海南岛自然生态系统服务价值评估

以卫星遥感影像为基础,运用"3S"技术,解译并统计了海南岛陆地自然生态系统的类型和面积,利用生态经济相关理论基础,评估计算出年海南岛陆地自然生态系统服务价值。结果表明,2008年海南岛自然生态系统服务价值约2198×108元,是当年全省GDP的1.5倍;森林生态系统的服务价值占四类生态系统(森林、草地、湿地和淡水)服务价值的81.77%,单位面积价值量达3260×104元/km2;自然生态系统在维持营养物质循环、水调节、大气调节等方面的间接使用价值约2076×108元,是直接使用价值的17.0倍。研究首次建立了针对海南岛陆地生态系统服务价值全面的评估体系,并在评估方法上择优、改进,对海南岛自然生态系统服务价值监测体系的构建及深入研究具有重要意义。     

南海油气资源开发研究--基于石油安全的视角

石油是不可再生的重要能源资源,在经济和社会发展中具有不可替代的重要作用。随着我国经济的快速发展和世界油价的不断攀升,石油供需矛盾日益突出,石油安全面临着严峻挑战。在陆地油气资源日渐枯竭的背景下,开发海洋油气资源已成为人类的必然选择。在我国四大海区中南海不仅海域面积辽阔,而且油气资源蕴藏丰富,开发潜力巨大,开发南海资源,对保障我国能源安全和维护国家海洋权利具有重要的战略意义。加快南海开发步伐,不仅需要国家从战略层面制定中长期规划、加大开发力度,而且要提高自主创新能力,在深海勘探、生产和运输等关键技术领域实现突破;还要妥善处理好与周边国家的关系,在致力于最终解决南海争议的同时,探讨共同开发的有效机制。     

Time-varying correlations in oil,gas and CO2 prices: an application using BEKK,CCC and DCC-MGARCH models

Previous literature has identified oil and gas prices as being the main drivers of CO₂ prices in a univariate Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) econometric framework (Alberola et al., 2008; Oberndorfer, 2009). By contrast, we argue in this article that the interrelationships between energy and emissions markets shall be modelled in a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) and Multivariate GARCH (MGARCH) framework, so as to reflect the dynamics of the correlations between the oil, gas and CO₂ variables overtime. Using the Baba–Engle–Kraft–Kroner (BEKK), Constant Conditional Correlation (CCC) and Dynamic Conditional Correlation MGARCH (DCC-MGARCH) models on daily data from April 2005 to December 2008, we highlight significant own-volatility, cross-volatility spillovers, and own persistent volatility effects for nearly all markets, indicating the presence of strong Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (ARCH) and GARCH effects. Besides, we provide strong empirical evidence of time-varying correlations in the range of [?0.3;?0.3] between oil and gas, [?0.05;?0.05] between oil and CO₂, and [?0.2;?0.2] between gas and CO₂, that have not been considered by previous studies. These findings are of interest for traders and utilities in the energy sector, but also for a broader applied economics audience.     

Measuring the natural yield curve

We generalize the concept of the natural rate of interest (Laubach and Williams, 2003; Woodford, 2003) by defining and estimating the natural yield curve (NYC) – the term structure of natural interest rates. Our motivation stems i.a. from the observation that at times when central banks attempt to directly affect long-term interest rates (e.g. via quantitative easing) the gap between the short-term real and natural rate is no more a good indicator of the monetary policy stance. We estimate the NYC on US data, document its main properties and show i.a. that in the period 2008 to 2011 the NYC allows to better capture the US monetary policy stance than the short-term natural rate.     

Economic structure and factor payments

There is a growing body of evidence that the labour payment share in national income varies across countries and over time, suggesting that the popular aggregate Cobb–Douglas production function may not capture income share dynamics. There remains conflicting evidence on the importance of natural resource rents among low income economies and on estimates of the rate of return to produced capital. This paper focuses on the structural differences among countries, confirming the importance of the agriculture sector in estimates of labour and land’s share of factor income based on 81 countries at diverse levels of economic development in the year 2005. I find that cross-country data are best modelled by a CES production function with an elasticity of substitution of 0.8 and that many low income countries have a higher return to capital than the United States.     

Veblen's critique of Marx's philosophical preconceptions of political economy

This paper explores some of the theoretical linkages between Thorstein Veblen and Karl Marx. Special reference is placed Veblen's criticisms of Marx and the Marxist tradition for adhering to the preconceptions of (a) the natural right of labour to the full product, and (b) the teleology of conscious agents directing action towards change. Veblen was incorrect to believe that Marx adhered to the natural right of labour thesis, but he was correct to assert that Marx utilized undesirable teleologies. Overall, however, Veblen was attempting to reformulate and modernise the materialistic conception of history through an evolutionary analysis of institutions. The two thinkers complement each other in important ways, although Veblen's analysis is more evolutionary, collectivist and holistic.     

On the origins of vertical unbundling: The case of the French transportation industry in the nineteenth century

Abstract

This paper retraces the origins of the unbundling of infrastructure, which is a monopoly, from services, which are subject to competition. Using the case of the railroad industry in France, I examine how both natural monopoly theorists and legislation dealt with this subject in the nineteenth century. I argue that the origins of vertical unbundling date to this period with legislation pertaining to inland waterways and railroads. This was particularly the case for the railroad industry due to pricing and competition rationales. I analyze the writings of Dupuit and Walras, and show that they both agreed that infrastructure and services had to be unbundled for the inland waterways. In contrast, they expressed different justifications to defend the monopoly for the railroad industry. Following a chronological progression, the first section explores the origins of unbundling in legislation. The second section analyzes how theorists approached the way railroads had to be managed. Throughout, I highlight the interplay between their work and legislation.     

Productivity growth in natural resource industries and the environment: an application to the Korean tuna purse-seine fleet in the Pacific Ocean

Measures of multifactor productivity growth in natural resource industries are misleading without accounting for the effects on the environment. This paper introduces environmental effects into an output-oriented Malmquist index of multifactor productivity growth in order to evaluate growth in productivity and technical efficiency for Korean purse seine vessels fishing for tuna in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.     

Teaching the Minimum Wage in Econ 101 in Light of the New Economics of the Minimum Wage

The author argues that the recent controversy over the effect of the minimum wage on employment offers an opportunity for teaching introductory economics. Research findings on the minimum wage could be used to motivate alternative models of the labor market, such as monopsony and search models, and to teach students how economists test hypotheses with data.     

Women and Minorities in Introductory Economics Textbooks: 1974 to 1984

The authors conducted a painstaking review of widely used economics textbooks to determine if or how issues relating to race and gender are treated. In doing so, the authors also shed light on the nature of the treatment of these issues.