Pollution Control in the Informal Sector: The Ciudad Juárez Brickmakers' Project

Low-technology unlicensed micro-enterprises known as "informal" firms are a significant source of pollution in developing countries that are virtually impossible to regulate in the conventional manner. This paper describes an example of an innovative and promising approach to the problem: the Ciudad Juárez Brickmakers' Project, a private-sector-led initiative aimed at abating highly polluting emissions from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico's approximately 300 informal brick kilns. We draw four lessons from the Project's history. First, private-sector-led initiatives can work -- indeed they may be more effective than public sector initiatives -- but they require strong public sector support. Second, necessary conditions for effective environmental management in the informal sector include enlisting the cooperation of local organizations, relying upon peer monitoring, and offsetting compliance costs. Ineffective strategies include promoting too-advanced technologies and intervening in informal markets. Third, pollution control strategies that provide the greatest environmental benefits may be less appropriate than low-cost intermediate strategies. Finally, in volatile developing economies, market-based environmental initiatives in the informal sector are bound to be fragile.

IMPACTS OF THE NORTHEAST DAIRY COMPACT ON NEW ENGLAND RETAIL PRICES

Northeast Dairy Compact impacts were estimated for Boston and Hartford retail prices using an econometric model. Asymmetric speeds of adjustment to farm price increases and decreases were found; however, tests indicated that retail prices do return to the same level following equal farm price increases and decreases. Model forecasts suggested no structural changes occurred during the out-of-sample period, July 1996 through June 1998. Simulations with and without the Compact predicted lower retail fluid milk price impacts than actual July 1997 changes. These predicted impacts separate the effects of farm price changes on retail prices from possibly confounding effects.Demand and Price Analysis,

'A test for poetry': an examination of Louis Zukofsky's 'objectivist principles' and poetic practice

My aim in this thesis is to examine Louis Zukofsky's poetry in relation to his stated objectivist principles using those principles and Zukofsky's unpublished statements as a test for his theory and practice. The first chapter introduces Zukofsky's poetic principles and examines the relationship between his work and Ezra Pound's Imagism. My aim here is to put the origins of Zukofsky's principles into an appropriate context, disputing the idea of the `objectivist' as a temporarily revivified Imagist. Chapter II examines Zukofsky's earliest verse, both umpublished juvenilia and the few early poems retained for publication. These poems all predate the `objectivist' statements and a comparison is made between these poems which anticipate the poet's later technique and those which do not. The chapter culminates in a study of `Poem beginning `The'' as the first identifiably objectivist work. Chapter III is concerned with Zukofsky as editor and critic since it was in this dual role that he first expressed his poetic theory. The principles of this theory are examined in detail here and the relationship between Zukofsky's poetry and criticism closely defined. The fourth chapter examines Zukofsky's shorter poems in the light of the critical framework provided by the `objectivist principles'. Individual poems are closely examined to reveal the `mechanism' of `objectivist' poetry and to facilitate a reading of Zukofsky's long poem `A'. Chapters V and VI are concerned with the two halves of `A'. Attention is given to the poem's detailed composition and to its overall structure and movement. This analysis is guided by the overriding question of the application of `objectivist princples' to a long rather than a short poem. The final chapter reviews Zukofsky's sustained critical idiom in both poetry and prose criticism and concludes that this idiom provides a flexible but principled and consistent framework for his life's work

PARTICIPATION IN MULTIPLE-PERIL CROP INSURANCE: RISK ASSESSMENTS AND RISK PREFERENCES OF CRANBERRY GROWERS

To investigate the poor participation rate of cranberry growers in the multiple-peril crop insurance program, a sample of 15 Massachusetts growers was interviewed. According to their risk preferences, a much greater proportion of growers should have insured, than actually did. A possible solution is to match the distribution used by the insurer closer to that believed by the grower. Adjusting each grower's historical yield series for trend brought the historical and subjective mean yields much closer. However, an aggregate test found the effect of adjustment to be insignificant, implying that the avenue for increased participation lies elsewhere.Risk and Uncertainty,

Effects of the federal programs for corn and other grains on corn prices, feed grains production and livestock production

This is the second report in a series dealing with the effects of the federal corn program on producers, processors and distributors, and consumers. The first report showed the effects of the corn stabilization program on corn utilization and the size and location of corn stabilization stocks.1 The present report covers a broader field. It analyzes the effects of the corn and other feed grains programs on the prices and production of these grains and livestock

Does the Loan and Storage Program Support Corn Prices?

Market prices of corn in recent years have been falling below the loan ( support ) rate. Some attribute this to the large stocks which have built up. Research evidence, however, indicates not necessarily

INFORMATION VALUE IN WEED MANAGEMENT

Use of the economic threshold to improve the efficiency of preemergent-herbicide treatment decisions is limited by a lack of weed information. An economic model for assessing the expected value of weed information needed to implement a threshold decision rule is developed. Empirical results suggest that early season weed information can have value in cabbage weed management in Massachusetts.Crop Production/Industries,