A regional model of endogenous growth with creative destruction

We consider a two region growth model with vertical innovations where technical externalities in R&D lead to a technology leading region being the most attractive location for innovative firms. Innovations are produced in the form of quality improvements building on available knowledge and firms choose a technologically advanced location to maximise the productivity of R&D and maintain their niche monopoly. The partial nature of spillovers causes an additional force for agglomeration: the clustering effect. Agglomerated locations have the benefit of local inter-varietal knowledge spillovers for growth while peripheral locations depend on trade and regional knowledge spillovers

On the Potential Use of Adaptive Control Methods for Improving Adaptive Natural Resource Management

The paradigm of adaptive natural resource management (AM), in which experiments are used to learn about uncertain aspects of natural systems, is gaining prominence as the preferred technique for administration of large-scale environmental projects. To date, however, tools consistent with economic theory have yet to be used to either evaluate AM strategies or improve decision-making in this framework. Adaptive control (AC) techniques provide such an opportunity. This paper demonstrates the conceptual link between AC methods, the alternative treatment of realized information during a planning horizon, and AM practices; shows how the different assumptions about the treatment of observational information can be represented through alternative dynamic programming model structures; and provides a means of valuing alternative treatments of information and augmenting traditional benefit-cost analysis through a decomposition of the value function. The AC approach has considerable potential to help managers prioritize experiments, plan AM programs, simulate potential AM paths, and justify decisions based on an objective valuation framework.adaptive control, adaptive management, dynamic programming, value of experimentation, value of information, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Multi-Sector Sustainability in Agroecosystem Environments: Using Value Function Iteration for Numerical Solutions

Using the numerical technique of value iteration, this paper imposes several sustainability constraints on a simple multi-sector agroecosystem model, and provides analysis of the costs tradeoffs within and between generations. Results show that internalization of a stock externality is insufficient for intergenerationally equitable welfare paths, while sustaining a physical resource over time in the interests of equitability can result in a less equitable distribution of welfare across generations. Furthermore, a value sustainability constraint imposed on the social welfare maximization problem acts as a welfare transfer mechanism from the productive sector to the sector affected by the externality, but implies growth in profits for the productive sector and declining utility for the non-productive sector.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Consumer Preferences for Locally Made Specialty Food Products Across Northern New England

Does willingness to pay a premium for local specialty food products differ between consumers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont? Two food categories are investigated: low-end ($5) and high-end ($20) products. Premia estimates are compared across states and across base prices within states using dichotomous choice contingent valuation methods. Results suggest that the three states of northern New England have many similarities, including comparable price premia for the lower-priced good. However, there is some evidence that the premium for the higher-priced good is greater for the pooled Vermont and Maine treatment than for the New Hampshire treatment. Vermont and New Hampshire residents are willing to pay a higher premium for a $20 than for a$5 food item, while the evidence suggests that Maine residents are not.local specialty foods, willingness to pay, contingent valuation, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

What to Choose? The Value of Label Claims to Produce Consumers

This paper addresses three key empirical questions related to health, nutrient, and process claims on front-label packaging; namely, 1) How do consumers value alternative claims on product and process-based attributes for fresh produce; 2) Are these values additively separable; and 3) To what degree is there heterogeneity between consumers on these values? We use a hypothetical choice experiment on red leaf lettuce attribute bundles, and estimate several logit models (MNL and ML) that provide estimates of marginal utilities (and with the inclusion of varying prices, marginal values) of various attributes related to general health claims, specific nutrition and health claims, certification logos related to health and nutrition currently found in the marketplace, as well as certified organic claims (relative to the conventional reference group). The results showed that consumers do distinguish between competing claims and logos, though the impacts are not always as expected, likely due to the information set used at the time of the choice. We found some evidence of attribute bundling between the health claims and the familiar Five-a-day program logo, and between organic production and a claim regarding vitamin C content. Finally, we found that use of the unconditional distributions (relative to the conditional)in a ML model overstates the degree of preference heterogeneity across the sample and overstates the magnitude of the marginal effects of the random parameters. This may create misleading impressions regarding the existence and size of specialized niche markets, the response of consumers to varying health, nutrition, or process claims, and/or the response of consumers to the introduction of new products with these (or similar) claims.Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis,

Direct Marketing of Fresh Produce: Understanding Consumer Purchasing Decisions

Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Marketing, Q13,

Ethnographic Narrative

Abstract In this narrative you will see my journey in becoming a Critical Social Justice Educator. In addition to this, you will see how I made my decision to become a teacher along with the continued development in learning the craft. As this narrative continues, you will be introduced to my three focus students in a detailed manner as well as learn about the community in which I served during the 2019 - 2020 school year. The purpose of this narrative is to track both my and my students’ documented growth throughout the year, make connections to different elements that effect a student’s education, and to stress the importance of being a Critical Social Justice Educator. Once you have completed this narrative, you will come to see my stance in the importance of preparing our students academically as well as socially so they are able to thrive in the world in which we live and be successful in all that they do

A PORTFOLIO OF NUTRIENTS: SOIL AND SUSTAINABILITY

This paper develops a basic dynamic economic model that can be used for theoretical and numerical analysis of optimal soil management practices. A dynamic biophysical/economic optimal control model is developed in a multi-disciplinary framework, treating soil as a multi-pool portfolio of a particular limiting mobile nutrient (e.g. nitrogen). This specification allows for fertilizer to directly enter the active pool, while tillage initially affects the decadal pool, reflecting the realities of agricultural production. We examine the properties of the steady-state and the time paths of the optimal solutions. In addition, alternative sustainability criteria of farm-level agricultural practices are presented, and the optimal solution of the problem is evaluated to determine if it meets any or all of the definitions of sustainability.Farm Management,

Using Numerical Dynamic Programming to Compare Passive and Active Learning in the Adaptive Management of Nutrients in Shallow Lakes

This paper illustrates the use of dual/adaptive control methods to compare passive and active adaptive management decisions in the context of an ecosystem with a threshold effect. Using discrete-time dynamic programming techniques, we model optimal phosphorus loadings under both uncertainty about natural loadings and uncertainty regarding the critical level of phosphorus concentrations beyond which nutrient recycling begins. Active management is modeled by including the anticipated value of information (or learning) in the structure of the problem, and thus the agent can perturb the system (experiment), update beliefs, and learn about the uncertain parameter. Using this formulation, we define and value optimal experimentation both ex ante and ex post. Our simulation results show that experimentation is optimal over a large range of phosphorus concentration and belief space, though ex ante benefits are small. Furthermore, realized benefits may critically depend on the true underlying parameters of the problem.adaptive control, adaptive management, dynamic programming, value of experimentation, value of information, nonpoint source pollution, learning, decisions under uncertainty, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Middle Devonian Carbonate Rocks and Shales of North-Central Ohio

Author Institution: Department of Geology, The University of ToledoMiddle and Upper Devonian marine strata are examined in quarries and natural exposures at six localities in Erie and Huron counties in north-central Ohio. The formations studied are the Lucas Dolomite, Columbus Limestone, Delaware Limestone, Plum Brook Shale, Prout Limestone, and Huron Shale. Lithologies and fossil contents suggest depositional settings ranging from open marine to tidal flat. Biostratigraphy indicates correlation of Columbus and Delaware limestones with the Onondaga Limestone and Marcellus Shale, respectively, of New York and with the Detroit River Group and Dundee Limestone, respectively, of the Michigan Basin