Markets have an important role to play in advancing an improved understanding of international trading relationships. Two most important economic issues, which contribute to improved national welfare and ensure long-run competitive market equilibrium in international markets, are market integration and market efficiency. To provide softwood lumber markets related information to the policy makers, economic analyses relating market integration and market efficiency of the combined markets of Canada and the US have been conducted. The economic analyses include: (i) testing cointegration of prices among North American softwood lumber markets; (ii) identifying price leading markets in long-run price structure of these cointegrated markets; (iii) examining the degree of market integration among these markets; and (iv) testing the efficiency of spatial arbitrage among these markets. First, the price linkages in the North American softwood lumber markets have been explored over different trade regimes. The results indicate that market integration is affected by product aggregation of data. Further investigations of market integration are, therefore, limited to homogeneous softwood lumber product markets. Second, oligopsonistic pricing behavior of traders is identified as the possible reason for imperfect competition among Douglas Fir product markets, while imperfect competition among the markets of Spruce-Pine-Fir and Hem Fir products can not be explained by this behavior. Third, a comprehensive picture of the adherence to price parity is formulated by evaluating the magnitude and persistence of deviations from equilibrium relation of prices. It is found that large volumes of trade, product substitutability, lower prices, and certainty of trade are the factors which contribute to higher degree of market integration among North American softwood lumber product markets. Finally, the inter-temporal shifts in regime probabilities of competitive market equilibrium are assessed over different trade regimes. It is found that lower transaction costs, large volumes of trade, short distances between markets, and certainty of trade contribute to high market efficiency among softwood lumber product markets of North America.

The aim of this thesis is to analyze the probable effects of integration with European stock markets on stock market in Turkey as an acceding country. The required changes in Turkey&rsquo / s legal framework and economic effects on Turkish stock market have been examined by reference to the current legal framework of the EU and the measures that can be defined as reform within the dynamic integration process of the EU. It is determined that adopting the legal framework of the EU will have numerous effects on all the parties involved in the stock market, namely / stock exchange, financial intermediaries, firms and investors, leading to a pro-competitive environment, the end result of which is likely to be an increase in the share of the stock market in the national economy and a positive growth effect for the economy as a whole.

During the last two decades, the European Union (EU) has experienced closer market integration through the removal of trade barriers, the establishment of a single market, and the reduction of exchange rate volatility. In addition, there have been several structural reforms in product markets designed to increase competition, monitor cross-country price differences and increase transparency. One anticipated effect of market integration is price convergence, because of the reduced potential for price discrimination across the EU. This dissertation explores market integration and price convergence in the European pharmaceutical market, which is the fifth largest industry in the EU. Since 1985, many EU directives have been adopted to achieve a single EU-wide pharmaceutical market, with the aim of enhancing the quality of life for European citizens and the European pharmaceutical industry's competitiveness and research and development capability. Using annual 1994--2003 data from five EU countries on prices of drugs used to treat cardiovascular disease, this dissertation explains how the integration process has affected cross-country drug price dispersion in the EU. The results show strong evidence of price convergence in the pharmaceutical market, with long term price differences arising from country fixed effects.

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In this thesis we study three basic issues related to international black tea markets: Are black tea markets integrated? Where is the price of black tea discovered? Are there leaders and followers in black tea markets? We use two statistical techniques as engines of analysis. First, we use time series methods to capture regularities in time lags among price series. Second, we use directed acyclic graphs to discover how surprises (innovations) in prices from each market are communicated to other markets in contemporaneous time. Weekly time series data on black tea prices from seven markets around the world are studied using time series methods. The study follows two paths. We study these prices in a common currency, the US dollar. We also study prices in each country's local currency. Results from unit root tests suggest that prices from three Indian markets are not generated through random walk-like behavior. We conclude that the Indian markets are not weak form efficient. However, prices from all non-Indian markets cannot be distinguished from random walk-like behavior. These latter markets are weak form efficient. Further analysis on these latter markets is conducted to determine whether information among the markets is shared. Vector Autoregressions (VARs) on the non-Indian markets are studied using directed acyclic graphs, impulse response functions and forecast error decomposition analyses. In both local currencies and dollar-converted series, the Sri Lankan and Indonesian markets are price leaders in contemporaneous time. Kenya is an information sink. It is endogenous in current time. Malawi is an exogenous price leader in dollar terms, but it is endogenous in local currency in contemporaneous time. In the long run, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malawi are price leaders in US dollar terms. In local currency series, Indonesia, Kenya and Malawi are price leaders in the long run. We use Theil's U-statistic to test the forecasting ability of the VAR models. We find for most markets in either dollars or on local currencies that a random walk forecast outperforms the VAR generated forecasts. This last result suggests the non-Indian markets are both weak form and semi-strong form efficient.

Labor market projections indicate a shortage of health care workers across Canada and around the world. The shortage of healthcare workers is more acute in developing nations, which grapple with weak health systems unable to address high disease burdens. This situation is made worse by the movement of health personnel in search of a better standard of living, access to advanced technology and more stable political conditions in developed countries such as Canada - a process known as ‘brain drain’. Brain drain has been described as ‘a perverse subsidy’ by scholars and identified as disconcerting by the World Health Organization, which calls for the ethical recruitment of internationally educated health professionals. Significant research on the migration and recertification experiences of internationally trained physicians and nurses exists but very little has been written on internationally educated midwives (IEMs). This study uses a social equity framework and insights from Foucauldian and post-colonial feminist research to explore practices of assessment and bridging programs for IEMs; the factors that impede IEM recertification; and the ways Canadian midwifery stakeholders mitigate international migration (brain drain) and poor labor integration (brain waste) of IEMs. Data collection was primarily through key informant interviews and document analysis. The study data - gathered and analyzed in 2011/12 – is reflective of the situation of midwifery during that period. Findings from the study indicate several inequities in the recertification process of IEMs, primarily in the application process to assessment and bridging programs and in financial and geographical constraints. The study also suggests a lack of discernment by midwifery stakeholders between active and passive recruitment, and tacit support of the passive recruitment of IEMs. Questions are also raised regarding the inclusivity of the Canadian midwifery model of practice and illustrate that further research is needed.

This thesis examines some of the economic effects associated with the elimination of single desk marketing on Canadian feed barley exports. It focuses on the interactions between Canadian and US spot feed barley markets in transition after this policy change in Canada. A brief introduction about world and regional barley markets is provided. The role of the CWB single desk and its role in Canadian barley marketing are discussed to motivate analysis about the effects of its absence. This study postulates there should be no significant change in Canada–US regional feed barley markets, based on conclusions from previous studies. This postulate is broken down into three testable hypotheses under the framework of spatial price analysis. With respect to the Canada–US regional feed barley market as single desk marketing was eliminated in Canada; (1) There should not be a significant structural break in the feed barley prices; (2) There should not be a significant change in market integration; (3) There should not be a significant change in the direction of price transmission. To test these hypotheses, the study employs econometric tests on Canadian and US prices spot prices for substitutable feed barley. The hypotheses are tested using a structural break test, a cointegration test, a Granger causality test, and associated impulse response functions. Since structural break tests do not find significant breakpoints in the data, the first hypothesis cannot be rejected. Next, the sample is split into two subsamples at the date when single desk was eliminated. An Engle-Granger procedure and the Johansen procedure are used to test cointegrating relationships between the variables. The results do not allow us to reject the second hypothesis of no significant change in market integration. In contrast, the third hypothesis is rejected, as a significant change is uncovered using the Granger causality test. Simulated impulse responses are also consistent with this finding.

The objective of the study is to analyze the effects of two breakpoints on the relationships of Istanbul Stock Exchange with the European stock markets and on the relationships among these European stock markets to increase the economic integration. The breakpoints are the execution of the Customs Union Agreement of Turkey with the European Union in 1/1/1996 and the introduction of the Euro in 1/1/1999. While both breakpoints have effects on Turkey&rsquo / s economic relations, the European Union countries are expected to be influenced by only the introduction of the Euro. Stock market indices provided by DataStream is utilized. The statistical techniques used include the correlation and cointegration analysis. Results indicate that when examined on pair wise basis Turkish stock market has more liaisons with the European stock markets, in general, after the Customs Union / but less liaisons after the conversion to Euro. However, when examined as a group, the cointegration result finds the Euro as influential as the Customs Union. Alternatively, the European stock markets have decreasing integrations as a result of correlation analysis after the Euro, but it is an influential breakpoint according to cointegrating structures.

Quando dois ou mais mercados, anteriormente separados, começam a apresentar certa convergência de preços, diz-se que eles estão integrados. Geralmente, os pesquisadores têm objetivado o estudo da integração entre mercados externos e internos (integração espacial) ou entre os diferentes elos de uma cadeia produtiva (integração vertical), mas de um único produto. Após uma importante mudança na tecnologia, concretizada através do lançamento dos motores flex-fuel no Brasil, a presente pesquisa teve por desafio analisar a existência de integração entre os mercados da gasolina e do etanol, dita como "integração de mercados por substituição". Para tal fim, e depois de filtradas as séries de preços mediante os testes de estacionariedade (Dickey-Fuller Aumentado e Phillips-Perron), foi feito uso de modelos de transmissão de preços, mais especificamente os testes de Cointegração, o do Mecanismo de Correção de Erro (MCE) e o da Causalidade. No período em análise (de março de 2003 até julho de 2008), foi constatada a presença de cointegração entre os dois mercados. Também foi observado que um incremento de 1% no preço da gasolina é responsável por um incremento de 2,74% no preço do etanol. Ainda que tenha sido pequeno o parâmetro do Mecanismo de Correção de Erro obtido, ele indica que é possível relacionar o comportamento de curto com o de longo prazo, nas séries analisadas. Dos resultados obtidos, pode-se concluir que os mercados do etanol e da gasolina estão integrados a longo prazo, onde variações no preço da gasolina causam variações no do etanol (GRANGER, 1969). / When two or more markets, previously separated, start showing a price convergence, it is possible to say that they are integrated. Usually, the researchers have focused the integration study between external and internal market (spatial integration) or between the different links of a productive chain (vertical integration), but just of an unique product. After an important technological change, materialized in the releasing of flex-fuel motors in Brazil, this work had as a challenge analyze the existence of the integration between the gasoline and ethanol markets, referred as "integration of substitution markets". Therefore, after filtering the prices series through stationary tests (Augmented Dickey-Fuller and Phillips-Perron), it was made the use of price transmission models, specifically the cointegration tests, and the Error Correction Mechanism (ECM) and the causality. In the analyzed period (from March 2003 to July 2008), it was verified the existence of cointegration between the two markets. Also it was observed that an increase of 1% in the gasoline price is responsible for the increase in 2.74% of the ethanol price. Although it was small the parameter of the correction mechanism in the obtained error, it points out that is possible to relate the behavior in the short and long term, in the analyzed series. Taking in consideration the obtained results, we arrived to the conclusion that the ethanol and gasoline markets are integrated in the long term, where variations in the gasoline price cause variations in the ethanol market.

Market integration is a frequently discussed topic. This study presents an econometric analysis of the interlinkages between the Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish coniferous roundwood assortment markets by conducting the Johansen’s co-integration test. It also investigates the directional causality between markets concluded integrated. The data utilised consists of quarterly, nominal prices for pine, and spruce saw logs and pulpwood for each country. Because of issues regarding stationary price series, the co-integration test could only be tested on five markets; Swedish and Norwegian pine saw logs and Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish spruce pulpwood. Swedish and Norwegian pine saw log prices were found integrated according to the Johansen’s test, but no relationship was found when performing the Granger causality test, implying that the underlying assumption of non-stationary prices may not have been fulfilled. No linkages were found concerning the spruce pulpwood markets; neither for all three countries nor bi-variate.