On the imputation of rental prices to owner-occupied housing

This paper challenges the usual objections to the possibility of applying the rental equivalent approach to determine the weight that nonrental housing services should have in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Using data from two Spanish household budget surveys, it is shown that market rents can be well represented in terms of an index of housing quality, two geographical variables, and the year of occupancy. This parsimonious empirical model is used to impute a rental value to nonrental housing units, taking into account the possible selection bias induced by systematic differences in housing characteristics between the market rental sector and the nonrental stock. On average, the estimated hedonic values are relatively close to the self-imputations provided in the household surveys by the occupants of such dwellings. Therefore, using either of the two alternatives to assess the importance of nonrental housing services in the CPI have small consequences for inflation. Instead, dropping these services from the CPI creates a downward bias in the measurement of inflation of 0.33 percentage points per year during 1985–1992, and an upward bias of 0.38 percentage points per year during 1993 to 2000.Publicad

The rental equivalence approach to nonrental housing in the consumer price index. evidence from Spain

This paper presents new evidence from Spain that challenges the usual objections to the possibility of applying the rental equivalent approach to determine the weight that non-rental housing services should have in the CPI. Data from the EPFs (Encuestas de Presupuestos Familiares) for 1980-81 and 1990-91 permit a satisfactory explanation of market rents in terms of an index of housing quality, two geographical variables and the year of occupancy. These regression results provide a way to impute a rental value to non-rental housing units that takes into account the possible selection bias induced by systematic differences in housing characteristics between the market rental sector and the non-rental stock. On average, such hedonic values are not that different from the self-imputations provided in the EPFs by the occupants of such dwellings. Therefore, the consequences for inflation of using either of the two alternatives to assess the importance of non-rental housing in the CPI system are small. Instead, if non-rental housing services are dropped from the CPI, then it is estimated that the bias in the measurement of inflation during the 1995-2000 period would be 0.35% per year. The lesson is that, given the alternatives, eliminating non-rental housing services from the CPI -as is done at present in Spain and several other European countries- is an unnecessarily crude form of dealing with a difficult proble

On the imputation of rental prices to owner-occupied housing.

This paper challenges the usual objections to the possibility of applying the rental equivalent approach to determine the weight that nonrental housing services should have in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Using data from two Spanish household budget surveys, it is shown that market rents can be well represented in terms of an index of housing quality, two geographical variables, and the year of occupancy. This parsimonious empirical model is used to impute a rental value to nonrental housing units, taking into account the possible selection bias induced by systematic differences in housing characteristics between the market rental sector and the nonrental stock. On average, the estimated hedonic values are relatively close to the self-imputations provided in the household surveys by the occupants of such dwellings. Therefore, using either of the two alternatives to assess the importance of nonrental housing services in the CPI have small consequences for inflation. Instead, dropping these services from the CPI creates a downward bias in the measurement of inflation of 0.33 percentage points per year during 1985–1992, and an upward bias of 0.38 percentage points per year during 1993 to 2000.

Understanding food waste behaviours along the food supply chain-a mutilevel approach

The visibility of the food waste volume along the food supply chain during the recent years has situated this topic in the policy and research agenda. Food waste entails environmental, ethical and economic impacts. There is a vast agreement on the urgency of reducing the current food waste generation. However, there is still several gaps of knowledge to better achieve it. The complexity of the food waste phenomenon requires in-depth analyses, including multiple dimensions and adopting a multi-actor approach, to better understand its causes and to adopt the most adequate of solutions. There is a lack of whole-supply approaches and multidimensional consumers’ understanding. To fill these gaps, the main objective of this thesis is to explain the factors influencing the food waste generation, as well as to explore potential measures to prevent and reduce the current food waste generation at different stages of the supply chain. To achieve this objective, this thesis is structured in two main parts. The first one considers the whole food supply chain while the second focusses at the household level. The specific objectives of the thesis are: 1) to analyse the causes of food waste generation and the circumstantial or structural nature along the food supply chain; 2) to identify and prioritize food waste prevention and reduction measures along the food supply chain; 3) to better understand consumer food waste behaviour by considering a multidimensional model; and 4) to critically analyse in-home consumer food waste measurement and the effect of framing and information on consumers’ perception of food waste generation. To achieve these objectives, the thesis employs both quantitative and qualitative methods. The two main parts of the thesis are divided in four chapters. The first part of the thesis (chapter 1 and 2) used a multi-stakeholder panel along the food supply chain to analyse the causes and solutions to food waste in the metropolitan region of Barcelona. In-depth interviews and a Delphi survey were employed. The second part (chapter 3 and 4) includes two consumer surveys, one in the Barcelona metropolitan region, and the other in the United States. The first survey tested and validated a multidimensional behavioural model to explain consumers’ food waste behaviour by means of the Partial Least Square - Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The second survey employ a survey experiment methodology. This thesis addresses the food waste debate from an innovative and holistic perspective. Chapters 1 and 2 provide meaningful evidences to understand the structural nature of food waste generation, as well as to find out solutions to prevent and reduce it by addressing the complex root of the phenomenon. Chapter 2 discusses the regional stakeholder’s proposals to prevent and reduce food waste by prioritizing them - following the hierarchy of food waste management- into strong prevention, weak prevention, and redistribution solutions. Chapter 3 and 4 offer innovative approaches to understand, and accordingly address, consumers’ food waste. Chapter 3 proposes and validates a model that predicts food waste by means of consumers’ food-related behaviours, waste-related behaviour, environmental concern, and materialism values. Chapter 4 demonstrates the influence of different framings (volume, monetary, social, and environmental) in consumer’s self-reporting of food waste, as well as the effect of information on their perception. Chapter 3 and 4 test different alternatives to measure consumer food waste generation. Overall, the thesis contributes to the growing body of literature by offering multidimensional approaches to analyse the food waste phenomenon, and it does so by offering first-hand data from each case study – which is very scarce nowadays. Finally, the findings are of greater interest to both policy bodies and researchers in the field of sustainable food system.La visibilidad durante los últimos años del desperdicio alimentario generado, a lo largo de la cadena agroalimentaria, ha situado este tema en la agenda política y de investigación. El desperdicio alimentario conlleva impactos ambientales, éticos y económicos. Existe un amplio consenso en la urgencia de reducir el desperdicio generado hoy en día. No obstante, todavía existen múltiples aspectos sin estudiar que lo dificultan. La complejidad del fenómeno requiere de análisis en profundidad, que incluyan múltiples dimensiones y diversidad de agentes, para entender mejor las causas de éste y adoptar las mejores soluciones. Existe una carencia de enfoques de cadena y estudios multidimensionales en consumidores. El principal objetivo de esta tesis es explicar los factores que influyen en la generación de desperdicio alimentario, así como explorar potenciales soluciones para prevenir y reducir el volumen de desperdicio generado en diferentes etapas de la cadena agroalimentaria. Para lograr este objetivo, la tesis se estructura en dos partes. La primera engloba toda la cadena agroalimentaria y la segunda se centra en los hogares. Los objetivos específicos de la tesis son: 1) analizar las causas del desperdicio alimentario y su naturaleza estructural o coyuntural a lo largo de la cadena agroalimentaria, 2) identificar y priorizar medidas para la prevención y la reducción del desperdicio alimentario a lo largo de la cadena agroalimentaria, 3) entender el comportamiento del consumidor en cuanto al desperdicio alimentario considerando un modelo multidimensional, y 4) analizar críticamente la medición del desperdicio alimentario en el hogar y el efecto que diferentes dimensiones e información tienen en la percepción del consumidor sobre su generación. Para lograr estos objetivos, la presente tesis emplea tanto métodos cuantitativos como cualitativos. Las dos partes principales de la tesis se dividen en cuatro capítulos. La primera parte (capítulo 1 y 2) emplea un panel de agentes relevantes de la cadena agroalimentaria para analizar las causas y soluciones al desperdicio alimentario en el área metropolitana de Barcelona. Para ello se desarrollan entrevistas en profundidad y un cuestionario Delphi. La segunda parte (capítulo 3 y 4) comprende dos encuestas a consumidores, una en el área metropolitana de Barcelona y otra en Estados Unidos. La primera encuesta analiza y valida un modelo multidimensional de comportamiento del consumidor por medio de ecuaciones estructurales (PLS-SEM). La segunda, aplica un método de encuesta experimental. La tesis aborda el debate del desperdicio alimentario desde una perspectiva innovadora y holística. Los capítulos 1 y 2 ofrecen evidencias para entender la naturaleza estructural del problema, así como para encontrar soluciones para prevenir y reducir el desperdicio orientadas a la raíz del problema. El capítulo 2 prioriza las propuestas de los agentes del caso de estudio para prevenir y reducir el desperdicio (siguiendo la jerarquía de gestión del desperdicio) en prevención fuerte, prevención débil y redistribución. Los capítulos 3 y 4 ofrecen un enfoque innovador para entender, y en consecuencia abordar, el desperdicio alimentario del consumidor. El capítulo 3 propone y valida un modelo que predice el desperdicio alimentario en función de comportamientos en alimentación, gestión de residuos, la conciencia ambiental y los valores materialistas de los consumidores. El capítulo 4 demuestra la influencia de diferentes dimensiones (volumen, monetaria, social y ambiental) en la autoevaluación del desperdicio alimentario, así como el efecto de la información. Los capítulos 3 y 4 examinan alternativas para medir el desperdicio alimentario del consumidor. En general, la tesis contribuye a la creciente literatura científica ofreciendo enfoques multidimensionales para analizar el desperdicio alimentario a la vez que aportando datos primarios de los casos de estudiosPostprint (published version

Bonds with social impact.

Treball Final de Grau en Finances i Comptabilitat. Codi: FC1049. Curs: 2018/2019.Over the years, countries have been affected by the financial crisis, forcing them to reduce public debt. The interventions needed to reduce public spending are often deficient due to lack of funding. Therefore, new ideas of financing and investment need to be incorporated. First, the theoretical framework will be analysed, briefly explaining what financial bonds are, which are the most important issuers and which characteristics must be taken into account to carry out the issue. This will be followed by socially responsible investment and sustainable bonds, giving way to the main theme of this study, bonds with a social impact. Consequently, this study will be based on the analysis of the social bonds of different countries compared to those of Spain, in this way it will be possible to observe whether the decision to invest in these bonds has had the same impact expected by the parties involved. It will also be possible to give a congruent conclusion of the same and corroborate that the objectives for which they have been designed are achieved

A study of saponins in legumes of importance to both human and animal nutrition

This work describes the analysis and isolation of saponins using a range of chromatographic techniques, the development of a quantitative HPLC method for the determination of saponins as they occur in seed, and the study of various factors which affect both the saponin content and composition in different legume seeds.Seed from 6 cultivars of lupin were grown in 4 regions of Australia, with up to 15 plots sampled within each region. Saponin contents ranged from 0 to 740 mg kg-1. Soyasaponin I, soyasaponin VI (the 2, 3-dihydro-2,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H/-pyran-4-one conjugate of soyasaponin I) and a new saponin were found in the lupin seed. The changes observed in saponin content were dependent on cultivar, followed by the site and then the region where grown.The saponin content of 20 cultivars of lentils grown in Spain ranged from 654 to 1269 mg kg-k Soyasaponins I and VI were present in all the cultivars. The saponin content depended on both seed size and testa colour.The use of a mild extraction technique and an improved quantitative HPLC method showed soyasaponin VI to be the only saponin present in lupin seed whereas soyasaponin I was derived from soyasaponin VI when harsher extraction conditions were used.The HPLC method was used to study the effect of soaking, cooking and germination on the saponin content and composition of two cultivars of both chickpeas and lentils. Soyasaponin VI was the only saponin detected in the unprocessed, soaked and germinated seed. Neither soaking nor germination modified the saponin content or composition of chickpeas and lentils. Soyasaponin VI was partially degraded during cooking into soyasaponin I, and both leached into the cooking solution. An overall loss of saponin content was found for lentil but none for chickpea

Strategies and Resources for the Acquisition and Learning of Communicative Competence in the Foreign Language

The European Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning (2006) advocates communication in both the mother tongue and the foreign language as an essential learning strategy for citizens in a knowledge-based society. In Spanish education, linguistic competence has been widely developed and researched. However, the Common European Framework of Reference divides communicative competence into linguistic, sociolinguistic and pragmatic subcompetences. Considering this, the aim of the present paper is to provide strategies and resources to develop these three subcompetences in the foreign language and content and language integrated learning (CLIL) classrooms. The results will allow both teachers and learners to know which aspects speakers of foreign languages must master if they want to become communicatively competent

Genes of different catabolic pathways are coordinately regulated by Dal81 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Yeast can use a wide variety of nitrogen compounds. However, the ability to synthesize enzymes and permeases for catabolism of poor nitrogen sources is limited in the presence of a rich one. This general mechanism of transcriptional control is called nitrogen catabolite repression. Poor nitrogen sources, such as leucine, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and allantoin, enable growth after the synthesis of pathway-specific catabolic enzymes and permeases. This synthesis occurs only under conditions of nitrogen limitation and in the presence of a pathway-specific signal. In this work we studied the temporal order in the induction of AGP1, BAP2, UGA4, and DAL7, genes that are involved in the catabolism and use of leucine, GABA, and allantoin, three poor nitrogen sources. We found that when these amino acids are available, cells will express AGP1 and BAP2 in the first place, then DAL7, and at last UGA4. Dal81, a general positive regulator of genes involved in nitrogen utilization related to the metabolisms of GABA, leucine, and allantoin, plays a central role in this coordinated regulation.Fil: Palavecino Ruiz, Marcos Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Correa Garcia, Susana Raquel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Bermudez Moretti, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentin