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Für die neue Statistik der Strom- und Erdgasdurchschnittspreise hat das Statistische Bundesamt erstmals im Jahr 2020 Durchschnittspreise für Strom und Erdgas beim Verkauf an Endkunden im Haushaltssektor und Nicht-Haushaltssektor erfasst. Die ermittelten Preise werden gegliedert nach verschiedenen Jahresverbräuchen, Preisbestandteile wie Steuern, Netzentgelte sowie Vertrieb und Energie getrennt ausgewiesen. Mit der ersten Erhebung für den Berichtszeitraum zweites Halbjahr 2019 wurden erstmals die Vorgaben der Verordnung über europäische Erdgas- und Strompreisstatistik aus dem Jahr 2016 umgesetzt. Der Aufsatz erläutert die Anforderungen der neuen EU-Verordnung sowie deren Umsetzung in Deutschland. In 2020, the Federal Statistical Office for the first time calculated the average prices of electricity and natural gas sold to final household and non-household customers in order to compile the new statistics on average electricity and natural gas prices. The prices are structured according to different annual consumption bands. Price components such as taxes and network costs as well as distribution and energy are shown separately. The first survey was conducted for the reporting period covering the second half of 2019 and for the first time implemented the requirements of the Regulation on European statistics on natural gas and electricity prices of 2016. The article explains the requirements of the new EU Regulation and its implementation in Germany.

This report shows how competition policy can help African countries boost inclusive and sustainable development. Prepared by the World Bank Group (WBG) in partnership with the African Competition Forum, the study reviews the implementation of competition frameworks in Africa and examines competition issues that affect market performance in three important sectors for Africa's competitiveness: cement, fertilizers, and telecoms. It uses the WBG's Markets and Competition Policy Assessment Tool to identify how competition rule and their enforcement could be made more effective, and to highlight economic and regulatory characteristics of cement, fertilizers and telecoms markets that dampen competition and increase the risk of anticompetitive business practices. Conservative estimates put forward by this report suggest that addressing weak competition in principle staple foods across three countries would have the effect of lifting around 500,000 people above the poverty line by lowering consumer prices. Fundamental market reforms to increase competition in key input services would also boost economic growth. For example, professional services reforms would deliver an additional 0.16–0.43 percent of additional annual gross domestic product growth. While the benefits of competition are clearly observable in Africa, considerable effort is still required to ensure effective implementation of competition laws and incorporation of competition principles in government policies.

Although several studies have examined why overall price levels are higher in richer countries, little is known about whether there is a similar relationship at the urban and city level across countries. This paper compares the price levels of cities in Sub-Saharan Africa with those of other regions by analyzing price information collected for the 2011 round of the International Comparison Program. Readjusting the calculated price levels from national to urban levels, the analysis indicates that African cities are relatively more expensive, despite having lower income levels. The price levels of goods and services consumed by households are up to 31percent higher in Sub-Saharan Africa than in other low- and middle-income countries, relative to their income levels. Food and non-alcoholic beverages are especially expensive, with price levels around 35 percent higher than in other countries. The paper also analyzes price information collected by the Economist Intelligence Unit's Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, and obtains a similar result, indicating higher prices of goods and services in African cities.

This paper examines the effects of market integration on household consumption using data on seven food and two energy markets across South Sudan. The analysis reveals that markets in South Sudan are highly segmented. Price differences for narrowly defined products, across cities exceed in some cases 100 percent. In addition, price volatility increased substantially following the imposition of the trade restrictions with Sudan. This increase tends to hurt disproportionately the poor, who cannot smooth purchasing decisions over time because of liquidity constraints. Transportation costs explain almost half of the variation in food prices across space, and improving the quality of roads has a large potential to reduce prices in the most expensive towns. On the basis of this price effect, the simulations suggest that bringing all road quality across states to that of primary roads can yield a reduction in poverty from the rate of 51.7 percent in 2009 to between 42.8 and 46.9 percent. These estimates have to be interpreted as conservative, as they do not take into account the second-order effects of road construction from increased trade that will result from better road connectivity.

Income growth in emerging economies has often been cited as a key driver of the past decade’s com-modity price boom—the longest and broadest boom since World War II. This paper shows that income has a negative and highly significant effect on real food commodity prices, a finding that is consistent with Engel’s Law and Kindleberger’s thesis, the predecessors of the Prebisch-Singer hypothe-sis. The paper also shows that, in the long run, income influences real food prices mainly through the manufacturing price channel (the deflator), hence weakening the view that income growth exerts strong upward pressure on food prices. Other (short-term) drivers of food prices include energy costs, inventories, and monetary conditions.

