No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Standard applications of utility theory assume that utility depends solely on outcomes and not on causes. This study uses a field experiment conducted in the Netherlands to determine if alternative causes of an environmental problem affect willingness to pay to ameliorate it. We find evidence supporting the hypothesis that people are willing to pay significantly more to correct problems caused by humans than by nature (the ''outrage effect''), but find no support for the hypothesis that ''moral responsibility'' matters. We also find support for the hypothesis that stated willingness to pay values obtained via ''cheap talk'' and ''consequential'' treatments are lower than without inclusion of these protocols. r 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. JEL classification: C93; Q28

Rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri, were fed pelleted food ad libitum for 35 and 50 days. Lipid deposits were determined in the viscera, liver and muscle (epaxial and hypaxial). Most of the lipid accumulated in the viscera, but the lipid content of liver and epaxial muscle also increased. Hypaxial muscle lipid content remained the same throughout the feeding period. Upon starving the fish for 27 and 48 days following 50 days of feeding, visceral lipid contributed most to energy metabolism among the depots investigated. Muscle also contributed a considerable share while the absolute amount derived from the liver was much smaller.Patterns of fatty acid mobilization during starvation were also investigated. Saturated acids were preferentially mobilized from the viscera, resulting in a rise in the percentage of monoenes and polyunsaturates. In liver, the percentage of saturates remained relatively constant whereas the percentage of monoenes declined and polyunsaturates increased. In muscle, a substantial increase in saturates was caused by a decline in monoenes; polyunsaturate content remained constant. As a result of these shifts in relative fatty acid composition the U/S (unsaturates to saturates) ratio rose in viscera and liver and decreased in muscle. The UI (unsaturation index) responded in essentially the same way. Possible explanations for preferential fatty acid utilization are discussed in terms of energetics and structural relationships.

No abstract

This article examines the extent to which agglomeration economies in one location affect employment growth and establishment births, using data from the Dutch province of South-Holland. The data are of particular interest because they represent a census, rather than a sample, of all establishments and the location of establishments can be pinpointed to within 416 (postal) zip code areas averaging less than 6 km-super-2 in size. Results suggest that agglomeration economies positively affect employment growth and the location of new establishments, but with the possible exception of manufacturing, this effect dies out quickly with distance. Thus, the main finding is that for many industries, agglomerative forces may well operate at a geographic scale that is smaller than a city. Copyright Blackwell Publishing, Inc. 2006

In this paper we address two aspects of regulatory federalism in U.S. environmental policy. First, we suggest that environmental quality in U.S. states responds positively to increases in income. Second, we provide evidence that environmental quality did not decline when President Reagan's policy of new federalism returned responsibility for many environmental regulations to the states. Thus, state environmental quality appears to reflect more than just the dictates of federal policy. Additionally, we find that a "race to the bottom" in environmental quality did not materialize in the 1980s. Copyright 2000 Blackwell Publishers