A cost-benefit analysis for the economic growth in China

Currently, traditional development issues such as income inequality, depletion of natural resources, environmental pollution as well as retardation of infrastructure have occurred in China. In the future, more pressures would be imposed on China by the continuous fast development of industrialization, and with transfer of the world manufacture center to China. Sustainable development, including its economic, environmental and social elements, is a key goal of decisionmakers. This paper develops a methodology on cost benefit analysis of economic growth at macroscopic level to identify issues of China's sustainability. In order to address some important issues on how to make policies to improve the quality of economic growth, the CBA framework developed in this study analyses economic-ecological-social interaction, building three accounts that reflect three dimensions of sustainable development that includes 26 sub-models in all, and finally is integrated into an index as Net Progress Proceeds (NPP). The estimation methods of these submodels, such as cost of environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources and defensive expenditures are described in detail. Based on the framework and methods, this paper examines the costs and benefits of economic growth in three aspects of economy, ecology and society. The results illustrate that NPR of China's economic growth had been negative for a long time and has just became positive since year 2000 but was quite low. Even the best was only 1.6% in 2002 (the worst was − 24.2% in 1982). Based on the comparison between three accounts, we can draw a conclusion that ecological cost is the dominant factor that affects China's NPR. The empirical results show that if no other innovative measures or policies are taken in the future the costs of growth would outweigh its benefits, resulting in un-sustainability. Basically, the long-term economic growth would be unsustainable due to increasing environmental damage and depletion of natural resources. There are a few limitations that we consider need to be improved in our CBA framework and method, nevertheless they have many options that can be explored by policy makers, to make the development path more sustainable.     

Financial efficiency and economic growth: The case of Spain

This paper explores the connection between financial efficiency and economic growth. First, a theoretical model is presented in which financial efficiency enhances economic growth by means of increasing the marginal productivity of a broad concept of capital. Next, some data from the Spanish economy from 1962 to 1995 are explored using cointegration techniques. The main results point to a prominent role of bank institutions in channeling funds from savings to investment. Operative inefficiency of banks has damaged economic growth by providing a smaller amount of funds to the process of development. These results also suggest the existence of imperfections in Spanish capital markets. Finally, some indicators of financial repression such as negative interest rates and inflation seem to have had a deleterious impact on economic growth.This paper is part of a broader research project financed by Fundación FIES, CECA. Comments by Caneda, Cuñado, Martínez Chacón, Pérez de Villarreal, Termes, and Villaverde are gratefully acknowledged.     

Monopoly,economic efficiency and unemployment

The objective of this paper is to analyze the efficiency consequences of monopoly from the perspective of an efficiency-wage model of unemployment based on Shapiro and Stiglitz (1984). An important feature of our model is that a firm can raise the probability that a shirking worker is detected by increasing its effort or investment in the monitoring of workers. Using this model we study how a monopolist's decision with regard to employment, output and monitoring is affected by exogenous variables such as job separation rate, technological advances, market size, and unemployment benefits. Furthermore, by comparing with the competitive equilibrium we find that monopoly is associated with higher unemployment rate, smaller output, and less monitoring. Surprisingly, however, monopoly does not necessarily lead to lower welfare level.     

The economic analysis of lotteries

This paper considers policy issues arising in the design, regulation and taxation of lotteries, focusing on the market for an on-line lottery game. Demand determines who buys lottery tickets and in what quantities. The design of lotteries affects the terms on which tickets are supplied.
UK data suggest that its lottery may be priced too high to maximize lottery revenue – more revenue might be raised if the proportion of sales allocated to tax and other levies were smaller.
Having established the positive economics of lotteries, the paper then assesses their welfare implications. Pari-mutuel lotteries enjoy scale economies and, as natural monopolies, are invariably run either by government agencies or a regulated licensee. I estimate consumer surplus and identify the excess burden that arises from existing (over)taxation of lotteries. The large price elasticity of demand implies that revenue raised from the lottery is raised very inefficiently. Moreover, the demand for lottery tickets is inferior (and there is some evidence that such games are contagious and addictive). So using lotteries as a vehicle for raising revenue is extremely regressive. Finally, I consider other policy implications: induced effects on charitable giving and on other forms of gambling; the impact on the government budget; perceptions of risk; and distributional considerations.     

