THE VALUE OF VOLUNTEER LABOR AND THE FACTORS INFLUENCING PARTICIPATION: EVIDENCE FOR THE UNITED STATES FROM 2002 THROUGH 2005

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of people who volunteered rose from 59.8 million in 2002 to 65.4 million in 2005. Those volunteering benefit from their activity in various ways; however, these benefits are non-pecuniary and are generally not recognized in the national economic accounts used to measure gross domestic product (GDP). This paper uses data from the 2002–05 Current Population Survey Volunteer Supplements to assign a dollar value to volunteering. Different methodologies yield annual estimates from $116 to $153 billion (in 2005 dollars) over the four years (between 0.9 and 1.3 percent of 2005 GDP). Additionally, characteristics of individuals most likely to volunteer are identified. The volunteer rate varies by demographic characteristics in addition to geographic location, labor force participation, and business sector. Furthermore, the data suggest that volunteering is a "normal good" because participation increases with income even after controlling for observables.     

The Welfare and Resouce Allocation Implications of the U.S.Dairy Quotas

This paper examine the welfare and resource allocation implications of the U.S. dairy quotas. A computable general equilibrium model detailing five dairy sectors and nine aggregate sectors is calibrated to a 1989 benchmark of the U.S economy. The model is used to simulate the removal of the U.S.dairy quotas both the with and without a first-best subsidy to maintain a dairy farm output objective. Welfare, production, trade, and employment results are provided. The welfare cost of the U.S dairy quotas ranges from $0.7 to $1.0 billion. The first-best subsidy ranges from $2.0 to $2.3 billion or approximately $1.4 million per full-time equivalent job maintained in the dairy farm sector [F13, Q17]     

SNAKE RIVER SALMON RECOVERY: QUANTIFYING THE COSTS

Economic costs are relevant to endangered species protection in both theory and practice. Recovering endangered Snake River salmon will require modifying public land use, restricting fishing and hatchery production, reducing water for agriculture, and altering the operation of hydroelectric dams. The economic costs are estimated to range from $246 million to $359 million per year. While the estimated cost is not matched by the estimated increased value of fishing, the nonuse value of salmon recovery may be very large. Better economic and biological information is needed to assure that decisions for salmon species protection are reasonably cost effective. ( JEL Q28, H43)     

Public funding for ocean energy: A comparison of the UK and U.S.

This paper presents a detailed analysis of the activities in which ocean energy public funding in the UK and the U.S. has been spent. It conducts a direct comparison of funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) with that from the UK and Scottish Governments. UK investment in the sector has been relatively sustained and has increased since 2002. Almost $295 million has been spent in total, across multiple funding bodies. U.S. spending began with the establishment of the Marine Hydrokinetic division of the DoE Water Power Programme in 2008, which has administered all non-defence federal public funding for the sector. U.S. funding has steadily increased since 2008, with the total funding approaching $92 million.Approximately 40% of total U.S. spending has been on underpinning R&D activities, compared to 20% in the UK which has had a larger focus on funding full scale test infrastructure and related deployment activities. Whilst the U.S. has seen steadily increasing funding for all activities to support the sector, UK funding for deployment activities, especially test centre infrastructure and demonstration activities, has not been sustained and has had significant peaks and troughs in recent years as funding programmes and initiatives have started and finished.     

Bioenergy Crop Production in the United States: Potential Quantities, Land Use Changes, and Economic Impacts on the Agricultural Sector

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energyjointly analyzed the economic potential for,and impacts of, large-scale bioenergy cropproduction in the United States. Anagricultural sector model (POLYSYS) wasmodified to include three potential bioenergycrops (switchgrass, hybrid poplar, and willow). At farmgate prices of US $2.44/GJ, anestimated 17 million hectares of bioenergycrops, annually yielding 171 million dry Mg ofbiomass, could potentially be produced at aprofit greater than existing agricultural usesfor the land. The estimate assumes highproductivity management practices are permittedon Conservation Reserve Program lands. Traditional crops prices are estimated toincrease 9 to 14 percent above baseline pricesand farm income increases annually by US $6.0billion above baseline.At farmgate prices of US $1.83/GJ, anestimated 7.9 million hectares of bioenergycrops, annually yielding 55 million dry Mg ofbiomass, could potentially be produced at aprofit greater than existing agricultural usesfor the land. The estimate assumes managementpractices intended to achieve highenvironmental benefits on Conservation ReserveProgram lands. Traditional crops prices areestimated to increase 4 to 9 percent abovebaseline prices and farm income increasesannually by US $2.8 billion above baseline.     

Climate change and its marginalizing effect on agriculture

The agriculture of some areas considered marginal in the EU agricultural context is being questioned due to its low productivity and growing dependence on economic aid programs Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). This study shows that climate change increases these areas marginalisation of since worsens crop growth conditions. The influence of climate change on the agricultural sector is analyzed using the Multicriteria Decision Paradigm with information provided by the Erosion-Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC) and a General Circulation Model (GCM) as inputs for multicriteria mathematical programming models. The results obtained show climate change effects on the crop portfolio. Further results suggest that climate change effects are not only economics and environmental, reducing the suitable area for crops, but also social as it causes loss of jobs in the agricultural sector.     

Amenity values of proximity to National Wildlife Refuges: An analysis of urban residential property values

This research quantifies the property value benefits of National Wildlife Refuges near urban areas on the eastern coast of the U.S.A. Our approach is made possible through access to confidential U.S. Census data identifying property values surrounding all refuges with high geographic resolution. Results from hedonic property value models suggest that the amenity values of refuges located near urbanized areas are capitalized into the value of homes in very close proximity, averaging $11 million per refuge. These capitalized values add directly to the local tax base and are considerable complements to the annual economic value created by the refuge system.     

The future of farming: The value of ecosystem services in conventional and organic arable land. An experimental approach

In the current work, a novel, experimental ‘bottom-up’ approach is used to quantify the economic value of ecosystem services (ES) associated with highly modified arable landscapes in Canterbury, New Zealand. First, the role of land management practices in the maintenance and enhancement of ES in agricultural land was investigated by quantifying the economic value of ES at the field level under organic and conventional arable systems. This quantification was based on an experimental approach in contrast with earlier value transfer methods. Total economic value of ES in organic fields ranged from US $1610 to US $19,420 ha^− 1 yr^− 1 and that of conventional fields from US $1270 to US $14,570 ha^− 1 yr^− 1. The non-market value of ES in organic fields ranged from US $460 to US $5240 ha^− 1 yr^− 1. The range of non-market values of ES in conventional fields was US $50 — 1240 ha^− 1 yr^− 1. There were significant differences between organic and conventional fields for the economic values of some ES. Next, this economic information was used to extrapolate and to calculate the total and non-market value of ES in Canterbury arable land. The total annual economic and non-market values of ES for the conventional arable area in Canterbury (125,000 ha) were US $332 million and US $71 million, respectively. If half the arable area under conventional farming shifted to organic practices, the total economic value of ES would be US $192 million and US $166 million annually for organic and conventional arable area, respectively. In this case, the non-market value of ES for the organic area was US $65 million and that of conventional area was US $35 million annually. This study demonstrated that arable farming provides a range of ES which can be measured using field experiments based on ecological principles by incorporating a ‘bottom-up’ approach. The work also showed that conventional New Zealand arable farming practices can severely reduce the financial contribution of some of these services in agriculture whereas organic agricultural practices enhance their economic value.     

Oil shale and climate policy in the shift to a low carbon and more resilient economy

Policy makers worldwide are recently debating options to implement an effective climate policy that would put a cap on green house gas emissions. At the same time, investors are carefully evaluating the profitability of unconventional fossil fuels such as shale oil. To enhance the understanding of the impacts of a climate policy such as the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, on oil shale production – and vice versa – we have customized an integrated assessment model, the Climate and Energy Assessment for Resiliency model for Unconventional Fossil Fuels to the U.S. Western Energy Corridor. Our analysis indicates that while the bill would increase the production cost of oil shale, the industry remains highly profitable in the longer-term, generating a potential profit of about $10 to $16 billion per year by 2040 at 2.5 million barrels per day. These results suggest that the oil shale industry may comfortably face the enactment of a carbon policy, albeit with some caveats. Furthermore, while its potential economic impact on non-compliant industries may be severe, it would generate mounting profits for those achieving energy efficiency gains, thereby increasing the profitability of energy efficiency investments.     

Macroeconomic costs to large scale disruptions of food production: The case of foot- and-mouth disease in the United States

We forecast the economic consequences of a widespread contamination of the food system based on a hypothetical outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Since the immediate effect on the livestock sector could affect the entire supply chain and US livestock, meat and dairy exports, we measure these impacts using GTAP, a multi-region, multi-sector computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the global economy. The immediate “shocks” to the US livestock, raw milk and other animal products sectors indirectly affect all sectors of the economy, as well as international markets and trade. We decompose these effects due to each component of the initial shocks, and estimate the importance of these shocks to the national food system for the Mid-Atlantic Region using IMPLAN. Our GTAP results indicate that losses to the USA economy would be about $11.7 billion, and with the ripple effect throughout the rest of the world including beneficiary nations (Argentina, Brazil, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand) and losers (Canada, Mexico, European Union) would be 14.1 billion. We estimate the proportion of the domestic impact affecting the Mid-Atlantic Region. Based on a regional input–output model of that region, we estimate that total losses in value added are nearly $800 million; losses in labor income total about $565 million; and there are job losses of just over 12 thousand.     

The geography of giving: The effect of corporate headquarters on local charities

Does the presence of corporate headquarters in a city affect the incomes of local charities? To address this question we combine data on the head office locations of publicly traded U.S. firms with information on the receipts of local charitable organizations. Cities like Houston, San Jose, and San Francisco gained significant numbers of corporate headquarters over the past two decades, while cities like Chicago and Los Angeles lost. Our analysis suggests that attracting or retaining the headquarters of a publicly traded firm yields approximately $3–10 million per year in contributions to local non-profits. Likewise, each $1000 increase in the market value of the firms headquartered in a city yields $0.60–1.60 to local non-profits. Most of the increase in charitable contributions is attributable to an effect on the number of highly-compensated individuals in a city, rather than through direct donations by the corporations themselves. The increased private sector donations from the presence of corporate headquarters do not seem to crowd out government grants to local charities.     

Are there ENSO signals in the macroeconomy?

Whether ENSO has affected U.S. macroeconomic performance has been a matter of dispute. To address the issue we explore whether there has been any co-cyclicality of ENSO fluctuations and the rates of inflation and economic growth over the 1894-1999 timespan and, failing this, whether aperiodic ENSO shocks have had any impact on these variables. Neither co-cyclicality nor aperiodic shocks are discernible. While ENSO may briefly influence the performance of particular sectors of the economy in particular regions, as documented by the previous literature, such locally-important effects vanish into the noise surrounding macroeconomic trends in an economy as large and complex as that of the U.S.     

The economic fertility of industrial projects

The economic impact of two industrial projects was forecast using economic fertility analysis. The results of the analysis suggest that the implementation of projects such as those described here add to the resources of government, enabling them to move closer to realization of social objectives, whereas concurrent decreased government revenues and increased transfer payments based on short term political considerations are directly inflationary and represent a threat to longer term social stability. The two projects were a crude oil petrochemical plant, with an investment of $200 million, and a controlled environment agricultural plant, costing $20 million. Direct, indirect, and induced economic activity for each project were calculated, from which income and employment multipliers, and forward and backward linkages were derived. New government revenues, balance of trade effects, and new capital formation were also forecast. Employment in terms of man-years on construction and in jobs created by the operations, as well as consumer expenditures and personal savings, were other outputs of the analysis. Construction and operation phases of the two projects were more beneficial than an equivalent increase in transfer payments in the generation of longer term effects such as new capital formation, new government revenues, and import-export balance, but were less efficient than increased welfare payments in generating short term effects such as consumer expenditures and short term employment.     

AGRICULTURAL PRICE AND INCOME POLICY: A NEED FOR CHANGE

Agricultural price and income policies operate within a framework established more than 50 years ago. This framework assumes that agriculture is dominated by "family farms," and that the agricultural economy is relatively independent of international and other domestic economic considerations. Yet, the structure of the farm sector today differs greatly from that of 50 or even 20 years ago. The U.S. economy relies on international markets to dispose of 20 to 30 percent of U.S. agricultural output. These changes call for reorientation of U.S. farm policy.     

Towards an information economy : The case of Singapore

Recent empirical studies have documented the emergence of information-based economies in developed countries within Europe, the U.S.A., Japan, and Australia. Casual observations suggest that the newly industrializing country of Singapore is proceeding towards a similar trend. The primary purpose of this paper is to account for the share of Singapore's national product which originates from informational activities. In particular, we define and estimate the size of Singapore's information sector within an input-output framework. Our results indicated that a sizable portion of Singapore's economy is information-based. In view of the significant penetration of informational activities in economic production, advances in communication technology and concomitant improvements in information-handling capabilities are bound to affect factor productivities and incomes with consequences for a country's pattern of employment and production structure. It is anticipated that an economics of communication becomes necessary for an awareness of communication technology as a choice variable in economic planning. We conclude our discussion with an assessment of the admissability of an information sector concept in economic analysis and the usefulness of empirical studies based on such a concept.     

The value of ecosystem services provided by the U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System in the contiguous U.S.

Studies that demonstrate the economic value of the ecosystem services provided by public conservation lands can contribute to a more accurate appraisal of the benefit of these lands. The objective of this study was to estimate the economic value, in real (2004) dollars, of the ecosystem services provided by the U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System (Refuge System) in the contiguous U.S. In order to estimate this value, we determined the ecosystems present on the Refuge System in the contiguous 48 states, the proportion in which they are represented, and the dollar value of services provided by each. We used land cover classes as an approximation of ecosystems present in the Refuge System. In a geographic information system (GIS), we combined land cover geospatial data with a map of the Refuge System boundaries to calculate the number of acres for each refuge and land cover class within the Refuge System. We transferred values for the following ecosystem services: climate and atmospheric gas regulation; disturbance prevention; freshwater regulation and supply; waste assimilation and nutrient regulation; and habitat provision. We conducted a central tendency value transfer by transferring averaged values taken from primarily original site studies to the Refuge System based on the ecoregion in which each study site and refuge was located and the ecoregion's relative net primary productivity (NPP). NPP is a parameter used to quantify the net carbon absorption rate by living plants, and has been shown to be correlated with spatially fungible ecosystem services. The methodologies used in the site studies included direct market valuation, indirect market valuation and contingent valuation. We estimated the total value of ecosystem services provided by the Refuge System in the contiguous U.S. to be approximately $26.9 billion/year. This estimate is a first cut attempt to demonstrate that the value of the Refuge System likely exceeds the value derived purely from recreational activities. Due to limitations of current understanding, methods and data, there is a potentially large margin of error associated with the estimate.     

THE COST OF THE U.S. SUGAR PROGRAM REVISITED

The article analyzes the welfare cost of the U.S. sugar program using a multimarket model of U.S. sweetener markets. The latter includes raw crops, sugar extraction and refining, and sweetener users (food-processing industries and final consumers). The authors address the industrial organization of food industries using sweeteners and treat the United States as a large importer. With the removal of the program, this article estimates (all figures in 1999 dollars) that in 1998 cane growers, sugar beet growers, and processors would have lost $307, $650, and $89 million, respectively; sweetener users would have gained $1.9 billion. World prices would have increased by 13.2%. The deadweight loss of the program is estimated at $532 million.     

The value of ecosystem services provided by the U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System in the contiguous U.S.

Studies that demonstrate the economic value of the ecosystem services provided by public conservation lands can contribute to a more accurate appraisal of the benefit of these lands. The objective of this study was to estimate the economic value, in real (2004) dollars, of the ecosystem services provided by the U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System (Refuge System) in the contiguous U.S. In order to estimate this value, we determined the ecosystems present on the Refuge System in the contiguous 48 states, the proportion in which they are represented, and the dollar value of services provided by each. We used land cover classes as an approximation of ecosystems present in the Refuge System. In a geographic information system (GIS), we combined land cover geospatial data with a map of the Refuge System boundaries to calculate the number of acres for each refuge and land cover class within the Refuge System. We transferred values for the following ecosystem services: climate and atmospheric gas regulation; disturbance prevention; freshwater regulation and supply; waste assimilation and nutrient regulation; and habitat provision. We conducted a central tendency value transfer by transferring averaged values taken from primarily original site studies to the Refuge System based on the ecoregion in which each study site and refuge was located and the ecoregion's relative net primary productivity (NPP). NPP is a parameter used to quantify the net carbon absorption rate by living plants, and has been shown to be correlated with spatially fungible ecosystem services. The methodologies used in the site studies included direct market valuation, indirect market valuation and contingent valuation. We estimated the total value of ecosystem services provided by the Refuge System in the contiguous U.S. to be approximately $26.9 billion/year. This estimate is a first cut attempt to demonstrate that the value of the Refuge System likely exceeds the value derived purely from recreational activities. Due to limitations of current understanding, methods and data, there is a potentially large margin of error associated with the estimate.     

Growth and Wage Inequality in a Dual Economy

Who benefits from economic growth? This paper analyses the distributional impact of different types of growth within a two‐sector model. The paper first presents necessary and sufficient conditions for unambiguous changes in wage inequality in a dual economy, based on analysis of the entire Lorenz curve. These conditions are then applied to the Harris–Todaro model with an urban non‐agricultural sector and rural agriculture. It is shown that capital accumulation or technical progress in agriculture can shift the Lorenz curve inwards and reduce wage inequality, while the effects of development in non‐agriculture are typically ambiguous.     

美国先进制造伙伴关系计划及其启示

奥巴马政府执政以来,振兴制造业成为其振兴美国经济的一项重要内容,出台实施了一系列促进制造业发展的政策和措施。2011年6月24日,总统奥巴马又宣布启动了一项价值5亿美元的“先进制造伙伴关系”（AMP）计划,呼吁美国企业、大学以及政府之间应加强合作,共同帮助美国重夺全球制造业领先地位。通过对此计划的具体阐述,获得有益启示,对我国制造业发展提出了几点建议。