The Rural Minimum Living Standard Guarantee(Rural Dibao)is an important unconditional cash transfer program to alleviate poverty in rural China.Despite the importance of children’s nutrition in breaking poverty cycle...The Rural Minimum Living Standard Guarantee(Rural Dibao)is an important unconditional cash transfer program to alleviate poverty in rural China.Despite the importance of children’s nutrition in breaking poverty cycles,little is known about the impact of Rural Dibao on child nutrition outcomes.Using China Family Panel Studies(CFPS),this paper examines the effects of Rural Dibao on child nutrition outcomes and investigates potential pathways and heterogeneous effects.We exploit propensity score matching and difference-in-differences techniques to evaluate the effects of the Rural Dibao program on child nutrition outcomes.Our results suggest that Rural Dibao significantly impacts the nutrition outcomes of children up to 15 years of age.Specifically,our results suggest that Rural Dibao improves child height-to-age z-scores by 1.05 standard deviations and lowers the probability of stunting by 11.9 percentage points.Additional analyses suggest that increased protein intake is the main pathway through which Rural Dibao participation contributes to better nutrition outcomes.We also find that the effect of the program is more pronounced among girls,children who are non-left-behind or live with highly educated mothers,and those from low-income families and poor areas.Our findings suggest that Rural Dibao participation helps improve child nutrition outcomes through improving diet quality.展开更多
This paper examines the U.S. meat demand impacts of the announced outbreaks of bovine spongiform encephalopathy(BSE) and avian influenza(AI). Findings indicate that beef and chicken demand was negatively affected by B...This paper examines the U.S. meat demand impacts of the announced outbreaks of bovine spongiform encephalopathy(BSE) and avian influenza(AI). Findings indicate that beef and chicken demand was negatively affected by BSE and AI disease outbreaks. Specifically, in the short run, U.S. consumers shift demand due to both outbreaks but more so due to domestic disease outbreaks than for outbreaks occurring overseas-the impact of U.S. AI outbreaks is about 0.5% for beef and the impact of U.S. BSE cases is around –0.42% for beef and 0.4% for pork, respectively. Regarding the BSE shock on meat demand, there is a high rate of beef demand adjusted from disturbance to the long-run equilibrium and a lower adjustment rate for chicken demand because of the repeated outbreaks of AI worldwide. In the long run, information related to severe, persistently recurring overseas animal disease outbreaks changes U.S. consumers' meat consumption patterns. Although effects of animal diseases on U.S. meat demand were statistically significant, the magnitudes were small-the impact of WHO reported human death numbers for AI is 0.005% for beef, –0.002% for pork, and –0.006% for chicken and the impact of U.S. BSE cases is 1.1% for pork and –0.7% for chicken.展开更多
Background: Adolescent obesity is associated with high cardiovascular and metabolic risk. Western diet and reduced physical activity are strong environmental determinants. The “Health Production” model posits that i...Background: Adolescent obesity is associated with high cardiovascular and metabolic risk. Western diet and reduced physical activity are strong environmental determinants. The “Health Production” model posits that individuals born with a certain amount of health stock, which depreciates over life, but can be augmented by individual behaviors, including exercise and dieting. Objective: To study the association between health production and obesity in a random sample of 1692 Chilean adolescents (14.8 ± 0.7 years old), and to study the effect of gender and socioeconomic characteristics on health production. Method: We used an indicator that considered the quality of food intake and physical activity, establishing three categories: good (GHP), intermediate (IHP) and poor health producers (PHP). Multivariate analysis was used to study the odds of obesity and good health production. Results: There was 31% of GHP, 32% of IHP and 38% of PHP. Obesity (Adj. OR: 1.59;95%CI: 1.04 - 2.42) and abdominal obesity (Adj. OR: 2.24;95%CI: 1.35 - 3.40) were significantly higher in the PHP group, compared to the GHP and IHP group. Health production was significantly associated with socioeconomic factors and gender. Female sex and coming from a less wealthy household significantly reduced the odds of good health production. Conclusions: Poor health production in adolescence, as defined by food intake and physical activity, depreciates individuals’ “health stock”, increasing the risk of obesity. In our sample, health production was strongly associated with socio-economic factors and gender.展开更多
This study uses an input-output model presenting the embodied carbon emission in the importexport procedure, as well as the responsibility allocation between China's 35 sectors and 7 main trade partners from 1995 ...This study uses an input-output model presenting the embodied carbon emission in the importexport procedure, as well as the responsibility allocation between China's 35 sectors and 7 main trade partners from 1995 to 2011. Results indicate that the amount of carbon emissions in China's industrial sectors is immense and that the industrial sectors are in serious imbalance. Such imbalance exists mainly in textiles, basic and fabricated metal, electrical and optical equipment,and machinery, among others. Based on the consumer-responsibility principle, the responsibility of 29 departments is reduced. Correspondingly, foreign sectors become more responsible.America, as China's largest trading partner, should account for most of the total responsibility,followed by developed countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Germany.展开更多
