Imperial dictate: The effect of the two World Wars on the Indian coal industry

Little is known about the economic effects of the two World Wars on the Indian economy. No overall macro-picture can be drawn until a whole series of micro-studies at the industry level have been conducted. This paper sets out to provide one such case-study, that of coal mining.The impact of the wars on the historical evolution of the industry is considered by examining the specific wartime market conditions; the control measures erected by the Government; the methods of labour recruitment that were adopted; and the changes in living and working conditions that occured.     

The law and job design: comments on recent Norwegian legislation

A primary concern of those interested in the quality of working life has been with the design of jobs. In this article the authors review the reasons why job design reform has not generally attracted the interest of lawmakers. One notable exception is Norway, and this article reports the findings of a survey into the effects of the most recent law—the Work Environment Act of 1977.     

Insecurity,food financing and the IMF

This article considers the desirability and feasibility of an international food financing facility along the lines of existing lending facilities administered by the IMF and under the IMF's auspices. A prominent proposal is the extention of The Compensatory Financing Facility. The authors examine this proposal in the context of the nature and magnitude of food insecurity in developing countries. The authors conclude that the establishment of a food facility within the IMF is both desirable and feasible, but that, as suggested by FAO, it should be separate from The Compensatory Financing Facility.     

Unsmoothing Real Estate Returns: A Regime‐Switching Approach

We propose newly developed unsmoothing techniques for appraisal‐based real estate returns based on a regime‐switching threshold autoregressive (TAR) model. We show that when true returns follow a TAR process, conventional linear autoregressive techniques are misspecified and underestimate true variance. Two exogenous variables, equity returns and gross domestic product growth, outperform other variables as regime indicators and appear to capture risks of downturns in real estate. We extend the model to the smoothing equation, allowing for switching behavior by appraisers, using two new techniques: the TAR‐AR and TAR‐TAR approaches. The “co‐switching” specification opens up a new frontier of empirical research. We estimate the TAR‐TAR using FT returns as the regime indicator, and we find results that outperform conventional smoothing models and have plausible economic explanations.     

Biofuels technology development in Southern Africa

ABSTRACT

The benefits of biofuels depend on the feedstock, conversion pathway and local context. This paper assesses biofuels technology readiness and developments to provide foresight to biofuels development in Southern Africa. Efficient conversion pathways, coupled with biomass from waste or high-yielding energy crops, will reduce both the costs of biofuels production, and the environmental impacts. Compared to petroleum fuels, the current commercial biofuels (ethanol, biogas and biodiesel) typically offer carbon emission reductions of 30–50% but are marginally more expensive. The extent of biofuels market penetration will therefore be influenced by mandates (blending targets) and subsidies (green premium). Advanced biofuels promise greater efficiencies and carbon emission reductions at reduced cost but will require further research and development to reach commercialisation. If developed appropriately, biofuels can reduce carbon emissions and improve energy security, while enabling sustainable agriculture and improved natural resources management.     

Hidden costs of supply management in a small market

Canada regulates its dairy and poultry industries through supply management. The supply‐management programs use target prices, production quotas and import tariff‐rate quotas to raise domestic prices. Canadian supply‐managed producers cannot export their output to world markets as exports would be considered subsidized under World Trade Organization rules. In this paper, we show that once foregone export opportunities are accounted for, supply management may no longer be beneficial to domestic producers of the supply‐managed commodities. The extent to which foregone profits from exports dominate domestic rents depends on Canada's comparative advantage, domestic market elasticities and the extent of supply management distortion in the domestic market.     

Economic Integration,Monopoly Power and Productivity Growth without Scale Effects

This paper considers how monopoly power affects the relationship between economic integration and economic growth that is not biased by a scale effect. In a two‐country model of trade, productivity growth is generated by firm‐level investment in process innovation, and the location of economic activity is determined by relative market size, trade costs and imperfect knowledge diffusion. Equilibrium features the partial concentration of manufacturing and the full concentration of innovation in the larger country. Increased economic integration raises the concentration of manufacturing in the larger country, and when monopoly power is strong, leads to decreased product variety, accelerated productivity growth and greater national welfare. With weak monopoly power, however, it raises product variety and dampens productivity growth, but may benefit or hurt welfare.