Economic Efficiency Considerations Research Articles

Decision‐making regarding safety investments: A case study of fluidized‐bed reactors

AbstractIn chemical plants, the pressure to prioritize production and minimize operating costs often leads to delays in safety investments. To allocate limited management resources effectively, decision‐making regarding safety investments must follow a logical approach. This article outlines how engineers can provide valuable information to the management, enabling them to make informed decisions. We demonstrate that decision‐making involves both technical and economic considerations, following a well‐defined process with distinct stages. This study highlights the importance of technical data in making informed decisions regarding safety investments. Decision makers must consider various factors, including risk assessment, economic efficiency, technology reliability, and construction safety. In addition, economic efficiency considerations should incorporate new proposals that account for environmental profit/loss. Our findings confirm that effectiveness of the proposed method, particularly when applied to fluidized‐bed reactors. In conclusion, accurate allocation of management resources at appropriate times leads to reasonable risk reduction.

Ultrasound Versus Magnetic Resonance Imaging as First-Line Imaging Strategies for Rotator Cuff Pathologies: A Comprehensive Analysis of Clinical Practices, Economic Efficiency, and Future Perspectives.

Rotator cuff injuries are a prevalent cause of atraumatic chronic shoulder pain, imposing a significant healthcare burden. This articlereviews the clinical presentation, diagnostic imaging modalities, practice variations, and economic efficiency considerations in the evaluation of rotator cuff pathologies. Ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are the primary imaging methods for diagnosing rotator cuff injuries. US provides real-time visualization but has limited tissue penetration, while MRI offers detailed anatomical information but is not a dynamic process. Studies show that MRI is superior to US with higher sensitivity and specificity. MRI is the gold standard, particularly for surgical planning, but US remains relevant when MRI is not feasible. Both require standardized protocols for evaluating tear dimensions and muscle atrophy. With the operator-dependent nature of US, MRI offers a more comprehensive assessment of rotator cuff tears and predictive insights for clinical outcomes. Practice variations exist in the management of rotator cuff pathologies, with some countries favoring US as the primary imaging modality and others relying more on MRI. These variations are influenced by factors like resource availability and healthcare system nuances. In Australia, current guidelines lean towardconservative management, potentially leading to delayed diagnoses and increased costs. The United States often favors MRI, while Canada advocates for US as the initial choice. Economic considerations play a significant role in selecting imaging modalities. While US is cost-effective, it may necessitate subsequent MRI examinations, contributing to inefficiencies in the diagnostic process. Studies suggest that a combined approach of US and MRI is less efficient and cost-effective than MRI alone. However, the use of both modalities rather than MRI aloneis common in clinical practice, adding to healthcare expenses. In conclusion, the choice of imaging modality for rotator cuff pathologies should consider factors such as diagnostic efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and resource availability. Radiologists play a pivotal role in guiding this selection and ensuring comprehensive evaluations. Future considerations should include the revision of management guidelines and the potential inclusion of shoulder pathologies in healthcare coverage to optimize patient care and healthcare expenditure.

Exploration of different water content on the performance of reactive-extractive distillation for separating the ternary azeotropic mixture

Reactive-extractive distillation (RED) has gained significant attention as an innovative approach for separating azeotropic mixtures. Although many studies have reported its positive benefits, no studies have explored the impact of varying water content on RED performance, a domain that has seen exhaustive exploration in conventional extractive distillation. In this study, we investigate how water content affects RED performance using the separation of ethyl acetate (EA), 1,4-dioxane (DIO), and water as a case study. We design diverse configurations tailored for feed compositions ranging from 0.35 to 0.8 water mole fractions using a double column reactive-extractive distillation (DCRED). These configurations are globally optimized and the performance is compared against the triple-column conventional extractive distillation (TCCED) based on economic, environmental, and thermodynamic efficiency considerations. The TAC and CO2 emission of TCCED schemes exhibit the linear decreases, reaching its lowest point at 50 mol.% water content. Beyond this threshold, both indicators increase significantly, even surpassing the reference case (20 mol.% water) at 80 mol.% water content. The thermodynamic efficiency of TCCED behaves inversely due to the intrinsic exergy destructions. Interestingly, the DCRED schemes show almost linear decreases in the trends of both economic and environmental indicators, and the notable deviations are then observed at 65 mol.% water content, accompanied with a slight decrease up to 80 mol.%. The thermodynamic efficiency of DCRED scheme gives an inverse trend, identical to those observed in TCRED. Overall, TCCED performs best at 50 mol.%, in which DCRED excels at 80 mol.% water content. This comprehensive study bridges a significant knowledge gap, offering insights into optimizing RED processes for varying water content, an unexplored topic despite widespread application of RED.

