The main objective of this study is to evaluate the economic potential and opportunities for introducing Genetically Modified (GM) cassava that is Cassava Mosaic Virus (CMV) resistant and has improved starch properties in South Africa. The level of cassava production in South Africa is limited and thus a study on a new technology for this crop may seem strange. However, with innovations like the CMV resistance trait or amylose free cassava starch, cassava production in South Africa can possibly become more viable and relatively more profitable than competing crops such as maize and potatoes. Various ex ante economic methods and approaches to assessing economic impacts exist in the subject literature: the partial budget approach, cost benefit analysis, consumer and producer or economic surplus approach and the computable general equilibrium (CGE) or simulation model. For the purpose of this study and due to available data, a simple gross margin analysis was applied to analyse the economic profitability of genetically modified cassava in South Africa in comparison to maize and potato. Due to data limitations, this study relies on a synthesis between secondary information from various studies in other African countries and interviews with experts. The information collected was used to assess the potential for genetically modified cassava in South Africa. Secondary information and interviews with experts were used to provide more insights and information relating to the possible opportunities, constraints, performance of the genetically modified events, and production practices for cassava and other competing crops like maize and potato in the country. The gross margin analysis results show that cassava production is not profitable at farm level for both dryland and irrigation scenarios. However, processing cassava into starch results in higher returns from the higher starch output and quality compared to potato and maize. The starch from cassava has many industrial applications. The scenario analysis for GM cassava and infected cassava at 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% expected yield loss showed that the CMV resistant and amylose free GM cassava provides additional benefits due to its better quality and higher starch yields compared to infected varieties. The higher quality starch yields a higher profit making it even more profitable to produce cassava for starch. The results of interviews with subject experts show that cassava production and utilisation has lagged behind other crops in South Africa and the crop is sparingly and informally traded. An analysis of market constraints showed that there is a strong consumer taste preference for maize and other cereals dominating the starch market. Other factors that have contributed to the lagging behind of cassava in South Africa and other African countries are the post colonial government policies that favoured maize over cassava. Cassava has a number of important traits that present a competitive advantage for cassava as a commercial crop for farmers compared to other crops such as maize and potato. For example, cassava can be grown under difficult environmental conditions and has a wide range of applications ranging from food products to industrial starches. Cassava can be grown as a monoculture crop, unlike maize and potato which require rotation. In addition, the special characteristics of cassava starch present an important alternative to maize, wheat, rice and potato. Cassava flour and starch have unique properties which make them ideal for many applications in the food, textile and paper industries where flour and starch from other crops hold a quasi monopoly. For example, among starch producing plants, cassava has been considered as the highest yield producer (25 to 40 percent higher than potato, rice and maize) and as the most efficient (the highest) converter of solar energy to carbohydrate per unit area. However, despite these advantages, cassava has remained a neglected crop in South African agricultural research and development activities compared to cereals. However, the increasing demand for starch based applications in the food industry and industrial sector and the fact that the industry is searching for a cheaper substitute for cereals present an impressive market growth potential for cassava starch. For example, industries including the paper industry, food industry and textile industry are the main buyers of cassava starch in South Africa. The results from interview discussions show that there are some concerns and questions related to the introduction of GM cassava in South Africa. One of the main concerns was that empirical studies in South Africa have shown that the occurrence of cassava mosaic virus in the country is very low; it has an approximate 2 percent incidence rate. As a result, large scale producers have been able to control CMV through good management practices, natural selection and chemical control. Also, bureaucracy and lack of transparency in the South African genetically modified organism (GMO) regulatory system, especially regarding socio-economic issues consumer perception on GM cassava, may result in an extended delay before contained field trials are conducted in the country. It has also become clear that the two proposed GM events are still relatively far from being commercialisable. Furthermore, the current availability of mutant varieties of conventional cassava varieties that can produce better quality starch with a very low amylose content provide an important alternative to GM cassava. The utilisation of the former tends to be less time consuming and less expensive compared to GM cassava. It is difficult to perform a socio-economic assessment before confined laboratory tests or field trials have been conducted. Further development of the potential product would supply crucial information that is needed for an ex ante socio-economic study. It is clear that this study was conducted far too early as GM technologies are not yet remotely close to being ready for commercialisation. Many basic studies still need to be conducted, including field trials. The South African GMO Act and regulations do not clearly stipulate when a socio-economic study should be conducted, but it is clear that the worth of a study conducted before any confined field trials had been performed would be questionable. Copyright / Dissertation (MScAgric)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Purpose - this study is aimed at to investigating the effects exchange rate and other variables on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows have on the Namibian economy. Methodology -The model comprises of the unit root test, the co-integration test, the long run equation co-efficient, an error correction model, the normality test and the stability test, were employed to estimate and interpret the results. Finding and recommendations - The results of the study have revealed that a relationship exists between exchange rate and FDI. However, this relationship is said to be statistically insignificant. It cannot therefore be used as a tool to influence FDI in Namibia. The results further indicated that GDP and trade openness were the most significant determinants of FDI in Namibia. The recommendations of this study thus suggest that the government should implement policies to diversify its production across all sectors and increase the manufacturing of finished goods, so as to enhance the GDP growth. Namibia should further advance its trade open through in-creased and fast-tracked trade agreements at both bilateral and multilateral levels.

