This paper examines the effect of governance on inequality, specifically if improvements in the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators affect inequality as measured by two Gini coefficients: Market Gini, before taxes and redistribution, and Net Gini, after taxes and redistribution. The data for the Gini measurements was taken from the Standardized World Income Inequality Database (SWIID) and the data for the Worldwide Governance Indicators was taken from the World Bank. Data for fifteen (15) years, from the start of the Worldwide Governance Indicators until 2013, was combined with data from SWIID for the same years. In all, data from one hundred fifty-six (156) countries with a full set of six (6) indicators for the years that had at least one corresponding Gini measurements were used in this study: in total one thousand seven hundred and forty-seven (1747) observations. In a pooled OLS regression, controlling for growth with the variable GDP per Capita expressed as a per cent (%) change on an annual basis, the individual indicators gave the following results, where a positive sign indicates increased inequality and vice versa: Control of Corruption and Regulatory Quality showed a positive sign for both Gini measurements. Rule of Law, Government Effectiveness, Political Stability and the Absence of Violence/Terrorism, gave a negative sign for both Gini measurements. Voice and Accountability showed a positive sign for Market Gini and a negative sign for Net Gini. The fact that an improvement in Control of Corruption increased inequality both before and after taxes and redistribution was unexpected and should be further researched.

The thesis provides a comparative estimation of the electoral cycles' influence on the monetary policies among a group of developed and developing countries. We use a non-linear central bank's reaction function which captures the regime switching behavior of the monetary authority depending on the proximity of elections. Moreover, we compare the reaction function with partial adjustment, which controls for policy inertia, with a non-inertial policy rule with serially correlated errors which takes into account other shocks determining the central bank to deviate from its policy rule. The estimation was performed via OLS, 2SLS and 3SLS, the preference being given to the last one due to correction of endogeneity problem and efficiency gains. Robust evidence about election induced monetary policies was found in 2 out of 10 developed economies and 4 out of 10 developing economies. In these countries, the central banks tend to be less inflation averse and/or less counter-cyclical (or even pro- cyclical) during electoral periods in comparison with normal times. Additionally, we find that the legislative framework, in these countries, incorporates significant deviations from the best practices of central bank independence. Finally, following the dynamic inconsistency problem, we document a strong...

My thesis examines nonlinearity between catch and effort. I use a meta-analysis of published literature and generalized linear mixed-effects models (GLMM) on both fixed and mobile gear fisheries of Atlantic Canada. The meta-analysis examines the proportionality of catch to effort using the slope of the reduced major axis (RMA) log-log regression, which accounts for “errors-in-variables”. The GLMMs explored proportionality while accounting for variation among fishing vessels. Both analyses found evidence for disproportionality between catch and effort. Catch that increases disproportionally to effort could result from either facilitation or recruitment of effort into the fishery. Catch increases that are less than proportional are expected from competitive interactions among fishers or gear saturation. The GLMM also revealed that the level of aggregation (by set, trip, monthly, or annually) can affect the apparent proportionality between catch and effort. In general, catch and effort should not be considered to be proportional. / May 2016

The main purpose of this degree project is to reveal the Airbnb customer’s preferences and quantify the impact of non-market factors on the market price of tourist accommodation in Berlin, Germany. The data retrieved from Airbnb listings, publicly available on Inside Airbnb (2017), was supplemented on indicator of sharing economy accommodation using machine learning method in order to distinguish between amateur and business-running professional hosts. The main aim is to examine the consumers’ preferences and quantify the marginal effect of "real sharing economy" accommodation and other key variables on market price. This is accomplished by model approach using hedonic pricing method, which is used to estimate the economic value of particular attribute. Surprisingly, our data indicates the negative impact of sharing economy indicator on price. The set of motivations of consumers, which determine their valuation of Airbnb listings, was identified. The trade-off between encompass and parsimony of the set was desired in order to build an effective model. Calculation of proportion of explained variance showed that the price is affected mainly by number of accommodated persons, degree of privacy, number of bedrooms, cancellation policy, distance from the city centre and sharing economy indicator in decreasing order.

