Consequences of BSE on Consumers' Attitudes, Perceptions and Willingness to Pay for Certified Beef in Spain

The BSE crisis has increased consumers' concerns on beef safety. Product quality systems and controls have been reinforced. Traceability certification and quality labels have been developed to communicate consumers the safety characteristics of the labelled beef and recover consumption. As a consequence, production costs have increased, which have been ultimately transmitted to consumer prices. The objective of this paper is to develop a conceptual model able to analyse main factors influencing consumers' willingness-to-pay for certified beef. A three-equation recursive model is jointly estimated. Results indicate that income, level of beef consumption, the average price consumers paid for beef and beef safety perception are main determinants of Spanish consumers' willingness- to-pay for certified beef.Certified beef, willingness-to-pay, attitudes, food safety, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Spanish Consumers' Attitudes and Acceptability towards GM Food Products

The objective of this paper is to analyse consumers’ attitudes and acceptability of GM food products in Spain. From the methodological point of view, a three-equation model of consumer behaviour is estimated assuming a kind of causal chain among the degree of knowledge, attitudes and buying intentions. Explanatory variables include socioeconomic characteristics of respondents as well as endogenous variables of the previous equations. The model provides a better knowledge of how attitudes and buying intentions towards GM food are formed. Higher educated consumers, more concerned about labelling information and less about price, and regular buyers of organic foods show a higher (not necessarily better) knowledge on GM technology and its consequences. However, those consumers with a lower level of knowledge, together with those who are not concerned about safety, are not used to recycle but to purchase fast food generate more positive attitudes towards GMs, which finally determine future purchasing intention.GM foods, Spain, consumers' attitudes, econometric model,

Does economic freedom increase income inequality? Evidence from the EU countries

Over the past decades there have been considerable changes in policies and institutions in favor of economic freedom in the EU countries. This trend coincides with widespread increases in income inequality in numerous member states. To what extent does economic freedom encourage inequality? This paper examines the relationship between economic freedom and income inequality in the EU countries using panel data for the 2000s. The empirical evidence suggests that economic freedom seems to entail greater income inequality. However, not all areas of economic freedom affect income distribution similarly. While government size and regulation appear to be robustly associated with income inequality, legal system and property rights, sound money, and freedom to trade internationally seem not to be significantly related with income distribution in the European context.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Inclusión multidisciplinar en Tercer Ciclo

La inclusión multidisciplinar en el tercer ciclo será en muchas Universidades españolas una necesidad, si quieren ofertar Doctorado bajo las directrices del R. D. 99/2011. En este trabajo, se expone la experiencia de un doctorado en el que participan como docentes y/o tutores de investigación doctores de distintas áreas de conocimiento y el que están realizando sus estudios de doctorado titulados de distintas facultades, con las condiciones de que tengan vinculación con la docencia y que los temas de sus tesis sean de investigación educativaUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

NUTRIENT EFFECTS ON CONSUMER DEMAND: A PANEL DATA APPROACH

The objective of this paper is to analyze the Spanish demand for food taking into account the consumer's concern about the relationship between food diet and health. This concern is forcing food demand analysts to assume that consumer utility is a function of nutrients instead of simply the food products themselves. A CBS demand model has been considered to model the new demand function obtained, which is estimated with a complete panel data set. Ten broad categories, nine nutrients and the most relevant socio-economic variables have been considered. Finally, after an appropriate model selection strategy, expenditure, price and nutrient elasticities, as well as main sociodemographic effects, have been calculated.Nutrients, demand for food, CBS, panel data, Spain., Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

The Impact of Price Intervention Policies to Improve Dietary Quality in Spain

Many commentators have claimed that farm subsidies have contributed significantly to the “obesity epidemic” by making fattening foods relatively cheap and abundant and, symmetrically, that taxing “unhealthy” commodities or subsidizing “healthy” commodities would contribute to reducing obesity rates. This paper makes three contributions. First, we review evidence from the literature on the impacts on food consumption and obesity resulting from subsidies applied in the past to production or consumption of farm commodities. Second, we develop and present new arguments and preliminary evidence on the impacts of past government investments in agricultural R&D on food consumption and obesity—through research-induced increases in agricultural productivity and the consequences for prices, production, and consumption of farm commodities. Third, we consider and compare the economic efficiency of hypothetical agricultural research policies (changing the orientation of agricultural research investments) versus hypothetical agricultural commodity subsidies and taxes as alternative mechanisms for encouraging consumption of healthy food or discouraging consumption of unhealthy food, or both.Spain, taxes, Food demand, Dietary quality, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy,

