Evaluation of subsidies programs to sell green cars: Impact on prices, quantities and efficiency

During the recent period of economic crisis, many countries have introduced scrappage schemes to boost the sale and production of vehicles, particularly of vehicles designed to pollute less. In this paper, we analyze the impact of a particular scheme in Spain (Plan2000E) on vehicle prices and sales figures as well as on the reduction of polluting emissions from vehicles on the road. We considered the introduction of this scheme an exogenous policy change and because we could distinguish a control group (non-subsidized vehicles) and a treatment group (subsidized vehicles), before and after the introduction of the Plan, we were able to carry out our analysis as a quasi-natural experiment. Our study reveals that manufacturers increased vehicle prices by the same amount they were granted through the Plan (1,000 €). In terms of sales, econometric estimations revealed an increase of almost 5% as a result of the implementation of the Plan. With regard to environmental efficiency, we compared the costs (inverted quantity of money) and the benefits of the program (reductions in polluting emissions and additional fiscal revenues) and found that the Plan would only be beneficial if it boosted demand by at least 30%.

Influència de les condicions ambientals sobre la població acarina

Treball de recerca realitzat per un alumne d’ensenyament secundari i guardonat amb un Premi CIRIT per fomentar l'esperit científic del Jovent l’any 2005. S' estudia la influència de les condicions ambientals sobre la població acarina a quatre poblacions catalanes, situades a diferents altituds. A partir d’un recull bibliogràfic es fa una aproximació prèvia teòrica sobre la morfologia i la fisiologia dels àcars. Posteriorment s’ha dut a terme un treball de recerca sobre la influència de variables com l’altitud sobre la població acarina o la temperatura i la humitat en llocs tancats. Finalment, s’ha comparat la utilitat del mètode físic i químic de lluita contra els àcars. L’anàlisi de les dades obtingudes demostren que per damunt dels 1 200 m la població acarina és insignificant i que la millor manera de combatre els àcars és utilitzar el mètode físic de barrera (funda antiàcars) combinat amb el mètode químic d’acaricida (Benzil Benzoat).

Car ownership and access to jobs in Spain

This study analyses the impact that job accessibility in public transport has on car ownership. An ordered probit explaining the number of cars per household is estimated as a function of head of household characteristics, household characteristics and job accessibility. The data used in the analysis come from the Microcensus of year 2001 of the Spanish Institute of Statistics for the areas of Barcelona and Madrid. Our results show a significant effect of accessibility on car ownership. Additionally, we carried out simulation exercises in which the expected number of vehicles decreases as accessibility improves. For instance, in the case of households living outside the central city, an improvement of accessibility up to the average level of the central city would offset the effect of the number of working adults on the expected number of vehicles.

Economic development and changes in car ownership patterns

The contributions of this paper are twofold: On the one hand, the paper analyses the factors determining the growth in car ownership in Spain over the last two decades, and, on the other, the paper provides empirical evidence for a controversial methodological issue. From a methodological point of view, the paper compares the two alternative decision mechanisms used for modelling car ownership: ordered-response versus unordered-response mechanisms. A discrete choice model is estimated at three points in time: 1980, 1990 and 2000. The study concludes that on the basis of forecasting performance, the multinomial logit model and the ordered probit model are almost undistinguishable. As for the empirical results, it can be emphasised that income elasticity is not constant and declines as car ownership increases. Besides, households living in rural areas are less sensitive than those living in urban areas. Car ownership is also sensitive to the quality of public transport for those living in the largest cities. The results also confirmed the existence of a generation effect, which will vanish around the year 2020, a weak life-cycle effect, and a positive effect of employment on the number of cars per household. Finally, the change in the estimated coefficients over time reflects an increase in mobility needs and, consequently, an increase in car ownership.

Diseño de un juego para pantalla LCD gráfica y controlado por el microprocesador HCS12

En una época como la actual, en la que se hace necesario disponer de equipos con grandes características y recursos para poder disfrutar de los últimos lanzamientos en juegos, no dejan de producirse equipos de bajo coste basados en microcontroladores que pueden entretener al mismo nivel que los más caros. Este proyecto reúne el diseño de la configuración, interconexión y programación de código necesarios para ejecutar un juego sencillo. Para ello se ha utilizado una pantalla LCD táctil y un microcontrolador HCS12.