Empirical evidence and theoretical propositions suggest that financial development is strongly correlated to private investment because financial development positively affects investments by affecting capital accumulation, altering savings rate or by channelizing savings to various capital producing technologies. This study empirically investigated the impact of financial development on private investment in South Africa using quarterly data for the period 1994/01 to 2011/04. This study assess whether the theoretical and empirical propositions can be supported in South Africa. Cointegration tests using the Johansen approach (1988) were conducted to examine if there is a stable relationship in the level of private investment and financial development in South Africa. As a proxy for financial sector development, credit to private sector as per cent of GDP and stock market development were employed. Other variables that affect investment such as real interest rates and real GDP were also included in the model. Results of the study indicate that stock market development and real GDP have a positive relationship with private investment. Bank credit to the private sector however showed a negative relationship with private investment. A negative relationship was also noted for the relationship between private investment and real interest rates.

This thesis is devoted to the study of excitations in atomic and polariton Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC). These two specimens are prime examples for equilibrium and non equilibrium BEC. The corresponding condensate wave function of each system satisfies a particular partial differential equation (PDE). These PDEs are discussed in the beginning of this thesis and justified in the context of the quantum many-body problem. For high occupation numbers and when neglecting quantum fluctuations the quantum field operator simplifies to a semiclassical wave. It turns out that the interparticle interactions can be simplified to a single parameter, the scattering length, which gives rise to an effective potential and introduces a nonlinearity to the PDE. In both cases, i.e. equilibrium and non equilibrium, the main model corresponding to the semiclassical wave is the Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE), which includes certain mathematical adaptions depending on the physical context of the consideration and the nature of particles/quasiparticles, such as additional complex pumping and growth terms or terms due to motion. In the course of this work I apply a variety of state-of-the-art analytical and numerical tools to gain information about these semiclassical waves. The analytical tools allow e.g. to determine the position of the maximum density of the condensate wave function or to find the critical velocities at which excitations are expected to be generated within the condensate. In addition to analytical considerations I approximate the GPE numerically. This allows to gain the condensate wave function explicitly and is often a convenient tool to study the emergence of excitations in BEC. It is in particular shown that the form of the possible excitations significantly depends on the dimensionality of the considered system. The generated excitations within the BEC include quantum vortices, quantum vortex rings or solitons. In addition multicomponent systems are considered, which enable more complex dynamical scenarios. Under certain conditions imposed on the condensate one obtains dark-bright soliton trains within the condensate wave function. This is shown numerically and analytical expressions are found as well. In the end of this thesis I present results as part of an collaborative effort with a group of experimenters. Here it is shown that the wave function due to a complex GPE fits well with experiments made on polariton condensates, statically and dynamically.

The goal of this essay is analysis of important indicators which will be subject of comparation,their values reflects in competitiveness. This essay contents too recommendation for economic policy for future.Essay is separated to seven chapters.The first discuss about characteristics of comparative economic areas, the second one describes gross domestic product, mainly progress and structure.The third charapter analyses prices from comparative price level, rate of inflation to individual items of consumer price index. The fourth chapter refers to general government financial balance, reflection in government liabilities, changes in interest rates and government interventions in social transfers or subsidies.The fifth chapter deals with current account per GDP and nominal exchange rate. The sixth chapter judges unemployment rate and labour productivity of economic sectors. The last chapter includes ratings of economics by additional indicators like Human Development Index or Corruption Perceptions Index.

