Non-pecuniary Value of Employment and Natural Resource Extinction

We assume that people value employment not only to earn income to satisfy their consumption needs but also as a means of community/social involvement that provides socio-psychological (non-pecuniary) benefits. We show that the latter incentive can encourage full employment harvesting resources and explain why poor resource-based communities may exhaust a natural resource in a finite time even if there is a sustainable path of resource consumption available. We show that communities could sustain their natural resources by using outside-the-community employment and economic diversification, but, to be effective, such policies must ensure that the outside wage rate and the initial capital stock are above certain minimum levels, which will be higher the longer these policies are delayed.Non-pecuniary effects, Employment value, Resource extinction, Sustainability

Non-pecuniary Value of Employment and Individual Labor Supply

Recognizing that people value employment not only to earn income to satisfy their consumption needs but also as a means of community involvement that provides socio-psychological (non-pecuniary) benefits, we show that once the non-pecuniary benefits of employment are incorporated in the standard individual’s utility function, then at very low income levels employment can be a source of utility, inducing individuals to supply labor to the extent possible. We also show the conditions under which a greater non-pecuniary effect of employment generates a larger individual labor supply.Non-pecuniary effects, Employment value, Labor supply

When is it Optimal to Exhaust a Resource in a Finite Time?

Exhaustion of a natural resource stock may be a rational choice for an individual and/or a community, even if a sustainable use for the resource is feasible and the resource users are farsighted and well informed on the ecosystem. We identify conditions under which it is optimal not to sustain resource use. These conditions concern the discounting of future benefits, instability of social system or ecosystem, nonconvexity of natural growth function, socio-psychological value of employment, and strategic interaction among resource users. The identification of these conditions can help design policies to prevent unsustainable patterns of resource use.Renewable resource management, Sustainability, Finite-time exhaustion, Optimal path, Policy implications

Non-pecuniary Work Incentive and Labor Supply

Recognizing that people value employment not only to earn income to satisfy their consumption needs, but also as a means to gain socio-psychological (nonpecuniary) benefits, we show that once nonpecuniary work incentives are incorporated into standard labor supply theory, (i) the wage rate under-estimates (over-estimates) the true value of nonwork/leisure time when work has nonpecuniary benefits (costs), (ii) nonpecuniary benefits can be a substitute for monetary wages as work incentives, (iii) at very low wage rates, work can become a net source of utility, and (iii) the shape of labor supply curve differs from standard theory. We also identify conditions under which a greater nonpecuniary work incentive generates a larger individual labor supply, and examine the effects of non-wage income on labor supply both for paid and voluntary work.Nonpecuniary incentives, Labor supply, Non-wage income, Voluntary work

Environmental Quality in a Differentiated Duopoly

In a duopoly industry with environmentally differentiated products, we examine the effects of introducing a mandatory environmental quality standard on firms environmental quality choices, profits, and the average environmental quality offered by the industry. We show that at low standard levels, both firms choose to overcomply regardless of the standard level. At intermediate levels, the mandatory standard can reduce the profit of the low-cost firm while increasing that of the high-cost firm, and that it can lower the industrys average environmental quality below what it would be without the standard

Non-pecuniary Value of Employment and Natural Resource Extinction

We assume that people value employment not only to earn income to satisfy their consumption needs but also as a means of community/social involvement that provides socio-psychological (non-pecuniary) benefits. We show that the latter incentive can encourage full employment harvesting resources and explain why poor resource-based communities may exhaust a natural resource in a finite time even if there is a sustainable path of resource consumption available. We show that communities could sustain their natural resources by using outside-the-community employment and economic diversification, but, to be effective, such policies must ensure that the outside wage rate and the initial capital stock are above certain minimum levels, which will be higher the longer these policies are delayed

Non-pecuniary Value of Employment and Individual Labor Supply

Recognizing that people value employment not only to earn income to satisfy their consumption needs but also as a means of community involvement that provides socio-psychological (non-pecuniary) benefits, we show that once the non-pecuniary benefits of employment are incorporated in the standard individuals utility function, then at very low income levels employment can be a source of utility, inducing individuals to supply labor to the extent possible. We also show the conditions under which a greater non-pecuniary effect of employment generates a larger individual labor supply

Detection of gfp expression from gfp-labelled bacteria spot inoculated onto sugarcane tissues

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a marker gene has facilitated biological research in plant-microbe interactions. However, there is one major limiting factor in the detection of GFP in living organisms whose cells emit background autofluorescence. In this study, Herbaspirillum sp. B501gfp1 bacterial cells were spot inoculated onto 5 month-old sterile micro-propagated sugarcane tissues to detect if the GFP fluorescence expression could be distinguished from the tissue’s background fluorescence. Stem tissues and leaf sections mounted on glass slides were directly inoculated with a single touch using the tip of a syringe previously dipped into the inoculum containing 108 bacterial cells/ml. We observed that GFP fluorescence could be easily distinguished in the stem than in the leaf tissues. However, the brightness level of the fluorescence varied with time as a result of fluctuations in the bacterial celldensity. The presence of chloroplasts in the leaf tissues of sugarcane requires the use of bright GFP variants when monitoring bacteria-plant interactions using GFP labelled bacteria

Colonization ability of Herbaspirillum spp. B501gfp1 in sugarcane, a non-host plant in the presence of indigenous diazotrophic endophytes

Inoculating sugarcane with a mixture of diazotrophic endophytic bacteria has shown that they can provide substantial amount of biologically fixed nitrogen to the plant. The genera of diazotrophic endophytes previously isolated from sugarcane have been reported associating with other nonleguminousplants showing a broad host range. This study examined the colonization ability of a wild rice isolate, Herbaspirillum spp., in sugarcane plants in the presence of indigenous endophytes using two inoculum concentrations (102 and 108 bacterial cells ml-1). Internal tissue colonization was observed in plants inoculated with both the 102 and 108 B501gfp1 bacterial cells ml-1 inoculum concentrations. However, extensive colonization and higher bacterial numbers were determined only in the basal stem tissues of plants inoculated with the 108 bacterial cells ml-1