Essays on International and Environmental Economics

This thesis consists of three chapters employing quantitative open economy models to study international trade transmission, the economic impacts of climate change, and remittance transfers. The first chapter examines the role of production sharing and trade in the transmission of the 2008-2009 recession. In the model, production sharing is represented by a tradable sector that produces a composite good exclusively for the foreign market. The results suggest that trade transmission can account for 67% of the fall in output in Canada, 24% of the fall in output in Mexico, and about two-thirds of the fall in trade for both countries. The counterfactual experiments find that production sharing can account for about 40% of the fall in international trade, and 12% of the fall in output. The second chapter quantifies the net economic impact of climate change and climate change policy on the Canadian economy. We find that while a carbon tax that holds the stock of global emissions below the 550 ppm level would yield positive net benefits for the world economy, the impact of such a tax on the Canadian economy would be negative The third chapter examines the impact of remittance transfers on the allocation of productive factors across sectors in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Key findings are that net recipients of remittance payments experience a reallocation of productive factors from the tradable sector to the non-tradable sector, and that the benefit from remittance inflows is lower for countries which have a relatively less productive non-tradable sector

An Integrated System Dynamics Model for Analyzing Behaviour of the Social-Energy-Economic-Climatic System: User’s Manual

The User\u27s Manual is planned to assist the user in (i) understanding the ANEMI model structure; and (ii) learning how to use the model for policy simulation. ANEMI model is a research product and is not developed as a commercial software. This manual contains a brief description of the main features of the Vensim system dynamics simulation software (Ventana, 2010), as well as integrated simulationoptimization procedure developed by incorporating MATLAB (MathWorks, 2007) functionalities with Vensim system dynamics simulation. With the help of Vensim and MATLAB software packages, the user can use, modify and/or run the ANEMI models provided with the manual. The step-by-step instructions are provided for using ANEMI model for policy simulation. Advanced features of the ANEMI model, such as subscripting (arrays), linking external functionality to implement optimization within simulation, are presented using ANEMI simulation models as an example to accelerate the learning process. This manual also contains a detailed description of DLL (Dynamic-Link Library) file generation procedure by Visual Studio software package (Microsoft, 2008). The full description of the ANEMI model is provided in Akhtar et al (2011) available on the CD-ROM.https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/wrrr/1038/thumbnail.jp

An Integrated System Dynamics Model for Analyzing Behaviour of the Social-Energy-Economic-Climatic System: Model Description

The feedback based integrated assessment model ANEMI represents the society-biosphereclimate- economy-energy system of the earth and biosphere. The development of ANEMI model is done using the system dynamics simulation approach that (a) allows understanding and modeling of complex global change and (b) assists in the investigation of possible policy options for mitigating, and/or adopting to global changing conditions, within an integrated assessment modeling framework. This report presents ANEMI model and its nine individual sectors: climate, carbon cycle, land-use, population, food production, hydrologic cycle, water demand, water quality, and energy-economy. Two versions of the model are developed and presented in the report. The first one represents the society-biosphere-climate-economy-energy system on a global level. The second one is developed for regional presentation of Canada. The development of Canada model is based on the top down approach and various disaggregation techniques. To evaluate market and nonmarket costs and benefits of climate change, ANEMI model integrates an economic approach, with a focus on the international energy stock and fuel price, with climate interrelations and temperature change. The market clearance mechanism of economy sector introduces optimization within the simulation framework, which makes the model unique and different from any other integrated assessment model available in the published literature. The model takes account of all major greenhouse gases (GHG) influencing global temperature and sea-level variation. Several of the model sectors are built from the basic structure of the previous version of ANEMI. However, they are integrated in a novel way, the water sectors in particular. The integration of optimization within the simulation framework of the ANEMI model is timely, as recognition of the importance of energy based economic activities in determining long-term Earth-system behaviour grows. Experimentation with different policy scenarios demonstrated their consequences on future behaviour of the society-biosphere-climate-economy-energy system through feedback based interactions. The use of ANEMI model improves both, scientific understanding and socio-economic policy development strategy. This report describes the model structure in details and illustrates its use through the analysis of three policy scenarios.https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/wrrr/1037/thumbnail.jp

14 Examples of How LLMs Can Transform Materials Science and Chemistry: A Reflection on a Large Language Model Hackathon

Chemistry and materials science are complex. Recently, there have been great successes in addressing this complexity using data-driven or computational techniques. Yet, the necessity of input structured in very specific forms and the fact that there is an ever-growing number of tools creates usability and accessibility challenges. Coupled with the reality that much data in these disciplines is unstructured, the effectiveness of these tools is limited. Motivated by recent works that indicated that large language models (LLMs) might help address some of these issues, we organized a hackathon event on the applications of LLMs in chemistry, materials science, and beyond. This article chronicles the projects built as part of this hackathon. Participants employed LLMs for various applications, including predicting properties of molecules and materials, designing novel interfaces for tools, extracting knowledge from unstructured data, and developing new educational applications. The diverse topics and the fact that working prototypes could be generated in less than two days highlight that LLMs will profoundly impact the future of our fields. The rich collection of ideas and projects also indicates that the applications of LLMs are not limited to materials science and chemistry but offer potential benefits to a wide range of scientific disciplines

The Impact of Climate Change and Climate Policy on the Canadian Economy

nonenone

14 examples of how LLMs can transform materials science and chemistry: a reflection on a large language model hackathon

Large-language models (LLMs) such as GPT-4 caught the interest of many scientists. Recent studies suggested that these models could be useful in chemistry and materials science. To explore these possibilities, we organized a hackathon. This article chronicles the projects built as part of this hackathon. Participants employed LLMs for various applications, including predicting properties of molecules and materials, designing novel interfaces for tools, extracting knowledge from unstructured data, and developing new educational applications. The diverse topics and the fact that working prototypes could be generated in less than two days highlight that LLMs will profoundly impact the future of our fields. The rich collection of ideas and projects also indicates that the applications of LLMs are not limited to materials science and chemistry but offer potential benefits to a wide range of scientific disciplines

14 examples of how LLMs can transform materials science and chemistry: a reflection on a large language model hackathon †

Large-language models (LLMs) such as GPT-4 caught the interest of many scientists. Recent studies suggested that these models could be useful in chemistry and materials science. To explore these possibilities, we organized a hackathon. This article chronicles the projects built as part of this hackathon. Participants employed LLMs for various applications, including predicting properties of molecules and materials, designing novel interfaces for tools, extracting knowledge from unstructured data, and developing new educational applications. The diverse topics and the fact that working prototypes could be generated in less than two days highlight that LLMs will profoundly impact the future of our fields. The rich collection of ideas and projects also indicates that the applications of LLMs are not limited to materials science and chemistry but offer potential benefits to a wide range of scientific disciplines