Long-term Agreements Research Articles

Media policy in Greenland

AbstractThis article describes the historical development of media policy in Greenland, and the shifts in the underlying normative and causal ideas that legitimise media policy. I argue that media policy reflects changes in Greenland's political system. Specifically, under colonial rule, Greenlandic media was state run and media was seen as an instrument to educate the population. Gradually, with the introduction of home rule, a paradigm shift took place, whereby media was seen as a vital instrument to strengthen Greenlandic language and identity. At the same time, normative ideas of media independence appeared which called for institutionalisation of the arm's length principle. Due to the influence and institutional spill-over from Denmark, I argue, Greenlandic media policy fit rather well into the “Nordic media model” although media policy in Greenland is mostly formulated without long-term or broad political agreements.

Advances in the Coordination between the Cadastre and Land Registry

A necessary and effective coordination between cadastre and land registry has always existed in Spain, but the difficulties have only been specifically addressed in the last few years. The aim of this study is to illustrate, analyse, and evaluate advances in this coordination in Spain from the beginnings of the current system in the early twentieth century, with the cadastre and land registry operating as separate organisations. A preliminary study was made in 2002 of the difficulties that needed to be overcome to achieve an ideal coordination of mainly mapped information. The study was made by gathering and analysing the opinions of various specialists who have dealt with the issue of coordination. For this research, qualitative information (current and historical) was gathered by querying documents about cadastre and land registry coordination in Spain. This information was studied and compared to identify the problems and challenges. A survey in 2012 analysed the relationship between the cadastre and land registry from the point of view of the general public in the city of Gandia. The Spanish government enacted the first specific and effective legislation on coordination in 2015 (Act 13/2015), and much has changed since its introduction. During the last five years of application, each of the problems initially highlighted has been monitored and analysed, and the difficulties that have arisen have been noted. In this study, each of these problems and challenges is analysed from various perspectives: querying documents (norms, budgets, official news, etc.), websites, digital applications, observation, and interviews. The main results of the case study in Spain are as follows: coordination is generally indispensable and cannot be postponed; there is a difficult understanding between the organisations involved; the general public associate the word “cadastre” with taxes and not with security in the demarcation of property; political will and understanding is necessary; the process is slow and requires long-term agreements; an improvement in the quality of maps is fundamental; and technology is not a problem.

Routes to credible climate commitment: the UK and Denmark compared

ABSTRACT Credible commitment is central to regimes for climate mitigation policy. In the climate policy literature, it is widely argued that the solution to the credible commitment problem is legislation and delegation of goal-setting to a technical body insulated from political incentives, and the UK’s Committee on Climate Change is in part modelled on this approach. However, drawing on the comparative politics literature, this paper argues that the focus on legislation and delegation as the solution to the credible commitment problem is too narrow. Seen within the context of comparative political institutions, it is a response that fits the political logic in countries with majoritarian electoral systems. By contrast, in countries with electoral systems based on proportional representation, while legislation plays a role, an important element in the creation of credible commitment comes in the form of negotiated long-term agreements between political parties. This contrast is explored through a comparison between the Climate Change Act and associated Committee on Climate Change in the UK on the one hand, and a series of Energy and Climate Agreements in Denmark over the 2010s. Both approaches appear to have worked to date. However, while negotiated long-term agreements typically have an internal process for managing conflicts that inevitably arise after the respective mechanisms have been put in place, disputes arising following legislation and delegation must be resolved within the more informal processes of intra-party politics. Mechanisms of accountability also differ between the two approaches. Key policy insights Legislation and delegation is widely seen as the key route to credible commitment for climate policy, but other routes are possible. Legislation and delegation is particularly suited to countries with majoritarian, or first-past-the-post electoral systems and resulting political dynamics. In countries with proportional representation, an alternative route to credible commitment is possible via formal agreement between political parties. Both routes can work well, but political agreements tend to have internal mechanisms for mediating conflicts that subsequently arise, whereas delegation relies on intra-party politics.

ДЕРЖАВНО-ПРИВАТНЕ ПАРТНЕРСТВО У СФЕРІ ОСВІТИ І НАУКИ

The article examines the use of public-private partnership in education, one of the most important in the social sphere. The experience of using public-private partnership projects in foreign countries, such as Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Japan and the Republic of Korea, is analyzed. The mechanisms of cooperation between the state and the private partner are described, and the positive sides are shown on concrete examples of functioning public-private partnership projects in the world. A qualitatively distinctive feature of the pattern of interaction between the state, business and educational institutions is that it should take into account the impact of PPP on society through the social orientation of educational services, as well as the implementation of public functions and implementation of state educational policy. PPP's priority areas are innovation-oriented infrastructure projects and projects in the fields of science, technology and education. Strategic partnership of educational institutions, research organizations and enterprises is expressed in long-term agreements and programs of cooperation in research and education; namely staff, resources and financial support for joint activities; purposeful training of personnel at enterprises; conducting joint research, research and development work; creation of joint structures of educational, scientific and innovative profiles. Forms of partnership cooperation are the development of technology parks, resource centers and technology transfer centers, which provides for public-private partnership in the field of research, project efforts to create innovative products, modernization of technological processes and more. It is believed that PPPs will ease financial constraints, as the private sector itself makes huge investments within PPPs. As the private and public sectors complement, the overall resource base should increase. As the resource base increases, access to education will improve and the quality of education will improve. In the absence of PPPs with limited public resources, the education system can be severely affected. In such circumstances, PPP is seen as the main, though not the only option for the development of education.

Single-item lot-based supplying and batch production under a bilateral capacity reservation: A partnership structure

This paper studies a single-item lot-based supplying and batch production under a bilateral capacity reservation contract based on a partnership structure in which some suppliers, a manufacturer, and a third-party logistics provider are connected through long-term cooperation agreements. This configures a partnership supply chain and promotes the manufacturer’s performance in a continuous improvement cycle. Since in this paper, it is assumed that the products are perishable, there is not any inventory storage. Moreover, due to a settled contract, the final products are delivered by third-party logistics corporate providing vehicles according to the products’ features, their expiration time lengths, customers’ demands and other considerations in each period. Thus, the delivery batch size, which is equal to the vehicle capacity in a full truckload mode, is targeted for the manufacturer operations resulting in a dynamic improvement environment. In this problem, respect to the performance level of the manufacturer, in each period, a certain capacity is reserved at each selected supplier level according to the appointed batch deliveries. Here, in addition to the ordinary costs incurred due to ordering and delivery processes, some penalties are imposed for orders/delivers exceeding or falling behind the reserved capacity. After investigating the computational complexity of the problem, we propose three dynamic programming algorithm as well. Finally, numerical results and some potential future researches are presented.

The Problem of Harmonizing the Economic Interests of the USSR and the Socialist Countries. The Сase of Soviet-Polish Trade and Financial Relations (1958–1964)

Soviet trade with Eastern European countries was one of the main forms of economic interaction within the socialist camp. The problem of imbalances in this trade traditionally has been associated with the politicization of intra-bloc relations. However, when harmonizing the interests of the USSR and the socialist interests vis-à-vis long-term trade agreements, economic motives were of great importance. This article discusses the process of harmonizing economic interests, using the case of Soviet-Polish trade relations in 1958–1964. This research based on archival documents from the Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU for Economic Cooperation with the Socialist Countries (in RGANI) and declassified documents from the special fund for the State Planning Commission of RGAE. The analysis shows that contradictions in trade issues provoked a discussion of a wider range of issues: military supplies, credit debt, and transit tariffs for the two countries. Moreover, each of the parties was guided by its own economic interests and rarely made concessions for political reasons. The Soviet government in 1958-1964 made a number of supply concessions, agreed to revise transit tariffs, and incurred part of the costs of maintaining the stability of intra-block trade in the distribution system. There was a change in the structure of Soviet-Polish trade, which significantly reduced the passive trade balance for Polish People’s Republic (RPL). Nevertheless, in accordance with Soviet calculations, after all these changes, trade with RPL and other socialist countries was profitable for the USSR.

