To what extent do young innovative companies take advantage of policy support to enact innovation appropriation mechanisms?

Native American reservations are among the most economically disadvantaged regions in the United States; lacking access to economic and educational opportunities that are exacerbated by “energy insecurity” due to insufficient connectivity to the electric grid and power outages. Local renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and biomass offer energy alternatives but their implementation encounters barriers such as lack of financing, infrastructure, and expertise, as well as divergent attitudes among tribal leaders. Biomass, in particular, could be a source of stable base-load power that is abundant and scalable in many rural communities. This case study examines the feasibility of a biomass energy plant on the Cocopah reservation in southwestern Arizona. It considers feedstock availability, cost and energy content, technology options, nameplate capacity, discount and interest rates, construction, operation and maintenance (O&M) costs, and alternative investment options. This study finds that at current electricity prices and based on typical costs for fuel, O&M over 30 years, none of the tested scenarios is presently cost-effective on a net present value (NPV) basis when compared with an alternative investment yielding annual returns of 3% or higher. The technology most likely to be economically viable and suitable for remote, rural contexts—a combustion stoker—resulted in a levelized costs of energy (LCOE) ranging from US$0.056 to 0.147/kWh. The most favorable scenario is a combustion stoker with an estimated NPV of US$4,791,243. The NPV of the corresponding alternative investment is US$7,123,380. However, if the tribes were able to secure a zero-interest loan to finance the plant’s installation cost, the project would be on par with the alternative investment. Even if this were the case, the scenario still relies on some of the most optimistic assumptions for the biomass-to-power plant and excludes abatement costs for air emissions. The study thus concludes that at present small-scale, biomass-to-energy projects require a mix of favorable market and local conditions as well as appropriate policy support to make biomass energy projects a cost-competitive source of stable, alternative energy for remote rural tribal communities that can provide greater tribal sovereignty and economic opportunities.

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Why do the national financial and monetary policies not boost the economy?

Finance and Credit ◽

10.24891/fc.26.7.1496 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 26 (7) ◽

pp. 1496-1521

Author(s):

N.I. Kulikov ◽

M.A. Kulikova ◽

A.A.S.R. Mobio

Keyword(s):

Central Bank ◽

Policy Support ◽

Gdp Growth ◽

Government Contracts ◽

Monetary Policies ◽

The Past ◽

Russian Economy ◽

Yearly Average ◽

Analysis And Synthesis ◽

The Government

Subject. This article assesses the reasons why the economic policy of the Government and Central Bank of Russia does not cause the economic advance. The article tries to find out why the two strategic programmes adopted over the past ten years have not been implemented in most indicators. Objectives. The article aims to analyze the results of financial and monetary policies in Russia over the past ten years, and establish why the Russian economy has been growing within one percent yearly average all these years, and its share in the world economy has not grown, but got reduced even. Methods. For the study, we used the methods of analysis and synthesis. Results. The article proposes certain measures and activities to move to soft financial and monetary policies of the State and corresponding changes in the structure of the Russian economy. This will help ensure six to seven percent GDP growth annually. Conclusions. High loan rates have become the main obstacle to GDP growth in Russia. It is necessary to accept concrete actions and decisions concerning the Bank of Russia key rate, expansion of the functions of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, industrial policy, support of consumer demand, long-term government contracts for the real sector enterprises, etc.

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The Role of Late-Night Infotainment Comedy in Communicating Climate Change Consensus

10.31234/osf.io/ufg9r ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Edward John Roy Clarke ◽

Anna Klas ◽

Joshua Stevenson ◽

Emily Jane Kothe

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Policy Support ◽

Mitigation Policy ◽

Behavioural Intentions ◽

Late Night ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation ◽

Climate Action ◽

Adaptation Policies ◽

Diverse Audience

Climate change is a politically-polarised issue, with conservatives less likely than liberals to perceive it as human-caused and consequential. Furthermore, they are less likely to support mitigation and adaptation policies needed to reduce its impacts. This study aimed to examine whether John Oliver’s “A Mathematically Representative Climate Change Debate” clip on his program Last Week Tonight polarised or depolarised a politically-diverse audience on climate policy support and behavioural intentions. One hundred and fifty-nine participants, recruited via Amazon MTurk (94 female, 64 male, one gender unspecified, Mage = 51.07, SDage = 16.35), were presented with either John Oliver’s climate change consensus clip, or a humorous video unrelated to climate change. Although the climate change consensus clip did not reduce polarisation (or increase it) relative to a control on mitigation policy support, it resulted in hyperpolarisation on support for adaptation policies and increased climate action intentions among liberals but not conservatives.

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STATE SUPPORT FOR «GREEN» INVESTMENTS AND MARKET «GREEN» FINANCING: FOREIGN EXPERIENCE

Innovatics and Expert Examination ◽

10.35264/1996-2274-2019-1-97-108 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 97-108

Author(s):

L.S. Kabir

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Government Support ◽

Policy Support ◽

Green Economy ◽

Economic Policies ◽

State Support ◽

Green Technologies ◽

Foreign Countries ◽

The Government ◽

Green Investments

The present study reveals the trends and features of the current state of financing the foreign countries’ transition to a new «green» economic growth model. To summarize the contemporary experience of countries’ integration into public administration practice the approaches and standards in the field of «green» investments financing.The subject of the study is the set of measures implemented by countries to develop sources of finance for «green» economy projects.Tasks: 1) to consider the principal directions of the «green» investments state policy support, its purpose, and the tools used; 2) to identify the market’s role in the «green» economy financing; 3) to clarify the main issues constraining private investments in «green» projects. The countries’ approach to «green» economic growth financing is examined in the present paper by means of common methods of scientific knowledge.There reviewed the arguments justifying the government support for «green» investments. There revealed the problems constraining the market «green» financing development and speculations about their origins. The study concludes that the countries’ economic policies are aimed at improving the existing model’s efficiency, not at the transition to the new «green» economy model. Thus, through the state support tools, there being generated strong signals signifying the creation of favorable market conditions for the functioning of a new economy sector – the sector of «green» technologies.

