Fairtrade Labelling in a Bertrand Competition Model with Monopsony Power

This model examines the impact of a fairtrade labelling scheme on global and country-specific welfare in a two-stage north-south trade framework. In the first stage (the producer market) two northern processors buy a commodity from a group of small–scale agricultural producers in the south producing the commodity under perfect competitive market conditions. One of the processors buys a conventional produced commodity and uses its monopsony power to cut the commodity’s price. The second processor is a fairtrade processor, i.e. meets the necessary requirements for being awarded a fairtrade label like paying a minimum price for the commodity to the producers and a license fee to the labelling organization. In the second stage (the consumer market) both firms are processing the commodity and selling their products to the northern consumers. The price is determined by Bertrand compe- tition. Consuming a labelled product is assumed to generate additional utility on behalf of a warm glow effect. I show how changes of certain parameters crucial to the fairtrade system influence welfare in both the northern and the southern country.Fairtrade, Bertrand Competition, Duopsony, Warm Glow

Fairtrade Labelling in a Bertrand Competition Model with Monopsony Power

This model examines the impact of a fairtrade labelling scheme on global and country-specific welfare in a two-stage north-south trade framework. In the first stage (the producer market) two northern processors buy a commodity from a group of small scale agricultural producers in the south producing the commodity under perfect competitive market conditions. One of the processors buys a conventional produced commodity and uses its monopsony power to cut the commodity's price. The second processor is a fairtrade processor, i.e. meets the necessary requirements for being awarded a fairtrade label like paying a minimum price for the commodity to the producers and a license fee to the labelling organization. In the second stage (the consumer market) both firms are processing the commodity and selling their products to the northern consumers. The price is determined by Bertrand compe- tition. Consuming a labelled product is assumed to generate additional utility on behalf of a warm glow effect. I show how changes of certain parameters crucial to the fairtrade system influence welfare in both the northern and the southern country

Optimal or antagonistic? muscle force solutions in the lower limb

Provides evidence of the appropriateness of different muscle force distribution protocols in a musculoskeletal model of the lower limb

Der steinige Weg von der Theorie in die Praxis des Emissionshandels: Die EU-Richtlinie zum CO2-Emissions-handel und ihre nationale Umsetzung

In diesem Papier wollen wir zum einen kurz die Stärken und Schwächen der EU-Direktive aufzeigen. Zum anderen wollen wir einige offene Fragen diskutieren, die bei der Umsetzung des Emissionshandels auf nationaler Ebene – insbesondere bei der Aufstellung des nationalen Allokationsplans – eine Rolle spielen. Dabei sollen auch die Vorschläge analysiert werden, die von der ?Arbeitsgruppe Emissionshandel? der deutschen Bundesregierung beraten werden. 2 Insbesondere untersuchen wir die verschiedenen zur Zeit diskutierten Allokationsregeln, die man in Output- und Emissions-basierte Regeln einteilen kann, im Hinblick auf ihre ökonomische Effizienz. Wie argumentieren, dass nur eine Zuteilung der Emissionsrechte durch Auktionierung oder ein konsequentes Grandfathering, das ausschließlich auf historischen Emissionen basiert, Verzerrungen vermeidet. Für ökonomisch fragwürdig halten wir auch die derzeitig diskutierten Vorschläge, Unternehmen nach Betriebsstilllegung ihrer Emissionszertifikate zu enteignen und Newcomer mit kostenlosen Emissionsrechten auszustatten. Weiterhin diskutieren wir mögliche Kollisionen des Emissionshandels mit anderen Instrumenten wie der Ökosteuer sowie der Förderung erneuerbarer Energien und der Kraftwärmekopplung. --

Der steinige Weg von der Theorie in die Praxis des Emissionshandels: Die EU-Richtlinie zum CO2-Emissions-handel und ihre nationale Umsetzung

In diesem Papier wollen wir zum einen kurz die Stärken und Schwächen der EU-Direktive aufzeigen. Zum anderen wollen wir einige offene Fragen diskutieren, die bei der Umsetzung des Emissionshandels auf nationaler Ebene - insbesondere bei der Aufstellung des nationalen Allokationsplans - eine Rolle spielen. Dabei sollen auch die Vorschläge analysiert werden, die von der "Arbeitsgruppe Emissionshandel" der deutschen Bundesregierung beraten werden. Insbesondere untersuchen wir die verschiedenen zur Zeit diskutierten Allokationsregeln, die man in Output- und Emissions-basierte Regeln einteilen kann, im Hinblick auf ihre ökonomische Effizienz. Wie argumentieren, dass nur eine Zuteilung der Emissionsrechte durch Auktionierung oder ein konsequentes Grandfathering, das ausschließlich auf historischen Emissionen basiert, Verzerrungen vermeidet. Für ökonomisch fragwürdig halten wir auch die derzeitig diskutierten Vorschläge, Unternehmen nach Betriebsstilllegung ihrer Emissionszertifikate zu enteignen und Newcomer mit kostenlosen Emissionsrechten auszustatten. Weiterhin diskutieren wir mögliche Kollisionen des Emissionshandels mit anderen Instrumenten wie der Ökosteuer sowie der Förderung erneuerbarer Energien und der Kraftwärmekopplung

