@phdthesis{Konrad2015,
  author    = {Konrad, Tillmann},
  title     = {Governance of Protected Areas in West Africa - The case of the W-Arly-Pendjari (WAP) Complex in Benin and Burkina Faso},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-115331},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Protected areas are the central strategy for preserving biodiversity in the face of overexploitation and global change. To ensure their long-term survival, however, these areas may not be regarded as last havens of wilderness, but as complex social-ecological systems. Modern approaches of protected area (PA) management support this view by balancing conservation and development issues in a sustainable way and adapted to the local context. However, success of these strategies in achieving their aims so far remains limited. This study therefore aimed at analysing processes and outcomes of PA co-management approaches implemented in a large transfrontier conservation area in West Africa. The W-Arly-Pendjari (WAP) complex spans over more than 30.000 square km in Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger and is composed of approximately 20 subunits. Due to national legal and administrative variety as well as a high diversity of local (project) implementation approaches, the general setting resembled a quasi-experimental design facilitating comparative studies. A mix of quantitative (e.g. survey of 549 households) and qualitative (e.g. expert interviews, literature review) methods was used to evaluate the institutional and organisational differences of PA management approaches implemented in the different parts of WAP belonging to Benin and Burkina Faso. I included an analysis of contextual factors (e.g. land-cover-change) and ecological data, but concentrated on the role of local resource users within the co-management arrangements and the effectiveness of governance regimes to deliver positive socio-economic outputs. Exploring the question whether promotion of development in PA surroundings indeed stipulates conservation success (and vice versa) remained challenging: the lack of sound ecological data, a general mismatch of spatial scale in existing data sets, as well as the high complexity of realities on the ground made me refrain from using simplified proxy indicators and (statistical) modelling approaches. I found that the Sudano-Sahelian context is a very difficult one for the implementation of effective participation approaches in the short-term. Political, demographic, socio-economic as well as ecological factors generated a very dynamic situation characterized by limited financial and natural resources as well as weak institutional and organisational settings. Arenas of interaction were often marked rather by a high degree of distrust and competition than by cooperation among actors. Amid all rhetoric, participation in most cases was hence limited to the transfer of (sparse) information, regulated resource access and financial funds. Options for participation of local resource users in decision-making arenas were generally scarce. Underlying processes were dominated by opacity and often low accountability of actors on all levels. Negative, but also positive affection of local residents by PA existence and management hence was high. Governance regimes of the complex performed very differently with regard to their ability of effectively empowering local village participatory bodies (vpb), generating and distributing benefits to individuals and village communities as well as providing mechanisms of conflict resolution. People around Pendjari enjoyed a relative wealth of high value benefits, while negative impacts caused by human-wildlife conflicts were widespread around the complex. Autochthonous farmers usually were better integrated in incentive schemes than were newcomers or herders. While there was functional separation of actors' roles in all parts of WAP, these roles differed significantly between blocks. Existence and functioning of village participatory bodies ameliorated the situation for local resource users fundamentally, as they acted as cut-points between different networks (governmental hierarchies, private concessionaires and local resource users). Vpbs in the Pendjari region proved to be most advanced in their capacity to push resource users' claims in action arenas on the micro-level. Via their union, these associations also managed to impact arenas on the meso- and the macro scale. Project interventions often had catalyst functions to empower local resource users and their vbps. However, they also contributed to social imbalance and intra-organisational competition. My results represent a snapshot of an ongoing process to establish effective co-governance regimes in the WAP-area. Though I identified a large scope of shortcomings, there were also very promising initiatives underway. This work is therefore meant to foster future research and further positive development by giving guidance scholars and decision-makers form the local to the global level alike.},
  subject      = {Gesch{\"u}tzte Natur},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Stralla2019,
  author    = {Stralla, Markus Roland},
