Nuclear licensing in the United States: enhancing public confidence in the regulatory process

A nuclear regulator’s paramount purpose is to utilize its expertise to ensure protection of public safety. But, recent actions by countries, such as Germany, to phase out nuclear power illustrate that public perception of nuclear safety can change swiftly despite a country’s long history of safely operating nuclear power plants. Public trust, acceptance, and involvement in nuclear regulatory decisions, therefore, are critical to a successful nuclear power program. In the United States, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (‘NRC’) has a long-standing practice of conducting its regulatory responsibilities in an open and transparent manner. The NRC, as a regular part of its decision-making process, also reaches out to affected and interested parties and invites their involvement in its regulatory processes. The NRC’s efforts to instill public confidence are an explicit recognition that nuclear safety and security are the public’s business. While the NRC must balance the public’s rights to participate in the licensing process with the applicant’s right to an efficient and timely licensing decision on an application, ultimately the NRC’s decision-making process is more effective and more broadly accepted by the public when it includes participation of a diverse range of interested and affected parties.     

“丝绸之路经济带”框架下的能源合作

通过对“丝绸之路经济带”线路及辐射区与能源合作线路对比分析,概述了能源合作与“丝绸之路经济带”框架下的经贸合作产业合作、互联互通、区域经济合作、金融合作四个方面的关联。并从国际地缘政治、经贸合作、强化国际能源合作机制等维度,归纳了“丝绸之路经济带”能源合作的重大战略意义。     

我国能源上市企业财务危机预警研究

不同行业的财务指标与非财务指标有着不同的特征,而这些指标是构建财务危机预警模型的基础,因此有必要分行业进行财务危机预警研究。以我国能源行业上市企业为研究对象,对其预警指标进行分析,最终选取了10个能显著反映能源上市企业财务情况的指标,运用Logistic回归法构建预警模型,模型预测准确率达到了90％。     

节能减排约束下中国能源消费结构演变分析

优化能源消费结构是节能减排目标实现的有效措施。首先分析了能源消费结构演进的内在变动规律,并运用基于OLS估计的Markov链模型预测了2020年中国能源消费结构的变化趋势,得出中国能源消费结构中以煤炭为主的高碳能源消费比重不断下降,而高效清洁能源所占比重不断上升的结论;然后通过路径分析方法对节能减排约束下能源消费结构的外部影响因素进行了剖析,明确其影响效应。结果表明：一方面,碳排放量约束对能源消费结构优化的直接影响较大,能源消费量约束、经济发展水平、能源价格和能源禀赋对能源消费结构优化起着间接推动作用;另一方面,节能减排会对能源供给和能源利用效率造成一定程度的负面影响,从而使碳排放约束和能源消费量约束对科技发展水平产生抑制作用。     

开放式区域经济系统中的能源尾效研究

从开放式区域经济系统的研究视角出发,构建了基于超越对数生产函数的能源模型,采用偏最小二乘回归方法消除模型的多重共线性,估计了参数。并利用1995~2010年的数据,定量测度了新疆的能源增长尾效。研究发现,能源对新疆经济增长影响的"尾效"逐年增加,均值为2.17%,高于全国的尾效值。利用灰色预测法,可以预测2015年新疆的能源"尾效"将增大到2.75%。能源约束对新疆经济的可持续增长有重大影响。     

金融发展、能源消费与经济增长关系研究——基于动态面板数据的分析

通过面板数据系统广义矩估计方法,从金融发展、能源消费与经济增长的角度对我国1985~2011年省份进行的实证分析发现,整体而言,金融发展、能源消费与经济增长之间存在显著正相关关系;按照东、中、西部三个地区分类估计得出,区域金融发展、能源消费对经济增长的作用效果存在显著的区域差异性:金融发展对经济增长的作用效果存在自东向西逐次递减的现象,而能源消费对东部地区经济增长的作用效果最大,西部居中,中部最小。     