Privacy regulations and economic efficiency: a dynamic perspective.

There are important public debates on how-or even whether-to regulate information about previous transactions in different markets. Examples are the regulation of cookies in online markets, secrecy laws in financial markets, and transparency directives in government purchases. In these debates, considerations of economic efficiency and fairness are central. Do more lenient information policies increase market efficiency? Do internet users benefit from cookies? Does more secrecy increase trade volume in financial markets? Does transparency on previous agreements deteriorate the bargaining power of public agencies? This essay sheds light on the answers to these questions using insights from economic theory. We do so by analyzing a simple, stylized setting where the incentives of different agents in the market will be clear. Our focus is on the dynamic effects of information regulations, as a trader's incentive to reveal or conceal information is driven by its future use by other traders. We use our setting to assess the implications of information regulations on behavior, trade efficiency, or social welfare.

An Assessment of Economic Sustainability and Efficiency in Small-Scale Broiler Farms in Limpopo Province: A Review

An important factor in determining the success of a small-scale broiler farm is its economic viability and efficiency. During times of trouble for the industry, the idea receives more attention. The conceptual considerations of economic sustainability and efficiency are frequently quite constrained, according to the difficulties raised in this study and by other authors. There is a lack of information about South Africa’s small-scale broiler production’s economic viability and effectiveness. Furthermore, it is clear that small-scale broiler producers have the ability to increase their economic efficiency. By reducing the mortality rate, feed conversion rate, and production duration, both their technical and financial efficiency could be improved. Profitability in the production of broilers will be considerably increased by lowering the cost of these variable inputs, particularly feed and day-old chicks. Additionally, raising the education level, capacity utilization ratio, and broiler production would all contribute to raising the farms’ efficiency levels. To ensure effective resource use and to maximize practicable profit, small-scale broiler producers who are not operating close to the profit frontier must make efforts to reduce both technical and allocation inefficiencies. Collectively, all these measures would ensure the economic sustainability of small-scale farmers in South Africa would be met. Moreover, the sustainability of small-scale broiler producers can be achieved if strategies that build local capacity and that empower them to sustain high levels of productivity are provided. In addition, the efficient use of resources will ensure that productivity is enhanced, and might increase profitability. It is therefore important to ensure that small-scale broiler producers achieve maximum profit for a given set of inputs. Approaches in assessing the farm-level profitability such as cost-benefit and gross margin analyses can be used.

