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1
Vaithianathan, Rhema. "Economic Incentives and Clinical Decisions." Thesis, University of Auckland, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/2235.
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In the face of escalating health care expenditure, OECD countries are turning to a variety of cost-containment strategies. This thesis analyses three such mechanisms. In Part I, I consider the use of coinsurance to limit the demand for health care. Because coinsurance reduces the elasticity of demand with respect to the price of health care, consumers facing low coinsurance rates may be charged a higher price by doctors. Such discriminatory pricing enables the doctor to extract surplus created in the insurance market, and therefore reduces the effectiveness of coinsurance. I show that in equilibrium, some consumers remain uninsured. I also show how this problem is solved if the doctor and insurer enter into managed care style arrangements. Such arrangements improve insurer and doctor profitability, and restore complete insurance market coverage. In Part II, I consider the design of fundholding schemes which encourage doctors to restrict expensive treatment to severely ill patients. I show that such schemes may be undermined by a patient-doctor side contract. In the face of such patient-doctor collusion, the fundholding scheme may be made collusion-proof by increasing its "power". I show that the optimal collusion-proof scheme may pay the doctor more than his reservation wage. An alternative solution to patient-doctor collusion is to use a partial fundholding scheme that requires some additional co-payment from the patient. Part III analyses New Zealand's internal market reforms. Introduced in 1993, the reforms involved the separation of funding and provision of health care, and were intended to simulate a competitive market environment, thereby improving the incentives of government owned health care providers to be efficient. On the supply side, I look at the internal restructuring of hospitals into private-sector clones. I argue that this commercialisation failed to take account of informational issues within the hospital. On the demand-side, I examine the suitability of internal markets for eliciting optimal innovation from the hospital sector. Again, I find that a standard argument, namely that increased competition leads to innovation, is questionable in the context of the internal market.Whole document restricted, but available by request, use the feedback form to request access.
2
Clydesdale, Greg. "Industrial leadership : a historical analysis of merchant shipping." Lincoln University, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1712.
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This thesis set out to explore the forces that determine the rise and fall of industrial leadership. It attempted to do this by applying an industry life cycle model to the shipping industry. The industrial life cycle was posited on the basis of existing literature, particularly the growth of knowledge, evolutionary and institutional literature, which lend themselves to patterns of industrial growth and entrapment. On this basis, this thesis set out to examine whether industrial leadership can be explained by a four-staged process of imitation, catch up, advance and entrapment. However, this thesis has exposed something more complicated. Processes of imitation, catch up advance and entrapment were shown to be at work in the shipping industry, but they were tempered by the effects of military and political forces that may not be exogenous, and the trend from regionalism to globalisation. The original model did not encompass early indigenous developments that are not based on imitation that do not immediately lead to a position of advanced leadership. In this light, a better description of the first stage would be capability building.
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Perry, Geoffrey E. "Economic evaluation of active labour market policy in New Zealand 1989 to 1997." Thesis, University of Auckland, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/525.
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Active labour market programmes are an important component of government labour market policy internationally and in New Zealand. The growth in unemployment, and in particular male and long term unemployment, since the mid 1980's in New Zealand have contributed to the enhanced role of active labour market programmes in government policy. In the early 1990's the New Zealand government introduced a menu of interventions including subsidy, work experience and training programmes. Concomitant with this development has been increased pressure from political, business and social groups to assess the effectiveness of this approach in lowering unemployment. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the effect of active labour market policy utilised in New Zealand from 1989 to 1997. Whether or not these active labour market interventions were beneficial to those males who participated in them, the effect of treatment upon the treated, is the parameter estimated. The range of programmes makes it possible to analyse a number of programme evaluation issues. These include the overall question of the impact of subsidy, work experience and training programmes in general, but also other specific research questions. In particular the range of subsidy programmes makes it possible to identify that subsidies to private sector firms are more effective than those to public sector organisations. The effectiveness of start-up subsidies for the unemployed are also evaluated and found to be beneficial. The effects of participation upon selected education and ethnic groups are also estimated. Since there is no one estimation approach that works in all circumstances, both regression and matching estimators are used. In order to achieve this it is necessary to create two estimation datasets as the data requirements vary for each technique. The main findings from the research are that participation in active labour market programmes is beneficial in reducing the length of time that participants are registered as unemployed. Work experience programmes have the largest impact, followed by subsidies. The effect of training programmes is smallest. The major beneficial effect occurs in the year following participation and then reduces in subsequent years. There are also some important methodological findings, including the sensitivity of results to the time frame, to the datasets chosen, and to the estimation techniques used.
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Fernandez, Cheryl Joy Jardiolin. "Marine protected area : a case study in north-easter Iloilo, Philippines : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Economics, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1250.
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Marine Protected Area (MPA), as a fisheries management tool has been promoted by both national and local conservationists and has provided de facto illustrations of integrated coastal management (ICM) in the Philippines. However, conflict is inevitable in the implementation of public policy such as the MPA because of contrasting objectives and expectations from various stakeholders. Coupled with non-human (e.g. MPA size) and human (e.g. mismanagement) threats, conflict becomes a hindrance to MPA effectivity. In the Philippines alone, only 10-20% of the 500 MPAs are attaining their objectives. This study presents an overview of MPA management and examines the interaction between the civil society and market forces of institutional arrangements in the case of North-Eastern Iloilo (NI) in the Philippines. It discusses overall scenarios that resemble conflict between various national, local and international sectors, assessing MPA success factors and the expected implications from such implementation. Results from key informant, focus-group discussion and social survey show that there are problems on MPA management in the region. Using data and strategic analyses, it presents that minimisation of conflicts amongst actors should be the primary goal of the NI municipalities. In addition, MPA size and membership to organisations are also significant factors of success. Moreover, the analysis from a simple correlation to complex Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) conclude that information on MPA regulation does not directly contribute to the improvement in MPA management. It implies that a focus on informing stakeholders about the benefits of having an MPA and its regulations is ineffective. The focus should be on the reduction of conflict between economic actors - for free riding problems are currently occurring, thus minimising conflict by conflict resolution and proper incentives. However, there are still remaining challenges on MPA management, for not all factors are incorporated on this study. The challenge now is on how to identify the remaining factors and integrate them into policies and implementations to improve the overall condition of coastal communities.
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Serra, Postiglione Virginia. "A comparative study of the sources of competitive advantage in the New Zealand and Uruguayan beef industries." Lincoln University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1115.
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According to Porter (1990), there are certain characteristics of a country that allow its industries to create and sustain competitive advantage, or prevent them from doing so. The objective of this study was to identify and compare the sources of competitive advantage or disadvantage for the Uruguayan and New Zealand beef industries. To accomplish these objectives, Porter’s Diamond Framework was selected as the theoretical framework to assess the competitive advantage of nations. Two case studies “the Beef Industry in Uruguay” and “the Beef Industry in New Zealand” were carried out. The information was obtained from secondary sources and open-ended interviews to key informants in both countries. Uruguay and New Zealand possess observable similarities, such as size, population, similar farmland area, and an economy based on agriculture with low levels of subsidies and trade regulations. In addition, the industries in both countries target the international market. Considering beef production, these countries produce beef based on pastures; hence, they have similar seasonal fluctuations in slaughter and in the product offered into the market. These similarities make these countries interesting to compare. On the other hand, Uruguay and New Zealand have differences. They are in different stages of economic development, and have cultural, sociological and educational differences. The beef industry is the most important economic activity in Uruguay, as can be illustrated by the resources allocated in this sector and in the volume and value of exported beef. In New Zealand, the beef industry is less important; however, it constitutes an excellent complementary activity for sheep and dairy productions. Both beef industries also have differences in their levels of productivity, stock compositions, stock categories, age of slaughtered animals, sanitary status, and locations in relation to markets. This suggests different sources of competitive advantage. The results show that the Uruguayan beef industry has a weaker diamond than its New Zealand counterpart does. However, the industry in Uruguay has been increasing the use of resources in comparison to other pastoral activities such as dairy and sheep. In contrast, the New Zealand beef industry, despite having a stronger diamond than the Uruguayan beef industry, has a secondary role behind the sheep and dairy industry. There are two clear limitations for the Uruguayan beef industry. First, the performance of the primary sector is poor. Second, the Uruguayan exported beef receives a lower price than the New Zealand product, and has difficulties for gaining access to certain markets. These two characteristics were identified as the most dissimilar for both industries. The selected research design and theoretical framework were adequate to accomplish the objectives. Although most of Porter’s findings were not supported in this study, using the framework allowed the development of an exhaustive analysis of the possible factors affecting the sources of competitive advantage in both industries. Comparing diamonds in different countries has not been done before; therefore, this research provides empirical evidence of the advantages and disadvantages of using this framework for international comparisons. Finally, the information presented in this research did not intend to suggest possible strategies or policies to increase the competitiveness of both industries. However, the results are likely to provide useful information for further studies in these industries.
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Saha, Shrabani. "Causes of corruption : an empirical investigation in a cross-country framework : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosphy in Economics, Massey University, Turitea campus, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1327.
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In recent years corruption has come to be considered as a pervasive phenomenon, and a major obstacle in the process of economic development. However, there exist few studies that discuss the factors that cause corruption and why some countries are more corrupt than others. This research contributes to that rather scanty literature and focuses on the causes of corruption. More importantly, the study empirically investigates various causes of corruption, in particular the role of economic development, democracy and economic freedom in explaining the observed variations in corruption across countries, and the nexus between democracy and economic freedom in combating corruption. The study first tests the reliability of the recent quantitative innovations in the study of corruption in terms of the Corruption Perception Index, constructed by Transparency International. Using theoretical and empirical analysis, various hypotheses regarding corruption and its determinants are examined using panel data for 100 countries during the period 1995 to 2004. The empirical findings show that the subjective indexing process of corruption perception eventually converges to a common consensus. In evaluating the relationship between economic development and corruption, the results suggest that income per capita, education, unemployment, income inequality, economic freedom and democracy are among the factors which determine and help explain the cross-country differences in corruption. Furthermore, the assessment of the relationship between democracy and corruption shows that an ‘electoral democracy’, represented by ‘political rights’, is not in itself sufficient to reduce corruption. Instead, for low levels of corruption to exist, the presence of an advanced fully-formed mature democracy is required. A characteristic of a mature democracy is the existence of an environment where the probability of being caught, if acting corruptly, is very high. In addition, the examination of the interaction between economic freedom and democracy suggests that economic freedom reduces corruption in any political environment, and the effect is substantially larger with a high level of democracy. The interesting and important findings of the analysis indicate that there exists a non-linear relationship between corruption and the level of income as well as democracy. The findings suggest that developed countries have succeeded in controlling corruption through higher levels of economic development along with the economic and political freedoms that their peoples enjoy.
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Beban, Alice. "Organic agriculture: an empowering development strategy for small-scale farmers? A Cambodian case study : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/971.
