published_or_final_version / Economics and Finance / Master / Master of Economics

<p>Chile and Santiago are struggling with heavy environmental problems as a consequence of urbanisation and industrialisation. In the Santiago region the air is seriously contaminated and most of the rivers are classified as heavily polluted.</p><p>The aim of this thesis is to survey the industrial fluid waste situation in the Santiago region and to make suggestions on technological improvements or process changes. The purpose is also to study five different enterprises more closely and to give more detailed suggestions for improvement. Another purpose is to summarize relevant Chilean legislation.</p><p>Information, provided by the supervisory authority, about the release of industrial wastewater to rivers has been analysed. Deep interviews have been made with authorities and consultants. Five enterprises have been visited; a brewery, a dairy, a bakery, a producer of cooked meat and a surface treatment industry. The present treatment of the wastewater was studied at the plants and the information was completed with a questionnaire to the responsible at each company.</p><p>The contamination load released to the Chilean rivers is heavy. The rivers in southern Chile receive the biggest loads of BOD and SS and the rivers in central Chile were the most exposed to discharges of the metals Cr, Cu, Zn and CN as well as phenols.</p><p>The industrial discharge into the rivers of Santiago RM and Region VII is also to a large extent characterized by high concentrations of BOD and SS. Large releases of oils and greases, nitrogen and phosphorus are also fairly common, as are too high or too low pH levels. The food industry is the most contaminating sector, but also tanneries have great problems with effluents exceeding limits.</p><p>All five companies visited share the need to take measures towards more water saving technologies. The brewery, the producer of cooked meat and the surface treatment company also need end-of-pipe-treatment of their wastewater. In many cases, the recommended and most economic alternative is to separate the flows with the highest concentration of polluting substances for internal treatment, while releasing the rest of the wastewater to the outside sewage system. The costs of the suggested changes must be balanced against the present costs for treatment of wastewater and remaining solid waste as well as the costs for alternative treatments.</p><p>The economic incentives for Chilean companies to invest in wastewater treatment plants or to optimize the processes until today have been few. Cost reductions may be achieved by savings in water consumption and reuse of raw material. Another motive could be to keep “one step ahead” if the discharge limits in the future are tightened up leading to rising costs.</p> / <p>Chile och Santiago brottas med omfattande miljöproblem till följd av urbanisering och industrialisering. I santiagoregionen är luftföroreningarna svåra och de flesta floderna klassas som gravt förorenade av CONAMA, det chilenska naturvårdsverket.</p><p>Syftet med examensarbetet är att kartlägga situationen i santiagoregionen med avseende på industriell avloppsrening samt att ge förslag på förbättring av teknik eller förändring av processer. Dessutom är syftet att studera fem industrier närmare och att ge mer detaljerade förslag på åtgärder. Syftet är också att ge rekommendationer för fortsatt utveckling av relevant chilensk lagstiftning.</p><p>Uppgifter från tillsynsmyndigheten för utsläpp till ytvattendrag har studerats och djupintervjuer har gjorts med myndigheter och konsulter. Fem olika industrier besöktes; ett bryggeri, ett mejeri, ett bageri, ett charkuteri samt en ytbehandlingsindustri. Nuvarande hantering av processvattnet studerades på plats och med hjälp av ett frågeformulär kompletterades uppgifterna av ansvariga på företagen.</p><p>Föroreningsbelastningen på Chiles floder är stor. Floderna i södra delen av landet tar emot störst mängder organiskt material och suspenderat material medan centrala Chiles floder är värst drabbade av utsläpp av metallerna Cr, Cu, Zn och CN samt utsläpp av fenoler. Utsläppen från industrin till floderna i Region Metropolitana och Region VII kännetecknas också i stor utsträckning av höga halter BOD och suspenderat material. Relativt vanligt är också stora utsläpp av oljor och fetter, kväve, fosfor samt för höga eller låga för pH-värden. Det är främst flera olika typer av livsmedelsindustri, som har de största utsläppen till floderna, men även garverierna har stora problem med överskridande av gränsvärden.</p><p>Gemensamt för de fem besökta företagen är att vattenbesparande åtgärder bör vidtas för att minska volymen avloppsvatten som går till extern eller intern behandling. Bryggeriet, charkuterifabriken och ytbehandlaren behöver även end-of-pipe-rening. Det kan ofta vara lämpligt och mer ekonomiskt att avskilja de flöden som har högst halt av föroreningar till den interna reningsanläggningen. Resten av avloppet kan i vissa fall släppas ut på avloppsnätet. Kostnader för föreslagna åtgärder måste vägas mot aktuella kostnader för behandling av avlopp och restprodukter, samt kostnader för alternativa behandlingar.</p><p>Incitamenten, bl a de ekonomiska, för chilenska företag att skaffa eget reningsverk eller att resurseffektivisera produktionen har hittills varit små. Kostnadsminskningar kan uppnås genom sänkt vattenförbrukning samt återanvändning av råmaterial. Ytterligare en drivkraft kan vara att ”ligga steget före” om utsläppskraven i framtiden skärps och kostnaderna därmed ökar.</p>

<p>In South Africa, as in many developing countries, most households are poor and do not save, as a result of which they do not acquire any positive net worth and which also constrains access to formal means of finance. South Africa is a consuming nation, with increasing ratios of household consumption resulting in dissaving and often unsustainable levels of household debt, which is also stimulated by the current lower level of interest rates. This situation is worse amongst poorhouseholds who also often experience financial shocks, for instance because of the death of family membersas a result of HIV/AIDS. This report provided an overview of household saving in South Africa for the period 1983 to 2003. It identified the main factors responsible for the lack of a commitment to saving which are particularly relevant in the case of poor households.</p>

South African cement manufacturers are under financial pressure. Sales have declined due to the 2008 recession and electricity costs have tripled from 2005 to 2012. Electricity cost savings are therefore more important than ever. Unfortunately retrofitting highly energyefficient equipment is not ideal. These installations are costly and take a long time to implement. Alternative strategies that can produce quick results in reducing electricity costs are needed. One such alternative is a programme called Demand Market Participation (DMP). The DMP programme was implemented by Eskom, South Africa’s national electricity utility, to reduce electricity demand during supply shortages. This programme offers potential cost savings for clients with excess production capacity. Clients such as cement plants can switch off non-essential production equipment in Eskom’s peak demand periods for a financial incentive. To maximise the benefits for both the clients and Eskom, accurate electricity forecasting is needed, as are systems enabling a quick response to load reduction requests. In this study DMP opportunities on typical cement plants were identified. A DMP strategy to assist cement plants was developed to achieve maximum cost savings without influencing production, quality and safety. An existing energy management system (EnMS) was adapted to incorporate the new DMP participation strategy. The new EnMS and DMP strategy were implemented at a South African cement plant, resulting in savings of R220 000 per month. This translates into an annual cost-saving potential of R2-million for the plant, and an R13- million cost-saving potential for the total South African cement industry. / MIng (Mechanical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Food retail with large supermarkets consumes significant amounts of energy. The environmental impact is also significant because of the indirect effect from CO2 emissions at the power stations and due to the direct effect arising from refrigerant leakage to the atmosphere. The application of trigeneration (local combined heat, power and refrigeration) can provide substantial improvements in the overall energy efficiency over the conventional supermarket energy approach of separate provision of electrical power and thermal energy. The use of natural refrigerants such as CO2 offers the opportunity to reduce the direct impacts of refrigeration compared to conventional systems employing HFC refrigerants that possess high global warming potential. One approach through which the overall energy efficiency can be increased and the environmental impacts reduced, is through the integration of trigeneration and CO2 refrigeration systems where the cooling generated by the trigeneration system is used to condense the CO2 refrigerant in a cascade arrangement. This research project investigates experimentally and theoretically, through mathematical modelling and simulation, such a system and its potential application to supermarkets. A small size CO2 refrigeration system for low and medium food temperature applications was designed and constructed to enable it to be integrated with an existing trigeneration system in the refrigeration laboratory at Brunel University to form an integrated trigeneration and CO2 refrigeration test facility. Prior to the construction, the design of the system was investigated using mathematical models developed for this purpose. The simulations included the CO2 refrigeration system, CO2 evaporator coils and the integration of the trigeneration and CO2 refrigeration systems. The physical size of the design and component arrangement was also optimised in a 3D AutoCAD model. A series of experimental tests were carried out and the results showed that the medium temperature system could achieve a very good COP, ranging from 32 to 60 due to the low pumping power requirement of the liquid refrigerant. The low temperature system performed with average steady state COP of 4, giving an overall refrigeration system COP in the range between 5.5 and 6. Mathematical models were also developed to investigate the application of the integrated trigeneration and CO2 refrigeration system in a case study supermarket. The models were validated against test results in the laboratory and manufacturers’ data. The fuel utilisation efficiency and environmental impacts of different trigeneration and CO2 refrigeration arrangements were also evaluated. The results indicated that a system comprising of a sub-critical CO2 refrigeration system integrated with a trigeneration system consisting of a micro-turbine based Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit and ammonia-water absorption refrigeration system could provide energy savings of the order of 15% and CO2 emission savings of the order of 30% compared to conventional supermarket energy systems. Employing a trigeneration system with a natural gas engine based CHP and Lithium Bromide-Water sorption refrigeration system, could offer energy savings of 30% and CO2 emission savings of 43% over a conventional energy system arrangement. Economic analysis of the system has shown a promising payback period of just over 3 years compared to conventional systems.

The thesis addressed the saving behaviour of adolescents within the social context of the family, which has received little attention to date. The research regarded adolescent economic socialization and the development of saving behaviour as an integral part of general socialization and adolescent psychological development. The importance of saving was investigated relative to alternative ways for getting larger sums of money. Three large survey studies with adolescents and one survey study with adolescents and their parents were carried out. In Study 1, 470 students between the ages of 11 and 18 took part. The results of this study revealed that adolescents do think of saving as a means of accumulating larger sums of money. Studies 2 and 3 sampled 290 and 443 students between the ages of 11 and 17 and 13 to 14, respectively, providing empirical evidence of adolescents’ endeavour for independence, reflected by their saving motives as well as the changing of their attitudes towards saving as a skill. The thesis examined a number of significant predictors for adolescents’ general tendency to save. The studies linked adolescent saving with home atmosphere and perceived parenting style empirically for the first time. A path model illustrates the associations that were found between the behaviour and attitudes of the parents and the saving behaviour and attitudes of their adolescent child. It demonstrates that the development of saving behaviour is linked to the power relationship between parent and child. The findings support the behavioural life-cycle hypothesis as well as the benefits of being raised in an ‘authoritative home’ with regard to skills in saving.

Ausgewählte Fragen der dritten Phase der Rentenreform in der Tschechische Republik Das Ziel meiner Diplomarbeit ist die Beschreibung, die Analyse und die Auswertung der dritten Phase der Rentenreform mit dem Hinweis an die Probleme, mit dennen auch die letzte Entscheidung der Regierung über die Aufhebung des zweiten Pfeilers des Rentensparens verbunden wurde. Die Arbeit wird systematisch an die 5 Kapitel geteilt. In der ersten Kapitel werden die universale Prinzipen und Möglichkeiten der Konstruktion der Rentensysteme zusammen mit der Aufnahme des tschechischen Rentensystems in dem System der Sozialversicherung detailisiert. Die zweite Kapitel detailisiert die Gültigrechtsausgestaltung des tschechischen Rentensystems.In der dritten Kapiltel wird auf die Probleme verbundene mit der Einführung der Groβrentenreform hingewiesen und auf diese Problematik knüpft die letzte Kapitel an, die genau das nächste Prozess der Aufhebung des zweiten Pfeilers der Rentensparung analysiert. Am Ende meiner Arbeit werden die gewonnene Kentnisse allgemein gemacht und die Überlegung über die Erfolgsamkeit der Einführung einer Fondfinanzierung in das tschechische Rentensystem. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Les difficultés rencontrées par les entreprises peuvent prendre des proportions importantes etles conduire vers une cessation d’activité si elles ne sont pas traitées suffisamment tôt.Le législateur marocain, conscient de la nécessité de la sauvegarde des entreprises, s’estinspiré de la loi française du 1er mars 1984, afin de mettre en place un dispositif légalorganisant des procédures de prévention et du règlement amiable.Le principe de la prévention repose en premier lieu sur l’alerte interne et externe, permettantainsi une détection précoce des difficultés. Le but étant de favoriser un dialogue entre lesorganes de contrôle et les dirigeants pour mettre en oeuvre une action concertée.Le règlement amiable, mécanisme contractuel et confidentiel, permet aux dirigeants desentreprises de demander la désignation d’un conciliateur afin de négocier avec leurscréanciers un accord amiable en vue d’optimiser le redressement de leurs entreprises.Néanmoins, les enquêtes réalisées au Maroc ont montré la méconnaissance et le faible usagede ces mécanismes préventifs par les dirigeants d’entreprises, car ils sont inadaptés à leurcontexte économique, social et culturel. A l’exemple des réformes des procédures collectivesentreprises par le législateur français entre 1994 et 2008, une réforme approfondie de la loimarocaine relative à la prévention et au règlement amiable est nécessaire afin de les rendreplus efficaces et accessibles. / The difficulties faced by the companies can lead to important consequences and a potentialdiscontinuance of business if not considered at an early stage.The Moroccan legislator, considering that the saving of the companies is of the essence, hasdrawn his inspiration from the French Law enacted on March 1st 1984 in order to set up in1996 prevention and amicable settlement procedures.The prevention principle first of all relies on internal and external warnings, allowingdifficulties prediction at an early stage. The purpose is to establish a dialogue betweensupervisory committees and corporate management in order to agree on a concerted step.The amicable settlement, which is a contractual and confidential mechanism, grants the rightto corporate managers to appoint a conciliatory to negotiate an amicable settlement with thecreditors in order to optimize the company recovery.Nevertheless, investigations in Morocco have demonstrated that this prevention mechanism iseither unrecognized or weakly used by corporate managers, mainly because this mechanism isnot in line with the economical, social and cultural context. Between 1994 and 2008, theFrench legislator has amended the bankruptcy proceedings which can be considered as anexample. An in-depth reform of Moroccan laws relating to prevention and amicablesettlement procedure is necessary as well for further efficiency and accessibility.

