The reform of invalid indicators of nuclear power impacts?

This article argues for more open acknowledgement of uncertainties surrounding the assessment of nuclear power impacts. It considers different cases where uncertainties have been of critical importance and draws attention to new ways of recognizing their nature. The idea is not to seek to ‘resolve’ uncertainty—an impossible goal given fundamental gaps and immaturities in the state of scientific knowledge on related matters—but to reveal its complexion, thereby providing for a more ‘truthful’ basis for planning and decision making.     

An application of von Thünen's model of agricultural location

Based on quantitative and qualitative fieldwork, this paper analyses how internal and international out-migration of men has affected the position of women left behind in a rural area in southern Morocco. The results generally refute the hypothesis that migration changes gender roles. Although international migration and remittances enable women and their families to live more comfortable and secure lives, internal migration often coincides with increasing workloads and uncertainty. Although their husbands' migration leads to a temporary increase in the tasks and responsibilities of women, this new role is generally perceived as a burden and should therefore not be equated with emancipation in the meaning of making independent choices against prevailing gender norms. In a classical “patriarchal bargain”, women prefer to avoid overt rule-breaking in order to secure their social position. Significant improvements in the position of rural women are primarily the result of general social and cultural change, although migration might have played an indirect, accelerating role in these processes.     

Reversal of fortune? The long-term effect of conservation-led displacement in Nepal

Building on a panel data-set using two rounds of self-administered surveys, this study assesses the long-term welfare effects of conservation-led displacement in Nepal. Empirical findings indicate that while displaced households suffered from poor land productivity and food insecurity in the first five years after displacement, they appear to be better off today, a decade since displacement, compared to non-displaced households. However, this has come at the expense of loosening social ties, increased strain on human capital and, most importantly, an overall deterioration in people’s socio-cultural wellbeing.     

Historical regulation of Victoria's water sector: A case of government failure?*

This paper analyses the role of government failure in Victoria's water sector between 1905 and 1984 as evidenced in the rise of in-stream salinity. It will be shown that high levels of salinity can, in part, be attributed to regulatory failure for two reasons. First, the method of water allocation, a compulsory minimum charge with the marginal cost of water being zero, encouraged over watering, resulting in increased water tables via groundwater recharge. Second, the government did not provide adequate finance for construction of appropriate removal of saline drainage water, and thereby allowed increasing in-stream salinity.     

Individual and Situational Determinants of U.S. Consumers’ Buying Behavior of Organic Foods

ABSTRACT

The current study expands on previous research by examining a more comprehensive set of factors that influence consumers’ buying behavior of organic foods. This study focuses on individual and situational factors associated with attitudes and intentions to buy organic foods, which subsequently lead to organic food-buying behavior. Health and environmental consciousness were found to be individual factors that significantly influenced attitudes toward buying organic foods, whereas children’s age and perceived convenience of purchase were recognized as strong situational factors that determined intentions to buy organic foods.     

Security of Property Rights for Whom?

Property insecurity of non-elites can be compatible with or even enhance economic growth, but it also encourages conflict—which can undermine long-term growth and economic development. Using a new set of indicators which measure the property insecurity of marginalized ethno-cultural minority groups, this article demonstrates that the severity of property insecurity for the worst-off group in a country is strongly associated with the onset of armed conflict, and—once civil war is controlled for—property insecurity for marginalized minorities corresponds with higher growth rates. Economic growth can occur when the property rights of elites are secure but marginalized minorities face a high risk of expropriation, as land may be reallocated into the hands of investors with skills and access to capital. However, the potentially growth-enhancing effect of forced displacement and resettlement is reduced, because the property insecurity of minorities also increases the likelihood of armed conflict.     

Consumer’s Perception of Fruit Innovation

The objective of the present report is to explore consumers’ perception of fruit and fruit product innovations, in particular nutritionally enriched/fortified fruit and laser-tattoo labeled fruit. These innovations may modify consumers’ visual representation of fruit, influencing their perceptions of fruit integrity. The research included 537 face-to-face interviews with shoppers at the point of sale and was analyzed with the use of factor analysis and multivariate logistic regression. Results show that the consumers pursue “nature integrity–oriented” innovation, for both health and environment-oriented innovation. The consumer is cautious toward innovation and accepts it if the final product keeps its original familiarity. Consumers are more inclined toward innovation if they have a higher education level, are young or middle age, or have a higher income. To conclude, innovation is positively perceived if it respects consumers’ perception of fruit as being intrinsically natural. Innovation in fruit and fruit products should be tested against consumers’ acceptance.     

Where Does Education Pay Off in Sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence from Two Cities of the Republic of Congo

Using first-hand data from the 2009 Employment and Informal Sector Survey (EESIC) in the two largest cities of the Republic of Congo, Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, we analyze the impact of education on labour market outcomes, and identify the segments where education pays off the most. Multivariate analyses of the risk of unemployment and sectoral choice indicate that young people face serious difficulties in the labour market: for most of them, their only choice is to remain unemployed or to join the informal sector. To measure the specific impact of schooling on earnings, we address issues related to sample selection and endogeneity of education in the earnings function. The results shed light on heterogeneity in the returns to schooling across the two main cities and institutional sectors. An important finding is that the informal sector does not systematically lag behind the formal sectors in terms of returns to education. We emphasize convex returns to education, meaning that the last years in secondary and tertiary schooling yield the highest returns, while those of primary education are generally lower. This convexity is also apparent in the informal sector, where education (albeit on another scale) again appears as an important determinant of earnings.     

Scientific and Technological Management of Land and Resources

（Bimonthly，Startedin１９８４）２００１CONTENTSNo．１（GeneralSerialNo．９１）PromoteSustainableDevelopmentoftheCauseofLandandResourcesbyMeansofScientificandTechnologicalInnovation……HeadofDepartmentofInternationalCooperationandScienceandTechnology，Min     

. Defazio,郭俊Dept. of N

Dr.VaLidity of Family History Data on Primary Adult-Onset DystoniaMartino D./Aniello M.S./Masi G. et al. [Dr. G. Defazio,Dept. of Neurol. and Psychiat. Sci., University of Bari,Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, 1-70124 Bari, Italy]Background: To our knowledge, no study has assessed thevalidity of family hist ory data provided     

Measuring the risk attitude of decision‐makers: are there differences between groups of methods and persons?

Many studies quantifying individual risk preferences of test persons show that results of different measuring methods may vary. Additional reservations about the reliability of the results regarding the risk attitude measurement arise from the fact that most studies are based on convenience groups, such as students or businessmen in developing countries. With this in mind, we systematically compare different measuring methods to answer the question how the choice of method affects the results. Moreover, we compare the risk preferences of German farmers with those of students and Kazakhstani farmers to investigate whether farmers’ risk preferences can be approximated through those of convenience groups. The methods applied comprise an incentive‐compatible Holt‐and‐Laury‐lottery as well as two psychometric methods. Results show that students respond consistently across all three elicitation methods whereas German and Kazakhstani farmers are more inconsistent. Significant differences exist in the responses of German students and German farmers. The comparison of risk preferences between German and Kazakhstani farmers, however, reveals significant similarities with respect to the psychometric methods.