Government Incentives (government + incentive)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Locational Equilibria in Weberian Agglomeration

GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS, Issue 4 2008
Dean M. Hanink
A simple Weberian agglomeration is developed and then extended as an innovative fixed-charged, colocation model over a large set of locational possibilities. The model is applied to cases in which external economies (EE) arise due to colocation alone and also cases in which EE arise due to city size. Solutions to the model are interpreted in the context of contemporary equilibrium analysis, which allows Weberian agglomeration to be interpreted in a more general way than in previous analyses. Within that context, the Nash points and Pareto efficient points in the location patterns derived in the model are shown to rarely coincide. The applications consider agglomeration from two perspectives: one is the colocation behavior of producers as the agents of agglomeration and the other is the interaction between government and those agents in the interest of agglomeration policy. Extending the analysis to games, potential Pareto efficiency and Hicks optimality are considered with respect to side payments between producers and with respect to appropriate government incentives toward agglomeration. [source]


The Governance of Rural Land in a Liberalised World

JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2007
Ian Hodge
Abstract Liberalisation of agricultural policies reduces the influence of policy on land-use decisions, but environmental policy objectives remain. Governance provides an approach that recognises the role of institutions and collective action. The formulation of environmental policy objectives in terms of the provision of public goods raises questions as to the role of economic valuation and as to whether the definition of ,goods' may misdirect policy attention. An alternative approach relates to ecosystem services and sees management issues in terms of ecosystem resilience and the adaptive governance of socio-ecological systems. Governance involves a mix of regulation, markets, government incentives and collective action. Regulation sets the domain within which markets operate and social judgements as to property rights are required as a basis for exchanges. Depending on commodity prices, agri-environment schemes may be required either to reduce agricultural production intensity or to keep land under production. The diffuse nature of the environmental benefits and costs of land uses, the complexity of ecosystems and the need to co-ordinate land management decisions indicate a role for local adaptive co-management of land resources. Governments play a major role in supporting the institutional framework within which this can take place. [source]


A conceptual framework for siting biorefineries in the Canadian Prairies

BIOFUELS, BIOPRODUCTS AND BIOREFINING, Issue 4 2010
Jason Luk
Abstract Ethanol is increasingly used as a means to reduce gasoline consumption. As a result, it has also attracted analysis of its economic, social, and environmental merit. In order for the ethanol production industry to continue to expand, these issues must be confronted in future development. Although technological development is often relied upon, carefully considered ethanol refinery siting also mitigates some of these concerns. Five alternative siting locations were selected in the western Canadian Prairies. These were evaluated using 12 criteria which represent regional resources, economic conditions, government support, or social indicators. The criteria were weighted to represent the perspectives of two stakeholders. The Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment and Evaluations (PROMETHEE) method was applied to this data, ranking the alternative sites. Several future scenarios were created to analyze the sensitivity of the results to both statistical data and subjective inputs. The rankings proved to be robust, and varied little in the different scenarios. Southern Alberta had an advantage with a high ethanol byproduct demand, education level, and ethanol demand. Southern Manitoba benefitted from the lowest labor and miscellaneous costs, due to higher unemployment. Saskatchewan suffers from low byproduct demand and a decrease in water availability while having a heated economy which increases costs. In addition, Saskatchewan as a whole is currently the leader in ethanol production, resulting in less net demand, reduced access to government incentives, and more local competition. Southern Alberta and Southern Manitoba are the optimal regions for future ethanol biorefinery, where as the Saskatchewan locations are the least attractive. © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [source]


Designing Macroeconomic Frameworks: A Positive Analysis of Monetary and Fiscal Delegation,

INTERNATIONAL FINANCE, Issue 1 2005
Francesca Castellani
This paper proposes a simple model illustrating the potential benefits of approaching the design of a macroeconomic framework conducive to low inflation in both its monetary and fiscal dimensions rather than relying exclusively on the merits of central bank independence and other monetary commitment devices such as currency boards or dollarization. The reason is that monetary delegation alone merely ,relocates' the time-inconsistency problem stemming from the government's incentive to address structural output shortfall with a macroeconomic stimulus. This paper also provides a new argument explaining why fiscal deficit rules may be less effective than instrument-specific rules. [source]