The stock-flow distinction: A suggested interpretation

The stock-flow distinction has once again become a popular subject for methodological and applied analytical consideration by economists. Readers of the recent literature cannot, however, fail to be impressed by the apparently problematic nature of the stock-flow distinction. This essay argues that these difficulties arise predominantly because of a failure to identify the three conceptually separate ways in which “stocks” and “flows” are commonly distinguished. We provide an explicit discussion of this threefold distinction, and then relate our simple taxonomy to several recent influential articles that do not seem to have kept all three separate. A number of analytical results introduced by the recent literature are shown to be fallacious.     

A general statistical model for characterizing the growth patterns and projecting the level of performance of family planning clinics

A statistical model for characterizing the growth patterns and projecting the level of performance has been developed for family planning clinics. The model developed is y = β (1 ? e^?αt where y is the number of continuing contraceptive patients at time t, and α and β are parameters to be estimated. Results of a typical application of the model are presented and discussed.     

Critical path method for introducing an industrial product

New product development continues to be a vital evil for most organizations. Considerable attention has been directed toward this function in the consumer goods field but relatively little research has been directed toward this critical task for producers of industrial goods. Industrial goods marketing managers seem to agree that error at the announcement/ introduction phase of the new product development process is responsible for the greatest number of new product failures. This article suggests use of the critical path method to ensure success at this crucial stage.     

Technological overlap,technological capabilities,and resource recombination in technological acquisitions

The performance of technological acquisitions depends heavily on the overlap between the knowledge bases of the target and acquirer. We argue that overlap is best viewed as two distinct constructs: target overlap, the proportion of the target's knowledge base that the acquirer already possesses, and acquirer overlap, the proportion of the acquirer's knowledge base duplicated by the target. Each affects the value created from the firms' technological capabilities differently due to absorptive capacity, knowledge redundancy, and organizational disruption. Further, the low quantity of innovations observed in acquisitions with low target overlap may conceal an offsetting increase in their novelty. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Canadian dairy policy and the returns to federal dairy cattle research

The economic surplus approach is used to estimate the returns to federal investments in dairy cattle research in Canada. A national supply function is estimated using time series data. Lagged research expenditures are included as explanatory variables in the model, facilitating the calculation of ***marginal as well as average benefits from research. Simulation analysis is used to study the effects of product market distortions associated with Canadian dairy policy as well as of the marginal excess burden on the rates of return to research and on the distribution of research benefits. Returns were found to be high at the margin. Distortions in the product market had a small effect on the overall returns to dairy cattle research but had a large impact on the distribution of research benefits. Rate of return estimates were found to be indicative of underinvestment even when the marginal excess burden was taken into account.     

An Economic Analysis of Groundwater Contamination from Agricultural Nitrate Emissions in Southern Ontario

This paper analyzes the costs and benefits of controlling groundwater pollution from agricultural use of nitrogen fertilizer in southwestern Ontario. The Village of Hensall, where nitrate concentrations have been observed above 10 mg/L in recent years, is selected as the study site.'The CREAMS simulation model is used to estimate the effect of reducing nitrogen fertilizer on nitrate leaching and consequently on nitrate groundwater pollution. Estimates of the value of groundwater are obtained from the literature and are used to calculate the off-farm cost of groundwater contamination. This procedure results in a wide range of values for the benefits of reducing nitrate pollution. Estimated annual benefits of improved ground-water quality range from less than $1,000 to more than $30,000 for the village. The off-farm benefits of nitrate groundwater pollution abatement outweigh the cost of using bottled water and also exceed the on-farm cost of reducing nitrogen fertilizer application rates. Placing a tax on nitrogen fertilizer would reduce the level of nitrogen applications, but the farm cost of compliance to a nitrogen tax policy is substantially higher than the compliance cost under a regulatory policy that imposes a quantitative ceiling on nitrogen application rates over the part of the aquifer from which the village draws its water supply.     

Optimal Border Policies for Invasive Species Under Asymmetric Information

This paper analyzes the problem faced by a border protection agency if endogenous exporter abatement activities affect invasive species risk, allowing for unobservable differences in abatement cost. We show how the optimal inspection/penalty regime differs from the symmetric information case. Departing from previous literature, we allow for technical assistance, a policy instrument specifically permitted and commonly employed under Article 9 of the World Trade Organization Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement. We find the information asymmetry can make it optimal for the importing country to provide technical assistance grants for exporter risk abatement, even if it would otherwise be inefficient. Further, we show that fungibility of technical assistance with inputs in other sectors of the exporting economy affects the qualitative nature of optimal policy. If technical assistance has no outside value in the exporter’s country, optimal policy is characterized by a menu of contracts balancing higher tariffs with lower penalties for being caught with an invasive. If technical assistance can be used in other sectors of the exporter’s economy, it can introduce countervailing incentives making a uniform tariff/penalty combination optimal.