Fuzzy Multiobjective and Linear Programming Based Management Models for Optimal Land-Water-Crop System Planning

In this article, linear programming and fuzzy optimization models are developed for planning and management of available land-water-crop system of Mahanadi-Kathajodi delta in eastern India. The models are used to optimize the economic return, production and labour utilization, and to search the related cropping patterns and intensities with specified land, water, fertilizer and labour availability, and water use pattern constraints. Due to extreme backwardness of the study area, it has been decided to keep all the three objectives of the linear programming models at the same priority level to obtain the compromised solution in a fuzzy environment that incorporates the imprecision in fuzzy goals and fuzzy constraints. These non-structural models facilitate the conjunctive use of available surface water and groundwater resources. A comparative evaluation along with the benefit-cost ratios of the existing and proposed farming systems is also presented.     

Microalgae growth for nutrient recovery from sludge liquor and production of renewable bioenergy

Proof-of-concept has been demonstrated for a process that will utilize nutrients from sludge liquor, natural light, and CO2 from biogas to grow microalgae at wastewater treatment plants. This process will reduce the impact of returning side-streams to the head of the plant. The produced algae will be fed to anaerobic digesters for increased biogas production. Dewatering of anaerobically digested sludge in centrifuges produces reject water with extremely low transmittance of light. A pretreatment procedure was developed that improved light transmittance for reject water from the FREVAR, Norway, wastewater treatment plant from 0.1% T to 77% T (670 nm, 1 cm path). Chlorella sp. microalgae were found to be suitable for growth in this pre-treated reject water. Typical nitrogen removal was 80-90 g N/kg TSS of produced microalgae. The microalgae were successfully harvested by chemically assisted flocculation followed by straining through a 33 microm sieve cloth, achieving up to 99% recovery. Harvested algae were anaerobically co-digested with wastewater sludge. The specific methane gas production (mL CH4/g VS fed) for the algae varied from less than 65% to 90% of the specific methane gas production for the wastewater sludge, depending on digester temperature, retention time and pre-treatment of the algae biomass.     

Productivity,Energy Intensity and Output: A Unit Level Analysis of the Indian Manufacturing Sector

Journal of Quantitative Economics - The objective of this study is to calculate total factor productivity and determine factors related to energy intensity for the pre-existing manufacturing plants...     

Empirical evidence of a positive inflation premium being incorporated into stock prices

This study demonstrates that in contrast to prior research findings on short-term stock returns, long-term stock returns are positively correlated with inflation. In addition, within the context of a more complete explanatory model, long-term stock returns are found to be negatively related to changes in long-term interest rates and negatively related to beginning price to earnings ratios. The significance of these variables in explaining almost all the time series variation in long-term stock returns demonstrates that changes in stock values are well explained by theory.     

Degrees of tax indexation and nominal interest rates: Effects of inflation on incentives to save and invest

This paper examines the effects of inflation expectations on nominal interest rates, and incentives to save and invest under partial and complete tax indexation schemes. One would expect that a partially indexed structure would be better than a non-indexed system. However, this is not the case—it reduces the adverse effects of inflation on the incentives to save, but accentuates them on the incentives to invest. Moreover, a change from a non-indexed tax structure to a fully-indexed structure will, ceteris paribus, lead to lower equilibrium interest rates, whereas a switch to a partially indexed system will imply higher rates.

Environmental Certification and Technical Efficiency: A Study of Manufacturing Firms in India

Obtaining environmental certification (such as the ISO-14,001) has become a status symbol for adopting greener practices for the corporate sector in emerging economies. Such certification can help improve the global visibility of firms and is mandated in international trade. This paper attempts to examine the impact of such certifications on technical efficiency of firms belonging to the manufacturing sector in India. In analyzing the impact of ISO Certification on technical efficiency, this paper uses data from the CMIE Prowess from 2007 to 2012. In the first step, the paper estimates technical efficiency for the sample firms and then examines the determinants of inter-firm differences in technical efficiency using firm specific characteristics. The results of this study conclude that there are substantial inter-firm differences in technical efficiency and they are systematically different based on firm age, firm size, debt capital, MNE affiliation, and ISO certification. ISO certification, especially maintaining the standards associated with it, turned out to be an important factor in making the firms achieve higher technical efficiency. In addition, the results of this study also confirm that firms that are ISO certified and doing R&D are better off in technical efficiency as compared to others.     

Nutrients budget and effluents characteristics in polyculture of scampi (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) and Indian major carps ponds using organic inputs

Experiments were conducted for the study of nutrient budget in farmers' ponds (0.4-0.6 ha) in Orissa, India, at stocking densities of 0.30-0.38/m(2) for scampi (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) and 0.60-0.70/m(2) for Indian major carps (Catla catla, Labeo rohita and Cirrhinus mrigala). The average initial body weights of scampi and the major carps were 0.02 and 8-10 g, respectively. The culture period was 272-292 days. Feed was the main input. The FCR (feed conversion ratio) varied from 1.78 to 1.83. Feed and cow dung were applied to these ponds as organic inputs. At harvest time, the average weight of scampi and carps varied from 73 to 92 g and from 718 to 820 g, respectively. Among all the inputs, feed alone accounted for 97.60% total nitrogen (N), 97.90% total phosphorus (P) and 94.72% total organic carbon (OC), respectively. The harvest of scampi and carps accounted for recovery of 52.45% N, 19.43% P and 18.12% OC, respectively. N, P and OC accumulated in sediment were 38.31, 71.40 and 69.50%, respectively. The median nutrient loads in the fish pond effluents were equivalent to 0.58 kg of inorganic N, 0.135 kg of P and 8.83 kg of total OC per ton of Indian major carps and scampi production.     

The market-adjusted investment performance of ADR IPOs and SEOs

Initial public and seasoned equity offerings of American depositary receipts (ADRs) yield significantly positive market-adjusted returns both in early trading and over the longer run. This is in sharp contrast with the long-term performance of initial public offerings and seasoned equity offerings of common stocks in general. In addition, ADRs from emerging markets outperform those originating from developed countries, and those listed on the New York Stock Exchange generate higher after-market returns than those trading on the American Stock Exchange or the National Association of Security Dealers Automated Quotation System.     

Further developments in estimation of the largest mean ofK normal populations

We revisit the bounded maximal risk point estimation problem as well as the fixed-width confidence interval estimation problem for the largest mean amongk(≥2) independent normal populations having unknown means and unknown but equal variance. In the point estimation setup, we devise appropriate two-stage and modified two-stage methodologies so that the associatedmaximal risk can bebounded from aboveexactly by a preassigned positive number. Kuo and Mukhopadhyay (1990), however, emphasized only the asymptotics in this context. We have also introduced, in both point and interval estimation problems,accelerated sequential methodologies thereby saving sampling operations tremendously over the purely sequential schemes considered in Kuo and Mukhopadhyay (1990), but enjoying at the same time asymptotic second-order characteristics, fairly similar to those of the purely sequential ones.     

Random walks,cointegration, and the transmission of shocks across global real estate and equity markets

This article presents tests of the random walk hypothesis for the U.S. and world commercial real estate markets along with the world stock market through utilizing appropriate market indices. The augmented Dickey-Fuller and Phillips-Perron unit root tests and Cochrane variance ratio test find each of these markets to exhibit random walk behavior. In addition, Johansen-Juselius cointegration tests reveal that the three markets are not cointegrated. The vector autoregressive model shows little or no predictive power in explaining the variation in monthly returns. The generalized impulse response functions suggest that shocks stemming from one market are quickly disseminated to the other markets within two months. (JEL G14, G15)