When to regulate airports: A simple rule

Landing fees at airports are regulated almost all over the world since airports are assumed to abuse their market power. We find that monopolistic airports have an incentive to restrain landing fees when they generate additional non-aviation revenues and that the optimal landing fee decreases in the degree of complementarity of aviation and non-aviation. Furthermore, we show that monopolistic airports will not have an incentive to abuse their market power anymore so that a price regulation becomes inappropriate as soon as non-aviation revenues increase above 50% of all airport revenues. --airport regulation,aviation and non-aviation revenues,complementarity of aviation and non-aviation,locational rents

A full participation agreement on global emission reduction through strategic investments in R&D

If an emission reduction agreement with participation of all players is not enforceable because politicians are too myopic or not able to commit themselves to sustainable policies or costs of reducing emissions are too high, strategic investments in research and development (R&D) of green technology, for example sustainable drive-trains, can pave the way for a future treaty. Although no player will rationally reduce emissions on its own, investments in R&D by at least one player can change the strategic situation of negotiations to control emissions: Emission abatement costs will decrease so that a treaty with full participation can be achieved in future periods through time consistent sustainable policies. --emissions,discount factor,commitment,endogenous technical change,repeated prisoner's dilemma

An international agreement with full participation to tackle the stock of greenhouse gases

This paper analyzes greenhouse gas emissions that build up an atmospheric stock which depreciates over time. Weakly renegotiation- proof and subgame perfect equilibria in a game of international emission reduction exist if countries put a sufficiently high weight on future payoffs, even though there is a discontinuity in the required discount factor due to the integrity of the number of punishing countries. Treaties are easier to reach if the gas depreciates slowly. --global warming,international agreement,weak renegotiation-proofness

Liquid metal flows in continuous casting molds: A numerical study of electromagnetic flow control, turbulence and multiphase phenomena

Der Effekt eines externen Magnetfeldes auf die mehrphasige und turbulente Strömung in Stranggußkokillen und deren Wechelspiel führt in den wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten zu widersprüchlichen Aussagen. Die verschiedenen Prozessparameter können innerhalb eines kleinen Varianzbereichs entscheidenden Einfluss auf die Aussage haben, ob ein Magnetfeld begünstigend oder schädigend auf die Qualität des Produkts wirkt. Um wichtige Einflussfaktoren zu identifizieren, werden daher numerische Strömungssimulationen des Prozesses durchgeführt. Dazu wird zunächst ein mehrphasiger und inkompressibler Mehrregionen-CFD-Löser für magnetohydrodynamische Strömungen entwickelt und validiert, um die komplexe Strömung in einer Stranggußkokille mit hoher Genauigkeit simulieren zu können. Darauf aufbauend wird das numerische Setup anhand einer Modellkokille mit aktuellen Messdaten validiert. Durch die neuartige Kombination Lagrange'scher Lösungsmethoden mit angepassten Termen für die Magnetohydrodynamik sowie der skalenaufgelösten magnetohydrodynamischen Turbulenz, können erstmals Aussagen zur optimalen Magnetfeldverteilung im Hinblick auf Strömungsstabilität, Turbulenzmodulation und Blasenverteilung getroffen werden. Mit Hilfe dieses Wissens können neuartige Konzepte elektromagnetischer Bremssysteme für den Stranggußprozess entwickelt werden

Eine ökonomische Analyse einer Ausweitung des Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetzes

Nach wie vor wird in der deutschen Politik über eine Ausweitung des Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetzes und die damit einhergehende Einführung branchenspezifischer Mindestlöhne in weiteren Branchen der deutschen Wirtschaft diskutiert. Auch wenn die Forderungen von Gewerkschaften und Politikern nach mehr Mindestlöhnen in Deutschland sicherlich gut gemeint und durchaus verständlich sind, müssen sie aus ökonomischer Sicht abgelehnt werden. Um die Gewinne, welche die Globalisierung verspricht, realisieren und die nach wie vor hohe Arbeitslosigkeit hierzulande nachhaltig senken zu können, benötigt Deutschland einen funktionierenden Arbeitsmarkt mit einer flexiblen Lohnstruktur. Weitere Mindestlöhne würden die Probleme auf dem deutschen Arbeitsmarkt dagegen eher verschärfen. --Mindestlohn,Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz,ausländische Niedriglohnkonkurrenz

Arbeitslosigkeit im internationalen Vergleich

Dieser Beitrag bietet einen Überblick über das Arbeitslosigkeitsrisiko spezieller Bevölkerungsgruppen im internationalen Vergleich. Wie aufgezeigt wird, sind Jugendliche in Deutschland weniger stark von Arbeitslosigkeit bedroht, als es in anderen hoch entwickelten Volkswirtschaften der Fall ist. Dagegen ist Deutschland, verglichen mit anderen OECD-Staaten, in extrem hohem Maße von Arbeitslosigkeit unter gering Qualifizierten sowie unter Älteren betroffen, was den Schluss nahe legt, dass nicht der technische Wandel oder die Globalisierung per se Schuld an der Arbeitslosigkeit sind, sondern dass institutionelle Rahmenbedingungen erheblichen Einfluss auf die Jobchancen besitzen.Arbeitslosigkeit; Vergleich; International; Institutionelle Infrastruktur

Foreign Direct Investment from China, India and South Africa in Sub-Saharan Africa: A New or Old Phenomenon?

