Long-Run Effects of Post-Kyoto Policies: Applying a Fully Dynamic CGE model with Heterogeneous Capital

The paper develops a new type of CGE model to predict the effects of carbon policies on consumption, welfare, and sectoral development in the long run. Growth is fully endogenous, based on increasing specialization in capital varieties, and specic in each sector of the economy. The benchmark scenario is calculated based on the endogenous gains from specialization which carry over to policy simulation. Applying the model to the Swiss economy we nd that a carbon policy following the Copenhagen Accord entails a moderate but not negligible welfare loss compared to development without any negative eects of climate change. Energy extensive as well as capital and knowledge intensive sectors prot in the form of increased growth rates.Carbon policy, CGE models, energy and endogenous growth, heterogeneous capital

Unisex-Tarife: Gebot der Gleichbehandlung oder Umverteilungsinstrument?

Auf EU_Ebene werden derzeit Bestrebungen diskutiert, geschlechtsspezifisch unterschiedliche Tarife bei privaten Versicherungen zu verbieten. Wie werden solche Tarife begründet? Welche ökonomischen Folgen hat ihre Abschaffun

Unisex-Tarife: Gebot der Gleichbehandlung oder Umverteilungsinstrument?

Auf EU_Ebene werden derzeit Bestrebungen diskutiert, geschlechtsspezifisch unterschiedliche Tarife bei privaten Versicherungen zu verbieten. Wie werden solche Tarife begründet? Welche ökonomischen Folgen hat ihre Abschaffung --

Productivity of hired and family labour and determinants of technical inefficiency in Ghana's fish farms

This paper examines the productivity of hired and family labour and determinants of technical inefficiency of fish farms in Ghana. A modified Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function which accounts for zero usage of family and hired labour is employed on cross-sectional data of 150 farmers collected in 2007. The results reveal that family labour, hired labour, feed, seed, land, other cost and extension visit have reasserting influence on fish farm production. Findings also show that family and hired labour used for fish farming production in Ghana may be equally productive. The combined effects of operational and farm specific factors (age, experience, land, gender, pond type and education) influence technical inefficiency although individual effects of some variables may not be significant. Mean technical efficiency is estimated to be 79 percent. Given the present state of technology and input level, the possibility of enhancing production can be achieved by reducing technical inefficiency by 21 percent through adoption of practices of the best fish farm. --Ghana,fish farms,technical inefficiency,hired and family labour,stochastic frontier.

Macroecology of methane-oxidizing bacteria: the β-diversity of pmoA genotypes in tropical and subtropical rice paddies

Studies addressing microbial biogeography have increased during the past decade, but research on microbial distribution patterns is still in its infancies, and many aspects are only poorly understood. Here, we compared the methanotroph community in paddy soils sampled in Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Italy, focusing on the distance-decay relationship. We used the pmoA gene as marker for methanotroph diversity in terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism, microarray and pyrosequencing approaches. We could observe a significant increase of -diversity with geographical distance across continents (12000km). Measured environmental parameters explained only a small amount of data variation, and we found no evidence for dispersal limitation. Thus, we propose historical contingencies being responsible for the observed patterns. Furthermore, we performed an in-depth analysis of type II methanotroph pmoA distribution at the sequence level. We used ordination analysis to project sequence dissimilarities into a three-dimensional space (multidimensional scaling). The ordination suggests that type II methanotrophs in paddy fields can be divided into five major groups. However, these groups were found to be distributed in all soils independent of the geographic origin. By including tropical field sites (Indonesia and Vietnam) into the analysis, we further observed the first paddy fields harbouring a methanotroph community depleted in type II methanotrophs

Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae-meal as an example for a new feed ingredients’ class in aquaculture diets

