Using compensation instruments as a vehicle to improve spatial planning: Challenges and opportunities

Planners are increasingly adopting market-oriented compensation instruments. This is not only the result of a shift from government to governance, but also because governments are increasingly required to compensate private citizens for losses incurred due to planning regulations. Market-oriented compensation instruments have a broad scope as they also enable non-financial compensation opportunities. Non-financial compensation schemes normally use – not necessarily transferable – rights to compensate for a loss in economic value. Countries that adopt such instruments – such as The Netherlands, the US and Spain – often not only use them for compensation, but also to recoup some of the windfall profits that are then used for the improvement of urban and regional areas.     

Environment-Friendly Behaviour and Competitiveness: A Study of Pulp and Paper Industry in India

This paper seeks to examine the relationship between competitiveness and environment-friendly behaviour of producers under an economic liberalisation regime. For that purpose, it employs a probit model and estimates the influence of the prime movers of industrial growth such as technical change and economies of scale on environmental degradation. The empirical results of the study of pulp and paper industry, identified as one of the most polluting industries in India, indicate that these variables, as the key players of competitiveness improvement, have positive influence on environment-friendly behaviour. Such findings, therefore, fail to provide support to a view that articulates ruthless exploitation of the environment under economic liberalisation programme.     

刺激性货币政策的退出策略

【摩根士丹利5月21日】3月初以来,风险资产价格强劲反弹。至今为止,标准普尔指数的升幅已接近35％,信用利差大幅收缩。我们认为,金融市场回暖的一个重要动力就在于,央行通过降息和量化宽松注入金融体系的过剩流动性。由于货币供应量增加、资产价格回升,央行的举措还减缓了全球经济的下滑速度。     

Do mobile banner ads increase sales? Yes,in the offline channel

Firms allocate increasingly large budgets to mobile banner advertising. Yet, existing research paid only scant attention to the sales effects of mobile banner ads. In this paper, we fill this gap by determining the offline and online sales impact of a large-scale mobile banner advertising campaign. As part of a geographical field experiment, over 3.5 million mobile banner ads were served to a predetermined geographical area. We determine the offline and online sales effects of the mobile banner ad campaign by analyzing twenty months of sales data for regions covering the entire country of the Netherlands. Relying on a difference-in-difference approach and two matching methods, we demonstrate an offline sales increase of around 2%. The online sales effect is not significant. We conclude that firms can use mobile banner advertising to boost offline sales. We find no evidence for cross-channel sales cannibalization.     

Collective action for small-scale producers of agricultural biodiversity products

The role of well-functioning markets for development is now widely recognized. However the challenge remains to make these markets benefit the poor and the environment. Increasing attention is being given to the potential role markets can play for agrobiodiversity conservation through product diversification and increasing competitiveness in niche and novelty markets. Several case studies were undertaken that explore the use of market-based approaches to on-farm agrobiodiversity management and livelihood improvement. This paper explores how the theory of collective action can provide a more synthetic understanding of how market chains operate, and the changes that could permit a more equitable distribution of benefits. The case studies illustrate the need for improved trust, mutual understanding of each actor’s involvement, and an agreed process of collective action with a high level of community participation. The cases differ in their degree of collective action, the level of market organization and the ways in which handling, processing, and innovative marketing add value to the agrobiodiversity products. Comparative analysis identified a range of situations in which market development can support agrobiodiversity conservation and livelihoods.