How to Turn an Industry Green: Taxes versus Subsidies

Environmental policies frequently target the ratio of dirty to green output within the same industry. To achieve such targets the green sector may be subsidised or the dirty sector be taxed. This paper shows that in a monopolistic competition setting the two policy instruments have different welfare effects. For a strong green policy (a severe reduction of the dirty sector) a tax is the dominant instrument. For moderate policy targets, a subsidy will be superior (inferior) if the initial situation features a large (small) share of dirty output. These findings have implications for policies such as the Californian Zero Emission Bill or the EU Action Plan for Renewable Energy Sources.Environmental policy; Monopolistic competition; Taxes; Subsidies; Welfare; Zero Emission Bill

Corrective Ad Valorem and Unit Taxes: A Welfare Comparison

The ad valorem versus unit taxes debate has traditionally emphasized tax yield. For this criterion, ad valorem taxes outperform unit taxes in terms of welfare for a wide range of imperfect competition settings, including Dixit-Stiglitz monopolistic competition. Yet, in a number of policy fields, such as environmental, health or trade economics, policy makers apply taxes to target the production/consumption volume in an industry, i.e. aim at a certain corrective effect rather than tax yield. This paper compares the two tax instruments with respect to equal corrective-effect in a Dixit-Stiglitz setting with love of variety, entry, exit, and redistribution of tax revenues. We find that unit taxes lead to more firms in the industry, less output per firm, less tax revenue, but higher welfare compared to ad valorem taxes.Externalities; Monopolistic competition; Taxes; Specific taxes; Welfare

Colorimetric in situ hybridization (CISH) with digoxigenin-labeled oligonucleotide probes in autofluorescent hyphomycetes

We used digoxigenin-labeled probes for in situ hybridization of hyphomycetes to replace the commonly used fluorescent proof of probe binding by a colorimetric reaction. The resulting blue-purple, intracellular precipitate could be easily detected by light microscopy, and thus presented a promising method to overcome autofluorescence of fungal material and substratum. Optimal cell fixation and permeabilization procedures, as well as hybridization conditions were developed on the example of two different hyphomycetes: Phialophora sp. and Cartapip, a colorless mutant of Ophiostoma piliferum (Agra Sol)

The observation of the thin-ice thickness distribution within the Laptev Sea polynya using MODIS data

Polynyas are of high research interest since these features are areas of extensive new ice formation. The calculation of accurate ice-production values requires the knowledge of polynya area and thin-ice thickness distribution. These two variables can be derived by remote sensing data. However, a cross-validation study of various remote sensing data sets indicates that the spatial resolution issue is essential for the retrieval of accurate thin-ice thickness distribution. Thus, high-resolution remote sensing data must be used. MODIS thermal-infrared data with a spatial resolution of 1 km × 1 km is appropriate for the retrieval of thin-ice thickness distribution within the polynya. The algorithm to derive thermal-infrared thin-ice thickness is improved to state-of-the-art parameterizations. The mean absolute error of thin-ice thickness is ±4.7 cm for ice below 20 cm of thickness. The thin-ice thickness maps lack full coverage due to the restriction of the algorithm to cloud-free and nighttime data. Therefore, a compositing method is applied to compute daily thin-ice thickness maps. These maps cover on average 70 % of the Laptev Sea polynya. In order to fill the remaining gaps a combined remote sensing – model approach is developed to provide a consistent time series of high-resolution thin-ice thickness maps. This data set is valuable for the retrieval of accurate ice production within polynyas

Monitoring of thin ice in the Laptev Sea Polynya

It is estimated that a considerable fraction of new ice formation on Arctic shelf areas takes place in the Laptev Sea polynyas. However, the different studies reveal strong discrepancies in ice production rates. For an accurate monitoring of surface heat loss and hence, ice production within polynyas it is important to know the thin ice distribution within the polynya. We use an established thin-ice algorithm with several modifications to retrieve the thin ice thickness distribution up to 50 cm based on MODIS ice surface temperatures and atmospheric data from model simulations. We verify the MODIS ice surface temperatures with a data set measured during a field campaign in the Laptev Sea. For the calculation of thin ice thicknesses we use NCEP reanalyses, GME analyses and COSMO simulations in comparison as different atmospheric forcing data. We find that from the several atmospheric variables the air temperature at 2 m has the greatest impact on the ice thickness calculation. At ice thicknesses above 20 cm the algorithm responds sensitively to errors in the atmospheric data. In regions of very thin ice the errors in the atmospheric data are masked due to larger temperature differences between surface and atmosphere. However, a reliable atmospheric data set is necessary for the calculation of accurate thin ice thicknesses

GPD-linked Bonds as a Financing Tool for Developing Countries and Emerging Markets

