Depth, balancing, and limits of the Elo model

-Much work has been devoted to the computational complexity of games. However, they are not necessarily relevant for estimating the complexity in human terms. Therefore, human-centered measures have been proposed, e.g. the depth. This paper discusses the depth of various games, extends it to a continuous measure. We provide new depth results and present tool (given-first-move, pie rule, size extension) for increasing it. We also use these measures for analyzing games and opening moves in Y, NoGo, Killall Go, and the effect of pie rules

The failure of introducing market institutions in a rent sector into an economy in transition

Privatisation is at the heart of the structural reforms for economies in transition. In theory, the main aim of privatisation is to change the structures of corporate governance in order to improve the efficiency of the enterprises and to assure their long-term future in a competitive environment. The adoption of formal market institutions would be sufficient to secure the new property rights, in particular because the new holders of the rights to control assets would have a great incentive to encourage the definition of new judicial rules that would guarantee their rights of ownership. In Russia that didn't happen.privatisation;changement institutionnel;droits de propriété;industrie gazière;industrie pétrolière

Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell

Myös verkkojulkaisuna ISBN 978-951-40-2342-2 (PDF

Institutions and the Emergence of Markets - Transition in the Murmansk Forest Sector

The research for this report was part of the project "Institutional Change in Forestry Management in Murmansk Oblast" funded by NFR, the Research Council of Norway (Program for East- and Central Europe). NFR is the Norwegian National Member Organization of IIASA and the work has been performed in collaboration with IIASA's Sustainable Boreal Forest Resources (FOR) project

»Spravite ta nemški kič stran od čeških rok!« Etnično čiščenje v luči materialne kulture: Stanovanjska oprema izseljenega moravskega in šlezijskega plemstva na dražbenem trgu v Brnu po letu 1945

The paper deals with the significant social restructuring and radical ethnic cleansing in post-Second World War Czechoslovakia borderlands as evidenced by the art market, where massive state appropriations and transfers of furnishings from the mostly ex-German and ex-Hungarian nobility residences manifested themselves in huge wave of frenetic auction sales. The uniquely preserved archive file on the Karel Ditrich Exhibition and Auction House in Brno enables us to reconstruct these processes within the scope of the entire Moravian and Silesian territory. The documents reveal the contemporary ethnic, social, and economic disputes, leading in the end to significant class and social transfers, i. e., new trends in living culture and collecting.V članku je obravnavano pomembno družbeno prestrukturiranje in radikalno etnično čiščenje na češkoslovaškem obmejnem območju po drugi svetovni vojni na podlagi analize umetnostnega trga. Množično podržavljenje zasebne lastnine in prenosi opreme iz nekdanjih nemških in madžarskih plemiških rezidenc so rezultirali v velikem valu mrzličnih dražbenih prodaj. Izjemno dobro ohranjena arhivska dokumentacija o razstavni in dražbeni hiši Karla Ditricha v Brnu nam omogoča rekonstrukcijo teh procesov v okviru celotnega moravskega in šlezijskega ozemlja. Dokumentacija razkriva tedanje etnične, socialne in gospodarske spore, ki so nazadnje pripeljali do pomembnih razrednih in socialnih premikov oziroma novih trendov v zbirateljstvu in bivalni kulturi

Depth, balancing, and limits of the Elo model

International audience—Much work has been devoted to the computational complexity of games. However, they are not necessarily relevant for estimating the complexity in human terms. Therefore, human-centered measures have been proposed, e.g. the depth. This paper discusses the depth of various games, extends it to a continuous measure. We provide new depth results and present tool (given-first-move, pie rule, size extension) for increasing it. We also use these measures for analyzing games and opening moves in Y, NoGo, Killall Go, and the effect of pie rules

Oil Industry and Reindeer Herding: The Problems of Implementing Indigenous Rights in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia

In this paper are discussed how interests of oil and gas companies clash with the need of Nenets and Komi reindeer herders for land resources. The key question in the paper is "Why is it so difficult to implement international standards concerning indigenous rights"

Essays om det russiske elektrisitets- og kapasitetsmarked

During the past decade the Russian power sector has undergone a dramatic reform. This has created a need for better understanding of the drivers and development of the sector. This dissertation describes the functioning of the Russian power market since 2006 by focusing on price formation, market power and the main regulatory obstacles for competition. Paper I focuses on time regularities in Russian power prices and compares these for the Siberian and the European zones. A set of distinct time regularities is revealed and discussed: “Day-of-the-week pattern”, “Weekend pattern” and “Time-of-the-day pattern”. The magnitudes of the price differences and time lag between the zones raise the question of extending the interconnectors between the zones. The persistence and magnitude of time regularities in power prices in the European zone imply that technologies that allow for flexibility, either on the supply or demand side, can be profitable. Paper II tests for market power in Northwest Russia using the Bresnahan–Lau framework by estimating residual demand and supply curves for thermal producers. I find that price mark-ups are close to 7–8% on average for the hours between 10 am and 9 pm and 2–3% for the remaining hours of the day. The residual demand curve elasticity is relatively high during peak hours. In addition, demand from Finland/Baltic states and Center FFZ24 have different profiles, such that total demand is most elastic during peak hours and least elastic during the periods of rapid change in consumption. The increase in natural gas prices was reflected directly in electricity prices in Northwest Russia in the analysed period. The domestic prices for natural gas are expected to increase to the level of European net-back prices, and given that natural gas will still be the main fuel in electricity production, this price increase will also be reflected in electricity prices. The objective of Paper III is to take into account the mathematical formulation of the Russian power market in the calculation of concentration measures and investigate the role of transmission constraints using the more detailed framework of the transmission constrained residual supply index (TCRSI). The analysis supports the previous findings of high market concentration in the Russian power market, but for different reasons. The adjusted HHI is below 1400 on average for all price zones and UESs and the adjusted RSI shows that there exist pivotal generators for more than 5% of hours in the analysed period only in two of 21 free-flow zones. Nevertheless, the TCRSI reveals that market concentration is critical for most FFZs in Russia in the UC auctions, day-ahead (DAM) and capacity markets. Market concentration decreases the higher is the share of hydro producers and transmission capacity to the neighbouring regions in the Russian power market in general and in addition depends on the share of fixed generation in the DAM. Paper IV investigates the main challenges and obstacles to competition in the Russian power market, especially regarding the role of the SO. The transmission constraints between the European and Siberian zones forced by the SO led to enormous subsidization of the Siberian zone by customers in the European zone in the DAM. In addition, must-run generation forced by the system security constraint and demand for heat affects competition in the capacity market and the UC auctions, which lead to distortions of DAM. The linear demand curve for capacity by price zone provides incentives to exert market power, price cap constraints the potential profits of generators, whereas the lower bound given by the total installed capacity reduces the incentives for competition. On the basis of these findings, I present the following policy recommendations: facilitate consumer response to variation in electricity and capacity prices and invest in flexible technology on supply or demand side; upgrade the existing transmission capacity to discourage the exercise of market power and to deal with the supply security concerns; introduce competitive pricing of heat and fuel (natural gas and coal)