Costs of air pollutants from shipping: a meta-regression analysis

ABSTRACT

This study estimated the external cost of air pollution from shipping by means of a meta-regression analysis, which has not been made before. Three pollutants, which were included in most of the primary studies, were considered: nitrogen oxides (NO_x), sulphur dioxides (SO₂) and particulate matters with a diameter of max 2.5 micrometres (PM_2.5). All primary studies included damages of health and a majority added impacts on agriculture and estimated the cost of air pollutants by transferring cost estimates from studies on costs of air emissions from transports in Europe. Different regression models and estimators were used and robust results were found of statistically significant emission elasticities of below one, i.e. total external costs increase by less than 1% when emissions increase by 1%. There was a small variation between the pollutants, with the highest elasticity for PM_2.5 and lowest for NO_x. Calculations of the marginal external cost of the pollutants showed the same pattern, with this cost being approximately six times higher for PM_2.5 than for the other pollutants. Common to all pollutants was that the marginal external cost decreases when emission increases. Another robust result was a significant increase in the cost of studies published in journals compared with other publication outlets. These findings point out some caution when transferring constant external unit cost of air pollutant from shipping, which is much applied in the literature, and the cost functions estimated in this study could thus provide a complementary transfer mechanism.     

Online channel strategies under different offline channel power structures for the Belt and Road of China

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the online channel strategies adopted by Chinese manufacturers with regard to the Belt and Road. It also investigates the effect of offline channel power structures and maritime transportation costs on online channel mode selection and pricing strategies. The offline channel power structures are classified into three types, namely, Chinese manufacturer Stackelberg (MS) structure, vertical Nash (VN) structure, and foreign retailer Stackelberg (RS) structure. Furthermore, a game model is developed among the Chinese manufacturer, foreign retailer, and cross-border e-tailer to investigate the interactions among offline channel power structures, maritime transportation costs, and Chinese manufacturers’ online channel mode selection. The results show that Chinese manufacturers’ preferences for the online agency selling mode increases correspondingly with the decrease in their market position and bargaining power. Moreover, foreign retailers can obtain higher profits in the online agency selling mode under the VN structure. However, the level of profit for foreign retailers depends on the intensity of their competition with cross-border e-tailers under the MS and RS structures. Finally, consumers in countries along the Belt and Road can obtain a higher surplus in the online agency selling mode under all of the structures.     

AMT换挡品质的研究

电控机械式自动变速器（AMT）具有传动效率高、结构紧凑及工作可靠等优点。介绍了AMT换挡品质的定义及其影响因素，分析了几种影响因素之间的内在关系，并在此理论基础上寻求一种可获得最佳AMT换挡品质的方法。AMT按照其对发动机控制方式的不同，可分为柔性控制和刚性控制结构。     

The effects of federal transit subsidy policy on investment decisions: The case of San Francisco's Geary Corridor

In the United States, federal funding for public transit often accounts for a large proportion of a local agency's budget, especially for capital investments. For this reason, local governments can be expected to plan a portfolio of projects that maximize federal contributions. This study examines the financial effects of federal transit subsidy policy on local transit investment decisions. Data from a System Planning Study for the Geary Corridor in San Francisco are used as an illustration. It is found that federal transit subsidy policy provides financial incentives for local decision-makers to select capital-intensive investment options that may not be efficient or effective. While federal financial incentives are not the only factor influencing local investment decisions, some reform of the current subsidy policy may be necessary to reduce the incentive for ineffective use of public resources.     

公路建设项目征地拆迁补偿费用确定与控制方法研究

文中以广东省公路建设项目征地拆迁费用的确定为例,以现行实施的征地拆迁补偿相关规定为基础,探讨征地数量和标准的计量、计算方法,建立征地拆迁标准动态数据库,以期对征地拆迁费用的确定和控制提供思路和实际操作指导。     

焊装车间机器人的节拍分析及优化设计

为了实现焊装车间降本增效的目标,对焊装车间自动生产线上机器人的生产节拍进行优化.通过分析机器人的工作时序逻辑,查找机器人不合理的工作时序,进而分析机器人的底层程序,修改程序上的问题,优化工作时序,消除机器人工作时序逻辑不合理产生的等待浪费,提升生产线的生产节拍,从而提高车间的生产效率,最终实现降本增效的目标.     

审计独立性的新制度经济学视角

审计独立性是职业道德的精髓之所在.在新制度经济学的框架下,深入分析了交易成本、产权理论和契约理论与审计独立性的内在逻辑关系,最后提出了旨在提高审计独立性的一些制度安排,包括公司治理、披露管制、事务所组织结构、行业监管法律责任等.     

分布式工控实时数据库的设计与实现

在工控领域,实时数据库的设计已成为企业现代化生产所急需解决的重要问题.该文提出了一种分布式工控实时数据库的设计,并根据内存数据库的特点,提出了其中关键问题的解决方法.     

How do economies of density in container handling operations affect ships’ time and emissions in port? Evidence from Norwegian container terminals

Efficient port services are prerequisites for competitive and sustainable maritime transports. This paper makes advances in studying the determinants of the time that ships spend in port and the associated emissions to air. We estimate a production model for cargo handling based on a unique dataset containing each port of call at the largest container terminals in Norway in 2014. In turn, we use auxiliary engine emission factors to estimate particulate matter and nitrogen oxide emissions from ships at berth, to determine how the corresponding damage costs of air pollution vary with container throughput, location, and terminal investments. We find that Norwegian container terminals operate under increasing returns to density. Small ships that unload few containers are far from reaping economies of density, leading to high marginal time requirements for container handling and consequently high marginal external costs. From a Pigouvian taxation perspective, port charges should therefore be regressive in the number of containers handled. Moreover, we find that the external costs of maritime transports are severely understated when port operations are ignored. Our model allows determining the marginal productivities of port facilities. Thereby, it is instrumental in designing port charges that are diversified according to the quantity of containers handled and the service quality (i.e., the speed of handling operations). Regarding contextual factors, we find that establishing high-frequent liner services improves the ship working rate, while simultaneous calls at a terminal impede productivity. The type of container (loading/unloading; empty/laden) also appears to influence the duration of ship working.     

Formulating cargo inventory costs for liner shipping network design

This study examines how to incorporate the inventory costs of containerized cargoes into existing liner service planning models such that the designed networks could be improved while not causing extra modeling/computational burden. Two approaches are compared: (i) not considering the inventory costs at all and (ii) incorporating the inventory costs associated with onboard time and those related to transshipment by assuming a fixed connection time. The two models are compared with the ideal model capturing the exact inventory costs on a route choice problem and a capacity planning problem based on extensive randomly generated and practical numerical experiments. The results show that: first, ignoring the inventory costs in service planning models may lead to network design with much higher costs (poor network design decisions); second, in service planning models assuming weekly frequency, the inventory costs associated with onboard time could be formulated exactly, and those related to the connection time of weekly services could be approximated by assuming fixed connection time of 3.5 days for ports with 1 day’s minimum connection time and 4.5 days for ports with 2 days’ minimum connection time.