The aim of this thesis is to examine the budgets of the European Union and the United States of America especially in terms of territorial redistribution of funds to member states and subsequently identify similar and different featues. Extra attention is paid to the revenue and expenditure sides of the both budgets, factors affecting financial resource allocation and impact of the fiscal redistribution on the economy of the member states of the EU and the USA. The thesis is logically divided into five chapters. The first chapter is devoted to the theory, the remaining four chapters always examine given topic in the EU and in the USA.

In the field of postmortem toxicology, principles from pharmacology and toxicology are combined in order to determine if exogenous substances contributed to ones death. In order to make this determination postmortem and (whenever available) antemortem blood samples may be analyzed. This project focused on evaluating the relationship between postmortem and antemortem blood drug levels, in order to better define an interpretive framework for postmortem toxicology. To do this, it was imperative to evaluate the differences in antemortem and postmortem drug concentrations, determine the role microbial activity and evaluate drug stability. Microbial studies determined that the bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa could use the carbon structures of drugs as a source of food. This would suggest prior to sample collection, microbial activity could potentially affect drug levels. This process however would stop before toxicologic evaluation, as at autopsy blood samples are stored in tubes containing the antimicrobial agent sodium fluoride. Analysis of preserved blood determined that under the current storage conditions sodium fluoride effectively inhibited microbial growth. Nonetheless, in many instances inconsistent drug concentrations were identified. When comparing antemortem to postmortem results, diphenhydramine, morphine, codeine and methadone, all showed significantly increased postmortem drug levels. In many instances, increased postmortem concentrations correlated with extended postmortem intervals. Other drugs, such as alprazolam, were likely to have concentration discrepancies when short antemortem to death intervals were coupled with extended postmortem intervals. While still others, such as midazolam followed the expected pattern of metabolism and elimination, which often resulted in decreased postmortem concentrations. The importance of drug stability was displayed when reviewing the clonazepam/ 7-aminoclonazepam data, as the parent drug commonly converted to its metabolite even when stored in the presence of a preservative. In instances of decreasing postmortem drug concentrations the effect of refrigerated storage could not be ruled out. A stability experiment, which contained codeine, produced data that indicated concentrations could continue to decline under the current storage conditions. The cumulative data gathered for this experiment was used to identify concentration trends, which subsequently aided in the development of interpretive considerations for the specific analytes examined in the study.

The current Government of South Africa faces many challenges emanating from the legacy of the policies of the pre-1994 apartheid era and the earlier periods. One of these challenges is the skewed distribution of agricultural land, in favour of White commercial farmers. In 1995, the current democratic government, in an attempt to redress this historical imbalance in terms of ownership of agricultural land, introduced a land policy for South Africa. The policy is anchored to three programmes, namely land restitution, land redistribution and tenure reform. In terms of land redistribution, the Government set a target to redistribute 30% of White-owned agricultural land to historically disadvantaged individuals by March 2014. The land redistribution programme was designed for the state to play a major role in the administration of the programme. The programme was also structured to recognise the complementary roles played by the national Department of Agriculture (DOA) and provincial departments of agriculture, the Department of Land Affairs (DLA) and its Provincial Land Reform Offices (PLROs), the municipalities and the Land Bank, in policy administration. Due to the fact that the Settlement/Land Acquisition Grant (SLAG) programme, by the end of 2000, failed to deliver the number of hectares that would meet the land redistribution target for the remaining years up until March 2014, it was abolished. In its place, the Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development (LRAD) programme was introduced in 2001. It was anticipated by the Government that the LRAD programme will fast track the redistribution of White-owned agricultural land to Black farmers. Because administrative processes are as important as policy outcomes, it is important to examine the administrative aspects impacting on the LRAD programme, given the prominent role played by the state in the administration of the programme. The research thus focused on establishing the extent to which the administration of the LRAD programme enables the Government to achieve its land redistribution goals and objectives. The LRAD programme is not on course to meet the land redistribution target set for 2014. The North West Province in particular has been transferring White-owned agricultural land on an annual basis at an average of 13% of what it should if its target of the 30% of White-owned agricultural land to be redistributed is to be met by March 2014. Among the critical factors impacting on successful administration of the LRAD programme in the North West Province is policy integration. The White Paper on Land Policy (1995) recognises that the success of the land reform programme does not depend only on access to land, but also on the achievement of other instrumental objectives, namely the provision of integrated government policy with respect to support services, infrastructural and other development programmes; and the development of an effective and accessible institutional framework for service delivery, characterised by a strong partnership between national, provincial and local spheres of government. Data was collected through structured interviews from key respondents, namely deputy-directors in the department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Environment (the DACE) and the North West Provincial Land Reform Office (the NWPLRO), as well as from the chief director for the NWPLRO. Methodological, participant and interdisciplinary triangulation was applied during data collection and analysis. There was ineffective integration of policies, programmes, systems, and procedures between the DACE and the NWPLRO, which undermined the administration of the LRAD programme in the North West Province. In addition, the DACE in particular suffered from administrative incapacity. This was in part due to the nature of the governance regime pertaining to LRAD programme administration. This situation was also affected by the administration of the Government policy generally, the most important of which was the intergovernmental relations, which imposed limits in terms of allocation of financial resources. The administrative incapacity also undermined the endeavour to collaborate as far as LRAD programme administration was concerned. This negatively impacted mostly on the planning phase, as a result of shortage of critical personnel. In order to effect effective administration of the LRAD programme, it is recommended as follows: <ul><li> the budget allocation for the LRAD programme should be increased; </li><li> the administrative capacity of the DACE and the NWPLRO should be increased; </li><li> the systems and procedures for administering the LRAD and CASP programmes should be aligned; and</li><li> the alignment of administrative systems and procedures should become one of the integral factors for measuring and rewarding performance of senior public service managers in institutions administering the programme. </li></ul> / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) / unrestricted

In 1996, the South African government embarked on a process of land reform. The land reform programme has been driven by three pillars, namely: (i) Land Restitution, (ii) Land Tenure Reform and (iii) Land Redistribution. The two first pillars of land reform, as well as the first sub-programme (The SLAG) of the Land Redistribution programme delivered disappointing results. By December 2004, eight years since the programme was introduced, land reform had only transferred an area of 3.4% of white commercial agricultural land to Blacks, against a set target of 30% by 2014. Other disappointing results include: <ul> <li> Over-congestion of crowds on small sections of land</li> <li> Providing cash compensation as opposed to land itself</li> <li> Failure to ensure productivity among transferred farms</li> </ul> In 2001, Government introduced a new sub-programme under the Redistribution programme, called Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development (LRAD). This programme was regarded as a flagship programme for the DLA; firstly for its flexible funding structure; secondly, for its focus on commercially orientated agricultural projects; and thirdly, for its perceived capacity to transfer land at a higher pace. Although the LRAD belonged to the Department of Land Affairs (now called the Department of Rural Development and Land Affair), in the initial stage of the programme, three institutions became involved in its implementation, namely: The Land and Agricultural Development of South Africa (referred to as the Land Bank), the provincial departments of Land Affairs, as well as the provincial departments of Agriculture. Just four years after its inception the LRAD programme received negative media coverage and this included the following: <ul> <li> The collapse and failure of some of LRAD projects;</li> <li> Lack of productivity among some of the already transferred LRAD projects;</li> <li> Conflict among LRAD beneficiaries, leading to the squandering and misappropriation of government resources on farms; <li> Problems of budget deficit; and the</li> <li> Collapse of the relationship between the Land Bank and the DLA.</li> </ul> The above signalled potential elements of failure on the part of LRAD programme. There is, however, a reality that the reasons for failure are not well-understood and that a study to analyse this in detail could assist in streamlining the delivery of this programme. The objectives of the study are threefold: <ul> <li> Firstly; as in line with the objectives of LRAD, to investigate if the already transferred LRAD farms are productive;</li> <li> Secondly; to establish the factors hampering productivity on the transferred farms; and</li> <li> Thirdly; by using the initial involvement of the Land Bank as a control, to assess if LRAD is well-placed within the DLA.</li> </ul> Two sets of methodologies have been used. The first method involved collecting files and records from the DLA and the Land Bank, and performing financial and descriptive analyses on LRAD beneficiaries. In the second approach, a survey was conducted among a sample of transferred LRAD farms, in order to assess the level of productivity on the farms, as well as to interview beneficiaries with regard to the challenges they are facing on the farms. The study established the main factors hampering productivity on the farms. Although many factors have been cited as factors hampering productivity, beneficiaries listed the following as the three most important factors hampering productivity on the farms: <ul> <li> Insufficient or no tractors and implements (16 projects out of 37, constituting 43%)</li> <li> Conflict among members (12 projects, 32%)</li> <li> Poor coordination between the DLA and the Land Bank (19 projects, 51%)</li> </ul> Comparison between the Land Bank and the DLA clients, points out that those of the Land Bank are performing better than those of the DLA. Financial and descriptive analysis carried out among 308 LRAD cases identified the Land Bank loan as an important proportion of funding towards the purchase of land. LRAD in its current institutional design (structure and policy) is not suitable for the poor. The objectives of the LRAD programme are too many where a significant number of them appear irrelevant. These objectives should be reviewed. While the DLA does not have the right capacity (experienced personnel, ITC systems for monitoring and evaluations, infrastructure etc) to run with LRAD, the Land Bank has been found to be unsuitable as its policies discriminates against the poor. Both the policies (selection and qualifying criteria, early and after care institutional support, own contribution and security, etc.) and implementation strategies of the Land Bank and the DLA must be reviewed to reflect a strategic intend that is geared towards sustaining agricultural development among black emerging farmers in South Africa. / Dissertation (MInstAgrar)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

