Regional Computable General Equilibrium models: A review

Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models are very popular for analyzing a wide range of policy issues. CGE applications vary from estimating the welfare impact of tax reform and alternative energy policies to the effect of foreign trade reforms, labour markets and employment. CGE models are commonly developed at the country level; however, modified versions of CGE, so called Regional CGE (RCGE) models, can be used at subnational disaggregation to examine impacts studied at the national counterparts on a specific region. RCGE models have grown in popularity as an alternative to the Input-Output (I-O) models, which are regularly used for regional analysis. RCGE models can provide comprehensive information, which make them more desirable analytical models for many researchers. Yet, RCGE models have not yet become a “go-to” for governmental policy practitioners when they are developing regional public policies. This paper reviews the current state of regional CGE models, describes their features, contributions and limitations and surveys some applications of the main three classes of RCGE models: region-specific, bottom-up, and top-down models. This paper concludes that the applications of RCGE are quite variable and flexible, with a new and more complex type of application to be developed with the advancement of computation economics. The paper offers recommendations on the micro, meso and macro conditions that are necessary to increase policy practitioners’ utilization of RCGE models.     

Anxious urbanity: xenophobia,the native subject and the refugee camp

G. Lewis, Between the Wire and the Wall; A history of South African ‘Coloured’ politics, (Cape Town, David Philip, 1987)

Ian Goldin, Making Race: The politics and economics of Coloured identity in South Africa (Cape Town: Maskew Miller Longman, 1987).

Gavin Lewis, Between the Wire and the Wall: A History of South African ‘Coloured’ Politics (Cape Town: David Philip, 1987).

Women in African Literature Today, No. 15, James Curry Limited, London: 1987.

Left‐Radical Movements in South Africa and Namibia 1900–1981 A Bibliographical and Historical Study, compiled by Elizabeth W. Böhmer. 2 vols. Cape Town: South African Library, 1986 and 1987.

South African Review 4. Edited and compiled by Glenn Moss and Ingrid Obery for the Southern African Research Service (SARS). Johannesburg: Ravan Press, 1987, 599 pp., R24,95

The Rise and Decline of Apartheid: A study of political movements among the coloured people of South Africa, 1880–1985, R.E. van der Ross, (Cape Town, Tafelberg, 1986)

Setiloane, Gabriel M. African Theology ‐An Introduction. Johannnesburg. Skotaville 1986.

Pass Controls and the Urban African Proletariat, by Doug Hindson, Johannesburg, Ravan Press, 1987.

Class, Community and Conflict: South African Perspectives, edited by Belinda Bozzoli (Ravan, Johannesburg, 1987).     

Vulnerability to climate change in rural Saskatchewan: Case study of the Rural Municipality of Rudy No. 284

With the likelihood of future changes in climate and climate variability, it is important to understand how human systems may be vulnerable. Rural communities in Saskatchewan having agricultural-based economies are particularly dependent on climate and could be among the most vulnerable human systems in Canada. Future changes in climate are likely to have significant impacts on rural livelihoods, and rural populations will face the challenge of coping with climate change in light of a multitude of other changing socio-economic and environmental conditions. The Rural Municipality of Rudy No. 284 was chosen as a case study due to its access to irrigation, a key tool in climate adaptation for the agricultural system in the area against one of its most notorious climatic features - severe multi-year droughts. Further irrigation development would continue to reduce climate vulnerabilities. Even with irrigation however, the compounding effects of climate and other socio-economic changes will likely require modifications in current practices and policies in order to secure adequate livelihoods. Climate change adaptation in the RM must ensure equitable access to water and potentially irrigation, reduce barriers to collaboration when addressing communal problems, and provide more certainty in government programs.     

ON DERIVATION OF INITIAL BLOCKS OF B.I.B. DESIGNS WITH MORE THAN ONE INITIAL BLOCK

A good amount of work has been done on the construction of balanced incomplete block (B.I.B.) designs by Bose (1939, 1942), Sprott (1954, 1956), Rao (1961), Takeuchi (1962) and others. Sprott (1954, 1956) obtained several series of B.I.B. designs through difference sets. The main purpose of the present investigation is to provide two methods of construction of B.I.B. designs obtainable through more than one initial block. The first method derives initial blocks of a series of designs from some specified blocks of a B.I.B. design obtainable by developing one or more initial blocks. The second method attempts to obtain one of the initial blocks (the basic initial block) through the different powers of an element of a finite field; then an appropriate method for generating the other initial blocks from it is discussed. A table showing the basic initial block for different designs has been presented. By these methods several solutions of some B.I.B. designs could be obtained from different initial blocks. An examination was therefore made to see if these designs were all isomorphic.     

西塞罗“人民”“共和”思想的哲学考察及其意义研究

在继承和批判古希腊政治哲学思想的基础上，结合古罗马“王制”和“共和”的发展历史，西塞罗提出了一套以自然法理论为基础，以正义观念为原则，以基于权利的一致和利益的共同而结合起来的共同体为内容，以“混合制”政治制度为形式的“人民”至上“共和”思想，目的是为人类社会构建一个真正理想的“共和国”,为人类社会的发展指明方向。在西方政治哲学从传统转变到现代的复杂发展过程中，西塞罗的“人民”“共和”思想对后来基督教神正论的产生和近代的社会契约论等政治哲学理论的提出，乃至当代西方政治哲学的发展，都产生了极大的影响。当然，西塞罗的政治哲学思想并非完美无缺，其对于“理想”社会的追求，多少带有“乌托邦”的性质，如对为什么“混合制”是最好的，它是如何可能的?“人民”的内涵外延是什么?“人民”至上需要什么限制条件等关键问题缺少有效论证等。这些正是后来者应加强研究的。     

Can oral toxicity data for PFAS inform on toxicity via inhalation?

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous in the environment and are detected in wildlife and humans. With respect to human exposure, studies have shown that ingestion is the primary route of exposure; however, in certain settings, exposure via inhalation could also be a significant source of exposure. While many studies examined toxicity of PFAS via ingestion, limited information is available for PFAS toxicity via the inhalation route, translating into a lack of exposure guidelines. Consequently, this article examined whether route-to-route extrapolation to derive guidelines for inhalation exposure is appropriate for PFAS. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) were used as exemplary PFAS given the abundance of toxicity data for these two compounds. Our evaluation determined that available toxicity and toxicokinetic data support route-to-route extrapolation for PFAS in order to derive inhalation-based standards. Results from this analysis suggest that an air concentration of 7.0 × 10⁻⁵ mg/m³ (or 0.07 μg/m³) would be an appropriate RfC for PFOA and PFOS assuming the 2016 EPA RfD of 0.00002 mg/kg-day, whereas use of the interim RfDs proposed in 2022 of 1.5 × 10⁻⁹ and 7.9 × 10⁻⁹ mg/kg would yield much lower RfCs of 5.25 × 10⁻⁹ and 2.77 × 10⁻⁸ mg/m³ (or 5.25 × 10⁻⁶ and 2.77 × 10⁻⁵ μg/m³) for PFOA and PFOS, respectively.