The influence of size on cost behaviour associated with tactical and operational flexibility

This paper contributes with an empirical analysis, using a sample of farms, on the influence of size on cost behaviour under operational and tactical flexibility. Results indicate that small farms behave advantageously with respect to biggest farms in situations of operational and tactical flexibility. On the one hand, the increase in indirect costs with product diversification is higher in bigger farms than in smaller. On the other hand, while most farms are flexible enough to avoid cost stickiness, the biggest face considerable rigidities in downsizing indirect costs when activity decreases.Agricultural economics, Tactical flexibility, Operational flexibility, Cost behaviour, Size.

Cost stickiness revisited: Empirical aplication for farms

This article reviews previous research regarding cost stickiness and performs an empirical analysis applied to a sample of farms. It recognizes that modelization of cost stickiness is a particular case of representation of cost variations as a function of output variations. It also discusses methodological issues and analyses cost stickiness for all registered farm costs and opportunity costs of family work. Costs exhibit a considerable level of rigidity. Even for variable costs, a decrease in activity involves a lower decrease in costs than the amounts involved when activity increases. While registered indirect costs slightly decrease when activity decreases, opportunity costs always increase. The study provides empirical evidence that cost stickiness is significantly reduced with better management decision practices.cost stickiness, cost behavior, farm management accounting

Driver costs in small firms: empirical analysis for farms

The agricultural sector has always been characterized by a predominance of small firms. International competition and the consequent need for restraining costs are permanent challenges for farms. This paper performs an empirical investigation of cost behavior in agriculture using panel data analysis. Our results show that transactions caused by complexity influence farm costs with opposite effects for specific and indirect costs. While transactions allow economies of scale in specific costs, they significantly increase indirect costs. However, the main driver for farm costs is volume. In addition, important differences exist for small and big farms, since transactional variables significantly influence the former but not the latter. While sophisticated management tools, such ABC, could provide only limited complementary useful information but no essential allocation bases for farms, they seem inappropriate for small farms.small firms, activity based costing, cost behavior, farm management accounting

Decisiveness indices are semiindices: addendum

In the paper Decisiveness indices are semiindices (Freixas and Pons, 2016) it was shown that any decisiveness index obtained from an anonymous probability distribution is a semiindex, and that the converse is not true. In this note we characterize the semiindices which are indices of decisiveness.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Posible elección del territorio de cría por parte de la hembra en el Aguilucho Cenizo (Circus pygargus)

En l'esparver cendrós, els mascles acostumen a arribar als territoris de cria, procedents d'Àfrica, uns dies abans que les femelles. Són els mascles els que s'estableixen en un territori i sembla que és la femella la que escull el lloc on ubicar el niu. En aquesta nota es descriu el cas d'una parella nidificant al NE de la península Ibèrica al 1986, en què abans de l'arribada de la femella, el mascle estava establert en un territori i en una zona ja utilitzada en anys anteriors. Als pocs dies d'aparellar-se amb la femella, i immediatament abans de la posta, sembla que la parella es va establir en un nou territori de nidificació, a una distància de 4,5 km del territori inicial del mascle

Producir, distribuir y redistribuir

En esta ponencia se trata de la existencia de dos tipos de centros relacionados con el intercambio durante el Neolítico en el nordeste de la Península Ibérica y, por extensión, en el Mediterráneo Occidental. Por un lado, centros productores de elementos materiales e inmateriales con una distribución exterior. Por el otro, centros receptores y redistribuidores de dichos elementos. La presentación gira en torno al coral, la obsidiana, la variscita y las prácticas funerarias. Y son lugares citados la Montaña de Sal de Cardona, la Bòbila Madurell, las Minas de Gavà, el yacimiento de Terres Longues y el Monte Arci

Achievable hierarchies in voting games with abstention

It is well known that he influence relation orders the voters the same way as the classical Banzhaf and Shapley-Shubik indices do when they are extended to the voting games with abstention (VGA) in the class of complete games. Moreover, all hierarchies for the influence relation are achievable in the class of complete VGA. The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, we show that all hierarchies are achievable in a subclass of weighted VGA, the class of weighted games for which a single weight is assigned to voters. Secondly, we conduct a partial study of achievable hierarchies within the subclass of H-complete games, that is, complete games under stronger versions of influence relation. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

Effect of a science communication event on students’ attitudes towards science and technology

Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft