Understanding the Large Negative Impact of Oil Shocks

This paper offers a plausible explanation for the close link between oil prices and aggregate macroeconomic performance in the 1970s. Although this link has been well documented in the empirical literature, standard economic models are not able to replicate this link when actual oil prices are used to simulate the models. In particular, standard models cannot explain the depth of the recession in 1974–75 and the strong revival in 1976–78 based on the oil price movements in that period. This paper argues that a missing multiplier-accelerator mechanism from standard models may hold the key.     

Prevention versus Treatment under Precautionary Regulation: A Case Study of Groundwater Contamination under Uncertainty

Policy discussions on agricultural pollution problems characterize prevention as more cost effective and precautionary than ex post treatment. We derive conditions under which treatment alone is more cost effective in situations involving multiple sources of emissions, multiple sites affected, and a commonly used precautionary approach to uncertainty. We also show that a greater degree of precaution can result in less reliance on prevention. An empirical case study indicates that treatment alone is the most cost-effective means of dealing with nitrate in most Maryland community water system wells. The use of leaching prevention measures is restricted to the most intensive poultry producing areas. The incremental cost of precaution is substantial.     

Estimating Willingness to Pay for Improved Water Quality in the Presence of Item Nonresponse Bias

This article deals with the problem of item nonresponse in contingent valuation surveys using a payment-card method, by applying a grouped-data sample-selection estimation technique that is capable of imputing the missing values conditional upon a respondent's decision to answer a willingness-to-pay question. The advantage of the technique lies in its ability to utilize all of the information in the sample, permitting a more efficient estimation in the presence of item nonresponse bias. The major determinants of willingness to pay appear to be household income, number of children, education, perception of existing water quality, and identification with environmental issues.     

小氮肥清洁生产实践

文章介绍了沅江市氮肥厂废水闭路循环、尾气回收、废渣综合利用等工程,并介绍了该厂的生产工艺、污染源分布及排污特点。     

Provision of Human Resources for Water Resources and Hydropower Projects——A case of CGGC

1.Management of Human Resources in ChinaGezhouba Construction Group Corporation1.1Brief Introduction of CGGCChina GeZhouBa Construction Group Corporation(hereinafterreferred to as CGGC)is a super huge enterprise subordinatedto StateAssets Supervision and Administration Commission of PRC.It main-ly conducts water conservancy project,hydropower project,thermalelectric power project,nuclear electric power station,industrial andcivil works,as well as other works state-ratified.It is fa…     

Land use externalities, open space preservation, and urban sprawl

Parcel data on residential land conversion are used to investigate how land use externalities influence the rate of development and modify policies designed to manage urban growth and preserve open space. Several “smart growth” policies are found to significantly influence land conversion, including a development clustering policy that concentrates development and generates preserved open space. In addition to directly affecting a parcel's hazard rate of conversion, this policy is found to affect neighboring parcels' conversion by generating a positive open space externality that hastens their development. The implication that the clustering policy could generate a more sprawled pattern of development is explored using spatial simulation.     

The housing question in Japan

This article first examines how bad housing conditions are in Japan based on international comparisons. The next question is whether the extremely high land prices in Japan can be explained by economic logic. We then turn to more specific housing policy questions that are peculiar to or important in Japan, such as the tax advantages of owning land that have caused under-utilization of land and the reasons why the average size of Japanese rental housing is so small.     

Legalization of drugs: Effects on the workplace

In the last few years bipartisan support for legalizing drugs has grown to a surprising level. Because of the lack of involvement of the business community in this debate, we surveyed the human resource managers of 127 firms about their perceptions of the effects of legalization. Their responses were uniformly negative, with expectations that drug use, absenteeism, worksite crime, and liability costs would increase, while the quality and quantity of work would decline. They also forecast increases in drug testing, performance monitoring, and education and rehabilitation programs as a result.     

钢板桩围堰在水位变动区和软弱地基中的应用

利用钢板桩作围堰,在水位变动区和软弱地基条件下,采取一定刚度的围护设施来满足深基坑的施工需要;成功地运用了一种既施工简便、节约材料又确保安全的围护结构。根据软土的特点和钢板桩的柔性特征,通过采用模拟基坑开挖过程,按照板桩墙围护结构的设计计算方法进行围堰设计,并通过实际施工中一定的控制措施和对围堰内力、变形监测,确保相邻建筑物和自身结构施工的安全。根据实际运用的效果监测表明,采用的钢板桩围堰,是可行而又较优的一种方案。