Game theory and global environmental policy

Economists interpret global environmental quality to be a pure public good. Each country should contribute to its provision. However, this is hard to achieve because each government is tempted to take a free ride on the other governments’ efforts. Not only has this dilemma been analysed with game theoretical methods but game theory has also been used to think about how to make amends. This paper reviews the game theoretical discussion on how international policy frameworks may be designed to improve the chances for international cooperation. It is also shown that the evaluation of alternative environmental policy instruments deviates from the standard environmental economics model if applied to the international arena. For the benefit of an interdisciplinary readership, the evolution of the debate on global environmental policy is related to the recent history of economic thought. This history is taken to be materialised in the writings of economics’ Nobel Prize laureates.     

Seasonal change of nest survival and related aspects in an aggregation ofLasioglossum duplex (Dalla torre), a eusocial halictine bee (Hymenoptera: Halictidae)

Summary Nest survival in an aggregation of a eusocial halictine bee,Lasioglossum duplex, was censused through an annual cycle. Out of 2,500 nests marked at the beginning of solitary phase in the spring, only 25.5% attained eusocial phase. But 60.5% of 636 nests attaining eusocial phase successfully produced sexual offspring. This shows that solitary phase is the most vulnerable period in the annual cycle. A very low productivity in eusocial phase in the census year was clarified from examination of 99 nests in the autumn. The number of prospective foundresses surviving to the next year was estimated upon the number of brood cells in examined nests and of old females surviving these nests. Deviation between this estimate and the number of nests made in the next spring was 8.8%, confirming a drop of population size to less than one third in the next year. Some nests solitarily made in the summer by dispersed females were examined. Productivity in such nests was extremely low, hence these nests should contribute virtually nothing to the next generation. Possible factors affecting the low productivity in eusocial phase were enumerated though none of these were supported by concrete evidence. Some considerations were given on the relation between obtained results and colony life cycle in eusocial insects, particularly in halictine bees. Bionomics of the eusocial halictine bee,Lasioglossum duplex. VI.     

Blood Pressure Changes among Male Navaho Migrants to an Urban Environment

Des donnees comparatives sur la pression sanguine systolique et diastolique des Navahos de sexe masculin furent recueillies avant et apres leur emigration d'un milieu rural a un centre urbain. Les deux mesures furent significativement plus elevees apres l'emigration. Quelques facteurs causaux tels que le changement d'altitude, l'ingestion de gras satures et l'age furent elimines. D'un maniere pro-visoire, on conclut que des facteurs associes a l'emigration, tels qu'un changement dans les habitudes de repos, la pollution de l'air ainsi que la separation de la parente sont a l'origine de ces changements physiologiques.
Comparative data on systolic and diastolic blood pressures were obtained on male Navahos before and after migration from a rural to an urban environment. Both measures were significantly higher after migration. Various possible causes - such as change in altitude, saturated fat intake, and age - are eliminated. It is tentatively concluded that altered rest patterns, urban pollution, and separation from kin, i.e., things specific to the act of migration, are causally implicated.     

Nonlinear models for ground-level ozone forecasting

One of the main concerns in air pollution is excessive tropospheric ozone concentration. The aim of this work is to develop statistical models giving shortterm forecasts of future ground-level ozone concentrations. Since there are few physical insights about the dynamic relationship between ozone, precursor emissions and/or meteorological factors, a nonparametric and nonlinear approach seems promising in order to specify the forecast models. First, we apply four nonparametric procedures to forecast daily maximum 1-hour and maximum 8-hour averages of ozone concentrations in an urban area. Then, in order to improve the forecast performances, we combine the time series of the forecasts. This idea seems to give encouraging results. This work was supported by a MURST grant. The authors would like to thank two anonymous referees for their helpful comments.     

Exact functionals and their core

Exact cooperative games or non-additive measures, coherent lower previsions and coherent risk measures are mathematically essentially the same. They are belong to the class of exact functionals on an arbitrary set of bounded functions. We investigate the exact functionals from a functional analytic point of view, i. e. we characterize this class by a norm, present a Hahn-Banach type theorem, provide a powerful construction method and adopt the concept of the core resp. σ-core from cooperative game theory. Received: December 2000; revised version: May 2001     

独龙族的生态文化与可持续发展

独龙江流域是独龙族的主要居住地,这里地理区位独特,气候特殊,物种丰富,是有名的"生物基因库".独龙族社会发育程度低,生产方式落后,属农耕经济文化中的山林刀耕火种型.基本特征是把劳动直接投入生态系统,通过强化劳动与改进技术,放大或增加生态系统的输出功率,试图在生产力和劳动产品之间形成正比例关系.但独龙族的生态文化在外界的影响下,正在发生变化,对生态系统的负作用日益明显.本文试图探讨独龙族的生态文化与可持续发展的相互关系.     

东巴教圣地纳西族的家庭结构与社会生活(续)——中甸县白地水甲村的田野调查报告

云南省迪庆藏族自治州中甸县的白地村一带是纳西族东巴教的发源地,也是纳西族的传统文化、古朴习俗与各类仪规保留得最为完整的地区.本文以处于这块"东巴圣地"的核心区域的水甲村的民族学田野调查资料为基础,较为详尽地对当地纳西族的家庭结构与社会生活等方面的情况进行了系统描述和分析.     

滇国名称再探源

本文认为滇字出自越语,即越人之"祠"的本义;滇国诞生之时,汉人尚未进入,汉人到来之后,才以当地越语译为汉字记录下来;滇因国而得名,滇国傍池而建,故先有滇国,后有滇池.