企业环境信息公开与政府监管策略的演化博弈分析

由于企业与消费者、投资者、政府等利益相关者之间存在着信息不对称,而真实的企业环境信息是利益相关者做出决策的必要前提,所以具有良好环境行为的企业愿意公开真实的环境信息,但同时也会使不具有良好环境行为的企业有动机公开虚假的环境信息以谋取额外收益,进而导致企业环境信息的信号传递失效。针对此问题,本文考虑了相关主体的有限理性特征,构建了企业是否真实公开环境信息与政府监管行为交互的演化模型,分析了不同参数的变化对系统演化结果的影响,并通过数值实验模拟了不同初始状态和参数设置下的系统演化过程,得出了一定的结论。研究表明:初始状态时的政府监管概率、政府的监管成本、对企业公开虚假环境信息的惩罚、政府选择监管策略的收益、企业真实公开环境信息的收益和企业的伪装效果系数对系统的演化结果具有重要影响,通过政策手段对这些参数进行调控可以引导系统向良好模式演化,使企业公开真实的环境信息,达到环境信息的信号传递作用。     

基于备件分析的飞机最经济飞行强度选择

飞机作为航空产品,使用维护成本在全寿命周期费用中占据了相当大的比例。将使用维护成本折算为备件的采购和维修成本,在设计阶段通过基于备件的分析,分类计算在不同飞行强度下各种备件的采购和维修费用,从而确定飞机在满足用户需求的前提下所能执行的最经济的飞行强度。以某型飞机为例,提出了一种最经济飞行强度的计算方法,有助于在设计阶段规划飞机的使用和维护保障。     

新《环境保护法》对重污染企业盈余管理的影响研究——基于政治成本假说的实证检验

本文利用新《环境保护法》实施这一外生事件,采用双重差分模型,从应计盈余管理和真实盈余管理两个方面实证检验了政治成本对重污染企业盈余管理的影响。研究发现在新《环境保护法》实施后,相比于非污染企业,重污染企业面临更高的政治成本,其进行了显著的向上应计盈余管理和真实盈余管理,向外界传递了企业未来发展良好的信息。上述研究结论经过一系列稳健性检验依然成立。进一步的异质性检验表明:①基于产权性质的分析表明,本文的研究结论在非国有企业的子样本组中更为明显;②基于企业规模的分析表明,小规模重污染企业更倾向于进行向上应计盈余管理,但不同规模重污染企业的真实盈余管理没有显著差异;③基于市场竞争程度的分析表明,高市场竞争环境下的重污染企业更倾向于采取向上应计盈余管理,低市场竞争环境下的重污染企业更倾向于进行向上真实盈余管理;④基于经济发展水平的分析表明,东部地区的重污染企业倾向于向上应计盈余管理和真实盈余管理。本文研究结论与西方的“政治成本假说”并不相符,为中国情境下的“政治成本理论”发展提供了另一种证据,同时为进一步加强新《环境保护法》的环境规制效果提供了决策参考。     

EFFICIENCY PROBLEMS FROM USER FEES IN MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT1

ABSTRACT: The Environmental Protection Agency administers a construction grant program to encourage abatement of wastewater pollution by sharing with municipalities the costs of wastewater treatment facilities. The enabling legislation (P.L. 92–500) specifies that EPA's cost share will be 75% of construction costs. It further requires municipalities to collect user fees from industrial users of the facilities to repay that part of the federal grant allocable to the treatment of industrial wastewater. The municipality must return half of the user fees collected to the U.S. Treasury; the municipality is allowed to retain the remaining half. Retention by municipalities of these user fees lowers their effective cost shares and results in the following consequences: (1) a bias for municipalities to select certain kinds of abatement techniques regardless of whether or not they are the least-cost techniques from the national perspective; (2) a bias for municipalities to select larger-than-optimal scales of abatement facilities; (3) a hidden federal subsidy to industry; and (4) grants that favor industrial communities. This article examines the legislative and regulatory requirements for user charges, derives the algebraic expressions for calculating the real federal, municipal, and industrial cost shares with user fees; computes municipal cost shares for selected values of the determinant factors; evaluates efficiency and other consequences of current user fee arrangements; and concludes that the efficiency distortions brought about by the impacts of user fees on cost sharing could be eliminated by requiring that all user fees collected from industry against the federal cost share be returned to the U.S. Treasury.     

微电解作用机理及反应器研究现状

微电解技术是基于金属腐蚀电化学所引起的物理、化学、电化学综合作用,包括电极反应、氧化还原、絮凝沉淀、微电场等,达到处理多种废水的目的。由于微电解技术在工程放大后存在处理效果低、日常维护及运行成本高、能耗高等问题,提出设计新型科学的微电解反应器、微电解工艺与其他工艺联用发展方向,使微电解技术成为真正的"环境友好型"技术。     

Changing patterns in aluminium production costs

The average cost of producing aluminium fell slightly in nominal terms between 1982 and 1992, and there has thus been a sharp fall in real terms. The average cost also shows a marked cyclical fluctuation during individual years, partly as a result of the feedback effect from final metal prices to the cost curve. Between 1985 and 1992, exchange rate fluctuations produced a sharp change in the relative position of US and European smelters. During the next eight years, costs are likely to rise gradually in real terms, reversing the historical trend, and unless the higher cost European smelters can cut costs significantly, they may face a bleak future.     

The effect of limited options and policy interactions on water storage policy in south Florida

Due to environmental constraints and reactive water management practices, water shortages exist across the Everglades ecosystem. A growing human population and continued wetlands damage and loss decrease the system's ability to provide water for sustained natural areas and for human uses. 'The Restudy' is an $8 billion plan to restore the Everglades while also continuing to provide water storage for urban and agricultural areas. The Restudy proposes a mix of water storage systems to provide for the predicted future growth in water demand. This mix is purported to be the most cost-efficient at providing water supplies, within the constraints of unchanged agricultural and urban land use. However, a sensitivity analysis of the Restudy's cost equation reveals that the total cost of water storage systems is influenced by real estate, land acquisition and water treatment costs. The interaction of land use and agricultural policies can affect these cost factors, and can change the relative cost-efficiency between storage systems. Real estate and land acquisition costs are affected by several 1996 Farm Bill provisions, which influence the cost of aboveground water storage systems versus Aquifer Storage and Recovery systems. The Governor's Commission for a Sustainable South Florida recommendations also influence the water storage options available to the Restudy. Due to the Restudy's initial assumptions and constraints, it may not advocate the most economically and ecologically sound remediation.     

Development of appropriate technologies: A possible way forward for environmental protection of developing countries like China

Summary To solve environmental problems a vast amount of manpower, material and financial resources has been spent. Some people consider that this is necessary, and a reasonable price which human beings must pay for development, especially industrialisation. Maybe it is true. But can people solve the environmental problems of developing countries better when they have learned the experiences and lessons of developed countries? One possible way is proposed in this paper, which makes a special reference to the real situation in China. The fundamental idea is to develop and apply appropriate technologies in the phase of national industrialisation. This will help developing countries to achieve desired environmental effects more economically. The appropriate technologies mentioned in the paper are of two kinds: appropriate industrial production technologies and appropriate environmental technologies. The development of the former will help to reduce environmental pollution and other problems caused by industrialisation. The development of the latter will enable developing countries to keep an acceptable environmental quality within a controlled cost. In the paper the definition of appropriate technologies is clarified, and the criteria for the selection and evaluation of appropriate technologies are proposed. The possibility of a realisation of developing the economy and protecting the environment at same time is then analysed. The conclusion is that development and application of appropriate technologies is an optimal strategy when the real conditions of developing countries like China are considered. Finally, some of the initial appropriate environmental technologies which should be developed are suggested.Professor Ranjie Hou has recently been working as a Research Fellow at the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Karlsrube University, Federal Republic of Germany.     

清洁生产审核中无/低费方案的产生及实施

清洁生产审核是实施清洁生产最有效的,也是最具可操作性的方法。在清洁生产审核预评估和评估阶段提出可行的无/低费方案,并按照"边审核边实施"的原则对所提的无/低费方案加以实施,能够使企业在短时间内达到"节能、降耗、减污、增效"的目的。以某化肥企业为例,找出企业存在的问题,评估企业的产排污情况,有针对性地提出了无/低费方案,并得以实施,为企业创造了一定的经济效益和环境效益。     

Economic and Ecological Rules for Water Quality Trading1

Horan, Richard D. and James S. Shortle, 2011. Economic and Ecological Rules for Water Quality Trading. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(1):59‐69. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2010.00463.x Abstract: Emissions trading in textbook form uses markets to achieve pollution targets cost‐efficiently. This result is accomplished in markets that regulators can implement without knowing pollution abatement costs. The theoretical promise of emissions trading, along with real‐world success stories from air emissions trading, has led to initiatives to use trading for water pollution control. Yet, trading, particularly when it involves nonpoint sources of pollution, requires significant departures from the textbook concept. This paper explores how features of water quality problems affect the design of markets for water pollution control relative to textbook emissions markets. Three fundamental design tasks that regulators must address for pollution trading to achieve an environmental goal at low cost are examined: (1) defining the point and nonpoint commodities to be traded, (2) defining rules governing commodity exchange, and (3) setting caps on the commodity supplies so as to achieve an environmental target. We show that the way in which these tasks are optimally addressed for water quality markets differs significantly from the textbook model and its real‐world analogs. We also show that the fundamental appeal of emissions trading is lost in the case of realistic water quality markets, as market designs that reduce the costs of achieving water quality goals may no longer be implementable without the regulatory authority having information on abatement costs.     

MUNICIPAL WATER USE AND WATER RATES DRIVEN BY SEVERE DROUGHT: A CASE STUDY1

ABSTRACT: This paper synthesizes and interprets data pertaining to the evolution of average water revenue, water use, and the average cost of water supply in the City of Santa Barbara, California, from 1986 to 1996, a period which included one of the most devastating droughts in California this century. The 1987–1992 drought hit the study area particularly hard. The City of Santa Barbara was dependent exclusively on local sources for its water supply. That made it vulnerable as the regional climate is prone to extreme variability and recurrent droughts. The 1986–1992 drought provided a rare opportunity to assess the sensitivity of municipal water use to pricing, conservation, and other water management measures under extreme drought conditions. Our analysis indicates that the average cost of water rose more than three-fold in real terms from 1986 to 1996, while the gap between the average cost of supply and the average revenue per unit of water (= 100 cubic feet) rose in real terms from $0.14 in 1986 to $ 0.75 in 1996. The rise of $3.08 in the average cost of supplying one unit of water between 1986 and 1996 measures the cost of hedging drought risk in the study area. Water use dropped 46 percent at the height of the drought relative to pro-drought water use, and remains at 61 percent of the pre-drought level. The data derived from the 1987–1992 California drought are unique and valuable insofar as shedding light on drought/water demand adaptive interactions. The experience garnered on drought management during that unique period points to the possibilities available for future water management in the Arid West where dwindling water supplies and burgeoning populations are facts that we must deal with.     

A hedonic model of public market transactions for open space protection

A hedonic price function is estimated that illustrates how the price per acre of open space paid by public buyers such as counties or land trusts, is influenced by local demand and supply factors. The empirical regression model is illustrated using 133 public transactions (73% are purchases and 27% are easements) of open space in the Front Range of Colorado. The mean price per acre was $13 635. If a property provides access to water bodies, this feature increases the price per acre by $937, while adjacency of the parcel to existing park or open space adds $11 039 an acre. A 1% increase in county population results in a 0.27% increase in price per acre. Easements cost $6783 less than purchases, a sizeable cost saving. The prediction capability of the hedonic price equation may be an alternative to traditional real estate appraisal techniques when agencies must determine fair market values of prospective open space parcels that vary in attributes from existing ones.     

An inexact dynamic optimization model for municipal solid waste management in association with greenhouse gas emission control

Municipal solid waste (MSW) should be properly disposed in order to help protect environmental quality and human health, as well as to preserve natural resources. During MSW disposal processes, a large amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) is emitted, leading to a significant impact on climate change. In this study, an inexact dynamic optimization model (IDOM) is developed for MSW-management systems under uncertainty. It grounds upon conventional mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) approaches, and integrates GHG components into the modeling framework. Compared with the existing models, IDOM can not only deal with the complex tradeoff between system cost minimization and GHG-emission mitigation, but also provide optimal allocation strategies under various emission-control standards. A case study is then provided for demonstrating applicability of the developed model. The results indicate that desired waste-flow patterns with a minimized system cost and GHG-emission amount can be obtained. Of more importance, the IDOM solution is associated with over 5.5 million tonnes of TEC reduction, which is of significant economic implication for real implementations. Therefore, the proposed model could be regarded as a useful tool for realizing comprehensive MSW management with regard to mitigating climate-change impacts.     

Optimization of wastewater treatment alternative selection by hierarchy grey relational analysis

This paper describes an innovative systematic approach, namely hierarchy grey relational analysis for optimal selection of wastewater treatment alternatives, based on the application of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and grey relational analysis (GRA). It can be applied for complicated multicriteria decision-making to obtain scientific and reasonable results. The effectiveness of this approach was verified through a real case study. Four wastewater treatment alternatives (A(2)/O, triple oxidation ditch, anaerobic single oxidation ditch and SBR) were evaluated and compared against multiple economic, technical and administrative performance criteria, including capital cost, operation and maintenance (O and M) cost, land area, removal of nitrogenous and phosphorous pollutants, sludge disposal effect, stability of plant operation, maturity of technology and professional skills required for O and M. The result illustrated that the anaerobic single oxidation ditch was the optimal scheme and would obtain the maximum general benefits for the wastewater treatment plant to be constructed.     

