Gotowa bibliografia na temat „Initial public offers”

Investors of initial public offers (IPOs) rely on the prospectus for importantinformation about the company. But the motivation of the issuers (originalshareholders) for going public is unknown and hidden from the investingpublic, making the IPO investment a risky venture. Based on the SignallingTheory, we postulate that the public issues (PI) and offer for sale (OFS)ratios to contain properties to signal the intention of the issuers at time oflisting. Our samples are collected from the Bursa Malaysia from 2002 to2008 and the performances are tracked till 2011. The regression results areconsistent with the Signalling Theory which stipulates that when issuerssell down their stakes, it sends a gloomy signal, even though the offer ofOFS does not cause any dilution to company’s value. In addition, smallcompanies with high OFS ratio record weaker long-run performance thanlarge companies.

Going public is one of the most popular forms of raising funds for expansion and growth of business. Since the liberalisation of economy in 1991, more than 1500 companies have listed themselves on the exchange. And the Indian stock markets keep expanding with increasing number of public offers in both mainstream and SME category. This paper compares the IPOs of Indian markets in broadly two phases-pre covid and post covid. A sample of 242 listings across eleven years from 2010-2020 are considered for the study. A comparison based on details of listing, listing gains etc reveal a more active retail investor segment. Overoptimism and urge to synthesise short term gains contribute to such gains. This is further backed by analysis of search results in the Indian region using google trends. Tail events such as covid-19 alter the way Indian investors behave and invest in IPOs and make their investments more on basis of speculative measures such as grey market premium, than actual fundamentals of the issue under consideration.

Public media and previous research have focused mainly on listing day returns of initial public offers (IPOs) by new economy companies in specific periods such as before April 2000, without examining any subsequent equity offers by new economy companies. This study addresses the issue of multiple equity offers and provides additional understanding of new economy initial and seasoned equity offers (SEOs). Without, a priori, favouring any existing explanation of initial and long-term share returns, this research tests a wide range of theories in order to provide insight into share returns of equity offerings by new economy companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange between 1994 and 2004. In general, this thesis documents the ability of publicly available information (obtained from offer documents and company announcements to the market) to explain the returns of equity-issuing new economy companies in Australia. In other words, how useful is public information in the valuation of initial and seasoned equity offers of new economy stocks? Specifically, the thesis seeks to examine the ability of public information to explain (a) listing day and long-term returns subsequent to initial public offers by new economy companies, and the probability of IPO withdrawal, (b) announcement period and long-term returns of seasoned equity offers by new economy companies, and (c) the relationships between the initial and any subsequent equity offers by new economy companies (within three years of listing) in terms of probability of seasoned equity offer, duration between the IPO and the first SEO, and frequency of seasoned equity offers within the first three years of IPO. First, the thesis finds that public information is used by investors to value new economy stocks on listing day and in the long run. The negative effect of withdrawal probability on listing day returns of successful IPOs is confirmed in this thesis in the context of the fixed-price offer process in the new economy sector in Australia. While new economy equity-issuing companies have inferior long-term returns compared to the market index and the small capitalisation stock index, they do not underperform relative to their respective industry index returns. Second, this study also finds that public information can explain new economy stock returns around the announcements of seasoned offers and in the long run. Third, the results reveal that publicly available information can be used to explain the incidence and to estimate the probability of seasoned equity offers by recent new economy IPOs. Furthermore, it is found that public information has the ability to explain the duration between the IPO and the first seasoned offer, as well as the frequency of seasoned offers in the first three years after listing. The results of the study support the theoretical predictions about the effects of public information (representing IPO characteristics) and the incidence of a seasoned equity offer. In particular, IPO quality signalling by retained ownership and by underpricing, and the market feedback effect of post-IPO returns have been confirmed for new economy equity offers in Australia. Underpriced new economy IPOs and those with greater proportion of ownership retained after the offer are significantly more likely to have a seasoned equity offer within three years of listing. Likewise, new economy IPOs with superior aftermarket returns are significantly more likely to have a seasoned equity offer. The implication of this research is that public information contained in offer documents and in company announcements is important to valuation of the Australian Stock Exchange listed new economy companies. Thus, the regulators and the Stock Exchange should continue to insist on a high level of information disclosure prior to equity offers in order to enable investors to properly value companies within the new economy sector.

Public media and previous research have focused mainly on listing day returns of initial public offers (IPOs) by new economy companies in specific periods such as before April 2000, without examining any subsequent equity offers by new economy companies. This study addresses the issue of multiple equity offers and provides additional understanding of new economy initial and seasoned equity offers (SEOs). Without, a priori, favouring any existing explanation of initial and long-term share returns, this research tests a wide range of theories in order to provide insight into share returns of equity offerings by new economy companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange between 1994 and 2004. In general, this thesis documents the ability of publicly available information (obtained from offer documents and company announcements to the market) to explain the returns of equity-issuing new economy companies in Australia. In other words, how useful is public information in the valuation of initial and seasoned equity offers of new economy stocks? Specifically, the thesis seeks to examine the ability of public information to explain (a) listing day and long-term returns subsequent to initial public offers by new economy companies, and the probability of IPO withdrawal, (b) announcement period and long-term returns of seasoned equity offers by new economy companies, and (c) the relationships between the initial and any subsequent equity offers by new economy companies (within three years of listing) in terms of probability of seasoned equity offer, duration between the IPO and the first SEO, and frequency of seasoned equity offers within the first three years of IPO. First, the thesis finds that public information is used by investors to value new economy stocks on listing day and in the long run. The negative effect of withdrawal probability on listing day returns of successful IPOs is confirmed in this thesis in the context of the fixed-price offer process in the new economy sector in Australia. While new economy equity-issuing companies have inferior long-term returns compared to the market index and the small capitalisation stock index, they do not underperform relative to their respective industry index returns. Second, this study also finds that public information can explain new economy stock returns around the announcements of seasoned offers and in the long run. Third, the results reveal that publicly available information can be used to explain the incidence and to estimate the probability of seasoned equity offers by recent new economy IPOs. Furthermore, it is found that public information has the ability to explain the duration between the IPO and the first seasoned offer, as well as the frequency of seasoned offers in the first three years after listing. The results of the study support the theoretical predictions about the effects of public information (representing IPO characteristics) and the incidence of a seasoned equity offer. In particular, IPO quality signalling by retained ownership and by underpricing, and the market feedback effect of post-IPO returns have been confirmed for new economy equity offers in Australia. Underpriced new economy IPOs and those with greater proportion of ownership retained after the offer are significantly more likely to have a seasoned equity offer within three years of listing. Likewise, new economy IPOs with superior aftermarket returns are significantly more likely to have a seasoned equity offer. The implication of this research is that public information contained in offer documents and in company announcements is important to valuation of the Australian Stock Exchange listed new economy companies. Thus, the regulators and the Stock Exchange should continue to insist on a high level of information disclosure prior to equity offers in order to enable investors to properly value companies within the new economy sector.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Griffith Business School
Griffith Business School
Full Text

This dissertation includes two chapters that investigate the role venture capitalists (VCs) play in the underpricing and in the long-run performance of IPOs. The first chapter focuses on the underpricing of IPOs and attempts to determine the role that VCs play in this underpricing process. The evidence is consistent with a view that VCs agree to underpricing to ascertain benefits from both "grandstanding" and "spinning." The second chapter examines the long-run performance of IPOs and tries to determine the role that VCs play in the development of IPOs. Here, the evidence suggests that VC-backed IPOs appear to have better access to capital than non-VC-backed IPOs, but the long-run performance of VC-backed IPOs is generally mixed.

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Since the creation, in 2000, of Bovespa s Novo Mercado and its access levels, most existing shareholders in an Initial Public Offer (IPO) are subject to a lockup period in which they cannot sell their shares for a pre specified time immediately after the IPO (typically 180 days). This thesis investigate whether the shares of companies listed on the Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo (BM&FBovespa) present abnormal return due to the expiration of an IPO lockup, in the period from 2000 to 2010. By the method of event study, we examine 77 share lockup agreements that prevent existing shareholders from selling their shares. When lockups expire, we find a statistically prominent cumulative abnormal return around the event window when the firm in the sample is financed by private equities and also for the firms in the sample that operates in the infrastructure sector
Desde a criação do Novo Mercado da Bovespa e de seus níveis de acesso em 2000, a maioria das Ofertas Públicas Inicias de Ações passou a estabelecer acordos específicos de lockup que impedem os acionistas controladores e administradores das empresas emissoras de vender e/ou ofertar suas ações ou derivativos dessas ações por um período predeterminado imediatamente após a oferta (geralmente 180 dias). O objetivo desta dissertação foi investigar se as ações das companhias listadas na Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo (BM&FBovespa) apresentam retorno anormal em virtude do vencimento do período de lockup de um IPO, no período de 2000 a 2010. Pelo método do estudo de eventos, examinaram-¬‐se 77 acordos de lockup que vedam os acionistas existentes de vender suas ações. Ao vencimento dos lockups, verificou-¬‐se a existência de retornos anormais acumulados negativos estatisticamente significantes em torno da janela do evento para as empresas da amostra que tinham como acionistas fundos de private equity e também para as empresas da amostra que atuam no setor de infraestrutura

