Economic Gains Research Articles

What Drives the Erasure of Protected Areas? Evidence from across the Brazilian Amazon

Protected areas (PAs) are a widely used strategy for conserving forests and ecosystem services. When PAs succeed in deterring economic activities that degrade forests, the impacts include more forest yet less economic gain. These economic opportunity costs of conservation lead actors with economic interests to resist new PAs, driving their sites away from profitable market centers and towards areas featuring lower opportunity costs. Further, after PAs are created, economic actors may want PA downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (collectively PADDD). We examine reductions in PAs' spatial extent – downsizings (partial erasures) and degazettements (complete erasures) − that presumably reduce protection. Using data for the entire Brazilian Amazon from PADDDtracker.org, our empirical analyses explore whether size reductions from 2006 to 2015 resulted from bargaining between development and conservation. We find that the risks of PA size reductions are raised by: lower travel costs (as implied by distances to roads and cities), which affect economic gains and enforcement; greater PA size, which affects enforcement; and more prior internal deforestation, which lowers the impacts of size reductions. These dynamics of protection offer insights on the potentially conflicting factors that lead to PA size reductions, with implications for policymaking to enhance PA effectiveness and permanence.

On-Farm Evaluation on Yield and Economic Performance of Cereal-Cowpea Intercropping to Support the Smallholder Farming System in the Soudano-Sahelian Zone of Mali

Cereal-cowpea intercropping has become an integral part of the farming system in Mali. Still, information is lacking regarding integrated benefits of the whole system, including valuing of the biomass for facing the constraints of animal feedings. We used farmers’ learning networks to evaluate performance of intercropping systems of millet-cowpea and sorghum-cowpea in southern Mali. Our results showed that under intercropping, the grain yield obtained with the wilibali (short maturing duration) variety was significantly higher than the yield obtained with the sangaranka (long maturing duration) variety whether with millet (36%) or sorghum (48%), corresponding, respectively, to an economic gain of XOF (West African CFA franc) 125 282/ha and XOF 142 640/ha. While for biomass, the yield obtained with the sangaranka variety was significantly higher by 50% and 60% to that of wilibali with an economic gain of XOF 286 526/ha (with millet) and XOF 278 516/ha (with sorghum). Total gain obtained with the millet-cowpea system was significantly greater than that obtained with the sorghum-cowpea system by 14%, and this stands irrespective of the type of cowpea variety. Farmers prefer the grain for satisfying immediate food needs instead of economic gains. These results represent an indication for farmer’s decision-making regarding cowpea varieties selection especially for addressing household food security issues or feeding animals.

Economic, Environmental and Social Gains of the Implementation of Artificial Intelligence at Dam Operations toward Industry 4.0 Principles

Due to the increasing demand for water supply of urban areas, treatment and supply plants are becoming important to ensure availability and quality of this essential resource for human health. Enabling technologies of Industry 4.0 have the potential to improve performances of treatment plants. In this paper, after reviewing contributions in scientific literature on I4.0 technologies in dam operations, a study carried out on a Brazilian dam is presented and discussed. The main purpose of the study is to evaluate the economic, environmental, and social advantages achieved through the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in dam operations. Unlike automation that just respond to commands, AI uses a large amount of data training to make computers able to take the best decision. The current study involved a company that managed six reservoirs for treatment systems supplying water to almost ten million people at the metropolitan area of São Paulo City. Results of the study show that AI adoption could lead to economic gain in figures around US$ 51,000.00 per year, as well as less trips between sites and less overtime extra costs on the main operations. Increasing gates maneuvers agility result in significant environmental gains with savings of about 4.32 billion L of water per year, enough to supply 73,000 people. Also, decreasing operational vehicle utilization results in less emissions. Finally, the AI implementation improved the safety of dam operations, resulting in social benefits such as the flood risk mitigation in cities and the health and safety of operators.