Are politically connected firms more likely to evade taxes? This paper presents evidence suggesting firms owned by President Ben Ali and his family were more prone to evade import tariffs. During Ben Ali’s reign, evasion gaps, defined as the difference between the value of exports to Tunisia reported by partner countries and the value of imports reported at Tunisian customs, were correlated with the import share of connected firms. This association was especially strong for goods subject to high tariffs, and driven by underreporting of unit prices, which diminished after the revolution. Consistent with these product-level patterns, unit prices reported by connected firms were lower than those reported by other firms, and declined faster with tariffs than those of other firms. Moreover, privatization to the Ben Ali family was associated with a reduction in reported unit prices, whereas privatization per se was not.

The surge in global commodity prices of the past few years has presented a tremendous development challenge for South Asian countries. The large loss of income from the terms of trade shock has worsened macroeconomic balances, fueled rapid inflation, and hurt growth. Although commodity prices have come down recently, the benefits are being clouded by the emergence of a severe global financial crisis. The adverse consequences of the food price hike for the poor are large; the global financial crisis could further worsen the situation due to falling economic opportunities and government revenues. South Asian countries need to accelerate reforms to avoid facing a serious downturn in economic activity, investment, exports, and income. Governments in South Asia have responded by stabilizing domestic food prices through a number of short-term measures, tightened monetary policy to reduce inflation, and increased spending on a range of safety net programs for the poor. Some of the policies employed, such as export bans, are not consistent with the long-term welfare of the country or the region. Safety net interventions need to be made consistent with a longer-term poverty reduction strategy and fiscal sustainability. Most importantly, policy attention now needs to shift toward efforts to increase farm productivity, improve rural infrastructure, and lower the vulnerability of the poor.

This note combines and distills existing and new research to inform discussion on the topical policy issue of oil prices. Following four years of relative stability at around $105 per barrel (bbl), oil prices have declined sharply since June 2014 and are expected to remain low for a considerable period of time. The drop in prices likely marks the end of the commodity supercycle that began in the early 2000s. Since the past episodes of such sharp declines coincided with substantial fluctuations in activity and inflation, the causes and consequences of and policy responses to the recent plunge in oil prices have led to intensive debates. This paper addresses four questions at the center of these debates, with particular emphasis on emerging market and developing economies: 1) How does the recent decline in oil prices compare with previous episodes? 2) What are the causes of the sharp drop and what is the outlook for oil price? 3) What are the economic and financial consequences? 4) What are the main policy implications? The decline in oil prices will lead to significant real income shifts from oil exporters to oil importers, likely resulting in a net positive effect for global activity over the medium term. However, several factors could counteract the global growth and inflation implications of the lower oil prices. These include weak global demand and limited scope for additional monetary policy easing in many countries. The disinflationary implications of falling oil prices may be muted by sharp adjustments in currencies and effects of taxes, subsidies, and regulations on prices. Regarding fiscal policy, the loss in oil revenues for exporters will strain public finances, while savings among oil importers could help rebuild fiscal space. Lower oil prices also present a window of opportunity to implement structural reforms. These include, in particular, comprehensive and lasting reforms of fuel subsidies, as well as energy taxes more broadly.

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Civil, Nas últimas décadas têm-se assistido à contínua evolução dos programas de cálculo automático, aos quais os projetistas estruturais recorrem devido às facilidades que oferecem ao nível do dimensionamento estrutural. Estes programas surgem em resposta à procura por uma maior qualidade estrutural, uma vez que permitem uma modelação da estrutura mais realista face às ações a que esta se encontra. A qualidade de um projeto estrutural é um desafio, pois, não depende só do tipo de exigências feitas pelos utilizadores dos programas. Dada a abrangência dos regulamentos atualmente em vigor, depende também dos regulamentos impostos no dimensionamento estrutural, que consideram critérios para a otimização estrutural, permitindo obter estruturas mais económicas e com um comportamento adequado e previsível. No presente documento realiza-se, inicialmente, uma análise de projetos de estruturas de uma determinada amostra geral de edifícios, com recurso ao software de cálculo automático CYPECAD e pelos métodos prescritos no Regulamento de Estruturas de Betão Armado e Pré- Esforçado, o Regulamento de Segurança e Ações para Estruturas de Edifícios e Pontes e pelos Eurocódigos Estruturais. Na parte final do trabalho recorre-se a um estudo comparativo de regulamentações, que permitirá a definição de indicadores médios de consumo e custos médios para vigas e pilares., In the last decades, the continuous evolution of automatic design software is noticeable, to which engineers resort to due to the simplicity that they offer with respect to structural design. These appear as an answer to the demand of a higher structural quality, since they allow for a more realistic structural modeling with respect to the actions to which the building is subhected to. The quality of a structural project remains a challenge because it does not depend only on the requirements made by the software users. Due to the scope of applicable regulations, quality also depends on the regulations imposed on the structural design, which consider criteria for structural optimization, allowing more economic structures and a more adequate and predictable behavior. In the present document, first, an analysis of structural projects of a given general sample of buildings, using the automatic design software CYPECAD and the specifications of the Portuguese Code for Reinforced Concrete and Prestressed Structures, and the Code for Safety and Actions in Building and Bridges Structures, and by the Structural Eurocodes. In the final part of the work, there is a comparison study of regulations, which will allow for the definition of average consumption indicators and average costs for beams and columns.

This article examines the impacts of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on prices in its agricultural sector. The analysis uses a new methodology to estimate nominal protection rates in China's agricultural sector before its accession to the WTO. These new measures account for differences in commodity quality within China and between China and world markets. The analysis shows that some of China's agricultural commodities are well above world market prices and others are well below. The article also assesses market integration and efficiency in China. It finds high degrees of integration between coastal and inland markets and between regional and village markets. The remarkable improvements in market performance in recent years mean that if increased imports or exports affect China's domestic price near the border, producers throughout most of China will feel the price shifts.

Arab countries face a number of food security risks due to their high dependence on wheat imports. This study explores ways in which countries can mitigate these risks. The authors evaluate the wheat import supply chain (WISC) from the unloading port to bulk storage at the flour mill, before the wheat is milled into flour. Existing literature treats isolated topics related to the supply chain, such as strategic storage and the use of financial instruments. This study is unique in that it takes a holistic view of the supply chain by examining how strategic storage, logistics improvements, and procurement strategies can all be used to improve food security. This study considers three critical aspects to the WISC and proposes several strategies Arab countries may consider to mitigate import risks: strategic storage (chapter two): maintain strategic wheat reserves to weather times of crisis and food supply disruptions and to contribute to domestic and international price stabilization effects. Logistics (chapter three): promote investments throughout the supply chain that create smooth logistics, improve security, provide a reliable supply of wheat, reduce the base cost of importing wheat, and reduce product losses. Procurement (chapter four): develop a procurement strategy that leverages strategic partnerships while maintaining a diversified portfolio of suppliers and mitigates import risks through the use of hedging strategies. Currently, overall storage capacity in the region averages the equivalent of six months of consumption, and estimated ending stocks average four and one-half months. However, many Arab countries are planning to increase their strategic wheat reserves as a policy to improve food security. This can provide them with critical lead time to secure alternative wheat supplies or supply routes during times of crisis. Reserves also offer psychological benefits that may prevent hoarding and pilferage.

De commissie prijsprognoses appel en peer boog zich onlangs over de lange termijnverwachtingen voor de afzetprijzen van de belangrijkste appel- en perenrassen. Gelukkig zijn de tekenen voor het huidige afzetseizoen gunstig. Bij het opstellen van bedrijfsplannen en financiringsaanvragen moeten telers daarentegen rekenen met te verwachten afzetprijzen op de langere termijn. Die zijn gebaseerd op de (bij voorkeur bedrijfseigen) prijzen van de afgelopen vijf jaar en die stegen gemiddeld niet.

High volatility in the world prices of petroleum has been a characteristic feature of the global economy in the last decade. World petroleum prices increased four-fold between 2004 and 2008 and, and following a drop in prices in the second half of 2008, petroleum prices have been rising again, and they are several times higher than they were two decades ago. Since high and volatility of prices is likely to be a permanent feature of the global economy for the foreseeable future, they merit a reconsideration of the national transport and taxation policies that were put in place when fuel prices were not such a significant component of trade-related transactions costs in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. Transport practices that were based on the assumption of low price of fuel are not sustainable, and policies neglect fuel efficiency considerations through lowering the fuel consumption of vehicles measures are no longer sustainable. Efficient and low transport cost is essential to achieve regional economic integration and strengthen Africa's competitiveness in external markets. Higher diesel prices also impact on the prices of all other goods which use diesel as an intermediate input. The most significant among them with implications for the poor in low-income developing countries is food, on which the poor spend a disproportionately high share of their total household expenditures. This report is in three parts in the first part, transport fuel prices in the countries of SSA are compared with those of other regions of the world. The comparison is not only in terms of the actual retail prices but also, but taking account of per capita incomes and truck revenues, also in terms of affordability. This Part also provides evidence of the make-up of transport fuel prices in SSA countries, as a first step in assessing how they can be dealt with. The second part provides new evidence of the impact of these high fuel prices on the export competiveness of a sample of six SSA countries. It also provides a shorter description of the results of a study of the impact of fuel prices on logistics costs in Central America, since so far there have not been any studies of the impact of high transport fuel prices on logistics and food costs in SSA countries. The third part deals with the ways in which the impact of high transport fuel prices can be addressed. Two main areas of action are described, those that would reduce the retail price of transport fuel and those that would increase fuel efficiency, so they impact of high prices would be reduced. This section focuses on diesel fuel, as this is by far the most used by the trucks that transport export products and are involved in domestic logistics. This section concludes with some ideas on what could be done next to make progress on implementing the most promising ideas for reducing the impact of high transport fuel prices.

World prices for staple foods increased between 2006 and 2008, and accelerated sharply in 2008. Initial analysis indicated that the adverse effects of higher food prices in Uganda were likely to be small because of the diversity of its staple foods, high level of food self-sufficiency, and weak links with world markets. This paper extends the previous analyses, disaggregating by regions and individual food items, using more recent price data, and estimating the impact on consumption poverty. The analysis finds that poor households in Uganda tend to be net buyers of food staples, and therefore suffer welfare losses when food prices increase. This is most pronounced in urban areas, but holds true for most rural households as well. The diversity of staple foods has not been an effective buffer because of price increases across a range of staple foods. The paper estimates that both the incidence and depth of poverty have increased -- at least in the short run -- as a result of higher food prices in 2008, increasing by 2.6 and 2.2 percentage points, respectively. The increase in poverty is highest in the Northern region, which is already the poorest in Uganda. The need for mitigating social protection measures appears to be greater than previously recognized. Not only are the negative impacts larger, but they are also much more widespread geographically. This suggests the need for continued close monitoring of the situation, including monitoring the adequacy of existing safety nets and feeding programs.

There is much in common between the agricultural sectors of the United States and Canada. This chapter begins with a brief background on the two sectors, then reviews their histories of farm policy developments before reporting new estimates of rates of assistance to their farmers and their consequences for taxpayers and consumers. This is followed by an explanation of the politics behind the evolution and gyrations in farm policies in the two countries, and some speculation on the prospect for reform. Since the policy histories and their effects in the two countries are somewhat different, they are discussed sequentially in those sections.

Glastuinders kunnen inkomensrisico’s door gasprijsstijgingen beperken door financiële derivaten af te sluiten. Vooral voor bedrijven met weinig financiële ruimte kan dat aantrekkelijk zijn. Het afsluiten van dergelijke derivaten brengt echter ook extra kosten met zich mee en het is de vraag in hoeverre deze bedrijven bereid zijn om deze kosten te betalen.

Glastuinders kunnen inkomensrisico’s door gasprijsstijgingen beperken door financiële derivaten af te sluiten. Vooral voor bedrijven met weinig financiële ruimte kan dat aantrekkelijk zijn. Het afsluiten van dergelijke derivaten brengt echter ook extra kosten met zich mee en het is de vraag in hoeverre deze bedrijven bereid zijn om deze kosten te betalen.

Researchers often use unit values (household expenditures on a commodity divided by the quantity purchased) as proxies for market prices when calculating poverty lines and estimating consumer demand equations. Such proxies are often needed because community price surveys in developing economies are either absent or suffer quality problems. However, using unit values may result in biases due to measurement error and quality effects. In a household survey experiment, information on prices was obtained in three ways: from unit values, from a market price survey, and from the opinions of householders who were shown pictures of items and asked to report the local price. The three sets of price data are used to calculate poverty lines, estimate price elasticities, and analyze marginal tax reforms. There are substantial biases when unit values are used as a proxy for market price, even when sophisticated correction methods are applied. Performance was better for the price opinions of household members. The results highlight the importance of price collection methods and the need to consider the wider costs of having potentially unreliable community-level price data.

De commissie prijsprognoses appel en peer boog zich onlangs over de lange termijnverwachtingen voor de afzetprijzen van de belangrijkste appel- en perenrassen. Gelukkig zijn de tekenen voor het huidige afzetseizoen gunstig. Bij het opstellen van bedrijfsplannen en financiringsaanvragen moeten telers daarentegen rekenen met te verwachten afzetprijzen op de langere termijn. Die zijn gebaseerd op de (bij voorkeur bedrijfseigen) prijzen van de afgelopen vijf jaar en die stegen gemiddeld niet.