The role of fiscal instruments in environmental policy

Environmental protection is one of Europe's key values. The EU has set clear policy objectives to achieve its environmental goals. The EU has favoured market-based instruments, among which fiscal instruments to tackle the climate change problem. This paper takes a policy-making perspective and provides an overview of key issues on the role of fiscal instruments in energy and environmental policies. It describes fiscal instruments as cost-effective means to promote environmental goals and highlights in which cases taxes and other types of fiscal instruments can usefully complement each other to achieve environmental target.Taxation, environmental policy, VAT, fiscal incentives

Mechanisms of aging induced decline in wound healing

The impaired wound healing is a significant concern affecting millions of people worldwide. The increased incidence is mainly caused by growing number of aged individuals, whose potential to repair tissues and healing of wounds has decreased. The aim of this study was to investigate gene functions affecting aging related decline in wound healing. In addition, the aim was to study the potential of these genes as drug targets and the effect of targeting drugs to improve wound healing. This study was performed with fast-aging turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) by comparing wound healing between young and old fish. A piece of tail fin of the fish was cut, and the fin regeneration was measured during several days. The gene expression and histological samples were also analysed. Finally, two drugs, which activate (roxadustat) and inhibit (semaxanib) blood vessel growth related genes, were administered to old fish. The differences between these drugs on wound healing process were observed. As a result the fin regeneration was decreased with old fish compared to young fish, and no difference was found between males and females. After drug administration, growth length and rate were declined with semaxanib group, whereas growth rate was increased with roxadustat group compared to control group. Tissue regeneration and wound healing was decreased with old fish and several genes participate to wound healing. However, searching of potential drug targets from these genes and drugs to improve the wound healing process needs more investigation

The Role of Fiscal Instruments in Environmental Policy

Environmental protection is one of Europe's key values. The EU has set clear policy objectives to achieve its environmental goals. The EU has favoured market-based instruments, among which fiscal instruments to tackle the climate change problem. This paper takes a policy-making perspective and provides an overview of key issues on the role of fiscal instruments in energy and environmental policies. It describes fiscal instruments as cost-effective means to promote environmental goals and highlights in which cases taxes and other types of fiscal instruments can usefully complement each other to achieve environmental target.taxation, environmental policy, VAT, fiscal incentives

Imposing a unilateral carbon constraint on European energy-intensive industries and its impact on their international competitiveness - data & analysis

This paper investigates the implications of EU climate change policy for energy intensive industries. Specifically, it calculates, for a range of energy-intensive processes and products, the product price increases that would be required to maintain unit profits at present levels, based on likely values of allowance prices in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme up to 2020. For most of the energy- and carbon-intensive products considered here, an allowance price of €20 per tonne of carbon dioxide would require price increases of between 0.1 to 5% to maintain profits, assuming full pass-through of the allowance price along the value chain. Doubling the allowance price to €40/tonne would double the required increase. The activities that risk being most challenged by the carbon constraint appear to be container glass production using virgin inputs, primary aluminium production, primary steel production based on the basic oxygen furnace process, and some basic chemicals production. However, the analysis has also shown that for many of these cases alternative production processes exist, based on recycled inputs, for example. The cement sector, although very energy- and carbon-intensive, is relatively little exposed to international competition. Indeed, the paper also investigates in how far it would be possible for the affected activities to pass through cost increases to their clients, by analysing their exposure to domestic and international competition. It concludes that the sectors analysed are typically relatively highly concentrated (sometimes even at the world level) and form parts of vertically integrated and locally-clustered value chains. This tends to increase market entry and exit barriers and, thus, to reduce the risk of large output losses and delocalisation.climate change, competitiveness, energy-intensive industries, emissions trading

Imposing a unilateral carbon constraint on European energy-intensive industries and its impact on their international competitiveness - data & analysis

We examine the implications of EU climate policy for energy intensive industries by calculating, for a range of energy-intensive processes and products, the product price increases that would be required to maintain unit profits at present levels, based on likely values of allowance prices in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme up to 2020. We also investigate in how far it would be possible for the affected activities to pass through cost increases to their clients, by analysing their exposure to domestic and international competition. It concludes that the sectors analysed are typically relatively highly concentrated (sometimes even at the world level) and form parts of vertically integrated and locally-clustered value chains. This tends to increase market entry and exit barriers and, thus, to reduce the risk of large output losses and delocalisation.climate change, competitiveness, energy-intensive industries, emissions trading, bergmann, schmitz, hayden, gerday, kosonen

Ei yksin, vaan yhdessä – virtuaaliopintojaksoja rakentamassa

Oulun seudun ammattikorkeakoulun Liiketalouden yksikössä toteutettiin virtuaaliopintojen kehittämisprojekti (VopKe). Projektiin osallistui suunnittelija sekä eri alojen opettajia. Tavoitteena oli konkreettisesti lisätä virtuaalisesti toteutettavia opintojaksoja uudenlaisella yhteistyöhön perustuvalla toimintamallilla. Projektin avulla opettajat pystyivät hyödyntämään kollegoiden näkemykset ja saamaan vertaistukea uuden verkko-opintojakson rakentamisessa. Projektin tuloksena syntyi virtuaalisesti toteutettuja opintojaksoja, joita on kehitetty edelleen. Opintosuunnitelman mukaisesti ne ovat tulleet osaksi vuosittaista opintojaksotarjontaa. Artikkelissa kuvataan malli, jolla projekti toteutettiin. Malli toimi hyvin ja sitä voi käyttää esimerkkinä, kun halutaan lisätä opintojaksojen verkkototeutuksia

European Tax Survey

In order to have a better understanding of the impact of taxation on companies' decisions and activities, and potential costs that may arise from the lack of coordination in this area at EU level, the European Commission's Taxation and Customs Union Directorate-General launched a European Tax Survey. Seven hundred companies active in the EU participated in the Survey providing information on a large number of tax compliance related issues. Company responses included quantitative estimates of their compliance costs and opinions on a number of issues related to tax systemsEuropean Union, Taxation, Compliance costs

Employment Exits Near Retirement Age: An Agency-analysis

Population aging has prompted international governing bodies to recommend extending work careers and postponing retirement age. Retirement decisions cannot be fully reduced to either structural influences or individual agency. Older workers may face several limiting factors when continuing their careers beyond the official retirement age, including internalized attitudes towards aging at work. Our aim is to develop agency analysis that involves both structural and individual components to fully illustrate the heterogeneity of older workers and their retirement decisions. By studying qualitative interview data via thematic content analysis and a modality-based agency framework, we found that agency manifests in various different ways in older employees’ work exit accounts and that the relationship between individual agency and structures is complex. We conclude that agency analysis of aging employees offers insights into the complexity of the retirement process and may thus inform us about how to help extend work careers

Imposing a unilateral carbon constraint on European energy-intensive industries and its impact on their international competitiveness - data & analysis

This paper investigates the implications of EU climate change policy for energy intensive industries. Specifically, it calculates, for a range of energy-intensive processes and products, the product price increases that would be required to maintain unit profits at present levels, based on likely values of allowance prices in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme up to 2020. For most of the energy- and carbon-intensive products considered here, an allowance price of €20 per tonne of carbon dioxide would require price increases of between 0.1 to 5% to maintain profits, assuming full pass-through of the allowance price along the value chain. Doubling the allowance price to €40/tonne would double the required increase. The activities that risk being most challenged by the carbon constraint appear to be container glass production using virgin inputs, primary aluminium production, primary steel production based on the basic oxygen furnace process, and some basic chemicals production. However, the analysis has also shown that for many of these cases alternative production processes exist, based on recycled inputs, for example. The cement sector, although very energy- and carbon-intensive, is relatively little exposed to international competition. Indeed, the paper also investigates in how far it would be possible for the affected activities to pass through cost increases to their clients, by analysing their exposure to domestic and international competition. It concludes that the sectors analysed are typically relatively highly concentrated (sometimes even at the world level) and form parts of vertically integrated and locally-clustered value chains. This tends to increase market entry and exit barriers and, thus, to reduce the risk of large output losses and delocalisation

New national and regional biological records for Finland 1. Contributions to agaricoid and ascomycetoid taxa of fungi

Here we present records on 59 fungal taxa, based on recent field work and on herbarium studies. Of those 22 are reported here as new to Finland. Information concerning 37 taxa published elsewhere, is brought here together. Coordinates are given in Uniform Coordinate System (UCS)