The weak enforcement and monitoring systems employed in China （e.g., insufficient inspection resources and negligible fines for noncompliance） are widely blamed for the growing unrest over food safety in the country...The weak enforcement and monitoring systems employed in China （e.g., insufficient inspection resources and negligible fines for noncompliance） are widely blamed for the growing unrest over food safety in the country. Given this development, we consider a model where quality inspection performed by agencies is a means of disclosing information on product quality. We analyze the price-quality equilibrium scheme and show that a higher probability of inspection leads to lower price premiums attached to qualified products. We further investigate the welfare effect of minimum quality standards and inspection efforts and show that they should be complementary. We finally suggest that a state dependent inspection strategy, such as not inspecting those firms that have previously been found to be noncompliant, will enhance social welfare.展开更多
<div style="text-align:justify;"> According to the content of heavy metals Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd and Ni in brown algae <em>Sargassum miyabei</em> from the Peter the Great Bay of the Sea of...<div style="text-align:justify;"> According to the content of heavy metals Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd and Ni in brown algae <em>Sargassum miyabei</em> from the Peter the Great Bay of the Sea of Japan, geochemical factors were calculated. The algae geochemical anomaly index (I<sub>GA</sub>) characterizes the degree of excess of the background concentrations of metals. The heavy metal pollution factor (F<sub>p</sub>) is used to estimate the degree of pollution of the marine environment with heavy metals. The Peter the Great Bay has a low level of heavy metal pollution, but some parts of second-order bays, such as Amurskii Bay, Ussuriiskii Bay and Vostok Bay, have a moderate degree of pollution. The high pollution level was registed on the western coast of the Ussuriiskii Bay near the Vladivostok city landfill. Thirty percent of sampling stations were noted to have higher threshold levels of metals in the algae. These areas need to be monitored to assess their environmental status and measures should be applied to reduce the impact on the environment. </div>展开更多
There is a need to formulate water environment standards（WESs） from the current water quality criteria（WQC） in China.To this end,we briefly summarize typical mechanisms applied in several countries with longer his...There is a need to formulate water environment standards（WESs） from the current water quality criteria（WQC） in China.To this end,we briefly summarize typical mechanisms applied in several countries with longer histories of developing WESs,and three limitations to formulating WESs in China were identified.After analyzing the feasibility factors including economic development,scientific support capability and environmental policies,we realized that China is still not ready for a complete change from its current nation-wide unified WES system to a local-standard-based system.Thus,we proposed a framework for transformation from WQC to WESs in China.The framework consists of three parts,including responsibilities,processes and policies.The responsibilities include research authorization,development of guidelines,and collection of information,at both national and local levels;the processes include four steps and an impact factor system to establish water quality standards;and the policies include seven specific proposals.展开更多
文摘The weak enforcement and monitoring systems employed in China （e.g., insufficient inspection resources and negligible fines for noncompliance） are widely blamed for the growing unrest over food safety in the country. Given this development, we consider a model where quality inspection performed by agencies is a means of disclosing information on product quality. We analyze the price-quality equilibrium scheme and show that a higher probability of inspection leads to lower price premiums attached to qualified products. We further investigate the welfare effect of minimum quality standards and inspection efforts and show that they should be complementary. We finally suggest that a state dependent inspection strategy, such as not inspecting those firms that have previously been found to be noncompliant, will enhance social welfare.
文摘<div style="text-align:justify;"> According to the content of heavy metals Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd and Ni in brown algae <em>Sargassum miyabei</em> from the Peter the Great Bay of the Sea of Japan, geochemical factors were calculated. The algae geochemical anomaly index (I<sub>GA</sub>) characterizes the degree of excess of the background concentrations of metals. The heavy metal pollution factor (F<sub>p</sub>) is used to estimate the degree of pollution of the marine environment with heavy metals. The Peter the Great Bay has a low level of heavy metal pollution, but some parts of second-order bays, such as Amurskii Bay, Ussuriiskii Bay and Vostok Bay, have a moderate degree of pollution. The high pollution level was registed on the western coast of the Ussuriiskii Bay near the Vladivostok city landfill. Thirty percent of sampling stations were noted to have higher threshold levels of metals in the algae. These areas need to be monitored to assess their environmental status and measures should be applied to reduce the impact on the environment. </div>
基金supported by the National Water Pollution Control and Treatment Science and Technology Major Project(No.2015ZX07203-005)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41571478)
文摘There is a need to formulate water environment standards（WESs） from the current water quality criteria（WQC） in China.To this end,we briefly summarize typical mechanisms applied in several countries with longer histories of developing WESs,and three limitations to formulating WESs in China were identified.After analyzing the feasibility factors including economic development,scientific support capability and environmental policies,we realized that China is still not ready for a complete change from its current nation-wide unified WES system to a local-standard-based system.Thus,we proposed a framework for transformation from WQC to WESs in China.The framework consists of three parts,including responsibilities,processes and policies.The responsibilities include research authorization,development of guidelines,and collection of information,at both national and local levels;the processes include four steps and an impact factor system to establish water quality standards;and the policies include seven specific proposals.
