Is China’s Manufacturing Industry Efficient? Evidence from an Energy-Rebound Effect Perspective

Majority of the increase in global energy consumption is from China; hence, studying energy issues, especially in China’s manufacturing industry (CMI), is worthwhile and of much interest in the academic field. Based on the translog cost function, we develop a research framework to study the rebound effect of CMI. Considering the effect of asymmetric energy price, we augment the energy-cost function with asymmetric influence constraint of energy price. Again, we add time series data of CMI’s capital, labor, energy, and mid-input to the model to calculate the direct rebound effect of CMI. We find that the rebound effect of CMI is 44.2%, and CMI still has large energy-conservation potentials. Based on the results of this study, some policy recommendations are provided.     

浅析太阳能在建筑节能领域中的应用

本文结合目前建筑设计的节能要求,对目前太阳能在建筑节能领域中的应用及发展前景作了比较与分析,谨供大家作参考之用。     

论环境问题中的NGO

NGO作为与市场和政府并列的第三支力量在环境保护领域发挥着重要的作用。从NGO在环境领域发挥作用的理论根源入手,分析了NGO在主要发达国家和我国环境保护中的作用,并预测了我国环境领域NGO发展的趋势。     

An empirical analysis of air pollution emissions policy for the U.K. residential sector

In this paper an analysis of the U.K. government's air pollution emissions policy for the residential sector is undertaken. The analysis covers emissions arising from water and space heating, electric appliances and cooking appliances. Using an integrated economic-engineering model, the effects of the Energy Savings Trust and the imposition of Value Added Tax on residential fuel will be evaluated in terms of energy consumption and pollution emissions. It is found that the initial proposed policy was not sufficiently stringent to meet the government's environmental objectives, and that subsequent events have undermined the government's programme even further. Unless alternative policies are introduced, emissions from the residential sector will play an important role in jeopardizing the ability of the U.K. government to meet its international obligations.     

Gains from configuration: The transboundary protected area as a conservation tool

Nearly two hundred transboundary protected areas comprise a portion of the global conservation landscape the size of India, with further expansion anticipated. Proponents claim that transboundary protected areas outperform isolated protected areas in achieving conservation objectives, while regional case studies have led critics to challenge this claim. Empirical investigation into the relative performance of transboundary protected areas is fundamentally limited since these areas cannot be directly compared to the isolated protected areas that might otherwise have emerged in the same location. This paper develops a game theory model of park formation to compare counterfactual transboundary and isolated protected areas. The model suggests that under certain conditions, transboundary protected areas can achieve greater conservation and production objectives, even in the absence of international cooperative park management. The paper establishes five sufficient conditions for transboundary protected areas to provide greater national welfare, domestic conservation value, or global conservation value than counterfactual isolated protected areas. These conditions are tested for three common conservation objectives. The results suggest that when the objective of conservation is species persistence or interior habitat, conservation groups should encourage transboundary protected areas. However, when the objective of conservation is to extend reserve coverage to the maximum number of species, conservation groups should encourage protected areas where species richness is greatest, whether or not these areas span international borders.     

投资者保护、集中的所有权与公司价值

在不同的国家中,对投资者保护的法律制度、法律执行质量和会计标准存在很大的差异。在一定程度上,股权集中是对投资者法律保护的替代。对投资者的法律保护与公司价值间存在正相关关系;集中的所有权有助于改善公司价值。为了保护投资者的利益,我国应该完善对投资者的法律保护,提高执法质量和会计质量,促进股权的适度集中。