In 2010, the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) came into force in the EU and establishes a framework for achieving legally binding greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. Only sustainable biofuels can be counted towards Member State targets. The aim of this paper is to calculate realistic and...

During the last years, the renewable energy strategy of the European Union (EU) and the proposed policies and regulations, namely the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), have been heavily discussed among scientific circles and various interest groups. The sustainability of different biofuels and...

The European Union's (EU) Renewable Energy Directive (RED) continues to be the focus of much debate over the validity of biofuel sustainability. The debate is driven in part by ongoing concerns of transparency and regional variations of emissions from feedstock cultivation and processing. In a...

In this paper we discuss the determinants which contribute to outbound tourism expenditures. The aim is to show whether and how different socio-economic factors in countries of origin are responsible for the demand, to spent money for tourist activities in foreign countries. While we are able to...

We analyze whether biodiversity is increasing the receipts of tourism and beneficial for Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The underlying assumption is that a rich biodiversity provides a comparative advantage for most LDCs. We use a simple trade theory framework. The model is supported by an...

In this paper we discuss the effects of cultural - and particular religious - factors on tourist flows into the USA as the world largest tourism destination. To estimate this empirically we run an augmented gravity equation. Our results give evidence that the gravity equation is an adequate...

In this paper, we analyse whether biodiversity can enhance the developmental process in developing countries (DCs) by increasing tourism receipts in a trade-based endogenous growth framework. The model is based on the underlying assumption that a rich biodiversity provides a comparative...

Summary In this paper we empirically discuss whether or not debt relief has been economically rational in the past 15 years. From analyzing the determinants of debt relief, our results suggest that governance quality did not play a role in the decision of creditor countries to forgive debt in...