Hazardous waste management in South African mining – a CGE analysis of the economic impacts

There is no doubt that improved hazardous waste management in mining and mineral processing will reduce environmental and health risks in South Africa. However, sceptics fear that waste reduction, appropriate treatment and disposal are not affordable within the current economic circumstances of the country. In particular, it is argued that higher treatment and disposal costs would weaken the country's international competitiveness in important export markets on the one hand, and place heavy adjustment costs on black workers on the other. Thus, improvements in waste management are not enforceable, from either an economic or a social point of view. This article deals mainly with the first aspect and touches upon the second. It investigates the short-term and long-term sectoral impacts of an environmental tax on hazardous waste in South African mining, using an open-economy multisectoral computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. The results bear out the expectation that the possibilities for shifting higher production costs are limited in an open economy. Moreover, the results also show that the brunt of the adjustment resulting from an isolated approach towards hazardous waste management will have to be borne by black workers.     

Mixed duopoly,location choice,and shadow cost of public funds

We examine the relationship between equilibrium and efficient levels of product differentiation in a mixed duopoly, where a welfare‐maximizing public enterprise competes with a profit‐maximizing private firm. We introduce shadow costs of public funding (i.e., the excess burden of taxation). The profits of public firms obtained by the government reduce these costs. We find that in a mixed duopoly, the level of product differentiation is too low for social welfare. This result is in sharp contrast to the private oligopoly, where the level of product differentiation is too high. Finally, we show that when the shadow cost is high, privatizing the public enterprise improves welfare.     

油气管道弃置成本估算方法及其应用

当油气管道不能满足生产运行的安全性和经济性需要时,需要进行废弃处置。对废弃处置的成本进行核算研究是选择管道废弃方式,并进行投资管理的重要依据。调研了国内外关于油气管道资产弃置费用的相关政策规定,以及国外加拿大TransCanada公司的管道系统弃置成本估算和国内某油田的油气资产弃置成本估算案例。结合国内管道企业管道弃置管理工作现状,构建了适于国内管道企业应用的管道资产弃置成本估算方法。     

循环经济条件下城市生活垃圾的一个治理模型

要实现循环经济"减量化、再利用、再循环"的发展要求,城市生活垃圾的治理是一个重要组成部分,坚持生活垃圾治理的"减量化、资源化、无害化"是实现循环经济发展模式的要求和体现。本文围绕垃圾源削减而设计的治理模型,有助于实现垃圾源的削减、分类回收和最终为垃圾无害化处理提供资金支持。     

佳木斯市固体废弃物产生及利用分析

对2012年黑龙江省佳木斯市固体废弃物的来源、数量和利用状况进行了分析。佳木斯市固体废弃物产生量大,综合利用仍以初级利用为主。工业固体废弃物利用率为74．82％,危险废物综合利用、处理率为99．85％,医疗废物、城市生活垃圾处理率为100％。农村固体废弃物处理方式较为原始,城镇生活污水处理厂污泥仍以垃圾场临时堆放为主。针对现状,从工业固体废弃物、城镇生活垃圾、秸秆综合利用、污泥再利用等方面提出相关可行性建议。为佳木斯市固体废弃物的综合利用提供参考。     

Health risks of exposure to waste pollution: Evidence from Beijing

Waste pollution is a major environmental problem in big cities in China such as Beijing. The phenomenon of “cities besieged by waste” has received substantial attention of local residents, social media and policymakers. We investigate the causal impact of exposure to waste pollution on the health outcomes of migrants, who are in a more disadvantageous position than native residents of Beijing. Using administrative waste disposal data and the China Migrants Dynamic Survey, we find that a one-standard-deviation increase in the level of emission from the nearest waste disposal site (WDS) increases by 10–11 percentage points in the probability of a migrant's sickness, but we do not find significant evidence when using the proximity to waste disposal sites as an indicator of waste pollution exposure. Our flindings suggest residence near WDSs poses a health risk.     

Segmented labour markets without policy-induced labour market distortions

This paper argues that labour market segmentation does not require labour market distortions. Segmentation appears when innovations are introduced in an initially imbalanced environment: because the capital market is imperfect. Only large firms can adopt the modern techniques. Small firms have to force their workers to reduce their labour incomes in order to compete with the modernized firms. The latter do not reduce wages because their interest is to minimize total labour costs rather than the wage bill alone: with labour a quasi-fixed cost. The difference in behaviour tends to be significant.     

Land costs,government intervention,and migration of firms: The case of China

By using unique firm relocation data in China, we first document the relocation behavior of Chinese firms and show that less government intervention (relative to market forces) can improve economic efficiency by facilitating industrial relocation which saves on costs. Ever since China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, investments have poured into the coastal region, which in turn, have almost tripled land costs in the major coastal cities. We exploit this land cost shock in the early 2000s to identify its effect on the relocation behavior of firms. Specifically, we instrument land price growth with the access of a city to foreign markets (approximated by distance to Shanghai), and then estimate the differential impact of land costs on firms regarding land reliance. Our major findings are as follows: (1) the migration rate of Chinese firms in China is on average 3.2%, (2) Rising land costs drive firms to migrate, and firms that use more land-intensive technology are more compelled to migrate, and (3) in regions where the local government intervention is stronger (the market is less developed), the relocation decision of Chinese firms is distorted in the sense that firms are less likely to relocate despite surging land prices due to government intervention.     

