empirical findings from treaty-level panel data

This study empirically investigates the effectiveness of international environmental agreements (IEA). Although there exists large number of empirical studies regarding IEA effectiveness, much of those studies focus on ratification decisions and regulated environmental behaviors at country level. This approach, however, is limited for investigating the attributes of different treaties and identifying factors affecting the success of IEA. To avoid this limitation, this study develops a treaty-level panel data including 14 environmental agreements adopted and entered into force last 20 years. This aggregated approach enables to look further insights regarding the attributes of each IEA, and identify the factors significantly affecting the effectiveness of agreements. From our results, several treaty-specific attributes are shown to be significant. Specifically, sanction for non- compliance is the most influential inducement for the effectiveness of IEA. A mechanism of financial assistance for less-capable developing countries is also found to be positive inducement, but mechanism of technical assistance is not significant at any statistical levels. Our results also indicate that involving larger number of countries, especially large-scale fast-growing developing countries such as BRICs, is another significant factor. Although this is not compatible with a strict sanction for non-compliance, introducing well-designed financial mechanism may be one of possible solutions for this incompatibility problem and making the IEA more attractive and effective

On Pathogenesis of So-Called "Cerebral Embolism"

A total of 21 cases diagnosed as "cerebral embolism" at autopsy (softening 9 and hemorrhage 12 cases, having endocarditis or sepsis) were studied in detail in an attempt to clarify the mechanism of softening and hemorrhage. According to the result obtained, mechanical obstruction of an artery by an embolus is not always the cause of "embolic softening", and the "embolic hemorrhage" is not diapedetic, but principally rhexis-bleeding. In both softening and hemorrhage, the chief role is played by some inflammatory agents carried from the heart to the meningeal and/or intracerebral artery and inciding a localized arteritis. When the arteritis undergoes a proliferative or thrombus-forming process, stenosis or obstruction of the vessel and softening occurs, whereas when it undergoes a exsudative or destructive process, rupture and hemorrhage occurs

The evaluation of sustainability for utilization of forestry resource in Japan : The comparison of property regimes (market, state, and commons) as the sustainable resource management system

This review evaluated Japanese forest management from a viewpoint of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM).Furthermore three types of forest; private, state, and communal forest were analyzed from physical and financialaspect.The outcome of this research suggests that all types of forest can not achieve SFM. For private forest, the num-bers of individual forest owners who are engaged in management of forest have been decreased. Therefore forestarea which need proper management increased. Moreover the Forestry Agency which manages state forest does nothave the sufficient ability to control forest due to heavy debt burden. The numbers of forest cooperatives that man-age the communal forest and sell the timber have been decreasing. The seriousness of the problem to manage Japanese forest is that, no matter what type of property regimes orwhat purpose of management, forest is managed by commercial forestry. To meet with the diverse public needs forforest resources, its need to choose specific property regimes for particular resource utilization to achieve particularsocial purpose. However, traditional property regimes have limitations. In the last section, we examined the “mod-ern communal management" which is a new concept of participatory management by forest owner and NPO (NonProfit Organization) or VO (Voluntary Organization)

Economic analysis of the behavior of pollution control by a private company

The purpose of this research is to explain the pollution control behavior mechanism of the private company. Weanalyzed the countermeasures to check sulfur dioxide of Yahata ironworks in Kitakyushu City as a case study. Inmost of the cases details are not always explained regarding the private company's manufacturing cost and cost forpollution control measures. Therefore, we used some data from the securities report, which are the officiallydeclared materials, and we made the finance model of the Yahata ironworks. We observed a change in the break-even point by the pollution control, and the model explained an influence on the enterprise finance of the pollutionmeasures. We set up the use of low sulfur fuel and production adjustment by the smog alarm announcement as a scenario ofthe pollution control. The influence from the use of low sulfur fuel was smaller than the production adjustment, andit became clear that use of low sulfur fuel was a rational choice to do pollution measures. Furthermore, the systemdesigns, which enterprise follows are the important pollution control measures

Social cost-benefit analysis of the land reclamation projects in Japan

Most urban waterfront developments in Japan are accompanied by large land reclamation from the sea. These reclamation projects shall be appraised not only from the viewpoint of their returns, but also from the viewpoint of social costs and benefits. A new concept of 'coastal accounts' is asserted in order to reform cost-benefit analysis to a more suitable style. The finance of local governments, the main planners and developers of waterfronts, is analyzed from the viewpoint of this new concept, and the actual conditions of development profits created by reclamations are explained. The author discusses Japanese land reclamation projects by way of 'coastal accounts' by which coastal stoclcs and flows shall be appraised. The analysis concentrates on the Nanko project in Osaka and the Port Island project in Kobe. After a brief introduction of the subject matter, the institutional framework and the trend of land reclamation shall be reviewed. Thereafter, the methodology of social appraisal will be explained. Moving onto the main part of this report an analysis of the coastal accounts of the two cities in question is dealt with in depth. After this analysis, a thorough appraisal of the social cost and benefit account is made, followed by the conclusions drawn