Standardized loads acting in knee implants

The loads acting in knee joints must be known for improving joint replacement, surgical procedures, physiotherapy, biomechanical computer simulations, and to advise patients with osteoarthritis or fractures about what activities to avoid. Such data would also allow verification of test standards for knee implants. This work analyzes data from 8 subjects with instrumented knee implants, which allowed measuring the contact forces and moments acting in the joint. The implants were powered inductively and the loads transmitted at radio frequency. The time courses of forces and moments during walking, stair climbing, and 6 more activities were averaged for subjects with I) average body weight and average load levels and II) high body weight and high load levels. During all investigated activities except jogging, the high force levels reached 3,372–4,218N. During slow jogging, they were up to 5,165N. The peak torque around the implant stem during walking was 10.5 Nm, which was higher than during all other activities including jogging. The transverse forces and the moments varied greatly between the subjects, especially during non-cyclic activities. The high load levels measured were mostly above those defined in the wear test ISO 14243. The loads defined in the ISO test standard should be adapted to the levels reported here. The new data will allow realistic investigations and improvements of joint replacement, surgical procedures for tendon repair, treatment of fractures, and others. Computer models of the load conditions in the lower extremities will become more realistic if the new data is used as a gold standard. However, due to the extreme individual variations of some load components, even the reported average load profiles can most likely not explain every failure of an implant or a surgical procedure

Tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joint 3D-kinematics in patients with posterior cruciate ligament deficiency compared to healthy volunteers

Background: The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) plays an important role in maintaining physiological kinematics and function of the knee joint. To date mainly in-vitro models or combined magnetic resonance and fluoroscopic systems have been used for quantifying the importance of the PCL. We hypothesized, that both tibiofemoral and patellofemoral kinematic patterns are changed in PCL-deficient knees, which is increased by isometric muscle flexion. Therefore the aim of this study was to simultaneously investigate tibiofemoral and patellofemoral 3D kinematics in patients suffering from PCL deficiency during different knee flexion angles and under neuromuscular activation. Methods: We enrolled 12 patients with isolated PCL-insufficiency as well as 20 healthy volunteers. Sagittal MR-images of the knee joint were acquired in different positions of the knee joint (0[degree sign], 30[degree sign], 90[degree sign] flexion, with and without flexing isometric muscle activity) on a 0.2 Tesla open MR-scanner. After segmentation of the patella, femur and tibia local coordinate systems were established to define the spatial position of these structures in relation to each other. Results: At full extension and 30[degree sign] flexion no significant difference was observed in PCL-deficient knee joints neither for tibiofemoral nor for patellofemoral kinematics. At 90[degree sign] flexion the femur of PCL-deficient patients was positioned significantly more anteriorly in relation to the tibia and both, the patellar tilt and the patellar shift to the lateral side, significantly increased compared to healthy knee joints. While no significant effect of isometric flexing muscle activity was observed in healthy individuals, in PCL-deficient knee joints an increased paradoxical anterior translation of the femur was observed at 90[degree sign] flexion compared to the status of muscle relaxation. Conclusions: Significant changes in tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joint kinematics occur in patients with isolated PCL-insufficiency above 30 degrees of flexion compared to healthy volunteers. Since this could be one reasonable mechanism in the development of OA our results might help to understand the long-term development of tibiofemoral and/or patellofemoral osteoarthritis in PCL-insufficient knee joints

Reappraising the theme of breeding systems in Echinococcus: is outcrossing a rare phenomenon?

Selfing has been considered the most common mode of reproduction in Echinococcus flatworms. However, population genetic studies on the asexual larval stage involving nuclear co-dominant markers have not always revealed significant heterozygote deficiencies - the expected outcome of a regularly and highly inbred population. In this study, we analysed the genetic structure of Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato populations from Southern Brazil during their adult (sexual) stage using 1 mitochondrial and 1 nuclear marker (cox 1 and mdh, respectively). We show that parasite genetic differentiation is largest among definitive hosts (domestic dogs) from different farms, suggesting that transmission is mostly maintained within a farm. Moreover, we show that heterozygote deficiencies are not significant, and we suggest that outbreeding is the most common mode of reproduction of the parasite in that regio