Análisis de impacto del marco jurídico generado a partir del TLC entre Colombia y Estados Unidos de América sector arroz

After times of protectionism, the predominant foreign trade structure in Colombia was the economic opening after 1990s. In this way, the Barco administration announced a commercial liberalization program with a gradualist orientation of openness, which led to the development of schemes such as the ATPDEA, to establish a framework of foreign trade and antidrug policy between the Republic of Colombia and the United States of America. However, these preferential trade strategies between the parties depended on the validity of the negotiations and, above all, on the approval of the administrations on duty. This is how negotiations took place between representatives of the governments of Colombia and the United States, to establish a long-term trade agreement, disconnected from the domestic policy of each country. These negotiations culminate with the publication of Decree 993/2012, which promulgates the entry into force of the Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA), between the Republic of Colombia and the United States of America. However, the treaty generated a serious impact in the agricultural sector and within it, in the national production of rice. The side effects of the signing of the Trade Promotion Agreement are mainly due to differences in factors such as infrastructure, roads, subsidies, production and comparative costs, and its main negative impact has been the risk of loss of food sovereignty. The following article will develop the legal vision of the Trade Agreement between Colombia and the United States and how these legal measures have been insufficient to equate the burdens in the productive sectors of rice between both countries.

Profit maximisation in long-term e-service agreements

Profit maximisation in long-term e-service agreements

The role of energy in Turkey-Russian relations: Is it a dependency or necessity?

Relations between Turkey and the Russian Federation have a rich historical heritage. Economic and trade relations constitute the driving force behind Turkish-Russian relations. Russia has been one of the most important trade partners of Turkey. Trade volume between the two states has reached 26,309 billion USD in 2019, with Turkey’s 3,854 billion USD worth of exports and 22,454 billion USD imports. A total number of 1972 projects with a total value of over 75,7 billion dollars have been realized so far by the Turkish contractors in Russia, while reciprocal investments have reached 10 billion dollars each. Energy constitutes one of the most important elements of relations between Turkey and Russia. With TurkStream and Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant projects, cooperation in the field of energy is being carried further with Russia, which is among the leading energy suppliers. TurkStream Natural Gas Pipeline has been inaugurated on 8 January 2020. Natural gas has the second-highest share in the Turkish energy mix at a rate of 32.5%. Nearly 55% of the natural gas is imported from one single source country, and nearly 85% of the current purchase agreements consist of long-term agreements that are based on the “take or pay” principle. The Russian gas and pipelines have critical importance in the natural gas supply of Turkey, and nuclear energy is being emphasized for the purpose of diversifying the resources. The share of nuclear energy in the Turkish energy mix is 0%, and the agreement in this field is made with Russia brings another dependency relation.

НАВЧАННЯ ПЕРСОНАЛУ ЯК ЕФЕКТИВНИЙ ІНСТРУМЕНТ ОРГАНІЗАЦІЙНОГО РОЗВИТКУ

The article examines the importance of organizational development to ensure competitiveness: increasing the ability of the organization to adapt to changing environmental conditions; updating the management system, organizational structure and culture; setting current goals, introduction of new technologies and methods of work in operational activities and management; creation of new structural units of the organization. Adaptation of domestic business to the rapid pace of market changes requires effective systematic implementation of a set of actions on strategic management based on business models, innovation management and marketing communications. Emphasis is placed on the main goal of development – to accelerate the process of adaptation to market changes. A balanced model of organizational development based on the education system is proposed, which includes: research of market demand and consumer values; consolidation of the business model in strategic management; audit of human resources; formation of a system of training according to the project of skills; introduction of a structural component of change management based on strategic leadership. The basis of organizational development is: ranking of staff values; introduction of systematic training; formation of a microclimate of mutual assistance in teams; timely informing staff about changes in market factors that will affect the implementation of organizational change; increased material support at the level of strategic management of individual work of operational level managers. The risks of using a balanced learning system within the selected business model are: increasing the ambitions of staff with the development of skills and changing life priorities; the difficulty of directly assessing the effectiveness of learning outcomes; preparation of educational personality-oriented programs. Measures to minimize the risks of implementing a balanced learning system are: teamwork; formation of a structural subdivision of coaches; concluding long-term agreements for certain training programs; motivation systems.

