Energy‐milk price transmission at the product brand level

This article estimates the pass‐through rates between diesel fuel and retail milk prices at the product brand level. Using a random coefficient logit demand model and taking the direct and indirect impacts of energy prices, this research identifies changes in pass‐through rates before and after the great recession in 2008. Empirical results show that diesel prices significantly impacted the retail prices of milk products and are an important determinant of food price inflation. Pass‐through rates are estimated to range from 0.16 to approximately 0.60 through 2008 with an average of 0.22 for the whole period. Statistical tests indicate that pass‐through rates before June 2008 were significantly higher than after June 2008 when they dropped significantly to 0.04 to 0.17. Interestingly, private label brands have the lowest pass‐through rates, implying that compared to manufacturer brands, private label prices are more insulated from diesel price shocks.     

On the Opportunity Cost of Crop Diversification

Distance functions are increasingly being augmented, with environmental goods treated as conventional outputs. A common approach to evaluate the opportunity cost of providing an environmental good is the exploitation of the distance function's dual relationship to the value function. This implies that the opportunity cost is assumed to be non‐negative. This approach also requires a convex technology set. Focusing on crop diversification for a balanced sample of 44 cereal farms in the East of England for the years 2007–2013, this paper develops a novel opportunity cost measure that does not depend on these strong assumptions. We find that the opportunity cost of crop diversification is negative for most farms.     

System of crop intensification for more productive,resource-conserving,climate-resilient,and sustainable agriculture: experience with diverse crops in varying agroecologies

With continually increasing demand for food accompanied by the constraints of climate change and the availability and quality of soil and water, the world’s farmers are challenged to produce more food per hectare with less water, and with fewer agrochemical inputs if possible. The ideas and methods of the system of rice intensification which is improving irrigated rice production are now being extended/adapted to many other crops: wheat, maize, finger millet, sugarcane, tef, mustard, legumes, vegetables, and even spices. Promoting better root growth and enhancing the soil’s fertility with organic materials are being found effective means for raising the yields of many crop plants with less water, less fertilizer, reduced seeds, fewer agrochemicals, and greater climate resilience. In this article, we review what is becoming known about various farmer-centred innovations for agroecological crop management that can contribute to agricultural sustainability. These changes represent the emerging system of crop intensification, which is being increasingly applied in Asian, African, and Latin American countries. More research will be needed to verify the efficacy and impact of these innovations and to clarify their conditions and limits. But as no negative effects for human or environmental health have been identified, making these agronomic options more widely known should prompt more investigation and, to the extent justified by results, utilization of these methodologies.     

The impact of climate change on labour demand in the plantation sector: the case of tea production in Sri Lanka

Limited opportunities for crop switching and lengthy preharvesting periods make the plantation sector particularly vulnerable to climate change. Surprisingly, however, the economic consequences of climate change on plantation crops are seldom analysed. Drawing on a unique primary panel data set from a representative cross section of 35 tea estates in Sri Lanka over the period 2002–2014, this study implements a structural model of estate profit maximisation to estimate the elasticity of labour demand with respect to different components of weather. Results indicate a negative relationship between labour demand and rainfall in the south‐west monsoon, the north‐east monsoon and the second inter‐monsoon. A positive relationship is found between labour demand and rainfall in the first inter‐monsoon. Overall, predicted changes in rainfall by 2050 are anticipated to reduce labour demand by approximately 1,175,000 person‐days per year across Sri Lanka's tea plantation sector. This is likely to have considerable social and welfare implications, particularly for the Indian Tamil women who comprise the majority of the sector's workforce.     

能源-经济-环境复杂系统持续协调发展评价指标体系与方法研究——以山东省为例

详细分析影响能源、经济、环境的各种因素的基础上,从能源系统、经济系统与环境系统三个方面,构建了能源-经济-环境(3E)复杂系统持续协调发展评价指标体系,并将协调度发展水平划分为七个等级。建立了分层模糊动态的评价方法,并利用该方法对山东省的能源、经济与环境的协调发展进行了综合评价,分析了影响协调度发展的主要因素,及其应采取的主要措施。     

新世纪中亚国家能源地位变化的实证分析

鉴于中亚国家在世界能源市场中竞争地位的凸显,本文采用聚类分析法,选取了12个主要经济体作为样本,对新世纪中亚国家的能源生产、消费及出口在世界能源市场中的地位予以分析。分析得出：从生产地位来看,中亚国家与世界主要能源生产国同属一类;从消费地位来看,中亚国家不属于世界主要的能源消费国;从出口地位来看,其生产地位和消费地位共同决定了中亚国家在世界能源市场中的出口地位越来越重要;综合能源生产、消费和出口地位来看,中亚国家在世界能源市场中的竞争地位凸显,与美国、俄罗斯、伊朗、埃及和印度同属一类。同时,分析还显示,与拥有丰富能源资源的中亚国家开展合作应该有利于解决我国能源短缺问题。     

中国能耗增长的阶段性特征:基于LMDI模型的实证研究

本文运用与SDA法相结合的LMDI分解模型,根据能耗增长特点分四个阶段探讨了包含能源强度、中间投入结构变动的技术效应和包含消费、投资、出口变动的最终需求效应对中国能源消耗增长的时段驱动模式。结果表明:(1)1997-2010年间,各阶段"三驾马车"引领的最终需求效应不单是规模庞大,也应相对稳定,能耗增长的异常波动主要取决于技术效应;(2)能源强度效应一直起着节能降耗的积极作用,而中间投入结构自2002年后向高耗能依存特征转变,成为能耗增长的推动因素;(3)2006年开始实施的能源强度政策有效改变了能耗增长轨迹,而国际金融危机的突然爆发扭曲了政府政策执行的初衷、方式和效率。     

中国地区经济增长与能源消费强度差异分析

本文假设我国西部与东部地区的能源消费强度差异是西部与东部地区人均GDP差异的函数,然后同其他回归变量一起检验这两个变量之间的关系,并通过使用面板数据计量经济学模型进行实证估计。本文的研究结论为:第一,总体而言,西部与东部地区的人均GDP差异存在收敛,随着人均GDP的收敛,西部与东部地区的能源消费强度差异也是收敛的,但收敛的速度慢于人均GDP的收敛速度。第二,不同西部省份在经济增长过程中的能源使用效率是收敛还是发散存在差异。本文的政策含义是:政府在制定区域经济发展战略时,要鼓励和引导各地区充分利用能源禀赋以及能源利用效率方面的差异进行合作,走能源节约型的可持续的区域平衡增长道路。     

能源价格市场化改革中政府职能的定位

十八届三中全会提出了对能源价格进行市场化改革的要求。从现有的能源价格形成机制向具有竞争性的市场化方向推进,主要的方式为放松政府对能源各领域、各环节的不当管控,尽可能地减少行政干预,让市场自由地进行价格确认并进行能源配置。给予市场更多的自主权的同时,仍然要注意发挥政府引导和监督的作用。能源市场体系的建立、秩序的维护、基础设施的建设、非竞争性能源市场的维护等众多问题仍是政府公共服务领域的重要职能。     

The effectiveness of home energy audits: A case study of Jackson,Wyoming

This study examines the factors that influence households to adopt modifications recommended by home energy audits and whether these audits lead to significant reductions in electricity use. Household decisions after the audits are recorded along with the corresponding recommended modifications and the offers for co-funding. A discrete choice model of the household decision after the audit is estimated. The results indicate that the potential improvement in heating efficiency from the proposed modifications increase the probability of implementing conservation measures. Co-funding offers also significantly raise the odds of accepting the modifications but are relatively less important than anticipated efficiency improvements. Several approaches are used to determine whether and how much energy is saved after the audits. Electricity demand models are estimated using data two years before and after each household audit. For households who decide to modify their houses after the audit, monthly average electricity use per square foot decreases 7%. While there is an estimated 2% reduction in electricity use attributed to the audit by households who decided not to adopt the proposed modifications, this reduction is not statistically significant, casting doubt on the presence of modifications in behavior from the audit information itself. For all households audited, the results from the electricity demand models suggest that the LVE home energy audit program reduced household electricity use 4.7%. In contrast, a differences-in-differences approach using synthetic control groups based upon a smaller but still sizeable sample of 2000 observations finds that home energy audits reduce household electricity use by more than 10%. Overall, these findings suggest that home audits result in modest but significant reductions in energy use and that co-funding encourages investments that otherwise may not be privately optimal.