转变煤炭产业经济发展新模式的思考

我国是能源消费大国,＂富煤贫油少气＂是我国能源资源分布的突出特点。当前,我国煤炭资源利用以直接燃烧和传统煤化工为主,能源转化效率和资源综合利用水平极低,环境污染较大。过度依赖于能源的煤炭产业结构和经济发展方式,导致煤炭产业初级化、重型化、单一化问题突出。因此,实现绿色采矿、发展循环经济、开展煤炭深加工、提高煤炭资源就地转化水平等一系列转变煤炭产业经济的新发展模式,已成为实现我国经济发展方式转变、实现资源型国家可持续发展的最现实有效的选择。     

新疆煤炭消费变化影响因素分析

以煤为主的能源消费结构是造成大气污染的主要原因之一,在实现经济的可持续发展和节能减排的双重目标下,煤炭的消费问题倍受重视。为了深入了解煤炭消费的变化,把握影响煤炭消费量的因素,将影响因素分为规模因素、结构因素和强度因素对新疆煤炭消费量变化进行了分析。分析发现,规模因素是导致新疆煤炭消费量增加的主要因素,现有产业结构不利于煤炭资源的节约,煤炭资源的节约主要依靠政策引导下的煤炭消费效率的提高。     

能源消费、煤炭消费与经济增长关系研究

能源是国家的战略性资源,煤炭是中国重要的能源之一,煤炭对我国经济发展起到了举足轻重的作用。研究能源消费、煤炭消费与经济增长的相互关系,对于发展经济具有重要的指导意义。运用我国GDP总量、能源消费总量和煤炭消费总量的数据,首先,得到我国煤炭消费收入弹性系数依然过高的结论;其次,建立协整与误差修正模型,并进行Granger因果关系检验,得出能源消费与经济增长、煤炭消费与经济增长之间长期是均衡的,能源消费与经济增长、煤炭消费与经济增长存在着协整与双向因果关系。最后,根据分析结论提出对策建议,即政府需要提供相关政策支持,建设国家煤炭储备体系,实施煤炭供应国际化战略,以保证能源供应安全,保证我国经济增长速度。     

我国煤炭资源空间流动的基本格局与流输通道

我国煤炭资源生产与消费在空间上的错位性分布,使其流动成为一种广域性、大规模的空间现象,煤炭流输通道成为煤炭供需平衡的关键所在。文章首先将我国30个煤炭资源流动省(市、区)划分为三大系统输出源地系统、输入汇地系统和后备资源储备系统,在分析我国铁路、公路、水路和管道流输通道现状和问题的基础上,提出应在进一步完善煤炭铁路和公路流输通道的同时,大力提高水路煤炭运输能力,并从长远考虑重视发展管道运输系统。     

提高我国煤炭资源利用效率的几点思考

煤炭作为我国的基础能源在能源生产和消费中的比例一直较高,随着我国工业化和城镇化推进,煤炭消耗总量逐年递增,但煤炭资源利用效率却不高。本文从产业结构,煤炭资源的保护、储备、开采、产品结构、科技投入以及产业集中度等方面对影响煤炭资源利用效率的因素进行了多角度分析,提出了相应的对策建议。     

不同省区内部煤炭产业流动及资源环境效应

在梳理我国煤炭产业利用途径的基础上,选取山西、山东、辽宁3省,再现了各省煤炭产业流动过程,并运用物质流分析对资源流动进行了核算,最后从资源自给率、耗煤产业结构、环境影响等方面分析了煤炭流动的资源环境效应.结论有:①不同省区资源/产品自给率不同.随着由资源→初级产品→再加工产品的煤炭产业流动的逐步深入,各省煤炭资源/产品的自给率都不同程度地提高.②煤炭资源产业流动可以优化煤炭产业结构.辽宁资源/产品中间消费比重高于山东、山西,其煤炭产业结构较完善.③各省原煤入洗率低、资源回收率低、产品产率低使得煤炭产业流动的环境影响大,尤其是入洗率和回收率的提升潜力较大.     

