The Due diligence system in the EU’s Timber Regulation: non-tariff trade barrier or leverage effect?

This paper presents a novel spatial equilibrium model to analyse the leverage impact of the EU’s Timber Regulation on sustainable timber production. This leverage effect is an argument in favour of FLEGT but it has never been investigated thoroughly, or simultaneously for demand and supply. The leverage effect is measured in terms of the market share of sustainable timber in the total timber consumption and production of a region. Our research finds that FLEGT does not provide an incentive for sustainable timber production and consumption at global level. FLEGT creates a non-tariff trade barrier at the conventional timber markets of important producing regions (Europe and North America). This protectionist situation favours conventional timber which decreases the importance of sustainable timber. In addition, the protectionist situation decreases global welfare

Green public procurement of certified wood : impact on international trade and global welfare

This paper investigates the impact of green public procurement (governments’ purchases) of certified wood in the EU. A spatial partial price equilibrium model is developed to analyse whether this policy impacts interregional trade flows of wood and other regions’ economic welfare. The model contains an innovative feature which allows the introduction of consumers’ willingness to pay for certified wood, and producers’ willingness to accept certified wood production in order to determine the share of certified wood in consumption and demand. The outcome of the analysis demonstrates that green public procurement of certified wood in one region can create a trade barrier for other regions and decrease other regions’ economic welfare. In the worst case scenario, other regions’ production of non-certified wood even increases. This endangers forest conservation. Cost reductions and adequate financial compensation for certified wood producers can tackle these problems

Interpersonal influence in families: development and psychometric evaluation of the influence in families questionnaire

The objective of this article was to develop and psychometrically evaluate a self-report instrument that would assess interpersonal influence in families. The Influence in Families Questionnaire (IFQ) was developed as a 16-item scale which assesses both positive and negative influence. The IFQ and its sub-scales, when administered to a sample of 581 adolescents and Young adults, showed high internal consistency and exhibited a promising pattern of convergent, divergent and criterion validity in relation to relevant criteria such as impact messages, family and attachment relationships and interpersonal sense of control. Overall, these results suggest that the IFQ is a useful instrument for measuring interpersonal influence within families

Implementation of the EU-Cameroon Voluntary Partnership Agreement policy : trade distortion, rent-seeking and anticipative behavior

This paper empirically investigates the impact of the implementation process for the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) in Cameroon on the volume of exported wood from Cameroon to the European Union (EU). This is achieved by applying time series analysis, change point detection, and vector autoregression with exogenous variables. No previous research has quantitatively analyzed the long-term impact of VPAs on traded wood. Two major conclusions are drawn. First, the VPA, and accompanying improved forest governance, negatively impacted on the wood volume exported from Cameroon when it came into force (December 2011). However, wood extraction in Cameroon's neighboring countries increased as operators can still economically benefit from less stringent environmental standards in these countries. Second, this paper observes anticipative behavior before the VPA came into effect. During the negotiations, exports decreased due to redirection of the trade flows, and uncertainty concerning the outcome of the negotiations. However, during the months before the VPA came into force, wood exports sharply increased. This is explained by rent-seeking behavior by operators who wished to benefit from the less stringent trade conditions, whilst they lasted

A family assessment based on the social relations model

One purpose of family assessment is to formulate hypotheses that can guide clinical interventions. Family assessment is based on models about family functioning. In this paper the Social Relations Model (Kenny and La Voie, 1984; SRM) is presented as such a model about family dynamics. Moreover, SRM provides statistical tools to underpin empirical hypotheses about family functioning. An SRM family assessment of a family with a child in child psychiatric care exemplifies the possibilities and limitations of this SRM approach to family assessment. The subject of the family assessment is family members' sense of influence in their family relationships

Post-divorce wellbeing in Flanders: facilitative professionals and quality of arrangements matter

Expanding on current advancement in divorce and family dispute resolution research, an integrative and process-oriented model is presented. This article explores the extent to which, and how, individual, trajectory, and arrangement factors are related to post-divorce personal wellbeing. Questionnaire data were collected from a sample of 423 individuals who divorced through mediation or litigation. A subsample of 112 respondents provided extra information on the personal qualities of divorce professionals. A series of multiple regression analysis demonstrated that: (1) gender, (2) experienced facilitative problem solving behaviors and the Rogerian personal qualities of professionals, and (3) the quality of divorce arrangements all directly relate to post-divorce wellbeing. No significant associations emerged for other individual characteristics (i.e., age, having children or not, pre-divorce conflict levels, relationship duration, initiator-status), or trajectory features (i.e., type of professional and type of legal procedure). Path analytic procedures did not show any indirect effect from problem solving behaviors or Rogerian attitudes of lawyers and mediators on post-divorce wellbeing through its effect on the quality of divorce arrangements. The implications for mediation practice are discussed

Quality of life and body mass index in overweight adult women with polycystic ovary syndrome during a lifestyle modification program

Objective: To evaluate changes in body mass index (BMI) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), including an acne parameter, of overweight adult women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) during a lifestyle modification program. Design: Prospective longitudinal within-patient study. Setting: Department of Reproductive Medicine of the Ghent University Hospital (Belgium). Participants: Thirty-three overweight (BMI >= 25 kg/m(2)) women with PCOS between age 18 and 43 years. Methods: Participants followed a 24-week lifestyle modification programconsisting of a diet, exercise, and psychological subprogram. BMI was assessed at Weeks 0, 8, 16, and 24 of the program. The HRQoL was measured at Week 0, 12, and 24 of the program using the PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome Questionnaire (PCOSQ) and a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) to evaluate the influence of acne on HRQoL. Results: During a 24-week period no significant decrease in BMI occurred (mean difference = 1.71, 95% confidence interval [CI] [-1.38, 4.81]. During that period, there was a significant positive evolution of the total PCOSQ score, F(2, 37.5) = 23.7, the emotions, F(2, 37.9) = 4.2, weight, F(2, 42.1) = 24.8, body hair, F(2, 35.6) = 3.3, and infertility problems domain scores, F(2, 43.1) = 15.64, of the PCOSQ, as well as of the acne VAS score, F(2, 29.3) = 4.2. These effects primarily occurred during the first 12 weeks. Conclusion: In spite of no significant changes in BMI, the HRQoL of overweight adult women with PCOS significantly improved during a 24-week lifestyle modification program