Improvement of the Taxation System and its Theoretical Justification

Taxes are one of the main levers of government influence on a national economy and, at the same time, the most important tool for replenishing the governmental budget. These considerations justify the enormous importance of the objective, correct and harmonious construction of a given taxation system, without which the effective functioning and sustainable development of the national economic complex of the country is inconceivable. Currently, the tax system in Russia is undergoing certain changes, especially in terms of direct taxation of income of individuals, which require a comparison of the decisions made with regard to the theoretical provisions of tax optimization. Consequently, the theoretical study of applicable and potentially available tax instruments in the current period is of particular relevance. The author's study of the theory of welfare economics as a basis for seeking and making practical solutions in the formation and improvement of the national tax system is a monographic study of the works of foreign authors and the interpretation of their results concerning the realities of Russian tax policy to substantiate the changes made to the latter or to refute the feasibility of them. In achieving this objective, the methods of scientific analysis were used: dialectic analysis and synthesis. The study is based on the review of relevant scientific and periodic economic literature. The authors conclude that the simultaneous application of direct and indirect taxes is advisable, provided that the determination of the mechanisms for their use is based on different principles barizing out of the theory of welfare economics. The authors indicate that the taxation of income of individuals is the one direct tax, the application of which is often based not only on considerations of economic efficiency, but also on political and sociological motives, in particular, the concept of justice, which, by definition, is subjective and differs among different social groups and political parties. Nevertheless, the authors emphasize the mandatory nature of the non-linear taxation of income of individuals from both economic and political positions. The paper also concludes that it is permissible to use indirect taxation, in particular, in the form of a value added tax. However, in the case of the value added tax, in contrast to the income tax, the preference for applying the same tax rates and avoiding the use of exemptions from the tax base is justified.

The functions of securities law: An expert survey of legislative intent in Poland.

Under the conventional view, securities law is intended to protect ordinary (retail) investors. However, some scholars from the school of Law & Economics (L&E), guided by considerations of economic efficiency, claim instead that the principal function of securities law is to reduce transaction costs and risk to professionals. This paper examines those claims empirically. Our research design blends content analysis methods with expert survey techniques to arrive at numerical assessments of determinants of Polish securities law. We find that the L&E view is supported by our data very weakly, only insofar as consumer protection is not the main driver of securities law. The veracity of this claim appears to be time-dependent. We do not find sufficient support for the main components of the L&E view, i.e., that securities law is meant to reduce transaction costs and risk to professionals. However, our data does not refute the L&E hypotheses, and, therefore, we consider them to be an open question. We phrase our conclusions cautiously because of the relatively small number of experts surveyed and of statutory sources of securities law in Poland.

Ecological and economic aspects of the efficiency of Polissia organic plant models

Purpose. The objective of the article is to investigate theoretically the possibility of harmonization of ecological and economic aspects of functioning of organic agricultural products production models under natural and climatic conditions of crop enterprises of Polissia zone in the Region of Chernihiv.
 Methodology / approach. The study was conducted at the Institute of Agricultural Microbiology and Agro-Industrial Manufacture of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine during 2011–2020. The analysis of ecological and economic efficiency of organic crop rotations was made based on the results of the proprietary research on the example of generalization of predicted results of the developed standard models of organic crop rotations at crop enterprises of Polissia zone. Main methods: modelling (development, in particular, of standard models of crop rotations, modelling of the size of fertilizer potential over time by years); predicting (prediction of receipt and expenditure of nutrients, organic matter), balance (calculation of balances of humus and key nutrients), calculation and design (calculation of the basic parameters of economic efficiency); abstract and logical (formulation of the provisions of the article based on the analysis of studies of other authors, drawing conclusions based on the results of studies conducted).
 Results. Developed typical crop rotation models are characterized by positive predictive humus balances and acceptable key nutrient balances (NPK). With the implementation of ‘organic’ prices for agricultural products, most crops achieve an acceptable level of profitability. However, in order to achieve a competitive level of profitability of organic production, it must be provided with an appropriate economic mechanism of its functioning, in particular higher prices compared to traditional agricultural products, etc. Harmonization of economic and ecological aspects in simulated crop rotations is achieved primarily by selecting crops with high yields, which are mainly characterized by insufficient or low level of ecological efficiency, and crops with high or medium ecological efficiency, which having insufficient or low economic efficiency, compensate mostly negative ecological consequences of growing crops with high economic efficiency. This is accompanied by achievement of the ecological balance of agrocenoses and an acceptable level of economic efficiency of organic models. The practical aspect of the activities of specific farms in relation to the choice of the appropriate model of organic management should take into account not only considerations of ecological and economic efficiency, but also the level of resource provision within these limits.
 Originality / scientific novelty. The possibility of harmonization of economic and ecological aspects and achievement of their acceptable level in crop rotations of organic agriculture for crop enterprises has been theoretically substantiated. For the first time, the methodological approach developed by the authors on the distribution of costs for the production and application of organic fertilizers between crops during crop rotation in proportion to the duration and amount of fertilization was implemented.
 Practical value / implications. Typical models of crop rotations of organic farming for crop enterprises in Polissia were developed. Methods of choosing a certain model were proposed both according to the criteria of ecological and economic efficiency, and taking into account the organizational and economic capabilities and resource provision of a particular business entity.

