The Trade-off Between Static and Dynamic Efficiency in Electricity Markets - A Cross Country Study

This paper is the first to explicitly test for the presence of a trade-off between static and dynamic efficiency in a regulated industry, the electricity industry. We show for 16 European countries over the period 1998-2007 that higher electricity end-user prices in a country subsequently lead to higher investments in the capital stock, i.e. in generation, distribution and transmission assets. Moreover, there is a trade-off between vertical economies and competition. Ownership unbundling and forced access to the incumbent transmission grid increase competition but come at the cost of lost vertical economies. Generally, we find that regulation that affect only the market like the establishment of a wholesale market or free choice of suppliers increase investment activity via spurring competition. Regulation, however, that adversely affects the incumbent directly, like ownership unbundling, decreases aggregate investment spending. (author's abstract)Series: Working Papers / Research Institute for Regulatory Economic

Preventing Innovative Cooperations: The Legal Exemptions Unintended Side Effect

In 2004, European competition law had been faced with considerable changes due to the introduction of the new Council Regulation No. 1/2003. One of the major renewals was the replacement of the centralized notification system for inter-company cooperations in favor of a so-called legal exemption system. We analyze the implications of this reform on the agreements firms implement. In contrast to previous research we focus on the reform’s impact on especially welfare enhancing, namely innovative agreements. We show that the law’s intention to reduce the incentive to establish illegal cartels will be reached. However, by the same mechanism, also highly innovative cooperations might be prevented. To avoid this unintended effect, we conclude that only fines but not the monitoring activities should be increased in order to deter illegal but not innovative agreements.competition policy, competition law enforcement, legal exemption system

Straightening of a wavy strip: An elastic-plastic contact problem including snap-through

The nonlinear behavior of a wave like deformed metal strip during the levelling process were calculated. Elastic-plastic material behavior as well as nonlinearities due to large deformations were considered. The considered problem lead to a combined stability and contact problem. It is shown that, despite the initially concentrated loading, neglecting the change of loading conditions due to altered contact domains may lead to a significant error in the evaluation of the nonlinear behavior and particularly to an underestimation of the stability limit load. The stability was examined by considering the load deflection path and the behavior of a load-dependent current stiffness parameter in combination with the determinant of the current stiffness matrix

Theory of Storage: An Empirical Assessment of the European Natural Gas Market

We analyze the relation between European natural gas storage facilities and price patterns at major trading points, considering the theory of storage to derive a testable hypothesis imposed by the non-arbitrage condition. To model the efficiency of the natural gas market, we apply two indirect tests absent the scarcity of European inventory data. We find that operators of storage facilities realize seasonal arbitrage profits, and that market performance overall is substantially distinct from the competitive benchmark.Storage, energy commodity, natural gas, convenience yield

Predictive Performance and Bias - Evidence from Natural Gas Markets

This paper sheds light on the differences and similarities in natural gas trading at the National Balancing Point in the UK and the Henry Hub located in the US. For this, we analyze traders' expectations and implement a mechanical forecasting model that allows traders to predict future spot prices. Based on this, we compute the deviations between expected and realized spot prices and analyze possible reasons and dependencies with other market variables. Overall, the mechanical predictor performs well, but a small forecast error remains which can not be characterized by the explanatory variables included

The symmetric buckling mode in laminated elastoplastic micro-structures under plane strain

The present work considers lamellar (micro) structures of thin, elastic lamellae embedded in a yielding matrix as a stability problem in the context of the theory of stability and uniqueness of path-dependent systems. The volume ratio of the stiff lamellae to the relatively soft matrix is assumed low enough to initiate a symmetric buckling mode, which is investigated by analytical and numerical means. Using a highly abstracted, incompatible model, a first approach is made, and the principal features of the problem are highlighted. Assuming plane strain deformation, an analytic expression for the bifurcation load of a refined, compatible model is derived for the special case of ideal plasticity and verified by numerical results. The effect of lamella spacing and matrix hardening on the bifurcation load is studied by a finite element unit cell model. Some of the findings for the ideal plastic matrix are shown to also apply for a mildly hardening matrix material. Furthermore, the postbuckling behaviour and the limit load are investigated by simulating a bulk lamella array

Markowitz Revisited: Social Portfolio Engineering

In recent years socially responsible investing has become an increasingly more popular subject with both private and institutional investors. At the same time, a number of scientific papers have been published on socially responsible investments (SRIs), covering a broad range of topics, from what actually defines SRIs to the financial performance of SRI funds in contrast to non-SRI funds. In this paper, we revisit Markowitz' Portfolio Selection Theory and propose a modification allowing to incorporate not only asset-specific return and risk but also a social responsibility measure into the investment decision making process. Together with a risk-free asset, this results in a three-dimensional capital allocation plane that allows investors to custom-tailor their asset allocations and incorporate all personal preferences regarding return, risk and social responsibility. We apply the model to a set of over 6,231 international stocks and find that investors opting to maximize the social impact of their investments do indeed face a statistically significant decrease in expected returns. However, the social responsibility/risk-optimal portfolio yields a statistically significant higher social responsibility rating than the return/risk-optimal portfolio

Internal capital markets and bank holding company efficiency

Bank Holding Companies and in particular their internal capital markets have been widely discussed in recent financial literature. The financial crisis especially brought regulatory intervention in financial markets into question. Empirical evidence suggests that bank holding companies have clear preferences for double leverage, which are not based on unambiguous and explicit economic foundations. In this article, we analyze the effects of equity, debt and double leverage on the efficiency of bank holding companies. We show that Bank Holding Company efficiency is negatively affected by equity financing from parents to subsidiaries and this effect is even more pronounced in case of double leveraging. Our findings indicate that further measures from regulators are necessary in order to prevent inefficient financing via double leverage, which may be used to circumvent regulatory capital requirements

The Lebanon War 2006

Meine Diplomarbeit befasst sich mit dem Libanonkrieg 2006 und dessen Konsequenzen. Als Hauptkonsequenz sehe ich den Aufstieg der Hisbollah zu einem regionalen und nationalen Player im Nahen Osten. Zu Beginn meiner Arbeit ging ich auf das Konzept der schwachen Staaten ein, welches den theoretischen Hintergrund meiner Arbeit bildet. Eine zentrale Rolle in diesem Konflikt spielt die schiitische Bewegung Hisbollah. Im Mittelpunkt meiner Analyse steht aus diesem Grunde die geschichtliche Entwicklung der Organisation, bis hin zu ihren Verbündeten Syrien und Iran. Eine Chronologie des 34-tägigen Krieges und die Ereignisse vor Ausbruch der kämpferischen Auseinandersetzungen, nehmen einen zentralen Platz in meiner Arbeit ein. Von höchster Bedeutung für die Beendigung des Krieges ist die UN Resolution 1701. Der Resolutionstext und die unterschiedlichen Sichtweisen der partizipierenden Kriegsparteien auf die UN Resolution werden wiedergegeben. Wie jeder Krieg wirft auch der Libanonkrieg völkerrechtliche Fragen auf, weshalb ich mich dieser Thematik angenommen habe. Wie eingangs erwähnt, konzentriere ich mich auf die Konsequenzen des Krieges und bin deshalb auf die ökonomischen, ökologischen und sozialen Konsequenzen eingegangen. Die Winograd-Kommission wurde von Israel eingesetzt um den Krieg zu analysieren und um mögliche Fehlentscheidungen der Regierung Olmerts aufzuzeigen. Zentrale Aussagen des erstellten Winograd-Berichts wurden in die Analyse miteinbezogen, und später auf ihre Konsequenzen für Israel getestet. Das letzte Kapitel meiner Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Konklusion und Testung meiner eingangs beschriebenen Hypothese die ich aufgrund zahlreicher Argumente in meiner Arbeit verifizieren konnte. Mein Aufenthalt am Middle East Institute an der Columbia University, Interviews, Sekundärliteratur und UN Dokumente bestimmten meine Materialsammlung.My thesis deals with the Lebanon War of 2006 and its consequences and outcome of the war. The hypothesis I tested was the rising of Hezbollah to a national and regional player in the Middle East as the main consequence of the war. The paper starts off focusing on Lebanon as a weak state, which comprises the theoretical background of my paper. An historic overview on how the Shiite movement Hezbollah was founded will be the next part of my thesis, in which everything that relates to the organization is discussed. A chronology of the 34 day war that includes a brief introduction to what happened before the outbreak of hostilities, a timeline of the actual war, as well as international and national positions on the war is next. The United Nations Resolution 1701 is a very important matter in this war. Therefore the text of the Resolution and all different views on the Resolution are presented. In every war the question of whether the international law was observed plays a vital role. A closer look is drawn at possible war crimes committed by Israel and Hezbollah. Social, economical and environmental consequences for Lebanon and Israel will be outlined. The Winograd-Commission evaluated the war for Israel. The most important findings of the final report are reviewed. The final chapter of my thesis proves my hypothesis true. I relied on secondary literature, interviews and my research stay at the Middle East Institute of Columbia University in New York City

