Coal demand,market forces,and U.S. coal mine closures

Economic transitions have the potential to displace workers and cause social unrest. Coal mine closures and the resulting employment losses in rural areas have become salient issues. Using data on coal mine and power plant operation, we model closure as a function of expected profits, which allows us to compare the effects on mine closure of specific demand and supply shocks to expected mine profits. Increasing costs of production have had a large impact on closures, but lower natural gas prices and lower electricity demand have played more recently important roles.     

苏东坡眼中的白乐天——以徐州为中心

苏轼自称“出处依稀似乐天”,苏之于白,由钦慕、效仿而至于并称,堪称两位伟大文人之间的跨代对话。那么,这一倾向是在哪里奠基的呢?笔者认为,是在徐州时期。谨以徐州为中心,梳理和分析苏轼眼中的前代诗豪白居易。从“乐天知命我无忧”,可见白居易诗歌对徐州太守苏轼的影响痕迹。从“我是朱陈旧使君”,可见苏轼对白居易致敬的别样形式,从“燕子楼空三百秋”,可见苏轼已经将对前贤白居易的理解,与自身、眼下和未来无痕有机地衔接起来,因此,自称“出处依稀似乐天”的苏轼,不愧是白居易接受史上十分典型和优秀的代表。