In May 2004 eight former communist countries (EU-8) with close historical trade ties to Russia joined the European Union. According to integration theory, we expect that Russia ? a so called third country ? in some cases may suffer from trade diversion due to this. This thesis focuses on the possible effects on Russian trade resulting from the 2004 eastern enlargement of the European Union. It aims to find out whether any evidence of trade diversion can be found.

We have two aims with this thesis. The first aim is to describe CFD as a financial instrument in detail by highlighting its potentials and disadvantages. The second aim is to try to find the optimal real margin for each of the underlying stocks.We have adopted an inductive approach, combined with a quantitative method. We have worked with data and tried to come up to conclusions from the results we got.The conclusion of our thesis is that it is optimal to enter a CFD-contract with own capital covering at least 20 % of the value of the contract..

The aim of this bachelor thesis was to examine attitudes among social workers, particularly their attitudes toward their clients? poverty and towards economic counseling as a method. A further aim was to study the relationship between attitudes towards poverty and economic counseling. Primary data used for the study was assembled among social workers (n = 111) with the use of an electronic questionnaire that was sent out to social welfare offices in 34 city districts in Stockholm,Gothenburg and Malmö. The findings showed that a majority of the social workers had a structural understanding of poverty and a positive attitude towards economic counseling.

This study attempts to examine the existence and development of price differences in the car sector in Europe. The time period is between 1995, the year of the Swedish entrance in the European Union, and 2003. The study is based on data supplied by the European commission, on a bi-annual basis. Both price differences in general in the EU, and price differences between Sweden and other countries in the EU are examined. The theoretical law of one price is related to the economic integration of the EU and the car sector.

This thesis deals with past and present political attitudes towards the Öresund bridge. It describes the decision making process which preceded the construction of the bridge, and has a short historical introduction to it. It then presents the attitudes towards the bridge of five different political parties, all represented by regional politicians. This empirical information was obtained through interviews with politicians and literature studies. The author then analyzes the empirical information with the help of the human ecological triangle developed by Steiner, and the center-periphery theories of Wallerstein and Persson.To conclude, the author describes what the central problem is in the case of the Öresund bridge from a human ecological perspective and analyzes the empirical data collected..

Title: Migration and Labor Market Integration ? the German Reunification Since the German reunification former East Germany has been struggling with rising unemployment numbers and extensive emigration. The East German Länder are still well behind the West German and even though Germany unquestionably is united politically the old border divides the economy ? and the labor market ? in two. This thesis aims to describe the reunification process of the East German and the West German labor markets, and in particular the role of migration in this process.

Tourism is often being viewed as one of the worlds largest sectors and a great contribution to growth and development. There is a large motivation amongst developing countries to promote themselves as a tourist destination, since they expect the tourism to generate economic growth. The government of Thailand has been promoting tourism since 1960, and the number of foreign visitors has increased from 100 000 back then to 13.5 million in 2006. The purpose of this paper was to investigate weather the increasing tourism industry in Thailand has pulled resources away from other sectors of the economy towards the tourism sector, and in that way harming Thailand?s international competitiveness and causing deindustrialization.

This thesis analyzes and discusses the role of institutions concerning countries' abilities to create economic wealth. The countries that we are analyzing are the former members of the Warsaw pact and former Yugoslavia. These countries are referred to as transition countries. In order to analyze the transition countries institutional structure we are using Douglass C. North's theory regarding institutions and institutional building.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to study the causal relationship between bank sector development and economic growth in four Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway).Method: Our thesis is based on a quantitative method. The study consists of a compilation and analysis of key financial indicators that represent economic growth and bank sector development. A Granger causality test has been conducted on the time series in order to measure the causal link between economic growth and bank sector development.Theoretical framework: The study is based on the theory of endogenous growth and the causal relationship between bank sector development and economic growth also known as the demand following and supply leading hypothesis. Results: The results of the four countries are ambiguous. Except for Denmark, that follows the supply leading hypothesis, the remaining countries do not show a unanimous result..

I denna uppsats beskrivs och implementeras tre alternativa metoder för att skatta kovariansen mellan finansiella tillgångar. De utvärderas sinsemellan och jämförs med stickprovskovariansen. Utvärderingsmodellen innebär simulering av en aktiv portföljförvaltare i en verklighetstrogen miljö. Då kovariansen mellan finansiella tillgångar beräknas med stickprovsskattning blir skattningsfelet stort. Detta fel, eller brus, försämrar portföljförvaltares resultat och alternativa metoder eftersöks.

Uppsatsen handlar om ränta. Varför finns det ränta och vilka faktorer påverkar räntenivån? Uppsatsen är dels doktrinhistorisk men också något nyskapande. Den ?nyskapande? teorin läggs fram i all ödmjukhet, och är snarare att betrakta som en sammanställning av tidigare insikter.

Abstract This essay discusses whether or not the technical assistance given by The WTO will effect the reduction of poverty in LDCs. The liberalization of trade is considered to be one of the main forces behind economic growth and the reduction of poverty. Can trade reduce poverty?The WTO formed The Integrated Framework pro to the Doha Round in 2001 to assist the LDCs in aiding them implement the WTO's framework. Has this implementation been effective?The WTO also created The EPRP program to the Doha Round in order to create poverty reducing projects amongst developing countries.

The aim of this thesis is to analyse the most common economic effects of countries pursuing trade facilitation. Trade flows are constrained by non-tariff barriers and through trade facilitation these barriers can be decreased. We will study the effects of trade facilitation from a theoretical perspective and evaluate a number of empirical studies. Several different trade barriers will be identified as well as those regions and countries that will gain the most from trade facilitation. We draw the conclusion thatlarge gains would prevail for all countries and that the consumers, businesses and the state all benefit from trade facilitation.

Fältbiologer in Lund : A study on how the NGO Fältbiologerna has affected environmental politics in the municipality of LundThis paper examines, through interview and literary studies, if the environmental NGO Fältbiologerna has had any impact on the environmental politics of the municipality of Lund. The study is based on a case where Fältbiologerna were protesting against the establishment of two shopping centers near the outskirts of Lund.The study is inconclusive, but provides a few interesting questions for further studies in this subject..

This essay constitutes a qualitative case study about democratization theory and the middle class in Russia. This is a very important case to study, especially because of the geographic position of the country as well as the economic importance Russia has as a part of the G8. In the essay the author seeks to answer the question whether the lack of a significant middle class in Russia can be a part of the explanation to the absence of a well functioning democracy in the country. Several democratization theories are presented. The most important being Ruth Berins Collier's theories about ins and outs plus the elite- or working class as the initiator of democratization processes.