Infrared exponents of Yang-Mills theory

In this talk I summarise recent results on the infrared exponents of SU($N_c$)-Yang-Mills theory. I discuss a self-consistent power law solution for the Dyson-Schwinger equations for general 1PI-Greens functions in the infrared. The corresponding running coupling has a fixed point at zero momentum, which turns out to be universal and gauge invariant within a class of transverse gauges. When calculated on a torus the infrared exponents of the ghost and gluon propagators differ from the corresponding continuum solutions. They agree, however, well with results from lattice calculations.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, talk presented at Lattice2005(Topology and Confinement), Dublin, July 25-30, 2005. v2: reference adde

Assessing Kosovo's horticultural potential: the market for fruit and vegetables on the Balkans

Kosovo had been a net exporter - at least of some - fruit and vegetables in the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia before the civil war. Current reconstruction efforts therefore focus on restoring the past horticultural potential of the now independent province. This paper analyses the competitiveness of the Kosovar fruit and vegetable sector. By calculating average net trade flows during 1996-2000 for more than 20 individual fruit and vegetables and seven aggregates, demand potentials for the Balkan regional market are identified for potatoes, lettuce, garlic, dried beans and pears. In addition, average export unit values are calculated as price proxies in order to assess export price competitiveness in the region. While demand potentials for locally produced fruit and vegetables clearly exist, the paper concludes that the overall competitive position of Kosovo's horticultural sector seems rather weak at the moment. -- G E R M A N V E R S I O N: Vor dem Bürgerkrieg in der ehemaligen Bundesrepublik Jugoslawien war der Kosovo ein Netto-Exporteur von - zumindest einigen - Obst- und Gemüsesorten.Aus diesem Grund kon-zentrieren sich die gegenwärtigen Wiederaufbaubemühungen auf die Wiederherstellung des damaligen gartenbaulichen Potenzials der nun unabhängigen Provinz. Dieses Discussion Paper analysiert die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit des Obst- und Gemüsesektors des Kosovo. Durch die Be-rechnung von 5-Jahres-Durchschnitts-Nettohandelsströmen (1996-2000) von mehr als 20 verschiedenen Obst- und Gemüsesorten und sieben Aggregaten werden Nachfragepotenziale in der Balkanregion für Kartoffeln, Blattsalat, Knoblauch, getrocknete Bohnen und Birnen identifiziert. Darüber hinaus werden durchschnittliche Exporteinheitswerte (Unit Values) als Preisindikatoren berechnet, um die Exportpreis-Wettbewerbsfähigkeit in der Region zu bewerten. Obwohl Nachfragepotenziale nach heimischen Obst- und Gemüseprodukten tat-sächlich nachgewiesen werden können, zeigt die Schlussbetrachtung der vorliegenden Arbeit, dass die Gesamtwettbewerbsfähigkeit des Gartenbausektors im Kosovo gegenwärtig als eher schwach zu beurteilen ist.Kosovo,Balkans,horticulture,market analysis,export potential,agriculture in international trade,agricultur and natural resource economies,aggregate supply and demand analysis,price Kosovo,Balkan,Marktanalyse,Nachfragepotential,Internationaler Agrarhandel,Agrar- und Ressourcenökonomie,Analysen des aggregierten Angebots und der aggegrierten Nachfrage,Preise

Food quality and product export performance. An empirical investigation of the EU situation

The relationship between product quality (as indicated by unit value) and export performance, both measured in absolute (per capita) and relative terms, is investigated. Five EU countries (DE, UK, FR, ES, IT), three product categories (cheese, meat preparations and wine), three export destinations (intra EU, extra EU and world) and two time periods (1995-1999 and 2000-201) are analysed. The estimation results show that the connection between quality and export performance is positive for Italy, Spain and France but depends on the product category (but not on the period), and differs (but not in all cases) according to the export destination. While the signs of the estimated slope coefficients are stable, the obtained statistical significance levels for these parameters depend on the measure used (relative or absolute) and on the estimation method (OLS or GLS). The main implication arising from this analysis is that it may be justified to introduce 'marketing of high-quality products' as a new academic discipline, teaching students and professionals in it and thus to contribute to the enhancement of EU agribusiness competitiveness in increasingly liberalised markets.Food quality, international trade, EU., Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Relations/Trade,

Regulation and competition in German banking: an assessment

In Germany a public discussion on the "power of banks" has been going on for decades now with power having at least two meanings. On the one hand it is the power of banks to control public corporations through direct shareholdings or the exercise of proxy votes - this is the power of banks in corporate control. On the other hand it is market power - due to imperfect competition in markets for financial services - that banks exercise vis-à-vis their loan and deposit customers. In the past, bank regulation has often been blamed to undermine competition and the working of market forces in the financial industry for the sake of soundness and stability of financial services firms. This chapter tries to shed some light on the historical development and current state of bank regulation in Germany. In so doing it tries to embed the analysis of bank regulation into a more general industrial organisation framework. For every regulated industry, competition and regulation are deeply interrelated as most regulatory institutions - even if they do not explicitly address the competitiveness of the market - either affect market structure or conduct. This paper tries to uncover some of the specific relationships between monetary policy, government interference and bank regulation on the one hand and bank market structure and economic performance on the other. In so doing we hope to point to several areas for fruitful research in the future. While our focus is on Germany, some of the questions that we raise and some of our insights might also be applicable to banking systems elsewhere. Revised version forthcoming in "The German Financial System", edited by Jan P. Krahnen and Reinhard H. Schmidt, Oxford University Press