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With the aim to fully exploit the by-products obtained after the industrial extraction of starch from sweet potatoes, a cascading approach was developed to extract high-value molecules, such as proteins and pectins, and to valorize the solid fraction, rich in starch and fibrous components. This fraction was used to prepare new biocomposites designed for food packaging applications. The sweet potato residue was added to poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) in various amounts up to 40 wt % by melt mixing, without any previous treatment. The composites are semicrystalline materials, characterized by thermal stability up to 260 °C. For the composites containing up to 10 wt % of residue, the tensile strength remains over 30 MPa and the strain stays over 3.2%. A homogeneous dispersion of the sweet potato waste into the bio-polymeric matrix was achieved but, despite the presence of hydrogen bond interactions between the components, a poor interfacial adhesion was detected. Considering the significant percentage of sweet potato waste used, the biocomposites obtained show a low economic and environmental impact, resulting in an interesting bio-alternative to the materials commonly used in the packaging industry. Thus, according to the principles of a circular economy, the preparation of the biocomposites closes the loop of the complete valorization of sweet potato products and by-products.

Throughout the 21st century, urban reports demand solutions to the obsolescence and aging process suffered by the existing buildings, due to the growth and expansion of cities that took place in the second half of the 20th century [...]

SummaryEnvironmentally extended multiregional input‐output (EE MRIO) tables have emerged as a key framework to provide a comprehensive description of the global economy and analyze its effects on the environment. Of the available EE MRIO databases, EXIOBASE stands out as a database compatible with the System of Environmental‐Economic Accounting (SEEA) with a high sectorial detail matched with multiple social and environmental satellite accounts. In this paper, we present the latest developments realized with EXIOBASE 3—a time series of EE MRIO tables ranging from 1995 to 2011 for 44 countries (28 EU member plus 16 major economies) and five rest of the world regions. EXIOBASE 3 builds upon the previous versions of EXIOBASE by using rectangular supply‐use tables (SUTs) in a 163 industry by 200 products classification as the main building blocks. In order to capture structural changes, economic developments, as reported by national statistical agencies, were imposed on the available, disaggregated SUTs from EXIOBASE 2. These initial estimates were further refined by incorporating detailed data on energy, agricultural production, resource extraction, and bilateral trade. EXIOBASE 3 inherits the high level of environmental stressor detail from its precursor, with further improvement in the level of detail for resource extraction. To account for the expansion of the European Union (EU), EXIOBASE 3 was developed with the full EU28 country set (including the new member state Croatia). EXIOBASE 3 provides a unique tool for analyzing the dynamics of environmental pressures of economic activities over time.

Le présent article pose comme hypothèse principale qu’il existe une spécificité insulaire en matière de changement climatique, tant dans le domaine géopolitique que dans le domaine économique. A la différence des pays continentaux, le changement climatique est un facteur de structuration des États insulaires. Créée en 1990, 2 ans après que le GIEC commence ses travaux, l’Alliance des Petits États insulaires (AOSIS) s’est beaucoup investie dans la ratification du Protocole de Kyoto. Ces derniers se considèrent en effet comme les premières et principales victimes du changement climatique dont le coût pour leurs économies sera nettement plus élevé que celui supporté par les pays continentaux. Aux coûts directs, résultant de l’aléa naturel, notamment la montée du niveau de la mer et l’érosion du littoral qui lui est associée, se surimposeront des coûts induits par les mesures prises au niveau international pour lutter contre le changement climatique. Ces mesures conduisent à remettre la distance géographique au cœur de la logique de localisation des entreprises. La limitation des déplacements aériens et maritimes au long cours qui en résultera devrait entraîner une réduction de la demande mondiale pour les produits et services touristiques insulaires, suivie d’une concurrence exacerbée entre les îles pour attirer cette demande réduite. On assistera alors à la marginalisation des économies insulaires ne pouvant se positionner sur des marchés de niche aux échelles mondiales et régionales avec pour principaux corollaires l’exode rural et la migration internationale. Les recompositions économiques et territoriales qui s’annoncent sont des processus durables qui s’inscrivent dans le temps long. En revanche, le sommet de Copenhague a montré que la structuration politique des États insulaires sur la scène internationale est un processus fragile. L’AOSIS est sortie éclatée de ce sommet. L’avenir des îles est définitivement sous contrainte du changement climatique et il s’annonce bien sombre.

AbstractFiscal rules are necessary to protect monetary policy from the consequences of unsustainable or active fiscal policy for inflation. Monetary unions, such as the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), require even stronger fiscal rules to avoid free riding by regional fiscal authorities on the common monetary policy. By contrast, in a fiscal federation, the federal government internalises the effect of active regional policies on the overall price level. Federal fiscal policy contributes to price stability either by enforcing fiscal rules or by adjusting its own stance. Following Canzoneri, Cumby and Diba (2001), we test whether federal and regional governments in Germany behave in an active or passive way. We find evidence of a spillover effect of unsustainable policies on other regions. The German federal government offsets the effect on the price level by running passive policies. The Bundesbank's prime objective of price stability is therefore endorsed by fiscal policy. The results have implications for the regulation of fiscal policies in the EMU.

To help policymakers form a judgment on inflation risks and the required monetary policy stance the OECD has developed an analytical framework based on a set of 'eclectic' Phillips curves estimated for the two largest OECD economies, the United States and the euro area, which is presented in this paper. This framework is used in the preparation of the Economic Outlook to explain recent developments in core inflation, excluding food and energy, based on developments in measures of economic slack (the output gap), spill-over effects from energy prices onto core inflation and lagged responses to past inflation via expectations formation. The fact that the knock-on effects from energy shocks onto core inflation appear small in comparison with the 1970s can be explained by the secular fall in energy intensity, a low and stable rate of 'mean inflation' -- to which observed inflation reverts after a shock has worked its way through -- and persistent slack in the aftermath of the bursting of the dotcom bubble.