Introduction: special issue on the environment, resources and pollution – new challenges for economic development

AbstractThis special issue contains a selection of six articles in the field of environmental and resource economics, which were presented in INFER workshops and supported events over the last two years. The topics include the effects of income inequality and freedom of the press on environmental stringency; the trade-environment nexus in China; the behavior of cross-country growth rates with respect to resource abundance and dependence; a stochastic frontier analysis to show that technological change is biased more towards energy rather than labor; how recycling and environmental taxes can affect the imbalances between the availability of and the demand for rare earth elements; and the interaction between demographic features and environmental constraints in Caribbean small island developing states. The papers include three empirical contributions and three methodological approaches, which help to improve our understanding of these topics.

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Is Italian R&D spending becoming more efficient?

Economia e Politica Industriale ◽

10.3280/poli2009-002009 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 187-198

Author(s):

Andrea Conte

Keyword(s):

Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽

Stochastic Frontier ◽

Jel Classification ◽

Economic Downturn ◽

Economic Data ◽

Frontier Analysis ◽

Empirical Estimates ◽

Cross Country ◽

Over Time

- The recent economic downturn is putting increasing pressure on governments to improve the quality of their public finances. Using macro-economic data on R&D expenditures and patents, this paper aims to determine whether business and government R&D spending has become more efficient over time and in comparison to other EU countries. Descriptive evidence is coupled with empirical estimates of cross-country efficiency of R&D expenditure calculated by the Stochastic Frontier Analysis. . Keywords: R&D, patents, efficiency, public finance Parole chiave: R&S, brevetti, efficienza, finanza pubblica. Jel Classification: O33 - H50 - C23

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Impacts of Moving-Block Signaling on Technical Efficiency

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.3141/2534-09 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2534 (1) ◽

pp. 68-74 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Shane Canavan ◽

Daniel J. Graham ◽

Patricia C. Melo ◽

Richard J. Anderson ◽

Alexander S. Barron ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Technical Efficiency ◽

Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽

Stochastic Frontier ◽

Reference Groups ◽

Data Set ◽

Frontier Analysis ◽

Rail Systems ◽

Output Efficiency ◽

Metro Systems ◽

Selection Of

This study tested the effect of introducing moving-block signaling on the technical efficiency of urban metro rail systems. The study used a panel data set of 27 urban metro systems across 20 countries for 2004 to 2012. When moving-block signaling was considered as a treatment, the effect of the associated benefits on output efficiency levels was able to be measured. Stochastic frontier analysis was employed to estimate technical efficiencies for each metro, and then propensity score matching was applied to evaluate the effect of the type of signaling on technical efficiency. The study allowed the selection of appropriate reference groups and accounted for confounding factors. The study is novel in its provision of empirical evidence of this nature. The results indicate that the technical efficiency of a metro can be improved by 11.5%.

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