FLOOD MANAGEMENT: WHO BENEFITS AND WHO PAYS1

ABSTRACT: The distribution of costs and benefits among groups in society of alternative flood management actions is examined in terms of their final incidence or resting place-their influence on real estate values. The alternatives examined include structures, disaster relief, floodproofing, watershed land treatment, floodplain zoning, and flood insurance. The impact of each alternative on the amount of flood disability cost paid by the landowner is examined and variations among alternatives are used to explain the past political success of structures and relief as compared to zoning, floodproofing, and insurance.     

Does the Coase theorem hold in real markets? An application to the negotiations between waterworks and farmers in Denmark

The Coase theorem depends on a number of assumptions, among others, perfect information about each other's payoff function, maximising behaviour and zero transaction costs. An important question is whether the Coase theorem holds for real market transactions when these assumptions are violated. This is the question examined in this paper. We consider the results of Danish waterworks' attempts to establish voluntary cultivation agreements with Danish farmers. A survey of these negotiations shows that the Coase theorem is not robust in the presence of imperfect information, non-maximising behaviour and transaction costs. Thus, negotiations between Danish waterworks and farmers may not be a suitable mechanism to achieve efficiency in the protection of groundwater quality due to violations of the assumptions of the Coase theorem. The use of standard schemes or government intervention (e.g. expropriation) may, under some conditions, be a more effective and cost efficient approach for the protection of vulnerable groundwater resources in Denmark.     

A Parametric Study of a Piston-Prop Aircraft Engine Using Exergy and Exergoeconomic Analysis Methods

In this study, exergetic and exergoeconomic analysis methods are applied to a four-cylinder, spark ignition (SI), naturally aspirated and air-cooled piston-prop aircraft engine in the cruise phase of flight operations. The duration of cruise is selected to be 1 h. Three parameters, altitude, rated power setting (PS), and air-to-fuel ratio (AF), are varied by the calculation of the max–min values of exergy analysis. Based on the results of energy analysis, the values for the maximum energy efficiency and fuel consumption flow rate are calculated to be 21.73% and 28.02 kg/h, respectively, at 1000-m altitude and 75% PS. The results of exergy analysis indicate that all exergetic values vary from 65% to 75% PS, while this increase is not seen in exergoeconomic analysis. While the maximum exergy input rate is obtained to be 405.60 kW, exergy efficiency has the minimum value with 14.43% and exergy destruction rate has the maximum value with 168.48 kW. These values are achieved at 3000-m altitude and 18 AFs. The maximum average exergy cost of the fuel is calculated to be 130.77 $/GJ at 1000-m altitude, 13 AF ratios, and 65% PS. At this point, while the minimum cost rate associated with the exergy destruction is obtained to be 40.29 $/h, the maximum exergoeconomic factor is found to be 19.98%.     

微生物降解炼油厂含酚废水的实验研究

采用燕化集团公司炼油事业部污水厂的活性污泥为菌源 ,好氧条件下通过分离、驯化筛选出三种高效降酚微生物。并在实验室模拟三相生物流化床分别对人工含酚废水和燕山石化炼油厂含酚废水进行降解实验 ,结果显示 ,在三相生物流化床中使用微生物包埋法制作的海藻酸钙载体处理含酚废水 ,3小时段内降酚显著 ,t -testP <0 0 1,处理效果良好 ,并以海藻酸钠为主要原料制作载体可以极大降低处理成本     

Assigning money amounts to represent intrinsic value of precious eco-systems in developing countries

Conclusion  The need is urgent, if the ongoing rapid degradation of the remaining precious eco-systems of the developing countries are to be put under control while there is still time, for developing a procedure by which the real world intrinsic meaningfulness to people of precious eco-systems is recognized by assigning them monetary values to be considered in benefit/cost analyses. The procedures recommended by the U.S. Corps of Engineers and Resources of the Future for use in the USA seem to be much too complex for application in developing countries in the foreseeable future. Rather a very pragmatic approach is recommended based on actual experience in money outlays for such protection in USA projects, with the amounts modified to suit developing country conditions. Hopefully the IAAs (Multilateral Development Banks, Bilaterials, U.N. Agencies) will carry out the recommended R&D studies to produce a prescribed methodology recognized by economic, environmental, and political decision makers of both the IAAs and the DCs to be appropriate for use in planning and evaluating DC projects.     

Uranium resource economics: An application of energy analysis

Current economic assessment implies that there are considerable quantities of uranium available for use in present thermal reactors, albeit at very high costs. However, this method of appraisal contains a fundamental contradiction concerning the relationship between the price of electricity and the cost of uranium concentrate. Derivation of real costs with the technique of energy analysis is used to correct this basic inconsistency. This approach demonstrates that the amount of economically recoverable uranium is substantially less than previously expected. Consequently, if current forecasts of nuclear power growth are achieved then serious shortages of uranium will occur in the foreseeable future.