Economic resources,childcare services,and son preference:a conjoint analysis of fertility potential in China

Using a randomized experiment that we designed for the 2021 Chinese General Social Survey,this study conducts a conjoint analysis to explore the fertility potential among Chinese adults.We examine the separate impacts of different factors and their heterogeneity across social groups.The results suggest that fertility potential is context-dependent.In addition,greater economic resources and availability of childcare significantly increase fertility potential.However,preferences in terms of the care provider,family versus the market,vary by gender,educational level,and desired number of children.Notably,we also find that son preference no longer has a significant effect on fertility potential in China.In light of China’s current low fertility,our study suggests that childbearing behavior will become increasingly differentiated by socioeconomic status.Fertility-enhancing policies should focus on supplementing economic resources and improving access to childcare.

Economic Critical Resources for the Industrial Exploitation of Natural Gas Hydrate

Since the implementation of several pilot production tests were in natural gas hydrate(NGH) reservoirs in terrestrial and marine settings, the study of NGH has entered a new stage of technological development for industrial exploitation. Prior to the industrial exploitation of any given NGH reservoir, the economic feasibility should be examined. The first step of economic evaluation of a NGH reservoir is to know whether its resource amount meets the requirement for industrial exploitation. Unfortunately, few relevant studies have been conducted in this regard. In this study, the net present value(NPV) method is employed to estimate the economic critical resources required for the industrial exploitation of NGHs under different production scenarios. Sensitivity analysis is also performed in order to specify the effects of key factors, such as the number of production wells, gas price, technological improvement and tax incentive, on the economic critical resources. The results indicate that China requires the lowest economic critical resource for a NGH reservoir to be industrially exploited, ranging from 3.62 to 24.02 billion m3 methane. Changes in gas price and tax incentives also play significant roles in affecting the threshold and timeline for the industrial exploitation of NGH.

Some Thoughts on the Teaching Content of Mineral Resources Economics

Based on the teaching practice of mineral resources economics,this article believes that a certain economic foundation is an indispensable condition for learning mineral resource economics well for the students of geology majors,and the teaching content of mineral resources economics must include the basic knowledge of economics;Mining resource management is an indispensable content for constructing a knowledge system of economic analysis and evaluation of mineral resources.The teaching content of mineral resource economics should include the sustainable use of mineral resources and the environmental protection.In order to meet the needs of society,the teaching content of mineral resources economics must be updated in time.

A comprehensive approach for assessing the economic contribution of forage and livestock improvement options to smallholder farming enterprises

The importance of livestock production activities to improving the livelihoods of smallholder farming households and the efficiency of their underlying farming systems is increasingly recognized.A rapid increase in livestock numbers, especially beef cattle, and special purpose forages is being promoted for smallholder farms which have traditionally undertaken subsistence cropping activities or simple livestock rearing activities using low quality feedstuffs.Because limited plantings of specialized forages combined with a poor knowledge of animal nutrition are a challenge to establishing sustainable livestock enterprises, much public policy and research is now being focused on the use of new forages and improved feeding practices.A number of economic studies have suggested that specialized forage growing and livestock feeding activities can make a positive contribution to smallholder welfare.The studies have typically compared the total level of farm or household income with and without livestock activities.Little attention is given to how much the new forage or livestock activities actually contribute to or draw resources from other farm activities to assess their real economic contribution to the enterprise, and the availability of simple tools to assist in making such assessments are limited.This paper describes a simple modelling approach that was developed for an Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research（ACIAR）-supported project to explore the real as opposed to apparent economic impact of integrating improved forages and livestock within smallholder farming systems in the Red Soils region of south-central China.Application of the model is demonstrated using a simple case study of a smallholder enterprise that plans to introduce a new beef cattle rearing activity to its existing farm activity mix.The case study highlights the importance of explicitly valuing transfers of resources between different farm activities to gauge the real contribution of those activities to economic returns.

Resource and environmental factors should be included in economic analytical framework

In the economic analysis framework,natural resources and environmental factors are included in the category of capital or land.Hence,the explanatory variables of the production function only include capital,labor and the residue term technology.Such framework may be designed for methodological reasons,but it is

Current Situation and Countermeasures for the Development of Ecological Circular Agriculture in Zhejiang Province

Based on the analysis of present situation of ecological circular agriculture development in Zhejiang Province, the problems of limited resources, backward technology and capital shortage were proposed, and the solutions were put forward to promote the construction of modem agriculture industry system and accelerate the change from the traditional agriculture model to ecological circular agriculture model, such as choosing suitable development models according to local conditions, promoting the construction of agricultural demonstration zones, improving ecological technology, and strengthening the comprehensive utilization of resources and farming system innovation.