A small volume reduction that melts down the market: auctions with endogenous rationing

Auctions with endogenous rationing have been introduced to stimulate competition. Such (procurement) auctions reduce the volume put out to tender when competition is low. This paper finds a strong negative effect of endogenous rationing on participation when bid-preparation is costly, counteracting the aim to stimulate competition. For multiple auctioneer's objectives mentioned in directives, we derive optimal mechanisms, which differ due to different evaluation of the tradeoff between participation and bid-preparation costs. Thus, the auctioneer needs to decide on an objective. However, reducing bid-preparation costs improves the optimal values of multiple objective functions

Endogene Rationierung in Ausschreibungen für erneuerbare Energien : Verdrängung von Angebot statt Schaffung von Wettbewerb

In verschiedenen Ländern wie z.B. Deutschland und Frankreich wurde in den jüngsten Ausschreibungsrunden für den Bau neuer Windenergieanlagen an Land die Ausschreibungsmenge von der Angebotsmenge nicht oder nur knapp überschritten. Diese Entwicklung in Verbindung mit geplanten Sonderausschreibungen erhöht die Risiken zukünftiger Unterzeichnungen und hoher Preise. Zur Lösung dieses Problems in Deutschland wird von verschiedenen Stellen wie der Bundesregierung vorgeschlagen, Instrumente der endogenen Rationierung in das Auktionsdesign zu implementieren. Konkret schlägt § 11 Absatz 2 InnAusV der „Verordnung zu den Innovationsausschreibungen und zur Änderung weiterer energiewirtschaftlicher Verordnungen“ vom 16. Oktober 2019 (Bundesregierung, 2019a) eine Auktion mit sogenannter endogener Rationierung vor. Die Instrumente der endogenen Rationierung sollen im Fall eines zu geringen oder zu teuren Angebots das Ausschreibungsergebnis anpassen, indem das Zuschlagsvolumen in Abhängigkeit vom Angebotsvolumen bzw. von den Gebotspreisen reduziert wird. Dadurch sollen Wettbewerb in den Ausschreibungsrunden und niedrigere Preise gesichert werden

Prehabilitation of elderly frail or pre-frail patients prior to elective surgery (PRAEP-GO): study protocol for a randomized, controlled, outcome assessor-blinded trial

Background: Frailty is expressed by a reduction in physical capacity, mobility, muscle strength, and endurance. (Pre-) frailty is present in up to 42% of the older surgical population, with an increased risk for peri- and postoperative complications. Consequently, these patients often suffer from a delayed or limited recovery, loss of autonomy and quality of life, and a decrease in functional and cognitive capacities. Since frailty is modifiable, prehabilitation may improve the physiological reserves of patients and reduce the care dependency 12 months after surgery. Methods: Patients >= 70 years old scheduled for elective surgery or intervention will be recruited in this multicenter, randomized controlled study, with a target of 1400 participants with an allocation ratio of 1:1. The intervention consists of (1) a shared decision-making process with the patient, relatives, and an interdisciplinary and interprofessional team and (2) a 3-week multimodal, individualized prehabilitation program including exercise therapy, nutritional intervention, mobility or balance training, and psychosocial interventions and medical assessment. The frequency of the supervised prehabilitation is 5 times/week for 3 weeks. The primary endpoint is defined as the level of care dependency 12 months after surgery or intervention. Discussion: Prehabilitation has been proven to be effective for different populations, including colorectal, transplant, and cardiac surgery patients. In contrast, evidence for prehabilitation in older, frail patients has not been clearly established. To the best of our knowledge, this is currently the largest prehabilitation study on older people with frailty undergoing general elective surgery