Latin American cities, like those from North America and Europe, experience problems of urban sprawl. However, few studies have dedicated exclusively to this phenomenon in specific cities, and this omission is particu...Latin American cities, like those from North America and Europe, experience problems of urban sprawl. However, few studies have dedicated exclusively to this phenomenon in specific cities, and this omission is particularly noticeable regarding cities not considered among the megalopolis of the continent. The present work analyzes urban sprawl through an urban form in the Concepción Metropolitan Area, Chile, between 1990 and 2009, considering local aspects that may have played a role in the process. The main empirical results obtained from this study reveal a metropolitan area that has expanded intensely over a 20-year period, growing from 9000 hectares to more than 17,000 ha for a 96% increment in the built-up area. The new urban surfaces consolidate a central conurbation that strengthens the role of the main downtowns, with less-intense occupation towards the sub-centers but in a structure that follows the transportation infrastructure. Over the last 20 years, the distance between the shapes has grown progressively by around 2 km, increasing the size of the ellipse by more than 1000 km2. In particular the complexity of the urbanized surfaces has grown, becoming more irregular in shape and less compact as they come to occupy larger areas. So our principal findings include: an increment of nearly 100% in the urban surface, the importance of a polycentric urban structure in the process of consolidation as a support for analyzing different spatial dynamics, and the growing morphological irregularity of the territory of the sprawl.展开更多
In mixed fisheries where there is an increased ecological interdependence between two or more target species, the possibilities of fishing these species must be determined jointly, since catches of one species will im...In mixed fisheries where there is an increased ecological interdependence between two or more target species, the possibilities of fishing these species must be determined jointly, since catches of one species will impact the natural growth not only of that species but of the others, as well. The objective of this paper is to develop a predator-prey model for two major species caught by the EU fishing fleet on European Union fishing grounds. The predator and prey’s population dynamics follow the Lotka-Volterra equation and are assumed to be logic-based, and a lineal interaction between the predator and prey populations is assumed. Optimal single owner multispecies fishery management is analysed, and the applied model is solved, obtaining the equilibrium value of biomasses, catches, and net benefits of the mixed fishery. The results show that the MSY of the predator is higher than that estimated by ICES, while MSY for prey is lower. The sensitivity analysis of the results reveals that the biomass levels of both species decrease as the discount rate increases, while catches increase.展开更多
This paper discusses various policy alternatives for the implementation of a biofuel crop on an island scale. It adopts an integrated approach by carrying out Multi-Criteria Assessment, as well as using a Geographical...This paper discusses various policy alternatives for the implementation of a biofuel crop on an island scale. It adopts an integrated approach by carrying out Multi-Criteria Assessment, as well as using a Geographical Information System. The assessment is based on an interdisciplinary research project carried out by the University of La Laguna to evaluate the agricultural and chemical feasibility, and the socio-economic implications of the cultivation of Jatropha as a source of biofuel on one of the Canary Islands, Fuerteventura. A number of alternatives were analysed for growing Jatropha, and the results suggest that the best alternative involves using Typic Torrifluents soil and irrigation with reclaimed Recycled Urban Wastewater at 75% evapotranspiration cover.展开更多
We examine the economics of royalties in bioprospecting contracts between a pharmaceutical and genetic resource supplier (local), with an eye to understanding the relative advantages of indexing royalty payments to gr...We examine the economics of royalties in bioprospecting contracts between a pharmaceutical and genetic resource supplier (local), with an eye to understanding the relative advantages of indexing royalty payments to gross revenue or net revenue. We show a risk-averse f irm facing only production or only cost risks will index royalties to net revenue. When facing both types of risk, the choice of royalty type depends on the relative magnitudes of the pro-duction and cost risk. In each case, the risk-averse f irm chooses the royalty-type that shifts as much risk as possible to the local. When the local is risk neutral, the pharmaceutical's and local's preferences are compatible. If the local is risk averse and there is only one type of risk, it will prefer a gross revenue royalty, and shift as much risk as pos-sible to the fi rm: here the local and fi rm preferences are compatible only if the fi rm is risk-neutral. Lastly, we show if the f irm sets the terms of the contract, and both agents are risk averse, the f irm will not likely volunteer to imple-ment the socially optimal royalty arrangement as it prefers to shift as much risk to the local, who now also prefers a more certain return. This last outcome is at the heart of the benef it sharing discussion and suggests if risk sharing and equity are a concern in benef it sharing, then the choice of royalty type can be an important part of negotiations between pharmaceuticals and locals for the phytochemical from nature for new drug discovery.展开更多
A number of natural experiments have recently found that COVID-19 restrictions imposed in nations worldwide are correlated with short-term reductions—in some cases dramatic reductions—in mobile-source air pollutants...A number of natural experiments have recently found that COVID-19 restrictions imposed in nations worldwide are correlated with short-term reductions—in some cases dramatic reductions—in mobile-source air pollutants. Noticeably absent from these studies are estimates of the social net benefits associated with the changes in human behavior underlying the pandemic-induced effects. Using readily available data provided by the state of Utah and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Co-Benefits Risk Assessment Health Impacts Screening and Mapping Tool (COBRA), we find that daily social net benefit was positive during a pandemic-induced shutdown from March to April, 2020 in Utah’s Wasatch Front region solely when COBRA’s “high” health benefit estimate from combined reductions in PM<sub>2.5</sub> and NO<sub>x</sub> concentrations are weighed against the region’s “low” vehicle-trip cost estimate. All other scenarios correspond with negative net benefit estimates, <i>i.e.</i>, when high and low benefit estimates of reductions solely in PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentrations as well as for combined reductions in PM<sub>2.5</sub> and NO<sub>x</sub> concentrations are weighed against the region’s high vehicle-trip cost estimate. Generally speaking, social net benefits are higher for two of the Wasatch Front’s four counties.展开更多