This diploma thesis is concerned with the analysis of economic growth in the Czech Republic since its origin in 1993 till 2009, aimed at the determination of strengths and weaknesses of the economic growth. According to the findings, the diploma thesis will afford several recommendations for the economic policy. The diploma thesis is divided into the theoretical and analytical part. The theory brings some economist's view of the economic growth questions. It mentions the transformation period of the Czechoslovakia centrally planned economy into the market economy. The analysis sets up the data in order to determine the Czech economic growth strengths and weaknesses with the help of demand, supply and resource analysis, the prognosis made by significant institutions and the international comparison for which the Slovak and European Union economics are used. At the end of the diploma thesis there are these findings used to conceive the economic policies arrangements.

Being a small landlocked country located in Eastern Himalaya ranges, makes it difficult for Bhutan to secure and sustain its national food security. Thus, Bhutan highly depends on the import of food from neighboring countries. This paper aims to improve the food security in Bhutan by giving a specific focus on the egg value-chain which starts from the import of parent stocks until the consumption within the country. Methods to identify potential constraints within the value-chain and provision of possible solutions used in this paper are a combination of literature reviews, qualitative studies (interview), and personal experience/communication of the author, who had been working with the Department of Livestock in Bhutan. The results of the study indicate that animal welfare, basic farm management, and consumer education are the top three areas that all stakeholders, especially government agents, should work with interdisciplinary in order to strengthen the overall value-chain. Challenges and room for improvement in animal welfare can be found from the beginning of the value-chain, the transporting of layer Day Old Chicks (DOCs). Lack of knowledge and skills for basic farm management which includes farm data recording, egg grading, and egg labeling, are issues found in the middle of the value-chain. Lastly, in the very end of the value-chain, more education should be given to consumers regarding the health benefits and nutritional value of eggs as to alleviate the problem of low egg consumption per capita relative to other developed nations. Possible solutions provided in this paper on animal welfare standard are suggested by the international projects and organizations namely, European Animal Welfare Platform and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. For basic farm management, the government should be the one who encourages and provides skills using effective communication tools as well as law enforcement in order to improve the egg quality. At the same time, consumers should be stimulated to demand higher quality as this will be a driving force for future improvement and create higher liquidity in the market.

The aim of this diploma thesis is comparison and analysis of chosen macroeconomic indicators of the Czech republic and Japan and illustration of the difference between them before and after the 2008 world economic crisis. This text deals especially with gross domestic product and development of the economic growth. Next, the thesis deals with international trade which means comparison of export and import of various products. The last part describes the difference in development of unemployment in the Czech republic and Japan.

This thesis evaluates the convergence within the European Union, focusing on the old Member States compared to the new ones. The theoretical part deals with the background of convergence and other theories explaining economic growth. The following section assesses the macroeconomic indicators work within the community and an important determinant of economic performance of individual countries, as measured by GDP per capita in purchasing power parity, and the HDI index. The analytical part of the thesis examines the conditional convergence or divergence of each block based on the method Barone Sala i Martin, using regression analysis. This work also examines the coefficient of variation, sigma and beta convergence of the various blocks. Finally, evaluate the level and rate of convergence of the Czech and Slovak Republic at NUTS level 3

The aim of the thesis is to analyze effectiveness of training programs in the Moravian-Silesian Region during the years 2007-2011. Targeting analysis showed that targeting at disadvantaged groups was unsatisfactory. The only exceptions among disadvantaged groups were groups of graduates and job seekers registered for 12-24 months. The values of total gross effects are only slightly lower than values reported for the Czech Republic and are around 62 %. Lower gross effects were found for disadvantaged groups. Inversely proportional relationship between the length of previous evidence and the value of the gross effect was proved. The worst results were found in the group of job seekers registered more than 24 months which approached 30 % at the end of the period. The thesis concludes that training programs seem to be efficient labor policy measure but recommends improving targeting at disadvantaged groups. It further recommends to monitoring the length of employment after training course, the connection between the job and training course and the return to the evidence that would help to optimize the supply of courses and also using the net effect analysis which overcomes limits of analysis chosen in the thesis.