How Changes in Income and Prices Affect Consumption Choices

A CCOUNTING FOR CHANGES IN BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE Preliminary guidelines towards a Biodiversity Accountability Framework Joël HOUDET Charlotte PAVAGEAU Michel TROMMETTER Jacques WEBER November 2009 Cahier n° 2009-44 ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE DEPARTEMENT D'ECONOMIE Route de Saclay 91128 PALAISEAU CEDEX (33) 1 69333033 http://www.enseignement.polytechnique.fr/economie/ mailto:chantal.poujouly@polytechnique.edu hal-00434450, version 1 - 23 Nov 2009 A CCOUNTING FOR CHANGES IN BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE Preliminary guidelines towards a Biodiversity Accountability Framework Joël HOUDET 1 Charlotte PAVAGEAU 2 Michel TROMMETTER 3 Jacques WEBER 4 Cahier n° 2009-44 Abstract: Biodiversity refers to the dynamics of interactions between organisms in changing environments. Within the context of accelerating biodiversity loss worldwide, firms are under increasing pressures from stakeholders to develop appropriate tools to account for the nature and consequences of their actions, inclusive of their influences on ecosystem services used by other agents. This paper presents a two-pronged approach towards accounting for changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services from a business perspective. First, we seek to analyze how Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) may be used by firms to identify and account for the interactions between their activities and biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES). To that end, we use dairy farming as a case study and propose general recommendations regarding accounting for changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services from a management accounting perspective. Secondly, after discussing the corporate reporting implications of the main environmental accounting approaches, we propose the underlying principles and structural components of a Biodiversity Accountability Framework (BAF) which would combine both financial and BES data sets; hence, suggesting the need for changes in business accounting and reporting standards. Because this would imply significant changes in business information systems and corporate rating practices, we also underline the importance of making the associated technological, organizational and institutional innovations financially viable. The BAF should be designed as an information base, co- constructed with stakeholders, for setting up and managing new modes of regulation combining tools for mitigating BES loss and remunerating BES supply. Keywords : Accounting, business, biodiversity, ecosystem services, indicators, management accounting, financial accounting, reporting, corporate social responsibility, standards, biodiversity accountability framework. JEL classification M20, M40, Q20 1 CREED – AgroParisTech, Ecole doctorale ABIES – UMR 8079 ESE – Orée du Fg Poissonnière, 75010 Paris Corresponding author. Tel .:+33 (0) 1 48 24 31 39 e-mail address: houdet@oree.org 2 AgroParisTech – Engref, 19 rue du Maine, 75732 Paris cedex 15 3 INRA, UMR GAEL INRA – UPMF, BP 47 Grenoble cedex 9 – Department of Economics Ecole Polytechnique, Route de Saclay, 91128 Palaiseau cedex 4 CIRAD, Unité de recherche Ressources Forestières et politiques publiques, rue Scheffer, 75116 Paris hal-00434450, version 1 - How Changes in Income and Prices Affect Consumption Choices How Changes in Income and Prices Affect Consumption Choices By: OpenStaxCollege Just as utility and marginal utility can be used to discuss making consumer choices along a budget constraint, these ideas can also be used to think about how consumer choices change when the budget constraint shifts in response to changes in income or price Indeed, because the budget constraint framework can be used to analyze how quantities demanded change because of price movements, the budget constraint model can illustrate the underlying logic behind demand curves How Changes in Income Affect Consumer Choices Let’s begin with a concrete example illustrating how changes in income level affect consumer choices [link] shows a budget constraint that represents Kimberly’s choice between concert tickets at $50 each and getting away overnight to a bed-and-breakfast for $200 per night Kimberly has $1,000 per year to spend between these two choices After thinking about her total utility and marginal utility and applying the decision rule that the ratio of the marginal utilities to the prices should be equal between the two products, Kimberly chooses point M, with eight concerts and three overnight getaways as her utility-maximizing choice 1/9 How Changes in Income and Prices Affect Consumption Choices How a Change in Income Affects Consumption Choices The utility-maximizing choice on the original budget constraint is M The dashed horizontal and vertical lines extending through point M allow you to see at a glance whether the quantity consumed of goods on the new budget constraint is higher or lower than on the original budget constraint On the new budget constraint, a choice like N will be made if both goods are normal goods If overnight stays is an inferior good, a choice like P will be made If concert tickets are an inferior good, a choice like Q will be made Now, assume that the income Kimberly has to spend on these two items rises to $2,000 per year, causing her budget constraint to shift out to the right How does this rise in income alter her utility-maximizing choice? Kimberly will again consider the utility and marginal utility that she receives from concert tickets and overnight getaways and seek her utility-maximizing choice on the new budget line But how will her new choice relate to her original choice? The possible choices along the new budget constraint can be divided into three groups, which are divided up by the dashed