The oil price and non-OPEC supplies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seymour, A.

1991-01-01

The design of any effective oil pricing policy by producers depends on a knowledge of the nature and complexity of supply responses. This book examines the development of non-OPEX oil reserves on a field-by-filed basis to determine how much of the increase in non-OPEC production could be attributable to the price shocks and how much was unambiguously due to decisions and developments that preceded the price shocks. Results are presented in eighteen case-studies of non-OPEC producers. This study will be of interest to economists and planners specializing in the upstream and to policy makers both in oil producing and consuming countries

Path Creation, Path Dependence and Breaking Away from the Path

OpenAIRE

Wang, Jens; Hedman, Jonas; Tuunainen, Virpi Kristiina

2016-01-01

The explanation of how and why firms succeed or fail is a recurrent research challenge. This is particularly important in the context of technological innovations. We focus on the role of historical events and decisions in explaining such success and failure. Using a case study of Nokia, we develop and extend a multi-layer path dependence framework. We identify four layers of path dependence: technical, strategic and leadership, organizational, and external collaboration. We show how path dep...

A robust multivariate long run analysis of European electricity prices

OpenAIRE

Bruno Bosco; Lucia Parisio; Matteo Pelagatti; Fabio Baldi

2007-01-01

This paper analyses the interdependencies existing in wholesale electricity prices in six major European countries. The results of our robust multivariate long run dynamic analysis reveal the presence of four highly integrated central European markets (France, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria). The trend shared by these four electricity markets appears to be common also to gas prices, but not to oil prices. The existence of long term dynamics among electricity prices and between electrici...

Budgetary and Economic Outcomes Under Paths for Federal Revenues and Noninterest Spending Specified by Chairman Price, March 2016

Science.gov (United States)

2016-03-01

Budgetary and Economic Outcomes Under Paths for Federal Revenues and Noninterest Spending Specified by Chairman Price , March 2016 March 2016CONGRESS... Price and His Staff 1 The Extended Baseline and Three Illustrative Paths 1 How CBO Analyzed the Effects of the Budgetary Paths 3 What Would Outcomes...Be Under Current Law? 4 What Paths for Federal Revenues and Noninterest Spending Did Chairman Price Specify? 6 What Would Budgetary and Economic

The Provision of Services, Interest Margins and Loan Pricing in European Banking

OpenAIRE

Lepetit , Laetitia; Nys , Emmanuelle; Rous , Philippe; Tarazi , Amine

2006-01-01

This paper assesses the implications on bank interest margins of the expansion into non- traditional fee-based activities in European banking. We use a sample of 602 European commercial and cooperative banks from 1996 to 2002 and consider the total income shares of trading income and commission and fee income as measures of product diversification to explore loan pricing. Our results show that a higher income share from commission and fee activities is associated with lower margins and lower ...

Price discovery in European natural gas markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schultz, Emma; Swieringa, John

2013-01-01

We provide the first high-frequency investigation of price discovery within the physical and financial layers of Europe's natural gas markets. Testing not only looks at short-term return dynamics, but also considers each security's contribution to price equilibrium in the longer-term. Results show that UK natural gas futures traded on the Intercontinental Exchange display greater price discovery than physical trading at various hubs throughout Europe. - Highlights: • We use intraday data to gauge price discovery in European natural gas markets. • We explore short and long-term dynamics in physical and financial market layers. • Results show ICE's UK natural gas futures are the main venue for price discovery

MEASURING PATH DEPENDENCY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Juhasz

2017-03-01

Full Text Available While risk management gained popularity during the last decades even some of the basic risk types are still far out of focus. One of these is path dependency that refers to the uncertainty of how we reach a certain level of total performance over time. While decision makers are careful in accessing how their position will look like the end of certain periods, little attention is given how they will get there through the period. The uncertainty of how a process will develop across a shorter period of time is often “eliminated” by simply choosing a longer planning time interval, what makes path dependency is one of the most often overlooked business risk types. After reviewing the origin of the problem we propose and compare seven risk measures to access path. Traditional risk measures like standard deviation of sub period cash flows fail to capture this risk type. We conclude that in most cases considering the distribution of the expected cash flow effect caused by the path dependency may offer the best method, but we may need to use several measures at the same time to include all the optimisation limits of the given firm

Direm prices, prices and margins of petroleum products in France and in the European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

This document presents in a series of graphics and tables, the evolution of petroleum products prices and margins in France and in the European Union: crude oil prices, Rotterdam's petroleum products quotation, raw brent refining margin, automotive and domestic fuel prices. (J.S.)

A European map regarding the strictness of the transfer pricing regulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ioana Ignat

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In the context in which transfer pricing may represent a mechanism through which multinationals have the possibility to move funds internationally, in order to prevent the base erosion and profit shifting between multinationals, countries over the world have adopted various transfer pricing regulations. Furthermore, some of the countries adopted stricter regulations than others. The objective of our research was to identify the level of strictness for the transfer pricing regulations from the European countries. To achieve this objective, we analyzed the transfer pricing regulations of all European countries and we built a transfer pricing strictness index, based on which we defined 4 categories of countries (where category 1 includes the countries with the least strict transfer pricing regulations and category 4 countries with the strictest regulations. After that, we illustrated how these categories are distributed on the European map. In order to collect the information, we used the transfer pricing guides issued by the Big Four companies for the year 2015. The study`s results show that the strictness of the transfer pricing regulations decreases from the west of Europe to east. Moreover, most of the countries were included in category 2, respectively category 3, meaning that the transfer pricing regulations from the European continent are not so flexible, but in the same time are not so strict.

Price effects of changing quantities supplied at the integrated european fish market

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Max; Smit, Jos; Guillen, Jordi

2012-01-01

to be −1.1. This implies that price flexibilities previously estimated for single European countries underestimate price changes at the European level caused by quantity changes. Results indicate that changing quantities can increase revenues from individual species with large own-price flexibilities...

Electric power prices: variable tendency depending on the country

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1999-01-01

The deregulation of the electric power sector is very much in the news in most countries and at different stages. A study carried out by the national utility service (NUS) in 17 countries worldwide takes stock of the influence of deregulation on electric power prices. According to this study, the most important price increases are found in 4 non-European countries (Norway, South Africa, USA, New Zealand) while the most important decreases are found within Europe (Sweden 20%, Denmark 15.6%, Italy 12% and Germany 8%). In France the decrease of tariffs reaches only 3%. This short paper analyzes the evolution of prices in the different countries selected in the study, but no real tendency is outlined as the stage of competition is different in each country. (J.S.)

European Option Pricing with Transaction Costs in Lévy Jump Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiayin Li

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The European option pricing problem with transaction costs is investigated for a risky asset price model with Lévy jump. By the aid of arbitrage pricing theory and the generalized Itô formula (which includes Poisson jump, the explicit solution to the risk asset price model is given. According to arbitrage-free principle, we first discretize the continuous-time model. Then, in each small time interval, the transaction costs are introduced. By using the Δ-hedging strategy, the explicit solutions of the European options pricing formula with transaction costs are given for the risky asset price model with Lévy jump.

Branch and price for the time-dependent vehicle routing problem with time windows

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dabia, Said; Dabia, Said; Van Woensel, Tom

2013-01-01

of column generation, and a tailored labeling algorithm is used to solve the pricing problem. We introduce new dominance criteria that allow more label dominance. For our numerical results, we modified Solomon's data sets by adding time dependency. Our algorithm is able to solve about 63% of the instances...... solution methods to the DM-TDVRPTW are based on (meta-)heuristics. The decomposition of an arc-based formulation leads to a setpartitioning problem as the master problem, and a time-dependent shortest path problem with resource constraints as the pricing problem. The master problem is solved by means...... with 25 customers, 38% of the instances with 50 customers, and 15% of the instances with 100 customers. © 2013 INFORMS....

Gas pricing in a liberalized European market; will the rent be taxed away?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Austvik, O.G.

1997-01-01

The European gas market will become 'more liberal'. Depending on in which segments competition is intensified and public interference takes place, prices in the gas chain will be affected. Rent may be redistributed among firms and prices will become more volatile. If supply overshoots demand for a long period, average consumer prices may also be pushed down. Rent may also end up as tax revenues for public authorities. This article argues that an active use of gas taxes as an instrument to derive public revenues increases the probability of a politically led liberalization process. The effect of these economic and political forces and actions may, however, be less new gas to the market. (author)

The effectiveness of the European agricultural quality policy: a price analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bardaji, I.; Iraizoz, B.; Rapun, M.

2009-07-01

The European rural development policy, the second pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy, is currently playing an increasing role. One of its key instruments is the support for quality standards through Protected Geographical Indications (PGI). The analysis presented in this article investigates prices for two varieties of beef (PGI and non- PGI). The research setting is a specific area in northern Spain, where Ternera de Navarra (Navarra beef) is produced. The results show that quality production systems achieve higher and more stable prices in the long term. Another major point emerging from the analysis, given the nature of the beef production sector, is that the PGI product is better able to stand up to consumer confidence crises, such as that triggered by the bovine spongiform encephalopathy outbreak. Additional key words: prices, protected geographical indication, rural development. (Author) 40 refs.

Influences from the European Parliament on EU emissions prices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deeney, Peter; Cummins, Mark; Dowling, Michael; Smeaton, Alan F.

2016-01-01

The decisions of the European Parliament (EP) are shown to influence both EU emission allowance (EUA) prices and volatility. Reductions in price and increases in volatility are observed when EP decisions are (i) not “party-political” in origin, (ii) made during times of low market sentiment, or (iii) made during times of low market attention. Daily EUA prices from 2007 to 2014 are used in the study, with decisions analysed using an event study approach for price impact, and a GARCH specification for volatility impact. Our findings suggest the need for policymakers to improve communication of long-term strategies for the EUA market. This aims to reduce the evident ongoing uncertainty experienced by traders around each decision made by the EP. The finding that sentiment and market attention at the time of an EP decision influences the market's reaction indicates a need to consider market dynamics in terms of decision timing, so that market turbulence is not an unintended by-product of an EP decision. Some form of medium term forward guidance may be called for. - Highlights: • Specific types of EP decisions lead to reduced carbon prices and increased volatility. • Decisions proposed by non-party-political groups have a significant effect. • There is a similar impact when market sentiment or news exposure is low. • Recommendation for some form of forward guidance.

European option pricing under the Student's t noise with jumps

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiao-Tian; Li, Zhe; Zhuang, Le

2017-03-01

In this paper we present a new approach to price European options under the Student's t noise with jumps. Through the conditional delta hedging strategy and the minimal mean-square-error hedging, a closed-form solution of the European option value is obtained under the incomplete information case. In particular, we propose a Value-at-Risk-type procedure to estimate the volatility parameter σ such that the pricing error is in accord with the risk preferences of investors. In addition, the numerical results of us show that options are not priced in some cases in an incomplete information market.

Two Generations of Path Dependence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Mogens Ove

  Even if there is no fully articulated and generally accepted theory of Path Dependence it has eagerly been taken up across a wide range of social sciences - primarily coming from economics. Path Dependence is most of all a metaphor that offers reason to believe, that some political, social...

[Policies encouraging price competition in the generic drug market: Lessons from the European experience].

Science.gov (United States)

Puig-Junoy, Jaume

2010-01-01

To describe alternative policies aimed at encouraging price competition in generic drug markets in countries with strict price regulation, and to present some case studies drawn from the European experience. Systematic literature review of articles and technical reports published after 1999. The shortcomings in consumer price competition observed in some European generic markets, including Spain, may be reduced through three types of public reimbursement or financing reforms: policies aimed at improving the design of current maximum reimbursement level policies; policies aimed at monitoring competitive prices in order to reimburse real acquisition cost to pharmacies; and, more radical and market-oriented policies such as competitive tendering of public drug purchases. The experience of recent reforms adopted in Germany, Belgium, Holland, Norway, and Sweden offers a useful guide for highly price-regulated European countries, such as Spain, currently characterized by limited consumer price competition and the high discounts offered to pharmacy purchases. Direct price regulation and/or the generic reference pricing systems used to reduce generic drug prices in many European countries can be successfully reformed by adopting measures more closely aimed at encouraging consumer price competition in generic drug markets. Copyright 2009 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

The energy price in the European Union in 2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

This document presents and briefly comments data and figures on the prices of natural gas and of electricity for industries and for households, of their evolution in comparison with what they were in 2009 in the different countries of the European Union. These prices are given with VAT included or not

Explaining European Emission Allowance Price Dynamics: Evidence from Phase II

OpenAIRE

Wilfried Rickels; Dennis Görlich; Gerrit Oberst

2010-01-01

In 2005, the European Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) established a new commodity: the right to emit a ton of CO2 (EUA). Since its launch, the corresponding price has shown rather turbulent dynamics, including nervous reactions to policy announcements and a price collapse after a visible over-allocation in Phase I. As a consequence, the question whether fundamental factors (fossil fuel prices, economic activity, weather) affect the EUA price remained partially unresolved. Today, being halfwa...

Prediction future asset price which is non-concordant with the historical distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Seong, Ng Yew; Hin, Pooi Ah

2015-12-01

This paper attempts to predict the major characteristics of the future asset price which is non-concordant with the distribution estimated from the price today and the prices on a large number of previous days. The three major characteristics of the i-th non-concordant asset price are the length of the interval between the occurrence time of the previous non-concordant asset price and that of the present non-concordant asset price, the indicator which denotes that the non-concordant price is extremely small or large by its values -1 and 1 respectively, and the degree of non-concordance given by the negative logarithm of the probability of the left tail or right tail of which one of the end points is given by the observed future price. The vector of three major characteristics of the next non-concordant price is modelled to be dependent on the vectors corresponding to the present and l - 1 previous non-concordant prices via a 3-dimensional conditional distribution which is derived from a 3(l + 1)-dimensional power-normal mixture distribution. The marginal distribution for each of the three major characteristics can then be derived from the conditional distribution. The mean of the j-th marginal distribution is an estimate of the value of the j-th characteristics of the next non-concordant price. Meanwhile, the 100(α/2) % and 100(1 - α/2) % points of the j-th marginal distribution can be used to form a prediction interval for the j-th characteristic of the next non-concordant price. The performance measures of the above estimates and prediction intervals indicate that the fitted conditional distribution is satisfactory. Thus the incorporation of the distribution of the characteristics of the next non-concordant price in the model for asset price has a good potential of yielding a more realistic model.

Association of Cigarette Price Differentials With Infant Mortality in 23 European Union Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Filippidis, Filippos T; Laverty, Anthony A; Hone, Thomas; Been, Jasper V; Millett, Christopher

2017-11-01

Raising the price of cigarettes by increasing taxation has been associated with improved perinatal and child health outcomes. Transnational tobacco companies have sought to undermine tobacco tax policy by adopting pricing strategies that maintain the availability of budget cigarettes. To assess associations between median cigarette prices, cigarette price differentials, and infant mortality across the European Union. A longitudinal, ecological study was conducted from January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2014, of infant populations in 23 countries (comprising 276 subnational regions) within the European Union. Median cigarette prices and the differential between these and minimum cigarette prices were obtained from Euromonitor International. Pricing differentials were calculated as the proportions (%) obtained by dividing the difference between median and minimum cigarette price by median price. Prices were adjusted for inflation. Annual infant mortality rates. Associations were assessed using linear fixed-effect panel regression models adjusted for smoke-free policies, gross domestic product, unemployment rate, education, maternal age, and underlining temporal trends. Among the 53 704 641 live births during the study period, an increase of €1 (US $1.18) per pack in the median cigarette price was associated with a decline of 0.23 deaths per 1000 live births in the same year (95% CI, -0.37 to -0.09) and a decline of 0.16 deaths per 1000 live births the following year (95% CI, -0.30 to -0.03). An increase of 10% in the price differential between median-priced and minimum-priced cigarettes was associated with an increase of 0.07 deaths per 1000 live births (95% CI, 0.01-0.13) the following year. Cigarette price increases across 23 European countries between 2004 and 2014 were associated with 9208 (95% CI, 8601-9814) fewer infant deaths; 3195 (95% CI, 3017-3372) infant deaths could have been avoided had there been no cost differential between the median-priced and

The dependence of prices on labour-values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego Guerrero

2011-06-01

Full Text Available It is frequently believed, in a quite schizophrenic fashion, that a theory of value must just solve the question of “relative prices” (a microeconomic problem, being mainly the theory of money the piece needed for determining the absolute or monetary level of prices (a macroeconomic problem. But on the one hand, the determination of the level of prices is theoretically prior to any consideration of the money market, whereas on the other hand no theory of value can aspire to be complete without the determination of the absolute level of values. It will be shown in this paper that only the Labour theory of value (LTV can perform both tasks, thus giving completeness and unity to economic theory. It is frequently acknowledged that, as labour is—or “is treated as”, as the critics of the LTV say—the only factor of production of value (even if it is just one of the several factors producing wealth, the determination of prices is independent of demand in the long run. However, prices are not determined by technical or physical data plus wages, contrarily to what is commonly thought. It is only the couple formed by “relative prices and the rate of profit” that is determined by them, as well as the couple “relative values and the rate of surplus value”. By contrast, it can be shown that absolute prices crucially depend on, and in fact are determined by, absolute values, what will be illustrated in this paper by means of a numerical example of an economy with only two industries, where for example halving the quantity of labour or value reduces the level of prices by a 50%. The path of thought that will lead us to these conclusions requires previous clarifications of the several and frequently poorly understood Marxian concepts of value (and price, and a new view on the question of the transformation of “value prices” (Marx’s term into “production prices”, both of which will be developed simultaneously with the main line of

European bond markets: do illiquidity and concentration aggravate price shocks?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boermans, M.A.; Frost, Jon; Steins Bisschop, Sophie

2016-01-01

We study the effects of market liquidity and ownership concentration of European bonds on price volatility during periods of market stress. Specifically, using security-by-security data from euro area investors we examine if market illiquidity and concentrated holdings explain the large price shocks

Oil price shocks and stock markets in the U.S. and 13 European countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jungwook; Ratti, Ronald A.

2008-01-01

Oil price shocks have a statistically significant impact on real stock returns contemporaneously and/or within the following month in the U.S. and 13 European countries over 1986:1-2005:12. Norway as an oil exporter shows a statistically significantly positive response of real stock returns to an oil price increase. The median result from variance decomposition analysis is that oil price shocks account for a statistically significant 6% of the volatility in real stock returns. For many European countries, but not for the U.S., increased volatility of oil prices significantly depresses real stock returns. The contribution of oil price shocks to variability in real stock returns in the U.S. and most other countries is greater than that of interest rate. An increase in real oil price is associated with a significant increase in the short-term interest rate in the U.S. and eight out of 13 European countries within one or two months. Counter to findings for the U.S. and for Norway, there is little evidence of asymmetric effects on real stock returns of positive and negative oil price shocks for oil importing European countries. (author)

The price of cigarettes in the European Union.

Science.gov (United States)

Montes, A; Villalbí, J R

2001-06-01

A major factor influencing tobacco use is its price. Fiscal policies on tobacco are a key ingredient of any comprehensive control strategy, as they can be used to raise prices. The European Union (EU) developed directives to ensure some harmonisation of the fiscal pressure on tobacco across its member states. To provide a simple comparison of tobacco prices in the EU, adjusting for the purchasing power of each currency. For price comparisons, a 20 units pack of Marlboro was the reference product, and data refer to April 2000. Purchasing power parities (PPP) for each member state currency have been compiled. These are currency conversion rates, which convert to a common currency and equalise the purchasing power of different currencies. Nominal prices of a Marlboro pack for each member state, and a price index, estimated taking as reference the EU mean. Adjusted prices and an adjusted price index have been estimated using PPP. Nominal prices show wide variation, with the cheapest pack in Portugal (59) and the most expensive in the UK (196); the range of variation is three-fold. However, PPP adjusted prices reveal a different distribution. In three countries adjusted prices are outliers, but all other countries make two clusters, one around the average EU index of 100, the other around a lower value of 85. These results suggest that fiscal harmonisation policies in the EU do not have an even effect at reducing availability by its impact in price.

Forecasting European thermal coal spot prices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alicja Krzemień

2015-01-01

Finally, in order to analyse the time series model performance a Generalized Regression Neural Network (GRNN was used and its performance compared against the whole AR(2 process. Empirical results obtained confirmed that there is no statistically significant difference between both methods. The GRNN analysis also allowed pointing out the main drivers that move the European Thermal Coal Spot prices: crude oil, USD/CNY change and supply side drivers.

Finite Volume Method for Pricing European Call Option with Regime-switching Volatility

Science.gov (United States)

Lista Tauryawati, Mey; Imron, Chairul; Putri, Endah RM

2018-03-01

In this paper, we present a finite volume method for pricing European call option using Black-Scholes equation with regime-switching volatility. In the first step, we formulate the Black-Scholes equations with regime-switching volatility. we use a finite volume method based on fitted finite volume with spatial discretization and an implicit time stepping technique for the case. We show that the regime-switching scheme can revert to the non-switching Black Scholes equation, both in theoretical evidence and numerical simulations.

Path Creation, Path Dependence and Breaking Away from the Path: Re-Examining the Case of Nokia

OpenAIRE

Wang, Jens; Hedman, Jonas; Tuunainen, Virpi Kristiina

2016-01-01

The explanation of how and why firms succeed or fail is a recurrent research challenge. This is particularly important in the context of technological innovations. We focus on the role of historical events and decisions in explaining such success and failure. Using a case study of Nokia, we develop and extend a multi-layer path dependence framework. We identify four layers of path dependence: technical, strategic and leadership, organizational, and external collaboration. We show how path dep...

Stochastic volatility and multi-dimensional modeling in the European energy market

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vos, Linda

2012-07-01

In energy prices there is evidence for stochastic volatility. Stochastic volatility has effect on the price of path-dependent options and therefore has to be modeled properly. We introduced a multi-dimensional non-Gaussian stochastic volatility model with leverage which can be used in energy pricing. It captures special features of energy prices like price spikes, mean-reversion, stochastic volatility and inverse leverage. Moreover it allows modeling dependencies between different commodities.The derived forward price dynamics based on this multi-variate spot price model, provides a very flexible structure. It includes cotango, backwardation and hump shape forward curves.Alternatively energy prices could be modeled by a 2-factor model consisting of a non-Gaussian stable CARMA process and a non-stationary trend models by a Levy process. Also this model is able to capture special features like price spikes, mean reversion and the low frequency dynamics in the market. An robust L1-filter is introduced to filter out the states of the CARMA process. When applying to German electricity EEX exchange data an overall negative risk-premium is found. However close to delivery a positive risk-premium is observed.(Author)

Time-varying convergence in European electricity spot markets and their association with carbon and fuel prices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menezes, Lilian M. de; Houllier, Melanie A.; Tamvakis, Michael

2016-01-01

Long-run dynamics of electricity prices are expected to reflect fuel price developments, since fuels generally account for a large share in the cost of generation. As an integrated European market for electricity develops, wholesale electricity prices should be converging as a result of market coupling and increased interconnectivity. Electricity mixes are also changing, spurred by a drive to significantly increase the share of renewables. Consequently, the electricity wholesale price dynamics are evolving, and the fuel–electricity price nexus that has been described in the literature is likely to reflect this evolution. This study investigates associations between spot prices from the British, French and Nordpool markets with those in connected electricity markets and fuel input prices, from December 2005 to October 2013. In order to assess the time-varying dynamics of electricity spot price series, localized autocorrelation functions are used. Electricity spot prices in the three markets are found to have stationary and non-stationary periods. When a trend in spot prices is observed, it is likely to reflect the trend in fuel prices. Cointegration analysis is then used to assess co-movement between electricity spot prices and fuel inputs to generation. The results show that British electricity spot prices are associated with fuel prices and not with price developments in connected markets, while the opposite is observed in the French and Nordpool day-ahead markets. - Highlights: • Electricity market integration policies may have altered EU spot electricity prices. • LACF is used to assess the changing nature of electricity spot prices. • EU electricity spot prices show both stationary and non-stationary periods. • Carbon and fuel prices have greater impact on British spot prices. • In continental Europe, electricity prices have decoupled from fuel prices.

Robust pricing of european options with wavelets and the characteristic function

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ortiz-Gracia, L.; Oosterlee, C.W.

2013-01-01

We present a novel method for pricing European options based on the wavelet approximation method and the characteristic function. We focus on the discounted expected payoff pricing formula and compute it by means of wavelets. We approximate the density function associated to the underlying asset

Plea for European Price Anderson legislation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roser, T.

1992-01-01

The paper analyses the essential features and the basic differences in nuclear liability and coverage in the United States where the problem is governed by the Price-Anderson legislation, and the Member States of the European Community which adhere to the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy. The paper undertakes to show that it is possible to introduce into the European Community certain elements of the American regime, in particular the solidarity of nuclear operators and the retroactive premium coverage without violating the basic principles of the Paris Convention. Consequently the paper advocates the adoption of such rules in Europe as a step towards harmonisation of nuclear coverage and safety and a means to reduce government interference. (author)

Understanding Price Controls and Non-Price Competition with Matching Theory

OpenAIRE

Hatfield, John William; Plott, Charles R.; Tanaka, Tomomi

2012-01-01

We develop a quality competition model to understand how price controls affect market outcomes in buyer-seller markets with discrete goods of varying quality. While competitive equilibria do not necessarily exist in such markets when price controls are imposed, we show that stable outcomes do exist and characterize the set of stable outcomes in the presence of price restrictions. In particular, we show that price controls induce non-price competition: price floors induce the trade of ineffici...

Carbon price signal. Impact Analysis on the European Electricity System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-03-01

The Paris Agreement signed by 195 countries late in December 2015, after COP 21, created a new basis for efficient cooperation between countries in the fight against climate change. The technologies being rolled out by the electricity sector will have very different impacts on climate change and, for the time being, investments other than public aid for renewable energies are being guided primarily by prices. To shed more slight on the issue of greenhouse gas emissions, which is closely related to the challenges addressed at COP21, RTE initiated a study in 2015 based on the models used in its Generation Adequacy Report. ADEME wanted to contribute to this effort and offer its support. The present document outlines the approach taken to assessing the impact of the carbon price signal on emissions from the European electric power system, its production costs and its structural evolution over the medium term. This approach was discussed with members of the 'Network Outlook Committee' of the Transmission System Users' Committee which includes environmental NGOs as well as the main economic actors from the power sector. Key findings resulting from the analysis developed in this report include: Simulations conducted with the current generation fleet show that the carbon price would have to be close to euro 30/tonne at the European level to drive a significant reduction in emissions (about 100 million tonnes a year, or 15 %) from the European power sector. A higher price of about euro 100/tonne would help drive an emissions reduction of close to 30%. Over the medium and long terms, beyond an impact on the number of hours fossil fuel power plants would be run, having a high carbon price would send a signal encouraging investment in renewable energies and could incentivise the development of flexible and storage capacity. It would notably guarantee the profitability of gas-fired plants and renewable power development. The following assumptions are factored into the study

Equilibrium prices supported by dual price functions in markets with non-convexities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bjoerndal, Mette; Joernsten, Kurt

2004-06-01

The issue of finding market clearing prices in markets with non-convexities has had a renewed interest due to the deregulation of the electricity sector. In the day-ahead electricity market, equilibrium prices are calculated based on bids from generators and consumers. In most of the existing markets, several generation technologies are present, some of which have considerable non-convexities, such as capacity limitations and large start up costs. In this paper we present equilibrium prices composed of a commodity price and an uplift charge. The prices are based on the generation of a separating valid inequality that supports the optimal resource allocation. In the case when the sub-problem generated as the integer variables are held fixed to their optimal values possess the integrality property, the generated prices are also supported by non-linear price-functions that are the basis for integer programming duality. (Author)

Gas and electricity price in the European Union in 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, Jean-Philippe

2012-11-01

This document indicates and comments the evolution of gas and electricity prices in the different countries of the European Union. As far as natural gas is concerned, it outlines that taxes on gas are higher in Nordic countries, and that prices are increasing everywhere (for industry as well as for households). As far as electricity is concerned, price is rather cheap in France compared to the other countries. Graphs indicate the evolution of electricity prices between 2010 and 2011 in the different countries for industry and households. Even if a decrease has been noticed in some countries, the general trend is to an increase (between 5 and 10% in average)

Two Generations of Path Dependence in Economics?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Mogens Ove

2010-01-01

Even if there is no fully articulated and generally accepted theory of Path Dependence it has eagerly been taken up across a wide range of social sciences – primarily coming from economics. Path Dependence is most of all a metaphor that offers reason to believe, that some political, social...

Stochastic Differential Equation Models for the Price of European CO2 Emissions Allowances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wugan Cai

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Understanding the stochastic nature of emissions allowances is crucial for risk management in emissions trading markets. In this study, we discuss the emissions allowances spot price within the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme: Powernext and European Climate Exchange. To compare the fitness of five stochastic differential equations (SDEs to the European Union allowances spot price, we apply regression theory to obtain the point and interval estimations for the parameters of the SDEs. An empirical evaluation demonstrates that the mean reverting square root process (MRSRP has the best fitness of five SDEs to forecast the spot price. To reduce the degree of smog, we develop a new trading scheme in which firms have to hand many more allowances to the government when they emit one unit of air pollution on heavy pollution days, versus one allowance on clean days. Thus, we set up the SDE MRSRP model with Markovian switching to analyse the evolution of the spot price in such a scheme. The analysis shows that the allowances spot price will not jump too much in the new scheme. The findings of this study could contribute to developing a new type of emissions trading.

Statistical mechanics of paths with curvature dependent action

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ambjoern, J.; Durhuus, B.; Jonsson, T.

1987-01-01

We analyze the scaling limit of discretized random paths with curvature dependent action. For finite values of the curvature coupling constant the theory belongs to the universality class of simple random walk. It is possible to define a non-trivial scaling limit if the curvature coupling tends to infinity. We compute exactly the two point function in this limit and discuss the relevance of our results for random surfaces and string theories. (orig.)

European Union concerns with its energy dependence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Commeau, N.

2001-01-01

European Union (E.U.) produces only half its needs concerning energy. It is expected that by 2030, the energy balance will be 86% for fossil energies, 8% for renewable energies and 6% for nuclear energy. Different scenario show that the dependence of E.U will worsen and reach 70% unless a common strategy is launched to curb the tendency. E.U is elaborating a common policy concerning energy, this policy rests on 4 axis: 1) monitoring the increase of the energy consumption by promoting energy savings in housing and transport, 2) directing the energy demand towards less polluting energy by using taxes, public funding and European regulations as incentive tools, 3) sustaining a constant dialogues with energy exporting countries in order to get a more stable energy market and have a benefiting influence on prices, and 4) developing new routes of importation of energy by for instance contributing to the construction of new oil or gas pipeline networks. (A.C.)

Price risk perceptions and management strategies in selected European food supply chains

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Assefa, Tsion T.; Meuwissen, Miranda P.M.; Oude Lansink, Alfons G.J.M.

2017-01-01

Agricultural prices in European food markets have become more volatile over the past decade exposing agribusinesses to risk and uncertainty. This study goes beyond the farm stage and explores through interviews the price risk perceptions and management strategies in multiple stages of the food

Path dependence and creation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garud, Raghu; Karnøe, Peter

This edited volume stems from a conference held in Copenhagen that the authors ran in August of 1997. The authors, aware of the recent work in evolutionary theory and the science of chaos and complexity, challenge the sometimes deterministic flavour of this work. They are interested in uncovering...... the place of agency in these theories that take history so seriously. In the end, they are as interested in path creation and destruction as they are in path dependence. This book is compiled of both theoretical and empirical writing. It shows relatively well-known industries such as the automobile...

The pricing of European options on two underlying assets with delays

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Lisha; Li, Yaqiong; Wu, Jing

2018-04-01

In the paper, the pricing of European options on two underlying assets with delays is discussed. By using the approach of equivalent martingale measure transformation, the market is proved to be complete. With exchange option as a particular example, we obtain the explicit pricing formula in a subinterval of option period. The robust Euler-Maruyama method is combined with the Monte Carlo simulation to compute exchange option prices within the whole option period. Numerical experiments indicate that there is an increasing possibility of the difference between the delayed and Black-Scholes option prices with the increase of delay.

The oil price and non-OPEC supplies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seymour, A.

1990-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine in detail a major supply development - that of non-OPEC oil in the 1970s and 1980s - in order to determine whether a part, if any, of the increase in non-OPEC production after the price shocks was unambiguously due to decisions and developments that preceded the price shocks. This 'historical' approach which examines facts in detail and in their exact chronology enables us to disaggregate the increase in non-OPEC production into two parts; one that is totally independent of the price shocks and one that could not be said in all certainty to have been influenced by the price rise. This study thus provides a maximalist answer to the question: 'How much of the increase is non-OPEC supplies was due to the price shocks?' Our main finding however is that the maximum amount that can be attributed to the price rise is but a fraction of the total supply increase. As a foundation on which to generalize on the effect of the oil price shocks on non-OPEC supplies as a whole, case studies on eighteen non-OPEC producers are presented. These are: the UK, Norway, Egypt, Mexico, Angola, Cameron, the Congo, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Australia, India, the Federation of Malaysia, Oman, the USA, Canada, the USSR and China. Together, these countries have accounted for over 90% of total cumulative non-OPEC supply between 1974 and 1987, inclusive. (author)

Price war or instrumentalization of price uncertainty: which strategy for a dominant provider on the European gas market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boussena, Sadek; Locatelli, Catherine

2016-03-01

The objective of this article is to try to assess which strategy could be implemented by a European dominant provider (or a group of big providers) during the current phase of transition of the European gas market in order to keep (or increase) his market shares and maximise his revenues. The authors aim at exploring possibilities of strategic actions on the long term other than those of defence of volumes through a price war, or the possibility of a strategy similar to that of Saudi Arabia which instrumentalises uncertainty on future prices. This last type of strategy is defined for the case of natural gas. The authors show that it could be implemented on the EU gas market, provided some specific conditions. They show that Gazprom has not enough power to become a price maker, and explore which kind of strategy of uncertainty could be implemented by this actor

Intraday price discovery in emerging European stock markets

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hanousek, Jan; Kočenda, Evžen

-, č. 382 (2009), s. 1-35 ISSN 1211-3298 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA402/08/1376; GA MŠk LC542 Institutional research plan: CEZ:MSM0021620846 Keywords : price discovery * stock markets * intra-day data * European Union * macroeconomic news Subject RIV: AH - Economics http://www.cerge-ei.cz/pdf/wp/Wp382.pdf

Putting a price on carbon. Econometric essays on the European Union emissions trading scheme and its impacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aatola, P.

2013-06-01

coal, gas, oil and the price of German electricity are reflected in the price of EUA. In the second study we build up forecasting models and use a trading simulation to study the informational efficiency of the market. Results reveal that the market is not fully efficient but maturing. There might have been possibilities to make economic profit during the second period in the EU ETS market. The last two papers focus on the interaction of emissions trading with electricity markets. The third study looks at the impact of EUA price on the integrating European electricity markets. The electricity markets are integrating but the positive impact of carbon price on the electricity price is uneven depending on the fuel mix in regional electricity markets. The last study analyses the impact of increasing mean temperature due to climate change and the EUA price on the electricity bill in the EU. Warming climate affect the electricity bill unevenly: in the southern European countries the bill is expected to increase due to the increased demand for cooling, whereas the northern and central parts of the continent may face decreasing costs as the winters get warmer. (orig.)

EOQ model for perishable products with price-dependent demand, pre and post discounted selling price

Science.gov (United States)

Santhi, G.; Karthikeyan, K.

2017-11-01

In this article we introduce an economic order quantity model for perishable products like vegetables, fruits, milk, flowers, meat, etc.,with price-dependent demand, pre and post discounted selling price. Here we consider the demand is depending on selling price and deterioration rate is constant. Here we developed mathematical model to determine optimal discounton the unit selling price to maximize total profit. Numerical examples are given for illustrated.

Optimal pricing of non-utility generated electric power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siddiqi, S.N.; Baughman, M.L.

1994-01-01

The importance of an optimal pricing policy for pricing non-utility generated power is pointed out in this paper. An optimal pricing policy leads to benefits for all concerned: the utility, industry, and the utility's other customers. In this paper, it is shown that reliability differentiated real-time pricing provides an optimal non-utility generated power pricing policy, from a societal welfare point of view. Firm capacity purchase, and hence an optimal price for purchasing firm capacity, are an integral part of this pricing policy. A case study shows that real-time pricing without firm capacity purchase results in improper investment decisions and higher costs for the system as a whole. Without explicit firm capacity purchase, the utility makes greater investment in capacity addition in order to meet its reliability criteria than is socially optimal. It is concluded that the non-utility generated power pricing policy presented in this paper and implied by reliability differentiated pricing policy results in social welfare-maximizing investment and operation decisions

Hybrid Pricing in a Coupled European Power Market with More Wind Power

OpenAIRE

Bjørndal, Endre; Bjørndal, Mette; Cai, Hong; Panos, Evangelos

2015-01-01

In the European market, the promotion of wind power leads to more network congestion. Zonal pricing (market coupling), which does not take the physical characteristics of transmission into account, is the most commonly used method to relieve congestion in Europe. Zonal pricing fails to provide adequate locational price signals regarding the energy resource scarcity and thus creates a large amount of unscheduled cross-border flows originating from wind-generated power, making the interconne...

Non-Gaussian path integration in self-interacting scalar field theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaya, Ali

2004-01-01

In self-interacting scalar field theories kinetic expansion is an alternative way of calculating the generating functional for Green's functions where the zeroth order non-Gaussian path integral becomes diagonal in x-space and reduces to the product of an ordinary integral at each point which can be evaluated exactly. We discuss how to deal with such functional integrals and propose a new perturbative expansion scheme which combines the elements of the kinetic expansion with the usual perturbation theory techniques. It is then shown that, when the cutoff dependences of the bare parameters in the potential are chosen to have a well defined non-Gaussian path integral without the kinetic term, the theory becomes trivial in the continuum limit

The electricity prices in the European Union. The role of renewable energies and regulatory electric market reforms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreno, Blanca; López, Ana J.; García-Álvarez, María Teresa

2012-01-01

The European Union electricity market has been gradually liberalized since 1990s. Theoretically, competitive markets should lead to efficiency gains in the economy thus reducing electricity prices. However, there is a controversial debate about the real effects of the electricity liberalization on electricity prices. Moreover, the increased generation of electricity from renewable energies RES-E (Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources) is also integrated in wholesale market reducing wholesale prices, but the final effect over household prices is not clear. In order to contribute to this debate, this paper provides an empirical investigation into the electricity prices determinants. In fact we develop econometric panel models to explore the relationship between the household electricity prices and variables related to the renewable energy sources and the competition in generation electricity market. More specifically we use a panel data set provided by Eurostat and covering 27 European Union countries during the period 1998–2009. Our results suggest that electricity prices increase with the deployment of RES-E and with the expansion of greenhouse gas emissions produced by energy industries- as a European Union CO 2 emission trading scheme exists. Results also reveal that country's characteristics can affect household electricity prices. -- Highlights: ► Electricity liberalized markets should lead to reduce electricity prices. ► The use of renewable energies (RES) reduce wholesale electricity prices. ► However, household electricity prices are increasing in European Union. ► Panel data models are developed to investigate the effect of RES and electricity competition on household electricity prices. ► We find that the deployment of RES increases prices paid by consumers in a liberalized market.

The imperfect price reversibility of non-transport oil demand in the OECD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dargay, J.; Gately, D.

1995-01-01

This paper examines the price reversibility of OECD non-transport oil demand and its components: residual (heavy) fuel oil, non-transport distillates and other non-transport oil products. Our purpose is to determine the extent to which the reductions in demand following the oil price increases of the 1970s have been - and will be - reversed by the price cuts of the 1980s. The analysis is based on an econometric model which utilizes price decomposition methods to measure separately the effects of price increases and price decreases. These methods allow empirical testing of irreversibility and hysteresis, and should be applicable in other areas of economics where asymmetry of response or persistence of effect are evident. Based on the statistical evidence, we reject the conventional specification of demand being perfectly price reversible. We conclude that the response to the price cuts of the 1980s has been significantly smaller than to the price increases of the 1970s. Demand has followed a ratchet process: price increases reduced demand substantially when demanders conserved and switched away from oil, but price cuts did not reverse this process completely, if at all. This has important implications for projections of oil demand, especially under low price assumptions: the OECD's dependency on oil will not increase as much as some analysts may have feared. There is, however, another aspect of imperfect price reversibility: the possibilities of adjusting to future price rises may not be as great as they have been in the past. The easiest and least costly demand savings have already been made, and oil has been replaced by other energy sources in many uses: what's done is done. (author)

Impact of European pharmaceutical price regulation on generic price competition: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Puig-Junoy, Jaume

2010-01-01

, the entry of new generic competitors is useful for lowering the real transaction price of purchases made by pharmacies (dynamic price competition at ex-factory level), although this effect is weaker or non-significant for official ex-factory prices and consumer prices in some countries. When maximum reimbursement systems such as reference pricing or similar types are applied, pharmacies are seen to receive large discounts on the price they pay for the pharmaceuticals, although these discounts are not transferred to the consumer price. The percentage discount offered to pharmacies in a country that uses a price-cap system combined with reference pricing is positively and significantly related to the number of generic competitors in the market for the pharmaceutical (dynamic price competition at ex-factory level).

On the Black-Scholes European Option Pricing Model Robustness and Generality

Science.gov (United States)

Takada, Hellinton Hatsuo; de Oliveira Siqueira, José

2008-11-01

The common presentation of the widely known and accepted Black-Scholes European option pricing model explicitly imposes some restrictions such as the geometric Brownian motion assumption for the underlying stock price. In this paper, these usual restrictions are relaxed using maximum entropy principle of information theory, Pearson's distribution system, market frictionless and risk-neutrality theories to the calculation of a unique risk-neutral probability measure calibrated with market parameters.

Gas and electricity prices in France and in the European Union in 2014

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gong, Zheng

2015-10-01

This publication presents and comments tables and graphs of data related to natural gas prices for enterprises and for households and to their evolution between 2013 and 2014, to the electricity price for enterprises and for households and to their evolution between 2013 and 2014 in European countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, United Kingdom), in the euro Zone (19 countries), and in the European Union as a whole

How is perceived inflation related to actual price changes in the European Union?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Antonides, G.

2008-01-01

We analyze for which types of consumer expenditures the rate of price change influences consumer perception of inflation. We use both harmonized consumer price indices (HCPI) and series of perceived inflation from Eurostat in the 1996¿2006 time period for 13 European countries. After removing

The price path due to order imbalances: evidence from the Amsterdam agricultural futures exchange.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pennings, J.M.E.; Kuiper, W.E.; Hofstede, ter F.; Meulenberg, M.T.G.

1998-01-01

The lack of sufficient market depth particularly in many newly initiated futures markets results in relatively high hedging costs, and this inhibits the growth of futures contract volume. In this article the price path due to order imbalances is analyzed and a two-dimensional market depth measure is

Evolution of the European gas market on the long term. Organisation and price

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ouvry, V.

1998-01-01

The objective of this work is to shed light upon the future organization of the European gas market with an emphasis on price matters. There are nowadays few producers of gas on the market, most of whom hold long-term contracts with gas companies. Gas pricing is based on the net-back principle. The actual debate on liberalization of the gas market and the growing pressure from industrial customers to obtain lower prices addresses the problem of the future organisation of the market and the potential impact of the introduction of third party access. We first analyse the main actors of the gas market, their strategy and the actual market organization market. Two different logics are considered hereunder: a market approach: the competition theory provides efficient tools to analyse the evolution of competition depending on numerous factors. It appears that the strategy of all actors and particularly of producers will be the main determinant of the future competition. The oligopoly theory includes oligopolistic behaviours modelizations. The application of the Cournot's model leads to prices ranging from 1,6 to 3,7 $/MBtu; a contractual approach: today, gas is essentially exchanged through long term contracts, which allow for long-term management of investments and supply security. Two operators negotiate the price, which ultimately mirrors their respective leverage. The transaction cost theory clearly shows the necessity of including transaction costs, especially when optimizing the duration of the contract. The gas prices escalation is nowadays partially obsolete and unadapted to customer needs. Escalation on coal, electricity price or inflation should soon be considered. The theories of negotiation highlight the importance of the operators' marketing power during gas price fixation Applying Nash and Harsanyi-Selten's negotiation models results in a scale of 2,4 to 3,5 $/MBtu of the gas price at the actual supply and demand conditions. Both approaches lead to similar

Skewed Normal Distribution Of Return Assets In Call European Option Pricing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evy Sulistianingsih

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Option is one of security derivates. In financial market, option is a contract that gives a right (notthe obligation for its owner to buy or sell a particular asset for a certain price at a certain time.Option can give a guarantee for a risk that can be faced in a market.This paper studies about theuse of Skewed Normal Distribution (SN in call europeanoption pricing. The SN provides aflexible framework that captures the skewness of log return. We obtain aclosed form solution forthe european call option pricing when log return follow the SN. Then, we will compare optionprices that is obtained by the SN and the Black-Scholes model with the option prices of market. Keywords: skewed normaldistribution, log return, options.

Russian natural gas exports-Will Russian gas price reforms improve the European security of supply?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sagen, Eirik Lund; Tsygankova, Marina

2008-01-01

In this paper we use both theoretical and numerical tools to study potential effects on Russian gas exports from different Russian domestic gas prices and production capacities in 2015. We also investigate whether a fully competitive European gas market may provide incentives for Gazprom, the dominant Russian gas company, to change its export behaviour. Our main findings suggest that both increased domestic gas prices and sufficient production capacities are vital to maintain Gazprom's market share in Europe over the next decade. In fact, Russia may struggle to carry out its current long-term export commitments if domestic prices are sufficiently low. At the same time, if Russian prices approach European net-back levels, Gazprom may reduce exports in favour of a relatively more profitable domestic market

Pricing European option with transaction costs under the fractional long memory stochastic volatility model

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiao-Tian; Wu, Min; Zhou, Ze-Min; Jing, Wei-Shu

2012-02-01

This paper deals with the problem of discrete time option pricing using the fractional long memory stochastic volatility model with transaction costs. Through the 'anchoring and adjustment' argument in a discrete time setting, a European call option pricing formula is obtained.

Pedestrian paths: why path-dependence theory leaves health policy analysis lost in space.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Lawrence D

2010-08-01

Path dependence, a model first advanced to explain puzzles in the diffusion of technology, has lately won allegiance among analysts of the politics of public policy, including health care policy. Though the central premise of the model--that past events and decisions shape options for innovation in the present and future--is indisputable (indeed path dependence is, so to speak, too shallow to be false), the approach, at least as applied to health policy, suffers from ambiguities that undercut its claims to illuminate policy projects such as managed care, on which this article focuses. Because path dependence adds little more than marginal value to familiar images of the politics of policy--incrementalism, for one--analysts might do well to put it on the back burner and pursue instead "thick descriptions" that help them to distinguish different degrees of openness to exogenous change among diverse policy arenas.

Price comparison of high-cost originator medicines in European countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogler, Sabine; Zimmermann, Nina; Babar, Zaheer-Ud-Din

2017-04-01

In recent years, high-cost medicines have increasingly been challenging the public health budget in all countries including high-income economies. In this context, this study aims to survey, analyze and compare prices of medicines that likely contribute to high expenditure for the public payers in high-income countries. We chose the following 16 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Slovakia, Spain and United Kingdom. The ex-factory price data of 30 medicines in these countries were collected in national databases accessible through the Pharmaceutical Price Information (PPI) service of Gesundheit Österreich GmbH (Austrian Public Health Institute). The ex-factory prices (median) per unit (e.g. per tablet, vial) ranged from 10.67 cent (levodopa + decarboxylase inhibitor) to 17,000 euro (ipilimumab). A total of 53% of the medicines surveyed had a unit ex-factory price (median) above 200 Euro. For two thirds of the medicines, price differences between the highest-priced country and lowest-priced country ranged between 25 and 100%; the remaining medicines, mainly low-priced medicines, had higher price differential, up to 251%. Medicines with unit prices of a few euros or less were medicines for the treatment of diseases in the nervous system (anti-depressants, medicines to treat Parkinson and for the management of neuropathic pain), of obstructive airway diseases and cardio-vascular medicines (lipid modifying agents). High-priced medicines were particularly cancer medicines. Medicine prices of Greece, Hungary, Slovakia and UK were frequently at the lower end, German and Swedish, as well as Danish and Irish prices at the upper end. For high-priced medicines, actual paid prices are likely to be lower due to confidential discounts and similar funding arrangements between industry and public payers. Pricing authorities refer to the higher undiscounted prices when they use

Prospect theory: An application to European option pricing

OpenAIRE

Martina Nardon; Paolo Pianca

2012-01-01

Empirical studies on quoted options highlight deviations from the theoretical model of Black and Scholes; this is due to different causes, such as assumptions regarding the price dynamics, markets frictions and investors' attitude toward risk. In this contribution, we focus on this latter issue and study how to value European options within the continuous cumulative prospect theory. According to prospect theory, individuals do not always take their decisions consistently with the maximization...

Pharmaceutical pricing, price controls, and their effects on pharmaceutical sales and research and development expenditures in the European Union.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogel, Ronald J

2004-08-01

Each country in the European Union (EU) currently employs direct price controls or permutations of direct price controls, such as reference pricing or limitations on returns to capital. Some countries also use volume controls. A new proposal that is being discussed would have all of the countries in the EU adopt uniform pricing for each pharmaceutical. This paper analyzes the economic effects of free-market pricing individual-country price controls, and uniform EU price controls. Microeconomic and mathematical models were used to simulate and predict probable economic outcomes in a comparative static setting. Price controls may be in the form of price ceilings or price floors. Both forms of price control generate deadweight economic losses in the short run and long run. A uniform EU price for each pharmaceutical sold there would have elements of a price ceiling in some of the countries and of a price floor in other countries. The deadweight loss incurred would be a function of the level at which the uniform price was set by the EU and the price elasticity of demand for each pharmaceutical in each country. Economic efficiency is maximized in both the short run and long run when prices are set in freely competitive markets. An additional important dimension of Ramsey pricing within a competitive context is that it generates funds for investment in pharmaceutical research and development, which enhances economic efficiency in the long run.

Fossil-fuel dependence and vulnerability of electricity generation: Case of selected European countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhattacharyya, Subhes C.

2009-01-01

This paper analyses the diversity of fuel mix for electricity generation in selected European countries and investigates how the fuel bill has changed as a share of GDP between 1995 and 2005. The drivers of fuel-dependence-related vulnerability are determined using Laspeyres index decomposition. A 'what-if' analysis is carried out to analyse the changes in the vulnerability index due to changes in the drivers and a scenario analysis is finally used to investigate the future vulnerability in the medium term. The paper finds that the British and the Dutch electricity systems are less diversified compared to three other countries analysed. The gas dependence of the Dutch and Italian systems made them vulnerable but the vulnerability increased in all countries in recent years. Gas price and the level of dependence on gas for power generation mainly influenced the gas vulnerability. The United Kingdom saw a substantial decline in its coal vulnerability due to a fall in coal price and coal dependence in electricity generation. The scenario analysis indicates that UK is likely to face greater gas vulnerability in the future due to increased gas dependence in electricity generation and higher import dependence.

Gas price policies in Central and Eastern Europe. Papers and proceedings of the Seminar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

The seminar on the topic of gas pricing and its future supply to Central and Eastern European countries was organised by the United Nations Gas Centre, part of the Economic Commission for Europe, and sponsored by the Slovenian gas company Geoplin, the N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie and ABN-AMRO Bank. The purpose was to analyse natural gas pricing as the major prerequisite for further integration of the Eastern, Central and Western European gas markets. Almost 150 representatives of gas industries and government officials of 36 different countries presented and discussed their experiences, know-how and visions on the themes of gas pricing and, in relation to these, future supply options. A total of 19 Central and Eastern European countries were represented, 11 western European countries and two from other parts of the world. The large number of participating countries and the high level of participants present witnessed the general acceptance of the importance of sharing views and information as a step towards further integration of the European gas industry. Establishment of commercial price structures and policies was identified as a main concern of Central and Eastern European countries. At present, in many cases in economies in transition the current end user prices are not sufficient to cover import European border prices. Once introduced, the commercial prices will facilitate a country's diversification, which is not only important for diminishing dependency on one supplier, but its also important for the growth of the European market as a whole. Countries that can rely on a diversified supply will allow themselves to have a larger share of gas in their primary energy supply and will be able to support necessary investment. Future market growth in the European gas market as a whole is of great importance for reducing Europe's environmental burden. Experience over the past 20 years in the western European gas industry demonstrated that the market integration is based

Exploring the core factors and its dynamic effects on oil price: An application on path analysis and BVAR-TVP model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chai Jian; Guo, Ju-E.; Meng Lei; Wang Shouyang

2011-01-01

As the uncertainty of oil price increases, impacts of the influential factors on oil price vary over time. It is of great importance to explore the core factors and its time-varying influence on oil price. In view of this, based on the PATH-ANALYSIS model, this paper obtains the core factors, builds an oil price system VAR model, which uses demand, supply, price, and inventory as endogenous variables, and China's net imports as well as dollar index as exogenous variables. Then we set up a BVAR-TVP (Time varying parameter) model to analyze dynamic impacts of core factors on oil price. The results show that: (1) oil prices became more sensitive to oil supply changes, and the influence delays became shorter; (2) the impact of oil inventories on oil prices with a time lag of two quarters but has a downward trend; (3) the impact of oil consumption on oil prices with a time lag of two quarters, and this effect is increasingly greater; (4) the US dollar index is always the important factor of oil price and its control power increases gradually, and the financial crisis (occurred in 2008) further strengthens the influence of US dollar. - Highlights: ► We build an oil price VAR model based on the PATH-ANALYSIS results. ► The dynamic effects of core factors on oil price was studied by BVAR-TVP model. ► Oil prices became more sensitive to oil supply changes. ► The effect of oil consumption on oil prices is increasingly greater. ► Financial crisis further strengthens the influence of US dollar on oil price.

A Collocation Method by Moving Least Squares Applicable to European Option Pricing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Amirfakhrian

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The subject matter of the present inquiry is the pricing of European options in the actual form of numbers. To assess the numerical prices of European options, a scheme independent of any kind of mesh but rather powered by moving least squares (MLS estimation is made. In practical terms, first the discretion of time variable is implemented and then, an MLS-powered method is applied for spatial approximation. As, unlike other methods, these courses of action mentioned here don't rely on a mesh, one can firmly claim they are to be categorized under mesh-less methods. And, of course, at the end of the paper, various experiments are offered to prove how efficient and how powerful the introduced approach is.

Quantum Mechanics, Path Integrals and Option Pricing: Reducing the Complexity of Finance

OpenAIRE

Baaquie, Belal E.; Coriano, Claudio; Srikant, Marakani

2002-01-01

Quantum Finance represents the synthesis of the techniques of quantum theory (quantum mechanics and quantum field theory) to theoretical and applied finance. After a brief overview of the connection between these fields, we illustrate some of the methods of lattice simulations of path integrals for the pricing of options. The ideas are sketched out for simple models, such as the Black-Scholes model, where analytical and numerical results are compared. Application of the method to nonlinear sy...

Nonlinear Schrödinger approach to European option pricing

Science.gov (United States)

Wróblewski, Marcin

2017-05-01

This paper deals with numerical option pricing methods based on a Schrödinger model rather than the Black-Scholes model. Nonlinear Schrödinger boundary value problems seem to be alternatives to linear models which better reflect the complexity and behavior of real markets. Therefore, based on the nonlinear Schrödinger option pricing model proposed in the literature, in this paper a model augmented by external atomic potentials is proposed and numerically tested. In terms of statistical physics the developed model describes the option in analogy to a pair of two identical quantum particles occupying the same state. The proposed model is used to price European call options on a stock index. the model is calibrated using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm based on market data. A Runge-Kutta method is used to solve the discretized boundary value problem numerically. Numerical results are provided and discussed. It seems that our proposal more accurately models phenomena observed in the real market than do linear models.

Mellin Transform Method for European Option Pricing with Hull-White Stochastic Interest Rate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ji-Hun Yoon

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Even though interest rates fluctuate randomly in the marketplace, many option-pricing models do not fully consider their stochastic nature owing to their generally limited impact on option prices. However, stochastic dynamics in stochastic interest rates may have a significant impact on option prices as we take account of issues of maturity, hedging, or stochastic volatility. In this paper, we derive a closed form solution for European options in Black-Scholes model with stochastic interest rate using Mellin transform techniques.

Pricing American Asian options with higher moments in the underlying distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Lo, Keng-Hsin; Wang, Kehluh; Hsu, Ming-Feng

2009-01-01

We develop a modified Edgeworth binomial model with higher moment consideration for pricing American Asian options. With lognormal underlying distribution for benchmark comparison, our algorithm is as precise as that of Chalasani et al. [P. Chalasani, S. Jha, F. Egriboyun, A. Varikooty, A refined binomial lattice for pricing American Asian options, Rev. Derivatives Res. 3 (1) (1999) 85-105] if the number of the time steps increases. If the underlying distribution displays negative skewness and leptokurtosis as often observed for stock index returns, our estimates can work better than those in Chalasani et al. [P. Chalasani, S. Jha, F. Egriboyun, A. Varikooty, A refined binomial lattice for pricing American Asian options, Rev. Derivatives Res. 3 (1) (1999) 85-105] and are very similar to the benchmarks in Hull and White [J. Hull, A. White, Efficient procedures for valuing European and American path-dependent options, J. Derivatives 1 (Fall) (1993) 21-31]. The numerical analysis shows that our modified Edgeworth binomial model can value American Asian options with greater accuracy and speed given higher moments in their underlying distribution.

The European carbon market (2005-2007): banking, pricing and risk hedging strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chevallier, J.

2008-11-01

This thesis investigates the market rules of the European carbon market (EU ETS) during 2005-2007. We provide theoretical and empirical analyses of banking and borrowing provisions, price drivers and risk hedging strategies attached to tradable quotas, which were introduced to cover the CO 2 emissions of around 10,600 installations in Europe. In Chapter 1, we outline the economic and environmental effects of banking and borrowing on tradable permits markets. More specifically, we examine the banking and borrowing provisions adopted in the EU ETS, and the effects of banning banking between Phases I and II on CO 2 price changes. We show statistically that the low levels of CO 2 prices recorded until the end of Phase I may be explained by the restriction on the inter-period transfer of allowances, besides the main explanations that were identified by market observers. In Chapter 2, we identify the carbon price drivers since the launch of the EU ETS on January 1, 2005. We emphasize the central role played by the 2005 yearly compliance event imposed by the European Commission in revealing the net short/long position at the installation level in terms of allowances allocated with respect to verified emissions. The main result of this study features that price drivers of CO 2 allowances linked to energy market prices and unanticipated weather events vary around institutional events. Moreover, we show the influence of the variation of industrial production in three sectors covered by the EU ETS on CO 2 price changes by applying a disentangling analysis, that has also been extended at the country-level. In Chapter 3, we focus on the risk hedging strategies linked to holding CO 2 allowances. By using a methodology applied on stock markets, we recover the changes in investors' average risk aversion. This study shows that, during the time period considered, risk aversion has been higher on the carbon market than on the stock market, and that the risk is linked to an increasing

The taxation effect on gasoline price asymmetry nexus: Evidence from both sides of the Atlantic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polemis, Michael L.; Fotis, Panagiotis N.

2014-01-01

This paper explores the degree of competition in various gasoline markets and infers possible causes of price asymmetry across the globe. For this purpose we use the Dynamic Ordinary Least Square method in order to estimate price asymmetry in twelve European countries and the United States for a sample of weekly observations which spans the period from June 1996 to August 2011. The results indicate the common perception that less competitive gasoline markets exhibit price asymmetry, while highly competitive gasoline markets follow a symmetric price adjustment path. Finally, the inclusion of taxes (VAT and excise tax) into retail gasoline prices, supports the existence of price asymmetry in many European countries. - Highlights: • We examine the possible causes of gasoline price asymmetry across the globe. • We investigate the effect of taxation on the retail gasoline price adjustments. • There is a symmetric gasoline price response in the EU wholesale level. • Less competitive gasoline markets exhibit price asymmetry. • The oligopolistic structure of the gasoline markets inflates price asymmetry

Path Dependency of High Pressure Phase Transformations

Science.gov (United States)

Cerreta, Ellen

2017-06-01

At high pressures titanium and zirconium are known to undergo a phase transformation from the hexagonal close packed (HCP), alpha-phase to the simple-hexagonal, omega-phase. Under conditions of shock loading, the high-pressure omega-phase can be retained upon release. It has been shown that temperature, peak shock stress, and texture can influence the transformation. Moreover, under these same loading conditions, plastic processes of slip and twinning are also affected by similar differences in the loading path. To understand this path dependency, in-situ velocimetry measurements along with post-mortem metallographic and neutron diffraction characterization of soft recovered specimens have been utilized to qualitatively understand the kinetics of transformation, quantify volume fraction of retained omega-phase and characterize the shocked alpha and omega-phases. Together the work described here can be utilized to map the non-equilibrium phase diagram for these metals and lend insight into the partitioning of plastic processes between phases during high pressure transformation. In collaboration with: Frank Addesssio, Curt Bronkhorst, Donald Brown, David Jones, Turab Lookman, Benjamin Morrow, Carl Trujillo, Los Alamos National Lab.; Juan Pablo Escobedo-Diaz, University of New South Wales; Paulo Rigg, Washington State University.

Learning from history : Changes and path dependency in the social housing sector in Austria, France and the Netherlands (1889-2008), Chapter 3

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lévy-Vroelant, C.; Reinprecht, C.; Wassenberg, F.

2008-01-01

European social housing history can be interpreted through the combination of two complementary notions: path dependency and change. Socio-political experiences and practices at the national, regional or municipal level are potentially powerful determinants of historical developments—an idea known

Path integral solution for some time-dependent potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Storchak, S.N.

1989-12-01

The quantum-mechanical problem with a time-dependent potential is solved by the path integral method. The solution is obtained by the application of the previously derived general formula for rheonomic homogeneous point transformation and reparametrization in the path integral. (author). 4 refs

Il cambio dollaro/euro, il prezzo del petrolio e la Banca Centrale Europea (Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate, Oil Price and the European Central Bank

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefano Sylos Labini

2000-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper an analysis on dollar/euro exchange rate, oil price and European Central Bank monetary policy is worked out. Firstly, data on the main variables related with the exchange rate and an equation to explain the variation of the exchange rate in the period March 1998-September 2000 are presented; secondly, the consequences of oil price growth and eurodevaluation on the US and European economies are taken into account; lastly, different policy strategies to stop eurodevaluation are discussed. The European Central Bank strategy, that consists of small increases of the interest rate, is not reaching any result. An alternative strategy is based on innovative public demand, that should be financed by European bonds using "central bank excess funds" as security. Public demand of infrastructures and new technologies should aim at reducing oil dependence and would stimulate growth and sustainable development in Europe, with positive effects on the exchange rate.

Path integral density matrix dynamics: a method for calculating time-dependent properties in thermal adiabatic and non-adiabatic systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Habershon, Scott

2013-09-14

We introduce a new approach for calculating quantum time-correlation functions and time-dependent expectation values in many-body thermal systems; both electronically adiabatic and non-adiabatic cases can be treated. Our approach uses a path integral simulation to sample an initial thermal density matrix; subsequent evolution of this density matrix is equivalent to solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, which we perform using a linear expansion of Gaussian wavepacket basis functions which evolve according to simple classical-like trajectories. Overall, this methodology represents a formally exact approach for calculating time-dependent quantum properties; by introducing approximations into both the imaginary-time and real-time propagations, this approach can be adapted for complex many-particle systems interacting through arbitrary potentials. We demonstrate this method for the spin Boson model, where we find good agreement with numerically exact calculations. We also discuss future directions of improvement for our approach with a view to improving accuracy and efficiency.

Path integral density matrix dynamics: A method for calculating time-dependent properties in thermal adiabatic and non-adiabatic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Habershon, Scott

2013-01-01

We introduce a new approach for calculating quantum time-correlation functions and time-dependent expectation values in many-body thermal systems; both electronically adiabatic and non-adiabatic cases can be treated. Our approach uses a path integral simulation to sample an initial thermal density matrix; subsequent evolution of this density matrix is equivalent to solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, which we perform using a linear expansion of Gaussian wavepacket basis functions which evolve according to simple classical-like trajectories. Overall, this methodology represents a formally exact approach for calculating time-dependent quantum properties; by introducing approximations into both the imaginary-time and real-time propagations, this approach can be adapted for complex many-particle systems interacting through arbitrary potentials. We demonstrate this method for the spin Boson model, where we find good agreement with numerically exact calculations. We also discuss future directions of improvement for our approach with a view to improving accuracy and efficiency

Wood-energy: success depends on the price of fossil energies and on the carbon tax level

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Defaye, Serge; Maindrault, Marc

2016-01-01

Illustrated by several graphs indicating the structure of fossil energy prices, the comparison between domestic fuel and wood-energy for public network exploitation, the levels of fossil prices and carbon tax for non-subsidised projects, this article analyses the development of biomass (and more particularly wood-energy), the success of which depends on the price of fossil energies and on the carbon tax level. It outlines the differences of price-building elements between fossil and renewable heat, that subsidies are necessary if reference prices are low. It discusses the influence of carbon tax level and of fossil prices. It finally identifies conditions to be met (reduction of fossil energy supply and therefore higher fossil prices, introduction of a carbon tax) to reach COP objectives

Method of determining the efficiency of price and non-price competition in service sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Savel’eva Nadezhda

2017-01-01

Full Text Available With the end of 2014, the domestic banking system has serious difficulties with the availability of capital for lending and investment programs. Problems based on international political divisions, and their resolution lies in the distant future. in these circumstances, the government is concerned about the development of the Russian banking system in terms of ensuring their competitiveness in the international arena. foreign capital has always been a cheap resource for the domestic banking system, the problem area remains its state at the time of lifting of sanctions. Nowadays banks are forced to use different competition methods in target to adapt to environmental changes and ensure competitive success. So the development of methods for price and non-price competition has economic importance. Analysis of qualitative methodological foundations in banks service revealed strong background. Based on neoteric qualitative evaluation methodology, authors developed method for price and non-price competitiveness. It defines variables of price and non-price competitiveness, to set the value factors, to identify the closest competitors, and to set the position of a particular bank among other participants. It also helps to shape competitors dossier based on the evaluated score.

Do increasing prices affect food deprivation in the European Union?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sol García-Germán

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The rise of prices of agricultural commodities in global markets during 2007-2012 was followed by increased consumer food prices around the world. More expensive food may have an impact on consumer food access and thus on their welfare, not only in developing countries but also amongst the most vulnerable in developed countries. Using a longitudinal database from the Statistics on Income and Living Conditions and population-averaged models, we tested whether increasing food prices had an impact on household food deprivation in 26 European Union (EU member states. Results revealed a significant relationship between food deprivation and the consumer food price index and disposable income. Households in the lowest income quintile in the member states recently acceded to the EU were the most vulnerable to food deprivation. Results also showed that low-income households in densely populated areas were more vulnerable to food deprivation. This should be taken into account when evaluating food assistance programmes that focus on the segments of the population most at risk of food deprivation.

Do increasing prices affect food deprivation in the European Union?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

García-Germán, S.; Bardají, I.; Garrido, A.

2018-01-01

The rise of prices of agricultural commodities in global markets during 2007-2012 was followed by increased consumer food prices around the world. More expensive food may have an impact on consumer food access and thus on their welfare, not only in developing countries but also amongst the most vulnerable in developed countries. Using a longitudinal database from the Statistics on Income and Living Conditions and population-averaged models, we tested whether increasing food prices had an impact on household food deprivation in 26 European Union (EU) member states. Results revealed a significant relationship between food deprivation and the consumer food price index and disposable income. Households in the lowest income quintile in the member states recently acceded to the EU were the most vulnerable to food deprivation. Results also showed that low-income households in densely populated areas were more vulnerable to food deprivation. This should be taken into account when evaluating food assistance programmes that focus on the segments of the population most at risk of food deprivation.

Finite horizon EOQ model for non-instantaneous deteriorating items with price and advertisement dependent demand and partial backlogging under inflation

Science.gov (United States)

Palanivel, M.; Uthayakumar, R.

2015-07-01

This paper deals with an economic order quantity (EOQ) model for non-instantaneous deteriorating items with price and advertisement dependent demand pattern under the effect of inflation and time value of money over a finite planning horizon. In this model, shortages are allowed and partially backlogged. The backlogging rate is dependent on the waiting time for the next replenishment. This paper aids the retailer in minimising the total inventory cost by finding the optimal interval and the optimal order quantity. An algorithm is designed to find the optimum solution of the proposed model. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the results. Also, the effect of changes in the different parameters on the optimal total cost is graphically presented and the implications are discussed in detail.

A reference-dependent model of the price-quality heuristic

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gneezy, A.; Gneezy, U.; Lauga, D.O.

2014-01-01

People often use price as a proxy for quality, resulting in a positive correlation between prices and product liking, known as the "price- quality" (P-Q) heuristic. Using data from three experiments conducted at a winery, this article offers a more complex and complete reference-dependent model of

Carbon prices and CCS investment: A comparative study between the European Union and China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Renner, Marie

2014-01-01

Carbon Capture and Storage is considered as a key option for climate change mitigation; policy makers and investors need to know when CCS becomes economically attractive. Integrating CCS in a power plant adds significant costs which can be offset by a sufficient CO 2 price. However, most markets have failed: currently, the weak carbon price threatens CCS deployment in the European Union (EU). In China, a carbon regulation is appearing and CCS encounters a rising interest. This study investigates two questions: how much is the extra-cost of a CCS plant in the EU in comparison with China? Second, what is the CO 2 price beyond which CCS plants become more profitable than reference plants in the EU and in China? To address these issues, I conducted a literature review on public studies about CCS costs. To objectively assess the profitability of CCS plants, I constructed a net present value model to calculate the Levelised Cost of Electricity and the breakeven CO 2 price. CCS plants become the most profitable plant type beyond 115 €/tCO 2 in the EU vs. 45 €/tCO 2 in China (offshore transport and storage costs). I advise on the optimal plant type choice depending on the CO 2 price in both countries. - Highlights: • I develop a method to objectively update and compare CCS costs in the EU and China. • To represent investment choices, intra and inter CO 2 switching prices are required. • EU CCS plants are profitable for a CO 2 price higher than 115 €/t (offshore storage). • Chinese CCS plants are profitable beyond 45 €/tCO 2 (35 €/tCO 2 with onshore storage). • With 2030 projections, CCS (coal) plants are profitable in China but not in the EU

Price jumps on European stock markets

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hanousek, Jan; Kočenda, Evžen; Novotný, Jan

2014-01-01

Roč. 14, č. 1 (2014), s. 10-22 ISSN 2214-8450 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP403/11/0020; GA ČR(CZ) GBP402/12/G097 Grant - others:UK(CZ) UNCE 204005/2012 Institutional support: PRVOUK-P23 Keywords : stock markets * price jump indicators * non-parametric testing Subject RIV: AH - Economics

Comparison of extended mean-reversion and time series models for electricity spot price simulation considering negative prices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keles, Dogan; Genoese, Massimo; Möst, Dominik; Fichtner, Wolf

2012-01-01

This paper evaluates different financial price and time series models, such as mean reversion, autoregressive moving average (ARMA), integrated ARMA (ARIMA) and general autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) process, usually applied for electricity price simulations. However, as these models are developed to describe the stochastic behaviour of electricity prices, they are extended by a separate data treatment for the deterministic components (trend, daily, weekly and annual cycles) of electricity spot prices. Furthermore price jumps are considered and implemented within a regime-switching model. Since 2008 market design allows for negative prices at the European Energy Exchange, which also occurred for several hours in the last years. Up to now, only a few financial and time series approaches exist, which are able to capture negative prices. This paper presents a new approach incorporating negative prices. The evaluation of the different approaches presented points out that the mean reversion and the ARMA models deliver the lowest mean root square error between simulated and historical electricity spot prices gained from the European Energy Exchange. These models posses also lower mean average errors than GARCH models. Hence, they are more suitable to simulate well-fitting price paths. Furthermore it is shown that the daily structure of historical price curves is better captured applying ARMA or ARIMA processes instead of mean-reversion or GARCH models. Another important outcome of the paper is that the regime-switching approach and the consideration of negative prices via the new proposed approach lead to a significant improvement of the electricity price simulation. - Highlights: ► Considering negative prices improves the results of time-series and financial models for electricity prices. ► Regime-switching approach captures the jumps and base prices quite well. ► Removing and separate modelling of deterministic annual, weekly and daily

K shortest paths in stochastic time-dependent networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Lars Relund; Pretolani, Daniele; Andersen, Kim Allan

2004-01-01

A substantial amount of research has been devoted to the shortest path problem in networks where travel times are stochastic or (deterministic and) time-dependent. More recently, a growing interest has been attracted by networks that are both stochastic and time-dependent. In these networks, the ...... present a computational comparison of time-adaptive and a priori route choices, pointing out the effect of travel time and cost distributions. The reported results show that, under realistic distributions, our solution methods are effective.......A substantial amount of research has been devoted to the shortest path problem in networks where travel times are stochastic or (deterministic and) time-dependent. More recently, a growing interest has been attracted by networks that are both stochastic and time-dependent. In these networks...

The European used-car market at a glance: Hedonic resale price valuation in automotive leasing industry

OpenAIRE

Sylvain M. Prado

2009-01-01

In the leasing industry, the risk of loss on sales at the end of the contract term, as well as pricing are critically impacted by the forecasted resale price of the asset (residual value). We apply the Hedonic methodology to European auto lease portfolios, in order to estimate the resale price distribution. The Hedonic approach estimates the price of a good through the valuation of its attributes. Following a discussion on Hedonic prices, we propose an operational model for the automobile res...

Option pricing: Stock price, stock velocity and the acceleration Lagrangian

Science.gov (United States)

Baaquie, Belal E.; Du, Xin; Bhanap, Jitendra

2014-12-01

The industry standard Black-Scholes option pricing formula is based on the current value of the underlying security and other fixed parameters of the model. The Black-Scholes formula, with a fixed volatility, cannot match the market's option price; instead, it has come to be used as a formula for generating the option price, once the so called implied volatility of the option is provided as additional input. The implied volatility not only is an entire surface, depending on the strike price and maturity of the option, but also depends on calendar time, changing from day to day. The point of view adopted in this paper is that the instantaneous rate of return of the security carries part of the information that is provided by implied volatility, and with a few (time-independent) parameters required for a complete pricing formula. An option pricing formula is developed that is based on knowing the value of both the current price and rate of return of the underlying security which in physics is called velocity. Using an acceleration Lagrangian model based on the formalism of quantum mathematics, we derive the pricing formula for European call options. The implied volatility of the market can be generated by our pricing formula. Our option price is applied to foreign exchange rates and equities and the accuracy is compared with Black-Scholes pricing formula and with the market price.

The unavoidable increase in electricity prices in France: should the effects of the European market integration be corrected?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finon, D.; Glachant, J.M.

2008-01-01

The competitive reform will unavoidably generate a price increase for French consumers when the regulated price is removed. That increase is due to the competitive hourly rate formation system in the continental market. The system allows existing nuclear equipment of all European producers to generate a rarity income, without this triggering nuclear investment decisions due to political obstacles. The sacrifice of French consumers does not imply later price decreases failing such investments. The benefit sought by the integration of the market for European consumer benefit cannot be achieved. The rarity income from existing equipment only benefits the shareholders of companies holding existing low combustible cost equipment, including the historical French operator. This article details this nuclear rarity income analysis and reviews several compensation approaches to reconcile French consumers with the construction dynamics of a competitive European market. Such re-allotment systems need to be both simple and perceived as a compensation for potential price increase, and not alter drastically the operation of the new markets. (authors)

Il cambio dollaro/euro, il prezzo del petrolio e la Banca Centrale Europea (Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate, Oil Price and the European Central Bank

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefano Sylos Labini

2012-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper an analysis on dollar/euro exchange rate, oil price and European Central Bank monetary policy is worked out. Firstly, data on the main variables related with the exchange rate and an equation to explain the variation of the exchange rate in the period March 1998-September 2000 are presented; secondly, the consequences of oil price growth and eurodevaluation on the US and European economies are taken into account; lastly, different policy strategies to stop eurodevaluation are discussed. The European Central Bank strategy, that consists of small increases of the interest rate, is not reaching any result. An alternative strategy is based on innovative public demand, that should be financed by European bonds using "central bank excess funds" as security. Public demand of infrastructures and new technologies should aim at reducing oil dependence and would stimulate growth and sustainable development in Europe, with positive effects on the exchange rate.       JEL Codes: E58, F31Keywords: Devaluation, Exchange Rates, Monetary

How Can Pricing and Reimbursement Policies Improve Affordable Access to Medicines? Lessons Learned from European Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogler, Sabine; Paris, Valérie; Ferrario, Alessandra; Wirtz, Veronika J; de Joncheere, Kees; Schneider, Peter; Pedersen, Hanne Bak; Dedet, Guillaume; Babar, Zaheer-Ud-Din

2017-06-01

This article discusses pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement policies in European countries with regard to their ability to ensure affordable access to medicines. A frequently applied pricing policy is external price referencing. While it provides some benchmark for policy-makers and has been shown to be able to generate savings, it may also contribute to delay in product launch in countries where medicine prices are low. Value-based pricing has been proposed as a policy that promotes access while rewarding useful innovation; however, implementing it has proven quite challenging. For high-priced medicines, managed-entry agreements are increasingly used. These agreements allow policy-makers to manage uncertainty and obtain lower prices. They can also facilitate earlier market access in case of limited evidence about added therapeutic value of the medicine. However, these agreements raise transparency concerns due to the confidentiality clause. Tendering as used in the hospital and offpatent outpatient sectors has been proven to reduce medicine prices but it requires a robust framework and appropriate design with clear strategic goals in order to prevent shortages. These pricing and reimbursement policies are supplemented by the widespread use of Health Technology Assessment to inform decision-making, and by strategies to improve the uptake of generics, and also biosimilars. While European countries have been implementing a set of policy options, there is a lack of thorough impact assessments of several pricing and reimbursement policies on affordable access. Increased cooperation between authorities, experience sharing and improving transparency on price information, including the disclosure of confidential discounts, are opportunities to address current challenges.

The COS Method : An Efficient Fourier Method for Pricing Financial Derivatives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fang, F.

2010-01-01

When valuing and risk-managing financial derivatives, practitioners demand fast and accurate prices and sensitivities. Aside from the pricing of non-standard exotic financial derivatives, so-called plain vanilla European options form the basis for the calibration of financial models. As any pricing

On the Pricing of Step-Up Bonds in the European Telecom Sector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lando, David; Mortensen, Allan

This paper investigates the pricing of step-up bonds, i.e. corporatebonds with provisions stating that the coupon payments increase as thecredit rating level of the issuer declines. To assess the risk-neutral ratingtransition probabilities necessary to price these bonds, we introduce...... a newcalibration method within the reduced-form rating-based model of Jarrow,Lando, and Turnbull (1997). We also treat split ratings and adjust forrating outlook. Step-up bonds have been issued in large amounts in theEuropean telecom sector, and we find that, through most of the sample,step-up bonds issued...

Calculation of the mean path length of the Epstein frame under non-sinusoidal excitations using the double Epstein method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marketos, Philip; Zurek, Stan; Moses, Anthony J.

2008-01-01

This paper discusses the effect of non-sinusoidal excitation on the mean path length of the Epstein frame. Two different steels, a non-oriented (NO) steel and a high-permeability grain-oriented (HGO) electrical steel have been tested under pure sinusoidal and non-sinusoidal excitations and the mean path length of the Epstein frame has been re-calculated. Results indicate that the actual mean path of the Epstein frame depends not only on the material permeability and anisotropy but also on the peak flux density and magnetising frequency. The amount of distortion of the excitation frequency also has an effect on the value of the actual mean path length of the Epstein frame

Gas prices and price process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Groenewegen, G.G.

1992-01-01

On a conference (Gas for Europe in the 1990's) during the Gasexpo '91 the author held a speech of which the Dutch text is presented here. Attention is paid to the current European pricing methods (prices based on the costs of buying, transporting and distributing the natural gas and prices based on the market value, which is deducted from the prices of alternative fuels), and the transparency of the prices (lack of information on the way the prices are determined). Also attention is paid to the market signal transparency and gas-gas competition, which means a more or less free market of gas distribution. The risks of gas-to-gas competition for a long term price stability, investment policies and security of supply are discussed. Opposition against the Third Party Access (TPA), which is the program to implement gas-to-gas competition, is caused by the fear of natural gas companies for lower gas prices and lower profits. Finally attention is paid to government regulation and the activities of the European Commission (EC) in this matter. 1 fig., 6 ills., 1 tab

House price responsiveness of housing investments across major European economies

OpenAIRE

Gattini, Luca; Ganoulis, Ioannis

2012-01-01

In comparison with the large literature on house prices, housing investments have been studied far less. This paper investigates the behaviour of private residential investments for the six largest European economies, namely: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It employs a common modelling structure based on an error correction approach and country specific models. First, co-integration among the parsimoniously specified set of fundamental variables is dete...

The effect of alcohol price on dependent drinkers' alcohol consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Falkner, Carolyn; Christie, Grant; Zhou, Lifeng; King, Julian

2015-12-18

To investigate the current purchasing behaviours of a group of dependent drinkers and their potential response to future increases in the price of alcohol. 115 clients undergoing medical detoxification completed an anonymous survey about their daily alcohol consumption, its cost, their response to potential price increases and strategies previously used when unable to afford alcohol. Mean and median number of standard drinks consumed per day was 24, at a median cost of $25 NZD (95%CI $22, $30). Thirty-six per cent (95%CI 26%, 46%) of the group bought alcohol at $1 or less per standard drink, and the median number of drinks consumed per day (30) by this group was significantly higher (p=0.0028) than the rest of the sample (22.5). The most common strategy used if no money was available to purchase alcohol was to forgo essentials. If facing a potential price rise, 77% (95%CI 69%, 85%) would switch wholly or partially to a cheaper product and 13% (95%CI 8%, 21%) would cut down their drinking. Although the majority of our group would be financially impacted by an increase in the minimum price per standard drink, any potential impacts would be most significant in those buying the cheapest alcohol (who also drink the most), suggesting that minimum pricing may be an important harm minimisation strategy in this group. A minimum price per standard drink would limit the possibility of switching to an alternate cheaper product and likely result in an overall reduction in alcohol consumption in this group. Stealing alcohol, or the use of non-beverage alcohol, were seldom reported as previous strategies used in response to unaffordable alcohol and fears of such are not valid reasons for rejecting minimum pricing to reduce general population consumption.

A discontinuous Galerkin method for numerical pricing of European options under Heston stochastic volatility

Science.gov (United States)

Hozman, J.; Tichý, T.

2016-12-01

The paper is based on the results from our recent research on multidimensional option pricing problems. We focus on European option valuation when the price movement of the underlying asset is driven by a stochastic volatility following a square root process proposed by Heston. The stochastic approach incorporates a new additional spatial variable into this model and makes it very robust, i.e. it provides a framework to price a variety of options that is closer to reality. The main topic is to present the numerical scheme arising from the concept of discontinuous Galerkin methods and applicable to the Heston option pricing model. The numerical results are presented on artificial benchmarks as well as on reference market data.

Price dependence in the principal EU olive oil markets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Emmanouilides, C.; Fousekis, P.; Grigoriadis, V.

2014-06-01

The objective of this paper is to assess the degree and the structure of price dependence in the principal EU olive oil markets (Spain, Italy and Greece). To this end, it utilizes monthly olive oil price data and the statistical tool of copulas. The empirical results suggest that prices are likely to boom together but not to crash together; this is especially true for the prices of the two most important players, Italy (importer) and Spain (exporter). The finding of asymmetric price co-movements implies that the three principal spatial olive oil markets in the EU cannot be thought of as one great pool. (Author)

The European electricity market. What are the effects of market power on prices and the environment? Keywords: Electricity market; liberalisation; market power; game theory; environmental impacts; Northwestern Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lise, W.

2005-07-01

This paper presents a static computational game theoretic COMPETES model. This model is used to study the economic and environmental effects of the liberalisation of the European electricity market. The COMPETES model takes strategic interaction into account. The model is calibrated to four European countries: Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands. To analyse the impact of emission trading, a fixed permit price per tonne CO2 emissions is introduced. The effects are studied under different market structures depending on the ability of firms to exercise market power. The results indicate that the effects of liberalisation depend on the resulting market structure, while a reduction in market power of large producers may be beneficial for the consumer (i.e. lower prices), this is not necessarily true for the environment (i.e. lower reduction in CO2 emissions)

Optimal ordering and pricing policy for price sensitive stock–dependent demand under progressive payment scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nita H. Shah

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The terminal condition of inventory level to be zero at the end of the cycle time adopted by Soni and Shah (2008, 2009 is not viable when demand is stock-dependent. To rectify this assumption, we extend their model for (1 an ending – inventory to be non-zero; (2 limited floor space; (3 a profit maximization model; (4 selling price to be a decision variable, and (5 units in inventory deteriorate at a constant rate. The algorithm is developed to search for the optimal decision policy. The working of the proposed model is supported with a numerical example. Sensitivity analysis is carried out to investigate critical parameters.

Considering extraction constraints in long-term oil price modelling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rehrl, Tobias; Friedrich, Rainer; Voss, Alfred

2005-12-15

paths endogenously from OPEC's intertemporally optimal cartel behaviour. Thereby OPEC is faced with both the price-dependent production of the non-OPEC competitive fringe and the price-dependent world oil demand. World oil demand is modelled with a constant price elasticity function and refers to a scenario from ACROPOLIS-POLES. LOPEX results show, that the OPEC optimum - because of the cartel behaviour - depends much more on the present market situations than on intertemporal considerations. This qualifies the a priori assumption of perfect market foresight, tending to a more myopic decision making from OPEC. The results indicate that OPEC may have acted quite optimal since the seventies, at least in a ten-years average. LOPEX calculates a significant higher oil price from around 2020 onwards compared to the reference scenario, and a stagnating market share of maximal 50 % to be optimal for OPEC. (Author)

Considering extraction constraints in long-term oil price modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rehrl, Tobias; Friedrich, Rainer; Voss, Alfred

2005-01-01

paths endogenously from OPEC's intertemporally optimal cartel behaviour. Thereby OPEC is faced with both the price-dependent production of the non-OPEC competitive fringe and the price-dependent world oil demand. World oil demand is modelled with a constant price elasticity function and refers to a scenario from ACROPOLIS-POLES. LOPEX results show, that the OPEC optimum - because of the cartel behaviour - depends much more on the present market situations than on intertemporal considerations. This qualifies the a priori assumption of perfect market foresight, tending to a more myopic decision making from OPEC. The results indicate that OPEC may have acted quite optimal since the seventies, at least in a ten-years average. LOPEX calculates a significant higher oil price from around 2020 onwards compared to the reference scenario, and a stagnating market share of maximal 50 % to be optimal for OPEC. (Author)

Impact of renewables deployment on the CO2 price and the CO2 emissions in the European electricity sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van den Bergh, Kenneth; Delarue, Erik; D'haeseleer, William

2013-01-01

As of 2005, electricity generators in Europe operate under the European Union Emission Trading System (EU ETS). At the same time, European Member States have launched support mechanisms to stimulate the deployment of renewable electricity sources (RES-E). RES-E injections displace CO 2 emissions within the sectors operating under the EU ETS and they reduce the demand for European Union Allowances (EUAs), thereby reducing the EUA price. This paper presents the results of an ex post analysis to quantify the impact of RES-E deployment on the EUA price and CO 2 emissions in the Western and Southern European electricity sector during the period from 2007 to 2010, following from an operational partial equilibrium model of the electricity sector. This study shows that the CO 2 displacement from the electricity sector to other ETS sectors due to RES-E deployment can be up to more than 10% of historical CO 2 emissions in the electricity sector. The EUA price decrease caused by RES-E deployment turns out to be likely significant. - Author-Highlights: • We assessed the impact of renewables deployment in the period 2007–2010. • Impact on CO 2 emissions in the electricity sector and the CO 2 price is considered. • CO 2 emissions decreased by up to 10% of historical emissions. • CO 2 price decrease due to renewables turns out to be likely significant

International study on gas prices (September 1996 - September 1997)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

This economic study summarizes the evolution of gas prices from September 1996 to September 1997 in a selected panel of European and Non-European countries (Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Finland, UK, Canada, USA, South Africa, Australia). (J.S.)

Pricing the (European) option to switch between two energy sources: An application to crude oil and natural gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gatfaoui, Hayette

2015-01-01

We consider a firm, which can choose between crude oil and natural gas to run its business. The firm selects the energy source, which minimizes its energy or production costs at a given time horizon. Assuming the energy strategy to be established over a fixed time window, the energy choice decision will be made at a given future date T. In this light, the firm's energy cost can be considered as a long position in a risk-free bond by an amount of the terminal oil price, and a short position in a European put option to switch from oil to gas by an amount of the terminal oil price too. As a result, the option to switch from crude oil to natural gas allows for establishing a hedging strategy with respect to energy costs. Modeling stochastically the underlying asset of the European put, we propose a valuation formula of the option to switch and calibrate the pricing formula to empirical data on a daily basis. Hence, our innovative framework handles widely the hedge against the price increase of any given energy source versus the price of another competing energy source (i.e. minimizing energy costs). Moreover, we provide a price for the cost-reducing effect of the capability to switch from one energy source to another one (i.e. hedging energy price risk). - Highlights: • We consider a firm, which chooses either crude oil or natural gas as an energy source. • The capability to switch offers the firm a hedge against energy commodity price risk. • A European put option prices the ability to switch from crude oil to natural gas. • The capability to switch between two energy sources reduces the firm's energy costs. • The discount illustrates the efficiency of the energy management policy (e.g. timing).

Efficient Pricing of European-Style Asian Options under Exponential Lévy Processes Based on Fourier Cosine Expansions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhang, B.; Oosterlee, C.W.

2013-01-01

We propose an efficient pricing method for arithmetic and geometric Asian options under exponential Lévy processes based on Fourier cosine expansions and Clenshaw–Curtis quadrature. The pricing method is developed for both European style and American-style Asian options and for discretely and

Prices vs. quantities. Incentives for renewable power generation. Numerical analysis for the European power market

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nagl, Stephan

2013-02-15

In recent years, many countries have implemented policies to incentivize renewable power generation. This paper outlines the effects of weather uncertainty on investment and operation decisions of electricity producers under a feed-in tariff and renewable quota obligation. Furthermore, this paper tries to quantify the sectoral welfare and investments risks under the different policies. For this purpose, a spatial stochastic equilibrium model is introduced for the European electricity market. The numerical analysis suggests that including the electricity market price in renewable policies (wholesale price + x) reduces the loss of sectoral welfare due to a renewable policy by 11-20 %. Moreover, investors face an only slightly higher risk than under fixed price compensations. However, electricity producers face a substantially larger investment risk when introducing a renewable quota obligation without the option of banking and borrowing of green certificates. Given the scenario results, an integration of the hourly market price in renewable support mechanisms is mandatory to keep the financial burden to electricity consumers at a minimum. Additionally, following the discussion of a European renewable quota after 2020, the analysis indicates the importance of an appropriate banking and borrowing mechanism in light of stochastic wind and solar generation.

Fractional Order Stochastic Differential Equation with Application in European Option Pricing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qing Li

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Memory effect is an important phenomenon in financial systems, and a number of research works have been carried out to study the long memory in the financial markets. In recent years, fractional order ordinary differential equation is used as an effective instrument for describing the memory effect in complex systems. In this paper, we establish a fractional order stochastic differential equation (FSDE model to describe the effect of trend memory in financial pricing. We, then, derive a European option pricing formula based on the FSDE model and prove the existence of the trend memory (i.e., the mean value function in the option pricing formula when the Hurst index is between 0.5 and 1. In addition, we make a comparison analysis between our proposed model, the classic Black-Scholes model, and the stochastic model with fractional Brownian motion. Numerical results suggest that our model leads to more accurate and lower standard deviation in the empirical study.

Pricing Vulnerable Options with Market Prices of Common Jump Risks under Regime-Switching Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miao Han

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the valuation of vulnerable European options considering the market prices of common systematic jump risks under regime-switching jump-diffusion models. The way of regime-switching Esscher transform is adopted to identify an equivalent martingale measure for pricing vulnerable European options. Explicit analytical pricing formulae for vulnerable European options are derived by risk-neutral pricing theory. For comparison, the other two cases are also considered separately. The first case considers all jump risks as unsystematic risks while the second one assumes all jumps risks to be systematic risks. Numerical examples for the valuation of vulnerable European options are provided to illustrate our results and indicate the influence of the market prices of jump risks on the valuation of vulnerable European options.

A regime-switching copula approach to modeling day-ahead prices in coupled electricity markets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pircalabu, Anca; Benth, Fred Espen

2017-01-01

significant evidence of tail dependence in all pairs of interconnected areas we consider. As a first application of the proposed model, we consider the pricing of financial transmission rights, and highlight how the choice of marginal distributions and copula impacts prices. As a second application we......The recent price coupling of many European electricity markets has triggered a fundamental change in the interaction of day-ahead prices, challenging additionally the modeling of the joint behavior of prices in interconnected markets. In this paper we propose a regime-switching AR–GARCH copula...... to model pairs of day-ahead electricity prices in coupled European markets. While capturing key stylized facts empirically substantiated in the literature, this model easily allows us to 1) deviate from the assumption of normal margins and 2) include a more detailed description of the dependence between...

Applications of δ-function perturbation to the pricing of derivative securities

Science.gov (United States)

Decamps, Marc; De Schepper, Ann; Goovaerts, Marc

2004-11-01

In the recent econophysics literature, the use of functional integrals is widespread for the calculation of option prices. In this paper, we extend this approach in several directions by means of δ-function perturbations. First, we show that results about infinitely repulsive δ-function are applicable to the pricing of barrier options. We also introduce functional integrals over skew paths that give rise to a new European option formula when combined with δ-function potential. We propose accurate closed-form approximations based on the theory of comonotonic risks in case the functional integrals are not analytically computable.

On the global economic potentials and marginal costs of non-renewable resources and the price of energy commodities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mercure, Jean-François; Salas, Pablo

2013-01-01

A model is presented in this work for simulating endogenously the evolution of the marginal costs of production of energy carriers from non-renewable resources, their consumption, depletion pathways and timescales. Such marginal costs can be used to simulate the long term average price formation of energy commodities. Drawing on previous work where a global database of energy resource economic potentials was constructed, this work uses cost distributions of non-renewable resources in order to evaluate global flows of energy commodities. A mathematical framework is given to calculate endogenous flows of energy resources given an exogenous commodity price path. This framework can be used in reverse in order to calculate an endogenous marginal cost of production of energy carriers given an exogenous carrier demand. Using rigid price inelastic assumptions independent of the economy, these two approaches generate limiting scenarios that depict extreme use of natural resources. This is useful to characterise the current state and possible uses of remaining non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels and natural uranium. The theory is however designed for use within economic or technology models that allow technology substitutions. In this work, it is implemented in the global power sector model FTT:Power. Policy implications are given. - Highlights: • Theoretical model to forecast marginal costs of non-renewable resources. • Tracks the consumption and costs of non-renewable resources. • For use in economic or technology models

Solar array deployment analysis considering path-dependent behavior of a tape spring hinge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Kyung Won; Park, Young Jin [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

Solar array deployment analysis is conducted considering the path-dependent nonlinear behavior of tape spring hinge. Such hinges offer many advantages over rigid hinges; they are self-deployable, self-locking, lightweight, and simple. However, they show strongly nonlinear behavior with respect to rotation angle, making deployment analysis difficult. To accurately consider the characteristics of tape spring hinges for deployment analysis, a path-dependent path identification (PI) method for tracing the previous path of the moment is introduced. To analyze the deployment motion, the governing equation for solar array deployment is derived within the framework of Kane's dynamic equation for three deployable solar panels. The numerical solution is compared with the Recurdyn's multi-body dynamics analysis solution using experimentally measured moment-rotation profiles. Solar array deployment analysis is conducted by considering and not considering the path-dependent PI method. This simulation example shows that the proposed path-dependent PI method is very effective for accurately predicting the deployment motion.

Looking beyond credit ratings : Factors investors consider In pricing European asset-backed securities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fabozzi, F.; Vink, D.

2012-01-01

In this paper, we empirically investigate what credit factors investors rely upon when pricing the spread at issue for European asset-backed securities. More specifically, we investigate how credit factors affect new issuance spreads after taking into account credit rating. We do so by investigating

Past and Current Paths to European Union Accession: Romania and Turkey a Comparative Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana-Camelia Dogaru

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Several decades ago, leaders of six European countries with an inclusive vision of Europe and strong courage started a construction without precedent, the European Union. The remarkable construction evolved not only concerning the number of the Member States, but also in terms of institutional and functional development. Nowadays, the European Union is one of the most important changing factor concerning the governance and the policy-making process at European level and not only, and there is no doubt that the EU will continue to grow as an increasing number of countries express interest in membership. This paper reveals in a comparative perspective the path to European Union Accession, and is based on documentary analysis, using strategy-level documents of the countries and the Progress Reports the European Commission provided during the past enlargement.

Can an unglamorous non-event affect prices? The role of newspapers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riccardo Ferretti

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Our paper offers evidence that the print media can affect stock prices by covering public information. After price-to-book value figures of Italian listed shares were first published on the major national financial newspaper, the prices of value stocks did, on average, show a positive reaction. The price reaction was limited to small caps stocks and disappeared within three weeks. Over the period of analysis, we could not find any abnormal behaviour of the returns of small and value stocks on other European markets. These findings support the view that newspapers play a role in disseminating information to small investors and grabbing their attention, even if news are continuously realeased by faster and more sophisticated media.

Random paths with curvature dependent action

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ambjoern, J.; Durhuus, B.

1986-11-01

We study discretized random paths with a curvature dependent action. The scaling limits of the corresponding statistical mechanical models can be constructed explicitly and are either usual Brownian motion or a theory where the correlations of tangents are nonzero and described by diffusion on the unit sphere. In the latter case the two point function has an anomalous dimension η = 1. (orig.)

Calculation Aspects of the European Rebalanced Basket Option using Monte Carlo Methods: Valuation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CJ van der Merwe

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Extra premiums can be charged to a client to guarantee a minimum payout of a contract on a portfolio that gets rebalanced on a regular basis back to fixed proportions. The valuation of this premium can be changed to that of the pricing of a European put option with underlying rebalanced portfolio. This article finds the most efficient estimators for the value of this path-dependant multi-asset put option using different Monte Carlo methods. With the help of a refined method, computing time of the value decreased significantly. Furthermore, Variance Reduction Techniques and Quasi-Monte Carlo methods delivered more accurate and faster converging estimates as well.

Prices and E-Cigarette Demand: Evidence From the European Union.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoklosa, Michal; Drope, Jeffrey; Chaloupka, Frank J

2016-10-01

Many European Union (EU) Member States have expressed the need for EU legislation to clarify the issue of e-cigarette taxation, but the economic evidence to inform creation of such policies has been lacking. To date, only one study-on the United States only-has examined responsiveness of e-cigarette demand to price changes. We used 2011-2014 pooled time-series data on e-cigarette sales, as well as e-cigarette and cigarette prices for six EU markets (Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). We utilized static and dynamic fixed-effects models to estimate the own and cross-price elasticity of demand for e-cigarettes. In a separate model for Sweden, we examined the effects of snus prices on e-cigarette sales. Based on static models, every 10% increase in e-cigarette prices is associated with a drop in e-cigarettes sales of approximately 8.2%, while based on dynamic models, the drop is 2.7% in the short run and 11.5% in the long run. Combustible cigarette prices are positively associated with sales of e-cigarettes. Snus prices are positively associated with sales of e-cigarettes in Sweden. Our results indicate that the sales of e-cigarettes are responsive to price changes, which suggests that excise taxes can help governments to mitigate an increase in e-cigarette use. E-cigarettes and regular cigarettes are substitutes, with higher cigarette prices being associated with increased e-cigarette sales. Making combustible cigarettes more expensive compared to e-cigarettes could be effective in moving current combustible smokers to e-cigarettes, which might have positive health effects. This study is an exploratory analysis of the issues around e-cigarette taxation in Europe. Our results suggest that taxation is a measure that could potentially address the concerns of both opponents and proponents of e-cigarettes: taxes on e-cigarettes could be used to raise prices so as to deter e-cigarette initiation by never users, while concomitant greater

Ranking paths in stochastic time-dependent networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Lars Relund; Andersen, Kim Allan; Pretolani, Daniele D.

2014-01-01

In this paper we address optimal routing problems in networks where travel times are both stochastic and time-dependent. In these networks, the best route choice is not necessarily a path, but rather a time-adaptive strategy that assigns successors to nodes as a function of time. Nevertheless, in...

Language Education and ELT Materials in Turkey from the Path Dependence Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Isik, Ali

2011-01-01

This paper examines the role of traditional language teaching methodology on the current language teaching methodology in Turkey from the Path Dependence Theory perspective. Path Dependence claims that the past continues shaping the present. Similarly, traditional approaches still shape foreign/second language education. Turkey has inherited a…

Convergence of European spot market prices for natural gas. A Real-Time Analysis of market integration using the Kalman filter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siliverstovs, Boriss; Neumann, Anne

2005-01-01

This paper provides a textbook example of an econometric analysis of the integration between two commodity markets and the subsequent price convergence or absence thereof. We analyze price relations between spot markets for natural gas in Europe. The European market for natural gas is currently undergoing a liberalization process with the aim of creating a single, unified market. We use time-varying coefficient estimation models, applying the Kalman filter to test whether price convergence between different locations is really taking place. Our results reveal that the construction of a pipeline between the UK and Zeebrugge (Belgium) has lead to almost perfect price convergence between theses locations; on the other hand, liberalization on the European continent does not seem to be working so far. (Author)

The Pricing of European Options Under the Constant Elasticity of Variance with Stochastic Volatility

Science.gov (United States)

Bock, Bounghun; Choi, Sun-Yong; Kim, Jeong-Hoon

This paper considers a hybrid risky asset price model given by a constant elasticity of variance multiplied by a stochastic volatility factor. A multiscale analysis leads to an asymptotic pricing formula for both European vanilla option and a Barrier option near the zero elasticity of variance. The accuracy of the approximation is provided in a rigorous manner. A numerical experiment for implied volatilities shows that the hybrid model improves some of the well-known models in view of fitting the data for different maturities.

Classical Solutions of Path-Dependent PDEs and Functional Forward-Backward Stochastic Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shaolin Ji

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we study the relationship between functional forward-backward stochastic systems and path-dependent PDEs. In the framework of functional Itô calculus, we introduce a path-dependent PDE and prove that its solution is uniquely determined by a functional forward-backward stochastic system.

Exploration can cause falling non-renewable resource prices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boyce, John R.

2003-01-01

This note shows that when marginal exploration costs are increasing in the rate of exploration that it is possible to observe non-renewable resource prices falling over a portion of the extraction profile. Thus, while the model of Pindyck (J. Polit. Econ. 86 (1978) 841) was based on an incorrect specification of the aggregate extraction cost function, its general conclusion that exploration can cause falling non-renewable resource prices is upheld. This result is in contrast to Mendelsohn and Swierzbinski (Int. Econ. Rev. 30 (1989) 175), who assumed that marginal extraction costs were constant

Optimal pricing and lot-sizing for perishable inventory with price and time dependent ramp-type demand

Science.gov (United States)

Panda, S.; Saha, S.; Basu, M.

2013-01-01

Product perishability is an important aspect of inventory control. To minimise the effect of deterioration, retailers in supermarkets, departmental store managers, etc. always want higher inventory depletion rate. In this article, we propose a dynamic pre- and post-deterioration cumulative discount policy to enhance inventory depletion rate resulting low volume of deterioration cost, holding cost and hence higher profit. It is assumed that demand is a price and time dependent ramp-type function and the product starts to deteriorate after certain amount of time. Unlike the conventional inventory models with pricing strategies, which are restricted to a fixed number of price changes and to a fixed cycle length, we allow the number of price changes before as well as after the start of deterioration and the replenishment cycle length to be the decision variables. Before start of deterioration, discounts on unit selling price are provided cumulatively in successive pricing cycles. After the start of deterioration, discounts on reduced unit selling price are also provided in a cumulative way. A mathematical model is developed and the existence of the optimal solution is verified. A numerical example is presented, which indicates that under the cumulative effect of price discounting, dynamic pricing policy outperforms static pricing strategy. Sensitivity analysis of the model is carried out.

European Non Destructive Examination Forum (ENDEF)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deffrennes, M.; Engl, G.; Estorff, U. von

1998-01-01

Non destructive examination (NDE) during fabrication, Pre-service inspection (PSI) and In service inspection (ISI) are considered key issues for the safe use of nuclear energy. They are important elements of plant lifetime management which is a critical item in decision making on nuclear policies. The European non destructive examination forum (ENDEF) founded by European Commission provides a platform for open discussion between representatives of the European industries with the purpose to establish cooperation between EU, Central and Eastern European Countries and New Independent States in the field of NDE and ISI

Price determinants of the European carbon market and interactions with energy markets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schumacher, Katja; Cludius, Johanna; Matthes, Felix [Oeko Institut e.V., Berlin (Germany); Diekmann, Jochen; Zaklan, Aleksandar [Deutsches Institut fuer Wirtschaftsforschung, Berlin (Germany); Schleich, Joachim [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Systemtechnik und Innovationsforschung (ISI), Karlsruhe (Germany)

2012-06-15

This report explores the determinants of short run price movements in the carbon market and their interaction with energy markets, in particular with the electricity market. Focusing on Phase 2 of the EU ETS we conduct econometric time series analysis based on continental EU and UK market data. Our findings suggest that market fundamentals have a dominant effect on the EUA price, but that non-fundamental factors may also play a role. We further found that the electricity price has a significant positive impact on the carbon price in the short run.

Affordability of medicines in the European Union.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomasz Zaprutko

Full Text Available Medications and their prices are key issues for healthcare. Although access to medicines at affordable prices had been specified as a key objective of the European Health Policy, it seems that these goals have not been achieved. Therefore, we attempted an evaluation of affordability of selected medicines at full prices.The analysis concerned 2012 and was conducted between 2013 and 2015 in all the European Union (EU countries divided into 3 groups depending on the date of their accession to the EU. Finally, we considered 9 originators used in the treatment of schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis. Information on drug prices were collected from pharmacies. Participation in the study was voluntary and anonymous in order to avoid accusations of advertising. To evaluate affordability, several factors were used (e.g. minimum earnings and Gini coefficient. Due to unavailability in some countries, the exact number of analyzed medicines varies.Drug prices vary significantly between EU Member States. Almost eleven fold difference was observed between Germany (EUR 1451.17 and Croatia (EUR 132.77 in relation to Interferone beta-1a 22 μg. Generally, prices were the highest in Germany. The cheapest drugs were found in various countries but never in the poorest ones like Bulgaria or Romania. Discrepancies in wages were observed too (the smallest minimum wage was EUR 138.00 in Bulgaria and the highest EUR 1801.00 in Luxembourg. Full price of olanzapine 5mg, however, was higher in Bulgaria (EUR 64.53 than, for instance, in Belgium (EUR 37.26.Analyzed medications are still unaffordable for many citizens of the EU. Besides, access to medicines is also impaired e.g. due to parallel trade. Unaffordability of medications may lead to the patients' non-compliance and therefore to increased direct and indirect costs of treatment. Common European solutions are needed to achieve a real affordability and accessibility of medications.

Main drivers of natural gas prices in the Czech Republic after the market liberalisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slabá, Monika; Gapko, Petr; Klimešová, Andrea

2013-01-01

One of the goals of the European Commission in the energy sector is creating a single competitive European market. The decision to liberalise energy markets has far-reaching consequences not only for gas companies, but also for the rest of the real economy in view of the fact that natural gas is being used as an important primary energy source in several sectors of production and in the power industry. We aim to answer how liberalisation/unbundling has influenced gas pricing/prices in the Czech Republic. We investigate the individual components of end-customer gas prices according to the value chain and we define and structure the drivers of these components. We use a case study from the Czech Republic, one of the Central and Eastern European countries, which, contrary to the old Member States, is buying most of its gas from one supplier (high import dependence and low supply diversity) and where the transmission and distribution network is characterised by a sufficient contractual and physical capacity. We stress that next to basic conditions on the European gas market (import dependency on external gas producers) legal and institutional conditions and the initial market structure of each Member State are also important for the results of the liberalisation. - Highlights: ► We deal with gas pricing in the Czech Republic after liberalisation/unbundling. ► The TSO, DSO price components have increased, the SSO price component has decreased. ► Commodity price for Households started to relate to hub prices. ► Commodity price for Corporates remained oil-linked, however discounts were provided. ► Only some Corporates experienced savings in total purchasing costs of gas.

Price models for oil derivates in Slovenia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemac, F.; Saver, A.

1995-01-01

In Slovenia, a law is currently applied according to which any change in the price of oil derivatives is subject to the Governmental approval. Following the target of getting closer to the European Union, the necessity has arisen of finding ways for the introduction of liberalization or automated approach to price modifications depending on oscillations of oil derivative prices on the world market and the rate of exchange of the American dollar. It is for this reason that at the Agency for Energy Restructuring we made a study for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Development regarding this issue. We analysed the possible models for the formation of oil derivative prices for Slovenia. Based on the assessment of experiences of primarily the west European countries, we proposed three models for the price formation for Slovenia. In future, it is expected that the Government of the Republic of Slovenia will make a selection of one of the proposed models to be followed by enforcement of price liberalization. The paper presents two representative models for price formation as used in Austria and Portugal. In the continuation the authors analyse the application of three models that they find suitable for the use in Slovenia. (author)

Do food and oil prices co-move?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reboredo, Juan C.

2012-01-01

This paper studies co-movements between world oil prices and global prices for corn, soybean and wheat using copulas. Several copula models with different conditional dependence structures and time-varying dependence parameters were considered. Empirical results for weekly data from January 1998 to April 2011 showed weak oil-food dependence and no extreme market dependence between oil and food prices. These results support the neutrality of agricultural commodity markets to the effects of changes in oil prices and non-contagion between the crude oil and agricultural markets. However, dependence increased significantly in the last three years of the sampling period, even though upper tail dependence remained insignificant, indicating that food price spikes are not caused by positive extreme oil price changes. These results have implications for policy design, risk management and hedging strategies. - Highlights: ► We study co-movement between food and oil markets through copulas. ► Food prices are neutral to the effects of changes in oil prices. ► Oil price spikes had no causal effect on agricultural price spikes. ► Oil–corn and oil–soybean dependence increased in recent years. ► Food subsidy policies and price controls are unnecessary to avoid extreme oil prices.

Optimal Pricing Strategy for New Products

OpenAIRE

Trichy V. Krishnan; Frank M. Bass; Dipak C. Jain

1999-01-01

Robinson and Lakhani (1975) initiated a long research stream in marketing when they used the Bass model (1969) to develop optimal pricing path for a new product. A careful analysis of the extant literature reveals that the research predominantly suggests that the optimal price path should be largely based on the sales growth pattern. However, in the real world we rarely find new products that have such pricing pattern. We observe either a monotonically declining pricing pattern or an increase...

Time variation in European carbon pass-through rates in electricity futures prices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huisman, Ronald; Kiliç, Mehtap

2015-01-01

The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme is a means to price emission allowances. Electricity market prices should reflect these market prices of emission allowances as they are a cost factor for power producers. The pass-through rate is the fraction of the emission allowance price that is passed through to electricity market prices. It is often measured and presented as an average or a fixed estimate over some time period. However, we expect that the pass-through rates should actually vary over time as electricity supply curves reflect the marginal costs of different producers that differ in emission intensity. We apply a Kalman Filter approach to observe pass-through rates in Germany and U.K. and find strong support for time varying instead of fixed pass-through rates. Although policy makers are interested in the impact of a policy on average, our results indicate that one needs to be careful with the time-frame over which pass-through rates are measured for policy evaluation, as an incorrect chosen evaluation period could cause an under- or overestimation of the pass-through rate. In addition, our model helps to provide policy makers with insight in the development of pass-through rates when market circumstances change with respect to power production. - Highlights: • We analyse the time-variation of the emission pass-through rate in power prices. • We examine historical futures prices for Germany and the U.K. • We test the hypothesis by using the Kalman Filter methodology. • Strong support is found that pass-through rates vary over time. • The chosen time-frame for pass-through rates is important for policy evaluation.

Electron mean free path from angle-dependent photoelectron spectroscopy of aerosol particles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goldmann, Maximilian; Miguel-Sánchez, Javier; West, Adam H. C.; Yoder, Bruce L.; Signorell, Ruth, E-mail: rsignorell@ethz.ch [Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 2, 8093 Zürich (Switzerland)

2015-06-14

We propose angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy of aerosol particles as an alternative way to determine the electron mean free path of low energy electrons in solid and liquid materials. The mean free path is obtained from fits of simulated photoemission images to experimental ones over a broad range of different aerosol particle sizes. The principal advantage of the aerosol approach is twofold. First, aerosol photoemission studies can be performed for many different materials, including liquids. Second, the size-dependent anisotropy of the photoelectrons can be exploited in addition to size-dependent changes in their kinetic energy. These finite size effects depend in different ways on the mean free path and thus provide more information on the mean free path than corresponding liquid jet, thin film, or bulk data. The present contribution is a proof of principle employing a simple model for the photoemission of electrons and preliminary experimental data for potassium chloride aerosol particles.

Path entanglement of photons by non-local bunching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eisenberg, H.; Hodelin, J.; Khoury, G.; Bouwmeester, D.

2005-01-01

Full Text:Path entangled photon states can be used to overcome classical limits on the accuracy of interferometric measurements such as the diffraction limit. These states are superpositions of finding n photons in one out of two (or more) paths. Using stimulated parametric down-conversion, we propose and demonstrate a method for generating heralded multiphoton path entanglement, without applying post-selection. parametric down-conversion is relatively easy to produce compared to pure Fock states as demanded by other proposals. By a special coincidence detection at one down converted arm, the photons of the second arm non-locally bunch into the desired state. Entanglement in photon number is created between two polarization modes rather than two paths. A polarization beam-splitter and a 2 wave plate can translate between the two representations. The experimental generation of a two-photon path entangled state was detected by observing interference at half the photon wavelength. The scheme is generally extendable to higher photon numbers

Non-Life Insurance Pricing: Multi Agents Model

OpenAIRE

Amir H. Darooneh

2004-01-01

We use the maximum entropy principle for pricing the non-life insurance and recover the B\\"{u}hlmann results for the economic premium principle. The concept of economic equilibrium is revised in this respect.

Non-price competition in the regional high-rise construction market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ganebnykh Elena

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes the market of high-rise residential construction in the city of Kirov (Russia. A minimal significance of price factors has been revealed in the process of the market analysis. This suggests that a lower price does not guarantee an increase in consumer demand. Thus, factors of non-price competition are of great importance in the market in question. The expert survey has identified the factors of non-price competition which influence consumer perceptions. A perceptual map has been constructed on the basis of the identified factors by means of the factor analysis to determine the positioning of each high-rise building relative to the consumer requirements. None of the high-rise residential buildings in the market in question meets the consumers’ expectations of an “ideal facility”.

Non-price competition in the regional high-rise construction market

Science.gov (United States)

Ganebnykh, Elena; Burtseva, Tatyana; Gurova, Ekaterina; Polyakova, Irina

2018-03-01

The article analyzes the market of high-rise residential construction in the city of Kirov (Russia). A minimal significance of price factors has been revealed in the process of the market analysis. This suggests that a lower price does not guarantee an increase in consumer demand. Thus, factors of non-price competition are of great importance in the market in question. The expert survey has identified the factors of non-price competition which influence consumer perceptions. A perceptual map has been constructed on the basis of the identified factors by means of the factor analysis to determine the positioning of each high-rise building relative to the consumer requirements. None of the high-rise residential buildings in the market in question meets the consumers' expectations of an "ideal facility".

Path dependence in social and psychological risk factors for dementia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiroko Matsuoka

Full Text Available Abstract This article focuses on social and psychological risk factors for Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and cognitive impairment and presents some key points for prevention in developing countries based on previous studies, a social science theory, and our preliminary survey. Previous population-based studies found that educational and occupational attainment, income, participation in social and mental activities, and psychological distress were associated with dementia risk. According to the theory of path dependence, earlier factors largely determine successive ones, where education is one of these early experiences in life. Our preliminary survey suggested that education sets a path that several psychosocial risk factors are dependent on. The expansion of basic education is indispensable. Resources for prevention should be concentrated on individuals with a low level of education. In order to break from a path creating self-reinforcement of risk factors, it is necessary to implement early and active interventions.

Path dependence and independent utility regulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ibsen, Christian Lyhne; Skovgaard Poulsen, Lauge

2007-01-01

The establishment of the Danish independent regulatory authorities for the energy and telecommunications sectors was based upon EU directives as part of their liberalisation process. Following the concepts of transaction costs and path dependency this article analyses differences in independence...... between the two authorities - the Danish Energy Regulatory Authority (Energitilsynet) and the National IT and Telecommunications Agency (IT- og Telestyrelsen) respectively. We find that the state's negligible interest in the energy sector until the 1970s formed the basis for strong energy companies...

Microbiological and chemical contamination in different types of food of non-European origin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesco Casalinuovo

2013-10-01

Full Text Available In the markets of the European Union (EU the presence of food imported from non-European countries such as Asia, Africa and America is increasingly more widespread. Non-European countries, indeed, are much more competitive in terms of prices compared to European countries. For these reasons, EU has issued important laws. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of these regulations, estimating the levels of microbiological and chemical contamination of food samples of 91 different matrices imported from third countries. The microbiological methods used are those required by the UNI EN ISO, while for the determination of chemical parameters validated methods according to the Standard UNI EN ISO 16140:2003 were used. Our investigation revealed qualitative or quantitative microbial contamination in 23 out of 91 samples analysed (25.2%. We found high total microbial loads in alimentary conserves, multiple bacterial contamination (Salmonella thiphymurium, Escherichia coli and Vibrio alginolyticus and viral contamination (Norovirus in shellfish of the species Cassostrea gigas, and the presence of other pathogens in various products such as hamburgers (Yersinia enterocolitica, frozen fish (Listeria monocytogenes and honey (Bacillus cereus. With regard to chemical contamination, 24 samples of different food products were analysed. In 9 samples (37.5%, the levels of the following substances exceeded the permitted limits: histamine (fish conserves, mercury (crab meat, cadmium (crab meat and fish conserves, lead (cheese and honey and polyphosphates (chicken meat. Despite the limited number of samples analysed, these data prompt reflection on the need to implement a more detailed and rigorous activity of monitoring and control in order to guarantee adequate levels of safety with regard to the consumption of foodstuffs imported into the EU from non-European countries.

Price formation and intertemporal arbitrage within a low-liquidity framework. Empirical evidence from European natural gas markets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nick, Sebastian

2013-08-15

In this study, the informational efficiency of the European natural gas market is analyzed by empirically investigating price formation and arbitrage efficiency between spot and futures markets. Econometric approaches are specified that explicitly account for nonlinearities and the low liquidity framework of the considered gas hubs. The empirical results reveal that price discovery takes place on the futures market, while the spot price subsequently follows the futures market price. Furthermore, there is empirical evidence of significant market frictions hampering intertemporal arbitrage. UK's NBP seems to be the hub at which arbitrage opportunities are exhausted most efficiently, although there is convergence in the degree of intertemporal arbitrage efficiency over time at the hubs investigated.

Pricing Chinese Convertible Bonds with Dynamic Credit Risk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ping Li

2014-01-01

Full Text Available To price convertible bonds more precisely, least squares Monte Carlo (LSM method is used in this paper for its advantage in handling the dependence of derivatives on the path, and dynamic credit risk is used to replace the fixed one to make the value of convertible bonds reflect the real credit risk. In the empirical study, we price convertible bonds based on static credit risk and dynamic credit risk, respectively. Empirical results indicate that the ICBC convertible bond has been overpriced, resulting from the underestimation of credit risk. In addition, when there is an issue of dividend, the conversion price will change in China's convertible bonds, while it does not change in the international convertible bonds. So we also empirically study the difference between the convertible bond's prices by assuming whether the conversion price changes or not.

Power learning or path dependency? Investigating the roots of the European Food Safety Authority.

Science.gov (United States)

Roederer-Rynning, Christilla; Daugbjerg, Carsten

2010-01-01

A key motive for establishing the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was restoring public confidence in the wake of multiplying food scares and the BSE crisis. Scholars, however, have paid little attention to the actual political and institutional logics that shaped this new organization. This article explores the dynamics underpinning the making of EFSA. We examine the way in which learning and power shaped its organizational architecture. It is demonstrated that the lessons drawn from the past and other models converged on the need to delegate authority to an external agency, but diverged on its mandate, concretely whether or not EFSA should assume risk management responsibilities. In this situation of competitive learning, power and procedural politics conditioned the mandate granted to EFSA. The European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council shared a common interest in preventing the delegation of regulatory powers to an independent EU agency in food safety policy.

Localization Decisions of Entrepreneurs: The Role of Path Dependency and Market Forces

Science.gov (United States)

Pylak, Korneliusz; Majerek, Dariusz

2017-10-01

The purpose of this research is to determine the role of path dependency and market forces in the localization decisions of entrepreneurs from different industries. We hypothesize that most industries develop new entities based on the number of companies from the same industry that already exist in a region. We also hypothesize that entrepreneurs create new entities based on related industries operating within the same knowledge pool. To test these hypotheses, we used the machine learning decision tree method. The input variables are the number of companies from 86 industries located in 2,531 communities in Poland in 2009. The target values are the number of new companies from these industries created in the years 2009-2015. The principal results show that localization decisions are mostly based on demand and supply industries, in which manufacturing industries play crucial role. Path dependency appears in less than half of the industries’ models and thus is not the main factor influencing decisions regarding the creation of new companies. The highest share of path-dependent industries is in manufacturing sector, but the degree of the dependence is lower than in the service sector. The service sector seems to be the least path-dependent, as services usually serve other industries. Competition in industries is a rare factor in new company creation; however, if it appears, it usually shrinks the industry.

Strategic Generation with Conjectured Transmission Price Responses in a Mixed Transmission Pricing System. Part 2. Application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wals, A.F.; Hobbs, B.F.; Rijkers, F.A.M.

2004-05-01

The conjectured transmission price response model presented in the first of this two-paper series considers the expectations of oligopolistic generators regarding how demands for transmission services affect the prices of those services. Here, the model is applied to northwest Europe, simulating a mixed transmission pricing system including export fees, a path-based auction system for between-country interfaces, and implicit congestion-based pricing of internal country constraints. The path-based system does not give credit for counterflows when calculating export capability. The application shows that this no-netting policy can exacerbate the economic inefficiencies caused by oligopolistic pricing by generators. The application also illustrates the effects of different generator conjectures regarding rival supply responses and transmission prices. If generators anticipate that their increased demand for transmission services will increase transmission prices, then competitive intensity diminishes and energy prices rise. In the example here, the effect of this anticipation is to double the price increase that results from oligopolistic (Cournot) competition among generators

Price formation in electricity forward markets and the relevance of systematic forecast errors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Redl, Christian; Haas, Reinhard; Huber, Claus; Boehm, Bernhard

2009-01-01

Since the liberalisation of the European electricity sector, forward and futures contracts have gained significant interest of market participants due to risk management reasons. For pricing of these contracts an important fact concerns the non-storability of electricity. In this case, according to economic theory, forward prices are related to the expected spot prices which are built on fundamental market expectations. In the following article the crucial impact parameters of forward electricity prices and the relationship between forward and future spot prices will be assessed by an empirical analysis of electricity prices at the European Energy Exchange and the Nord Pool Power Exchange. In fact, price formation in the considered markets is influenced by historic spot market prices yielding a biased forecasting power of long-term contracts. Although market and risk assessment measures of market participants and supply and demand shocks can partly explain the futures-spot bias inefficiencies in the analysed forward markets cannot be ruled out. (author)

An EOQ Model with Two-Parameter Weibull Distribution Deterioration and Price-Dependent Demand

Science.gov (United States)

Mukhopadhyay, Sushanta; Mukherjee, R. N.; Chaudhuri, K. S.

2005-01-01

An inventory replenishment policy is developed for a deteriorating item and price-dependent demand. The rate of deterioration is taken to be time-proportional and the time to deterioration is assumed to follow a two-parameter Weibull distribution. A power law form of the price dependence of demand is considered. The model is solved analytically…

Comparing pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement policies in Croatia to the European Union Member States.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogler, Sabine; Habl, Claudia; Bogut, Martina; Voncina, Luka

2011-04-15

To perform a comparative analysis of the pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement systems in Croatia and the 27 European Union (EU) Member States. Knowledge about the pharmaceutical systems in Croatia and the 27 EU Member States was acquired by literature review and primary research with stakeholders. Pharmaceutical prices are controlled at all levels in Croatia, which is also the case in 21 EU Member States. Like many EU countries, Croatia also applies external price referencing, i.e., compares prices with other countries. While the wholesale remuneration by a statutorily regulated linear mark-up is applied in Croatia and in several EU countries, the pharmacy compensation for dispensing reimbursable medicines in the form of a flat rate service fee in Croatia is rare among EU countries, which usually apply a linear or regressive pharmacy mark-up scheme. Like in most EU countries, the Croatian Social Insurance reimburses specific medicines at 100%, whereas patients are charged co-payments for other reimbursable medicines. Criteria for reimbursement include the medicine's importance from the public health perspective, its therapeutic value, and relative effectiveness. In Croatia and in many EU Member States, reimbursement is based on a reference price system. The Croatian pharmaceutical system is similar to those in the EU Member States. Key policies, like external price referencing and reference price systems, which have increasingly been introduced in EU countries are also applied in Croatia and serve the same purpose: to ensure access to medicines while containing public pharmaceutical expenditure.

Evaluating the application of different pricing regimes and low carbon investments in the European electricity market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oggioni, Giorgia; Smeers, Yves

2012-01-01

The EU-ETS is the first measure initiated by the EU to contribute to the decarbonization of the European energy sector. It is a cap and trade system that requires industries participating to the program to procure allowances to cover their emissions. Electricity Intensive Industries (EIIs) have complained that the system put their European plants at disadvantage compared to facilities located outside the EU. They have asked for actions to mitigate this effect; one of them is to have access to long term contracts with electricity suppliers, ideally with those operating carbon free plants. This paper presents and illustrates a method for assessing the impact of this measure on EIIs participating to the EU cap and trade system. We model a power market segmented in two consumer groups EIIs and the rest of the market (N-EIIs). These two groups are subject to different price regimes: EIIs purchase electricity from dedicated base-load power plants at average cost price, while N-EIIs are supplied at marginal cost. The French Exeltium and the Belgian Blue Sky consortia are existing examples of this market organization. The expanse of the territories that can be covered by these systems depends on the organization of transmission organization and on national energy position relative to carbon free generation. We examine two different types of long term average cost based contracts that differ by the organization of transmission and study their impact under different national energy policies. We formulate the problem of operations and investment in this market as a spatial equilibrium model where generators can invest in new capacity subject to different regional constraints. Transmission is organized according to a “flow based” approach as foreseen by Regulatory Authorities and Transmission System Operators in Europe. We also examine the impact of nuclear policies. CO 2 emission allowances are auctioned and tradable. We describe the models and discuss their policy

Oil prices: The role of refinery utilization, futures markets and non-linearities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaufmann, Robert K.; Mann, Michael; Dees, Stephane; Gasteuil, Audrey

2008-01-01

We test the hypothesis that real oil prices are determined in part by refinery capacity, non-linearities in supply conditions, and/or expectations and that observed changes in these variables can account for the rise in prices between 2004 and 2006. Results indicate that the refining sector plays an important role in the recent price increase, but not in the way described by many analysts. The relationship is negative such that higher refinery utilization rates reduce crude oil prices. This effect is associated with shifts in the production of heavy and light grades of crude oil and price spreads between them. Non-linear relationships between OPEC capacity and oil prices as well as conditions on the futures markets also account for changes in real oil prices. Together, these factors allow the model to generate a one-step ahead out-of-sample forecast that performs as well as forecasts implied by far-month contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange and is able to account for much of the $27 rise in crude oil prices between 2004 and 2006. (author)

Isothermal chemical denaturation of large proteins: Path-dependence and irreversibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Wafer, Lucas; Kloczewiak, Marek; Polleck, Sharon M; Luo, Yin

2017-12-15

State functions (e.g., ΔG) are path independent and quantitatively describe the equilibrium states of a thermodynamic system. Isothermal chemical denaturation (ICD) is often used to extrapolate state function parameters for protein unfolding in native buffer conditions. The approach is prudent when the unfolding/refolding processes are path independent and reversible, but may lead to erroneous results if the processes are not reversible. The reversibility was demonstrated in several early studies for smaller proteins, but was assumed in some reports for large proteins with complex structures. In this work, the unfolding/refolding of several proteins were systematically studied using an automated ICD instrument. It is shown that: (i) the apparent unfolding mechanism and conformational stability of large proteins can be denaturant-dependent, (ii) equilibration times for large proteins are non-trivial and may introduce significant error into calculations of ΔG, (iii) fluorescence emission spectroscopy may not correspond to other methods, such as circular dichroism, when used to measure protein unfolding, and (iv) irreversible unfolding and hysteresis can occur in the absence of aggregation. These results suggest that thorough confirmation of the state functions by, for example, performing refolding experiments or using additional denaturants, is needed when quantitatively studying the thermodynamics of protein unfolding using ICD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Non-price competition in NHS secondary care contracting: empirical results.

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, Keith; Bailey, Mark F

2008-01-01

The purpose of this paper is, for English acute NHS hospitals, to investigate how they operate their governance systems in the area of secondary care contracting and identify the key determinants of relationship building within the contacting/commissioning of secondary care focusing upon non-price competitive behaviour. A survey instrument was designed and mailed to a sample of all acute NHS hospitals in England of whom 35 per cent responded. This survey was then analysed using logit techniques. The analysis suggests that: those NHS Trusts offering volume discounts, non-price competitive incentives or having a strong belief in performance being by "payment by results" criteria are significantly more likely to offer augmented services to secondary care purchasers over and above contractual minima; those NHS Trusts strongly believing in the importance of non-price factors (such as contract augmentation or quality) in the contracting process are more likely to offer customisation of generic services; and those NHS Trusts using cost-sharing agreements to realign contracts when negotiating contracts or who strongly believe in the importance of service augmentation in strengthening relationships, or that increased hospital efficiency is the most important aspect of recent NHS reform are more likely to utilise default measures to help realign contracts. This paper fills a gap in the area of non-price competition in English NHS acute secondary care contracting.

Optimal models of extreme volume-prices are time-dependent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rocha, Paulo; Boto, João Pedro; Raischel, Frank; Lind, Pedro G

2015-01-01

We present evidence that the best model for empirical volume-price distributions is not always the same and it strongly depends in (i) the region of the volume-price spectrum that one wants to model and (ii) the period in time that is being modelled. To show these two features we analyze stocks of the New York stock market with four different models: Γ, Γ-inverse, log-normal, and Weibull distributions. To evaluate the accuracy of each model we use standard relative deviations as well as the Kullback-Leibler distance and introduce an additional distance particularly suited to evaluate how accurate are the models for the distribution tails (large volume-price). Finally we put our findings in perspective and discuss how they can be extended to other situations in finance engineering

Sustainable development and energy in the european union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roth, A.

2013-01-01

Sustainable development represents a core objective of the European Union, being embodied through out its major polices. In the field of energy, the EU objectives, commonly known as ä20-20-20ö initiative, aim at ensuring a competitive, secure and sustainable energy for European households and industries by reducing the emissions of green house gases, an efficient use on energy and increasing the use of renewable energy. The present paper draws a review on the most important aspects of EU energy policy, its measures, results and costs from the perspective of security of supply, competitiveness of price and green house gases emissions. The aim is to highlight the trade offs which are involved in the orientation towards a sustainable path of the energetic sector of the European Union. (authors)

A DG approach to the numerical solution of the Stein-Stein stochastic volatility option pricing model

Science.gov (United States)

Hozman, J.; Tichý, T.

2017-12-01

Stochastic volatility models enable to capture the real world features of the options better than the classical Black-Scholes treatment. Here we focus on pricing of European-style options under the Stein-Stein stochastic volatility model when the option value depends on the time, on the price of the underlying asset and on the volatility as a function of a mean reverting Orstein-Uhlenbeck process. A standard mathematical approach to this model leads to the non-stationary second-order degenerate partial differential equation of two spatial variables completed by the system of boundary and terminal conditions. In order to improve the numerical valuation process for a such pricing equation, we propose a numerical technique based on the discontinuous Galerkin method and the Crank-Nicolson scheme. Finally, reference numerical experiments on real market data illustrate comprehensive empirical findings on options with stochastic volatility.

Brexit na perspectiva do Path Dependency

OpenAIRE

Giorgio Romano Schutte

2018-01-01

Esta pesquisa analisou o Brexit em uma perspectiva histórica, focando a conturbada relação entre a Europa continental e o Reino Unido ao longo do século XX, com ênfase no período pós Segunda Guerra Mundial. Foi utilizado o conceito de path dependency para argumentar sobre o papel de fatores históricos e decisões do passado, embora tomados em outras circunstâncias, ainda com força para influenciar o presente, para entender o Brexit. A premissa básica que será apresentada no ensaio é que o Rein...

Pricing real estate index options under stochastic interest rates

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Pu; Dai, Jun

2017-08-01

Real estate derivatives as new financial instruments are not merely risk management tools but also provide a novel way to gain exposure to real estate assets without buying or selling the physical assets. Although real estate derivatives market has exhibited a rapid development in recent years, the valuation challenge of real estate derivatives remains a great obstacle for further development in this market. In this paper, we derive a partial differential equation contingent on a real estate index in a stochastic interest rate environment and propose a modified finite difference method that adopts the non-uniform grids to solve this problem. Numerical results confirm the efficiency of the method and indicate that constant interest rate models lead to the mispricing of options and the effects of stochastic interest rates on option prices depend on whether the term structure of interest rates is rising or falling. Finally, we have investigated and compared the different effects of stochastic interest rates on European and American option prices.

Comparing pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement policies in Croatia to the European Union Member States

Science.gov (United States)

Vogler, Sabine; Habl, Claudia; Bogut, Martina; Vončina, Luka

2011-01-01

Aim To perform a comparative analysis of the pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement systems in Croatia and the 27 European Union (EU) Member States. Methods Knowledge about the pharmaceutical systems in Croatia and the 27 EU Member States was acquired by literature review and primary research with stakeholders. Results Pharmaceutical prices are controlled at all levels in Croatia, which is also the case in 21 EU Member States. Like many EU countries, Croatia also applies external price referencing, ie, compares prices with other countries. While the wholesale remuneration by a statutorily regulated linear mark-up is applied in Croatia and in several EU countries, the pharmacy compensation for dispensing reimbursable medicines in the form of a flat rate service fee in Croatia is rare among EU countries, which usually apply a linear or regressive pharmacy mark-up scheme. Like in most EU countries, the Croatian Social Insurance reimburses specific medicines at 100%, whereas patients are charged co-payments for other reimbursable medicines. Criteria for reimbursement include the medicine’s importance from the public health perspective, its therapeutic value, and relative effectiveness. In Croatia and in many EU Member States, reimbursement is based on a reference price system. Conclusion The Croatian pharmaceutical system is similar to those in the EU Member States. Key policies, like external price referencing and reference price systems, which have increasingly been introduced in EU countries are also applied in Croatia and serve the same purpose: to ensure access to medicines while containing public pharmaceutical expenditure. PMID:21495202

A Study of the Determinants of Emissions Unit Allowance Price in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alina Maydybura

2011-12-01

Full Text Available In 2005 the European Union (EU began the first phase of the largest and most ambitious emissions trading system (EU ETS ever attempted, which then applied to all members of the EU. In its second phase whichbegan in 2008 the EU ETS now applies to all 27 members of the EU together with Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein, the members of the European Economic Area (EEA which are not members of the Union. Inthe first phase of the EU ETS permits to emit carbon into the atmosphere known as European Union Allowances (EUA were traded in a market where the price rose to €30 and eventually fell to well below 10 Euro cents as the imperfections of the market became obvious. In the second phase which began in 2008 the price has fluctuated between €30 and €8. EUA are traded in a manner which is similar to the trading of financial instruments and a range of derivatives has developed with the total value of the market now above €120b, a growing market dominated by a few large players.This paper reports some results of an empirical investigation into the factors which appear to drive the carbon price and the key determinants of the price of an EUA. Over the last decade a number of environmental products have been developed alongside the EUA, including Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs, Renewable Energy Certificates and White Certificates (energy efficiency credits and markets have developed for a range of these environmental products. A better understanding of the determinants of these markets willhelp regulators manage these new markets and this paper aims to enhance our knowledge of the market.

Evolution of coupled lives' dependency across generations and pricing impact

OpenAIRE

Elisa Luciano; Jaap Spreeuw; Elena Vigna

2012-01-01

This paper studies the dependence between coupled lives - both within and across generations - and its effects on prices of reversionary annuities in the presence of longevity risk. Longevity risk is represented via a stochastic mortality intensity. Dependence is modelled through copula functions. We consider Archimedean single and multi-parameter copulas. We find that dependence decreases when passing from older generations to younger generations. Not only the level of dependence but also it...

Spatial dependencies of wind power and interrelations with spot price dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elberg, Christina; Hagspiel, Simeon

2013-06-15

Wind power has seen a strong growth over the last decade. Due to its high intermittency, spot prices have become more volatile and exhibit correlated behavior with wind power fed into the system. In this paper, we develop a stochastic simulation model that incorporates the spatial dependencies of wind power and its interrelations with spot prices: We employ a structural supply and demand based model for the electricity spot price that takes into account stochastic production quantities of wind power. Spatial dependencies are modeled with the help of copulas, thus linking the single turbine wind power to the aggregated wind power in a market. The model is applied to the German electricity market where wind power already today makes up a significant share of total power production. Revenue distributions and the market value of different wind power plants are analyzed. We find that the specific location of the considered wind turbine, i.e. its spatial dependency with respect to the aggregated wind power in the system, is of high relevance for its market value. Many of the analyzed locations show an upper tail dependence that adversely impacts the market value. This effect becomes more important for increasing levels of wind power penetration.

Spatial dependencies of wind power and interrelations with spot price dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elberg, Christina; Hagspiel, Simeon

2013-01-01

Wind power has seen a strong growth over the last decade. Due to its high intermittency, spot prices have become more volatile and exhibit correlated behavior with wind power fed into the system. In this paper, we develop a stochastic simulation model that incorporates the spatial dependencies of wind power and its interrelations with spot prices: We employ a structural supply and demand based model for the electricity spot price that takes into account stochastic production quantities of wind power. Spatial dependencies are modeled with the help of copulas, thus linking the single turbine wind power to the aggregated wind power in a market. The model is applied to the German electricity market where wind power already today makes up a significant share of total power production. Revenue distributions and the market value of different wind power plants are analyzed. We find that the specific location of the considered wind turbine, i.e. its spatial dependency with respect to the aggregated wind power in the system, is of high relevance for its market value. Many of the analyzed locations show an upper tail dependence that adversely impacts the market value. This effect becomes more important for increasing levels of wind power penetration.

Do non-monetary prices target the poor? Evidence from a field experiment in India

OpenAIRE

Hoffmann, Bridget

2016-01-01

This paper uses willingness to pay (WTP) data from a field experiment in Hyderabad, India in 2013 to determine whether non-monetary prices better target health products to the poor than monetary prices. Monetary WTP is increasing in income and non-monetary WTP is weakly decreasing in income. Household fixed effects in a pooled sample of monetary WTP and non-monetary WTP are used to compare the correlation of income and WTP across price types. It is found that non-monetary WTP falls relative t...

Price variability and marketing method in non-ferrous metals: Slade's analysis revisited

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gilbert, C.L.; Ferretti, F.

2002-01-01

We examine the impact of the pricing regime on price variability with reference to the non-ferrous metals industry. Theoretical arguments are ambiguous, but suggest that the extent of monopoly power is more important than the pricing regime as a determinant of variability. Slade (Quart. J. Econ. 106

Manufacturer's pricing strategies in cooperative and non-cooperative advertising supply chain under retail competition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. C. Giri

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This article studies the manufacturer's pricing strategy in a supply chain with a single manufacturer and two competing retailers. The manufacturer, as a Stackelberg leader specifies wholesale prices to two retailers who face advertisement dependent demand. Based on this gaming structure, two mathematical models are developed - the cooperative advertising model where manufacturer shares a fraction of retailers' advertising costs and the non-cooperative advertising model where manufacturer does not share any retailer's advertising expenses. The optimal strategies of the manufacturer and retailers are determined and a numerical example is taken to illustrate the theoretical results derived. We show that cooperative advertising policy is beneficial not only for the participating entities but also for the entire supply chain.

Price vector effects in choice experiments: an empirical test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanley, Nick; Wright, Robert E.; Adamowicz, Wiktor

2005-01-01

This paper investigates whether the preference and willingness-to-pay estimates obtained from the choice experiment method of estimating non-market values are sensitive to the vector of prices used in the experimental design. We undertake this test in the context of water quality improvements under the European Union's new Water Framework Directive. Using a mixed logit model, which allows for differing scale between the two samples, we find no significant impact of changing the price vector on estimates of preferences or willingness-to-pay. (author) (Choice modelling; Non-market valuation; Design effects; Water Framework Directive)

The Pricing of Traffic Light Options and other Correlation Derivatives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kokholm, Thomas

This paper considers the valuation of European style derivatives with payoffs depending on both a stock index and underlying LIBOR rates. The model has the attractive feature that it is based on observable market quantities which makes it very easy to calibrate. A closed form solution is derived...... for the price of the correlation derivative known as the traffic light option under lognormality assumptions for the underlying processes. A pricing approach for more general payoffs is presented, and an illustration is performed with Monte Carlo simulation by the pricing of a specific hybrid derivative...

Reparametrization in the path integral over finite dimensional manifold with a time-dependent metric

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Storchak, S.N.

1988-01-01

The path reparametrization procedure in the path integral is considered using the methods of stochastic processes for diffusion on finite dimensional manifold with a time-dependent metric. the reparametrization Jacobian has been obtained. The formulas of reparametrization for a symbolic presentation of the path integral have been derived

Hamiltonian and potentials in derivative pricing models: exact results and lattice simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Baaquie, Belal E.; Corianò, Claudio; Srikant, Marakani

2004-03-01

The pricing of options, warrants and other derivative securities is one of the great success of financial economics. These financial products can be modeled and simulated using quantum mechanical instruments based on a Hamiltonian formulation. We show here some applications of these methods for various potentials, which we have simulated via lattice Langevin and Monte Carlo algorithms, to the pricing of options. We focus on barrier or path dependent options, showing in some detail the computational strategies involved.

European attitudes to water pricing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Anne Kejser

2016-01-01

, there is a need for increased understanding of the implementation process and the attitudes towards implementation among the general public. This paper explores the spatial heterogeneity in the public attitude towards internalizing environmental and resource costs in the price of water across the EU regions....... Within an extensive spatial dataset constructed for the purpose, we estimate the effect of individual information levels and affordability concerns on the attitude towards environmental water pricing. Information about water problems is found to have a significant and positive effect on attitudes...

Non-parametric Estimation of Diffusion-Paths Using Wavelet Scaling Methods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Høg, Esben

In continuous time, diffusion processes have been used for modelling financial dynamics for a long time. For example the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process (the simplest mean-reverting process) has been used to model non-speculative price processes. We discuss non--parametric estimation of these processes...

Non-Parametric Estimation of Diffusion-Paths Using Wavelet Scaling Methods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Høg, Esben

2003-01-01

In continuous time, diffusion processes have been used for modelling financial dynamics for a long time. For example the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process (the simplest mean--reverting process) has been used to model non-speculative price processes. We discuss non--parametric estimation of these processes...

Non-Price Competition in the Port Sector: A Case Study of Ports in Turkey

OpenAIRE

Soner Esmer; Hong-Oanh Nguyen, Ph.D.; Yapa Mahinda Bandara, Ph.D.; Kazim Yeni, Ph.D.

2016-01-01

Although the port sector has been facing increasing competition, there is limited research on how ports compete using non-price competition strategies. There are a few studies on non-price competition in the port sector. However they mainly focus on the marketing aspect. This paper seeks to fill this gap in the literature, especially from a combined marketing-economic perspective. Especially the paper's main objective is to identify the determinants of non-price competition in the port sector...

A simple state-contingent pricing rule for complex intertemporal externalities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McKitrick, Ross [Guelph Univ., ON (Canada). Dept. of Economics

2011-01-15

Some externalities, such as global warming, involve complex relationships between emissions and an environmental state variable, with effects over lags of uncertain length. Coming up with theoretically-motivated and practical policy options in such cases has proven difficult. Deterministic intertemporal general equilibrium models yield what appear to be feasible optimal price paths, but only by assuming away many key uncertainties, nor do they specify how the possibility of new information should affect the policy path. Bayesian models allow limited uncertainty and optimal learning based on observed effects of policy changes, but suggest a discouraging delay before optimal policy can be identified. A full insurance model suggests that risk aversion and 'fat-tailed' probabilities of catastrophe imply an implausibly (or at least impractically) large risk premium, implying that practical policy decisions depend so critically on uncertain parameters as to be unavoidably arbitrary. This paper proposes an entirely new approach based on the observation that the situation giving rise to a complex intertemporal externality also yields an observable state variable that contains information relevant to the identification of the optimal policy path. I derive a simple transformation by which the state variable can yield a good approximation to the optimal externality price. I outline assumptions sufficient to yield the transformation, and present numerical examples that illustrate its ability to follow linear and nonlinear first-best price paths. A specific application to greenhouse gases is proposed. (author)

A simple state-contingent pricing rule for complex intertemporal externalities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKitrick, Ross

2011-01-01

Some externalities, such as global warming, involve complex relationships between emissions and an environmental state variable, with effects over lags of uncertain length. Coming up with theoretically-motivated and practical policy options in such cases has proven difficult. Deterministic intertemporal general equilibrium models yield what appear to be feasible optimal price paths, but only by assuming away many key uncertainties, nor do they specify how the possibility of new information should affect the policy path. Bayesian models allow limited uncertainty and optimal learning based on observed effects of policy changes, but suggest a discouraging delay before optimal policy can be identified. A full insurance model suggests that risk aversion and 'fat-tailed' probabilities of catastrophe imply an implausibly (or at least impractically) large risk premium, implying that practical policy decisions depend so critically on uncertain parameters as to be unavoidably arbitrary. This paper proposes an entirely new approach based on the observation that the situation giving rise to a complex intertemporal externality also yields an observable state variable that contains information relevant to the identification of the optimal policy path. I derive a simple transformation by which the state variable can yield a good approximation to the optimal externality price. I outline assumptions sufficient to yield the transformation, and present numerical examples that illustrate its ability to follow linear and nonlinear first-best price paths. A specific application to greenhouse gases is proposed. (author)

Does the market share of generic medicines influence the price level?: a European analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Dylst, Pieter; Simoens, Steven

2011-10-01

After the expiry of patents for originator medicines, generic medicines can enter the market, and price competition may occur. This process generates savings to the healthcare payer and to patients, but knowledge about the factors affecting price competition in the pharmaceutical market following patent expiry is still limited. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the market share of generic medicines and the change of the medicine price level in European off-patent markets. Data on medicine volumes and values for 35 active substances were purchased from IMS Health. Ex-manufacturer prices were used, and the analysis was limited to medicines in immediate-release, oral, solid dosage forms. Countries included were Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK, which constitute a mix of countries with low and high generic medicines market shares. Data were available from June 2002 until March 2007. Market volume has risen in both high and low generic market share countries (+29.27% and +27.40%, respectively), but the cause of the rise is different for the two markets. In low generic market share countries, the rise was caused by the increased use of generic medicines, while in high market share countries, the rise was driven by the increased use of generic medicines and a shift of use from originator to generic medicines. Market value was substantially decreased in high generic market share countries (-26.6%), while the decrease in low generic market share countries was limited (-0.06%). In high generic market share countries, medicine prices dropped by -43.18% versus -21.56% in low market share countries. The extent to which price competition from generic medicines leads to price reductions appears to vary according to the market share of generic medicines. High generic market share countries have seen a larger decrease in medicine prices than low market share countries.

Non-Price Competition in the Port Sector: A Case Study of Ports in Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soner Esmer

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Although the port sector has been facing increasing competition, there is limited research on how ports compete using non-price competition strategies. There are a few studies on non-price competition in the port sector. However they mainly focus on the marketing aspect. This paper seeks to fill this gap in the literature, especially from a combined marketing-economic perspective. Especially the paper's main objective is to identify the determinants of non-price competition in the port sector and evaluate their effect on various aspects of non-price competition. We start with a general conceptual framework to explain how competition in the sector can be affected by various factors and then propose an analytical framework on non-price competition. The analytical model is then used to support the design of a survey questionnaire. Next, hypothesis tests are conducted using exploratory factor analysis (EFA and structural equation modeling (SEM and data collected from a survey of Turkish ports. Based on the analysis results, the implications for port management and future research are also discussed.

Pricing and Reimbursement of Biosimilars in Central and Eastern European Countries

Science.gov (United States)

Kawalec, Paweł; Stawowczyk, Ewa; Tesar, Tomas; Skoupa, Jana; Turcu-Stiolica, Adina; Dimitrova, Maria; Petrova, Guenka I.; Rugaja, Zinta; Männik, Agnes; Harsanyi, Andras; Draganic, Pero

2017-01-01

Objectives: The aim of this study was to review the requirements for the reimbursement of biosimilars and to compare the reimbursement status, market share, and reimbursement costs of biosimilars in selected Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Methods: A questionnaire-based survey was conducted between November 2016 and January 2017 among experts from the following CEE countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania. The requirements for the pricing and reimbursement of biosimilars were reviewed for each country. Data on the extent of reimbursement of biologic drugs (separately for original products and biosimilars) in the years 2014 and 2015 were also collected for each country, along with data on the total pharmaceutical and total public health care budgets. Results: Our survey revealed that no specific criteria were applied for the pricing and reimbursement of biosimilars in the selected CEE countries; the price of biosimilars was usually reduced compared with original drugs and specific price discounts were common. Substitution and interchangeability were generally allowed, although in most countries they were at the discretion of the physician after a clinical assessment. Original biologic drugs and the corresponding biosimilars were usually in the same homogeneous group, and internal reference pricing was usually employed. The reimbursement rate of biosimilars in the majority of the countries was the same and amounted to 100%. Generally, the higher shares of expenditures were shown for the reimbursement of original drugs than for biosimilars, except for filgrastim, somatropin, and epoetin (alfa and zeta). The shares of expenditures on the reimbursement of biosimilar products ranged from 8.0% in Estonia in 2014 to 32.4% in Lithuania in 2015, and generally increased in 2015. The share of expenditures on reimbursement of biosimilars in the total pharmaceutical budget differed between the

Political dimension of European constitutionalism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaplánová Patricia

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Author in the article tries to analyse different elements of document called European Constitution. Analysis is supported with theoretical framework of federalism, presented by Brezovšek. Authors is playing with idea of (confederal and international organization elements of European Constitution and their mix. They are also trying to set some connections between so called common European identity as necessary condition to give legitimacy to the European Constitution. This became important question after „votes of non-confidence“ to the European Constitution in France, despite it should be addressed already before. However, European Constitution is important document on the path of European integration and lack of support to it will slow down this process of widening and deepening European ties.

The price of policy risk — Empirical insights from choice experiments with European photovoltaic project developers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lüthi, Sonja; Wüstenhagen, Rolf

2012-01-01

Managing the transition to a renewable energy future is an important policy priority in many countries. Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is expected to make an essential contribution, but due to relatively high cost, its growth to date has been largely driven by public policy, notably feed-in tariffs. Feed-in tariffs have been implemented in various countries, but with widely differing outcomes in terms of installed PV capacity. Previous research indicates that the level of policy risk may be an important driver for differences in renewable energy policy effectiveness. This paper suggests that project developers who make a decision between PV investment opportunities in different countries carefully weigh feed-in tariff-induced returns against a set of policy risks, and choose the country with the most favorable risk-return profile. This model is empirically tested by a stated preference survey among European PV project developers, consisting of 1575 choice decisions by 63 investors. The findings demonstrate that risk matters in PV policy design, and that a “price tag” can be attached to specific policy risks, such as the duration of administrative processes or uncertainty induced by an approaching capacity cap. Governments can build on these empirical results to design policies that will be effective in attracting private PV investment, while at the same time maintaining efficiency by providing an adequate compensation for policy risk. - Highlights: ► This study is based on 1575 choice and rating decisions made by 63 European PV project developers. ► This study confirms importance of “non-economic” barriers to deployment of renewable energy. ► This study measures “price of policy risk”, i.e. investors' willingness-to-accept certain policy risks.

Price competition between an expert and a non-expert

OpenAIRE

Bouckaert, J.M.C.; Degryse, H.A.

1998-01-01

This paper characterizes price competition between an expert and a non-expert. In contrast with the expert, the non-expert’s repair technology is not always successful. Consumers visit the expert after experiencing an unsuccessful match at the non-expert. This re-entry affects the behaviour of both sellers. For low enough probability of successful repair at the non-expert, all consumers first visit the non-expert, and a ‘timid-pricing’ equilibrium results. If the non-expert’s repair technolog...

Why is food cheaper in rich (European countries?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leon Podkaminer

2004-09-01

Full Text Available Relative to non-food items, food tends to be cheaper in rich, as compared with poorEuropean countries. This tendency cannot be explained in terms of cost developments or foreign-trade considerations. A positive explanation proposed focuses on demand-income-supply interaction. An analysis of a cross-country price-augmented modification of Engel Law, econometrically specified, indicates that the relative price offood is related positively to the supply of food items and negatively to that of non-food items. This finding is consistent with "agricultural price scissors", and also casts a different light on the nature of economic development and structural change.

High oil prices: A non-OPEC capacity game

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osmundsen, Petter; Asche, Frank; Misund, Baard; Mohn, Klaus

2005-08-01

The current high oil price is partly due to low investments in the oil industry the last decade. According to economic theory, exploration and development of new oil and gas fields should respond positively to increasing petroleum prices. But since the late 1990s, financial analysts have focused strongly on short-term accounting return measures, like RoACE, for benchmarking and valuation of international oil and gas companies. Consequently, the demand for strict capital discipline among oil and gas companies may have reduced their willingness to invest for future reserves and production growth. Thus, we have experienced an unusual combination of high oil prices and low investment levels in exploration and development. In many ways, the oil companies' focus on RoACE, at the expense of reserve replacement, resembles an implicit co-ordination on low capacity among non-OPEC petroleum producers. This is a partial explanation of the current high oil prices. By examining actual parameters used by the financial markets in pricing of oil companies, we address the issue of whether the low investment outcome could represent a long-term equilibrium. This is hardly likely, as oil companies are made aware that stronger emphasis is put on reserve replacement. (Author)

Perceived price sensitivity by ethnicity and smoking frequency among California Hispanic and non-Hispanic white smokers.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Mark G; Edland, Steven D; Hofstetter, C Richard; Al-Delaimy, Wael K

2013-06-01

Little is currently known about price sensitivity across ethnic groups as well as for non-daily smokers. To address this issue, this study compared perceived price sensitivity across smoking status (daily and non-daily) and within ethnicity (Hispanic and non-Hispanic White) in a recent representative population survey of California smokers. This study employed data from the 2008 California Tobacco Survey (CTS), a large population-based random-digit-dialed telephone survey. Participants were 1,777 non-Hispanic White and 450 Hispanic respondents who had smoked at least 100 cigarettes and currently smoked daily or on some days. Differences in perceived price sensitivity were found by ethnicity when controlling for age, gender, and cigarette consumption. Comparisons across ethnic groups indicated that Hispanic smokers, in general, have more price-sensitive perceptions than non-Hispanic White smokers. However, daily versus non-daily status had no effect on price sensitivity when controlling for cigarette quantity. These findings indicate that pricing increases may be differentially influential for Hispanic compared with non-Hispanic White smokers across smoking status categories.

Impact of cigarette price differences across the entire European Union on cross-border purchase of tobacco products among adult cigarette smokers.

Science.gov (United States)

Agaku, Israel T; Blecher, Evan; Filippidis, Filippos T; Omaduvie, Uyoyo T; Vozikis, Athanassios; Vardavas, Constantine I

2016-05-01

We investigated the impact of cigarette price differences across the European Union (EU) on cross-border tobacco purchasing because of cheaper price among current cigarette smokers. Individual-level tobacco-related data (including cross-border tobacco purchasing behavior) were from the Special Eurobarometer 385 (V.77.1), a cross-sectional survey of persons aged ≥15 years from 27 EU Member States during 2012. Country-specific weighted average prices (WAP) per 1000 cigarettes (as of 1 July 2012) were obtained from the European Commission, and divided by 50 to yield WAP per cigarette pack. The dispersion in EU cigarette prices was measured with the coefficient of variation. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to measure the relationship between EU-wide cigarette price differential and cross-border tobacco purchasing because of cheaper price among current cigarette smokers (n=6896). The coefficient of variation for cigarette WAP within the EU was 0.39 (mean price=€3.99/pack). Of all current cigarette smokers in the EU, 26.2% (27.5 million persons) engaged in a cross-border tobacco purchase within the past 12 months, of which 56.3% did so because of cheaper price in another country. EU-wide cigarette price differential was significantly associated with making a cross-border tobacco purchase because of cheaper price (adjusted OR=1.34; 95% CI 1.22 to 1.47). Reducing differences in cigarette tax and price within the EU, coupled with a stricter limitation on the quantity of cigarettes that it is possible to carry from one Member State to another, may help reduce cross-border tax avoidance strategies. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Multi-rate path-following control for unmanned air vehicles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Guerreiro Tome Antunes, D.J.; Silvestre, C.J.; Cunha, R.

2008-01-01

A methodology is provided to tackle the path-following integrated guidance and control problem for unmanned air vehicles with measured outputs available at different rates. The path-following problem is addressed by defining a suitable non-linear path dependent error space to express the vehicle’s

Electricity price modeling with stochastic time change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borovkova, Svetlana; Schmeck, Maren Diane

2017-01-01

In this paper, we develop a novel approach to electricity price modeling, based on the powerful technique of stochastic time change. This technique allows us to incorporate the characteristic features of electricity prices (such as seasonal volatility, time varying mean reversion and seasonally occurring price spikes) into the model in an elegant and economically justifiable way. The stochastic time change introduces stochastic as well as deterministic (e.g., seasonal) features in the price process' volatility and in the jump component. We specify the base process as a mean reverting jump diffusion and the time change as an absolutely continuous stochastic process with seasonal component. The activity rate of the stochastic time change can be related to the factors that influence supply and demand. Here we use the temperature as a proxy for the demand and hence, as the driving factor of the stochastic time change, and show that this choice leads to realistic price paths. We derive properties of the resulting price process and develop the model calibration procedure. We calibrate the model to the historical EEX power prices and apply it to generating realistic price paths by Monte Carlo simulations. We show that the simulated price process matches the distributional characteristics of the observed electricity prices in periods of both high and low demand. - Highlights: • We develop a novel approach to electricity price modeling, based on the powerful technique of stochastic time change. • We incorporate the characteristic features of electricity prices, such as seasonal volatility and spikes into the model. • We use the temperature as a proxy for the demand and hence, as the driving factor of the stochastic time change • We derive properties of the resulting price process and develop the model calibration procedure. • We calibrate the model to the historical EEX power prices and apply it to generating realistic price paths.

Strain path dependency in metal plasticity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Viatkina, E.M.; Brekelmans, W.A.M.; Geers, M.G.D.

2003-01-01

A change in strain path has a significant effect on the mechanical response of metals. Strain path change effects physically originate from a complex microstructure evolution. This paper deals with the contribution of cell structure evolution to the strain path change effect. The material with cells

Path probability distribution of stochastic motion of non dissipative systems: a classical analog of Feynman factor of path integral

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, T.L.; Wang, R.; Bi, W.P.; El Kaabouchi, A.; Pujos, C.; Calvayrac, F.; Wang, Q.A.

2013-01-01

We investigate, by numerical simulation, the path probability of non dissipative mechanical systems undergoing stochastic motion. The aim is to search for the relationship between this probability and the usual mechanical action. The model of simulation is a one-dimensional particle subject to conservative force and Gaussian random displacement. The probability that a sample path between two fixed points is taken is computed from the number of particles moving along this path, an output of the simulation, divided by the total number of particles arriving at the final point. It is found that the path probability decays exponentially with increasing action of the sample paths. The decay rate increases with decreasing randomness. This result supports the existence of a classical analog of the Feynman factor in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics for Hamiltonian systems

Assessment of emission trading impacts on competitive electricity market price

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Singh, S.N.; Saxena, D.; Østergaard, Jacob

2011-01-01

analyzes the impact of electricity prices in the competitive electricity markets having a uniform market clearing price mechanism. Findings - It is found that the electricity prices depend on the system loading, generation mix, etc. at a particular hour. Various emission trading instruments are discussed...... side emission trading impact on electricity prices in the competitive power market. Design/methodology/approach - Various schemes are suggested and are being implemented to achieve this objective. It is expected that electricity price will increase due to imposition of emission taxes. This paper...... with a special emphasis on the European market. Research limitations/implications - Block bidding of the suppliers is considered whereas the demand is assumed to be inelastic. Originality/value - The emission trading impacts are analyzed on a simple example....

Importance of Electricity Transport Pricing in Liberalised Energy Markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wohlgemuth, N.

2001-01-01

Electricity has traditionally been supplied by vertically integrated companies providing generation, transmission and distribution services. Consumers have purchased a bundled commodity - delivered electricity - and there has been no need to price the components individually. This is no longer the case in competitive and unbundled electricity markets. One of the outstanding issues in the restructuring of the electricity markets is the way in which transmission costs are translated into tariffs. The efforts to create a single European electricity market are difficult to reconcile due to different national network pricing approaches. The European Commission's draft regulation on conditions for access to the network for cross-border exchanges of electricity sets general principles for the pricing of international electricity exchanges. Nodal pricing provides incentives for an efficient use of generation and transmission assets. Experience shows that nodal pricing is workable, and its use may be expected to increase progressively. Postage stamp pricing does not generally provide adequate incentives for efficiency. However, inefficiencies may be small under certain conditions, and postage stamp pricing has the advantage of being relatively transparent and easy to implement. This paper presents an overview of objectives related to an effective design of transmission pricing approaches, of transmission pricing models and presents recent developments in Europe in this respect. Due to the great number of institutional designs of electricity market organisations, it will be difficult to design and implement a model of cross-border transmission pricing that results in a high degree of non-discriminatory international competition in electricity markets, a key objective of the Electricity Directive.(author)

Role of carbon price signal on the investment decisions of companies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herve, Morgan

2011-01-01

This PhD thesis focuses on the impact of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) on investment decisions in the European power sector. We provide the policy background on the EU ETS and contemporary policy and economic developments. We discuss the main types of compliance buyers' responses to the EU ETS constraint: emissions reductions, acquisitions of additional compliance assets, and other responses. We present the results of an empirical survey of the most carbon constrained European utilities. We show that strategic and economic considerations prevailed over the introduction of the carbon price. We discuss the impact of those investments on European utilities' EU ETS profile by looking at the potentially locked-in emissions, changes in the compliance perimeter and some specific developments relative to carbon leakage and Kyoto offsets. We offer a review of the investment decision-making approaches. Exploring the impact of carbon price scenarios on generation investment portfolios, we are able to identify that: the EU ETS has a moderate but central reallocation role in power generation investment portfolios; insights into the long-term carbon price trend are particularly helpful to unlock investment; some much discussed policy provisions only have a relatively small impact on investment portfolios; carbon price expectations impact decisions relative to power generation investment portfolios; while the EU ETS has a central role, the climate and non-climate policy mix matters most. (author)

The path dependence of district manager decision-space in Ghana

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kwamie, Aku; Dijk, van Han; Ansah, Evelyn K.; Agyepong, Irene Akua

2016-01-01

The district health system in Ghana today is characterized by high resource-uncertainty and narrow decision-space. This article builds a theory-driven historical case study to describe the influence of path-dependent administrative, fiscal and political decentralization processes on development

Demographics of the European apicultural industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Chauzat, Marie-Pierre; Cauquil, Laura; Roy, Lise; Franco, Stéphanie; Hendrikx, Pascal; Ribière-Chabert, Magali

2013-01-01

Over the last few years, many European and North American countries have reported a high rate of disorders (mortality, dwindling and disappearance) affecting honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera). Although beekeeping has become an increasingly professional activity in recent years, the beekeeping industry remains poorly documented in Europe. The European Union Reference Laboratory for Honeybee Health sent a detailed questionnaire to each Member State, in addition to Kosovo and Norway, to determine the demographics and state of their beekeeping industries. Based on data supplied by the National Reference Laboratory for honeybee diseases in each European country, a European database was created to describe the beekeeping industry including the number and types of beekeepers, operation size, industry production, and health (notifiable diseases, mortalities). The total number of beekeepers in Europe was estimated at 620,000. European honey production was evaluated at around 220,000 tons in 2010. The price of honey varied from 1.5 to 40 €/kg depending on the country and on the distribution network. The estimated colony winter mortality varied from 7 to 28% depending on the country and the origin of the data (institutional survey or beekeeping associations). This survey documents the high heterogeneity of the apicultural industry within the European Union. The high proportion of non-professional beekeepers and the small mean number of colonies per beekeeper were the only common characteristics at European level. The tremendous variation in European apicultural industries has implication for any comprehensive epidemiological or economic analysis of the industry. This variability needs to be taken into account for such analysis as well as for future policy development. The industry would be served if beekeeping registration was uniformly implemented across member states. Better information on the package bee and queen production would help in understanding the ability of

Organic vs. Non-Organic Food Products: Credence and Price Competition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Wang

2017-04-01

Full Text Available We analyze the organic and non-organic production choices of two firms by considering customers’ trust in organic food products. In the context of customers’ possible willingness to pay a premium price and their mistrust in organic food products, two firms first make choices on offering organic and non-organic food products. If offering organic products, a firm can further invest in the credence system to increase customers’ trust in their organic products. At the final stage, two firms determine prices. We provide serval insights. First, we characterize the market conditions in which only one firm, both firms or neither firm will choose to offer organic food products. We find that the higher the production costs or credence investment costs for organic food products are, the more likely firms are to choose to produce non-organic food products. Second, if it is expensive enough to invest in organic credence, offering organic food products may still be uncompetitive, even if organic production cost appears to have no disadvantage compared to non-organic food products. Third, we highlight how the prices of organic food products in equilibrium are affected by market parameters. We show that when only one firm offers organic food products, this firm tends to offer a relatively low price if organic credence investment is expensive. Fourth, we highlight how one firm’s credence investment decision in equilibrium can be affected by the product type choice of the other firm. We find that the investment in organic credence is lower when both firms offer organic food products compared with the case when only one firm offers organic food products.

Pricing Options and Equity-Indexed Annuities in a Regime-switching Model by Trinomial Tree Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fei Lung Yuen

2011-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper we summarize the main idea and results of Yuen and Yang (2009, 2010a, 2010b and provide some results on pricing of Parisian options under the Markov regime-switching model (MRSM. The MRSM allows the parameters of the market model depending on a Markovian process, and the model can reflect the information of the market environment which cannot be modeled solely by linear Gaussian process. However, when the parameters of the stock price model are not constant but governed by a Markovian process, the pricing of the options becomes complex. We present a fast and simple trinomial tree model to price options in MRSM. In recent years, the pricing of modern insurance products, such as Equity-Indexed annuity (EIA and variable annuities (VAs, has become a popular topic. We show here that our trinomial tree model can been used to price EIA with strong path dependent exotic options in the regime switching model.

ASEAN’s Path to Regional Autonomy: Lessons Learned from the European Union

Science.gov (United States)

2016-04-04

ASEAN. ASEAN’s Path to Regional Autonomy 12 Both the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and ASEAN expansion to Myanmar made it clear that something...From - To) 04/04/2016 Master’s of Military Studies SEP 2015 -APR 2016 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Sa. CONTRACT NUMBER ASEAN’s Path to Regional Autonomy ...greater autonomy by enhancing military interoperability, making ASEAN the primary hub for diplomatic arrangements with non-members, transitioning to a

Pricing policies for a two-part exhaustible resource cartel: the case of OPEC (world oil project). Working paper

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hnyilicza, E.; Pindyck, R.S.

1976-04-01

This paper examines pricing policies for OPEC under the assumption that the cartel is composed of a block of spender countries with large cash needs and a block of saver countries with little immediate need for cash and a lower rate of discount. The decision problem for the two-part cartel is embodied in a game-theoretic framework and the optimal bargaining solution is computed using results from the theory of cooperative games developed by Nash. The set of feasible bargaining points--and the corresponding Nash solution--is computed under two assumptions on the behavior of output shares: that they are subject to choice and that they are fixed at historical values. The results suggest that for fixed output shares, there is little room for bargaining and the price path approximates the optimal monopoly price path. If the shares are subject to control, optimal paths depend significantly on the relative bargaining power of each block.

A Threshold Cointegration Analysis of Asymmetric Adjustment of OPEC and non-OPEC Monthly Crude Oil Prices

OpenAIRE

Ghassan, Hassan B.; Banerjee, Prashanta K.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the dynamics of crude oil prices of OPEC and non-OPEC countries using threshold cointegration. To capture the long run asymmetric price transmission mechanism, we develop an error correction model within a threshold cointegration and CGARCH errors framework. The empirical contribution of our paper specifies the cointegrating relation between OPEC price and non-OPEC prices and estimates how and to what extent the respective prices adjust to eliminate dis...

The path dependency theory: analytical framework to study institutional integration. The case of France.

Science.gov (United States)

Trouvé, Hélène; Couturier, Yves; Etheridge, Francis; Saint-Jean, Olivier; Somme, Dominique

2010-06-30

The literature on integration indicates the need for an enhanced theorization of institutional integration. This article proposes path dependence as an analytical framework to study the systems in which integration takes place. PRISMA proposes a model for integrating health and social care services for older adults. This model was initially tested in Quebec. The PRISMA France study gave us an opportunity to analyze institutional integration in France. A qualitative approach was used. Analyses were based on semi-structured interviews with actors of all levels of decision-making, observations of advisory board meetings, and administrative documents. Our analyses revealed the complexity and fragmentation of institutional integration. The path dependency theory, which analyzes the change capacity of institutions by taking into account their historic structures, allows analysis of this situation. The path dependency to the Bismarckian system and the incomplete reforms of gerontological policies generate the coexistence and juxtaposition of institutional systems. In such a context, no institution has sufficient ability to determine gerontology policy and build institutional integration by itself. Using path dependence as an analytical framework helps to understand the reasons why institutional integration is critical to organizational and clinical integration, and the complex construction of institutional integration in France.

Market Entry, Product Quality And Price Competition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mathur Sameer

2015-08-01

Full Text Available We study an entrant firm’s product quality choice and the price competition arising between the entrant and the incumbent firm. We show that the entrant firm should introduce a relatively higher (lower quality than the incumbent firm when the consumers’ valuation for quality is sufficiently large (small. We also study how the incumbent firm modifies its price in response to the ensuing price competition. We find that the incumbent firm should decrease its price. We also profile how the incumbent firm’s price non-linearly depends on consumers’ valuation for quality.

Factors Influencing Pricing Decision: Evidence from Non-Financial Firms in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luqman Olawale

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This study examines the significant factors influencing pricing decision in Nigeria. The study is based on the appraisal of the factors that influence pricing decision using 100 non-financial companies listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE in 2013. The cross sectional data was obtained from annual reports of the sampled firms which were analyzed based on OrdinaryRegression model. The results revealed that cost of sales has an insignificant positive effect on pricing policy, while company’s objective and consumer perception has significant positive relationship on pricing policy. On the external determinants, market demand and availability of close substitute has a significant negative effect on pricing policy while macroeconomic trend and market segment has insignificant negative effect on pricing policy. This study therefore suggests among others that, effort should be made on reducing cost of production in order to maximize profit.

Non-Standard Monetary Policies Implemented By The European Central Bank After The Financial Crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meryem Filiz Baştürk

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The financial crisis which began in the U.S. in 2007 influenced all economies on a global scale followingthe collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. As a response to the crisis, central banksstarted to implement non-standard monetary policy tools as well as short-term interest rates alsoknown as standard policy tools in order to help monetary policy transmission channels work effectively.The European Central Bank (ECB implemented non-standard monetary policies as in additionto the standard policy tools during this period. The non-standard monetary policies introducedby the ECB were different from those implemented by other central banks (Fed, Bank of England interms of implementation and results. Firstly, the policies of the ECB were not specific to one singlecountry. Secondly, the banking system was the major source of finance in Europe, which had an impacton the policies. In this regard, the ECB introduced a policy of enhanced credit support consistingof five main elements in order to maintain price stability over the medium term following the crisis.By 2010, public debt in some member countries of the European Union reached high levels, requiringthem to take additional measures. The Securities Markets Programme was introduced to that end.Initially focusing on the debt securities of Greece, Ireland, and Portugal, the Securities Markets Programmewas expanded in August 2011 to cover the debt securities of Italy and Spain. In addition, twoLong-term Refinancing Operations (LTROs were introduced. This article presents a descriptive analysisof the non-standard monetary policy tools introduced by the ECB following the financial crisis.However, the monetary policy implemented in the Euro zone is not specific to one single country, andevery country has a different financial structure, both of which limit the effectiveness of the policiesimplemented. The changing structure of the monetary policy implemented in the aftermath of the crisisaims to

Common long-range dependence in a panel of hourly Nord Pool electricity prices and loads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ergemen, Yunus Emre; Haldrup, Niels; Rodríguez-Caballero, Carlos Vladimir

to strong seasonal periodicity, and along the cross-sectional dimension, i.e. the hours of the day, there is a strong dependence which necessarily has to be accounted for in order to avoid spurious inference when focusing on the time series dependence alone. The long-range dependence is modelled in terms...... of a fractionally integrated panel data model and it is shown that both prices and loads consist of common factors with long memory and with loadings that vary considerably during the day. Due to the competitiveness of the Nordic power market the aggregate supply curve approximates well the marginal costs...... data approaches to analyse the time series and the cross-sectional dependence of hourly Nord Pool electricity spot prices and loads for the period 2000-2013. Hourly electricity prices and loads data are characterized by strong serial long-range dependence in the time series dimension in addition...

Adaptive wavelet method for pricing two-asset Asian options with floating strike

Science.gov (United States)

Černá, Dana

2017-12-01

Asian options are path-dependent option contracts which payoff depends on the average value of the asset price over some period of time. We focus on pricing of Asian options on two assets. The model for pricing these options is represented by a parabolic equation with time variable and three state variables, but using substitution it can be reduced to the equation with only two state variables. For time discretization we use the θ-scheme. We propose a wavelet basis that is adapted to boundary conditions and use an adaptive scheme with this basis for discretization on the given time level. The main advantage of this scheme is small number of degrees of freedom. We present numerical experiments for the Asian put option with floating strike and compare the results for the proposed adaptive method and the Galerkin method.

Distance Dependence of Path Loss for Millimeter Wave Inter-Vehicle Communications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Fujise

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Millimeter-wave path loss between two cars was measured to obtainthe general applicable distance for inter-vehicle communication systemsin real environments. An abrupt and substantial increase in path lossdue to interruption, curves, and different-lane traveling has been amajor concern in inter-vehicle communications. The path lossmeasurements were carried out using 60-GHz CW radiowaves and standardhorn antennas on metropolitan highways and regular roads. Because thepropagation loss is traffic-dependent, the highways were classifiedinto uncrowded and crowded highways, and the regular roads wereclassified into uncrowded and crowded roads. The path loss for thehighways exhibited 2nd-power-law attenuation and that for the regularroads exhibited 1st-power-law attenuation with an increase ininter-vehicle distance. Additional losses of 15 dB for the highways and5 dB for the regular roads were observed when the inter-vehicledistance was more than approximately 30 m. Thus, we were able todemonstrate millimeter-wave inter-vehicle communications at aninter-vehicle distance of more than 100 m.

European CO2 prices and carbon capture investments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abadie, Luis M.; Chamorro, Jose M.

2008-01-01

We assess the option to install a carbon capture and storage (CCS) unit in a coal-fired power plant operating in a carbon-constrained environment. We consider two sources of risk, namely the price of emission allowance and the price of the electricity output. First we analyse the performance of the EU market for CO 2 emission allowances. Specifically, we focus on the contracts maturing in the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period (2008 to 2012) and calibrate the underlying parameters of the allowance price process. Then we refer to the Spanish wholesale electricity market and calibrate the parameters of the electricity price process. We use a two-dimensional binomial lattice to derive the optimal investment rule. In particular, we obtain the trigger allowance prices above which it is optimal to install the capture unit immediately. We further analyse the effect of changes in several variables on these critical prices, among them allowance price volatility and a hypothetical government subsidy. We conclude that, at current permit prices, immediate installation does not seem justified from a financial point of view. This need not be the case, though, if carbon market parameters change dramatically, carbon capture technology undergoes significant improvements, and/or a specific governmental policy to promote these units is adopted. (author)

Road pricing, air pollution and external costs; Road pricing, luftforurening og eksternalitetsomkostninger

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Solvang Jensen, S.; Ketzel, M. (Aarhus Univ., Danmarks Miljoeundersoegelser, Afd. for Atmosfaerisk Miljoe, Roskilde (Denmark)); Skou Andersen, M. (Aarhus Univ., Danmarks Miljoeundersoegelser, Afd. for Systemanalyse, Roskilde (Denmark))

2010-06-15

The objective of this assessment is to improve the foundation for decision-making about introduction of a road pricing system that aims to reduce the health impacts and social costs of traffic-related air pollution. The analysis focuses on how road emissions, air quality, population exposure, and social costs of air pollution depend on geography (different city sizes and rural areas) and time of the day (rush hours versus non-rush hours). A review of Danish studies related to road pricing has also been carried out to assess the expected effect of road pricing on traffic performance (km travelled), vehicle composition and speed that are factors affecting air pollution. (LN)

Determining the spin dependent mean free path in Co90Fe10 using giant magnetoresistance

Science.gov (United States)

Shakespear, K. F.; Perdue, K. L.; Moyerman, S. M.; Checkelsky, J. G.; Harberger, S. S.; Tamboli, A. C.; Carey, M. J.; Sparks, P. D.; Eckert, J. C.

2005-05-01

The spin dependent mean free path in Co90Fe10 is determined as a function of temperature down to 5K using two different spin valve structures. At 5K the spin dependent mean free path for one structure was measured to be 9.4±1.4nm, decreasing by a factor of 3 by 350K. For the other structure, it is 7.5±0.5nm at 5K and decreased by a factor of 1.5 by 350K. In both cases, the spin dependent mean free path approaches the typical thickness of ferromagnetic layers in spin valves at room temperature and, thus, has an impact on the choice of design parameters for the development of new spintronic devices.

Energy prices, volatility, and the stock market. Evidence from the Eurozone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oberndorfer, Ulrich

2009-01-01

This paper constitutes a first analysis on stock returns of energy corporations from the Eurozone. It focuses on the relationship between energy market developments and the pricing of European energy stocks. According to our results, oil price hikes negatively impact on stock returns of European utilities. However, they lead to an appreciation of oil and gas stocks. Interestingly, forecastable oil market volatility negatively affects European oil and gas stocks, implying profit opportunities for strategic investors. In contrast, the gas market does not play a role for the pricing of Eurozone energy stocks. Coal price developments affect the stock returns of European utilities. However, this effect is small compared to oil price impacts, although oil is barely used for electricity generation in Europe. This suggests that for the European stock market, the oil price is the main indicator for energy price developments as a whole. (author)

Is there dependence and systemic risk between oil and renewable energy stock prices?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reboredo, Juan C.

2015-01-01

We study systemic risk and dependence between oil and renewable energy markets using copulas to characterize the dependence structure and to compute the conditional value-at-risk as a measure of systemic risk. We found significant time-varying average and symmetric tail dependence between oil returns and several global and sectoral renewable energy indices. Our evidence on systemic risk indicates that oil price dynamics significantly contributes around 30% to downside and upside risk of renewable energy companies. These results have important implications for risk management and renewable energy policies. - Highlights: • We study systemic risk and dependence between oil and renewable energy markets. • Dependence and conditional value-at-risk is obtained through copulas. • Oil and renewable energy displayed time-varying average and symmetric tail dependence. • Oil price contribution to the downside and upside risks of renewable energy companies was around 30%

One TV, One Price?

OpenAIRE

Jean Imbs; Haroon Mumtaz; Morten O. Ravn; Hélène Rey

2009-01-01

We use a unique dataset on television prices across European countries and regions to investigate the sources of differences in price levels. Our findings are as follows: (i) Quality is a crucial determinant of price differences. Even in an integrated economic zone as Europe, rich economies tend to consume higher quality goods. This effect accounts for the lion’s share of international price dispersion. (ii) Sizable international price differentials subsist even for the same television sets. ...

Antitrust Enforcement Under Endogenous Fines and Price-Dependent Detection Probabilities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Houba, H.E.D.; Motchenkova, E.; Wen, Q.

2010-01-01

We analyze the effectiveness of antitrust regulation in a repeated oligopoly model in which both fines and detection probabilities depend on the cartel price. Such fines are closer to actual guidelines than the commonly assumed fixed fines. Under a constant detection probability, we confirm the

Prices dip on slow demand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1993-01-01

The Restricted Uranium Spot Market Price Range slipped to $9.90-$10.35, mostly due to lackluster demand. Only three transactions took place during the month. Two of the purchases, accounting for 98% of the month's volume, were by European utilities; the other was made by a US utility. One of the European purchases was made in the unrestricted market, but since it included a host of fuel cycle services, the U3O8 price could not be determined. Hence, NUKEM's Unrestricted Uranium Spot Market Price Range stays the same, at $7.90-$8.00. The other European deal, concluded in the restricted market, represents the low end of the restricted market price range. The US deal was based on bids that were made at the beginning of November and therefore does not reflect market conditions in December. Looking ahead, we see four utilities ready to enter the market for nearly 1 million lbs U3O8 equivalent

Theory of Financial Risk and Derivative Pricing - 2nd Edition

Science.gov (United States)

Bouchaud, Jean-Philippe; Potters, Marc

2003-12-01

Foreword; Preface; 1. Probability theory: basic notions; 2. Maximum and addition of random variables; 3. Continuous time limit, Ito calculus and path integrals; 4. Analysis of empirical data; 5. Financial products and financial markets; 6. Statistics of real prices: basic results; 7. Non-linear correlations and volatility fluctuations; 8. Skewness and price-volatility correlations; 9. Cross-correlations; 10. Risk measures; 11. Extreme correlations and variety; 12. Optimal portfolios; 13. Futures and options: fundamental concepts; 14. Options: hedging and residual risk; 15. Options: the role of drift and correlations; 16. Options: the Black and Scholes model; 17. Options: some more specific problems; 18. Options: minimum variance Monte-Carlo; 19. The yield curve; 20. Simple mechanisms for anomalous price statistics; Index of most important symbols; Index.

Price Intransparency, Consumer Decision Making and European Consumer Law

OpenAIRE

Boom, Willem

2011-01-01

textabstractPrice comparison is a basic element of competition. For comparison to work, at least prices need to be transparent. Moreover, price is usually a focal point in consumer thinking and deciding on transactions. Hence, obfuscating prices can be detrimental to consumers. Therefore, it is vital for policymakers to know how transparent pricing is in reality. Commercial practices involving price intransparency can be detrimental to consumer decision making and may be associated with marke...

Modelling and Forecasting Stock Price Movements with Serially Dependent Determinants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rasika Yatigammana

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The direction of price movements are analysed under an ordered probit framework, recognising the importance of accounting for discreteness in price changes. By extending the work of Hausman et al. (1972 and Yang and Parwada (2012,This paper focuses on improving the forecast performance of the model while infusing a more practical perspective by enhancing flexibility. This is achieved by extending the existing framework to generate short term multi period ahead forecasts for better decision making, whilst considering the serial dependence structure. This approach enhances the flexibility and adaptability of the model to future price changes, particularly targeting risk minimisation. Empirical evidence is provided, based on seven stocks listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX. The prediction success varies between 78 and 91 per cent for in-sample and out-of-sample forecasts for both the short term and long term.

Long Run Dynamic Volatilities between OPEC and non-OPEC Crude Oil Prices

OpenAIRE

Ghassan, Hassan B.; Alhajhoj, Hassan R.

2015-01-01

Understanding the long-run dynamics of OPEC and non-OPEC crude oil prices is important in an era of increased financialization of petroleum markets. Utilizing an ECM within a threshold cointegration and CGARCH errors framework, we provide evidence on the cointegrating relationship and estimate how and to what extent the respective prices adjust to eliminate disequilibrium. Our findings suggest that the adjustment process of OPEC prices to the positive discrepancies is slow which implies that ...

Spouses’ Dependence across Generations and Pricing Impact on Reversionary Annuities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elisa Luciano

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This paper studies the dependence between coupled lives, i.e., the spouses’ dependence, across different generations, and its effects on prices of reversionary annuities in the presence of longevity risk. Longevity risk is represented via a stochastic mortality intensity. We find that a generation-based model is important, since spouses’ dependence decreases when passing from older generations to younger generations. The independence assumption produces quantifiable mispricing of reversionary annuities, with different effects on different generations. The research is conducted using a well-known dataset of double life contracts.

Carbon pricing, nuclear power and electricity markets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cameron, R.; Keppler, J. H. [OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, 12, boulevard des Iles, 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux (France)

2012-07-01

In 2010, the NEA in conjunction with the International Energy Agency produced an analysis of the Projected Costs of Electricity for almost 200 power plants, covering nuclear, fossil fuel and renewable electricity generation. That analysis used lifetime costs to consider the merits of each technology. However, the lifetime cost analysis is less applicable in liberalised markets and does not look specifically at the viewpoint of the private investor. A follow-up NEA assessment of the competitiveness of nuclear energy against coal- and gas-fired generation under carbon pricing has considered just this question. The economic competition in electricity markets is today between nuclear energy and gas-fired power generation, with coal-fired power generation not being competitive as soon as even modest carbon pricing is introduced. Whether nuclear energy or natural gas comes out ahead in their competition depends on a number of assumptions, which, while all entirely reasonable, yield very different outcomes. The analysis in this study has been developed on the basis of daily data from European power markets over the last five-year period. Three different methodologies, a Profit Analysis looking at historic returns over the past five years, an Investment Analysis projecting the conditions of the past five years over the lifetime of plants and a Carbon Tax Analysis (differentiating the Investment Analysis for different carbon prices) look at the issue of competitiveness from different angles. They show that the competitiveness of nuclear energy depends on a number of variables which in different configurations determine whether electricity produced from nuclear power or from CCGTs generates higher profits for its investors. These are overnight costs, financing costs, gas prices, carbon prices, profit margins (or mark-ups), the amount of coal with carbon capture and electricity prices. This paper will present the outcomes of the analysis in the context of a liberalised

Carbon pricing, nuclear power and electricity markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cameron, R.; Keppler, J. H.

2012-01-01

In 2010, the NEA in conjunction with the International Energy Agency produced an analysis of the Projected Costs of Electricity for almost 200 power plants, covering nuclear, fossil fuel and renewable electricity generation. That analysis used lifetime costs to consider the merits of each technology. However, the lifetime cost analysis is less applicable in liberalised markets and does not look specifically at the viewpoint of the private investor. A follow-up NEA assessment of the competitiveness of nuclear energy against coal- and gas-fired generation under carbon pricing has considered just this question. The economic competition in electricity markets is today between nuclear energy and gas-fired power generation, with coal-fired power generation not being competitive as soon as even modest carbon pricing is introduced. Whether nuclear energy or natural gas comes out ahead in their competition depends on a number of assumptions, which, while all entirely reasonable, yield very different outcomes. The analysis in this study has been developed on the basis of daily data from European power markets over the last five-year period. Three different methodologies, a Profit Analysis looking at historic returns over the past five years, an Investment Analysis projecting the conditions of the past five years over the lifetime of plants and a Carbon Tax Analysis (differentiating the Investment Analysis for different carbon prices) look at the issue of competitiveness from different angles. They show that the competitiveness of nuclear energy depends on a number of variables which in different configurations determine whether electricity produced from nuclear power or from CCGTs generates higher profits for its investors. These are overnight costs, financing costs, gas prices, carbon prices, profit margins (or mark-ups), the amount of coal with carbon capture and electricity prices. This paper will present the outcomes of the analysis in the context of a liberalised

Commodity futures markets: are they an effective price risk management tool for the European wheat supply chain?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cesar Revoredo-Giha

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The instability of commodity prices and the hypothesis that speculative behaviour was one of its causes has brought renewed interest in futures markets. The paper analyses the European wheat futures markets (feed and milling and the Chicago Board of Trade’s wheat contract as a comparison. Although the main purpose of the paper is to analyse whether futures markets are still useful for hedging (considering the demands from different market participants, implicitly this can be seen as testing whether the increasing presence of speculation has made futures markets divorced from physical markets. The results indicate that hedging with futures markets is still a viable alternative for dealing with price risk. This is particularly true in short period hedges (e.g. merchants and processors, where the basis seems to have been affected by the observed price instability.

Pricing and ordering policies for price-dependent demand in a supply chain of a single retailer and a single manufacturer

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jungkyu; Hong, Yushin; Kim, Taebok

2011-01-01

This article discusses joint pricing and ordering policies for price-dependent demand in a supply chain consisting of a single retailer and a single manufacturer. The retailer places orders for products according to an EOQ policy and the manufacturer produces them on a lot-for-lot basis. Four mechanisms with differing levels of coordination are presented. Mathematical models are formulated and solution procedures are developed to determine the optimal retail prices and order quantities. Through extensive numerical experiments, we analyse and compare the behaviours and characteristics of the proposed mechanisms, and find that enhancing the level of coordination has important benefits for the supply chain.

Cubature on Wiener Space: Pathwise Convergence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bayer, Christian; Friz, Peter K.

2013-01-01

Cubature on Wiener space (Lyons and Victoir in Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 460(2041):169–198, 2004) provides a powerful alternative to Monte Carlo simulation for the integration of certain functionals on Wiener space. More specifically, and in the language of mathematical finance, cubature allows for fast computation of European option prices in generic diffusion models.We give a random walk interpretation of cubature and similar (e.g. the Ninomiya–Victoir) weak approximation schemes. By using rough path analysis, we are able to establish weak convergence for general path-dependent option prices.

Evolution of the European gas market on the long term. Organisation and price; Evolution du marche gazier europeen a long terme. Organisation et prix

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ouvry, V

1998-01-30

The objective of this work is to shed light upon the future organization of the European gas market with an emphasis on price matters. There are nowadays few producers of gas on the market, most of whom hold long-term contracts with gas companies. Gas pricing is based on the net-back principle. The actual debate on liberalization of the gas market and the growing pressure from industrial customers to obtain lower prices addresses the problem of the future organisation of the market and the potential impact of the introduction of third party access. We first analyse the main actors of the gas market, their strategy and the actual market organization market. Two different logics are considered hereunder: a market approach: the competition theory provides efficient tools to analyse the evolution of competition depending on numerous factors. It appears that the strategy of all actors and particularly of producers will be the main determinant of the future competition. The oligopoly theory includes oligopolistic behaviours modelizations. The application of the Cournot`s model leads to prices ranging from 1,6 to 3,7 $/MBtu; a contractual approach: today, gas is essentially exchanged through long term contracts, which allow for long-term management of investments and supply security. Two operators negotiate the price, which ultimately mirrors their respective leverage. The transaction cost theory clearly shows the necessity of including transaction costs, especially when optimizing the duration of the contract. The gas prices escalation is nowadays partially obsolete and unadapted to customer needs. Escalation on coal, electricity price or inflation should soon be considered. The theories of negotiation highlight the importance of the operators` marketing power during gas price fixation Applying Nash and Harsanyi-Selten`s negotiation models results in a scale of 2,4 to 3,5 $/MBtu of the gas price at the actual supply and demand conditions. Both approaches lead to similar

The Impact of Tobacco Control Policies on Smoking Among Socioeconomic Groups in Nine European Countries, 1990-2007.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yannan; van Lenthe, Frank J; Platt, Stephen; Bosdriesz, Jizzo R; Lahelma, Eero; Menvielle, Gwenn; Regidor, Enrique; Santana, Paula; de Gelder, Rianne; Mackenbach, Johan P

2017-11-07

It is uncertain whether tobacco control policies have contributed to a narrowing or widening of socioeconomic inequalities in smoking in European countries during the past two decades. This paper aims to investigate the impact of price and non-price related population-wide tobacco control policies on smoking by socioeconomic group in nine European countries between 1990 and 2007. Individual-level education, occupation and smoking status were obtained from nationally representative surveys. Country-level price-related tobacco control policies were measured by the relative price of cheapest cigarettes and of cigarettes in the most popular price category. Country-level non-price policies were measured by a summary score covering four policy domains: smoking bans or restrictions in public places and workplaces, bans on advertising and promotion, health warning labels, and cessation services. The associations between policies and smoking were explored using logistic regressions, stratified by education and occupation, and adjusted for age, Gross Domestic Product, period and country fixed effects. The price of popular cigarettes and non-price policies were negatively associated with smoking among men. The price of the cheapest cigarettes was negatively associated with smoking among women. While these favorable effects were generally in the same direction for all socioeconomic groups, they were larger and statistically significant in lower socioeconomic groups only. Tobacco control policies as implemented in nine European countries, have probably helped to reduce the prevalence of smoking in the total population, particularly in lower socioeconomic groups. Widening inequalities in smoking may be explained by other factors. Policies with larger effects on lower socioeconomic groups are needed to reverse this trend. Socioeconomic inequalities in smoking widened between the 1990s and the 2000s in Europe. During the same period, there were intensified tobacco control policies

Non-market pricing for an improved solid waste management ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Non-market pricing for an improved solid waste management system in Arba Minch ... in Arba Minch, a tourist hub and one of the rapidly growing towns in Ethiopia. ... The mean WTP estimated in this survey can serve as a guide for municipal ...

Price Intransparency, Consumer Decision Making and European Consumer Law

NARCIS (Netherlands)

W.H. van Boom (Willem)

2011-01-01

textabstractPrice comparison is a basic element of competition. For comparison to work, at least prices need to be transparent. Moreover, price is usually a focal point in consumer thinking and deciding on transactions. Hence, obfuscating prices can be detrimental to consumers. Therefore, it is

A Vector Autoregressive Model for Electricity Prices Subject to Long Memory and Regime Switching

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haldrup, Niels; Nielsen, Frank; Nielsen, Morten Ørregaard

2007-01-01

A regime dependent VAR model is suggested that allows long memory (fractional integration) in each of the regime states as well as the possibility of fractional cointegra- tion. The model is relevant in describing the price dynamics of electricity prices where the transmission of power is subject...... to occasional congestion periods. For a system of bilat- eral prices non-congestion means that electricity prices are identical whereas congestion makes prices depart. Hence, the joint price dynamics implies switching between essen- tially a univariate price process under non-congestion and a bivariate price...

Evaluation of the European Commission's proposal to set aside emission allowances. Effects on the EU carbon price and Dutch ETS companies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verdonk, M.; Vollebergh, H.

2012-11-15

A set-aside of CO2 allowances would reduce the current oversupply in the European Emissions Trading System (ETS). This would result in temporary higher CO2 prices. However, a literature study has shown that the impact of the European Commission's proposal on CO2 prices is likely to be limited, because the total amount of allowances up to 2020 would remain unchanged. However, the proposal sends out a signal to investors that the functioning of the ETS is a priority for politicians, and increases the likelihood of further reforms. Any negative impact of back loading on ETS companies in the Netherlands is likely to be limited.

WERE OIL PRICE MARKETS THE SOURCE OF CREDIT CRISIS IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES? EVIDENCE USING A VAR-MGARCH-DCC MODEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadhem Selmi

2014-04-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the role of oil prices, credit, financial and commercial linkages in the propagation of industrial market crises during the period 2004-2012. Using VAR-MGARCH-DCC model regressions on seven markets finds that credit linkage played a significant role in the subprime, financial and global crises. Our results also show that the European debt crisis has already spread like a crisis from oil prices to Ireland and Portugal, and other countries are now at risk: Spain is a probable candidate for financial crisis.

Definition of path integrals and rules for non-linear transformations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kerler, W.

1978-01-01

Functional integrals are defined as the limit of multidimensional integrals based on fundamental generating distributions. The 'lattice choice' is put into a suitable functional form. The independence of the particular choice and the necessity of this fact are shown. Various forms of the path integrals are derived and discussed. The relation to the traditional ordering problem is pointed out. The mechanism of non-linear transformations of variables is investigated and rules are given. In the case of fields it turns out that the path integrals can also be considered for space translations. (Auth.)

OPEC and the world oil prices: Is the genie back in the bottle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griffin, J.M.

1992-01-01

After reviewing and analyzing OPEC's behavior in the past two decades, a simulation model is employed to explore plausible paths for oil prices. OPEC's members are subdivided into analytically convenient maximizing groups. Lener index analysis is applied to measure observed market power and the potential monopoly power for the cartel core. Price paths for the 1990s under alternative OPEC configurations are presented, and it is suggested that the return to monopolization is large. Price levels of the 1970s were not sustainable even with a perfectly disciplined cartel core. Long run supply and demand elasticities were much greater than OPEC expected. Even though cheating contributed to OPEC's predicament in the 1980s, the primary determinant of oil price decline was external market forces. Future price instability is possible for both political and economic reasons, with a likely scenario of prices oscillating around the cartel core's optimum price path that features prices in the present range rising moderately. 8 refs., 6 tabs., 3 figs

Non-equilibrium price theories

Science.gov (United States)

Helbing, Dirk; Kern, Daniel

2000-11-01

We propose two theories for the formation of stock prices under the condition that the number of available stocks is fixed. Both theories consider the balance equations for cash and several kinds of stocks. They also take into account interest rates, dividends, and transaction costs. The proposed theories have the advantage that they do not require iterative procedures to determine the price, which would be inefficient for simulations with many agents.

Path-space variational inference for non-equilibrium coarse-grained systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harmandaris, Vagelis; Kalligiannaki, Evangelia; Katsoulakis, Markos; Plecháč, Petr

2016-01-01

In this paper we discuss information-theoretic tools for obtaining optimized coarse-grained molecular models for both equilibrium and non-equilibrium molecular simulations. The latter are ubiquitous in physicochemical and biological applications, where they are typically associated with coupling mechanisms, multi-physics and/or boundary conditions. In general the non-equilibrium steady states are not known explicitly as they do not necessarily have a Gibbs structure. The presented approach can compare microscopic behavior of molecular systems to parametric and non-parametric coarse-grained models using the relative entropy between distributions on the path space and setting up a corresponding path-space variational inference problem. The methods can become entirely data-driven when the microscopic dynamics are replaced with corresponding correlated data in the form of time series. Furthermore, we present connections and generalizations of force matching methods in coarse-graining with path-space information methods. We demonstrate the enhanced transferability of information-based parameterizations to different observables, at a specific thermodynamic point, due to information inequalities. We discuss methodological connections between information-based coarse-graining of molecular systems and variational inference methods primarily developed in the machine learning community. However, we note that the work presented here addresses variational inference for correlated time series due to the focus on dynamics. The applicability of the proposed methods is demonstrated on high-dimensional stochastic processes given by overdamped and driven Langevin dynamics of interacting particles.

Path-space variational inference for non-equilibrium coarse-grained systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harmandaris, Vagelis, E-mail: harman@uoc.gr [Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Crete (Greece); Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics (IACM), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), IACM/FORTH, GR-71110 Heraklion (Greece); Kalligiannaki, Evangelia, E-mail: ekalligian@tem.uoc.gr [Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Crete (Greece); Katsoulakis, Markos, E-mail: markos@math.umass.edu [Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst (United States); Plecháč, Petr, E-mail: plechac@math.udel.edu [Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware (United States)

2016-06-01

In this paper we discuss information-theoretic tools for obtaining optimized coarse-grained molecular models for both equilibrium and non-equilibrium molecular simulations. The latter are ubiquitous in physicochemical and biological applications, where they are typically associated with coupling mechanisms, multi-physics and/or boundary conditions. In general the non-equilibrium steady states are not known explicitly as they do not necessarily have a Gibbs structure. The presented approach can compare microscopic behavior of molecular systems to parametric and non-parametric coarse-grained models using the relative entropy between distributions on the path space and setting up a corresponding path-space variational inference problem. The methods can become entirely data-driven when the microscopic dynamics are replaced with corresponding correlated data in the form of time series. Furthermore, we present connections and generalizations of force matching methods in coarse-graining with path-space information methods. We demonstrate the enhanced transferability of information-based parameterizations to different observables, at a specific thermodynamic point, due to information inequalities. We discuss methodological connections between information-based coarse-graining of molecular systems and variational inference methods primarily developed in the machine learning community. However, we note that the work presented here addresses variational inference for correlated time series due to the focus on dynamics. The applicability of the proposed methods is demonstrated on high-dimensional stochastic processes given by overdamped and driven Langevin dynamics of interacting particles.

Considering system non-linearity in transmission pricing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oloomi-Buygi, M.; Salehizadeh, M. Reza

2008-01-01

In this paper a new approach for transmission pricing is presented. The contribution of a contract on power flow of a transmission line is used as extent-of-use criterion for transmission pricing. In order to determine the contribution of each contract on power flow of each transmission line, first the contribution of each contract on each voltage angle is determined, which is called voltage angle decomposition. To this end, DC power flow is used to compute a primary solution for voltage angle decomposition. To consider the impacts of system non-linearity on voltage angle decomposition, a method is presented to determine the share of different terms of sine argument in sine value. Then the primary solution is corrected in different iterations of decoupled Newton-Raphson power flow using the presented sharing method. The presented approach is applied to a 4-bus test system and IEEE 30-bus test system and the results are analyzed. (author)

Valuation of European Call Option via Inverse Fourier Transform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rubenis Oskars

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Very few models allow expressing European call option price in closed form. Out of them, the famous Black- Scholes approach sets strong constraints - innovations should be normally distributed and independent. Availability of a corresponding characteristic function of log returns of underlying asset in analytical form allows pricing European call option by application of inverse Fourier transform. Characteristic function corresponds to Normal Inverse Gaussian (NIG probability density function. NIG distribution is obtained based on assumption that time series of log returns follows APARCH process. Thus, volatility clustering and leptokurtic nature of log returns are taken into account. The Fast Fourier transform based on trapezoidal quadrature is numerically unstable if a standard cumulative probability function is used. To solve the problem, a dampened cumulative probability is introduced. As a computation tool Matlab framework is chosen because it contains many effective vectorization tools that greatly enhance code readability and maintenance. The characteristic function of Normal Inverse Gaussian distribution is taken and exercised with the chosen set of parameters. Finally, the call price dependence on strike price is obtained and rendered in XY plot. Valuation of European call option with analytical form of characteristic function allows further developing models with higher accuracy, as well as developing models for some exotic options.

Beyond excise taxes: a systematic review of literature on non-tax policy approaches to raising tobacco product prices.

Science.gov (United States)

Golden, Shelley D; Smith, Margaret Holt; Feighery, Ellen C; Roeseler, April; Rogers, Todd; Ribisl, Kurt M

2016-07-01

Raising the price of tobacco products is considered one of the most effective ways to reduce tobacco use. In addition to excise taxes, governments are exploring other policies to raise tobacco prices and minimise price dispersion, both within and across price tiers. We conducted a systematic review to determine how these policies are described, recommended and evaluated in the literature. We systematically searched six databases and the California Tobacco Control library for English language studies or reports, indexed on or before 18 December 2013, that included a tobacco keyword (eg, cigarette), policy keyword (eg, legislation) and a price keyword (eg, promotion). We identified 3067 abstracts. Two coders independently reviewed all abstracts and identified 56 studies or reports that explicitly described a public policy likely to impact the retail price of tobacco products through non-tax means. Two coders independently identified tobacco products targeted by policies described, recommendations for implementing policies and empirical assessments of policy impacts. The most prevalent non-tax price policies were price promotion restrictions and minimum price laws. Few studies measured the impact of non-tax policies on average prices, price dispersion or disparities in tobacco consumption, but the literature includes suggestions for crafting policies and preparing for legal challenges or tobacco industry opposition. Price-focused evaluations of well-implemented non-tax price policies are needed to determine whether they can deliver on their promise to raise prices, reduce price dispersion and serve as an important complement to excise taxes. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Research document no. 24. The integration of european electric markets: from the national markets juxtaposition to the establishment of a regional market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finon, D.

2000-11-01

After the transcription of the electricity directive in national legislations, the European electricity market appears to be a vast set of juxtaposed markets which are weakly connected at the level of their wholesale contracts compartment. Referring to the technological peculiarities of electricity as a commodity, the paper identifies the direct conditions of regional integration of the electricity markets, those which would favour cross-border trade and allow to be near the normal functioning of a regional commodity market. The infrastructure network dependence and the need of a stringent technical coordination necessitate to unify the operation of the different systems and the rules of access, or at the least to come near this unification by strong coordination. A second major condition, which is not fully debated, is the increasing connexion of short-term markets, via daily physical trade and emergence of a European financial market, which could trade various standardised contracts referring to a single hourly spot price, or to prices in various delivery points. To reach such an integration, two paths are possible: either concentration into one single organised power exchange as the Nordic pool, or rules harmonization of the various power exchanges which would be a minimal requirement to allow arbitrations between them. (author)

Effect of Ramping Requirement and Price Cap on Energy Price in a System with High Wind Penetration

OpenAIRE

Martin, Sebastián; Smeers, Yves; Aguado-Sanchez, Jose Antonio

2015-01-01

The European power market is currently retiring or mothballing large capacities of conventional plants, and at the same time incorporating a significant amount of non-dispatchable renewable generation, in particular wind. We analyse the mothballing process (and the resulting system) and study how they are affected by a price cap implemented in the energy only market, and by a possible implementation of ramping products in the system. Sebastian Martin, Yves Smeers, and Jose Aguado. Effect o...

Consistent Estimation of Pricing Kernels from Noisy Price Data

OpenAIRE

Vladislav Kargin

2003-01-01

If pricing kernels are assumed non-negative then the inverse problem of finding the pricing kernel is well-posed. The constrained least squares method provides a consistent estimate of the pricing kernel. When the data are limited, a new method is suggested: relaxed maximization of the relative entropy. This estimator is also consistent. Keywords: $\\epsilon$-entropy, non-parametric estimation, pricing kernel, inverse problems.

Electricity wholesale market prices in Europe: Convergence?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zachmann, Georg

2008-01-01

This paper tests the hypothesis that the ongoing restructuring process in the European electricity sector has led to a common European market for electricity. Based on a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of wholesale electricity prices in 2002-2006, we reject the assumption of full market integration. For several pairs of countries, the weaker hypothesis of (bilateral) convergence is accepted based on unit root tests (KPSS and ADF) and a convergence test based on filtered pairwise price relations. This indicates that the efforts to develop a single European market for electricity were so far only partially successful. We show that the daily auction prices of scarce cross-border transmission capacities are insufficient to explain the persistence of international price differentials. Empirically, our findings confirm the insufficiency of explicit capacity auctions as stated in the theoretical literature. (author)

Price versus Non-price Incentives for Participation in Quality Labeling: The Case of the German Fruit Juice Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon Bleich

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Quality assurance and labeling play an important and increasing role in firms’ marketing strategies. In almost all cases, a price incentive has been stressed as the major incentive for firms to participate in such schemes. We argue here that important non-price incentives for participation in quality labeling may exist, too. In German retailing, it can be observed that discount retailers are listing more and more foods with quality labels. Processors may then participate in voluntary quality labeling in order to enter the large and growing market of discount retailers. The price-premium versus the market-entry hypothesis are analyzed theo-retically. We investigate then in an empirical hedonic pricing model for the German fruit juice market and for participation in the quality label of the Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft (DLG which of the two hypotheses is consistent with the data. There is strong support for the market-entry hypothesis

European Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement--SMi's 21st Annual Meeting (October 5-6, 2015--London, UK).

Science.gov (United States)

Kibble, A; D'Souza, P

2015-10-01

Translating perceived market value for pharmaceutical products into a willingness to pay remains the key factor in ensuring market access and return on investment. How price is managed in the context of new market entrants or new approval settings can create complex challenges, and further complexity is added through diverse global reimbursement structures and the myriad of stakeholders involved at every step of value identification. SMi's 21st Annual Meeting on European Pricing and Reimbursement presented a program focused on the measures being taken by European healthcare systems as they seek to facilitate access to the latest treatments while delivering value for payers and patients. Supporting patient access to life-changing medicines is a challenge, and funders are responding in many different ways; however, while the pharma industry continues to focus its efforts on high cost drugs that treat diseases of the few, the disconnect will be not be resolved. The speakers and delegates at the annual meeting believe success is possible by focusing on value for patients, driven by provider experience, scale and learning. Instead of simply lowering costs, companies, providers and payers can more adequately contribute to the goals of funders as well as the treatment needs of patients. Copyright 2015 Prous Science, S.A.U. or its licensors. All rights reserved.

Price elasticity of demand of non-cigarette tobacco products: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Jawad, Mohammed; Lee, John Tayu; Glantz, Stanton; Millett, Christopher

2018-01-23

To systematically review the price elasticity of demand of non-cigarette tobacco products. Medline, Embase, EconLit and the Web of Science without language or time restrictions. Two reviewers screened title and abstracts, then full texts, independently and in duplicate. We based eligibility criteria on study design (interventional or observational), population (individuals or communities without geographic restrictions), intervention (price change) and outcome (change in demand). We abstracted data on study features, outcome measures, statistical approach, and single best own- and cross-price elasticity estimates with respect to cigarettes. We conducted a random effects meta-analysis for estimates of similar product, outcome and country income level. For other studies we reported median elasticities by product and country income level. We analysed 36 studies from 15 countries yielding 125 elasticity estimates. A 10% price increase would reduce demand by: 8.3% for cigars (95% CI 2.9 to 13.8), 6.4% for roll your owns (95% CI 4.3 to 8.4), 5.7% for bidis (95% CI 4.3 to 7.1) and 2.1% for smokeless tobacco (95% CI -0.6 to 4.8). Median price elasticities for all ten products were also negative. Results from few studies that examined cross-price elasticity suggested a positive substitution effect between cigarette and non-cigarette tobacco products. There is sufficient evidence in support of the effectiveness of price increases to reduce consumption of non-cigarette tobacco products as it is for cigarettes. Positive substitutability between cigarette and non-cigarette tobacco products suggest that tax and price increases need to be simultaneous and comparable across all tobacco products. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Scaling and long-range dependence in option pricing V: Multiscaling hedging and implied volatility smiles under the fractional Black-Scholes model with transaction costs

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiao-Tian

2011-05-01

This paper deals with the problem of discrete time option pricing using the fractional Black-Scholes model with transaction costs. Through the ‘anchoring and adjustment’ argument in a discrete time setting, a European call option pricing formula is obtained. The minimal price of an option under transaction costs is obtained. In addition, the relation between scaling and implied volatility smiles is discussed.

Pricing Exotic Options under a High-Order Markovian Regime Switching Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wai-Ki Ching

2007-10-01

Full Text Available We consider the pricing of exotic options when the price dynamics of the underlying risky asset are governed by a discrete-time Markovian regime-switching process driven by an observable, high-order Markov model (HOMM. We assume that the market interest rate, the drift, and the volatility of the underlying risky asset's return switch over time according to the states of the HOMM, which are interpreted as the states of an economy. We will then employ the well-known tool in actuarial science, namely, the Esscher transform to determine an equivalent martingale measure for option valuation. Moreover, we will also investigate the impact of the high-order effect of the states of the economy on the prices of some path-dependent exotic options, such as Asian options, lookback options, and barrier options.

Online test purchased new psychoactive substances in 5 different European countries: A snapshot study of chemical composition and price.

Science.gov (United States)

Brunt, Tibor Markus; Atkinson, Amanda Marie; Nefau, Thomas; Martinez, Magali; Lahaie, Emmanuel; Malzcewski, Artur; Pazitny, Martin; Belackova, Vendula; Brandt, Simon D

2017-06-01

New psychoactive substances (NPS) are on offer worldwide online, in order to shed light on the purity and price of these substances in the European Union, a research collaboration was set up involving France, United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Poland. Per country, around 10 different NPS were test purchased from different webshops. Then, chemical analysis of NPS was done with according reference standards to identify and quantify the contents. In contrast to what is generally advertised on the webshops (>99%), purity varied considerably per test purchased NPS. Several NPS were mislabelled, some containing chemical analogues (e.g. 25B/C-NBOMe instead of 25I-NBOMe, pentedrone instead of 3,4-DMMC). But in some cases NPS differed substantially from what was advertised (e.g. pentedrone instead of AMT or 3-FMC instead of 5-MeO-DALT). Per gram, purity-adjusted prices of cathinones differed substantially between three countries of test purchase, with Poland being the least expensive. Synthetic cannabinoids were relatively the most expensive in the Czech Republic and least expensive in the UK. The current findings provides a snapshot of the price and chemical contents of NPS products purchased by different countries and in different webshops. There is a potential danger of mislabelling of NPS. The great variety in price and purity of the delivered products might be the result of the market dynamics of supply and demand and the role of law enforcement in different European countries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recovery of time-dependent volatility in option pricing model

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Zui-Cha; Hon, Y. C.; Isakov, V.

2016-11-01

In this paper we investigate an inverse problem of determining the time-dependent volatility from observed market prices of options with different strikes. Due to the non linearity and sparsity of observations, an analytical solution to the problem is generally not available. Numerical approximation is also difficult to obtain using most of the existing numerical algorithms. Based on our recent theoretical results, we apply the linearisation technique to convert the problem into an inverse source problem from which recovery of the unknown volatility function can be achieved. Two kinds of strategies, namely, the integral equation method and the Landweber iterations, are adopted to obtain the stable numerical solution to the inverse problem. Both theoretical analysis and numerical examples confirm that the proposed approaches are effective. The work described in this paper was partially supported by a grant from the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Project No. CityU 101112) and grants from the NNSF of China (Nos. 11261029, 11461039), and NSF grants DMS 10-08902 and 15-14886 and by Emylou Keith and Betty Dutcher Distinguished Professorship at the Wichita State University (USA).

European energy market in 1980. Volume I

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ray, G; Robinson, C

1975-01-01

Three important general influences now affecting energy markets are: (1) exploitation of bargaining power by exporters of raw materials (especially oil); (2) changing attitudes in the developed world towards economic growth; and (3) the unprecedented combination of rapid inflation and serious recession. Fears of energy shortages helped precipitate the world crisis, but there is no energy famine imminent. The rise in energy prices resulted from use of OPEC's quasi-monopoly power rather than from real energy shortages. It is projected that European fuel markets in the next few years will be influenced by: poorer economic growth prospects, the increase in energy prices, oil-saving measures caused by consumers' adjustments over some years to the past huge oil price increases, and attempts by European governments to reduce dependence on OPEC oil. Possible substitutes for OPEC oil are their own various sources of crude oil, European natural gas, and electricity from nuclear fission. EEC's latest energy strategy calls for adequate supplies of cheap energy with minimum damage to the environment. Energy forecasts up to 1980 are given for the nine EEC countries and for Norway and Sweden. Data on energy demand, fuel consumption, and production are summarized. It is felt that, by 1980, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Norway should be producing more energy than they consume. (MCW)

Cross-border integration in the European electricity market. Evidence from the pricing behavior of Norwegian and Swiss exporters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balaguer, Jacint

2011-01-01

This paper examines the electricity market integration process in two European areas based on the pricing behavior of Norwegian and Swiss exporters. The aim is to gain evidence for the period after the adoption of the 'Second Legislative Package' (2003). The pricing behavior of Norwegian exporters indicates that the wholesale markets for Denmark and Sweden are highly integrated. Moreover, results are fully compatible with the existence of a very competitive marketplace for electricity. This clearly contrasts with the evidence provided by Swiss exporters. In this last case, analysis revealed differences in pricing-to-market behavior between Italy, France and Germany, which indicates that exporters take advantage of international market segmentation and divergences between market structures. This outcome provides a reasonable explanation as to why price differences between countries cannot be fully attributed to transmission costs, as has been claimed in previous research. We also found cross-country convergence in levels of markups and in pricing-to-market behavior of the Swiss exporters for the first part of the period that was analyzed. The evidence is fully consistent with an initial impulse toward market integration originated by reforms implemented at the beginning of the last decade. - Highlights: → We exploit a model based on pricing-to-market behavior. → Price discrimination by Swiss exporters is found. → Nordic electricity markets are found to be already highly integrated. → Market integration was recently improved in continental area. → Results are consistent with reforms under the 'Second Legislative Package'.

Cross-border integration in the European electricity market. Evidence from the pricing behavior of Norwegian and Swiss exporters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balaguer, Jacint, E-mail: jacint.balaguer@eco.uji.es [Department of Economics, Universitat Jaume I, 12071 Castellon (Spain)

2011-09-15

This paper examines the electricity market integration process in two European areas based on the pricing behavior of Norwegian and Swiss exporters. The aim is to gain evidence for the period after the adoption of the 'Second Legislative Package' (2003). The pricing behavior of Norwegian exporters indicates that the wholesale markets for Denmark and Sweden are highly integrated. Moreover, results are fully compatible with the existence of a very competitive marketplace for electricity. This clearly contrasts with the evidence provided by Swiss exporters. In this last case, analysis revealed differences in pricing-to-market behavior between Italy, France and Germany, which indicates that exporters take advantage of international market segmentation and divergences between market structures. This outcome provides a reasonable explanation as to why price differences between countries cannot be fully attributed to transmission costs, as has been claimed in previous research. We also found cross-country convergence in levels of markups and in pricing-to-market behavior of the Swiss exporters for the first part of the period that was analyzed. The evidence is fully consistent with an initial impulse toward market integration originated by reforms implemented at the beginning of the last decade. - Highlights: > We exploit a model based on pricing-to-market behavior. > Price discrimination by Swiss exporters is found. > Nordic electricity markets are found to be already highly integrated. > Market integration was recently improved in continental area. > Results are consistent with reforms under the 'Second Legislative Package'.

Impact of Wind Power Generation on European Cross-Border Power Flows

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zugno, Marco; Pinson, Pierre; Madsen, Henrik

2013-01-01

analysis is employed in order to reduce the problem dimension. Then, nonlinear relationships between forecast wind power production as well as spot price in Germany, by far the largest wind power producer in Europe, and power flows are modeled using local polynomial regression. We find that both forecast...... wind power production and spot price in Germany have substantial nonlinear effects on power transmission on a European scale.......A statistical analysis is performed in order to investigate the relationship between wind power production and cross-border power transmission in Europe. A dataset including physical hourly cross-border power exchanges between European countries as dependent variables is used. Principal component...

Price Strategies between a Dominant Retailer and Manufacturers

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Hsun Jung; Mak, Hou Kit

2009-08-01

Supply chain-related game theoretical applications have been discussed for decades. This research accounts for the emergence of a dominant retailer, and the retailer Stackelberg pricing models of distribution channels. Research in the channel pricing game may use different definitions of pricing decision variables. In this research, we pay attentions to the retailer Stackelberg pricing game, and discuss the effects when choosing different decision variables. According the literature it was shown that the strategies between channel members depend critically on the form of the demand function. Two different demand forms—linear and non-linear—will be considered in our numerical example respectively. Our major finding is the outcomes are not relative to manufacturers' pricing decisions but to the retailer's pricing decision and choosing percentage margin as retailer's decision variable is the best strategy for the retailer but worst for manufacturers. The numerical results show that it is consistence between linear and non-linear demand form.

Have oil and gas prices got separated?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erdős, Péter

2012-01-01

This paper applies vector error correction models that show that oil and natural gas prices decoupled around 2009. Before 2009, US and UK gas prices had a long-term equilibrium with crude prices to which gas prices always reverted after exogenous shocks. Both US and UK gas prices adjusted to the crude oil price individually, and departure from the equilibrium gas price on one continent resulted in a similar departure on the other. After an exogenous shock, the adjustment between US and UK gas prices took approximately 20 weeks on average, and the convergence was mediated mainly by crude oil with a necessary condition that arbitrage across the Atlantic was possible. After 2009, however, the UK gas price has remained integrated with oil price, but the US gas price decoupled from crude oil price and the European gas price, as the Atlantic arbitrage has halted. The oversupply from shale gas production has not been mitigated by North American export, as there has been no liquefying and export capacity. - Highlights: ► VEC models are applied to investigate the relationship between oil and natural gas prices. ► While natural gas prices in Europe and Asia react to oil price, US gas price decoupled from oil in 2009. ► Since 2009, the US gas price has decoupled from the European and Asian gas prices.

Constraining Path-Dependent Processes During Basalt-CO2 Interactions with Observations From Flow-Through and Batch Experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, D.; Garing, C.; Zahasky, C.; Harrison, A. L.; Bird, D. K.; Benson, S. M.; Oelkers, E. H.; Maher, K.

2017-12-01

Predicting the timing and magnitude of CO2 storage in basaltic rocks relies partly on quantifying the dependence of reactivity on flow path and mineral distribution. Flow-through experiments that use intact cores are advantageous because the spatial heterogeneity of pore space and reactive phases is preserved. Combining aqueous geochemical analyses and petrologic characterization with non-destructive imaging techniques (e.g. micro-computed tomography) constrains the relationship between irreversible reactions, pore connectivity and accessible surface area. Our work enhances these capabilities by dynamically imaging flow through vesicular basalts with Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanning. PET highlights the path a fluid takes by detecting photons produced during radioactive decay of an injected radiotracer (FDG). We have performed single-phase, CO2-saturated flow-through experiments with basaltic core from Iceland at CO2 sequestration conditions (50 °C; 76-90 bar Ptot). Constant flow rate and continuous pressure measurements at the inlet and outlet of the core constrain permeability. We monitor geochemical evolution through cation and anion analysis of outlet fluid sampled periodically. Before and after reaction, we perform PET scans and characterize the core using micro-CT. The PET scans indicate a discrete, localized flow path that appears to be a micro-crack connecting vesicles, suggesting that vesicle-lining minerals are immediately accessible and important reactants. Rapid increases in aqueous cation concentration, pH and HCO3- indicate that the rock reacts nearly immediately after CO2 injection. After 24 hours the solute release decreases, which may reflect a transition to reaction with phases with slower kinetic dissolution rates (e.g. zeolites and glasses to feldspar), a decrease in available reactive surface area or precipitation. We have performed batch experiments using crushed material of the same rock to elucidate the effect of flow path

Branch-and-Cut-and-Price for the Pickup and Delivery Problem with Time Windows

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Røpke, Stefan; Cordeau, Jean-Francois

2009-01-01

In the pickup and delivery problem with time windows (PDPTW), vehicle routes must be designed to satisfy a set of transportation requests, each involving a pickup and a delivery location, under capacity, time window, and precedence constraints. This paper introduces a new branch......-and-cut-and-price algorithm in which lower bounds are computed by solving through column generation the linear programming relaxation of a set partitioning formulation. Two pricing subproblems are considered in the column generation algorithm: an elementary and a non-elementary shortest path problem. Valid inequalities...

European Non Destructive Examination Forum (ENDEF)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deffrennes, M.; Engl, G.; Estorff, U. von

1998-01-01

ENDEF, an initiative of the European Commission, DG XVII (Energy) was well supported by the European industrial institutions working in assistance with nuclear industrial organisations in the CEEC's (Central and Eastern European Countries) and NIS's (New Independent States). This Forum provides effectively a platform for open discussion between representatives of industrial actors active in the NDE (Non Destructive Examination)/ISI (In Service Inspection) field with the purpose to establish a co-operation pattern between qualified representatives of the EU (European Union) industry to offer a better co-ordinated and well defined assistance to the CEEC's and NIS in the field of NDE/ISI, and to lay the ground for further industrial co-operation. ENDEF developed a strategy to follow for the establishment of co-operation projects. This strategy is now used to understand the extent of past or present assistance projects and to identify the areas where more co-operation is needed. ENDEF encourages the creation in the NIS's and CEEC's of similar forums in order to increase the co-operation and co-ordination. ENDEF is also working in perfect agreement with the European Network ENIQ, piloted by the European plant operators. This identity of views lead to the leadership by the ENDEF co-ordinator of the ENIQ Task 3 involving Applications of the European Methodology for ISI qualification in the CEEC's and NIS's and presently fully integrated in ENDEF. (orig.)

Electricity prices in France: past trends and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-03-01

At a time when the European Commission has published a complete report about energy prices in Europe, presenting their evolution during the past years, this article aims to recall the basic principles structuring the electricity bill in France, and to put the French electricity prices in their European context

Quantifying the risk of an increase in the prices of non-energy products by combining the portfolio and input-output approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Kengo; Uchiyama, Yohji

2010-01-01

An increase in the price of imported fossil fuels indirectly increases the producer price in non-energy sectors; however, this indirect influence cannot be taken into account by the traditional portfolio approach. This study proposes an analytical framework combining the input-output (I-O) model and the portfolio approach that can take the indirect influence into account. A risk of an increase in the producer price in Japanese non-energy sectors during the period 1970-2000 is estimated, and the causes of a decrease in the risk through the analysis period are clarified by decomposing an index of the risk. The result indicates that almost all non-energy sectors have decreased this risk during the analysis period. The degree and cause of the decrease depends on a sector's location in the hierarchical structure of Japanese industries. For example, assembly sectors have decreased their risk mainly as the result of improvement in energy usage by upstream sectors, such as material sectors, rather than their own improvements. Proper policies considering such a structure are required to decrease the risk further because the effort taken to do so is seldom motivated by economic profit.

THIRD-COUNTRY MIGRATION TO THE EU: BETWEEN NORMATIVE EUROPEAN FRAMEWORKS AND NON-EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS' PERSONAL EFFORTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Demir ABDULLAH

2018-05-01

Full Text Available European leaders' rhetoric on third-country migration ranges from a discourse extolling the benefits of a United Europe, to one upholding Europe’s repute as a bastion of fundamental human rights, to yet another one out of which the continent emerges as a repressive fortress. Third-country migration not only engages the EU's efforts, but also those exerted by non-EU immigrantstowardsintegrating and becoming more open to their European host culture. This paper will be focusing both on the EU's commitment to honing its third-country migration policies, as well as on the non-EU immigrants' potential and limitations when it comes to their assimilation/integration into EU countries, in particular, Romania. Methodologically this paper uses the content analysis of European leaders’ discourses and also the qualitative analysis of data collected from 40 interviews carried out with non-EU immigrants into Romania. Another methodological tool will consist in an analysis of official EU documents. What will be pursued is the way in which the EU official documents reflect the shared interest proved by European leaders concerning the immigration processes. It will touch upon how the integration processes reclaims on the one hand permanent exchanges between the host European society and non European immigrant and on the other hand sustained efforts from these two parts in order to meet their needs and recognise their limits, in terms of economic, professional and social resources.

Electric power prices, price control and competition on the European domestic electric power market. Stromtarife, Preisaufsicht und Wettbewerb im Europaeischen Binnenmarkt fuer Strom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weigt, N

1993-01-01

If one speaks of electric power prices and price control in the year 1992, this subject has a different dimension than it did two or three years ago, when the new federal rate scale for electric power (ETO Elt) was drawn up and put into practice. Since the beginning of this year, a draft for guidelines which was drawn up by the EC Commission exists which, going on the assumption that the European domestic electric power market will set an example, does away with territorial protection and in the name of third party access (TPA) allows for electric power-line transit, thus introducing at least partial competition to the electric power market. We no longer think in terms of closed systems with clear-cut responsibilities in regard to power supply, which form the basis for the laws on electric power prices, the cartel laws, the practices of the electric power control board and the cartel authorities. Thus, using the new federal rate scale for electric power and its principles as formulated in Article 1 as a point of departure, developments will go in the direction of a competitive system in accordance with the ideas of the EC Commission and German free-enterprise theoreticians, as laid down for example by the deregulation commission. Thus developments will lead us away from the status quo in the direction of possible reforms, if not to say revolutionary structural changes and the consequnces which they will bring for price and cartel laws. (orig.)

Path dependence, fragmented property rights and the slow diffusion of high throughput technologies in inter-war British coal mining

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peter Scott

2006-01-15

This article examines the importance of path dependence effects in impeding the diffusion of high throughput mechanized mining systems in the British coal industry. It demonstrates that the industry had become 'locked in' to low throughput underground haulage technology, on account of institutional interrelatedness between Britain's traditional practice of extensive in-seam mining and its unique system of fragmented, privately owned mineral royalties. Fragmented royalties prevented the concentration of workings and introduction of high throughput main haulage systems that underpinned the rapid productivity growth of European producers. Meanwhile, technical interrelatedness between the haulage systems taking coal to the pit shaft and operations further 'upstream' created bottlenecks which both slowed the overall rate of mechanization and limited the productivity gains from the mechanization that did occur.

Path probability of stochastic motion: A functional approach

Science.gov (United States)

Hattori, Masayuki; Abe, Sumiyoshi

2016-06-01

The path probability of a particle undergoing stochastic motion is studied by the use of functional technique, and the general formula is derived for the path probability distribution functional. The probability of finding paths inside a tube/band, the center of which is stipulated by a given path, is analytically evaluated in a way analogous to continuous measurements in quantum mechanics. Then, the formalism developed here is applied to the stochastic dynamics of stock price in finance.

Spatial price dynamics: From complex network perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Y. L.; Bi, J. T.; Sun, H. J.

2008-10-01

The spatial price problem means that if the supply price plus the transportation cost is less than the demand price, there exists a trade. Thus, after an amount of exchange, the demand price will decrease. This process is continuous until an equilibrium state is obtained. However, how the trade network structure affects this process has received little attention. In this paper, we give a evolving model to describe the levels of spatial price on different complex network structures. The simulation results show that the network with shorter path length is sensitive to the variation of prices.

Mass and energy-capital conservation equations to study the price evolution of non-renewable energy resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gori, F.

2006-01-01

Mass conservation equation of non-renewable resources is employed to study the resources remaining in the reservoir according to the extraction policy. The energy conservation equation is transformed into an energy-capital conservation equation. The Hotelling rule is shown to be a special case of the general energy-capital conservation equation when the mass flow rate of extracted resources is equal to unity. Mass and energy-capital conservation equations are then coupled and solved together. It is investigated the price evolution of extracted resources. The conclusion of the Hotelling rule for non-extracted resources, i.e. an exponential increase of the price of non-renewable resources at the rate of current interest, is then generalized. A new parameter, called 'Price Increase Factor', PIF, is introduced as the difference between the current interest rate of capital and the mass flow rate of extraction of non-renewable resources. The price of extracted resources can increase exponentially only if PIF is greater than zero or if the mass flow rate of extraction is lower than the current interest rate of capital. The price is constant if PIF is zero or if the mass flow rate of extraction is equal to the current interest rate. The price is decreasing with time if PIF is smaller than zero or if the mass flow rate of extraction is higher than the current interest rate. (author)

The use of a path independent integral in non-linear fracture mechanics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hellen, T.K.

1977-01-01

A computer program for calculating the J and J* integrals has been developed as an extension to the BERSAFE finite element system. A full analysis of the cracked structure including plasticity, creep and thermal strains is conducted and the results are stored on a permanent data set. The integral values may then be calculated using the post-processor program for any number of contours and load or time steps, without recourse to further expensive computations. Numerical examples are presented comparing the J and J* integrals for a number of cracked plates under thermal, plastic and creep environments. To demonstrate the accuracy for a simple thermo-elastic case, a centre cracked plate subject to a symmetric quadratic gradient is included. Here, the J integral is shown to be path dependent whereas good independence is seen for the J* integral. The case of an elastic-plastic plate is invetigated to demonstrate path independence for both integrals in non-linear elasticity, and the effects of unloading are discussed. An alternative method for obtaining the change of potential energy over a small crack extension is briefly mentioned and compared to the J and J* results in this case. An axisymmetric bar with an internal penny-shaped crack subjected to tension is discussed under elastic-plastic materials behavior

Temperature dependence of electron mean free path in molybdenum from ultrasonic measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Almond, D P; Detwiler, D A; Rayne, J A [Carnegie-Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, Pa. (USA)

1975-09-08

The temperature dependence of the electronic mean free path in molybdenum has been obtained from ultrasonic attenuation measurements.For temperature up to 30 K a T/sup -2/ law is followed suggesting the importance of electron-electron scattering in the attenuation mechanism.

Ex-vessel Fish Price Database: Disaggregating Prices for Low-Priced Species from Reduction Fisheries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Travis C. Tai

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Ex-vessel fish prices are essential for comprehensive fisheries management and socioeconomic analyses for fisheries science. In this paper, we reconstructed a global ex-vessel price database with the following areas of improvement: (1 compiling reported prices explicitly listed as “for reduction to fishmeal and fish oil” to estimate prices separately for catches destined for fishmeal and fish oil production, and other non-direct human consumption purposes; (2 including 95% confidence limit estimates for each price estimation; and (3 increasing the number of input data and the number of price estimates to match the reconstructed Sea Around Us catch database. Our primary focus was to address this first area of improvement as ex-vessel prices for catches destined for non-direct human consumption purposes were substantially overestimated, notably in countries with large reduction fisheries. For example in Peru, 2010 landed values were estimated as 3.8 billion real 2010 USD when using separate prices for reduction fisheries, compared with 5.8 billion using previous methods with only one price for all end-products. This update of the price database has significant global and country-specific impacts on fisheries price and landed value trends over time.

Chaos in oil prices? Evidence from futures markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adrangi, B.; Chatrath, A.; Dhanda, K.K.; Raffiee, K.

2001-01-01

We test for the presence of low-dimensional chaotic structure in crude oil, heating oil, and unleaded gasoline futures prices from the early 1980s. Evidence on chaos will have important implications for regulators and short-term trading strategies. While we find strong evidence of non-linear dependencies, the evidence is not consistent with chaos. Our test results indicate that ARCH-type processes, with controls for seasonal variation in prices, generally explain the non-linearities in the data. We also demonstrate that employing seasonally adjusted price series contributes to obtaining robust results via the existing tests for chaotic structure. Maximum likelihood methodologies, that are robust to the non-linear dynamics, lend support for Samuelson's hypothesis on contract-maturity effects in futures price-changes. However, the tests for chaos are not found to be sensitive to the maturity effects in the futures contracts. The results are robust to controls for the oil shocks of 1986 and 1991

European Non Destructive Examination Forum (ENDEF)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deffrennes, M [EC, DG XVII, Nuclear Energy, Brussels (Belgium); Engl, G [Siemens AG Energieerzeugung KWU, Erlangen (Germany); Estorff, U von [EC, JRC/IAM, Petten (Netherlands)

1998-11-01

ENDEF, an initiative of the European Commission, DG XVII (Energy) was well supported by the European industrial institutions working in assistance with nuclear industrial organisations in the CEEC`s (Central and Eastern European Countries) and NIS`s (New Independent States). This Forum provides effectively a platform for open discussion between representatives of industrial actors active in the NDE (Non Destructive Examination)/ISI (In Service Inspection) field with the purpose to establish a co-operation pattern between qualified representatives of the EU (European Union) industry to offer a better co-ordinated and well defined assistance to the CEEC`s and NIS in the field of NDE/ISI, and to lay the ground for further industrial co-operation. ENDEF developed a strategy to follow for the establishment of co-operation projects. This strategy is now used to understand the extent of past or present assistance projects and to identify the areas where more co-operation is needed. ENDEF encourages the creation in the NIS`s and CEEC`s of similar forums in order to increase the co-operation and co-ordination. ENDEF is also working in perfect agreement with the European Network ENIQ, piloted by the European plant operators. This identity of views lead to the leadership by the ENDEF co-ordinator of the ENIQ Task 3 involving Applications of the European Methodology for ISI qualification in the CEEC`s and NIS`s and presently fully integrated in ENDEF. (orig.)

Path-integral isomorphic Hamiltonian for including nuclear quantum effects in non-adiabatic dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Xuecheng; Shushkov, Philip; Miller, Thomas F.

2018-03-01

We describe a path-integral approach for including nuclear quantum effects in non-adiabatic chemical dynamics simulations. For a general physical system with multiple electronic energy levels, a corresponding isomorphic Hamiltonian is introduced such that Boltzmann sampling of the isomorphic Hamiltonian with classical nuclear degrees of freedom yields the exact quantum Boltzmann distribution for the original physical system. In the limit of a single electronic energy level, the isomorphic Hamiltonian reduces to the familiar cases of either ring polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD) or centroid molecular dynamics Hamiltonians, depending on the implementation. An advantage of the isomorphic Hamiltonian is that it can easily be combined with existing mixed quantum-classical dynamics methods, such as surface hopping or Ehrenfest dynamics, to enable the simulation of electronically non-adiabatic processes with nuclear quantum effects. We present numerical applications of the isomorphic Hamiltonian to model two- and three-level systems, with encouraging results that include improvement upon a previously reported combination of RPMD with surface hopping in the deep-tunneling regime.

Path integration in conical space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inomata, Akira; Junker, Georg

2012-01-01

Quantum mechanics in conical space is studied by the path integral method. It is shown that the curvature effect gives rise to an effective potential in the radial path integral. It is further shown that the radial path integral in conical space can be reduced to a form identical with that in flat space when the discrete angular momentum of each partial wave is replaced by a specific non-integral angular momentum. The effective potential is found proportional to the squared mean curvature of the conical surface embedded in Euclidean space. The path integral calculation is compatible with the Schrödinger equation modified with the Gaussian and the mean curvature. -- Highlights: ► We study quantum mechanics on a cone by the path integral approach. ► The path integral depends only on the metric and the curvature effect is built in. ► The approach is consistent with the Schrödinger equation modified by an effective potential. ► The effective potential is found to be of the “Jensen–Koppe” and “da Costa” type.

Carbon pricing. Mobilizing non-state actors on a global issue with local implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afriat, Marion; Vaidyula; Manasvini; Alberola, Emilie

2016-09-01

An effective carbon price should send economic and political signals that shift public and private investment to increase the competitiveness of low-carbon solutions (fuels switching, deployment of renewable energy, etc.) and stay below the 2 deg. C trajectory. In 2016, over 40 countries and 20 provinces and cities have established an explicit price on carbon through carbon taxes or emissions trading systems. The choice of the carbon pricing instrument depends largely on the national or local circumstances and priorities. Carbon pricing should not be a stand-alone policy and should be part of a coherent energy and climate policy framework in order to achieve an effective low-carbon transition in all economic sectors. In 2015, $26 billion in government revenue was generated in the world through carbon pricing initiatives. These revenues can be leveraged to yield economic and environmental benefits at the national and local level. The Paris Agreement provides the necessary framework to facilitate the uptake of carbon pricing

Product Diversification in the European Banking Industry: Risk and Loan Pricing Implications

OpenAIRE

Lepetit , Laetitia; Nys , Emmanuelle; Rous , Philippe; Tarazi , Amine

2005-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between bank risk and product diversification in the changing structure of the European banking industry. Based on a broad set of European banks for the period 1996-2002, our study shows that banks expanding into non-interest income activities present higher risk than banks which mainly supply loans. Whereas previous studies (mainly on U.S. banks) focused on portfolio diversification effects we explore risk implications of cross-sel...

Overcoming Path Dependency and “Lock-In”

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Soyer, Ayberk; Onar, Sezi Çevik; Sanchez, Ron

2017-01-01

Competence-Based Management (CBM) theory and research suggest that a firm’s competence building and leveraging processes are key factors influencing its competitive success. To achieve sustained competitive success, a firm’s competence building processes must continuously renew and extend...... the competences a firm has and can leverage. However, the ability of a firm to sustain strategically adequate levels of competence building – while also maintaining strategically successful competence leveraging – may be limited by various self-reinforcing managerial and organizational mechanisms that can arise...... from competence leveraging processes. In this paper we focus on certain managerial behaviors that may create path dependencies that lead an organization to become “locked-in” to its current competence leveraging processes and to neglect essential competence building, resulting in an inability to renew...

The energy divide: Integrating energy transitions, regional inequalities and poverty trends in the European Union

Science.gov (United States)

Bouzarovski, Stefan; Tirado Herrero, Sergio

2016-01-01

Energy poverty can be understood as the inability of a household to secure a socially and materially necessitated level of energy services in the home. While the condition is widespread across Europe, its spatial and social distribution is highly uneven. In this paper, the existence of a geographical energy poverty divide in the European Union (EU) provides a starting point for conceptualizing and exploring the relationship between energy transitions – commonly described as wide-ranging processes of socio-technical change – and existing patterns of regional economic inequality. We have undertaken a comprehensive analysis of spatial and temporal trends in the national-scale patterns of energy poverty, as well as gas and electricity prices. The results of our work indicate that the classic economic development distinction between the core and periphery also holds true in the case of energy poverty, as the incidence of this phenomenon is significantly higher in Southern and Eastern European EU Member States. The paper thus aims to provide the building blocks for a novel theoretical integration of questions of path-dependency, uneven development and material deprivation in existing interpretations of energy transitions. PMID:28690374

Energy rape seed - Non-food alternatives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sipilae, K.

1995-01-01

The aim of the project is to evaluate possibilities to use agrobiomass for several energy end use sectors. The reference is common European approach where ethanol and rape seed oil is produced for transportation sector. The production costs are approximately 3 - 4 times higher compared to non taxed refinery price of gasoline and diesel fuel. This is also the case for energy crops compared to peat and coal. For Finnish conditions several other options are studied including technical and economical assessments. Solid fuels in form of energy crops like reed canary grass, salix-SRF and straw are evaluated as a feed to multifuel fluid bed boilers and as a futuristic scenario also for flashpyrolysis oil production. Rape seed oil is tested by Neste Oy as a biocomponent in heating oil and as a biocomponent in diesel fuel in engines by VTT. According to present results about 10 - 20 % rape seed oil can be mixed unprocessed to heating oils. Agrofibre production is studied in a laboratory phase with two advanced cooking methods to produce a high value product as a fraction of a biorefinery. The aim of the project is to identify possible research and development paths for future activities. With present prices no agrobiomass is today economically competitive with other fuels. (author)

The effect of uncertainty and aggregate investments on crude oil price dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tvedt, Jostein

2002-01-01

This paper is a study of the dynamics of the oil industry and we derive a mean reverting process for the crude oil price. Oil is supplied by a market leader, OPEC, and by an aggregate that represents non-OPEC producers. The non-OPEC producers take the oil price as given. The cost of non-OPEC producers depends on past investments. Shifts in these investments are influenced by costs of structural change in the construction industry. A drop in the oil price to below a given level triggers lower investments, but if the oil price reverts back to a high level investments may not immediately expand. In an uncertain oil demand environment cost of structural change creates a value of waiting to invest. This investment behaviour influences the oil price process

Association of the OPRM1 variant rs1799971 (A118G) with non-specific liability to substance dependence in a collaborative de novo meta-analysis of European-ancestry cohorts

Science.gov (United States)

Schwantes-An, Tae-Hwi; Zhang, Juan; Chen, Li-Shiun; Hartz, Sarah M.; Culverhouse, Robert C.; Chen, Xiangning; Coon, Hilary; Frank, Josef; Kamens, Helen M.; Konte, Bettina; Kovanen, Leena; Latvala, Antti; Legrand, Lisa N.; Maher, Brion S.; Melroy, Whitney E.; Nelson, Elliot C.; Reid, Mark W.; Robinson, Jason D.; Shen, Pei-Hong; Yang, Bao-Zhu; Andrews, Judy A.; Aveyard, Paul; Beltcheva, Olga; Brown, Sandra A.; Cannon, Dale S.; Cichon, Sven; Corley, Robin P.; Dahmen, Norbert; Degenhardt, Louisa; Foroud, Tatiana; Gaebel, Wolfgang; Giegling, Ina; Glatt, Stephen J.; Grucza, Richard A.; Hardin, Jill; Hartmann, Annette M.; Heath, Andrew C.; Herms, Stefan; Hodgkinson, Colin A.; Hoffmann, Per; Hops, Hyman; Huizinga, David; Ising, Marcus; Johnson, Eric O.; Johnstone, Elaine; Kaneva, Radka P.; Kendler, Kenneth S.; Kiefer, Falk; Kranzler, Henry R.; Krauter, Ken S.; Levran, Orna; Lucae, Susanne; Lynskey, Michael T.; Maier, Wolfgang; Mann, Karl; Martin, Nicholas G.; Mattheisen, Manuel; Montgomery, Grant W.; Müller-Myhsok, Bertram; Murphy, Michael F.; Neale, Michael C.; Nikolov, Momchil A.; Nishita, Denise; Nöthen, Markus M; Nurnberger, John; Partonen, Timo; Pergadia, Michele L.; Reynolds, Maureen; Ridinger, Monika; Rose, Richard J.; Rouvinen-Lagerström, Noora; Scherbaum, Norbert; Schmäl, Christine; Soyka, Michael; Stallings, Michael C.; Steffens, Michael; Treutlein, Jens; Tsuang, Ming; Wall, Tamara L.; Wodarz, Norbert; Yuferov, Vadim; Zill, Peter; Bergen, Andrew W.; Chen, Jingchun; Cinciripini, Paul M.; Edenberg, Howard J; Ehringer, Marissa A.; Ferrell, Robert E.; Gelernter, Joel; Goldman, David; Hewitt, John K.; Hopfer, Christian J.; Iacono, William G.; Kaprio, Jaakko; Kreek, Mary Jeanne; Kremensky, Ivo M.; Madden, Pamela A.F.; McGue, Matt; Munafò, Marcus R.; Philibert, Robert A.; Rietschel, Marcella; Roy, Alec; Rujescu, Dan; Saarikoski, Sirkku T.; Swan, Gary E.; Todorov, Alexandre A.; Vanyukov, Michael M.; Weiss, Robert B.; Bierut, Laura J.; Saccone, Nancy L.

2015-01-01

The mu1 opioid receptor gene, OPRM1, has long been a high-priority candidate for human genetic studies of addiction. Because of its potential functional significance, the non-synonymous variant rs1799971 (A118G, Asn40Asp) in OPRM1 has been extensively studied, yet its role in addiction has remained unclear, with conflicting association findings. To resolve the question of what effect, if any, rs1799971 has on substance dependence risk, we conducted collaborative meta-analyses of 25 datasets with over 28,000 European-ancestry subjects. We investigated non-specific risk for “general” substance dependence, comparing cases dependent on any substance to controls who were non-dependent on all assessed substances. We also examined five specific substance dependence diagnoses: DSM-IV alcohol, opioid, cannabis, and cocaine dependence, and nicotine dependence defined by the proxy of heavy/light smoking (cigarettes-per-day > 20 versus ≤ 10). The G allele showed a modest protective effect on general substance dependence (OR = 0.90, 95% C.I. [0.83–0.97], p-value = 0.0095, N = 16,908). We observed similar effects for each individual substance, although these were not statistically significant, likely because of reduced sample sizes. We conclude that rs1799971 contributes to mechanisms of addiction liability that are shared across different addictive substances. This project highlights the benefits of examining addictive behaviors collectively and the power of collaborative data sharing and meta-analyses. PMID:26392368

Pricing Natural Gas. The Outlook for the European Market (Summary)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

Long-term gas supply contracts contain price formulae, in which the gas price is usually linked to the price of another commodity, or to the spot price of gas in a particular market. In continental Europe the gas price in international long-term supply contracts is predominantly linked to oil products. At the same time, spot markets for gas in which gas prices are determined by supply and demand are developing in various EU markets. This paper addresses the question of to what extent the traditional form of oil-based price indexation is sustainable and/or will be sustained by the market players. It discusses the considerations the market players may have in favour of one or the other form of indexation, the external forces that may influence the choice of indexation in the short and longer terms and the consequences of change. It argues that pricing systems are a fundamental part of a market organisation, and that a shift to different pricing structures only happens if and when the main actors are convinced that they understand and accept the consequences of such change. It concludes that there is no strong evidence that the current hybrid situation, in which both forms of gas pricing co-exist, cannot continue. There are also no overriding reasons to intervene in the market practices of price formation. Both systems have their advantages and disadvantages under different market conditions, and to some extent complement each other in the current markets. Different types of risk and the appreciation thereof by the trading parties will determine particular choices of pricing rules and contracting conditions. More importantly, in today's market, in which new supplies are slow to come forward, the choice should be left to the market parties, particularly as sellers and buyers do not seem to be in strong disagreement

Mass and energy-capital conservation equations to study the price evolution of non-renewable energy resources. Part II-Extension to resources sold to the market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gori, F.

2006-01-01

The time evolution of the price of resources sold to the market and of the price difference, between sold and extracted resources, is investigated in case of no accumulation of the resources; i.e. when the resources are extracted and sold to the market at the same mass flow rate. The price evolution of sold resources varies with time according to the relation between the price increase factor, PIF, of sold and extracted resources. The price evolutions of sold resources and price difference are investigated according to the relation between extraction rate and interest rate of extracted and sold resources. The price of sold resources and the price difference increase with time if the PIF of sold resources is greater than the PIF of extracted resources and the initial price is greater than the critical price of sold resources, which depends on the initial price of extracted resources and the interest rate of non-extracted and extracted resources. The price of sold resources and the price difference decrease with time if the PIF of sold resources is greater than the PIF of extracted resources and the initial price is smaller than the critical price of sold resources. The other cases are discussed extensively in the paper. (author)

Path dependent magnetic states and evidence of kinetically arrested states in Nd doped LaFe{sub 11.5}Al{sub 1.5}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bag, Pallab; Nath, R., E-mail: rnath@iisertvm.ac.in

2017-03-15

First order antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic transition and path dependent magnetic states in La{sub 1−x}Nd{sub x}Fe{sub 11.5}Al{sub 1.5} for x∼0.1 are studied at low temperatures via powder x-ray diffraction, magnetization, and specific heat measurements. X-ray diffraction measurements suggest that around 8% of high temperature antiferromagnetic phase is converted to ferromagnetic phase at low temperatures in zero field cooling. A systematic study of temperature and magnetic field dependent magnetization measurements show a non-monotonic variation of upper critical field and re-entrant antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic transition while warming at an applied magnetic field under zero-field-cooled condition. This has been interpreted in the framework of kinetic arrest model for first order magnetic transition. It is also found that the antiferromagnetic phase is in the non-equilibrium state and behaves as a glass-like magnetic state at low temperatures. The specific heat in field-temperature space is studied and found to have a lower electronic contribution for the non-equilibrium antiferromagnetic state, compared to the equilibrium ferromagnetic state in this compound. - Highlights: • Structural and magnetic properties of La{sub 0.9}Nd{sub 0.1}Fe{sub 11.5}Al{sub 1.5} are investigated. • It shows coexistence and path dependent AFM and FM phases at low temperatures. • The AFM and FM phase fractions were estimated from the x-ray diffraction pattern. • Re-entrant transition and a non-monotonic variation of upper critical field. • The glass like AFM state is explained by the kinetic arrest model.

Evaluation of policy options to reform the EU Emissions Trading System. Effects on carbon price, emissions and the economy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verdonk, M.; Brink, C.; Vollebergh, H.; Roelfsema, M.

2013-04-15

The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is a key instrument of EU climate policy, providing a clear reduction pathway for CO2 emissions. The current carbon price (of about 3 euros per tonne of CO2, April 2013) is much lower than previously expected (which was around 30 euros) and is likely to remain low for a long time. This fuels doubts about whether the ETS will remain a key policy instrument in the long term. Such doubts also increase investment uncertainty, which is likely to have a negative impact on further investments in low-carbon technologies needed for a low-carbon economy in 2050. In November 2012, the European Commission put forward six options for a more structural reform of the EU ETS. The proposed options vary from reducing the cap and expanding the ETS to include other sectors, to strengthening the ETS by measures directly affecting allowance prices. The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment (IenM) asked the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency to assess the impact of these options. Four categories of options for reforming the ETS were evaluated: (1) reducing the supply of emission allowances; (2) expanding the ETS by including other sectors; (3) a minimum price for auctioned allowances; and (4) combining ETS with a carbon tax. Recently, the European Parliament voted against the European Commission's proposal to temporarily set aside emission allowances. In an earlier assessment of this proposal, PBL concluded that the impact of this backloading proposal on CO2 prices is likely to be limited, because the total amount of allowances up to 2020 would remain unchanged. All options analysed would reduce emissions and cause the emission price to increase. A minimum price on carbon, however, would provide the best opportunity to make the ETS more robust against unforeseen events, such as a further deterioration of the economy. Such a minimum price would result in more emission reductions if abatement proves to be cheaper

Effect of the 1973 oil price embargo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goel, R.K.; Morey, M.J.

1993-01-01

This paper focuses on the effect of the oil shock of 1973 on US gasoline demand by examining the price elasticities of demand before and after the 1973 embargo. Price elasticities provide useful input to the development of public policy dealing with taxation and pollution control. The extensive data used include state level observations for nearly three decades spanning 1952-80. We apply non-parametric regression methods that are more appropriate to our investigation than traditional parametric techniques. Unlike standard regression techniques, non-parametric methods neither assume a functional form for the demand relation nor restrict the distribution of the dependent variable. Our results show that the mean price elasticity of gasoline demand for the USA was - 0.243 for 1952-73 and the corresponding number for 1973-80 was - 0.576, statistically different at the 5% level of significance. The relatively higher price elasticity in the post-embargo period is consistent with the hypothesis that consumers sought substitutes and restricted their consumption in response to prices as well as social responsibility. The policy implications of these results are also discussed. (author)

NON-LINEARITY OF AUDIT PRICES AND REPUTATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: SHIFT TO OR FROM?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Svitlana Shulha

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the paper is to analyse the origins of audit prices non-linearity in developing countries. We assume risk- and industry-sensitiveness of audit firms there due to the low institutional capacity, weak market forces development and questionable both auditors and clients ethical behaviour affecting market sustainability and implying additional challenges on stakeholder confidence. Methodology. We combine economic geography approach and reputation-averse phenomenon to explain endogenous volatility of average audit prices in Ukraine for the period of 2008-2015. Analysis of recent publications partially explains audit pricing non-linearity determinants that have both qualitative (brand and specialization and quantitative (risks, manipulations, bribery nature in developing countries. First, we qualify determinants of audit fees by inherent origin (endogenous, exogenous, stakeholder side (demand, supply, and market structure (concentrated, fragmented. Second, we summarize reputation challenges of audit business in developing countries. Third, we run empirical analysis of average prices in Ukraine for the period of 2008-2015 based on annual Chamber of Auditors of Ukraine reports data. Practical implications. Audit pricing models in developed countries are mainly exogenous and based on the auditor’s risk assessment. Vulnerability of markets and clients’ unethical behaviour makes audit pricing models more endogenous in developing countries. Value/originality. This is the first paper providing a better understanding of audit prices declination in Ukraine as a consequence of dysfunctional audit firms’ behaviour, institutional and market fragility, inherent to developing countries.

Natural gas supply strategies for European energy market actors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Girault, Vincent

2007-06-01

The liberalization of the European energy markets leads to the diversification of supplies. Hence, we analyse the natural gas importation problem in a power producer point of view. Upstream and downstream natural gas markets are concentrated. In this oligopoly context, our topic is to focus on strategies which modify natural gas sourcing price. This by studying the surplus sharing on the natural gas chain. A European firm can bundle gas and electricity outputs to increase its market share. Therefore, a bundling strategy of a power producer in competition with a natural gas reseller on the final European energy market increases upstream natural gas price. Bundling also acts as a raising rival cost strategy and reduces the rivals' profit. Profits opportunities incite natural gas producers to enter the final market. Vertical integration between a natural gas producer and a European gas reseller is a way, for producers, to catch end consumer surplus. Vertical integration results in the foreclosure of the power producer on the upstream natural gas market. To be active on the natural gas market, the power producer could supply bundles. But, this strategy reallocates the rent. The integrated firm on natural gas gets the rent of electricity market in expenses of the power producer. Then, a solution for the power producer is to supply gas and electricity as complements. Then, we consider a case where vertical integration is not allowed. Input price discrimination by a monopolist leads to a lower natural gas price for the actor which diversifies its supplying sources. Furthermore, a bundling strategy increases the gap between the price proposed to the firm which also diversify its output and the firm which is fully dependent from the producer to supply natural gas on final market. (author)

Perceived price complexity of dynamic energy tariffs: An investigation of antecedents and consequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Layer, Patrick; Feurer, Sven; Jochem, Patrick

2017-01-01

Dynamic tariffs have the potential to contribute to a successful shift from conventional to renewable energies, but tapping this potential in Europe ultimately depends on residential consumers selecting them. This study proposes and finds that consumer reactions to dynamic tariffs depend on the level of perceived price complexity that represents the cognitive effort consumers must engage in to compute the overall bill amount. An online experiment conducted with a representative sample of 664 German residential energy consumers examines how salient characteristics of dynamic tariffs contribute to perceived price complexity. Subsequently, a structural equation model (SEM) reveals that the depth of information processing is central to understand how price complexity relates to consumers’ behavioral intentions. The results suggest that it will be challenging to convince European consumers to select complex dynamic tariffs under the current legal framework. Policymakers will need to find ways to make these tariffs more attractive. - Highlights: • Little is known about the processes by which consumers evaluate dynamic tariffs. • In this evaluation process perceived price complexity plays a central role. • Tariff type, price endings, and discount presentation format drive price complexity. • Perceived price complexity decreases the depth of information processing. • A decreased depth of information processing ultimately leads to lower behavioral intentions.

Non-common path aberration correction in an adaptive optics scanning ophthalmoscope.

Science.gov (United States)

Sulai, Yusufu N; Dubra, Alfredo

2014-09-01

The correction of non-common path aberrations (NCPAs) between the imaging and wavefront sensing channel in a confocal scanning adaptive optics ophthalmoscope is demonstrated. NCPA correction is achieved by maximizing an image sharpness metric while the confocal detection aperture is temporarily removed, effectively minimizing the monochromatic aberrations in the illumination path of the imaging channel. Comparison of NCPA estimated using zonal and modal orthogonal wavefront corrector bases provided wavefronts that differ by ~λ/20 in root-mean-squared (~λ/30 standard deviation). Sequential insertion of a cylindrical lens in the illumination and light collection paths of the imaging channel was used to compare image resolution after changing the wavefront correction to maximize image sharpness and intensity metrics. Finally, the NCPA correction was incorporated into the closed-loop adaptive optics control by biasing the wavefront sensor signals without reducing its bandwidth.

Prices dip along with volume

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1993-01-01

The summer doldrums took hold in July, with only eight deals taking place, four on the spot concentrates market, two in conversion and two in enrichment. Spot concentrates volume dropped by 23% to nearly 1.2 million lbs U308 equivalent, resulting in slight declines in NUKEM's restricted and unrestricted price ranges. There were four deals on the spot market in July, totaling nearly 1.2 million lbs U3O8 equivalent. One of the buyers, a US utility, bought low-enriched uranium containing up to 440,000 lbs equivalent. Two of the buyers, a European and a US utility, purchased nearly 580,000 lbs of concentrates, with most going to the European utility. And another US utility bought UF6 containing 149,000 lbs equivalent. As for new demand, four buyers - including the European and US utilities that bought concentrates, as well as an East European utility and a non-US producer - entered the market during the month seeking 1.4 million lbs equivalent. The latter two buyers, along with another European utility and another US utility, are now weighing offers for more than 2.2 million lbs U3O8 equivalent. Looking ahead, we anticipate that as many as 17 buyers may enter the market for nearly 5 million lbs equivalent

The European power industry : asymmetries and price volatility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isabel, M.; Soares, R.T.

2005-01-01

A time series model was used to obtain empirical evidence on the spot price volatility of the Spanish electricity market. The model was based on a single market operator and 2 system operators. A generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model was used to model and forecast conditional variances related to the spot price volatility of the Spanish electricity market. A correlogram analysis was used to model the processes behind the time series. Autocorrelation and partial autocorrelation functions were used to demonstrate that the the derived electricity spot price series was not a random walk. Lags in various areas were attributed to the fact that a large proportion of electricity is consumed by industry. Weekly cycles justified values presented by a lags multiple of 7. Results of the modelling study showed that the method can be used in the risk management of electricity portfolios as well as in the pricing and hedging of different types of derivatives in electricity markets. It was concluded that further work is needed to reduce instability and asymmetries between generators, consumers and regulators. 16 refs., 5 tabs., 5 figs

How large are the differences between originator and generic prices? Analysis of five molecules in 16 European countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabine Vogler

2012-12-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To survey the price differences between originators and generics for a selected basket of molecules and to analyze similarities and differences with regard to the countries included and their generic policies. METHODS: Ex-factory prices as of November 2011 of five molecules provided from the Pharma Price Information (PPI service of the Austrian Health Institute were analyzed for 16 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, UK. The selected molecules were gemcitabine, mycophenolate mofetil, olanzapine, risperidone and sumatriptan. For a specific presentation (same pack size, dosage and pharmaceutical form of each molecule, the prices of the original product and the “most common generic” as defined by PPI were compared. RESULTS: Considerable variations among the extent of price differences between originator and generic were identified (gemicitabine: lowest price difference of 1.4% between originator and generic in Belgium and highest difference of 73.4% in Portugal; mycophenolate mofetil: 3.4% Norway – 71.7% Netherlands; olanzapine: 0.1% Spain – 97.1% Sweden; risperidone: 0.9% Netherlands – 97.3% UK; sumatriptan: 5.8% Greece – 95.0% Denmark. Further, no difference at all between originator and generic prices was found for some molecules in a few countries (Norway: for 4 of the 5 molecules analyzed; Spain: 3; Belgium: 2; in Austria, France and Greece for one molecule respectively. For the five molecules of the sample, Greece, Spain, Ireland and Norway consistently displayed lower price differences whereas Denmark, Finland and Sweden tended to show higher differences between originator and generic prices. CONCLUSION: Even if this research is illustrative and not representative due to the small sample size, results suggest confirming large differences across Europe. It appears that countries (e.g. Denmark

Contracting Fashion Products Supply Chains When Demand Is Dependent on Price and Sales Effort

OpenAIRE

Wei, Ying; Xiong, Liyang

2015-01-01

This paper investigates optimal decisions in a two-stage fashion product supply chain under two specified contracts: revenue-sharing contract and wholesale price contract, where demand is dependent on retailing price and sales effort level. Optimal decisions and related profits are analyzed and further compared among the cases where the effort investment fee is determined and undertaken either by the retailer or the manufacturer. Results reveal that if the retailer determines the effort inves...

Separated influence of crude oil prices on regional natural gas import prices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ji, Qiang; Geng, Jiang-Bo; Fan, Ying

2014-01-01

This paper analyses the impact of global economic activity and international crude oil prices on natural gas import prices in three major natural gas markets using the panel cointegration model. It also investigates the shock impacts of the volatility and the increase and decrease of oil prices on regional natural gas import prices. The results show that both global economic activity and international crude oil prices have significant long-term positive effects on regional natural gas import prices. The volatility of international crude oil prices has a negative impact on regional natural gas import prices. The shock impact is weak in North America, lags in Europe and is most significant in Asia, which is mainly determined by different regional policies for price formation. In addition, the response of natural gas import prices to increases and decreases in international crude oil prices shows an asymmetrical mechanism, of which the decrease impact is relatively stronger. - Highlights: • Impacts of world economy and oil prices on regional natural gas prices are analysed • North American natural gas prices are mainly affected by world economy • Asian and European natural gas prices are mainly affected by oil prices • The volatility of oil prices has a negative impact on regional natural gas prices • The response of natural gas import prices to oil prices up and down shows asymmetry

Jet path length dependence in Pb+Pb Collisions with the ATLAS detector

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00232412; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

The phenomenon of events containing highly asymmetric dijet pairs is one of the most striking results in heavy ion physics. It has provided the first direct observation of in-medium jet energy loss at the LHC. New results showing the variation of the dijet asymmetry with the angle between the leading jet and the second order event-plane are presented. This observable effectively probes the path-length dependence of the dijet asymmetry at fixed centrality. The variation of the dijet asymmetry with the soft particle v2, at fixed centrality is also measured. These measurements can provide a better understanding of the correlation of the parton energy-loss with the underlying geometry. Correlated production of nearby jets is also shown. Two neighbouring jets originating from the same hard scattering should have more similar path lengths in the medium compared to the two jets in the dijet event topology, therefore measuring neighbouring jets may probe differences in quenching that do not result from different path...

Non-European traditional herbal medicines in Europe: a community herbal monograph perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Qu, Liping; Zou, Wenjun; Zhou, Zhenxiang; Zhang, Tingmo; Greef, JanVander; Wang, Mei

2014-10-28

The European Directive 2004/24/EC introducing a simplified registration procedure for traditional herbal medicinal products, plays an important role in harmonising the current legislation framework for all herbal medicinal products in the European Union (EU). Although substantial achievements have been made under the new scheme, only a limited number of herbal medicinal products from non-European traditions commonly used in Europe have been registered. Therefore, identification of the obstacles, and determination of appropriate means to overcome the major challenges in the registration of non-European traditional herbal medicinal products are of critical importance for the EU herbal medicinal product market. The primary aims of this study were to understand the key issues and obstacles to registration of non-European traditional herbal medicinal products within the EU. The findings may identify the need for more attention on the Community herbal monographs elaborated by the Herbal Medicinal Products Committee (HMPC), as well as further evidence based scientific research on non-European herbal substances/preparations by the scientific community. A systematic evaluation of the herbal substances and preparations included in Community herbal monographs and public statements has been carried out. The focus was herbal substances and preparations derived from non-European traditions. Of the 109 adopted Community herbal monographs, 10 are herbal substances used in Chinese traditional medicine. Where the HMPC issued a public statement because it was unable to elaborate a monograph more than half-involved herbal substances/preparations from non-European traditions. The main reasons herbal substances/preparations from non-European traditions were not accepted for inclusion in the Community herbal monographs have been identified as due to unfulfilled requirements of Directive 2004/24/EC. The most common reasons were the lack of evidence to demonstrate a 15-year minimum

The evolution of gas price: gas assessment and perspectives; The evolution of gas price on the American, Asian and European markets; Assessment of the organised gas market; Assessment of gas market opening; Gas price: the point of view of consumers and providers; Tariff, the formula which cannot be found: a new stage in an endless history; The diversity of the world gas industry: the Mediterranean situation on prices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malherbe, Herve; Corbeau, Anne-Sophie; Lu, Long; Maire, Jacques; Verdier, Catherine; Bros, Thierry; Nyouki, Evariste; Astruc, Pierre; Katz, Richard; Jamme, Dominique; Rosier, Philippe; Salanson, Damien; Saniez, Thierry; Moraleda, Pedro; Le Gourrierec, M.

2012-01-01

After a brief introduction, this document contains the various contributions and interventions during round tables dealing with the evolution of gas price on American, Asian and European markets, an assessment of the organised gas market (model, references, members, and so on), an assessment of market gas opening, the point of view of consumers and providers on gas price. Then three articles address the issue of gas pricing in France, the developments of gas industry in the world (consumptions, production, perspectives for LNG) and the Mediterranean situation with respect to gas prices (trends and challenges)

Energy Prices and Internal Costs in Croatian Energy System Restructuring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Potocnik, V. , Magdic, M.

1995-01-01

After social and political changes in 1990, energy prices in Croatia have been getting closer to the West European averages, faster than in the most European countries in transition. The energy prices for industry are almost at the West European level, while the energy prices of electricity and natural gas for households and those of the gasoline are well behind. If the population purchasing power parity (PPP) is taken into account, these relations change. While the internalization of external energy costs is under way in the developed world, it has not practically started yet in Croatia. The Croatian energy system restructuring shall require gradual adjustment of energy prices, together with multistage internalization of external energy costs. (author). 6 refs., 3 tabs., 2 figs

Overview of external reference pricing systems in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Rémuzat, Cécile; Urbinati, Duccio; Mzoughi, Olfa; El Hammi, Emna; Belgaied, Wael; Toumi, Mondher

2015-01-01

External reference pricing (ERP) is a price regulation tool widely used by policy makers in the European Union (EU) Member States (MS) to contain drug cost, although in theory, it may contribute to modulate prices up and down. The objective of this article was to summarise and discuss the main findings of part of a large project conducted for the European Commission ('External reference pricing of medicinal products: simulation-based considerations for cross-country coordination'; see www.ec.europa.eu/health/healthcare/docs/erp_reimbursement_medicinal_products_en.pdf) that aimed to provide an overview of ERP systems, both on processes and potential issues in 31 European countries (28 EU MS, Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland). A systematic structured literature review was conducted to identify and characterise the use of ERP in the selected countries, to describe its impact on the prices of pharmaceuticals, and to discuss the possible cross-country coordination issues in EU MS. This research was complemented with a consultation of competent authorities' and international organisations' representatives to address the main issues or uncertainties identified through the literature review. All selected countries applied ERP, except the United Kingdom and Sweden. Twenty-three countries used ERP as the main systematic criterion for pricing. In the majority of European countries, ERP was based on legislated pricing rules with different levels of accuracy. ERP was applied either for all marketed drugs or for specific categories of medicines; it was mainly used for publicly reimbursed medicines. The number of reference countries included in the basket varied from 1 to 31. There was a great variation in the calculation methods used to compute the price; 15 countries used the average price, 7 countries used the lowest price, and 7 countries used other calculation methods. Reported limitations of ERP application included the lack of reliable sources of price information, price

Asymptotic approach to the pricing of geometric asian options under the CEV model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Min-Ku

2016-01-01

This paper studies the pricing of Asian options whose payoffs depend on the average value of an underlying asset during the period to a maturity. Since the Asian option is not so sensitive to the value of underlying asset, the possibility of manipulation is relatively small than the other options such as European vanilla and barrier options. We derive the pricing formula of geometric Asian options under the constant elasticity of variance (CEV) model that is one of local volatility models, and investigate the implication of the CEV model for geometric Asian options.

Education of Non-European Ancestry Immigrant Students in Suburban High Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Shodavaram, Mary P.; Jones, Lisa A.; Weaver, Laurie R.; Marquez, Judith A.; Ensle, Anne L.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine suburban high school teachers' beliefs about non-European ancestry immigrant students; more specifically, suburban teachers' beliefs regarding the impact of students' cultural backgrounds on academic performance were examined. Non-European ancestry immigrant students are those students whose ancestral…

Visibility graph network analysis of natural gas price: The case of North American market

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Mei; Wang, Yaqi; Gao, Cuixia

2016-11-01

Fluctuations in prices of natural gas significantly affect global economy. Therefore, the research on the characteristics of natural gas price fluctuations, turning points and its influencing cycle on the subsequent price series is of great significance. Global natural gas trade concentrates on three regional markets: the North American market, the European market and the Asia-Pacific market, with North America having the most developed natural gas financial market. In addition, perfect legal supervision and coordinated regulations make the North American market more open and more competitive. This paper focuses on the North American natural gas market specifically. The Henry Hub natural gas spot price time series is converted to a visibility graph network which provides a new direction for macro analysis of time series, and several indicators are investigated: degree and degree distribution, the average shortest path length and community structure. The internal mechanisms underlying price fluctuations are explored through the indicators. The results show that the natural gas prices visibility graph network (NGP-VGN) is of small-world and scale-free properties simultaneously. After random rearrangement of original price time series, the degree distribution of network becomes exponential distribution, different from the original ones. This means that, the original price time series is of long-range negative correlation fractal characteristic. In addition, nodes with large degree correspond to significant geopolitical or economic events. Communities correspond to time cycles in visibility graph network. The cycles of time series and the impact scope of hubs can be found by community structure partition.

Organic vs. Non-Organic Food Products: Credence and Price Competition

OpenAIRE

Yi Wang; Zhanguo Zhu; Feng Chu

2017-01-01

We analyze the organic and non-organic production choices of two firms by considering customers’ trust in organic food products. In the context of customers’ possible willingness to pay a premium price and their mistrust in organic food products, two firms first make choices on offering organic and non-organic food products. If offering organic products, a firm can further invest in the credence system to increase customers’ trust in their organic products. At the final stage, two firms deter...

Auction pricing of network access for North American railways

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Harrod, Steven

2013-01-01

The question of pricing train paths for "open access" railway networks in North America is discussed. An auction process is suggested as necessary to maintain transparency in the contracting process. Multiple random samples of auction pricing for a single track railway line demonstrate...... that the infrastructure entity will receive approximately 15.6% less than the true value of the contracted train paths. This loss of revenue threatens the objective of reducing government subsidy for the railway network. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

Does energy-price regulation benefit China's economy and environment? Evidence from energy-price distortions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ju, Keyi; Su, Bin; Zhou, Dequn; Wu, Junmin

2017-01-01

China's energy prices have long been regulated due to the critical role energy plays in economic growth and social development, which leads to energy-price distortion to some extent. To figure out whether energy-price regulations will benefit China's economy (measured by GDP growth) and environment (measured by carbon emissions), we conducted an in-depth simulation using path analysis, where five energy products (natural gas, gasoline, fuel oil, steam coal, and coking coal) are selected and three measurements (absolute, relative, and moving) of energy-price distortions are calculated. The results indicate that, with a series of energy pricing policies, the price distortion for a single type of energy has gradually transformed, while the energy pricing system in China is not fully market-oriented yet. Furthermore, China's economy benefits from relative and moving distortions, while the absolute distortions of energy prices have negative impacts on economic growth. Finally, with regard to the environment, carbon emissions call for fewer distortions. - Highlights: • Price distortion for a single type of energy has gradually transformed. • Energy pricing system in China is not yet fully market-oriented. • China's economy benefits from relative and moving distortions. • Absolute distortions of energy prices have negative effects on economic growth. • Carbon emissions call for less pricing distortions.

Using Partial Differential Equations for Pricing of Goods and Services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Traykov Metodi

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This article is based on the methodology of comparative analysis, using an innovative approach for pricing of various goods and services. Benchmarking is the continuous search to find and adapt better pricing methods that leading to increased profits. We will consider the numerical solution of partial differential equations, based on Black-Scholes model for pricing of goods and services within European option. Also, we will present formulation and numerical behavior of explicit and implicit methods that can be use in pricing for company assets within European option.

A Consistent Pricing Model for Index Options and Volatility Derivatives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kokholm, Thomas

to be priced consistently, while allowing for jumps in volatility and returns. An affine specification using Lévy processes as building blocks leads to analytically tractable pricing formulas for volatility derivatives, such as VIX options, as well as efficient numerical methods for pricing of European options...... on the underlying asset. The model has the convenient feature of decoupling the vanilla skews from spot/volatility correlations and allowing for different conditional correlations in large and small spot/volatility moves. We show that our model can simultaneously fit prices of European options on S&P 500 across...

A Consistent Pricing Model for Index Options and Volatility Derivatives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cont, Rama; Kokholm, Thomas

2013-01-01

to be priced consistently, while allowing for jumps in volatility and returns. An affine specification using Lévy processes as building blocks leads to analytically tractable pricing formulas for volatility derivatives, such as VIX options, as well as efficient numerical methods for pricing of European options...... on the underlying asset. The model has the convenient feature of decoupling the vanilla skews from spot/volatility correlations and allowing for different conditional correlations in large and small spot/volatility moves. We show that our model can simultaneously fit prices of European options on S&P 500 across...

Contracting Fashion Products Supply Chains When Demand Is Dependent on Price and Sales Effort

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ying Wei

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates optimal decisions in a two-stage fashion product supply chain under two specified contracts: revenue-sharing contract and wholesale price contract, where demand is dependent on retailing price and sales effort level. Optimal decisions and related profits are analyzed and further compared among the cases where the effort investment fee is determined and undertaken either by the retailer or the manufacturer. Results reveal that if the retailer determines the effort investment level, she would be better off under the wholesale price contract and would invest more effort. However, if the manufacturer determines the effort level, he prefers to the revenue-sharing contract most likely if both parties agree on consignment.

Pricing unit-linked insurance with guaranteed benefit

Science.gov (United States)

Iqbal, M.; Novkaniza, F.; Novita, M.

2017-07-01

Unit-linked insurance is an investment-linked insurance, that is, the given benefit is the premium investment out-come. Recently, the most widely marketed insurance in the industry is unit-linked insurance with guaranteed benefit. With guaranteed benefit applied, the insurance benefits form is similar to the payoff form of European call option. Thereby, pricing European call option is involved in pricing unit-linked insurance with guaranteed benefit. The dynamics of investment outcome is assumed to follow stochastic interest rate. Hence, change of measure methods is used in pricing unit-linked insurance. The discount factor with stochastic interest rate needs to be modified as well to be zero coupon bond price. Eventually, the insurance premium is calculated by equivalence principle with guaranteed benefit and insurance period explicitly given.

How partnership behaviour evolves in networks : path dependency, social figuration and life events

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Romme, A.G.L.; Akkermans, H.A.

2008-01-01

Networks have become the dominant life form in many organizational settings. Most studies of relationships in networks focus on the dyadic interaction between two agents. However, work on enactment, sensemaking, path dependency, and social figuration processes (e.g. by Weick and Elias) suggests

A note on the optimal pricing strategy in the discrete-time Geo/Geo/1 queuing system with sojourn time-dependent reward

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Doo Ho Lee

Full Text Available This work studies the optimal pricing strategy in a discrete-time Geo/Geo/1 queuing system under the sojourn time-dependent reward. We consider two types of pricing schemes. The first one is called the ex-post payment scheme where the server charges a price that is proportional to the time a customer spends in the system, and the second one is called ex-ante payment scheme where the server charges a flat price for all services. In each pricing scheme, a departing customer receives the reward that is inversely proportional to his/her sojourn time. The server should make the optimal pricing decisions in order to maximize its expected profits per time unit in each pricing scheme. This work also investigates customer's equilibrium joining or balking behavior under server's optimal pricing strategy. Numerical experiments are also conducted to validate our analysis. Keywords: Optimal pricing, Equilibrium behavior, Geo/Geo/1 queue, Sojourn time-dependent reward

Stocking and price-reduction decisions for non-instantaneous deteriorating items under time value of money

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Freddy Andrés Pérez

2019-01-01

Full Text Available Deteriorating inventory models are used as decision support tools for managers primarily, although not exclusively, in the retail trade. The mathematical modeling of deteriorating items allows managers to analyze their inventory management systems to identify areas that can be improved and to measure the corresponding potential benefits. This study develops an enhanced deteriorating inventory model for optimizing the inventory control strategy of companies operating in sectors with deteriorating products. In contrast with previous studies, our model holistically accounts for the overall financial effect of a company’s policies on product price discounting and on inventory shortages while considering the time value of money (TVM. We aim to find the optimal replenishment strategy and the optimal price reductions that maximize the discounted profit function of this analytical model over a fixed planning horizon. To this end, we use an economic order quantity model to study the effects of the TVM and inflation. The model accounts for pre- and post-deterioration discounts on the selling price for non-instantaneous deteriorating products with the demand rate being a function of time, price-discounts and stock-keeping units. Shortages are allowed and partially backordered, depending on the waiting time until the next replenishment. Additionally, we consider the effect of discounts on the selling price when items have either an instant deterioration or a fixed lifetime. We propose five implementable solutions for obtaining the optimal values, and examine their performance. We present some numerical examples to illustrate the applicability of the models, and carry out a sensitivity analysis. The study reveals that accounting for TVM and inventory shortages is complex and time-consuming; nevertheless, we find that accounting for TVM and shortages can be valuable in terms of increasing the yields of companies. Finally, we provide some important

Artificial Potential Field Approach to Path Tracking for a Non-Holonomic Mobile Robot

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, M.J.

2003-01-01

This paper introduces a novel path tracking controller for an over-actuated robotic vehicle moving in an agricultural field. The vehicle itself is a four wheel steered, four wheel driven vehicle subject to the two non-holonomic constraints of free rolling and non-slipping wheels. A dynamic model...

Coordinating a Supply Chain with Price and Advertisement Dependent Stochastic Demand

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Liying; Wang, Yong; Yan, Xiaoming

2013-01-01

This paper investigates pricing and ordering as well as advertising coordination issues in a single-manufacturer single-retailer supply chain, where the manufacturer sells a newsvendor-type product through the retailer who faces a stochastic demand depending on both retail price and advertising expenditure. Under the assumption that the market demand has a multiplicative functional form, the Stackelberg and cooperative game models are developed, and the closed form solution to each model is provided as well. Comparisons and insights are presented. We show that a properly designed revenue-cost-sharing contract can achieve supply chain coordination and lead to a Pareto improving win-win situation for channel members. We also discuss the allocation of the extra joint profit according to individual supply chain members' risk preferences and negotiating powers. PMID:24453832

Coordinating a Supply Chain with Price and Advertisement Dependent Stochastic Demand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liying Li

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates pricing and ordering as well as advertising coordination issues in a single-manufacturer single-retailer supply chain, where the manufacturer sells a newsvendor-type product through the retailer who faces a stochastic demand depending on both retail price and advertising expenditure. Under the assumption that the market demand has a multiplicative functional form, the Stackelberg and cooperative game models are developed, and the closed form solution to each model is provided as well. Comparisons and insights are presented. We show that a properly designed revenue-cost-sharing contract can achieve supply chain coordination and lead to a Pareto improving win-win situation for channel members. We also discuss the allocation of the extra joint profit according to individual supply chain members’ risk preferences and negotiating powers.

Coordinating a supply chain with price and advertisement dependent stochastic demand.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Liying; Wang, Yong; Yan, Xiaoming

2013-01-01

This paper investigates pricing and ordering as well as advertising coordination issues in a single-manufacturer single-retailer supply chain, where the manufacturer sells a newsvendor-type product through the retailer who faces a stochastic demand depending on both retail price and advertising expenditure. Under the assumption that the market demand has a multiplicative functional form, the Stackelberg and cooperative game models are developed, and the closed form solution to each model is provided as well. Comparisons and insights are presented. We show that a properly designed revenue-cost-sharing contract can achieve supply chain coordination and lead to a Pareto improving win-win situation for channel members. We also discuss the allocation of the extra joint profit according to individual supply chain members' risk preferences and negotiating powers.

Fourier and wavelet option pricing methods

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S.C. Maree (Stef); L. Ortiz Gracia (Luis); C.W. Oosterlee (Cornelis); M.A.H. Dempster; J. Kanniainen (Juho); J. Keane (John); E. Vynckier (Erik)

2018-01-01

textabstractIn this overview chapter, we will discuss the use of exponentially converging option pricing techniques for option valuation. We will focus on the pricing of European options, and they are the basic instruments within a calibration procedure when fitting the parameters in asset dynamics.

Price-Taker Offering Strategy in Electricity Pay-as-Bid Markets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mazzi, Nicolò; Kazempour, Jalal; Pinson, Pierre

2017-01-01

The recent increase in the deployment of renewable energy sources may affect the offering strategy of conventional producers, mainly in the balancing market. The topics of optimal offering strategy and self-scheduling of thermal units have been extensively addressed in the literature. The feasible...... operating region of such units can be modeled using a mixed-integer linear programming approach, and the trading problem as a linear programming problem. However, the existing models mostly assume a uniform pricing scheme in all market stages, while several European balancing markets (e.g., in Germany...... and Italy) are settled under a pay-as-bid pricing scheme. The existing tools for solving the trading problem in pay-as-bid electricity markets rely on non-linear optimization models, which, combined with the unit commitment constraints, result in a mixed-integer non-linear programming problem. In contrast...

Supply Chain Coordination with Carbon Trading Price and Consumers’ Environmental Awareness Dependent Demand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qinghua Pang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Carbon emissions reduction in supply chain is an effective method to reduce the greenhouse effect. The paper investigates the impacts of carbon trading price and consumers’ environmental awareness on carbon emissions in supply chain under the cap-and-trade system. Firstly, it analyzes the centralized decision structure and obtains the requirements to coordinate carbon emissions reduction and order quantity in supply chain. Secondly, it proposes the supply chain coordination mechanism with revenue-sharing contract based on quantity discount policy, and the requirements that the contract parameters need to satisfy are also given. Thirdly, assuming the market demand is affected by consumer’s environmental awareness in addition form, the paper proposes the methods to determine the optimal order quantity and the optimal level of carbon emissions through model optimization. Finally, it investigates the impacts of carbon trading price on carbon emissions in supply chain. The results show that clean manufacturer’s optimal per-unit carbon emissions increase as the carbon trading price increases, while nongreen manufacturer’s optimal per-unit carbon emissions decrease as the carbon trading price increases. For the middle emissions manufacturer, the optimal per-unit carbon emissions depend on the relationship between the carbon trading price and the carbon reduction coefficient.

A synchrotron X-ray diffraction study of non-proportional strain-path effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collins, D.M.; Erinosho, T.; Dunne, F.P.E.; Todd, R.I.; Connolley, T.; Mostafavi, M.; Kupfer, H.; Wilkinson, A.J.

2017-01-01

Common alloys used in sheet form can display a significant ductility benefit when they are subjected to certain multiaxial strain paths. This effect has been studied here for a polycrystalline ferritic steel using a combination of Nakajima bulge testing, X-ray diffraction during biaxial testing of cruciform samples and crystal plasticity finite element (CPFE) modelling. Greatest gains in strain to failure were found when subjecting sheets to uniaxial loading followed by balanced biaxial deformation, resulting in a total deformation close to plane-strain. A combined strain of approximately double that of proportional loading was achieved. The evolution of macrostrain, microstrain and texture during non-proportional loading were evaluated by in-situ high energy synchrotron diffraction. The results have demonstrated that the inhomogeneous strain accumulation from non-proportional deformation is strongly dependent on texture and the applied strain-ratio of the first deformation pass. Experimental diffraction evidence is supported by results produced by a novel method of CPFE-derived diffraction simulation. Using constitutive laws selected on the basis of good agreement with measured lattice strain development, the CPFE model demonstrated the capability to replicate ductility gains measured experimentally.

Path Planning for Non-Circular, Non-Holonomic Robots in Highly Cluttered Environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Samaniego, Ricardo; Lopez, Joaquin; Vazquez, Fernando

2017-08-15

This paper presents an algorithm for finding a solution to the problem of planning a feasible path for a slender autonomous mobile robot in a large and cluttered environment. The presented approach is based on performing a graph search on a kinodynamic-feasible lattice state space of high resolution; however, the technique is applicable to many search algorithms. With the purpose of allowing the algorithm to consider paths that take the robot through narrow passes and close to obstacles, high resolutions are used for the lattice space and the control set. This introduces new challenges because one of the most computationally expensive parts of path search based planning algorithms is calculating the cost of each one of the actions or steps that could potentially be part of the trajectory. The reason for this is that the evaluation of each one of these actions involves convolving the robot's footprint with a portion of a local map to evaluate the possibility of a collision, an operation that grows exponentially as the resolution is increased. The novel approach presented here reduces the need for these convolutions by using a set of offline precomputed maps that are updated, by means of a partial convolution, as new information arrives from sensors or other sources. Not only does this improve run-time performance, but it also provides support for dynamic search in changing environments. A set of alternative fast convolution methods are also proposed, depending on whether the environment is cluttered with obstacles or not. Finally, we provide both theoretical and experimental results from different experiments and applications.

ACCOUNTING ASPECTS OF PRICING AND TRANSFER PRICING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

TÜNDE VERES

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The pricing methods in practice need really complex view of the business situation and depend on the strategy and market position of a company. The structure of a price seems simple: cost plus margin. Both categories are special area in the management accounting. Information about the product costs, the allocation methodologies in cost accounting, the analyzing of revenue and different level of the margin needs information from accounting system. This paper analyzes the pricing methods from management accounting aspects to show out the role of the accounting system in the short term and long term pricing and transfer pricing decisions.