Background: Abortion continues to be stigmatized in Ghana even though Ghana has one of the most liberal abortion laws in West Africa. This stigmatization discourages women from having safe abortion and discourages the health care professionals to provide services for abortion. The recruitment of healthcare providers is therefore marginalized, isolated and difficult. Aim: The aim of the study is to describe the healthcare professionals’ experiences of working with the abortion care in Ghana. Method: Five qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals working at two different governmentally owned hospitals in Ghana. The findings were analysed with qualitative content analysis. Results: Four main themes emerged in this study describing healthcare professionals’ experiences of working with abortion care in Ghana; Context, Nursing care, Challenges and Saving lives. The healthcare professionals work is stigmatized and challenging but the best part of their profession was helping adolescents, families and saving lives. Conclusion: To save lives, enhance the working situation for the healthcare professionals and to reduce stigma, education and better working environment is necessary. / Bakgrund: Abort fortsätter att vara stigmatiserat i Ghana trots att Ghana har en av de mest liberala abortlagarna i Väst Afrika. Stigman avskräcker kvinnor från säker abort och hindrar hälso- sjukvårdspersonalen att tillhandahålla tjänsten för abort. Anställingen av hälso-sjukvårdspersonalen är därför marginaliserad, begränsad och svår. Syfte: Att beskriva hälso-sjukvårdspersonalens erfarenheter av att arbeta med abortvården i Ghana. Metod: Fem kvalitativa, semi-strukturerade intervjuer utfördes med hälso-sjukvårdspersonal från två olika sjukhus i Ghana. Kvalitativ innehållsanalys användes för att analysera insamlad data. Resultat: Hälso-sjukvårdspersonalens erfarenheter och åsikter om att arbeta med abortvård beskrevs med fem huvudteman: Kontext, Omvårdnad, Utmaningar och Rädda liv. Hälso-sjukvårdspersonalens arbete är stigmatiserat och utmanande men den bästa delen av deras profession var att hjälpa ungdomar, familjer och att rädda liv. Slutsats: För att kunna rädda liv, förbättra arbetssituationen för hälsosjukvårdspersonalen och för att minska stigman är utbildning och bättre arbetsmiljö nödvändigt.

M.Comm. / This study investigates the extent to which South African financial markets are globalised and thus, during the period 1994–2008, integrated with global financial markets. The impact of globalisation on the South African economy is complex. South Africa re-entered the international economy from isolation at a time when the forces of globalisation, especially for developing countries, seemed to gain momentum. The following study focus on equity, foreign exchange and bond markets. The period under study is divided between 1994-2008 and 2000-2008, with the exception of the bond market where the data was challenging to source. Empirical evidence suggests that South African financial markets together with those in emerging economies became increasingly globalised during the period 1994–2008. Analysis finds that South Africa’s equity markets were integrated as common/global factors influenced the markets during the period 1994-2008. According to the findings, SA was even more integrated than the average emerging economies in our sample as global/common factors influenced more of SA equity returns than in emerging economies. However, in general, developed economies were more globalised in both periods under study. However, analysis indicates that common factors play a larger role in determining the fluctuations in the foreign exchange market rather than in equity markets. This implies that foreign exchange markets are more globalised and integrated than equity markets. Global factors only determined 48% of the movement South Africa’s currency during the period 1994-2008, while global factors were more significant in the movement of developed and emerging economies’ currencies during the same period. However, SA foreign exchange market’s integration into the global markets increased with 2000-2008 variance share increasing to 0.97, implying that global factor were responsible the 97% of the variation in the exchange rate – higher than the average variance share recorded for developed and emerging economies. Finally, results for the bond markets show that SA bond market was also closely integrated with global markets although the level of integration was less than that recorded in the foreign exchange rate markets during the 2000-2008.