Economic valuation of the impacts of climate change in agriculture in Europe

The objective of this study is to provide a European assessment of the potential effects of climate change on agricultural crop production computing monetary estimates of these impacts for the European agricultural sector. The future scenarios incorporate socio economic projections derived from several SRES scenarios and climate projections obtained from global climate models and regional climate models. The quantitative results are based simulations using the GTAP general equilibrium models system that includes all relevant economic activities. The estimated changes in the exports and imports of agricultural goods, value of GDP and crop prices under the climate and socio-economic scenarios show significant regional differences between northern and southern European countries. The patterns are positive effects except on Mediterranean countries. The most important increases seem to concern the continental region, where the productivity increases enlarge GDP more intensively due to the importance of agricultural sector in the region. The monetary estimates also show that in all cases uncertainty derived from socio-economic scenarios has a larger effect than the ones derived from climate scenarios.agriculture, climate change, computable general equilibrium models, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Projections of economic impacts of climate change in agriculture in Europe

RESUMEN This study provides monetary estimates of the impacts of climate change in European agriculture. Future scenarios are derived from several socio-economic scenarios and experiments conducted using global climate moedls and regional climate models. The economic valuation is conducted by using GTAP general equilibrium model across simulations based on crop productivity changes that consider no restrictions in the volume of water available for irrigation in current irrigated areas or in the application of nitrogen fertilizer. Thus the results should be considered optimistic from the production point and pessimistic from the environmental point of view. Regional differences between northern and southern European countries are found and the monetary estimates show that uncertainty derived from socio-economic scenarios has a larger effect than uncertainty derived from climate scenarios. ABSTRACT Este estudio proporciona estimaciones económicas de los efectos del cambio climático en la agricultura Europeal. Los escenarios futuros incorporan proyecciones de cambios socio-económicos y variables climáticas derivadas de modelos de clima global y regional. La valoración económica utiliza el modelo de equilibrio general (GTAP), donde las simulaciones se basan en cambios en la productividad de los cultivos sin considerar restricciones en el volumen de agua de riego en las zonas actuales de regadío ni de fertilizantes. Así, los resultados se pueden considerar optimistas desde el punto de vista productivo, pero pesimistas desde el punto de vista ambiental. Se observan diferencias significativas entre el norte y el sur de Europa y las estimaciones económicas muestran que la incertidumbre asociada a los escenarios socio-económicos es mayor que la asociada a los escenarios climáticos.agriculture, climate change, general equilibrium models, agricultura, cambio climático, modelos de equilibrio general, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Regional specialization and trade patterns in Europe.

In the present paper we will study the effects of the construction of an internal market in Europe in 1992. The question to be answered is whether some regions in Europe have improved their positions in the internal EU trade from a better exploitation of their comparative advantages (productivity, factors endowment,...) and scale economies, as far as regions have two main reasons for trade: specialization in those activities they do the best and the exploitation of scale economies. The evolution of inter industrial trade will reveal whether the expectations of some qualified economist of a deeper specialization of northern European regions in human capital-intensive industries and in labour-intensive industries in the southern regions were correct. Besides, the development of intra industrial trade in this decade will prove if the benefits of scale economies were bigger in the south, where they were less exploited at the outset. Finally, we will also analyse the role of foreign direct investment (which can be observed as another way of exports and shares with trade the causal factors) in the reinforcement of specialization patterns across Europe. In this connection, we identify and analyse the evolution of trade patterns in Europe in the 1990´s through the utilization of Grubel-Lloyd index. Secondly, we utilize several indicators of comparative advantages (sectors average productivity, labour costs, human capital endowment, etc.) and of firms size to study whether they have also undergone some changes as a result of the internal market formation. Although the lack of regional data can make us formulate this analysis for countries rather than for regions, whenever necessary we will supplement it with the patterns of regional specialization within the countries, as far as the regional location of export industries can shed some light on this issue.

Economic growth and employment: regional disparities in the UE.

One of the main problems of the European countries is their small capacity to generate employment. This is an important point because of the social and human problems that it produces, which are more serious in the case of peripheral regions. In this paper, we make a comparative analysis of employment and economic growth among the main EU countries. We study the reason of the more reduced rates of employment in several EU countries. Then, we analyse the generation of employment in the European regions, especially in the peripheral ones which are the most affected by unemployment.

Economic growth and employment: Regional disparities in the EU

One of the main problems of the European countries is their small capacity to generate employment. This is an important point because of the social and human problems that it produces, which are more serious in the case of the peripheral regions. In this paper, we make a comparative analysis of employment and economic growth among the EU and the main OECD countries. We study the reasons of the more reduced rates of employment in several EU countries in relation to USA and Japan. Then, we analyze the generation of employment in the European regions, specially in the peripheral ones which are the most affected by unemployment.

Strategic Consensus in Top Management Teams: The Role of Status Hierarchy, Firm Performance, and a Culture of Dissent

Status hierarchies influence all human interactions, including strategic consensus in top management teams. In this conceptual paper, we articulate why strategic consensus in top management teams is likely to be more a reflection of compliance of low-status top managers with high-status top managers’ judgments than a genuine team’s agreement on the firm’s strategic priorities. We theorize how a firm’s performance can restrain and drive change in status hierarchies, thus impacting the persistence and dissolution of strategic consensus. We also articulate how a culture of dissent can minimize the impact of status hierarchies on strategic consensus. Our model has some implications for examining diversity in top management teams. Scholars have long emphasized the importance of diversity in top management teams, arguing that managers with different backgrounds and viewpoints make firms better equipped to face competitive challenges. However, status hierarchies remind us that if top managers’ ideas and contributions are weighed by their status, organizations might not easily realize the potential benefits of having a diverse top management team

Artes plásticas, Performance y Literatura : Bruce Nauman y las puestas visuales de Rodrigo García

La influencia de los medios visuales y las nuevas tecnologías en el arte, la literatura y la comunicación, nos conduce al problema de las relaciones entre la palabra y la imagen. Considerando las puestas del dramaturgo hispano argentino Rodrigo García, nos preguntamos por la influencia de las artes plásticas en su performance; identificando la influencia de la obra de Bruce Nauman, reflexionamos acerca de los vínculos entre imagen y texto identificando la confluencia de estéticas provenientes de distintos sistemas artísticos, y señalamos finalmente la importancia de la representación del cuerpo, en relación con el exceso y la abyección, en las nuevas poéticas contemporánea