Environmental Policy à la Carte: Letting Firms Choose their Regulation

Environmental policy often has to be devised under informational constraints, like uncertainty and asymmetric information. We consider an environmental policy that aims at reducing the welfare losses caused by asymmetric information while being sufficiently simple for implementation. In this policy, firms can choose between being regulated with an emission tax or a permit market. This serves as a screening device; the firms reveal private information by choosing an instrument. We show that such a menu of policy options improves upon conventional environmental policy. Furthermore, the optimal policy is simple and thus easily implementable. The approach is also theoretically interesting, because the simultaneous use of price- and quantity-based instruments induces an asymmetry into the pricesversus- quantities decision compared to Weitzman’s criterion. Especially, there can be an optimal pooling equilibrium where all firms choose the tax, but it is never optimal that all firms participate in permit trading.Environmental Policy, Asymmetric Information, Screening, Uncertainty, Prices-versus-Quantities

The role of microstructure in fatigue crack initiation and propagation in 9-12Cr ferritic-martensitic steels

The present paper presents low-cycle fatigue results about cyclic behaviour, the evolution of the dislocation structure and the nucleation and propagation of microstructural cracks in commercial ferritic-martensitic steel AISI 410.Fil: Batista, Maria Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Hereñu, Silvina Andrea Noemi. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Alvarez, Iris. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario; Argentin

Prices vs. Quantities: An Empirical Study of Firms' Instrument Choice

A longstanding theoretical discussion on the merits of prices vs. quantities for regulating emissions under uncertainty exists in environmental policy literature. However, empirical evidence w.r.t. instrument choice has not been put forward so far. In particular, very little is known about instrument preferences from the perspective of firms. Investigating Swiss climate policy provides an ideal field for encountering both of the above concerns. In Switzerland, firms can selfselect between a tax (with a wage-based tax exemption) and emissions trading (with a grandfathering mode of permit allocation) to regulate their CO2 emissions. In our paper, we empirically investigate this selfselection mechanism based on a cross section of Swiss firm-level data. Specific theory on Swiss policy design identifies the influential factors as being permit allocation, wages, uncertainty in abatement costs and the flexibility of firms’ abatement technologies. We confirm evidence for the first two factors, but were unable to find evidence for the latter ones. Moreover, high-abatement firms tend to choose permit trading

How do institutional investors approach disposition effect in crises

This work project investigates how institutional investors cope with the disposition effect in crisis and non-crisis environments. Specifically, the internal and external idiosyncratic characteristics of institutional investors are used to find reasons for differences in the magnitudes of factors aggravating disposition effect. The study lays the foundation for easy-to-implement countermeasures against the disposition effect. This is achieved by consolidating countermeasures used by institutional investors in crisis and non-crisis environments into the self-developed SAFE(R) framework and by proposing action points for each investor group to overcome their specific obstacles that cause an increase in disposition effect

Environmental Policy à la Carte: Letting Firms Choose their Regulation

Environmental policy often has to be devised under informational constraints, like uncertainty and asymmetric information. We consider an environmental policy that aims at reducing the welfare losses caused by asymmetric information while being sufficiently simple for implementation. In this policy, firms can choose between being regulated with an emission tax or a permit market. This serves as a screening device; the firms reveal private information by choosing an instrument. We show that such a menu of policy options improves upon conventional environmental policy. Furthermore, the optimal policy is simple and thus easily implementable. The approach is also theoretically interesting, because the simultaneous use of price- and quantity-based instruments induces an asymmetry into the pricesversus-quantities decision compared to Weitzman’s criterion. Especially, there can be an optimal pooling equilibrium where all firms choose the tax, but it is never optimal that all firms participate in permit trading

Nutraceutical Properties and Toxicity Studies of Flour Obtained from Capsicum pubescens Fruits and Its Comparison with “Locoto” Commercial Powder

The aim of this research was to evaluate the phytochemical profiles of flour from red, yellow and green fruits of Capsicum pubescens (commun name: locoto) and compare with “locoto” commercial powder (Lcp). Soluble protein (SP), total sugar (TS), free phenolic compounds (FPC), ascorbic acid (AA), total monomeric anthocyanin (TMA), condensed and hydrolizable tannin (CT, HT) and carotenoids (C) were determined by spectrophotometric methods. Multielemental composition by ICP-MS was also done. The flour showed low amounts of calories and high potassium and low sodium levels. Flour from “locoto” fruits contained mainly carotenoids (0.82 to 20 g Eβ-C/100g DW), polyphenolic compounds (681 - 822 mg GAE/100g DW) and ascorbic acid (100 - 199 mg AA/100g DW). The polyphenolic profile of Lcp was similar to flour obtained in our laboratory but the level of carotenoid was lower than that of flour. The fiber content of flour was around 3% in all cases. All preparations obtained from flour and Lcp showed antioxidant activity with SC50 values between 1.4 and 3 μg GAE/mL. Inhibitory capacity on Lipo-oxygenase enzyme was also demonstrated. Non mutagenic effect was detected. The “locoto” flour showed nutraceutical characteristics that are demanded by functional food and could be used as a dietary supplement.Fil: Rivas, Marisa Ayelen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Química del Noroeste. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia. Instituto de Química del Noroeste; ArgentinaFil: Vignale, Nilda Dora. Universidad Nacional de Jujuy. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ordóñez, Roxana Mabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Química del Noroeste. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia. Instituto de Química del Noroeste; ArgentinaFil: Zampini, Iris Catiana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Química del Noroeste. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia. Instituto de Química del Noroeste; ArgentinaFil: Alberto, Maria Rosa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Química del Noroeste. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia. Instituto de Química del Noroeste; ArgentinaFil: Sayago, Jorge Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Química del Noroeste. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia. Instituto de Química del Noroeste; ArgentinaFil: Isla, Maria Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Química del Noroeste. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia. Instituto de Química del Noroeste; Argentin