  title     = {Managerial incentives, earnings management and regulatory intervention in the banking sector},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-17268},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-172682},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Die vorliegende Dissertation umfasst drei Forschungspapiere, welche sich mit folgenden Bankenthemen besch{\"a}ftigen: Fehl-/Anreize und Risiko{\"u}bernahme, Ertragssteuerung und die Regulierung von Aufsichtsr{\"a}ten. „Do cooperative banks suffer from moral hazard behaviour? Evidence in the context of efficiency and risk": Wir verwenden Granger-Kausalit{\"a}tstechniken, um die intertemporalen Beziehungen zwischen Risiko, Effizienz und Kapital zu bewerten. Wir verwenden zwei verschiedene Maße der Effizienz, die Kosten- und Gewinneffizienz, da diese unterschiedliche Managementf{\"a}higkeiten widerspiegeln. Eine ist die F{\"a}higkeit, Kosten zu steuern, und die andere ist die M{\"o}glichkeit, Gewinne zu maximieren. Wir stellen fest, dass eine niedrigere Kosten- und Gewinneffizienz das Liquidit{\"a}tsrisiko erh{\"o}ht. Wir stellen ebenfalls fest, dass ein Anstieg des Kreditrisiko nachteilig f{\"u}r die Kosten und Gewinneffizienz ist. Am wichtigsten ist jedoch, dass unsere Ergebnisse eine positive Beziehung zwischen dem Kapital- und Kreditrisiko aufweisen, was zeigt, dass Moral Hazard Verhalten keine Anwendung (aufgrund von Haftungsbeschr{\"a}nkung und Einlagensicherung) bei unsere Stichprobe von Genossenschaftsbanken findet. Im Gegenteil, wir finden Hinweise darauf, dass Banken mit niedrigem Kapital ihre Kreditqualit{\"a}t in den Folgeperioden verbessern k{\"o}nnen. Diese Erkenntnisse k{\"o}nnen f{\"u}r die Regulierungsbeh{\"o}rden von Bedeutung sein, die bei der Einf{\"u}hrung neuer regulatorischer Kapitalbeschr{\"a}nkungen die Gesch{\"a}ftsmodelle der Banken ber{\"u}cksichtigen sollten. „Earnings Management Modelling in the Banking Industry - Evaluating valuable approaches": Die Rechungslegungsforschung hat den Bereich Earnings Management (EM) f{\"u}r die nichtfinanzielle und finanzielle Industrie gesondert untersucht. Da EM nicht direkt beobachtet werden kann, ist es f{\"u}r jede Forschungsfrage in jedem Umfeld wichtig, einen {\"u}berpr{\"u}fbare Proxy-Gr{\"o}ße f{\"u}r EM zu finden. Grunds{\"a}tzlich fehlt jedoch ein tiefes Verst{\"a}ndnis daf{\"u}r, welche Regressoren den Sch{\"a}tzvorgang verbessern k{\"o}nnen. Diese Studie versucht, diese L{\"u}cke zu schließen, und analysiert vorhandene Modellspezifikationen f{\"u}r diskretion{\"a}re Risikovorsorgen im Bankensektor, um gemeinsame und spezifische Muster zu identifizieren. Hierf{\"u}r verwenden wir einen US-Datensatz, bestehend aus den Jahren 2005-2015 und wenden g{\"a}ngige Testverfahren an, um das Ausmaß von Messfehlern, Verzerrungen aufgrund von Extrembeobachtungen und weggelassenen Variablen sowie die Vorhersagekraft der diskretion{\"a}ren Proxy-Gr{\"o}ßen zu untersuchen. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass ein gr{\"u}ndliches Verst{\"a}ndnis des methodischen Modellierungsprozesses von EM im Bankensektor wichtig ist. Die derzeit etablierten Modelle zur Sch{\"a}tzung des EM sind angemessen, jedoch optimierbar. Insbesondere identifizieren wir die Variablen der notleidenden Verm{\"o}genswerte als die wichtigste Gruppe, w{\"a}hrend Variablen der Risikovorsorge und Nettoausbuchungen einen gewissen Wert erbringen k{\"o}nnen. Dar{\"u}ber hinaus zeigen unsere Ergebnisse, dass die Nichtlinearit{\"a}t bestimmter Regressoren ein Problem sein kann, das in zuk{\"u}nftigen Untersuchungen angegangen werden sollte, w{\"a}hrend wir weiterhin einige ausgelassene und m{\"o}glicherweise korrelierte Variablen identifizieren, die einen Mehrwert generieren k{\"o}nnten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen auch, dass ein dynamischer, endogenit{\"a}t ber{\"u}cksichtigender Ansatz nicht unbedingt mit einer besseren Vorhersagekraft verkn{\"u}pft ist. „Board Regulation and its Impact on Composition and Effects - Evidence from German Cooperative Bank": In dieser Studie wird ein System-GMM-Sch{\"a}tzer verwendet, um die Auswirkungen m{\"o}glicher regulatorischer Eingriffe auf die Besetzung von Aufsichtsratspositionen bei Genossenschaftsbanken zu untersuchen. Hierf{\"u}r werden zwei verschiedene Untersuchungsdesigns angewandt. Zun{\"a}chst untersucht der Autor die {\"A}nderungen der Aufsichtsratsstruktur vor und nach der Einf{\"u}hrung des Gesetzes zur St{\"a}rkung der Finanzmarkt- und Versicherungsaufsicht (FinVAG). Zweitens sch{\"a}tzt der Autor den Einfluss von Doktoren und beruflicher Konzentration auf {\"A}nderungen des Bankrisikos unter Ber{\"u}cksichtigung der Umsetzung der FinVAG. Die untersuchte Stichprobe umfasst dabei 246 deutsche Genossenschaftsbanken in den Jahren von 2006 bis 2011. Bez{\"u}glich des Bankrisikos verwendet der Autor vier verschiedene Maße: das Kredit-, Kapital-, Liquidit{\"a}tsrisiko und den Z-Score, wobei die ersten drei ebenfalls im FinVAG adressiert werden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Umsetzung des FinVAGs zu strukturellen {\"A}nderungen in der Zusammensetzung der Aufsichtsr{\"a}te f{\"u}hrt, insbesondere auf Kosten der Landwirte. Dar{\"u}ber hinaus wirkt sich die Umsetzung risikoreduzierend und damit wie beabsichtigt auf alle Risikokennzahlen und Beziehungen zwischen Risikokennzahlen und Aufsichtsratsmerkmalen aus. Um die komplexe Beziehung zwischen Charakteristika der Aufsichtsr{\"a}te und Risikomessgr{\"o}ßen aufzudecken, verwendet die Studie einen „two-step system-gmm" Sch{\"a}tzer, um nicht beobachtete Heterogenit{\"a}t zu ber{\"u}cksichtigen, um Endogenit{\"a}tsprobleme zu reduzieren. Die Ergebnisse k{\"o}nnen f{\"u}r Stakeholder, Aufsichtsbeh{\"o}rden, Vorgesetzte und Manager besonders relevant sein.},
  subject      = {Kreditgenossenschaft},
  language  = {en}
}
@techreport{Greubel2018,
  type      = {Working Paper},
  author    = {Greubel, Johannes},
  title     = {Towards a Profound European Asylum System? On EU Governance during the Refugee Crisis},
  edition   = {1. Auflage},
