This thesis first investigates various issues related with model averaging, and then evaluates two policies, i.e. West Development Drive in China and fiscal decentralization in U.S, using econometric tools. Chapter 2 proposes a hierarchical weighted least squares (HWALS) method to address...

Abstract: Prediction under model uncertainty is an important and difficult issue. Traditional prediction methods (such as pretesting) are based on model selection followed by prediction in the selected model, but the reported prediction and the reported prediction variance ignore the uncertainty...

This paper reconsiders the ‘curse of resources’ hypothesis for the case of China, and distinguishes between resource abundance, resource rents, and resource dependence. Resource abundance and resource rents are shown to be approximately equivalent, and their association with resource...

Abstract: In specifying a regression equation, we need to determine which regressors to include, but also how these regressors are measured. This gives rise to two levels of uncertainty: concepts (level 1) and measurements within each concept (level 2). In this paper we propose a hierarchical...

In this paper, conceptual modeling as well as numerical simulation of two-phase flow in deep, deformable geological formations induced by CO2 injection are presented. The conceptual approach is based on balance equations for mass, momentum and energy completed by appropriate constitutive...

In the Lower Rhine Delta of the Netherlands, the high water level is driven by a joint impact of the downstream storm surge and the upstream fluvial discharge, and affected by the operation of existing man-made structures. In scenario-based risk assessment, a large number of stochastic scenarios...

To investigate the impact of defrosting-water retention on the surface of heat exchangers of the air source heat pump (ASHP) performance during frosting–defrosting cycles, an experimental study has been conducted. Testing was carried out in a controlled-environment chamber with ASHP...

A study is presented on the characteristics of the air source heat pump (ASHP) under two kinds of typical mal-defrost phenomena. The definition of the “Mal-defrost phenomena” is put forward, and the possible origins of their occurrence are analyzed. It is concluded that the current defrost...