Climate Policy and Border Tax Adjustments: Some New Wine Mixed with Old Wine in New Green Bottles?

Current policy discussions are making a very clear connection between domestic climate policies and international trade. In this article, the economic, legal and implementation issues relating to border tax adjustments for climate policies are discussed. The overall conclusion drawn is that the connection between trade and the environment is not new, having been discussed in considerable detail since the early 1990s, and reflected in an extensive economics literature. In addition, the legal aspects of border tax adjustments are not particularly new, although only a WTO ruling on their use in the presence of domestic climate policies will resolve any legal uncertainty about their use. However, there are some new issues concerning the determination and implementation of border tax adjustments for domestic climate polices that do present additional layers of complexity.climate policy, competitiveness, border tax adjustment, Environmental Economics and Policy, Financial Economics, Political Economy,

Cryo-mechanical tests of Ames 24E2 IR-black coating

In addition to the ambient condition tape test, five mechanical tests of the IR-black coating, Ames 24E2, were performed at either liquid helium or liquid nitrogen temperatures. Tensile strain in the coating at liquid nitrogen temperature was measured up to values of 4E-3, both before and after the coating was cycled down to liquid helium temperature. When applied to an aluminum substrate which was then bent in liquid nitrogen, the aluminum substrate always failed (permanently deformed) well before the coating failed. Sinusoidal accelerations up to 45 Gs in liquid nitrogen and 25 Gs in liquid helium did not crack or otherwise visibly damage the coating. Both sinusoidal and random acceleration at about 90 K of a representative baffle vane structure, at frequencies from 10 to 2000 Hz and up to 15 Gs, did not damage the coating, even at the intersection of a baffle with the telescope tube. Thus on a macroscopic level, cryogenic cooling and various levels of acceleration and strain did not affect this coating. However, on a microscopic scale, some loose particles were found associated with several tests. Outgassing data are also given

The Biotechnology Sector: "Bounds" to Market Structure

This paper examines whether it makes sense to consider Sutton's "bounds" approach as a candidate theory for explaining the recent evolution of market structure in the biotechnology sector, and to speculate whether market structure will change if the industry begins to introduce second-generation GM products that are of more direct benefit to consumers. A key result is that the market structure is bounded in the presence of endogenous sunk costs, implying care should be taken when inferring any correlation between R&D expenditure and seller concentration in the biotechnology sector.Biotechnology, market structure, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, L1, L11,

Policy and Practice Brief: State and Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Programs

This brief provides an introduction to the state and federal vocational rehabilitation system outlined in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It provides a review of how the vocational rehabilitation system is integrated within the broader Workforce Investment Act along with a break down for eligibility and available services. Discussed is financial need criteria, statutory requirements for maximization of employment, comparable services requirements and individual rights and appeals

Endogenous R&D Investment and Market Structure: A Case Study of the Agricultural Biotechnology Industry

Over the past three decades, the agricultural biotechnology sector has been characterized by rapid innovation, market consolidation, and a more exhaustive definition of property rights. The industry attributes consistently identified by the literature and important to this analysis include: (i) endogenous sunk costs in the form of expenditures on R&D; (ii) seed and agricultural chemical technologies that potentially act as complements within firms and substitutes across firms; and (iii) property rights governing plant and seed varieties that have become more clearly defined since the 1970s. This paper adds to the stylized facts of the agricultural biotechnology industry to include the ability of firms to license technology, a phenomenon observed only recently in the market as licensing was previously precluded by high transactions costs and “anti-stacking” provisions. We extend Sutton's theoretical framework of endogenous sunk costs and market structure to incorporate the ability of firms to license technology under well-defined property rights, an observed characteristic not captured in previous analyses of the sector. Our model implies that technology licensing leads to lower levels of industry concentration then what would be found under Sutton's model, but that industry concentration remains bounded away from perfect competition as market size becomes large.licensing, market structure, R&D, agricultural biotechnology, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, L22, L24, Q16,

IMPERFECT COMPETITION, TRADE POLICY AND PROCESSED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS: SOME INITIAL RESULTS

This paper applies some recent developments in international trade theory to processed agricultural product markets. Theoretical results are derived showing that when such markets are characterized by imperfect competition, there may be a case for government intervention in the form of subsidies and tariffs. In order to provide some empirical background, a simulation model is used to assess the level of an optimal tariff on U.S. cheese imports. The implications of this analysis for the liberalization of agricultural trade are also considered.Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade,

THE NON-NEUTRALITY OF WTO BORDER TAX ADJUSTMENTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EXCISE TAXES UNDER IMPERFECT COMPETITION

Border tax adjustments for environmental taxes should leave imports of final goods unchanged. If intermediate and final goods markets are imperfectly competitive though, non-neutrality can result. Under Cournot behavior, an import tax equal to the environmental tax is too high, and under Bertrand, an import subsidy is the appropriate policy.Environmental Economics and Policy, International Relations/Trade,

Climate Policy, Carbon Leakage and Competitiveness: How Might Border Tax Adjustments Help?

In this paper, analysis is presented relating to the impact of border tax adjustments for climate policy on the international competitiveness of energy-intensive industries, and the related problem of carbon leakage. While many of the economic and legal issues are not particularly new, climate policy does present some possible twists to the analysis of border tax adjustments when vertically-related markets can be characterized as a successive oligopoly. Specifically, an appropriate border tax adjustment will depend on the incidence of a domestic carbon tax, the nature of competition in upstream and downstream sectors, as well as the basis for assessing the trade neutrality of any border tax adjustment. If trade neutrality is defined in terms of market volume, even though carbon leakage is reduced, domestic firm competitiveness cannot be maintained. This compares to defining trade neutrality in terms of market share, which results in domestic competitiveness being maintained and global carbon emissions being reduced.climate policy, carbon leakage, border tax adjustments, imperfect competition, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Relations/Trade, H87, Q38,

Policy and Practice Brief: Funding of Assistive Technology to Make Work a Reality

This brief provides a definition of assistive technology and a discussion of funding sources for assistive technology including: public schools; state vocational rehabilitation agencies; Medicaid; Medicare; and, SSA’s Plan for Achieving Self Support. Eligibility is reviewed for each along with other protections and rights

For the good of the group? Exploring group-level evolutionary adaptations using multilevel selection theory.

In this paper, we present an evolutionary framework, multilevel selection theory (MLS), that is highly amenable to existing social psychological theory and empiricism. MLS provides an interpretation of natural selection that shows how group-beneficial traits can evolve, a prevalent implication of social psychological data. We outline the theory and provide a number of example topics, focusing on prosociality, policing behavior, gossip, brainstorming, distributed cognition, and social identity. We also show that individual differences can produce important group-level outcomes depending on differential aggregation of individual types and relate this to the evolutionary dynamics underlying group traits. Drawing on existing work, we show how social psychologists can integrate this framework into their research program and suggest future directions for research