The Role of Market Power in Agricultural Contracts

I study the economic consequences of shifting bargaining power in relational contracts through interventions such as the formation of a Bargaining Group (BG) for the side of sellers in a market where buyers traditionally hold significant market power. Existing theories of relational contracts predict that such a power transfer will have no impact on market efficiency. In contexts where enforcement institutions are weak, a standard assumption from existing theories of relational contracts - the existence of an enforceable base payment - may not hold. In this case, I show that a transfer of bargaining power can erode market efficiency in a dynamic relational contracting environment, which contradicts findings from existing models of relational contracting. When buyers hold significant market power, they forgo short-term opportunistic behavior by honoring promised performance bonuses in order to keep sellers engaged in trade over time and to accumulate surplus over many periods. With market power eroded by interventions such as the BG, buyers’ long-run gains to trade shirk. When this is coupled with the absence of an enforceable base payment, short-term opportunistic behavior becomes more appealing and trade is more likely to break down. The results here provide policy-makers insight into the economic consequences of enacting policies attempting to balance market power within a framework of fully informal contract enforcement.contracts, incomplete enforcement, bargaining group, distribution, institutions, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Industrial Organization, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Development, D86, K12, L14, O12, Q13.,

Designing Contracts for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation

Reduction of carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) has been identified as a cost effective element of the post-Kyoto strategy to achieve long-term climate objectives. The success of REDD depends primarily on the design and implementation of a financial mechanism that provides land-holders sufficient incentives to participate in a REDD scheme. This paper proposes relational contracting as a more appropriate framework for analyzing proposed REDD incentive regimes rather than that of complete contracting enforcement because relational contracting relies upon mutual self-enforcement in a repeated transaction framework, which better suits the stylized facts of REDD. We characterize the optimal REDD relational contract and provide the parameters under which self-enforcement is sustainable. The optimal payment scheme suggests that all payments should be made contingent on the carbon offsets delivered. Thus, the optimal contract does not observe any fixed ex ante payment. Self-enforcement is more difficult to sustain the higher the cost of forest conservation is relative to the value of the carbon offsets from the contract. Necessary extensions to the relational contracting model are also discussed.contracts, incomplete enforcement, carbon sequestration, climate change, institutions, development., Environmental Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Development, Land Economics/Use, D86, K12, L14, O12, Q54, Q56,

Bargaining Power in Relational Contracts: An Experimental Study

This paper provides experimental evidence of the economic impact from shifting bargaining power in relational contracts. I implement an experimental design that adjusts the bargaining power of sellers (agents) and the enforceability of the contract. I find that the vast majority of contracts take the form of efficiency wage contracts instead of contingent performance contracts when enforcement is partially incomplete and sellers have more bargaining power than buyers. The total contracted and actual compensation increase with the bargaining power of the sellers. However, sellers' profits are found to increase only if a part of the total payment is third-party enforceable. In this case, observed surplus and efficiency are lower than predictions. When no part of a contract is third-party enforceable, more cooperative relationships emerge, exhibiting higher quality provision resulting in higher surplus and efficiency while rent sharing is lower. The result is explained by the stronger buyer's deviation, confirming predictions derived in Cordero Salas (2010). The results here provide insight into the economic consequences of enacting policies that improve the bargaining conditions of weaker parties in market settings relying on self-enforcement from underdeveloped legal institutions.contracts, incomplete enforcement, bargaining, experiments, distribution, institutions, Industrial Organization, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Development, D86, K12, L14, O12, Q13,

Análisis de la expresión de los genes codificantes para las moléculas MIP3α y SLPI en células epiteliales de trompa de Falopio humana infectadas con Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Tesis (Tecnólogo Médico)La gonorrea es una infección de transmisión sexual (ITS) causada por el agente patógeno Neisseria gonorrhoeae, que corresponde a un microorganismo bacteriano con morfología cocoide estructuralmente caracterizado por su disposición en diplococo y con afinidad tintorial Gram-negativo. Se considera un patógeno humano exclusivo y dentro de sus factores de virulencia destaca la presencia de Pili, que le proporciona alta capacidad de fijación a mucosas. La presentación clínica de esta ITS en mujeres es principalmente asintomática, pero puede llegar a generar graves secuelas cuando logra ascender hacia la mucosa epitelial de las trompas de Falopio, ya que puede desencadenar enfermedad inflamatoria pélvica, embarazo ectópico e incluso producir infertilidad. Si bien en la infección con gonococo se ha estudiado ampliamente la secreción de algunas citoquinas proinflamatorias por parte de tejido infectado con reclutamiento masivo de macrófagos y neutrófilos a la zona de infección, se desconoce si hay participación de factores moleculares involucrados en el reclutamiento de células de la inmunidad innata, tales como la molécula secretora de leucocitos inhibidores de proteasas (SLPI), cuya función es proteger a la mucosa de la enzima elastasa liberada desde los gránulos primarios o azurófilos de los neutrófilos y la proteína inflamatoria de macrófagos (MIP3α), con función en el reclutamiento de linfocitos y neutrófilos. Por lo tanto, el objetivo de esta unidad de investigación fue evaluar los niveles de expresión de los genes codificantes para estas tres moléculas. La metodología para evaluar la expresión de estos genes fue mediante el análisis de transcripción reversa y PCR cuantitativo (RT-qPCR) desde RNAm total de células epiteliales de trompas de Falopio humanas infectadas con Neisseria gonorrhoeae a distintos tiempos (4, 8, y 24 horas). El control de la expresión de genes se realizó mediante la detección de la expresión del gen ribosomal 18S, y como control de la infección se utilizó la medición de la expresión de los mismos genes en células que no han sido infectadas. Nuestros resultados mostraron que para el gen MIP3α a las concentraciones de RNA total empleadas en este estudio no es posible obtener resultados que demuestren que exista un aumento en la concentración de este ante la infección por Neisseria gonorrhoeae, mientras que para el gen SLPI si bien se logran obtener resultados que demuestran un aumento en la expresión del gen en estado de infección, no se puede asegurar que este pertenezca SLPI ya que se detectó la presencia de lo que podría ser posible contaminación o dímeros de primers. Se concluye que para MIP3α es necesario aumentar la concentración de RNA total utilizadas por sobre 4000 pg y sobre los 40 ciclos de PCR esto en base al ensayo realizado en este estudio, con el fin de poder responder si existe un aumento de MIP3α durante la infección por gonococo. Para el gen SLPI si bien existe un aumento de concentración se deben tomar todas las precauciones necesarias para evitar contaminaciones las cuales interfieren y de esta forma poder comprobar si el aumento de concentración se debe efectivamente a el gen SLPI