Regarding the growing demand for fishmeal, soybean meal and other feed ingredients in livestock feeding and especially in aquaculture, alternative protein carriers are an increasing concern of the animal feed industry. Beside the possibility to use animal by-products of non-ruminant origin, such as blood- and meat-meals in aquafeeds - according to the EU-regulation (EC) 56/2013 - the use of insect-based feed ingredients is progressively discussed among fish-feed producers, scientists and policy makers.Thus the possibility of mass-rearing flies on organic substrates was rediscovered. The black soldier fly, BSF (Hermetia illucens) occurring in tropical and subtropical countries all over the world including the Mediterranean states and European countries north of the alps proved to be an ideal candidate (Bondary et al. 1981; St-Hilaire et al. 2007 ). This organism can be reared on a wide range of organic (waste)-material which is currently deposited or burned or used in biogas plants in the best case. The developing stages of the fly can use the potential of this waste-material and reduce the volume of those substrates by up to 50%, producing biomass with a protein content of about 42% and a fat content of up to 35 % (Sheppard et al., 1994, Stamer et al. 2007). The suitability of the Hermetia pre-pupae meal as a protein source in feedstuff had been proven in poultry and pigs and also in warm water fish species (i.e. channel catfish and tilapia) (Bondari, Sheppard, 1981; Hale, 1973; Newton et al., 1977). For carnivorous cold water fish species (e.g. Salmonidae, Scophthalmidae) only limited data is available regarding the use of insect meals instead of fish meal (Kroeckel et al. 2012; St-Hilaire et al. 2007). The present study shows results of a feeding-trial on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fed with two BSF-larvae meal containing diets

Productivity of hired and family labour and determinants of technical inefficiency in Ghana's fish farms

This paper examines the productivity of hired and family labour and determinants of technical inefficiency of fish farms in Ghana. A modified Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function which accounts for zero usage of family and hired labour is employed on cross-sectional data of 150 farmers collected in 2007. The results reveal that family labour, hired labour, feed, seed, land, other cost and extension visit have reasserting influence on fish farm production. Findings also show that family and hired labour used for fish farming production in Ghana may be equally productive. The combined effects of operational and farm specific factors (age, experience, land, gender, pond type and education) influence technical inefficiency although individual effects of some variables may not be significant. Mean technical efficiency is estimated to be 79 percent. Given the present state of technology and input level, the possibility of enhancing production can be achieved by reducing technical inefficiency by 21 percent through adoption of practices of the best fish farm

Archäologische und naturwissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zu spätantiken Gräbern in und bei den römischen Thermen von Grumentum

Die römische Stadt Grumentum liegt in Süditalien, im Innern von Lucanien, der heutigen Region Basilicata, etwa gleich weit vom ionischen und tyrrhenischen Meer entfernt, inmitten einer wunderschönen Landschaft, die zum einen durch das Agri-Tal und zum anderen durch hohe Berge gekennzeichnet ist. Diese Stadt war in der Antike ein bedeutendes Zentrum des Binnenlandes, da sie an einem wichtigen Straßenknotenpunkt lag. Von seinem wechselhaften Schicksal in der Geschichte berichten zahlreiche Schriftsteller, wie Livius von den punischen Kriegen – Hannibal stand auch hier vor den Toren – oder Appian von den Bürgerkriegen zu Beginn des ersten vorchristlichen Jahrhunderts. Außerhalb des Stadtgebietes sind vier monumentale Grabbauten, zahlreiche Grabinschriften und ein Aquaedukt gefunden worden. Von der Stadtbefestigung sind die Reste der Mauern unter üppigem Bewuchs noch verborgen. In der Stadt wurden bis jetzt das Forum, mehrere Tempel, ein Theater, ein Amphitheater und ein Wohnkomplex freigelegt. Zwischen 1999 und 2003 fanden erneut Ausgrabungen statt. Ein internationales Team unter der Leitung von Hansjörg Thaler konnte Teile der Straßen, einen weiteren Wohnkomplex und eine Thermenanlage – zunächst durch Prospektionen, dann in mehreren Grabungskampagnen – untersuchen. ..