The twenty-first century begins with a rupture of the migratory pattern in the Basque Country, a region located in the north of Spain, transforming it from a community which exports its population to one which receive...The twenty-first century begins with a rupture of the migratory pattern in the Basque Country, a region located in the north of Spain, transforming it from a community which exports its population to one which receives it. Despite the current economic crisis, the Basque Country continues to be a destination for foreigners, now in many cases coming from other Spanish regions most affected by this crisis. Given the quantitative and qualitative importance of these migration flows, in this research we analyze the contribution of immigrants to the demographic dynamics of the Basque Country. By also identifying their patterns of spatial localization, we examine their contribution to the correction or accentuation of regional imbalances in the population distribution. The results reveal that the demographic recovery rests primarily on contributions of this immigrant population, a population which also promotes the rejuvenation of an aging society, although it is far from correcting regional imbalances and may contribute to accentuating them.展开更多
In this study,we investigate the relationship between tax avoidance and earnings management in the largest five European Union economies by using artificial neural network regressions.This methodology allows us to dea...In this study,we investigate the relationship between tax avoidance and earnings management in the largest five European Union economies by using artificial neural network regressions.This methodology allows us to deal with nonlinearities detected in the data,which is the principal contribution to the previous literature.We ana-lyzed Compustat data for Germany,the United Kingdom,France,Italy,and Spain for the 2006–2015 period,focusing on discretionary accruals.We considered three tax avoidance measures,two based on the effective tax rate(ETR)and one on book-tax differences(BTD).Our results indicate the presence of nonlinear patterns and a posi-tive,statistically significant relationship between discretionary accruals and both ETR indicators implying that when companies resort to earnings management,a larger tax-able income—and thus higher ETR and lesser tax avoidance–would ensue.Hence,as also highlighted by the fact that discretionary accruals do not appear to affect BTD,our evidence does not suggest that companies are exploiting tax manipulation to reduce their tax payments;thus,the gap between accounting and taxation seems largely unaf-fected by earnings management.展开更多
Recreational Ecosystem Services(RES)are among the most frequently evaluated ecosystem services.RES are seen as a major opportunity for sustainable development in areas of high ecological value resulting from the prese...Recreational Ecosystem Services(RES)are among the most frequently evaluated ecosystem services.RES are seen as a major opportunity for sustainable development in areas of high ecological value resulting from the presence of emblematic species,habitats or scenery,often integrated in conservation areas,in particular in mountain areas affected by depopulation,rising environmental risks and poverty.Economically,the assessment of RES has been based on Contingent Valuation and Choice Experiments,methods with limitations related to their subjectivity.Alternatively,Input-Output(IO)models provide a very accurate and effective way of valuation of RES with regional information regarding interindustry transactions.Whilst data on nature tourist expenditure may be only available annually,tourism inflows have a strong seasonal behavior,which impacts the profitability of several local economic activities.In this paper,we firstly constructed a novel regionalized IO-model based on Cross-Industry Location Quotients using employment data and,secondly,based on Monte Carlo simulation,we estimated nature tourist expenditure monthly using data on nature tourism inflows.This method allowed for a more precise RES evaluation,estimating direct,indirect and induced monthly economic impacts of nature-based tourism.The method was applied to the Ordesa and Monte Perdido(OMP)National Park in the Spanish Pyrenees.To estimate the average tourist expenditure,we collected and analyzed spending on commerce,hospitality and restaurants,leisure,and transport of 385 visitors.Results suggest that using a regionalized IO model leads to a considerable reduction of over-estimation of the economic impact of tourist expenditure estimated by conventional methods.Taking into consideration the direct,indirect and induced effects of tourist expenditure in 2016-2018,the total annual output effect in the OMP National Park amounted to€208.8 million,while the total income effect amounted to€86.29 million.Also,a total of 2,429 jobs were created which indicates that for each thousand annual visitors to the National Park,3.8 jobs are created in the surrounding area.Overall,the proposed methodology can be easily applied to the remaining National Parks in Spain or other regions in the world,making it a valuable tool to estimate the value of RES in areas affects by strong seasonality,to set priorities and support regional policies for mountain sustainable development.展开更多
