Assessment of hydro-meteorological drought in the Danube Plain, Bulgaria

Svrha ovoga rada procjena je pojava hidrometeorološke suše na području Dunavske ravnice u sjevernoj Bugarskoj. Sušu kao elementarnu nepogodu najbolje karakteriziraju višestruki klimatski i hidrološki parametri. U ovom se radu meteorološka suša analizira standardiziranim oborinskim indeksom (engl. Standardized Precipitation Index – SPI), a hidrološka suša definirana je indeksom protoka (engl. Streamflow Drought Index – SDI). Oba su indeksa izračunata za vremensko razdoblje od 6 i 12 mjeseci u razdoblju od 1993. do 2009. godine. Buduća vjerojatnost pojave suše analizirana je za dva razdoblja: 2021. – 2050. i 2051. – 2080. prilagodbom podataka iz regionalnoga modela KNMI. Rezultati temeljeni na standardiziranom oborinskom indeksu (SPI) i indeksu protoka (SDI) pokazali su da je tijekom razdoblja istraživanja sva promatrana područja pogodila blaga do umjerena suša. Tijekom druge polovine 21. stoljeća očekuje se povećanje učestalosti pojave umjerenih suša.The purpose of this study is to evaluate occurrences of hydro-meteorological drought in the Danube Plain territory, located in northern Bulgaria. As a natural hazard, drought is best characterized by multiple climatological and hydrological parameters. In this study, meteorological drought is analyzed with the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), and hydrologic drought is defined by the Streamflow Drought Index (SDI). Both indices are calculated on a time scale of 6 to 12 months over the 1993–2009 period. Future drought occurrence probability is analyzed for two periods: 2021–2050 and 2051–2080 by downscaling the data from regional model KNMI. The results based on the SPI and SDI showed that almost all the investigated areas suffered from mild to moderate droughts during the study period. It is expected that there will be an increasing frequency of occurrences of moderate drought during the second half of 21st century

Influence of Some Environmental Factors on Summer Phytoplankton Community Structure in the Varna Bay, Black Sea (1992–2019)

During the last decades, a decrease in the nutrients and an increase in marine temperature on the surface of the Varna Bay of the Black Sea have been registered. The main aim of this study was to establish the influence of some environmental factors (SST, TP, DIN) on the structure of the phytoplankton and to define what part of these dynamics results from the changes in temperature. Bivariate correlation and Nonlinear regression analyses were used to establish the connection between factors of the environment and the quality parameters of different size and taxonomic groups of phytoplankton. The rising SST proved to statistically significantly influence the decrease in the abundance of nano-phytoplankton (50.9%), the abundance and biomass of micro-phytoplankton (53%; 33.2%), the Bacillariophyceae (49.5%; 35.6%), and the biomass of the species of group “Other” (51.4%). The decreasing TP has a significant influence on the decrease in the abundance and biomass of the diatoms and the biomass of group “Other”. The decreasing DIN significantly affects the decrease in the abundance and biomass of Dinophyceae. The analyses showed that rising temperatures had a leading role in the changes in the taxonomic and size structure of phytoplankton during the period 1992–2019

Does Fair Trade Deliver on Its Core Value Proposition? Effects on Income, Educational Attainment, and Health in Three Countries

Alternative trade organizations (ATOs) based on philosophies of social justice and/or environmental well-being are establishing new channels of trade and marketing. Partisans promote ATOs as systems to transfer benefits from consumers in the wealthy northern hemisphere to producers in the poor southern hemisphere. The central public policy question is whether the well-being of poor agricultural producers in the southern hemisphere is actually being improved by fair-trade practices, or are consumers who buy products on this premise deceived? The research reported here partially answers the question whether participation in a fair-trade coffee marketing channel delivers benefits to smallscale producers in Latin America. The authors employ a survey methodology to compare TransFair USA (TF) cooperative participants and nonparticipating farmers in three countries on socioeconomic indicators of well-being. According to the analysis, the economic effects of fair-trade participation are unassailable; the effects on educational and health outcomes are uneven. However, TF cooperative participation positively affects educational attainment and the likelihood that a child is currently studying. The authors find positive health-related consequences of TF cooperative participation

Innovation, employment, and skills in advanced and developing countries: a survey of the economic literature

I discuss the theoretical and empirical literature on the quantitative and qualitative employment impact of technological change. I also compare the relative explanatory power of competing economic theories, while detailing the macro, sectoral, and micro evidence on the issue with reference to advanced and developing economies. The main purpose of the paper is to offer a critical meta-analysis of both the theory and recent empirical achievements stemming from the relationship of technology and employment. More specifically, I draw some general conclusions about possible consequences of that relationship