U. S. energy production activity and innovation

Life-cycle studies provide a comprehensive insight into comparative innovation behavior and innovation constants. In this article a comparison of the life-cycle plots for the production and patent activity is made for US energy production categories. As has been shown previously for material production [TFSC, vol.78, 2011], the two activities may be correlated to such an extent that they may be superimposed to a large degree, for all growth stage except stage IV, simply by an origin-shift. Over ten energy production methods have been studied in this manner for the first time. An origin-shift ratio, OR, (positive or negative lag) describes the amount required to shift the two activity curves in order to superimpose them. The relative drive-force ratio, DR (defined as the ratio of the production and patent growth constants) is noted to scale with the origin-shift. The value of this drive-force ratio determines the amount of production that is influenced by patents. The slope of curve of the drive-force ratio plotted against the origin-shift ratio is noted to be constant across all energy categories in the high growth Stage III. The authors find for the first time that even early stage production displays an origin-shift. Energy materials (i.e., those materials that dominate a particular type of energy production) are also studied in the material category alone, where the total usage of the material is considered. The concept of Green materials is discussed in this context. The life-cycle approach collapses the energy categories/sources and related materials into two groups. The authors discuss these groups in the Schumpeterian framework of constructive and destructive innovation. Group 1, containing coal, natural gas, wind, renewable, fossil fuel, solar and total energies, is composed of energy categories/sources whose patent activity could be inferred as driving their production. On the other hand, energy production from biomass, biofuel, geothermal and nuclear energies is identified in Group 2, in which the patent activity is driven by production (high innovation group). An (OR) of slightly less than one and a (DR) less than one, lead to a placement where with time, a constructive to destructive innovation transition is encountered A very low (OR) and a low (DR) on the other hand leads to a transition from Stage III growth to a no-growth (Stage IV) with time. Innovation enhanced resources and production are also discussed.     

Immigration policy and the U.S. economy: an institutional perspective

The author examines some aspects of the current situation concerning immigration to the United States. He predicts that the 1990s will witness the largest flow of immigrants into the population and labor force of any decade in the country's history; furthermore, since there is no universally accepted right to immigrate, the adoption of migration policy is one area of economic policymaking that is not controlled by market forces. He also notes that while the country's need is for a highly skilled, motivated, and educated labor force, the majority of current immigrants have low skill levels and relatively little education. The need to develop and implement a migration policy that is in tune with the country's economic objectives is stressed. He concludes that "the resurrection of mass immigration from out of the nation's distant past was a political accident; its perpetuation in the 1990s is contrary to national interest. Immigration reform, therefore, needs to be [in] the forefront of the nation's economic policy agenda."     

Trade policy in majoritarian systems: the case of the U.S.

Abstract We provide a theory of trade policy determination that incorporates the protectionist bias inherent in majoritarian systems, suggested by Grossman and Helpman (2005) . The prediction that emerges is that in majoritarian systems, the majority party favours industries located disproportionately in majority districts. We test this prediction using U.S. data on tariffs, Congressional campaign contributions, and industry location in districts represented by the majority party over the period 1989–97. We find evidence of a significant majority bias in trade policy: the benefit to being represented by the majority party appears at least as large in magnitude as the benefit to lobbying.     

Sex and environmental policy in the U.S. House of Representatives

Using LCV score data, we find that female legislators favor stricter environmental policies than do their male counterparts. Moreover, gender-corrected estimates suggest that voters do not push environmental policy towards the middle, but rather select the ideologically closest candidate.     

An empirical analysis of air pollution emissions policy for the U.K. residential sector

In this paper an analysis of the U.K. government's air pollution emissions policy for the residential sector is undertaken. The analysis covers emissions arising from water and space heating, electric appliances and cooking appliances. Using an integrated economic-engineering model, the effects of the Energy Savings Trust and the imposition of Value Added Tax on residential fuel will be evaluated in terms of energy consumption and pollution emissions. It is found that the initial proposed policy was not sufficiently stringent to meet the government's environmental objectives, and that subsequent events have undermined the government's programme even further. Unless alternative policies are introduced, emissions from the residential sector will play an important role in jeopardizing the ability of the U.K. government to meet its international obligations.     

