Surplus Production Research Articles

A Legacy of Exploitation: Early Capitalism in the Red River Colony, 1763–1821 by Susan Dianne Brophy (review)

Reviewed by: A Legacy of Exploitation: Early Capitalism in the Red River Colony, 1763–1821 by Susan Dianne Brophy Ted Binnema Brophy, Susan Dianne–A Legacy of Exploitation: Early Capitalism in the Red River Colony, 1763–1821. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2022. 298 p. Susan Brophy explains that two events—the production of celebratory vignettes by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 2015 and the public inquiry that followed the 2014 murder of Tina Fontaine—inspired this book. It examines the history of the Red River Colony, primarily between 1812 and 1817, as a case study. Brophy approaches the history of the colony through a Marxist framework which she has modified to be “more appropriate for the study of settler colonialism” (p. 5). Her central arguments are not about the Red River Colony per se. In her introduction, Brophy explains that her “objective in this book is to contest two rival ideas: that the transition to capitalism and settler colonialism alike necessarily entailed a shift from violent chaos to peaceful order, and that the relative lack of violence as the direct, primary means of compulsion in exchanges with Indigenous producers implied equanimity or complicity” (p. 10). And on the second-last page of the book, she concludes that “patently, the existing Marxist framework for understanding capitalism as a mode of production requires a foundational rethink when it comes to the settler colonial context, and my close study of the Red River Colony lends veracity to this thesis” (pp. 186–187). Scholars interested in developing an increasingly nuanced and sophisticated Marxist lens through which to understand the process of dialectical materialism may appreciate this new book, but those interested in a contextual history of the Red River Colony will be disappointed in it. Unlike many scholarly studies that relegate theoretical discussions almost solely to introductions and conclusions, theoretical considerations permeate throughout. Finding the framework established by Marx and Engels inadequate, Brophy relies heavily on the work of Marxist revolutionary, Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919), a scholar who thought about the historical connection between capitalism and imperialism. In her Accumulation of Capital (1913), Luxemburg argued that capitalism could persist (workers within the capitalist mode of production could afford the goods they produced) only if capitalists were permitted to exploit people outside the mode of production to purchase its surplus goods, supply inexpensive resources, and provide cheap labour. Luxemburg argued, however, that “natural economies”—ones in which there was little surplus production, little demand for foreign products, and a close connection between the means of production and labour—were useless to capitalists, and therefore capitalists need to annihilate or transform such economies. She averred that any evidence that these transformations were peaceful is illusory. The framework put forward by Luxemburg, with some modification, is the one upon which Brophy bases her analysis and arguments. Brophy appears to have begun with a position and sought to gather the evidence to support it. Ignoring almost all of the relevant documents in the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives, Brophy appears to assume a Romantic image of Indigenous societies and economies, and the motivations that led Indigenous people to participate in the fur trade. While Brophy claims to take Indigenous people seriously, she portrays them very superficially, without attention to the complex circumstances they faced. Instead, she finds them interesting only insofar as they shed light on the [End Page 194] newcomers. Documents can certainly be mined to find enough evidence to make some of her arguments plausible—for example that the “relative autonomy of the Indigenous producers was a primary factor in the merger” of the Hudson’s Bay Company and North West Company (p. 182). However, even though she recognizes Indigenous agency, Indigenous people are nonetheless reduced to bit players in the service of a grand theory that the history of Red River was “a microcosm of the larger transition to capitalism that occurred in the settler colonial context of Canada” (p. 185). The typical historian’s attention to the thoughts and intentions of the historical actors (Indigenous or non-Indigenous) is rarely evident. Brophy interprets historical events and developments superficially, emphasizing the evidence that can support her interpretation, but neglecting other evidence. The treatment of...

The rise and fall of onion production; its multiple constraints on pre-harvest and post-harvest management issues along the supply chain in northwest Ethiopia

