Evaluating the impact of average cost based contracts on the industrial sector in the European emission trading scheme

The inception of the emission trading scheme in Europe has contributed to power price increases. Energy intensive industries have reacted by arguing that this may affect their competitiveness and will induce them to leave Europe. Taking up a proposal of these industrial sectors, we explore the possible application of special contracts, where electricity is sold at average generation cost to mitigate the impact of CO₂ cost on power prices. The model supposes fixed generation capacities. We first consider a reference model representing a perfectly competitive market where all consumers (industries and the rest of the market) are price-takers and buy electricity at short-run marginal cost. We then change the market design by assuming that energy intensive industries pay power either at a regional or at a zonal average cost price. The analysis is conducted with simulation models applied to the Central Western European power market. The models are implemented in GAMS/PATH. This work has been financially supported by the Chair Lhoist Berghmans in Environmental Economics and Management and by the Italian project PRIN 2006, Generalized monotonicity: models and applications, whose national responsible is Prof. Elisabetta Allevi.     

The effect of market segmentation with demand leakage between market segments on a firm’s price and inventory decisions

In this paper, we address the simultaneous determination of price and inventory replenishment in a newsvendor setting when the firm faces demand from two or more market segments in which the firm can set different prices. We allow for demand leakage from higher-priced segments to lower-priced segments and assume that unsatisfied demand can be backlogged. We examine the case where the demands occur concurrently without priority and are met from a single inventory. We consider customer’s buy-down behavior explicitly by modeling demand leakage as a function of segment price differentiation, and characterize the structure of optimal inventory and pricing policies.     

The impact of managerial and organizational aspects on hospital wards’ efficiency: Evidence from a case study

In spite of its acknowledged relevance, the impact of managerial and organizational aspects on hospital wards’ efficiency has been so far overlooked by the literature. In order to explore this issue, this paper presents a model of the relations between the decision making process of a hospital ward and its technical efficiency. In order to test the model, a two-step approach has been adopted. In the first step the technical efficiency of wards belonging to a large Italian Hospital Enterprise has been calculated using DEA. In the second step, efficiency scores have been regressed on a set of variables capturing managerial goals and actions internal to the ward, as well as re-organizations imposed by the hospital central management. Responses to a questionnaire administered to the heads of ward were used to build the independent variables. Results show that both decisions internal to the ward and exogenous re-organizations affect the ward’s efficiency, and suggest that these variables are more significant in explaining efficiency than environmental ones.     

On the compound Poisson risk model with dependence based on a generalized Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern copula

In this paper we consider an extension to the classical compound Poisson risk model in which we introduce a dependence structure between the claim amounts and the interclaim time. This structure is embedded via a generalized Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern copula. In this framework, we derive the Laplace transform of the Gerber-Shiu discounted penalty function. An explicit expression for the Laplace transform of the time of ruin is given for exponential claim sizes.     

On the structure of graphs with a unique k‐factor

In this paper we study the structure of graphs with a unique k‐factor. Our results imply a conjecture of Hendry on the maximal number m (n,k) of edges in a graph G of order n with a unique k‐factor: For we prove and construct all corresponding extremal graphs. For we prove . For n = 2kl, l ∈ ℕ, this bound is sharp, and we prove that the corresponding extremal graph is unique up to isomorphism. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 35: 227–243, 2000     

What is the impact of stock market contagion on an investor’s portfolio choice?

Stocks are exposed to the risk of sudden downward jumps. Additionally, a crash in one stock (or index) can increase the risk of crashes in other stocks (or indices). Our paper explicitly takes this contagion risk into account and studies its impact on the portfolio decision of a CRRA investor both in complete and in incomplete market settings. We find that the investor significantly adjusts his portfolio when contagion is more likely to occur. Capturing the time dimension of contagion, i.e. the time span between jumps in two stocks or stock indices, is thus of first-order importance when analyzing portfolio decisions. Investors ignoring contagion completely or accounting for contagion while ignoring its time dimension suffer large and economically significant utility losses. These losses are larger in complete than in incomplete markets, and the investor might be better off if he does not trade derivatives. Furthermore, we emphasize that the risk of contagion has a crucial impact on investors’ security demands, since it reduces their ability to diversify their portfolios.     

On the Number of 5‐Cycles in a Tournament

We find a formula for the number of directed 5‐cycles in a tournament in terms of its edge scores and use the formula to find upper and lower bounds on the number of 5‐cycles in any n‐tournament. In particular, we show that the maximum number of 5‐cycles is asymptotically equal to , the expected number 5‐cycles in a random tournament (), with equality (up to order of magnitude) for almost all tournaments.     

On the Number of 4‐Cycles in a Tournament

If T is an n‐vertex tournament with a given number of 3‐cycles, what can be said about the number of its 4‐cycles? The most interesting range of this problem is where T is assumed to have cyclic triples for some and we seek to minimize the number of 4‐cycles. We conjecture that the (asymptotic) minimizing T is a random blow‐up of a constant‐sized transitive tournament. Using the method of flag algebras, we derive a lower bound that almost matches the conjectured value. We are able to answer the easier problem of maximizing the number of 4‐cycles. These questions can be equivalently stated in terms of transitive subtournaments. Namely, given the number of transitive triples in T, how many transitive quadruples can it have? As far as we know, this is the first study of inducibility in tournaments.     