Oil Palm Agroforestry Can Achieve Economic and Environmental Gains as Indicated by Multifunctional Land Equivalent Ratios

Driven by increased global demand for vegetable oil in the food and biofuel sectors, oil palm plantations based on monoculture technology have expanded into lowland tropical forests. Interest in diversified, mixed oil palm systems is increasing as these might increase efficiency of the use of land and other resources, reduce farmer risk and decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit product. Land Equivalent Ratio for provisioning services (LERP) values above 1.0 show that at least some diversified systems use land more efficiently than monocultures and are thus ‘land sparing’, where monoculture LERP cannot exceed 1.0. Diversification also modifies climate and water regulating functions (‘land sharing’) relative to a forest reference, as indicated in the LERR index. A ‘multifunctional’ LERM indicator combines both; land sparing plus land sharing effects jointly determine expected regulating services. Empirical assessment of multiple ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes is assisted by models that synthesise process-based knowledge, especially for perennial systems where well-designed experiments require a full production cycle and are costly and scarce. Agroforestry models explore spacing, intercropping and soil management options, predicting harvestable yields, impacts on water flows, nutrient leaching and greenhouse gas emissions. We used the process-based Water, Nutrient and Light Capture in Agroforestry System (WaNuLCAS) model to explore mixed oil palm + cocoa and oil palm + pepper intercrop systems with modified (‘double row’) planting patterns for Indonesian contexts and estimated consequences for the carbon footprint. The oil palm + cocoa intercrop provided a high LERP (1.4), while also replenishing more ground water and having a lower C footprint. This combination also has a return to labour equal to that in oil palm monocultures and a higher benefit cost ratio than the oil palm + pepper combination that maximizes Net Present Value. Oil palm + cocoa systems are also less sensitive to price uncertainty for oil palm, and buffer for oil palm and cocoa production risks, assumed to be independent of each other. Considerable economic and environmental system improvements appear to be feasible through mixed oil palm systems and diversification as a pathway to intensification deserves full attention of research and policy development.

The economic impacts of wheelchair use: Evidence from Central Java, Indonesia

An estimated 10% of the global population has disabilities, and 1 out of 10 require wheelchairs. Although imperative, the provision of wheelchair services remains challenging, especially in low resource settings. Interacting barriers in availability of wheelchair services and healthcare access can negatively affect households of people with disabilities in productivity and obtaining income. The availability of wheelchair services can potentially lessen the related economic burden. However, to date there is limited evidence concerning the economic gain of the wheelchair users in Indonesia. This study aims to analyze the economic impact of using wheelchairs on households in rural Central Java Province, Indonesia. Economic gains of wheelchair users were measured using a cross-sectional survey in Central Java, Indonesia during 2017. The questionnaires consisted of three main sections, namely general information, socio-economic information before and after using adaptive wheelchair, and income and spending related information. A total of 60 adaptive wheelchair users and parent proxy completed the questionnaires. More than half (55%) of the respondents were male, became impaired in 1998, and used an adaptive wheelchair starting in 2009. Medical conditions of the respondents related to need for a wheelchair are cerebral palsy (29%), paraplegia (29%), and polio (15.5%). Three-fourths of the respondents were working in the informal sector. On average, there is a significant increase of Rp. 217,662 in monthly household income between before and after using a wheelchair. However, there was no significant difference in spending before and after using a wheelchair. Respondents feel that using a wheelchair is beneficial particularly in mobility and helping in their activities. Wheelchair use can increase the income of households with disability. Clients responded that there have been several aspects which need further support, including skills improvement, employment generation for people with disabilities, and adequate public transportation facilities.

The Potential Economic Gains from Increasing Public Law Enforcement against Illegal Phoenix Activity

Illegal phoenix activity — the practice of liquidating or abandoning acompany with the intention of avoiding its obligations and then continuing the same or a similar business via a new or related company — is estimated to cost the Australian economy up to $3.5 billion per year and appears tobe increasingly prevalent. Yet public law enforcement agencies rarely take enforcement action against illegal phoenix activity. This article argues that, based on an analysis of the potential costs and benefits of increasing public law enforcement against illegal phoenix activity, enforcement should be increased, subject to periodic review. Empirical studies suggest that the aspects of enforcement that are most likely to produce general deterrence of wrongdoing are the perceived probability of apprehension (ie detection and commencement of enforcement action) and, to a lesser extent, the perceived probability of punishment (ie a sanction being imposed at the conclusion of enforcement action). As such, it is argued that enforcement agencies should increase the probability of apprehensionand punishment and use the media more innovatively to heighten potential perpetrators’ perceptions of such probability. Given the reportedly substantial and escalating costs of illegal phoenix activity, this increase in enforcement has the potential to be a high-return investment for the Australian economy.

Benefits and drawbacks of food and dairy waste co-digestion at a high organic loading rate: A Moosburg WWTP case study

Anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) is a key technology in reframing organic waste as a viable energy source. A lack of documented experience on full-scale AcoD at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has created a bottleneck in AcoD implementation, which is further tightened by the focus of existing AcoD studies being on low co-substrate loading (<50%) and the obtainable benefits. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating the drawbacks and benefits of high-ratio co-substrate dosing of food and dairy wastes at the Moosburg WWTP (Germany) from 2014 to 2017. The Moosburg WWTP co-digests sewage sludge, food waste, and dairy wastes at a 35:47:18 ratio by volatile solids (organic loading rate (OLR) of 3.0 kgVS/(m3·day)). During the study period, this high co-substrate dosing increased the methane potential by 300 ± 50%. The corresponding high methane yield significantly increased the on-site electricity production, resulting in energy neutrality in 2014–2015. The corresponding economic gain from gate fees was 48,000 ± 5,000 € per year. The observed drawbacks included solids accumulation inside the digester (5 m3/month), high nitrogen backload (65% increase from co-substrate addition), reduced retention time (loss of 1.18 days/year from solids accumulation), and reduced dewaterability. The high nitrogen content in the centrate is treated by sequential batch reactors (SBRs), using lactose as the carbon source for denitrification. This study presents an alternative approach for determining gate fees based on the economic gains from inherent methane content, which identified waste milk, lactose and grease trap sludge as the most profitable co-substrates.

Application of Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) for Efficient and Cost-effective Manufacturing: A Case Study at Bahir Dar Textile Share Company, Ethiopia

The aim of this paper is to show the application of Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) for efficient and cost-effective manufacturing. Companies need better economic gains from enhanced production, but downtime affects this paradigm. Bair Dar Textile Share Company (BDTSC) is no exception. The looming section of the case company faces on average 38.69% of downtime from the total production time which highly affects its production performance, and thus profitability. The research tries to show the economic gain from the reduced high downtime in the case company by taking the advantages of Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA). As a result FMEA, failure modes, cause, and their effects on the specific section of the company were identified and prioritized using their Risk Priority Numbers (RPN). By taking the FMEA on the looming process machines and focusing on the vital few 20% causes of the identified failure modes, the findings of the research show that the company can decrease the total downtime from its 178 loom machines by 299.04hrs/day. As a result, the company can save downtime that can produce 1,672.82 meters of fabric/cloth and enhance its performance by 4.18%. This downtime reduction in turn results in a daily profit of 38,220.56 ETB (Ethiopian Birr) or 11,466,168.00 ETB annually.

How Do Capital and Labor Split Economic Gains in an Age of Globalization?

Recent debates about the 1% vs. 99%, CEO compensation, minimum wage, and income inequality suggest an increasingly unfavorable division of economic gains for labor. Indeed, how capital and labor divide the gains from production is central to the study of political economy, particularly the impact of globalization and unionization. Yet, the prominent measures featured in the research to date, most notably labor compensation over GDP, are inadequate for studying the split of gains between labor and capital. We argue that the division of gains between labor and capital is more accurately and precisely conceptualized and measured by the ratio of labor compensation over operating corporate profits in the private sector. Using newly collected private-sector data from 17 industrial democracies over 30 years from 1981 to 2012, our analysis uncovers important patterns. First, labor compensation and corporate profits both rose in absolute terms over the last three decades, but the compensation-profit ratio experienced a sharp decline, meaning that the improvement was smaller for labor than capital. Second, rising economic openness and declining union density contributed to the fall of the compensation-profit ratio. Finally, there was a clear cross-national convergence toward declining compensation-profit ratio, rising openness, and shrinking labor unions. We conjecture that these results point to the movement of advanced industrial democracies toward a new capitalism equilibrium.

An Assessment of Economic Gains of Off-Season Vegetable Production in Faisalabad, Pakistan

An Assessment of Economic Gains of Off-Season Vegetable Production in Faisalabad, Pakistan

Appropriate selection indices for functional traits in dairy cattle breeding schemes.

The objective of this study was to establish different single or multiple trait selection indices to calculate genetic and economic gains by combining some production, reproduction and udder health traits in a population similar to the overall practical situation in Iran, with and without imposing restrictions on genetic change for some traits. The SelAction software was used to perform the analyses based on selection index theory through a deterministic model. Results indicated that among established indices, the index that showed the highest genetic gain for milk yield did not maximize the total genetic and economic gains. Rather, the index that included all production, reproduction and udder health traits yielded the highest genetic and economic gains. When we placed restriction on the selection indices, the economic gain decreased and the amount of reduction depended on the heritability and the correlation of restricted trait(s) with other traits. Generally, regarding the economic genetic gain per generation, the indices based on records of 200 offspring were 4.819% more efficient than those that used information of 100 offspring.

From Economic Gains to Social Losses

This paper analyzes how stories shaped treasurers’ expectations in municipal swap activities and contributes to the sociological debate on the mechanisms of expectation formation. Employing a deductive variant of process tracing, it synthesizes the literature on expectations in economic decision making with the literature on the diffusion of “ideas,” “myths,” and “fashions” in organization theory and management studies. The swap story has spread since the mid-1990s among German municipalities. At the heart of this story is the replacement of traditional borrowing with active portfolio optimization; financial instruments known as swaps play a leading role. This paper examines how stories shape expectations. Specifically, it delves into how the swap story, as a solution to the financial woes of local governments, shaped these governments’ expectations despite the uncertainty resulting from the instruments’ complexity. We argue that the effect of stories on expectations depends on timing. Expectations at an early stage are shaped by economic analyses to reduce uncertainty, while expectations at a later stage are primarily shaped by societal pressures and an established trend. These two distinct mechanisms produce expectations related to economic and social consequences, respectively. Selecting four typical cases, our analysis confirms that stories affected the formation of treasurers’ expectations regarding the use of swaps through these different mechanisms.

The Effects of Climate Change on GDP by Country and the Global Economic Gains From Complying With the Paris Climate Accord

Computable general equilibrium (CGE) models are a standard tool for policy analysis and forecasts of economic growth. Unfortunately, due to computational constraints, many CGE models are dimensionally small, aggregating countries into an often limited set of regions or using assumptions such as static price‐level expectations, where next period's price is conditional only on current or past prices. This is a concern for climate change modeling, since the effects of global warming by country, in a fully disaggregated and global trade model, are needed, and the known future effects of global warming should be included in forward‐looking forecasts for prices and profitability. This work extends a large dimensional intertemporal CGE trade model to account for the various effects of global warming (e.g., loss in agricultural productivity, sea level rise, and health effects) on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and levels for 139 countries, by decade and over the long term, where producers look forward and adjust price expectations and capital stocks to account for future climate effects. The potential economic gains from complying with the Paris Accord are also estimated, showing that even with a limited set of possible damages from global warming, these gains are substantial. For example, with the comparative case of Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (4°C), the global gains from complying with the 2°C target (Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5) are approximately US$17,489 billion per year in the long run (year 2100). The relative damages from not complying to Sub‐Sahara Africa, India, and Southeast Asia, across all temperature ranges, are especially severe.