Spanish Demand for Food Away From Home: A Panel Data Approach

In this paper, the Spanish demand for food away from home is analysed. A panel data set is built and appropriate techniques for estimating limited dependent variable models have been applied. Results indicate that where there are zero expenditures, these are largely due to infrequency of purchase rather than to abstention or to economic reasons. Furthermore, important differences appear among households. On the one hand, those households whose head is a highly-educated person, male, young and living on a salary in a large town are more likely to purchase food away from home. On the other hand, increases in income only provokes more than proportional increases in expenditure for those households headed by an unschooled person, a female or a person older than 55 and also for those households with more than half of its members older than 60 years.Demand for food away from home, household production theory, panel data., Consumer/Household Economics, C23, C24, D12,

Contribution to the characterization and modeling of photovoltaic generators

A crucial aspect of evaluating and maintaining a photovoltaic (PV) installation connected to the grid is the availability of models that describe its operation reliably in real operating conditions. The nominal power of the PV generator (P*M) is considered an essential input parameter, and several models have been proposed to estimate P*M for characterizing the PV system. In the case of PV generators in outdoor conditions, the American Society for Testing and Materials, the International Electrotechnical Commission, and others have proposed procedures to determine the P*M of the generator. As part of these procedures, monitoring days with ideal conditions is mandatory, notably days with a clear sky, high irradiance values, and low wind speeds. Such restrictions can limit the number of suitable monitoring days, especially in places where clouds frequently form. This thesis proposes a new approach that allows estimating the P*M with data even from non-ideal, partially cloudy days. Based on non-parametric statistics, this procedure identifies and filters out noise as well as deviations from ideal conditions of irradiance, allowing for an estimation of P*M with similar accuracy as for a clear-sky day. This new procedure enables the characterization of a PV generator on a daily basis without the requirement to meet ideal conditions, thus, considerably enhancing the number of suitable monitoring days. To overcome the limitation in the P*M estimation and considerably extend the number of monitoring days, the new procedure can be applied to ideal and non-ideal conditions, such as partially cloudy days. This procedure determines the most probable nominal power value within one monitoring day using non-parametric statistics. In order to test the new procedure, a 109.44 kW photovoltaic plant in Granada, Spain, was monitored for six months. A referential procedure reported in the literature for large PV plants under ideal climatic conditions is first applied to estimate its nominal power. The results indicate that the nominal power can be estimated reliably in non-ideal conditions, maintaining the same precision as in ideal conditions. Then validating the procedure for a smaller PV generator and under different conditions, two small grid-connected 1.5 kW PV arrays were used. The PV systems in question are located in two different cities in Peru: Chachapoyas (tropical highland) and Lima (coastal desert). The objective of this study in Chachapoyas was to validate the methodology in a tropical climate with a high presence of clouds but at the same time with high irradiance values above 800 W/m2. According to the results obtained, under these conditions, the nominal power of the system can be calculated with reasonable certainty. As a precaution, monitoring for more than one day is recommended to obtain more data (at least 3 hours with high irradiance) to reduce uncertainties. Lima, Peru's second location under study, has a particular climate. Since the capital is located in a desert with high relative humidity values, dust deposition increases and power output decreases due to these conditions. For this purpose, the nominal power was used as a parameter to determine the maintenance schedule. Since keeping the system in optimal performance, considering this in future installations for operation and maintenance costs, is essential. The new procedure developed in this work can be applied to facilitate technical due diligence and quality control processes for PV generators of different sizes and under different operating conditions that are being re-purchased or have been recently installed. The possibility of daily monitoring of the P*M also enables long-term monitoring of a PV generator to ensure the correct operation or identify possible degradation effectsUn aspecto crucial a la hora de evaluar y mantener una instalacion fotovoltaica (FV) conectada a la red es la disponibilidad de modelos que describan su funcionamiento de forma fiable en condiciones reales de funcionamiento. La potencia nominal del generador fotovoltaico (P*M ) se considera un parametro de entrada esencial y se han propuesto varios modelos para estimar P*M para caracterizar el sistema fotovoltaico. En el caso de generadores fotovoltaicos en condiciones exteriores, la Sociedad Estadounidense de Pruebas y Materiales (abreviatura del ingles ASTM), la Comision Electrotecnica Internacional (abreviatura del ingles IEC) y otros han propuesto procedimientos para determinar la P*M del generador. Como parte de estos procedimientos, es obligatorio monitorear los dias con condiciones ideales, en particular los dias con cielo despejado, valores de irradiancia altos y velocidades de viento bajas. Tales restricciones pueden limitar la cantidad de dias de monitoreo adecuados, especialmente en lugares donde se forman nubes con frecuencia. Esta tesis propone un nuevo enfoque que permite estimar la P*M con datos incluso de dias parcialmente nublados no ideales. Basado en estadistica no parametricas, este procedimiento identifica y filtra el ruido, asi como las desviaciones de las condiciones ideales de irradiancia, lo que permite una estimacion de P*M con una precision similar a la de un dia de cielo despejado. Este nuevo procedimiento permite la caracterizacion diaria de un generador fotovoltaico sin el requisito de cumplir con las condiciones ideales, lo que aumenta considerablemente el numero de dias de monitoreo adecuados. Para superar la limitacion en la estimacion de P*M y extender considerablemente el numero de dias de monitoreo, el nuevo procedimiento se puede aplicar a condiciones ideales y no ideales, como dias parcialmente nublados. Este procedimiento determina el valor de potencia nominal mas probable dentro de un dia de monitoreo utilizando estadisticas no parametricas. Para probar el nuevo procedimiento, se monitorizo durante seis meses una planta fotovoltaica de 109,44 kW en Granada, Espana. Primero se aplica un procedimiento referencial reportado en la literatura para grandes plantas fotovoltaicas en condiciones climaticas ideales para estimar su potencia nominal. Los resultados indican que la potencia nominal se puede estimar de forma fiable en condiciones no ideales, manteniendo la misma precision que en condiciones ideales. Luego, para validar el procedimiento para un generador fotovoltaico mas pequeno y en diferentes condiciones, se utilizaron dos pequenos generador fotovoltaicos de 1,5 kW conectados a la red. Los sistemas fotovoltaicos en cuestion estan ubicados en dos ciudades diferentes de Peru: Chachapoyas (altiplano tropical) y Lima (desierto costero). El objetivo de este estudio en Chachapoyas fue validar la metodologia en un clima tropical con alta presencia de nubes pero al mismo tiempo con altos valores de irradiancia por encima de 800 W/m2. De acuerdo con los resultados obtenidos, en estas condiciones se puede calcular con razonable certeza la potencia nominal del sistema. Como precaucion, se recomienda monitorear durante mas de un dia para obtener mas datos (al menos 3 horas con alta irradiacion) para reducir las incertidumbres. Lima, la segunda localidad del Peru bajo estudio, tiene un clima particular. Dado que la capital esta ubicada en un desierto con altos valores de humedad relativa, la deposicion de polvo aumenta y la produccion de energia disminuye debido a estas condiciones. Para ello, se utilizo la potencia nominal como parametro para determinar el programa de mantenimiento. Ya que mantener el VI sistema en un desempeno optimo, considerando esto en futuras instalaciones para costos de operacion y mantenimiento, es fundamental. El nuevo procedimiento desarrollado en este trabajo se puede aplicar para facilitar los procesos de diligencia debida tecnica y control de calidad para generadores fotovoltaicos de diferentes tamaños y en diferentes condiciones de funcionamiento que se están recomprando o que se han instalado recientemente. La posibilidad de monitorear diariamente la P*M también permite monitorear a largo plazo un generador fotovoltaico para asegurar el correcto funcionamiento o identificar posibles efectos de degradación

