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Group lending with peer monitoring: A theoretical model of microcredit
Štrobl, Martin ; Janda, Karel (advisor) ; Pečená, Magda (referee)
Over the years, the lending procedures of microcredit has evolved. The original joint liability group lending with simultaneous financing (loans released at once) has been replaced by sequential financing (loans released one by one). Moreover, recent studies suggest individual liability lending in groups to be the optimal choice. While numerous theoretical studies provide thorough models of each of these approaches, none presents a comparative analysis. In this study, we model these three schemes using the framework by Van Tassel (1999) and compare them. Further, we add exogenous peer monitoring costs and within-group heterogeneity of loan sizes to our models. Our findings prove that, in the presence of information asymmetry, group lending with joint liability dominates individual liability lending in groups. Furthermore, the interest rate of the sequential model is more sensitive to changes of monitoring costs or opportunity costs of capital than in the sequential model. On the contrary, sequential approach allows for higher degree of within-group heterogeneity of loan sizes. It is ambiguous which model achieves higher profit and lower interest rate. Our results confirm that the choice of optimal financing approach is determined by the characteristics of borrowers. JEL Classificiation G2 Keywords...
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Forecasting Tobacco Consumption in the Czech Republic
Štrobl, Martin ; Janda, Karel (advisor) ; Soudek, Jan (referee)
This thesis aims to build a theoretical framework to model the future tobacco con- sumption, size of smoking population and governmental tax revenues in the Czech republic. The main assumption of the model states that smokers determine their fu- ture tobacco consumption behavior as adolescents. This strong statement is backed by empirical evidence. Further assumptions are introduced to make the model ap- plicable to the data by the Czech National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. The resulting model is simplified, however, is still able to reflect the fu- ture trends induced by upcoming demographic changes to the Czech population and provide forecasts. Future teenage smoking rates and average consumption are the inputs to the model; consumption growth coefficients for each age category are esti- mated using zero-inflated negative binomial regression. Several scenarios are built to model possible developments, including extreme cases. All scenarios showed that all model outcomes are going to grow until 2028 in a very similar pattern. In particular, the projected number of smokers in 2028 is by 4-8% higher than in 2013, the total daily tobacco consumption and tax revenue by 7-26%. This increase is induced by aging of large birth cohorts. Later on, the projected scenarios differ substantially....
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Importance of quarries for invertebrate diversity in fragmented landscapes at national level
Králíčková, Hana ; Kadlec, Tomáš (advisor) ; Štrobl, Martin (referee)
The landscape not only in the Czech Republic was changed into the large units and began to be quite impenetrable. Some types of habitat disappeared from there, which means a big problem for the species with extremely adapted life demands. They need for their life for example heated rocks, quicksand, sparse steppe grasslands and other habitats in early successional stages. Postindustrial areas provide just these conditions and therefore they become a place of their copious occurrence of the invertebrates. Some species in the Czech Republic were cannot find recently anywhere else than at these locations. Quarries provide different types of habitats for e.g. butterflies which need these conditions for their development, reproduction and life. Within the Czech Republic 20 already inactive quarries and 20 adjacent control areas without quarry were selected and there were monitored especially butterflies and nocturnal insects. The goal was to determine whether the presence of a quarry increasing diversity of invertebrates on the local scale. Monitoring was performed at each site four times and obtained data were statistically analyzed. It was found 23 endangered species from the 110 recorded species of diurnal Lepidoptera and other similarly interesting records from other groups. For example Satyrium ilicis was found in a quarry near the village Černotín which is critically endangered. Considerable variations were observed from the overall comparison of abundance and species richness at the sites containing the quarry and the localities which did not include a quarry. The surrounding countryside of quarries there were found greater number of species and higher numbers of individuals than in control areas. In quarries or their nearby areas were observed 19 endangered species which were more numerous than in control areas where there were only 11. The effects on habitat selection had the way of wintering and habitat requirements of each species. It is evident that the quarries with the termination of mining in the modern landscape can play an important role in the development of biodiversity.
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