Control biològic del Rhynchophorus ferrugineus a partir de diferents soques de nematodes entomopatògens i la seva problemàtica a Catalunya

En el present treball s’ha avaluat el potencial dels nemàtodes entomopatògens per a controlar la plaga de R. ferrugineus. Per fer-ho, s’ha determinat la susceptibilitat d’aquesta a 4 espècies diferents de nemàtodes: Steinernema carpocasae (soca B14, IDEBIO, BIOVERD), Steinernema feltiae (soca D114), Steinernema sp. (D122) i Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (soca DG46). D’altra banda, s’ha determinat la predació de Steinernema carpocapsae per part de l’àcar Centroupeda almerodai (Acari: Acaridae) per comprovar si aquest pot influir negativament en l’efectivitat de S. carpocapsae com agent de control biològic. S’ha vist que el morrut de les palmeres és molt susceptible als nemàtodes entomopatògens en especial una soca comercial (S. carpocapsae), la qual produeix mortalitats del 91,67%. Hi ha evidències de que l’àcar C. almerodai depreda les formes infectives de S. carpocapsae encara que no és suficient important com perquè es vegi compromès l’efectivitat com a bioinsecticida. L’ús de nemàtodes entomopatògens com a control biològic és una alternativa viable als mètodes químics de eficàcia similar però menys respectuosos amb el medi ambient.

Age effects, unobserved characteristics and hedonic price indexes: The Spanish car market in the 1990s

This paper computes and compares alternative quality-adjusted price indexes for new cars in Spain in the period 1990-2000. The proposed hedonic approach simultaneously controls for time-invariant unobserved product e¤ects and time-variant unobserved quality changes, that are assumed to be captured by model age effects. The results show that the non-adjusted price index largely overstates the increase in the cost of living induced by changes in car prices and that previous evidence for this market have not measured the real extent of that bias, probably due to the omission of controls for unobservables. It is also shown that omitting age effects can also lead to misleading conclusions. The estimated price indexes give also some insights on what could have been the determinants of price evolution in the Spanish car market.

Age effects, unobserved characteristics and hedonic price indexes: The Spanish car market in the 1990's

This paper computes and compares alternative quality-adjusted price indexes for new cars in Spain in the period 1990-2000. The proposed hedonic approach simultaneously controls for time-invariant unobserved product effects and time-variant unobserved quality changes, that are assumed to be captured by model age effects. The results show that the non-adjusted price index largely overstates the increase in the cost of living induced by changes in car prices and that previous evidence for this market have not measured the real extent of that bias, probably due to the omission of controls for unobservables. It is also shown that omitting age effects can also lead to misleading conclusions. The estimated price indexes give also some insights on what could have been the determinants of price evolution in the Spanish car market. JEL classi…fication numbers: C43, E31, L11, L13, Keywords: Hedonic price indexes, Spanish car market, car prices, CPI, Cost of living

UOCasion: trabajo fin de carrera J2EE

L'objectiu del TFC és el desenvolupament d'una aplicació informàtica sota la plataforma J2EE, implementant el patró model-vista-controlador. Per posar-ho en pràctica, es desenvoluparà una aplicació web que gestioni una companyia dedicada a la compra i venda de cotxes de segona mà. Es desenvoluparà tant la part empresarial relacionada amb la interacció amb els clients com la part administrativa, que permeti a la companyia gestionar la seva xarxa de concessionari i el personal que tenen contractat.

Preparació d'un organocatalitzador dendrimèric

Els organocatalitzadors, en quantitats subestequiomètriques, són especies orgàniques que permeten accelerar reaccions químiques. Per tal d’aconseguir una química més sostenible, un dels reptes dels científics del nostre temps, és poder recuperar aquests catalitzadors de forma fàcil, tant per poder-los reutilitzar (sobre tot si són cars) com per simplificar els processos de purificació dels productes desitjats. En el treball que es presenta ens hem centrat en la preparació d’un organocatalitzador dendrimèric amb grups cinchonina a la seva superfície. Els derivats de cinchona són barats i comercialment assequibles i a més s’han emprat en moltes reaccions com organocatalitzadors. Els dendrímers, son unes molècules arborescents que poden ser emprades com a suports de catalitzadors. Concretament els dendrímers fosforats són solubles en solvents orgànics convencionals, però es poden precipitar i recuperar fàcilment, afegint grans quantitats de pentà a la mostra. Aquesta propietat els fa uns bons suports fàcilment recuperables per a catalitzadors, que poden actuar en condicions homogènies. Per portar a terme el nostre objectiu, hem hagut de modificat l’estructura de la cinchonina a través del seu grup vinil, utilitzant una reacció radicalària amb un tiol alifàtic. Aquest tiol a més aportava a la seva estructura un grup fenol que ens ha servit per ancorar aquesta molècula a un dendrímer fosforat de primera generació, com es pot veure a la figura. Per optimitzar les condicions de reacció, s’ha utilitzat inicialment una molècula model amb grups funcionals similars als de la superfície del dendrímer que ens interessava. Tots els compostos nous preparats en aquest treball que contenen l’estructura de cinchonina han estat assajats com a catalitzadors en una reacció de Michael. S’ha pogut veure que quan actuen en heterofase els temps de reacció són molt llargs comparats amb la cinchonina model, però quan ho fan en fase homogènia, són molt actius i es poden recuperar de forma pràcticament quantitativa.

State and industry in the 1940s: The Spanish automobile industry

The decade of the 1940s was one of the darkest periods in the country's history, with years of famine, repression, general misery, and impoverishment of all aspects of national life ranging from culture to the economy. During those years plans were made to establish a Spanish motor industry once the Civil War had come to an end in 1939. It seemed a propitious moment for private enterprise and various foreign motor companies presented proposals for manufacturing their entire vehicle range, from cars to trucks. However, the government plans were for a State monopoly, a policy which meant that any private projects which did not contemplate the regime taking management decisions were rejected out of hand. From 1941 onwards, any new initiative was required to meet the plans set by INI. The main argument running through this paper is that one can only understand the development of the modern Spanish motor industry if one grasps the haggling between motor companies and government regarding market entry and the impact of the regime's autarchic policies in the 1940s.

Reprisals remembered: German-Greek conflict and car sales during the Euro crisis

During the Greek debt crisis after 2010, the German government insisted on harshausterity measures. This led to a rapid cooling of relations between the Greekand German governments. We compile a new index of public acrimony betweenGermany and Greece based on newspaper reports and internet search terms. Thisinformation is combined with historical maps on German war crimes during theoccupation between 1941 and 1944. During months of open conflict between Germanand Greek politicians, German car sales fell markedly more than those of cars fromother countries. This was especially true in areas affected by German reprisals duringWorldWar II: areas where German troops committed massacres and destroyed entirevillages curtailed their purchases of German cars to a greater extent during conflictmonths than other parts of Greece. We conclude that cultural aversion was a keydeterminant of purchasing behavior, and that memories of past conflict can affecteconomic choices in a time-varying fashion. These findings are compatible withbehavioral models emphasizing the importance of salience for individual decision-making.

Tecnologies de la informació (barates) aplicades a les persones amb necessitats especials

As a consequence of the lack of adequate support, many people with physical or sensorial difficulties frequently encounter obstacles to using information technologies. Today equipment and programmes exist for overcoming these barriers, but frequently they are too expensive for the economic limitations of our smaller libraries, document centres, archives, museums, etc. An inexpensive alternative can be found in the accessibility options incorporated into Windows. While these probably do not offer the best or the most adequate solutions, it can be argued that, they are an acceptable alternative, considering existing budget restrictions. This text describes the functionalities of Windows XP, grouping them according to the type of difficulty addressed (visual, motor or auditory) in order to facilitate access to the application.

Tight coupling in thermal Brownian motors

We study analytically a thermal Brownian motor model and calculate exactly the Onsager coefficients. We show how the reciprocity relation holds and that the determinant of the Onsager matrix vanishes. Such a condition implies that the device is built with tight coupling. This explains why Carnot¿s efficiency can be achieved in the limit of infinitely slow velocities. We also prove that the efficiency at maximum power has the maximum possible value, which corresponds to the Curzon-Alhborn bound. Finally, we discuss the model acting as a Brownian refrigerator.