Berechnung des Xgen unter Verwendung von Regressionsmethoden

The “CPI-X” regulation allows a dynamic adjustment of the revenue cap. The general X factors is a correction term for the consumer price index (CPI), since the CPI does not represent the development of the efficient costs in the network sector. This article shows how the general X factor can be calculated using regression analysis and discusses its applicability in the German regulation context. The results show that the general X factor can be calculated using suitable panel methods, but also shows the practical limits of this approach: panel models often do not converge in short time series. In addition, regression analysis can only provide a prognosis for the future general X factor if stable economic and regulation conditions can be assumed. This is currently not the case in the German regulatory context.     

Managers' interpretations of LCA: enlightenment and responsibility or confusion and denial?

Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) and ‘life cycle thinking’ are popular approaches to evaluate and manage the environmental aspects of products. While LCA has been propagated as a decision‐making tool, the interest here is in LCA as a mental model, which managers may interpret and enact differently. If LCA and ‘life cycle thinking’ manage to infuse organizations with an extended sense of responsibility, this could counteract some of the ‘organized irresponsibility’ of modern markets. However, LCA use may also lead to confusion, doubt and denial. This article explores potential managerial interpretations of LCA with a small illustration from the wholesale trade, and through a conceptualization of the illustration in terms of Hatch's ( 1993 ) dynamic model of organizational culture. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Old bodies,young hearts: a qualitative exploration of the engagement of older male amateur rugby union players in Taiwan

The world’s population is ageing. Engagement in physical activities that assist people to age in good health while enjoying quality of life are critical considerations for practitioners and policy-makers. In 1913, the sport of Rugby Union was introduced to Taiwan. As a form of recreational activity, the game became popular among- Taiwanese males. In recent years, older players have sought to facilitate their continued involvement in an activity that is normally played as a full-contact sport. Why these individuals continue to play, how they perceive their experience and how the sport has evolved to maintain their interest and active involvement are especially interesting to explore. Study participants were specifically chosen from an established Taiwanese rugby union club. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted in 2013 with 15 amateur rugby players aged from 54 to 83 years. Results indicated that the main motivations for participants to continue playing was that it gave them ‘a sense of nostalgia and pride’, ‘lifelong friendship and belonging’, ‘pure joy and passion’, with considerations of being ‘mentally and physically active’, keeping up an involvement in ‘a real man’s sport’ and maintaining a sense of one’s ‘self-identity’ with ‘responsibility and commitment’ towards this chosen sport. Findings suggest that leisure providers need to be aware of the opportunities for reducing constraints and providing adaptations that allow older adults to immerse themselves in physically active pursuits integral to enjoying a fruitful ageing journey.     

Mathematical College Majors and the Gender Gap in Wages

College graduates with mathematical college majors earn more than other college graduates. Women are less likely than men to pursue mathematical college majors. This does not, however, explain the entire gender wage differential. In a representative cross section of recent college graduates, women earn 9 percent less than men with equally mathematical college majors. The gender wage disadvantage faced by women with technical college majors is no larger than that faced by women with nontechnical college majors.     

Models of disequilibrium and shortage in centrally planned economies Christopher Davis and Wojciech Charemza,editors Chapman and Hall,London and New York, 1989, 501 pp.

Portes applied the econometric disequilibrium model of market economies to Centrally Planned Economies (CPEs) to show that the consumer goods sector was in equilibrium. Kornai considered these models inapplicable to CPEs and regarded CPEs as chronic shortage economies. Arguments on both sides of the debate are presented in this book. The conflict between Portes and Kornai lies in their microeconomic view of CPEs. While Portes acknowledges the welfare loss from shortages, Kornai analyzes and emphasizes it. Portes' view implies that changes in relative prices can reestablish equilibrium in CPEs. Kornai disagrees because CPEs do not respond to price changes like market economies. Only total reform, now attempted in many transition economies, can eliminate the imbalances.     

Counting the costs: Denmark's changing migration policies

During the Danish local and national elections in November 2001, the scale, intensity and tone of the debates on migration took both national and international commentators by surprise. Within the first year of the new right‐wing government, supported by the influential Danish People's Party, Denmark has become one of the most exclusive and restrictive immigration regimes in Europe. This article takes a closer look at the recent politicization of migration issues in Denmark. While there is certainly concern with the compatibility of migrant ‘otherness’, in particular Islam, with Danish society and norms, then an equally, or even more central issue regards the ‘cost of migration’ for Danish social policy standards. Because of high unemployment rates, migrants and their descendants receive a relatively large part of Danish social contributions. This has raised the more general question of how to combine immigration with a tax‐financed universal welfare system where all have rights to full social benefits immediately upon arrival. The answer of the government has been to cut both sides of the equation by implementing stricter entry rules for family reunification and asylum‐seekers, as well as making a historical break with the principle of equal social welfare benefits for all legal residents. Lors des élections danoises locales et nationales de novembre 2001, l'ampleur, l'intensité et le ton des débats sur la migration ont surpris les commentateurs tant nationaux qu'étrangers. Au cours de la première année au pouvoir du nouveau gouvernement de droite, soutenu par le puissant Parti populaire danois, le Danemark a mis en place l'un des régimes d'immigration les plus fermés et restrictifs d'Europe. L'article s'attache à la récente politisation des questions de migration dans ce pays. Sans négliger le souci réel de compatibilité de ‘l'altérité’ des migrants, notamment l'Islam, avec la société et les normes danoises, il expose un problème aussi, voire plus crucial: le ‘coût de la migration’ selon les bases de la politique sociale nationale. Compte tenu des forts taux de chômage, les migrants et leurs descendants reçoivent une part relativement importante des contributions sociales danoises. D'où une question plus générale sur la façon de combiner immigration et système social universel financé par la fiscalité, où tous ont droit à l'intégralité des prestations sociales dès leur arrivée. En réponse, le gouvernement a tronqué les deux câtés de l'équation, en appliquant des règles d'entrée plus strictes pour la réunification familiale et les demandeurs d'asile, tout en créant une rupture historique avec le principe de prestations sociales égales pour tous les résidents légaux.     

WELFARE EFFECTS OF DISTORTIONARY FRINGE BENEFITS TAXATION: THE CASE OF EMPLOYER‐PROVIDED CARS*

In Europe, many employees receive company cars as fringe benefits induced by taxation. We analyze the welfare effects of company car taxation for the Netherlands by estimating to what extent car expenditure and private car travel change when employees receive a company car. Tax treatment of company cars generates an annual welfare loss, ranging from €600 to €780 per company car, mainly due to a shift toward more expensive cars (from €420 to €600), but also due to increased private travel (€180). For the whole of Europe, the annual welfare loss is about €12 billion.     

On the Validity of the Wiener Process Assumption in Option Pricing Models: Contradictory Evidence from Taiwan

This study tests the validity of the critical assumption underlying the option pricing model that the log form of the stock price movements follows the Wiener process, i.e., stock price movements follow a geometric Brownian motion. Using data compiled from the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE), this study's major empirical findings are as follows: first, the null hypothesis that the log of the stock prices is normally distributed is rejected; second, the null hypothesis that the stock price in log form has mean [ln P _s + (µ- ²)_t] and variance t is rejected; third, the null hypothesis that successive non-overlapping increments of the log of the stock price are independent from each other is also rejected. These empirical findings undermine the validity of the Wiener process assumption which is fundamental to many option pricing models.     

Components of art exhibition brand equity for internal and external visitors

This paper aims to explore determinants of brand equity for cultural activities from the perspective of internal as well as external visitors. Our analysis advocates four elements for brand equity in artistic and cultural activities (loyalty, brand image, perceived quality and brand values) and assesses them for the case of an itinerant art exhibition staged over the past twenty years in a region of Spain. Building on extensive literature, a model of the relationship is developed and empirically tested using survey data collected from 406 visitors. Data are analysed through Partial Least Squares. Findings suggest that external visitors attach greater importance to brand image as a determinant of value than do internal visitors, whereas for the latter brand values are the main source of value.