50 research outputs found
Instabilities and robust control in natural resource management
Most renewable natural resources exhibit marked demographic and environmental stochasticities, which are exarcebated in management decisions by the uncertainty regarding the choice of an appropriate model to describe system dynamics. Moreover, demand and supply analysis often indicates the presence of instabilities and multiple equilibria, which may lead to management problems that are intensified by uncertainty on the evolution of the resource stock. In this paper the fishery management problem is used as an example to explore the potential of robust optimal control, where the objective is to choose a harvesting rule that will work under a range of admissible specifications for the stock-recruitment equation. The paper derives robust harvesting rules leading to a unique equilibrium, which could be helpful in the design of policy instruments such as robust quota systems.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
“Control-Alt-Delete”: Rebooting Solutions for the E-Waste Problem
A number of efforts have been launched to solve the global electronic waste (e-waste) problem. The efficiency of e-waste recycling is subject to variable national legislation, technical capacity, consumer participation, and even detoxification. E-waste management activities result in procedural irregularities and risk disparities across national boundaries. We review these variables to reveal opportunities for research and policy to reduce the risks from accumulating e-waste and ineffective recycling. Full regulation and consumer participation should be controlled and reinforced to improve local e-waste system. Aiming at standardizing best practice, we alter and identify modular recycling process and infrastructure in eco-industrial parks that will be expectantly effective in countries and regions to handle the similar e-waste stream. Toxicity can be deleted through material substitution and detoxification during the life cycle of electronics. Based on the idea of "Control-Alt-Delete", four patterns of the way forward for global e-waste recycling are proposed to meet a variety of local situations
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Managing exotic pests under uncertainty: optimal control actions and bioeconomic investigations
Using a real options framework in continuous time, we examine two problems associated with the management of exotic pests under uncertainty. First, we analyze the optimal timing of investing in a control action. Given fixed control costs, we obtain a closed-form solution for when to control an exotic pest whose density varies randomly. Second, we define an analytical framework for finding the optimal expenditures for obtaining the relevant bioeconomic data. Our numerical results, based on a wide range of bioeconomic parameters, highlight the importance of accounting for uncertainty and irreversibility when developing simple rules to manage exotic pests. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
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Regulation and investment under uncertainty: An application to power grid interconnection
Using real options, we consider a firm that must undergo a costly and time-consuming regulatory process before making an irreversible, lagged investment whose value varies randomly. We apply our model to Hydro-Quebec's proposal to build a 1,250 megawatts interconnection with Ontario. We find that the optimal starts of the regulatory review and of the project construction depend on the randomness of project benefits and on the duration of the regulatory authorization. A sensible limit on the latter allows the regulator to address changing circumstances at little cost to the firm. However, long and uncertain regulatory proceedings make investing less attractive