Bureau for Economic Theory and Applications

International audience

Humanity's food system has an immense environmental impact, and insects have been frequently proposed as a more environmentally sustainable option. The industrialised farming of insects for livestock feed and human food has attracted the attention of industry, policymakers, and the scientific community. However, many of the benefits commonly mentioned by companies and proponents of insect farming are challenged by current scientific evidence. This review examines the evidence used to assess insect farming's environmental benefits and drawbacks for both human food and animal feed. Significant knowledge gaps remain. Most studies have been conducted in small-scale settings, which may not accurately reflect real-world, industrial conditions. There are significant uncertainties, with many authors highlighting the fact that the future environmental impact of large-scale insect production is largely unknown. This is especially true given claims that insects can be fed on food waste and that insect frass can be used as fertiliser, both of which have considerable challenges to overcome at scale. Lastly, most insect based foods replace plant-based products with limited environmental impact rather than meat, and several studies indicate that insects-based feeds and pet food can have a larger environmental impact than conventional products. By providing a comprehensive overview, this review highlights key areas for further research and ensures policymakers have a clearer picture of the remaining uncertainties surrounding this emerging industry.

In an era when companies increasingly question their innovation process and the integration of different stakeholders (internal as well as external) to improve and accelerate their innovation, our research highlights the contribution of innovation communities to the different steps of the collaborative innovation process. Adopting a dynamic approach, through a 4-stage innovation process, we differ from previous studies on the topic of open innovation and communities by analyzing at the same time the role and impact of three different innovation communities – user communities, communities of practice and epistemic communities – in the outdoor sport industry, a highly competitive sector where collaborative innovation is a strategic driver. We adopt a qualitative, multi-case study through three emblematic case studies in the French outdoor sport industry – Salomon, Décathlon and Raidlight – and more than 30 interviews. Our results highlight the complementary role of the three types of innovation communities through the 4-stages innovation process, including their different degrees of contribution depending on the stage, filling a gap in the literature so far. They also enrich the empirical research on innovation communities by taking into account not only virtual, online communities but also physical ones. These results provide promising opportunities for studying the governance of such communities by the firm in a collaborative innovation process and enlarge the classical dyadic approach of open innovation.

Abstract This paper analyzes the link between the exchange rate misalignments and the external balance under a pegged currency system focusing on the former French colonies of Africa (the CFA zone). Having discussed and chosen an appropriate analytical framework, it addresses the issue of model uncertainty regarding the equilibrium exchange rate model before estimating currency misalignments. The results show that misalignments have a negative and asymmetric impact on the current account. While overvaluation of the CFA franc deteriorates the current account, undervaluation does not improve it. Finally, our results highlight that the export concentration tends to exacerbate the overall negative impact of currency misalignments.

Abstract From an original data set on the euro–dollar and on the won–dollar currency pairs (2008–2010), we conduct a threshold quantile autoregressive model to explain the role of aTobin tax (TT) on the exchange rate volatility, taking into account two types of nonlinearity (regimes and quantiles). We find evidence that the impact of aTTwould not be monotonic. ATTmay be a good instrument to stabilize foreign exchange volatility only in normal times and/or in efficient markets. In contrast, aTTcould be counterproductive in turbulent periods by increasing the volatility. In addition, by comparing a major currency pair (euro/dollar) and a minor currency pair (won/dollar), it appears that the potential stabilizing effect of aTTwould be more clear‐cut in the low volatility regime of a major currency pair, similar to the euro/dollar. Our results do not corroborate the previous studies that derived a monotonic and positive impact of aTTon volatility.

Après avoir montré que le divorce est un risque dont on peut estimer la probabilité d’occurrence et évaluer l’importance des pertes pour chaque conjoint, l’offre d’assurance divorce est étudiée en menant plus particulièrement une réflexion sur les bénéficiaires potentiels de cette offre, les pertes qui pourraient être couvertes et le type d’assurance envisageable, notamment au regard des problèmes traditionnels d’anti-sélection et de risque moral. La demande d’assurance est ensuite examinée, en insistant sur les problèmes de perception des risques mais aussi en réfléchissant à la possibilité qu’ont les époux de se protéger eux-mêmes, par l’auto-assurance et l’autoprotection.