Colombian Composer Adolfo Mejia, Four Works for Small Ensembles

The present document is a requirement for the Doctoral of Musical Arts degree at Louisiana State University. First, I will present the biography of the Composer Adolfo Mejía, ordered in five different cities where his career was developed. Later, I will describe some aspects of Colombian traditions. I do this with the intention to better understand the composer and some of the pieces entitled with indigenous dance and rhythmic names from different parts of the country. There will be an emphasis on two regions out of six, those more closely related to Mejía’s life. In the same way, I will present a list of the works composed by Mejía. This is not by any means conclusive nor definitive. It is the result of combining the dates of composition, their instrumentation, and the availability of their scores. Additionally, I will make a performance edition of four of his compositions. Similarly they are all chamber music: two of them for two violins, cello and piano, another one for just cello and piano, and lastly an original composition for violin and piano, for which I have made a simple transcription for cello and piano. These pieces are short in length but rich in content. In them, one finds traditional rhythms in a more sophisticated style

Disparities in entrepreneurship indicators across EU countries

The levels and characteristics of entrepreneurship differ widely across EU member countries due to diverse cultural, educational, economic-financial and institutional reasons. Taking as reference data provided by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), this paper analyzes the disparities in entrepreneurship indicators among the EU member countries in 2007 and 2013, highlighting the most significant changes occurred during the Great Recession. For this purpose, some of the major indices of inequality have been calculated, namely the Gini, Theil and Atkinson indices. In addition, the change in the Gini coefficient between these two years is additively decomposed into mobility and progressivity components, and growth incidence curves of some key indicators of entrepreneurial activity are estimated. Overall, we find that inequality among countries in most entrepreneurial attitude and aspiration indicators tends to diminish over the period 2007-2013. For all indicators the reduction is more generalized across the efficiency-driven economies than across the innovation-driven economies.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech