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Abstract
This paper analyzes the impact and transmission of global financial and economic shocks to the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) Countries. As an objective it identifies the transmission channel of the external shock in the region. In addition, it examines the relative impact of the shock on different SSA countries given their resilience capacity. A vulnerability analyses methodology is followed to examine the impact and transmission of external shock. To this end, the correlated random effect probit model is applied on panel data of 47 sampled SSA countries from 1990- 2013. From the econometric result, it has found that SSA countries are not affected directly from the global financial shock. However, they are affected indirectly through the FDI inflow and the trade channel. The US economic shock as a trading partner is mainly affecting oil exporting SSA countries through the income effect of the trade channel, price effect and exchange rate movement. Whereas the shock that is happening in EU economy is transmitted to or has spillover effect on all SSA countries. The trade channel does not show any shock transmission between China and SSA countries. With regard to the resilience of SSA countries to external shock, currency reserve buffer found to be significant in cushioning the transmission of the external shock to the region. Achieving sustained economic growth is also helping the countries to be resilient to unexpected external shock. However, SSA countries still show limited capacity in creating sound fiscal policy stance which is ineffective in curving the effect of the external economic and financial shock. In addition, SSA countries with developed financial market such as Botswana, South Africa and Kenya are affected directly from the financial shock and suffered a long recession of economic growth than the other SSA countries.
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to investigate the European Union peace-building mission
towards the Israel-Palestine conflict. It follows Manners (2002) conceptualisation of
the Union as a normative power and its ability to shape international standards,
diffuse universal norms and values, change other’s behaviour patterns and attitude. As
a counterbalance, the paper shall make use of the structural realist critique to the
concept of normative power Europe. The paper analyses the EU’s involvement and
instrument deployment in the conflict using Tocci’s (2008) three-dimensional
framework of normative foreign actor in order to determine the normative aspects of
the EU foreign and security policy in respect to the conflict. The results of this
research show that the Union is inconsistent in pursuing its normative goals in the
conflict. Furthermore, despite the Union’s normative basis and norms promotion, it it can hardly be considered as a normative foreign actor.
Abstract
The thesis at hand examines the formalization of the domestic cleaning sector via Internet platforms. Using qualitative interviews with four cleaners working for platforms and one platform-manager the thesis research question how market-drive formalization via platforms can unfold. A first hypothesis states that market-driven formalization cannot offer considerably better working conditions than informal cleaning work due to the self-employed status of the cleaners and its implications. A second hypothesis states that working as cleaners for internet platforms can provide for an easy entrance into the general German labour market as the market entry barriers are very low. A content-analysis of the five interviews yields mixed results: platforms cannot offer considerably better working conditions than informality and even fail in some cases to diminish arbitrariness of the informal economy. Moreover, while platforms can be a viable in-between solution for a small group of migrants it doesn´t generally offer
The topic’s significance expresses itself in the sheer scale of the informal cleaning sector and the potential for regular work that could be achieved through its formalization. The thesis is built on previous theoretical and empirical work on formalization approaches and the domestic cleaning sector in Germany. Drawing from experiences made with “service pools”, a rights-based form of formalization of the domestic cleaning sector in Germany, the thesis develops several categories, which capture aspects of the formalization via platforms, such as the determination of working hours or the working relationship between cleaners and customers/platforms.
Using problem-centred interviews the thesis put the perspectives of cleaners and platforms into centre stage. From the interview statements, which were categorized and examined into a theoretically grounded categorization scheme, conclusions could be drawn as to certain aspects of platform-based formalization. Built on the interview material, the thesis finds that formalization via platforms falls short to adequately provide cleaners with the working conditions that regular employment could provide. Furthermore, while possibly being helpful for non-Germans seeking to enter the German labour market, platforms were also perceived to be exploitative towards their migrant labour force.
Abstract:
This paper discusses the labour market reforms implemented in Germany and Spain. Particularly it focuses on the similarities between both sets of labour market reforms. It tries to find out whether the Hartz reforms applied in Germany in the beginning of the 21st century have been used as a model for the labour market reforms applied in Spain since 2010. It also assesses the role played by the EU institutions encouraging member states to apply this kind of flexibility reforms. The paper presents the main theories on which this type of reforms is based on – i.e. New Public Management and New Consensus Macroeconomics. It discusses the main developments at the EU level in regards to labour market reforms. In order to compare the reforms in Germany and Spain, the paper follows a case study approach where three indicators are used with the aim of answering the main research question. Finally, it presents the main conclusions derive from the assessment of the research.
Abstract
The inclusion of statistic moments of a higher order than mean and variance into the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) has been the subject of economic discussion since empirical research had shown that the majority of asset returns from several stock markets are not normally distributed. To adequately describe asset returns it seems appropriate to consider skewness and kurtosis of return distributions. Theoretical extensions of the CAPM have been developed that include skewness (three-moment CAPM) and skewness along with kurtosis (four-moment CAPM).
