Induced Technological Change Under Carbon Taxes

We develop an economic partial equilibrium model for energy supply and demand with capital and labor as production factors, and endogenous technological change through learning by research and learning by doing. Our model reproduces the learning curve typical for (bottom-up) energy system models. The model also produces an endogenous S-curved transition from fossil fuel energy sources to carbon-free energy sources over the coming two centuries. We use the model to study changes in fossil fuel and carbon-free energy use and carbon dioxide emissions induced by carbon taxes. It is shown that induced technological change accelerates the substitution of carbon-free energy for fossil fuels substantially, and can increase by factor 5 the cumulative emission reductions achieved through a carbon tax over the period 2000-2100.Induced technological change, Environmental taxes, Partial equilibrium, Learning by doing

Can Universities Encourage Students Continued Motivation For Knowledge Sharing And How Can This Help Organizations?

Both practitioners and researchers recognize the increasing importance of knowledge sharing in organizations (Bock, Zmud, Kim, & Lee, 2005; Vera-Muz, Ho, & Chow, 2006). Knowledge sharing influences a firm\u27s knowledge creation, organizational learning, performance achievement, growth, and competitive advantage (Bartol & Srivastava, 2002; Bock & Kim, 2002; Vera-Muz et al., 2006). However, an individual\u27s natural tendency is to hoard knowledge rather than to share knowledge (Davenport, 1997; Ruggles, 1998). So, how can knowledge sharing be encouraged? Extrinsic rewards are believed to effectively motivate desired behaviors (Bartol & Locke, 2000). Under certain environmental conditions, extrinsic rewards are also believed to develop a more sustained motivation, called self-determined motivation, for these behaviors (Deci & Ryan, 1991). These ideas raise the following questions: (a) Do extrinsic rewards motivate students to share knowledge? and (b) How can universities encourage individuals to develop the self-determined motivation to take part in desired behaviors such as knowledge sharing? This study investigates the effect of extrinsic rewards on knowledge sharing in a team setting. It also examines whether universities can facilitate individuals\u27 continued or self-determined motivation to share knowledge using certain environmental conditions. To examine these questions, I perform an experiment with 113 undergraduate students from accounting and management classes who are working on team projects. Results suggest that specifically rewarding knowledge sharing can increase individuals\u27 knowledge-sharing behaviors and, in the right environment, their internalization of the motivation to share knowledge

Technical Skills for Students of Architecture

Architects employ science in order to understand the structural and environmental performance of their products, and apply technology in order to assemble them. And although the role of the architect has changed/evolved even within recent history, the relationship between engineering science, construction technology and the design of the built environment has been at the core of architectural practice throughout history. 2000 years ago, Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (80-15 BC) commenced The Ten Books on Architecture with a chapter on “The Education of The Architect”, where he states: “The architect should be equipped with knowledge of many branches of study and varied kinds of learning, for it is by this judgement that all work done by the other arts is put to the test”. Vitruvius proceeds to explain and differentiate between practice and theory with the need for an architect to have “a thorough knowledge of both”.1 This paper describes the pedagogic approach of the Technical Studies department at the University of Westminster to the architecture course for degree (B.A.) students. It demonstrates the product of this approach in the form of a small sample of student work over a period of roughly ten years

Entrepreneurship and Growth

In the year 2000 at a meeting in Lisbon, leaders of the European Union (EU) articulated a set of goals for the Union, which have come to be called the Lisbon Strategy or Lisbon Agenda. The agenda had three main goals: to promote growth through innovation, to create a learning economy, and to bring about social and environmental renewal. Exactly what the last goal implies is not clear, at least to me, but the intent and substance behind the first two certainly is. Research spending was to rise across the EU, university enrollments would rise with them, and a more friendly environment for innovation would be created as markets continued to be liberalized and integrated. The EU leaders meeting in Lisbon set the year 2010 as their goal for fulfilling this agenda. The year 2010 has come and gone. Today, growth rates in Europe are even lower than they were in 2000. Research and university budgets have been cut – sometimes drastically – across the EU. These developments are, of course, largely a response to the recent financial crisis and its impact on state finances. But the crisis would not have been nearly as severe as it has been, if EU countries had been well on their way to fulfilling the goals of the Lisbon Agenda when the crisis hit. The EU’s failure to come anywhere near meeting the goals set out in the year 2000 stems, I shall argue, to underlying structural factors and ideological perspectives, which constitute major obstacles to the kind of knowledge-based, innovative society that the EU leaders dreamed of in Lisbon more than a decade ago. This paper attempts to identify what these obstacles are.Entrepreneurship; Economic Growth; Human Capital; European Union

The intellectual capital - environmental practices, performance and their relationships in the Romanian banking sector

Purpose – This paper reviews the knowledge assets that can be capitalized for successful Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) implementation in the Romanian banking industry. GSCM is defined as the company’s ability to understand and manage the environmental risks along the Supply Chain (SC) (Carter and Rogers,2008). Banks are very much members of the SCs (McKenzie and Wolfe, 2004), called to integrate the environmental management into both operational and core commercial activities and to manage the environmental risk in their supply chain (FORGE Group,2000; International Finance Corporation, 2006; UNEP Finance Initiative, 2009a). Intellectual capital, or the ‘stock’ of knowledge-based equity firms hold, is recognized as a key contributor to their competitiveness (Bontis et al., 1999), which may act as a driver of environmental pro-activeness (Bernauer et al., 2006; Wu et al., 2007), as well as an obstacle in the process to design and implement GSCM (Post and Altman, 1994; Baresel-Bofinger et al., 2007), while organizational learning is seen as the key component in overcoming the organizational obstacles to environmental changes (Post and Altman, 1992; Post and Altman, 1994; Anderson and Wolff, 1996). Design/methodology/approach – This research paper describes the empirical results of a cross-sectional design employed in a sample of 41 banks operating in Romania with the purpose a. to explore the stage of designing and implementing GSCM practices in the Romanian banking sector; b. to determine which GSCM practices tend to be followed the most, c. which are the bank managers’ perceived benefits from implementing GSCM practices, as well as perceived obstacles in GSCM implementation in the banking sector; and d. what is the relationship between the aforementioned variables. For these purposes several statistical analyses were used, including both descriptive and inferential statistics. Originality/value – This is the first study looking for GSCM issues in the Romanian banking industry. The results of this research provide insights into what extent knowledge assets could be capitalized for successful Green Supply Chain Management implementation in the Romanian banking industry. Furthermore, it is increasing the ecological awareness, the theoretical and managerial insights for an effective implementation of GSCM practices in the banking sector. The analysis reveals that GSCM practices (especially practices in the immaterial flow) are strongly and significantly correlated with perceived benefits and pressures. However,this should be addressed in future research because the present study offers only correlational data and cannot establish causation. The study also concludes that bank’s size and foreign/Romanian ownership do not influence at all the level of GSCM practices implementation and related perceptions (pressures, obstacles,benefits) in the Romanian banking sector. Practical implications – The findings of this paper point to the conclusion that the banking sector in Romania is at a somehow advanced stage of ecological adaptation in the physical flow and at an early stage in the immaterial and commercial flows. Based on the literature and study’s findings, regarding the role that the management of intellectual capital and knowledge flow plays, several recommendations are proposed for enhancing the implementation process of GSCM practices in the banking industry in Romania

How is the Region Doing? Human Service Use and Service Availability in Allegheny County, PA

Allegheny County is home to approximately 1,600 financially-active nonprofit organizations, including 357 human service providers that deliver a range of health and social services.1 Past research has suggested that Pittsburgh's nonprofits, as a group, are facing important organizational and program challenges as they plan for the future. De Vita & Twombly's study of nonprofit human service organizations in the county (2003) found that, in 2000, nearly 40 percent of these providers had expenses that exceeded their revenues.In a paper discussing the future of nonprofits in the region, Paul C. Light (2005) listed additional challenges: difficulty responding to rapid environmental changes, challenges achieving gender and racial diversity in boards, and precarious financial situations.While these challenges on the service supply side are worrisome, less is known about the demand for human services in Allegheny County, and how it may be impacted. Using client and provider data from the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS), The Hill Group (2005) examined service usage for each DHS Program Office (e.g., Office of Behavioral Health, Agency on Aging, etc). Campos, Inc., in 2004, contrasted the opinions of Allegheny County residents and nonprofit executives about the most serious problems at the community level. Neither one of these studies, however, asked consumers directly about the utilization of services at the household level.To address this gap,The Forbes Funds commissioned the OMG Center for Collaborative Learning to conduct a study of the human service needs of households in Allegheny County. Specifically, OMG's research focused on service use of residents of distressed and non-distressed areas, and attempted to contrast service usage with the array of human services which are currently available.The study also looked at whether or not households were successfully accessing the services they needed, and explored barriers to service receipt and client satisfaction with services