scholarly journals The social and economic consequences of the fossil fuel supply chain

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Olson ◽  
Frank Lenzmann

ABSTRACT

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjith Gopalakrishnan ◽  
Daniel Granot ◽  
Frieda Granot

Since 2016, Canada’s federal government has pledged to factor in upstream emissions during the environmental impact assessment of fossil fuel energy projects. The upstream emissions attributable to a proposed project could be compared against a rejection threshold—a maximum permissible level of emissions—or the firm could be mandated to offset the attributed emissions. We adopt a cooperative game-theoretic model and propose the nucleolus mechanism to apportion upstream emission responsibilities in a fossil fuel supply chain, represented by a directed tree, wherein the nodes correspond to various entities in the supply chain such as extractors, distributors, refineries, and end consumers. The nucleolus allocation avoids the distortionary effects of double counting and exhibits a certain consistency property that is especially important in a regulatory context wherein fossil fuel supply chains span multiple legal jurisdictions. We develop a polynomial-time algorithm to compute the nucleolus and further prove that it arises as the unique subgame perfect equilibrium allocation of a noncooperative game induced by two easily stated and verifiable policies, thereby providing an implementation framework. We then demonstrate the strong Nash stability of the nucleolus mechanism subject to the two policies, study its sensitivity to parameter changes, and characterize it on the basis of fairness considerations. Furthermore, under the common assumption that the emissions allocated to a firm and the resulting financial penalties do not impact the revenues from the firm’s core operations, we also provide lower-bound guarantees on the welfare gains it delivers to firms in the fossil fuel supply chain and on the incentives it offers such firms to adopt emission abatement technologies. Finally, we contextualize our discussion with a case study on a proposed expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline in Western Canada. This paper was accepted by Chung Piaw Teo, optimization.


2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (4I-II) ◽  
pp. 997-1010
Author(s):  
Muhammad Mazhar Iqbal

Zakat is an annual religious levy that is collected from rich Muslims and its proceeds are disbursed among poor people of the society. It has many spiritual and social merits. For example, it purifies the hearts of zakat-givers as they give away a part of their wealth, one of the most precious things in their lives, seeking the pleasure of God without requiring any worldly gains whatsoever. It bridges the social gap between „haves‟ and „have-nots.‟ This study analyses, however, only economic consequences of Zakat for economic growth. They cannot be appreciated duly unless one understands the following concepts of modern economics; various theories of consumption, aggregate demand, stagnation thesis, consumption puzzle, marginal productivity of capital and Kuznets curve.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Alexis D. Litvine

Abstract This article is a reminder that the concept of ‘annihilation of space’ or ‘spatial compression’, often used as a shorthand for referring to the cultural or economic consequences of industrial mobility, has a long intellectual history. The concept thus comes loaded with a specific outlook on the experience of modernity, which is – I argue – unsuitable for any cultural or social history of space. This article outlines the etymology of the concept and shows: first, that the historical phenomena it pretends to describe are too complex for such a simplistic signpost; and, second, that the term is never a neutral descriptor but always an engagement with a form of historical and cultural mediation on the nature of modernity in relation to space. In both cases this term obfuscates more than it reveals. As a counter-example, I look at the effect of the railways on popular representations of space and conclude that postmodern geography is a relative dead end for historians interested in the social and cultural history of space.


Global Jurist ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Giaconi ◽  
Lorenzo Giasanti ◽  
Simone Varva

Abstract The virtually immediate information propagation has reduced the gap of knowledge once existing between MNEs and customers (i.e. Rana Plaza collapse, 2013). Consumers begin playing an important role in supporting workers. Their growing social awareness has clear economic consequences. MNEs have tried to react to the loss of social reputation, mainly adopting (and imposing to their suppliers) codes of conduct and ethics providing a minimum standard for decent work standards. This article aims to analyze the social reputation and social sustainability that have recently attracted stakeholders’ interest, from different points of view (MNEs, consumers, government and non-government organizations, unions). Those “new” forms of social initiatives (code of conduct, social ranking, consumers campaign, boycotting) are informative and could help to spread ILO labour standards. Clearly, they can represent only an additional support for workers who are struggling in the typical conflict between Work and Capital. The tendency to use a single parameter for assessing the social sensitivity of the MNEs, valid both for the countries “in development” and for those “already developed” risks to lead to a “race to the bottom” trend.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Vivaldini

PurposeConsidering the importance of a safe food chain for consumers and the advent of blockchain technology (BT), this research studies a food service (FS) distributor. The research aims to understand the implications related to the functional processes of distribution in FS in which it would be possible to use blockchain to achieve agility, transparency of information and improvements in food safety.Design/methodology/approachFirstly, theory regarding blockchain technology in the supply chain (BT-SC) and FS was analyzed to contextualize the theme conceptually. A single case study including 11 supply chain companies was applied in a BT implementation study in an FS distributor.FindingsInvestment in infrastructure is often identified as a barrier to adoption of BT-SC. This was, however, not found in this case. Furthermore, the validation of users was only necessary for those parties directly participating in the process or information input. Finally, findings differentiate between qualifying criteria and operational processes when considering BT projects in FS.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are restricted to this single case that provided an in-depth understanding of the topic. Statistical generalization is not possible at this stage of the research.Practical implicationsThe study is a practical example and can provide several insights to anyone looking to implement BT in their SC.Social implicationsThe social importance of the study lies in the importance of FS in the food sector, and by presenting ways that contribute to mitigating risks to consumers.Originality/valueReal-life cases of application of BT-SC illustrate its functionalities in operational processes.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carina Acioli ◽  
Annibal Scavarda ◽  
Augusto Reis

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is 1) to investigate the effects on the crucial Industry 4.0 technological innovations that interact between the real and virtual worlds and that are applied in the sustainable supply chain process; 2) to contribute to the identification of the opportunities, the challenges and the gaps that will support the new research study developments and 3) to analyze the impact of the Industry 4.0 technologies as facilitators of the sustainable supply chain performance in the midst of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).Design/methodology/approachThis research is performed through a bibliographic review in the electronic databases of the Emerald Insight, the Scopus and the Web of Science, considering the main scientific publications on the subject.FindingsThe bibliographic search results in 526 articles, followed by two sequential filters for deleting the duplicate articles (resulting in 487 articles) and for selecting the most relevant articles (resulting in 150 articles).Practical implicationsThis article identifies the opportunities and the challenges focused on the emerging Industry 4.0 theme. The opportunities can contribute to the sustainable performance of the supply chains and their territories. The Industry 4.0 can also generate challenges like the social inequalities related to the position of the man in the labor market by replacing the human workforce with the machines. Therefore, the man-machine relationship in the Industry 4.0 era is analyzed as a gap in the literature. Therefore, as a way to fill this gap, the authors of this article suggest the exploration of the research focused on the Society 5.0. Also known as “super-smart society,” this recent theme appeared in Japan in April 2016. According to Fukuda (2020), in addition to the focus on the technological development, the Society 5.0 also aims at the quality of life and the social challenge resolutions.Originality/valueThis article contributes to the analysis of the Industry 4.0 technologies as facilitators in the sustainable supply chain performance. It addresses the impacts of the Industry 4.0 technologies applied to the supply chains in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it analyzes the research gaps and limitations found in the literature. The result of this study can add value and stimulate new research studies related to the application of the Industry 4.0 technologies as facilitators in the supply chain sustainable performance. It can encourage the studies related to the COVID-19 impacts on the sustainable supply chains, and it can promote the research development on the relationship among the man, the machine and the labor in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.


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