This thesis studies the effects of local environments on perceptions. The last chapter examines older workers' responses to unemployment benefits cuts. In the first essay, I study the effects of neighborhoods on perceived inequality and preferences for redistribution in the context of Barcelona. I first construct a novel measure of inequality based on the geospatial distribution of housing. I then elicit inequality perceptions and preferences for redistribution from an original large-scale survey. I link these measures to respondents' specific local environments using exact addresses. I identify the causal effects of neighborhoods using two different approaches. The first is an outside-the-survey quasi-experiment that exploits within-neighborhood variation in respondents' recent exposure to new apartment buildings. The second is a within-survey experiment inducing variation in respondents' information set about inequality across neighborhoods. Local environments significantly influence inequality perceptions but only mildly affect demand for redistribution. In the second essay, I study the effects of neighborhoods on perceived immigration and preferences for redistribution. I construct flexible definitions of local neighborhoods by aggregating census tracts and measure immigration at this fine geographic level. I elicit immigration perceptions and preferences for redistribution from my original survey. Most respondents significantly overestimate the number of immigrants in the country, but those residing in neighborhoods with more immigrants are more likely to do so. Misperceptions negatively correlate with demand for redistribution and are partly explained by the local immigrant composition. They are exacerbated when more African or Asian immigrants reside in the local area. In the third essay, I causally estimate the effects of pro-cyclical unemployment-assistance (UA) reductions on job search behavior and re-employment outcomes using reform-induced changes in UA durations for older workers in Spain. Benefit reductions are effective in bringing workers back to work and reduce non-employment duration, but also induce displacements out of the labor force and strong substitution patterns towards less generous UA programs, highlighting the social insurance role of long-term benefits during economic downturns. Despite the sharp drop in non-employment duration, I also document a significant decrease in re-employment wages, consistent with a reduction in workers' reservation wages and limited duration dependence.

After 1994, the South African government prioritized land reform as a strategy for development in order to redress the legacy of apartheid, while contributing to national reconciliation, growth and development. The government with endless persuasion from gender activists, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and interested individuals acknowledged the crucial role that women could play in transforming its society. As a commitment to gender equity, it ratified various international conventions and national declarations, including in 1995, the United Nations on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Subsequently, a variety of institutions and gender divisions (units) in the country were established to advise, monitor and implement gender mainstreaming programs within government departments, NGOs and parliamentary structures. These include amongst othersthe Office of the Status on Women (OSW), The Commission on Gender Equality (CGE) and gender focal points. In 1995, a delegation of South African women led by politicians participated in the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. In response to this report, the Department of Land Affairs (DLA), together with other government departments, committed itself “to take legislative and administrative measures to give men and women equal rights to economic resources, including access to ownership and control over land and other properties, credit facilities, natural resources and appropriate supporting technology” (DLA, 1997:18). Despite these commitments, the South African government in general and the land sector in particular was criticised for contradicting its intentions. These were evident in policy development processes. An example widely documented was the controversies and compromises which were made by the ANC led government during the development of the Communal Land Rights Act of 2004 (Walker, 2005; Hassim, 2005; Claassens 2003). In addition, the land policies, including the DLA Gender Policy, have been widely criticised by several researchers (Hall, 1996; Mann, 1999; Walker, 2002; Claassens, 2005). The common trend was the scepticism of whether these policies would achieve their intended gender equity goals. Amongst others, weaknesses of these polices were the poor conceptualisation of gender and the lack of clarity on the government’s 2 gender equity intentions and outcomes. These would make it difficult to translate policies into practice. This study investigates whether these assertions are valid. The focus of the research is the analysis of the Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development (LRAD) Programme which was established in 2001. Using a project located in Mpumalanga Province, called the Mathebula Communal Property Association, the study evaluates the implementation of this programme. The project is located near Rock’s Drift in the Mbombela Municipality about 6 kilometers from White River on the White River- Nelspruit road (R40). It is amongst the first projects to be administered by the provincial DLA, under the new LRAD programme. This property was used for chicken and smallscale pig farming. The location of the project is of significance because the Mpumalanga province is amongst the most rural poverty stricken provinces in South Africa with a population of approximately 3 million. According to May (2000: 22), about 45% of the individuals in this province are living in poverty. The study was undertaken during the presettlement stages. The main goal was to investigate the DLA commitment to its gender policy through a case study. In addition, it explores the relationship between the primary beneficiary, a rural woman named Aida and the DLA officials during the research period. This is a means to assess whether Aida was empowered through these processes, as per the LRAD policy statements. The study draws its theoretical basis from a Gender Analysis Approach. This analysis recognises in every context that it is relevant to determine the gender-based division of labour and to understand the forces that constrain this division or act to change it. This framework was useful in collecting data tool for this study. The study uses a case study methodology. This research strategy has been chosen because of its ability to offer an “in-depth analysis of a case so as to interpret its unique features and to solicit an understanding of the social arrangements and their existence” (Ragin, 2000:24). The case study approach has shown that without investigating the processes which occur within these projects, the real impact of land reform on the beneficiaries’ lives is far from being realised. The major findings of this research revealed that whilst South Africa has put in place several national legislative frameworks to address gender equity in general, women still struggle to access resources through government systems. Aida, the main driver of this 3 project, experienced 4 years of insurmountable problems whilst trying to acquire a farm she had identified from a willing seller. The research revealed that Aida’s determination to acquire the farm is attributable to her intellectual capabilities, negotiation skills and manipulative tactics, which is contrary to the dominant argument that factors affecting rural women's access to land are dependent on “educational level, age, social status of the family and marital status” (Moser, 1993; Bob, 1994)). In addition, the dynamics within projects often not reflected in policies are very crucial in successful implementation of projects. For instance, in this project, the ‘inactive’ strategy of registered members reduced conflict within the project such that Aida became the sole owner of the project and was able to successfully acquire the farm without any interference from the other members. Overall, a significant contribution of this case study to the SA women’s empowerment theoretical framework is the identification of the external and internal factors, some of which were specific to gender empowerment failures. These include the challenges of targeting women, access to information, lack of accountability on gender as well as the absence of strong social movements. Lastly, the study also revealed unintended outcomes as a result of the lengthy period of the pre-land transfer stage, issues which are normally ignored and undocumented. Studies of land reform (and development) projects in Mpumalanga province and throughout SA have revealed similar findings as outlined through this document. These findings raise key questions that have broader implications for LRAD, and land reform program in general. The study acknowledges that there are examples of women in Mpumalanga province and maybe in other parts of the country who may have had positive experiences through the same program. However, it also confirms findings by earlier studies done by different researchers and thus raises critical questions with regards to the implementation and sustainability of the LRAD projects in South Africa, specifically in the Mpumalanga Province.

The first part of this dissertation investigates the possibility of an output cut by a firm as a result of an increase in demand in industries with constrained capacities. We are specially interested in the crude oil industry, although the paper has implications beyond that market. Two simple closely related models are developed. In both models a firm cuts the output at some point solely because of an increase in demand. We use this fact to explain the sharp decline of the crude oil prices in 1986. There are price and quantity hysteresis in the second model. The price hysteresis has two implications. First, the price path when the demand increases might be different from the price path when the demand decreases. This in turn implies that a temporary shock in the demand for (or supply of) crude oil can cause permanent changes in the price. We claim that the temporary changes in the supply of crude oil in 1973 resulted in the price hysteresis phenomenon described in the second model in such a way that it kept the prices high even after the return of the producers to the market. The second part investigates the relationship between the taste for public expenditure and the size and distribution of social groups in a society. Societies with ethnic heterogeneity spend less on redistribution and welfare programs and impose lower tax rates relative to homogeneous societies. We construct a theoretical model to explain these facts. There are two social groups in the model: a minority group and a majority group. When members of one group feel empathy for each other but not for members of the other group, then taxes, and redistribution depend upon the size and distribution of those groups. At first, the equilibrium tax rate and redistribution decrease as the size of the minority group increases from zero, then eventually, the relationship between them becomes positive. / Ph. D.

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