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This thesis explores claims that organic agriculture may be an empowering development strategy by investigating the impacts of conversion to organic farming systems on the lives of small-scale farmers in Cambodia. The thesis interrogates the diverse uses and abuses of the term =empowerment‘ in development rhetoric and argues for an empowerment model that is derived from farmers‘ self-defined concepts of development. This model was used to conduct a qualitative case study involving semistructured interviews and focus groups with members of organics initiatives in seven diverse Cambodian communities. Results indicate that many farmers in all communities felt that their most important objective was not only to achieve food security, but to be able to grow sufficient rice to feed their family. Farmers joined the organics initiatives primarily to improve their health and reduce the cost of farming inputs. As a result of joining the initiatives, all farmers (including both certified and non-certified organic farmers) felt they had improved their health and food security. Most farmers also increased incomes, created stronger family and community ties and felt they had more control over their livelihoods. These benefits were not, however, distributed equally amongst individuals or communities. Very poor and isolated farmers could not generally access benefits. The three main factors that determined the impact of the organics initiatives on farmer empowerment were identified as: the individual‘s level of resources, the strength of the farmer group, and the policies and values of the supporting organisation. The implications for future initiatives are, firstly, the tremendous potential for farmers and wider rural communities to benefit from organic agriculture as a development strategy. However, this study also shows that if organics is to be viable for low-resource people, it may be necessary to promote both resources and techniques in organics initiatives. Also, a focus on building strong relationships both within the farmers group and linkages with local and wider stakeholders may enhance long-term sustainability of organics initiatives.
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Yeeting, Agnes David. "An economic analysis of the domestication of the tuna fishery - the case of Kiribati." Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1493.
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The Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) is home to the largest tuna fishery stock in the world. However, Pacific Island members of the Western and Central Pacific Tuna Commission (WCPTC) argue that their share of the economic rent from the tuna catches taken out of the Pacific region is very small, being on average only about 6% of the total net benefit, when compared to the share earned by Distant Water Fishing Nations (DWFNs). Kiribati is one of the Pacific Island Countries (PICs), which relies heavily on its fishery for its economic development and sustainability. Kiribati earns 40% - 50 % of its government revenue from fisheries access fees paid by DWFNs for tuna caught in the the Kiribati EEZ. The Government of Kiribati (GoK) believes that Kiribati could get greater benefit if they develop their own domestic tuna fishery. This study uses Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and SWOT Analysis to investigate whether domestication of the tuna fishery is the right move for Kiribati or not. The CBA reported in this thesis adapted a model developed by Campbell (2004) to investigate and evaluate fisheries policy in Papua New Guinea (PNG). However the model in this thesis is reflective of the situation and case of Kiribati. In analyzing the different options identified in this study, the CBA indicated negative (-) NPV(s) for the medium-sized vessel option and positive (+) NPV(s) for the large-sized vessel option. The SWOT analysis however, complemented the CBA by further investigating the tuna domestication options in the economic, social and business and business environment of Kiribati. The SWOT analysis indicated that the existing situation and business conditions in Kiribati appears to favor the small to medium sized vessel options which are less risky than the large purse seine vessel option.
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Kautoke-Holani, Alisi Wenonalita. "Agricultural export growth and economic development for Tonga : the quest for efficiency : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Public Policy at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand." Massey University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/899.
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Neo-liberalism has become the dominant approach to economic development since the 1980s. Based on the economic principle of “efficiency”, the Washington Consensus and its supporters have avidly promoted the neoliberal orthodoxy as the ideal blueprint for the economic development of all countries in every region. However, as this thesis has discovered, the efficiency of public policy is weighed not by its conformity to an ideology but on how effective it responds to the economic and social problems of the population in question. In recent years Tonga has endured severe economic shocks which have pushed its low growth economy to the brink of economic crisis. In response to this crisis, the Government has chosen greater economic liberalisation and private sector – led growth to lead the economy to recovery. The Washington Consensus and its international supporters claim that this is the best policy response for Tonga due to the belief that greater liberalisation leads to greater efficiency. This thesis however believes that at the current dire state of the economy, it is not enough for Tongan public policy to just conform to international views on efficient economic development but to ensure that its economic development policies address the economic and social needs of the general Tongan population. With this in mind, this thesis investigated the role of agriculture in economic development. It identified that for an agriculture-based country such as Tonga, at low levels of growth, agricultural development is fundamental to long term economic growth. This research also revealed that agricultural growth is maximised through trade hence suggesting increased focus on agricultural export development. Based on these findings, this research project set out to verify the efficiency of Government agricultural policies by identifying the views of agricultural exporters and comparing these with Government approaches to agricultural export development in Tonga.
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Kaye-Blake, William. "Demand for genetically modified food : theory and empirical findings." Lincoln University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/19.
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As economies develop, novel products are created and markets for these products arise. Genetically modified food (GMF) is an example of such a novel product and provides economists with the opportunity to investigate an infant market. Of particular interest with GMF is the impact of consumer reactions on the market. The response of consumers to GMF and their willingness to pay for it has emerged as an important factor in the development of this technology. This research investigates these consumer responses. Prior research suggests that two aspects of consumer behaviour may be relevant for the GMF market. First, consumers may react differently to different types of GMF, so that some products are potentially more economically viable. Secondly, some consumers appear to prefer not having GMF at all. Consumer behaviour is often framed according to neoclassical economic theory. Consumer preferences over goods and the attributes of those goods are generally held to have certain properties. The aspects of consumers' reactions to GMF noted above, however, may be in conflict with two properties of preferences in neoclassical theory. First, preferences over food attributes are not separable, but may interact with each other. Secondly, some consumers may have preferences regarding GMF that are not continuous. As a result, aggregate impacts of introducing GMF may be difficult to measure, which raises a third issue for investigation, aggregation. Finally, an alternative model of consumer behaviour is bounded rationality, which theorises that choices may be discontinuous as a result of specific protocols. It also suggests that consumers seek to make good-enough choices, rather than attempting to maximise their satisfaction. Thus, optimisation or maximisation is the fourth issue considered in this thesis. In order to investigate these properties of consumers' preferences, a choice experiment survey was developed. The strength of a choice experiment for examining these issues is its focus on the impact of each product attribute on a respondent's choices. Thus, it may be possible to identify potentially discontinuous choice patterns and to identify choices affected by interactions between GM technology and other food attributes. Results from a neoclassical analysis of the survey data suggest that some consumers consider the type of benefit created with GM technology in making their choices. In addition, one-quarter to one-half of respondents may have had discontinuous preferences with respect to GMF. Reactions to GMF appear related to respondents' attitudes, but not to socio-economic or demographic descriptors. As a result, aggregate measures of the impact of GMF may not fully account for consumers' responses. A boundedly rational model also has reasonable goodness of fit, and may provide a different perspective on consumer behaviour. It is hoped that the results of this research provide a better understanding of consumer behaviour regarding GMF and, by extension, of the process of consumer adoption of novel products. It is further hoped that this attempt to incorporate choice protocols into discrete choice analysis will provide a useful example for further research.
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Hearnshaw, Edward J. S. "A Post-classical economics approach to ecosystem management." Diss., Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1425.
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A principal purpose of this thesis is to present an economic evaluation of ecosystems. The concept of ecosystem health is adopted to ascertain the status of ecosystems. Ecosystem health is considered in part an economic concept and defined as a function of utility through the ecosystem services that satisfy various needs, subject to preserving the integrity of the adaptive cycle. In order to quantify the utility supplied by ecosystem services the novel utility index Ecosystem Outcome Protection Year (ECOPY) is developed. By forming this index, an evaluation can be performed using cost utility analysis, which avoids monetizing these benefits. An attempt is made to ascertain an appropriate approach for ecosystem management. It is reasoned that expert intuition can determine some kind of macro-regularities in ecosystems despite their complex dynamics. Hence, these inferences could be used for ecosystem management. Adaptive co-management is introduced as a means to bring about the collaboration of experts as resource co-managers. The concept of informed intuition is developed to bring about a systematic approach to learning and evaluation where the mental models of experts are transcribed using fuzzy cognitive mapping. However, it is argued that ecosystems as complex adaptive systems are non-ergodic and full of surprises. Accordingly, abduction, the logic of creative conjecture is systematically developed, for the purposes of maintaining mental model flexibility. This systematic application of abduction with an informed intuition forms the proposed abductive process of research, which is grounded in Shacklean potential surprise, a non-probabilistic function. To demonstrate this novel research process, a post-classical economic evaluation of Te Waihora lake ecosystem is undertaken, which employs the ECOPY index and potential surprise method. This empirical case study reveals various cost-effective management actions for improving lake health, which went beyond the intuitions of resource co-managers. This indicated the potential of the approach, which is considered a significant contribution for the methodological development of ecosystem management.
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Anker-Kofoed, Ellen. "A quantitative analysis of trade-related issues in the global kiwifruit industry." Diss., Lincoln University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/627.
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New Zealand is currently the third largest global producer of kiwifruit and thus plays an important role in the international market. Exports of kiwifruit are also of significant horticultural value for New Zealand and in 2007 the kiwifruit industry accounted for export values of NZ$790 million. The global kiwifruit market has experienced substantial changes in recent years and is likely to change significantly in the near future due to developments in production sources, adjustments to trade policy settings and shifts in consumer preferences. The New Zealand kiwifruit industry needs to consider what the impacts of these changes might be so that future strategies can be constructed effectively. Little quantitative modelling has been done in New Zealand to consider the impacts of changes to the global kiwifruit industry. The major contribution of this research was the development and calibration of a kiwifruit industry-specific partial equilibrium trade model. The model was then used to examine the impacts on New Zealand producers of these trade-related changes in the global kiwifruit market. Three relevant scenarios were developed for this purpose. They include a drop in EU demand through the introduction of a stricter Sanitary and Phytosanitary policy, an expansion of the Chinese kiwifruit industry where production is doubled by year 2013 and finally a trade liberalisation scenario where current import tariffs on kiwifruit were removed worldwide. It is clearly observed, through both the Chinese expansion scenario and the trade liberalisation scenario, what a potential impact and future role China has as a world market player. Increased availability of Chinese kiwifruit appears to affect New Zealand producer returns and exported quantities negatively, albeit not as significantly as the EU introduction of an SPS policy. A trade liberalisation scenario, on the other hand, proves to increase New Zealand grower returns significantly for all varieties.
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Brüniche-Olsen, Lau. "Perceived risk and entry mode strategies of Danish firms in Central and Eastern Europe." Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1427.
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In his assessment of the theory development within international market entry mode, Cumberland (2006) outlines the importance of devoting more attention to the research linking the theoretical level and the operational level. Other researchers have shown the performance of a firm is highly affected by its internationalisation process and selecting the right entry mode is one of the most critical managerial decisions. Despite many years of interest from researchers, the entry choice strategy area is still considered a frontier issue. Researchers have suggested that managing risk is one of the major strategic objectives for managers of multinational firms. Furthermore, risk is regarded as a key determinant in relation to entry mode choice. Research has found that the various risk variables should be regarded as an integrated measure in relation to entry mode choice and not single measures. By looking at a single risk variable, the firm might analyse the situation incorrectly, which may lead to an incorrect entry mode. This study investigates the relationship between entry mode choice, perceived risk and risk tolerance for Danish firms entering Central and Eastern Europe by using a probabilistic model. The results indicate risk should be regarded as an integrated measure in relation to entry mode. Despite not all risk variables showing significant correlation with entry mode, some relations were found. The preferred model for predicting entry mode included years of CEE experience, number of competitors, cultural difference, consumer taste and future market potential. In addition, the analysis showed that Danish firms generally are relatively risk averse. Regardless of entry mode, the analysis showed that Danish firms regard CEE as politically stable and do not see a potential risk in government involvement in their activities. Furthermore, Danish firms experience relatively high and increasing competition in CEE, however, they indicate the same methods are available for marketing in CEE as in Denmark.
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Jiang, Haiyan. "Three essays on ownership concentration in New Zealand." Diss., Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/974.
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There are two competing theoretical debates about the impact of ownership concentration on organisational outcomes, namely efficient-monitoring hypothesis and conflict-of-interest (strategic-alignment) hypothesis. New Zealand has a distinctively concentrated ownership structure. This raises an important research question: Does concentrated ownership in New Zealand perform an efficient monitoring or opportunistic function? This question remains unanswered due to the very limited research on ownership structure in New Zealand. This research considers three specific where studying the function of ownership concentration is likely to be insightful. Three contexts are: CEO compensation scheme, corporate voluntary disclosures and investor perception of ownership structure in the stock market. This research further contributes to the existing literature by decomposing ownership into four mutually exclusive groups, namely financial institution-, government-, management- and other company-controlled ownership structures. The different impacts of ownership concentration under each type of controlling ownership structure are investigated. The findings of Essay One reveal that concentrated ownership is a significant contributor to the poor CEO compensation pay-for-performance relationship in New Zealand listed companies. However, reduced ownership concentration promotes the alignment between CEO compensation and firm performance. These results imply that large shareholders in New Zealand do not play a monitoring role in curbing managerial power; rather it exacerbates the poor relationship between CEO compensation and firm performance. In Essay Two, regression results show that companies characterised by financial institution-controlled ownership structure tend to make significantly fewer (more) disclosures at high (low) concentration levels. In contrast, firm observations in the high concentration group with government- and management-controlled ownership structures have considerably higher voluntary disclosure scores compared with their low concentration counterparts. With respect to the linearity assumption, the relationship between ownership concentration and voluntary disclosure practices unveil a non-linear pattern, indicating that the efficiency of large shareholders’ monitoring varies with the level of intensity of ownership concentration. The results of Essay Three demonstrate that ownership concentration in general is positively associated with information asymmetry observed around annual report release date. This is supportive of investor-adverse selection towards ownership concentration, and such an adverse selection problem is strongly associated with financial institutional and managerial shareholdings. Also, ownership concentration decreases stock liquidity, so no result is found in line with the ownership concentration liquidity hypothesis. When voluntary disclosure is taken into account, regression results suggest that disclosure significantly attenuates information asymmetry risk related to ownership concentration. This effect is particularly pronounced for firms with management-controlled ownership structure. Findings highlight the importance of corporate disclosures under concentrated ownership structure in eliminating information asymmetry and enhancing market efficiency in New Zealand.
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Huang, Peng. "Determinants of household saving in China." Master's thesis, Lincoln University. Commerce Division, 2006. http://theses.lincoln.ac.nz/public/adt-NZLIU20061202.004631/.
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It is a conventional wisdom that since the start of the Chinese economic reform in 1978, the domestic saving structure in China has changed significantly. Previous studies of household saving in China (for example: Qian, 1988, Feltenstein et al, 1990, and Wakabayashi and Mackellar, 1999) have usually relied upon the Keynesian absolute-income hypothesis, Duesenberrys relative-income hypothesis, and Friedmans permanent-income hypothesis. This thesis uses the Modigliani-Brumberg life-cycle hypothesis to examine the determinants of household saving behavior in the Peoples Republic of China during the period 1978 to 2003. The research uses modern cointegration techniques to examine the impact on saving rates of economic growth, age dependency, wealth, the real interest rate, social security payments and unemployment (as a proxy for income uncertainty). Autoregressive distributed lag models are constructed and tested. The results find that economic growth, the real interest rate and social security payments have the expected effect with significant parameters; age dependency has the expected sign but in one model is not statistically significant; and that unemployment is not significant. The most surprising result is that increases in household wealth are associated with increased saving rates, which may help explain very high economic growth rates in China post 1978.
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Ahumada, P. E. "The theoretical relevance of an updated Marxian theory of commodity in economics." Lincoln University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/365.
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How does material production become socially recognised in capitalism? This is a fundamental question to be addressed in capitalist production, since material production takes place privately and independently in a global and atomistic system. This thesis shows that the question is tackled by Marx in the first three chapters of Capital. The process of social recognition of material production is that of the realisation of work carried out privately and independently as part of the social labour. For Marx this occurs through the private and independent work becoming objective social labour as the substance of the value of commodities, and through the latter finding its necessary developed mercantile expression in the price form of commodities. Therefore, private and independent work becomes social labour through the recognition of its product as equivalent to a certain amount of money. The thesis argues that Marx's answer is powerfully insightful but flawed because it did not succeed in fully characterising the historical specificity of commodity. Commodity is not merely the differentiated unity of use value and value but of use value and mercantile use value, and of labour value and mercantile value. The former dialectic is immediate and distinguishes between the utility of commodity as a direct means of consumption or production and that as a means of exchange, fully determining the behaviour of the private and independent commodity producer. The latter dialectic is objective and distinguishes between commodity as the embodiment of the social labour necessary to reproduce it and as the embodiment of command over social labour, enabling the adjustment of the productive structure. Both dialectics are mediated by the mercantile form of value, which allows the indirect expression of labour value as the gravitational force of the system. The theory of commodity offered in this thesis, unlike that of Marx, consistently hinges on the atomistic private and independent commodity producer. The thesis shows that commodity production is the organisation of society's labour for its material reproduction, just as in any previous mode of production. The discovery of the generic aspect of commodity production breaks the false immediate link between production and supply, and that between the labour theory of value and both the supply-side-determined theory of price and the single-factor theory of production. The thesis also shows that the mercantile form of value is what allows society's labour to become an objective and autonomous materially abstract substance regulating the adjustment of the productive system under the form of material signals. This is the specific aspect of a global mode of production comprised of free and independent individuals. The mercantile form of value is thus Adam Smith's invisible hand. Finally, the thesis analyses some implications of the framework with regard to the analysis of monetary phenomena, capital accumulation and sustainable development, and reviews the most popular Marxian topic in Economics: the transformation of values into prices of production.
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Lambert, Simon J. "The expansion of sustainability through New Economic Space : Māori potatoes and cultural resilience." Lincoln University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/309.
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The return of Māori land to a productive role in the New Economy entails the innovation and diffusion of technologies relevant to the sustainable development of this land. Sustainable development requires substantive changes to current land and resource use to mitigate environmental degradation and contribute to ecological and sociological resilience. Such innovation is emerging in 'New Economic Space' where concerns for cultural resilience have arisen as political-economic strategies of the New Economy converge within a global economic space. New Economic Space comprises policy, technology and institutional innovations that attempt to influence economic activity, thus directly engaging with local 'place-based' expressions of geohistorically unique knowledge and identity. This thesis approaches contemporary Māori development from three perspectives. First, by viewing the changing links between ecosystems and communities as examples of innovation diffusion, the evolution of relevant policies, technologies and institutions can be examined for their impact upon Māori resilience. Second, such innovation diffusion can be described as a form of regional development, acknowledging the integral role of traditional territories in Māori identity and culture as well as the distinct legislative and governance contexts by which this land is developed. Third, by incorporating the geohistorical uniqueness of Māori ideas, values and beliefs, standard concepts of political-economy can be reformulated to show an explicit cultural economy – Māori Traditional Economic Space – in which Māori horticulturalists participate in parallel with the New Economy. Two methods are used in the analysis of the participation by Māori horticulturalists in New Economic Space. Fuzzy set/Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fs/QCA) allows the rigorous investigation of small-N studies of limited diversity for their partial membership in nominated sets. This thesis uses fs/QCA to organise theoretical and substantive knowledge of each case study to score its membership in agri-food networks, Māori institutions and post-production strategies, allowing the identification of causal configurations that lead to greater resilience for Māori growers and their communities. The second method is Actor-Network Theory (ANT) that incorporates elements of nature and society, showing the extensive and dynamic entwinement that exists between the two. ANT describes the enrolment of diverse 'actants' by a range of eco-social institutions and the subsequent translation of the resulting assemblages into resilience strategies. The results of this research first show a 'System of Provision' (SOP) in which Māori development strategies converge with non-Māori attempts to expand research and marketing programmes. These programmes seek to implement added-value strategies in supplying novel horticultural products within New Economic Space; parallel 'cultural logics' ensure food is supplied to traditional Māori institutions according to the cultural logics of Māori. In addition to this finding, results also show that the participation of Māori growers in New Economic Space can paradoxically lead to an expansion of the Traditional Economic Space of Māori. This expansion is not simply contingent upon configurations of policy, technology, and institutional innovations that originate in New Economic Space but is directed by Māori cultural logics, located in Māori territories but seeking innovations from an amorphous universal 'core'. The interface between the global New Economy and the localities of a Māori cultural economy is defined by the 'interrogation' of these innovations, and innovators, through eco-cultural institutions in their diffusion to and from Māori land, Māori resources and Māori people. Within the boundaries of this interrogation border resides a malleable assemblage of actants, enrolled by Māori as components of resilience strategies, which can lead to the endurance of Māori culture.
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Bewsell, Denise. "Determining individuals' response to New Zealand biosecurity : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters [i.e. Master] of Commerce and Management at Lincoln University /." Lincoln University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1412.
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The effectiveness of biosecurity measures at national borders is influenced by the behaviour of individuals. One influence on the behaviour of individuals is level of involvement. Involvement is the importance or relevance of an object or situation to an individual. Involvement helps regulate the way in which people receive and process information and thus influences the extent of information searching for decision making, information processing and persuasion. A second area of influence on individuals is the way in which information is framed. Framing influences the persuasiveness of communications. In this study the concept of involvement was used to investigate the response of individuals to New Zealand biosecurity requirements and the response of individuals to differently framed biosecurity information. A range of people associated with the agricultural and food processing sectors were surveyed using a five item scale of involvement to measure their level of involvement in biosecurity. The results indicated that most respondents had medium to high levels of involvement. This implies that respondents were motivated to attend to and process information on biosecurity measures. However, not all respondents reported taking note of biosecurity information implying that involvement with biosecurity prompts some initial information processing which may or may not continue over time. Respondents were also asked to rate four postcards, each designed with a different message strategy. Individuals with high involvement indicated that the postcard with the negatively framed emotion/entertainment message strategy was most persuasive. The results indicate that specifically targeting information to individuals based on their level of involvement in biosecurity may increase compliance with biosecurity measures.
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Kaliyati, William Qinisela. "Staying or leaving New Zealand after you graduate? : reflecting on brain drain and brain circulation issues facing graduates : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce and Management at Lincoln University /." Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1535.
Full textAbstract:
Brain drain and brain circulation are forms of skilled labour migration which have a significant impact on New Zealand’s economic growth. Based on their importance, it is suggested that economies rethink how they compete for skilled labour in an international labour market. This research study reviews economic and non-economic factors that influence an individual’s decisions to stay or leave New Zealand. Data is collected from a survey sample of Lincoln University final year undergraduate and postgraduate students, who represent New Zealand’s future skilled labour. The research study employs a data reduction technique called factor analysis to collate large sets of variables into small sets for econometric analysis. The key econometric tool, logit analysis, provides probabilities of graduates leaving New Zealand and marginal effects of changes in key economic and non-economic variables. These key findings, providing new knowledge, are used to engage in a policy discussion in the last chapter. The research study importantly maintains focus on three key stakeholders, the government, the business community and the individual/student when addressing and analysing New Zealand’s brain drain and brain circulation issues.
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Mok, Thai Yoong. "Poverty lines, household economies of scale and urban poverty in Malaysia." Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1788.
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This thesis presents three essays on Malaysia’s poverty profile based on the Household Expenditure Survey (HES). The first and second studies were motivated by the shortcomings of the official poverty lines and poverty measurements. There are several conceptual and measurement problems related to evaluating the extent of poverty in Malaysia. The first study offers several alternative regional poverty analyses based on the consumption expenditure approach with varying underlying assumptions. The poverty lines are estimated using Ravallion-Bidani and Kakwani-Sajaia approaches and the consumption pattern of the 10th and 20th percentile per capita expenditure (PCE) households. Regional poverty lines based on Kakwani-Sajaia and Ravallion-Bidani lower bounds produced robust poverty measurement rankings across regions in the country for both the 10th and 20th percentile PCE households. However, for the 10th percentile PCE, Ravallion’s upper bound poverty lines do not produce robust poverty rankings. In relation to the shortcomings of the official poverty measurements, the second study analyses the economies of scale in consumption, specifically amongst poor households. Using the 10th and 20th percentile PCE households, the household size economies are estimated using specifications proposed by Deaton-Paxson and Kakwani-Son. The findings show that the economies of scale indices are sensitive to the selection of methods and sample groups. Economies of scale in poor household consumption are present for food, housing, clothing, furnishing, personal goods and miscellaneous goods. This study further suggests that these indices be used as complementary to the existing national poverty measurements. The final study provides new insights into the limited urban poverty studies and to the new dimension of urban poverty. Using logistic regression, the determinants are analysed using the new poverty lines estimated in the earlier essay. The test of robustness of the determinants is conducted through re-estimating the logistic regression using a range of poverty lines. The findings show that education, locational dimension, foreign migrant workers and household size are significant determinants of poverty in the urban areas.
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Wang, Shi Zhao. "The large decline in output volatility : evidence from China : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce and Management at Lincoln University /." Diss., Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1141.
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Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, China has experienced ten business cyclical fluctuations. The economic growth was characterized by erratic ups and downs which lasted for several decades. With the economic reform and opening up to the outside world in 1978 as part of Deng Xiaoping’s market-oriented policy, the Chinese economy grew exponentially and the volatility of the GDP growth rate declined significantly. The macroeconomic control policies in the 1980s prevented large fluctuations in the country’s economic development, and smoothed the output volatility further. This study examines the output volatility in China and our result reveals the standard deviation of quarterly output growth rate has declined dramatically. Using the CUSUM squares test and the Quandt-Andrews breakpoint test to identify unknown structure breaks, we identified two structural breaks: 1994:1 towards destabilization and 1998:1 towards stabilization. We then examine the stochastic process for GDP and the result shows that the decrease in volatility can be traced primarily to a decrease in the standard deviation of output shocks. Following this, we reached two other conclusions. First, there is a strong relationship between movements in output volatility and the movements in inflation volatility. Both output and inflation volatilities increased significantly during the third and fourth quarter of 1994 and both dropped sharply after 1996, which followed a similar path over the period. Second, using the standard decomposition of GDP, the decrease in output volatility can be traced to a decrease in the volatility of consumption, investment, and net export, especially rural consumption expenditure and residential investment.
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Powae, Wayne Ishmael. "Fair trade coffee supply chains in the highlands of Papua New Guinea : do they give higher returns to smallholders? : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Science at Lincoln University /." Diss., Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1413.
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This research focussed on Fair Trade (FT) coffee supply chains in Papua New Guinea. Three research questions were asked. First, do small holders in the FT chains receive higher returns than the smallholders in the conventional chains? Secondly, if smallholders in the FT coffee chains receive higher returns from their coffee than the smallholders in the conventional chains, what are the sources of these higher returns? Finally, if smallholders in the FT chains don't receive higher returns than in the conventional chains, what are the constraints to smallholders receiving higher returns from the FT coffee chains than the conventional chains? A conceptual framework for agribusiness supply chain was developed that was used to guide the field work. A comparative case study methodology was selcted as an appropriate method for eliciting the required information. Four case study chains were selected. A paired FT and conventional coffee chains from Okapa and another paired FT and conventional chains from Kainantu districts, Eastern Highlands Province were selected for the study. The research found that smallholders in the FT chains and vonventional chains receive very similar prices for their coffee (parchment price equivalent). Hence, there was no evidence that smallholders in the FT chains received higher prices or returns from their coffee production than smallholders in conventional chains. This study also found that there was no evidence of FLO certification improving returns to smallholders in the FT chains over those returns received in the conventional chains, but the community that the FT smallholder producers come from did benefit. The sources of these community benefits lies in the shorter FT chains and the distributions of the margin that would have been otherwise made by processors to producers, exporters and the community. In addition, this study found that constraints associated with value creation are similar in all the four chains studies. However, there are some added hurdles for the FT chains in adhering to FT and organic coffee standards. Moreover, FT co-oeratives lacked capacity to trade and their only functions were to help with FLO certification and distribute the FT premium to the community. The findings of this research support some aspects of the literature, but not others. The research contribution is the finding that in this period of high conventional coffee prices, returns to smallholders from FT chains were no bettter than the returns gained in conventional chains, which leads to oppotunism and lack of loyalty by smallholders in the FT chains. The other contribution of this research is in identifying a particular type of free rider who is not a member of the FT co-operative but has right to the community benefits generated by the FT chain.
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Su, Ting Ting. "An empirical analysis of China's equilibrium exchange rate : a co-integration approach." Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1106.
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The question of an equilibrium exchange rate has always been a debatable issue. Along with rapid growth of the Chinese economy over the past two decades, a number of studies have been undertaken to investigate whether or not the RMB exchange rate is at its long run ‘equilibrium’ level. Because the equilibrium exchange rate affects the competitiveness of a country’s economy, these studies have focused on whether or not the real exchange rate is misaligned with respect to its long-run equilibrium level. One of the main reasons for this concern is that effective management of the exchange rate system could help a country’s economy achieve internal and external balance. Otherwise, it could negatively influence the stability of a country’s financial economy, possibly resulting in regional financial crises. This study estimates time varying values of the equilibrium real effective exchange rate (EREER) and associated exchange rate misalignments for China in recent years (from the first quarter of 1999 to fourth quarter of 2007). The study focuses on the reduced-form equilibrium real exchange rate (ERER) model for developing countries presented by Elbadawi (1994) and follows Edwards’ (1989, 1994) work on models of exchange rate determination. We identify the terms of trade, openness, government expenditure, productivity, and money supply as important explanatory variables of the RMB long-run equilibrium value. We use the Johansen-Juselius (1990) co-integration procedure to analyse our data. Using the ERER model, our results show there is a cointegrating relationship between the real effective exchange rate and its economic fundamentals. Subsequently, compare to other previous studies discussed in Chapter 2, our restricted error-correction model suggests that the extent of the misalignment is not very large, moving in a narrow band of plus and minus 12 percent of the long-run equilibrium level during the sample period. Focusing on the RMB real exchange rate misalignment in recent years, our result shows that the RMB was undervalued by an average of 6.7 percent during the period of 2005Q:3-2007Q:4. Furthermore, our short-run empirical error correction model indicates that, on average, the real exchange rate takes over one quarter to reach its long-run equilibrium level.
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Rutledge, M. P. "Assessing demand for organic lamb using choice modelling." Diss., Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1110.
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The worldwide market for organic foods is growing fast, but New Zealand meat producers have been slow to respond. Specifically, New Zealand producers have little or no organic lamb products for export or domestic sale. Part of the reason for this hesitancy to meet demand with supply is that the nature of the demand and consumer willingness to pay for the product is not well understood. The purpose of this study is to investigate New Zealand organic food consumers’ attitudes towards organic food and production methods and to evaluate consumer willingness to pay for an organic lamb product. Data for this study was collected using computer aided personal interviewing (CAPI) in supermarkets and speciality stores in Christchurch and Wellington. The study questioned consumers about their consumption habits, attitudes towards organic food and production methods and presented choice modelling scenarios to test willingness to pay for different attributes of lamb. Factor analysis is used to group the 12 attitudinal questions into three factors which were then placed into a two step cluster analysis to create consumer segments. Choice modelling was then used to measure consumer preferences for the tested attributes of lamb. From the factor and cluster analysis three distinct consumer segments were found and labelled as Committed Organic Seekers, Convenience Organic Consumers and Incidental Organic Consumers. These labels reflect each group’s organic consumption habits and attitudes towards organic food. The choice modelling results show that there is a willingness to pay for organic lamb. The three identified consumer groups state they would pay a premium of 61%, 44% and 26% respectively for organic lamb over standard pasture raised lamb. This paper gives an insight into consumer attitudes and preferences towards a product that could provide a way for New Zealand farmers to increase their returns. It contributes to the body of knowledge about the likely consumer profiles of regular consumers of organic food. There are only a few other studies that have attempted to measure consumer attitudes and willingness to pay for organic meat, however, the author is not aware of any published example of a study that has specifically investigated demand for organic lamb anywhere in the world. The study provides information about stated willingness to pay for five different attributes of lamb; this information should be of value in assisting the industry by showing which product offerings are likely to generate the highest sale price.
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Thanyakhan, Sutana. "The Determinants of FDI and FPI in Thailand: a Gravity Model Analysis." Phd thesis, Lincoln University. Commerce Division, 2008. http://theses.lincoln.ac.nz/public/adt-NZLIU20080429.102238/.
Full textAbstract:
Thailand has been one of significant recipients of foreign direct investment (FDI) among
developing countries over the last 30 years, and has recorded rapid and sustained growth
rates in a number of different industrial categories. Thailand has shown a clear policy
transition for foreign investment over time from an import-substitution regime to an
export-oriented regime. Before the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis (1985-1996), Thailand had
the fastest growing level of exports in manufactured goods among Asian economies. FDI
plays a significant role in the Thai economy. Thailand has been pursuing different foreign
investment policies at different times depending on the development objectives and
economic situation in the country.
The main objective of this research is to evaluate the determinants of FDI and foreign
portfolio investment (FPI) in Thailand using the extended Gravity Model. Panel data is
used to estimate and evaluate the empirical results based on the data for the years 1980 to
2004. It also examines the FDI flows between different locations and their geographical
distances in Thailand. The primary research question addresses what factors motivate,
attract, and sustain the FDI and FPI in Thailand. In addition, this study also examines the
effects of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis on the inflows of FDI and FPI into Thailand.
The results show that the inflows of FDI in Thailand, which are supply-driven, are
significantly influenced by its 21 largest investing partners. The 1997 Asian Financial
Crisis has no impact on the determinants of the inflows of FDI into Thailand, but positively
influences the inflows of FPI into Thailand. Our results also show that increases in GDP
and trade between investing partners and Thailand potentially attract more FDI and FPI
into Thailand. Investing partners closer to Thailand draw more portfolio investment into Thailand than distant partners emphasising that distance has a negative impact on the
portfolio investment but a negligible impact on the FDI.
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Mo, Ke. "Is money targeting an option for the People's Bank of China?" Diss., Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1105.
Full textAbstract:
This study examines which monetary aggregates, namely nominal M0, M1 and M2, can be used by the People’s Bank of China to conduct monetary policy. The model includes real M0, M1 and M2 as the dependent variable respectively and their determinants, such as real income, real inflation rate, and real rate of one-year saving deposit. Johansen (1988) and Johansen and Juselius’s (1990) procedures are used to estimate the long-run relationship between the monetary aggregates and their variables. Short-run model is applied to M0, M1 and M2 respectively to see whether the error term is negative to validate the significance of the long-run relationship using the Ordinary Least Square estimation.
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Nichols, E. "Maturity modelling of corporate responsibility: New Zealand case studies." Lincoln University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1968.
Full textAbstract:
Corporations are increasingly being expected to be responsible to not only shareholders, but also to employees, society and for the environment. This expectation increases as business crises, such the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the Enron collapse, continue to occur. In New Zealand several umbrella organisations were established to aid organisations in the quest to become sustainable or corporately responsible, such as New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development, New Zealand Businesses for Social Responsibility, and the Sustainable Business Network. A number of high profile companies such as Hubbard Foods Ltd, Landcare Research, Fonterra and Telecom belong to these umbrella organisations and have produced reports that reflect not only economic prosperity but also environmental quality and social equity. The aim of this research is to identify how organisations are implementing corporate responsibility issues into the operations, and using this information to construct a maturity model. The value of a maturity model is as an analytic tool, where an organisation can be benchmarked against the best in the field. Developing a maturity model for integrating corporate responsibility into an organisation enables managers to identify at which stage the organisation is currently situated and then provides an action plan of where to progress in the future. A preliminary maturity model is developed based on previous models from the fields of corporate responsibility, environmental management and sustainability. This exploratory study used the case study method to analyse six organisations that are members of the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development and are producing annual sustainability reports. Using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines for sustainability reporting, 10 years of annual reports from each case company were analysed and compared against these guidelines. The results were used to identify what corporate responsibility areas businesses are currently reporting on and therefore implementing within the organisation, and identifying if there is an evolutionary pattern applicable to all organisations thereby enabling the construction of a maturity model. The findings show that although there was an increase in the GRI indicators included the reporting is poorly developed. The major areas of change have been in the reporting of governance and management structures, the development and inclusion of vision statements and changes in management policies. There was increased reporting in some environmental and social indicators, but no clear patterns of change emerged. Using the data and analysis a refinement of the proposed maturity model was made.
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Williams, Rachael M. "Do geographical indications promote sustainable rural development? : two UK case studies and implications for New Zealand rural development policy." Lincoln University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/585.
Full textAbstract:
Geographical indications (GIs) are one form of protective labelling used to indicate the origin of food and alcohol products. The role of protected geographical indicators as a promising sustainable rural development tool is the basis for this research. The protection of geographical indications is a rather controversial subject and much research is still required for both sides of the debate. The research method employed for this study is qualitative critical social science. Two Case studies are used to investigate the benefits brought to rural areas through the protection of GIs. The case studies include the GIs Jersey Royal and Welsh Lamb both from the United Kingdom a member of the European Union (the EU is in favour of extended protection of GIs for all agro-food products under the 1994 WTO/TRIPS agreement on geographical indications). Twenty-five indepth interviews were conducted for this study the duration of the interviews was approximately one hour. The study identifies predominantly indirect links between GIs and sustainable rural development, through economic and social benefits bought to rural areas by the GIs investigated - less of a connection was found to ecological elements. No considerable cost for GI protection was discovered. This finding suggests that GIs are worthwhile for implementation in New Zealand as a rural development tool.
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Singh, Shiu Raj. "Dynamics of macroeconomic variables in Fiji : a cointegrated VAR analysis." Diss., Lincoln University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/774.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract of thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Commerce and Management Dynamics of macroeconomic variables in Fiji : a cointegrated VAR analysis By Shiu Raj Singh The objective of this study is to examine how macroeconomic variables of Fiji inter-relate with aggregate demand and co-determine one another using a vector autoregression (VAR) approach. This study did not use a prior theoretical framework but instead used economic justification for selection of variables. It was found that fiscal policy, which is generally used as a stabilisation tool, did not have a positive effect on real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the short term. Effects on GDP growth were positive over the long term but not statistically significant. Furthermore, expansionary fiscal policy caused inflationary pressures. Fiji has a fixed exchange rate regime, therefore, it was expected that the focus of monetary policy would be the maintenance of foreign reserves. It was, however, found that monetary expansion in the short term resulted in positive effects on real GDP growth and resulted in inflation. The long term effects of monetary policy on real GDP growth were negative, which are explained by the fixed exchange rate regime, endogenous determination of money supply by the central bank, an unsophisticated financial market and, perhaps, an incomplete transmission of the policy. Both merchandise trade and visitor arrivals growth were found to positively contribute to short term and long term economic growth. Political instability was found not to have significant direct effects on real GDP growth but caused a significant decline in visitor arrivals which then negatively affected economic growth in the short term.
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Wittman, Cori. "From rice fields to red light districts: an economic examination of factors motivating employment in Thailand’s sex industry." Thesis, Kansas State University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/13109.
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Master of AgribusinessDepartment of Agricultural Economics
Vincent Amanor-Boadu
This research identifies factors that distinguish rural women who have migrated to Bangkok for the purpose of enhancing their economic wellbeing by engaging in the sex industry and those who have stayed in their rural communities and are not engaged in the sex industry. The research used primary data collected through interviews in the red light districts of Bangkok and Pattaya and in villages in the rural provinces of Buriram, Udon Thani, Sakon Nakhon, Chayaphum and Khon Kaen in Thailand. A total of 100 respondents provided information for the study: 55 percent from the red light districts and the remainder from the provinces. The data were analyzed using logit regression modeling approach as well as statistical analysis. The statistical analysis provided the descriptive statistics of the respondents and an overview of the data. The logit regression modeling approach facilitated the estimation of the responses of the probability of working in the red light entertainment districts to specified demographic and psychographic variables. The pseudo R-square of the logit model was 46.2 percent for the base model, which included age, marital status, number of male and female siblings respectively, birth position and number of children, education, financial responsibility and average monthly age. The results indicated that marital status was significant at the 1 percent level, exhibiting a marginal effect of about -35.2 percent. That is, when the marital status of a respondent changed from unmarried (0) to married (1), the probability of sex industry participation decreased by about 35 percent. Assessing the effect only among respondents with children, the results are not very different from the base model. The pseudo R-square for this model – which is the same as the base model, except that it has Teen Mother as a variable – was 61.4 percent with a total number of observations of 78 instead of the original 100. This implies that about 22 respondents did not have any children. In this model, the marital status variable is significant at the 1 percent level as was the number of female siblings. The average monthly wage is significant at the 5 percent level, with a 1000 Thai Baht increase in wages leading to a marginal 0.01 percent decline in the probability of sex industry participation. Education, under this model, is statistically significant at the 10 percent level, with another year of education decreasing the probability of sex industry participation by 2.5 percent. The foregoing provides some clear policy direction. Specific efforts may be invested in enhancing the education of women in Thailand, which is expected to increase their economic situation. However, this expectation would not materialize if investments are not made to enhance the economic opportunities available to women across the economic spectrum. Perhaps most importantly, however, this study shows that incremental improvement in educational and economic opportunities for rural women alone may not achieve lasting results if cultural paradigms regarding marriage, relational fidelity and imbalanced socio-cultural obligations of daughters are not addressed in tandem.
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Qasenivalu, Mosese Tavaga. "The role and impact of services sector on economic growth : an econometric investigation of tourism and air services in Fiji (1968-2006) : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Management in Economics at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/856.
Full textAbstract:
Empirical studies have established that tourism is a major determinant of economic growth and that international air services have a beneficial effect on the growth and development of an economy. It has also been argued that trade and public enterprise reforms in the service sectors, undertaken to a greater extent in high income countries, have had a positive impact on the sectors performances. This study analyses several hypotheses relating to Fiji’s tourism and air transport service industries. First the study examines the contribution of tourism exports to economic growth in the case of Fiji. Second, the study analyses whether the tourism reform adopted by Fiji in 1999 under the World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) has impacted on total tourism export performance. Third, the aviation-service growth nexus is investigated. Lastly, the effect of the aviation public enterprise reform activities on the export performance of air services is evaluated. Using time series annual data from 1968 to 2006, the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag. methodology has been utilized to estimate the contribution of each service sector to Fiji’s total service output. The results show that the tourism is a major determinant of growth in Fiji and that the aviation service-growth hypothesis is also valid for Fiji. The empirical results show that both the trade reforms in tourism and the pro-competitive measures undertaken in the airline industry, amongst other determinants, have not significantly created an impact on the respective export performance of tourism and air services. These findings provide key policy implications in the light of capitalizing on services exports as a major source of growth, particularly in developing island countries such as Fiji and the need to facilitate the strengthening of the market to boost the export performance of tourism and air services.
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St, John Susan 1945. "Managing the Risks of Ageing: The Role of Private Pensions and Annuities within a Comprehensive Retirement Policy for New Zealand." 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/2345.
Full textAbstract:
Whole document restricted, see Access Instructions file below for details of how to access the print copy.Approaching retirement, individuals are confronted by a range of future risks and uncertainties. The primary worry is insufficient income and the associated danger of outliving one's capital. New Zealand has a unique approach for reducing this risk, comprising a universal state pension supplemented by voluntary unsubsidised saving. This simple model meets poverty prevention objectives, but middle-income baby-boom cohorts may struggle to achieve their income-replacement aspirations. The modest capital they have saved to supplement the state pension is exposed to the risks of inflation, poor investment outcomes, growth in living standards, and increasing longevity. They will enter retirement with significantly less private pension provision than previous generations and while they may hold a high proportion of their assets in owner-occupied homes, this equity is not readily accessed. They and their families also face the risk that they might require costly long-term residential care in old age. Women are likely to be particularly affected, not only as the spouses of men needing care, but, because of greater average longevity, they have a higher propensity to need long-term care themselves. Pension design and annuity markets are neglected areas of inquiry in New Zealand. In part this is because international pressures to privatise the state pension by setting up compulsory savings schemes in the private sector have been resisted. This thesis outlines the historical, practical, political and theoretical factors that explain the demise of private pensions and annuities. This provides a record of international interest as New Zealand is the first developed country to institute a tar neutral environment for retirement saving. While the New Zealand model is largely a credible one, there are significant shortcomings. This thesis examines whether economic theories can cast new light on what should be done and finds the experimentation of a pragmatic kind that has gone on historically precludes highly theoretical or ideological policy solutions. Normative judgements about well-being and distribution cannot be avoided. An integrated approach to reforming the New Zealand system is explored, based on the advantages of linking certain kinds of insurance. A substantial role for the state is inescapable; especially in the annuities market, which, it is argued, should be developed to play a significant role in retirement policy options. A state-guaranteed life annuity linked to long-term care insurance financed by a combination of cash and home equity is proposed, subsidised by intragenerational transfers from the retired population. This reform proposal builds on the existing pre-retirement saving policy and keeps the state pension as the cornerstone. The pay-off is improved welfare for middle-income retirees, greater economic efficiency, lower fiscal cost and improved equity both across and within generations. A greater credibility for the New Zealand model in international forums is also likely to follow.
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Schiff, Aaron F. "Three essays in network economics: two-way interconnection, two-sided networks, and reputation systems." 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/1284.
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This thesis analyses three sets of issues that arise in the field of network economics. The first chapter following the introduction is concerned with modeling partial consumer participation in the context of two-way interconnection in telecommunications. Partial consumer participation is introduced into the model of competition between telecommunications networks developed by Armstrong (1998), Carter and Wright (1999) and Laffont et al (1998a). It is shown that the result that firms are indifferent over the access charge under two-part tariffs no longer holds when there is partial consumer participation. Under some additional simplifying assumptions, it is shown that firms prefer that the access charge is set equal to the marginal cost of termination. Without these additional assumptions the model is analytically complex and numerical simulation results are presented which shown that firms prefer the access charge to be less than marginal cost, while the socially optimal access charge is above cost. The next chapter considers competition between two-sided networks. Firms with two-sided networks facilitate connections or transactions between two distinct populations of consumers. This chapter analyses the behaviour of such firms where there are no intrinsic benefits to consumers other than the network effects, examples of which include employment agencies, real estate agents and videogame platforms. The modelling framework encompasses both matching service and platform business models and allows for subscription or per-transaction pricing. Three different market structures are considered: monopoly, and duopoly with and without compatibility. Comparisons of prices, profits, consumer surplus, and welfare are made between the three regimes. It is shown that one side of the market generally pays a lower price than the other, and the conditions under which one side of the market is charged a zero price are derived. It is also shown that duopoly with compatibility is socially preferable to the other regimes, while monopoly is socially preferable to duopoly without compatibility. The final chapter examines the reputation systems that are increasingly accompanying network businesses. This chapter explores the trade-off between the short-term benefits of false quality advertisements by sellers in a market with asymmetric information against the longer term costs of reputation damage. A directed search model is constructed in which submarkets are created by the advertisements and reputations of sellers. A reputation system links misleading advertisements in the present period to a lower reputation in the next period. It is shown that a reputation system always increases the prices of high quality products and directs search more accurately towards the sellers with such products. It is also shown that buyers are hurt by a reputation system if the market is thin - has few sellers – because the equilibrium increase in prices is greater than the equilibrium increase in the quality of trade. On the other hand, it is shown that submarket creation by a reputation system always increases total welfare because buyers' search is directed more accurately and the number of quality adjusted matches increases. Finally, it is shown that a reputation system which screens for honesty increases social welfare by making sellers more truthful, however, a reputation for honesty is not always highly valued and an alternative reputation system which screens for type can be more effective.
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Poliquit, Lolita Y. "Accessibility of rural credit among small farmers in the Philippines : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Science in Rural Development, Institute of Natural Resources, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1687.
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Credit plays an important role in agricultural development and it is believed that expansion of credit programmes will have beneficial effects on agricultural production and incomes of small farmers. It is also a key to poverty alleviation, livelihood diversification, and increasing the business skills of small farmers. In the Philippines, small-scale and subsistence agriculture source their loans mostly from informal lenders, thus access to formal credit remains low. There is a need to examine further small farmers’ access to credit and investigate their preferences and perceptions regarding credit in order that their access can be improved and their needs through credit can be more effectively met. Determining the problems and the credit needs of small farmers are important considerations in designing appropriate credit systems for them. Accessibility of rural credit in the Philippines was examined, with the primary objective of exploring the use of and access to rural credit by small farmers. This research attempts to explore and understand the perceptions of small farmers toward rural credit, and to collect information in proposing an appropriate credit system for them. Two types of respondents were interviewed for the research; 45 individual farmers, and four key informants in New Corella, Davao del Norte. The research focused on how the farmers perceived the rural credit facilities, their preferences, their reasons for borrowing, and their problems in accessing credit. Qualitative data analysis was done for the information gathered. Access to credit by farmers was limited to the available credit services in the research area, thus farmers’ choices and preferences were not well served which led to borrowing from informal lenders. Credit restrictions such as commodity specific credit programmes, credit that requires collateral, and lengthy and complicated procedures restricted the farmers from accessing formal credit. It is recommended that accessibility to credit by small farmers could be improved by providing innovative financing schemes that address problems of farmers who lack collateral, and minimise long processing of documents and other requirements. In this way, farmers may be encouraged to better utilise formal credit and decrease their reliance on informal lenders, thus avoiding higher interest rates and thereby increasing their farm productivity and household incomes.
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Winata, Sherly. "The economic determinants of entrepreneurial activity : evidence from a Bayesian approach : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Studies in Financial Economics at Massey University." 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1033.
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In this paper we investigate the economic, political, institutional, and societal factors that encourage entrepreneurial activity. We do so by applying Bayesian Model Averaging, which controls for model uncertainty, to a panel data set for 33 countries. Our results indicate that the general state of macroeconomic activity, the availability of financing, the level of human capital, fiscal policies implemented and the type of economic system are the main determinants of the level of entrepreneurship. We also document a non-linear, U-shaped relation between distortionary taxation and entrepreneurial activity. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Activity, Total Early-Stage Activity (TEA), Global Entrepreneurial Monitor (GEM), Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA), Panel Estimation. JEL Classification: B30, B53, C11, C23, J20, M13, O10, O40
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Shi, Song. "Monthly house price indices and their applications in New Zealand : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Economics and Finance, College of Business, Massey University." 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1136.
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Developing timely and reliable house price indices is of interest worldwide, because these measures influence consumer behaviour, inflation targeting, and spot and futures markets. Several techniques for constructing a constant quality price index are available in the literature, but these methods are difficult to apply in localities where market transaction data is limited. Since house price movements are a local phenomena, improving the timeliness of a quality controlled price index at local housing market levels in small countries like New Zealand is a challenge. This thesis comprises three essays that focused on improving the timeliness of reported house price indices at the local market levels. The timeliness issue examined in this thesis has not previously been rigorously investigated and this makes the results of this thesis both important and unique for the benefit of both academic research and practical application. Essay One reviews the sale price appraisal ratio (SPAR) method, which has been applied since the 1960s for producing local house price indices at a semi-annual and quarterly basis in New Zealand. Utilizing a variety of statistical tests and comparing this index with the repeat sales and median price index result in the study highlighting the potential of, as well as the problems associated with, a price index produced by the SPAR method at a monthly level. In the following two essays, monthly price indices are tested using empirical real estate research methods in order to examine their usefulness in exploring the research questions as well as revealing the statistical differences between them. Essay Two studies the relationship between sale price and trading volume, and the ripple effect of local house price comovements. The results show that the trading volume generally leads the sale price in the long-run and the ripple effect is most likely constrained within regions. In Essay Two, the monthly SPAR index produces similar statistical results to those estimated by the repeat sales index for large cities. Essay Three is a study on the market efficiency of housing markets. It is found the local housing market is neither weak-form nor semi-strong form efficient. Local house price movements are strongly correlated and are mean reverting towards their long-run equilibrium. It is further concluded that monthly price indices for small cities are problematic due to the problem of small sample size. Overall, the findings in this thesis show monthly house price indices can be generated by using the SPAR method at local market levels. However, this potential is limited to large cities. Further research can focus on improving the quality of monthly price indices for large cities.
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Raguragavan, Jananee. "Foreign direct investment and its impact on the New Zealand economy : cointegration and error correction modelling techniques : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics at Massey University, New Zealand." 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1644.
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Ongoing globalisation has resulted in more liberalisation, integration, and competition among countries. An upshot of this has been higher levels of cross-border investment. Foreign direct investment (FDI), long considered an engine of growth, has led to widespread probe with its recent rapid spread. Nevertheless, while research on the contribution of FDI to host countries has concentrated heavily on the developed and developing economies, there has been a marked neglect of small, developed economies. This study proposes to focus on New Zealand, a country that falls within the latter category. The study seeks to verify econometrically the impact of FDI on the country through causality links with growth, trade, domestic investment and labour productivity. The analysis is based upon time-series data, the econometric techniques of single, autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL), and the multiple equations approach, vector error correction method (VECM). The study found that there have been substantial gains to the New Zealand economy. A positive effect of FDI on the variables mentioned above led to an improvement of the balance of payments through an increase in exports rather than in imports. Economic growth has mainly been achieved through FDI's impact on exports and domestic private investment. The dynamic innovation techniques indicated a bi-directional causality between FDI and the variables. The long-run causality, however, runs mainly from growth and labour productivity to FDI rather than in the opposite direction. Another noticeable feature is that New Zealand's regional agreement with Australia, Closer Economic Relations, has brought the country significant gains in terms of growth and development through FDI. Both the ARDL and VECM approaches suggest that for a small, developed country qualitative impacts are greater than quantitative ones. The policy implication is that maintaining sustainable economic growth with a positive domestic investment environment is vital for attracting foreign investors. New Zealand, while continuing to encourage inward FDI, should aim to channel it into 'innovative' tradable sectors. The challenge lies in providing the right kind of policy mix for this purpose.
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Bajracharya, Bijaya. "Institutional factors that influence access of the poor to forest benefits : case studies of community and leasehold forestry regimes in Nepal : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Rural Development, Massey University, Institute of Natural Resources, Palmerston North, New Zealand." 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/715.