Trade-offs and Synergies Between Economic Gains and Plant Diversity Across a Range of Management Alternatives in Boreal Forests

Intensive forest management activities that maximize economic gains could have a negative impact on the ecosystems and generate environmental conflicts, which may in turn translate to poor delivery of ecosystems services. Although plant diversity is positively associated with multiple ecosystem functions, it remains unclear how economic gains influence plant diversity across vegetation strata. We analyzed the relationships between economic gains, assessed as profit, and plant species richness following forest management alternatives (managing rotation age and overstorey composition) for the boreal forests of Canada. We found a hump-shaped relationship between total plant richness and profit, with total plant richness increasing initially, reaching a peak, and then declining with increasing profits. The relationship between profit and plant diversity differed among vegetation strata. Understorey plant richness followed similar trends to total plant richness, but overstorey tree richness increased linearly. The results of path analysis presented management alternatives as major drivers determining profit and plant diversity across vegetation strata. Our analysis indicated that maximum profit ($5000/ha) could lead to 20% loss of total plant species richness. Among the alternatives we compared, we conclude that managing for mixedwood with approximately a rotation of 100 years is an optimal compromise between economic and plant diversity objectives.

A Methodology for Optimal Distributed Storage Planning in Smart Distribution Grids

This paper proposes a methodology for optimal planning of distributed storage systems (DSS) in smart grids with high penetration of renewable sources. The DSS can provide distribution systems with various benefits, including arbitrage gain, reduction in the system losses, system resilience enhancement, reduction in nondispatchable energy curtailment, and peak load shaving. In particular, by alleviating the peak load, the system upgrade time can be deferred to future years, resulting in noticeable financial gains for the system operator. In this paper, the problem of DSS planning for optimizing the discounted economic gain of the system operator is formulated and solved as a mixed-integer convex program. Various economic gains are taken into account and the stochasticity of the loads and renewable generations is accounted for by evaluating the total expected gain. Numerical results for DSS planning on a 69-node, 11-kV smart grid and using real data of smart meters and renewable energy sources are presented and discussed.

Генетический алгоритм оптимизации в задаче распределения нагрузки тепловой электростанции

The article discusses a genetic optimization algorithm and its application for the problem of distributing the total electric and thermal loads of a power plant among the operating units of a combined heat and power plant (CHP) and the total electric load among the operating units of a condensing thermal power plant (CTPP). The need to solve this problem is stemming from the fact that, on the one hand, the power plants operate presently for a significant period of time with a load below its nominal level and, on the other hand, the saving of fuel and energy has become a real challenge under the present economic and environmental conditions. The mathematical models of the fuel consumption characteristics of power units (obtained from the results of thermal tests and having the form of second-order polynomials) are used as initial data for the analysis, and constraints are imposed on the total electric and thermal loads and on the loads of individual power units which are determined by the equipment operation process schedule. A case is presented in which some of the leading coefficients in the model polynomials are negative, i.e., the Lagrange multiplier method is not applicable. The overall consumption of fuel for the operating units is used as the objective function. For a specified composition of power plant equipment, the optimum loads of the power units are determined using a genetic algorithm, and the advantages of the genetic algorithm method in comparison with other methods used for solving this problem (e.g., the dynamic programming method and the Lagrange multiplier method) are shown. The genetic algorithm embodiment as applied to the considered case is presented (the problem for the CTPP was solved for a five-unit plant, and that for the CHP was solved for a three-unit plant). The article describes how the initial population is generated, how the crossing operation is carried out, how the least suited population members are rejected, and how new members are included in the population. Calculations for a few CTPP and CHP total loading cases are carried out. It is shown that application of the genetic algorithm for solving the formulated problem makes it possible to obtain economic gains due to determining the optimum power unit loadings. The economic gain for the CTPP for the total fuel consumption per hour in comparison with the uniformly distributed load is on average 2.3 %, and the gain for the CHP is up to 11 % for the same conditions. Recommendations on using the genetic algorithm in searching for the objective function minimum are given.

Ritual experimental: ¿Humanizando a los inmigrantes o prejuicio utilitario en Europa?