成本、禀赋与中国制造业对外直接投资——基于扩展KK模型的分析

本文通过区分6种企业结构类型,扩展了KK模型的一般均衡框架并进行了数值模拟。研究发现,给定中等贸易成本和相对企业总部成本,在不同的要素禀赋情形中模拟各种类型企业的活动,可以很好地解释中国制造业的对外直接投资动因:中国制造业企业向更落后的发展中国家的投资主要依据技术优势,向经济发展水平相近的新兴经济体的投资主要为了节约贸易成本,向发达国家的投资主要基于中国低劳动成本优势。     

Exporter responses to FTA tariff preferences: evidence from Thailand

This paper focuses on how exporters respond to free trade agreement (FTA) preferential schemes by analysing the administrative records of FTA implementation at the product level in Thailand. The key finding is that while there is growth in the number of FTAs with a potentially larger membership than existing FTAs, firms tend to prioritise existing FTAs. Moreover, only a narrow range of products are involved in applications for FTA preferential schemes. As a result, only one‐third of exports are covered by such arrangements. The key determinants of firms applying for preferential schemes include tariff margins, the ability to comply with rules of origins (ROOs) and the economic fundamentals influencing trade. Hence, it is less likely for FTAs to open up export opportunities for products that are either yet to be traded or of low prospective trade volume. Estimates of the costs of complying with ROOs average 8.6 per cent of tariff equivalence. The cost approaches zero for developed countries but is substantially higher for developing nations. The key policy inference is that the export‐enhancing effects of FTAs are passive at best, working only after economic fundamentals are established. For us to harness the trade‐inducing effects of FTAs, reducing costs incurred from the presence of ROOs from both exporting and importing countries should be the prime focus.     

Skilled-Labor Intensity Differences Across Firms,Endogenous Product Quality,and Wage Inequality

This paper proposes a theory to explain the relative wage-rate increase for skilled labor that results from trade liberalization that relies on within-sector reallocations of production resources (skilled and unskilled labor) across firms. Motivated by some stylized facts, in a model with firm heterogeneity, including firms that differ in their skill intensity even within a narrowly defined industry, firms with relatively high skill intensity that are more likely to be exporters, and a positive association between a firm’s skill intensity and its product quality, I develop a general equilibrium model where firms with a higher skill intensity endogenously choose a higher-quality product, and tend to be more profitable. In this framework, a reduction in trade costs allows members of the workforce to reallocate to more efficient firms that produce higher-quality products, using their skilled labor more intensively, resulting in a rising skill premium. The main sources of the increasing wage inequality that followed trade openness are a positive link between a firm’s skill intensity, its product quality, and quality competition.     

Illegal Disposal of Commercial Solid Waste: A Dynamic Analysis

This paper is concerned with the waste stock externality associated with production decisions when garbage collection services are financed by means of user charges and illegal disposal is a viable option to firms. As waste accumulates over time, providing disutility not only to present generations but also to future generations by negatively affecting environmental quality, the private and social production choices are compared in the context of a dynamic (intertemporal) model. The inclusion of the dynamics of the waste stock, which translates into a function describing how the deterioration of environmental quality over time is linked to waste production as well as disposal mix (recycling, curbside disposal, and illegal disposal), enables the design of dynamic Pareto-efficient incentive mechanisms for optimal waste production and management.

Stakeholder Orientations and Cost Management

We examine the effect of stakeholder orientation on firms' cost management as proxied by selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) cost stickiness. Using a sample of 19,783 firm‐years, we find that customer and employee orientation are associated with greater SG&A cost stickiness. Furthermore, the effect of customer orientation on SG&A cost stickiness is more prominent in firms where SG&A costs create high future value, growth firms, and firms with strong corporate governance. In contrast, the effect of employee orientation on SG&A cost stickiness is stronger in firms where SG&A costs create low future value, mature firms, and firms with weak corporate governance. Overall, the association between customer orientation and SG&A cost stickiness is consistent with efficiency considerations (i.e., adjustment costs). In contrast, the association between employee orientation and SG&A cost stickiness is consistent with agency motives such as empire building or “a preference for a quiet life.” In sum, we provide evidence that corporate orientation toward different stakeholders can have different efficiency implications in the context of SG&A resource adjustments and cost management.     