Este estudo têm como objetivo identificar qual o comportamento de empresas brasileiras de capital aberto com relação à aplicação dos recursos financeiros de seus fluxos de caixa (recursos internos) em investimentos e não investimentos (em fins que não se configuram como um projeto real de investimento) no curto e longo prazo e mostrar como essa questão está relacionado com o grau de restrições financeiras enfrentado pelas empresas. Para alcançar esse objetivo foram estimadas quatro regressões pelo método OLS (Ordinary Least Square / Mínimos Quadrados Ordinários), cada uma delas com uma das variáveis resposta correspondentes aos principais usos de caixa, ou seja, retenção de caixa, investimentos, dividendos e redução do financiamento externo e com as variáveis explicativas dadas pelo fluxo de caixa nos períodos t, t-1 e t-2 e algumas variáveis de controle específicas da firma. Os resultados sugerem que empresas brasileiras restritas e irrestritas se comportam de forma diferente ao receberem um choque positivo em seus fluxos de caixa e que o comportamento das mesmas também difere no curto e no longo prazo. Empresas restritas e irrestritas ao receberem um choque positivo em seus fluxos de caixa, retêm caixa no período contemporâneo e alocam tais recursos intertemporalmente. Empresas restritas investem mais no curto prazo enquanto as irrestritas investem mais no longo prazo. No curto prazo, empresas irrestritas distribuem mais dividendos do que empresas irrestritas e no longo prazo, os coeficientes dos fluxos de caixa não são significativos para nenhum dos grupos. No curto prazo empresas irrestritas reduzem o financiamento externo, enquanto empresas restritas levantam mais financiamentos externos e no longo prazo, esse comportamento se inverte. Dessa forma, fica clara a importância de se considerar o longo prazo bem como as restrições financeiras enfrentadas pelas empresas. / This study aim to identify what is the behaviour of Brazilian public companies regarding the use of financial resources of cash flows (internal resources) in investments and not investments (for purposes that are not configured as a real investment project) in the short and long term and show how this is related to the degree of financial constraints faced by firms. To achieve this aim, four regressions were estimated by OLS ( Ordinary Least Square), each with one of the response variables corresponding to the main uses of cash, ie , cash holding, investments, dividends and external finance reduction and the explanatory variables given by the cash flow in periods t , t - 1 and t - 2 and some control variables specific of the firm. The results suggest that restricted and unrestricted Brazilian companies behave differently when they receive a positive shock on cash flows and their behavior also differs in the short and long term. When constrained and unconstrained firms receive a positive impact on cash flows, they retain cash in the contemporary period and intertemporally allocate such resources. Constrained firms invest more in the short term while the unrestricted invest more in the long run. In the short term, unconstrained firms distribute more dividends than unconstrained firms and in the long run, the coefficients of cash flows are not significant for either groups. In the short term unconstrained firms reduce external finance, while constrained firms raise more external finance and in the long term, this behavior is reversed. Thus, it is clear that it matters to consider the long term as well as financial constraints faced by firms.

The objective of this research is to empirically assess the value and validity of a multi-organization data set in the building of prediction models for several ‘local’ software organizations; that is, smaller organizations that might have a few project records but that are interested in improving their ability to accurately predict software project effort. Evidence to date in the research literature is mixed, due not to problems with the underlying research ideas but with limitations in the analytical processes employed: • the majority of previous studies have used only a single organization as the ‘local’ sample, introducing the potential for bias • the degree to which the conclusions of these studies might apply more generally is unable to be determined because of a lack of transparency in the data analysis processes used. It is the aim of this research to provide a more robust and visible test of the utility of the largest multi-organization data set currently available – that from the ISBSG – in terms of enabling smaller-scale organizations to build relevant and accurate models for project-level effort prediction. Stepwise regression is employed to enable the construction of ‘local’, ‘global’ and ‘refined global’ models of effort that are then validated against actual project data from eight organizations. The results indicate that local data, that is, data collected for a single organization, is almost always more effective as a basis for the construction of a predictive model than data sourced from a global repository. That said, the accuracy of the models produced from the global data set, while worse than that achieved with local data, may be sufficiently accurate in the absence of reliable local data – an issue that could be investigated in future research. The study concludes with recommendations for both software engineering practice – in setting out a more dynamic scenario for the management of software development – and research – in terms of implications for the collection and analysis of software engineering data.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the role of financial markets and institutions on the economical growth of a developing country. The IRS (interest rate spread) is used as the main tool, to examine Chile and Taiwan regarding their economical growth between 1988 and 2007. The reason Taiwan and Chile have been chosen is due to vast differences in the geographical location, and even divergence in political and economical system of these countries. The research method that has been chosen for this thesis is a quantitative method. The economic theory is mainly based on secondary data. The method of data presentation and analysis are manly descriptive even though the layout of the thesis is more of an explanation research. The carculations are made with the statictical computer program SPSS. The results of the study are expressed mathematically and in sets of tables. In order to determinate the correlation between IRS and macroeconomic factors and the correlation between IRS and Economy growth, the magnitude and trend of the IRS is analysed from 1988 to 2007. To test the hypothesis, the OLS regression and panel data model is used. The theoretical part is the base of the empirical part. The theoretical part is needed in order to understand and later on analyze the results from research on Chile and Taiwan. Different aspects of economical growth are defined to make it easier to understand and follow the thesis thoroughly. The financial markets and institutions are discussed very shortly. To understand the growth theory, Solow growth model is discussed, which is one of the most important models concerning the economical growth. The empirical part of the thesis is dealing with the test of IRS against some macro economical factors such as; costumer price index (CPI), Exchange Rate (EX), Export Volume (EXP) and Money Supply (MO) of two different countries; Taiwan and Chile. The study provides evidence of the correlation between interest rate spread and the macroeconomical factors. The result shows that the correlation between interest rate spread and the macroeconomics factors vary from country to country. This mainly depends on the difference in political situation, the different economic and political policies of various goverments, the high inflation rates and the market structure of the countries. The value of the coefficients gives the magnitude of adjustment in the event that the systems move out of equilibrium. It also provides some evidence that there is a significant relationship between interst rate spread and economical growth. The test results show clearly that in order to gain a sustainable development and economical growth the financial markets must perform well.

