Gains from Trade in the Optimal Control of Environmental Externalities: Evidence from Acid Rain Abatement in the Eastern United States and Canada

In this paper I investigate the properties of a system of internationally traded "licenses to pollute" for the control of acid rain in the Eastern United States and Canada. I report estimates of the costs to the United States and Canada of achieving a 15 percent reduction in acid rain concentrations under a joint tradeable permit system for sulfur dioxide emissions. I use point-source data for the 200 largest sulfur dioxide emitters in each of Canada and the United States, transfer coefficients that relate emissions in different regions to acid rain concentrations in specified "sensitive receptor" regions, and fitted cost functions for each point source, to estimate the costs facing each country under different acid rain abatement programs. The estimates show (1) that an autarkic program of abatement in either country induces significant spillover benefits in the other that lead to the potential for "freeriding," and (2) that, contrary to widespread beliefs, a joint program of abatement would lead to substantial cost savings for both the United States and Canada. The results also document, however, large differentials in the gains that would accrue to each country, suggesting that there may be serious obstacles, in the form of difficulties in arriving at a division of the gains from trade, to achieving agreement on a joint program of abatement.Center for Research on Economic and Social Theory, Department of Economics, University of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/100658/1/ECON132.pd

band Labor Demand: Evidence from the South Coast Air Basin

The devolved nature of environmental regulation provides an excellent opportunity for" estimating the effects of regulation on employment, by generating rich variation in regulation" across regions and over time. We exploit this variation using direct measures of regulation and" plant data. We estimate the employment effects of an unprecedented increase in air quality" regulation in the Los Angeles region, using unregulated plants in other regions years for comparison. While environmental regulation is generally thought to reduce" employment, economic theory is ambiguous on this point, since pollution abatement technologies" may be labor using. We find that air quality regulation induced very expensive investments in" abatement capital for individual plants, especially for oil refineries. Despite these high costs we" find no evidence that environmental regulation decreased labor demand induced plant exit and dissuaded plant entry. If anything, air quality regulation probably inc-" reased employment slightly.

Validation of ISS Floating Potential Measurement Unit Electron Densities and Temperatures

Validation of the Floating Potential Measurement Unit (FPMU) electron density and temperature measurements is an important step in the process of evaluating International Space Station spacecraft charging issues .including vehicle arcing and hazards to crew during extravehicular activities. The highest potentials observed on Space Station are due to the combined VxB effects on a large spacecraft and the collection of ionospheric electron and ion currents by the 160 V US solar array modules. Ionospheric electron environments are needed for input to the ISS spacecraft charging models used to predict the severity and frequency of occurrence of ISS charging hazards. Validation of these charging models requires comparing their predictions with measured FPMU values. Of course, the FPMU measurements themselves must also be validated independently for use in manned flight safety work. This presentation compares electron density and temperatures derived from the FPMU Langmuir probes and Plasma Impedance Probe against the independent density and temperature measurements from ultraviolet imagers, ground based incoherent scatter radar, and ionosonde sites

Perceptions of the appropriate response to norm violation in 57 societies

An Author Correction to this article: DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22955-x.Norm enforcement may be important for resolving conflicts and promoting cooperation. However, little is known about how preferred responses to norm violations vary across cultures and across domains. In a preregistered study of 57 countries (using convenience samples of 22,863 students and non-students), we measured perceptions of the appropriateness of various responses to a violation of a cooperative norm and to atypical social behaviors. Our findings highlight both cultural universals and cultural variation. We find a universal negative relation between appropriateness ratings of norm violations and appropriateness ratings of responses in the form of confrontation, social ostracism and gossip. Moreover, we find the country variation in the appropriateness of sanctions to be consistent across different norm violations but not across different sanctions. Specifically, in those countries where use of physical confrontation and social ostracism is rated as less appropriate, gossip is rated as more appropriate.Peer reviewe

Genome-wide analysis identifies 12 loci influencing human reproductive behavior.

The genetic architecture of human reproductive behavior-age at first birth (AFB) and number of children ever born (NEB)-has a strong relationship with fitness, human development, infertility and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, very few genetic loci have been identified, and the underlying mechanisms of AFB and NEB are poorly understood. We report a large genome-wide association study of both sexes including 251,151 individuals for AFB and 343,072 individuals for NEB. We identified 12 independent loci that are significantly associated with AFB and/or NEB in a SNP-based genome-wide association study and 4 additional loci associated in a gene-based effort. These loci harbor genes that are likely to have a role, either directly or by affecting non-local gene expression, in human reproduction and infertility, thereby increasing understanding of these complex traits

Studies in trade and transboundary externalities

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics, 1993.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-127).by Linda Tuyet-Mai Bui.Ph.D