The paper examines the applicability of GDP-linked bonds for the financing of developing countries and emerging markets. GDP-linked bonds are bonds of which the coupon and/or redemption payments are tied to the GDP of the issuing country. The study encompasses a detailed empirical analysis of their pricing behaviour, the pricing sensitivities to changes in GDP, and of their behaviour in a portfolio context is conducted. A survey amongst potential investors as well as issuing-side capital market participants assesses the prospects of success of this new type of bond. Finally, the usefulness of a partial public guarantee of payments is examined. The paper provides evidence under which circumstances, for which investors and for which countries GDP-linked bonds might be an appropriate investment vehicle

Archaeometallurgical studies on the slags of the Middle Bronze Age copper smelting site S1, Styria, Austria

The copper smelting site S1 in the Eisenerzer Ramsau Valley, Styria, is the largest Bronze Age copper smelting site excavated in the Eastern Alps. The site was almost completely excavated from 1992 to 2006 and ten roasting hearths, six double furnaces, a number of pits of variable size, form and function, and three separate slag dumps have been recorded. The use of this smelting site covers the whole period of the Middle Bronze Age from the 16th to the 13th century BC and might extend as far as the 11th century BC. The aim of this archaeometallurgical study is the reconstruction of the smelting process at this site and the discovery of possible diachronic changes or developments in the technology of smelting during the different phases of use. Therefore slags of the different archaeological phases were analysed for their chemical and mineralogical composition. A few slags were analysed with Mössbauer spectroscopy to obtain further information about the conditions during the smelting process. The results of the analyses show that nearly all slags belong to one particular step of the smelting process which was the production of raw copper or copper matte under reducing conditions at temperatures around 1250 °C

Investigation of Normalization Methods using Plasma Parameters for Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) under simulated Martian Conditions

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy data need to be normalized, especially in the field of planetary exploration We investigated plasma parameters as temperature and electron density for this purpose

Tenfold Metalation of Ferrocene: Synthesis, Structures and Metallophilic Interactions in FeC10(HgX)10

The permercuration of ferrocene was achieved by reacting ferrocene with 10 equivalents of mercury(II) butyrate Hg(O2CC3H7)2 in a facile one‐pot reaction in multi‐gram scale and high yields. The butyrate groups in FeC10(HgX)10 (X=O2CC3H7) can be exchanged by treatment with trifluoro‐ or trichloroacetic acid (X=O2CCF3, O2CCCl3). Substitution of the trifluoroacetate groups by halides (X=Cl, F) proceeds easily in aqueous THF. The completeness of metalation was confirmed by NMR and vibrational spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, as well as elemental analysis. Additionally, the first crystal structures of permetallated metallocenes are presented: FeC10(HgX)10 (X=Cl, O2CCF3, O2CCCl3)

Simulation von Dünneisdickenin den Laptev-See-Polynjen mit dem Ozean-Meereismodell FESOM

Die Laptev-See Polynjen spielen eine Schlüsselrolle für den arktischen Meereishaushalt aufgrund der starken Eisproduktion und des windgetriebenen Eisexportes von der Laptev-See in die zentrale Arktis. Für dieWinter 2007 bis 2009 haben wir mit dem Ozean-Meereismodell FESOM des Alfred-wegener Instituts mehrwöchige Simulationen für die Laptev-See mit einer horizontalen Auflösung von 5 km durchgeführt. Vergleiche mit dem aus AMSRE-Daten täglich abgeleitetem Eisbedeckungsgrad zeigen für den April 2008 unter Vorgabe einer Festeismaske grundsätzlich eine Übereinstimmung zwischen Simulation und Beobachtung bzgl. des Öffnen und Schließen der Polynjen. Im Dezember 2007 und im März 2009 hingegen sind die Polynjaflächen in den Simulationen wesentlich größer als die der AMSR-Daten. Aus MODIS Satellitendaten abgeleitete Dünneisdicken zeigen, dass die Größe der simulierten Polynjen realitätsnah ist, die Polynjen aber aufgrund einer dünnen Eisbedeckung nicht von den AMSR-E-Daten erfasst werden. Allerdings sind die Polynjen in den bisherigen FESOM-Simulationen nicht homogen mit dünnem Eis bedeckt, sondern teilweise mit dickem Eises und teilweise eisfrei. Dafür haben wir die Parametrisierung des Schließens von Meereis so modifiziert, dass bei starker Eisbildungsrate (> 10 cm/d) nicht nur Konvergenz sondern auch Eisbildung den Anteil offenen Wassers reduziert. Simulationen mit der geänderten Parametrisierung zeigen, dass damit Dünneisdicken in den Laptev-See Polynjen realitätsnah simuliert werden