Multiple Species Boreal Forests – What Faustmann Missed

Recent research in natural sciences shows that the dynamics in boreal forests are much more complex than what many models traditionally used in forestry economics reflect. This essay analyzes some challenges of accounting for such complexity. It shows that the optimal harvesting strategy for forest owners is history dependent and for some states of the forest, more than one strategy may be optimal.This paper confirms earlier literature on shallow lakes and coral reefs and shows that this kind of phenomena seem much more common than previously thought. They are valid for a wide range of ecosystems that cover large surfaces and they do not depend on the choice of some specific function to model the non-linearity. There are also indications that theses results could be obtained even for resources with concave growth if at least one species with non-linear growth affects their dynamics.     

Expressive Constitutionalism

We argue that the standard Constitutional Political Economy defence of constitutionalism, that derives from an argument relating to the shift from narrowly self-interested motivations in the in-period context to relatively general-interest decision making in the constitutional context, is flawed precisely because it is intended to relate to essentially political settings where decision making must be construed as collective in nature. We suggest an alternate account of expressive constitutionalism that points to a specific defence of constitutional conventions that are insulated from popular voting.     

生态经济学基本问题研究

如何审视生态系统、环境系统与经济系统之间的相互关系,关系到对生态经济学基本问题的科学理解,关系到如何运用科学发展观建设和谐社会、实现经济社会持续发展。本文以此为前提,深入研究生态经济学的基本问题,对生态价值、环境价值、经济价值层次的升级,逻辑上的升华及其内在联系进行了探讨。     

The research of Chinese karst ecological hydrology

1. Introduction The area of carbonate rocks protruding through the soil level in China is 9.07*105km2. According to the area of carbonate rocks stratum protruding through the soil level, it is 2.06*106km2. With the buried carbonate rocks stratum of the different depths, its total area can reach 3.443*106km2, ap- proximately accounting for 1/3 of the national terri- torial area. Chinese carbonate rock is mainly distributed to the south of the latitude belt of Tianshan Mountain – Yinshan Moun…     

Societal preferences for fertility treatment in Australia: a stated preference discrete choice experiment

Objective: To investigate preferences for fertility treatment from the Australian general population with the aims of calculating the willingness to pay in tax contribution for attributes (characteristics) that make up treatment and for an “ideal” fertility treatment program. We also assessed whether willingness-to-pay varies by the relationship status or sexual orientation of the patient.

Methods: A stated preference discrete choice experiment was administered to a panel of 801 individuals representative of the Australian general population. Seven attributes of fertility treatment under three broad categories were included: outcome, process, and cost. Attributes were identified through published literature, focus group discussions, expert knowledge, and a pilot study. A Bayesian fractional experimental design was used, and data analysis was performed using a generalized multinomial logit model. Further analyses included interaction terms and latent class modeling.

Results: Six of the seven attributes influenced the choice of a treatment program. Under process attributes, individuals preferred: continuity of care of clinic staff, where patients are seen by the same doctor but different nurses at each visit; “alternative” treatments being offered to all patients; and onsite clinic counseling and peer-support groups. Personalization and tailoring of the treatment journey were not important. Among outcome attributes, the improved success rate of having a baby per cycle and significant side-effects were considered important. Cost of treatment also influenced the choice of treatment program. Individual preferences for fertility treatment were not associated with patients’ relationship status or sexual orientation. Latent class modeling revealed sub-groups with distinct fertility treatment preferences.

Conclusion: This study provides important insights into the attributes that influence the preferences of fertility treatment in Australia. It also estimates socially-inclusive willingness-to-pay values in tax contributions for an “ideal” package of treatment. The results can inform economic evaluations of fertility treatment programs.     

Simulation driven inferences for multiply imputed longitudinal datasets*

In this article, we demonstrate by simulations that rich imputation models for incomplete longitudinal datasets produce more calibrated estimates in terms of reduced bias and higher coverage rates without duly deflating the efficiency. We argue that the use of supplementary variables that are thought to be potential causes or correlates of missingness or outcomes in the imputation process may lead to better inferential results in comparison to simpler imputation models. The liberal use of these variables is recommended as opposed to the conservative strategy.     

The Downside of Knowledge Spillovers: An Explanation for the Dispersion of High-tech Industries

Both theoretical work on knowledge spillovers and regional policy initiatives often assume that there exists a general and unanimous advantage for firms to cluster. But opposed to the benefit is the disadvantage of sharing knowledge with other (rival) firms. This paper highlights the “downside” associated with knowledge spillovers and presents a four-stage game of location choice where spillovers result from labour poaching and where the strategic interaction between firms may make them avoid co-location with spillovers. The model provides an explanation for the dispersion of German high-tech industries found in a companion paper.     

我国海外投资的战略选择

随着国际直接投资的迅猛发展，我国海外投资事业也在不断扩展。但是，目前存在的问题除了投资规模偏小，分散经营和缺乏高素质跨国经营人才外，主要是缺乏战略性思考。本文主要从投资主体、投资地区、投资产业三个方面提出我国海外投资的战略选择，旨在于使海外投资事业有更进一步的发展。     

高技术产业与经济增长关联性的实证分析

文章通过1995～2004年高技术产业的相关数据,建立了数学模型,运用实证分析的方法,求得我国和典型地区高技术产业各行业对GDP的产出弹性,得出不同地区均有各自优势行业的结论,同时还分析了高技术产业对我国三次产业的调整作用,为我国高技术产业发展规划提供决策参考。     

供应链管理的信息经济学分析

在信息化高度发达的21世纪，企业之间的竞争已经发展成为供应链与供应链之间的竞争。然而各供应链节点上的企业之间如何相互合作，达到整条供应链最优．已成为摆在企业面前最重要的问题。本文主要从信息经济学中的信息不对称、道德风险和逆向选择三方面来分析供应链中各企业之间应如何协调，以达到各方都赢的目的。