Seismic Risk Analysis of Revenue Losses, Gross Regional Product and transportation systems.

Natural threats like earthquakes, hurricanes or tsunamis have shown seri- ous impacts on communities. In the past, major earthquakes in the United States like Loma Prieta 1989, Northridge 1994, or recent events in Italy like L’Aquila 2009 or Emilia 2012 earthquake emphasized the importance of pre- paredness and awareness to reduce social impacts. Earthquakes impacted businesses and dramatically reduced the gross regional product. Seismic Hazard is traditionally assessed using Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Anal- ysis (PSHA). PSHA well represents the hazard at a specific location, but it’s unsatisfactory for spatially distributed systems. Scenario earthquakes overcome the problem representing the actual distribution of shaking over a spatially distributed system. The performance of distributed productive systems during the recovery process needs to be explored. Scenario earthquakes have been used to assess the risk in bridge networks and the social losses in terms of gross regional product reduction. The proposed method for scenario earthquakes has been applied to a real case study: Treviso, a city in the North East of Italy. The proposed method for scenario earthquakes requires three models: one representation of the sources (Italian Seismogenic Zonation 9), one attenuation relationship (Sa- betta and Pugliese 1996) and a model of the occurrence rate of magnitudes (Gutenberg Richter). A methodology has been proposed to reduce thou- sands of scenarios to a subset consistent with the hazard at each location. Earthquake scenarios, along with Mote Carlo method, have been used to simulate business damage. The response of business facilities to earthquake has been obtained from fragility curves for precast industrial building. Fur- thermore, from business damage the reduction of productivity has been simulated using economic data from the National statistical service and a proposed piecewise “loss of functionality model”. To simulate the economic process in the time domain, an innovative businesses recovery function has been proposed. The proposed method has been applied to generate scenarios earthquakes at the location of bridges and business areas. The proposed selection method- ology has been applied to reduce 8000 scenarios to a subset of 60. Subse- quently, these scenario earthquakes have been used to calculate three system performance parameters: the risk in transportation networks, the risk in terms of business damage and the losses of gross regional product. A novel model for business recovery process has been tested. The proposed model has been used to represent the business recovery process and simulate the effects of government aids allocated for reconstruction. The proposed method has efficiently modeled the seismic hazard using scenario earthquakes. The scenario earthquakes presented have been used to assess possible consequences of earthquakes in seismic prone zones and to increase the preparedness. Scenario earthquakes have been used to sim- ulate the effects to economy of the impacted area; a significant Gross Regional Product reduction has been shown, up to 77% with an earthquake with 0.0003 probability of occurrence. The results showed that limited funds available after the disaster can be distributed in a more efficient way

Enhancing Coastal Resilience: Perspectives on Valuing RI Coastal Lands

This paper discusses coastal resilience as an organizing framework for future policymaking, coastal planning, and insurance decisions, and explores the different perspectives of the value of ecosystems held by various stakeholders in Rhode Island’s coastal communities. A grounded theory approach was used in an effort to abstract general insights from the substantive but isolated areas of coastal management and economics. Special attention is given to the perspectives of municipal decision makers, the National Flood Insurance Program, natural economists, and real estate developers. We have (1) conducted a statistical analysis of environmental spending of RI towns, (2) identified key models for ecosystem services valuation, (3) researched the major threats to coastal ecosystems, and (4) explored how the coastal resilience theme might shape the future of the coast. Elements of the study rely on the formulation and testing of hypotheses. However, the analysis was primarily a demonstration of the inter-disciplinary emergent thinking that this paper proposes will provide solutions for coastal communities’ most pressing issues. The framing question is how social, personal, and environmental goals align when coastal resilience is enhanced, and how stakeholders can utilize these new decision-making tools to achieve increased communication and a more accurate understanding of the perceived value of ecosystem services

An Overview of Progress in the International Regulation of the Pharmaceutical Industry

