Energy benchmarking in support of low carbon hotels: Developments,challenges, and approaches in China

Achieving effective and objective energy benchmarking for hotels is integral in fostering the sustainable development of the lodging sector. In this work, we reveal the major and minor streams of hotel energy benchmarking and ascertain that the most popular approach in benchmarking is normalized energy use intensity (EUI) based on floor level. Previous efforts to establish EUI indicators using subsystem average, data envelopment analysis (DEA), and regression technique are also studied. We propose that hotel energy benchmarking based on floor area is useful from the top-down management perspective. However, on a practical perspective, energy benchmarking based on facilities should be the first priority for hotel management or owners. Compared with the general energy benchmarking in the building sector, we find that the hotel sector lags behind in the adoption of computer modeling for benchmarking.     

Moderating effect of capital intensity on the relationship between leverage and financial distress in the U.S. restaurant industry

During the recent and ongoing economic turmoil, countless businesses have been facing financial distress and many have filed for bankruptcy. This issue is especially critical for the restaurant industry due to restaurants’ sensitivity to economic fluctuations. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the financial distress issue in the U.S. restaurant industry. In particular, the study examines a moderating effect of capital intensity on the relationship between a firm's leverage and degree of financial distress. The dataset includes publicly traded U.S. restaurant firms during the period 1990–2008. The study measures the degree of financial distress by modified Z-scores, and findings suggest a positive moderating effect of capital intensity on the relationship between leverage and financial distress.     

基于LMDI的我国能耗增长总量分解

本文运用迪氏对数指标分解法（LMDI）对我国6个行业在1985～2005年的能耗增长进行研究,将总能耗增长量分解为3个部分：生产效应,结构效应和强度效应。研究结果表明,我国过去20多年来能耗消费增长的主要动因是生产规模的扩大和经济结构的调整,而我国能耗强度的降低则大大地延缓了能耗总量的增长。本文最后根据研究结果提出了相关的政策建议。     

湖北省碳排放与经济增长脱钩分析

以2000-2014年湖北省GDP、能源消费和碳排放为基础数据,从能源结构、能源消耗强度和碳排放强度方面分析在此期间湖北省能源利用现状以及变化趋势,并且利用Tapio脱钩模型,分析湖北省2001 -2014年间经济增长与碳排放之间脱钩关系,将能源消费作为中间变量说明脱钩状态变化的原因。结果表明湖北省在此期间经济增长与碳排放绝大多数处于弱脱钩状态,并有向强脱钩转变的趋势,并且分析原因主要是经其二者与能源消费结构的改善和能源能利用率的提高有密切关系。最后就区域层面、企业层面以及个人层面提出相关建议。     

环境污染、能源消费与经济增长

在控制了资本和劳动力变量的基础上,构建了多变量VAR模型,考察了1989—2009中国及分区域在环境污染、能源消费和经济增长之间的动态因果关系。结果表明：对全国来说,分别存在从环境污染到经济增长、从环境污染到能源消费以及从能源消费到经济增长的三个单向因果关系。分区域看,东部沿海地区存在从经济增长到能源消费和从环境污染到能源消费的单向因果关系,环境污染和人均实际GDP之间不存在因果关系;中部地区存在从能源消费到经济增长的单向因果关系,环境污染和经济增长之间以及环境污染和能源消费之间存在双向因果关系;西部地区显示能源消费与经济增长之间不存在因果关系,但存在环境污染和能源消费的双向因果关系和从经济增长到环境污染的单向因果关系。此外,实证结果表明能源消费与经济增长关系的假说一中性假说、增长性假说和保护性假说在东部、中部和西部地区依次成立,即支持了本文所构建的基于EKC的环境污染、能源消费与经济增长分析框架。     

跨国公司地区总部区位分布的特征与决定因素

文章以福布斯2008年排行榜全球2000家企业在中国设立的地区总部为研究对象,对其分布的特征及决定因素进行了研究。研究发现：在分布特征上,跨国公司地区总部在我国呈现出了地区集聚（96％集中于北京、上海两个城市）和国别集聚（73．9％集中于美日等6个国家）的特点;在决定因素上,最为显著的指标是城市大小与人口规模、第三产业占GDP比重和信息传递水平。研究还表明：跨国公司在我国选择非政治、商业、金融中心的城市时,表现得极为谨慎;同时,全球仅有34．3％的跨国公司在我国设立地区总部,说明世界各国在我国的投资强度目前仍较弱。     

Do global CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel consumption exhibit long memory? a fractional-integration analysis

In this article we use an autoregressive fractionally integrated moving average approach to measure the degree of fractional integration of aggregate world CO₂ emissions and its five components – coal, oil, gas, cement, and gas flaring. We find that all variables are stationary and mean reverting, but exhibit long-term memory. Our results suggest that both coal and oil combustion emissions have the weakest degree of long-range dependence, while emissions from gas and gas flaring have the strongest. With evidence of long memory, we conclude that transitory policy shocks are likely to have long-lasting effects, but not permanent effects. Accordingly, permanent effects on CO₂ emissions require a more permanent policy stance. In this context, if one were to rely only on testing for stationarity and non-stationarity, one would likely conclude in favour of non-stationarity, and therefore that even transitory policy shocks have permanent effects. Our fractional-integration analysis highlights that this is not the case.     

LIQUIDATION IN LIMIT ORDER BOOKS WITH CONTROLLED INTENSITY

We consider a framework for solving optimal liquidation problems in limit order books. In particular, order arrivals are modeled as a point process whose intensity depends on the liquidation price. We set up a stochastic control problem in which the goal is to maximize the expected revenue from liquidating the entire position held. We solve this optimal liquidation problem for power‐law and exponential‐decay order book models explicitly and discuss several extensions. We also consider the continuous selling (or fluid) limit when the trading units are ever smaller and the intensity is ever larger. This limit provides an analytical approximation to the value function and the optimal solution. Using techniques from viscosity solutions we show that the discrete state problem and its optimal solution converge to the corresponding quantities in the continuous selling limit uniformly on compacts.     

The Discouraging Effect of Risks in WTO Negotiations: Determinants and Perceived Changes

The observation has frequently been made that uncertainty about the legal meaning and the economic and political effects of WTO agreements exert a discouraging effect on the progress of multilateral trade negotiations. This article identifies the determinants of uncertainty and risk in the WTO. It also examines changes in these determinants over time, pointing to increasing levels of uncertainty and risk. The argument is based on a series of interviews conducted with members of national delegations to the WTO and with WTO employees.     

Trip Planning and Decision Making of Self-Drive Tourists—

Abstract

Touring holidays are greenhouse gas intensive, and ways are being sought to reduce these emissions in New Zealand. This research seeks to influence rental vehicle tourists' planning and decision making towards shorter travel. Semi-structured interviews (n = 96) were conducted as part of a quasi-experimental approach, in which tourists were “treated” by receiving a purpose-designed tourist map. Three levels of planning and decision making could be distinguished, whereby both cognitive and affective processes were important. The tourist map did not influence tourists' itineraries, but tourists in New Zealand consistently followed a “travel budget” of about 3-5 hours driving per day.