Previous research regarding the European debt crisis has mostly focused on the purely economic aspects of the crisis. However, there is a strong ?Protestant-Catholic? dimension in Europe, where historically Protestant countries are more prosperous than their Catholic and Orthodox counterparts. This has especially been a fact since early 2010, when several countries within the European Union had their credit ratings downgraded. Is this phenomenon merely a coincidence? Or could the roots of the recent troubles in Europe have a basis in historic religions? To tackle this question, Max Webers ?s 110 year old study The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is brought back into light and used as a tool for analysis of the crisis.The results show that not only are Protestant countries in general more prosperous, but they also have lower corruption and their citizens have a higher level of trust towards the government.

This bachelor thesis aim to explore in what way the Euro crisis have affected the reciprocal relationship between European identity and the attitudes towards the euro, and how it differs between the members in the Eurozone and members that have not yet introduced the euro. This thesis is grounded in a theoretical view that the euro is a symbol through which European identity is created, but also that European identity is a factor for the attitudes towards the euro as a single currency. By statistical analysis of empirical data collected through the Eurobarometer, I discover that there is a difference between how the relationship between the European identity and the attitudes towards the euro changes during the Euro crisis. Members without the euro seems to be more affected than members with the euro, as the correlation between European identity and attitudes towards the euro weakens for members without the euro, which do not seem to be the case in member countries within the Eurozone..

The consumption levels in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway have been rising fo r the last decade. Even after the financial crisis of 2008, consumption levels continued their upward trend, regardless of the recession. The explanation seems to be, at least partly, that households tends to increase their debt ratio in order to continue the same standard of living as before in terms of consumption. It is clear, based of our results, that there is a connection between increased consumption and debt ratio for households. And the consequences of allowing loans to finance a sustained or increasing consumption may ultimately be difficult to manage.

Background: 2009 it has occurred a crisis in some of the member states of the European Union: Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Greece. Despite, some major banks in the world had begun to recover from the financial crisis that occurred from 2007 until 2009, there were still banks who found it difficult to survive. Greece is one of the countries that suffered from the financial crisis. The high budget deficit and the unsustainable debt are underlying the crisis.Banks as financial intermediaries have important function in a nation?s economy.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of capital structure in Swedish small and medium sized firms. The study includes 24.859 Swedish firms which are further analyzed with regards to their financial characteristics. These characteristics consist of short term debt, long term debt and total leverage. The study compares the relationship between these characteristics and six independent variables.The result shows that profitability is the greatest determinant for capital structure in Swedish small and medium sized firms with regards to total leverage. When profitability increases the total leverage of the firm decreases.

The purpose of this study was to examine how people experience being in debt, what they consider was the reason for being in debt and how they experienced economic counselling. The empirical data was based on five semi-structured interviews with people having experiences from being in debt and experiences of economic counselling. The data was analysed by using theoretical perspectives from a model called economic-shame created by Bengt Starrin. The model shows how being in debt and the feelings of shame influence health. The conclusion shows that the reasons for being in debt often is due to several sudden and tragic events happening at the same time or due to each other.

The first Debt Relief Act was introduced in 1994 into Swedish law. The old Debt Relief Act was replaced on 1 January 2007 by the current Debt Relief Act. The current law is in many ways similar to the older law. The main change is the debt settlement process.The Debt settlement Act's main purpose is to financially rehabilitate over-indebted individuals. This aim should be balanced against the creditors' interest in getting paid for their claims.

The high debt levels experienced in European Countries have lead to academic interest in the deficit bias -the tendency for governments to run budget deficits and accumulate debt. In part one of this thesis a surveyof the economic literature on the origins and solutions to the deficit bias are conducted. The proposedinstitutional solution to the deficit bias in the form of Fiscal Policy Councils (FPC) are outlined and existingEuropean FPCs presented. Based on the works of Calmfors and Wren-Lewis (2011) the EuropeanCommission (EC) is defined as an FPC. Based on this survey, two hypothesis are formulated: (1) theforecasts of future macro-economic events and fiscal performance will differ between the national FPCs andthe national government.

When a crisis hits a company, it is very important that the company communicate with its customers. Communication is important for a company in crisis because this is a way for the company to tell their side of the story and thereby try to get the customers to see things their way. Because mass media reaches a lot of people, it is a simple and fast way for companies in crisis to get their message out to the world. Mass media can be very useful for a company, but it can also be a problem. Mass media and companies in crisis may or may not have the same purpose with the communication.

AbstractTitle: A union, a collaboration and a currency crisis- a quantitative study of the media coverage of the euro crisis within the European Union in Spanish and Swedish newspapers.The purpose of this study was to see whether Sweden and Spain ?s differences in media climates and relations to the euro crisis would affect how the story was portrayed from a narrative perspective. Did the coverage differ between the two countries and who got to comment on the situation in the media were two of the questions I strived to answer. I also wanted to see how the coverage reflected on the situation that the euro crisis has created.In this study I used a number of theories that I based my research on. The main theories I focused on was about different media systems and Sweden and Spain ?s relation to the euro crisis.

This paper aims to analyze the effect of the American Subprime crisis of 2007 through the perspective ofHaynes Minsky?s model according to Charles Kindleberger. The investigation revolves how the anatomyof a financial crisis develops and how it is applicable to the Subprime crisis. More specific conclusionsare derived from applying Minsky?s model to the three largest American indices; Dow Jones industrialaverage, S&P500 and NASDAQ.To deepen the analysis the Case-Shiller home price indices acts as a second parameter tocompliment Minsky?s perspective with Robert J.

This paper aims to analyze the effect of the American Subprime crisis of 2007 through the perspective ofHaynes Minsky?s model according to Charles Kindleberger. The investigation revolves how the anatomyof a financial crisis develops and how it is applicable to the Subprime crisis. More specific conclusionsare derived from applying Minsky?s model to the three largest American indices; Dow Jones industrialaverage, S&P500 and NASDAQ.To deepen the analysis the Case-Shiller home price indices acts as a second parameter tocompliment Minsky?s perspective with Robert J.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how organisations can keep their crisis preparedness alert although crises do not occur often. A crisis organisation will lay dormant within a larger organisation for long periods of time. This may cause a problem when a crisis does occur if the preparedness has not been kept alive.From previous researchers that we have studied within this field we have identified two distinct methods to do this. The first focuses on the importance of detailed crisis plans, while the other method suggests that it is more essential to develop specific competencies with the employees. We also find that keeping knowledge within an organisation is a matter of organisational learning and memory which we therefore discuss and analyse.We have performed an interview study at E.ON in Örebro, and we have also had the opportunity to read E.ON?s crisis plan.

Today Europe is faced with an identity crisis concerning its borders. Turkey stands at the threshold for an EU-membership while the EU-Commission is trying to formulate what constitutes a European identity. This identity seeking process will determine the future not only for Turkey, but also for immigrants now living in Europe.In this thesis a discourse analysis, underpinned by socialconstructionist theory, is conducted to explore how the European identity has been constructed throughout history up until today. A starting point is that identity always is defined through a dialectical relationship to "otherness". Therefore the analysis is focused not only on what a European identity consists of but also what and who it excludes.

The study examines risk perception and crisis preparedness among personnel at high-schools. The focus is set on teachers and leaders at four high-schools in Örebro municipality, Sweden. The purpose of the study is to examine crisis preparedness and identify factors which influences risk perception and crisis preparedness. The survey consisted of a questionnaire which was completed by 95 respondents. The results show that better information about the crisis preparedness in the schools is needed.