  issn      = {2625-6193},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-16879},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-168797},
  pages     = {43},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {The refugee crisis has developed as one of the major challenges for EU governance in recent years. From 2013 onwards, the crisis determined the political agenda and public discourse within European politics. During that time, the numbers of asylum seekers reaching Europe increased dramatically, with more than one million people applying for asylum at the crisis peak in 2015. This paper deals with the efforts taken by the EU and its member states to mitigate and overcome the refugee crisis. How exactly has the EU reacted to the refugee crisis and how and to what extend have the EU and its governance changed throughout the crisis? These research questions are approached through a reconstructive analysis of the whole period of crisis. This approach provides for a comprehensive examination of the refugee crisis that includes all issues, measures and processes of the EU's policy reaction at the same time. It will be argued that due to severe shortcomings of the Dublin regulation and the Common European Asylum System, a crisis in the EU's refugee policy was already predestined. This was the case from 2013 onwards. The EU approached the crisis in three stages - neglect and non-solidarity leading to unilateral approaches by affected states, supranational short-term emergency measures during the peak of crisis and enhanced cooperation with third countries, especially with Turkey, the Western Balkans states and African states - until the crisis lost traction in 2017. Yet, the asylum system's shortcomings are still not eliminated as the lasting measures of the EU's crisis management between 2013 and 2018 mainly focused on border security and externalisation. EU governance changed towards more intergovernmental, informal and regional action. Further, the crisis led to serious rows between member states, leading to the fragmentation of the EU into two blocs. With decreasing numbers of asylum seeker in the last few years, what remains is an incomplete asylum system and a political crisis among member states.},
  subject      = {Europ{\"a}ische Union},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Lama2016,
  author    = {Lama, Anu Kumari},
  title     = {Understanding Institutional Adaptation to Climate Change: Social Resilience and Adaptive Governance Capacities of the Nature Based Tourism Institutions in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal},
  publisher = {W{\"u}rzburg University Press},
  address   = {W{\"u}rzburg},
  isbn      = {978-3-95826-034-4 (print)},
  issn      = {0510-9833 (print)},
  doi       = {10.25972/WUP-978-3-95826-035-1},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-131351},
  school      = {W{\"u}rzburg University Press},
  pages     = {208},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {The global-local sustainable development and climate change adaptation policy, and the emerging political discourse on the value of local Adaptation, have positioned the local institutions and their governance space within the strategic enclaves of multilevel governance system. Such shifts have transformed the context for sustainable Nature Based Tourism (NBT) development and adaptation in Nepal in general, and its protected areas, in particular. The emerging institutional adaptation discourse suggests on the need to link tourism development, adaptation and governance within the sustainability concept, and also to recognize the justice and inclusive dimensions of local adaptation. However, sociological investigation of institutional adaptation, particularly at the interface between sustainability, justice and inclusive local adaptation is an undertheorized research topic. This exploratory study examined the sociological process of the institutional adaptation, especially the social resilience and adaptive governance capacities of the NBT institutions, in 7 Village Development Committees of the Mustang district, a popular destination in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Using the sphere (a dynamic social space concept) and quality of governance as the analytical framework, the integrative adaptation as the methodological approach and the case study action research method, the study investigated and generated a holistic picture on the state of the social resilience and adaptive governance capacities of the NBT institutions. The findings show institutional social resilience capacities to be contingent on socio-political construction of adaptation knowledge and power. Factors influencing such constructions among NBT institutions include: the site and institutions specific political, economic and environmental dispositions; the associated socio-political processes of knowledge constructions and volition action; and the social relationships and interaction, operating within the spheres and at multiple governance levels. The adaptive governance capacities hinge on the institutional arrangements, the procedural aspects of adaptation governance and the governmentality. These are reflective of the diverse legal frameworks, the interiority perspective of the decision making and governance practices of the NBT institutions. In conclusion, it is argued that effective local adaptation in the Mustang district is contingent on the adaptation and institutional dynamics of the NBT institutions, consisting of the cognitive, subjective, process and procedural aspects of the adaptation knowledge production and its use.},
  subject      = {Annapurna Conservation Area},
  language  = {en}
}