Industrial Organization Commons^™

Suggestions For Layout Adjustment Of China's Agricultural Regions During Fifteenth Five-Year Plan Period, Yong Xu, Hua Yang, Jian Duan

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Adjusting and optimizing the strategic paradigm of China’s agricultural regions in the new era is of great significance to the implementation of the “Greater Food” concept and the building of a strong agriculture. This study takes the layout adjustment of China’s agricultural regions during the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan period as its theme, and firstly summarizes the problems that exist in the main agricultural production regions and the layout changes in grain production bases. Then, in conjunction with the new requirements of the national strategies, the functional types of agricultural regions are refined, the different function positions are clarified, the adjusting …

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Essays On The Economics Of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations, Aspen Underwood

All Dissertations

Electric vehicles (EVs) have peaked people’s interest since the first electric-powered vehicle was developed in the 1830’s. By the 1890’s EVs were the most common vehicle in the U.S. However, due to issues with charging batteries and limitations of the electrical grid, EVs were left behind as gasoline vehicles became commonly available in the early 20th century. Several attempts to repopularize EVs over the last 100 years suffered from difficulties with limited driving ranges, but today, expanded driving ranges and improved charging capabilities have made EVs a real alternative to gasoline engines. The possibility of zero-emission transportation made possible by …

Keynote Address, Godwin I. Emefiele Con

Economic and Financial Review

The theme for this year’s edition, “Food Security in Nigeria: Options for Policy” is apt and in tune with the existing realities of both the global and domestic economies, which have suffered heavily from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the theme could not have come at a better time than now when issues of insecurity, climate change, and COVID-19 related disruptions are challenging food production and supply, not only in Nigeria but also globally. As a matter of fact, food security is critical for national security, economic stability and sustainable development.

Averting The Looming Food Crisis: A Clarion Call To Immediate And Near-Term Policy Action, Kabir Ibrahim Mnia, Fnim, Acc

Economic and Financial Review

This paper seeks to advise on how to tackle the skyrocketing prices of food being experienced today all over the nation and to get the Government to take urgent and proactive actions to avert the pain being experienced by the entire Nigerian people.

Averting The Looming Food Crisis: A Clarion Call To Immediate And Near-Term Policy Action, Gabriel S. Umoh

Economic and Financial Review

This paper reviews food crisis and its causes in Nigeria. It takes the position that food crisis has been simmering in Nigeria for the past couple of years and identifies policy instability, poor policy implementation and declining household purchasing power, among others as the major causes of food crisis. It recommends strong policy support and implementation, automatic indexation of wages and pensions and other measures to curb food crisis in the country.

Averting The Looming Food Crisis: A Clarion Call To Immediate And Near-Term Policy Action, Alwan A. Hassan

Economic and Financial Review

Nigeria suffers from food insecurity and poverty. It is estimated that the number of hungry people in Nigeria is over 53 million, which is about 25.0 per cent of the country’s total population of about 212 million. Also, about 43.0 per cent of Nigerians live below the poverty line. These statistics are worrisome, given that Nigeria, in the 1950s and 1960s, was not only self-sufficient in food production, but was also a net exporter of food to other regions of the continent (Ajayeoba, 2010). A nation is food secure when food is available and accessible in sufficient quantity and quality …

Averting The Looming Food Crisis: A Clarion Call To Immediate And Near-Term Policy Action, Emmanuel A. Onwioduokit

Economic and Financial Review

Discussions on food security have gained traction in the recent past, especially in Africa and other developing economies. Several horrifying images of famished families, particularly around “The Horn of Africa” including Somalia, Ethiopia, and some parts of Kenya, projected globally in both the print and electronic media vividly illustrate the perils of food crises. In Nigeria, food constitute a substantial share of family budgets, particularly for low-income households. When prices of essential foods items increase poorer people suffer the adverse impacts more disproportionately. While clothing and shelter are basic necessities of life, food remains the most vital, given its centrality …

Modeling The Us Beef Industry’S Response To Covid-19, Owen Michael Fleming

Undergraduate Economic Review

To understand the beef industry’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, I proposed a three-sector model of the beef supply-chain and estimated it econometrically. Based on their definitions, it is found that panic, stay-at-home procedures, and expectations are not significant explanatory variables. However, there is strong evidence that COVID-19 spread in a set of counties with large meatpacking plants has the effect of increasing wholesale beef prices, while country-wide spread has the effect of reducing wholesale prices. The results further imply differences in competition across the market levels, with wholesalers responding as if they face less competition than retailers and farmers.

The Chow Test With Time Series-Cross Section Data, James K. Binkley, Jeffrey Young

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

The Chow test is a standard method to test for differences in regression response across groups. In some cases, the groups being tested are composed of a time series of cross sections. If the individual units within the groups have systematic differences, the Chow test is compromised: individual and group effects become confounded. This can cause rejections in the absence of the group effect of interest. We illustrate the problem with Monte Carlo analyses, and propose an alternative bootstrap-like testing procedure that helps eliminate excessive Type I errors.

Pro-Social Consumer And Firm Behavior In Imperfectly Competitive Regional Agricultural Markets, Jill Fitzsimmons

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I combine field research, econometric methods, and economic theory to analyze a market in which both firms’ and consumers’ choices are motivated by social preferences. This work contributes to the fields of behavioral economics, industrial organization, and local food systems economics. The dissertation expands the growing literature on social preferences to incorporate firms’ choices that are motivated by utility maximizing objectives in an environment that allows endogenous equilibrium prices and quantities. Firms with social preferences operate in a competitive environment in which they may face downstream market power. In particular, the research focuses on intermediated Farm to …

The Structural Transformation Of The Agricultural Sector, Neil E. Harl

Neil E. Harl

A major concern as we move into the Twenty-first Century is the structure of the agricultural sector. By structure, is meant considerations of size and scale as well as who is to manage, control and finance farming and agribusiness operations.

Corporate Responsibility In Peace Building, Conflict Prevention And Development: The Role Of The Mining Sector In Ghana, Abdul Karim Issifu

Journal of Interdisciplinary Conflict Science

This article seeks to explore the role of the mining sector in peace building, conflict prevention and community development in Ghana. After thoroughly reviewing secondary data, including articles, books, journals, newspapers, etc., via critical document review and qualitative research approaches the research found that, there is no legal document on CSR in Ghana, yet mining companies in a free will, have executed CSR programs laying down for peace, security and development in the country. More so, this article provides a theoretical support for the Integrative theory of CSR on the basis that, the socio-economic, political, cultural and environmental needs of …

Pipeline Congestion And Basis Differentials, Matthew E. Oliver, Charles F. Mason, David C. Finnoff

Charles F Mason

No abstract provided.

Drilling In The Drought: The Industrial Organization Of Groundwater, Ujjayant N. Chakravorty, E. Somanathan

Ujjayant Chakravorty

China and India together produce about half the world's rice and a third of the world's wheat, but production in both countries is heavily dependent on depleting groundwater resources. A large proportion of farmers buy and sell groundwater - the trading facilitated by small farm sizes and fragments land holdings. The economics of groundwater, when farm sizes are small, is little understood. This paper develops a simple, spatial model of the industrial organization of groundwater markets appropriate for smallholder agriculture. We show that if water is abundant, then equilibrium with free entry results in Bertrand competition, with water sellers charging …

Understanding The Ocean Economy Within Regional And National Contexts, Charles S. Colgan, Judith T. Kildow Dr

Presentations

• Extending discussion of the ocean economy beyond “How Big”

– Changes in the U.S. related to the Great Recession

– Decomposing changes to major types of change

– Finding relative sizes

• Exploring the expanding attention to the ocean economy in other parts of the world

– Likenesses and differences in:

• Definitions
• Measures
• Geographies
• Purposes

Where do we go from here?

2

Market Structure And The Cost Of Compliance With Environmental Regulation, Stuart Mcdonald

Stuart McDonald

This paper analyses the expected level of non-compliance with environmental standards within in an oligopolistic industry. The paper departs from the previous literature on environmental compliance by allowing for the possibility of product differentiation. In doing this, the paper provides results quantifying the important role that strategic complements and substitutes have in determining both the relative degree of non-compliance and level of fines required to achieve both partial and universal compliance with environmental standards. The paper shows that under Bertrand competition it is relatively more difficult to achieve compliance with environmental standards than under Cournot competition, requiring larger fines to …

Optimal Environmental Taxation With Pre-Commitment And Green R&D, Stuart Mcdonald

Stuart McDonald

Two approaches for modelling investment in R\&D have been developed by d'Aspremont and Jacquemin (AJ, 1988) and Kamien, Muller and Zang (KMZ, 1992), when there are spillovers associated with R\&D effort. This paper examines how these two approaches predict investment in green technology, when environmental policy takes the form of an optimal emission tax. The results show that the two models are equivalent when there are no R\&D spillovers; but when R\&D spillovers are present, significant differences in their predictions are observed. Specifically, the KMZ model predicts higher emission tax rates, higher level of R\&D expenditures and higher levels of …

Human Capital Formation And Economic Development In Pakistan: An Empirical Analysis, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Mahboob Ul Hassan, Muhammad Shahid

Muhammad Irfan Chani

This study investigates the casual relationship between economic development and formation of human capital in Pakistan. Based on endogenous growth theory, this study empirically tests the standard growth model consisting of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita as a dependent variable and human capital formation, investment in physical capital and labor force as independent variables. Autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) bound testing approach to cointegration is used to check the long-run equilibrium relationship between the variables included in the model. For checking the causal relationship between economic development and human capital formation, pair-wise Granger causality test is used for time series …

Some Socio Economic Determinants Of Fertility In Pakistan: An Empirical Analysis, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Muhammad Shahid, Mahboob Ul Hassan

Muhammad Irfan Chani

This study aims to investigate the role that various socioeconomic factors like female education, urbanization and female labour force participation play in determining fertility of women in Pakistan. ARDL bound test approach to cointegration is used to analyze the long-run relationship of the variables by using the data for the period from 1980 to 2009. The empirical results show that there exists a long-run as well as short-run relationship between fertility and urbanization, female labour force participation and female education in Pakistan. The analysis indicates there is a negative relationship between all 3 determinants with fertility. Female education and urbanization …

A Closer Look At The Relationship Between Superstitious Behaviors And Trait Anxiety, Brandy Futrell

Brandy Futrell

This study examines the relationship between superstitious behaviors and trait anxiety. Researchers randomly selected participants from college campuses for a 28-question survey measuring superstitiousness and the 20-question State-Trait-Anxiety-Inventory (STAI) to measure symptoms of anxiety. Results show a positive correlation between superstitious behaviors and an increase in anxiety symptoms. Significant gender differences were found; women scored higher on superstitiousness survey and the STAI-X2 test. Superstitious behaviors were a significant indicator for developing trait anxiety.

Looking At China’S Great Leap Forward From A Systems Perspective, Brandy Futrell

Brandy Futrell

China’s Great Leap Forward (GLF) campaign of 1958-1961 led by Mao Tse-Tung resulted in a horrendous famine that cost millions of lives. This paper examines the campaign from a systems perspective across the individual, group/societal, and regulatory levels. Looking at each level illustrates errors that explain how the GLF failed.

Benefits Of Rebuilding Global Marine Fisheries Outweigh Costs, Ling Huang, Ussif Sumaila Etc.

Ling Huang

No abstract provided.

Managing Bluefin Tuna In The Mediterranean Sea, Ling Huang, Ussif Sumaila

Ling Huang

No abstract provided.

Case Studies Of Bluefin Tuna In The Mediterranean Sea, Ling Huang, Ussif Suamila

Ling Huang

No abstract provided.

Preliminary Estimate Of Short-Term Economic Losses Of The Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill, Ling Huang, Ussif Sumaila Etc.

Ling Huang

No abstract provided.

The Emergence Of A Small World In A Network Of Research Joint Ventures, Stuart Mcdonald

Stuart McDonald

Using a data set spanning the period 1899-2000, we construct a network of RJVs and track the pattern of growth of this network over time. The resulting R&D network is emergent in the sense that RJVs are contained within it, connected to other RJVs by the existence of firms sharing membership with multiple RJVs. This paper shows that the largest growth in the R&D networks occurred during the last three decades of the Twentieth Century. During this growth period, the R&D network has a pattern of collaboration that can be characterised as having the “small world” property. This has implications …

Do Inventories Have An Impact On Price Transmission? Evidence From The Canadian Chicken Industry, Abdessalem Abbassi, Lota Tamini D., Jean-Philippe Gervais

abdessalem abbassi

This paper investigates the influence of inventories in explaining the magnitude of price transmission. Using data from the Canadian chicken industry, a flexible non-linear inference framework detects significant non-linearities in the relationship between farm and wholesale prices. An empirical model is proposed to estimate a price transmission elasticity and a target inventory equation in the spirit of linear-quadratic inventory models in the macroeconomics literature. A generalized method of moments estimator measures the impact of inventories on price transmission and accounts for the potential correlation between sales and wholesale prices. The price transmission elasticity is lower (higher) when inventories are above …

An Analysis Of Different Approaches To Women Empowerment: A Case Study Of Pakistan, Amatul R. Chaudhary, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Zahid Pervaiz

Muhammad Irfan Chani

Reclamation - An Eco-Industrial Park In Greenfield, Massachusetts, Sage W. Sluter

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Honors Projects

Sustainable Industrial Design
Reclaiming a Brownfield in Greenfield, Massachusetts
Abstract:
For the senior capstone project at the University of Massachusetts, this student completed a conceptual site design project for the City of Greenfield. The City of Greenfield wishes to redevelop the Brownfield site, currently known as the Bendix Property, into an eco- industrial park. Working closely with the City’s officials, the student created a realistic vision for the site. After twenty years of soil and groundwater treatment, the site is ready to come back to life. The student investigated what an eco -industrial park is, and how the businesses cooperate …