Steel consumption and economic growth in Korea: Long-term and short-term evidence

This paper examines the long-term and short-term causal relationships between steel consumption and economic activity in Korea between 1975 and 2008 using vector error correction and vector autoregression models. This study disaggregates steel products and steel-consuming industries because the consumption of a specific steel product is closely linked to the output of the corresponding industry. This approach can provide a clear and reliable causal relationship between variable pairs. The results show that total steel consumption and GDP have a long-term equilibrium relationship, running from GDP to total steel consumption. However, a long-term bi-directional causal relationship exists between flat products consumption and the manufacturing GDP. Flat products consumption also demonstrates the long-term relationships between steel-consuming industries, such as automobile, shipbuilding, and fabricated metal product, but causal directions are mixed, depending on variable pairs. These results imply that the reciprocal growth between these industries has contributed to the robust competitiveness of Korean manufacturing. Because Korea has maintained its export-oriented industrial policy based on manufacturing, the steel and steel-consuming industries are expected to play a significant role in economic growth far into the future.     

A cointegration and causality analysis of copper consumption and economic growth in rich countries

The paper examines the copper consumption-economic growth nexus for 16 rich economies from the period 1966 to 2010. Various generations of panel unit root and cointegration tests are applied. Both series are found to be integrated of order one. Evidence of cointegration is found especially when controlling for breaks and long-run cross-sectional dependence. Causality is investigated using a vector error-correction mechanism (VECM) framework. At individual level, unidirectional causality running from economic growth to copper consumption is unraveled for Finland, France and UK in the long-run. Unidirectional causality is also found running from copper consumption to economic growth for Spain. Long-run bi-directionality between economic growth and copper consumption is found for Belgium, Greece, Italy, Japan and South Korea. The neutrality hypothesis holds for Australia, Austria, Canada, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and USA in the long-run. Taken as a whole, panel causality test reveals a long-run unidirectional causality running from economic growth to copper consumption.     

The crude oil market and the gold market: Evidence for cointegration,causality and price discovery

Given that the gold market and the crude oil market are the main representatives of the large commodity markets, it is of crucial practical significance to analyze their cointegration relationship and causality, and investigate their respective contribution, from the perspective of price discovery, to the common price trend so as to interpret the dynamics of the whole large commodity market and forecast the fluctuation of crude oil and gold prices.     

Long memory in energy futures markets: Further evidence

This paper investigates long memory (or long-range dependence) in price returns and volatilities of energy futures contracts with different maturities. Based on a modified rescaled range analysis and three local Whittle methods, the results from rolling sample test suggest that the returns showed little or no long-range dependence over time but the volatilities displayed significant time-varying long-range dependence. Our evidence shows that some extreme events could cause long memory in returns and volatilities, leading to market inefficiency. Employing multiscale analysis, we find that the returns displayed no long-range dependence for any of the chosen time scales. Significant long-range dependence only existed in volatilities for daily time scales but not for monthly or yearly time scales.     

Iron ore spot price volatility and change in forward pricing mechanism

To examine the impact of the change in forward pricing mechanism on the volatility of iron ore spot prices, we model the iron ore daily price of Platts IODEX from October 7, 2008 to September 21, 2012. The identified iron ore spot price tends to be less volatile after the introduction of quarterly pricing mechanism. Our main approaches are as follows: (i) to decompose the spot price of Platts IODEX into two subsamples and relate the result of the structural break to the date of the switch in the iron ore forward pricing mechanism; (ii) to apply the EGARCH (1, 1) model to simultaneously capture the long memory and the asymmetric effect on the volatility of the iron ore spot price; and (iii) to delineate the news impact curve to further interpret the asymmetric effect.     

Mineral consumption in the UK, 1945–1980: A statistical analysis

Trends in the UK consumption of 12 metallic and 19 non-metallic minerals are examined for the period 1945–1980. Comparisons are drawn between these trends and developments in per capita GDP, total world consumption and UK mineral processing capacity. Although the consumption of most minerals has shown a tendency to stagnate or decline in recent years, taking the post-war period as a whole the consumption of non-metallics has displayed a faster and more sustained growth than that of metallics; thus their share of the total value of minerals consumed in the UK has increased significantly.     

Broadening the statistical search for metal price super cycles to steel and related metals

During the past five years, industry analysts have proclaimed that metal prices are in the early phase of a ‘super cycle,’ driven primarily by Chinese industrial expansion. Academic economists have generally been very skeptical about the presence of long cycles. A time-series econometric analysis by Cuddington and Jerrett [2008. Super cycles in real metals prices? IMF Staff Pap. 55(4), in press], however, has used band-pass filtering techniques to isolate super cycles in the prices of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange (the ‘LME6’). This paper extends the search for super-cycle behavior to three additional metal products that are critical in the early phases of industrial development and urbanization: steel, pig iron, and molybdenum (a key ingredient in many steel alloys). There is strong evidence of super cycles in these three metals, although their timing differs to some extent from the super cycles found for the LME6.     

Financial and economic factors affecting the lignite prices in Turkey: An analysis of Soma and Can lignites

Using a simultaneous equation econometric model based on yearly data between 1997 and 2006 for the Aegean Lignite Enterprise this study examines factors that affect the lignite price in Turkey. The Aegean Lignite Enterprise produces and sells the lignite of Soma and Can and their data reflect the general Turkish situation. The results suggest that (1) lignite prices sold to the industry increase (decrease) depending on the decrease (increase) in the industrial production and (2) total electricity production and electricity price are the most important factors that potential investors and related persons have to take into consideration for the pricing of lignite in the thermal power plant market.     

Economic impact measurement and evaluation of China's investment in geological exploration: The empirical analysis based on the data from 1999 to 2009

With the continued growth in demand for mineral resources and China's efforts in increasing investment in geological prospecting, economic impact evaluation of geological exploration becomes a research hotspot.     

Environmental economic,political and ethical integration in a common decision-making framework

This article develops a decision-making framework for environmental management that integrates technical, economic, political and legal, and ethical decision levels. It attempts to show how these decision levels can be ordained, integrated and interconnected and postulates a hierarchic concentric sphere system that proposes an environmental management model for long-term solutions. This model can be used as a check list for environmental management decision-making and also as a guide for environmental conflict resolution where environmental problems necessitate several levels of decision making. It integrates various environmental ethical positions and evaluates political decisions into a comprehensive, broadly applicable multidisciplinary approach. The objective of this decision-making model is to interconnect into a simplified sequence different levels of environmental management processes in order to account for sustainability, efficacy, efficiency and the acceptability of environmental management processes in the long term. This is done by observing when an environmental problem needs to be solved within a certain sphere of solutions and when it requires wider frameworks, how these can be established and how this process proves that solidarity is the widest and most reasonable sphere.     

The mountain-lowland debate: deforestation and sediment transport in the upper Ganga catchment

The Himalaya-Gangetic Plain region is the iconic example of the debate about the impact on lowlands of upland land-use change. Some of the scientific aspects of this debate are revisited by using new techniques to examine the role of deforestation in erosion and river sediment transport. The approach is whole-of-catchment, combining a history of deforestation with a history of sediment sources from well before deforestation. It is shown that deforestation had some effect on one very large erosional event in 1970, in the Alaknanda subcatchment of the Upper Ganga catchment, but that both deforestation and its effects on erosion and sediment transport are far from uniform in the Himalaya. Large magnitude erosional events occur for purely natural reasons. The impact on the Gangetic Plain of erosion caused by natural events and land cover change remains uncertain.     

A comparison in water quality: The UK and the CIS

Summary A comparison is made of major issues relating to drinking water and river water quality in the UK and the CIS (USSR). Historical and legislative aspects are briefly reviewed. In both countries there is an imbalance between the location of fresh water sources and the distribution of the population. In each country standards are used to define water quality. These standards tend to be more exacting in the CIS. In the UK derogations are used to produce a more relaxed standard. Failure to comply with drinking water standards is common in the CIS (on average 20 percent of samples). In the UK, data are recorded on a different basis, but it appears that deviations from nitrate and pesticide standards are common. In both countries' water supplies, pollution appears to be extensive with few overall signs of significant improvement. This is attributable partly to lack of effective enforcement and weak penalties for transgressors. There is a high level of public concern regarding water quality and health in both the CIS and the UK. As a consequence there are increasing signs in each country of a national determination to implement the legislation more effectively. Needs for further actions are identified.Dr Olga Bridges was born and educated in Russia. Since coming to the UK she has held posts on Soviet Studies in various universities. Dr Bridges' early research was in attitudes to languages and nationality, but more recently it has centred on attitudes to environmental issues. To further her knowledge of scientific aspects of environmental problems, Dr Bridges is currently taking the Advanced Diploma in Environmental Practice at Farnborough College of Technology, UK.     

Climate change adaptation and livestock activity choices in Kenya: An economic analysis

This paper examines the impact of climate change on the decision of farmers to engage or not to engage in livestock activities and also on the choice of different livestock species in Kenya. To this end, cross‐sectional household level data supplemented by long‐term averages of climate data are used. The probit model is employed to derive the response of the probability of engaging in livestock activities to climate change. Probit and multivariate probit methods are employed to model the choice of different livestock species. Atmosphere–ocean global circulation models are used to project the impact of different climate scenarios on the probability of engaging in livestock activities and also of adopting different livestock species according to variations in climate. The results suggest that farmers adapt livestock management decisions to climate change. At low levels of temperature increase, the probability of engaging in livestock activities falls, but at higher levels of climate change, the probability rises. The results further show that as it gets hotter, farmers change their livestock choices from dairy cattle and sheep to beef cattle and goats.     

The local authority EMAS in the UK: the Sutton model

The London Borough of Sutton was the first local authority in the UK to register units under the EMAS scheme. Working on a unit by unit basis the whole of the authority will be registered by the end of 1999. The EMAS was seen as the most appropriate tool for maintaining and expanding existing environmental initiatives in an increasingly restricted sector. The resulting new systems and work practices were seen to increase organizational efficiency by making sure that the right environmental questions were asked by the right people at the right time. The work has highlighted a number of strengths and weaknesses of the EMAS for local authorities and has highlighted the need for a more integrated approach in the future for local authorities to meet fully the needs of sustainability and Local Agenda 21.     

The view from below: ‘lock-in’ and local procurement in the African gold mining sector

Through linkage creation, commodity extraction has the capacity to support local industrial production and capabilities building. Drawing on the experience of supplying inputs into the East African gold mining industry, this paper examines the constraints experienced by local suppliers arising from the purchasing procedures of large mining corporations and specialist construction companies contracted to construct these mines. Lead firms become locked-in to particular ways of working which minimise the opportunities that local suppliers have in providing products and services. After reviewing the situation for local mining suppliers in East Africa, the paper examines ways in which lead firms, the suppliers themselves and others (governments and industry associations) can better support local supplier involvement.     

The north peak: an environmentally sensitive area in the UK

Summary Environmentally Sensitive Areas were introduced in Britain by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food during 1987. By 1994, the fourth round of designations had brought the total of such areas to 22. The environmental implications for the North Peak, which was designated as such an area in 1988, are discussed in the context of sheep farming and heather management, for these have shaped the patchwork of moorland ecosystems that give the North Peak its unique character.Paul Perkins is a research worker at the University of Huddersfield. He is currently undertaking research into how derelict mining land in West and South Yorkshire can be reclaimed for productive use.     

Environmental management in the UK: The way ahead for business

Summary Increasingly stringent environmental lesislation and a growing consciousness of environmental issues within the community are spurring companies into adopting environmental improvement programmes. Enhanced environmental management not only ensures compliance with legislation but has other benefits, including reduced energy and waste disposal costs, improved public image, acess to green markets and lower insurance premiums. BS7750 and the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme now offer businesses the opportunity to establish a systematic and accredited environmental management system which will serve as a yardstick of environmental quality.     

The ethics and politics of the caged layer hen debate in New Zealand

Changes in attitudes toward animal welfare, with a greater emphasis on the importance of allowing animals to express normal patterns of behavior has led to an examination of the practice of keeping hens in battery cages. There is widespread scientific consensus that the conditions of confinement and the barren nature of battery cages severely restrict hens’ behavioral repertoire, and are thus detrimental to their welfare. The New Zealand Animal Welfare Act 1999, stipulates that animals must have “the opportunity to display normal patterns of behaviour.” In spite of this provision, the New Zealand government has not acted in phasing out battery cages, arguing instead that there is insufficient evidence that welfare will be improved by a phase-out. There is evidence of strong industry pressure on the government, and the use of tactics common in policy considerations where changes are resisted by powerful interests. It is important that policy processes are better managed so that welfare changes are based on both public preferences and scientific knowledge, and ways of doing this are discussed.     

The impact of economic activity in Asturias on greenhouse gas emissions: consequences for environmental policy within the Kyoto Protocol framework

Climate change is one of the major worldwide environmental concerns. It is especially the case in many developed countries, where the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for this change are mainly concentrated. For the first time, the Kyoto Protocol includes an international agreement for the reduction of the net emissions of these gases. To fulfil this agreement measures designed to reduce or limit current emissions have to be brought into force. Consequently, fears have arisen about possible consequences on competitiveness and future development of manufacturing activities and the need for support mechanisms for the affected sectors is obvious. In this paper, we carry out a study of the emissions of gases responsible for climate change in Asturias (Spain), a region with an important economic presence of sectors with intensive emissions of CO(2), the chief greenhouse gas. To be precise, in the first place, the volumes of direct emissions of the said gases in 1995 were calculated, showing that the sectors most affected by the Kyoto Protocol in Asturias are iron and steel and electricity production. Secondly, input-output analysis was applied to determine the direct and indirect emissions and the direct, indirect and induced emissions of the different production sectors, respectively. The results derived from the direct and indirect emissions analysis and their comparison with the results of the former allow us to reach some conclusions and environmental policy implications.