1,720,977 research outputs found
Carbon Kuznets curves: Long-run dynamics and policy events
No full textThis chapter aims to contribute to the development of Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) research, which is not fully surveyed given the literature has overwhelmingly increased over the past years, in two main directions. First, we use modern econometric panel approaches capable of providing new evidence on EKC long run dynamics. We employ recent homogeneous estimators – as those derived from panel cointegration analysis or those that explicitly take into account cross section correlation – as well as heterogeneous estimators which allow individual slopes to be derived from sampling or Bayesian approaches. It is difficult a priori to decide between homogeneous and heterogeneous panel estimators. On the one hand, the increasing time dimension means that the slope homogeneity implicit in the use of a pooled estimator is questionable. On the other hand, most researchers agree about the use of homogeneous estimators since the efficiency gains from pooling often overcome their costs (Baltagi et al. 2000, 2002, 2004). Some researchers have suggested using intermediate estimators as Bayesian shrinkage estimators (Maddala et al. 1997) or the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimator (Pesaran et al. 1999), allowing intercepts, short-run coefficients and error variances to differ freely across cross-sections, while long-run coefficients are held constant.
Secondly, we focus on a policy relevant scenario, in which pro-Kyoto countries and the Umbrella Group, respectively led by the EU and the US, are compared in their EKC delinking performances. The main issue we address looking at a long run dynamics including the 1992-2001 pre and post Kyoto period, is why were some countries in favour of cutting CO2 emissions and others opposed. A part of the underlying answer may be connected with the eventual historical decoupling of CO2 and GDP, and ‘policy-related’ structural factors. More specifically, we may assume that the reason why some countries (EU, and within EU the northern countries including UK) supported Kyoto from the beginning and are supporting stricter targets (the 20-20-20 EU plan on energy and environmental efficiency) is that they took early actions in terms of economy restructuring and environmental policies. As early movers, they wanted to exploit the benefits related both to the Porter competitive advantages linked to new green technology markets (Porter and van der Linde 1995) and to the intrinsic advantage of reasoning in terms of CO2 reductions decided in 1997 at Kyoto, which define a compliance with respect to 1990 levels. What happened between 1992 and 1997, and before 1992, matter(ed). Early movers could take advantage of Kyoto targets more than others on many perspectives.
Moreover, a lower elasticity and/or EKC evidence for a group (Northern EU) could explain stronger support for Kyoto, deriving from better historical environmental performance and favourable structural conditions. Nevertheless, this is the ‘average picture’; reasoning at the margins, the current achievement of EKC shapes could be associated with higher marginal abatement costs, than reduced incentives for further efforts, if one excludes the objective of intensifying green and economic competitive advantages spurred by innovation investments (Jaffe et al. 1995; Mazzanti e Zoboli 2009). In terms of current policy negotiations, structural differences in EKC shapes could inform the allocation of burdens in the Kyoto two phase (beyond 2012) for maximising economic efficiency at global level.
Though policy implications may be linked to the analysis of EKC paths, we believe that the literature has so far provided weak evidence. We shed light on such policy implications by taking quite a different angle from usual EKC analyses. In fact, the policy oriented reasoning is key and derive both from: (i) a comparative assessment of EKC shapes for three group of countries, instead of analysing larger samples (OECD): the Umbrella group, EU south and EU northern countries; (ii) a series of structural break test on the relevance, in affecting the CO2 income time series, of exogenous political events, such as the 1992 Convention on climate change, the Kyoto protocol, searching also for other sources of structural break. We bring together policy analysis and the study of advanced econometric methodologies, including intervention analysis aimed at highlighting how exogenous (policy) events affect a long run structural dynamics. As recognised, policy events may be needed to reshape the business as usual EKC, by smoothing the bell and/or decreasing the income TP level. Economic growth matters for achieving higher environmental efficiency, but is not sufficient for sustainability. We provide some evidence on such issue.
Although the political agenda is changing, mainly in the US, our aim is to provide food for thought for political negotiators in the context of the post Kyoto era, by examining the extent to which the structural differences of different groups of countries might explain their different policy perspectives and economic capabilities to tackle the climate change issue. Our Empirical evidence provides useful information for both the current scenario, in which the US is slowly coming to recognise the need to tackle climate change, but favours flexible policy instruments, and the EU is leading Kyoto implementation (Kruger and Pizer 2004) and the post Kyoto negotiation round, which should set the framework for the new climate change policy scenario
Econometric Modelling of the Regional Knowledge Production Function in Europe
No full textBy adopting a semiparametric approach, the ‘traditional’ regional knowledge production function is developed in three complementary directions. First, the model is augmented with region-specific time trends to account for endogeneity due to selection on unobservables. Second, the nonparametric part of the model relaxes the standard assumptions of linearity and additivity regarding the effect of R&D and human capital. Finally, the assumption of homogeneity in the effects of R&D and human capital is also relaxed by explicitly accounting for the differences between developed and lagging regions. The analysis of the genesis of innovation in the regions of the European Union unveils nonlinearities, threshold effects, complex interactions and shadow effects that cannot be uncovered by standard parametric formulations
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
R&D and productivity in 16 OECD countries: some heterogeneous panel estimations
No full textInternational audienceThis study further investigates the long-run impact of various sources of technological progress on productivity for a panel of 16 OECD countries during the period 1981 to 1998. Given the length of the series, the application of an heterogeneous estimator could be suitable from an econometric point of view. Our results, based on the Mean Group and the Pooled Mean Group estimators, show that technology spills over across countries through the channel of trade flows and that academic research significantly contributes to productivity
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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