Analysis on the Environmental Pollution Problem of China

The paper introduces the basic environmental pollution situation of China and points out that environmental pollution is bottleneck of China＇s economy development. Then it puts forward the main environmental pollution problems of China. At last, it brings forward the countermeasures to environmental pollution.     

Does the Law of One Price Hold within the EU? A Panel Analysis

This paper empirically tests the law of one price by applying unit root tests to three panels consisting of data on 90 consumer price indices for the EU-25, the EU-15 and the 10 new EU member countries that joined the EU in 2004. The four major findings of this paper are: (1) panel unit root tests find evidence of price convergence for about 70% of all product groups, (2) the results are sensitive to the choice of the numeraire country implying that any conclusions must be based on all bilateral combinations, (3) the average half life across all product groups is 2.0 years, (4) the overall evidence for the law of one price is weaker in the 10 new EU member countries than in the EU-15.

A Note on Forecasting the Euro: Do Forecasters Have an Asymmetric Loss Function?

Based on the approach advanced by Elliott, Komunjer, and Timmermann (2005 Elliott, G., Komunjer, I., & Timmermann, A. (2005). Estimation and testing of forecast rationality under flexible loss. Review of Economics Studies, 72, 1107–1125. doi: 10.1111/0034-6527.00363[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), we analyzed whether the loss function of a sample of exchange-rate forecasters is asymmetric in the forecast error. Using forecasts of the dollar/euro exchange rate, we found that the shape of the loss function varies across forecasters. Some forecasters appear to make forecasts under an asymmetric loss function, while a symmetric loss function seems to describe well the loss function of other forecasters. Accounting for an asymmetric loss function does not necessarily make forecasts ‘look’ rational.     

Does the constraint matter? A note on the asymptotic properties of nonparametric instrumental variable estimation under monotonicity shape constraint

I show that constrained monotone instrumental variable estimators are asymptotically equivalent to their unconstrained counterparts whenever the true regression function is in the interior of the constrained set. In a simulation study, a sieve-based constrained estimator is shown to outperform the unconstrained one even in cases where both are asymptotically equivalent.     

Can a Focus on Breakthrough Technologies Improve the Performance of International Environmental Agreements?

In a recent paper, Barrett (Am Econ Rev 96(2):22–25, 2006) reaches the conclusion that in general the answer to the question in the title is no, except for a special case in which technology adoption involves increasing returns (network externalities). We show in this paper that a focus on the R&D phase in the development of breakthrough technologies can also increase the possibilities for cooperation.     

Is the Environmental Kuznets Curve for deforestation a threatened theory? A meta-analysis of the literature

Although widely studied, deforestation remains a common research topic. The relationship between economic development and deforestation is still in question. This paper presents a meta-analysis of Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) studies for deforestation. Using 69 studies, offering 547 estimations, we shed light on why EKC results differ. We investigate the incidence of choices made by authors (such as econometric strategy, measure of deforestation, geographical area, and presence of control variables) on the probability of finding an EKC. After a phase of work corroborating the EKC, we find a turning point after the year 2001. Building on our results, we conclude that the EKC story will not fade until theoretical alternatives are provided.     

Biotechnology Development in Spain: A Change of Paradigm?

This article presents a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the Spanish biotechnology sector, including its scientific, business, policy and social aspects. The study differentiates two sub-sectors, considered to be the most representative: Biopharma and Agro-food. The results show that biotechnology development in Spain has entered a new phase. Traditionally, research and development in Spain followed an unstructured path built around regional spaces and driven by factors and influences external to Spain. However, the emergence of a fast-growing sector of spin-off companies from the public research system, specifically in the Biopharma sector, points to a change of model of development of the industry, on the national as well as the regional level. The data also show the key role which public policy plays in creating a suitable framework for innovation and point to the need of analyzing the influence of social and cultural factors on the development of the biotechnology sector.     

Do Trees Grow with the Economy? A Spatial Analysis of the Determinants of Forest Cover Change in Sichuan,China

This paper aims to identify the relationship between economic growth and forest cover change in Sichuan, China. Using a set of panel land use data based on Landsat TM/ETM digital images, we show that during the late 1980s and 1990s, Sichuan’s forest cover initially decreased and then rose. We also note that the rising and falling trends occurred at the same time that Sichuan’s economy was going through a period of rapid and sustained growth. We use multivariate analysis to identify the determinants of forest cover change. In addition to using a first-differenced estimator, we also utilize spatial error and spatial lag models to obtain consistent and efficient estimates of the determinants of forest cover. Our analysis demonstrates the importance of economic growth on the forest cover change; the results show that there is a U-shaped relationship between forest cover and GDP per capita. However, despite the nature of the empirical relationship between forest cover and income, the high turning point of the U-shaped relationship suggests that there is no evidence for the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve for forests in Sichuan Province. Hence, policy interventions may be necessary to stop the decrease of forests.     

Validity Tests of Benefit Transfer – Are We Performing the Wrong Tests?

The validity of environmental benefit transfer has been tested on numerous occasions assuming classical null hypothesis of equality. We argue against this assumption on the basis of theory, which clearly indicates that environmental benefits should be assumed to vary from context to context. We suggest the use of equivalence testing as a more appropriate and a clear compliment to the shortcomings of classical tests. Equivalence tests test the null hypothesis of difference between the original and transferred value estimates. Equivalence tests also combine the concepts of statistical significance and policy significance into one test, by defining an acceptable transfer error prior to the validity test. The results of a published study on validity of benefit transfer are reversed when subjected to an equivalence test.JEL classifications: Q26, C12     

Does an Endogenous Relationship Exist between Environmental and Economic Performance? A Resource-Based View on the Horticultural Sector

The aim of this paper is to analyse the relationship between environmental and economic performance from the resource-based theory within firms of the fresh fruit and vegetables sector. This study considers that the adoption of environment-friendly practices has a greater influence on firms’ opportunities and abilities in the agricultural sector than in manufacturing sectors and leads to closer links between performance variables. The reference for this empirical analysis is a panel data of horticultural farming-marketing firms in Spain. The voluntary environmental programmes and the heterogeneity of their application lead us to regard acquiring a competitive advantage as a relevant driver to improve environmental performance in this sector. A simultaneous equations model is suggested reflecting the differential environmental effect and the assumption of endogeneity among variables. The results show a positive impact of environmental differentiation on profitability and market share, also suggesting that the perception of this positive experience implies greater environmental performance.      

Measuring the Effect of Economic Growth on Countries’ Environmental Efficiency: A Conditional Directional Distance Function Approach

Using a recently developed probabilistic approach of a conditional directional distance function, we measure the effect of economic growth on countries’ environmental efficiency in carbon dioxide emissions for a sample of 99 countries over the period of 1980–2010. Our approach directly accounts for the exogenous factors influencing countries’ environmental production; therefore, we do not impose the separability condition on the estimated environmental efficiencies. When examining the entire sample as well as the sample of developed countries, our results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between countries’ GDP per capita and environmental efficiency. However, when examining the relationship for the sample of developing countries, the results reveal an N-shaped form. Moreover, our results show that countries ratifying the Kyoto Protocol tend to have higher efficiency scores, implying that their mitigation activity is less costly.