Abstract

Abstract
This paper studies inefficiencies arising in oligopolies subject to environmental regulation based on tradable emission permits. We propose a duopoly model of upstream-downstream strategic competition: in the permits market a leader sets the price, whereas in the output market Cournot competition occurs. We find that strategic interaction in the output market gives rise to an additional distortion in the permits market where both firms adopt rival's cost-rising' strategies to gain a competitive advantage in the output market. As a result, the price of permits is always higher than firms' marginal abatement costs.

Abstract
A free daily newspaper distributes news to readers and sells ad-space to advertisers, having private information about its audience. For a given number of distributed copies, depending on the type of audience (favorable or unfavorable), the newspaper may either have a large readership or a small readership. A large readership provides a greater return to advertisers, because ads are visualized by more people. A favorable audience has also the advantage of requiring a lower distribution cost (for a given number of distributed copies), because readers are willing to exert more effort to obtain a copy of the free newspaper and are less likely to reject a copy that is handed to them. We find that when the audience is unfavorable, the number of distributed copies and the price of ad-space coincide with those of the perfect information scenario. In contrast, if the audience is favorable, the newspaper prints extra copies to send a credible signal to the advertisers that the audience is favorable. Overprinting is not necessarily welfare-detrimental since readers benefit from the existence of additional copies.

Abstract
At present, the financial market is facing severe constraints arising by household bankruptcy, mortgage debtor defaults and over-indebtedness. It is a common belief that improving economic (and financial in specific) literacy will improve the awareness of individuals about complex issues surrounding them and their ability to take financial decisions. The lack of basic knowledge about the functioning of markets may have detrimental consequences, in particular higher exposure to credit and financial risk. In spite of these wider developments, the importance of economic literacy on the making financial decisions about credits has been scarcely explored in empirical terms. This paper contributes to this line of research. Our purpose is to empirically demonstrate the influence of economic literacy on the financial decision making process, and, consequently, on the ability to meet the contracts. We analyse the Portuguese case, a country about which there is scant empirical evidence on these matters, and we use an original database built under the Economicando project. We assess how much knowledge individuals have with respect to economics lato sensu (i.e. including aspects of financial literacy). We seek to understand the relationship between economic literacy and over-indebtedness. The study has been conducted under the research project Research project "Economicando" (PTDC/EGE-ECO/100923/2008), financed by FEDER funds through the Programa Operacional Fatores de Competitividade - COMPETE and by national funds through the FCT Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia.

Abstract
Web accessibility is growing in importance. We may also find an increasing need for access to web resources by those with some sort of disability. The Web is very important for spreading information and for promoting interaction between the various elements in society. Given this, it is essential that the Web presents itself as a totally accessible resource, so that it can help citizens with disabilities and their integration in society. This obligation should be even greater for enterprises as primarily the Web is used as a marketing and business platform. With this document, we present indicators regarding the [lack of] accessibility levels of Portuguese enterprise websites. This article contains theoretical and background considerations as well as the results of two different studies that the research team undertook. First of all, the research team made a comparison between the 1000 largest Portuguese enterprises (annual sales volume) and the 1000 best Portuguese small and medium enterprises (sales growth and profit) using a specialised software tool and according to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0; the research team then also considered WCAG 2.0 and its impact on enterprise Web accessibility. In the second study (qualitative in nature), focus group interactions led to a set of recommendations towards greater accessibility.

Abstract
This paper proposes a novel framework for modeling the Value for the Customer, the so-called Conceptual Model for Decomposing Value for the Customer (CMDVC). This conceptual model is first validated through an exploratory case study where the authors validate both the proposed constructs of the model and their relations. In a second step the authors propose a mathematical formulation for the CMDVC as well as a computational method. This has enabled the final quantitative discussion of how the CMDVC can be applied and used in the enterprise environment, and the final validation by the people in the enterprise. Along this research, we were able to con firm that the results of this novel quantitative approach to model the Value for the Customer is consistent with the company's empirical experience. The paper further discusses the merits and limitations of this approach, proposing that the model is likely to bring value to support not only the contract preparation at an Ex-Ante Negotiation Phase, as demonstrated, but also along the actual negotiation process, as finally confirmed by an enterprise testimonial.