China's soft budget constraint on the demand-side undermines its supply-side structural reforms

In our paper we focus on situations when central banks have to conduct monetary policy in a world in which they cannot rely fully on what is regarded the best practice and they have to cope with financial system inherent tendency to be unstable. Both phenomena are rooted in János Kornai’s intellectual heritage highlighting that economy tends to divert from equilibrium and that soft budget constraint erodes economic actors’ behavior.

Download Full-text

Application of a Tax to E-Commerce Deliveries in Barcelona

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.1177/03611981211012412 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 036119812110124

Author(s):

Genís Majoral ◽

Francesc Gasparín ◽

Sergi Saurí

Keyword(s):

Cost Benefit Analysis ◽

Cost Benefit ◽

Supply Side ◽

Environmental Tax ◽

Positive Outcomes ◽

Demand Side ◽

Benefit Analysis ◽

Revenue Collection ◽

Last Mile ◽

The Impact

The number of e-commerce transactions is increasing worldwide. Deliveries of goods purchased online generate externalities throughout the whole supply chain and, particularly, the increasing concern about the last-mile distribution of goods. The escalating presence of vans in cities contributes to poor air quality, climate change, noise, and congestion. So far, the majority of solutions to address this issue are based on the supply side, such as electric vans, optimizing the routing and pick-up-points, and so forth. Even in other transport sectors, pricing solutions are well known, yet they have not been extended to e-commerce delivery. This paper aims to propose an environmental tax falling on the demand side and equaling the externalities from this activity. The analysis has been particularized for the case of Barcelona. A cost–benefit analysis to assess the impact of such a tax has been carried out. When revenue collection is reinvested in the logistics sector, and for subsidizing electric distribution vehicles, the results indicate that the levying of the tax can generate positive outcomes.

Download Full-text

The position of the farm holiday in Austrian tourism

Open Agriculture ◽

10.1515/opag-2019-0069 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 697-711 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Erika Quendler

Keyword(s):

Empirical Research ◽

Relative Position ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Point Of View ◽

Local Context ◽

Supply Side ◽

Data Sets ◽

Demand Side ◽

Tourist Destinations ◽

Tourist Accommodation

AbstractTourism is vitally important to the Austrian economy. The number of tourist destinations, both farms and other forms of accommodation, in the different regions of Austria is considerably and constantly changing. This paper discusses the position of the ‘farm holiday’ compared to other forms of tourism. Understanding the resilience of farm holidays is especially important but empirical research on this matter remains limited. The term ‘farm holiday’ covers staying overnight on a farm that is actively engaged in agriculture and has a maximum of 10 guest beds. The results reported in this paper are based on an analysis of secondary data from 2000 and 2018 by looking at two types of indicator: (i) accommodation capacity (supply side) and (ii) attractiveness of a destination (demand side). The data sets cover Austria and its NUTS3 regions. The results show the evolution of farm holidays vis-à-vis other forms of tourist accommodation. In the form of a quadrant matrix they also show the relative position of farm holidays regionally. While putting into question the resilience of farm holidays, the data also reveals where farm holidays could act to expand this niche or learn and improve to effect a shift in their respective position relative to the market ‘leaders’. However, there is clearly a need to learn more about farm holidays within the local context. This paper contributes to our knowledge of farm holidays from a regional point of view and tries to elaborate on the need for further research.

Download Full-text

ANALYZING THE RELATIVE INFLUENCE OF SUPPLY SIDE, DEMAND SIDE AND REGULATORY FACTORS ON THE SUCCESS OF COLLABORATIVE ENERGY INNOVATION PROJECTS

International Journal of Innovation Management ◽

10.1142/s1363919616500298 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 20 (02) ◽

pp. 1650029 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

ALEXANDRA RESE ◽

ANKE KUTSCHKE ◽

DANIEL BAIER

Keyword(s):

Structural Equation ◽

Success Factors ◽

Relative Influence ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Supply Side ◽

Demand Side ◽

Firm Level ◽

Regulatory Factors ◽

Innovation Projects ◽

Energy Innovation

The analysis of the importance of supply side and demand side factors with regard to innovative behavior is quite old. In this paper, these two categories are used to distinguish and examine the relevance of several success factors for collaborative innovation projects on the firm level in the German energy sector. The literature emphasizes that solving environmental problems requires extensive technological change. On the other hand, due to higher prices the market push is weaker. Regulatory factors are therefore designed to stimulate environmental innovations. The relative influence of these three categories on project performance is investigated on the basis of a sample of 128 German collaborative energy innovation projects in the development phase using a scale-based approach and structural equation modeling at the firm level. The results confirm the importance of supply side factors followed by demand side factors. In contrast to literary assumptions, R&D subsidies played no significant role.

Download Full-text

Causal Relations of Upscaled Urban Aquaponics and the Food-Water-Energy Nexus—A Berlin Case Study

Water ◽

10.3390/w13152029 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 2029

Author(s):

Gösta F.M. Baganz ◽

Manfred Schrenk ◽

Oliver Körner ◽

Daniela Baganz ◽

Karel J. Keesman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Causal Link ◽

Supply Side ◽

Demand Side ◽

Annual Fish ◽

Causal Relations ◽

Water Energy Nexus ◽

Facility Level ◽

Predominant Effect

Aquaponics, the water-reusing production of fish and crops, is taken as an example to investigate the consequences of upscaling a nature-based solution in a circular city. We developed an upscaled-aquaponic scenario for the German metropolis of Berlin, analysed the impacts, and studied the system dynamics. To meet the annual fish, tomato, and lettuce demand of Berlin’s 3.77 million residents would require approximately 370 aquaponic facilities covering a total area of 224 hectares and the use of different combinations of fish and crops: catfish/tomato (56%), catfish/lettuce (13%), and tilapia/tomato (31%). As a predominant effect, in terms of water, aquaponic production would save about 2.0 million m3 of water compared to the baseline. On the supply-side, we identified significant causal link chains concerning the Food-Water-Energy nexus at the aquaponic facility level as well as causal relations of a production relocation to Berlin. On the demand-side, a ‘freshwater pescatarian diet’ is discussed. The new and comprehensive findings at different system levels require further investigations on this topic. Upscaled aquaponics can produce a relevant contribution to Berlin’s sustainability and to implement it, research is needed to find suitable sites for local aquaponics in Berlin, possibly inside buildings, on urban roofscape, or in peri-urban areas.

Download Full-text