Offset Credits in the EU ETS: A Quantile Estimation of Firm-Level Transaction Costs

International offset certificates trade at lower prices than European Union Allowances (EUAs), although they are substitutes within the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for CO2. Firms therefore had a strong incentive to use the cheaper certificates. However, a considerable number of firms did not use their allowed offset quota and, by doing so, seemingly forwent profits. While most of the literature on emissions trading evaluates the efficiency of regulation in a frictionless world, in practice firms incur costs when complying with regulation. In order to assess the relevance of managerial and information-related transaction costs, this study examines the use of international offset credits in the EU ETS. It establishes a model of firm decision under fixed entry costs and estimates the size of transaction costs rationalizing firm behavior using semi-parametric binary quantile regressions. Comparing binary quantile results with probit estimates shows that high average transaction cost result from a strongly skewed underlying distribution. I find that for most firms the bulk of transaction costs stems from participation in the EU ETS in general, rather than additional participation in the offset trade

Legionella pneumophila Secretes a Mitochondrial Carrier Protein during Infection

The Mitochondrial Carrier Family (MCF) is a signature group of integral membrane proteins that transport metabolites across the mitochondrial inner membrane in eukaryotes. MCF proteins are characterized by six transmembrane segments that assemble to form a highly-selective channel for metabolite transport. We discovered a novel MCF member, termed Legionella nucleotide carrier Protein (LncP), encoded in the genome of Legionella pneumophila, the causative agent of Legionnaire's disease. LncP was secreted via the bacterial Dot/Icm type IV secretion system into macrophages and assembled in the mitochondrial inner membrane. In a yeast cellular system, LncP induced a dominant-negative phenotype that was rescued by deleting an endogenous ATP carrier. Substrate transport studies on purified LncP reconstituted in liposomes revealed that it catalyzes unidirectional transport and exchange of ATP transport across membranes, thereby supporting a role for LncP as an ATP transporter. A hidden Markov model revealed further MCF proteins in the intracellular pathogens, Legionella longbeachae and Neorickettsia sennetsu, thereby challenging the notion that MCF proteins exist exclusively in eukaryotic organisms

Sectoral capabilities and productive structure: An input-output analysis of the key sectors of the Brazilian economy

ABSTRACT: The complex relationship between production structure and economic growth has been the subject of considerable debate among Brazilian economists. This debate became especially relevant after the 2000s, when Brazil experienced a period of growth from the rise of commodity exports, which contrasted with the stagnation observed in the previous two decades. To analyse the capacity of commodity exports to generate long-term economic growth, this paper assesses this sector's performance and its effects on related sectors in the upstream supply chain through input-output tables. These analyses lead to two main conclusions. First, expansion of agricultural and mineral commodities production exhibited little capacity to boost the economy because they have the lowest linkage indices. Second, the analysis of the Brazilian production structure demonstrated that sectors related to manufacturing can stimulate other sectors, such as sophisticated services, because of their high linkage effects on other sectors. This study also demonstrates that a development strategy should take benefit of comparative advantages in order to reach a structural change oriented toward expanding manufacturing