The EU policy for a plastic economy: Reflections on a sectoral implementation strategy

After reviewing the main EU policy documents on the plastic waste issue, this work conceptualises an analysis framework to investigate farmers' attitudes to market‐based tools (i.e., subsidies, tax‐credits, and payback mechanisms in extended producer responsibility schemes) through which the introduction of an operational scheme for a better management of their plastic waste can be incentivised in line with the 2018 European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy. A total number of 1,783 farmers responded to a purpose‐built questionnaire. Results show that most of the plastic waste they produce is piping and packaging and that tax credit represents their most favoured incentivising tool.     

Behaviour Change for Sustainable Consumption

Journal of Consumer Policy -     

Can social microblogging be used to forecast intraday exchange rates?

The Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) is widely accepted to hold true under certain assumptions. One of its implications is that the prediction of stock prices at least in the short run cannot outperform the random walk model. Yet, recently many studies stressing the psychological and social dimension of financial behavior have challenged the validity of the EMH. Toward this aim, over the last few years, internet-based communication platforms and search engines have been used to extract early indicators of social and economic trends. Here, we used Twitter’s social networking platform to model and forecast the EUR/USD exchange rate in a high-frequency intradaily trading scale. Using time series and trading simulations analysis, we provide some evidence that the information provided in social microblogging platforms such as Twitter can in certain cases enhance the forecasting efficiency regarding the very short (intradaily) forex.     

Prostata Ca: Wie geht „Mann“ damit um?

Diagnose Prostatakrebs - Die Diagnose trifft die meisten M?nner v?llig unvor bereitet, die Zukunft erscheint ungewiss. In dieser Situation sollen Betroffene dann noch einen klaren Kopf bewahren und Therapieentscheidungen treffen, Nebenwirkungen und Prognosen abw?gen? Kein Wunder, dass viele damit überfordert sind. Pflegekr?fte auf der Urologie sind hier gefordert.     

Correction: Technology and productivity growth

Business Economics -     

The difficult construction of a European Deposit Insurance Scheme: a step too far in Banking Union?

The German Government refused to accept the development of a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS) for Banking Union member states. Publicly, the German Government was preoccupied with the creation of a moral hazard that common funds would create for banks in those participating countries that had weak banking systems. This paper argues that to understand German moral hazard concerns it is necessary to look beyond the ideational – notably concerns stemming from German Ordo-liberalism – and focus on the existing national institutional arrangements that the German Government sought to protect. German moral hazard concerns stemmed from the fear that well-funded German deposit guarantee schemes (DGS) – especially those of small savings and cooperative banks – could be tapped to compensate for underfunded (and largely ex post funded) DGS in other member states. We thus demonstrate that the difficulties facing the construction of an EDIS owe to the weakness of the previously agreed harmonization of national DGS. This failure to harmonize schemes beyond a low minimal standard can be explained through an analysis focused on national systems. Different existing national DGS stem from the different configuration of national banking systems, the longstanding relationships among national banks and well-entrenched regulatory frameworks.