INCORPORATING THE 1990 FARM BILL INTO FARM-LEVEL DECISION MODELS: AN APPLICATION TO COTTON FARMS: COMMENT

Crop Production/Industries,

AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE EMISSION REDUCTION MARKET SYSTEM IN CHICAGO

A mixed-integer programming model is used to investigate economic impacts of the permit trading market in Chicago and determine the equilibrium price. Unlike previous studies, the model determines unit pollution abatement cost endogenously depending on firms' technology adoption decisions. A sequential trading process is used to simulate firms' behavior under incomplete information. The results show that average shadow prices, a counterpart of conventional shadow prices in discrete problems, slightly underestimate the equilibrium prices. Moreover, the model predicts an over-supply of permits for the first two trading seasons.mixed-integer programming, ERMS, average shadow price, pollution permit, Environmental Economics and Policy,

EFFICIENCY LOSS AND TRADABLE PERMITS

This research presents a price endogenous mathematical programming model that incorporates the independent, optimizing behavior of individual participants to estimate the possible efficiency loss of a newly developed permit trading market for nitrogen oxides (NOx) control in southern Taiwan. The result shows that when control equipment decisions are indivisible, an efficiency loss may arise due to over-investment. The efficiency loss found here is not because of a bilateral trading process and/or insufficient information for finding trading partners, but it is due to not having full control ability of the installed equipment.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Does more intense competition lead to higher growth?

The relationship between the intensity of competition in an economy and its long-run growth is an open question in economics. Theoretically, there is no clear-cut answer. Empirical evidence exists, however, that in some sectors more competition leads to more innovation, and accelerates productivity growth. To complement those findings, and capture economy-wide effects, the authors conduct a cross-country study. They examine the impact on growth of various measures having to do with intensity of domestic competition - beyond the effects of trade liberalization. Their results indicate a strong correlation between long-run growth, and effective enforcement of antitrust, and competition policy.Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,ICT Policy and Strategies,Labor Policies,Decentralization,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,ICT Policy and Strategies,Achieving Shared Growth,Governance Indicators

The Economic Potential of Second-Generation Biofuels: Implications for Social Welfare, Land Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Illinois

This paper develops a dynamic micro-economic land use model that maximizes social welfare and internalizes externality from greenhouse gas emissions to obtain the optimal land use allocation for traditional row crops and bioenergy crops (corn stover, miscanthus and switchgrass), the mix of cellulosic feedstocks and fuel and food prices. We use this carbon tax policy as a benchmark to compare the implications of existing biofuel policies on land use, social welfare and the environment for the 2007-2022 period. The model is operationalized using yields of perennial grasses obtained from a biophysical model, county level data on yields of traditional row crops and production costs for row crops and bioenergy crops in Illinois. We show that a carbon tax policy that is directly related to carbon intensity of fuels can generate the highest social welfare among alternative policy scenarios. The existing ethanol tax credits result in substantial deadweight losses and higher GHG emissions as compared to the baseline. Ethanol blending mandates with subsidies lead to further welfare losses and higher GHG emissions. To meet advanced biofuel blending mandates, corn stover and miscanthus are used but the mix of viable cellulosic feedstocks varies spatially and temporally. Corn stover is viable mainly in central and northern Illinois while miscanthus acres are primarily concentrated on southern Illinois. The blending mandates lead to a significant shift in acreage from soybeans and pasture to corn and a change in crop rotation and tillage practices.cellulosic ethanol, land use, social welfare, greenhouse gas emissions, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q42, Q24,

Regulatory reform, competition, and innovation - a case study of the Mexican road freight industry

Discussions of competition and regulatory reform typically focus on price and quantity effects. But improving certain infrastructure services can also stimulate entry, and competition in user industries downstream, allowing new firms to enter, incumbent users to offer new products, and rivalry to intensify. The authors present a case study of how innovations in road freight services affect selected downstream users of those services after regulatory reform. After a period of rigid regulation, and heavy government interference, Mexico in 1989 developed a new policy framework for road transport, with free entry, and market-based price setting. The result: faster, more reliable trucking has allowed user companies to offer new, previously unavailable products, and to reach new areas with existing products. Cheaper, more customer-responsive trucking services have allowed logistical innovations in user firms, and some user firms have decided not to keep their own fleets of trucks, but to outsource trucking services on the open market, thereby converting fixed costs to variable costs. For one fertilizer company, the benefits of reform included a ten percent improvement in operating margin. Successful reform requires careful planning and execution, and political support at high levels. Regulatory reform also profoundly changes the sectoral institution formerly responsible for the regulation. Enough resources should be provided to help organizations in the reformed industry make the transition to the post-reform environment - helping with such tasks as defining the organization's new role, and facilitating the redeployment of staff. The national competition agency can help greatly in laying the groundwork for reform by making a compelling case for the reform's expected benefits. After reform, the competition agency should also help with enforcement, to ensure that the cozy, cartel-like behavior stimulated by tight entry restrictions does not persist. In Mexico, three strong interventions were required to discipline attempted anti-competitive practices in the trucking industry in the years following reform.Common Carriers Industry,Environmental Economics&Policies,Roads&Highways,Transport and Trade Logistics,Banks&Banking Reform,Roads&Highways,Transport and Trade Logistics,Common Carriers Industry,ICT Policy and Strategies,Environmental Economics&Policies

HIGHER LEVELS OF INTOLERANCE OF UNCERTAINTY PREDICT GREATER LEVELS OF SMARTPHONE ADDICTION AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS: THE SERIAL MEDIATING ROLES OF DEATH ANXIETY AND CYBERCHONDRIA

This study examines the relationship between the intolerance of uncertainty and smartphone addiction and investigates the serial mediating roles of death anxiety and cyberchondria in this relationship. 885 college students completed self-report questionnaires to assess their levels of intolerance of uncertainty, smartphone addiction, death anxiety, and cyberchondria. The results suggest that the intolerance of uncertainty has a direct positive effect on smartphone addiction, and this relationship is serially mediated by death anxiety and cyberchondria. These findings provide insight into the underlying mechanisms linking intolerance of uncertainty and smartphone addiction and emphasize the importance of addressing death anxiety and cyberchondria in interventions targeting smartphone addiction

From Persecution to (Potential) Emancipation Female Slaves and Legal Violations in Ottoman Istanbul according to Court Registers (16th-17th Centuries)

International audienceThis article deals with offences and crimes against female slaves, and those committed by female slaves, in Ottoman Istanbul (sixteenth-seventeeth centuries). Its main sources are imperial legislation and court records of the imperial capital, Istanbul, and its suburbs. Judicial archives remain the chief sources of early modern Ottoman histo-riography on gender. This contribution tackles slavery's specificities regarding women, without ignoring the parallels with their male counterparts in the Ottoman Empire. By considering women as both objects and agents of legal violations and acts of violence , I simultaneously deal with the rights of slaveholders and slaves. Violations of these rights varied depending on the identity and juridical status of their authors, and were handled accordingly by the justice system. Thus, I consider violations committed by owners against their slaves, by slaves against their owners, and by third parties against the slaves of others. The rights and mutual obligations of masters and slaves were strictly defined in Ottoman law, although the judicial authorities upheld the preservation of private property above all. They dedicated themselves to fighting against the slightest doubt over masters' quasi-absolute authority over their human possessions , whose unconditional obedience was required. Female slaves, in order to affirm their rights, had to provide irrefutable written proof or trustworthy verbal testimonies at the kadi courts.Cet article aborde la question des infractions et crimes dont les femmes esclaves furent les cibles, mais aussi les autrices à Istanbul à l’époque ottomane aux xvie et xviie siècles. Les sources principales de cette étude sont les textes législatifs impériaux et les registres des tribunaux de la capitale impériale et de sa banlieue proche. Les ar- chives judiciaires demeurent les principales sources de l’historiographie ottomane au féminin. Cette contribution aborde les spécificités de l’institution servile concernant les femmes, sans perdre de vue les parallèles avec les esclaves du sexe opposé dans l’Empire ottoman. En prenant les femmes à la fois comme objets et acteurs principaux de différentes violations du droit et faits de violence, je traite simultanément des droits des propriétaires et des esclaves. Les violations de ces droits changent de teneur en fonction de l’identité et du statut juridique de leurs auteurs. Ainsi, je prends en consi- dération, les violations commises par les propriétaires à l’égard de leurs esclaves, par les esclaves à l’égard de leurs propriétaires et par des personnes tierces vis-à-vis des des femmes esclaves des autres. Les droits et obligations mutuels des esclaves et maîtres étant bien définis par le droit ottoman, nous constatons que les autorités judiciaires ont pour mission principale la préservation de la propriété privée et qu’elles ont vo- cation à lutter contre une quelconque remise en question de l’autorité quasi-absolue du maître sur sa propriété humaine dont la soumission inconditionnelle était requise. Les femmes esclaves, afin de faire valoir leurs droits, devaient fournir des preuves ju- ridiques écrites irréfutables ou des témoignages fiables aux yeux du tribunal du cadi

ENVIRONMENT, EQUITY AND WATERSHED MANAGEMENT

This paper presents a methodology for incorporating environmental and social equity objectives in an economic analysis of watershed management. Empirical results indicate that restricting agricultural pollution notably increases farm costs. The equity objective also adversely affects economic efficiency, but the cost increase due to social equity is less significant.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Economic Impacts of Soybean Rust on the US Soybean Sector

The spread of Asian Soybean Rust (ASR) represents a real threat to the U.S. soybean sector. We assess the potential impacts of ASR on domestic soybean production and commodity markets as well as the competitive position of the US in the soybean export market. We develop a mathematical stochastic dynamic sector model with endogenous prices to assess the economic impacts of ASR on US agriculture. The model takes into account the disease spread during the cropping season, the inherent uncertainty regarding the risk of infection, and the dichotomous decisions that farmers make (no treatment, preventive treatment, and curative treatment) facing the risk of infection. Our results suggest substantial impacts from potential ASR spread on agricultural output, prices and exports. Our simulation results suggest that substantial losses to the US soybean producers may be avoided by establishing effective soybean rust controls. ASR control policies can be particularly efficient if applied in the gateway regions on the path of the ASR spread. On the other hand, our results indicate a possible gradual shift in soybean production from lower-latitude states toward higher-latitude statesAsian Soybean Rust, Stochastic Models, Dynamic Models, Crop Production/Industries, C61, Q13,