On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent

Reviewed Book: Gutiérrez, Gustavo. On Job: God-TaLuke and the Suffering of the Innocent. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1988

The World of the Old Testament

Reviewed Book: Woude, Adam S van der. The World of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989

On Catch Discarding in Fisheries

This paper examines the economics of catch discarding in fisheries. To study this issue a simple dynamic fisheries model is constructed. On the basis of this model it is demonstrated that in a differentiated fishery discarding of catch may be socially optimal. The paper goes on to show that individual firms in a free access, competitive fishery employ the socially optimal discarding rule. In contrast, the individual transferable quota (ITQ) fisheries management regime tends to generate an excessive incentive for discarding catch. The problem, however, does not appear to derive from the ITQ .system as such. Rather, it seems to depend on the imperfect application of the system to real fisheries. The concept of a discarding function is defined and it is shown that at least within the framework of the model employed the discarding function for an ITQ fishery dominates the one for free access, competitive fisheries. Numerical examples are provided. Finally, possible remedies of the discarding problem are briefly discussed.Fisheries economics, ITQs. discarding, highgrading, discarding function, differentiated fishery, Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Hosea - Jonah

Reviewed Book: Stuart, Douglas K. Hosea - Jonah. Waco, Tex: Word Books, 1987. Word biblical commentary; 31

INDUSTRIAL AGGLOMERATION AND PRODUCTION COSTS IN NORWEGIAN SALMON AQUACULTURE

During the last decade, empirical evidence of regional agglomeration economies has emerged for some industries. This paper argues that externalities from agglomeration are not only present in some manufacturing and service sectors, but can also occur in primary industries, such as aquaculture. Econometric analyses in this literature have primarily estimated rather restrictive production function specifications on aggregated industry data. Here, cost functions are estimated on firm-level observations of Norwegian salmon aquaculture farms. This approach provides us with measures of the cost savings due to agglomeration externalities. Furthermore, we avoid aggregation biases and can test a rich set of hypotheses on how these externalities affect the structure of costs at the firm level. According to the econometric estimates, there are significant cost savings associated with localization in regions with a large salmon aquaculture industry, suggesting the presence of positive agglomeration externalities. In fact, the results here suggest that for small firms localized in clusters, agglomeration externalities can compensate for internal economies of scale, making them competitive relative to larger firms localized outside clusters. The econometric results imply that there are significant welfare gains to be made from changes in the government regulation of the industry.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

The Icelandic Individual Transferable Quota System: A Descriptive Account

This paper provides a brief description of the evolution and current structure of the individual quota system (IQ) in the Icelandic fisheries. This particular fisheries managerial system was introduced at different times in different fisheries — in the herring fisheries in 1976, in the capelin fishery in 1980 and the demersal fisheries in 1984. Since 1990 all Icelandic fisheries have been subject to a uniform system of individual transferable quotas (ITQs). The paper discusses the social and economic impetus for the initial adoption of the ITQ fisheries system in the various fisheries, sketches its subsequent development and describes the key elements of the current system. Assessments of the economic impact of the ITQ system are presented in the last part of the paper. Although a definitive study of this impact is not available, the various indicators presented generally indicate an improvement, sometimes substantial one, in the economic efficiency of the fisheries in question.Individual transferable quotas, fishery management, economic impact and performance, Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics,

From Utopian Theory to Practical Applications: The Case of Econometrics

Lecture to the memory of Alfred Nobel, June 17, 1970econometrics

The Swing of the Regulatory Pendulum in Europe: From Precautionary Principle to (Regulatory) Impact Analysis

Regulation in Europe is currently driven by three distinct, yet not entirely unrelated factors. These are competitiveness, sustainable development and governance. Increasingly these factors influence both the need for, and concepts of, what the European Commission (the Commission) refers to as "better regulation".To ensure better regulation, two regulatory philosophies have been put forward, namely the precautionary principle and impact assessment.In this paper, I first briefly describe the current drivers of better regulation. Then I examine the use of these two regulatory philosophies in helping to achieve better regulation. In the final section I offer some speculations on the future development of European Union (EU) regulation. Will elements of the Commission and the EU member states operate in an even more precautionary environment, or will the implementation of the precautionary principle be seen as too costly, forcing regulators to resort to an even greater use of impact analysis'