This research examines the relationship of initial public offer (IPO) underpricing and intrinsic value in the Australian fixed-price setting. The first stage of the research contains a review of major underpricing theories (asymmetric information, institutional explanations and theories of ownership and control) and relates these theories to the Australian institutional setting. A baseline model of underpricing is developed from analysis of Australian empirical IPO literature. The second stage of the research is the disaggregation of underpricing into mispricing (MP) and misvaluation (MV) components. MP captures the extent of the issuer‟s influence on underpricing and is measured as the difference between the intrinsic value of an IPO share and its offer price. MV captures the extent of investors‟ influence on underpricing and is measured as the difference between the intrinsic value of an IPO share and its market price at listing.Mispricing is modelled with issuer-related variables that have hypothesised associations with offer price. Results show a proxy for IPO market sentiment and the size of the IPO relative to industry median market capitalisation make significant contributions to the explanation of mispricing. Misvaluation is modelled with investor characteristics that have hypothesised associations with market price. A proxy for general market sentiment and the level of mispricing make significant contributions to the explanation of misvaluation. The third stage of the research integrates results from the disaggregation of underpricing with the baseline model.Several conclusions can be drawn from the results. First, with respect to mispricing, issuers incorporate their knowledge of current IPO market conditions when establishing offer price, with more positive mispricing observed during hot IPO markets. Further, issuers taking relatively larger companies public tend to overprice their issues. This result persists even after controlling for potential scale effects. Second, with respect to misvaluation, overpriced issues (i.e. positive mispricing) are also overvalued by the market. This result provides an indication that price is not a suitable proxy for value. Third, prior Australian research [Cotter, Goyen & Hegarty (2005) and How, Lam & Yeo (2007)] reports a negative association for mispricing and underpricing. Consistent with US results (Zheng, 2007), no relationship isobserved for this sample. Overall, the results from this research indicate that investor-related factors are the primary drivers of underpricing.This research makes eight major contributions to the body of knowledge. The first is the novel approach of disaggregating underpricing into mispricing and misvaluation components. Second, mispricing is modelled and it is demonstrated that previously hypothesised issuer-related factors do not explain mispricing. Third, misvaluation is modelled, providing some interesting insights into the role of market sentiment in the underpricing context. Fourth, the relationships of mispricing, misvaluation and underpricing are investigated. Fifth, the Australian institutional setting is compared to that of the US and implications for future research are identified. Sixth, the baseline model of underpricing consolidates variables developed from prior Australian literature, providing a yardstick for comparison in future underpricing research. Seventh, evidence shows issuers exploit high market sentiment with positive mispricing in the fixed-price setting. The final major contribution relates to the role of institutional investors in the fixed-price setting. Contributions to the IPO literature on ownership and control, signalling, asymmetric information theories of ex ante uncertainty and agency theory are also made with tests of key variables in the mispricing and misvaluation models. Finally, evidence on the role of institutional investors in the fixed-price setting and on the role of demand (informed and total) sheds light on the underpricing puzzle.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka om det förkommer underprissättning och om den består de första fem månaderna samt finna sannolikheten för en positiv utveckling efter börsintroduktionen. Eftersom vi har studerat kursförändringar efter börsintroduktioner har vi valt att använda en kvantitativ metodansats i form av en eventstudie. Teorierna behandlar främst förklaringar till varför en underprissättning sker samt hur publicitet och informations asymmetri påverkar prissättningen. Teorier som berörs är bland annat ”Winners Curse”, ”Cascade theory” och ”Signalling theory”.

Våra empiriska data kommer främst från bolagens prospekt samt kursinformation från Affärsvärlden och Stockholmsbörsen. Prospekten har visat kursintervall och introduktionsdatum, val av garant med mera. Affärsvärlden visar branschtillhörighet samt bransch- och indexhistorik. Stockholmsbörsen tillför slutkurser för samtliga bolag samt information om noteringskrav och -process.

Studien visar att de nyintroducerade bolagen har varit underprissatta med i genomsnitt 2,17% under perioden 2001-2006, vilket är betydligt lägre än vad tidigare studier visat. Detta beror främst på att de tidigare studierna har baserats på den amerikanska marknaden och under en tidsperiod då större underprissättning har förekommit än under 2001-2006. Den genomsnittliga utvecklingen efter 5 dagar, 1 månad, 3 månader, 5 månader respektive 1 år har varit 2,40%, 2,46%, 3,06%, 3,73% respektive 5,01%. Det har även förkommit stora skillnader mellan olika branscher, garanter, introduktionsår, introduktionspris och överteckningsgrad.

The purpose of this essay is to examine if it occurs under pricing and if it last the first five month and find the probability of a positive share development after a initial public offering. Since we have studied exchange fluctuation after initial public offerings have we chosen to use an quantitative method approach. The theories consider explanations to why under pricing occurs and how publicity and information asymmetry affect the price determination. ”Winners Curse”, ”Cascade theory” and ”Signalling theory” are some of the theories that are mentioned.

Our empirical data is mainly captured from the companies prospects and share price information from Affärsvärlden and the Stockholm Exchange. The prospects has shown share price intervals, initial public offering dates, underwriter etc. Affärsvärlden show type of business and index history. The Stockholm Exchange contribute closing prices for all of the studied companies and information about demands for quotation and the process regarding initial public offerings.

Our study show that initial public offerings have been under priced with an average of 2,17% during the period 2001-2006, which is considerably lower than earlier studies. The reason is mainly because the earlier studies has based on the American stock market and under a period when larger under pricing have existed. The average development after 5 days, 1 month, 3 months, 5 months respectively 1 year has been 2,40%, 2,46%, 3,06%, 3,73% respectively 5,01%. It has also occurred big differences between different type of business, underwriters, year of introduction, oversubscribtion and initial share price.

Desde 2004, noticia-se na imprensa especializada um grande dinamismo do mercado de capitais brasileiro. Em 2005, foram realizadas nove ofertas pÃblicas iniciais â IPO, que movimentaram cerca de R$ 5 bilhÃes. Em 2006, foram 26 novas emissÃes, quando as empresas estreantes captaram cerca de R$ 15 bilhÃes. Em 2007, o nÃmero de IPOs foi recorde, chegando a 64 novas empresas (captaÃÃo de mais de R$ 55 bilhÃes), considerado um marco na histÃria do mercado de capitais brasileiro. Nesse contexto, este estudo analisou o comportamento das aÃÃes relativas Ãs ofertas pÃblicas iniciais de aÃÃes ocorridas no Brasil no perÃodo de 01.01.05 a 31.07.07, com o objetivo de apurar indÃcios de ocorrÃncia das seguintes anomalias relacionadas aos IPOs: subprecificaÃÃo (underpricing), alta volatilidade das aÃÃes, baixa performance das emissÃes no longo prazo e performance vinculada ao desempenho geral do setor de atividade das empresas emissoras. O estudo obteve os seguintes resultados: considerando o retorno mÃdio das aÃÃes no primeiro dia de negociaÃÃo (12,34%), ante a variaÃÃo do CDI e do Ibovespa de apenas 0,07% e 0,46%, respectivamente, conclui-se que existem evidÃncias de underpricing nas emissÃes analisadas; 83% das aÃÃes apresentaram volatilidade superior à do Ibovespa, o que poderia explicar os retornos elevados no primeiro dia de negociaÃÃo, ou seja, o retorno inicial elevado à uma recompensa ao risco aceito pelos investidores; a maioria das aÃÃes seguiu a mesma tendÃncia de desempenho do setor, sugerindo que as empresas abrem o capital em momentos de auge no desempenho do setor ao qual pertencem; as aÃÃes apresentaram baixa performance no longo prazo, indicando que os emissores tendem a aproveitar os perÃodos de grande volume de emissÃes, quando as aÃÃes estÃo sobrevalorizadas. Dessa forma, os retornos iniciais sÃo elevados e no longo prazo hà um movimento de mercado no sentido de posicionar os papÃis no seu real valor.
Since 2004, it has been noticed through the specialized media a great excitement in the Brazilian stock market. Nine (greatest amount since 1986) Initial Public Offers (IPO) were carried out along 2005 generating about R$ 5 billion. In 2006, 26 new offers were carried out and the beginning companies made around R$ 15 billion. In 2007, the number of IPOâs achieved a record of 64 new companies (more than R$ 55 billion), a landmark in the history of the Brazilian stock market. The enthusiasm of investors towards the initial offers reached a level where the stock markets decided to sell their own stocks. Natural people forgot their fear of the risk for a while trying to increase their income considering the decline of ordinary funds. BM&Fâs IPO, for instance, had 275 thousand natural people among the investors. Concerning all this excitement and some notorious cases of success and others of low performance of beginning companies in the stock market, the following work analyses the return of investments made in initial public offers of stocks in Brazil carried out between 2005/01/01 and 2007/07/31. Besides a comparative study of the return of the stocks with the CDI tax variation and the Ibovespa, it was a done an analyses of the behavior of investments according to the market section and a study of the profitability of long term funds. Among 81 companies, only 30 had positive results, which demonstrate a low performance considering the initial enthusiasm and the excessive increase of values. The profitability of stocks was only superior to the CDI and Ibovespa variation in a shot term frame and the papers seemed to be more volatile than the market average. It was also noticed that the return of investments is attached to the performance of each market section and the profitability of funds was not superior in a long term frame.

Esta tesis consiste de tres ensayos. En el primero, documentamos la correlación imaginaria entre las decisiones de compensación de los ejecutivos (CEO) al demostrar que el hándicap de los ejecutivos que juegan al golf no está correlacionado con su desempeño en la empresa mientras que sí lo está con su compensación. Los golfistas ganan más que los que no juegan al golf, y las pagas se incrementan con la habilidad en este juego. En el segundo ensayo explicamos la reciente espiral de las compensaciones de los ejecutivos basados en el sesgo de atribución fundamental. El análisis de las series temporales agregadas y de datos de sección cruzada correspondiente a la burbuja del mercado accionario en los noventa sugiere que los accionistas exageran al atribuir las subidas y bajadas de los precios de las acciones corporativas a las aptitudes de liderazgo del ejecutivo mientras que subestiman el rol de las fluctuaciones del mercado accionario que se encuentran fuera del control de estos. En el tercer ensayo demostramos que un gran número de Ofertas Públicas Iniciales predice sistemáticamente, tanto dentro como fuera de la muestra, el subsiguiente bajo rendimientos agregado y ponderado, y la diferencia de rendimientos entre las pequeñas y grandes firmas.
This thesis consists of three essays. In the first, we document illusory correlation in CEO compensation decisions by demonstrating that golf handicaps of CEOs are uncorrelated with corporate performance, but related to CEO compensation. Golfers earn more than non-golfers and pay increases with golfing ability. In the second essay we propose a fundamental attribution bias-based explanation of the recent explosive growth in CEO pay. Analysis of aggregate time series data and cross sectional data from the late 1990s stock market bubble period suggests that shareholders overattribute prominent increases and decreases in the prices of corporate stocks to the leadership and skill of the CEOs and underestimate the role of stock market fluctuations that are beyond CEO control. In the third essay we show that increases in the number of Initial Public Offerings reliably predicts in-sample and out-of-sample decreases in subsequent equally weighted aggregate stock returns and the return differential between small and big firms.

When a company sells shares of their business to the public for the first time, it is called an Initial Public Offering, IPO. The IPO is usually conducted by the issuing firm to raise capital for their future growth. Before the IPO the information about the issuing company is often limited and the investment in an IPO is associated with risks. The investors who choose to invest in an IPO are therefore usually compensated with a discount on the shares and often experience a first day positive return. This first day positive return is the definition of underpricing. If the majority of the IPOs are underpriced it should be of interest for an investor to take part of this opportunity and use it as an investment strategy. This thesis investigates if there is a way to predict which IPOs that will generate a positive first day return based on the information in the IPO prospect.
En IPO är det första erbjudandet av företagets aktier till den publika marknaden. En IPO genomförs ofta i samband med att företaget behöver ta in nytt kapital för framtida investeringar. Innan ett företag blir publikt är informationsinsynen begränsad vilket medför en risk för den som vill investera i det initiala erbjudandet. Investerarna som väljer att investera i erbjudandet är ofta kompenserade med en rabatt på aktierna och får då ofta en positiv avkastning på första handelsdagen. Denna initiala avkastning definieras som underprissättningen av erbjudandet. Om en majoritet av börsnoteringarna är underprissatta skulle det vara av stort intresse för investerare att upprepande investera i IPOs och ha detta som investeringsstrategi. Den här uppsatsen undersöker om det går att förutspå vilka IPOs som genererar en positiv avkastning första handelsdagen baserat på den informationen som finns att tillgå i IPO prospektet.
Civilekonom-uppsats

This chapter begins by considering the especially severe information-asymmetry problem that plagues primary offerings of truly new securities. It then examines market-based solutions for these problems, the shortcomings of exclusive reliance on such solutions, and the rationale for having a government-designed affirmative-disclosure regime, whereby an issuer making an offering is required to answer certain questions. It also addresses the question of whether this regime should be imposed on all issuers making such offerings or only those that volunteer to be subjected to it. The remainder of the chapter considers the rationale for mandating the imposition of liability on issuers, issuer directors and officers, underwriters, dealers, and experts such as accountants or rating agencies when there have been material misstatements or material omissions of what was required to be disclosed. The final section briefly applies the preceding discussion to the efforts, as part of the Capital Markets Union, to increase the opportunities for European SMEs raise funds through public offerings.

How jobseekers set their earnings expectations is central to job search models. To study this process, we track the evolution of own-earnings forecasts over 18 months for a representative panel of university-leavers in Mozambique and estimate the impact of a wage information intervention. We sent participants differentiated messages about the average earnings of their peers, obtained from prior survey rounds. Demonstrating the stickiness of (initially optimistic) beliefs, we find an elasticity of own-wage expectations to this news of around 7 per cent in the short term and 16 per cent over the long term, which compares to a 22 per cent elasticity in response to unanticipated actual wage offers. We further find evidence of heterogeneous updating heuristics, where factors such as the initial level of optimism, cognitive skills, perceived reliability of the information, and valence of the news shape how wage expectations are updated. We recommend institutionalizing public information about earnings.

The introduction situates this work within scholarship and outlines an approach to some larger issues including literature, literary history, canons, periodization, and historical contexts. It then broaches the question of how Pindaric epinician related to its public and offers a preview of the next five chapters. Studying Pindar’s ode within a literary culture rather than the immediate circumstances of their production and initial reception might lead one to different and incompatible conclusions or elucidate other facets of complex realities. One of the goals of this work is to contextualize within literary history Pindar’s project of creating works that could be decontextualized from their first performance.

This chapter offers an overview of copyright in general in common law and civil law countries, with an emphasis on the United States (US) and the European Union (EU). It addresses the history and philosophies of copyright (authors’ right), subject matter of copyright (including the requirement of fixation and the exclusion of “ideas”), formalities, initial ownership and transfers of title, duration, exclusive moral and economic rights (including reproduction, adaptation, public performance and communication and making available to the public, distribution and exhaustion of the distribution right), exceptions and limitations (including fair use), and remedies. It also covers the liability of intermediaries, and new copyright obligations concerning technological protections and copyright management information. It concludes with some observations concerning the role of copyright in promoting creativity and free expression.

The study of new religions in the making (NRMs) is particularly valuable to the study of religion as it offers a window into the process by which religious organizations develop. This chapter draws on insights in the rich set of case studies of NRMs and on the organizational startup literature to fashion a prolegomenon to a theory of the first generation development of NRMs. The basic premise is that all new organizations encounter similar developmental challenges. The objective is to identify factors that influence alternative levels of development and developmental trajectories during the first generation. The process is described in terms of three non-linear, sequential developmental moments: initial discovery, public sphere entry, and expansion/consolidation.

Abstract Societies are often judged by how they treat their most vulnerable members: the poor and near poor. In the United States, this responsibility belongs not only to governments but also to charities, businesses, individuals, and family members. Their combined efforts generate a social safety net. Many academics and journalists have studied discrete pieces of this net. However, it is still hard to see larger patterns and learn general lessons. Who Cares pulls these pieces together to offer the first comprehensive map of the US social safety net. The central theme of the book is care. Part I describes how much we care about people in need, as well as who we think should take care of them. Individual chapters capture the views of ordinary citizens, business and labor organizations, churches and other charities, and public officials. The emphasis in Part II is on tangible acts of caring. Who pays for government programs and charitable services? Who are the most important caregivers, public and private? How adequate is the care that people receive? Each chapter answers these questions for specific human needs—income, food, housing, medical care, and daily care. Although the US social safety net is extensive, major gaps remain, particularly impacting Blacks, Hispanics, and individuals who are not employed full-time. These problems persist even when the economy seems healthy; Who Cares is based heavily on evidence from the years right before the Covid-19 pandemic. The postscript offers an initial assessment of how the social safety net performed during the pandemic.

From 1978 through the turn of the century China was transformed from a state-owned economy into a predominantly private economy. This fundamental change took place under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is ideologically mandated and politically predisposed to suppress private ownership. Dancing with the Devil explains how and why such an ironic and puzzling reality came about. The central thesis is that private ownership became a necessary evil for the CCP because the public sector was increasingly unable to address two essential concerns for regime survival: employment and revenue. Focusing on political actors as a major group of change agents, the book examines how their self-interested behavior led to the decline of public ownership. Demographics and the state’s fiscal system provide the analytical coordinates for revealing the changing incentives and constraints faced by political actors and for investigating their responses and strategies. These factors help explain CCP leaders’ initial decision to allow limited private economic activities at the outset of reform. They also shed light on the subsequent growth of opportunism in the behavior of lower-level officials, which undermined the vitality of public enterprises. Furthermore, they hold a key to understanding the timing of the massive privatization in the late 1990s, as well as its tempo and spread thereafter. The book illustrates how the driving forces developed and played out in these intertwined episodes of the story. In so doing, it offers new insights into the mechanisms of China’s economic transformation and enriches theories of institutional change.

Taking Back the Boulevard tells the story of Northeast Los Angeles known popularly for historic Arts and Crafts architecture, bohemian cultural life, independent small businesses, immigrant diversity and quality of life on its boulevards. It chronicles the initial emergence of these prototypical LA streetcar suburbs and the Arroyo Culture bohemia, then disinvestment with growth of mid-20^th century freeway suburbs and white flight with residential succession by incoming Latin American and Asian immigrants. Neighborhood revitalization followed through a Latino/a arts renaissance and Arroyo Culture revival involving muralism, youth involvement and public arts events and festivals. Neighborhood activism was also a key force through campaigns to preserve natural and architectural landmarks and museums, oppose mini-malls, “big box” and chain store franchises, and to “Take Back the Boulevard” for bikers and pedestrians. Yet the creation of a more culturally vibrant and livable city along with entry of speculator developers fostered accelerated gentrification and white return after the Great Recession with increasing mass evictions of working-class and Latino/a households sparking new rounds of local protest. Changing conditions and generational divides confront the neighborhoods as established slow growth leaders share space with newer “right to the city” activists. The author offers lessons for urban planners and policymakers on addressing gentrification effects of public transit-oriented development and smart growth through strategies like participatory planning, Latino Urbanism, and community advisory boards.

Contemporary Issues in Financial Reporting, Auditing and Corporate Governance offers theoretical and empirical background on three fundamental areas of accounting, namely financial reporting, auditing and corporate governance.This book is written in a clear and reader-friendly manner to create readers interest in the central issues of discussion. The uniqueness of this book is in its extensive coverage of national and internationally-oriented issues of financial reporting, auditing and corporate governance. This book is ideal for accounting and business related courses at upper undergraduate and post-graduate levels. With its broad coverage, the book should also be of interest to academicians, professionals, corporate managers, regulatory bodies and researchers.The articles written in this book are: Corporate Social Responsibility and Post-Crisis StrategyEmployee Stock Options Popularity of Financial Ratios in the Annual ReportsThe Relationship between Pension Funds and Dividend PayoutDoes Audit Firm Merger Add Value to Its Clients? Co-operation between Internal and External Auditors: From the Perspective of Internal Auditors in Malaysian Local Authorities Auditor Choice: Events and TheoriesThe Global Audit Expectation Gap: Within and between Muslim CountriesOwnership Holdings: Selected Malaysian Family Businesses Ethnic Diversity in Malaysian Initial Public OfferingsCEO Succession in Malaysian PLCs: Does Firm Characteristic Make a Difference?A Framework of Good Governance: Lessons for the Inland Revenue Board Malaysia.

The paper attempts to make an initial discussion on the usefulness of the history of education for interpreting the synergies between school, didactics and territory as they evolve over time. The paper offers a quick analysis of the pedagogical debate and political-organisational changes and then moves on to more practical and didactic issues. The paper also indicates some of the potentials of the approach offered by the history of education as applied history to revitalise the relationship with the local context.

AbstractWADA is a hybrid public–private agency that leads the global fight against doping. This chapter explores why and how this agency developed into an institution that receives support from sports organizations and governments worldwide. Despite initial scepticism about its ability to overcome the ineffectiveness of anti-doping policies prior to its foundation in 1999, WADA quickly grew into a broadly trusted and well-respected organization. It successfully developed a globally harmonized anti-doping system that reinforced the credibility of international sports competitions and the legitimacy of elite sport policies. From its inception, it had a distinct identity as a neutral, impartial and objective standard setter and referee agent in a morally challenging organizational field. Nonetheless, being relatively young, WADA remains a vulnerable institution. It must continuously take an independent position with regard to partial interests of sporting and public authorities that are responsible for WADA’s funding and governance. This requires institutional leadership that the organization cannot always offer, as recent doping affairs show.

AbstractThe COVID-19 crisis has tested public institutions, crisis leadership and societal solidarity to the core. Fault lines have come to the fore; unsuspected strengths have been noted. But will this be enough to initiate the necessary steps to prepare our societies for the future crises that will come? In this chapter, we offer the building blocks for an action agenda. We identify various pathways to enhanced resilience.

AbstractWith the European Universities Initiative underway, the COVID-19 pandemic and various national or European strategies reaching their initially designated timeline, 2021 is a good moment to take stock of how Romania fulfilled its commitments regarding internationalization. One of the key dimensions of internationalization of higher education, both in Romania and global terms, is marketing and promotion, especially if one looks at the institutional efforts to attract talent. The article aims to show how Romanian universities use educational marketing to promote their study programs offer, in order to attract both international students and national students in the context of a steep student population decrease. The paper addresses two main research questions: How do universities use media and other mechanisms to promote their educational offer globally? Which are the main strengths allowing Romanian higher education to better attract international students? The article presents the main findings of the SWOT analysis for the Romanian higher education system, with information from 47 public universities. It compares the current findings with those from a similar SWOT analysis performed in 2015, while also putting forward a cost-benefit analysis of attracting international students and developing internationalization of higher education. The paper also underlines several areas where universities can focus their efforts in attracting international students (such as the www.studyinromania.gov.ro portal) and policy recommendations based on the data analyzed

This chapter evaluates the 12 countries' capital management practices according to the systematic public capital management and budgeting process described in Chapter 1. The chapter characterizes and classifies the management practices of the twelve countries based on the authors' evaluation using the case study descriptions. The authors offer some initial observations based on comparisons across the case study countries and analysis of relationships between capital management and budgeting practices and political, economic, and public sector variables. The chapter proposes a tentative theory of public investment behavior and offers five propositions regarding the factors driving different practices across the case study countries and the consequences of a systematic capital management and budgeting process.

This chapter evaluates the 12 countries' capital management practices according to the systematic public capital management and budgeting process described in Chapter 1. The chapter characterizes and classifies the management practices of the twelve countries based on the authors' evaluation using the case study descriptions. The authors offer some initial observations based on comparisons across the case study countries and analysis of relationships between capital management and budgeting practices and political, economic, and public sector variables. The chapter proposes a tentative theory of public investment behavior and offers five propositions regarding the factors driving different practices across the case study countries and the consequences of a systematic capital management and budgeting process.

“Pathways to Public Health” involves undergraduate and graduate degrees offered fully online through Kansas State University (K-State) to both meet the needs of traditional-age learners and professionals in the public health field who will need formal credentialing. This curriculum offers learning with global implications and has a wide potential to benefit global learners. In light of this, this chapter explores potential methods for online branding and identity management for this course series as a central analytical aspect of the program’s development and launch. This chapter will address the following issues: an environmental scan of the global public health environment; the definition of the core identity; a branding strategy using the World Wide Web (WWW), Internet, and Web 2.0 affordances (to reach both internal and external “publics”); an initial risk assessment; legal considerations; work implications of the global branding; the engagement of students and graduates in the branding outreach, and the maintenance of this brand over time.

Social media companies have increasingly used global stock exchanges to raise fresh capital needed to expand and commercialise their business models. Despite the soaring proliferation of social media interactions and improving economic fundamentals, many of the high-profile IPOs have underperformed on debut and in secondary trading. This chapter seeks to identify success and failure factors of social media stock market flotations from the operational, industrial and financial perspectives. The research features flagship social media IPOs comprised by the most representative social media Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), the Global X Social Media Index ETF (SOCL), which replicates the price and return performance of the globally recognised Solactive Social Media Total Return Index. The analysis sums up the early evidence of IPO organisation with regard to social media issuers and posits three decisive factors in this process related to: flotation timing, pricing and pre-IPO business integration. The research offers some practical recommendations for future social media IPOs as well as directions for further academic studies at the interface of social media industrial, economic and capital market activity. The following takeaways concerning social media IPOs emerge from the study: 1) Staging and timing: social media companies should mull flotations when a clear-cut path toward cash generation and accrual profits is observable (chronically cash deficient and unprofitable social media tend to underperform on debut and in post-IPO trading) and amid protracted bull markets so as to raise the odds of a propitious IPO climate; 2) Organisation and management: the success of social media going public decisions is a function of seamless IPO organisation (including conservative pricing, share dilution tied to envisaged liquidity and capital expenditure as well as trading and clearing system reliability); 3) Issuer characteristics: social media IPOs are facilitated by businesses commanding a dominant position on the home market, having a diversified core business (including exposure to non-media operations), coming on the stock market either as industry trendsetters or in the wake of successfully executed IPO benchmarks; 4) Factor coalescence: no isolated factor discussed in this chapter can fully explain the performance of a social media IPO – it is rather their combination and interconnectivity that can comprehensively attest to the success or failure of a going public strategy employed by a social media company. From the investment standpoint, the case study analysis demonstrates that a case-by-case (rather than sectoral) approach needs to be adopted for investors seeking to derive gains from social media IPOs, as passive exposure to the entire industry (e.g. via index tracking) is not per se a guarantor of market competitive investment performance.

Initial coin offering (ICO) is an entirely new method of raising funds based on blockchain technology. ICO implies the company's decision to issue cryptographic tokens in exchange for fiat currency (legal means of payment) or cryptocurrencies to a network of early adopters or development team members. The leading idea of this concept is to give ICO startups access to the financial resources necessary for funding their projects. What an initial public offering (IPO) is in traditional finance, ICO is in the decentralized finance world. Yet, unlike actions, issued tokens can have multiple uses and features and perform various functions. The situation is further complicated by the lack of a unique globally accepted classification of crypto tokens. However, in practice, they are most often classified according to their fundamental economic functions. According to this categorization, the following basic types of tokens are distinguished: utility, payment (or currency) and security (or asset) tokens. In addition to the three types listed, some tokens, known as hybrid ones, combine several functions of these three basic categories. It is essential for the company of the issuer of the crypto token to carefully compile the White Paper, synonymous with the prospectus for the initial public offering, and to precisely understand what it offers to investors. The financial and accounting treatment of crypto tokens also depends on the rights and obligations arising from the White Paper, i.e. the issued token type. There are certain conditions under which tokens issued by regulators could be deemed securities, with the necessary reminder that there is no single global view on this significant issue. The paper primarily aims to indicate when and under what conditions crypto tokens can be considered securities, i.e. what are the critical challenges of financial and accounting treatment of crypto tokens.

Carol Cortobius was an architect trained in Germany, with an initial practice at Otto Wagner in Vienna, who worked for the Hungarian community in Bucharest building churches. An introduction on the catholic Hungarian community in Bucharest will be given. Dănuț Doboș in a monograph of one catholic church in Bucharest offers an overview of all his works. For the three catholic churches on which he intervened (two built, one restored, but altered now) there are monographs showing archive images not available for the general public. Apart of the catholic churches (two of the Hungarian community) he also built the baptist seminar. Particularly the first built church, Saint Elena, is interesting as an early example of Art Deco and will be analysed in the context of the Secession in Vienna and Budapest, which will be introduced. With help of historic maps the places of the works were identified. Many of them do not exist today anymore because of demolitions either to build new streets or those of the Ceaușescu period (ex. the opereta theatre, a former pharmacy). Images of these were looked for in groups dedicated to he disappeared Uranus neighbourhood The paper will show where these were located. Some of the common buildings have an interesting history, such as the first chocolate factory. Another interesting early Art deco building is the pelican house. There are common details between this and the restored church. The research will be continued with archive research in public archives when the sanitary situation will permit.

Throughout the last decade a renewed interest for lunar space exploration has been expressed through the announcements of many ambitious missions such as Artemis. Annually the Space Station Design Workshop (SSDW) tasks students and young professionals to design a space station concept in a con-current engineering environment. In line with the elevated interest on the Moon this year's SSDW was centred around a self-sustainable lunar habitat. This paper presents the conceptual design of Team Blue at the SSDW 2021. Advanced Moon Operations and Resource Extraction (AMORE) is conceptu-alized as a public-private cooperation for the creation of a lunar platform that acts as an outpost for human exploration and robotic In-situ Resources Utilization (ISRU). AMORE’s proposed location is near the rim of Shackleton Crater at the Lunar South Pole. This location provides opportunities in science and ISRU and favourable sun coverage and thermal conditions. The terrain offers a natural shield for debris and storage advantages for ISRU. The mission architecture allows for incremental crew size increase through a modular dome structure, an initial prioritization of ISRU and a sustainable resource management strategy. Based on the identified system requirements, the initial configuration envisions one core module and two modular structures that would serve as greenhouses or living spaces. The phasing of the base assembly is designed to allow for adequate conditions of an increasing crew size capacity. The greenhouse modules are designed to provide all required oxygen and most required food supply. The modules are constructed using lightweight inflatable structures, while a regolith shell will provide radiation as well as thermal and micrometeorite protection. For reliable communication, a cus-tom relay network named Lunar Earth Telecommand Telemetry Relay (LETTER) is proposed. The mis-sion architecture analysis includes several methods to financially utilize the mission. These include a range of services on the lunar surface such as training facilities for deep space missions, leasing habitats to other Moon explorers, and performing scientific and technological demonstrations. A variety of rovers will be used throughout the mission that will assist in various aspects. In addition to this, a scalable hybrid power generation system that utilizes the abundant sunlight and nuclear energy assures a suffi-cient power supply throughout the entire mission lifetime. This research presents a holistic architecture for a Moon base, which provides an approach to initially utilize the Moon. Within this context, the mission concept is primarily based on already existing or currently in-development technologies. Hence, AMORE offers an approach for a financially and technologically feasible as well as a continuous and expandable human presence on the lunar surface

The paper analyses the influence that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the functioning of the European asylum system. The analysis is divided into three parts and addresses problematic issues associated with different stages of the pandemic. In the first part of the paper, the author outlines the asylum practices of EU Member States in the initial stage of the Covid-19 pandemic during which the pandemic was perceived as a state of emergency. By exploring the legal possibilities to derogate both from the EU asylum rules and international human rights standards, the author offers conclusions as regards limits of derogations and the legality of Member States’ practices, especially their failure to differentiate between rules that are susceptive of being derogated in emergency situations and those that are not. The second part of the paper analyses the current phase of the pandemic in which it is perceived as a 'new normal' and focuses on making the EU asylum system immune to Covid-19 influence to the greatest extent possible and in line with relevant EU and human rights rules. The author insists on the vulnerability as an inherent feature of persons in need of international protection and researches upon the relationship between the two competing interests involved – protection of asylum seekers and ensuring public health as a legitimate reason for restricting certain asylum seekers’ rights. The final part of the paper analyses the prospects of the future EU asylum system, as announced by the New Pact on Migration and Asylum in September 2020, to adapt to the exigencies of both the current Covid-19 crisis and pandemics that are yet to come. With an exclusive focus on referral to Covid-19 and provisions relevant for the current and future pandemics, the author criticizes several solutions included in the instruments that make up the Pact. It is concluded that the Pact failed to offer solutions for problems experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic and that, under the pretext of public health, it prioritizes the interests of Member States over the interests of applicants for international protection.

