The current study presents a statistical model for assessing the skill of fire danger indices and for forecasting the distribution of the expected numbers of large fires over a given region and for the upcoming week. The procedure permits development of daily maps that forecast, for the...

In this paper, we explore empirically whether the USDA Forest Service's litigation success rate in each Forest Service region helps explain the persistent regional effects noted by Laband et al. (Laband, D.N., González-Cabán, A., and Hussain, A. (2006). “Factors That Influence...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The purpose of this study was to compare the relative accuracy of different thermal-germination models in predicting germination-time under constant-temperature conditions. Of specific interest was the assessment of shape assumptions associated with the cardinal-temperature...

In my dissertation, I explore the relationship between capital controls and the choiceof the maturity structure of external debt in a general equilibrium setup, incorporatingexplicitly the role of international lenders. I look at specific types of capital controlswhich take the form of...

Standard economic theory suggests that capital should flow from rich countries to poor countries. However, capital has predominantly flowed to rich countries. The three essays in this dissertation attempt to explain this phenomenon. The first two essays suggest theoretical explanations for why...

Six Poisson autoregressive models of order p [PAR(p)] of daily wildland arson ignition counts are estimated for five locations in Florida (1994-2001). In addition, a fixed effects time-series Poisson model of annual arson counts is estimated for all Florida counties (1995-2001). PAR(p) model...

La crisis de deuda soberana en la zona del euro ha aumentado el interés por los indicadores de alerta temprana. El principal objetivo de estos indicadores es anticipar la acumulación de desequilibrios fiscales para facilitar la prevención de crisis con las políticas fi scales y...

This thesis explores the role of emerging markets in investment portfolios. Could an investment portfolio consisting of emerging market securities have outperformed similar portfolios that did not contain emerging markets over recent years? Gathering data from January 1, 2009 to December 31,...

There are three reasons for attempting to reach a common understanding of the responsibilities of sovereign borrowers and their lenders. First, the flow of capital to sovereign debtors is exceptionally important to the world economy. Industrialized countries rely on it to finance their budget...

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University ofWolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy