Uncertainty and the Choice of Policy Instruments: A Note On Baumol and Oates Propositions

Baumol and Oates' propositions, the irrelevancy of benefit uncertainty and the importance of cost uncertainty on the choice between a tax and a system of marketable permits, are limited to a large-number case in which the opportunities for victims of pollution to participate in a permit market are non-existent. However, with the evolution of environmental groups and coalitions of victims in neighborhoods, the large-number case can easily transform into a small-number case. This paper shows that when the pollution standard, set at what appears to be optimal ex ante, is excessively lenient, the system of marketable permits offers such groups a flexibility to buy pollution permits in a competitive market and destroy them until the optimal solution is realized. In the reverse situation, however, Baumol and Oates propositions are unambiguously valid.     

Using Cash to Monitor Liquidity: Implications for Payments,Currency Demand,and Withdrawal Behavior

This paper provides one explanation why cash is still used for transactions despite a broad diffusion of noncash payment instruments. In particular, we argue that a distinctive feature of cash—a glance into one's pocket gives a signal of the remaining budget and past expenses—provides utility to some consumers. Using payment survey data, we show that consumers who need to keep control over their remaining liquidity and who have elevated costs of information processing conduct a larger percentage of payments using cash, withdraw less often, and hold larger cash balances than other consumers.     

Sustainable tourism management in Crikvenica,Croatia: An assessment of policy instruments

Tourism industries often create negative impacts on the environment, society, culture, and sometimes even on the economy. However, few countries are using economic, regulatory or institutional policy instruments for tourism management. This paper explores the potential use of eight such instruments for managing more sustainable tourism in the coastal town of Crikvenica, Croatia. First, the dominant negative impacts of tourism in Crikvenica are identified and indicators are developed in order to measure such impacts. Second, the policy instruments are assessed based on three criteria: (1) their effectiveness in mitigating the previously identified impacts and hence in improving the sustainability of tourism (2) their acceptability to stakeholders (3) their economic and technical feasibility. The paper concludes that there is a great deal of scope for the use of such policy instruments in tourism management. Nevertheless, not every instrument examined satisfies all three criteria. For instance, financial incentives (e.g. subsidies) are seen as effective and highly acceptable but economically unfeasible.     

地勘基金是管理资源的经济手段

温家宝总理在视察国土资源部的讲话中,将中央地质勘查基金定位为管理资源的经济手段,从根本上澄清了长期以来,一些业内人士习惯于将地质勘查基金等同于一般财政专项的认识。用好中央地质勘查基金至少要做到五个统筹．即：国内国外“两种资源、两个市场”的统筹;资源勘查周期与市场即时需求的统筹;国家意志和地方意识的统筹;公益性地质工作与商业性矿产勘查的统筹;行政手段与经济手段、法律手段的统筹。     

The role of information in plans for progressing in IWLRM

Developing new methodologies to advance in Integrated Water and Land Resources Management (IWLRM) should now be the main priority in the context of water and land resources. For over 20 years there have been debates about the need to integrate water and land management, but the results are not as good as expected. It is important to research new ways in which to progress and the level of planning appears to be appropriate for this. The article defines a framework for the plans that could help progress in IWLRM if the key water and land variables of the intervention area are included. Using the framework it is possible to define “model plans” for each scope and this allows us to propose a methodology to assess the current plans from the IWLRM perspective. The case of Eastern Almeria, Spain, provided the empirical focus.     

Designing hunting regulation under population uncertainty and self-reporting

A number of methods exist for estimating the size of animal populations. All methods generate an uncertain estimate of population size, and have different properties, which can be taken into account when designing regulation. We consider hunting regulation when the population size is uncertain and when the self-reported bag is used to estimate the population size. The properties of a population tax and a tax on self-reported bag are analyzed and we begin by considering a baseline situation with full certainty and no use of self-reporting for population size estimation. Here individual hunters self-report a bag on zero and a population tax alone can secure an optimum. Next we show that when facing uncertain population size, a risk-averse hunter will self-report part of the bag to reduce the uncertain population tax payment, making both tax instruments necessary for reaching an optimum. Finally, when self-reported bag is used to estimate population size, we also show that it is optimal for hunters to report a part of the bag and both instruments are again necessary for reaching an optimum.     

The national security argument for protection of domestic industries

ABSTRACT

Tracing the origin of the national security argument for protection of domestic industries to Adam Smith, Alexander Hamilton, and Friedrich List, we study its post-GATT applications with reference to Article XXI of the WTO and highlight some recent abuses. We compare the use of tariff, production/input subsidy, and government procurement as alternative instruments of protection from the perspective of economic efficiency and study the disapproval of inward FDI to gain insights into the underlying national security concerns. The case studies of a) the US tariffs on aluminum and steel, b) German disapproval of the acquisition of a technology firm Leifeld Metal Spinning by a Chinese firm, and c) US’ all out global effort to cripple China’s telecom equipment giant Huawei are presented for illustration.     

虚拟仪器技术在液压系统状态监测中的应用

虚拟仪器与传统仪器相比在概念和功能上有重大突破 ,它可使用相同的硬件系统 ,通过不同的软件组成功能完全不同的各种测量仪器。本文介绍了虚拟仪器 ( VI)的概念、组成、特点和软件开发平台 L ab VIEW,并以液压系统中油温的监测为例 ,提出了基于虚拟仪器技术的液压系统状态监测装置的设计思想和方法。利用虚拟仪器技术实现液压系统的状态监测 ,构成简单 ,功能齐全 ,用户可根据自己的需要 ,随时修改软面板的设计 ,周期短 ,维护调试方便。     

石油测试仪器的可靠性研究

从石油测试仪器的特点出发,探讨了其可靠性的意义。分析了石油测试仪器与其它电子产品的可靠性试验方法的不同特性,使其设计方案更加合理。     

A panel data robust instrumental variable approach: a test of the new Fama-French five-factor model

Fama and French (FF, 2015) propose a new five-factor asset pricing model that adds profitability and investment patterns to the market, size and value variables used in FF (1992). Our purpose is to investigate this new model using an improved generalized method of moments (GMM)-based robust instrumental variables technique in a fixed-effects panel data framework. To test for measurement errors, we use a modified Hausman artificial regression. We also examine an augmented FF six-factor model that includes the Pástor–Stambaugh (PS, 2003) liquidity factor. Using the FF dataset, our GMM-based panel data approach leads us to conclude that the only consistently significant factor is the market factor.