The first partnership experience and personality development. A propensity score matching study in young adulthood

Personality development in young adulthood has been associated with the experience of a number of new social roles. However, the causal interpretation of these findings is complicated by the fact that it is not possible to randomize young adults by their life experiences. To address this problem in the context of the first partnership experience, we applied propensity score matching to a sample of initially inexperienced singles and followed them across 4 years. Using matched samples, results indicated that the first partnership experience relatively robust increased life satisfaction. The first partnership experience between the ages of 23 and 25 (but not in other ages) was also related to higher self-esteem, extraversion, and conscientiousness and to lower neuroticism. The discussion highlights the effect of the first partnership on the development of a mature personality and the potential for propensity score matching to make useful contributions to social and personality research. (DIPF/Orig.

Still time to Reclaim The European Union Emissions Trading System for the European Tax Payer

The criteria proposed by the EU Commission to identify industries that will receive free emission permits in the third phase of the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) are not restrictive enough. Evidence from interviews with almost 800 managers in Europe shows that most of the sectors entitled to free emission permits are not facing an increased risk of closure or relocation outside of the EU as a consequence of permit auctioning. Free permit allocation is therefore just a transfer of tax payers' money to industry without any additional social benefit. We propose a simple modification of the Commission's criteria for free permit allocation which could save European tax payers at least €7 billion annually.Environment

Europe's emissions trading scheme: taxpayers versus sthe industry lobby

The European Commission plans to tighten the greenhouse gas emissions targets in the Emissions Trading System. Ralf Martin and colleagues examine the likely impact on affected businesses, and conclude that industry is exploiting concerns about competitiveness to obtain free emission permits according to criteria that are too lax.industry, R&D, carbon policy, carbon trading

Política sobre el cambio climático y sector manufacturero : la experiencia de "comercio de carbono"

Mitigar el cambio climático requerirá una reducción de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero de todos los sectores económicos clave. La elección de políticas sectoriales adecuadas es esencial para minimizar el coste económico de estas reducciones dadas las tecnologías existentes (eficiencia estática) y para incentivar la innovación tecnológica que permita reducir los costes futuros de esta reducción (eficiencia dinámica). La regulación del sector manufacturero, que en conjunción con el sector primario es responsable de casi el 40% del total de emisiones a nivel mundial, es muy controvertida. Puesto que las manufacturas son bienes sujetos al comercio internacional, existe un riesgo evidente de que la empresa regulada pierda competitividad, reduzcan empleo e incluso abandonen el mercado. Estas consideraciones han provocado una oposición vehemente frente a regulación de emisiones que ha condicionado las políticas que se han implementado hasta ahora. El Programa de Comercio de Permisos de Emisión de la Unión Europea (European Union Emissions Trading Scheme EU ETS, el sistema internacional cap-and-trade de emisiones de carbono más grande del mundo, es una de las políticas más ambiciosas que se ha implementado. Este artículo examina el efecto de esta política sobre el sector manufacturero Europeo durante sus ocho años de existencia. En particular, se discute la evidencia empírica sobre el impacto del EU ETS en tres categorías amplias: emisiones de CO2, desarrollo económico y competitividad, e innovación. Además, se subrayan los temas abiertos en la literatura y se identifican los retos futurosAgradezco el apoyo financiero del Gobierno español, proyectos SEJ2007-62908 y ECO2012-3135

Gewaltprävention und Gewaltverminderung : Qualitätskriterien für Präventions- und Interventionsprogramme

Die Zunahme an Gewalttaten, insbesondere durch Kinder und Jugendliche, wird in der öffentlichen und pädagogischen Diskussion weithin beklagt. Zwar zeigen zeitvergleichende Analysen, dass von einer dramatischen Erhöhung der Gewalhandlungen keine Rede sein kann; eher ist die öffentliche Sensibilität für derartige Vorfälle gestiegen. Andererseits gibt es erschreckende Beispiele für besonders brutale Übergriffe, die im öffentlichen Bewusstsein naturgemäß dominieren. Eindeutig zugenommen haben in den letzten Jahren politisch motivierte Gewalttaten, insbesondere mit rechtsextremistischem Hintergrund. Doch unabhängig davon, ob und wo die Zahl der Gewalthandlungen angestiegen ist, beinhaltet jede einzelne Tat einen Angriff auf die Menschenwürde und die politische Kultur und ruft deshalb nach Gegenmaßnahmen

The Impacts of the Climate Change Levy on Manufacturing: Evidence from Microdata

We estimate the impacts of the Climate Change Levy (CCL) on manufacturing plants using panel data from the UK production census. Our identification strategy builds on the comparison of outcomes between plants subject to the CCL and plants that were granted an 80% discount on the levy after joining a Climate Change Agreement (CCA). Exploiting exogenous variation in eligibility for CCA participation, we find that the CCL had a strong negative impact on energy intensity and electricity use. We cannot reject the hypothesis that the tax had no detrimental effects on economic performance and on plant exit.

The Impacts of the Climate Change Levy on business: Evidence from Microdata

We estimate the impacts of the Climate Change Levy (CCL) on manufacturing plants using panel data from the UK production census. Our identification strategy builds on the comparison of outcomes between plants subject to the CCL and plants that were granted an 80% discount on the levy after joining a Climate Change Agreement (CCA). Exploiting exogenous variation in eligibility for CCA participation, we find that the CCL had a strong negative impact on energy intensity and electricity use. We cannot reject the hypothesis that the tax had no detrimental effects on economic performance and on plant exit.Climate policy, carbon tax, United Kingdom, manufacturing, impact assessment