An economic efficiency study on different regions of Ghana via Slack-based data envelopment analysis and regression analysis

In this article, we evaluate the efficiency of the 10 different regions of Ghana using slack-based data envelopment analysis, a nonparametric linear programming technique. Furthermore, we analyse the variable effects on the efficiency of the regions by various regression models using bootstrap sampling technique. The data come from the 1991/1992 and 1998/1999 Ghana Living Standards Survey. Our results show that wealth is not strongly related to efficiency. For example, the study indicates that the Brong–Ahafo region is the most efficient region but not the most wealthy in Ghana. Generally, urban regions are not found to be among the most efficient regions due to the high expenditures. The regression analysis shows that female heads of household have an overall positive effect on efficiency. In addition, any form of education obtained is also found to have a significant positive effect on efficiency.     

Oil consumption and economic efficiency: A comparative analysis of advanced, developing and emerging economies

This paper investigates the economic efficiency-oil consumption relationship in 42 countries during the period 1986-2006. In a first stage by using DEA window analysis countries' economic efficiencies are obtained. In a second stage an econometric analysis based on robust GMM estimators reveals an inverted ‘U’-shape relationship between oil consumption and economic efficiency. In order to capture heterogeneities among countries' development stages the analysis has been separated into two groups (advanced economies and developing/emerging economies). The results show that advanced economies have much higher turning points compared to emerging and developing economies. It appears that oil consumption increases countries' economic efficiency. In addition the consumption patterns of oil products and its derivatives have changed through years and among countries. The different turning points from the econometric analysis indicate the dependence of oil consumption in advanced economies (higher turning points) is driven mainly by household purchasing activities and their standards of living (transport, housing and water, food, etc.). Finally, it appears that oil consumption is the main driver behind the progress of industrialization and urbanization regardless of the country's development stage.     

SA8000的经济学分析

本文首先介绍了SA8000的基本知识，然后从经济学角度对SA8000的影响进行了分析，最后为发展中国家提出了应对的建议。     

公务员腐败成本—收益的经济学分析

腐败的根本原因是目前的制度安排缺陷，导致腐败成为“高收益低风险”行为，而廉洁成为“低收益”行为，同时公务员缺乏对国家的“信赖感”、对退休之后生活的“安全感”和长期收益的“信任感”。防止国家公务员腐败的根本措施是通过制度创新，使腐败成为被查出概率极高，政治风险极大，经济成本极高，逃避受到法律制裁惩治的程度极小，个人及利益相关者的精神或名誉受到严重损害的行为，同时，使公务员廉洁能够获得较高的收益。     

Labour markets, social justice and economic efficiency

In conventional economic theory, a trade-off supposedly existsbetween social justice and economic efficiency. In reality,market and other economic institutions are dominated by powerrelations, so that the sponsorship of social justice is a productivefactor. Neo-liberal economic policies, by lifting the constraintson the exercise of unequal power, increased injustice and triggereda downward economic and social spiral. Reversing this requiresa revolution in economic theory and policy focused on full employment,the working of labour markets, the organisation of work, andhousehold organisation, social provision and self-sufficiency.     

基于成本——效益分析的安徽农村生物沼气发展研究

生物沼气为生物质能源中最为普及的一种,由于其分散性、小型化和就地取材适合农村发展。文章运用成本——效益函数,通过将农村沼气发展具有代表性地区的实地调研情况与函数的理论前提进行对比分析后发现,发展大中型沼气项目更适合农村实际,从而提出下一阶段农村沼气的发展模式。     

A cost-benefit analysis of moose harvesting in Scandinavia. A stage structured modelling approach

A cost-benefit analysis of moose (Alces alces) harvesting in Scandinavia is presented within the framework of an age structured model with four categories of animals (calves, yearlings, adult females, and adult males). The paper aims to demonstrate the economic content of such a wildlife model and how this content may change under shifting economic and ecological conditions. Two different harvesting regimes are explored: landowner profit maximization, where the combined benefit of harvesting value and browsing damage is taken into account, and overall management, where the costs and damages of moose-vehicle collisions are taken into account as well. An empirical analysis of the Norwegian moose stock indicates that the present stock level is far too high compared with the overall management scenario, and that the composition of the harvest could be improved.     

