The Implications of Heterogeneous Resource Intensities on Technical Change and Growth

We analyze an economy in which sectors are heterogeneous with respect to the intensity of natural resource use. Long-term dynamics are driven by resource prices, sectoral composition, and directed technical change. We study the balanced growth path and determine stability conditions. Technical change is found to be biased towards the resource-intensive sector. Resource taxes have no impact on dynamics except when the tax rate varies over time. Constant research subsidies raise the growth rate while increasing subsidies have the opposite effect. We also find that supporting sectors by providing them with productivity enhancing public goods can raise the growth rate of the economy and additionally provide an effective tool for structural policy.sustainable development, sectoral heterogeneity, directed technical change

Innovative investments, natural resources, and intergenerational fairness : are pension funds good for sustainable development?

We analyse long-term consumption paths in a dynamic two-sector economy with overlapping generations. Each young generation saves for the retirement age, both with private savings and pension funds. The productivity of each sector can be raised by sector-specific research while the essential use of a non-renewable natural resource poses a threat to consumption possibilities in the long run. Bonds, the two types innovations, and resource stocks are the different investment opportunities. We show that pension funds have a positive impact on long-term development, provided that individuals have a preference for own investments. In this case, sustainability is more likely to be achieved due to pension fund savings.Pension funds, sustainable development, financial investments, overlapping generations

Sectoral Heterogeneity, Resource Depletion, and Directed Technical Change: Theory and Policy

We analyze an economy in which sectors are heterogeneous with respect to the intensity of natural resource use. Long-term dynamics are driven by resource prices, sectoral composition, and directed technical change. We study the balanced growth path and determine stability conditions. Technical change is found to be biased towards the resource-intensive sector. Resource taxes have no impact on dynamics except when the tax rate varies over time. Constant research subsidies raise the growth rate while increasing subsidies have the opposite effect. We also find that supporting sectors by providing them with productivity enhancing public goods can raise the growth rate of the economy and additionally provide an effective tool for structural policy.sustainable development, sectoral heterogeneity, directed technical change

Middle English romance, attitudes to kingship and political crisis, c.l272-c.l350

This study used mostly printed sources to investigate wider attitudes to kingship than those of the political philosophers and to consider their implications for the understanding of the political crises of 1297, 1326 and 1340-41.Middle English romances are suitable for determining more 'popular' attitudes to kingship because of their subject matter, the length of texts, their dissemination and their receptivity to contemporary opinion. These 'popular' attitudes were those belonging to the audience of the romances, being the large and increasingly politically influential group comprising knights and gentry. The romances contain substantial images and concepts of kingship, revealing strong expectations of the king in the areas of justice, good government and defence. They reveal an understanding of questions such as the nature of royal power and the king’s position with regard to will and law. The perception of kingship which animated the relationship between king and people was shown to be that of familiar social bonds. The images of kingship found in the romances are supported by those in a second type of popular literature, the legendary histories of Britain. The romance images provide legitimate evidence for the attitudes to kingship of knights and gentry. They are both representative of the opinions of this social group and capable of influencing the opinions of the people who had contact with the romances. Edward 1 was familiar with the attitudes of his people towards kingship and he appealed to these extensively to gain support for his requests for military service, money and supplies in 1297. The deposition of Edward II in 1326 showed royal opposition to be equally at ease in appealing to 'popular' attitudes to generate public support for the rebellion. The attitudes also created a receptive background for the removal of the king. In 1340-41 Edward III and his opponent Archbishop Stratford appealed to royal subjects' attitudes on kingship in order to try to achieve their practical and political aims. 'Popular' attitudes towards kingship became strengthened by association with particular kings and events

From time zero to infinity: transitional and long-run dynamics in capital-resource economies

It is now generally agreed that the prediction of long-run development has to include natural resource use. To focus on the long run is, however, not equivalent to the use of balanced growth assumptions. It should be kept in mind that reaching a long-run equilibrium might take considerable time. Transition phases often exhibit characteristics which differ from the long-run state of the economy, but are important for its nature. We discuss a number of different drivers that govern the transition to the steady state, including the development of stocks, substitution possibilities, savings decisions, and institutions. Based on this theoretical evaluation, we discuss five contributions of the conference on sustainable resource use and economic dynamics (SURED 2006) included in this special issu

The architecture of predator-prey and the relationship between complexity and stability