The presentation is an overview of the Mikes Kelemen Program - running since 2013 under the auspices of various public entities including the National Széchényi Library - in terms of its processes, results and future potential. Since its launch the Program has processed and offered into public use 250,000 documents collected from eight countries on four continents. The 90,000 documents so far placed offer us insight into the document needs of the domestic library system and those of Hungarian minorities abroad. After two years of development the initial HTML-based service interface listing the documents on offer was replaced by a new SQL database-based one in 2020. The implementation was driven by knowledge gained in the first years of the Program, including document processing experience, utilization statistics for the documents on offer, and feedback from partner institutions that joined the Program. The operation of the new database-based interface implements the management of duplicates exchange differently from the Hungarian practice. The Mikes Kelemen Program website is characterized by serviceoriented operation and integrated processing and recommendation process management. The operation enables accurate, reliable, automated and trackable document management, which may provide a blueprint for the overhaul of the national duplicates exchange system, replacing “digital paper-based” records such as Excel or Word.

Este artículo no tiene como propósito presentar un “primer balance” de los avances que ha tenido el Grupo de investigación PU sobre el desarrollo del esquema para el análisis de las políticas públicas en el territorio fundamentado en la interdeterminación entre territorio, territorialidad y territorialización de las políticas públicas o “sistema socio territorial” de Monnet (Jolly, 2012), sino presentar algunas reflexiones a partir de los mismos. Recuerda los nueve “consideraciones” o ideas fundamentales de la propuesta de esquema y su relación con el esquema de análisis de las políticas públicas en el territorio (Jolly, 2007) y con la planeación, y presenta avances y resultados conceptuales e instrumentales de las utilizaciones de esta propuesta realizados por miembros del Grupo y las perspectivas e interrogantes que plantean el desarrollo del esquema en cuanto a sus aspectos analíticos y a sus utilizaciones normativas e instrumentales como manera de entender mejor las complejas interrelaciones entre políticas públicas, planeación y territorio y responder así a los retos de la territorialización de la acción pública “desde abajo y del “despliegue territorial” de las políticas públicas formuladas “desde arriba”. This paper does not aims to present an “initial assessment” of the progress that has been PU research group (in terms of the development of the scheme for the analysis of public policies in the territory based on the interdeterminacion between territory, territoriality and territorialization of public policies ("territorial social system" of Monnet) (Jolly, 2012), but to offer some reflections from them. Remembers the nine “considerations” or fundamental ideas of the proposed scheme and its relationship with scheme analysis of public policies in the territory (Jolly, 2007) and with the planning and presents conceptual and instrumental advances and results of the uses of this proposal that have been members of the group and perspectives and questions posed by the development of the scheme in terms of its analytical aspects and their policy uses and instruments as a way to better understand the complex interrelationships between public policies, planning and territory to meet the challenges of the territorialization of public action bottom up and the territorial deployment top down.

The idea of connecting the two of the closest urban and suburban rail-based public transport systems was proposed more than 40 years ago and it boasts a proclaimed support from the regional authorities. However, many of the systems either did not achieve their goals or became financially inefficient as they replaced the conventional railway systems in a wider range than it had initially been planned. That resulted in an inappropriate competition between the public transportation modes. This paper aims to define the prerequisites needed for the establishment of a successful, both financially and operationally sane tram-train system as a substantial part of the regional railway network An analysis of the various current tram-train systems in the selected European cities is made and special attention is paid to their distinctive features including the offered capacity, density, technical compatibility, and operational aspects. Using the conclusions of the analysis and the current technical and operational requirements to be met, a recommendation for the design and organization of the planned tram-train lines and networks is stated, which may help the transport planners design such costly systems in a way it can use its overall advantages in favor of the passengers and an increase of the public transportation modal share.

Since the 1990s, transport concessions, including public-private partnerships (PPPs), have been increasingly adopted by governments as an alternative for financing and operations in public investments, especially in transport infrastructure. The advantage pointed out by proponents of these models lies in merging the expertise and capital of the private sector to the public interest. Several arrangements are possible and have been employed in different cases. After the duration of the first PPP contracts in transportation, many authors have analyzed the success and failure factors of partnerships. The occurrence of failures in some stages of the process can greatly encumber the public administration, incurring losses to the fiscal responsibility of the competent bodies. This article aims to propose a new commercial consolidation model applied to transport infrastructure to ensure fiscal sustainability and overcome the weaknesses of current models. Initially, a systematic review of the literature covering studies on transport concessions between 1990 and 2015 is offered, where the different approaches between various countries are compared and the critical success factors indicated in the studies are identified. In the subsequent part of the paper, an approach for the commercial consolidation of the infrastructure concessions is presented, where the concessionary is paid following a finalistic performance model, which includes the overall fiscal balance of regional growth. Finally, the papers analyses the usefulness of the model in coping with the critical success factors explained before.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/CIT2016.2016.4104

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) offer to the nuclear industry a simple, standardized, and safe option for new reactor builds as they are factory built, requiring smaller initial capital investment with shorter construction times. SMRs also promise competitive economy when compared with the current fleet. Construction cost estimates for a majority of the projects, which are mostly in their design stages, are proprietary, but fuel configuration, fuel enrichment, average burn-up, and thermal efficiency are publicly available for most SMR projects. This paper calculates the fuel cost when generating electricity, for selected SMR plants, including optimal tails depletion. The results are compared between one another and with current Light Water Reactors (LWR), providing a rough comparison of a long-term economics once the capital investment is amortized.

Two terms that have gained traction in the academia and policy making are Digital Transformation and Sustainable Development of public and private organizations. Digital transformation can be defined as the increasing application of digitization and automation that has important impacts on the structure of business ecosystems and their products and services. The core of Digital Transformation is the overall digitization and cross-linking of the value creation process. On the other hand, Sustainable Development has been defined as “the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland, et al., 1987). As it can be observed, the two terms are defined in a vague way, however, their practical importance cannot be overstated. Despite the lack of a unified definition and methodological framework on how to define them, public and private organizations are making efforts to incorporate them in their practices. Consequently, the purpose of the current paper is to map the opinions of employers, employees, policy makers, academics and students on what Digital Transformation and Sustainable Development mean for themselves and their organization. To achieve the objective of the paper, a survey was developed and disseminated across Europe. The questionnaire contained questions on the process of Digital Transformation and Sustainable Development themselves, what the respondents think of and fear about those two terms, what are barriers and finally what skills are missing that their organization faces in their effort to achieve Digital Transformation and Sustainable Development. Initial results include the following: Missing skills by the employers and managers was considered the main internal barrier for achieving Digital Transformation and Sustainable Development on an organization. Finally, a series of statistical tests is performed to examine the synergies between Digital Transformation and Sustainable Development. For example, we wanted to investigate whether the answer to the question of whether the organization has experienced difficulties in finding appropriate people to achieve Digital Transformation is independent of the answer to the same question for Sustainable Development. The respondents that consider that their organization has difficulties in finding appropriate people for Digital Transformation are likely to answer that they face the same difficulty for Sustainable Development. Consequently, since there is an overlap between those skills, training people could offer a double advantage for any organization.

Achieving universal electrification in sub-Saharan Africa requires creative solutions. Renewable mini-grids are a promising technology to electrify remote communities with a substantial productive demand, mainly from agro-processing. Mini-grids have experienced fast growth and there are now around 2,200 systems in the sub-Saharan Africa region. However, their economic case in the sub-continent is unclear. Most mini-grids are struggling not only to obtain a profit but also to recover costs. This Research Report describes the case of a private company in Tanzania implementing a business model for mini-grids that promotes productive uses of energy to achieve financial sustainability (the ‘Keymaker model’). A group of researchers worked jointly with the mini-grid developer to procure equipment for fish processing activities, support local entrepreneurs to use electricity productively, and to document and learn from the process. Although the business model was ultimately unsuccessful – facing high regulatory risks, high initial tariffs required to recover costs, and complex management of agro-processing activities – the project offers useful lessons and considerations for future efforts to promote mini-grids, and how public–private partnerships can help improve affordability and reduce regulatory risks.

Economic reasons are among the basic explanatory factors of migration, whether international or internally within a country. In turn, migratory movements have effects on the economy in terms of economic growth in general, but also in the different markets (work, housing, consumer goods, etc.) and public services (education, health, social services, etc.). The purpose of this document is to offer an overview of these interactions between migration and the economy in the case of the Canary Islands. To do this, certain conceptual clarifications will be made initially involving the mutual determination of both processes, before later providing specifics with evidence on the Canarian case for the main issues considered: the economic reasons for migration, and its impact on economic growth, the labour market and the living conditions of the immigrant population. The final section alludes to the importance of the institutional framework that regulates these relations between migration and the economy, which are far from being interpretable as a mechanical relationship and isolated from the political sphere.

The purpose of this report is to compare the risk communication strategies and public health mitigation measures implemented by Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (UK) in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic based on publicly available documents. The report compares the country responses both in relation to one another and to the recommendations and guidance of the World Health Organization where available. The comparative report is an output of Work Package 1 from the research project PAN-FIGHT (Fighting pandemics with enhanced risk communication: Messages, compliance and vulnerability during the COVID-19 outbreak), which is financially supported by the Norwegian Research Council's extraordinary programme for corona research. PAN-FIGHT adopts a comparative approach which follows a “most different systems” variation as a logic of comparison guiding the research (Przeworski & Teune, 1970). The countries in this study include two EU member States (Sweden, Germany), one which was engaged in an exit process from the EU membership (the UK), and two non-European Union states, but both members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA): Norway and Switzerland. Furthermore, Germany and Switzerland govern by the Continental European Federal administrative model, with a relatively weak central bureaucracy and strong subnational, decentralised institutions. Norway and Sweden adhere to the Scandinavian model—a unitary but fairly decentralised system with power bestowed to the local authorities. The United Kingdom applies the Anglo-Saxon model, characterized by New Public Management (NPM) and decentralised managerial practices (Einhorn & Logue, 2003; Kuhlmann & Wollmann, 2014; Petridou et al., 2019). In total, PAN-FIGHT is comprised of 5 Work Packages (WPs), which are research-, recommendation-, and practice-oriented. The WPs seek to respond to the following research questions and accomplish the following: WP1: What are the characteristics of governmental and public health authorities’ risk communication strategies in five European countries, both in comparison to each other and in relation to the official strategies proposed by WHO? WP2: To what extent and how does the general public’s understanding, induced by national risk communication, vary across five countries, in relation to factors such as social capital, age, gender, socio-economic status and household composition? WP3: Based on data generated in WP1 and WP2, what is the significance of being male or female in terms of individual susceptibility to risk communication and subsequent vulnerability during the COVID-19 outbreak? WP4: Based on insight and knowledge generated in WPs 1 and 2, what recommendations can we offer national and local governments and health institutions on enhancing their risk communication strategies to curb pandemic outbreaks? WP5: Enhance health risk communication strategies across five European countries based upon the knowledge and recommendations generated by WPs 1-4. Pre-pandemic preparedness characteristics All five countries had pandemic plans developed prior to 2020, which generally were specific to influenza pandemics but not to coronaviruses. All plans had been updated following the H1N1 pandemic (2009-2010). During the SARS (2003) and MERS (2012) outbreaks, both of which are coronaviruses, all five countries experienced few cases, with notably smaller impacts than the H1N1 epidemic (2009-2010). The UK had conducted several exercises (Exercise Cygnet in 2016, Exercise Cygnus in 2016, and Exercise Iris in 2018) to check their preparedness plans; the reports from these exercises concluded that there were gaps in preparedness for epidemic outbreaks. Germany also simulated an influenza pandemic exercise in 2007 called LÜKEX 07, to train cross-state and cross-department crisis management (Bundesanstalt Technisches Hilfswerk, 2007). In 2017 within the context of the G20, Germany ran a health emergency simulation exercise with WHO and World Bank representatives to prepare for potential future pandemics (Federal Ministry of Health et al., 2017). Prior to COVID-19, only the UK had expert groups, notably the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), that was tasked with providing advice during emergencies. It had been used in previous emergency events (not exclusively limited to health). In contrast, none of the other countries had a similar expert advisory group in place prior to the pandemic. COVID-19 waves in 2020 All five countries experienced two waves of infection in 2020. The first wave occurred during the first half of the year and peaked after March 2020. The second wave arrived during the final quarter. Norway consistently had the lowest number of SARS-CoV-2 infections per million. Germany’s counts were neither the lowest nor the highest. Sweden, Switzerland and the UK alternated in having the highest numbers per million throughout 2020. Implementation of measures to control the spread of infection In Germany, Switzerland and the UK, health policy is the responsibility of regional states, (Länders, cantons and nations, respectively). However, there was a strong initial centralized response in all five countries to mitigate the spread of infection. Later on, country responses varied in the degree to which they were centralized or decentralized. Risk communication In all countries, a large variety of communication channels were used (press briefings, websites, social media, interviews). Digital communication channels were used extensively. Artificial intelligence was used, for example chatbots and decision support systems. Dashboards were used to provide access to and communicate data.

Voltage-gated sodium channels (Navs) play a pivotal role in excitability and are a prime target of insecticides like pyrethroids. Yet, these insecticides are non-specific due to conservation of Navs in animals, raising risks to the environment and humans. Moreover, insecticide overuse leads to resistance buildup among insect pests, which increases misuse and risks. This sad reality demands novel, more selective, insect killers whose alternative use would avoid or reduce this pressure. As highly selective insect toxins exist in venomous animals, why not exploit this gift of nature and harness them in insect pest control? Many of these peptide toxins target Navs, and since their direct use via transformed crop plants or mediator microorganisms is problematic in public opinion, we focus on the elucidation of their receptor binding sites with the incentive of raising knowledge for design of toxin peptide mimetics. This approach is preferred nowadays by agro-industries in terms of future production expenses and public concern. However, characterization of a non-continuous epitope, that is the channel receptor binding site for such toxins, requires a suitable experimental system. We have established such a system within more than a decade and reached the stage where we employ a number of different insect-selective toxins for the identification of their receptor sites on Navs. Among these toxins we wish to focus on those that bind at receptor site-3 and inhibit Nav inactivation because: (1) We established efficient experimental systems for production and manipulation of site-3 toxins from scorpions and sea anemones. These peptides vary in size and structure but compete for site-3 on insect Navs. Moreover, these toxins exhibit synergism with pyrethroids and with other channel ligands; (2) We determined their bioactive surfaces towards insect and mammalian receptors (see list of publications); (3) We found that despite the similar mode of action on channel inactivation, the preference of the toxins for insect and mammalian channel subtypes varies greatly, which can direct us to structural features in the basis of selectivity; (4) We have identified by channel loop swapping and point mutagenesis extracellular segments of the Navinvolved with receptor site-3. On this basis and using channel scanning mutagenesis, neurotoxin binding, electrophysiological analyses, and structural data we offer: (i) To identify the residues that form receptor site-3 at insect and mammalian Navs; (ii) To identify by comparative analysis differences at site-3 that dictate selectivity toward various Navs; (iii) To exploit the known toxin structures and bioactive surfaces for modeling their docking at the insect and mammalian channel receptors. The results of this study will enable rational design of novel anti-insect peptide mimetics with minimized risks to human health and to the environment. We anticipate that the release of receptor site-3 molecular details would initiate a worldwide effort to design peptide mimetics for that site. This will establish new strategies in insect pest control using alternative insecticides and the combined use of compounds that interact allosterically leading to increased efficiency and reduced risks to humans or resistance buildup among insect pests.

Why research Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Scotland? Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology sheds light on the first colonisation and subsequent early inhabitation of Scotland. It is a growing and exciting field where increasing Scottish evidence has been given wider significance in the context of European prehistory. It extends over a long period, which saw great changes, including substantial environmental transformations, and the impact of, and societal response to, climate change. The period as a whole provides the foundation for the human occupation of Scotland and is crucial for understanding prehistoric society, both for Scotland and across North-West Europe. Within the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods there are considerable opportunities for pioneering research. Individual projects can still have a substantial impact and there remain opportunities for pioneering discoveries including cemeteries, domestic and other structures, stratified sites, and for exploring the huge evidential potential of water-logged and underwater sites. Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology also stimulates and draws upon exciting multi-disciplinary collaborations. Panel Task and Remit The panel remit was to review critically the current state of knowledge and consider promising areas of future research into the earliest prehistory of Scotland. This was undertaken with a view to improved understanding of all aspects of the colonization and inhabitation of the country by peoples practising a wholly hunter-fisher-gatherer way of life prior to the advent of farming. In so doing, it was recognised as particularly important that both environmental data (including vegetation, fauna, sea level, and landscape work) and cultural change during this period be evaluated. The resultant report, outlines the different areas of research in which archaeologists interested in early prehistory work, and highlights the research topics to which they aspire. The report is structured by theme: history of investigation; reconstruction of the environment; the nature of the archaeological record; methodologies for recreating the past; and finally, the lifestyles of past people – the latter representing both a statement of current knowledge and the ultimate aim for archaeologists; the goal of all the former sections. The document is reinforced by material on-line which provides further detail and resources. The Palaeolithic and Mesolithic panel report of ScARF is intended as a resource to be utilised, built upon, and kept updated, hopefully by those it has helped inspire and inform as well as those who follow in their footsteps. Future Research The main recommendations of the panel report can be summarized under four key headings:  Visibility: Due to the considerable length of time over which sites were formed, and the predominant mobility of the population, early prehistoric remains are to be found right across the landscape, although they often survive as ephemeral traces and in low densities. Therefore, all archaeological work should take into account the expectation of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic ScARF Panel Report iv encountering early prehistoric remains. This applies equally to both commercial and research archaeology, and to amateur activity which often makes the initial discovery. This should not be seen as an obstacle, but as a benefit, and not finding such remains should be cause for question. There is no doubt that important evidence of these periods remains unrecognised in private, public, and commercial collections and there is a strong need for backlog evaluation, proper curation and analysis. The inadequate representation of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic information in existing national and local databases must be addressed.  Collaboration: Multi-disciplinary, collaborative, and cross- sector approaches must be encouraged – site prospection, prediction, recognition, and contextualisation are key areas to this end. Reconstructing past environments and their chronological frameworks, and exploring submerged and buried landscapes offer existing examples of fruitful, cross-disciplinary work. Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology has an important place within Quaternary science and the potential for deeply buried remains means that geoarchaeology should have a prominent role.  Innovation: Research-led projects are currently making a substantial impact across all aspects of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology; a funding policy that acknowledges risk and promotes the innovation that these periods demand should be encouraged. The exploration of lesser known areas, work on different types of site, new approaches to artefacts, and the application of novel methodologies should all be promoted when engaging with the challenges of early prehistory.  Tackling the ‘big questions’: Archaeologists should engage with the big questions of earliest prehistory in Scotland, including the colonisation of new land, how lifestyles in past societies were organized, the effects of and the responses to environmental change, and the transitions to new modes of life. This should be done through a holistic view of the available data, encompassing all the complexities of interpretation and developing competing and testable models. Scottish data can be used to address many of the currently topical research topics in archaeology, and will provide a springboard to a better understanding of early prehistoric life in Scotland and beyond.

Cette étude porte sur une des innovations contemporaines liées à l’économie de la publication scientifique : les accords dits transformants, un objet relativement circonscrit au sein des relations entre consortiums de bibliothèques et éditeurs scientifiques, et temporellement situé entre 2015 et 2020. Ce type d’accords a pour objectif affiché d’organiser la transition du modèle traditionnel de l’abonnement à des revues (souvent proposées par regroupements thématiques ou collections) vers celui de l’accès ouvert en opérant une réaffectation des budgets qui y sont consacrés. Notre travail d’analyse sociologique constitue une première étude systématique de cet objet, fondée sur la recension de 197 accords. Le corpus ainsi constitué inclut des accords caractérisés par la coprésence d’une composante d’abonnement et d’une composante de publication en accès ouvert, même minimale (« jetons » de publication offerts, réduction sur les APC...). En conséquence, ont été exclus de l’analyse les accords portant uniquement sur du financement centralisé de publication en accès ouvert, que ce soit avec des éditeurs ne proposant que des revues avec paiement par l’auteur (PLOS, Frontiers, MDPI...) ou des éditeurs dont une partie du catalogue est constitué de revues en accès ouvert. L’accord le plus ancien de notre corpus a été signé en 2010, les plus récents en 2020 – les accords ne commençant qu’en 2021, même annoncés au cours de l’étude, n’ont pas été retenus. Plusieurs résultats se dégagent de notre analyse. Tout d’abord, on note une grande diversité des acteurs impliqués avec 22 pays et 39 éditeurs, même si certains consortiums (Pays-Bas, Suède, Autriche, Allemagne) et éditeurs (CUP, Elsevier, RSC, Springer) en ont signé beaucoup plus que d’autres. Ensuite, la durée des accords, comprise entre une et six années, révèle une distribution très inégalitaire, avec plus de la moitié des accords (103) signés pour 3 ans, ainsi qu’une faible proportion pour 4 ans ou plus (22 accords). Enfin, en dépit d’appels répétés à la transparence, moins de la moitié des accords (96) ont un texte accessible au moment de cette étude, sans qu’on puisse observer une tendance récente à une plus grande disponibilité. L’analyse montre également des degrés d’ouverture très variables, allant d’une simple information sur le répertoire ESAC en passant par la mise à disposition d’un format annotable jusqu’à l’attribution d’un DOI et d’une licence de réutilisation (CC-BY), en incluant le détail des sommes monétaires. Parmi les 96 accords disponibles, dont 47 signés en 2020, 62 ont fait l’objet d’une analyse en profondeur. C’est à notre connaissance la première analyse à cette échelle, sur un type de matériel non seulement inédit, mais qui était auparavant soumis à des clauses de confidentialité. Fondée sur une lecture minutieuse, l’étude décrit de manière fine leurs propriétés, depuis la matérialité du document jusqu’aux formules financières, en passant par leur morphologie et l’ensemble des droits et devoirs des parties. Les contenus des accords sont donc analysés comme une collection dont nous cherchons à déterminer les points communs et les variations, à travers des codages explicites sur certaines de leurs caractéristiques. L’étude pointe également des incertitudes, et notamment leur caractère « transitionnel », qui demeure fortement discuté. D’un point de vue morphologique, les accords montrent une grande diversité en matière de taille (de 7 à 488 pages) et de structure. Néanmoins, par définition, ils articulent tous deux objets essentiels : d’une part, les conditions de réalisation d’une lecture d’articles de revues, sous forme d’abonnement, mêlant des préoccupations d’accès et de sécurité ; d’autre part, les modalités de publication en accès ouvert, articulant la gestion d’un nouveau type de workflow à toute une série d’options possibles. Parmi ces options, mentionnons notamment le périmètre des revues considérées (hybrides et/ou accès ouvert), les licences disponibles, le degré d’obligation de cette publication, les auteurs éligibles ou le volume d’articles publiables. L’un des résultats les plus importants de cette analyse approfondie est la mise au jour d’un découplage presque complet, au sein même des accords, entre l’objet abonnement et l’objet publication. Bien entendu, l’abonnement est systématiquement configuré dans un monde fermé, soumis à paiement qui déclenche des séries d’identification des circulations légitimes tant du contenu informationnel que des usagers. Il insiste notamment sur les interdictions de réutilisation ou même de copie des articles scientifiques. À l’opposé, la publication en accès ouvert est attachée à un monde régi par l’accès gratuit au contenu, ce qui induit des préoccupations de gestion du workflow et des modalités d’accessibilité. De plus, les différents éléments constitutifs de ces objets contractuels ne sont pas couplés : d’un côté, les lecteurs sont constitués de l’ensemble des membres des institutions abonnées, de l’autre, seuls les auteurs correspondants (« corresponding authors ») sont concernés ; les listes de revues accessibles à la lecture et celles réservées à la publication en accès ouvert sont le plus souvent distinctes ; les workflows ont des objectifs et des organisations matérielles totalement différentes, etc. L’articulation entre les deux objets contractuels relève uniquement d’une formule de distribution financière qui, outre des combinaisons particulières entre l’un et l’autre, permet d’attribuer des étiquettes distinctes aux accords (offset agreement, publish & read, read & publish, read & free articles, read & discount). Au-delà de cette distribution, l’étude des arrangements financiers montre une gamme de dispositions allant d’une prévisibilité budgétaire totale, donc identique aux accords d’abonnement antérieurs, à une incertitude sur le volume de publication ou sur le montant définitif des sommes échangées. Les modalités concrètes de calcul des montants associés à la publication en accès ouvert sont relativement variées. S’il existe effectivement des formules récurrentes (volume d’articles multiplié par un prix individuel, reprise de la moyenne des sommes totales d’APC des années précédentes...), le calcul des sommes en jeu est toujours le résultat d’une négociation singulière entre un consortium et un éditeur scientifique, et aboutit parfois à des formules originales et complexes. À ce titre, l’espace des possibles en matière de formules financières n’est jamais totalement clos. Par ailleurs, la volonté des consortiums d’opérer une « transformation » de leurs accords vers la publication à coût constant renvoie à des définitions diversifiées du « coût » (inclusion ou non des dépenses d’APC préexistantes) et de la constance (admission ou pas d’une « inflation » à 2 ou 3%). De plus, nous n’avons observé aucune disposition contractuelle permettant d’anticiper les sommes en jeu au-delà de l’horizon temporel de l’accord courant. La grande diversité des accords provient d’une part des conditions initiales des relations entre consortiums et éditeurs scientifiques – les sommes dépensées en abonnement étant le point de départ des nouveaux accords –, d’autre part des objectifs de chaque partie. Même si cette étude excluait volontairement les négociations, les accords portent des traces de ces objectifs. Ainsi, de nombreux accords sont de nature explicitement expérimentale, quand certains visent un contrôle budgétaire strict, ou d’autres ambitionnent, dans la période plus récente, la publication du plus grand nombre possible d’articles en accès ouvert. C’est dans ce dernier cas qu’on touche à l’ambiguïté des attentes générales sur les accords transformants. En effet, pour les consortiums, la dimension « transformante » consiste essentiellement à transférer les sommes traditionnellement allouées à l’abonnement vers la publication en accès ouvert. Mais l’objectif n’est jamais de transformer le modèle économique des revues, c'est-à-dire de faire basculer des revues sous abonnement ou hybrides en revues entièrement en accès ouvert. D’ailleurs, aucune clause ne vise une telle fin – à l’exception du modèle d’accord proposé par l’éditeur ACM. Du côté des éditeurs, et notamment de Springer, le caractère cumulatif des accords nationaux passés vise à projeter un monde de la publication où l’accès ouvert devient de fait quantitativement très dominant, sans pour autant modifier de manière pérenne le modèle économique de leurs revues. Notre étude montre que les accords transformants actuels ne permettent pas d’assurer de manière durable une transition de l’économie de la publication vers l’accès ouvert, dans la mesure où ils n’offrent pas de garantie sur le contrôle des dépenses ni sur la pérennité de l’ouverture des contenus. L’avenir des relations entre consortium et éditeur demeure largement indéterminé.Cette étude porte sur une des innovations contemporaines liées à l’économie de la publication scientifique : les accords dits transformants, un objet relativement circonscrit au sein des relations entre consortiums de bibliothèques et éditeurs scientifiques, et temporellement situé entre 2015 et 2020. Ce type d’accords a pour objectif affiché d’organiser la transition du modèle traditionnel de l’abonnement à des revues (souvent proposées par regroupements thématiques ou collections) vers celui de l’accès ouvert en opérant une réaffectation des budgets qui y sont consacrés. Notre travail d’analyse sociologique constitue une première étude systématique de cet objet, fondée sur la recension de 197 accords. Le corpus ainsi constitué inclut des accords caractérisés par la coprésence d’une composante d’abonnement et d’une composante de publication en accès ouvert, même minimale (« jetons » de publication offerts, réduction sur les APC...). En conséquence, ont été exclus de l’analyse les accords portant uniquement sur du financement centralisé de publication en accès ouvert, que ce soit avec des éditeurs ne proposant que des revues avec paiement par l’auteur (PLOS, Frontiers, MDPI...) ou des éditeurs dont une partie du catalogue est constitué de revues en accès ouvert. L’accord le plus ancien de notre corpus a été signé en 2010, les plus récents en 2020 – les accords ne commençant qu’en 2021, même annoncés au cours de l’étude, n’ont pas été retenus. Plusieurs résultats se dégagent de notre analyse. Tout d’abord, on note une grande diversité des acteurs impliqués avec 22 pays et 39 éditeurs, même si certains consortiums (Pays-Bas, Suède, Autriche, Allemagne) et éditeurs (CUP, Elsevier, RSC, Springer) en ont signé beaucoup plus que d’autres. Ensuite, la durée des accords, comprise entre une et six années, révèle une distribution très inégalitaire, avec plus de la moitié des accords (103) signés pour 3 ans, ainsi qu’une faible proportion pour 4 ans ou plus (22 accords). Enfin, en dépit d’appels répétés à la transparence, moins de la moitié des accords (96) ont un texte accessible au moment de cette étude, sans qu’on puisse observer une tendance récente à une plus grande disponibilité. L’analyse montre également des degrés d’ouverture très variables, allant d’une simple information sur le répertoire ESAC en passant par la mise à disposition d’un format annotable jusqu’à l’attribution d’un DOI et d’une licence de réutilisation (CC-BY), en incluant le détail des sommes monétaires. Parmi les 96 accords disponibles, dont 47 signés en 2020, 62 ont fait l’objet d’une analyse en profondeur. C’est à notre connaissance la première analyse à cette échelle, sur un type de matériel non seulement inédit, mais qui était auparavant soumis à des clauses de confidentialité. Fondée sur une lecture minutieuse, l’étude décrit de manière fine leurs propriétés, depuis la matérialité du document jusqu’aux formules financières, en passant par leur morphologie et l’ensemble des droits et devoirs des parties. Les contenus des accords sont donc analysés comme une collection dont nous cherchons à déterminer les points communs et les variations, à travers des codages explicites sur certaines de leurs caractéristiques. L’étude pointe également des incertitudes, et notamment leur caractère « transitionnel », qui demeure fortement discuté. D’un point de vue morphologique, les accords montrent une grande diversité en matière de taille (de 7 à 488 pages) et de structure. Néanmoins, par définition, ils articulent tous deux objets essentiels : d’une part, les conditions de réalisation d’une lecture d’articles de revues, sous forme d’abonnement, mêlant des préoccupations d’accès et de sécurité ; d’autre part, les modalités de publication en accès ouvert, articulant la gestion d’un nouveau type de workflow à toute une série d’options possibles. Parmi ces options, mentionnons notamment le périmètre des revues considérées (hybrides et/ou accès ouvert), les licences disponibles, le degré d’obligation de cette publication, les auteurs éligibles ou le volume d’articles publiables. L’un des résultats les plus importants de cette analyse approfondie est la mise au jour d’un découplage presque complet, au sein même des accords, entre l’objet abonnement et l’objet publication. Bien entendu, l’abonnement est systématiquement configuré dans un monde fermé, soumis à paiement qui déclenche des séries d’identification des circulations légitimes tant du contenu informationnel que des usagers. Il insiste notamment sur les interdictions de réutilisation ou même de copie des articles scientifiques. À l’opposé, la publication en accès ouvert est attachée à un monde régi par l’accès gratuit au contenu, ce qui induit des préoccupations de gestion du workflow et des modalités d’accessibilité. De plus, les différents éléments constitutifs de ces objets contractuels ne sont pas couplés : d’un côté, les lecteurs sont constitués de l’ensemble des membres des institutions abonnées, de l’autre, seuls les auteurs correspondants (« corresponding authors ») sont concernés ; les listes de revues accessibles à la lecture et celles réservées à la publication en accès ouvert sont le plus souvent distinctes ; les workflows ont des objectifs et des organisations matérielles totalement différentes, etc. L’articulation entre les deux objets contractuels relève uniquement d’une formule de distribution financière qui, outre des combinaisons particulières entre l’un et l’autre, permet d’attribuer des étiquettes distinctes aux accords (offset agreement, publish & read, read & publish, read & free articles, read & discount). Au-delà de cette distribution, l’étude des arrangements financiers montre une gamme de dispositions allant d’une prévisibilité budgétaire totale, donc identique aux accords d’abonnement antérieurs, à une incertitude sur le volume de publication ou sur le montant définitif des sommes échangées. Les modalités concrètes de calcul des montants associés à la publication en accès ouvert sont relativement variées. S’il existe effectivement des formules récurrentes (volume d’articles multiplié par un prix individuel, reprise de la moyenne des sommes totales d’APC des années précédentes...), le calcul des sommes en jeu est toujours le résultat d’une négociation singulière entre un consortium et un éditeur scientifique, et aboutit parfois à des formules originales et complexes. À ce titre, l’espace des possibles en matière de formules financières n’est jamais totalement clos. Par ailleurs, la volonté des consortiums d’opérer une « transformation » de leurs accords vers la publication à coût constant renvoie à des définitions diversifiées du « coût » (inclusion ou non des dépenses d’APC préexistantes) et de la constance (admission ou pas d’une « inflation » à 2 ou 3%). De plus, nous n’avons observé aucune disposition contractuelle permettant d’anticiper les sommes en jeu au-delà de l’horizon temporel de l’accord courant. La grande diversité des accords provient d’une part des conditions initiales des relations entre consortiums et éditeurs scientifiques – les sommes dépensées en abonnement étant le point de départ des nouveaux accords –, d’autre part des objectifs de chaque partie. Même si cette étude excluait volontairement les négociations, les accords portent des traces de ces objectifs. Ainsi, de nombreux accords sont de nature explicitement expérimentale, quand certains visent un contrôle budgétaire strict, ou d’autres ambitionnent, dans la période plus récente, la publication du plus grand nombre possible d’articles en accès ouvert. C’est dans ce dernier cas qu’on touche à l’ambiguïté des attentes générales sur les accords transformants. En effet, pour les consortiums, la dimension « transformante » consiste essentiellement à transférer les sommes traditionnellement allouées à l’abonnement vers la publication en accès ouvert. Mais l’objectif n’est jamais de transformer le modèle économique des revues, c'est-à-dire de faire basculer des revues sous abonnement ou hybrides en revues entièrement en accès ouvert. D’ailleurs, aucune clause ne vise une telle fin – à l’exception du modèle d’accord proposé par l’éditeur ACM. Du côté des éditeurs, et notamment de Springer, le caractère cumulatif des accords nationaux passés vise à projeter un monde de la publication où l’accès ouvert devient de fait quantitativement très dominant, sans pour autant modifier de manière pérenne le modèle économique de leurs revues. Notre étude montre que les accords transformants actuels ne permettent pas d’assurer de manière durable une transition de l’économie de la publication vers l’accès ouvert, dans la mesure où ils n’offrent pas de garantie sur le contrôle des dépenses ni sur la pérennité de l’ouverture des contenus. L’avenir des relations entre consortium et éditeur demeure largement indéterminé.

With its annual Payment Systems Report, Banco de la República offers a complete overview of the infrastructure of Colombia’s financial market. Each edition of the report has four objectives: 1) to publicize a consolidated account of how the figures for payment infrastructures have evolved with respect to both financial assets and goods and services; 2) to summarize the issues that are being debated internationally and are of interest to the industry that provides payment clearing and settlement services; 3) to offer the public an explanation of the ideas and concepts behind retail-value payment processes and the trends in retail payments within the circuit of individuals and companies; and 4) to familiarize the public, the industry, and all other financial authorities with the methodological progress that has been achieved through applied research to analyze the stability of payment systems. This edition introduces changes that have been made in the structure of the report, which are intended to make it easier and more enjoyable to read. The initial sections in this edition, which is the eleventh, contain an analysis of the statistics on the evolution and performance of financial market infrastructures. These are understood as multilateral systems wherein the participating entities clear, settle and register payments, securities, derivatives and other financial assets. The large-value payment system (CUD) saw less momentum in 2019 than it did the year before, mainly because of a decline in the amount of secondary market operations for government bonds, both in cash and sell/buy-backs, which was offset by an increase in operations with collective investment funds (CIFs) and Banco de la República’s operations to increase the money supply (repos). Consequently, the Central Securities Depository (DCV) registered less activity, due to fewer negotiations on the secondary market for public debt. This trend was also observed in the private debt market, as evidenced by the decline in the average amounts cleared and settled through the Central Securities Depository of Colombia (Deceval) and in the value of operations with financial derivatives cleared and settled through the Central Counterparty of Colombia (CRCC). Section three offers a comprehensive look at the market for retail-value payments; that is, transactions made by individuals and companies. During 2019, electronic transfers increased, and payments made with debit and credit cards continued to trend upward. In contrast, payments by check continued to decline, although the average daily value was almost four times the value of debit and credit card purchases. The same section contains the results of the fourth survey on how the use of retail-value payment instruments (for usual payments) is perceived. Conducted at the end of 2019, the main purpose of the survey was to identify the availability of these payment instruments, the public’s preferences for them, and their acceptance by merchants. It is worth noting that cash continues to be the instrument most used by the population for usual monthly payments (88.1% with respect to the number of payments and 87.4% in value). However, its use in terms of value has declined, having registered 89.6% in the 2017 survey. In turn, the level of acceptance by merchants of payment instruments other than cash is 14.1% for debit cards, 13.4% for credit cards, 8.2% for electronic transfers of funds and 1.8% for checks. The main reason for the use of cash is the absence of point-of-sale terminals at commercial establishments. Considering that the retail-payment market worldwide is influenced by constant innovation in payment services, by the modernization of clearing and settlement systems, and by the efforts of regulators to redefine the payment industry for the future, these trends are addressed in the fourth section of the report. There is an account of how innovations in technology-based financial payment services have developed, and it shows that while this topic is not new, it has evolved, particularly in terms of origin and vocation. One of the boxes that accompanies the fourth section deals with certain payment aspects of open banking and international experience in that regard, which has given the customers of a financial entity sovereignty over their data, allowing them, under transparent and secure conditions, to authorize a third party, other than their financial entity, to request information on their accounts with financial entities, thus enabling the third party to offer various financial services or initiate payments. Innovation also has sparked interest among international organizations, central banks, and research groups concerning the creation of digital currencies. Accordingly, the last box deals with the recent international debate on issuance of central bank digital currencies. In terms of the methodological progress that has been made, it is important to underscore the work that has been done on the role of central counterparties (CCPs) in mitigating liquidity and counterparty risk. The fifth section of the report offers an explanation of a document in which the work of CCPs in financial markets is analyzed and corroborated through an exercise that was built around the Central Counterparty of Colombia (CRCC) in the Colombian market for non-delivery peso-dollar forward exchange transactions, using the methodology of network topology. The results provide empirical support for the different theoretical models developed to study the effect of CCPs on financial markets. Finally, the results of research using artificial intelligence with information from the large-value payment system are presented. Based on the payments made among financial institutions in the large-value payment system, a methodology is used to compare different payment networks, as well as to determine which ones can be considered abnormal. The methodology shows signs that indicate when a network moves away from its historical trend, so it can be studied and monitored. A methodology similar to the one applied to classify images is used to make this comparison, the idea being to extract the main characteristics of the networks and use them as a parameter for comparison. Juan José Echavarría Governor

The COVID-19 pandemic has been tremendously difficult for many people across the globe. What was initially viewed as a health crisis affected societies to their core, many of which were already grappling with the devastating effects of climate change, as well as other challenges such as political instability and conflict. While each of these crises has its own identifiable causes, the increasingly interconnected nature of our world means that these shocks or hazards and the knock-on effects from them cannot be viewed in isolation. Indeed, the number of record-breaking disasters witnessed over the past years and their cascading effects across sectors and borders have illuminated those interconnections as never before. Similarly, interconnections became very visible whenCOVID-19 started to spread around the globe. The unfolding pandemic prompted a range of policy measures to limit the spread of the virus and avoid health systems becoming overwhelmed. Yet the effects of these measures, including stay-at-ho-me orders and shutdown of public life, while highly important to prevent health system collapse and reduce COVID-19 fatalities, hit the most vulnerable the hardest. Underlying vulnerabilities such as poverty, precarious jobs in the informal economy, lack of access to education and, structural gender biases were exacerbated by the pandemic. This report sheds light on the complexity of risks in a highly interconnected world, and present lessons for risk management. Focusing on COVID-19, it shows how, through the interconnectedness of societies and the underlying vulnerabilities within them, the direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic have revealed the systemic nature of risk. Through a case study approach, it demonstrates how the pandemic triggered a multitude of impacts far beyond the direct health crisis, including joblessness, debt, civil and domestic violence and the derailment of their children’s education, among many others. In many locations, women suffered disproportionately, whether as a result of bias in employment patterns or other pre-existing gender biases in society. Drawing on insights from different case studies across the world, this report also offers lessons from the pandemic for understanding risk more systemically, and presents recommendations for risk management moving forward.