山东省马铃薯种植收益影响因素分析

以山东省为例,运用主成分回归分析和灰色关联分析对山东省马铃薯种植收益的影响因素进行分析。结果发现,影响马铃薯种植收益最显著的因素是马铃薯售价,另外,人工成本、种子费用、租赁作业费和化肥费用对马铃薯收益的影响也较大。其中种子费、化肥费、主产品售价、间接成本正向影响马铃薯种植收益,农药费、租赁作业费、人工成本以及土地成本负向影响马铃薯收益。据此,提出降低马铃薯种植成本、提高收益的对策建议。     

竞争、生产率外溢与东道国的产业发展

跨国公司是如何影响东道国的产业发展的？产品市场和要素市场的竞争会挤出内资企业，然而对内资企业正的生产率外溢将提高生产率、降低生产成本，从而提高利润。本文构建了一个简单的理论模型考察跨国公司的竞争效应和生产率外溢对东道国产业发展的影响。模型推导及数值模拟的结果表明，跨国公司对内资企业正的生产率外溢使竞争效应减弱，负的生产率外溢则使竞争效应增强；跨国公司出口销售更加有利于东道国的产业发展。     

“固体废物处理与处置”课程教学改革

根据“固体废物处理与处置”课程教学中存在的问题,结合本课程的特点和教学实践经验,提出了教学目标、教学内容、教学方法等方面的改革措施,以取得更好的教学质量,提高学生的综合能力,增强学生资源化利用固体废物的生态环保理念。     

Market liquidity,private information,and the cost of capital: Market microstructure studies on family firms in Japan

We investigate cost of capital, information asymmetry, and market liquidity of listed family firms vs. non-family firms in Japan. First, we find that the cost of debt is lower and the cost of equity is higher for family firms than non-family firms, but the differences are not significant. The WACC of family firms becomes higher than that for non-family firms and the difference is significant probably because family firms in Japan use less leverage. Next, we find that the stocks of family firms are traded with higher information asymmetry than non-family firms. As for information asymmetry and illiquidity measures, we utilize the variables Adjusted PIN and Probability of Symmetric Order Flow Shocks (PSOS). Concomitantly we also estimate alternate conventional measures of market liquidity as a robustness check. Overall, the evidence on liquidity is somewhat mixed, while we find family firms show higher information asymmetry, which may affect cost of equity. As a final policy implication, we recommend family firms in Japan conduct more voluntary and timely disclosure, in particular, for the benefit of general stock investors, and may want to increase leverage to reduce the WACC.     

出口固定成本、融资约束与中国企业出口参与

本文基于新新贸易理论和中国企业面临融资约束的现实,建立离散动态出口模型,发现克服出口固定成本和缓解融资约束可以促进企业出口参与。进而运用2004～2008年中国七十余万家制造业企业数据,从内源融资、银行信贷和商业信贷3个维度衡量融资约束,实证检验理论分析。结果发现,克服出口固定成本是企业参与出口的关键,商业信贷对企业出口参与贡献最大,银行信贷次之,内源融资贡献最小。细化样本后发现,克服出口固定成本仍然是出口的关键,但是,无内源融资企业较之有内源融资企业,内资企业较之外资企业,出口融资都更多依赖商业信贷和银行信贷;国有企业出口融资更多依赖银行信贷,而民营企业更多依赖商业信贷。变化融资约束衡量方法后,结果依然稳健。     

The Differential Impact of Accurate Product Cost Information in Imperfectly Competitive Markets: A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation*

Many researchers claim that costing systems that provide materially more accurate or precise cost reports have a strict value-enhancing effect on decisions (i.e., Cooper 1988, 1995; Cooper and Kaplan 1991; Christensen and Sharp 1994; Rogers. Comstock. and Pritz 1994; Swenson 1995; Gupta and King 1997). However, this study provides theoretical and empirical evidence that the value of more accurate cost information may be dependent upon the firm's competitive market structure, as well as the firm's product market strategy. We extend the theoretical work of Gal-Or 1986 to incorporate an endogenous imprecise cost signal in two imperfect market structures: Cournot competition and Bertrand competition with imperfectly substitutable products. In addition, we theoretically link market structure to product market strategy. To examine product market strategy, we employ a laboratory markets design that allows for strategic reaction by a rival firm in each of these markets, because the competitive position of a firm is determined by its capacity to produce at low cost, or to differentiate its product from other products (Porter 1985). Consistent with our theoretical work, we argue that firms that compete on the basis of cost leadership (which we demonstrate may be characterized as Cournot competition), benefit through increased profits from increased product cost accuracy, whereas firms that compete on the basis of product differentiation (which we demonstrate may be characterized as Benrand competition) do not benefit from such increased product cost accuracy. Our results are consistent with this contention. That is, profit is higher in the experimental cost leadership markets (operationalized as Cournot markets) when subjects know their true cost, while profit is higher in the experimental product differentiation markets (operationalized as Bertrand markets) when subjects receive uninformative cost reports and make their decisions based on expected costs. These results suggest that the value of more accurate cost reports may be dependent upon the firm's competitive market structure strategy and product market strategy.     

Growth opportunities,collateral and debt structure: the case of the Japanese machine manufacturing firms

We explore the determinants of debt structure by analyzing the Japanese machine manufacturing firms’ data from 1990 through 1996. We find that firms with abundant growth opportunities and scarce collateral are likely to borrow from banks rather than to issue bonds. This is robust even if we consider the simultaneous decision of the debt composition and leverage or managerial incentive. We also find that firms with abundant growth opportunities or collateral tend to depend on equity rather than on debt. Though banks reduce the agency costs of debt for growing firms, equity costs less than bank loans for them.