Non-communicable disease (NCD) (particular by cardiovascular disease, CVD) is the leading cause of death in most countries including OECD countries. WHO (World Health Organization, 2002) has emphasized the trend of disease patterns shifting from communicable diseases towards to non-communicable diseases globally. However, globalization drives economic activities vigorously and alternates work conditions, such as prolonger or irregular working time, changing patterns of job. And then, more sweating, stress and occupational safety of labors after globalization were noted by many worldwide scholars. ¡§Karoshi¡¨ (death from overwork) is a controversial issue of occupational matters in these years all over the world. According to past empirical literatures, CVD was also the major medical cause of death from overwork. Hence, we collect panel data of CVD mortality, working hours of labor and KOF index of globalization covering 19 OECD countries from a period of 1980 to 2007, and measure by panel cointegration analysis and fully modified OLS (FMOLS) to estimate the reciprocal relationship among these variables. The evidence findings show significant influence on CVD mortality if increasing working hours of labor, especially at age groups of 15 to 24 year. While significant effect on CVD mortality through by globalization was found at age group 25 to 54 year and elders, particular in social globalization.

This paper examines the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on health using the data of 61 countries between 2000 and 2009 from the World Bank. The ICT variables considered in this paper include internet, fixed phones, and mobile phones. Based on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations, we select several health variables and examine the impact of ICT on these variables. These variables include life expectancy at birth, infant mortality rate, under-five mortality rate, maternal mortality ratio, and prevalence of HIV. The estimation strategies are the pooling OLS model, the fixed effect model, and the random effect model. The empirical results suggest that ICT indeed plays a significant role in improving the health level of a country. ICT effectively decreases infant mortality rates and children mortality rates, and also increases life expectancy. This finding supports the viewpoints of United Nations (UN), World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank, and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) that ICT has great potential in improving a country¡¦s health. The finding also confirms the arguments of several literatures, including McNamara (2007) and Lucas (2008), that ICT can lead to a more effective health system. In addition, we also find that fixed phones and mobile phones, which have more powerful functions in communicating and have greater flexibility, help decrease deaths due to acute diseases or emergencies; while internet displays more profound impact on improving health with the accumulation of time. Our results suggest that adopting and promoting ICT is an effective way for developing countries and less-developed countries to enhance the level of health of people. We also expect that ICT can help these countries to meet at least part of the Millennium Development Goals.

Religion is a deeply important tradition in many people's lives, especially for those forced to leave abruptly their homes and loved ones and resettle in a foreign land. Religion not only provides spiritual guidance but also social networks, comfort, and moral standards, among many others things. I chose to study the beliefs and practices of Vietnamese American Buddhists and Catholics as well as the relationship between those two groups in the U.S. The Vietnamese present an interesting case because of their collective status as a well-publicized immigrant, formerly refugee, population that is now well-established in this country. With my research, I was able to test five hypotheses. I wanted to determine the degree of transnationality, tension between the religious groups, conversion, and ancestor worship. Secondarily, I assessed any differences regionally. In order to test my hypotheses, I conducted 60 quantitative surveys. I sampled from the Houston and Minneapolis-St. Paul Vietnamese communities. Transnationality, or ties to the homeland, was more prevalent for Buddhists than Catholics as I had hypothesized. There was a minute degree of tension present, however, generally with older members of the first generation cohort. Traditional Vietnamese ancestor worship was not more prevalent with Buddhists than with Catholics. I was unable to sample enough religious converts in order to test my conversion hypothesis. In terms of differences across regions, all variables other than national identity as well as an indicator of transnationality were statistically insignificant. This data helps fill a nearly 30-year gap in the research in this area and focuses specifically on the Vietnamese population which many studies have been unable to do. In addition to my quantitative study, I also conducted qualitative fieldwork at four primary research and three secondary research sites in the Minneapolis-St. Paul and Houston metropolitan areas. Twenty-five to thirty hours were spent at each primary location observing the members, volunteers, dress, interactions, normative and deviant behaviors during services, socialization, languages spoken, attentiveness, racial diversity, and additional activities provided by the religious organization to the membership. This fieldwork gave me a better understanding of this community in a religious context.