Second report on containers

In our first report on containers published in January,1967, we tried to summarise progress in this new mode of transportation and to define some of the problems which existed

First report on containers

Everybody agrees that containers are a "good thing";the actual advantages of transporting cargo, and in particular, dry cargo, in containers over other forms of transport have, to our knowledge, nowhere been stated in quantitative terms. It is claimed that containers will reduce the turn-round time of ships, ease congestion in the docks, speed-up total transit time of cargo, reduce the risk of pilferage, reduce packaging cost and reduce total handling effort in all stages of transit. Given that all these advantages are real, it is obvious that they do not accrue in equal measure to all parties concerned in the movement of goods from consignor to consignee. There is indeed a likelihood of a conflict of interest between these parties. In this report we shall try to delineate the various problem areas, indicate the quantitative information that needs to be collected in order to decide how to solve these problems and outline an approach to such solutions

UPDATE: RIAA v. Diamond Multimedia Systems - Napster and MP3.com

After the Recording Industry Association of America\u27s ( RIAA ) attack on the Diamond Rio proved unsuccessful, the music industry turned its attention to the companies enabling reproduction of copyrighted music. Two important cases appeared after the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that Diamond Rio was not infringing on copyrights. These cases, A&M Records, Inc. et al. v. Napster, Inc. and UMG, Inc., et. al. v. MP3.com, Inc., will shape computer technology\u27s effect on American copyright law. This update will discuss these two cases and give brief overviews of the courts\u27 findings and conclusions. These findings will be compared to the ruling in Diamond, and any possible impacts on that decision will be highlighted. In closing, this update will explore some possible theories of resolving this very real conflict between the music industry and the free dissemination of copyrighted materials over the Internet

POTENTIAL OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT TO INCREASE RURAL EMPLOYMENT

The paper examined whether increasing agricultural output would lead to an expansion of employment in rural areas in the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The paper found that the agricultural development problems in the Caribbean and SSA are very similar, especially, declining export demand for products, adverse trade policies and the actions of nature, causing damage to agricultural production. The simulations performed showed that in both regions, even a 4% annual increase in agricultural output has the potential for annually increasing agricultural employment by over 6%, even with an annual technical progress of 1.5% in the case of SSA and 2% in the case of the Caribbean. Expanding rural employment through expansion of agricultural output is therefore a definite opportunity in the two regions.Increasing rural employment, Rural Development, Agricultural Development in Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Financial Economics, Labor and Human Capital, Marketing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

An Estimation of the Efficient Size of Sugarcane Enterprises for Farmers in Trinidad

This research paper provides an estimation of the efficient size of operation for sugarcane farmers in Trinidad. The estimates were based on a sample of two hundred and twenty-seven farmers selected from a cost of sugarcane production survey. To identify the efficient size of operation the ordinary least square estimation technique was used. The identification of the efficient size of operation allowed a test of the hypothesis that the minimum point on the long run average cost curve was significantly greater than the average enterprise size of six acres. The long run total cost curve was estimated and the cubic functional form provided the best fit based on both the adjusted R2 and the result from the Wald test. The results of the estimation process indicated that the optimal size was 32 acres of sugarcane and that 98% of the farmers operated at less than this size.Cost function, cost elasticity, efficient size, sugar-cane, Trinidad, Agribusiness, Farm Management, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

A clarification of the Goodwin model of the growth cycle

We show that there is a difficulty in the original Goodwin model which isalso found in some more recent applications. In it both the labour share and theproportion employed can exceed unity, properties which are untenable. However, weshow that the underlying dynamic structure of the model can be reformulated toensure that these variables cannot exceed unity. An illustrative example extends theoriginal model, and we argue it is both plausible and satisfies the necessary unit boxrestrictions. We show that there is a difficulty in the original Goodwin model which isalso found in some more recent applications. In it both the labour share and theproportion employed can exceed unity, properties which are untenable. However, weshow that the underlying dynamic structure of the model can be reformulated toensure that these variables cannot exceed unity. An illustrative example extends theoriginal model, and we argue it is both plausible and satisfies the necessary unit boxrestrictions

Copper Mining and Environmental Costs in Dominica

A proposal from an international mining company to establish a copper mining operation in the Caribbean island of Dominica could be highly favourable, given the potential for financial benefits associated with such a project. On the downside, such projects are often associated with environmental damage. The area targeted for this copper mine was a rainforest in the north-eastern portion of Dominica occupying around 12 percent of the island’s total land area. A critical question is therefore whether copper mining could be a viable alternative to agrarian uses of the targeted area, if both financial and environmental costs are taken into consideration. A Contingent Valuation Survey of Dominicans and Visitors allowed for inclusion of non-market costs in the analysis. Cost-Benefit and sensitivity analyses were carried out to assess project feasibility. The results indicated that NPV was negative under conservative assumptions. NPV was sensitive to changes in the price of copper and the inclusion of environmental costs did affect the level of price increase required to make NPV positive.Copper mining, Dominica, environmental costs, sensitivity analysis, cost-benefit, Agribusiness, Environmental Economics and Policy, Financial Economics,