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The community and leasehold forestry regimes (CF and LF regimes) are high priority programmes that are designed by the Nepalese government to conserve forests and reduce poverty through the introduction of formal institutions in terms of legal property rights and governance structures and processes. However, little is known about the mechanisms through which informal and formal institutions influence resource access of the poor under these regimes. By employing a collective case study approach, this research provides some understanding of the mechanisms through which formal and informal institutional factors influence access of the poor to forest resources governed under the CF and LF regimes in Nepal. This study found that informal institutional factors significantly influence the impact of formal institutions irrespective of the regime that was imposed on the Nepalese hill communities. It was revealed that where more than one social group co-exist in a community, discriminatory sociocultural norms (for example patriarchal and caste-based norms), and customary property rights favour one social group over others. As a result, certain social groups have greater access to resources and benefits from the resources than do other social groups. Of particular significance, and not previously reported, the lack of prior experience in collective action of the low castes along with their weak social networks and poor leadership ability is highlighted as being directly linked to their relatively limited access to forest resources. When the Bista system, a specific type of a traditional bridging social network is eroded, the low castes end up with less access due to removal of support from the high castes. This study shows that a more inclusive regime (for example CF regime) is likely to lead to more effective outcomes for the livelihood of the poor as compared to a more exclusive regime (e.g. LF regime). When the powerful are included in the forest user group (FUG), along with the poor, there is less resistance to the shift in property rights and the improved access of the poor to forest benefits that the regimes are intended to achieve. However, it was found that active participation is more determinant of resource access than is a specified set of property rights granted by right of membership in a FUG. Although some FUG governance structures provide a forum where the disadvantaged members of the FUGs have the right to participate in decision making, their participation is constrained by discriminatory sociocultural norms. Further, this study revealed that the decision-making processes dominated by the elites tend to address the needs of the disadvantaged members to only a very limited extent. However, improving capacities has the potential to enhance participation of disadvantaged members in the processes. The research findings suggest that informal institutions must explicitly be considered in the design and implementation of CBNRM regimes in order for them to be successful in improving livelihoods of the poor. The implementing staff need support mechanisms for changing their own attitudes and behaviours to those that are more favourable to the social shift that the regimes are intended to bring about. CBNRM regimes have the potential to improve the livelihoods of the poor, but research must continue on how this can be achieved.
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Cassells, Susan Mary. "Toward sound management of end-of-life vehicles in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1614.
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New Zealand has a problem with an increasing number of motor vehicles being abandoned at the end of their useful life. The environmental and associated social costs created by this problem are expected to increase with the rising number of vehicles entering the country. In addition, there are environmental concerns regarding some aspects of the legal disposal of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). The exact magnitude of both problems is unknown and attempts made to address them have been ad hoc and success limited. This thesis sets out to quantify the problems and provide policy makers with tools to improve the overall management of motor vehicle disposal in New Zealand. To assess the extent and cost of the abandoned vehicle problem, local authorities are surveyed. The legislation dealing with car ownership, transferral and disposal and its implementation are scrutinised for weaknesses that allow ELVs to be abandoned without penalty. The automobile recycling industry is surveyed to determine the environmental impact from the industry's activities. Using semi-structured surveys, policies and practices used in other countries for the management of ELVs are investigated and assessed for effectiveness. Their application to the New Zealand situation is ascertained. Of the vehicles which are deregistered each year, one in five is dumped. The direct cost to local authorities, to deal with the 25,500 vehicles abandoned each year, is more than six million dollars. In addition, practices and standards for the removal and disposal of hazardous substances from ELVs vary nationwide, adding to the environmental burden caused by vehicle disposal. Recommendations for the improved management of ELVs target four areas, legislation, institutional practices, entry into the recycling system and dismantling operations. Minor changes to legislation and institutional practices combined with rigorous enforcement will close the data gaps and overcome free-rider problems. A disposal charge added to the registration fee of vehicles entering the country will allow ELV owners to dispose of their vehicles free-of-charge. Improved environmental performance by automotive dismantlers can be achieved through licensing and consistent monitoring from within the industry. Implementation of these recommendations will lead to better management of ELVs, through changed behaviour by private individuals and dismantling operations, and a reduction in the environmental costs associated with vehicle disposal.
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Kamiryo, Hideyuki 1930. "Furthering the role of corporate finance in economic growth." 2004. http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/fullcit/3135938.
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Whole document restricted, see Access Instructions file below for details of how to access the print copy. Subscription resource available via Digital DissertationsMy research question is: Why do countries with similar rates of saving differ in economic growth? My thesis addresses this question by formulating an endogenous growth model using the Cobb-Douglas production function. My model disaggregates the rate of saving into the retention ratio and the household saving ratio and connects these ratios with three new parameters representing respectively the efficiency of financial institutions, the decision-making of managers, and barriers to technology diffusion. These three financial parameters make it possible to distinguish between quantitative and qualitative investments and to measure the growth rates of output, capital, and technological progress. Endogenous growth in technology neutralizes diminishing returns to capital. The Cobb-Douglas production function assumes diminishing marginal productivity under constant returns to scale. My model, however, measures the growth rate of per capita output under the balanced growth state/constant returns to capital situation. This situation is guaranteed when the relative share of profit is within the critical relative share of profit. A set of combination of the three financial parameters holds under diminishing returns to capital, yet the diminishing returns to capital situation turns to the balanced growth state situation by using delta defined as the elasticity of quality improvement with respect to effective labour units attached to a machine. An extreme case corresponds with the Solow and O'Connell (including Harrod-Domar) models, where the three financial parameters are all 1.0, with no technological progress. Simulation results demonstrate several new fact-findings. These fact-findings come from the characteristics of my model or the relationships between the growth rate of “per capita” output in the long-run (hereunder the growth rate) and the three financial parameters and delta, where the growth rate converges by setting delta = the relative share of profit. First, if the rate of saving increases, the growth rate also increases linearly. This is more definitely evident than the result of Mankiw, Romer, and Weil [1992]. Second, under a fixed rate of saving, the growth rate changes significantly differently if each of three parameters changes: the relative share of profit, the growth rate of population, and the retention ratio. In particular, the change in the retention ratio influences the growth rate positively or negatively depending on the relationship between the three financial parameters that reflect corporate behaviour and the nature of financial institutions. In this respect, I cannot find literature that relates the retention ratio or dividend policy to the growth rate in the Cobb-Douglas production function. Also the change in the growth rate of population does not influence per capita growth at all. This finding is also more definite than that found in the literature. In short, the three financial parameters play an important role in economic growth. When we divide saving into corporate saving and household saving, the rate of saving as a whole is not independent of the growth rate. A proportion of corporate saving and a proportion of household saving are used for investment in quality, which accelerates productivity enhancement. Consequently, the characteristics of the corporate sectors and financial institutions of a country play a significant role in determining its long run growth rate of per capita income (even under a fixed rate of saving).
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Chi, Wei. "Trading volume and information asymmetry surrounding scheduled and unscheduled announcements : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Finance, Massey University, Februrary 2009." 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1032.
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This thesis investigates abnormal trading volume around scheduled and unscheduled announcements. The research is an extension of Chae (2005), Journal of Finance, Vol 60, which tests corporate announcements in the US stock market. In this thesis, Australian stocks are used to establish whether market characteristics affect trading behaviour around announcements. In addition, I extend the traditional methodology to overcome possible shortcomings in the previous studies. This thesis also discusses how information asymmetry affects the abnormal trading volume on the announcement day. In contrast to earlier studies, I nd abnormal trading volume does not change before either scheduled or unscheduled announcements, but, as expected, increases on and after the scheduled and unscheduled announcements. Information asymmetry increases trading volumes when unscheduled announcements are made, but has no effect for scheduled announcements. I show that the failure to adjust for the correlation between corporate events, results in abnormal trading volumes being detected prior to announcements. Differences between the Australian and US results can not all be explained by methodological differences. It appears that the underlying dynamics of the Australian market are different; casting doubts on the ability to generalize market characteristics from US based studies on abnormal trading volumes.
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Cai, Menghan. "Is globalisation operating to reduce inflation : evidence from six OECD countries : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements from the Master of Business Studies (Economics) at Massey University, Albany Campus." 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/917.
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This paper relates openness to the decline in inflation by using panel data for six OECD (the USA, Japan, Canada, Portugal, Finland, and Australia) countries over the period from 1980 to 2006. I obtain industrial level data for twenty industries in each of the six countries in the timeframe and estimate the effects of increases in openness, through its effect on productivity and markups on inflation. The methods used to construct the variables in this paper follow methods introduced in Chen, Imbs and Scott (2004), and the estimations follow Chen, Imbs and Scott (2007). The results suggest openness reduces the rate of inflation in the short run. Furthermore, it also reduces short run productivity and markups. The long run results are ambiguous, however. The evidence that openness leads to anti-competitive effects in the long run is weak. JEL Classification: E31, F12, F14, F15, L16 Keywords: Openness, Prices, Productivity, Markups
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Kibblewhite, Andrew. "A framework for social capital : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Palmerton [i.e. Palmerston] North, New Zealand." 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/939.
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This dissertation is concerned with enhancing the utility of social capital by developing and testing a comprehensive and measurable framework as a tool for researchers, policy-makers, and development theorists and practitioners. A framework was developed for measuring the degree to which different forms of social capital reside in a community and for distinguishing community-to community variations. The Framework was also designed to identify the accumulation of social capital in relation to structural characteristics within a community, and to identify what advantages might be associated with variants of social capital. The pursuit of the understanding of social capital has been convened within narrow disciplinary fields and has reduced the notion in definition, purpose, and utility. Much of the literature and past research has focused on approximations to identify social capital that are field-specific and representative of, at best, markers of social capital, rather than social capital itself. For this reason, this dissertation is concerned with developing a robust framework that has the potential to embrace the nature and extent of social capital across these disciplinary fields, while providing insight into the forms, influences, and trajectories of social capital. The utility of the Social Capital Framework that was developed for this dissertation was examined by transforming the Framework into a survey tool for administering in two communities to identify applicability and sensitivity for identifying the degree to which variants of social capital reside. The results showed that the Framework was able to distinguish the degree to which different forms of social capital existed, and how the social capital accumulates in relations to structural variables, in particular, gender. The Framework’s utility was not universal across all forms of social capital and showed that further enhancements are required, particularly, if it is to enable social capital to be attributed to forms of advantage. The results also identified areas where future research would be of value, particularly, in examining the trajectory of people’s forms of social capital.
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Heagney, Kevin John. "The genesis and early evolution of New Zealand income tax : an examination of Governer Fitzroy's experiments with taxation, 1843-1845 : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics, Massey University, Turitea Campus, Palmerston North, New Zealand." 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1076.
