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Full-Text Articles in Economics

Price Discovery And Futures Spreads For U.S. And Chinese Rice Futures Market, Wei Yang Dec 2014

Price Discovery And Futures Spreads For U.S. And Chinese Rice Futures Market, Wei Yang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rice, the primary staple food for more than half the world's population, is the second world's most consumed food grain. In recent years, world rice price has increased and become more volatile especially in the period 2007-2010. Rice price volatility has a huge impact on Asian countries, especially countries in Southeast Asia where rice is a staple food for millions of households. Private market tools to manage price risk and discover price such as futures markets have been analyzed and assessed as possible solutions to coping with rice price volatility issue. Two primary functions of agricultural commodities futures markets are …


Energy Production, Distribution, And Pollution Controls: Combining Engineering And Economic Analysis To Enhance Efficiency And Policy Design, David F. Perkis Oct 2014

Energy Production, Distribution, And Pollution Controls: Combining Engineering And Economic Analysis To Enhance Efficiency And Policy Design, David F. Perkis

Open Access Dissertations

Three published articles are presented which focus on enhancing various aspects of the energy supply chain. While each paper adopts a different methodology, all three combine engineering data and/or techniques with economic analysis to improve efficiency or policy design within energy markets. ^ The first paper combines a chemical engineering plant design model with an economic assessment of product enhancements within an ethanol production facility. While a new chemical process is shown to achieve greater ethanol yields, the animal feed by-products are denatured and decrease in value due to the degradation of a key nutritional amino acid. Overall, yield increases …


Spreading The Char: The Importance Of Local Compatibility In The Diffusion Of Biochar Systems To The Smallholder Agriculture Community Context, Laura C. V. Munoz May 2014

Spreading The Char: The Importance Of Local Compatibility In The Diffusion Of Biochar Systems To The Smallholder Agriculture Community Context, Laura C. V. Munoz

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis enters the context of smallholder agriculture communities in the developing world. It explores the potentials of biochar and what biochar systems could bring to the smallholder communities while simultaneously bringing environmental benefits. It then acknowledges the challenges of diffusion –the spreading of an unfamiliar innovation. It seeks to answer the question of what will make diffusion of biochar systems more successful in the smallholder context, fixating on the characteristic of compatibility as well as the role local community members can play in making a new biochar system more visible to the rest of the communities.


Implementing Green Roofs On Movie Theaters And Shopping Centers: Business Cases In Profitable Sustainability, Ryan J. Miller Jan 2014

Implementing Green Roofs On Movie Theaters And Shopping Centers: Business Cases In Profitable Sustainability, Ryan J. Miller

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis presents the business case for installing green roofs on movie theaters and shopping centers. These businesses can then derive increased profits from the environmental benefits of reduced energy use and increased stormwater retention. After presenting the basic design and benefits of a green roof, the thesis develops stand-alone business plans for a movie theater and shopping center. The author finds that green roofs are a profitable sustainability solution for the commercial enterprise.