Data on European non-residential buildings.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Agostino, Delia; Cuniberti, Barbara; Bertoldi, Paolo

2017-10-01

This data article relates to the research paper Energy consumption and efficiency technology measures in European non-residential buildings (D'Agostino et al., 2017) [1]. The reported data have been collected in the framework of the Green Building Programme that ran from 2006 to 2014. The project has encouraged the adoption of efficiency measures to boost energy savings in European non-residential buildings. Data focus on the one-thousand buildings that joined the Programme allowing to save around 985 GWh/year. The main requirement to join the Programme was the reduction of at least 25% primary energy consumption in a new or retrofitted building. Energy consumption before and after the renovation are provided for retrofitted buildings while, in new constructions, a building had to be designed using at least 25% less energy than requested by the country's building codes. The following data are linked within this article: energy consumption, absolute and relative savings related to primary energy, saving percentages, implemented efficiency measures and renewables. Further information is given about each building in relation to geometry, envelope, materials, lighting and systems.

Estimating the price elasticity of expenditure for prescription drugs in the presence of non-linear price schedules: an illustration from Quebec, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Contoyannis, Paul; Hurley, Jeremiah; Grootendorst, Paul; Jeon, Sung-Hee; Tamblyn, Robyn

2005-09-01

The price elasticity of demand for prescription drugs is a crucial parameter of interest in designing pharmaceutical benefit plans. Estimating the elasticity using micro-data, however, is challenging because insurance coverage that includes deductibles, co-insurance provisions and maximum expenditure limits create a non-linear price schedule, making price endogenous (a function of drug consumption). In this paper we exploit an exogenous change in cost-sharing within the Quebec (Canada) public Pharmacare program to estimate the price elasticity of expenditure for drugs using IV methods. This approach corrects for the endogeneity of price and incorporates the concept of a 'rational' consumer who factors into consumption decisions the price they expect to face at the margin given their expected needs. The IV method is adapted from an approach developed in the public finance literature used to estimate income responses to changes in tax schedules. The instrument is based on the price an individual would face under the new cost-sharing policy if their consumption remained at the pre-policy level. Our preferred specification leads to expenditure elasticities that are in the low range of previous estimates (between -0.12 and -0.16). Naïve OLS estimates are between 1 and 4 times these magnitudes. (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Dynamic Oligopoly Pricing: Evidence from the Airline Industry

OpenAIRE

Siegert, Caspar; Ulbricht, Robert

2014-01-01

We explore how pricing dynamics in the European airline industry vary with the competitive environment. Our results highlight substantial variations in pricing dynamics that are consistent with a theory of intertemporal price discrimination. First, the rate at which prices increase towards the scheduled travel date is decreasing in competition, supporting the idea that competition restrains the ability of airlines to price-discriminate. Second, the sensitivity to competition is substantially ...

A Non-linear "Inflation-Relative Prices Variability" Relationship: Evidence from Latin America

OpenAIRE

Mª Ángeles Caraballo Pou; Carlos Dabús; Diego Caramuta

2006-01-01

This paper presents evidence on a non-linear "inflation-relative prices variability" relationship in three Latin American countries with very high inflation experiences: Argentina, Brazil and Peru. More precisely, and in contrast to results found in previous literature for similar countries, we find a non-concave relation at higher inflation regimes, i.e. when inflation rate surpasses certain threshold. This non-concavity is mainly explained by the unexpected component of inflation, which sug...

Delivered Pricing, FOB Pricing, and Collusion in Spatial Markets

OpenAIRE

Maria Paz Espinosa

1992-01-01

This article examines price discrimination and collusion in spatial markets. The problem is analyzed in the context of a repeated duopoly game. I conclude that the prevailing pricing systems depend on the structural elements of the market. Delivered pricing systems emerge in equilibrium in highly monopolistic and highly competitive industries, while FOB is used in intermediate market structures. The fact driving this result is that delivered pricing policies allow spatial price discrimination...

Projections of the energy prices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jankauskas, V.

1996-01-01

This article deals with the trends of the main fuel prices development in the Western European markets. There are two possible price development scenarios presented in the article. Transportation costs of various internationally traded fuels from various sources (Russia, Western Europe) are estimated and their most feasible values are considered. Fuel prices for the final big consumers are calculated adding the domestic distribution costs. Trends of heat and electricity price development in Lithuania during the period of 1991-1995 are analyzed. Forecasts of the electricity generation and supply costs are calculated according to various scenarios. Electricity prices will be lowest in the case of the further operation of the Ignalina NPP and low fuel prices in international markets. (author). 8 refs., 14 figs., 4 tabs

A vector autoregressive model for electricity prices subject to long memory and regime switching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haldrup, Niels; Nielsen, Frank S.; Nielsen, Morten Oerregaard

2010-01-01

A regime dependent VAR model is suggested that allows long memory (fractional integration) in each of the observed regime states as well as the possibility of fractional cointegration. The model is motivated by the dynamics of electricity prices where the transmission of power is subject to occasional congestion periods. For a system of bilateral prices non-congestion means that electricity prices are identical whereas congestion makes prices depart. Hence, the joint price dynamics implies switching between a univariate price process under non-congestion and a bivariate price process under congestion. At the same time, it is an empirical regularity that electricity prices tend to show a high degree of long memory, and thus that prices may be fractionally cointegrated. Analysis of Nord Pool data shows that even though the prices are identical under non-congestion, the prices are not, in general, fractionally cointegrated in the congestion state. Hence, in most cases price convergence is a property following from regime switching rather than a conventional error correction mechanism. Finally, the suggested model is shown to deliver forecasts that are more precise compared to competing models. (author)

Gas Price Formation, Structure and Dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davoust, R.

2008-07-01

similar paradigm. Gas-to-gas competition now prevails. Long-term contracting is still the dominant model in Continental Europe and Northeast Asia, because of their dependence on external imports. Thus, pricing there is more rigid, and due to an indexing clause, gas prices closely follow the tendency of oil markets (as we will see further, American and British prices are also coupled to oil, but for less contractual reasons). Logically, the first part of our study analyses North American gas prices, the second part European prices and the third part Asian prices. Since American and British gas markets exhibit the same nature and similar pricing features, it would be more relevant to treat them together. However, if these two markets are close conceptually, there is no specific price connection between them. Indeed, due to the presence of the Interconnector, a pipeline passing under the Channel, UK prices tend to be rather linked to the European Continent's. Therefore, in our paper, the case of the UK is simply studied inside Europe, although in a dedicated paragraph. While observing mid and long-period price series, we will obviously seek common trends, since price integration (convergence or simple correlation) is generally evidence in favor of market integration. Price indications will thus guide us with a view to answer two crucial questions: 1) Did liberalization policies succeed in the US and EU, in their attempt to make natural gas a freely traded commodity? 2) Is a world market for gas emerging? In other words, is natural gas becoming a worldwide traded commodity? The first question concerns intra-regional integration of markets: common price trends between local spot markets (in the case of the US), between member states (in the case of EU), and between piped gas and LNG (in both cases). The second question concerns inter-regional integration of markets. In this view, the case of LNG will be of an overriding importance. Indeed, the higher technical flexibility

Gas Price Formation, Structure and Dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davoust, R.

2008-01-01

similar paradigm. Gas-to-gas competition now prevails. Long-term contracting is still the dominant model in Continental Europe and Northeast Asia, because of their dependence on external imports. Thus, pricing there is more rigid, and due to an indexing clause, gas prices closely follow the tendency of oil markets (as we will see further, American and British prices are also coupled to oil, but for less contractual reasons). Logically, the first part of our study analyses North American gas prices, the second part European prices and the third part Asian prices. Since American and British gas markets exhibit the same nature and similar pricing features, it would be more relevant to treat them together. However, if these two markets are close conceptually, there is no specific price connection between them. Indeed, due to the presence of the Interconnector, a pipeline passing under the Channel, UK prices tend to be rather linked to the European Continent's. Therefore, in our paper, the case of the UK is simply studied inside Europe, although in a dedicated paragraph. While observing mid and long-period price series, we will obviously seek common trends, since price integration (convergence or simple correlation) is generally evidence in favor of market integration. Price indications will thus guide us with a view to answer two crucial questions: 1) Did liberalization policies succeed in the US and EU, in their attempt to make natural gas a freely traded commodity? 2) Is a world market for gas emerging? In other words, is natural gas becoming a worldwide traded commodity? The first question concerns intra-regional integration of markets: common price trends between local spot markets (in the case of the US), between member states (in the case of EU), and between piped gas and LNG (in both cases). The second question concerns inter-regional integration of markets. In this view, the case of LNG will be of an overriding importance. Indeed, the higher technical flexibility of

The natural gas. Forecast for 2010-2020 (availability, constraints and dependences)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terzian, P.

1998-01-01

In this book the author deals with the supply and the demand forecast of gas for 2020 and evaluate the risks of a possible european dependence towards the importations outside of Europe OECD. The following subjects are also considered: the gas and petroleum prices evolution, the supplying reliability, the european regulation and the specific question of the natural gas liquids. (A.L.B.)

Hybrid path planning for non-holonomic autonomous vehicles: An experimental evaluation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Esposto, F.; Goos, J.; Teerhuis, A.; Alirezaei, M.

2017-01-01

Path planning of an autonomous vehicle as a non-holonomic system is an essential part for many automated driving applications. Parking a car into a parking lot and maneuvering it through a narrow corridor would be a common driving scenarios in an urban environment. In this study a hybrid approach

A Composite Contract for Coordinating a Supply Chain with Price and Effort Dependent Stochastic Demand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Shuang Liu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available As the demand is more sensitive to price and sales effort, this paper investigates the issue of channel coordination for a supply chain with one manufacturer and one retailer facing price and effort dependent stochastic demand. A composite contract based on the quantity-restricted returns and target sales rebate can achieve coordination in this setting. Two main problems are addressed: (1 how to coordinate the decentralized supply chain; (2 how to determine the optimal sales effort level, pricing, and inventory decisions under the additive demand case. Numerical examples are presented to verify the effectiveness of combined contract in supply chain coordination and highlight model sensitivities to parametric changes.

European energy policy: the green book

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2006-01-01

Energy dependence, insecurity of supplies, rise of demand and prices, global warming: these are the characteristics of the energy situation of the 21. century. The new green book of the European Commission about 'a European strategy for a safe, competitive and durable energy' starts from this alarming status and proposes some suggestions for the building up of a new global European energy policy: realization of the European domestic energy markets (a European energy network, a priority interconnection plan for gas networks, a separation of transport and distribution activities for equitable rules, a reinforcement of the competitiveness of the European industry), a joint security of supplies between member states (redefining the EU position about strategic oil and gas reserves), a sustainable, efficient and diversified energy offer, an integrated approach to fight against global warming (improving energy efficiency, development of renewable energy sources, carbon sequestration), encouraging innovation, developing a consistent foreign policy of energy (a clear policy for the security and diversification of energy supplies, energy partnerships between producers, transit countries and other international actors). (J.S.)

Essays in financial transmission rights pricing

Science.gov (United States)

Posner, Barry

transmission paths in the Delmarva Peninsula were examined. The maximum-likelihood two-way Tobit model developed in Chapter One consistently predicts the expected responses to the independent variables that have employed, but the model as defined here does a poor job of predicting prices. This is likely due to the inability to include system outages (i.e., short-term changes in the structure of the transmission grid) as variables in the estimation model. The second chapter addresses the behavior of firms in the monthly auctions for FTRs. FTRs are a claim to congestion rent revenues along a certain path within the PJM grid, and are awarded in a uniform-price divisible-goods auction. Firms typically submit a schedule of bids for different amounts of FTR at different prices, akin to a demand curve. A firm bidding too high a price may cause the clearing price of the FTR to be higher than the realized value of the FTR, creating a loss from ownership of the FTR. A firm bidding too low means that it wins no FTRs, depriving itself of the ability to profit from ownership or to hedge against congestion. Several questions concerning firm behavior are addressed in this study. It is found that firms adjust their bids in response to new information that is obtained from past auctions: they raise or lower bids in accordance with changes in recent FTR prices and payoffs. Firms consistently bid below the value of the FTR (i.e., shade their bids). This adds empirical evidence to the theoretically-posited notion that uniform-price auctions are not truth-telling, unlike the second-price auction for a non-divisible good. Firms employ greater bid-shading in response to increases in the volatility of both FTR clearing prices and realized FTR values. This validates the notion that firms are risk-averse. It is discovered that better-informed "insider" firms employ structurally different bidding strategies, but these differences do not lead to greater profits. However, profits do increase as firms gain

PRICE FAIRNESS PERCEPTION ON ASIATIC MARKETS

OpenAIRE

Elisabeta Ioanăș

2012-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to show the perception of the price fairness in the literature. I made a small comparison between the European and the Asiatic markets. Price is an important key of the marketing mix. On the daily basis, the price fairness is perceived differently from one user to another. Also other researchers states that the price has a great influence on the perceived value and on buying intentions for a product and through this paper can be seen that the culture influences th...

European Union energy policy integration: A case of European Commission policy entrepreneurship and increasing supranationalism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maltby, Tomas

2013-01-01

Focusing on gas, this article explores the role of the European Commission in the process of European Union energy security policy development, and the extent to which the policy area is becoming increasingly supranational. Situating the article within the literature on agenda-setting and framing, it is argued that a policy window was opened as a result of: enlargement to include more energy import dependent states, a trend of increasing energy imports and prices, and gas supply disruptions. From the mid-2000s, the Commission contributed to a shift in political norms, successfully framing import dependency as a problem requiring an EU-level solution, based on the institution’s pre-existing preferences for a diversified energy supply and internal energy market. Whilst Member States retain significant sovereignty, the Commission has achieved since 2006 creeping competencies in the internal, and to a lesser extent external, dimensions of EU energy policy. - Highlights: ► We examine the development of EU energy security policy, focusing on gas. ► We examine changes in European Commission competence in energy policy. ► The European Commission has gained increased competence in the internal market. ► In the external dimension of EU energy policy Member States retain competence. ► The European Commission has had qualified success as a policy entrepreneur

Economic analysis of price premiums in the presence of non-convexities. Evidence from German electricity markets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paschmann, Martin

2017-11-15

Analyzing price data from sequential German electricity markets, namely the day-ahead and intraday auction, a puzzling but apparently systematic pattern of price premiums can be identified. The price premiums are highly correlated with the underlying demand profile. As there is evidence that widespread models for electricity forward premiums are not applicable to the market dynamics under analysis, a theoretical model is developed within this article which reveals that non-convexities in only a subset of sequential markets with differing product granularity may cause systematic price premiums at equilibrium. These price premiums may be bidirectional and reflect a value for additional short-term power supply system flexibility.

Economic analysis of price premiums in the presence of non-convexities. Evidence from German electricity markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paschmann, Martin

2017-01-01

Analyzing price data from sequential German electricity markets, namely the day-ahead and intraday auction, a puzzling but apparently systematic pattern of price premiums can be identified. The price premiums are highly correlated with the underlying demand profile. As there is evidence that widespread models for electricity forward premiums are not applicable to the market dynamics under analysis, a theoretical model is developed within this article which reveals that non-convexities in only a subset of sequential markets with differing product granularity may cause systematic price premiums at equilibrium. These price premiums may be bidirectional and reflect a value for additional short-term power supply system flexibility.

The Price Evolution in the Context of Economic Crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Doriana Andreea Rămescu

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The economic crisis is a negative macroeconomic phenomenon with consequences both at European Union level and worldwide. The main objective of this paper is to analyse the variation of price levels in Romania, during the economic crisis until the end of 2015, compared with the Member States of the European Union and the countries of the European Free Trade Association. For this research, information provided by EUROSTAT was used, such as price level indices for actual individual consumption per capita, and for different goods and services, calculated based on purchasing power parity. The aim is to identify solutions to rising living standards, compared with more developed countries of the European Union. This paper presents possible solutions for avoiding a future economic crisis, caused by overconsumption. The paper is divided into four sections: introduction, part two which presents aspects of the economic crisis in Romania and in the European Union, the third part presents price level indices for different products and services in 2015, and the last part, the conclusions of the research.

Fractional path planning and path tracking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melchior, P.; Jallouli-Khlif, R.; Metoui, B.

2011-01-01

This paper presents the main results of the application of fractional approach in path planning and path tracking. A new robust path planning design for mobile robot was studied in dynamic environment. The normalized attractive force applied to the robot is based on a fictitious fractional attractive potential. This method allows to obtain robust path planning despite robot mass variation. The danger level of each obstacles is characterized by the fractional order of the repulsive potential of the obstacles. Under these conditions, the robot dynamic behavior was studied by analyzing its X - Y path planning with dynamic target or dynamic obstacles. The case of simultaneously mobile obstacles and target is also considered. The influence of the robot mass variation is studied and the robustness analysis of the obtained path shows the robustness improvement due to the non integer order properties. Pre shaping approach is used to reduce system vibration in motion control. Desired systems inputs are altered so that the system finishes the requested move without residual vibration. This technique, developed by N.C. Singer and W.P.Seering, is used for flexible structure control, particularly in the aerospace field. In a previous work, this method was extended for explicit fractional derivative systems and applied to second generation CRONE control, the robustness was also studied. CRONE (the French acronym of C ommande Robuste d'Ordre Non Entier ) control system design is a frequency-domain based methodology using complex fractional integration.

Emergence of multilateral proto-institutions in global health and new approaches to governance: analysis using path dependency and institutional theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez, Eduardo J; Atun, Rifat

2013-05-10

The role of multilateral donor agencies in global health is a new area of research, with limited research on how these agencies differ in terms of their governance arrangements, especially in relation to transparency, inclusiveness, accountability, and responsiveness to civil society. We argue that historical analysis of the origins of these agencies and their coalition formation processes can help to explain these differences. We propose an analytical approach that links the theoretical literature discussing institutional origins to path dependency and institutional theory relating to proto institutions in order to illustrate the differences in coalition formation processes that shape governance within four multilateral agencies involved in global health. We find that two new multilateral donor agencies that were created by a diverse coalition of state and non-state actors, such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and GAVI, what we call proto-institutions, were more adaptive in strengthening their governance processes. This contrasts with two well-established multilateral donor agencies, such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, what we call Bretton Woods (BW) institutions, which were created by nation states alone; and hence, have different origins and consequently different path dependent processes.

Flow-based market coupling. Stepping stone towards nodal pricing?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van der Welle, A.J.

2012-07-01

For achieving one internal energy market for electricity by 2014, market coupling is deployed to integrate national markets into regional markets and ultimately one European electricity market. The extent to which markets can be coupled depends on the available transmission capacities between countries. Since interconnections are congested from time to time, congestion management methods are deployed to divide the scarce available transmission capacities over market participants. For further optimization of the use of available transmission capacities while maintaining current security of supply levels, flow-based market coupling (FBMC) will be implemented in the CWE region by 2013. Although this is an important step forward, important hurdles for efficient congestion management remain. Hence, flow based market coupling is compared to nodal pricing, which is often considered as the most optimal solution from theoretical perspective. In the context of decarbonised power systems it is concluded that advantages of nodal pricing are likely to exceed its disadvantages, warranting further development of FBMC in the direction of nodal pricing.

Optimal dynamic pricing and replenishment policy for perishable items with inventory-level-dependent demand

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Lihao; Zhang, Jianxiong; Tang, Wansheng

2016-04-01

An inventory system for perishable items with limited replenishment capacity is introduced in this paper. The demand rate depends on the stock quantity displayed in the store as well as the sales price. With the goal to realise profit maximisation, an optimisation problem is addressed to seek for the optimal joint dynamic pricing and replenishment policy which is obtained by solving the optimisation problem with Pontryagin's maximum principle. A joint mixed policy, in which the sales price is a static decision variable and the replenishment rate remains to be a dynamic decision variable, is presented to compare with the joint dynamic policy. Numerical results demonstrate the advantages of the joint dynamic one, and further show the effects of different system parameters on the optimal joint dynamic policy and the maximal total profit.

CO2 Allowance and Electricity Price Interaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2007-07-01

With the introduction of CO2 emission constraints on power generators in the European Union, climate policy is starting to have notable effects on energy markets. This paper sheds light on the links between CO2 prices, electricity prices, and electricity costs to industry. It is based on a series of interviews with industrial and electricity stakeholders, as well as a rich literature seeking to estimate the exact effect of CO2 prices on electricity prices.

Enrichment demand boosts SWU prices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1993-01-01

The enrichment market is picking up significantly on very brisk demand. US utilities, which normally purchase material nine months to a year ahead of time, are already hitting the market to fill their 1996 requirements. In June, two non-US utilities, one European entity and a US utility bought SWUs, the entity in an off-market deal. But that doesn't tell the whole story. Three other US utilities entered the market during the month. Meanwhile, we count 13 more utilities getting ready to hit the market for more than 4 million SWUs. Why the surge in demand? Utilities, uncertain of the role to be played by the new US Enrichment Corp. and seeking to take advantage of low interest rates, are implementing buy and hold strategies. As a result, the upper end of NUKEM's SWU price range inched up to $78. The lower end dipped to $67 based on the European deal

Using non-renewable resources to promote economic development: The case of stock-dependent extraction cost

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jefferson, R.W.

1991-01-01

Various policies for using a newly discovered deposit of a non-renewable resource to promote local economic development are considered. A model of optimal extraction, in which cost depends on both current output and remaining stock levels is constructed. The model is simplified by the assumptions that prices are exogenous and that extraction cost is linear homogeneous in current output and remaining stock. Both pure depletion and combined extraction and exploration models are considered. The models are solved using the dynamic programming algorithm. The effects of taxes on profit and gross revenue are analyzed both algebraically and through numerical simulations. The conditions under which a tax on profit does not distort production are specified. The welfare costs of tax-induced distortions in extraction and exploration are discussed using simulation results. The effects on production of future prices being stochastic are discussed, and it is shown that a firm which re-optimizes each period on the basis of new information concerning that period's price will choose to restrict output below that which would have been optimal if the expected price could be forecast with certainty

Prices versus Quantities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Lars Gårn; Jensen, Frank

illustrate that this result does not generalise to a search fishery, where marginal costs are allowed to depend on harvest. Hansen et al (2008) study a fishery where non-compliance with regulations is a problem. When the regulator is uncertain about non-compliance (compliance uncertainty), then landing fees......Weitzman (2002) studies the regulation of a fishery characterised by constant marginal harvest costs and shows that price regulation performs better than quantity regulation when the regulator is uncertain about the biological reproduction function (ecological uncertainty). Here, we initially...... are the preferred type of regulation, and Hansen et al (2008) find that this result does generalise to a search fishery where marginal costs depend on harvest. In this paper, we simulate a stochastic stock-recruitment model for the Danish cod fishery in the Kategat capturing both ecological and compliance...

Determinants of agro-food price changes in Slovenia

OpenAIRE

Gričar, Sergej; Bojnec, Štefan

2013-01-01

This paper investigates the impacts of the current economic developments, the Euro adoption, and input prices on the consumer food prices. The focus of the analysis is on the consumer food price developments during the Slovenian adjustments towards the European Union membership, the Euro adoption by the followed increased in consumer prices, and the current economic and financial conditions. The empirical analysis on the determinants of the consumer food prices is based on the monthly statist...

PRICE REACTIONS AND ORGANIC PRICE PREMIUMS FOR PRIVATE LABEL AND BRANDED MILK

OpenAIRE

Zhuang, Yan; Dimitri, Carolyn; Jaenicke, Edward C.

2010-01-01

Using Nielsen Homescan data set from 52 markets in the United States, this paper assesses the price interactions among the four fluid milk categories (organic private label, organic national brand, non-organic private label and non-organic national brand), how demographic variables and product properties in a market affect milk prices, and the impacts of private label and organic milk market shares on milk prices. We find several types of price competition exist among the four milk categories...

Solutions for wood-based bio-energy price discovery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Teraes, Timo [FOEX Indexes Ltd., Helsinki (Finland)], e-mail: timo@foex.fi

2012-11-01

Energy prices are highly volatile. This volatility can have serious ill-effects on the profitability of companies engaged in the energy business. There are, however, a number of price risk management tools which can be used to reduce the problems caused by price volatility. International trade of wood pellets and wood chips is rapidly growing. A good price transparency helps in developing the trade further. In order to meet the renewable energy targets within the EU, further growth of volumes is needed, at least within Europe and from overseas supply sources to the European markets. Reliable price indices are a central element in price risk management and in general price discovery. Exchanges have provided, in the past, the most widely known price discovery systems. Since 1990's, an increasing number of price risk management tools has been based on cash settlement concept. Cash settlement requires high quality benchmark price indices. These have been developed by the exchanges themselves, by trade press and by independent price benchmark provider companies. The best known of these benchmarks in forest industry and now also in wood-based bioenergy products are the PIX indices, provided by FOEX Indexes Ltd. This presentation discusses the key requirements for a good price index and the different ways of using the indices. Price relationships between wood chip prices and pellet prices are also discussed as will be the outlook for the future volume growth and trade flows in woodchips and pellets mainly from the European perspective.

Non-Implementation of road pricing policy in the Netherlands : An application of the "advocacy coalition framework"

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ardic, O.; Annema, J.A.; van Wee, G.P.

2015-01-01

The implementation of road pricing policies is dependent on political support for the policy. It is frequently argued that many pricing proposals fail to be implemented due to the opposition of one or a group of policy actors (e.g. political parties, interest groups). This study considers this issue

Parton densities in quantum chromodynamics. Gauge invariance, path-dependence, and Wilson lines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cherednikov, Igor O.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this book is to give a systematic pedagogical exposition of the quantitative analysis of Wilson lines and gauge-invariant correlation functions in quantum chromodynamics. Using techniques from the previous volume (Wilson Lines in Quantum Field Theory, 2014), an ab initio methodology is developed and practical tools for its implementation are presented. Emphasis is put on the implications of gauge invariance and path-dependence properties of transverse-momentum dependent parton density functions. The latter are associated with the QCD factorization approach to semi-inclusive hadronic processes, studied at currently operating and planned experimental facilities.

Parton densities in quantum chromodynamics. Gauge invariance, path-dependence, and Wilson lines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cherednikov, Igor O. [Antwerpen Univ. (Belgium). Dept. Fysica; Veken, Frederik F. van der [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland)

2017-05-01

The purpose of this book is to give a systematic pedagogical exposition of the quantitative analysis of Wilson lines and gauge-invariant correlation functions in quantum chromodynamics. Using techniques from the previous volume (Wilson Lines in Quantum Field Theory, 2014), an ab initio methodology is developed and practical tools for its implementation are presented. Emphasis is put on the implications of gauge invariance and path-dependence properties of transverse-momentum dependent parton density functions. The latter are associated with the QCD factorization approach to semi-inclusive hadronic processes, studied at currently operating and planned experimental facilities.

Water Pricing as an Economic Justification for Reducing Non-Revenue Water (NRW Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Massoud Tabesh

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Management of water demand and modification of consumption patterns are becoming increasingly essential due to the increasingly limited precipitation and the growing population which have led to both severe restrictions on renewable water resources and increasing demands for water in Iran. The most important consumption management measures involve reducing Non-Revenue Water (NRW and decreasing water losses in the water supply system. Non-revenue water is defined as the difference between the total inflow and the metered consumption in the supply system. The losses may be divided into the two components of apparent and real losses. Achieving reductions in non-revenue water calls for the careful study and evaluation of the operational procedures proposed in each case since reductions will be economical only when accurate and realistic values are considered in water pricing. The present study draws upon the data obtained from non-revenue water projects implemented in District 4 of Tehran Water and Wastewater Company, the measures proposed by the project consultant, and the economic justifications claimed for all the costs associated with the measures to eliminate water losses. The cost of the proposed measures are calculated for two different economic values of water proposed to ensure benefits, and under four different interest rates. Results confirm the profitability of the non-revenue water solutions based on the finished cost of water even at subsidized rates of public funds. However, project profitability will be in question if the economic price of water is assumed to be equivalent to the total trade price of water and if both real and apparent losses are to be reduced.

Prediction of Process-Induced Distortions in L-Shaped Composite Profiles Using Path-Dependent Constitutive Law

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Anxin; Li, Shuxin; Wang, Jihui; Ni, Aiqing; Sun, Liangliang; Chang, Lei

2016-10-01

In this paper, the corner spring-in angles of AS4/8552 L-shaped composite profiles with different thicknesses are predicted using path-dependent constitutive law with the consideration of material properties variation due to phase change during curing. The prediction accuracy mainly depends on the properties in the rubbery and glassy states obtained by homogenization method rather than experimental measurements. Both analytical and finite element (FE) homogenization methods are applied to predict the overall properties of AS4/8552 composite. The effect of fiber volume fraction on the properties is investigated for both rubbery and glassy states using both methods. And the predicted results are compared with experimental measurements for the glassy state. Good agreement is achieved between the predicted results and available experimental data, showing the reliability of the homogenization method. Furthermore, the corner spring-in angles of L-shaped composite profiles are measured experimentally and the reliability of path-dependent constitutive law is validated as well as the properties prediction by FE homogenization method.

Pass-Through of Exchange Rates to Domestic Prices in East European Countries and the Role of Economic Enviroment

OpenAIRE

Martins Bitans

2004-01-01

The paper examines the exchange rate pass-through in a set of 13 East European countries during the period of 1993–2003. The pass-through estimates are derived from a recursive VAR model in first differences, and the impact of exchange rate changes on both producer and consumer prices is studied. The estimates obtained for two sub-sample periods generally show an incomplete pass-through over a two-year horizon. In addition, the results imply a considerable cross-country variation and suggest ...

Pricing and Trust

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Huck, Steffen; Ruchala, Gabriele K.; Tyran, Jean-Robert

-competitive (monopolistic) markets. We then introduce a regulated intermediate price above the oligopoly price and below the monopoly price. The effect in monopolies is more or less in line with standard intuition. As price falls volume increases and so does quality, such that overall efficiency is raised by 50%. However......We experimentally examine the effects of flexible and fixed prices in markets for experience goods in which demand is driven by trust. With flexible prices, we observe low prices and high quality in competitive (oligopolistic) markets, and high prices coupled with low quality in non...

Nonlinear Pricing of Information Goods

OpenAIRE

Arun Sundararajan

2003-01-01

This paper analyzes optimal pricing for information goods under incomplete information, when both unlimited-usage (fixed-fee) pricing and usage-based pricing are feasible, and administering usage-based pricing may involve transaction costs. It is shown that offering fixed- fee pricing in addition to a non-linear usage-based pricing scheme is always profit-improving in the presence of any non-zero transaction costs, and there may be markets in which a pure fixed-fee is optimal. This implies th...

Energy markets and price relations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergendahl, P.A.

1986-10-01

The aim of the report is to elucidate the way and extent of the dependence of the price of different energy species of one another and particularly of crude oil prices. Oil, coal and natural gas can substitute each other at many applications. The prices are dependent on mining, processing and transporting. Forecasting of prices and future trends are discussed

Controlling the optical path length in turbid media using differential path-length spectroscopy: fiber diameter dependence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kaspers, O. P.; Sterenborg, H. J. C. M.; Amelink, A.

2008-01-01

We have characterized the path length for the differential path-length spectroscopy (DPS) fiber optic geometry for a wide range of optical properties and for fiber diameters ranging from 200 mu m to 1000 mu m. Phantom measurements show that the path length is nearly constant for scattering

Global integration of European tuna markets

Science.gov (United States)

Jiménez-Toribio, Ramòn; Guillotreau, Patrice; Mongruel, Rémi

2010-07-01

This paper evaluates the degree of integration between the world market and the major European marketplaces of frozen and canned tuna through both vertical and horizontal price relationships. Spatial linkages are investigated horizontally in order to estimate the connection between the European market and the world-wide market on the primary stage of the value chain. One of the key results is the high level of market integration at the ex-vessel stage, and the price leadership of yellowfin tuna over skipjack tuna. The same approach is applied at the ex-factory level. Basically, the European market for final goods appears to be segmented between the Northern countries consuming low-priced canned skipjack tuna imported from Asia (mainly Thailand) and the Southern countries (Italy, Spain) processing and importing yellowfin-based products sold at higher prices. France appears to be an intermediate market where both products are consumed. The former market is found to be well integrated to the world market and can be considered to be competitive, but there is a suspicion of market power being exercised on the latter. Price relationships are therefore tested vertically between the price of frozen tuna paid by the canneries and the price of canned fish in both Italy and France. The two species show an opposite pattern in prices transmission along the value chain: price changes along the chain are far better transmitted for the “global” skipjack tuna than for the more “European” yellowfin tuna. The results are discussed, along with their implications for the fishing industry.

Path Dependence and Institutional Change in Brazilian Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kleber Chagas Cerqueira

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The left turn in Latin American politics has been associated to a new consensus over the role of the state in fostering development. Brazil historically stands as one of the most socially and economically unequal countries in the world. However, data on poverty reduction and social mobility in the country in the last decade have brought back the recognition of Brazilian government's ability to conduct a development process, which was strongly questioned since the fiscal crisis of the 80s. Drawing on the literature of path dependency and institutional change, the paper presents an analysis of these changes, focusing on the central question: to what extent the rise of a left-wing party to power and mentioned changes represent a break with the legacy of institutional development of the country and to what extent are them conditioned by this legacy?

Two-echelon competitive integrated supply chain model with price and credit period dependent demand

Science.gov (United States)

Pal, Brojeswar; Sankar Sana, Shib; Chaudhuri, Kripasindhu

2016-04-01

This study considers a two-echelon competitive supply chain consisting of two rivaling retailers and one common supplier with trade credit policy. The retailers hope that they can enhance their market demand by offering a credit period to the customers and the supplier also offers a credit period to the retailers. We assume that the market demand of the products of one retailer depends not only on their own market price and offering a credit period to the customers, but also on the market price and offering a credit period of the other retailer. The supplier supplies the product with a common wholesale price and offers the same credit period to the retailers. We study the model under a centralised (integrated) case and a decentralised (Vertical Nash) case and compare them numerically. Finally, we investigate the model by the collected numerical data.

Testing market efficiency of crude palm oil futures to European participants

OpenAIRE

Liu, Xing

2009-01-01

Palm oil is the most consumed and traded vegetable oils in the EU and the world. Increasing non-food uses for vegetable oils in especially feedstock of biofuels in recent years have caused the price volatility to rise in both EU and global market. The most efficient pricing of crude palm oil (CPO) is to found on Bursa Malaysia (BMD), and it provides by far the world’s most liquid palm oil contract. The goal of this study is to investigate CPO futures market efficiency of BMD for the European ...

ACCOUNTING ASPECTS OF PRICING AND TRANSFER PRICING

OpenAIRE

TÜNDE VERES

2011-01-01

The pricing methods in practice need really complex view of the business situation and depend on the strategy and market position of a company. The structure of a price seems simple: cost plus margin. Both categories are special area in the management accounting. Information about the product costs, the allocation methodologies in cost accounting, the analyzing of revenue and different level of the margin needs information from accounting system. This paper analyzes the pricing methods from m...

Institutional path dependence and environmental water recovery in Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Graham R. Marshall

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The concept of institutional path dependence offers useful ways of understanding the trajectories of water policy reforms and how past institutional arrangements, policy paradigms and development patterns constrain current and future choices and limit institutional adaptability. The value of this concept is demonstrated through an analysis of environmental water recovery in Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin, where while significant water volumes have been reallocated to the environment, the costs have also been significant. While there are significant lessons from the Australian experience, attempts to emulate the approach involve substantive risks and may be prohibitively costly for less wealthy nations. Context-specific institutional analysis is emphasised as fundamental to water reform and critical for reform architecture and sequencing. A key finding is that while crisis can provide powerful catalysts for institutional innovation, institutional path dependence in the absence of active and disruptive policy entrepreneurs fosters a strong tendency to reinforce the status quo and limit innovation, potentially exposing social-ecological systems to greater shocks due to climate change and other sources of escalating uncertainty.

Option pricing under stochastic volatility: the exponential Ornstein–Uhlenbeck model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perelló, Josep; Masoliver, Jaume; Sircar, Ronnie

2008-01-01

We study the pricing problem for a European call option when the volatility of the underlying asset is random and follows the exponential Ornstein–Uhlenbeck model. The random diffusion model proposed is a two-dimensional market process that takes a log-Brownian motion to describe price dynamics and an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck subordinated process describing the randomness of the log-volatility. We derive an approximate option price that is valid when (i) the fluctuations of the volatility are larger than its normal level, (ii) the volatility presents a slow driving force, toward its normal level and, finally, (iii) the market price of risk is a linear function of the log-volatility. We study the resulting European call price and its implied volatility for a range of parameters consistent with daily Dow Jones index data

Error Analysis for Fourier Methods for Option Pricing

KAUST Repository

Hä ppö lä , Juho

2016-01-01

We provide a bound for the error committed when using a Fourier method to price European options when the underlying follows an exponential Levy dynamic. The price of the option is described by a partial integro-differential equation (PIDE

Brexit na perspectiva do Path Dependency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giorgio Romano Schutte

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Esta pesquisa analisou o Brexit em uma perspectiva histórica, focando a conturbada relação entre a Europa continental e o Reino Unido ao longo do século XX, com ênfase no período pós Segunda Guerra Mundial. Foi utilizado o conceito de path dependency para argumentar sobre o papel de fatores históricos e decisões do passado, embora tomados em outras circunstâncias, ainda com força para influenciar o presente, para entender o Brexit. A premissa básica que será apresentada no ensaio é que o Reino Unido nunca participou de fato da ideia da Europa e sempre se viu como um país diferente por sua história e seu papel no mundo. Quando entrou, foi com uma perna só, a outra sempre ficou atrás, inclusive devido às especificidades de sua estrutura econômica herdada do passado, em particular no que diz respeito à agricultura. Desta forma, defende-se que, embora longe de ter sido inevitável, se tratou de um fenômeno limitado ao Reino Unido que tinha pouquíssima probabilidade de se repetir em outros países da União Europeia.

The Pricing of Options on Assets with Stochastic Volatilities.

OpenAIRE

Hull, John C; White, Alan D

1987-01-01

One option-pricing problem which has hitherto been unsolved is the pricing of European call on an asset which has a stochastic volatility. This paper examines this problem. The option price is determined in series form for the case in which the stochastic volatility is independent of the stock price. Numerical solutions are also produced for the case in which the volatility is correlated with the stock price. It is found that the Black-Scholes price frequently overprices options and that the ...

Rhetoric versus reality: Russian threats to European energy supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldthau, Andreas

2008-01-01

European gas demand will rise from presently 540 billion cubic meters (bcm) to around 800 bcm in 2030. As more than 50 percent of overall European imports originate from Russia, fears have been expressed that the Kremlin could use energy resources as a foreign policy tool. A thorough assessment of domestic consumption, production and investment volumes however reveals that Russian supply will have difficulties in matching growing domestic and European demand. Hence, as the author argues, the threat to European gas supply does not lie in geopolitics, but rather in a lack of investment in the Russian upstream sector. Higher domestic Russian gas prices, enhanced energy efficiency and increases in non-Gazprom production would however make it possible for Russia to meet domestic demand and its export commitments for natural gas

Time Dependence of Entropy Flux and Entropy Production of a Dissipative Dynamical System Driven by Non-Gaussian Noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Yongfeng; Xu Wei; Li Dongxi; Xie Wenxian

2008-01-01

A stochastic dissipative dynamical system driven by non-Gaussian noise is investigated. A general approximate Fokker-Planck equation of the system is derived through a path-integral approach. Based on the definition of Shannon's information entropy, the exact time dependence of entropy flux and entropy production of the system is calculated both in the absence and in the presence of non-equilibrium constraint. The present calculation can be used to interpret the interplay of the dissipative constant and non-Gaussian noise on the entropy flux and entropy production

End user prices in liberalised energy markets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lijesen, M.G. [Afdeling Energie en Grondstoffen, Centraal Planbureau CPB, Den Haag (Netherlands)

2002-12-01

As European energy markets move towards deregulation, energy prices shift from classic 'cost plus' prices towards market prices. We develop a model for the retail and wholesale energy markets in Europe, based on Bertrand competition in a two part pricing structure with switching costs. We use the model to forecast end user electricity and natural gas prices and find that the introduction of competition in energy retail and wholesale markets will decrease standing charges, lowering total costs for energy users. A larger number of entrants, a cost advantage for one of the suppliers, or lower switching costs reduces standing charges further.

The price facade: Symbolic and behavioural price cues in service environments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhoeven, J.W.M.; van Rompay, Thomas Johannes Lucas; Pruyn, Adriaan T.H.

2009-01-01

Although the role of price expectations in predicting consumer behavior has been widely acknowledged, little is known about the way in which price expectations depend on environmental elements in hospitality settings. We propose that restaurant guests base price expectations on (1) perceptions of

Option price calibration from Renyi entropy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brody, Dorje C.; Buckley, Ian R.C.; Constantinou, Irene C.

2007-01-01

The calibration of the risk-neutral density function for the future asset price, based on the maximisation of the entropy measure of Renyi, is proposed. Whilst the conventional approach based on the use of logarithmic entropy measure fails to produce the observed power-law distribution when calibrated against option prices, the approach outlined here is shown to produce the desired form of the distribution. Procedures for the maximisation of the Renyi entropy under constraints are outlined in detail, and a number of interesting properties of the resulting power-law distributions are also derived. The result is applied to efficiently evaluate prices of path-independent derivatives