Transmission Investment Coordination using MILP Lagrange Dual Decomposition and Auxiliary Problem Principle

This paper considers the investment coordination problem for the long term transmission capacity expansion in a situation where there are multiple regional Transmission Planners (TPs), each acting in order to maximize the utility in only its own region. In such a setting, any particular TP does not normally have any incentive to cooperate with the neighboring TP(s), although the optimal investment decision of each TP is contingent upon those of the neighboring TPs. A game-theoretic interaction among the TPs does not necessarily lead to this overall social optimum. We, therefore, introduce a social planner and call it the Transmission Planning Coordinator (TPC) whose goal is to attain the optimal possible social welfare for the bigger geographical region. In order to achieve this goal, this paper introduces a new incentive mechanism, based on distributed optimization theory. This incentive mechanism can be viewed as a set of rules of the transmission expansion investment coordination game, set by the social planner TPC, such that, even if the individual TPs act selfishly, it will still lead to the TPC's goal of attaining overall social optimum. Finally, the effectiveness of our approach is demonstrated through several simulation studies

The Question of Generation Adequacy in Liberalised Electricity Markets

This paper presents an overview of the reasons why unregulated markets for the production of electricity cannot be expected to invest sufficiently in generation capacity on a continuous basis. Although it can be shown that periodic price spikes should provide generation companies with sufficient investment incentives in theory, there are a number of probable causes of market failure. A likely result is the development of investment cycles that may affect the adequacy of capacity. The experience in California shows the great social costs associated with an episode of scarce generation capacity. Another disadvantage is that generation companies can manipulate price spikes. This would result in large transfers of income from consumers to producers and reduce the operational reliability of electricity supply during these price spikes. We end this paper by outlining several methods that have been proposed to stabilise the market, which provide better incentives to generation companies and consumers alike.Generation adequacy, Liberalised electricity market

Mainstreaming New Renewable Energy Technologies

This paper outlines the benefits, obstacles and options for governments to support international markets for technology development. International markets for new energy technologies offer greater scope, thereby increasing the incentives and opportunities for technology improvements. As the market is supported by more independent governments, the confidence of technology developers and producers that future markets for their products will exist is increasing, thus enabling capital access and inducing R&D investment and exploration of improved production processes. The bigger markets also allow for international competition, thus allowing for the application of the best available technology. The government challenge to induce sufficient RD&D remains and with international markets the benefits and costs of national governments free-riding on international effort needs to be addressed. Finally, we discuss how international co-operation can be used to evolve the energy system in such a way that it can integrate new technologies at minimum cost

Keynesian government spending multipliers and spillovers in the euro area

The global financial crisis has lead to a renewed interest in discretionary fiscal stimulus. Advocates of discretionary measures emphasize that government spending can stimulate additional private spending — the so-called Keynesian multiplier effect. Thus, we investigate whether the discretionary spending announced by Euro area governments for 2009 and 2010 is likely to boost euro area GDP by more than one for one. Because of modeling uncertainty, it is essential that such policy evaluations be robust to alternative modeling assumptions and different parameterizations. Therefore, we use five different empirical macroeconomic models with Keynesian features such as price and wage rigidities to evaluate the impact of fiscal stimulus. Four of them suggest that the planned increase in government spending will reduce private spending for consumption and investment purposes significantly. If announced government expenditures are implemented with delay the initial effect on euro area GDP, when stimulus is most needed, may even be negative. Traditional Keynesian multiplier effects only arise in a model that ignores the forward-looking behavioral response of consumers and firms. Using a multi-country model, we find that spillovers between euro area countries are negligible or even negative, because direct demand effects are offset by the indirect effect of euro appreciation

Yellowstone County/City of Billings Growth Policy Health Impact Assessment

Analyzes the potential impact of community growth and the built environment on residents' health, emergency preparedness, nutrition, pedestrian safety and traffic, and physical activity as a way to make health part of the decision-making process

Strategic Interactions between Fiscal and Monetary Authorities in a Multi-Country New-Keynesian Model of a Monetary Union