Financial Feasibility Study of Hydro Power Plant on A River in West Sumatra

As a part of nation worldwide, Indonesia set the target for the renewable energy source. The renewable energy should be 23% of the energy mix generation that mentioned in the RUPTL 2019 -2028. PT. XYZ as the company which have the responsibility regarding the electricity in Indonesia should work hard to find and invest in renewable energy source. In West Sumatra, there is one river that can be potential to create the hydro power plant that expected to generate as much as 296.104.624 kWh. The construction of the hydro power plant itself will be started from the scratch that obviously will cost much money. The company should consider if it is wise to invest in constructing the hydro power plant or not. This research aims to analyze the financial feasibility study of the hydro power plant in West Sumatra, the financial performancef of the project, and find which variable that affect the project greatly. This research performs general environment analysis using PESTEL analysis to identify whether the environment support the project execution or not. The financial feasibility analysis performs using the discounted cashflow method and evaluated using Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and Payback Period (PP). To identify which variable that affected the financial feasibility of the project, the author use sensitivity analysis and scenario analysis. Furthermore, Monte Carlo simulation also performed in this research to give an information regarding the probability impact of the uncertainty from the selected variable. The calculation result shown that the project is financially feasible with NPV of Rp. 1.832.776.500.481, IRR of 15,77% which is higher than the weighted average cost of capital (WACC), and the payback period for 9,15 years. The financial performance also shown a favourable result with the project’s profitability index of 5,41. Long-term debt interest rate, capacity factor, agreement price, CAPEX need, and inflation rate are the highest five variable that affect the feasibility of the project. According the Monte Carlo simulation result using 1000 iterations, the project has probability of 6,34% in making the project not feasible.

Determinations of Annual Investments of DisCo and Private Sector in Expansion Planning of Distribution Network

Ever-increasing load-demand, threaten the continuity of power supply and diminishes power quality causing serious technical challenges in distribution networks. In this regards, commonly used cheaper practices like capacitor allocation and network configuration, can enhance operational parameters of the network. On the other hand, supplying the future loaddemand, requires installing new substations or distributed generations (DGs). Because of DGs inherent technical and economic advantages, Distribution Company (DisCo), encourage private investment to install DGs, by signing long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with DG owners (DGO). In such a situation created, DG allocation and simultaneously capacitor allocation and network configuration can be economical for both DisCo and DGO and also can enhance the reliability and power quality. So, this paper is aimed to find the annual instants for network configuration; timing, sizing and sitting of capacitors and DGs, and PPA rates using Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO). Also, the uncertainties of load-demand and electricity-price, voltage-sensitive loads and load priority in power supply are applied into the planning problem. Voltage deviation and voltage stability are considered as constraints which must be better in optimum solution. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme, is validated by computer simulation done on a 33-Bus IEEE distribution network and the outcomes are discussed.

Optimal valuation of wind energy projects co-located with battery storage

The electricity market in the UK has been reformed over recent years resulting in the introduction of ‘Contracts for Difference’ as an option for wind producers. They can use these contracts only if at the same time they enter into other market contracts, i.e., Power Purchase Agreements or participation in the wholesale market. Most wind producers prefer the option of holding a long-term Power Purchase Agreement with another party. However, these agreements do not always offer the best terms for a wind producer due to them selling energy at lower electricity prices than those of the wholesale market spot prices. In addition, direct participation in the wholesale market can lead to high imbalance costs for the wind producers. In this paper, we propose an optimal dispatch model solved via dynamic programming optimisation to examine these two different business cases for wind operators alongside the existence (or not) of subsidised Contracts for Difference. A case study with an onshore UK wind farm and a lithium-based battery is provided. The proposed methodology was designed flexibly, so that it can be applied to different wind farm and battery configurations, as well as energy market structures. It is found that it is not always more profitable for the wind operator to hold a Power Purchase Agreement with another party than owning a battery storage unit and trading wind energy directly into the wholesale market. The discount rate of the Power Purchase Agreements, the capital cost of the wind farm and the strike price of the Contracts for Difference are critical factors affecting the profitability of both business cases. In addition, if subsidies are totally removed from both of them, then these are no longer economically justifiable, unless significant reductions are achieved in the capital costs of wind farms and battery storage units. Lastly, we show that considering only the calendar life of the battery (and not the cycle life) leads to significant underestimation of the investment costs.