The study empirically assesses how macroprudential policy interacts with systemic risk,industrial production,and monetary intervention on a global level from January 2006 to December 2018.We adopt the aggregate proxie...The study empirically assesses how macroprudential policy interacts with systemic risk,industrial production,and monetary intervention on a global level from January 2006 to December 2018.We adopt the aggregate proxies of these variables,capturing their global effects,and use a novel econometric technique,namely,smooth local projections.The study finds that global macroprudential policy leads the monetary policy,exhibiting a countercyclical pattern concerning industrial production.The latter has an inverse bidirectional linkage with systemic risk.Thus,an ex-ante tight macroprudential policy can indirectly mitigate global systemic risk through its pro-growth effect on industrial production,although no convincing evidence exists for the direct impact of a macroprudential intervention on systemic risk.The study results endure several extensions and a robustness check,which builds on alternative measures of global systemic stress and real economic activity,thereby legitimizing the increased importance attached to the macroprudential policy since the 2007–2009 global financial crisis.展开更多
The U.S.in the last couple of years has been up in arms about China's exchange rate regime. In 1994 China established a de facto currency peg.The dollar-RMB ex- change rate was fixed at 8.28.The People's Bank ...The U.S.in the last couple of years has been up in arms about China's exchange rate regime. In 1994 China established a de facto currency peg.The dollar-RMB ex- change rate was fixed at 8.28.The People's Bank of China(PBC)al- lowed the rate a narrow band of around .01 to.02 percent in which it could shift daily.The exchange rate program did not become newsworthy until U.S.Treasury Secretary John Snow's visit in 2003.In fact as a study by Frankel and Wei(2007) showed,the RMB's forward was actually selling at a discount against the dollar prior to Secretary Snow's visit to展开更多
Drought conditions at a given location evolve randomly through time and are typically characterized by severity and duration. Researchers interested in modeling the economic effects of drought on agriculture or other ...Drought conditions at a given location evolve randomly through time and are typically characterized by severity and duration. Researchers interested in modeling the economic effects of drought on agriculture or other water users often capture the stochastic nature of drought and its conditions via multiyear, stochastic economic models. Three major sources of uncertainty in application of a multiyear discrete stochastic model to evaluate user preparedness and response to drought are: (1) the assumption of independence of yearly weather conditions, (2) linguistic vagueness in the definition of drought itself, and (3) the duration of drought. One means of addressing these uncertainties is to re-cast drought as a stochastic, multiyear process using a “fuzzy” semi-Markov process. In this paper, we review “crisp” versus “fuzzy” representations of drought and show how fuzzy semi-Markov processes can aid researchers in developing more robust multiyear, discrete stochastic models.展开更多
The Minnesota Nutrient Management Strategy has identified waters with the highest amounts of nutrients that could potentially enter the Mississippi River.Mower County contains the headwaters of the Cedar River Basin,a...The Minnesota Nutrient Management Strategy has identified waters with the highest amounts of nutrients that could potentially enter the Mississippi River.Mower County contains the headwaters of the Cedar River Basin,a large nutrient loading basin in the upper Mississippi River Basin.Joint efforts of the UMN(University of Minnesota),the Nature Conservancy,and Mower County,MN implemented alternative agricultural ditch designs to improve water management.Designs consisted of a TSD(Two-Stage Ditch),a rock trench,a rock inlet,and two in-ditch linear treatment systems.These features were implemented to increase ditch stability and to reduce the loading of sediment and nutrients.Important costs were the possible removal of productive ag-land,construction costs,and the break-even discount(interest)rates.Benefits included lower maintenance cost,reduced sediment and phosphorus loads with more stable ditches,and enhanced removal of NO_(3)-N(Nitrate-Nitrogen).Results suggest costs of the TSD construction may be supplemented with subsidies to break-even with conventional ditch design costs.Subsidies based on NO_(3)-N removal show the TSD compares well to other NO_(3)-N best management practices.The break-even NO_(3)-N removal costs vary greatly but are lowest when the floodplain bench is inundated for longer time periods and when the discount rate,cleanout interval of the conventional design,and construction costs of the TSD are low.展开更多
The reduction of GHG emissions to reverse the greenhouse effect is one of the main challenges in this century.In this paper we pursue two objectives.First,we analyze the evolution of GHG emissions in Spain in 2008–20...The reduction of GHG emissions to reverse the greenhouse effect is one of the main challenges in this century.In this paper we pursue two objectives.First,we analyze the evolution of GHG emissions in Spain in 2008–2018,at both the global and sectoral levels,with the variation in emissions decomposed into a set of determining factors.Second,we propose several actions specifically oriented to more tightly controlling the level of emissions.Our results showed a remarkable reduction(18.44%)in GHG emissions,mainly due to the intensity effect,but also to the production-per-capita effect.We detected somewhat different patterns among the various sectors analyzed.While the intensity effect was the most influential one in the agricultural,transport,and others sectors,the production-per-capita effect was predominant in the case of industry.The carbonization effect was revealed as crucial in the commerce sector.The above findings highlight the importance of the energy efficiency measures taken in recent years in the Spanish economy,also pointing to the need to deepen those strategies and to propose new measures that entail greater efficiency in emissions.Additional efforts in areas like innovation,R&D,diffusion of more eco-friendly technologies,and a greater use of greener energies all prove to be essential reduction actions to fight the greenhouse effect.展开更多
基金The authors are grateful for support from the National Social Science Fund of China(21AJL015).
文摘The Rural Minimum Living Standard Guarantee(Rural Dibao)is an important unconditional cash transfer program to alleviate poverty in rural China.Despite the importance of children’s nutrition in breaking poverty cycles,little is known about the impact of Rural Dibao on child nutrition outcomes.Using China Family Panel Studies(CFPS),this paper examines the effects of Rural Dibao on child nutrition outcomes and investigates potential pathways and heterogeneous effects.We exploit propensity score matching and difference-in-differences techniques to evaluate the effects of the Rural Dibao program on child nutrition outcomes.Our results suggest that Rural Dibao significantly impacts the nutrition outcomes of children up to 15 years of age.Specifically,our results suggest that Rural Dibao improves child height-to-age z-scores by 1.05 standard deviations and lowers the probability of stunting by 11.9 percentage points.Additional analyses suggest that increased protein intake is the main pathway through which Rural Dibao participation contributes to better nutrition outcomes.We also find that the effect of the program is more pronounced among girls,children who are non-left-behind or live with highly educated mothers,and those from low-income families and poor areas.Our findings suggest that Rural Dibao participation helps improve child nutrition outcomes through improving diet quality.
文摘This paper examines the U.S. meat demand impacts of the announced outbreaks of bovine spongiform encephalopathy(BSE) and avian influenza(AI). Findings indicate that beef and chicken demand was negatively affected by BSE and AI disease outbreaks. Specifically, in the short run, U.S. consumers shift demand due to both outbreaks but more so due to domestic disease outbreaks than for outbreaks occurring overseas-the impact of U.S. AI outbreaks is about 0.5% for beef and the impact of U.S. BSE cases is around –0.42% for beef and 0.4% for pork, respectively. Regarding the BSE shock on meat demand, there is a high rate of beef demand adjusted from disturbance to the long-run equilibrium and a lower adjustment rate for chicken demand because of the repeated outbreaks of AI worldwide. In the long run, information related to severe, persistently recurring overseas animal disease outbreaks changes U.S. consumers' meat consumption patterns. Although effects of animal diseases on U.S. meat demand were statistically significant, the magnitudes were small-the impact of WHO reported human death numbers for AI is 0.005% for beef, –0.002% for pork, and –0.006% for chicken and the impact of U.S. BSE cases is 1.1% for pork and –0.7% for chicken.
文摘Background: Adolescent obesity is associated with high cardiovascular and metabolic risk. Western diet and reduced physical activity are strong environmental determinants. The “Health Production” model posits that individuals born with a certain amount of health stock, which depreciates over life, but can be augmented by individual behaviors, including exercise and dieting. Objective: To study the association between health production and obesity in a random sample of 1692 Chilean adolescents (14.8 ± 0.7 years old), and to study the effect of gender and socioeconomic characteristics on health production. Method: We used an indicator that considered the quality of food intake and physical activity, establishing three categories: good (GHP), intermediate (IHP) and poor health producers (PHP). Multivariate analysis was used to study the odds of obesity and good health production. Results: There was 31% of GHP, 32% of IHP and 38% of PHP. Obesity (Adj. OR: 1.59;95%CI: 1.04 - 2.42) and abdominal obesity (Adj. OR: 2.24;95%CI: 1.35 - 3.40) were significantly higher in the PHP group, compared to the GHP and IHP group. Health production was significantly associated with socioeconomic factors and gender. Female sex and coming from a less wealthy household significantly reduced the odds of good health production. Conclusions: Poor health production in adolescence, as defined by food intake and physical activity, depreciates individuals’ “health stock”, increasing the risk of obesity. In our sample, health production was strongly associated with socio-economic factors and gender.
基金the National Social Science Fund of China:"Comparison and Coping Strategies of China's Carbon Emission Reduction Responsibility under Different Carbon Emission Responsibility Principles":[Grant Number 15BGJ054]the Humanities and Social Science Foundation of the Ministry of Education of China:"Research on the Calculations and Countermeasures of China's Foreign Trade Embodied Carbon Emission":[Grant Number13YJAZH122]
文摘This study uses an input-output model presenting the embodied carbon emission in the importexport procedure, as well as the responsibility allocation between China's 35 sectors and 7 main trade partners from 1995 to 2011. Results indicate that the amount of carbon emissions in China's industrial sectors is immense and that the industrial sectors are in serious imbalance. Such imbalance exists mainly in textiles, basic and fabricated metal, electrical and optical equipment,and machinery, among others. Based on the consumer-responsibility principle, the responsibility of 29 departments is reduced. Correspondingly, foreign sectors become more responsible.America, as China's largest trading partner, should account for most of the total responsibility,followed by developed countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Germany.
基金sponsored by the projects FONDE-CYT No.11090163:“Valoracion del Territorio Metro-politano.Aproximaciones desde su Sostenibilidad y Eva-luacion Ambiental Estrategica”(Evaluation of the met-ropolitan territory by means of sustainable approaches and strategic environmental assessment)CONICYT/FONDAP/15110020.
文摘Latin American cities, like those from North America and Europe, experience problems of urban sprawl. However, few studies have dedicated exclusively to this phenomenon in specific cities, and this omission is particularly noticeable regarding cities not considered among the megalopolis of the continent. The present work analyzes urban sprawl through an urban form in the Concepción Metropolitan Area, Chile, between 1990 and 2009, considering local aspects that may have played a role in the process. The main empirical results obtained from this study reveal a metropolitan area that has expanded intensely over a 20-year period, growing from 9000 hectares to more than 17,000 ha for a 96% increment in the built-up area. The new urban surfaces consolidate a central conurbation that strengthens the role of the main downtowns, with less-intense occupation towards the sub-centers but in a structure that follows the transportation infrastructure. Over the last 20 years, the distance between the shapes has grown progressively by around 2 km, increasing the size of the ellipse by more than 1000 km2. In particular the complexity of the urbanized surfaces has grown, becoming more irregular in shape and less compact as they come to occupy larger areas. So our principal findings include: an increment of nearly 100% in the urban surface, the importance of a polycentric urban structure in the process of consolidation as a support for analyzing different spatial dynamics, and the growing morphological irregularity of the territory of the sprawl.
文摘In mixed fisheries where there is an increased ecological interdependence between two or more target species, the possibilities of fishing these species must be determined jointly, since catches of one species will impact the natural growth not only of that species but of the others, as well. The objective of this paper is to develop a predator-prey model for two major species caught by the EU fishing fleet on European Union fishing grounds. The predator and prey’s population dynamics follow the Lotka-Volterra equation and are assumed to be logic-based, and a lineal interaction between the predator and prey populations is assumed. Optimal single owner multispecies fishery management is analysed, and the applied model is solved, obtaining the equilibrium value of biomasses, catches, and net benefits of the mixed fishery. The results show that the MSY of the predator is higher than that estimated by ICES, while MSY for prey is lower. The sensitivity analysis of the results reveals that the biomass levels of both species decrease as the discount rate increases, while catches increase.
文摘This paper discusses various policy alternatives for the implementation of a biofuel crop on an island scale. It adopts an integrated approach by carrying out Multi-Criteria Assessment, as well as using a Geographical Information System. The assessment is based on an interdisciplinary research project carried out by the University of La Laguna to evaluate the agricultural and chemical feasibility, and the socio-economic implications of the cultivation of Jatropha as a source of biofuel on one of the Canary Islands, Fuerteventura. A number of alternatives were analysed for growing Jatropha, and the results suggest that the best alternative involves using Typic Torrifluents soil and irrigation with reclaimed Recycled Urban Wastewater at 75% evapotranspiration cover.
文摘We examine the economics of royalties in bioprospecting contracts between a pharmaceutical and genetic resource supplier (local), with an eye to understanding the relative advantages of indexing royalty payments to gross revenue or net revenue. We show a risk-averse f irm facing only production or only cost risks will index royalties to net revenue. When facing both types of risk, the choice of royalty type depends on the relative magnitudes of the pro-duction and cost risk. In each case, the risk-averse f irm chooses the royalty-type that shifts as much risk as possible to the local. When the local is risk neutral, the pharmaceutical's and local's preferences are compatible. If the local is risk averse and there is only one type of risk, it will prefer a gross revenue royalty, and shift as much risk as pos-sible to the fi rm: here the local and fi rm preferences are compatible only if the fi rm is risk-neutral. Lastly, we show if the f irm sets the terms of the contract, and both agents are risk averse, the f irm will not likely volunteer to imple-ment the socially optimal royalty arrangement as it prefers to shift as much risk to the local, who now also prefers a more certain return. This last outcome is at the heart of the benef it sharing discussion and suggests if risk sharing and equity are a concern in benef it sharing, then the choice of royalty type can be an important part of negotiations between pharmaceuticals and locals for the phytochemical from nature for new drug discovery.
文摘A number of natural experiments have recently found that COVID-19 restrictions imposed in nations worldwide are correlated with short-term reductions—in some cases dramatic reductions—in mobile-source air pollutants. Noticeably absent from these studies are estimates of the social net benefits associated with the changes in human behavior underlying the pandemic-induced effects. Using readily available data provided by the state of Utah and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Co-Benefits Risk Assessment Health Impacts Screening and Mapping Tool (COBRA), we find that daily social net benefit was positive during a pandemic-induced shutdown from March to April, 2020 in Utah’s Wasatch Front region solely when COBRA’s “high” health benefit estimate from combined reductions in PM<sub>2.5</sub> and NO<sub>x</sub> concentrations are weighed against the region’s “low” vehicle-trip cost estimate. All other scenarios correspond with negative net benefit estimates, <i>i.e.</i>, when high and low benefit estimates of reductions solely in PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentrations as well as for combined reductions in PM<sub>2.5</sub> and NO<sub>x</sub> concentrations are weighed against the region’s high vehicle-trip cost estimate. Generally speaking, social net benefits are higher for two of the Wasatch Front’s four counties.
基金the financial assistance received from the University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea,UPV/EHU(research project EHU14/46)
文摘The twenty-first century begins with a rupture of the migratory pattern in the Basque Country, a region located in the north of Spain, transforming it from a community which exports its population to one which receives it. Despite the current economic crisis, the Basque Country continues to be a destination for foreigners, now in many cases coming from other Spanish regions most affected by this crisis. Given the quantitative and qualitative importance of these migration flows, in this research we analyze the contribution of immigrants to the demographic dynamics of the Basque Country. By also identifying their patterns of spatial localization, we examine their contribution to the correction or accentuation of regional imbalances in the population distribution. The results reveal that the demographic recovery rests primarily on contributions of this immigrant population, a population which also promotes the rejuvenation of an aging society, although it is far from correcting regional imbalances and may contribute to accentuating them.
基金gratefully acknowledge the funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation,project MCI-21-PID2020-115183RB-C21.
文摘In this study,we investigate the relationship between tax avoidance and earnings management in the largest five European Union economies by using artificial neural network regressions.This methodology allows us to deal with nonlinearities detected in the data,which is the principal contribution to the previous literature.We ana-lyzed Compustat data for Germany,the United Kingdom,France,Italy,and Spain for the 2006–2015 period,focusing on discretionary accruals.We considered three tax avoidance measures,two based on the effective tax rate(ETR)and one on book-tax differences(BTD).Our results indicate the presence of nonlinear patterns and a posi-tive,statistically significant relationship between discretionary accruals and both ETR indicators implying that when companies resort to earnings management,a larger tax-able income—and thus higher ETR and lesser tax avoidance–would ensue.Hence,as also highlighted by the fact that discretionary accruals do not appear to affect BTD,our evidence does not suggest that companies are exploiting tax manipulation to reduce their tax payments;thus,the gap between accounting and taxation seems largely unaf-fected by earnings management.
基金financial support from the Organismo Autónomo de Parques Nacionales(Project V09-Cátedra de Parques Nacionales)。
文摘Recreational Ecosystem Services(RES)are among the most frequently evaluated ecosystem services.RES are seen as a major opportunity for sustainable development in areas of high ecological value resulting from the presence of emblematic species,habitats or scenery,often integrated in conservation areas,in particular in mountain areas affected by depopulation,rising environmental risks and poverty.Economically,the assessment of RES has been based on Contingent Valuation and Choice Experiments,methods with limitations related to their subjectivity.Alternatively,Input-Output(IO)models provide a very accurate and effective way of valuation of RES with regional information regarding interindustry transactions.Whilst data on nature tourist expenditure may be only available annually,tourism inflows have a strong seasonal behavior,which impacts the profitability of several local economic activities.In this paper,we firstly constructed a novel regionalized IO-model based on Cross-Industry Location Quotients using employment data and,secondly,based on Monte Carlo simulation,we estimated nature tourist expenditure monthly using data on nature tourism inflows.This method allowed for a more precise RES evaluation,estimating direct,indirect and induced monthly economic impacts of nature-based tourism.The method was applied to the Ordesa and Monte Perdido(OMP)National Park in the Spanish Pyrenees.To estimate the average tourist expenditure,we collected and analyzed spending on commerce,hospitality and restaurants,leisure,and transport of 385 visitors.Results suggest that using a regionalized IO model leads to a considerable reduction of over-estimation of the economic impact of tourist expenditure estimated by conventional methods.Taking into consideration the direct,indirect and induced effects of tourist expenditure in 2016-2018,the total annual output effect in the OMP National Park amounted to€208.8 million,while the total income effect amounted to€86.29 million.Also,a total of 2,429 jobs were created which indicates that for each thousand annual visitors to the National Park,3.8 jobs are created in the surrounding area.Overall,the proposed methodology can be easily applied to the remaining National Parks in Spain or other regions in the world,making it a valuable tool to estimate the value of RES in areas affects by strong seasonality,to set priorities and support regional policies for mountain sustainable development.
