Inside the black box: incentive regulation and incentive channeling on energy markets

This paper aims to achieve more insight into the complex interplay between the "external" market regulations and "internal" regulations (corporate governance) of energy firms. In recent years, many countries have deregulated the incumbent energy monopolies and have introduced new modes of regulation. However, the new incentive schemes do not represent an unmitigated success story. A major problem seems to be the neoclassical framework that is used for the analysis of energy markets. Therefore, an important goal of this paper is to clarify the boundaries of neoclassical regulation theory. There are two restrictions that hamper the neoclassical analysis of energy markets. The first is the difficulty of overcoming the widely held "black box" view of firms. The second is the idea that agents always make rational choices. The paper proposes a kind of theoretical division of labor for understanding the effectiveness of regulatory schemes in energy markets. Neoclassical economics points out to the sources of market failure, and helps to identify where in particular on the supply chain one is likely to observe natural monopolies. Transaction cost economics explains appropriate governance of vertical relations along the supply chain. And organizational theories can elucidate what happens within firms: their response to regulation, competition, and relations with suppliers. A research agenda for the third component is proposed, drawing on insights from New Sociological Institutionalism and organizational behavior

Introduction: Understanding Legal Evolution

__Abstract__ In recent years, the study of legal evolution has become more systematic, and there have emerged various approaches to the study of legal evolution. However, until now, there has been no consensus as to which of these approaches is the most appropriate for the purposes of uncovering the mechanisms of legal evolution. This latter point may not be a problem if one respects different scientific views and believes that a variety of theoretical approaches is needed in order to fully understand a phenomenon. Nevertheless, the problem remains that the proponents of the different approaches seldom exchange their views and ideas; scholars of legal path dependency tend to only meet other scholars of legal path dependency, and macro-sociologists tend to only recognize the findings of other macro-sociologists. Interdisciplinary cross-fertilization remains a rather rare occurrence. In this issue of Erasmus Law Review, as well as the next, the latter problem is addressed by scholars who illustrate the use of different approaches to researching legal evolution. Thus, the value of this double issue of Erasmus Law Review is twofold: firstly, every article is an important contribution to the study of the evolution of law from its own methodological perspective. Secondly, this collection, which encompasses a variety of views on the evolution of law, allows for quick and convenient access to different approaches to this field of research, and therefore provides added value for the reader

The dark side of price cap regulation: a laboratory experiment

In a nutshell, price cap regulation is meant to establish a quid pro quo: regulators are obliged by law to intervene only at rare, previously defined points in time, and only by imposing an upper bound on prices; firms are meant to justify regulatory restraint by adopting socially beneficial innovations. In the policy debate, a potential downside of the arrangement has featured less prominently: the economic environment is unlikely to be stable while the cap is in place. If regulators take this into account, they have to decide under uncertainty and also anticipate how regulated firms will react. In a lab experiment, we manipulate the degree of regulatory uncertainty. We compare a baseline when regulators have the same information as firms about demand with treatments wherein they receive only a noisy signal and another when they know only the distribution from which demand realizations are taken. In the face of uncertainty, regulators impose overly generous price caps, which firms exploit. In the experiment, the social damage is severe, and does not disappear with experience

The Legal Structure of Ring-Fenced Bodies in the United Kingdom - A Response to Consultation Paper CP19/14 on the Implementation of Ring-fencing: on Legal Structure, Governance and the continuity of Services and Facilities

__Abstract__ This paper is submitted by Prof. Dr. Klaus Heine1 and Enmanuel Cedeño-Brea2, in response to the Prudential Regulatory Authority’s (PRA) Consultation Paper CP19/14 on “The Implementation of Ring-fencing: consultation on legal structure, governance and the continuity of services and facilities”, published on October 2014 (hereinafter, the “Consultation Paper” or “CP19/14”)

Introduction: Company Tax Integration in the European Union – A Necessary Step to Neutralise ‘Excessive’ Behaviour within the EU?

__Abstract__ This special issue of the Erasmus Law Review is the result of an interdisciplinary workshop on ‘Company Tax Integration in the European Union – a Necessary Step to Neutralise “Excessive” Behaviour within the EU?’, held at the Erasmus School of Law in June 2013 and organized by the Foundation European Fiscal Studies in co-operation with Erasmus Law Review. A topic currently attracting considerable public attention, not least because of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project of the OECD instigated by the G20. During the past decades there has been intensive tax competition between EU Member States for attracting capital triggered inter alia by the four freedoms as laid down in the European treaties. Even though competition is widely seen as beneficial to society, in case of inter-jurisdictional tax competition this may not always be the case. The possible negative effects of inter-jurisdictional tax competition and aggressive tax planning by multinational companies on state’s tax revenue may lead to a shift of the tax burden onto less mobile activities and onto consumption in order to keep a state’s public finances stable. In the end a jurisdiction’s tax system may become distorted (inefficient) and distribution unfair. In order to neutralize the negative effects of harmful tax competition and aggressive tax planning, one might be of the opinion that integrating company taxes within the EU would be the only way forward

Conflict Resolution in Meta-Organizations: The Peculiar Role of Arbitration

Meta-organizations, such as joint ventures and other complex forms of inter-firm organizations, are characterized by the absence of formal authority. This lack of internal hierarchy can lead to severe conflicts between cooperating organizations and hencerequires specific governance. This paper recognizes arbitration as an integral part of the organizational architecture of meta-organizations. First, attributes are identified that in the context of meta-organizations distinguish arbitration from ordinary courts. Then these attributes are considered to discuss why arbitration should be understood as aninternal rather than an external governance device, delineating the boundaries of meta-organizations, and leading to optimal investment decisions

Challenges in QCD matter physics - The Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment at FAIR

Substantial experimental and theoretical efforts worldwide are devoted to explore the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter. At LHC and top RHIC energies, QCD matter is studied at very high temperatures and nearly vanishing net-baryon densities. There is evidence that a Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP) was created at experiments at RHIC and LHC. The transition from the QGP back to the hadron gas is found to be a smooth cross over. For larger net-baryon densities and lower temperatures, it is expected that the QCD phase diagram exhibits a rich structure, such as a first-order phase transition between hadronic and partonic matter which terminates in a critical point, or exotic phases like quarkyonic matter. The discovery of these landmarks would be a breakthrough in our understanding of the strong interaction and is therefore in the focus of various high-energy heavy-ion research programs. The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at FAIR will play a unique role in the exploration of the QCD phase diagram in the region of high net-baryon densities, because it is designed to run at unprecedented interaction rates. High-rate operation is the key prerequisite for high-precision measurements of multi-differential observables and of rare diagnostic probes which are sensitive to the dense phase of the nuclear fireball. The goal of the CBM experiment at SIS100 (sqrt(s_NN) = 2.7 - 4.9 GeV) is to discover fundamental properties of QCD matter: the phase structure at large baryon-chemical potentials (mu_B > 500 MeV), effects of chiral symmetry, and the equation-of-state at high density as it is expected to occur in the core of neutron stars. In this article, we review the motivation for and the physics programme of CBM, including activities before the start of data taking in 2022, in the context of the worldwide efforts to explore high-density QCD matter.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Published in European Physical Journal

Synthesis of 5-Hydroxyectoine from Ectoine: Crystal Structure of the Non-Heme Iron(II) and 2-Oxoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase EctD

As a response to high osmolality, many microorganisms synthesize various types of compatible solutes. These organic osmolytes aid in offsetting the detrimental effects of low water activity on cell physiology. One of these compatible solutes is ectoine. A sub-group of the ectoine producer's enzymatically convert this tetrahydropyrimidine into a hydroxylated derivative, 5-hydroxyectoine. This compound also functions as an effective osmostress protectant and compatible solute but it possesses properties that differ in several aspects from those of ectoine. The enzyme responsible for ectoine hydroxylation (EctD) is a member of the non-heme iron(II)-containing and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases (EC 1.14.11). These enzymes couple the decarboxylation of 2-oxoglutarate with the formation of a high-energy ferryl-oxo intermediate to catalyze the oxidation of the bound organic substrate. We report here the crystal structure of the ectoine hydroxylase EctD from the moderate halophile Virgibacillus salexigens in complex with Fe3+ at a resolution of 1.85 Å. Like other non-heme iron(II) and 2-oxoglutarate dependent dioxygenases, the core of the EctD structure consists of a double-stranded β-helix forming the main portion of the active-site of the enzyme. The positioning of the iron ligand in the active-site of EctD is mediated by an evolutionarily conserved 2-His-1-carboxylate iron-binding motif. The side chains of the three residues forming this iron-binding site protrude into a deep cavity in the EctD structure that also harbours the 2-oxoglutarate co-substrate-binding site. Database searches revealed a widespread occurrence of EctD-type proteins in members of the Bacteria but only in a single representative of the Archaea, the marine crenarchaeon Nitrosopumilus maritimus. The EctD crystal structure reported here can serve as a template to guide further biochemical and structural studies of this biotechnologically interesting enzyme family

The German National Registry of Primary Immunodeficiencies (2012-2017)

Introduction: The German PID-NET registry was founded in 2009, serving as the first national registry of patients with primary immunodeficiencies (PID) in Germany. It is part of the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) registry. The primary purpose of the registry is to gather data on the epidemiology, diagnostic delay, diagnosis, and treatment of PIDs. Methods: Clinical and laboratory data was collected from 2,453 patients from 36 German PID centres in an online registry. Data was analysed with the software Stata® and Excel. Results: The minimum prevalence of PID in Germany is 2.72 per 100,000 inhabitants. Among patients aged 1–25, there was a clear predominance of males. The median age of living patients ranged between 7 and 40 years, depending on the respective PID. Predominantly antibody disorders were the most prevalent group with 57% of all 2,453 PID patients (including 728 CVID patients). A gene defect was identified in 36% of patients. Familial cases were observed in 21% of patients. The age of onset for presenting symptoms ranged from birth to late adulthood (range 0–88 years). Presenting symptoms comprised infections (74%) and immune dysregulation (22%). Ninety-three patients were diagnosed without prior clinical symptoms. Regarding the general and clinical diagnostic delay, no PID had undergone a slight decrease within the last decade. However, both, SCID and hyper IgE- syndrome showed a substantial improvement in shortening the time between onset of symptoms and genetic diagnosis. Regarding treatment, 49% of all patients received immunoglobulin G (IgG) substitution (70%—subcutaneous; 29%—intravenous; 1%—unknown). Three-hundred patients underwent at least one hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Five patients had gene therapy. Conclusion: The German PID-NET registry is a precious tool for physicians, researchers, the pharmaceutical industry, politicians, and ultimately the patients, for whom the outcomes will eventually lead to a more timely diagnosis and better treatment