The contributions of technical and allocative efficiency to the economic performance of European railways

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the relative contributions of allocative and technical efficiency to the productivity performance of European railways over the period 1972 to 1999. A stochastic frontier approach is used to analyse the cost structure of the railway industry. We estimate a translog cost system in which allocative inefficiency is modelled through an exact relationship between the cost share equations and the cost function. To allow the estimation of such a model using the sample theory approach we assume that the share equation residuals represent deviations from first-order conditions and, therefore, that they represent exclusively allocative inefficiencies. The use of this simplifying assumption renders our analysis computationally tractable, but it could be inconsistent with the economic theory of duality and for that reason caution is required in interpretation of results. Acknowledging this caveat, we find that European railways have experienced significant cost increases due to inefficient behaviour, with a mean value of around 15%. In contrast to previous studies, however, our estimates indicate a larger role for allocative inefficiency, which accounts for around of a half of the total increase in cost inefficiency.

A cost-benefit analysis of music therapy in a home hospice

Medicare's fixed daily rates create an absolute cost constraint on hospices; consequently, the growth in hospice brings financial pressures. The patient efficacy of music therapy has been demonstrated in the literature and includes improving pain, agitation, disruptive behaviors, communication, depression, and quality of life. Music therapy is well suited to hospice as it addresses the four domains of palliative care (physiological, emotional, social, and spiritual care). In this small study, the total cost of patients in music therapy was $10,659 and $13,643 for standard care patients, resulting in a cost savings of $2984. The music therapy program cost $3615, yielding a cost benefit ratio of 0.83. When using cost per patient day, the cost benefit ratio is 0.95.     

Optimal transmission switching: economic efficiency and market implications

Traditionally, transmission assets for bulk power flow in the electric grid have been modeled as fixed assets in the short run, except during times of forced outages or maintenance. This traditional view does not permit reconfiguration of the transmission grid by the system operators to improve system performance and economic efficiency. The current push to create a smarter grid has brought to the forefront the possibility of co-optimizing generation along with the network topology by incorporating the control of transmission assets within the economic dispatch formulations. Unfortunately, even though such co-optimization improves the social welfare, it may be incompatible with prevailing market design practices since it can create winners and losers among market participants and it has unpredictable distributional consequences in the energy market and in the financial transmission rights (FTR) market. In this paper, we first provide an overview of recent research on optimal transmission switching, which demonstrates the substantial economic benefit that is possible even while satisfying standard N−1 reliability requirements. We then discuss various market implications resulting from co-optimizing the network topology with generation and we examine how transmission switching may affect locational Marginal Prices (LMPs), i.e., energy prices, and revenue adequacy in the FTR market when FTR settlements are financed by congestion revenues.     

社会救助的公平与效率分析

社会救助作为社会保障制度的重要组成部分,是保护公民基本生存权利的主要内容,其实施原则主要以公平优先,同时注重效率.在现实生活中,社会救助的公平和效率损失也经常是同时发生的,公平和效率的损失造成了社会救助的资源浪费,同时也对受助者不利.     

Local air pollution and global climate change: A combined cost-benefit analysis

This article presents the findings of a combined cost-benefit analysis of local air pollution and global climate change, two subjects that are usually studied separately. Yet these distinct environmental problems are closely related, since they are both driven by the nature of present energy production and consumption patterns. Our study demonstrates the mutual relevance of, and interaction between, policies designed to address these two environmental challenges individually. Given the many dimensions air pollution control and climate change management have in common, it is surprising that they have only little been analyzed in combination so far. We attempt to cover at least part of the existing gap in the literature by assessing how costs and benefits of technologies and strategies that jointly tackle these two environmental problems can best be balanced. By using specific technological options that cut down local air pollution, e.g. related to particulate emissions, one may concurrently reduce CO₂ emissions and thus contribute to diminishing global climate change. Inversely, some of the long-term climate change strategies simultaneously improve the quality of air in the short run. We have extended the well-established MERGE model by including emissions of particulate matter, and show that integrated environmental policies generate net global welfare benefits. We also demonstrate that the discounted benefits of local air pollution reduction significantly outweigh those of global climate change mitigation, at least by a factor of 2, but in most cases of our sensitivity analysis much more. Still, we do not argue to only restrict energy policy today to what should be our first priority, local air pollution control, and wait with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, we propose to design policies that simultaneously address these issues, as their combination creates an additional climate change bonus. As such, climate change mitigation proves an ancillary benefit of air pollution reduction, rather than the other way around.     

设备选型的技术经济分析

在企业建设和发展过程中,设备选型是一个重要环节,制定先进、适用、合理的设备选型方法,是企业设备管理部门的重要任务.论文从技术和经济两个方面阐述了设备选型应遵循的原则,并进行了方案选择的技术经济分析,为企业设备选择提供了经济可行的方法.