[Excerpt] “The pharmaceutical industry, a significant source of healthcare throughout the world, has several features that distinguish it from the rest of the health industry. In the last half-century, new technology, better technological know-how, and overall economic growth have led to widespread and rapid growth in the pharmaceutical sector. Advancements in pharmaceutical research and development have led to the production of drugs that can routinely combat afflictions that, only years ago, were untreatable or even fatal. Since 1970, the average share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on pharmaceutical goods has increased in most Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries by approximately 50%, meaning that pharmaceutical expenditure has increased on average 1.5% more per year than GDP growth. Given that access to health care is fundamental to developed society and that pharmaceutical goods are a significant source of healthcare, drugs should be accessible to everyone across the world. However, universal accessibility to drugs is not an easy feat. As nations work with their pharmaceutical industries to provide the best possible access to drugs, they must do so on limited budgets and while maintaining proper incentives for pharmaceutical companies to continue to innovate. These conflicting objectives are problems unique to the pharmaceutical industry and critical to its successful future. In the European Union (EU), major steps are being made to balance these objectives through the establishment of a Single Market for Pharmaceuticals. As stated in a Commission Communication on the single market in pharmaceuticals, “The purpose of the completion of the Single Market in Pharmaceuticals is not just to provide an environment which is favorable for pharmaceutical innovation and industrial development, it is also to improve consumer choices in pharmaceuticals of the required quality, safety and efficacy, at an affordable cost.” The aim of this note is to present an overview of the major factors that are currently shaping and effecting international trade in the international pharmaceutical industry, and of how these factors contribute to the EU\u27s progression towards a single market. Through outlining the present status of the industry, we hope to facilitate the making of future decisions to reach a better balance between industry innovation and healthcare accessibility.

Estimation of Earthquake Loss Due to Bridge Damage in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. II: Indirect Losses

An approach to estimate the indirect economic loss due to damaged bridges within the highway system from an earthquake event is presented. The indirect cost considered refers to the increased highway transportation cost only. The study zone covers the St. Louis metropolitan area and its surrounding suburban regions. An earthquake scenario centered in St. Louis, with a magnitude 7.0 is used. The direct earthquake loss was primarily damage to bridges, which causes an increase in travel time and distance within the transportation network. This information is then used as input for the indirect loss model. The indirect loss is examined from an economic perspective. The results reveal that the indirect loss is significant when compared to the direct loss resulting from bridge damage. From the study results, a transportation network planner can prepare an appropriate preventive action plan (such as choosing alternative routes for potential damaged links, as well as reinforcing possible high damage bridges) to reduce the potential losses before the earthquake occurs

America's North Coast: A Benefit-Cost Analysis of a Program to Protect and Restore the Great Lakes

Examines the baseline ecological conditions of the Great Lakes and offers a plan for the area's environmental protection and restoration. Demonstrates how a restoration program can provide economic benefits that substantially exceed its costs

Solutions for Impact Investors: From Strategy to Implementation

In writing this monograph, our main goal is to provide impact investors with tools to tighten the link between their investment decisions and impact creation. Our intent is threefold: to attract more capital to impact investing; to assist impact investors as they move from organizational change to executing and refining their impact investment decision-making process; and to narrow the gap within foundations between program professionals and investment professionals thereby contributing to a mutual understanding and implementation of a portfolio approach to impact investing.Additionally, we intend to help break down the barriers making it difficult to identify opportunities in impact investing. To this end, we provide examples throughout the monograph and at www.rockpa.org/impactinvesting of impact investment opportunities in most major asset classes.While we understand the important role that impact investors can play in providing financial capital, we also want to acknowledge the wide range of non-financial resources needed to address the world's problems. Our intent with this monograph is not to provide a comprehensive list of investments across asset classes nor any type of investment advice with regard to the selected profiles. We strongly encourage the reader to conduct their own assessment and evaluation for risk and suitability before considering any investment

Low-carbon development for Colombia

Colombia is well-positioned to pursue a low-carbon development path given the country’s already large hydropower production, a model urban transport program, and significant potential to reduce emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land-use (AFOLU). While reducing carbon emissions through these and other activities can demonstrate Colombia’s commitment to addressing global climate change, the primary driver of such activities should be that they are part of the country’s economic and sustainable development agenda. Policymakers need to ensure that public policies for climate mitigation support projects that are economic and achieve macroeconomic goals such as generating income and employment. Given the importance of hydropower and Colombia’s huge potential for expanding agriculture and forestry, another consideration is that mitigation measures should not increase the country’s vulnerability to climate change impacts—some could actually do that—but should also increase the country’s resilience to natural and manmade disasters. These findings are based on an analysis of Colombia’s climate mitigation options made jointly by the World Bank and the Department of National Planning (DNP)

Atlas of Ocean Wealth

The Atlas of Ocean Wealth is the largest collection to date of information about the economic, social and cultural values of coastal and marine habitats from all over the world. It is a synthesis of innovative science, led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), with many partners around the world. Through these efforts, they've gathered vast new datasets from both traditional and less likely sources.The work includes more than 35 novel and critically important maps that show how nature's value to people varies widely from place to place. They also illustrate nature's potential. These maps show that one can accurately quantify the value of marine resources. Further, by enumerating such values, one can encourage their protection or enhancement for the benefit of people all around the world. In summary, it clearly articulates not just that we need nature, but how much we need it, and where