The Effects of Renewable Portfolio Standards on Renewable Energy Sources

Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) programs have experienced increased popularity at the state level with twenty-three states adopting policies. Policy makers implement these programs in the hopes of stimulating renewable energy generation and lessening the states reliance on nonrenewable sources, by requiring utility companies to provide a specified amount of electricity from renewable sources. I examine the use of renewable energy sources caused by the implementation of these programs, and determine how these renewable source markets interact in an RPS setting. Analysis performed on RPS programs indicates an increase in wind energy generation, suggesting that RPS programs are an effective method to increasing generation and reliance on wind energy. Results do not indicate that the renewable energy sources of wind, solar/photovoltaic, and geothermal, compete with one another to provide the lowest cost energy. This may be due to the infancy of the programs with economies of scale yet to be reached.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

The Impact of Rate-of-Return Regulation on Electricity Generation from Renewable Energy

Traditional electric utility companies face a trade-off between building generation facilities that utilize renewable energy (RE) and non-renewable energy (non-RE). The firm’s input decision to build capacity for either source depends on several constraining factors, including input prices, policies that promote or discourage RE use, and the type of regulation faced by the firm. This paper models the utility company’s decision between RE and non-RE capital types. From the model, two main results are derived. First, rate-of-return (ROR) regulation decreases the investment in RE capital relative to the unregulated firm. These findings suggest restructuring electricity generation markets, which removes the ROR on generating assets, can increase the relative use of RE. Second, the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) increases the investment in capital and labor that requires RE as a source of electricity, as expected. The model shows that the impact of an RPS depends on the amount of ROR regulation.renewable portfolio standard, renewable energy, rate-of-return regulation

Who Searches for Low Prices? Population Characteristics and Price Dispersion in the Market for Prescription Drugs

We examine the relationship between population characteristics and price dispersion for 75 prescription drugs in five markets. Based on models of price dispersion, we consider that search costs are likely lower for the elderly, who are repeat purchasers. Expected benefits from search are likely higher for low income households, who lack insurance. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that for communities with a large percentage of elderly and poor population, search effort is greater for pharmaceutical drugs, causing lower price dispersion. By understanding the characteristics of who searches for low drug prices, we begin to identify the motives of consumers that might also lead to search for the lowest cost healthcare provider or lowest cost insurance. The results suggest that the 2004 Medicare legislation that closed the pharmaceutical donut hole may have reduced search by the elderly, increased price dispersion, and potentially increased the average price of prescription drugs.search cost; price dispersion; prescription drugs

Same Rules, New Tools

Hall Leadership Lessons – March 10 th, 2016 featured Dr. JoAnna Williamson, Chair of the Department of Management and Marketing and Program Chair of the Master of Science in Marketing & Communication in the Ross College of Business at Franklin University. The topic was Communication Skills for Leaders: “Same Rules, New Tools”

Welfare Trade-offs between Transferable and Non-Transferable Lotteries

The Four Rivers lottery run by the National Forest Service distributes the opportunity to raft four sections of rivers in Idaho through a non-transferable lottery. The restriction of trade and focus on equity in distribution creates a deadweight loss in total surplus compared with a market or auction system. If the NFS allowed the transferring of permits, then there exists a potential for rafters to gain surplus in trade. However, non-rafters have an incentive to enter the transferable lottery to make a profit from trade. Using the NFS lottery as a guide, this paper examines welfare under the two lottery system to understand how changes in transferability affect the welfare of users and non-users, and the revenues of the government. Since variables, such as number of permits, permit fees, and application fees, also impact welfare, we derive comparative statics for these variables to demonstrate how these government controls affect rafter welfare, non-rafter welfare, and government revenue differently under transferable and non-transferable lotteries. Our results show the welfare trade-offs rafters have between transferable and non-transferable lotteries.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Dialogue as the Labor of Care: Welcoming a Unity of Contraries

Dialogue as the labor of care unfolds a vision of how the philosophy of dialogue can assist us as human beings to enact care in our daily lives. In the end, caring is a unity of contraries; blessing and burden, joy and suffering, necessity and triumph. The invitation of dialogue into the communicative life of caring requires bravery and courage and thus creates strong and rare natures. The impetus of this vision comes from the work of Martin Buber whose ideas have changed the way we view communication and enrich the way we view caring. The additional metaphor of labor, provided by the work of Hannah Arendt, allows for a deeper understanding of caring. The metaphor of labor reveals and emphasizes that not only is care a necessity for human communicative life, care is at the same time a blessing and a burden. The necessity of labor opens the conversation concerning care through the notion of care as an imperative for everyday communicative life. Joy and suffering, blessing and burden, necessity and triumph emphasize the fact that life is best lived in the unity of contraries

A study of the relationship between presidential inaugural addresses, socio-political ideologies and presidential policy

Character of Inaugural Addresses. Research concerning the character of the Inaugural Address reveals great diversity of opinion among writers. The New York Herald Tribune, after President Kennedy’s address, concluded that the function of an Inaugural address “to express… the essence of what (the President) proposes to do in the White House.” Dr. Claudius O. Johnson, in his book Government in the United States - after reviewing President Franklin Roosevelt’s first inaugural, wrote that in his address, the President “usually tries to smooth over some of the ill-feeling which recent partisan strife may have caused, appeals to all good citizens to help him in his task, and outlines his programs, sometimes rather specifically.” Conversely, it is pointed out by Wilfred E. Binkley in The Man In The White House. His Powers and Duties that “there have been presidents elected who entered the office on inauguration day almost utterly innocent of what the election signified and what was expected of them - Ulysses S. Grant, for example.” Today Americans accept and anticipate the elaborate inaugural ceremony of which the inaugural address is a part. Author Binkley points to the feelings of the post-revolutionary “purists,” who thought it to be “a conspicuous violation of Republican simplicity and an inexcusable aping of monarchy.” Furthermore, it is noted that George Washington was deeply concerned “as to what the public expected of him…” Mr. Binkley’s conclusion, with which this writer concurs, is that “while the inauguration itself has no legal force, it nevertheless symbolises the fact that the president is… chief executive.” There are three reasons for writing on this topic. First, the inaugural address is the first Presidential policy statement and may be compared with policies actually carried out. Second, they have popular audiences in this country and abroad who may be affected by their policies. And, thirs, they are the oldest of our official presidential statements. Furthermore, the United States’ Presidents have the longest history without charge of any of the heads of state in the world. Therefore, a study of inaugural addresses provides consistent information on a type of address for a longer period of time then is possible for any other head of state