中国家庭能源消费变化趋势分析

研究家庭能源消费可为能源规划政策的制定提供科学依据。以中国家庭能源消费为研究对象,在全国和省域尺度上,分析了其在时间序列上的变化趋势及其空间差异。结果显示:(1)1997—2016年,中国城乡家庭能源消费在总量上的差距逐渐扩大,在人均量上逐渐缩小,说明城市化过程中家庭部门的能源消费不断向城市地区转移,同时农村家庭的能源消费水平也在不断提高;(2)电力消费在各地区均呈显著上升趋势,石油、天然气和热力基本呈上升趋势,煤炭在各地区有增有减,说明家庭能源结构呈现出电力等现代能源对煤炭的替代及煤炭的清洁化利用趋势;(3)不同能源消费类型的变化速率有很强的空间异质性,反映了家庭能源消费结构在各地区处于不同的发展阶段。     

我国煤炭进口现状与未来进口趋势分析

2003年以来,随着我国煤炭需求的较快增长和国际国内煤炭市场形势的变化,我国煤炭进口量开始快速增加,并已成为全球最大的煤炭进口国。未来5~10年,我国经济增速虽会有所回落,但总体仍处于较快增长阶段,能源需求仍将保持持续增长。煤炭是我国最主要的能源消费产品,由于能源结构调整是一个长期过程,预计"十二五"期间煤炭需求仍将呈持续增长趋势,"十三五"时期受能源结构调整和经济增速进一步回落影响,预计煤炭需求增速将会进一步放缓。由于我国主要煤炭消费地资源不足,新增煤炭需求将全部依靠外运,预计2020年前我国煤炭进口将保持持续增长态势。由于目前主要的煤炭进口国资源储量和国内政策等方面的差异,预计来自印尼和越南的进口量将持续下降,而来自澳大利亚、俄罗斯等国的进口量将逐渐上升。     

煤炭资源开发对中国煤炭城市经济增长的影响——基于资源诅咒学说的经验研究

文章针对我国煤炭城市普遍存在的煤炭资源大量开采输出与经济发展水平滞后并存的反差现象,运用资源诅咒学说,通过数理模型的推导讨论了煤炭资源开发对煤炭城市长期经济增长产生的四种不同效应,并利用我国28个地级煤炭城市1997-2007年的面板数据,对煤炭资源开发与煤炭城市经济增长之间的关联效应及其传导机制进行了实证考察。结果显示:煤炭资源的开发确实束缚了煤炭城市的经济增长而产生了资源诅咒效应;固定资产投资和制造业投入对煤城经济增长的促进作用较为显著,科技投入对经济增长也表现出了一定的推动作用,但外资投入和人力资本投入的作用均不显著;煤炭城市经济发展中的要素利用效率偏低,粗放式的增长模式表现明显;煤炭资源开发主要通过削弱制造业投入、外资投入、科技投入和人力资本投入这四种传导途径来制约经济增长,其中制造业投入是作用最强的传导因素。最后文章为我国煤炭城市的经济发展提出了针对性的政策建议。     

基于变参数模型的中国能源结构和经济增长之间的关系研究

文章利用1978—2010年的时间序列数据和状态空间模型对中国能源消费结构与经济增长关系进行了研究。研究发现,我国煤炭、石油和水电等能源的消费和经济增长之间存在着协整关系,消费弹性系数是服从随机游走形式的;中国煤炭、石油和水电等能源的消费与经济增长之间存在随时间不断变化的长期均衡关系即变参数协整关系;基于状态空间模型的变参数估计揭示了中国能源消费弹性的时变规律。     

Pleasure and belief in Hume's Decision Process

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to introduce explicitly pleasure and belief in what aims at being a Humean theory of decision, like the one developed in Diaye and Lapidus (2005a). Although we support the idea that Hume was in some way a hedonist – evidently different from Bentham's or Jevons' way – we lay emphasis less on continuity than on the specific kind of hedonism encountered in Hume's writings (chiefly the Treatise, the second Enquiry, the Dissertation, or some of his Essays). Such hedonism clearly contrasts to its standard modern inheritance, expressed by the relation between preferences and utility.

The reason for such a difference with the usual approach lies in the mental process that Hume puts to the fore in order to explain the way pleasure determines desires and volition. Whereas pleasure is primarily, in Hume's words, an impression of sensation, it takes place in the birth of passions as reflecting an idea of pleasure, whose “force and vivacity” is precisely a “belief”, transferred to the direct passions of desire or volition that come immediately before action. As a result, from a Humean point of view, “belief” deals with decision under risk or uncertainty, as well as with intertemporal decision and indiscrimination problems.

The latter are explored within a formal framework, and it is shown that the relation of pleasure is transformed by belief into a non-empty class of relations of desire, among which at least one is a preorder.     

Globalization,Neoliberalism and the attack on social security

Neoliberal political movements advocate privatization of public pension systems. Globalization imposes pressure on nations to conform to neoliberal policy views with respect to the design and structure of social insurance, including public pension systems. The paper begins with an investigation of the economic, ethical and ideological dimensions of the privatization debates in the U.S.; it argues that privatization advocates may be largely moved by ideology, since the other reasons advanced appear weak or unfounded. The second part discusses the history of Social Security, the purposes for its creation, and some of its economic effects. Differences between public and private pension systems are considered. A brief international comparison of some aspects of public pension system finance and benefit structures is presented. The final section considers the ethical, macroeconomic and distributional implications of privatization, prefunding and payroll tax funding, and argues for a pay as you go system financed with income taxes. In order to promote equity, economic security, community, and social cohesion, public pension systems should be universal in coverage. In order to reduce the inequality, income insecurity, and aged poverty generated by market economies, public pension systems ought to be progressive: benefit/contribution ratios should be inversely proportional to income, and progressive income taxes should finance the system. To promote economic growth, the systems should be financed on a pay-as-you-go basis, and should not be prefunded except for an emergency reserve. The fiscal policy recommendations partially depend upon the theory developed by Abba Lerner in the 1940s, and recently advanced by Wynne Godley and Randy Wray: Lerner's “principle of functional finance.”     

Interest on reserves and inflation

The payment of interest on reserves has been a common practice in inflationary economies. This policy may seem paradoxical since it involves returning part of the seigniorage, generated by the inflation process, with the intention to finance the fiscal deficit. This paper argues that the motivation for this policy can be captured by the discretionary regime, where the policymaker pays interest on reserves because he is concerned with the erosion of real liquidity by inflation, which is in part beyond his control. However, this policy is an unlikely outcome in the commitment regime, where the policymaker is in full control of inflation.     

John Stuart Mill's Theories of Wealth and Income Distribution

Although he was much influenced by David Ricardo when he wrote the classical part of his Principles , John Stuart Mill was not a Ricardian when he penned his theories of wealth and distribution. They are based on a triple foundation. First, a belief that economics is a moral discipline. Second a theory of custom-driven human behavior. Third, an empirically formed conviction that the institutions of state, education and business cooperate to structure the distribution of income. On the basis of these presuppositions, Mill formulated 1) an institutional theory of the formation of human and non-human wealth and 2) an even more institutional theory of distribution demonstrating how the aforementioned institutions malignantly skew the distribution of income to the advantage of the propertied classes and to the extreme disadvantage of the working class. As a social economist, Mill recommended institutional reforms designed to eradicate the poverty of the working class.     