文摘The study empirically assesses how macroprudential policy interacts with systemic risk,industrial production,and monetary intervention on a global level from January 2006 to December 2018.We adopt the aggregate proxies of these variables,capturing their global effects,and use a novel econometric technique,namely,smooth local projections.The study finds that global macroprudential policy leads the monetary policy,exhibiting a countercyclical pattern concerning industrial production.The latter has an inverse bidirectional linkage with systemic risk.Thus,an ex-ante tight macroprudential policy can indirectly mitigate global systemic risk through its pro-growth effect on industrial production,although no convincing evidence exists for the direct impact of a macroprudential intervention on systemic risk.The study results endure several extensions and a robustness check,which builds on alternative measures of global systemic stress and real economic activity,thereby legitimizing the increased importance attached to the macroprudential policy since the 2007–2009 global financial crisis.
文摘The U.S.in the last couple of years has been up in arms about China's exchange rate regime. In 1994 China established a de facto currency peg.The dollar-RMB ex- change rate was fixed at 8.28.The People's Bank of China(PBC)al- lowed the rate a narrow band of around .01 to.02 percent in which it could shift daily.The exchange rate program did not become newsworthy until U.S.Treasury Secretary John Snow's visit in 2003.In fact as a study by Frankel and Wei(2007) showed,the RMB's forward was actually selling at a discount against the dollar prior to Secretary Snow's visit to
文摘Drought conditions at a given location evolve randomly through time and are typically characterized by severity and duration. Researchers interested in modeling the economic effects of drought on agriculture or other water users often capture the stochastic nature of drought and its conditions via multiyear, stochastic economic models. Three major sources of uncertainty in application of a multiyear discrete stochastic model to evaluate user preparedness and response to drought are: (1) the assumption of independence of yearly weather conditions, (2) linguistic vagueness in the definition of drought itself, and (3) the duration of drought. One means of addressing these uncertainties is to re-cast drought as a stochastic, multiyear process using a “fuzzy” semi-Markov process. In this paper, we review “crisp” versus “fuzzy” representations of drought and show how fuzzy semi-Markov processes can aid researchers in developing more robust multiyear, discrete stochastic models.
文摘The Minnesota Nutrient Management Strategy has identified waters with the highest amounts of nutrients that could potentially enter the Mississippi River.Mower County contains the headwaters of the Cedar River Basin,a large nutrient loading basin in the upper Mississippi River Basin.Joint efforts of the UMN(University of Minnesota),the Nature Conservancy,and Mower County,MN implemented alternative agricultural ditch designs to improve water management.Designs consisted of a TSD(Two-Stage Ditch),a rock trench,a rock inlet,and two in-ditch linear treatment systems.These features were implemented to increase ditch stability and to reduce the loading of sediment and nutrients.Important costs were the possible removal of productive ag-land,construction costs,and the break-even discount(interest)rates.Benefits included lower maintenance cost,reduced sediment and phosphorus loads with more stable ditches,and enhanced removal of NO_(3)-N(Nitrate-Nitrogen).Results suggest costs of the TSD construction may be supplemented with subsidies to break-even with conventional ditch design costs.Subsidies based on NO_(3)-N removal show the TSD compares well to other NO_(3)-N best management practices.The break-even NO_(3)-N removal costs vary greatly but are lowest when the floodplain bench is inundated for longer time periods and when the discount rate,cleanout interval of the conventional design,and construction costs of the TSD are low.
基金funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation,project MCI-21PID2020-115183RB-C21。
文摘The reduction of GHG emissions to reverse the greenhouse effect is one of the main challenges in this century.In this paper we pursue two objectives.First,we analyze the evolution of GHG emissions in Spain in 2008–2018,at both the global and sectoral levels,with the variation in emissions decomposed into a set of determining factors.Second,we propose several actions specifically oriented to more tightly controlling the level of emissions.Our results showed a remarkable reduction(18.44%)in GHG emissions,mainly due to the intensity effect,but also to the production-per-capita effect.We detected somewhat different patterns among the various sectors analyzed.While the intensity effect was the most influential one in the agricultural,transport,and others sectors,the production-per-capita effect was predominant in the case of industry.The carbonization effect was revealed as crucial in the commerce sector.The above findings highlight the importance of the energy efficiency measures taken in recent years in the Spanish economy,also pointing to the need to deepen those strategies and to propose new measures that entail greater efficiency in emissions.Additional efforts in areas like innovation,R&D,diffusion of more eco-friendly technologies,and a greater use of greener energies all prove to be essential reduction actions to fight the greenhouse effect.
