A dynamic and stochastic analysis of fertilizer use in swidden agriculture

The number of times a crop can be harvested on a cleared parcel of forest land (CPFL) before this land must be fallowed is dependent on the decision to use or not to use fertilizers to enhance soil fertility. As such, we first construct a theoretical model of fertilizer use by a swidden cultivator when this cultivator can choose whether or not to enhance soil fertility by using fertilizers. Second, we analyze two different policies (fertilizer use and no fertilizer use) for overseeing the problem of soil fertility deterioration on the CPFL. Finally, we identify a particular likelihood function and we show that whether the problem of soil fertility impairment is best addressed with a fertilizer use policy or with a no fertilizer use policy depends essentially on this likelihood function.

Characterizing regulation and negligence rule uncertainty in solid waste management

We propose a model of municipal waste management that combines waste quality monitoring with leachate control. These inputs modulate two types of uncertainty. First, waste quality is uncertain, as it arrives from several nonpoint sources and may contain hazardous waste. Second, while U.S. federal law requires landfill operators to employ these specific inputs, the rates at which they should be employed to avoid culpable negligence for environmental damages are uncertain. We extend the economic literature regarding the management of these types of uncertainty to this municipal waste context.

Learning the Ropes: General Experience, Task-Specific Experience, and the Output of Police Officers

We estimate the role that law enforcement officer experience has on the probability of punishment, using a unique data set of tickets issued by the Idaho State Police linked to human resource records. All else equal, officers issue fewer tickets earlier in their career than later in their career. Quasi-exogenous shocks to an officer’s task-specific experience, generated by law changes, cause a temporary reduction in the frequency with which a subset of troopers “use” those laws, creating disparities in the likelihood that individual citizens are cited for law violations. The reduction in ticketing in response to a law change is largest for newer troopers, and law changes later in a trooper’s career have a smaller effect on his use of that law

The Importance of Risk Tolerance and Knowledge When Considering the Evolution of Inequity Responses Across the Primates

Researchers studying human and non-human primates have begun exploring deviations from the canonical model of expected utility. Additionally, researchers have examined the role of inequality in decision-making across the taxa. However, these two research programs are rarely combined. In this paper we offer an examination of the role and impact of risk and inequity on decision-making in both human and non-human primates. We also offer insights into what drives these observed differences, considering a range of explanations from biological to methodological

The Importance of Risk Tolerance and Knowledge When Considering the Evolution of Inequity Responses Across the Primates

Researchers studying human and non-human primates have begun exploring deviations from the canonical model of expected utility. Additionally, researchers have examined the role of inequality in decision-making across the taxa. However, these two research programs are rarely combined. In this paper we offer an examination of the role and impact of risk and inequity on decision-making in both human and non-human primates. We also offer insights into what drives these observed differences, considering a range of explanations from biological to methodological

A Dynamic and Stochastic Analysis of Fertilizer Use in Swidden Agriculture

The number of times a crop can be harvested on a cleared parcel of forest land (CPFL) before this land must be fallowed is dependent on the decision to use or not to use fertilizers to enhance soil fertility. As such, we first construct a theoretical model of fertilizer use by a swidden cultivator when this cultivator can choose whether or not to enhance soil fertility by using fertilizers. Second, we analyze two different policies (fertilizer use and no fertilizer use) for overseeing the problem of soil fertility deterioration on the CPFL. Finally, we identify a particular likelihood function and we show that whether the problem of soil fertility impairment is best addressed with a fertilizer use policy or with a no fertilizer use policy depends essentially on this likelihood function

District Attorney Compensation and Performance

Does prosecutor pay impact performance? We attempt to identify the causal effect of wages on a prosecutor’s effort by studying a large (41%), exogenous salary increase for district attorneys in New York state. We measure the performance of prosecutors by the likelihood that a conviction is upheld when appealed. If the efficiency wage theory accurately explains non-market actor behavior, then the exogenous wage shock should entice better performance. Alternatively, if individuals who hold public office are motivated primarily by an intrinsic desire to carry out their office duties to the best of their ability rather than strictly financial compensation, then their performance would be unrelated to changes in their salary. We mostly find, inconsistent with efficiency wage theory, that an exogenous pay increase has a null effect on prosecutor performance

Police Bias in the Enforcement of Drug Crimes: Evidence from Low Priority Laws

We consider the impact of adoption of a low priority initiative in some jurisdictions within Los Angeles County on police behavior. Low priority initiatives instruct police to make the enforcement of low level marijuana possession offenses their ``lowest priority.\u27\u27 Using detailed data from the Los Angeles County Sheriff\u27s Department and a difference-in differences strategy, we show that the mandate resulted in a lower arrest rate for misdemeanor marijuana possession in adopting areas. However, the lower relative arrest rate is driven by a spike in the arrest rate in areas not affected by the mandate rather than a reduction in adopting areas

Audit Tendering in the UK: A Review of Stakeholders’ Views

This study reports the results of a content analysis of the comment letters sent to the UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC), in response to its consultation document on the 2012 revisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code, concerning the proposal for mandatory audit tendering. The results indicate a general support for the FRC’s proposals with a number of key concerns related to audit quality, auditor independence and audit cost. There is also clear conflict of interests among some stakeholder groups such as audit firms and companies on one side and institutional investors on the other side. There is evidence of conflict of interest between Big 4 and non-Big 4 audit firms. Implications for future consultations and legislations are also discussed