In this paper we consider a number of key issues related to the policy coordination in a monetary union that has been recently discussed in the literature. To this end we propose a multi-country New-Keynesian model of a monetary union cast in the framework of linear quadratic differential games. Our framework can be used to simulate strategic interactions between an arbitrary number of fiscal authorities interacting in coalitions with or against the common central bank. For many parameter combinations our results confirm the findings of Beetsma et al. (2001) that for symmetric inflation and output gap shocks, fiscal coordination between all the countries is counter-productive within a monetary union. The clash between the central bank and the coalition of national governments is most intense under a symmetric inflation shocks when there is strong conflict concerning the orientation of stabilisation policies. This conflict is less pronounced under an asymmetric inflation and output gap shocks, however, still makes fiscal cooperation unattractive. We extend the existing New-Keynesian literature on policy coordination by considering not only cases of non-coordination, fiscal cooperation and the grand coalition, but also the partial cooperation arrangements between fiscal players. We show that, in many cases, partial fiscal coordination of a subgroup of fiscal players is more efficient, from the social point of view, than non-coordination. However, this regime still delivers poor results from the perspective of individual players. This occurs especially in the case of asymmetric shocks, as the countries directly affected by the shocks tend to "export" losses to the countries with whom they form a coalition. Furthermore, we show that the common objective of the grand coalition is of the upmost importance for the outcome of the stabilisation process.macroeconomic stabilisation, EMU, policy coordination, linear quadratic differential games

Sex- and age-specific resource selection and harvest mortality of elk: balancing disease risks with conservation benefits in a fragmented agricultural landscape

Integrating the characteristics of landscape structure with species’ attributes that determine animal movement and consequently disease risk is a complex, yet critical step for effective conservation and disease management. I examined movement behavior of elk (Cervus canadensis manitobensis) in response to factors such as habitat fragmentation and predation risk (i.e., human hunting) to better understand the landscape-level risk of disease spread in Manitoba. Objectives of this thesis were to: (i) identify sex- and age-specific habitat corridors for elk movement to assess the potential risk of disease spread between elk sub-populations; and (ii) evaluate sex- and age-specific elk distribution and hunter-kill sites during the hunting season to understand the impact of hunting on elk resource selection and to improve the effectiveness of current disease control programs. Elk in the Riding Mountain region of southwestern Manitoba are endemic with bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis; TB) and are threatened by the imminent emergence of chronic wasting disease (CWD). I used collared elk locations from a combined dataset of 413 non-migratory female and male elk that were captured in and around Riding Mountain National Park and Duck Mountain Provincial Park and Forest between 2002 and 2011. Elk were fitted with either a GPS satellite collar (24 F; 12 M) or very high frequency (VHF) radio-transmitter (191 F; 186 M). In addition, I used 796 locations of hunter-killed female and male elk collected between 2003-2012 from the agricultural-dominated lands that surround the two protected areas. These data were used to develop resource selection function (RSF) models, which are powerful analytical tools that characterize and predict the selection of resources by animals. The RSF models integrated with graph theory revealed important sex-specific differences in resource selection during spring and summer (Mar-Aug) and identified potential habitat corridors between the two parks. The extent of connectivity across the fragmented agriculture-dominated landscape remained relatively constant across several spatial scales for both sexes and connectivity was greater for adult females compared with juvenile males. During the hunting season (Sept-Feb), sex- and age-specific differences in resource selection and hunter-kill sites were also evident. Adult males were rarely located outside of the parks, and were killed considerably less often than adult females and juvenile males, in close proximity to park boundaries. Adult females and juvenile males made some use of the agriculture-dominated landscape outside of the parks and were killed in a range of habitats located farther from the park boundaries. My research demonstrates that habitat connectivity and hunting are more critical than previously appreciated in limiting the potential spread of TB and CWD infected elk across this highly fragmented landscape. However, the implications for long-term conservation of elk remain an important concern. The risk of TB and CWD spread among elk sub-populations is low; however, the socioeconomic and ecological implications of these diseases remain significant. My thesis results include detailed maps of functionally connected areas that facilitate elk movement, and thus pinpoint local areas of disease management concern. I also provide an example of a small-scale manipulation of hunter effort linked to disease prevalence, with mapped areas where hunting can be targeted at the highest risk individuals for disease transmission. Resource managers can use these maps as a complementary tool to evaluate both the short- and long-term implications of habitat fragmentation and hunting efforts to effectively balance elk conservation and mitigate disease risks