The economic consequences of electricity tariff design in a renewable energy era

Renewable generation is rapidly expanding across many electricity grids, often as distributed renewable energy sources (D-RES). D-RES, such as rooftop solar panels, change a household’s electric relationship with the external grid, demanding a likewise change in its economic relationship with the retailer. In particular, D-RES can impact fairness and economic efficiency considerations for electricity tariffs. We evaluate this impact on 5 tariffs, using per-minute data for 144 households in Austin, TX, USA. Our results show that traditional tariff designs allow for large wealth transfers, often to D-RES owners from non-owners, who may be paying on the median 22% more than their fair share. For economic efficiency, traditional tariffs again perform poorly. Newer time-based (time-of-use, or TOU, and real-time dynamic pricing) tariffs show few signs of cross-subsidization and better economic efficiency. Potential demand elasticity does not significantly alter conclusions for fairness, but significantly impacts those for economic efficiency. Our results clarify how different novel tariff designs in the renewable energy era achieve differing kinds and levels of fairness and efficiency; some acceptable, while others less so.

Official Export Credit Support: Competition and Compliance Issues

Aggressive competition in the official export credit support market has resulted in an increase in activity that lies outside of the main instruments regulating competition and sustainable development in export finance terms – the OECD Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits, (OECD Arrangement on Official Export Credits. TAD/PG(2019)1) and the OECD Common Approaches(OECD Recommendation of the Council on Common Approaches for Officially Supported Export Credits and Environmental and Social Due Diligence (The ‘Common Approaches’). TAD/ECG(2016)3). By default, the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Duties (SCM) is becoming the main legal deterrent, despite its weakness in not covering trade in services or the sustainable development dimensions of official export credit support. Yet the playing field is also unruly because of the apparent reluctance on the part of WTO Members to challenge these measures. Export Credit Agencies (ECAs), the OECD Arrangement, the OECD Common Approaches, the WTO SCM, International Working Group on Export Credit Support (IWG) The current economic slowdown in export growth, coupled with the rise of unruly export credit support programmes, presents a strategic dilemma for the Participants to the OECD Arrangement. They are faced with the difficult choice between taking a strong pro-competition position domestically, or by fighting fire with fire and developing their own non-Arrangement type export credit support programmes. The former option is the more preferable for economic efficiency considerations and long-term competitiveness, although it may result in a controversial reduced role for their ECAs. There is a collective interest in preventing publicly-funded, yet opaque, subsidy wars in export credit terms and conditions, with negative economic, political, social and environmental repercussions. This calls for heightened cooperation among ECA governments within international bodies such as the WTO, OECD and the International Working Group (IWG) on Export Credit Support. Export Credit Agencies (ECAs), the OECD Arrangement, the OECD Common Approaches, the WTO SCM, International Working Group on Export Credit Support (IWG)

Productivity Growth in Chinese Medical Institutions during 2009–2018

China is the most populous nation and considerations of economic efficiency in the social sectors is important for maintaining the wellbeing of such a large population. This is especially true when gauging the performance of the healthcare sector treating the population. In this paper, we examine the total factor productivity (TFP) growth in Chinese medical institutions during the period 2009–2018, which experienced a systemic healthcare reform. In order to identify the contribution from each component of TFP indicators and from each provincial or regional medical institutions, a generalized decomposition of productivity gains is applied to analyze hospital operations based on an aggregate directional distance function (DDF). The results show that the annual average TFP growth rate in Chinese medical institutions is 1.87% that is mainly driven by technological progress (0.75%, per annum), while less contributed by technical efficiency change (0.65%, p.a.) and scale efficiency change (0.47%, p.a.). Disparities of provincial hospital performances are observed that may provide policy implications for decision makers.

Development of an Exergy-Rational Method and Optimum Control Algorithm for the Best Utilization of the Flue Gas Heat in Coal-Fired Power Plant Stacks

Waste heat that is available in the flue gas of power plant stacks is a potential source of useful thermal power. In reclaiming and utilizing this waste heat without compromising plant efficiency, stacks usually need to be equipped with forced-draught fans in order to compensate for the decrease in natural draught while stack gas is cooled. In addition, pumps are used to circulate the heat transfer fluid. All of these parasitic operations require electrical power. Electrical power has unit exergy of almost 1 W/W. On the contrary, the thermal power exergy that is claimed from the low-enthalpy flue gas has much lower unit exergy. Therefore, from an exergetic point of view, the additional electrical exergy that is required to drive pumps and fans must not exceed the thermal exergy claimed. Based on the First-Law of Thermodynamics, the net energy that is saved may be positive with an apparently high coefficient of performance; however, the same generally does not hold true for the Second-Law. This is a matter of determining the optimum amount of heat to be claimed and the most rational method of utilizing this heat for maximum net exergy gain from the process, under variable outdoor conditions and the plant operations. The four main methods were compared. These are (a) electricity generation by thermoelectric generators, electricity generation with an Organic-Rankine Cycle with (b) or without (c) a heat pump, and (d) the direct use of the thermal exergy that is gained in a district energy system. The comparison of these methods shows that exergy-rationality is the best for method (b). A new analytical optimization algorithm and the exergy-based optimum control strategy were developed, which determine the optimum pump flow rate of the heat recovery system and then calculate how much forced-draft fan power is required in the stack at dynamic operating conditions. Robust design metrics were established to maximize the net exergy gain, including an exergy-based coefficient of performance. Parametric studies indicate that the exergetic approach provides a better insight by showing that the amount of heat that can be optimally recovered is much different than the values given by classical economic and energy efficiency considerations. A case study was performed for method (d), which shows that, without any exergy rationality-based control algorithm and design method, the flue gas heat recovery may not be feasible in district energy systems or any other methods of utilization of the heat recovered. The study has implications in the field, since most of the waste heat recovery units in industrial applications, which are designed based on the First-Law of Thermodynamics, result in exergy loss instead of exergy gain, and are therefore responsible for more carbon dioxide emissions. These applications must be retrofitted with new exergy-based controllers for variable speed pumps and fans with optimally selected capacities.

Can we equitably manage the end of the fossil fuel era?

This paper tracks the development of climate justice discourse around leaving fossil fuels in the ground. It then looks forward to the questions of equity that calls for the decline of fossil fuel production raise. It argues, following the Lofoten Declaration for a Managed Decline of Fossil Fuel Production around the World, that global distributive justice requires rich countries, who have benefited the most from fossil fuel extraction, and who have most alternative available development pathways must lead in leaving fossil fuels in the ground. However, the paper shows that equitably managing the end of the fossil fuel era is complicated by how economic efficiency or the interests of frontline communities might at times diverge from global distributive justice. In response, the paper argues that a useful short-term strategy is to focus on how equity and economic efficiency both suggest that wealthy historically polluting countries should leave high-cost, carbon-intensive fossil fuels in the ground. Beyond that, the paper highlights how difficult questions and trade-offs emerge at points where considerations of equity and economic efficiency diverge. Such points of divergence represent a considerable challenge for advocates of an equitable decline of fossil fuel production, and are areas of significant interest for future research and advocacy.

The misleading of public participation in environmental assessment – exploring four infrastructure cases in Denmark

ABSTRACTThe article analyses the recent development of public participation in environmental assessment and indicates some unfortunate and unintended results. A number of Danish cases show how the tools involved are employed for a kind of ‘acceptance planning’, instead of actual environmental protection, and that the legitimacy which public inclusion was supposed to bring to environmental assessment has instead been replaced by considerations of legality, which frees entrepreneurs and authorities from including real environmental considerations in their planning. Thus, the undesirable handling of public participation that the article analyses is not only due to the actual difficulties of practising inclusion and the indisputable complexity of the environmental issues but also to a very large extent due to considerations of economic efficiency and an unwillingness among investors – public as well as private – to take account of environmental consequences as a long-term issue. The article ends with a range of recommendations for securing public inclusion in matters of environmental assessment through independent public initiatives or institutions that do not answer to authorities and entrepreneurs.

Land Regime Choice in Close-Knit Communities: The Case of the First Nations Land Management Act

Land interests on Canadian First Nations reserves have long been governed by the rigid and paternalistic provisions of the federal Indian Act, which require the permission of the federal Minister of Indigenous Affairs for even relatively minor land transactions. Yet an increasing number of First Nations have taken advantage of the 1999 First Nations Land Management Act (FNLMA), which allows First Nations to adopt a custom land code that replaces most of the reserve land provisions of the Indian Act in their community. This paper seeks to examine how First Nation communities have chosen to exercise their powers under this Act to define and regulate land interests on reserve. Working from a database of 33 FNLMA land codes, the authors focus on three discrete issues on which the codes differ: 1) whether to require a vote of the community as a whole for the grant of a lease in community-held lands to a non-member; 2) whether to require the approval of the band council for the transfer of a leasehold interest to a non-member; and 3) whether to require the approval of the band council for the inter vivos transfer of a member-held interest to another member. Each of these issues relates to the contentious question of how freely alienable land interests in indigenous communities should be, a matter that occupies a kind of ideological fault line involving considerations of economic efficiency and individual autonomy, on the one hand, and community cohesion and traditional culture, on the other. The authors make a number of observations relating to the links between the characteristics of communities and their choice of land regime. First Nations with substantial non-indigenous populations living on reserve were more likely to adopt rules allowing free alienation of leasehold interests, as well as free alienation of member interests among members. In addition, First Nations that adopted liberal rules for the transfer of interests among members experienced larger increases in the proportion of their members living off-reserve in the years following the adoption of their code. This may indicate that liberal transfer rules among members help to facilitate exit from the community.

The 'Make and/or Buy' Decisions of Corporate Political Lobbying: Integrating the Economic Efficiency and Legitimacy Perspectives

This paper examines political lobbying and investigates firms’ decisions regarding whether to employ internal functionalities (i.e., to “make” or insource), to contract with external professionals (i.e., to “buy” or outsource), or to do both (i.e., to “make and buy” or plural source). I first develop an integrated framework based on the twin perspectives of economic efficiency and legitimacy. When the political audience faces little uncertainty about lobbying content, firms make sourcing decisions to maximize economic efficiency in producing such content in line with transaction cost economics and the capabilities view. However, when the political audience faces substantial uncertainty about lobbying content, it relies on the perceived legitimacy of the lobbying entity to draw inferences about the quality of the such content; therefore, the legitimacy of a potential lobbying entity matters to firms making sourcing decisions related to lobbying. Then, I connect firms’ sourcing decisions with several concrete characteristics of lobbying entities that can affect political audiences’ judgment regarding their legitimacy. Finally, I examine the tension that develops when legitimacy and economic efficiency considerations call for different forms of sourcing, and I examine how complementarities in plural sourcing help resolve this tension in certain situations.

