Modelling risk premia in CO2 allowances spot and futures prices

This article analyzes the modelling of risk premia in CO₂ allowances spot and futures prices, valid for compliance under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). Similarly to electricity markets, a salient characteristic of CO₂ allowances is that the theory of storage does not hold, as CO₂ allowances only exist on the balance sheets of companies regulated by the scheme. The main result features positive time-varying risk premia in CO₂ spot and futures prices, which are strictly higher for post-2012 contracts (€6–9/ton of CO₂) than for Phase II contracts (€0–6/ton of CO₂). Contrary to Benth et al.'s (2008) for electricity markets, a positive relationship between risk premia and time-to-maturity is found in the EU ETS. As for relative differences between CO₂ futures and spot prices, CO₂ futures traded between + 1% (December 2008 contract) and + 33% (December 2014 contract) above spot prices during February 2008–April 2009. Contrary to Bessembinder and Lemmon (2002) for the electricity market, a positive relationship between risk premia and the variance/skewness of CO₂ spot prices is found. The futures-spot bias to the EU ETS explains around 1–6% of the variance of CO₂ futures premia.     

经济一体化、公司所得税竞争与FDI流动研究——以新老欧盟成员国的税收竞争为例

本文在Ottaviano(2005)的税收竞争模型的框架下,分析了在经济一体化条件下公司所得税竞争对资本流动的影响,并利用实证研究论证了欧盟内新欧盟成员国与老欧盟成员国之间的公司所得税竞争对FDI流动的影响。分析表明,欧洲市场一体化程度的加深是导致税收竞争加剧的最主要原因。东道国降低名义公司所得税率对资本流动没有影响,只有相对于母国实际税率的降低才是影响资本流动的关键因素。     

欧盟科技合作项目中知识产权的保护和利用

欧盟在科技合作的知识产权管理方面有先进的经验和完善的管理体系。对欧盟框架研发计划及原子能计划有关知识产权管理规定进行了研究。欧盟在主体科技计划及重大科技项目等方面都对背景及前景知识产权的归属、保护、信息共享、转让和开发利用等进行了规范。建议：我国在开展国际科技合作中,必须加强科技人员知识产权意识,重视和发挥科技合同的作用;与欧盟开展科技合作,要充分了解欧盟主体科技计划知识产权管理相关规定,在保护我国国家利益及知识产权人利益的基础上,最大限度地行使自己的合法权利,共享和利用各方知识、数据和信息,充分挖掘和利用新增知识产权为我所用。     

欧盟研发框架计划的评估实践

欧盟研发框架计划是目前全球资助规模最大的政府科技计划,其评估工作起步较早,形成了较为规范的监测评估机制,对欧盟科研资助政策的调整和FP管理工作的完善均发挥了重要作用。对FP评估活动的法律基础、组织实施方式、评估对象、评估方法和评估案例等做了较为详细的介绍和分析,以期为我国科技计划的评估工作提供一定借鉴。     

Globalisation and/or Europeanisation? The Case of Flexicurity

The relationship between globalisation and Europeanisation is conventionally studied by focusing on the domestic level. In this article we explore this relationship at the international level instead. We examine the way in which the two phenomena in the form of the ILO and the EU relate to one another. Adopting a discursive institutionalist approach and focusing on flexicurity, we investigate whether, how and under what conditions the discourse on flexicurity provides a point of convergence or divergence between globalisation and Europeanisation. Our empirical data reveals attempts by the European Commission to use globalisation as a legitimating device for a market-accommodating programme for labour market reform. The ILO remains more sceptical, both about the overall effects of globalisation and the more concrete uses of flexicurity. Meanwhile, the concept of flexicurity is subject to change and rearticulation in line with the evolving policy agenda endorsed by the Commission and/or the member states. The relationship between Europe and globalisation is thus far from neutral. ‘Europe’ is active in shaping globalisation; translated into the work undertaken here, Europeanisation could be conceived as a facet of globalisation rather than as a bulwark to it, or merely as a process running parallel to it.     

欧盟气候政策的利益导向及对中国的启示

自20世纪90年代以来,欧盟一直是全球气候谈判的主导者,其低碳技术领先全球,将世界各国尤其是美国、中国等排放大国纳入其主导的全球气候谈判体系符合欧盟三大布局主导下的核心战略目标.全球气候谈判的焦灼,迫使欧盟通过欧盟—拉美峰会、非加太—欧盟联合大会等平台,拉拢利益合作伙伴,以增加其主导气候谈判走向的砝码.欧盟气候政策的转变,削弱了气候谈判中以中国为代表的发展中国家谈判阵营的力量,使中国日益面临谈判伙伴减少,乃至被孤立的风险,增加了未来的谈判压力和难度.为此,中国要加紧对欧盟气候外交长期战略布局的研究,密切关注欧盟今后的气候外交政策动向,制定长期气候外交政策战略,同时加紧国内低碳转型的速度与力度.     

Communicating the ‘migrant’ other as risk: space,EU and expanding borders

Forced migration and border spaces as fault lines posing risks to society through the notion of ‘Othering’, remain under-explored in risk literature. With Europe facing its biggest humanitarian crisis with forced migration and displacement due to conflict zones, the borders of the European Union have received renewed attention in media. Refugees and the displaced are often depicted as ‘migrants’ and are seen as transgressing borders as illegitimate entities. Although increasing attention has been paid to border patrol and issues of securitization since 9/11, the ‘migrant’ body as ‘risky body’ in political and policy discussions is under-conceptualized and theorized in risk literature. We examine political discourses of the UK Government to discern how the migrant and the expanding borders of the EU are framed as forms of societal and economic risk and equally how these are mitigated with and through the discourse of space and borders. We take a constructionist approach to the ‘migrant’ problem in the EU and UK where risk is socially constructed through political discourse.     

Fiscal shocks and budget balance persistence in the EU countries from Central and Eastern Europe

This article analyses the time series properties of the fiscal balance in the 10 EU countries from Central and Eastern Europe. The persistence of the fiscal balance is analysed by means of unit root tests that account for possible nonlinearities and structural changes. The linear and nonlinear unit root tests find only mild evidence in favour of the stationarity hypothesis, with asymmetric effects present in a few cases. After controlling for structural changes in the Data Generation Processes (DGPs), the results point to stationarity of the series. Thus, in spite of relatively steady headline figures, the budget balance processes in the EU countries from Central and Eastern Europe exhibit substantial instability.     

On inferring individual behaviour from market behaviour in a predetermined quantities model

This article develops the theoretical basis of individual behaviour recovered from market behaviour in a predetermined quantities model. As applied economists argue, an inverse demand system may be empirically sound within the framework of classical demand theory. However, it should not lead to the conclusion that the market responses for changes in quantity should be used to see welfare effects instead of the individual responses by price changes as far as the market is concerned. It shows theoretically and empirically how individual responses can be recovered from market responses in a predetermined quantities model. It suggests that the fundamental results of this article should be used on interpreting empirical results from the predetermined quantities models.     

Time-varying correlations in oil,gas and CO2 prices: an application using BEKK,CCC and DCC-MGARCH models

Previous literature has identified oil and gas prices as being the main drivers of CO₂ prices in a univariate Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) econometric framework (Alberola et al., 2008; Oberndorfer, 2009). By contrast, we argue in this article that the interrelationships between energy and emissions markets shall be modelled in a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) and Multivariate GARCH (MGARCH) framework, so as to reflect the dynamics of the correlations between the oil, gas and CO₂ variables overtime. Using the Baba–Engle–Kraft–Kroner (BEKK), Constant Conditional Correlation (CCC) and Dynamic Conditional Correlation MGARCH (DCC-MGARCH) models on daily data from April 2005 to December 2008, we highlight significant own-volatility, cross-volatility spillovers, and own persistent volatility effects for nearly all markets, indicating the presence of strong Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (ARCH) and GARCH effects. Besides, we provide strong empirical evidence of time-varying correlations in the range of [?0.3;?0.3] between oil and gas, [?0.05;?0.05] between oil and CO₂, and [?0.2;?0.2] between gas and CO₂, that have not been considered by previous studies. These findings are of interest for traders and utilities in the energy sector, but also for a broader applied economics audience.