Forecasting the price of gold

This article seeks to evaluate the appropriateness of a variety of existing forecasting techniques (17 methods) at providing accurate and statistically significant forecasts for gold price. We report the results from the nine most competitive techniques. Special consideration is given to the ability of these techniques to provide forecasts which outperforms the random walk (RW) as we noticed that certain multivariate models (which included prices of silver, platinum, palladium and rhodium, besides gold) were also unable to outperform the RW in this case. Interestingly, the results show that none of the forecasting techniques are able to outperform the RW at horizons of 1 and 9 steps ahead, and on average, the exponential smoothing model is seen providing the best forecasts in terms of the lowest root mean squared error over the 24-month forecasting horizons. Moreover, we find that the univariate models used in this article are able to outperform the Bayesian autoregression and Bayesian vector autoregressive models, with exponential smoothing reporting statistically significant results in comparison with the former models, and classical autoregressive and the vector autoregressive models in most cases.     

Planned adaptation in risk regulation: An initial survey of US environmental, health, and safety regulation

In principle, we want regulatory programs to be based on current realities, as reflected for example in the best knowledge of relevant experts. That would imply that old rules now on the books should be consistent with today's knowledge base, not just what was known when a rule or standard was originally set. This paper reports on a survey of US programs, examining how often existing rules are actually updated in light of better knowledge, and identifies five programs that attempt to make policy routinely adaptive. These programs exhibit what we term Planned Adaptation: they both revise rules when relevant new knowledge appears, and take steps to produce such improved knowledge. While Planned Adaptation is rare, it is used in several nationally prominent programs, including air pollution, airplane safety, and drug safety. Planned Adaptation is a policy tool that deserves more attention.     

Information infrastructure: Who builds broadband networks?

This paper examines the essential difference between the U.S. and Japan, when one considers information infrastructure. There are seven perception gaps between the U.S. and Japan concerning Information Infrastructure policies. These gaps must be understood in order to compare the countries' governmental policies in this area. In looking at the present circumstances, the essential question to answer concerns who is to build, own and operate the network(s) of the infrastructure. Liberalization is certain to be a central factor in the ongoing telecommunications debates. Now that customers have had a taste of the liberalized market-place, the movement toward more open markets will be difficult to stop. When considering options, it is necessary to pay close attention to standardized network access and the increasingly important role software plays. These issues are causing us to take a new approach to the traditional role played by regulators. They also force a closer look at the appropriate structure of utility companies. This paper addresses the above issues in hopes of stimulating dialog on the new telecommunications infrastructure paradigm.     

Bayesian estimation of duration models: An application of the multiperiod probit model

The multiperiod probit model is presented and Bayesian estimation using the Gibbs sampler with data augmentation is described. As an empirical illustration, the multiperiod probit model is then used to estimate a duration model using employment duration data for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Bayesian estimation with unobserved heterogeneity is shown to be a simple extension of estimation of a duration model with no unobserved heterogeneity. More importantly, perhaps, some numerical problems encountered by other authors using Maximum Likelihood are avoided.I would like to thank M. Baker, G. Koop, A. Melino and D. Poirier for helpful comments and discussions. I would also like to thank M. Baker for providing his data.     

海岛地区产业演替及资源基础分析--以舟山群岛为例

改革开放以来,舟山市产业构成发生了显著变化,其经济发展过程可以划分为三个阶段。1992年前,是以产业结构渔业占绝对地位的单一结构阶段;1993—1998年,以旅游业为主的第三产业快速发展阶段;上世纪末以来,又进入了新一轮的经济发展时期,即工业产值比重快速增加阶段。根据海岛的自然资源基础和特点,在新世纪的经济发展过程中,舟山市应定位为生态型的港口旅游城市。以港口及临港工业为主导,以海岛旅游和海洋经济为特色,大力发展第二产业和第三产业。海岛地区的主导产业应体现海岛资源优势及区位优势,以集群性环保型产业为主。同时由于海岛地区淡水资源缺乏,主导产业也应着重选择低耗水型产业。