Most empirical investigations that test these models have been examined for the U.S. American stock market. In this master thesis research has been conducted for the German stock market (HDAX). Thereby, weekly asset returns from 2000 to 2015 form the basis of the analysis as other studies commonly use monthly data. It is investigated whether the explanatory power of the CAPM becomes better when higher moments are included. The investigation procedure follows the methodology by Fama and MacBeth (1973). The results of the cross-sectional analysis reveal that no variable has a statistically significant influence on asset returns. The explanatory of all models, even the traditional CAPM, is not satisfying, but becomes slightly better when skewness and especially kurtosis are added.
Launching a new product on the market requires intensive marketing research to
define the specific needs of the customers. Marketing research methods using brain
imaging with fMRI are able to predict consumer behavior and subconscious feelings
towards a brand. Compared to ordinary marketing research methods, results of
brain scans can convert emotions with regards to consumers’ preferences into
marketing strategies.
This study evaluates consumers’ preferences for a new milk drink on the Finnish
market using methods of brain imaging and survey taste tests. The results are
applied in a marketing concept recommended in the conclusion to the case
company of the project, Valio Ltd. The study is part of the research project
Neuroservice, which operates at Laurea University of Applied Sciences and is
funded by the Finnish agency for Innovation, TEKES.
The research covered a sample of 31 people and found out that the milk drink is
valued higher in the product category of juices based on emotional values, brain
scans and the results of taste tests. The results of the analysis were compounded
to conclude a marketing concept to the case company, which recommends a repositioning
of the product into the category of juices.
Keywords: Marketing Research, Neuromarketing, fMRI, Brain Imaging, Consumer
Preferences, Marketing Concept
This paper critically reviews and builds upon the state of the art in a rapidly evolving collectionof post-Keynesian
and heterodox approaches to understanding the economy as subsystem of nature. A brief history of supplyside
resource limits in neoclassical models is given, along with
a discussion of the limits to the neoclassical paradigm as a tool of economic analysis, especially with an eye to environmental concerns. The benefits of the postKeynesian
paradigm are then discussed before providing a comprehensive literature review of what is now described as “Ecological Macroeconomics”. Attempts to incorporate environmental limits in heterodox economics are growing, yet it seems additional research has merely brought about further questions. Specifically, the feasibility of dematerializaion is analyzed given the “paradox of
growth”: greater output has historically meant increasing impact on the environment, yet reducing investment or consumption results in unemployment. It is found that dematerialization can be achieved only through a significant rebalancing of national priorities, away from
energyintensive production and material consumption and towards lowimpact,low productivity services of clear social and environmental benefit. Ultimately, however, the most important question to be answered for Ecological Macroeconomics, and postKeynesians in general, ishow to best define sustainability and balance planetary and social wellbeing given the irreversibility of human development and fundamental uncertainty about what what may happen in the future.
The Digital Divide: A Heterodox Perspective on Technological Change and Income Inequality in the EU
(2015)
Recent decades have seen a significant rise in income inequality in the majority of European
countries. Skill-biased technological change provides one major explanation for the
polarisation of labour markets. The theory states that the digital transformation of the
economy reinforces the unequal distribution of income by disadvantaging low skilled and
medium skilled workers. The study presents a critical assessment of the argument and
underlines the role of institutional factors by providing a comparative institutional analysis of
four European countries, including France, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The
findings provide evidence for the role of political-economy factors. By rejecting the notion of
technological determinism, it is argued that actors on various levels have the capacity to
influence the distributional consequences of technological change.
This thesis aims to establish how Muslim identities in Germany have been constructed by others and how they differ from realities.
Muslim communities have often been viewed with suspicion by majority ethnic groups in European nation states, but even more so since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Islamophobia has had negative consequences in European societies – people with MENA roots are often essentialised as a homogenous group of overtly religious Muslims. The simplistic nexus of failed integration, Islamic fundamentalism and home-‐grown extremism fails to question the discriminatory backdrop of integration policies in European nation states and does not explain why only a tiny minority of Muslims participate in Islamist groups.
Hard multiculturalism has been used to essentialise Muslims and claim that they segregate themselves and are resistant to integrating into European societies. Those who advocate for stricter assimilation and anti-‐immigration policies exploit the supposed ‘failure of multiculturalism’.
A progressive form of multiculturalism could reconcile diversity with universal rights and gender equality and give political space to ethnic minorities. Mainstream portrayals of Muslim identities shape and perpetuate public attitudes and policies. This thesis explores the impacts that Orientalism, Islamophobia and assimilationist policies have had on shaping these portrayals. A more nuanced understanding of the diversity of Muslim communities is key for establishing an accurate picture of contemporary Muslim life in Europe, for unravelling Islamophobic myths, and for suggesting policy which could both recognize and accommodate diversity.
Abstract
China has experienced an outstanding economic growth after opening up its market to the world economy. At the same time, China has attracted large volumes of FDI and ranks among the major recipients of FDI. This paper aims at clarifying the role of FDI in the Chinese economy and identifies the effects of FDI contributing to China’s economic development. Preliminaries to the subject are initially presented, followed by general effects of FDI on host countries, before the case of China is evaluated in detail. The paper finds that China’s economy has benefited from FDI, particularly through the diffusion of technology and increased productivity, the stimulation of foreign trade as well as boosted economic growth. The establishment of special economic zones and the policy framework regarding FDI have contributed positively to the impact of FDI on China’s economic