On the acceptance of trigonometry in wasan: Evidence from a text of Aida Yasuaki

The Dutch introduced trigonometry to Japan in the middle of the 17th century, but the use of trigonometry was rarely seen until the 18th century, and its use was limited to practical purposes such as surveying and astronomy. It was rarely used to solve geometry problems currently called wasan, the reason for which is not yet fully explained. In this paper, I summarize a book by Aida Yasuaki (1747–1817) in which he strongly criticizes the use of trigonometry for wasan, and try to find the origins of his antipathy.     

On the sharp effect of attaching a thin handle on the spectral rate of convergence

Consider two domains connected by a thin tube: it can be shown that the resolvent of the Dirichlet Laplacian is continuous with respect to the channel section parameter. This in particular implies the continuity of isolated simple eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenfunctions with respect to domain perturbation. Under an explicit nondegeneracy condition, we improve this information providing a sharp control of the rate of convergence of the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions in the perturbed domain to the relative eigenvalue and eigenfunction in the limit domain. As an application, we prove that, again under an explicit nondegeneracy condition, the case of resonant domains features polynomial splitting of the two eigenvalues and a clear bifurcation of eigenfunctions.     

On the derivation of the velocity and fundamental traffic flow diagram from the modelling of the vehicle–driver behaviors

This paper deals with derivation of the fundamental diagram by modelling the individual driver behavior that adjusts the velocity to the density of vehicles in order to respect the braking distance. A parameter is properly introduced to model the quality of the driver–vehicle subsystem referred to the environmental conditions. Subsequently, it is shown how to use this result in order to model traffic flows by the macroscopic representation and by the kinetic theory.     

On a compound Poisson risk model with dependence and in the presence of a constant dividend barrier

In this paper, we consider a classical risk process with dependence and in the presence of a constant dividend barrier. The dependence structure between the claim amounts and the interclaim times is introduced through a Farlie–Gumbel–Morgenstern copula. We analyze the expectation of the discounted penalty function and the expectation of the present value of the distributed dividends. For each function, an integro‐differential equation with boundary conditions is derived, and the solution is provided. Finally, we find an explicit solution for each function when the claim amounts are exponentially distributed. We illustrate the impact of the dependence on these two quantities. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A criterion for the explicit reconstruction of a holomorphic function from its restrictions on lines

We deal with a problem of the explicit reconstruction of any holomorphic function f   on a ball of C²${\mathbb{C}}^2$ from its restrictions on a union of complex lines. The validity of such a reconstruction essentially depends on the mutual repartition of these lines. This criterion can be analytically described and it is also possible to give geometrical sufficient conditions. The motivation of this problem also comes from possible applications in mathematical economics and medical imaging.     

On a generalization of the Schauder and Krasnosel'skii fixed points theorems on Dunford–Pettis spaces and applications

In this paper, we give a generalization of the Schauder and Krasnosel'skii fixed point theorems in Dunford–Pettis spaces. Both of these theorems can be used to resolve some open problems posed by Jeribi (Nonlinear Anal.: Real World Appl. 2002; 3 :85–105); and Latrach (J. Math. Phys. 1996; 37 :1336–1348). Further, we applied our work to prove some existence results for a source problem with general boundary conditions in L₁ spaces. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the evaluation at (<Emphasis Type="Italic">j</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">j</Emphasis><Superscript>2</Superscript>) of the Tutte polynomial of a ternary matroid

F. Jaeger has shown that up to a ± sign the evaluation at (j, j ²) of the Tutte polynomial of a ternary matroid can be expressed in terms of the dimension of the bicycle space of a representation over GF(3). We give a short algebraic proof of this result, which moreover yields the exact value of ±, a problem left open in Jaeger's paper. It follows that the computation of t(j, j ²) is of polynomial complexity for a ternary matroid.E. Gioan: C.N.R.S., MontpellierM. Las Vergnas: C.N.R.S., Paris     

The impact of constant effort harvesting on the dynamics of a discrete‐time contest competition model

In this paper, we study a general discrete‐time model representing the dynamics of a contest competition species with constant effort exploitation. In particular, we consider the difference equation x _{n +1}=x _n f (x _{n ?k} )?h x _n where h >0, k ∈{0,1}, and the density dependent function f satisfies certain conditions that are typical of a contest competition. The harvesting parameter h is considered as the main parameter, and its effect on the general dynamics of the model is investigated. In the absence of delay in the recruitment (k =0), we show the effect of h on the stability, the maximum sustainable yield, the persistence of solutions, and how the intraspecific competition change from contest to scramble competition. When the delay in recruitment is 1 (k =1), we show that a Neimark‐Sacker bifurcation occurs, and the obtained invariant curve is supercritical. Furthermore, we give a characterization of the persistent set.