The food prices in Finland and Sweden have been a subject for discussion for several years back in time. From the opponents against further European integration one have often heard that the EU and EMU entrance have made an negative impact on the food prices. This study show us that the impactof the entrances was extensive in the short run but rather finite and insignificant in the long run.Other important factors that describe why food prices fluctuate is also discussed. The mainconclusion is that other factors than the EU and EMU entrance should be seen as more likely whenit comes to the development of food prices. The essay is principally based on quantitative statistics of food prices, analysed in the light of Economic theory..

Denna uppsats behandlar utkontrakteringar i offentlig sektor och som praktikfall har utkontrakteringen av äldreboendena Nibblegården och Ärtan i Lunds kommun valts. Själva syftet med uppsatsen är att få en uppfattning om vilka effekter som uppkommer vid utkontrakteringar. I uppsatsen diskuteras även vad som bör beaktas vid utkontrakteringsbeslut (eller återtagande av utkontrakterad verksamhet). Den innehåller också en analys av hur kontrakt mellan det offentliga och privata aktörer är utformade och hur utformningen stämmer överens med den ekonomiska litteraturen. Studien har visat på att det finns vissa skillnader finns mellan teori och empiri vad gäller kontrakts utformning.

Urbanisation has increased the distance between the urban and the rural. Urban agriculture can be a solution to overcome that distance. The characteristic of urban agriculture is the intensive production in intra urban and peri-urban areas. Until 1950s food production in cities was an important part of the urban economy and the urban food supply. Since the 1950s the urban located production of food has almost ceased in Sweden, partly as a result of cheap food imports.

Kvinnors och mäns relativa vilkor på arbetsmarknaden är intimt sammanknippade med fördelningen av betalt och obetalt arbete inom hushållet. Denna fördelning kan påverkas genom ekonomiska incitament och familjepolitiken har en viktig roll i detta sammanhang. Sverige står nu inför en familjepolitisk reform, bestående av ett vårdnadsbidrag, en jämställdhetsbonus och ett skatteavdrag för hushållsnära tjänster. Denna uppsats diskuterar dessa reformers förväntade effekter på tidsallokeringen inom hushållet och hur dessa effekter kan förväntas skilja sig mellan olika socioekonomiska grupper. Den teoretiska ramen utgörs av Gronaus tidsallokeringsmodell och en hushållsmodell utformad av Blau et al.

The aim of this investigation is to explain present and historical differences in the Swedish and Danish unemployment rates between 1976 and 2005 with a broad framework, making use of neoclassical and post-keynesian Economic theory. The influence of the rate of investment to GDP, and various institutional factors are assessed in quantitative analysis. It is suggested that the crude answer of the question asked in the title, ?What is it that Denmark does that Sweden does not??, is that Denmark invests. This investigation suggests accordingly that the main reason of the relative labour market success during the 90?s in Denmark was a rising, and rapidly recovering, rate of investment to GDP, and perhaps not primarily its flexible labour market institutions.

Syfte: Uppsatsens syfte är att med hjälp av kvantitativa analyser påvisa eventuella positiva eller negativa skillnader för investeringar i aktier inom de av etiska fonder bannlysta branscherna tobak, vapen, alkohol och spel jämfört med andra mer politiskt korrekta sådana. Studien vill också belysa huruvida aktier inom dessa fyra branscher kan uppvisa någon signifikant användbarhet i aktieportföljer, vilken i förekommande fall skulle utgöra ett investeringsmässigt handikapp för de etiska fonderna. Metod: Studiens genomförande bestod främst i att med hjälp av ett antal databaser samla in en stor mängd data för att därefter behandla desamma utifrån vedertagna matematiska metoder. Resultaten analyserades därefter med hjälp av nationalekonomiska teorier utifrån den teoretiska referensram som uppsatsen grundar sig på.Slutsatser: Sammantaget visar studien att de i uppsatsen konstruerade oetiska aktieindexen inte kan uteslutas ur en portfölj utan att märkbar förlust uppstår. Den visar också att de oetiska indexen måste ses som mycket intressanta investeringsobjekt såväl individuellt som ur ett portföljperspektiv.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the companies approach to sustainability and to examine the relationship between the report content and the sustainability efforts businesses are making in practice.Method: The study has a qualitative perspective with semi-structured interviews and content analysis as method to collect data. Three companies were interviewed; Tekniska Verken AB, Apoteket AB and Max hamburgerrestauranger AB. The content analysis was used when collecting data from the three companies? sustainability reports.Frame of reference: Legitimacy theory, Stakeholder theory, Institutional theory, the Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility.Results: The result showed that all companies are prepared to work for sustainable development and that they view sustainability as an integrated part of their work. The sustainability report is the basis for sustainability reporting, which is a way for companies to demonstrate to their stakeholders what they stand for and what they implement in practice.

This study aims to find more knowledge about preschool teachers? point of view on the situation of children living in economic hardship and how it affects them at the preschool. With economic hardship becoming more frequent and common amongst families with young children we find the subject important and in need of more attention. Studies have proven the negative effects of poverty on children?s development and health and since the preschool is a big part of children?s everyday life the study aims to see what perspectives practitioners have on the issue and how they plan activities and learning situations based on the needs of these children.

Hur kan det komma sig att två länder som i en vald tidpunkt ligger på ungefär samma inkomstnivå per capita och har liknande förutsättningar då det gäller ekonomisk tillväxt, utvecklas på olika sätt? Vilka kan anledningarna vara att det ena landets ekonomi växer med en relativt höga hastighet medan det andra har en dålig tillväxt, periodvis ingen alls? Syftet med denna uppsats är att genom att välja två länder som passar in på ovanstående beskrivning, göra jämförelser och ta fram lyfta fram aspekter som skulle kunna ligga till grund för skillnaderna de två ländernas ekonomiska tillväxt emellan. De två länder som valts för detta syfte är Malaysia och Filippinerna. Dessa två länder var kring 1960-talet jämbördiga i fråga om ekonomiskt välstånd men har utvecklats på olika håll fram tills idag. Malaysias ekonomi har växt med en genomsnittligt hög tillväxttakt över åren, medan Filippinernas inkomstnivå per capita inte är mycket högre idag än den var år 1960.

English title: Part-time work among women in Sweden ? what influences choice of working hours? In the 1960s and 70s a large growth in part-time work amongst women in the Swedish labour market took place. A net inflow of workers into the labour market has been suggested as the main source. However, part-time work is still a common phenomenon among Swedish women; in 2004 almost 40% of all women worked part-time, and women are clearly dominating the part-time sector. A gradual changeover from house work to market work is hardly a valid explanation anymore.

Background: Funds have become a more popular way for investments. After the financial crisis in 2008 there was some sectors that shown a better results than other depending if the sector was affected by the economic situation or not. Therefore can  investments in sector funds be a good way to get a high return, but it also has a high risk.Problem: Has the risk any impact on the return considered funds in sectors that is affected by the economic situation relatively to sectors that isn?t affected by the situation in the economy?Purpose: Determine whether sector funds risk has any impact on the return. Also if there are any differences between sectors depending if they are affected by the economic situation or not.

Abstract The increased focus on social capital theory has made its way into labour economics. This has led to the creation of a vast literature about the use of networks and informal search methods in the labour-market, a literature that to some extent also deals with immigrants search behaviour and their relatively high unemployment rate. Characteristic for the literature in the area is the lack of analysis of actual networks. Which types of contacts do these networks contain; how are the networks used in the labour-market; and which type of network generates a high amount of social capital. These questions are important for the general understanding of how social capital functions, within the labour-market, but also for the understanding of how immigrants use their networks in order to find themselves jobs.

PurposeThe purpose of this thesis is to investigate the market of pedagogic consulting and how the customers look upon these kinds of services and what the consultants think about the market. The following five questions were investigated:What is the situation of the market of pedagogic consulting?-          What needs and what demands are there of pedagogical consulting services? -          What are the economic possibilities for schools and municipalities to buy professional development and consulting services?What do schools and municipalities think about their needs and what do they think about buying professional development from consultants?-          How are the professional development offerings of the consultants recieved by schools and municipalities and is there a difference between the private and public sector of education? -          What impact could professional development have on schools?In what way is the marketing for pedagogic consulting done?Method In this study I have chosen to have a qualitative approach with an abductive perpective. I made these choices to get closer to what I wanted to investigate. Through the abductive methodology it was possible to go between theory and empirics.

Möjligheter till internationell diversifiering är en av de främsta drivkrafterna bakom den konsolidering och internationalisering mellan världens börser som sker idag. Även de nordiska börserna har speglats av denna utveckling. I Oktober 2006 invigdes OMX Nordiska börs och den svenska, danska samt finska börshandeln integrerades därmed till en handelsplats. Från ett teoretiskt portföljvalsperspektiv växer därmed respektive domestik marknad till ett gemensamt urval av de tre ländernas noterade bolag. Fler investeringsmöjligheter borgar for diversifiering och därmed reduktion av ickesystematisk risk.

This thesis intends to examine the role of the city, Dublin, in the Irish economic growth during the 1990s. It is a case study where Dublin is compared with current theories on post modern cities as growth machines and increasingly prominent actors in the global context. The study has an interdisciplinary approach but focuses on political science issues such as power distribution, global-local governance and local political organisation. It is a theory driven study that also intends to add aspects to the understanding of the cities of our time. I argue that Dublin has faced a lot of changes during the last decades in accordance with the post modern city.