Effects of technical innovation on market value of the U.S. semiconductor industry

This article discusses the effects of technical innovation on the market value (MV) of the American semiconductor industry from the perspective of investors in the securities market. The study quantifies the technical innovations of the semiconductor industry and uses the proportional change of Average Process Technology (APT) as a proxy variable to measure the industrial capability of technical innovations and to act as one of the explanatory variables of a regression model for discussing the connection between technical innovation and MV. The results indicate that: 1) the degree of technical innovation and the proportional change in productivity of the semiconductor industry are the major factors that affect proportional change in the MV of the U.S. semiconductor industry; 2) regardless of the size of a company's MV or the companies' classification in terms of products and services (the Equipment & Material Sector, the Board Line Sector, the IC & Chip Sector and the Fabless & Specialist Sector), the degree of technical innovation shows a significant positive effect on MV.     

Macroeconomic conditions in the U.S. and congressional voting on environmental policy: 1970-2008

Using the Environmental Scorecard ratings of Congressmen and Senators published annually by the League of Conservation Voters, we explore empirically whether political support for pro-environment legislation, aggregated across each legislative body, is sensitive over time to changing economic conditions — that is, whether there is a political trade-off between economic conditions and the environment. Using LCV scorecard ratings from 1970 to 2008, we find evidence, consistent across both the House and Senate, that political support for the environment is related to per capita income, but this general tendency can be decomposed into sharp differences by party.     

基于产业链的自主创新的政策支撑体系研究

科技和创新是经济发展的关键,建设创新型国家是提升国家竞争力的重大战略决策.本文以产业经济学、创新管理理论为指导,在梳理各项自主创新政策在产业链上的作用机理后进行了实证,得出政府应在构建产业创新系统的基础上选择重点产业、根据上下游关系制定相关政策、加大对产业链上关键技术和核心技术政策支持力度、以重大产品开发为龙头带动整体自主创新的政策建议.     

中美贸易摩擦根源的反思

1980年7月2日,美国对中国薄荷醇进行首次反倾销调查。2001年中国入世以来,中美贸易一反入世正面效应的常态,贸易摩擦硝烟不断。截至2004年年底,美国已累计对华发起110起反倾销调查,19起保障措施(包括5起特定产品保障措施和12起纺织品特保措施调查),占中国涉案总数的20%,成为迄今为止对华贸易摩擦案件最多的国家。2004年,美国对华新发起6起反倾销调查,涉案金额34.109亿美元,针对中国纺织品发起12起特保措施调查。进入2005年,中美纺织品贸易争端再次引起众人关注。其实,作为全球两大重要的贸易体,在贸易中发生摩擦本是司空见惯的现象,然而,由…     

The evolution of the monetary policy regimes in the U.S.

The existing literature on U.S. monetary policy provides no sense of a consensus regarding the existence of a monetary policy regime. This article explores the evolution of U.S. monetary policy regimes via the development of a Markov-switching model predicated on narrative and statistical evidence of a monetary policy regime. We identified five regimes for the period spanning 1956:I?C2005:IV and they roughly corresponded to the Chairman term of the Federal Reserve, except for the Greenspan era. More importantly, we demonstrate that the conflicting results regarding the response to inflation for the pre-Volcker period in the existing literature is not attributable to the different data but due to different samples, and also provided an insight regarding the Great Inflation??namely, that the near non-response to inflation in the early 1960s appears to have constituted the initial seed of the Great Inflation. We also find via analysis of the Markov-switching model for the U.S. real interest rate, that the regime changes in the real interest rate follow the regime changes in monetary policy within 2?years and that the evolution of real interest rate regimes provides a good explanation for the conflicting results regarding the dynamics of real interest rate.     

Trade-mediated biotechnology transfer and its effective absorption: an application to the U.S. forestry sector

In this paper, we analyze the consequences of biotechnology innovations in the United States forest sector (logging) by modeling technology transfer embodied in trade flows and its absorption. A seven-region, seven-traded-commodity version of a dynamic computable general equilibrium model is used to achieve this task. A 0.63% Hicks-neutral biotechnological progress in the source region (U.S.) has differential impacts on the productivity of the log-using sectors in the domestic as well as in the recipient regions. Since recipient regions' ability to utilize biotechnology innovations depends on their absorptive capacity (AC) and structural similarity (SS), we construct the AC and SS indices based on multiplicity of factors such as human capital endowments, skill content and social appropriateness of the new innovations. The model results show that biotechnological innovations in the U.S. forest sector result in a significant increase in timber production. Following the productivity improvements and its embodied spillover, wood products and pulp and paper sectors in the U.S. register higher productivity growth. The role of AC and SS in capturing technical change is shown to be evident. In the face of growing regulations on timber production from public forests, increasing productivity through biotechnology may be the most effective way to meet the consumer demand for forest products.     

