Are Social Costs the Outcome of Struggles over Truth?

Abstract:

This article critically examines the institutional economics theory of social costs by way of reviewing The Dark Places of Business Enterprise: Reinstating Social Costs in Institutional-Economics (2019). In particular, the article assesses the proposal to re-root institutional economics in the theoretical synthesis of “Veblen-Kapp-Mirowski” to better understand the social costs of neoliberalism. One of the findings is that while such a synthesis seems justified on the grounds of significant commonalities and the merits of deeper insights, it nevertheless runs into difficulties due to divergent philosophical foundations. One of the conclusions is that further philosophic clarification is needed on how an alternative economy would understand the relationship between “social costs” and Truth.     

Bioelectricity in Malaysia: economic feasibility,environmental and deforestation implications

We investigate the economic feasibility of bioelectricity production from biomass in Malaysia and its impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and storage, agricultural prices, agricultural employment and deforestation. For this purpose, we develop a partial equilibrium model that projects agricultural prices, production, imports, exports, domestic consumption and land use in 5‐year increments between 2015 and 2065. Our results show that by 2030 biomass‐generated electricity can supply 36.5 per cent of the electricity generated in Malaysia, 16 times more than the 2016 electricity supply from biomass. Increased bioelectricity production from biomass will significantly reduce GHG emissions and will help Malaysia meet its commitment in the Paris Agreement to mitigate GHG emission by 45 per cent before 2030. Our modelling shows that biomass‐generated electricity creates a derived demand for waste biomass that expands the area of oil palm plantations. The expansion lowers agricultural prices, boosts agricultural employment and leads to some deforestation as landowners clear rainforest to plant oil palm trees. Nonetheless, the deforestation does not increase GHG emissions since GHG gains from bioelectricity significantly exceed GHG losses from deforestation.     

基于改进STIRPAT模型的城镇化水平对工业废水排放的影响——以长江经济带为例

长江经济带城镇化的发展促进了工业的进步,而工业发展的同时也伴随着工业废水排放的增加及对水环境的破坏。通过建立城镇化与工业废水排放之间的STIRPAT模型,分析长江经济带城镇化对工业废水排放的具体影响。结果表明:长江三角洲经济区及长江经济带整体城镇化水平与工业废水排放之间存在着倒N型关系,长江上游经济区和长江中游经济区的城镇化水平与工业废水排放之间存在倒U型曲线关系;经济发展水平和人口规模对工业废水排放的影响存在地区差异;长江经济带及各区域技术水平和产业结构对工业废水排放存在显著的正向影响。据此,在推动新型城镇化建设中,应采取政策扶持、转变经济发展方式、提高公众环保意识、调整产业结构及加速技术创新等措施,以期减少工业废水排放。     

商品包装废物分类与识别

面对日益严重的商品包装废物问题,建立了包装废物的分类标准并给出了实施建议,提出了包装废物识别包括物理识别和价值识别的观点,指出包装废物的识别可通过废物识别标志实现,构建了包装废物识别标志的概念模型及其网络框图。     

广西合山市煤矿废弃地植被现状调查与分析

通过实地踏查和样方法,调查了合山矿区废弃地的植被组成和自然演替情况。结果表明：该地自然定居植物共87种,隶属于39科61属。主要包括禾本科（14种）、菊科（11种）、豆科（10种）。全部定居植物中,草本植物48种,木本植物34种,藤本植物5种。在废弃早期样地,植被主要是一些单种斑块和小群落,这些小群落组成结构比较简单,物种多样性低,群落不稳定。在废弃时间相对较长的时间里,各样地植被的植物组成相对较丰富,野古草、画眉草、四脉金茅、巴芒、黄茅草、纤毛鸭嘴草、马唐、五节芒等可在煤矿废弃地上成功定植,并成为植被中的先锋种和优势种,可作为废弃地植被恢复治理的优先选用物种。废弃矿区植被具有由裸地→草丛→灌草丛→灌木林演替的趋势,并且随着废弃时间的增长,群落中物种丰富度增大,多样性指数呈增加趋势。在10~15年的废弃时间内群落可自然恢复,程度可以逐步达到相对稳定的灌草群丛。研究结果为矿山生态恢复提供了参考依据。     

造纸厂商品浆替代草浆扩改工程水环境影响分析

以COD作为评价因子,对扩改工程造低废水排入长江后对长江的影响程度与范围进行了预测,得出在正常排放情况下影响较小,在非正常放情况下影响较大,同时提出了控制水污染的措施。     

Throwing It All Away: Exploring Affluent Consumers’ Attitudes Toward Wasting Edible Food

The skewed allocation of food across the world population is a major concern, as the result is that some of us live in abundant supply while others spend their life in constant scarcity. While researchers have studied a variety of issues related to the amounts of food being wasted, or the waste of edible food across consumers with different demographic characteristics, less is known about the drivers of attitudes toward food waste. Based on survey data from a sample of affluent Norwegian consumers, we test how subjective food knowledge, environmental concern, age, and income are related to consumer attitudes toward wasting edible food. We find that all variables except income drive consumer attitudes. Implications for theory and public policy are offered.     

Can Marketing Help in Tackling Food Waste?: Proposals in Developed Countries

One third of food destined for human consumption is wasted globally, and much of the food waste that comes from high-income or developed countries is caused by poor marketing practices, consumer behavior, and consumption patterns. The present study focuses on developed countries to propose some marketing actions that could help in reducing food waste. A comprehensive analysis was carried out for each marketing variable, to provide a snapshot of actions and proposals that are being developed. Our study highlights the relevance of marketing in contributing to reduce food waste, through the removal of “Buy one, get one free” sales promotions, clarifying date labeling, or raising food waste awareness campaigns. The main contribution of this study is the proposal of marketing actions that help in tacking food waste.     

农业废弃物在矿山生态恢复中的应用

矿山废弃地多为裸露岩面,需要大量的土壤用于植被的恢复与重建。同时,我国农业废弃物数量巨大且逐年增多,其合理利用与管理也成为一个难题。将矿山生态恢复与农业废弃物有机结合,是寻找矿山生态恢复治理和农业废弃物资源合理利用的新思路。本文阐述了我国矿山废弃地的治理现状、农业废弃物的特点,探讨了可用于矿山生态恢复的农业废弃物的基质类型及其应用前景。     

餐饮废油的回收利用研究进展

综述了餐饮废油在制备生物柴油、化工原料、饲料、混凝土制品脱模剂等领域中的应用及研究进展．并对其发展前景进行了展望。