Posudek oponenta diplomové práce
Studijní program:Kvantitativní metody v ekonomice Studijní obor:Official Statistics
Akademický rok:2020/2021
Název práce:Wasteful: An Outlook on Municipal and Packaging Waste with Income and International Trade
Řešitel:Tony Wei Tse Hung
Vedoucí práce:doc. Ing. Jaroslav Sixta, Ph.D.
Oponent:Ing. Ondřej Vozár
Hlediska Stupeň
hodnocení
1. Jasnost a srozumitelnost formulace tématu a cíle práce 1
2. Rozsah a relevance popisu současného poznání 1
3. Náročnost řešeného tématu práce 1
4. Adekvátnost metod k řešení stanoveného problému, správnost jejich výběru a použití 1
5. Rozsah, hloubka a preciznost popisu výsledku 2
6. Relevance a správnost diskuse výsledku 2
7. Věcný přínos výsledku dosaženého v práci 1
8. Relevance informačních zdrojů a korektnost jejich citování 1
9. Logická stavba práce a vzájemná konzistence jednotlivých částí 1 10. Gramatika, jazykový styl, terminologie a celková úprava práce 2
Konkrétní připomínky a dotazy k práci:
The thesis investigates how advanced statistical methods (panel data analysis, network methods, and cluster analysis) can be used to analyze EU waste data.
The analysis of waste statistics data is currently a hot topic in economic policy. The thesis’ research questions are straightforward and important. In the first two chapters, the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis is tested (production of municipal/packaging waste on income on macro-level). Finally, the network methods and cluster analysis are applied to foreign trade on paper and cardboard waste. The review of the relevant policy papers and EU Regulations is informative and impressive. The novel statistical methods are applied correctly. I appreciate that the panel regression model assumptions were tested in detail. Moreover, the author shows good skills in statistical programming.
On the other hand, the presentation should be elaborated more in detail. Some figures are very small, the colors are not chosen properly (different shapes should be used instead), and difficult to see some
patterns (especially the network graphs). In the first two chapters, I miss plots of the fitted data (R squared statistics) and the time components G(t). The notation of the models (1) and (2) is sloppy. The indices for time and country are missing. Please correct the notation in the presentation In the third chapter I miss formulae and definitions for quantities in Table 16: + density + average path length (what are the weights) + diameter + transitivity. These definitions and formulae for their implementation are needed to interpret the results. Please add these to the presentation.
As a practitioner from the national statistical office I have the following questions on the analyzed data sets: + What does mean zeroes in the landfilled waste of Switzerland starting 2004 (missing values or is there any subject matter explanation)? + Discuss the possible causes of the breaks in Austria data in Fig.
2? What can be the causes of such breaks in the official statistics data? + Discuss the breaks in the Czech data, for example in the year 2001. + Explain more the choice of the
For the defense I raise these questions: + What is the interpretation of b=-1,5 in the linear model? + Discuss the possible reasons for zero values of Switzerland and the causes of breaks in the official statistics time series. + Provide the corrected notations of the panel data models (1) and (2). + Explain the definition of quantities from table 16. + Comment the choice of countries in the third chapter.
I recommend an A grade depending on the presentation and how well you react to my questions.
Závěr: Diplomovou práci doporučuji k obhajobě.
Navrhovaná výsledná klasifikace práce: 1
Datum: 25. 5. 2021 Ing. Ondřej Vozár
oponent práce
