Techno-Economic Model for a Quick Preliminary Feasibility Evaluation of Organic Rankine Cycle Applications

The investment decision support tool was developed, which can be applied to check the technical feasibility and economic viability of an Organic Rankine Cycle system, and to select the appropriate working fluid, based only on basic information on the waste heat source, i.e. source temperature and mass (heat) flow rate. Two profitability criteria, Net Present Value and Payback Period, were introduced for economic evaluation, while an Organic Rankine Cycle design correlations-based model was developed, and applied for prediction of technical parameters and components’ design estimation. Validation performed with the previously published data confirmed model accuracy in spite of its simplicity. The model gave quick answers, and was incorporated successfully into a decision algorithm, which was supported by a set of system component design and cost functions, and could serve as an effective tool for preliminary feasibility evaluation of any proposed Organic Rankine Cycle based waste heat recovery system. An example of model application over the broad range of waste heat source temperatures is presented and the results discussed in order to show its basic capabilities

Mutual fund performance in Slovenia : an analysis of mutual funds with investment policies in Europe and the energy sector

This paper examines the risk and return performance of mutual funds in Slovenia from 2005 until August 2009. The research is limited to the regional investment policies in Europe and the energy sector. Using monthly returns, we analyzed different risk-adjusted measures such as: the Treynor ratio, the Sortino ratio and the Information ratio. We also studied selections and timing ability using the Treynor-Mazuy model. The risk and return performance of mutual funds in the Slovenian market does not deviate from those in developed markets. We also found out that the selection ability of fund managers is better than market timing and that the findings of this paper are in accordance with other international studies

Javnofinancijski novčani tokovi proračuna EU i njihov utjecaj na likvidnost nacionalnog proračuna: primjer Slovenije

On May 1, 2004 ten new states joined the EU. At the same time, budgetary cash flow mechanisms between the EU budget (as the central subject) and national budgets were established. Despite the fact that all the rules are clear and known in advance - stipulated by the EU directives and regulations - there are some uncertainties, which may have an important effect on the liquidity as well as on the budgetary cash flows in new member states. The greatest problem for the liquidity of new member states’ budgets is posed by the time lags between inflows and outflows of EU funds. These lags are mainly because of delayed payments from the EU budget and problems with some member state’s absorption capacity. This article deals with the dynamics and the scale of budgetary cash flows between the Slovenian budget and the EU budget until 2006. A couple of likely scenarios are presented, which could happen in case of delayed payments of European funds. Consequently, both an unexpected state budget liquidity deficit and an additional burden arising from interest on delayed payments to the Brussels are possible for Slovenia.Europskoj uniji 1. svibnja 2004. godine priključilo se deset novih država. U isto vrijeme uspostavljeni su i javnofinancijski novčani tokovi između proračuna EU kao središnjeg subjekta i nacionalnih proračuna. Iako su sva pravila jasna i unaprijed poznata - definirana direktivama i uredbama EU, ostaje nekoliko nejasnoća, koje mogu značajno utjecati na likvidnost kao i javnofinancijski položaj proračuna novih članica. Najveći problem za likvidnost proračuna novih članica EU pretstavlja vremenska neusklađenost između priliva i odliva europskih sredstava, do koje dolazi posebno zbog vremenskog kašnjenja naplata iz europskog proračuna i slabe apsorbcijske sposobnosti, odnosno sposobnosti preuzimanja tih sredstava iz europskih fondova. Članak analizira dinamiku i predviđeni opseg javnofinancijskih novčanih tokova između proračuna Slovenije i proračuna EU do 2006. godine. Predstavljeno je nekoliko scenarija, do kojih bi moglo doći zbog zakašnjenja kod isplata europskih sredstava. Posljedica toga mogli bi biti nepredvidivi deficiti državnog proračuna i dodatni teret naplata zakasnjelih kamata u briselsku blagajnu

The behaviour of stock markets in transition economies : is there a transition effects?

In the paper we investigate the properties of the stock markets in six transition economies: Slovenia, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. We try to find out, whether the transition has some effect on the stock markets in the sense of Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH). According to the empirical work done in this field we suggest methodology, which will be based on a new approach for testing the validly of the EMH. In contrast to other studies, we will not only test the EMH for the whole transition process, but also investigate whether the result are stable over time. This will probably give us some additional information on the transition process in the observed countries

The behaviour of stock markets in transition economies

In the paper we investigate the properties of the stock markets in six transition economies: Slovenia, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. We try to find out, whether the transition has some effect on the stock markets in the sense of Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH). According to the empirical work done in this field we suggest methodology, which will be based on a new approach for testing the validly of the EMH. In contrast to other studies, we will not only test the EMH for the whole transition process, but also investigate whether the result are stable over time. This will probably give us some additional information on the transition process in the observed countries

Absorption von EU-Fördermitteln: Institutionale Regelung und Erfolg am Beispiel Irlands, Estlands und Sloweniens

The enlargement of the EU by ten new member states in 2004 increased the importance of the EU cohesion policy; however, the readiness of these states to absorb the funds has not been adequate. Consequently, their absorption capacity has been relatively low. An analysis was made which states the importance of institutional settings for the efficiency of absorbing funds. With this purpose in mind, we first closely examined the most successful countries in absorbing EU funds. These were: Ireland as the leading country among the EU-15 and Estonia and Slovenia as the leading countries among the EU-10. Ireland has a decentralized managing system with several managing authorities and paying authorities, also on the regional level, while Estonia and Slovenia have a more centralized system on a national level. Regarding the current implementation system and absorption success in these three countries, we cannot determine which of the three presented implementation structures is more effective and advisable for improving the absorption of EU funds. We came to the conclusion that even different implementation structures can lead to high absorption results.Proširenje Europske Unije na deset novih članica 2004. godine povećalo je važnost politike kohezije EU-a; ipak, spremnost tih zemalja da primaju novčana sredstva iz fondova nije se pokazala dostatnom. Tako je njihov kapacitet apsorpcije do sada bio razmjerno 1237 nizak. Napravljena je analiza koja govori o važnosti institucionalnih okvira za uspješnu apsorpciju sredstava. Imajući to na umu, prvo smo pomno promotrili najuspješnije zemlje u apsorpciji fondova EU-a. To su bile: Irska, kao vodeća zemlja me|u EU-15 te Estonija i Slovenija kao vodeće zemlje unutar EU-10. Irska ima decentraliziran sustav upravljanja, s više upravljačkih i financijskih struktura, i to na regionalnim razinama, dok Estonija i Slovenija imaju sustave više centralizirane na nacionalnoj razini. Promatrajući sadašnji sustav primjene i uspješnost apsorpcije u tim trima zemljama, ne možemo utvrditi koje su od tri predstavljene implementacijske strukture uspješnije i koje je uputno preporučiti za unapre|enje apsorpcije fondova EU-a. Naš je zaključak da i različite implementacijske strukture mogu dovesti do visokih rezultata apsorpcije.Die Ausweitung der EU und der Beitritt von zehn neuen Mitgliedstaaten im Jahr 2004 hat die Aktualität der EUKohäsionspolitik erhöht; jedoch hat sich die Kapazität dieser Länder, Fördermittel aus EU-Fonds in ihre Modernisierung zu investieren, als unzulänglich erwiesen. Dementsprechend war das Absorptionsvermögen bisher relativ gering. Die vorgenommene Analyse widmet sich der Bedeutung des institutionalen Rahmens für eine erfolgreiche Absorption der genannten Fördermittel. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurden zunächst die in dieser Hinsicht erfolgreichsten Länder untersucht. Das sind: Irland als das führende Land der EU-15-Staaten sowie Estland und Slowenien als die führenden Staaten der EU-10 (EU-Erweiterung 2004). Irland hat ein dezentralisiertes Verwaltungssystem mit mehreren Verwaltungs- und Finanzstrukturen auf regionaler Ebene, während Estland und Slowenien über ein eher zentralisiertes Verwaltungssystem auf nationaler Ebene verfügen. Betrachtet man den aktuellen Stand in der Umsetzung von EUFördermitteln und das Absorptionsvermögen der erwähnten Staaten, so lässt sich nicht mit Bestimmtheit sagen, welche der drei Implementierungsstrukturen die erfolgreichste und als nachahmungswert zu empfehlen ist. Die Verfasser dieser Studie kommen zu dem Schluss, dass auch völlig unterschiedliche Implementierungsstrukturen zu hochwertigen Ergebnissen bei der Absorption von Fördermitteln führen können

Measuring Public Procurement for Innovation on the Country Level and the Role of ICT Support

In recent years, the use of public procurement as a tool for promoting innovation has captured the interest of many researchers. However, their research mostly focuses on the impact of public procurement on companies’ innovativeness. This article discusses the findings of available literature on this topic and proposes a model of transferring the concept from a company level to the level of the whole country. One of the major problems is the unavailability of appropriate measures for this phenomenon, so the authors of this paper suggest that the concept of public procurement for innovation can be approximated by applying the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) criterion. The implementation of this criterion in choosing the best offer can be supported and facilitated by the use of ICT, which can improve the efficiency of procurement process and enable more innovations

Dug je put od Ljubljane do Kyota: dozvole za zagađivanje i porez na ugljični dioksid

U skladu s Protokolom iz Kyota, Slovenija se obvezala da će u razdoblju od 2008. do 2012. smanjiti zagađivanje plinovima za prosječno 8% od razine zagađivanja zabilježenog u baznoj 1986. godini. Još prije ratifikacije Sporazuma, u Sloveniji su uvedene brojne mjere za smanjenje zagađivanja plinovima. Slovenija je prva tranzicijska zemlja koja je 1997. godine uvela porez na ugljični dioksid (CO2), no on nije donio željene rezultate – razina zagađivanja ugljičnim dioksidom u stvarnosti se povećala. Početkom 2005. godine Slovenija se provedbom instrumenta trgovanja dozvolama za zagađivanje, definiranoga prema novoj smjernici EU, pridružila ostalim zemljama članicama EU. Istodobno, usvojila je novi sustav oporezivanja zagađivanja ugljičnim dioksidom, koji je u skladu s novonastalim okolnostima. Glavni je cilj ovog rada predočiti obilježja slovenskog pristupa u izradi nacionalnog plana raspodjele dozvola za zagađivanje i analizirati probleme poreza na zagađivanje ugljičnim dioksidom u Sloveniji. U radu se također opisuju troškovi prilagodbe ciljevima iz Kyota i očekivana kretanja na slovenskom tržištu dozvola za zagađivanje

The Long Road from Ljubljana to Kyoto: Implementing Emission Trading Mechanisms and CO2 Tax

According to the Kyoto Protocol, Slovenia is required to reduce GHG emissions to an average of 8% below base year 1986 emissions in the period 2008-2012. Slovenia established different measures for reducing GHG emissions long before its ratification. It was first transition country who implemented CO2 tax in the 1997. Several changes in CO2 tax have not brought the desired results. CO2 emissions have actually increased. At the beginning of 2005, Slovenia joined other EU member states by implementing the emissions trading instrument, defined by new EU Directive. At the same time, Slovenia has adopted a new CO2 tax system, which is compatible with the new circumstances. The main purpose of this paper is to present the characteristics of Slovenian approach to national allocation plan for emissions trading and analyze the problems of the CO2 tax in Slovenia. Paper also describes the compliance cost of achieving the Kyoto target and expected movements on the Slovenian allowances market

The importance and prevalence of modern forms of staff training in the corporate environments of transition countries

Compared with traditional forms of education and training, e-learning is gaining increasing importance not only within the academic setting of formal education, but also in the corporate environment. Concerning the latter, it is evident that with increasing pressure on cost efficiency and competitiveness, in addition to the current harsh financial and economic conditions, companies are being challenged and this tends to change their behaviour patterns. In this article, the results of a survey are presented. The survey focused on the current status and possible future trends of corporate e-learning methods in Slovenia, which is among the so-called transition countries. This survey brings more than one aspect of this issue to light. The findings show increasing rates of acceptance of the e-learning education model by the local corporate environment. Nevertheless, significant gaps are evident when compared with the most advanced European and worldwide economies in terms of the widespread use of comprehensive e-learning models and the latest e-learning technologies, such as LMS systems. Furthermore, the survey reveals that e-learning is perceived by companies as cost efficient and flexible, but on the other hand it is not yet perceived to contribute to a higher quality level of staff training when compared with traditional methods