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on Regulation |
| By: | Sneeringer, Stacy E. |
| Abstract: | Research on environmental regulation’s effects on economic activity has largely focused on manufacturing, ignoring one of the major polluters in the U.S. – commercial agriculture. As livestock production has become increasingly mobile, regulation has become an important criterion in firm location. This article extends the literature on environmental regulation’s economic effects to commercial agriculture by exploiting a series of regulations adopted in North Carolina in the 1990s. During this time, the state’s hog production more than tripled as a consequence of welcoming state legislation. This sudden growth creates an opportunity to study how environmental regulation affects the location of economic activity, the externality costs of legislation aimed at economic growth, and the effects of swine on air pollution. The last of these foci is of particular importance to upcoming federal regulation of large-scale livestock production under the Clean Air Act. By exploiting the distinct trend breaks in hog production in North Carolina, I am able to non-parametrically control for trends in the rest of the country as well as trends in North Carolina prior to the enactment of the lax regulations. I find that the laws led to an additional 11% increase per year in hog production in North Carolina relative to the rest of the U.S., as well as a 10% increase per county per year in ambient air pollution. Through a series of falsification tests and examinations of alternative hypotheses, I conclude that the air pollution is attributable to the hogs; a doubling of production yields a 92% increase in ambient air pollution. The magnitude of the changes in air pollution is large enough to result in significant public health effects, totaling in cost to at least 20% of North Carolina’s hog production revenue. |
| Keywords: | Livestock, externality, regulation, public health, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Health Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries, Q5, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saeana:46591&r=reg |
| By: | Céline Azémar |
| Abstract: | Using data from the International Revenue Service, this paper explores the effects of corporate taxation on U.S. capital invested abroad and on tax planning practices (dividend payments, income shifting, and passive investment). The econometric analysis first indicates that investment is strongly influenced by average tax rates, with a magnified impact for particularly low-tax rates implying that the attractiveness of low-tax countries is not weakened by anti-deferral rules and cross-crediting limitations. Further explorations suggest that firms report higher profit and are less likely to repatriate dividends when they are located in low-tax jurisdictions. Firms also report higher Subpart F income in countries in which they shift their profit, suggesting that cross-crediting provides an incentive to shift passive income in low-tax countries and that passive investment can be an alternative strategy to minimize taxes when active investment opportunities are lacking. Finally, the paper estimates the role of effective transfer pricing regulation on income shifting activities using the quality of host countries' law enforcement. It appears that low degrees of law enforcement are associated with higher income-shifting. |
| Keywords: | Uncertainty, Multi-Prior Beliefs, Suspension Schemes, Panic-Driven Bank Runs. |
| JEL: | D81 G21 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gla:glaewp:2009_03&r=reg |
| By: | Amanor-Boadu, Vincent; Zereyesus, Yacob |
| Abstract: | Recent increases in commodity prices have led to calls for the regulation of speculators. These calls have come from many reputable quarters including leading agricultural and food policy institutions such as International Food Policy Research Institute as well as different members of the U.S. Congress. They are based on an assumption that speculative activities are a primary or major source of the volatility in the markets and that controlling these activities through regulations would bring more stability to the market. The paper tests this hypothesis and assesses the contribution of speculative activities in the commodity markets over the past decade to price inflation. The paper argues that government regulatory policies to control speculation in commodity markets is a second best solution that would probably yield neutral or negative benefits to the very people the policy aims to protect. |
| Keywords: | speculators, inflation, prices, ARIMA, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saeana:46841&r=reg |
| By: | Nguyen, Anh Van Thi; Wilson, Norbert L. W. |
| Abstract: | Estimating the panel gravity model with bilateral pair and country-by-time fixed-effects separately for each seafood product, we found that food safety regulations have differential effects across seafood products. In all three industrialized markets, shrimp is most sensitive, while fish is the least sensitive to changing food safety policies. The enforcement of the US HACCP, the EU Minimum Required Performance Level and the Japanese Food Safety Basic Law caused a loss of 90.45%, 99.47%, and 99.97% to shrimp trade in these markets, and a reduction associated with fish trade was 66.71%, 82.83%, and 89.32%. |
| Keywords: | food safety, seafood, international trade, gravity model, HACCP, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Relations/Trade, C33, F13, Q17, Q18, |
| Date: | 2009–01–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saeana:46758&r=reg |
| By: | Lang, X.; Reiner, D.; Neuhoff, K. |
| Abstract: | The economic and policy framework for investment decisions in the power generation sector in China are investigated. Our analysis combines a review of the existing legal framework with a survey of stakeholders in industry and government. Based on interviews with over 60 stakeholders, we find a consistent picture emerges of the role of the major institutions and the decision criteria used in investment decisions for conventional thermal power technologies. In contrast, the evolving legal framework for investment in lower-carbon technologies, as reflected primarily in the renewable energy law, produces no clear consensus regarding decision criteria from either government or industry stakeholders. The overall objectives are widely acknowledged, but there is considerable disagreement amongst stakeholders over its implementation. From an investment analysis of risks versus returns, most respondents perceive advanced thermal power investments and small hydro as being more attractive than lower carbon alternatives such as wind power and solar photovoltaic (PV) power. |
| Keywords: | Investment decisions, Institutions, Power sector, Lower-carbon electricity, China. |
| JEL: | N75 L94 Q42 Q58 Q54 |
| Date: | 2008–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:0862&r=reg |
| By: | Malwina Mejer; Bruno van Potteslberghe de la Potterie |
| Abstract: | This paper argues that the consequences of the ‘fragmentation’ of the European patent system are more dramatic than the mere prohibitive costs of maintaining a patent in force in many jurisdictions. First, detailed analysis of judicial systems in several European countries and four case studies provide evidence suggesting that heterogeneous national litigation costs, practices and outcome induce a high level of uncertainty. Second, a high degree of managerial complexity results from systemic incongruities due to easier ‘parallel imports’, possible ‘time paradoxes’ and the de facto paradox of having EU-level competition policy and granting authority ultimately facing national jurisdictional primacy on patent issues. These high degrees of uncertainty and complexity contribute to reduce the effectiveness of the European patent system and provide additional arguments in favour of the Community patent and a centralized litigation in Europe. |
| Keywords: | European patent system, patent cost, litigation process, enforcement, uncertainty |
| JEL: | K41 P14 O34 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2009_003&r=reg |
| By: | Simeon Djankov; Rafael La Porta; Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes; Andrei Shleifer |
| Abstract: | We collect data on the rules and practices of financial and conflict disclosure by politicians in 175 countries. Although two thirds of the countries have some disclosure laws, less than a third make disclosures available to the public. Disclosure is more extensive in richer and more democratic countries. Disclosure is correlated with lower perceived corruption when it is public, when it identifies sources of income and conflicts of interest, and when a country is a democracy. |
| JEL: | H11 K42 P16 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14703&r=reg |