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This thesis focuses on the genesis and development of direct taxation in early New Zealand. During the study period (1843-45), both taxpayers and tax were new to the colonial settlement and this study traces the early history of the two trying to accommodate each other. Between 1843 and 1845, subject to the politics of tax, the fiscal future of the colony was decided. The thesis begins by contextualising the study. It critically examines the revenue and expenditure record of the Crown Colony period and then details the antecedents of New Zealand fiscal policy in general and specifically tax policy (our shared English heritage). Thereafter, four interesting events in New Zealand tax law are discussed: (1) Schedule E of the British Land and Income Tax Act, 1842 (arrived in New Zealand 1843); (2) The Property Rate Ordinance, 1844; (3) the proposed Amendment to the Property Rate Ordinance, 1844; and, (4) the proposed Dealers’ Licensing Ordinance in 1845. After analysing the period’s individual direct tax laws, the thesis elaborates on the political process which determined the development of this body of tax laws. Thereafter, the thesis develops a conceptual model to explain the tax reform process of the study period. The thesis finds that tax policy during the study period was driven by four key influences: crisis (internal/external and economic); political considerations; the application of sound nineteenth-century economic policy; and importantly, the precedent of another nation’s experience with tax policy development. To have knowledge of such events in economic history (the past record of tax law), how and why they occurred, matters. Just as a nation’s financial accounts are built on the foundations of the previous fiscal year, future taxation policy will be based on current taxation policy; tax laws which were developed from past (historic) tax practices. Therefore, knowledge of how New Zealand formulated tax policy in the past and why it did so, is of interest to fiscal policy makers today. Future tax policy is simply a derivation of past tax laws; the development of New Zealand’s taxation policy began in New South Wales in 1839, and thereafter began, what this thesis suggests, was a predictable, evolutionary process.
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Simati, Sunema Pie. "The effect of migration on development in Tuvalu : a case study of PAC migrants and their families : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, New Zealand." 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1140.
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International migration and development have been traditionally treated as separate policy portfolios; however, today the two are increasingly viewed as interlinked. While the development status of a country could determine migration flows, migration can, in turn, contribute positively to national development, including economic, social and cultural progress. Consequently, if migration is not well managed, it can pose development challenges to a country’s development and progress. Therefore, partnership through greater networking between countries of origin and destination is needed to fully utilise the development potential of migration. For Tuvalu, migration has remained a vital ingredient for economic development and more importantly, the welfare of its people. The implementation of New Zealand’s Pacific Access Category (PAC) scheme in 2002 offered for the first time a formal migration opportunity for permanent or long-term migration of Tuvaluans. The PAC scheme allows 75 Tuvaluans per year to apply for permanent residence to work and live in New Zealand, provided they meet the scheme’s conditions. The goal of this research is to investigate, more than five years after PAC’s implementation, the ways in which long-term migration of Tuvaluans, through the PAC scheme, has benefited Tuvalu. To give a broader perspective on the issues explored in this study, the views of Tuvaluan leaders, as significant players in traditional Tuvaluan society, are included, in addition to the perspective of migrants’ families in Tuvalu and the migrants themselves in New Zealand. Combining transnationalist and developmental approaches as a theoretical framework, this thesis explores how Tuvalu’s mobile and immobile populations, through articulation of transnationalism, enhance family welfare, and grassroots and national development. The eight weeks’ fieldwork in Tuvalu and Auckland demonstrated that the physical separation of Tuvaluans from one another through migration does not limit the richness of the interactions and connections between them. In fact, the existence of active networking between island community groups and other Tuvaluan associations in Auckland and in Tuvalu strengthens the Tuvaluan culture both abroad and at home, thus ensuring strong family and community coherence. Maintaining transnational networks and practices is identified as of great significance to grassroots and community-based development in Tuvalu. However, the benefits of long-term migration can only be sustained as long as island loyalty, or loto fenua, and family kinship stays intact across borders, and networking amongst families, communities and church remains active.
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Prakash, Nilesh. "The development impact of workers' remittances in Fiji : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1281.
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Remittances by international migrants have become an important source of finance for livelihood development amongst the households in Fiji. This is substantiated by the country’s rising migrant stock as a result of unstable political environment and the increasing economic opportunities for skilled manpower. It has been noted that the flow of remittances to Fiji excelled the amount of other capital inflows such as foreign aid and foreign direct investment and have surpassed commodity export earnings in the recent years. This has made remittances the second largest foreign exchange earner in Fiji after tourism. This thesis examines the developmental impact of workers’ remittances in Fiji, particularly its impact on economic growth, financial sector development, welfare development of the recipient households and an examination of the sustainability of remittance flows. Using an extended neoclassical framework, the empirical evidence finds a positive impact of remittances on economic growth and financial sector development. The welfare development hypothesis is tested using the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) data. This is analyzed first, by examining the expenditure patterns of the remittance-recipient households, the poverty and inequality effects followed by an assessment of human capital development impact of remittances. The empirical results show that households which receive remittances do not only expend their remittance income on basic consumption but have other substantive uses such as that on education of children, housing and expenditure on durables and nondurables. The poverty and inequality reducing effects of remittances, employ two counterfactual methodologies to estimate first, what the poverty and inequality indicators would be in a scenario where remittances are treated as an exogenous addition to household income. Second, it tests the effect in a scenario without migration and remittances, which treats remittances as a substitute for migrants’ foregone earnings. The results show strong poverty reducing effects of remittances irrespective of the methodology used while the effects on income distribution are not unambiguous. The results obtained for the human capital development analysis indicate the positive role of remittances in providing education opportunities for children in the recipient households. In noting these positive effects of remittances, it must however be acknowledged that the flow of remittances has to be sustainable overtime for households to benefit from human development. From a survey of Fijian-New Zealander migrant households, this study examines the remittance-sustainability debate. The results suggest that a combination of factors such as income of migrants, acquisition of higher education prior to migration and the intention to inherit assets from families in Fiji contribute to continued flow of remittances. These results do not support the hypothesis of remittance decay amongst Fijian migrants in New Zealand but reflect a strong altruistic motive of remittances sent to households in Fiji as insurance against economic shocks. This highlights the importance of development policy in facilitating the flows of migrant remittances for the socio-economic progress of Fiji.
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Wolken, Antony Raymond. "Agricultural greenhouse gas emissions : costs associated with farm level mitigation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Economics in Economics at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1359.
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Agricultural greenhouse gas emissions within New Zealand account for 48 percent of all national greenhouse gas emissions. With the introduction of the emissions trading scheme farmers will soon be liable for their emissions, introducing additional physical constraints and financial costs. Farmers that still operate within the sector will have two options to meet emissions targets; to purchase carbon credits from the open market, or mitigate farm level emissions at added costs to the farmer. This study examines the latter case of assessing farm level options for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, and quantifying the physical and financial costs associated with mitigation strategies. Results show that, based on the assumptions in the study, there are available options for dairy farmers to profitably meet Kyoto protocol emissions targets. Sheep and beef farmers can increase profit, but cannot meet Kyoto protocol emissions targets, through examined scenarios.
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Ndebele, Tom. "Economic non-market valuation techniques : theory and application to ecosystems and ecosystem services : a case study of the restoration and preservation of Pekapeka Swamp : an application of the contingent valuation method in measuring the economic value of restoring and preserving ecosytem services in an impaired wetland : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Economics at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1287.
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This thesis explores the theoretical basis of non-market valuation techniques; discusses in detail, the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) and the Travel Cost Method (TCM); highlights the advantages and disadvantages of various non-market valuation techniques and their suitability under different conditions; and identifies the Contingent Valuation Method as the most appropriate non-market valuation technique to apply to Pekapeka Swamp, the case study site. The overall objective of the study is to apply the most appropriate non-market valuation technique to estimate the total economic value (TEV) of the restoration and preservation of Pekapeka Swamp and to test Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s (HBRC) restoration programme for the Pekapeka Swamp using economic efficiency criteria. An appropriate contingent valuation mail survey questionnaire was designed to elicit responses to the dichotomous choice (DC) and open-ended valuation questions, and to collect socio-economic data and information on households’ attitude towards the environment. Responses to the survey questionnaire were analysed (using ordinary least squares regression for the open ended question, and logistic regression, for the DC question) to identify the factors that influence households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the restoration and preservation of the Pekapeka Swamp and to estimate TEV. A number of functional forms of the logit and open-ended WTP models were fitted from which WTP functions were estimated. Households were asked a DC question followed by an open-ended question regarding the value they placed on the restoration and preservation of Pekapeka Swamp. Out of an initial mail-out of 958 questionnaires, an overall response rate of 46.13% was achieved after two follow-ups. Results from the final usable sample of 231, after removing protests and inconsistent responses, indicate that households in the Hawke’s Bay region would pay, on average, between NZ$30.00 and NZ$76.89 per annum for five years. Unit value ranges between NZ$17,898 and NZ$45,866 per hectare per year; and net present values for the restoration and preservation programme for Pekapeka Swamp based on our ‘best estimates’ range between NZ$5.05 million and NZ$18.20 million depending on the model and discount rate used.
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Slatter, Claire. "The politics of economic restructuring in the Pacific with a case study of Fiji : a thesis presented in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, School of Social and Cultural studies, Massey University, Albany Campus, Auckland." 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1646.
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The subject of this thesis is the politics of economic restructuring, euphemistically termed 'reform' in the Pacific. Although structural adjustment policies are essentially neoliberal economic policies, the project of global economic restructuring, and its supposed end, a global regime of free trade, is a political one in several respects. It involves the wielding of economic power over developing countries by powerful multilateral institutions, developed countries and private corporate entities to such a degree that it is considered by some to represent the disciplining/subjugating and dis-empowering of developing states. It is supported by a successfully propagated ideology that combines economic growth theories (held to be infallible), 'good governance' rhetoric (with which no-one can reasonably disagree), and new notions of equality and 'non-discrimination' - the 'level playing field' and 'national treatment, in WTO parlance (which have been enshrined in enforceable global trade rules). It entails redefining the role of the state, transferring public ownership of assets to private hands, and removing subsidies that protect domestic industries and jobs, all of which are strongly contested. Successfully implementing 'reform' is widely acknowledged to require not only 'reform champions' but also 'ownership', and thus broad acceptance and legitimacy, yet commitments to restructuring are often made by government ministers without reference at all to national parliaments. National economic summits are used to rubber stamp or legitimate policies in a fait accompli. The thesis begins by situating the global regime of structural adjustment within the political context of North-South relations in the 1970s, the debt crisis of the early 1980s, and the collapse of socialist regimes and consequent discrediting of the socialist economic model and other variants of state-led development. It shows the key role of the World Bank in advocating the neoliberal model and setting the development aid agenda, and its abdication of this lead role after 1995 in favour of the World Trade Organisation and its agenda of global trade liberalisation. The thesis then examines the origins, agents and interests behind structural reform in the island states of the Pacific before focusing on how a regional approach to achieving regional wide economic restructuring and trade liberalisation is being taken, using a regional political organisation of Pacific Island states (The Pacific Islands Forum), and regional free trade agreements. It then illustrates the path of economic restructuring embarked on by Fiji following the 1987 coups, examines the implementation of 'economic reform' concurrently with policies to advance the interests of indigenous Fijians, and discusses some of the less acknowledged dimensions of reform.
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Riley, Philip Arthur. "Which species to save? : a theoretical and empirical analysis on the selection process involved with NGOs and species conservation : [a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Studies at Massey University, Albany]." 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/848.
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