Advanced processed wastewater for different uses: constellations favouring future implementation of a multimodal water reuse concept

Abstract Advanced wastewater treatment is often used to produce one single water quality. In recent years, technologies have been developed that allow the production of different qualities that are fit for their purpose. These technology bundles are still not being marketed, and market requirements are unclear. Two constellations in West Basin, California and in Oman were analysed to shed light on the different constellations of actors, resource situations and institutions. The first led to the industrial reuse of several water qualities, while the second produced an application in holiday resorts, leisure and food production. A hypothetical solution was contrasted with an historical case. The analysis of the constellations showed that multi-sectoral investments and dependencies require strong cooperation arrangements and long-term agreements. Governmental institutions were revealed to be suitable for coordinating the process, especially during the initial phase, but also in view of security of supply. A (comparative) examination allows an initial, still provisional systematic overview of other constellations that favour systems with recycled water of different qualities. Further research is required to understand the welfare and distribution effects of multimodal water pricing policies and the feasibility of co-financing of agricultural irrigation and opportunities for more sustainable water reuse.

The Exclusion of Compulsory Proceedings Entailing Binding Decisions in Light of the Southern Bluefin Tuna and South China Sea Arbitrations

For international disputes covering the same ground under a constellation of complementary and conflicting agreements, mapping the relationship between treaties is critical, especially if each contains compulsory jurisdiction clauses. Their interrelatedness or independence will affect a finding of jurisdiction. This paper considers the procedural effects of treaty parallelism on the exclusion of Part XV compulsory proceedings entailing binding decisions under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), using as examples the Southern Bluefin Tuna and South China Sea arbitrations. The jurisprudence splits on whether an explicit exclusion is necessary in an alternative agreement to remove a dispute from Part XV’s reach. The adoption of either approach depends on how a Tribunal views the Convention. Oxman divides predominant attitudes into separate “substantive and procedural models” which form the bases of diverging lines of authority. This taxonomic exercise is pertinent not only in theory, but in practice, as Klein recognizes “a core tension existing around the operation of Part XV” is whether it is “intended to be as comprehensive and inclusive as possible” or serving “a more limited, albeit still important, purpose.” The “obvious tension between sustaining an integrated global regime and allowing further development on a regional basis” finds specific expression in divided interpretations of Articles 281 and 282, the jurisdictional prerequisites of the UNCLOS Part XV dispute settlement regime. In resolving jurisdictional problems related to treaty parallelism, invocations of lex posterior, lex specialis, and the like, may be misplaced given UNCLOS’ unique dispute settlement provisions and “something more than, or different from, specific affirmation of the effect of certain generally applicable rules of the law of treaties” may be required. Equally important is understanding the limitations in “expansive” approaches to treaty exegesis. This has broader consequences for other long-term agreements in international law’s universe of treaties, including “the ICAO Convention, or those of the GATT and WTO Agreements, or the optional clause of the ICJ Statute.” Caught in the waves of “an international legal system in transition” crashing against volatile political realities increasingly commonplace in recent sea disputes like South China Sea, this paper concludes that the unique dispute settlement regime of the Montego Bay Agreement is best buoyed by a process of harmonization. This is only feasible if fundamental attitudes towards UNCLOS, procedural and substantive model views or otherwise, “suffer a sea change.”

