The socially optimal recycling rate: Evidence from Japan

This paper estimates the average social cost of municipal waste management as a function of the recycling rate. Social costs include all municipal costs and revenues, costs to recycling households to prepare materials estimated with an original method, external disposal costs, and external recycling benefits. Results suggest average social costs are minimized with recycling rates well below observed and mandated levels in Japan. Cost-minimizing municipalities are estimated to recycle less than the optimal rate. These results are robust to changes in the components of social costs, indicating that Japan and perhaps other developed countries may be setting inefficiently high recycling goals.     

温带湖泊周边湿地原生草地与人工林土壤碳释放差异性分析

采用红外气体分析法对东平湖湿地人工杨树林和自然草地土壤碳通量进行测定,分析了6:00到18:00两种生境下群落土壤碳通量日变化规律,及其对温度、水分等环境因子的响应。结果表明:(1)两种生境群落的土壤碳通量日动态都呈单峰曲线,但人为耕作过的土壤碳通量明显高于原生草地,土壤碳通量均在6:00达到最小值,杨树林土壤碳通量的最大值出现在12:00,而草地群落土壤碳通量最大值在14:00左右;(2)人工林土壤碳通量与近地面大气温度、土壤温度的相关性均低于草地,且两种生境群落土壤呼吸与近地面大气温度的相关性(P<0.01)均好于与土壤温度的相关性(P<0.05)。土壤碳通量对近地面大气温度的敏感性Q10值大于土壤温度的敏感性,人工林土壤呼吸温度敏感性Q10值小于草地。土壤碳通量与近地面大气相对湿度之间具有显著线性方程关系(P<0.01),人工杨树林和草地的相关系数分别为:0.399、0.29。杨树林土壤碳通量与土壤体积含水量相关性差(P<0.05),湿地草地土壤CO2释放量与土壤体积含水量的相关性不显著(P>0.05),这可能由于土壤体积含水量日变化较小,而不能很好的解释日变化尺度上的土壤呼吸变化;(3)对湿地地土壤碳通量的日变化与土壤养分和盐分相关分析得出,人工林土壤中的有机质和全盐与土壤碳通量具有显著关系(P<0.05),而草地土壤碳通量与土壤养分和盐分相关性均非常差,说明人工林生境土壤有机质和全盐是影响土壤碳通量的一个重要因素,而对草地的影响较小。该结果可以为华北平原东部地区以及温带湖泊湿地的土壤碳通量研究提供参考。     

Optimal resource extraction contract with adverse selection

This paper studies the design of a mining concession contract as a multi-period adverse selection problem where production is the depletion of a non renewable resource. Compared with symmetric information, we show that overproduction is optimal in the terminal phase of the resource extraction program. Moreover, asymmetric information lengthens the contract duration but reduces the scarcity rent.     

Comparing petroleum fiscal regimes under oil price uncertainty

This study investigates and compares five upstream petroleum fiscal systems under crude oil price uncertainty. The fiscal systems analyzed are: the Alberta Canada tax and royalty system, the Papua New Guinea (PNG) (pre-2003) traditional Rate of Return (ROR) system, the Sao Tome and Principe/Nigerian Joint Development Zone (SNJDZ) Production Sharing Contract (PSC), the Tanzanian PSC/ROR hybrid system and the Trinidad and Tobago PSC. Contingent claims analysis is used to value the governments’ tax claims under uncertainty using a numerical approach, viz., Monte Carlo simulation. Each system is tested to obtain the after-tax value accruing to firms as well as the distortionary effects introduced by the fiscal systems. The results are then ranked. The Alberta Canada and PNG fiscal systems provide companies with the highest after-tax values while also being the least distortionary. The Tanzanian system is the lowest in both rankings, providing relatively low after-tax values and introducing strong distortionary effects. The SNJDZ PSC imposed a relatively high tax burden on companies with median distortionary effects. The Trinidadian PSC generated a median tax burden on companies but has strong distortionary effects.     

Oil spills on other commodities

This paper examines the effect of crude oil prices on the prices of 35 internationally traded primary commodities for the 1960–2005 period. It finds that the pass-through of crude oil price changes to the overall non-energy commodity index is 0.16. At a more disaggregated level, the fertilizer index had the highest pass-through (0.33), followed by agriculture (0.17), and metals (0.11). The prices of precious metals also exhibited a strong response to crude oil price. In terms of individual commodities, the estimates of the food group exhibited remarkable similarity while those of raw materials and metals gave a mixed picture. The implication is that if crude oil prices remain high for some time, as most analysts expect, then the recent commodity price boom is likely to last much longer than earlier booms, at least for food commodities. The other commodities, however, are likely to follow diverging paths. On the methodological side, the results show that price indices, while providing useful summary statistics, they need to be supplemented by individual commodity analysis.     

Q/SH0569-2013在建立环境监理管理体系中的应用

以山东液化天然气(LNG)项目为例,从环境监理的组织机构体系、管理及技术方法体系、管理程序及体系文件等方面,阐述了Q/SH0569-2013《建设项目环境监理技术规范(试行)》在港口码头及管道运输建设项目环境监理管理体系建立过程中的应用。     

BDE-28在天然土壤上的吸附行为研究

研究了BDE-28在3种不同有机质含量的天然土壤上的吸附行为,包括吸附过程动力学和热力学等温线.结果表明,双室一级动力学模式较单室一级动力学模式更适于描述BDE-28在天然土壤上的吸附过程动力学特征,尤其是在吸附初始阶段(0～25 h).快吸附自吸附初始到表观吸附平衡的整体吸附过程中占据优势地位,而慢吸附的贡献率则逐渐...     

针铁矿催化过氧化氢降解PCB28

以针铁矿（α-FeOOH）为催化剂,在针铁矿与H2O2组成的非均相Fenton体系内对PCB28的降解进行了研究,讨论了针铁矿、H2O2浓度和体系pH对PCB28降解率的影响,并初步揭示了PCB28的降解机理.结果表明,PCB28在非均相Fenton体系中能发生明显的降解作用.PCB28的降解率随H2O2和针铁矿初始浓...     

干旱区盐湖沿岸不同植物群落土壤CO2排放特征

为探究盐湖区不同植物群落土壤CO₂排放速率及影响因素,以新疆达坂城盐湖沿岸小獐毛、鸢尾、芨芨草、黑果枸杞群落和撂荒地土壤为研究对象,在2016年4~12月采用Li-8100A监测了不同植物群落土壤CO₂排放特征,分析了CO₂排放与5（ST5）,10（ST10）,15cm（ST15）土壤温度、含水量、电导率的关系.结果如下：4~12月小獐毛群落土壤CO₂日排放呈单峰曲线,7月土壤CO₂排放速率最高,峰值出现在14：00左右;7月鸢尾、芨芨草、黑果枸杞和撂荒地土壤CO₂排放呈双峰曲线,峰值出现在10：00和14：00~16：00左右,其余月份均呈单峰曲线,峰值出现在12：00~14：00;不同植物群落类型、同一植物类型不同月份土壤CO₂排放存在显著差异（P<0.001）.4~12月芨芨草群落土壤CO₂累积排放量最高（2508.01g/m²）,大于撂荒地（2235.01g/m²）、鸢尾（1903.03g/m²）、黑果枸杞（1690.27g/m²）和小獐毛（550.34g/m²）植物群落处理.小獐毛群落土壤CO₂排放与ST15显著相关（R²=0.739,P<0.05）,且对ST15变化最敏感;鸢尾、芨芨草、黑果枸杞群落和撂荒地处理土壤CO₂排放与ST5相关性较高（R²=0.708~0.821）,对ST10变化响应敏感.小獐毛群落土壤温度敏感系数（Q₁₀）最大值出现在6月（7.97）,鸢尾（21.74）、芨芨草（13.21）、黑果枸杞（18.23）和撂荒地（7.65）处理则出现在11,12月.不同植物群落土壤CO₂排放与含水量相关性较低;一元线性方程（log_eC_f=-0.149EC+0.943）能较好的模拟土壤电导率（EC）与CO₂排放（C_f）的关系.除土壤温度外,盐分也是影响盐湖沿岸土壤碳排放的重要因素.因此,在考虑陆地生态系统碳收支时不能忽略盐湖生态系统,以及盐分对土壤碳过程的影响.     

The “second dividend” and the demographic structure

The demographic structure of a country influences economic activity. The “second dividend” modifies growth. Accordingly, in general equilibrium, the second dividend and the demographic structure are interrelated. This paper aims at assessing empirically the “second dividend” in a dynamic, empirical and intertemporal setting that allows for measuring its impact on growth, its intergenerational redistributive effects, and its interaction with the demographic structure. The paper uses a general equilibrium model with overlapping generations, an energy module and a public finance module that distinguishes between non-ageing-related public spending and a pension regime. Policy scenarios compare the consequences of different scenarios of recycling a carbon tax through lower proportional income taxes rather than higher public lump-sum expenditures. They are computed for two countries with different demographics (France and Germany). Results suggest that the magnitude of the “second dividend” is significantly related with the demographic structure. The more concentrated the demographic structure on cohorts with higher income and saving rate, the stronger the effect on capital supply of the second dividend. The second dividend weighs on the welfare of relatively aged working cohorts. It fosters the wellbeing of young working cohorts and of future generations. The more concentrated the demographic structure on aged working cohorts, the higher the intergenerational redistributive effects of the second dividend.