Do Permit Allocations Matter?

In the standard setting a system of tradable permits is effective and cost-efficient in attaining the policy objective of pollution reduction. This outcome is challenged in case of a tradable permit system in a federal system/constitution with individual states having discretionary power regarding environmental policy and where pollution is transboundary across states. This paper explores the opportunities of the central authority to influence the effectiveness and efficiency of the system, under various institutional arrangements, through the initial allocation of permits.tradable permits, fiscal federalism

Junction connectors permit strategic placement of television cameras

Cable run circuit with switching junction connectors at strategic locations enables television cameras to be plugged in with minimum effort wherever needed. Crimp-type contacts for mating connections reduce installation time and require a lesser level of technician skill than do soldered and potted connections

Rotating filters permit wide range of optical pyrometry

Gear-driven dual filter disks of graduated density vary linearly with respect to rotation, allowing a wide range of photographic pyrometry. this technique is applicable in metallurgy, glass, plastics and refractory research, and crystallography

A Tradable Permit System in an Intertemporal Economy: A General Equilibrium Approach

The creation of an artificial market through a tradable permit system as a remedy against market failure is gaining popularity among analysts and policymakers. We show that in an intertemporal competitive economy, a tradable permit system may not achieve efficiency without setting appropriate permit interest rates (rewards for holding permits), and to find them, we must know in advance the path of efficient permit prices, which is difficult or impossible to obtain. We deal with this problem in two ways. First, we seek a special case in which the permit interest rates are given by a simple rule. Second, we propose a mechanism by which the permit interest rates are generated endogenously. The determinacy of an equilibrium under a tradable permit system is also examined.Auction; artificial market, tradable permit system, general equilibrium, permit interest rate, permit bank, indeterminacy

Analyzing factors affecting Alaska's salmon permit values: evidence from Bristol Bay drift gillnet permits

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017The effects of total earnings, total costs and mining exploration on permit prices in Alaska are investigated using an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration. I take specific account of regional and gear specific salmon fisheries -- that is, Bristol Bay drift gillnet permits -- in our modelling. I find that there is a stable long-run relationship among permit prices, total earnings, and total costs. It is also found that, in both the short- and long-run, total earnings have a positive and significant relationship with permit prices, while total costs have a negative and significant relationship. Although the mining exploration in the region has a negative and significant effect on permit prices in the short-run, the effect does not seem to last in the long-run

Market Power in Pollution Permit Markets

As with other commodity markets, markets for trading pollution permits have not been immune to market power concerns. In this paper, I survey the existing literature on market power in permit trading but also contribute with some new results and ideas. I start the survey with Hahn’s (1984) dominant-firm (static) model that I then extend to the case in which there are two or more strategic firms that may also strategically interact in the output market, to the case in which current permits can be stored for future use (as in most existing and proposed market designs), to the possibility of collusive behavior, and to the case in which permits are auctioned off instead of allocated for free to firms. I finish the paper with a review of empirical evidence on market power, if any, with particular attention to the U.S. sulfur market and the Southern California NOx market.Market power, emissions trading, pollution permits, storable permits

Keystone XL Pipeline Project: Key Issues

[Excerpt] This report describes the Keystone XL Project as it is proposed in the 2012 Presidential Permit application and the process that the State Department is obligated to complete to issue or deny that application. To the extent that they may affect the State Department’s decision to issue or deny the current permit application, this report discusses selected issues related to the project proposed in 2008 and issues that have arisen since the State Department denied the initial permit application in 2012. This report also summarizes key arguments that have been raised, both for and against the pipeline, by the pipeline’s developers, state and federal agencies, environmental groups, private property owners, and other stakeholders. Finally, the report discusses the constitutional basis for the State Department’s authority to issue a Presidential Permit, and opponents’ possible challenges to this authority