Consolidation of the polish electricity sector. The merger law perspective

This article deals first of all with the most important characteristics, in terms of volume and quality, of all of those decisions issued by the Polish competition authority that were the basis for vertical consolidation of the Polish electricity sector, for which the authority gave unconditional or special approval between 2003 and 2007. This article also deals to a limited extent with the decision issued by the Polish competition authority prohibiting unconditionally the concentration of PGE and ENERGA, and which was referred for judicial review. This article attempts to verify the theory that the legal institution of special (exceptional) approval of a concentration, in the form in which it is created in Polish merger legislation (i.e. based mostly on the public interest test, but issued by the competition authority), is not the best formula for assessing whether there are legitimate grounds for consolidation, in particular consolidation of the Polish electricity sector.Polish electricity sector; concentrations between electricity undertakings; vertical consolidation; preventive concentration control; special approval

Singularity avoidance by collapsing shells in quantum gravity

We discuss a model describing exactly a thin spherically symmetric shell of matter with zero rest mass. We derive the reduced formulation of this system in which the variables are embeddings, their conjugate momenta, and Dirac observables. A non-perturbative quantum theory of this model is then constructed, leading to a unitary dynamics. As a consequence of unitarity, the classical singularity is fully avoided in the quantum theory.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, received honorable mention in the 2001 essay competititon, to appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Austrian and Post-Marshallian EconomicsThe Bridging Work of George Richardson

Austrian and post-Marshallian economics share a number of concerns, such as a basic subjecticist stance and an emphasis on the importance of inquiry into the disequilibrium market process. This paper details similarities and differences between these two bodies of thought, and argue that a closer liaison is possible. George Richardson's work is presented as a possible bridge, since his work incorporates both Austrian and post-Marshallian elements. The paper ends by sketching a combined Austrian and post-Marshallian approach to the firm.Austrian economics, post-Marshallian economics, George Richardson, the theory of the firm

The Environmental Porter Hypothesis: Theory, Evidence and a Model of Timing of Adoption

The Porter Hypothesis postulates that the costs of compliance with environmental standards may be offset by adoption of innovations they trigger. We model this hypothesis using a game of timing of technology adoption. We show that times of adoption are earlier the higher the non-adoption tax. The environmental tax turns the preemption game with low profits into a game with credible precommitment yielding high profits (pro-Porter). If there is a precommitment game without environmental taxes, the introduction of a tax leads to lower profits (anti-Porter). An evaluation of the empirical literature indicates that the Porter hypothesis holds even for profit-maximizing firms under multiple market imperfections such as imperfect competititon, X-inefficiency, and agency costs. These are more likely to be present in sectors with large firms. In many case studies that we evaluate, though, we detect an element of explicit or implicit subsidies for environmentally friendly behaviour, which is in line with Pigovian policies.Environmental Policy, Strategic Trade Theory, Technology Adoption, Porter Hypothesis

Competition in European Telecom Markets

In recent years, the European telecommunications market has witnessed major developments, with rapid expansion in access to telecommunications networks and a surge in the number of available services and applications. While many factors have contributed to the transformation of the telecommunications industry, competition has played a key role in driving telecom players to invest in new technologies, to innovate and to offer new services. Increased competitive pressure is being felt across all market segments, even though significant differences remain across services and countries. Broadband roll-out has allowed operators to offer multiple-play services, thereby transforming traditional segment boundaries and competitive market structures.competition; access; convergence; multiple-play; fixed telephony; mobile services; broadband; VoIP; MVNO

Entry and Market Selection of Firms: A Laboratory Study

We study competition in experimental markets in which two incumbents face entry by three other firms. Our treatments vary with respect to three factors: sequential vs. block or simultaneous entry, the cost functions of entrants and the amount of time during which incumbents are protected from entry. Before entry incumbents are able to collude in all cases. When all firms' costs are the same entry always leads consumer surplus and profits to their equilibrium levels. When entrants are more efficient than incumbents, entry leads consumer surplus to equilibrium. However, total profits remain below equilibrium, due to the fact that the inefficient incumbents produce too much and efficient entrants produce too little. Market behavior is satisfactory from the consumers' standpoint, but does not yield adequate signals to other potential entrants. These results are not affected by whether entry is simultaneous or sequential. The length of the incumbency phase does have some subtle effects.Market selection, Imperfect competititon, Entry, Experiments

A viselkedésterápia eredményeinek vizsgálata az elhízás kezelésében egy év távlatában.

INTRODUCTION: Treatment of obesity has become one of the most challenging issues. AIM: The aims of the authors were to present the results of standard behavior therapy weight loss program combined with self-help and the results of one-year follow-up. METHOD: The 24-week program involved 41 participants of which 33 subjects participated in the follow-up. Anthropometric data were obtained and the participants were asked to fill questionnaires (the 21 items Three Factor Eating Questionnair Revised 21 items; Physical Exercise: Steps of change [Short Form]. RESULTS: 87.8% of participants achieved a minimum weight loss of 5% which is the rate expected in professional therapies for obesity. Significant changes in maladaptive eating pattern and an increase in the rate of regular exercise were observed. Significant association was found between the increase of cognitive restraint and the rate of weight loss during treatment. At one-year follow-up the majority of participants (75.8%) did keep their minimum weight loss of 5% and they showed significant change in eating pattern. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that standard behavior therapy extended with self-help elements may be a cost-effective treatment of obesity. Orv. Hetil., 2014, 155(30), 1196-1202

The Effectiveness of Using Animated Fable Videos in Teaching Narrative Text Writing

This thesis discusses about the animated fable video which is used as teaching media in teaching narrative text writing. The problem of this research is: How effective is the use of animated fable video in teaching narrative text writing of tenth grade students of SMA Mujahidin Pontianak? The design of this research is a pre-experimental study.The sample of the research is the X MIA 2 class of SMA Mujahidin Pontianak which included 32 students. The researcher used t-table to measure the significance of teaching by using animated fable video in teaching narrative text writing and the result of t-value 9.28 is higher than t-table 2.000 on the level significance 5%. The researcher also used effect size (ES) to analyze the effectiveness of using animated fable video in teaching narrative text writing and the result of the ES is 1.58 is categorized “High”. Based on the result the use of the animated fable video in teaching narrative text writing to the tenth grade students of SMA Mujahidin Pontianak is highly effective

Economies of Scale and Endogenous Market Structures in International Grain Trade

A large body of literature has examined international grain trade in imperfectly competitive models. The model developed in this paper differs from previous ones, since it specifically considers the export strategies used by multinational firms, which maintain a direct control over all importing/exporting functions; this strategy requires high fixed cost but allows firms to avoid the transactions costs arising from negotiating with downstream operators. The model considers a multinational firm and a state trading enterprises competing on a foreign market in a two-stage duopoly framework; while the Ste is assumed to export only indirectly, the multinational firm chooses between indirect and direct exports, according to the relative values of transaction and fixed costs. The results of the game are examined by using numerical examples. The examples show that external shocks on export markets affecting the relative values of transaction and fixed costs of the international grain trading, may result in a change of market structures and, consequently, of market shares. These effects depend on the initial market structure. The assumption that there is a gap between firms' domestic costs does not significantly change the outcome of the game. The effect of a worsening of the Ste's competitive position, in relation to that of the multinational, depends again on the starting market structure. On the whole, the analytical framework developed herein has a number of interesting policy implications for the ongoing WTO negotiations in the DDA round about the possible effects of regulating Ste.International Relations/Trade,