Post OPA-90 Vessel Oil Transfer Spill Prevention: The Effectiveness of Coast Guard Enforcement

Although oil spills from tanker accidents receive the most publicity, most vessel spills are not the result of accidents but of oil transfer activities. We investigate determinants of the size of vessel oil transfer spills as well as the effectiveness of Coast Guard enforcement activities in reducing their size. Vessel out-of-water and in-water oil transfer spillage functions are estimated utilizing tobit regression and detailed data on individual vessel oil transfer spills as well as Coast Guard safety/environmental enforcement activity data for the 1991–1995 period. Our estimation results suggest that Coast Guard hull but not machinery inspections are effective in reducing both out-of-water and in-water spills; patrols by air, but not by boat, are effective in reducing out-of-water spills; but neither is effective in reducing in-water spills. The results also show that the type of vessel (oil- and non-oil-cargo), vessel characteristics, vessel operations, weather/visibility conditions, and waterway type are determinants of post OPA-90 vessel oil transfer spills.     

Altruism and the Economic Values of Environmental and Social Policies

Altruism is a type of non-use value which can have different definitions depending on the type of goods entering the utility function of the altruists and their expectations about the contributions of others. The purpose of this paper is to measure the trade-offs between different types of altruist values originating from social and environmental policies. Environmental policies are concerned with reducing health effects from a power plant while social policies involve both the attainment of public facilities for education and leisure and an increase in the income of the affected population. The empirical application utilizes a choice experiment technique which allows for valuation of multiple goods. Health effects are decomposed into the values of the risk of becoming ill, the duration of the episodes and the limitations imposed by illness. Altruist values are elicited from a population that is not affected by pollution. Results show that altruism is significant for policies directed to reducing health effects and improving the income level of the affected population, whereas there is egoism for a policy aimed at improving public facilities in the polluted suburb. The value of altruism is significantly influenced by the expectations of net benefits to be received by the affected population.     

Hedonic models and air pollution: Twenty-five years and counting

This paper reports a meta analysis of how effectively hedonic property models have detected the influence of air pollution on housing prices. Probit estimates are reported describing how data, model specification, and local property market conditions in cities represented in thirty-seven studies influence the ability of hedonic models to uncover negative, statistically significant relationships between housing prices and air pollution measures.Partial support for this research was provided by the Russell Sage Foundation. Thanks are due David Cordray, Heidi Hartman, and Larry Hedges of the Foundation's Meta-Analysis Panel for constructive comments, to Ray Palmquist for suggestions and assistance in assembling the results from his studies, to Rick Freeman and Tom Tietenberg and two anonymous referees for comments on the research, and to Barbara Scott for constructive editing of earlier drafts of this paper.     

企业承担生态责任:构建和谐社会的第一步

环境污染事故频频爆发,人们开始关注企业的生态责任。本文从“压缩型”工业化给我国带来的“复合型”环境问题说起,探讨了企业生态责任与和谐社会构建的关系,认为企业承担生态责任是构建和谐社会的第一步。同时,运用企业生态责任战略地图模板,分析指出企业承担生态责任从长期看能够增加企业价值,并探讨了应如何增强企业的生态责任意识。     

博弈论在治理河流水污染中的应用

针对我国日益严重的河流水污染状况，本文通过对污染源企业和政府之间的关系进行博弈分析，建立监督博弈模型，并以此分析政府对污染源企业的监管力度及经济上的处罚力度。     

在科学发展观下建立绿色税收体系

随着经济的发展，社会环境与经济发展矛盾日益尖锐，在科学发展观下建立绿色税收体系的提出正是为了顺应社会发展趋势，为缓解和解决这一矛盾提供有效的途径。     

绿色财务管理的短期均衡分析

当前,生态问题日趋严重,这种状况的形成主要是人类自身行为造成的,人们虽然已经越来越多地认识到其危害性,但是在经济利益的驱使下,人类的这种破坏行为并没有真正停止或减少。作为微观经济主体的企业,它的行为对生态问题的影响非常重要,所以必须改变企业的经济行为。作为经济主体其目标就是为了获取经济利益,只有保证其有一定经济利益的情况下,来改变其行为以利于解决生态问题才是可行的。鉴于此,本文从市场上各类企业的经济行为特点入手,来探讨解决问题的途径。     

中小家族企业的创新经济学分析

创新经济学将技术创新在企业、研究机构等经济体中的发展作为主要研究对象,企业家的创新同样也是增长的动力;对我国一些地区中小家族企业的调研表明,立足于新技术、新管理和创新人才的支持是加入世界贸易组织后企业创新的进展。本文结合实际材料,对这两方面的研究展开了分析。     

国有企业负责人素质能力评价与分析

基于国有企业负责人素质能力的影响因素，根据评价指标体系设计的原则，以国有企业负责人为研究对象，确定了由两个模块、六个要素、十八个指标构成的评价指标体系；采用模糊综合评价方法对河北省国有企业负责人的素质能力进行实证评价分析。结果表明，该评价方法可运用于其他国有企业负责人素质能力的评价研究。     

中国节能减排工作面临的问题和解决的方法

国家“十一五”规划纲要明确提出中国单位GDP能耗在五年内降低20％；主要污染物排放总量减少10％的战略目标。目前，中国节能减排的任务还相当艰巨，应增加节能减排的资金投入，提高节能减排的激励和处罚标准。完善税收制度，遏制高耗能、高排放产业的项目发展。