Capital waste in the rate-of-return regulated firm

Here it is shown how capital waste can be motivated under rate-of-return regulation, even when the marginal product of capital is positive. This result means that the sign of the marginal product of capital is not adequate as a basis for defining waste. The wasteful use of capital is motivated to avoid an inelastic region of demand, and involves pricing as well as technical input decisions of the firm.     

基于不确定性约束条件的食物浪费行为研究*

本文探讨了决策者食物利用能力的不确定性如何引起食物浪费，并比较了食物浪费税和私人信息干预这两个政策工具对食物浪费量和社会福利的影响。研究结果表明，消费者食物最优保有量决策一旦偏离其食物利用能力，就会引发食物浪费。虽然两个政策工具都可以有效地降低食物浪费，但是食物浪费税对社会福利的影响方向不确定，而私人信息干预却可以通过激发学习机制增强决策者对自身食物利用能力的认知，并降低不确定性，从而提高整体社会福利。     

Waste management regulation: policy solutions and policy shortcomings

A model of packaging waste management is presented to explore the policy options available to governments to implement waste regulation in light of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR ). Our model endogenizes the packaging design as an additional determinant for the overall amount of waste jointly with consumers’ sorting effort and producers’ output decisions. The model shows that the policies that yield the first‐best allocation may not find public support. Furthermore, if the set of available policy instruments is limited, production and consumption of the good is likely to settle on a sub‐optimal level even though the optimal allocation may be achievable. Finally, the model demonstrates that a landfill tax may actually increase landfill waste in the presence of tradable credits for recycling activities. The results shed light on some shortcomings of existing regulatory schemes such as the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations of the UK .     

Surplus may measure waste

When production decisions are distorted by externalities, the traditional Marshallian surplus in the input markets contains, in addition to its other components, a measure of the waste (benefit) so generated. In an extreme example of the common property type, it is shown to contain nothing but waste. That suggests another reason for caution in interpreting surpluses but also opens a new way for measuring the cost of distortions.     

Can economic incentive help in reducing food waste: experimental evidence from a university dining hall

We show that a fixed financial incentive reduces the amount of food waste in an all-you-can-eat university-dining hall. Results indicate that the incentive increased the likelihood of students cleaning their plates, but did not affect the amount of food taken. These results raise important questions about implementing well-studied policies in modifying food consumption. An unintended consequence of the monetary incentive might have led students to consume relatively more food, thus encouraging unwanted eating habits.     

农业有机废弃物能源化对化学农业负外部性纠正研究

针对化学农业的负外部性,利用能值理论建立了基于农业生态需求的农业外部性分析模式。理论分析表明,在兼顾粮食产量目标时,农业有机废弃物能源化、生态化可以从源头纠正化学农业的负外部性。以涟水县高沟镇为例的实证分析表明,通过60%的化肥替代,农业有机废弃物能源化可以纠正85.49%的化学农业负外部性。较之“税费”“标准”“行政监管”等手段,通过产业政策手段将农业补贴政策聚焦于农业有机废弃物能源化生态补偿是一种科学性与现实性较强的政策选择。     

Public Transfers and Participation Decisions in Botswana's Subsistence Economy

Botswana has an extensive set of publicly provided cash and in‐kind food transfers geared at providing a safety net to poor and vulnerable groups. While such programs have improved household welfare, from a theoretical perspective they could have also created work disincentives or welfare dependency among recipient families. This article tackles this issue by modeling the impact of publicly provided cash and in‐kind food transfers on farmer participation decisions in the subsistence crop economy in Botswana, using a probit regression and agricultural census data for 2004. Results show that social pensions have had no impact on farmer participation decisions, most likely because they are too small to influence household behavior. However, government food rations (GFRs) have reduced the probability of farmer participation in subsistence crop production, and, hence, have created work disincentive among recipient subsistence families. Specifically, recipient families of GFRs are 8.1 percentage points less likely to participate in crop production than non‐recipient households.     

美国构建餐厨垃圾等级化处理体系

美国已经初步构建起等级化的餐厨垃圾处理体系,按照优先顺序分为源头减量、食物捐赠、喂食动物、工业应用、堆肥、焚烧或填埋6个等级。经分析得出,该体系具有重减量和循环利用、轻分类和填埋、法律法规保驾护航、科技研发助力、社会参与渠道完善等4个特点。由此可见,完善的基础框架建设,对做好餐厨垃圾减量和循环利用具有重要意义。     

The role of forecasting in sustainability

A lack of understanding of the waste flow of durable goods complicates decision-making efforts that will increase sustainability. To address this problem, the modeling of the waste flow of durable goods is considered. Televisions are used to illustrate the requirements for forecasting and the magnitude of the associated uncertainty of the waste flow for a durable good that is impacted by technological change and/or unpredictability in field life. This example is timely due to disposal laws affecting cathode ray tubes (CRTs) and the emergence of alternate technology trajectories for televisions. The findings suggest that the reuse of lead-bearing CRT glass is worthwhile, even though flat panel TV technology will eliminate this controversial waste stream. The findings also indicate the implications of forecasting durable waste flows for decisions regarding policy, business models, required infrastructure and supply chain management.     

Averting behavior: Does it exist?

This paper reports the first micro level information on households' reported adjustments in behavior - averting actions - to reduce the risk of exposure to pollutants. The findings are based on a survey of households in suburban Boston and their actions to avoid hazardous wastes. Probit analyses of the factors influencing decisions to undertake these actions indicate that attitude toward hazardous waste risks, confidence in local officials responsible for the problem and information are important determinants of their decisions.     

基于产出存在偏好的废弃物利用策略研究

废弃物利用能为参与企业带来经济效益和环境效益的双重提高,是实现低碳经济的重要途径之一。文章在消费者对以废弃物为原料的产品(简称产品B)和以原生材料为原料的产品(简称产品R)存在需求偏好的条件下,首先分析了废弃物交换具备经济性的条件,然后构建了一个"单一产生企业—单一利用企业"废弃链决策优化模型,通过对模型的求解发现了成本节约函数的4个临界值。接着通过案例,详细探讨了废弃物的废弃率、产品B对产品R的替代系数,以及产品R的价格弹性变动对企业决策的影响。最后,得出了以下结论:第一,当废弃物可能存在剩余时,产生企业的价格决策和产量决策与利用企业的生产决策无关。第二,当利用企业只生产产品B时,产生企业的价格决策和产量决策、利用企业的价格决策和产量决策均与产品B对产品R的替代系数无关。第三,随着废弃物废弃率的变动,交易企业策略将发生变化。文章为相关企业决策提供了理论依据。     

有机废弃物在生态农业中的多级循环利用

简要分析了有机废弃物多级循环利用的理论基础;重点论述了有机废充物在生态农业中多级循环利用的四条途径：食物链“生产环”的设计、食物链“增益环”的设计、食物链“加工环”的设计和以沼气为纽带的食物链工程设计。     

基于土地利用的草原生态系统服务价值评估

以锡林郭勒草原自然保护区为例,采用谢高地等人的草地生态系统服务功能价值评估方法,利用2005年的研究区专题绘图仪(TM)遥感影像数据和单位面积平均产草量数据,评估草原生态系统服务功能价值,并计算出研究区不同土地利用类型的气体调节、气候调节、水源涵养、土壤形成与保护、废物处理、生物多样性保护、食物生产、原材料生产、文化娱乐等9种生态服务功能的经济价值。得出结论:(1)2005年研究区生态系统总服务价值为63.41亿元;(2)草地服务价值占到研究区总服务价值的80%,其平均单位面积服务价值高于耕地和荒漠;(3)生态系统各种服务功能的价值差别较大,间接使用价值是直接使用价值的16倍。     

Does women’s participation in agricultural technology adoption decisions affect the adoption of climate‐smart agriculture? Insights from Indo‐Gangetic Plains of India

Increased participation of women in the agricultural technology adoption decision by farm households is one of the key indicators of gender empowerment in the agricultural sector. This study examines whether women’s participation in the household decision to adopt agricultural technology affects the adoption of climate‐smart agriculture (CSA), using data collected from 1,267 farm households from two Indian states of Bihar and Haryana. When we considered the sex of the household head (using a dummy variable for male‐headed vs female‐headed household) as a basis of analyzing the role of gender in the adoption of CSA, we found that women in Haryana had no role in the adoption of CSA. On the contrary, when we considered women’s participation in technology adoption decisions as a basis of gender analysis, we found that women’s participation in technology adoption decisions in Haryana is much higher as compared to Bihar. Consequently, the likelihood to adopt CSA is higher in Haryana than in Bihar. We also found that wealth, training, and access to extension and market positively influenced CSA adoption. Qualitative analysis shows that women farmers prioritize family food security rather than farm income, and therefore, they are more likely to focus on CSA to ensure food security.     

WIC PARTICIPATION AND MATERNAL BEHAVIOR: BREASTFEEDING AND WORK LEAVE

We examine the effects of the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program on breastfeeding outcomes and maternal employment decisions. This research expands the existing literature using an alternative identification strategy and a broader set of outcomes. Using data from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II, we control for selection bias into WIC using the variation in food prices as an instrumental variable. The results of this study are robust to a number of specification and falsification tests. We find WIC decreases exclusive breastfeeding by nearly 50% and increases work leave duration by over 20%. (JEL I18, I38)     

Ecosystem services value of wetland in Suzhou Taihu Lake

Based on a comprehensive analysis on various classifications of natural resource values,this paper summarizes an ecological services system of constructed wetland（CW） ecosystems for the accounting of ecological economic value.With the research,the wetland ecosystem services can be classified into six categories,that is waste treatment,food and material production,water supply,gas regulations,disturbance and water regulations,habitat and refuge provision.For decision making in terms of environmental economics for wetland construction,ecosystem services value for the wetland in Suzhou Taihu Lake National Tourist and Holiday Resort is accounted for 7,088,769 USD/yr through Environmental Economics Analysis.Ecosystem services value of waste treatment is 825,000 USD/yr,that of food and material production is 1,430 USD/yr,that of water supply is 4,752,000 USD/yr,that of gas regulation is 2,251USD/yr,that of disturbance and water regulations is 1,3721 USD/yr,and that of habitat and refuge provision value is 1,494,367 USD/yr.The ecosystem services values of a pilot constructed wetland in Suzhou are compared with those of other wetlands as a mean and of a typical human-interfered wetland in Wenzhou of China.Results show that in both finite and infinite time horizons considered,the wetland in Suzhou Taihu Lake National Tourist and Holiday Resort has the largest services value.This paper analyzes all the probability that may weaken the value of the Suzhou Taihu Wetland in order to provide some advices for the wetland protection.     

The impact of fiscal policies on agricultural household decisions

This paper provides a comparative static analysis of farm household's production, consumption, and labor market decisions under alternative tax policies. We explore the implications of non-separable household decisions caused by widespread non-participation in labor, land, financial and/or food markets, as is typical of low income economies. The analytical results indicate that when labor market imperfections occur, most tax-induced responses are ambiguous, mainly due to shadow price effects. This is particularly the case for the labor market and production responses to most tax tools under study, while a decreasing demand for consumption goods appears to be the result in several cases. Furthermore, tax-induced allocation effects may differ between the non-separable and the separable model versions, indicating the potential impact of labor market constraints on farm household responses to tax policies. In particular, standard taxes as well as a land tax may imply production adjustments in the case of non-separability.     

中国粮食再上新台阶的新思路

粮食问题在国民经济中处于极端重要的地位。本文根据１９９４年我国粮食产后系统中人为损失高达１４００亿ｋｇ，大大超过建国以来任何一次灾害带来损失的严峻事实，提出了＂多环节减少粮食损失，全方位降低粮食消耗”的基本对策，为我国进一步研究粮食问题提供了一条新的途径。     

母以子贵:性别偏好与妇女的家庭地位-来自中国营养健康调查的证据

基于中国普遍存在的对男孩的性别偏好,本文采用所生育小孩的性别作为妇女家庭地位和议价能力的度量指标,研究该指标对家庭内部资源分配及后果的影响。中国健康营养调查数据中有关家庭耐用品消费决策的信息表明,第一胎性别对妇女在家庭中的地位有重要作用。本文发现,当妇女的家庭地位随着生育男孩而提高后,家庭中食物支出份额会增加,该妇女营养摄入增加,而她的身体健康状况会变好。     

How environmental concern influences the investment decision: an application of capital theory

We develop a conceptual analysis of long-run decisions about the economy and the environment. In particular, we focus on the innovation of a new technique of production. We base our study on three components. First, capital theory as means of describing production. Second, joint production as implied by the laws of thermodynamics. Third, the time structure of the produced waste by-product, characterised by the magnitude of its degradation rate. The crucial variable in our analysis is the decision maker's time horizon. We show that, unlike in the no pollution case or in the flow pollution case, extending the time horizon when there is a polluting capital bad may make it less likely that a new technique of production is introduced. We conclude that fully taking into account dynamic aspects of environmental pollution considerably increases the complexity of economic valuation and the need for environmental precaution when making an investment decision.