Nanospace and open-source tools for CubeSat preliminary design: review and pedagogical use-case

This paper aims to facilitate getting acquainted with CubeSat preliminary design by presenting a review of open-source tools commonly used during project first steps, and a concrete example. The light but realistic preliminary design framework is based on a real 3U CubeSat use-case, the CREME project, relying on Nanospace and a package of selected Open-Source tools. This example should allow students and non-related field experts to fully grasp the concepts needed to achieve the basics of a typical preliminary design

Impacto biopsicosocial del desplazamiento forzado en una población menor de 12 años del “Asentamiento kilómetro 7”, Barranquilla. Hospital Universidad del Norte, Hospital Niño de Jesús. Barranquilla, 2003

Resumen Objetivo: Caracterizar la población desplazada por violencia y determinar el impacto biopsico- social del desplazamiento forzado en la población infantil. Materiales y métodos: Estudio descriptivo, prospectivo. Datos recogidos casa por casa en 206 familias del “Asentamiento km 7”, Barranquilla. Se aplicó historia clínica a 195 niños y pruebas Machover y CAT-A y –H en 39 niños. Incluye información de jefes de familia, proce- dencia, tiempo y motivo de desplazamiento, cambios familiares, laborales, económicos, sociales, nutricionales, de salud y psicológicos en niños y adultos. Se utilizó el programa Epi-Info 6.04; el análisis estadístico se realizó haciendo uso de la estadística descriptiva, cálculo de medida de tendencia central y de dispersión. Resultados: En cuanto a la jefatura del hogar encontramos que en un 60% de las familias este rol lo ejercía la mujer, y que en el 2.8% de las familias el jefe/a era menor de 18 años de edad. El 6,8% de las cabezas de familia han perdido su cónyuge por asesinato, el 29% son de- sempleados/as y para los/as que trabajan el salario promedio/día es de $5.500. Las condiciones ambientales son precarias dadas por mínimo acceso a los servicios de salud (64$ 5500 pesos. The environmental conditions are precarious, given by a minimum access to health services (64%) and education (76%). The percentage of illiteracy found was of 21% generating a potential effect on biopsychosocial risk variables. 48% of the children are under 5 years; approximately one of five children had some scholastic degree absence, and almost half did not have the awaited educative degree for their age. The rate of acute undernourishment was of 57%, and chronic of 47%. The vaccination cover was of 53%. 85 % of the infant population had undergone some type of physical mistreatment. Key words: Forced displacement, infantile population, social violence

Estimation of effective diffusion coefficient and its effect on effectiveness factor for hds catalytic process: a multi-scale approach

Effectiveness factors have great relevance in multiphase reactors modeling since they are the conventional way of incorporating the effects of intra-particle resistance reaction rate. This work determines the description level effect of catalytic pellet microstructure on mass and energy effective transport coefficients prediction, isothermal and no isothermal. For such a purpose some results about on evaluation of the effective diffusivity and conductivity with the methodology of volume averaging were applied. The obtained results along with a Langmuir–Hinshelwood/Hougen–Watson kinetic expression were applied to establish the concentration and temperature fields in a catalytic particle. The evaluation of concentration field and effectiveness factors were developed using two different models: pseudohomogeneous mass and energy transport model for a catalytic particle with reaction in all domain, and heterogeneous mass and energy transport model with fluid-catalytic surface interphase reaction for a realistic porous structure model. The results show the differences in concentration and temperature profiles between both models and consequently in effectiveness factors. This could be ascribed to the form of evaluation of effective transport coefficients used in the pseudo-homogeneous model, and presumably to the simple shape of the unit cells used for the solution of the closure problem for the average transport equations with homogeneous reaction

Beneficios TLC entre Colombia y Corea del Sur para la empresa Cotecmar

Cotecmar, es una empresa promotora del desarrollo naval, marítimo y fluvial del País y tiene el compromiso de impulsar la actividad marítima, por tanto ha declarado en su visión corporativa emprender proyectos que le permitan responder a las necesidades del sector y de sus clientes. Cotecmar ha emprendido negociaciones con varias Empresas Coreanas para suplir una necesidad tecnológica y el TLC que se está negociando con Corea del Sur, afianzará las relaciones con dichas empresas y permitirá crear alianzas a largo plazo que beneficien a la Corporación.Incluye bibliografí