Food and nutrition security is not only addressed by increasing production alone, it should also ensure by reducing food loss. Onion has a great contribution to both economic and health issues, however, its production and productivity in the country is low. Thus, the study was initiated to identify multiple constraints on onion production and postharvest handling practices and to determine the extent of postharvest loss along the supply chain in northwestern Ethiopia. The survey was conducted on production, marketing, and consumption at farm, wholesale, retailer, and consumers level. The multistage sampling procedure was employed. The present results revealed that sex, age, educational level, production experience, land covered by onion, and household size has a significant influence on onion production. Sex, age, education level, active household size, selling experience, amount purchased, and storage duration have a significant association with onion production and postharvest loss. Major onion production and post-harvest loss constraints were high perishability, nature of the crop, market, linkage problem and low market price, lack of awareness of using post-harvest technologies, absence of better storable varieties, shortage of fertilizer access, disease and insect pests. The whole purchased produce never reached the consumer's hands. The total postharvest loss of onion at the farmer, wholesale, retail, and consumer level was found to be 29.775%, of which the higher proportion of losses (35.5%) was observed at the farmer's level. Based on the findings of the present study, onion producers were challenged by timely and adequate supplies and unfair, high cost of major production inputs, and high post-harvest loss. Therefore, producers and handlers in each supply chain need to be trained on affordable and applicable postharvest technologies. In addition, continuous capacity-building training, improving infrastructures, and input access along the supply chain should be designed and implemented to improve better crop management and postharvest handling practices. Moreover, marketing cooperatives working on onion postharvest handling and marketing systems should be functional to absorb surplus production and ensure continuous supply to the market. Thus, meaningful interventions in the development and implementation of policy on sustainable production, handling practices, and supply of onion should be designed.

Estimating Stock Status and Biological Reference Points of the Sardine Fishery Using the Surplus Production Model from the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh

This research examined the biological reference points (BRPs) and stock status of the sardine fishery in the Bay of Bengal (BoB), Bangladesh, to determine the sustainability of this resource. The Monte Carlo method (CMSY), the Bayesian state-space Schaefer surplus production model (BSM), and the ASPIC (a Stock Production Model Incorporating Covariates) software suite, were used to analyze catch–effort data obtained from the Yearbook of Fisheries Statistics of Bangladesh. All models derived maximum sustainable yields (MSY) ranging from 37,900 to 41,280 t, which is quite near to the catch from the latest year (38,051 t in 2020), indicating the fully exploited status of sardines. The estimated B < BMSY and F > FMSY values from the BSM and Schaefer models indicate a poor biomass and an unsafe fishing status. For Schaefer and BSM, the calculated F/FMSY values were 1.07 and 1.06, and the B/BMSY values were 0.92 and 0.75, which also indicate the overexploited status of the sardine fishery in the BoB, Bangladesh. This information will aid in developing management strategies and conservation policies for the sustainability and rebuilding of this commercially important resource in the BoB on the Bangladesh coast.

Impact of Water Scarcity on Agricultural Productivity and Food Security: An Analytical Study

The mainstay of India's economy is agriculture. Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy. Agriculture and allied sectors are unquestionably India's largest sources of revenue, particularly in the country's vast rural areas. Also, it contributes significantly to GDP of the country. Ultimately, generating a production surplus will require raising agricultural output. Agriculture, the main sector of the Indian economy, accounts for around 34.8 percent of the GDP and 66.7 percent of the working force. Agriculture is frequently referred to as one of the primary industries, along with forestry, mining, and fisheries. Agriculture is the pillar of the economy and provides the necessities for human survival, regardless of wealth, which attests to the significance of this sector. According to the histories of economic development of several sophisticated nations, the expansion of agriculture was, in part, what led to the rise of their secondary and tertiary sectors. The foundation of our nation is agriculture.

How damaging are environmental policy targets in terms of welfare?

International environmental agreements can lead to the design of environmental policy targets for individual countries. One of the most timely examples are targets aiming at increasing the share of renewable energy production in the overall energy mix. To reach these targets, corresponding governments must stimulate the private sector to undertake sufficient investments in time. This paper studies the effect of a subsidy on the probability of reaching a policy target and on the resulting welfare. The subsidy in the form of a fixed price support accelerates investment and increases the investment size. As such it helps to reach a policy target in time, but also has its own effects on the total surplus, the latter being the sum of producer and consumer surplus. The paper defines a new measure, “the expected Total Surplus corresponding to the Policy Target” abbreviated by TSPT, which takes all these effects into account, including the penalty that is incurred upon not reaching the policy target. Based on the TSPT we determine the optimal subsidy size. We find that a policy target increases the optimal subsidy size. An international policy target can cause a tradeoff in the sense that a large investment is required to achieve the target, while at the same time such a large investment is bad in terms of total surplus. We also find that targets designed with earlier deadlines and intermediate levels of target sizes are more effective in motivating governments to reach the target with a high likelihood. A larger penalty can induce more subsidy support from the government, but always harms total surplus.

The antitrust victims of monopsony

Abstract The exercise of unlawful monopsony power by buyer cartels depresses both the price paid and the quantity purchased. Consequently, producer surplus and social welfare decline from competitive levels. There are six classes of antitrust victims, but only one has standing to sue for antitrust damages in the United States. The other five are neglected. We identify the neglected victims in this article. We also suggest some ways to expand the protection offered by section 4 of the Clayton Act.

Топоры как товаро-деньги в контексте их ритуального и социального значения

During its history, money has undergone a complex evolution due to historical and cultural transformations in the different periods. Money as medium of account and exchange arose in the Neolithic era simultaneously with the new stage of social-economic relations, when the surplus of products takes on a commodity form and the barter exchange developed. In the Early Bronze Age (III millennium BC) the first statements arose, bronze and precious metals appeared in Western Asia including the Armenian Highland. At the same time measurement of weight was created in Mesopotamia, money expressed in metal objects became not only a price equivalent, but also medium of payment. The axe, as the most important tool and weapon, acquires the significance of money. Therefore, the Sumer/Akkadian shekel, which was the widespread unit of currency in Near East, originates from the word “axe”.

First Maximum Sustainable Yield advice for the Nephrops norvegicus stocks of the Northwest Iberian coast using stochastic Surplus Production model in Continuous Time (SPiCT)

The assessment of the status of fisheries resources is pivotal due to the importance of marine resources in global food security and to halt the ongoing decline in marine biodiversity. Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) is one of the most valuable resources in the Northeast Atlantic. However, overfishing has caused the decline of several Nephrops stocks over the last decades, particularly in the Nephrops Functional Units (FUs) 25 (NW Spain), 26-27 (NW Spain and North Portugal) and 31 (Cantabrian Sea, North Spain). Since 2003, the information provided by the very low level of landings and fishing effort of these three stocks was insufficient to carry out an adequate analytical assessment, so the base of the assessment has been the trends from commercial catch per unit effort (CPUE). The objective of this study was to carry out the first assessment of these three stocks with an analytical MSY-based model. A review of the available data was made and the stochastic Surplus Production Model in Continuous Time (SPiCT) was fitted for each FU. The results indicate an extremely low biomass for FUs 25 and 26-27 since the mid-nineties well below the reference points. For FU 31, on the other hand, estimated biomass is larger. Our findings also identified long-term temporal and spatial changes in the population dynamic of Nephrops in the Northwest Iberian coast. The results were compare with those obtained in the same stocks with other data-limited methods. Also the role of abiotic factors on the observed dynamic of the stocks was explored. The results of this study are not only relevant for the sustainable exploitation of Norway lobster stocks off the Northwest Iberian coast but provide valuable insights into the suitability and limitations of production models for the assessment of crustacean stocks in general.

Pre Scaling up of Tef Variety at Midland Districts of Guji Zone, Southern Oromia, Ethiopia

Tef is stable crop food in Ethiopia. However, many farmers were not food secured and only few model farmers used tef for their daily local food. This is due to the use of low yielder varieties. On the other hand, improved tef varieties were not disseminated for surplus production. Therefore, it is important to find the way of improved tef varieties were disseminated in potential areas of Guji zone. This activity was conducted to popularize improved Dagim tef variety, strengthen stakeholders’ linkage and to improve farmers’ income. Purposively, Adola Rede, Odo Shakiso and Wadera were selected based on their tef potential and suitable for monitoring. Seven (7) kebeles were selected from the selected districts. Totally, 83 farmers were selected for pre scaling up tef at the midlands of Guji zone. In addition, four FTCs were used as multiplication site as a seed source for the next season. 400kg of Dagim variety was distributed. Each farmer was obtained 4.5kg Dagim variety and sown it on 0.25ha. Training was used to enhance farmers’ knowledge and skills on Dagim production and field day was used to motivate farmers to grow Dagim tef variety. The stakeholder had participated during training and field day to strengthen linkage on seed, agricultural inputs and information. Hand weeding and herbicide was used to control weed. Yield, cost of production and farmers perception were collected by interview method. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistics, net income and narration. The yield performance of Dagim variety was 9.82 qt/ha which low compared to national and demonstration stage due to lack of rainfall during 2020 and 2021/22 year. The result of net income showed that production of Dagim variety generated a return of 15735.72 ETB/ha. More net income (17551.63 ETB/ha) was obtained at Odo Shakiso district followed by Adola Rede district (16503.36 ETB/ha). There was a good yield and income at some farmers who sown Dagim variety at mid of September month. Dagim variety should be disseminated in the midland districts of Guji Zone. Since tef can be produced twice in a year provision of tef variety and fertilizer for farmers should available based the seasons.

The Shading Influence on the Economic Viability of a Real Photovoltaic System Project

Renewable resources for producing energy for self-consumption are growing, namely solar energy. This work focuses on the comparison of photovoltaic systems for energy production for self-consumption on a property in three different regions of Portugal using traditional and emerging technologies, without batteries’ implementation. According to Portuguese law, there is no stipulated value for selling surplus energy produced by a self consumption unit, to the public grid. In order to analyse the economic viability of the project, two scenarios are studied: the delivery, at zero cost of the surplus energy produced to the grid, and its sale. Furthermore, the same analysis is carried out considering partial shading on the photovoltaic generator. The results show that if there is no surplus production sale to the grid, the project becomes economically unviable for the four PV technologies. Otherwise, for the traditional technologies, the project is economically viable, presenting a payback time lower than 10 years. Using emerging technologies, the project becomes economically unviable. When applying partial shading on the generator, the project becomes, in all the scenarios under study, economically unviable. It can be concluded that introducing nanostructures in solar cells to power an infrastructure is not, for now, the best solution from an economic point of view, considering the current legislation. In addition, the shading makes the projects under study unviable, as it is a factor that cannot be controlled in its entirety.

An evidence-based approach for selecting a limit reference point for Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) stocks in British Columbia, Canada

A limit reference point (LRP) is defined as a level of biomass to be avoided with high probability, which should be selected to protect fish stocks from “serious harm”. We present an evidence-based approach for diagnosing serious harm and apply it to the selection of LRPs for five Pacific herring ( Clupea pallasii) stocks in British Columbia (BC). Natural mortality ( M) is estimated to be time varying and has increased more than it declined over the past three decades, which presents a challenge for estimation of equilibrium reference points based on maximum sustainable yield. We present a semi-empirical approach for developing LRPs, which examines surplus production in relation to spawning biomass to determine whether there is evidence for low productivity, low biomass (LP-LB) states consistent with serious harm. Three stocks showed evidence of persistent LP-LB states that resulted in periods of fishery closures. Based on these results, an LRP of 30% of unfished spawning biomass (0.3 B0) was recommended and adopted for management of all five major stocks of BC Pacific herring.

Contrasting stock status trends obtained from survey and fishery CPUE, taking Larimichthys polyactis in Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem as an example

Biological conservation of exploited fish species involves characterizing key aspects of their population dynamics using models as tools to estimate their biomass. The Bayesian state-space surplus production model in the open-source stock assessment tool Just Another Bayesian Biomass Assessment (JABBA) was used to assess small yellow croaker stock (Larimichthys polyactis) in the Yellow Sea large marine ecosystem (YSLME). In this study, Catch and the scientific survey catch per unit effort (CPUE) data of the overwintering grounds of small yellow croaker from 1985 to 2020 and three fishery CPUE data series (one original and two reconstructed) from the Chinese Fishery Statistical Yearbook were used to fit JABBA, respectively. The results showed that the trends in biomass obtained from the survey CPUE and from the fishery CPUE contrasted sharply. The independent survey CPUE-based JABBA showed a 54.4 % probability that the current resource status is over exploited (0.65 and 1.06 for B2020/BMSY and F2020/FMSY, respectively), whereas the fishery CPUE-based JABBA showed that the resource is in a healthy or recovering state (0.88–1.32 and 0.40–0.70 for B2020/BMSY and F2020/FMSY, respectively), and the estimates of the resource are overly optimistic. This discrepancy in biomass assessment arises because the fishing effort time series does not adequately reflect the technological advances in fishing vessels and their equipment. Therefore, assessment based on survey CPUE (predicted total allowable catch, TAC = 150,000 tons) is the preferable, more precautionary approach for establishing management reference points and informing management decisions, and estimates generated from the fisheries CPUE-based JABBA model (TAC = 165,000–210,000 tons) should be treated with caution. We found that the two reconstructed fishery CPUEs are more likely to produce model results closer to that of the survey CPUE-based JABBA than the original fishery CPUE. Further review and research on the correction of fishing effort and fishery CPUE in the YSLME is recommended before this data series is used in assessments aimed at biological conservation.

Estimation of abundance and population dynamics of the Antarctic blue whale in the Antarctic Ocean south of 60°S, from 70°E to 170°W

AbstractThe Antarctic blue whale population size has decreased due to commercial whaling, and it is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Its population status has received widespread attention and the abundance of Antarctic blue whales has been estimated through surveys conducted by international and national programs. This study estimated the abundance of Antarctic blue whales south of 60°S from 70°E to 170°W using data collected during Japanese national surveys. Furthermore, using this information and existing abundance estimates from the IDCR‐SOWER surveys conducted by the International Whaling Commission, we estimated and forecasted the population trajectory of the Antarctic blue whale since the beginning of its exploitation using Bayesian state‐space surplus production models. The abundance estimate for 2009 was 476, 95% CI [242, 972], corresponding to 0.8%, 95% CI [0.3, 1.9] of the prewhaling levels, and the intrinsic growth rate in this population was low at 0.042, 95% CI [0.009, 0.093]. This analysis suggests that the population size in this region is lower than that during prewhaling. The input of new abundance estimates in the future is expected to accurately estimate population dynamics compared with the current assessment.

Estimation Pendugaan CPUE (Catch Per Unit Effort) dan Potensi Maksimum Lestari Ikan Lemuru (Sardinella lemuru) yang Didaratkan di PPN Pengambengan, Jembrana-Bali

Lemuru is one of the highest catches landed in PPN Pengambengan. PPN Pengambengan is a strategic fishery port owned by Jembrana with a function as a center or center for marine fisheries landing. Improvement of fishing technology will be related to the problem of abundance or availability of fishery resoure stocks, so it is necessary to study CPUE, MSY and JTB so that they can utilize the resources with optimal but still maintain its preservation in nature. This research has a purpose, which is to know the tren of CPUE, MSY and JTB of lemuru fish (Sardinella lemuru) landed in PPN Pengambengan. The method used is a quantitative descriptive method using a surplus production analysis from Schaefer. The data used in this study are catch and fleet data from 2014–2019 obtained directly from the PPN Pengambengan office. The results showed the highest CPUE in 2015 amounted to 6,15 tons/fleet, but after that the CPUE tren tended to decline, especially since 2016 while the MSY value was obtained at 9.598,49 tons/year with a maximum sustained effort of 4.545,45 fleets/year. Furthermore, the JTB value is 80% of the MSY value, a figure of 7.678,8tons/year is obtained. This indicates overfishing and over-exploitation in the PPN Pengambengan area. To prevent overfishing and over-exploitation, prevention can be done, such as limiting fishing capacity and effort can also apply fisheries management models, such as co-management and EBFM (eco-based fisheries management).

The Allocation of the Economic Value of Second-Generation Antipsychotics Over the Product Life Cycle: The Case of Risperidone in Sweden and the United Kingdom

ObjectiveThis article estimates the life-cycle value of risperidone as representative of second-generation antipsychotics (SGA) relative to haloperidol (first-generation antipsychotics). MethodsWe estimated the number of patients treated with risperidone in Sweden and the United Kingdom, from 1994 to 2017, using data of usage and volume sales. We collected data from the literature on the effectiveness (quality-adjusted life-years per patient per year), direct costs (health services), and indirect costs (productivity) of risperidone and haloperidol. We proxied the incremental value added by the new class (SGA) using a comparator from the inferior class. Next, we modeled the life-cycle uptake of risperidone to estimate the life-cycle incremental cost (ie, direct, indirect, and medicine costs), incremental quality-adjusted life-years, and net monetary benefit of risperidone. We also assessed the life-cycle distribution of the social surplus between the payer (consumer surplus) and the innovator (producer surplus). ResultsFor the United Kingdom, consumer surplus represents around 72% of the total surplus before patent expiration and around 95% after patent expiration. For Sweden, the consumer surplus represents around 94% of the total surplus before patent expiration and around 99% after generic competition. ConclusionThese results suggest that the value added by SGAs to the system is higher than the expected value estimated using cost-effectiveness analysis at launch.Pricing and reimbursement decisions could recognize the full life cycle of value of innovative medicines. This not only presents a challenge of estimation but also of assessing the appropriate division of shares of social value.

Optimal control of renewable energy communities with controllable assets

Introduction: The control of Renewable Energy Communities (REC) with controllable assets (e.g., batteries) can be formalised as an optimal control problem. This paper proposes a generic formulation for such a problem whereby the electricity generated by the community members is redistributed using repartition keys. These keys represent the fraction of the surplus of local electricity production (i.e., electricity generated within the community but not consumed by any community member) to be allocated to each community member. This formalisation enables us to jointly optimise the controllable assets and the repartition keys, minimising the combined total value of the electricity bills of the members.Methods: To perform this optimisation, we propose two algorithms aimed at solving an optimal open-loop control problem in a receding horizon fashion. Moreover, we also propose another approximated algorithm which only optimises the controllable assets (as opposed to optimising both controllable assets and repartition keys). We test these algorithms on Renewable Energy Communities control problems constructed from synthetic data, inspired from a real-life case of REC.Results: Our results show that the combined total value of the electricity bills of the members is greatly reduced when simultaneously optimising the controllable assets and the repartition keys (i.e., the first two algorithms proposed).Discussion: These findings strongly advocate the need for algorithms that adopt a more holistic standpoint when it comes to controlling energy systems such as renewable energy communities, co-optimising or jointly optimising them from both a traditional (very granular) control standpoint and a larger economic perspective.

Are digital services the right solution for empowering smallholder farmers? A perspective enlightened by COVID-19 experiences to inform smart IPM

The COVID-19 pandemic, surprised many through its impact on the food systems, resulting in collapses in the food production value chains and in the integrated pest disease management sector with fatal outcomes in many places. However, the impact of COVID-19 and the digital experience perspective on Integrating Pest Management (IPM) is still yet to be understood. In Africa, the impact was devastating, mostly for the vulnerable smallholder farm households, who were rendered unable to access markets to purchase inputs and sell their produce during the lockdown period. By using a holistic approach the paper reviews different Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs), digitalization, and how this enhanced the capacity of smallholder farmers resilient, and inform their smart-IPM practices in order to improve food systems' amidst climate change during and in the post-COVID-19 period. Different digital modalities were adopted to ensure continuous food production, access to inputs and finances, and selling surplus production among others. This was largely possible by using ICTs to deliver these needed services digitally. The study shares contributions and capacity perspectives of ICTs for empowering smallholder farmers to boost the resilience of their food systems based on COVID-19 successful experiences. Thus digital solutions must be embraced in the delivery of extension service on pest management and good agronomic practices, money transfers for purchasing inputs, receiving payment for sold farm produce, and markets information exchange. These are key avenues through which digital solutions strategically supported smallholder-based food systems through the pandemic.

The King's Harvest: A Political Ecology of China from the First Farmers to the First Empire

Brian Lander defines his project as “the first English-language monograph on the environmental history of early China” (11). Lander tells the story of people in early China transforming the environment through the combination of technology and social organization, culminating in a centralized bureaucratic empire. Natural ecosystems were replaced with artificial ones, which were amenable to the extraction of energy by humans in general and state rulers in particular.The book's dual focus is on agriculture and the state. The opening chapter provides a theoretical introduction to the nature of political power. According to Lander, it is embedded in the production and extraction of surplus, intensified through violent competition among the states. The rest of the book traces the interplay between agricultural expansion and political power from the origins of agricultural food production in China circa 6000 BCE to the foundation of the empire in 221 BCE. Lander shows how domestication of animals and plants, especially grain crops, generated taxable surpluses available for appropriation by the states that, in turn, encouraged people to replace the surviving natural ecosystems with agricultural ones. Interstate competition incentivized states “to increase productivity for increased military power” and consequently scaled up the environmental imprint of human societies (203). This is why the aptly named Warring States period (453–221 BCE) was a time of extraordinary technological (e.g., iron metallurgy) and organizational innovation (e.g., bureaucratic government), contributing to the expansion of agricultural ecosystems.Lander's narrative is organized both chronologically and thematically. As a result, some historical periods are addressed in more than one chapter in varying contexts. Chapter 2 primarily focuses on the formation of complex societies during the Neolithic and early Bronze Age (ca. 8000–1000 BCE). This is the most “environmental” chapter of all. The author summarizes archaeological data on vegetation and wild fauna of northern China, the domestication process, human diet, health conditions, and impact on ecosystems.The following chapters are more focused on the state. Chapter 3 deals with the rise of political organization in China from the late third to the mid-first millennium BCE and shows how the increasingly powerful states expanded “the productivity, and thus the environmental impact, of human societies” (75). Chapter 4 focuses on the state of Qin, which, between the eighth and the third century BCE, grew from a humble regional polity in northwestern China to the unifier of the known world. Chapter 5 discusses the political economy and ecological impact of the Qin Empire in the third century BCE. Chapter 6 addresses the Qin Empire's legacy for the human-environment relationships in imperial China and argues that empires contributed to expanding agricultural ecosystems by establishing peace and providing physical and institutional infrastructures.The book is an outstanding contribution to our understanding of the human impact on the environment in ancient East Asia. Its excellent readability and Lander's readiness to venture beyond early China studies to engage a broad range of topics makes it interesting to a broad audience. These topics include the ecological foundations of political power and the detrimental effects of interstate competition on the environment.Ambitious projects such as The King's Harvest often expose themselves to criticism by specialists in the relevant research fields. Students of Chinese history may wonder if one can write an “environmental history of early China” based on the evidence from a relatively small region of Guanzhong (in the present-day Shaanxi Province of China). Lander's occasional overreliance on normative texts such as legal statutes would probably unsettle some archaeologists and environmental historians. Parts of the book—for example, chapter 5—are about institutions and state economy rather than environment and subsistence. Economic historians can be excused for frowning upon Lander's superficial treatment of markets as a driver of economic and environmental change. It has been ten years since Robert Marks's China: Its Environment and History (2012) identified markets as one of the three social structures, along with centralized states and farming households, by which the Chinese transformed their environment.Yet this criticism highlights rather than belittles the book's strengths. By focusing on the best-documented and historically significant region, paying attention to the actors’ ideologies and motivations, and highlighting the states as a central force in environmental history, Lander drives home the book's key message. Humans have successfully created political structures that destroy natural ecosystems, and they may also be able to create ones that restore and preserve them.

Production Controls in Heavy Oil and Bitumen Markets: Surplus Transfer Due to Alberta’s Curtailment Policy

In January 2019, the Canadian province of Alberta enacted limits on crude oil and bitumen production. These production controls, a policy referred to as curtailment, represent a shift for a government that historically avoided market intervention. The policy was designed to shrink a growing and prolonged price differential between the Western Canadian Select price of oil, the key benchmark for Alberta’s heavy oil production, and the West Texas Intermediate benchmark. The curtailment created artificial scarcity, shrinking the price differential from more than $40 USD per barrel in November 2018 to less than $15 USD per barrel in February 2019. In the process, this policy transferred market surplus from refiners, mainly those in the US Midwest, to producers in Alberta. We review this large-scale market intervention and calculate the magnitude of the economic transfer. We find the curtailment increased producer surplus by $659M CAD per month and reduced consumer surplus by $763M per month. At the margin, every $1 reduction in consumer surplus translates into a $0.71 gain in producer surplus. We further show that if the Government of Alberta’s objective was to maximize short-run producer surplus, it should further scale back production, setting the curtailment rate at 25% rather than the initial 8.7%.

Management Indicators of Layur Fish (Trichiurus lepturus Linnaeus, 1758) in the Sunda Strait

Trichiurus lepturus has an important role at the tropic level and is an economically important fish. The purpose of this study was to examine management indicators in the form of time series of catches per effort (CPUE), asymptotic length over time, exploitation rate, ratio of first caught length (Lc) to first gonad maturity length (Lm), and spawning potential ratio (SPR). ). The research was conducted in the Sunda Strait, samples of fish landed at PPP Labuan, Banten. The analytical method used is long frequency analysis, surplus production model, and SPR analysis. The number of male and female fish observed was 396 and 299 respectively. The minimum length of male layur fish is 438 mm and 421 mm for females. The maximum length of the male layur is 843 mm and the female is 773 mm. CPUE results tend to increase from 0.416 in 2014 to 1.043 in 2019. The exploitation rate (E) of fish is 0.85 which indicates that it has experienced over exploitation. Asymptotic length 938.33 mm. The whitefish caught for the first time at Lc = 579.5 mm had an SPR of 13.10% and at Lm = 718.5 mm it had a fairly high SPR of 31.7%. Catch size occurs before layur fish spawn. SPR below the biological reference point. However, in 2019 there was an increase in catches allegedly due to a pause in fishing due to the tsunami in 2018.