A menudo los inmigrantes y refugiados son representados a través de formas deshumanizantes o como una ganancia económica para los países receptores. Este hecho, sumado a la situación sociopolítica europea actual, puede aumentar los niveles de infrahumanización que sufren las minorías objeto de prejuicio. En este estudio, se propuso reducir la infrahumanización hacia la población magrebí a través de una actividad ritualizada, manipulando la información que los participantes utilizaban. Los resultados indicaron que la participación fue diferente según las condiciones y que se redujo la infrahumanización. Además, los participantes que utilizaron información utilitarista humanizaban cuando percibían una ganancia económica, mientras que también aumentaban sus niveles de prejuicio. Los resultados se discuten en términos de rituales colectivos y efectos duales de la información utilitarista.

Economic Gains From Gender Inclusion: New Mechanisms, New Evidence

While progress has been made in increasing female labor force participation (FLFP) in the last 20 years, large gaps remain. The latest Fund research shows that improving gender diversity can result in larger economic gains than previously thought. Indeed, gender diversity brings benefits all its own. Women bring new skills to the workplace. This may reflect social norms and their impact on upbringing and social interactions, or underlying differences in risk preference and response to incentives for example. As such, there is an economic benefit from diversity, that is from bringing women into the labor force, over and above the benefit resulting from more (male) workers. The study finds that male and female labor are imperfect substitutes in production, and therefore gender differences in the labor force matter. The results also imply that standard models, which ignore such differences, understate the favorable impact of gender inclusion on growth, and misattribute to technology a part of growth that is actually caused by women’s participation. The study further suggests that narrowing gender gaps benefits both men and women, because of a boost to male wages from higher FLFP. The paper also examines the role of women in the process of sectoral reallocation from traditional agriculture to services and the resulting effect on productivity and growth. Because FLFP is relatively high in services, sectoral reallocation along development paths serves to boost gender parity and productivity.

Economic Gains from Educational Reform by US States

There is limited evidence justifying the economic case for state education policy. Using new measures of workers’ cognitive skills that allow for selective internal migration and foreign immigration, we provide preliminary estimates of growth regressions that incorporate worker skills. Our descriptive models show that educational achievement predicts economic growth across US states over the past four decades. Projections from our growth models show the substantial potential scope for state economic development through improving school quality. While we consider the impact of a range of educational reforms, an improvement that moves each state to the best-state level would in the aggregate yield an estimated present value of long-run gains of 8 percent of discounted future GDP.

Economic and environmental assessment of recycling and reuse of electronic waste: Multiple case studies in Brazil and Switzerland

The increasing quantity of electronic waste is a societal problem due to the imminent risk of eco-system contamination from harmful substances present in these products. Therefore, recycling and reusing these materials could mitigate environmental impacts and provide economic gains. The present research is aimed at assessing the economic and environmental advantages of adopting Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) reverse logistics for recycling and reuse by three Brazilian manufacturers of electro-electronic products,and three recyclers,two located in Brazil and one located in Switzerland. Specifically, this study maps the processes used by three recyclers. These multiple case studies incorporated both observation and semi-structured interview. The Mass Intensity Factor was used for the environmental impact assessment. We found that the adoption of electronic waste reverse logistics for recycling and reuse resulted in reduction of the environmental impact in the abiotic, biotic, water and air compartments and economic gains for the manufactures and recyclers, indicating a promising market in the Brazil. Another relevant result was the presentation of a simple eco-efficiency tool to be used in organizational practice. This tool provides a performance indicator based on indexes to implement goals for continuous recycling and reuse improvements, aimed at achieving a closed cycle. However, electronic waste recycling and reuse processes in Brazil are decentralized and, therefore, the development of a cooperation network as a whole is complex. Furthermore, precious metal recovery from printed circuit boards is a process carried out specifically by foreign enterprises because the Brazilian manufacturers and recyclers do not have enough technology due the lack of resources for investment. Thus, the Brazilian government has been holding meetings with the manufacturers and recyclers to develop a sectoral agreement in order to support financially the transfer of this technology for recycling of printed circuit boards to Brazil. In addition, this fact contributes to the National Solid Waste Policy, and it increases the financial profitability of Brazilian recyclers because with this process the recyclers could extract precious metals for sale increasing the economic gain.