Theoretical studies predict that the stability of an ecosystem is negatively correlated with its complexity, measured by the number of interacting species. On the other hand, empirical evidence indicates that food webs are highly interconnected. In this manuscript we present results on the stability two-level predator-prey food webs. We analyzed exhaustively all possible topologies of connections among species. Our findings show that those food webs fall into two classes with clearly distinct stability properties. In one of them stability is negatively correlated with complexity, and in the other group stability is positively correlated. For a positive relationship our results reveals highly structured food webs. The positive or negative relationship is related only to the topological structure of the food web. It is independent of the number of connections, strengths of predator-prey interactions or number of species. We review empirical evidence that corroborates our results

Providing transport for social inclusion within a framework for environmental justice in the UK

This paper examines emerging trends in transport policy in the UK, as identified by the 2004 Transport White Paper and the supporting policy guidance to local transport authorities for addressing social exclusion through local transport provision; accessibility planning. It moves on to identify potential barriers to delivery at the local level and more fundamental challenges, risks and policy tensions. In this context, it critiques UK policies to deliver social equity through transport programmes in light of its Climate Change Agenda and the identified need to significantly reduce traffic levels on UK roads. It identifies the potential synergy between these two policy ambitions, but argues that currently there is a serious policy conflicts between these agendas within the UK policy framework. In the light of this conclusion, it offers some key recommendations on the best way forward, which it recommends must be based on the synergistic and integrated delivery of policies for social and environmental equity within the transport sector. It concludes by identifying the key challenges this implies for applied research in this area

La política exterior y las articulaciones populares: una mirada al proceso decisorio de la República del Paraguay

1º Congresso Internacional Epistemologias do Sul: perspectivas críticas - 7 a 9 de novembro de 2016, realizada pela Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana (UNILA).El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar la participación de sujetos no estatales, como es la Asociación de Trabajadoras Domésticas del Paraguay (ADESP), dentro del proceso decisorio de la política externa de la República del Paraguay. La investigación parte de la problemática del ocultamiento o ausencia de las articulaciones sociales, como es el caso de la ADESP, en los procesos de tomada de decisión de la política externa paraguaya

Assessing The "Value" Of New Transport Initiatives In Deprived Neighbourhoods In The UK

Since 1996, there has been growing policy awareness in the UK of the links between transport and social exclusion. Research by the government’s Social Exclusion Unit (SEU) has highlighted the fact that transport problems are often a major barrier to accessing work, healthcare, educational and other key facilities and has, therefore, become an increasingly important policy objective in moving people from welfare into work, addressing health inequalities, improving poor educational attainment and more generally promoting social exclusion and neighbourhood renewal. The SEU study puts in place a cross-departmental strategy to address these issues through a new local framework entitled Accessibility Planning, which is to be delivered by local transport planning authorities and their partners through the next round of Local Transport Plans. However, there has been little, if any, qualitative or quantitative analysis and evaluation of the contribution of new transport interventions in deprived areas. As such very little is known about whether they are facilitating increased economic and social participation for the individuals who use them. It is equally unclear if they have any positive impact on the wider process of regeneration in the neighbourhoods they serve. Anecdotal evidence suggests that they are assisting transitions from welfare into work, as well facilitating other important activities, such as health visits, educational attendance and leisure and social activities. The current funding and subsidy arrangements for transport initiatives specifically designed to support social inclusion are minimal at best and often non-existent. This paper describes case study research of four different transport projects that were funded under the UK Department for Transport’s now obsolete Urban Bus Challenge Fund. It aims to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate their value to passengers in terms of quality of life benefits and also to identify their wider value to the local practitioners charged with the regeneration of the deprived areas they serve. On the basis of this evidence study aims to offer recommendations to central and local government on how such initiatives can be better supported in the future. Its key objectives are: • To identify the changes in travel behaviour and accessibility that have been brought about through the introduction of transport interventions within deprived and disadvantaged communities; • To explore the perceptions of local people in relation to these new services and with the broader aim of identifying the impact of these on the quality of life of the people who use them; • To explore the views of local practitioners regarding the contribution of such projects to the wider process of neighbourhood renewal in these areas; • To offer recommendations to central and local government on how such schemes can be better supported in the context of policies for neighbourhood renewal and the new requirements for accessibility planning in the 2006 Local Transport Plans. The research is funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a UK-based poverty campaign organisation that aims to raise awareness of the needs of people living in poor neighbourhoods across the UK.Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne