This paper examines the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis and tests for causality using Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) and the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). There is evidence of long-run relationships in the three models under consideration. The Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) finds no evidence to support the existence of an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis for Zambia in the long-run. The evidence from the long-run suggests an opposite of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), in that the results indicate a U-shaped curve relationship between income and carbon emission. The conclusion on causality based on the VECM is that there is evidence of neutrality hypothesis between either total electricity and income or between industrial electricity and income in the short-run Additionally, there is evidence of conservation hypothesis in the context of residential and agricultural electricity consumption.

Using data from government sources (FRED, BEA, BLS), the thesis explores the underlying reasons for declining U.S. economic growth. A long standing trend of annual 3% growth no longer seems to hold true for the economy. The paper summarizes current theory as to why the growth has slowed and finds new explanations by analyzing the various major industries which make up GDP. The results show that sectoral shifts in employment from high paying industries to low paying industries help to explain a significant portion of the decline in national growth rates. The decline in growth is primarily driven by about ten poor performing states.

This study was issued by Swedbank because they wanted too improve their GDP growth forecast capabilites.  A program was developed and tested on six countries; USA, Sweden, Germany, UK, Brazil and Norway. In this paper I investigate if I can reduce forecasting error for GDP growth by taking a smart average from a variety of models compared to both the best individual models and a random walk. I combine the forecasts from four model groups: Vector autoregression, principal component analysis, machine learning and random walk. The smart average is given by a system that give more weight to the predictions of models with a lower historical error. Different weighting schemas are explored; how far into the past should we look? How much should bad performance be punished? I show that for the six countries studied the smart average outperforms the single best model and that for five out of six countries it beats a random walk by at least 25%. / Den här studien beställdes av Swedbank eftersom de ville förbättra sin BNP-prediktionsförmåga. Ett dataprogram utvecklades och testades på sex länder; USA, Sverige, Tyskland, Storbritannien, Brasilien och Norge. I den här rapporten undersöker jag om jag kan minska felmarginalen för BNP-utvecklingsprognoser genom att ta ett smart genomsnitt från flera olika modeller jämfört med både den bästa individuella modellen och en random walk. Jag kombinerar prognoser från fyra modellgrupper: Vektor autoregression, principalkomponentanalys, maskininlärning och random walk. Det smarta genomsnittet skapas genom att ge mer vikt till de modeller som har lägst historiskt felmarginal. Olika viktningsscheman utforskas; hur långt bak i tiden ska vi mäta? Hur hårt ska dåliga prediktioner bestraffas? Jag visar att för de sex länderna i studien presterar det smarta genomsnittet bättre än den enskilt bästa modellen och fem av de sex länderna slår en random walk med mer än 25%.

This thesis focuses on the relationship between crime and education, as well as macroeconomic and demographic factors such as police efficiency, GDP per capita, employment rate, population density, age and sexual composition of the society. We use the data of fourteen regions of the Czech Republic from 2000 to 2012. First, we apply the fixed-effect model in the data analysis, and further we use GMM for the estimation of new dynamic panel dataset. In addition, taking the possible time effects into account, we also add the time dummies in both regression models. Our finding finds the unexpectedly positive effects of secondary education with A-level exam, GDP per capita and the proportion of population aged 30-59 years old on most of criminal offences. On the other hand, the male ratio in population and the clearance rate are found to influence crimes negatively. Higher education and employment rate are also found to be related negatively with economic crimes. JEL Classification A14, E69, I21, I23, I25, I29, J19, R19 Keywords education, crime, employment, GDP, gender ratio, age, the Czech Republic, panel data, fixed-effect, GMM Author's e-mail cindy1114@livemail.tw Supervisor's e-mail brizova.ies@seznam.cz

Nous avons récemment mis en évidence des neurones GABAergiques jouant un rôle de « hub » dans l'hippocampe immature, orchestrant la synchronisation neuronale via une arborisation axonale dense. Dans ma thèse, j'ai d'abord montré, grâce à des enregistrements électrophysiologiques par paires, que les hubs étaient connectés à de nombreux neurones par des synapses GABAergiques fonctionnelles (Bonifazi et al. 2009). Puis, en utilisant des souris mutantes conditionnelles où les neurones sont marqués en fonction de leur origine embryonnaire, j'ai démontré que les neurones GABAergiques générés le plus tôt formaient une famille de hubs. Ces neurones sont toujours présents chez l'adulte et deviennent des neurones GABAergiques de projection extrahippocampique. Ceci suggère que la fonction de ces neurones serait maintenue, du moins anatomiquement, au stade adulte. / We have recently demonstrated the existence of functional hubs driving network synchronizations in the developing hippocampus. Hubs are a subpopulation of GABAergic neurons displaying widespread axonal projections. During my PhD, using paired electrophysiological recordings, I have shown that hub cells are synaptically connected to a large number of neurons (Bonifazi et al. 2009). Next, using genetic fate mapping approaches, I have demonstrated that early born GABAergic neurons constitute a subpopulation of hub cells. These pioneer hub cells remain into adulthood and develop into GABAergic neurons with an extrahippocampal projection (Picardo et al. 2011). This suggests that hub function may to retained into adulthood, at least structurally.

The thesis analyzes the determinants of pharmaceutical expenditures on cardiovascular diseases with particular focus on Central Europe. We show how the pharmaceutical expenditure varies across the countries. We try to empirically verify that factors such as age, GDP, total health expenditure, education and prevalence of a particular disease cause the variation. Applying the fixed effect model on selected countries in the period 2000-2009, we find that the increase in pharmaceutical expenditures on cardiovascular diseases is explained mainly by aging population and prevalence of the diseases. Additionally, countries with higher GDP tend to also have somewhat higher pharmaceutical expenditures on cardiovascular diseases. Key words Pharmaceutical expenditures, cardiovascular diseases, GDP, health expenditure, fixed effect model, prevalence of a disease, aging of population.

