Do Americans Desire Homogeneity? Evidence from Names from 1900-2000

There has been a dramatic increase in market concentration in the retail sector in the United States. Although it is typically assumed that standard supply-side forces of returns to scale are behind this trend, it is also possible that demand-side forces have played a role, i.e., that consumers desire homogeneity. This paper evaluates the American demand for homogeneity as exhibited in parental naming choices over the century from 1900-2000. The evidence does not support the hypothesis of increasing demand for homogeneity in the U.S.consumer choices

Measured noise of a scale model high speed propeller at simulated takeoff/approach conditions

A model high-speed advanced propeller, SR-7A, was tested in the NASA Lewis 9x15 foot anechoic wind tunnel at simulated takeoff/approach conditions of 0.2 Mach number. These tests were in support of the full-scale Propfan Text Assessment (PTA) flight program. Acoustic measurements were taken with fixed microphone arrays and with an axially translating microphone probe. Limited aerodynamic measurements were also taken to establish the propeller operating conditions. Tests were conducted with the propeller alone and with three down-stream wing configurations. The propeller was run over a range of blade setting angles from 32.0 deg. to 43.6 deg., tip speeds from 183 to 290 m/sec (600 to 950 ft/sec), and angles of attack from -10 deg. to +15 deg. The propeller alone BPF tone noise was found to increase 10 dB in the flyover plane at 15 deg. propeller axis angle of attack. The installation of the straight wing at minimum spacing of 0.54 wing chord increased the tone noise 5 dB under the wing of 10 deg. propeller axis angle of attack, while a similarly spaced inboard upswept wing only increased the tone noise 2 dB

MARKET-BASED SOLUTIONS TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS: DISCUSSION

There is rapidly growing interest in the use of market-based (MB) instruments in environmental policy. The papers in this session discuss three relatively new areas for such policies: groundwater contamination, nonpoint source surface-water pollution and carbon sequestration. The papers point out the potential for MB policies in these areas, but significant challenges remain. This comment highlights challenges related to five issues: monitoring and enforcement, trading ratios, baselines, transaction costs, and risk and uncertainty. All these issues must be addressed before MB policies can take the full step from economic theory to regulatory reality.global warming, carbon sequestration, groundwater contamination, nonpoint pollution, effluent trading, tradable emissions permits, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q2, Q28, Q25,

Markets for the Environment

Environmental Economics and Policy,

THE ENVIRONMENTALLY OPTIMAL TRADING RATIO

In the standard economic model of cap and trade policies, the regulator is assumed to place zero value on pollution reductions below the cap. This paper considers an alternative case, where the policy makers can manipulate the rules of the program to achieve improved environmental performance. This is achieved by manipulating the trading ratio, the units of pollution credits that are obtained for each unit of pollution reduction. Using a parsimonious model of a transferable discharge permits program, we identify the environmentally optimal trading ratio that maximizes the environmental gains of trading. The model suggests an alternative explanation why non-unitary trading ratios are common and is a counterpoint to the cost-minimizing model that predominates in economics. We conclude by recommending that a middle-ground should be sought, where both environmental gains and cost efficiencies are given weight.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Noise of a simulated installed model counterrotation propeller at angle-of-attack and takeoff/approach conditions

Two modern high-speed advanced counterrotation propellers, F7/A7 and F7/A3 were tested in the NASA Lewis Research Center's 9- by 15-Foot Anechoic Wind Tunnel at simulated takeoff/approach conditions of 0.2 Mach. Both rotors were of similar diameter on the F7/A7 propeller, while the aft diameter of the F7/A3 propeller was 85 percent of the forward propeller to reduce tip vortex-aft rotor interaction. The two propellers were designed for similar performance. The propellers were tested in both the baseline configuration and installed configuration consisting of a simulated upstream nacelle support pylon and fuselage section. Acoustic measurements were made with a polar microphone probe which recorded sideline directivities at various azimuthal locations. Aerodynamic measurements were also made to establish propeller operating conditions. The propellers were run at initial blade setting angles adjusted to achieve equal forward/aft torque ratios at angle of attack with the pylon and fuselage simulation in place. Data are presented for propeller operation at 80 and 90 percent of design speed (the forward rotor design tip speed was 238 m/sec (780 ft/sec). Both propellers were tested at the maximum rotor-rotor spacing of 14.99 cm (5.90 in.) based on the pitch change axis separation

SHOULD AGRICULTURAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMISTS CARE THAT THE SUBJECTIVE EXPECTED UTILITY HYPOTHESIS IS FALSE?

This paper argues that the subjective expected utility (SEU) hypothesis has serious limitations in both positive and normative analysis. In addition to experimental evidence, we discuss examples where alternatives to the SEU model provide a richer framework for the study problems of choice under uncertainty.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

SUSTAINABILITY AS INTERGENERATIONAL FAIRNESS

This paper presents an economic model of sustainability defined as intergenerational fairness. Assuming that intergenerational fairness is an obligation of each generation, a recursive optimization problem is obtained. The problem has the advantage that uncertainty can readily be incorporated in the model and it can be solved numerically for a wide range of specifications. The possibility of tradeoffs between efficiency and sustainability are discussed. Under plausible conditions, it is show that a sustainability obligation is met only if there is the expectations of economic growth.Agribusiness,

Secondary Privatisation: The Evolution of Ownership Structures of Privatised Enterprises

This summary was prepared and edited by Barbara Blaszczyk and Richard Woodward of CASE - the Center for Social and Economic Research. In the project whose results are presented here, our team investigated the phenomenon of "secondary privatisation" (that is, the post-privatisation evolution of the ownership structures established as the result of initial privatisation) in three transition economies (the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia) in the years 1995-1999. Our research covered companies that were privatised under various privatisation schemes which established ownership structures whose nature was heavily determined by privatisation policy rather than market forces (including employee buyout programs and mass privatisation programs in which all citizens were given rights to acquire shares at prices significantly below market value). We present the post-privatisation changes in ownership structures of privatised companies and analyse the relationships between those changes and the economic performance of the companies. Much attention is also devoted to the role of the institutional environment. We hope that the results of this research will be useful for everyone interested in the little-researched question of what has happened to companies after privatisation in the transition countries.privatization, secondary transactions, corporate governance, transition economies, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland

Secondary Privatization in Poland (Part I): Evolution of Ownership Structure and Company Performance in Firms Privatized by Employee Buyouts

This volume contains the output of country research undertaken in Poland by Piotr Kozarzewski and Richard Woodward under the international comparative project "Secondary Privatization: the Evolution of Ownership Structures of Privatized Enterprises". The project was supported by the European Union's Phare ACE Programme 1997 (project P97-8201 R) and was coordinated by Barbara Baszczyk from the Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE) in Warsaw, Poland. The support of the ACE Programme made it possible to organize the cooperation of an international group of scholars (from the Czech Republic, France, Poland, Slovenia and the U.K.). The entire project was devoted to the investigation of secondary ownership changes in enterprises privatized in special privatization schemes (i.e., mass privatization schemes and MEBOs) in three Central European countries - the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia. Through a combination of different research methods, such as secondary analysis of previous research, analysis of legal and other regulatory instruments, original field research, statistical data base research and econometric analysis of individual enterprise data, the project aimed to investigate the scope, pace and trends in secondary ownership changes, the factors and barriers affecting them and the degree of ownership concentration resulting from them. The authors begin with a general discussion of MEBOs in Poland and go on to analyze ownership changes in a sample of such companies. First, they present the initial ownership structures created at the time of privatization and the evolution of those structures through 1999, and then go on to analyze the factors behind these changes and the relationships between the evolution of ownership structures on the one hand and economic performance and corporate governance on the other. We hope that the results of this research will be of great interest for everyone interested in the little-researched question of what has happened to companies after privatization in transition countries.privatization, secondary transactions, corporate governance, transition economies, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland