Estimating economies of scale and scope with flexible technology

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11123-016-0467-1Economies of scope are typically modelled and estimated using a cost function that is common to all firms in an industry irrespective of their type, e.g. whether they specialize in a single output or produce multiple outputs. Instead, we estimate a flexible technology model that allows for type-specific technologies and show how it can be estimated using linear parametric forms including the translog. A common technology remains a special case of our model and is testable econometrically. Our sample, of publicly owned US electric utilities, does not support a common technology for integrated and specialized firms. Our empirical results therefore suggest that assuming a common technology might bias estimates of economies of scale and scope. Thus, how we model the production technology clearly influences the policy conclusions we draw from its characteristics

Glasses and glass-ceramics for solid-state battery applications- Chapter 50

International audienceThis chapter reviews investigations carried out in the last decades to synthesize and characterize ion conducting glasses and glass-ceramics and further use them as solid electrolytes in all-solid-state batteries.First, the focus is put on materials, either LiC, NaC or AgC conducting ones, with the most striking points being the discovery of ion conductingchalcogenide glasses in the 1980s, the elaboration of fast ion conducting glass-ceramics with the introduction of mechanical alloying techniques in the 1990s, and more recently the renewed interest in NaC conducting glasses and glass-ceramics.The second part of the chapter focuses on the development of all-solid-state batteries, Li-ion and Li=S batteries and to a lesser extent NaC and AgC-ion batteries. It is shown that the performance of the batteries relies on the development of optimized composite electrodes comprising theelectrolyte, an active material and a conductive additive. The review sheds light on the key parameters that have to be considered, including the choice of compositions of active material and conductive additive, coating of electrode by the electrolyte, coating of the electrolyte, ratio of thecomponents, homogenization of the mixture and compaction of the powders