Private sector investment

Gold Metal. Besides its use for monetary reserves, gold is used in the private sector principally for investment and fabrication. A breakdown by... 

Proponents of the laboratories counter that, despite these shortcomings, the laboratories seiwe a vital mission of undertaking the high risk and expensive investments that the private sector would never agree to invest in. Although natural gas research and development was minimal, DOE support accelerated technological advances on natural gas-fired turbines. Much of the research and development at the laboratories has provided a net social benefit to the nation and economy, work such as safe nuclear reactors and the development of sophisticated defense weapons. 

As I mentioned earlier in try talk, the need to establish a greater alignment of our energy R D investments with our policies, regulations - and the externalities I have outlined - is critical to the future of nuclear power, especially in times of declining private sector R D. 

Pharmaceutical innovation has made a decisive contribution to the reduction of mortality and the improvement of quality of life. The role of patents in providing incentives for innovation has been crucial. Yet at the same time there are limitations that need to be overcome in the future. Here we will mention just two examples orphan drugs and parallel imports. Patents do not offer incentives to develop drugs for low-prevalence diseases, known as orphan drugs. Governments are sometimes faced with the option of public production, as the private sector does not invest in them. Yet these would be precisely the cases in which experiments would be conducted with new models for promoting innovation, as discussed in this chapter. 

Pharmacotherapies contribute greatly to human health and longevity. As such, researchers in the public and private sectors make an enormous investment in drug design and refinement and preclinical and clinical testing. Such efforts often result in a marketed compound that expands the options for the treatment and prevention of human diseases. However, on rare occasions, medications associated with adverse effects - ranging from undesirable to potentially fatal - that greatly reduce or even eliminate their therapeutic utility reach the marketplace. 

As stability and prosperity in traditional fisheries provide the basis for private sector investment in new, underutilized fisheries, fisheries management and development activities will be coordinated to ensure that increased investment in harvesting and processing operations do not result in excess capacity and recurring marketing crises in traditional fisheries. Traditional fisheries are those for which the existing fishing industry has the capability... 

One reason is that firms who want to employ the new technology cannot merely invest in basic research. Cockburn and Henderson (1998) emphasize that it is also important for the firm to be actively connected to the wider scientific community (p. 158). They developed the concept of connectedness, as measured by the extent of collaboration in writing scientific papers across institutional boundaries, and conclude that firms wishing to public sector research must do more than simply invest in in-house basic research they must also actively collaborate with their public sector colleagues. The extent of this collaboration... is positively related to private sector research productivity (p. 180). The process by which firms acquire this new technology is not simple or direct, nor obtained without cost. 

Next, I reviewed some empirical evidence about the relative efficiency of private and public enterprises. Numerous empirical studies over the last two decades have shown that private enterprises tend to be more efficient producers than public enterprises, and the private-sector efficiency advantage is likely to be particularly great in knowledge-intensive industries like vaccines. I also surveyed evidence about the response of private investment in R D to changes in economic incentives. Evidence on a number of policies and events suggests that private vaccine development and production is likely to be quite responsive to enhanced incentives (or diminished disincentives), and that expansion of the government s role is likely to crowd out private investment. 

The development of cost-effective hydrogen and fuel cells technologies and infrastructure requires time, public and private sector investment, and technology breakthroughs to achieve commercial maturity and market penetration. Many IEA Member countries have already embarked on this effort in close co-operation with industry. Many others are in the process of revising and reinforcing their research and development strategies. 

The government of Canada has invested over C 200 million in the hydrogen and fuel cell sector since the early 1980s. This amount includes only federal funding and does not include funds spent by provincial governments nor does it include private sector investment. 

Open trade, international investment flows, information technology and global environmental concerns are major elements of the current multilateral order. New integrated concepts have to be applied to ensure progressive and environmentally sound development. These concepts will be based on private sector-led productivity gains in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. 

Some institutions use faculty committees to vet inventions and progress, which is very inefficient and unproductive. Decisions about projects should be made by professionals who invest funds and seek a return from those investments. One of the characteristic differences in the evaluation process of these projects is that unlike general grants the evaluating panels argue from the private-sector perspective and will simply terminate a project when milestones have not been made. 

Even if firms have no right to compensation, governments may wish to compensate adversely affected industry to enhance the credibility of their claims of investment certainty, and to continue to attract private-sector investment. However, without a specific justification, payments to industry may, prima facie, constitute State aid. A justification might be provided by analogy to the stranded cost regime formulated and applied by the Commission under the 1996 Electricity Directive, which allowed for such compensation in the electricity sector. Similar arguments might be applied to other sectors. 

Many of the uncertainties shrouding the development of this technology could be eliminated if we could provide actual investment costs, operating economics, environmental information, etc. However, without federal assistance—particularly some type of financial incentive—it appears unlikely that any commercial High-Btu Gas plants will be built. The federal role could be to assist the private sector in capital formation spreading the financial risk appropriately among project beneficiaries—be it industry, gas users or the public. 

This is an important and opportune book. Joe Romm deftly applies his keenly developed technical knowledge, political experience, and analytical mind to a frank and sensible appraisal of the chances to transform our energy system over the next half-century or so into one that will employ hydrogen as a key energy carrier. Properly devised, this may allow major advances in the provision of energy services and improved protection of health and environment. The path is possible, but it will require a major, broad-based, and sustained research and development investment in both the public and private sectors. 

Cleanup costs for a contaminated site can easily exceed the value of the property, even in areas with high land values. The private sector may be able to recoup its costs through sale or rental of residential projects, commercial space, or industrial facilities. Unfortunately for many public entities, investments in cleanup and redevelopment often burden already limited funding sources, and the types of projects that communities typically undertake (e.g., recreational areas, child care centers, government facilities) do not generate income to offset cleanup and redevelopment costs. 

This multiauthored book aims at highlighting the role played by atomic and mass spectrometry (with particular reference to atomic absorption spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) in supporting and promoting research and control of foodstuffs and food commodities as regards both essential and potentially toxic chemical elements. The progress made so far in this field is overviewed and emphasis is put on the open problems that require further investment and development in the public and private sectors. 

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