Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 161-168). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 161-168). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universiẗat Hamburg, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 297-314).

The dissertation investigates the effects of real exchange rate undervaluations upon long-run economic growth and development and focuses on three issues. Rodrik (2008) claims that weak institutions hurt the development of the tradable sector more than that of the nontradable sector and that undervaluation can foster growth by diminishing the distortion created by weak institutions between the two sectors. Using the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) dataset on four components of institutional quality, Chapter One of my dissertation examines the effects of investment profile, law and order, corruption, and bureaucratic quality upon the relative development of the tradable sector to the nontradable sector, which is measured by the ratio of industry value added to services valued added. On the basis of comparison of the two sectors, the panel evidence of 131 countries indicates that none of the four components mentioned above is positively associated with the relative development of the tradable sector to the nontradable sector. That is, the tradable sector does not suffer disproportionately (compared to the nontradable sector) from institutional weaknesses. Our results cast skepticism upon one of Rodrik's explanations on the growth-promoting effects of real undervaluation because the existence of such a distortion is not supported empirically. Chapter Two concentrates on the effect of real undervaluations on one key aspect of economic development, the income distribution. Based upon the recent availability of an undervaluation index and two databases on Gini coefficients, this study investigates how real undervaluations affect levels and changes in income inequality. The panel evidence of 136 countries indicates that real undervaluations are associated with a decline in levels of income inequality but have no significant association with changes in income inequality. Therefore, the relationship between real undervaluations and levels of income inequality is likely to stem from reverse causality. My main findings may help policymakers who attempt to use an undervaluation policy fully realize that real undervaluations will not hurt the distribution of income. Moreover, I also revisit Rodrik's growth regressions so as to investigate whether or not the same positive association between real undervaluations and economic growth held in Rodrik (2008) reoccurs in my sample. The results are somewhat mixed, depending upon which dataset is employed. Motivated by two distinct characteristics in economic performance of East Asia and Latin America in the past half century, Chapter Three explores the possibility that the difference in levels of domestic savings is one of the historical reasons that countries pursued different exchange rate policies. My panel evidence is somewhat mixed. The results based on the sample of all countries are consistent with the theoretical claim that real undervaluations can mitigate more imbalances and stimulate higher growth when the level of domestic savings is high. However, for the sample of developing countries, the results indicate that initial level of domestic savings does not matter for the growth-promoting effect of real undervaluation. On the contrary, it does matter across developed countries where internal imbalances are supposed to be less common relative to developing countries. This study suggests that more theoretical and empirical investigation is necessary in the future to disclose further the mechanism through which real undervaluations boost long-run growth.

This dissertation explores the impact of policy and economic conditions on the current economic crises of crime, substance abuse, and financial exclusion faced domestically and abroad. Although these issues span the income distribution, impoverished regions are disproportionately affected by the highest rates of risky behaviors such as drug abuse and crime. The ability for public policy makers to affect large populations of at-risk individuals can be difficult; oftentimes, these groups operate outside of the public sphere and large-scale interventions can miss the mark. In my first substantive chapter, I investigate the efficacy of state-wide insurance reform aimed at reducing drug dependency by requiring insurance providers to cover rehabilitation and detoxification. Utilizing state-level panel data in a generalized differences-in-differences framework, I find that states which enact laws expanding insurance coverage are successful at encouraging treatments for some types of conditions but are limited in their ability to reach individuals struggling with opiate addiction and, correspondingly, have little impact on deterring accidental overdose deaths. In my second substantive chapter, I question the assumptions made in previous empirical work regarding the relationship between economic conditions and crime. Existing literature finds that property crime rates are positively correlated with the unemployment rate. In this paper, I investigate whether this relationship is evolving over time and find that the relationship between property crime rates and unemployment has diminished toward zero. Moreover, I find evidence that there is a non-zero relationship between unemployment and violent crimes during certain periods in time. In my last substantive chapter, we develop a theoretical model illustrating the basic trade-offs in the functioning of financial institutions (Village and Savings Loan Associations) designed to provide financial inclusion to under-served populations in developing countries. We develop a theoretical model which suggests that these groups lack a mechanism to ensure equilibrium in the supply and demand for funds. We test the predictions of this model using experimental data from newly formed groups in Uganda and find that groups operate with excess demand for loans but are often able to generate a high return on savings. This dissertation includes previously unpublished co-authored material.

This report looks at the modern cellular wireless network environment and the factors of energy consumption therein. The consumption of connectivity re- lated hardware is gradually becoming a larger part of the power consumption of virtually any mobile device. This report studies measurements of a mobile broadband module energy usage due to data transfer. It is found that switch- ing between technologies is still beneficial and savings are very feasible when using technologies with different traits if done correctly. Further the possibility of energy savings within a single high-bandwidth technology (3G) are assessed considering variations on response time and throughput. This is relevant as the need to handle highly dynamic loads becomes more and more important in the modern connectivity landscape. By gauging the savings available from schedul- ing link accesses and switching technology this is put in context by sampling a few common services namely Skype, Spotify and normal web browsing for their energy footprints. We will also look briefly at the background traffic generated by two common operating systems, Windows 7 and Ubuntu GNU/Linux.

Global Savings Group - Rocket Internet SE venture currency risk management exposure. This thesis covers the theory around currency risk management, putting it into practice with the real case of GSG currency risk exposure. In the end I aim to verify if currency risk affects the performance of SMEs, and if such type of companies (in this case the GSG) are aware of such exposure and if they adopt any strategies in order to reduce such exposure.

Financial literacy has been identified in previous studies as an area that has not been researched extensively in South Africa. This is particularly true for Black South Africans who have been previously disadvantaged and excluded from the mainstream economy and financial services in the apartheid regime. Lower savings and over-indebtedness amongst this group can be attributable to the lower financial literacy levels emanating from the inequalities of the past. This study aims to assess the financial literacy of Black South Africans with a commercial tertiary qualification working in Pretoria and Johannesburg based on descriptive research and structured questionnaires. The study first establishes that although people with a commercial tertiary qualification are more financially literate than those with non-commercial tertiary qualification, Black South Africans are nevertheless less financially literate than their Coloured, Indian and White contemporaries. Secondly, those who have savings have higher financial literacy than those who do not have savings. / Mini Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Financial Management / MCom / Unrestricted

As a result of the rising electrical energy costs in South Africa, a method was sought to reduce the overall electrical consumption of typical shaft systems. A typical shaft configuration was analysed and the primary energy consumers were identified. The ventilation fans for this system were found to consume a total of 15% of the total energy of the shaft system. It was calculated that more than 50% of this energy is consumed by the shaft itself, more specifically by the pressure losses that occur in the shaft as the ventilation air passes through it. It was recognised that there was therefore an opportunity to achieve an energy savings and therefore a costs savings in the total cost of operating a shaft system by reducing the overall resistance of the equipped downcast shaft. However, before any work could continue in this regard, the results noted above required validation. This was achieved though the comprehensive evaluation of the Impala #14 Shaft system. This system was tested and the pressure losses noted in the calculations were verified. In order to ensure that the theory being used was accurate, the next step was to evaluate a number of shafts both from a theoretical perspective by measuring the real shaft pressure losses against time. This was done and a total of five shafts were instrumented and the actual pressure losses over the shaft plotted against time. These shafts were then subjected to a theoretical evaluation using the theory as described by McPherson in 1987. Finally, in order to ensure a thorough understanding of the behaviour of the ventilation air in shaft systems, the systems were simulated using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) techniques. On the whole there was not a good correlation between the tests and either the theoretical calculations or the CFD simulations. This was attributed to the general imperfections in the shaft and the difficulty in obtaining exact values for the drag coefficients of the buntons. These differences highlight the difficulty in modeling the non-homogenous physical environment and providing a factor that can be used to ensure that the theoretical designs are aligned with the physical reality. This factor is approximately 30%. There were also significant discrepancies between the theoretical analysis and the CFD simulation during the initial comparisons. This discrepancy reduced as the complexity of the CFD models increased, until, when the complete shaft was modeled using the full buntons sets, the pipes and the flanges, the difference between the theoretical evaluation and the CFD simulation was small. The result demonstrates that the theory is insufficient and that the inter-related effect of the buntons and fittings has not been fully appreciated. The current theory however has been developed using drag coefficients and interference factors for the buntons sets which have been taken from measurements of similar configurations. This does account for the relative accuracy of the current theory in that there is little difference between the CFD result and that of the theory. However, as the shaft parameters are changed to reflect new layouts and scenarios, it is unlikely that theory will continue to prove accurate. The final phase of the work presented here was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of using different bunton shapes and shaft configurations. It is shown that: <ul><li> The increase in the pressure losses and therefore the direct operating costs of the shaft can vary by as much as 80%, depending on the bunton configuration chosen.</li><li> The placement of the piping in the shaft can increase the pressure losses and therefore the direct operating costs of the shaft by as much as 12%, depending on the placement of the piping in the shaft; this effect includes the use of flanges. </li><li> The use of fairings on a large cage can reduce the resistance that the cage offers to the ventilation flow by as much as 30%. This, however, does not translate into a direct saving because as the cage moves through the shaft, the overall effect is transitory. </li> </ul> The savings discussed above can be significant when the items highlighted in this work are applied correctly. / Thesis (PhD(Eng))--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Mining Engineering / unrestricted