Wages and Firm Performance: Evidence from the 2008 Financial Crisis

Abstract We examine the effect of higher wages on firm performance during the 2008 financial crisis. To identify variation in wages, we rely on heterogeneity in the timing of long-term wage agreements for a sample of U.K. firms. We instrument for firms signing long-term agreements overlapping with the crisis by the presence of a contract signed in 2006 or earlier and expiring before September 2008. Treated firms not only paid higher wages but also realized greater labor productivity relative to control firms. These findings are consistent with the intuition that opportunity cost differentials between treated and control firms induce employees to exert higher effort. (JEL J41, J30, J24, G01) Received February 28, 2019; editorial decision July 8, 2020 by Editor Andrew Ellul. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online.

Türkiye’de Fotovoltaik Yatırımlar için Tarife Garantisi Politikasının Optimal Tasarımının Bir Analizi

Feed-in Tariff (FIT) is the long-term agreement between governments and firms investing in solar energy, where governments guarantee to purchase the energy produced by firms. This research aims to reveal the optimal FIT design for Photovoltaic (PV) investments in Turkey. Choice Experiment based questionnaire was conducted on solar energy firms to investigate the investment preferences and monetary worth of each FIT component for investors. We found that FIT design with longer contract duration creates positive value for PV investments, while low payment amount per kWh, tax policy for imported PV panels, and license fee decrease the attractiveness of PV investments.

Relating Institutions and Governance Strategies to Project Outcomes: Study on Public–Private Partnerships in Infrastructure Projects in India

AbstractPublic–private partnerships (PPPs) in infrastructure are long-term agreements subject to uncertainties. A variety of governance strategies must therefore be enacted over the PPP lifecycle t...

Energy Performance Contracting and Public-Private Partnership: How to Share Risks and Balance Benefits

Public private partnerships (PPPs) are a well-known instrument used worldwide by public administration (PA) to build public infrastructure using private knowhow and financial resources, and sharing risks. In recent years, PPPs have been widely adopted to develop energy efficiency projects between public and private sectors. In this context, a successful project requires a contractual arrangement based on energy performance contracting (EPC) that balances the interests of the two parties. This paper aims to answer two questions: how to share the benefits between the contractual parties and reach an optimal long-term contractual agreement; and which type of contract ensures a consistent risk transfer to the private partner, allowing the PA an “off balance” accounting treatment. The research questions are answered through the development of a mathematical equation able to calculate the optimal percentage of benefits sharing between partners in a long-term contractual agreement. The results are tested with a simulation based on a case study about the energy efficiency project of an Italian hospital. The paper is innovative because it provides suggestions to improve the EPC-PPP contractual structure and realize a balanced agreement between the public and private partners. Moreover, it analyzes the different allocation of risks in EPC contracts to identify the implication for the PA in terms of on-off balance accounting treatment in energy efficiency investment. We show how a successful long-term EPC-PPP can benefit from a mixed contractual structure in which profit-sharing percentage changes during the contract’s life to ensure the same net present value (NPV) to both public and private partners. This paper supports public decision making in order to choose contracts that are able to transfer energy and management risks. Moreover, it helps to understand the balance between public and private interests in a long-term EPC-PPP contract.

Advanced Dynamic Spectrum 5G Mobile Networks Employing Licensed Shared Access

Spectrum sharing has been recognized as a key component for 5G and beyond wireless networks. Recent trials have revealed the business value of spectrum sharing via the licensed shared access model, wherein both the incumbent and the licensee operators are protected from harmful interference by sharing the available spectrum using long-term spectrum access agreements. Further increase in capacity gains can be achieved by exploiting dynamic spectrum access, where access is granted in shorter time intervals, and the Spectrum Access System, which is a more flexible version of traditional LSA. This article first hints at LSA-type spectrum sharing in regulatory and standards bodies, then proposes a few relevant scenarios that would take advantage of LSA, and finally presents an LSA system architecture and some enabling technologies for LSA/DSA/SAS. These include novel sensing, dynamic and radioaware resource allocation, and advanced cooperative communication techniques.