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Race Consciousness in Higher Education: Does 'Sound Educational Policy' Support the Continued Existence of Historically Black Colleges?

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.1626887 ◽

1994 ◽

Author(s):

Wendy B. Scott

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Educational Policy ◽

Historically Black ◽

Black Colleges ◽

Policy Support ◽

Historically Black Colleges

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SYSTEMS STRENGTHENING AND POLICY SUPPORT TO INCREASE ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER

10.1130/abs/2020am-358772 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Prosun Bhattacharya ◽

◽

Md Tahmidul Islam

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Policy Support ◽

Safe Drinking Water

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Small firms and the COVID-19 insolvency gap

Small Business Economics ◽

10.1007/s11187-021-00514-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Julian Oliver Dörr ◽

Georg Licht ◽

Simona Murmann

Keyword(s):

Financial Distress ◽

Small Firms ◽

English Summary ◽

Policy Support ◽

Policy Response ◽

Special Role ◽

Current Crisis ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Large Wave ◽

Using Data

AbstractCOVID-19 placed a special role on fiscal policy in rescuing companies short of liquidity from insolvency. In the first months of the crisis, SMEs as the backbone of Germany’s economy benefited from large and mainly indiscriminate aid measures. Avoiding business failures in a whatever-it-takes fashion contrasts, however, with the cleansing mechanism of economic crises: a mechanism which forces unviable firms out of the market, thereby reallocating resources efficiently. By focusing on firms’ pre-crisis financial standing, we estimate the extent to which the policy response induced an insolvency gap and analyze whether the gap is characterized by firms which were already struggling before the pandemic. With the policy measures being focused on smaller firms, we also examine whether this insolvency gap differs with respect to firm size. Our results show that the COVID-19 policy response in Germany has triggered a backlog of insolvencies that is particularly pronounced among financially weak, small firms, having potential long-term implications on entrepreneurship and economic recovery.Plain English Summary This study analyzes the extent to which the strong policy support to companies in the early phase of the COVID-19 crisis has prevented a large wave of corporate insolvencies. Using data of about 1.5 million German companies, it is shown that it was mainly smaller firms that experienced strong financial distress and would have gone bankrupt without policy assistance. In times of crises, insolvencies usually allow for a reallocation of employees and capital to more efficient firms. However, the analysis reveals that this ‘cleansing effect’ is hampered in the current crisis as the largely indiscriminate granting of liquidity subsidies and the temporary suspension of the duty to file for insolvency have caused an insolvency gap that is driven by firms which were already in a weak financial position before the crisis. Overall, the insolvency gap is estimated to affect around 25,000 companies, a substantial number compared to the around 16,300 actual insolvencies in 2020. In the ongoing crisis, policy makers should prefer instruments favoring entrepreneurs who respond innovatively to the pandemic instead of prolonging the survival of near-insolvent firms.

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Consumer Preferences for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Based on the Text Mining Method

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14154598 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (15) ◽

pp. 4598

Author(s):

Yuan-Yuan Wang ◽

Yuan-Ying Chi ◽

Jin-Hua Xu ◽

Jia-Lin Li

Keyword(s):

Language Processing ◽

Consumer Preferences ◽

National Policy ◽

High Energy ◽

Policy Support ◽

Charging Infrastructure ◽

Electric Vehicle Charging ◽

Driving Range ◽

Second Tier ◽

Development Levels

The construction of charging infrastructure has a positive effect on promoting the diffusion of new energy vehicles (NEVs). This study uses natural language processing (NLP) technology to explore consumer preferences for charging infrastructure from consumer comments posted on public social media. The findings show that consumers in first-tier cities pay more attention to charging infrastructure, and the number of comments accounted for 36% of the total. In all comments, consumers are most concerned about charging issues, national policy support, driving range, and installation of private charging piles. Among the charging modes of charging piles, direct current (DC) fast charging is more popular with consumers. The inability to find public charging piles in time to replenish power during travel or high energy consumption caused by air conditioning is the main reason for consumers’ range anxiety. Increasing battery performance, improving charging convenience, and construction of battery swap station are the main ways consumers prefer to increase driving range. Consumers’ preference for charging at home is the main reason for their high attention to the installation of private charging piles. However, the lack of fixed parking spaces and community properties have become the main obstacles to the installation of private charging piles. In addition, consumers in cities with different development levels pay different amounts of attention to each topic of charging infrastructure. Consumers in second-tier and above cities are most concerned about charging issues. Consumers in third-tier and above cities pay significantly more attention to the installation of private charging piles than consumers in fourth-tier and fifth-tier cities. Consumers in each city have almost the same amount of attention to driving range.

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