horizontal and vertical lines that pass through the original choice M in the figure All choices on the upper left of the new budget constraint that are to the left of the vertical dashed line, like choice P with two overnight stays and 32 concert tickets, involve less of the good on the horizontal axis but much more of the good on the vertical axis All choices to the right of the vertical dashed line and above the horizontal dashed line—like choice N with five overnight getaways and 20 concert tickets—have more consumption of both goods Finally, all choices that are to the right of the vertical dashed line but below the horizontal dashed line, like choice Q with four concerts and nine overnight getaways, involve less of the good on the vertical axis but much more of the good on the horizontal axis All of these choices are theoretically possible, depending on Kimberly’s personal preferences as expressed through the total and marginal utility she would receive from 2/9 How Changes in Income and Prices Affect Consumption Choices consuming these two goods When income rises, the most common reaction is to purchase more of both goods, like choice N, which is to the upper right relative to Kimberly’s original choice M, although exactly how much more of each good will vary according to personal taste Conversely, when income falls, the most typical reaction is to purchase less of both goods As defined in the chapter on Demand and Supply and again in the chapter on Elasticity, goods and services are called normal goods when a rise in income leads to a rise in the quantity consumed of that good and a fall in income leads to a fall in quantity consumed However, depending on Kimberly’s preferences, a rise in income could cause consumption of one good to increase while consumption of the other good declines A choice like P means that a rise in income caused her quantity consumed of overnight stays to decline, while a choice like Q would mean that a rise in income caused her quantity of concerts to decline Goods where demand declines as income rises (or conversely, where the demand rises as income falls) are called “inferior goods.” An inferior good occurs when people trim back on a good as income rises, because they can now afford the more expensive choices that they prefer For example, a higher-income household might eat fewer hamburgers or be less likely to buy a used car, and instead eat more steak and buy a new car How Price Changes Affect Consumer ...Annales Universitatis Apulensis Series Oeconomica, 13(1), 2011 57 CHANGES IN FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING ENVIRONMENT IN ALBANIA AND THE IMPACT ON PRACTITIONERS. Rezarta Shkurti (Perri) 1 Brikena Leka (Gjoni) 2 Rovena Bahiti 3 Elfrida Manoku (Gishto) 4 ABSTRACT: This paper presents a theoretical discussion about the organization of the professions of accounting and auditing in Albania and the most recent changes that have encompassed the Albanian financial and accounting landscape after the implementation of new accounting standards, the increased requirements for electronic financial and tax reporting and the ongoing improvement and adaptation of the higher education curricula. All these factors present major challenges for the field practitioners in accounting and auditing. We try to identify which are the most prominent challenges faced by the practitioners today and identify that the ICT impact, ethical values and the globalization trend in accounting and financial reporting are some of the most emergent ones. These factors make the work of the practitioners more and more demanding and as it seems difficult to remain competitive in such a dynamic environment, we conclude with the recommendations that the curricula of the financial and accounting higher education should be adapted to include topics such as IAS/IFRS, ICT, Code of Ethics and that the professional accountancy and auditing organizations in Albania should provide ongoing training and qualification sessions on the same topics to the existing practitioners. Keywords: accounting, auditing, accounting software, tax reporting. JEL codes: M40 Introduction During the last twenty years since Albania opened to the free market economy in 1990 a lot of changes have encompassed all the dimensions of its economy. Along with the radical transformation of the overall economic system, the necessity to create new legal and institutional infrastructure capacities was also strongly encouraged. This infrastructure would be critical for the new economic system in achieving success (or experiencing failure). Therefore in the early 90s’ a lot of changes were made in the legal framework for regulating the new market regime according the rules of the open market economy and extensive efforts were made on building the necessary infrastructural capacities through deep reforms and innovative measures in many sectors. Accounting, finance and auditing were among the many disciplines that experienced fundamental changes. The introduction of the independent accounting and auditing professions came naturally after the changes experienced in the political, social and economic life of Albania after the 90’s. Developments such as implementing a new open economy after the free market rules, the transformation of the state-owned enterprises into private companies, the establishment of new private entrepreneurships and the need for exercising appropriate and expert supervision and management of the private property required the coming into existence of several new professions, including the independent accountants and auditors. All Changes in ultrastructure and the occurrence of permeability transition in mitochondria during rat liver regeneration Ferruccio Guerrieri 1, *, Giovanna Pellecchia 1 , Barbara Lopriore 1 , Sergio Papa 1 , Giuseppa Esterina Liquori 2 , Domenico Ferri 2 , Loredana Moro 3 , Ersilia Marra 3 and Margherita Greco 3 1 Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biology, University of Bari, Italy; 2 Department of Zoology, Laboratory of Histology and Comparative Anatomy, University of Bari, Italy; 3 Center for the Study of Mitochondria and Energy Metabolism (CNR) Bari, Italy Mitochondrial bioenergetic impairment has been found in the organelles isolated from rat liver during the prereplicative phase of liver regeneration. To gain insight into the mech- anism underlying this impairment, we investigated mito- chondrial ultrastructure and membrane permeability properties in the course of liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy, with special interest to the role played by Ca 2+ in this process. The results show that during the first day after partial hepatectomy, significant changes in the ultrastructure of mitochondria in situ occur. Mitochondrial swelling and release from mitochondria of both glutamate dehydrogenase and aspartate aminotransferase isoenzymes with an increase in the mitochondrial Ca 2+ content were also observed. Cyclosporin-A proved to be able to prevent the changes in mitochondrial membrane permeability properties. At 24 h after partial hepatectomy, despite alteration in mitochon- drial membrane permeability properties, no release of cyto- chrome c was found. The ultrastructure of mitochondria, the membrane permeability properties and the Ca 2+ content returned to normal values during the replicative phase of liver regeneration. These results suggest that, during the prereplicative phase of liver regeneration, the changes in mitochondrial ultrastructure observed in liver specimens were correlated with Ca 2+ -induced permeability transition in mitochondria. Keywords: liver regeneration; mitochondria ultrastructure; membrane permeability; calcium; cyclosporin-A. Seventy percent partial hepatectomy (PH) induces cell proliferation until the original mass of the liver is restored [1]. The tissue regeneration process consists of two phases: the prereplicative phase, the duration of which depends on the age of the animal [2,3] as well as on hormones and dietary manipulation [2,4] and the replicative phase, during which a sharp increase in DNA synthesis occurs with active mitosis [2]. In the light of early changes in ATP concentra- tion found in liver after PH, before activation of cell proliferation [5,6], mitochondria were investigated as they are directly involved in the process of liver regeneration [4,7–16]. Many mitochondrial functions, including oxidative phosphorylation [11–13] and generation of reactive oxygen species [14,15], were investigated in some detail in the prereplicative phase of liver regeneration. In isolated mitochondria, a decrease in the respiratory control index [12], ATP synthesis, probably due to a decrease in the ATPsynthase complex content [14], and glutathione content [13] as well as an increase in malondialdehyde production [14] BioMed Central Page 1 of 8 (page number not for citation purposes) Health and Quality of Life Outcomes Open Access Research Indoors illumination and seasonal changes in mood and behavior are associated with the health-related quality of life Sharon Grimaldi*, Timo Partonen, Samuli I Saarni, Arpo Aromaa and Jouko Lönnqvist Address: National Public Health Institute, Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research, Helsinki, Finland Email: Sharon Grimaldi* - sharon.grimaldi-toriz@ktl.fi; Timo Partonen - timo.partonen@ktl.fi; Samuli I Saarni - samuli.saarni@ktl.fi; Arpo Aromaa - arpo.aromaa@ktl.fi; Jouko Lönnqvist - jouko.lonnqvist@ktl.fi * Corresponding author Abstract Objective: Seasonal changes in mood and behavior are common in a general population, being of relevance to public health. We wanted to analyze whether the HRQoL is associated with the seasonal changes in mood and behavior. Because the shortage of exposure to daylight or artificial bright light has been linked to the occurrence of the seasonal changes, we wanted to know whether illumination indoors contributes to the HRQoL. Methods: Of the sample of 7979 individuals, being representative of the Finnish general population aged 30 and over, 88% were interviewed face to face, and 84% participated in the health status examination after which the self-report assessment of the HRQoL and the seasonal changes in mood and behavior took place. The illumination levels experienced indoors were asked during the interview and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was filled in before the health examination. Results: The HRQoL was influenced by both the seasonal changes in mood and behavior (P < 0.001) and the illumination experienced indoors (P < 0.001). Greater seasonal changes (P < 0.001) and poor illumination indoors (P = 0.0035) were associated with more severe mental ill-being. Conclusion: The routinely emerging seasonal changes in mood and behavior are associated with the HRQoL and mental well-being. Better illumination indoors might alleviate the season-bound symptoms and thereby enhance the HRQoL and mental well-being. Introduction Exposures to light, or the light-dark transitions, are needed for reset of the principal circadian clock on a daily basis. The principal circadian clock, which is located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the anterior hypothalamus in the brain, also reacts to changes in the length of day [1] and thereby tunes the drive to its targets [2]. Changes of season challenge these time-keeping mechanisms of action as, for instance, the evening-active cells yield the dominance to the morning-active cells within the princi- pal circadian clock following the shortening of the length of day and the shortage of daylight in the fall [3]. Individ- uals with recurrent major depressive episodes in a partic- ular period of the year have seasonal affective disorder [4]. 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