This thesis uses ten years of data to examine the underlying drivers behind changes in the taxi price, specifically we look at the relationship between the taxi price and changes in the underlying costs. We use a two-step error correction framework to investigate how changes in costs affect prices in the long run as well as in the short run. We also study if the price adjustment process is asymmetric. Furthermore, we examine if price discrimination exists on the taxi market in Stockholm. We find that in the long run the pass-through effect is almost complete, whereas in the short run prices are considerably less sensitive to cost changes.

Public procurement stands for a substantial part of the total food consumption in Sweden. The majority of the procured food is today imported and according to market trends it?s intended to stay that way. Imported food is favoured for locally produced due to price pressure. Consequently domestic pork farmers have declined by 25 percent during the last twenty years.

Evaluating and choosing suppliers based on price alone, has traditionally been the dominant strategy for supplier selection within the purchasing function. With the origin of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)-concept in the early 1990s, a new philosophy dawned that promoted the importance of knowing the effects of supplier performance on the buying firm?s internal costs. Since then, scholars have been arguing the case of TCO as a viable model for making purchasing decisions and conducting supplier evaluation. Still, after two decades little is known about its penetration and impact on the practices of buying corporations, leaving the questions of which costs are included in the purchasing organisations? decisions unanswered, and even more importantly why certain costs are considered and others not.

This thesis investigates management accounting systems in a Swedish health care environment. Through a qualitative case study of an activity-based cost accounting system that was introduced in 1994 at S:t Görans Sjukhus, a large Stockholm hospital, the following questions are addressed: What benefits can an activity-based cost accounting system offer the Swedish health care providers? What are the potential problems impeding the implementation of such a system? Main findings: an activity-based cost accounting system can improve the understanding of where costs are generated in the production processes. Comparisons between alternative production processes are improved, and the data may serve as a basis for internal pricing measures. Concerning the second question, difficulty in reconciliating the principles of economic control with the culture present in a hospital is identified as the main obstacle to a new management accounting system..

The purpose of this report is to examine various roof structures that can operate in a warehouse with large spans. The building that is examined in the report is currently under construction, and the roof construction has already been selected. The selected roof system will therefore be compared with some other structures and materials that have been possible. The report will evaluate three different frame materials, two insulating barriers and two overlaying materials. Another important part in major construction projects is the roof safety.

The aim of this essay was to create an understanding of teachers strategies to respond to children in economic hardship in school and if these children can participate on equal terms in school. To examine this, we chose to do semi-structured interviews which is a qualitative method. Eight teachers were interviewed from four different elementary schools. In our interviews, we found that all the schools both had elements of inclusion and exclusion, which can result in both equal and unequal terms for participation in school. We also found that the school with the most students in economic hardship had the most inclusive strategies.

This study examines how the stock prices are affected when articles, which negatively describe the companies? incentive programs, are published. According to the efficient market hypothesis, only new information should have an effect on the stock price. Furthermore, this study aims to examine whether this reaction is dependent of the economic climate. During the period of September 2005 to September 2009, stock price data was collected from the NasdaqOMX stock exchange and 75 articles were gathered from leading Swedish newspapers.

The scope of this project is to make a comparison of costs associated with wind and nuclear power in order to decide which one of these is the most suitable in the case of an increased demand for electricity. It is also investigated if there are other factors that can influence the choice of energy source.An average cost is calculated in terms of kronor per kilowatt-hour (SEK/kWh) using cost of investment, operation & maintenance and taxes & subsidies. Total investment cost is recalculated to production cost using the annuity method at three different interest rates (6%, 9% and 12%).The comparison is made between three cases of wind power and two cases of nuclear power. For wind power there are two ocean-based (300MW and 100MW installed capacity, respectively) and one land-based (60MW) wind farm. For nuclear power there is one EPR-reactor (1600MW) and one AP1000-reactor (1100MW).

The thesis is aiming to investigate what happens in the customer-service worker interaction when the service worker is wearing religious attributes. In order to operationalize this the Muslim head scarf, hijab, is chosen as stimuli. Reviewing previous research and theory in this field, it is clear that people have a preference for people that they perceive to be like themselves, this is referred to as homophily. Further on, the study investigates the ethnicity dimension of the service worker customer interaction. Theoretical areas of attractiveness and color are also investigated.

Buildings worldwide account for 40 % of the total energy use. Climate change is of increasing importance, but few are willing to reduce their standard of living or get a higher cost for the change. Energy efficiency of existing buildings gives the greatest benefit economically and environmentally. The real estate company Klövern AB manages 46 properties in Karlstad. Heating is the major cost of the total operating costs of real estate. Rising energy prices increase the need for Klövern AB to improve energy efficiency and to investigate alternative sources of heat.

The purpose of this study is to examine the expiration day effect on a stocks volatility due to stock option expiration, which is every third Friday in the month on Stockholm stock exchange. Volatility is the standard deviation of a stock. It measures the uncertainty about a stocks future movement. When volatility increases, the chance or probability of a stock going up or down increases. It?s a common rumor among stock traders that stock volatility tends to increase nearby expiration day.

This paper investigates and explains the existence of different governance structures in the Swedish film industry. Using a theoretical framework of transaction cost economics, it is shown that trust follows from frequent production projects, affecting the distributors? control of producers, cinemas, video retailers and television. Control becomes more flexible, informal and less time consuming. Furthermore, the control of the distributors? relationship with television and cinemas proves to be multidimensional and affected by transaction activities, as well as by demands from previous parties in the value chain.

Automatic milking systems (AMS) provide the opportunity for less manual labour and an increased milking frequency. But in order to reach an optimal milking frequency a well-functioning cow traffic is crucial. There are many factors affecting cow traffic but one factor that has not been studied thoroughly yet is the effect of different light intensities during the night, 22.00 h to 05.00 h. Therefore the aim of this study was to determine the effect of different light intensities during the night on number of selection gate passages (GP), milking frequency and milk yield. The study was conducted as a Latin square were three light intensities were applied: LOW (11 ± 3 lux), INT (33 ± 1 lux) and HIGH (74 ± 6 lux), in three different herds.

This quantitative study aims to investigate whether there is a difference in the effect of the policy rate on the price per square meter for condominiums between small and large cities in Sweden. The study encompasses a total of seven Swedish municipalities, of which three located in large cities and four in small cities. Data regarding housing sales and additional variables have been collected for all municipalities, and the price per square meter is the dependent variable in the regressions performed on the dataset, which constitutes the empirical basis of the study. The aim is further to contribute to an increased understanding of how the effect of the policy rate might differ between Swedish cities and why. The results of the study show significant differences in how the policy rate affects the price per square meter in a small city compared to a large city, with the effect being greater in the latter.

Active sensors are used a lot in the society and industry, for example to gain better control over processes or to get proximity sensing features in different products. Within industry there is great interest in developing safe automation products that can be controlled with high accuracy but still at a low cost.The goal of this project is to develop a prototype of a non-contact rangefinder that measures distance using infrared light. The sensor is to be used for various applications in industries with relatively high accuracy and be compact, but at a low cost. By implementing a rangefinder into a product, more accurate detections of an object?s presence can be done.In this project a new distance sensor, EPC600 from ESPROS, was used.