Survey of Recent Developments

Amid global economic uncertainty and tumbling world oil prices, Indonesia's economy faces pressure on its external balance and a continued growth slowdown. The government of President Joko Widodo (widely known as Jokowi) has set an agenda of reform, including simpler, faster investment licensing, historic cuts to fuel subsidies to generate fiscal savings, and increased spending on infrastructure. On the political side, Jokowi has had to deal with several political issues coming not only from parties in opposition but also from parties supporting his government, including during the formation of the new cabinet. We examine the consequences so far of the government's policy initiatives and of the policymaking process. While some initiatives have been implemented with success, some seem to have been launched without enough preparation, consultation, or empirical evidence, and many have been poorly communicated. Although inflation accelerated after the November fuel-price rise, efforts have been made to contain inflationary expectations and to mitigate the effects on poverty through social-assistance programs. The government took steps to cushion the impending impacts of higher fuel prices on vulnerable households by giving cash handouts of Rp 200,000 per month to 15.5 million disadvantaged families who receive the lowest level of welfare, and by promoting publicly funded education and health care. The partial removal of gasoline subsidies and the introduction of a fixed-subsidy policy for diesel in the revised 2015 budget reduce uncertainty about the fiscal position, although increases in government spending in infrastructure development were announced at the same time. The revised budget for 2015 increases spending on infrastructure development by 63% from the 2014 budget, mostly on projects to improve connectivity on land and at sea—such as the development of toll roads, railways, and ports—and to increase the performance of the agricultural sector. However, the recent drop in international oil prices forced the government to increase its target for tax revenue by 30% on last year's target, raising concerns about the effect of falling oil prices on the economy. Trade and investment policy reform is important in unlocking Indonesia's growth potential and improving the country's current external balance. Jokowi's administration, however, has been sending mixed signals about its position towards more open policies. The country has yet to recommence several trade negotiations that were postponed in 2014 and is still struggling to meet its commitments under the ASEAN Economic Community. Although improvement in investment procedures and licensing is currently underway, Indonesia needs to adopt a more positive attitude if it is to attract more investment.     

我国工业化、城市化对能源消费强度的动态效应与区域差异——基于动态面板数据模型的系统广义矩(SYS-GMM)分析方法

基于2002-2012年中国的省际面板数据,将能源消费强度分为低、中和高三个层次,运用动态面板数据模型的系统广义矩(SYS-GMM)分析方法,对工业化、城市化对中国能源消费强度的动态效应与区域差异进行了实证分析。研究结果表明,工业化、城市化水平提高均会导致地区间能源消费强度的增加,但城市化对低能源消费强度区域的影响并不显著,而对高能源消费强度区域的影响却十分明显。此外,上一期的能源消费强度、地区经济发展水平、能源价格和技术创新等均对中国能源消费强度产生不同的影响,而且中国存在技术创新的反弹性效应且能源价格对技术创新有诱致性作用。     

循环经济：能源消费与经济增长和谐发展的战略选择

一个国家的能源消费与经济增长之间存在着单向或双向因果关系,当前我国的经济增长已经受到能源消费状况的严重制约和束缚.本文从研究经济增长与能源消费之间的关系入手,分析了我国能源消费中存在的问题及其对国民经济的影响,进而在阐述循环经济的原则和特征的基础上指出,大力发展循环经济,推进资源节约型社会的建设,既是实现人与自然和谐发展的途径,也是实现能源消费与经济增长和谐发展的战略选择,并提出相应的建议和主张.     

工业企业能源消费结构调整与环境质量的灰色关联分析——以江苏省为例

工业企业能源消费过程中排放的“三废”降低了环境质量,影响着经济的发展。运用灰色关联度分析,以江苏为例,研究工业企业能源消费结构与环境质量关系。发现煤炭消费量对工业废水和工业废渣排放量的影响最大;而焦煤消费量对工业废气排放量的关联度影响最大。