美国太阳能发电技术及产业发展

本文以2013年美国多个超大规模光伏电站井网发电、2014年多个超大规模聚热太阳能电站投产为主要研究对象,分析了技术创新驱动和产业扶持政策对美国太阳能发电技术及大规模商业应用发展的推动作用,以及由此引发的效能提升、价格下降、供需市场兴旺,乐观预见美国太阳能发电产业的未来发展。     

Taxesversus tradable discharge permits: A review in the light of the U.S. and European experience

The U.S. and West European environmental protection programs have incorporated different economic instruments for controlling pollution. The U.S. has made extensive use of tradable permits of several forms but has never used direct pollution taxes. The countries of the European Community have long used an array of pollution taxes but have never used tradable permits. A review and critique of these experiences and an analysis of the attributes of taxes and tradable permits seeks identify the strengths and weaknesses of each instrument and to provide guidelines for the successful implementation of each system.     

Industrial development environment and innovation efficiency of high-tech industry: analysis based on the framework of innovation systems

This present paper studies the relationship between the industrial development environment (IDE) and the innovation efficiency (IE) of China’s high-tech industry. First, drawing upon insights from research on regional innovation systems and sectoral innovation systems, the paper proposes a definition of the IDE within which China’s high-tech industry exists. Then, by a factorial analysis, three main components reflecting the IDE are obtained: regional development conditions, regional consumption potential, and interactions between innovation actors. Furthermore, the impacts of various facets of the IDE on three kinds of IE are investigated through the DEA-Tobit regression approach. Based on the results, our analysis can provide information for policymakers to create a favourable environment for China’s high-tech industry.     

Harnessing rivers of wind: A technology and policy assessment of high altitude wind power in the U.S.

This paper provides an assessment of the commercialization potential for high altitude wind power (HWP). Several technological and policy barriers are identified that may affect the development and deployment of the technology in the US. Technical barriers include electrical transmission from high altitudes and the development of viable methods of energy storage to address intermittency. Non-technical barriers include the lack of a carbon price in the US, which provides an advantage to embedded technologies and widens the ‘valley of death.’ A variety of stakeholders are analyzed in order to understand potential impacts upon the development of HWP. Many fossil fuel producers and utility companies have been leveraging political authority to lobby against a carbon tax, which could be crucial for broad deployment of renewable energy technologies. The combination of technical and non-technical barriers indicates that commercialization of HWP is unlikely in the short term. Commercialization would require major policy shifts at the federal level and advances in S&T. Recommendations are provided to increase federal investment in applied research through additional funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy (ARPA-E). It is also recommended that ARPA-E create a matching fund to assist in the commercialization of renewable energy technologies.     

Politicians, deficits, and monetary policy in the U.S. revisited

This paper reconsiders the evidence regarding the existence of executive and congressional influences on monetary policy in the U.S. Results regarding the source of the federal deficit (cyclical or structural) provide evidence that structural deficits occurring under Democratic presidential administrations have a significant impact on money growth rates, but those occurring under their Republican counterparts may not. Although the evidence regarding cyclical deficits is statistically weaker, their more limited influence on monetary growth rates appears to be similar regardless of whether they occur under Democratic or Republican presidents. This contrasts with previous research which suggests that cyclical deficits influence monetary growth rates under Democratic administrations while structural deficits generated a similar monetary response regardless of which party held the presidency.     

The U.S. Banking and Corporate Structure: Some Implications for Industrial Policy

This paper argues that a fundamental aspect of the process of financialization is the transformation and evolution of certain key institutions. In national spaces, these include those that play essential roles in financing economic activity, such as the central bank and the commercial banking sector, and also the institutions that determine the quantity and form of public expenditure. In Latin American countries, these changes have reduced the possibilities of national authorities to influence financial processes.