Aviäre Influenza Minicircle DNA-Impfstoff Kandidat

Goal of this work was the production of Bacterial Ghosts (BGs) loaded with pSIP-H5 minicircle, a small DNA molecule harboring a Eukaryotic Expression Cassette for the protein Hemagglutinin type 5 of the H5N1 avian influenza virus. This composes a DNA vaccine for poultry enclosed in BGs, which act as biological carrier vehicles, directly targeting the cellular as well as activating the adaptive immune system. In combination with the Bacterial Ghost (BG) technology, the SIP (self-immobilizing-plasmid)-technique provides an easy, cheap and safe way of mass production of the vaccine. The characteristic of the SIP-technique is the division of the original (SIP-) motherplasmid into two sub-parts, the minicircle, including, next to the H5 Expression Cassette, the ability to fix itself within the bacterial membrane and the miniplasmid, containing the undesirable sequences, which is lost with the cytoplasm upon E-lysis of the bacterial cells. The aim was the design of a SIP plasmid containing the H5 gene, the pSIP-H5, which recombines upon arabinose induction, losing all sequences necessary for fermentation and possibly harmful when introduced into a target organism, like the antibiotic resistance cassette or the origin of replication. pSIP-H5 would then be co-transformed with pGLysivb into E.coli, which induces E-lysis of the bacterial cell upon temperature shift. In one fermentation procedure recombination of the pSIP-H5 is induced, after that E-lysis is performed, H5-minicircle loaded BGs are obtained. Next to cloning this plasmid the objective is to decide on the plasmid-carrying bacterial strain. The important properties of the strain are efficient lysis upon temperature shift and prompt and complete recombination as well as tight suppression of untimely recombination. Another beneficial property is the tropism of the bacterial strain to the vaccine recipient, such as salmonella, as a natural pathogen of poultry.Ziel dieser Arbeit war die Produktion von Bacterial Ghosts (BGs) beladen mit pSIP-H5 minicircle, ein kleines DNA Molekül, das eine eukaryotische Expressionkassette des Haemagglutinin Proteins Typ 5 des aviären H5N1 Influenza Virus trägt. Diese Komposition resultiert in einem DNA Impfstoff für Geflügel eingeschlossen in BGs, die als natürliches Trägermedium fungieren, direkt vom zellulären Immunsystem erkannt werden und das adaptive Immunsystem aktivieren. In Kombination mit der Bacterial Ghost (BG) Technologie ist das SIP-system eine einfache, günstige und sichere Methode diesen Impfstoff in großen Mengen herzustellen. Die essentielle Eigenschaft des SIP-Systems ist die Teilung des originären (SIP-) ‚Mutterplasmides‘ in zwei Untereinheiten, den Minicircle, der die H5 Expressionskassette enthält und die Fähigkeit sich an der Zellmembran zu fixieren hat, und das Miniplasmid, das alle unerwünschten Sequenzen trägt und bei der Lyse der bakteriellen Zellen mit dem Cytoplasma ausgeschwemmt wird. Das Ziel war das Klonieren eines SIP-Vektors, pSIP-H5, der das H5 Gen enthält. Dieses Plasmid rekombiniert durch Arabinose-Induktion und verliert dadurch alle für die Fermentation notwendigen und für einen Endorganismus potentiell gefährlichen Sequenzen, wie antibiotische Resistenzkassetten oder den Origin of Replication. pSIP-H5 sollte mit dem Lyseplasmid pGLysivb in verschiedene E.coli Stämme co-transformiert werden, das nach Temperaturshift die E-Lyse der Bakterienzelle induziert. In einem Fermentationsschritt rekombiniert das pSIP-H5, danach wird die E-Lyse induziert; man erhält mit H5-Minicircle beladene BGs. Die zweite Aufgabe der Arbeit ist es, einen geeigneten Bakterienstamm für das pSIP-H5 zu finden. Die wichtigen Eigenschaften des Stammes sind effiziente Lyse nach Temperaturshift und schnelle vollständige Rekombination des pSIP-H5 nach Arabinose Induktion sowie strikte Unterdrückung von vorzeitiger Rekombination. Eine weitere günstige Eigenschaft des Stammes besteht in einem BG-Wirt Tropismus, wie es bei Salmonellen als natürliches Pathogen von Geflügel der Fall ist