Energy efficiency consultants as change agents? Examining the reasons for EECs’ limited success

Residential energy consumption has been increasingly singled out by public policies as a key area for potential emission reduction. The public implementation of energy efficiency consultants (EECs) as change agents aims at the diffusion of innovation in residential building efficiency and overcoming information asymmetries in the construction sector. However, the success of these measures has been described as low. We conducted a case study involving 17 in-depth expert interviews to examine the causes of this failure in the case of Germany. In Germany, EECs are organized in a certification scheme which is prerequisite to participate in the publicly funded subsidy system. This analysis has important implications for EECs in general and hence other European countries pursuing such policies. We show that information asymmetries (ex-ante/ex-post) in the ECC market lead to a low willingness to pay. Certification of EECs does not suffice to overcome information asymmetries. We also identify a mismatch between EECs and customer incentives. As top-down policies have failed to facilitate a viable EEC market, we recommend a greater role for private and private-public networks, the cutting of EEC subsidies and a closer alignment between climate policy goals and home owners’ economic efficiency considerations.

Rotavirus vaccines contribute towards universal health coverage in a mixed public-private healthcare system.

To evaluate rotavirus vaccination in Malaysia from the household's perspective. The extended cost-effectiveness analysis (ECEA) framework quantifies the broader value of universal vaccination starting with non-health benefits such as financial risk protection and equity. These dimensions better enable decision-makers to evaluate policy on the public finance of health programmes. The incidence, health service utilisation and household expenditure related to rotavirus gastroenteritis according to national income quintiles were obtained from local data sources. Multiple birth cohorts were distributed into income quintiles and followed from birth over the first five years of life in a multicohort, static model. We found that the rich pay more out of pocket (OOP) than the poor, as the rich use more expensive private care. OOP payments among the poorest although small are high as a proportion of household income. Rotavirus vaccination results in substantial reduction in rotavirus episodes and expenditure and provides financial risk protection to all income groups. Poverty reduction benefits are concentrated amongst the poorest two income quintiles. We propose that universal vaccination complements health financing reforms in strengthening Universal Health Coverage (UHC). ECEA provides an important tool to understand the implications of vaccination for UHC, beyond traditional considerations of economic efficiency.

How much carbon offsetting and where? Implications of efficiency, effectiveness, and ethicality considerations for public opinion formation

A fundamental policy design choice in government-led climate change mitigation is: what role should flexibility mechanisms like carbon offsetting play in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Since public opinion affects the policy choices of government, we investigate how arguments regarding carbon offsetting's economic efficiency, effectiveness, and ethicality, which have been key points in the public debate, impact the public's preferences. We fielded an online framing experiment in the United States (N=995) to empirically identify how arguments for and against carbon offsetting influence public preferences for the inclusion of offsetting in national GHG mitigation policy. We find that the public's support for international offsetting increases and support for reductions at their source (i.e. within firms' own operations) diminishes when considerations of economic efficiency gains are at the forefront. Support for offsetting declines when individuals are confronted with arguments concerning its effectiveness and ethicality, which suggests that future policies will require clear standards of additionality in order to address these concerns. Moreover, we find that how carbon offsetting is framed matters even amongst climate skeptics and support could potentially be enhanced via improved communication on efficiency gains.

Intellectual property, antitrust, and the rule of law: between private power and state power

AbstractThis Article explores the rule of law aspects of the intersection between intellectual property and antitrust law. Contemporary discussions and debates on intellectual property (IP), antitrust, and the intersection between them are typically framed in economically oriented terms. This Article, however, shows that there is more law in law than just economics. It demonstrates how the rule of law has influenced the development of several IP doctrines, and the interface between IP and antitrust, in important, albeit not always acknowledged, ways. In particular, it argues that some limitations on IP rights, such as exhaustion and limitations on tying arrangements, are grounded in rule of law principles restricting the arbitrary exercise of legal power, rather than solely in considerations of economic efficiency. The historical development of IP law has reflected several tensions, both economic and political, that lie at the heart of the constitutional order of the modern state: the tension between the benefits of free competition and the recognition that some restraints on competition may be beneficial and justified; the concern that power, even when conferred in the public interest, can often be abused and arbitrarily