This thesis consists of four independent chapters, in which well-known economic theories are employed to investigate, and better understand, data and facts from the real world. Although in fairly distant topics, each paper is an example of how economics, and more precisely microeconomics, offers a rigorous and effective framework to reason about what happens around us. In this sense, my dissertation fully represents what I have learnt in these five years. The first paper addresses the experimental behavior of subjects that interact with each other, non-cooperatively, in a laboratory setup. The experimental evidence is found to be at odds with the predictions of classical game-theory, and I explore whether a model of bounded rationality can instead succeed in explaining the data. The second paper looks at another type of data, historical rather than experimental. Together with Björn Wallace, we raise doubts, methodological and interpretational, regarding the validity of a recent finding that documents a sizeable effect of Africa's past slave trades on current economic performance. The last two papers investigate the phenomenon of limited records, understood as the limited availability of past public data regarding a transacting partner. The former is a survey, written jointly with Giancarlo Spagnolo, wherein we discuss the literatures that have independently studied whether limited records may actually prompt beneficial reputation effects. We argue that what is known about this type of informational arrangement is little and scattered, and that this is problematic given the large number of real-life situations featuring limited records. These conclusions prepare the ground for the last paper of this dissertation, which presents a model of limited credit records. The model aims at providing a framework for evaluating the current privacy provisions in the credit market which mandate the removal of information about borrowers' past performance from public registers after a finite number of years. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, 2011

The History of the Book in Canada / Histoire du livre et de l’imprimé au Canada and other national book history projects have been a catalyst for research into the local production of print and have highlighted the need for more study of the print trades in smaller centres. In Ontario during the nineteenth century independent weekly newspapers were printed in most villages, while larger towns boasted more than one print shop and often one or more booksellers and stationers. Bookbinders were active members of the book trades selling books and stationery, ruling paper, binding local pamphlets, periodicals, and books, and manufacturing blankbooks for a variety of purposes. Since much local printing was ephemeral in nature, the only evidence of its existence is found in the record books kept by printers and binders. Partial business records and other surviving artifacts of the Guelph Bookbindery, which operated from 1855 to 1978, are both a rich source of evidence of the day-to-day operations of the bookbindery and a key to the intersection of print trades in Guelph, Ontario, and the surrounding counties. This study uses local imprints, blankbooks, authors’ papers, newspapers, directories, maps, assessment records, photographs, museum artifacts, and oral history accounts to reconstruct a history of the bookbindery and its place in the print culture of nineteenth-century Guelph. It documents the transformation of a business selling books, stationery, and wallpaper into a commercial bindery, which along with local printers produced large numbers of pamphlets, ubiquitous then but increasingly rare today. It is a view into the microcosm of a dynamic community where print was a vital medium for communication reflecting the cultural, commercial, and entrepreneurial discourse in nineteenth-century Canadian society that reached far beyond its borders.

The History of the Book in Canada / Histoire du livre et de l’imprimé au Canada and other national book history projects have been a catalyst for research into the local production of print and have highlighted the need for more study of the print trades in smaller centres. In Ontario during the nineteenth century independent weekly newspapers were printed in most villages, while larger towns boasted more than one print shop and often one or more booksellers and stationers. Bookbinders were active members of the book trades selling books and stationery, ruling paper, binding local pamphlets, periodicals, and books, and manufacturing blankbooks for a variety of purposes. Since much local printing was ephemeral in nature, the only evidence of its existence is found in the record books kept by printers and binders. Partial business records and other surviving artifacts of the Guelph Bookbindery, which operated from 1855 to 1978, are both a rich source of evidence of the day-to-day operations of the bookbindery and a key to the intersection of print trades in Guelph, Ontario, and the surrounding counties. This study uses local imprints, blankbooks, authors’ papers, newspapers, directories, maps, assessment records, photographs, museum artifacts, and oral history accounts to reconstruct a history of the bookbindery and its place in the print culture of nineteenth-century Guelph. It documents the transformation of a business selling books, stationery, and wallpaper into a commercial bindery, which along with local printers produced large numbers of pamphlets, ubiquitous then but increasingly rare today. It is a view into the microcosm of a dynamic community where print was a vital medium for communication reflecting the cultural, commercial, and entrepreneurial discourse in nineteenth-century Canadian society that reached far beyond its borders.

This thesis is focused on increasing productive actions in construction by a procedure known as Activity Analysis. Activity Analysis is a continuous productivity improvement tool for identifying barriers to site productivity with the goal of decreasing them and thereby increasing the direct work rate. A preceding study validated this approach, however it had two limitations. No reevaluation was conducted on projects in Canada by the authors, and not enough resources or data were available to understand behaviour of the activity rates in absolute value terms across many projects. Based on three case studies and data collected over 17 days by the author and a colleague, Activity Analysis was validated as being applicable in Canadian conditions. A desired value, known as a target rate, was then studied in order to be able to set expectations with respect to the productivity to be achieved in each cycle. The premise behind setting a “target rate” is that 100% direct work is neither possible nor desirable, since some time must always be spent on communications and planning. However, a higher direct work rate is generally better than a lower rate. Thus, a target rate is needed. A mathematical model called ANFIS was developed as a means of setting the desired level of activities. Through consideration of a variety of factors that affect labour productivity, the developed model was trained based on 65 data points. The model was found to be easy to use and flexible enough to be appropriate for all of the factors considered. Based on the data points available from 5 different past projects and 3 recent projects and the experience associated with these projects, three additional methods of defining the target rate were developed. The impact of these results is that companies now have appropriate methods and an initial data set for industrial construction in order to establish target rates for direct work and supporting activities. This should help reduce project costs and improve productivity.

This thesis consists of four empirical essays on the topics of ethnic segregation, gender economics, and self-employment.    Essay I investigates how the residential mobility of Sweden's native population contributes to ethnic segregation, by applying regression discontinuity methods. The results show that the growth in the native population in a neighbourhood discontinuously drops as the share of non-European immigrants exceeds the tipping point. Tipping is driven by the departure of natives and their avoidance of tipped neighbourhoods. Tipping behaviour is selective in the sense that highly educated and high earning natives are more likely to leave neighbourhoods that have tipped.    Essay II studies the relationship between the childhood neighbourhood's ethnic composition and economic outcomes in adulthood for second-generation immigrant sand natives. The results reveal that a high concentration of immigrants in aneighbourhood is associated with a lower probability of second-generation immigrants continuing to higher education. Natives' earnings and educational attainment are negatively correlated with, and the probability of social assistance and unemployment are positively associated with a high immigrant concentration. Among non-Nordic second-generation immigrants, reliance on social assistance and unemployment are negatively correlated with the share of co-ethnics and positively associated with the proportion of other ethnic groups.    Essay III explores the role of social norms and attitudes about gender for labour market outcomes of immigrant men and women in Sweden. The results show that immigrants originating from countries with large gender disparities in labour force participation also have large gender gaps in labour force participation within their immigrant group on the Swedish labour market. In contrast, source country gender differences in earnings are not correlated with gender gaps in earnings within immigrant groups in Sweden. In addition, gender gaps in labour force participation among immigrants assimilate towards the corresponding gap among natives as time inSweden increases.    Essay IV empirically tests the Jack-of-all-trades theory, which states that individuals who are more balanced in their abilities are more suitable for self-employment. Using Swedish Military Enlistment data, a measure of balance in endowed abilities is constructed and this balance measure is, in relation to previous research, less likely tobe endogenous. The results support the Jack-of-all-trades theory, in the sense that propensity for being or becoming self-employed is greater for individuals with abalanced set of abilities. In addition, earnings from self-employment tend to be higher among individuals with a balanced set of skills.

This thesis is focused on increasing productive actions in construction by a procedure known as Activity Analysis. Activity Analysis is a continuous productivity improvement tool for identifying barriers to site productivity with the goal of decreasing them and thereby increasing the direct work rate. A preceding study validated this approach, however it had two limitations. No reevaluation was conducted on projects in Canada by the authors, and not enough resources or data were available to understand behaviour of the activity rates in absolute value terms across many projects. Based on three case studies and data collected over 17 days by the author and a colleague, Activity Analysis was validated as being applicable in Canadian conditions. A desired value, known as a target rate, was then studied in order to be able to set expectations with respect to the productivity to be achieved in each cycle. The premise behind setting a “target rate” is that 100% direct work is neither possible nor desirable, since some time must always be spent on communications and planning. However, a higher direct work rate is generally better than a lower rate. Thus, a target rate is needed. A mathematical model called ANFIS was developed as a means of setting the desired level of activities. Through consideration of a variety of factors that affect labour productivity, the developed model was trained based on 65 data points. The model was found to be easy to use and flexible enough to be appropriate for all of the factors considered. Based on the data points available from 5 different past projects and 3 recent projects and the experience associated with these projects, three additional methods of defining the target rate were developed. The impact of these results is that companies now have appropriate methods and an initial data set for industrial construction in order to establish target rates for direct work and supporting activities. This should help reduce project costs and improve productivity.

A critical set in a Latin square of order n is a set of entries in an n×n array which can be embedded in precisely one Latin square of order n, with the property that if any entry of the critical set is deleted, the remaining set can be embedded in more than one Latin square of order n. The number of critical sets grows super-exponentially as the order of the Latin square increases. It is difficult to find patterns in Latin squares of small order (order 5 or less) which can be generalised in the process of creating new theorems. Thus, I have written many algorithms to find critical sets with various properties in Latin squares of order greater than 5, and to deal with other related structures. Some algorithms used in the body of the thesis are presented in Chapter 3; results which arise from the computational studies and observations of the patterns and subsequent results are presented in Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. The cardinality of the largest critical set in any Latin square of order n is denoted by lcs(n). In 1978 Curran and van Rees proved that lcs(n)<=n²-n. In Chapter 4, it is shown that lcs(n)<=n²-3n+3. Chapter 5 provides new bounds on the maximum number of intercalates in Latin squares of orders m×2^α (m odd, α>=2) and m×2^α+1 (m odd, α>=2 and α≠3), and a new lower bound on lcs(4m). It also discusses critical sets in intercalate-rich Latin squares of orders 11 and 14. In Chapter 6 a construction is given which verifies the existence of a critical set of size n²÷ 4 + 1 when n is even and n>=6. The construction is based on the discovery of a critical set of size 17 for a Latin square of order 8. In Chapter 7 the representation of Steiner trades of volume less than or equal to nine is examined. Computational results are used to identify those trades for which the associated partial Latin square can be decomposed into six disjoint Latin interchanges. Chapter 8 focusses on critical sets in Latin squares of order at most six and extensive computational routines are used to identify all the critical sets of different sizes in these Latin squares.

A critical set in a Latin square of order n is a set of entries in an n×n array which can be embedded in precisely one Latin square of order n, with the property that if any entry of the critical set is deleted, the remaining set can be embedded in more than one Latin square of order n. The number of critical sets grows super-exponentially as the order of the Latin square increases. It is difficult to find patterns in Latin squares of small order (order 5 or less) which can be generalised in the process of creating new theorems. Thus, I have written many algorithms to find critical sets with various properties in Latin squares of order greater than 5, and to deal with other related structures. Some algorithms used in the body of the thesis are presented in Chapter 3; results which arise from the computational studies and observations of the patterns and subsequent results are presented in Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. The cardinality of the largest critical set in any Latin square of order n is denoted by lcs(n). In 1978 Curran and van Rees proved that lcs(n)<=n²-n. In Chapter 4, it is shown that lcs(n)<=n²-3n+3. Chapter 5 provides new bounds on the maximum number of intercalates in Latin squares of orders m×2^α (m odd, α>=2) and m×2^α+1 (m odd, α>=2 and α≠3), and a new lower bound on lcs(4m). It also discusses critical sets in intercalate-rich Latin squares of orders 11 and 14. In Chapter 6 a construction is given which verifies the existence of a critical set of size n²÷ 4 + 1 when n is even and n>=6. The construction is based on the discovery of a critical set of size 17 for a Latin square of order 8. In Chapter 7 the representation of Steiner trades of volume less than or equal to nine is examined. Computational results are used to identify those trades for which the associated partial Latin square can be decomposed into six disjoint Latin interchanges. Chapter 8 focusses on critical sets in Latin squares of order at most six and extensive computational routines are used to identify all the critical sets of different sizes in these Latin squares.

A critical set in a Latin square of order n is a set of entries in an n×n array which can be embedded in precisely one Latin square of order n, with the property that if any entry of the critical set is deleted, the remaining set can be embedded in more than one Latin square of order n. The number of critical sets grows super-exponentially as the order of the Latin square increases. It is difficult to find patterns in Latin squares of small order (order 5 or less) which can be generalised in the process of creating new theorems. Thus, I have written many algorithms to find critical sets with various properties in Latin squares of order greater than 5, and to deal with other related structures. Some algorithms used in the body of the thesis are presented in Chapter 3; results which arise from the computational studies and observations of the patterns and subsequent results are presented in Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. The cardinality of the largest critical set in any Latin square of order n is denoted by lcs(n). In 1978 Curran and van Rees proved that lcs(n)<=n²-n. In Chapter 4, it is shown that lcs(n)<=n²-3n+3. Chapter 5 provides new bounds on the maximum number of intercalates in Latin squares of orders m×2^α (m odd, α>=2) and m×2^α+1 (m odd, α>=2 and α≠3), and a new lower bound on lcs(4m). It also discusses critical sets in intercalate-rich Latin squares of orders 11 and 14. In Chapter 6 a construction is given which verifies the existence of a critical set of size n²÷ 4 + 1 when n is even and n>=6. The construction is based on the discovery of a critical set of size 17 for a Latin square of order 8. In Chapter 7 the representation of Steiner trades of volume less than or equal to nine is examined. Computational results are used to identify those trades for which the associated partial Latin square can be decomposed into six disjoint Latin interchanges. Chapter 8 focusses on critical sets in Latin squares of order at most six and extensive computational routines are used to identify all the critical sets of different sizes in these Latin squares.

This study focused on the role of and the relationship between the traditional apprenticeship system and cooperative education in British Columbia (BC) as experiential strategies to facilitate the transition from school to work. A literature review traced the conceptual foundations, origins and evolution of apprenticeship training and cooperative education and their interaction in the training of apprentices. Thereafter, the provision of the school-to-work strategies in Canada on federal and provincial levels with special reference to British Columbia was described. The literature indicated that apprenticeship has remained the principal route for the training of skilled blue-collar workers. However, the relevance of apprenticeship has been questioned. Although the apprenticeship system has not essentially changed in BC, the system has become increasingly regulated. Industry, advocates of more flexible training delivery methods and the BC Provincial Government through Bill 34 have challenged apprenticeship training. Cooperative education originated as a result of individual thinking, a changing society and system of post-secondary education linked to industry's training needs. It has grown in number, application, fields of study and constituency and its mode of operation has been modified to meet institutional needs. There are strong indications that the cooperative model has been an effective educational model, particularly in training apprentices within the traditional apprenticeship system. Thus, a need arose to explore the level of satisfaction of employers with cooperative education as a valid methodology to train apprentices within the context of the new apprenticeship training model in British Columbia. An empirical investigation combining quantitative and qualitative approaches conducted in two phases was conducted. A survey with a random sample of employees and semi-structured interviews with a small sample of employees selected by purposeful sampling were undertaken to explore perceptions and experiences of employers who have been involved with both training methods during the last four years. The research design is described including the selection of participants, data gathering and analysis. The main findings emerging from the data are presented and integrated with the findings of the literature. The study concludes with a set of recommendations for practice and with recommendations for future research. / Educational Studies / (D.Ed. (Comparative Education)