The International Monetary Fund was created to promote financial stability, global monetary cooperation, high employment, international trade and sustainable economic growth. Together with the World Bank, IMF has a "monopoly" on offering loan programs for countries in deep crises or for development projects. In this thesis, we examine the effect of IMF, i.e. loan size and quotas, on the economic growth and inflation rate, by applying a dynamic panel regression on our dataset. In addition, we look at how the IMF Quotas influence the size of the loans. Our empirical results display significant evidence that IMF loans influence the GDP growth in a positive manner, in the medium term. Both Control of Corruption and Voice & Accountability have a negative influence on the economic growth. In other words, less corruption and stronger civil rights will halt the growth level of the economy. We also determined that IMF Quotas is not a robust indicator of the loan size. It is only driven by the past loan levels. Regarding Inflation determinants, IMF loans are not affecting the Inflation in a significant manner, while FDI and Control of Corruption - do. FDI exercises a positive influence on the CPI, while perception of less corruption has a negative effect on Inflation rate. JEL Classification D73, E31, F12,...

This master thesis analyses the impact of the euro on the German economy. The research is conducted through the examination of German export, GDP level, and labor market. It is also supplemented with the evaluation of the past, current and future stages of the Eurozone. The thesis provides a detailed theoretical background, which explains the motivation for the creation of a common currency. As a tool to prove the validity of my hypotheses I use the synthetic control method, where I model a hypothetical case, in which Germany did not adopt the euro. The validity of my results will be tested by using the confidence intervals and comparing the RMSPE ratio. By using this unique approach, I aim to contribute to the series of academic papers about the validity of the euro. In my research I have come to the conclusion, that the euro has positively influenced Germany's economy.

Au cours de ces trois dernières décennies l’économie chinoise a multiplié son PIB par 15. Pour soutenir une forte croissance interne et assurer ses approvisionnements en matière première et énergétique, la Chine s’est tournée vers l’Afrique en y augmentant rapidement et fortement ses investissements directs étrangers lors des dix dernières années. Deuxième partenaire commercial africain, investisseur stratégique, allié au développement et pourvoyeur financier, ce pays bouleverse les rapports de force qui s’étaient instaurés depuis les indépendances sur le continent. L’objet de ce travail est d’évaluer l’impact des IDE chinois sur le taux de croissance de 38 pays africains partenaire de la Chine entre 2003 et 2011. Nous avons articulé notre réflexion sur la question suivante : la coopération sino-africaine permet-elle aux pays africains de lutter contre la pauvreté, le chômage dans leur pays et surtout d’entamer un véritable processus de développement économique ? Pour répondre, nous avons analysé le mode de croissance chinois, les fondements de la politique africaine de la Chine, les raisons qui poussent les entreprises chinoises à aller investir en Afrique, les impacts politiques et économiques de la Chine en Afrique et enfin nous avons réalisé une étude empirique mesurant les effets des IDE chinois en Afrique. Nos résultats économétriques montrent que les IDE chinois n’ont pas d’effet significatif sur le PIB par tête de ces 38 pays africains, notamment à cause de la politique des entreprises chinoises en Afrique qui encourage les investissements dans les secteurs qui créent moins d’emploi local et qui ne permettent pas de vrai transfert de technologie. / For the last three decades, the Chinese economy has multiplied it GDP by 15. In order to maintain a strong home economical growth and insure a constant supply of raw material and energy, China turned towards the African continent by quickly and firmly multiplying its foreign direct investments during the last ten years. By becoming the second largest business partner of Africa, as well as a strategic investor, a financial supplier and associated for the development; China has now overturned the balance of powers which had been established since the decolonization of Africa. The purpose of this study is to estimate the impact of the Chinese FDI on the growth rate of 38 African countries between 2003 and 2011. We have centred our reflection on the following questions: What are the impacts of the economical cooperation between China and African countries on poverty, unemployment and; does this cooperation encourage the possibility to start a real process of economic development in Africa? In order to come to a conclusion on this matter, we have analyzed the way through which China achieves economical growth, the foundations of China’s African Policy, as well as the reasons for Chinese companies to invest in Africa and the political and economical impacts of China’s Policy in Africa. Finally, we led an empirical study measuring the effects of the Chinese FDI in Africa. Thanks to our econometric study, we came to the conclusion that the Chinese FDI has no significant effect on the GDP per capita of these 38 African countries. Because they are invested in sectors which end up creating less local employments and which, eventually do not allow a real transfer of technologies …

Food insecurity is a condition of insufficient access to quality nutritious food; it is often rooted in shocks that interrupt the food production/distribution system in an area. Amidst the capabilities of Nigeria's agricultural system, the number of households across Nigeria experiencing food shortages has increased rapidly. The main reason for this increase were price shocks. This incident highlighted a huge vulnerability in Nigeria's food system, the vulnerability to price shocks. Incidences such as poverty and conflicts magnify the frequency of food insecurity. The ability to reduce vulnerabilities while addressing existing issues in food production and supply depends on a stable economy and innovative policy. As a major oil exporter, Nigeria's economy is affected by oil price fluctuations. This paper analyses the extent of the effect and how such volatility could increase vulnerability in the food system. The analysis in this treatise examines economic and agricultural factors to identify trends that negatively affect Nigeria's current food system.. Oil prices were significant in explaining variation in food price shocks and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Food price shocks are one of the symptoms of economic downturns. Agricultural innovation, and economic policies need to be formulated to prevent such shocks in the future. Given the dependency of economic performance on oil prices, a major move would be to diversify the Nigerian economy; with adequate attention being paid to agriculture.