Estimating the economic and demographic effects of an air quality management plan: the case of Southern California

The 1991 Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) for the south coast air basin in California is designed to meet federal and state air quality standards. The direct effects of implementing the plan fall into the following categories: changes in business costs, shifts in the composition and amount of spending, and increases in the quality-of-life amenities. Inputting these effects into an economic and demographic forecasting and simulation model of the basin's economy, that includes business and human migration responses, we predict that up to the year 2000 employment will be increased by the AQMP, whereas real per capita disposable income (as it is traditionally meausred) will decrease. Net increases in employment result because decreases arising from increased costs are offset by net increases from spending changes and the effects of migration arising from amenity benefits derived from improved air quality.

Well-being across America

This paper uses Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to study life satisfaction and mental health across the geography of the United States. The analysis draws on a sample of 1.3 million citizens. Initially we control for people's personal characteristics (though not income). There is no correlation between states' regression-adjusted well-being and their GDP per capita. States like Louisiana, plus Washington, D.C., have high psychological well-being levels; California and West Virginia have low well-being. When we control for incomes, satisfaction with life is lower in richer states, just as compensating-differentials theory would predict. Nevertheless, some puzzles remain

Conjoining an input - output model and a policy analysis model: a case study of the regional economic effects of expanding a port facility

A 484-sector Massachusetts static input - output (MIO) model is conjoined with the Massachusetts Economic Policy Analysis (MEPA) model which includes supply relationships, industrial location responses to changing costs, and a production function allowing substitution among inputs. This makes it possible to draw upon the distinctive features of both models. The technique is demonstrated by a study that analyzes the effect on the Massachusetts economy of the expansion of a container port facility at Boston. The approach presented here has general applicability to policy analysis and planning studies that require both the detailed regional interindustry interactions captured by a disaggregated input - output model and the cost, price, supply, location, and demand interdependencies which are endogenous in the best regional forecasting and policy simulation models.

Predicting the local economic effects of proposed trip-reduction rules: the case of San Diego

The United States 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments set aggressive goals for state-level compliance and mandates for the use of employer trip-reduction (ETR) programs for certain regions. San Diego County, California, has responded to this mandate with its own trip-reduction regulation. The direct effects of the trip-reduction regulation fall into three categories, as follows: changes in spending, changes in costs, and changes in consumer amenities. The total effects on the local economy due to each of these categories are estimated using a Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) forecasting and simulation model for San Diego County. This study is the first to use such a comprehensive methodology for an analysis of an ETR program. The study results show that spending effects on employment were positive, as local transit use replaced automotive-related expenditures and employees received cash incentive payments. The net increase in costs on business were modest with respect to the overall size of San Diego's economy. Consequently, the negative effects on business location due to these direct effects were also modest. There were significant effects from the program due to consumer utility reductions because subsidies and charges distorted consumer choices.

EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF STATE SUBSIDIES ON BUSINESS

The effect of market regulation tools on business is a complex phenomenon, and the after-effects of such regulation could be both favourable and adverse. The enhancement of the positive effect is a scientific task, which requires a systematic approach. In order to find a solution to this problem, it is necessary: a) to identify the relevant factors; b) to make a coherent evaluation of these factors and their influence on the phenomenon under investigation; c) to establish the optimal form and extent of the SRB (State Regulation of Business) tool required for the achievement of the desired results. The study analyses aims of economic regulation and business management from the point of view of a state. It also examines the practice in economic research and evaluation of EU Structural Funds in Lithuania and abroad. The research is focused on problems caused by state subsidies for business enterprises as one of the forms of SRB. The research also focuses on possibilities to enhance the effectiveness of business regulation. The main objects of this study are: state subsidies for business enterprises as a form of state intervention in the market, and the possible correlation between the specifications of subsidies and their effect on business. The evaluation presented in this study proved that EU subsidies had a direct positive influence on the effect of subsidies. The research into the influence of various subsidy criteria on the effect of subsidies revealed that a greater effect results from the rate rather than the size of funding