New DataM dashboard on Bio-based industry and biorefineries

The database is now online and is accompanied by an interactive dashboard implemented in the EC Data portal of agro-economics Modelling (DataM) and in the EC Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy.

Source: https://datam.jrc.ec.europa.eu/datam/mashup/BIOBASED_INDUSTRY/index.html

The online dashboard illustrates the extensive database of EU facilities producing different categories of bio-based products:

• bio-based chemicals
• liquid biofuels
• bio-based composites and fibres
• pulp and paper
• biomethane
• starch, sugar and derived products
• timber (sawmills)

Available online: https://datam.jrc.ec.europa.eu/datam/mashup/BIOBASED_INDUSTRY/index.html

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New publication at the Proceedings in System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks

Our paper “A Mixed Methods Approach Towards Mapping and Economic Valuation of the Divici-Pojejena Wetland Ecosystem Services in Romania” was just published on the Proceedings in System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks 2017.

Recommended citation:

Lamprinakis, L., Rodriguez, D. G. P., Prestvik, A. S., Veidal, A., and Klimek, B. (2017). A Mixed Methods Approach Towards Mapping and Economic Valuation of the Divici-Pojejena Wetland Ecosystem Services in Romania. Proceedings In Food System Dynamics (ISSN:2194-511X): Pages 31-47. Available online.

The paper can be directly accessed here (PDF).

 

Report on mapping and economic assessment of ecosystem services

The final seminar of the WetEcos project took place in Bucharest on March 22, where we presented the results of our report on mapping and economic assessment of ecosystem services. The project was financed by the EEA Norway Grants and we collaborated with two local partners: National Institute for R&D in Environmental Protection Bucharest (INCDPM), and Danube Delta National Institute (DDNI – INCDPM Tulcea Branch).

 

The project follows Action 5 from the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020 for mapping and economic valuation of wetlands across Europe.

The report will be soon available on the WetEcos website. Parts of the report where presented at the Igls Forum 2017 and an academic peer-reviewed article is also expected to be published later this year.

CEO pay and performance

A new study by MSCI relates the highest-paid CEOs with the lowest shareholder value.

Image taken from The Independent

 

MSCI researchers Ric Marshall and Linda-Eling Lee compared the salaries of 800 US-based CEOs in large and medium-sized companies with the returns to their shareholders during their board tenure. They find that a high CEO pay did not correlate with higher returns.

In fact the “highest paid [CEOs] had the worst performance by a significant margin“. On the other hand the lowest-paid CEOs were the ones who “more consistently displayed higher long-term investment returns”.

As Peter Yeung writes on his article for The Independent,

The study, carried out by corporate research firm MSCI, found that for every $100 (£76) invested in companies with the highest-paid CEOs would have grown to $265 (£202) over 10 years.

But the same amount invested in the companies with the lowest-paid CEOs would have grown to $367 (£279) over a decade.

The MSCI study is available online (no subscription required).

Ha-Joon Chang on the FT

Famous institutional economist Ha-Joon Chang and author of “Bad Samaritans: Rich Nations, Poor Policies, and the Threat to the Developing World” talks on the FT about development and the future of economics.

 

Gapminder Foundation – the beauty of statistics

The Gapminder Foundation was founded back in 2005 by Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund and Hans Rosling in Stockholm as a “non-profit venture – a modern ‘museum’ on the Internet – promoting sustainable global development and achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.”

Screenshot from http://www.gapminder.org

Its main project is Gapminder World – Wealth and Health of Nations that is based on an extensive UN database including over 430 indicators that cover unemployment, economic growth, natural disasters and many more. The example below illustrates Gapminder World with life expectancy and income (per capita) over the period 1950 to 2006 (latest version includes projection up to 2050).

The Dollar Street is another great feature. All people are assumed to live on this street where the poorest live to the left and the richest to the right (similar to a Hotteling linear version model). Selecting different parts of the street gives photo-panoramas from typical households at different income levels.

Don’t forget to check out Gapminder Labs for more.