The burgeoning literature on outward foreign direct investment from emerging markets has largely focused on analysing the motives of investors as reported by parent companies. This paper, instead, focuses on firm-level investments originating from China, India or South Africa in fifteen host countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The analysis is based on a sub-set of firms drawn from the overall sample of 1,216 foreign-owned firms participating in the UNIDO Africa Foreign Investor Survey, carried out in 2005. The sample of investments originating from China, India and South Africa is analysed in terms of firm characteristics, past and forecast performance in SSA over three years and management?s perception of ongoing business conditions. Comparisons are made with foreign investors from the North. The paper concludes that while investors in SSA from the three countries are primarily using their investment to target specific markets, they are largely operating in different sub-sectors. While there appear to be specific features that firms from a given country of origin share, there are no obvious operating-level features they all share apart from market seeking.South-South FDI, market-seeking, sub-Saharan Africa, China, India, South Africa

Role of mTOR and VEGFR Inhibition in Prevention of Metastatic Tumor Growth in the Spine

Objective: Spinal metastatic disease remains a major problem of oncological diseases. Patients affectedmay suffer pain, spinal instability, and severe neurological deficits. Today, palliative surgery and radiotherapy are the mainstays of therapy. In contrast, preventive treatment strategies or treatment concepts for an early stage are lacking. Here, we have used a syngeneic, experimental spine metastases model in the mouse to test the efficacy of mTOR inhibition and anti-angiogenesis on the formation and progression of spinal melanoma metastases. Methods: We used our previously established syngeneic spinal metastases mouse model by injecting luciferin-transfected B16 melanoma cells into the common carotid artery. Following injection, mice were treated with everolimus, an inhibitor of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex, axitinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, that blocks vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFR) 1-3, as well as placebo. Animals were followed-up daily by neurological assessment and by repeat in vivo bioluminescence imaging. With occurrence of neurological deficits, a spinal MRI was performed, and mice were sacrificed. The whole spine was dissected free and analyzed by immunohistochemical techniques. Results: Overall survival was 23 days in the control group, significantly prolonged to 30 days (p = 0.04) in the everolimus group, and to 28 days (p = 0.04) in the axitinib group. While 78% of mice in the placebo group developed symptomatic metastatic epidural spinal cord compression, only 50% did so in the treatment groups. The mean time to manifestation of paralysis was 22 days in the control group, 26 days (p = 0.10) in the everolimus group, and 27 days (p = 0.06) in the axitinib group. Screening for spinal metastases by bioluminescence imaging on two different time points showed a decrease in metastatic tumor formation in the treatment groups compared to the controls. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed the bioactivity of the two compounds: The Ki67 proliferation labeling index was reduced in the everolimus group and numbers of CD31 positive endothelial cells were reduced in the axitinib group. Conclusion: Both, the mTOR inhibitor everolimus as well as antiangiogenetic effects by the VEGFR inhibitor axitinib showed potential to prevent and retard formation of symptomatic spinal metastases. However, the therapeutic efficacy was only mild in this experimental model

No need to regulate airports with predominantly non-aeronautical revenues

This paper analyzes a profit-maximizing private airport with market power in providing aeronautical services. Our model implies that airports with ample capacity may voluntarily abstain from abusing their market power if non-aeronautical revenues are airports’ main source of income. In this case, a price regulation that is confined to the aviation business will be unnecessary from a welfare point of view

Foreign direct investment from China, India and South Africa in Sub-Saharan Africa: A new or old phenomenon?

The burgeoning literature on outward foreign direct investment from emerging markets has largely focused on analysing the motives of investors as reported by parent companies. This paper, instead, focuses on firm-level investments originating from China, India or South Africa in fifteen host countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The analysis is based on a sub-set of firms drawn from the overall sample of 1,216 foreign-owned firms participating in the UNIDO Africa Foreign Investor Survey, carried out in 2005. The sample of investments originating from China, India and South Africa is analysed in terms of firm characteristics, past and forecast performance in SSA over three years and management’s perception of ongoing business conditions. Comparisons are made with foreign investors from the North. The paper concludes that while investors in SSA from the three countries are primarily using their investment to target specific markets, they are largely operating in different sub-sectors. While there appear to be specific features that firms from a given country of origin share, there are no obvious operating-level features they all share apart from market seeking