Decarbonising urban transportation

18 p.

Optimal Minimum Wage in a Competitive Economy: an Alternative Modelling Approach

This paper analyzes whether a minimum wage can be an optimal redistribution policy when distorting taxes and lump-sum transfers are also available in a competitive economy. We build a static general equilibrium model with a Ramsey planner making decisions on taxes, transfers, and minimum wage levels. Workers are assumed to differ only in their productivity. We find that optimal redistribution may imply the use of a minimum wage. The key factor driving our results is the reaction of the demand for low skilled labor to the minimum wage law. Hence, an optimal minimum wage appears to be most likely when low skilled households are scarce, the complementarity between the two types of workers is large or the difference in productivity is small. The main contribution of the paper is a modelling approach that allows us to adopt analysis and solution techniques widely used in recent public finance research. Moreover, this modelling strategy is flexible enough to allow for potential extensions to include dynamics into the model.

An empirical comparison of the performance of alternative option pricing models

Published as an article in: Investigaciones Economicas, 2005, vol. 29, issue 3, pages 483-523.

The coincidence of the kernel and nucleolus of a convex game: an alternative proof

In 1972, Maschler, Peleg and Shapley proved that in the class of convex the nucleolus and the kernel coincide. The only aim of this note is to provide a shorter, alternative proof of this result.

Wage stickiness and unemployment fluctuations: an alternative approach

28 p.

An Alternative View of the US Price-Dividend Ratio Dynamics

As a necessary condition for the validity of the present value model, the price-dividend ratio must be stationary. However, significant market episodes seem to provide evidence of prices significantly drifting apart from dividends while other episodes show prices anchoring back to dividends. This paper investigates the stationarity of this ratio in the context of a Markov- switching model à la Hamilton (1989) where an asymmetric speed of adjustment towards a unique attractor is introduced. A three-regime model displays the best regime identification and reveals that the first part of the 90’s boom (1985-1995) and the post-war period are characterized by a stationary state featuring a slow reverting process to a relatively high attractor. Interestingly, the latter part of the 90’s boom (1996-2000), characterized by a growing price-dividend ratio, is entirely attributed to a stationary regime featuring a highly reverting process to the attractor. Finally, the post-Lehman Brothers episode of the subprime crisis can be classified into a temporary nonstationary regime.

Evaluation of two alternative carbon capture and storage technologies

4 p.

Alternative trajectories for decarbonizing urban transportation

4 p.

Linking Reduced Deforestation and a Global Carbon Market: Impacts on Costs, Financial Flows, and Technological Innovation

25 p.

Evaluation of Two Alternative Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies: A Stochastic Model

30 p.

The Green Paradox and Learning-by-doing in the Renewable Energy Sector

21 p.

Reutilización de escoria negra de acería como soporte en biofiltros para la eliminación de H2S del biogás.

[EN]Due to the limitations associated with fossil fuels it is necessary to promote energy sources that are renewable as well as eco-friendly, such as biogas generated in anaerobic digesters. The biogas, composed principally of methane and CO2, is the result of the biodegradation of organic matter under anaerobic conditions. Its use as fuel is limited by the presence of minority compounds such as hydrogen sulphide (H2S); therefore, its pre-treatment is necessary. Currently there are various technologies for the removal of H2S from a gas stream, but most of them are based on physic-chemical treatments which have a number of drawbacks as reactive consumption, generation of secondary flows, etc. Biofiltration has been used as an efficient and low cost alternative to conventional purification processes, and excellent results for the degradation of H2S have been obtained. However process can be limited due to the progressive ageing of the support material, along with the loss of nutrients and other specific characteristics necessary for the good development of biomass. The purpose of this project is to develop a mixed support consisting of a mixture of an organic material and an inorganic support for its application in the removal of the H2S from biogas. This support material helps to optimize the characteristics of the bed and extend its lifespan. The development of such material will contribute to the implementation of biofiltration for treating biogas from anaerobic digesters for its use as biofuel. The inorganic material used is electric arc furnace (EAF) black slag, a by-product generated in large quantities in the production of steel in the Basque Country. Although traditionally the slag has been used in civil engineering, its physicochemical characteristics make it suitable for reuse as a filter medium in biofiltration. The main conclusion drawn from the experimental results is that EAF black slag is a suitable co-packing material in organic biofilters treating H2S-polluted gaseous streams. High pollutant removal rates have been achieved during the whole experimental period. The removal capacity recorded in biofilters with less inorganic material was higher than in those with higher slag portion. Nevertheless, all the biofilters have shown a satisfactory response even at high inlet loads (48 g·m-3·h-1), where the RE has not decreased over 82%.