionen av hållbarhet. Resultatet av en sådan modell skulle sedan kunna användas för att kommunicera en optimal nivå på BNP och skapa konsensus mellan nationalekonomer, miljövetare och politiska beslutsfattare om hur en potentiell konflikt mellan ekonomisk och ekologisk hållbarhet kan hanteras. / The background to this master thesis is that the activities linked to the global economy and its growth has created a situation that currently does not uphold the ecological dimension of sustainability. Solutions to reduce the environmental impact of today while economic growth occurs has been criticized and instead economies with low or no growth have been proposed. With this in mind, the research project Beyond GDP growth have started. The master thesis is carried out for economic models which is one of the work packages within the project.The aim of the master thesis is partly to investigate the issue of sustainability with continued GDP growth to determine whether a possible conflict between economic and ecological sustainability exists. The objective is also to simulate a neoclassical equilibrium model for the Swedish economy to study its responses for different growth scenarios (growth, zero growth and negative growth). The parameters GDP, consumption, investment, amount of capital and amount of hours worked are studied. The idea is that the identification of a possible conflict between ecological and economic sustainability, combined with the analysis of the equilibrium model can be used to determine how economic models that take into account both the ecological and the economic dimension of sustainability could be designed.Whether a conflict between the economical and the ecological dimensions of sustainability exists is investigated with the help of a literature review. Furthermore, the neoclassical equilibrium model is not developed from scratch. Instead an already finished equilibrium model of the Finnish economy is used, which is then developed after prerequisites in the Swedish data. The model is then simulated in the time period 1990-2035 with scenarios for growth, zero growth and negative growth. Furthermore, a scenario of zero growth in which working hours are gradually decreases is simulated.The literature review indicates that a potential conflict between the ecological and the economical dimension of sustainability exist. The simulations of the neoclassical equilibrium model provides reliable results for the parameters GDP, consumption and amount of hours worked. The model's major weakness, however, is investments that differs in comparison with the data, which is probably the reason that minor deviations also occurs for amount of capital.The equilibrium model and the literature review are then discussed and the conclusion is made that the biggest weakness of the neoclassical equilibrium model is that it does not take into account natural resources (including energy) as a production function nor how pollutants affect them. A proposal which in turn is drawn up based on the conclusions is to update economic models (e.g. the equilibrium model) to include natural resources as a production factor so that the models also take into account the ecological dimension of sustainability. The result of such a model could then be used to communicate an optimal level of GDP and create consensus among economists, environmental scientists and policy makers about how a potential conflict between economic and ecological sustainability can be managed.

<p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2007</p>

For decades the question regarding foreign aid’s effectiveness has been disputed. The ongoing debate concerning whether foreign aid yields or prevents economic growth has been discussed by different scholars, though with dissimilar outcomes. Foreign aid is often criticized for creating destruction rather than stimulating developing countries economic growth, though the fundamentals for aid is to create opportunities for developing countries to evolve and gain better socio-economic structures. Different forms of aid are supposed to create different outcomes, i.e. short- and medium-term aid ought to stimulate the country while long-term aid such as infrastructure and education should create growth for the recipient country. The problem of aid is mostly corruption, corrupted regimes hinders the natural development for aid that is to say it hampers the positive outcome aid can produce. So, does foreign aid have a positive impact on recipient countries growth? The aim of this study is to acknowledge the importance of foreign aid. In order to analyse whether foreign aid results in economic growth for developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, a crosssection regression analysis has been conducted. To sum up the results of this study foreign aid doesn’t have a significant effect on economic growth in the region Sub-Saharan Africa although other variables such as education and foreign direct investment has a significant effect on growth.

Föreliggande uppsats undersöker effekten av ojämlikhet i inkomstfördelning på ekonomisk tillväxt med hjälp av sekundär data på nationell nivå i de 34 OECD-länderna under tidsperioden 2000-2010. Effekten studeras i en multipel regressionsanalys där ojämlikhet i inkomstfördelning är en av de inkluderade förklarings-/kontrollvariablerna i en korrekt specificerad tvärsnitts-tillväxtmodell. Gini koefficienten är studiens huvudsakliga mått på ojämlikhet i inkomstfördelning; därtill analyseras även mått på ojämlikhet i botten- och toppändan av inkomstfördelningen. Resultatet från vår studie indikerar ett negativt och mestadels av tiden signifikant samband mellan ojämlikhet i inkomstfördelning och ekonomisk tillväxt mätt med Gini koefficienten. Vid en gemensam analys av samtliga ojämlikhetsmått kvarstår det negativa och signifikanta sambandet mätt med Gini koefficienten; vi finner dock att ojämlikhet i toppändan av inkomstfördelningen är positivt och signifikant associerad med den genomsnittliga tillväxttakten i real BNP per capita, medan ojämlikhet i bottenändan av inkomstfördelningen – om än positivt relaterad till följande års tillväxttakt per capita - tappar all sin signifikans.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to study the causal relationship between bank sector development and economic growth in four Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway). Method: Our thesis is based on a quantitative method. The study consists of a compilation and analysis of key financial indicators that represent economic growth and bank sector development. A Granger causality test has been conducted on the time series in order to measure the causal link between economic growth and bank sector development. Theoretical framework: The study is based on the theory of endogenous growth and the causal relationship between bank sector development and economic growth also known as the demand following and supply leading hypothesis.  Results: The results of the four countries are ambiguous. Except for Denmark, that follows the supply leading hypothesis, the remaining countries do not show a unanimous result.