Environmental and Regional Problems of Contaminated Sites

Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

Conflict and the Social Contract

We consider social contracts for resolving conflicts between two agents who are uncertain about each other's fighting potential. Applications include international conflict, litigation, and elections. Even though only a peaceful agreement avoids a loss of resources, if this loss is small enough, then any contract must assign a positive probability of conflict. We show how the likelihood of conflict outbreak depends on the distribution of power between the agents and their information about each other

Conflict Resolution under Asymmetric Information

We consider mechanisms for resolving conflicts between two agents who are uncertain about each other's fighting potential. Applications include international conflict, litigation, and elections. Even though only a peaceful agreement avoids a loss of resources, if this loss is small enough, then any mechanism must assign a positive probability of conflict. We show how the likelihood of conflict outbreak depends on the distribution of power between the agents and their information about each other.conflict; asymmetric information

Employment and Wage Adjustment in Euroland's Labour Market

The paper attempts to establish a few stylised facts about Euroland's labour market given the increasing importance of smoothly functioning markets in the EMU. We assemble econometric evidence regarding labour demand behaviour, wage-setting mechanisms and the cyclicality of unemployment in Euroland. We find that in the 1990s unemployment cyclicality has been higher in Euroland than in the US, while the opposite was true in the previous two decades. The main reason for this is to be found in Euroland's employment now responding much stronger to cyclical fluctuations in output than in the past, and even somewhat stronger than in the US. Thus, it appears rather implausible that overall too strict employment protection regulations can still offer a convincing explanation for a significant part of Euroland's problem of persistently high unemployment. There can be little doubt, however, that wage bargaining in Euroland continues to suffer from a serious insider-outsider problem.Unemployment, Wage-setting mechanisms, European Monetary Union

Conflict and the Social Contract

We consider social contracts for resolving conflicts between two agents who are uncertain about each other's fighting potential. Applications include international conflict, litigation, and elections. Even though only a peaceful agreement avoids a loss of resources, if this loss is small enough, then any contract must assign a positive probability of conflict. We show how the likelihood of conflict outbreak depends on the distribution of power between the agents and their information about each other.conflict; social contracts; asymmetric information

Ion beam synthesis of nanothermochromic diffraction gratings with giant switching contrast at telecom wavelengths

Nanothermochromic diffraction gratings based on the metal-insulator transition of $\mathrm{VO_2}$ are fabricated by site-selective ion beam implantation in a $\mathrm{SiO_2}$ matrix. Gratings were defined either (i) directly by spatially selective ion beam synthesis or (ii) by site-selective deactivation of the phase transition by ion beam induced defects. The strongest increase of the diffracted light intensities was observed at a wavelength of 1550\,nm exceeding a factor of 20 for the selectively deactivated gratings. The observed pronounced thermal hysteresis extending down close to room temperature makes this system ideally suited for optical memory applications.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 table - corrected Figure

Bildung von Naringenin bei der Reife von Tomaten

Naringenin (5,7,4′-trihydroxy-flavanon), occuring only in the skin of tomatoes, is formed when the fruit begins to colour red

Environmental Innovations: Institutional Impacts on Co-operations for Sustainable Development

A suitable strategy for achieving sustainable development is to foster environmental innovations. Environmental innovations, however, suffer from so-called "double externalities", because apart from innovation spillovers they also improve the quality of public environmental goods, which can be used without cost by free riders. Those innovation spillovers can be avoided through co-operation. Furthermore co-operations can be considered as advantageous because environmental innovations often depend on interaction in research and development, production, selling and disposal. This paper analyzes as to what extent institutional factors impact co-operative arrangements of innovative organizations in the development of new environmental technologies. It applies a multi-dimensional institutional analysis focusing not only on institutional arrangements which exist among organizations but also on opportunities and constraints provided by the institutional environment in which these organizations are embedded. Expanding the existing research we will conclude what kind of policy measure may support the success within networks of environmental oriented innovators.Environmental innovation, Co-operation, Sustainability, Institutional analysis, Policy measures

Beobachtungen zur Ökologie der Wechselkröte - Bufo viridis Laurenti 1768 - der Balearen (Amphibia, Anura, Bufonidae)

Abstract not availabl