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Interannual variability of seed crops (CVp) has profound consequences for plant populations and food webs, where high CVp is termed ‘masting’. Here we ask: is global variation in CVp better predicted by plant or habitat differences consistent with adaptive economies of scale, in which flower and seed benefits increase disproportionately during mast years; or by passive mechanisms, in which seed production responds to variation in resource availability associated with climate variability? To address this question, we compiled a dataset for phylogenetic comparative analysis of long-term fruit/seed production for plants comprising 920 time series spanning 311 plant species. Factors associated with both adaptive benefits of CVp (wind pollination and seed dispersal) and climatic variability (variability of summer precipitation) were among the best predictors of global variation in CVp. We observed a hump-shaped relationship between CVp and latitude and intermediate phylogenetic and geographic signals in CVp. CVp is patterned nonrandomly across the globe and over the plant tree of life, where high CVp is associated with species benefiting from economies of scale of seed or flower production and with species that experience variable rainfall over summer months when seeds usually mature.

In the circular economy context, improving the eco-efficiency of the management of municipal solid waste (MSW) occupies a prominent role. The aim of this study was to evaluate the eco-efficiency of MSW services provided by a sample of 142 Chilean municipalities using data envelopment analysis (DEA), a method that integrates both economic and environmental variables into a single performance index. This study also investigated whether the MSW facilities are affected by economies of scale. In a second stage of analysis, the effects of some exogenous variables on the eco-efficiency of MSW services were explored. The results demonstrated that 92.3% of the municipalities evaluated were not eco-efficient and presented notable room for improvement as the average eco-efficiency score was 0.58. In addition, 40.4% of the municipalities presented negative economies of scale; i.e. their operational size was not optimum and joint organization of MSW management systems should be promoted. Finally, the population served, population density, tourism and waste generated per capita were shown to have a significant impact on the eco-efficiency of MSW services. The results of this study will be beneficial for policymakers to formulate effective public policies to make the provision of MSW services more cost- and environmentally effective.

The increasing environmental concerns and dependence on fossil fuel-based energy sectors necessitate a shift towards renewable energy. Off-grid communities can particularly benefit from standalone, scaled renewable power plants. This study developed a comprehensive techno-economic framework, analyzed the objective metrics, and assessed the influence of economies of scale in solar PV power plants to electrify off-grid communities, taking Baluchistan, Pakistan, as a pilot case. Simulations and analyses were performed using the System Advisor Model (SAM). The results indicate a noteworthy reduction in the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) with increased power generation capacity. It was observed that utilizing bi-facial modules with single-axis tracking leads to a more cost-effective LCOE compared to the relatively expensive dual-axis trackers. The main cost factors identified in the analysis were capital costs, installed balance of plant (BOP), mechanical, and electrical costs. Notably, the disparity between the highest and lowest LCOE values across the six different power generation pathways amounted to approximately 38.5%. The average LCOE was determined to be 2.14 USD/kWh for fixed-mounted plants, 1.79 USD/kWh for single-axis plants, and 1.74 USD/kWh for dual-axis plants across the examined power generation capacity range. The findings can serve as a valuable benchmark, specifically for regional key stakeholders, in making informed investment decisions, formulating effective policies, and devising appropriate strategies for off-grid electrification and the development of renewable energy value chains.

Archaeological approaches to agricultural production often assume a linear relationship between agricultural inputs and outputs, irrespective of community size and production level. They also often overlook the distinction among land productivity, labor productivity, and land utilization efficiency. In contrast, studies of recent agricultural economies typically identify nonlinear input–output relationships concerning land and labor productivity. I use scaling analysis to investigate the relationship between population and agricultural production over time in the Northern Rio Grande region of the U.S. Southwest. I present evidence that an economy of scale in land utilization has characterized Northern Rio Grande Pueblo communities from Prehispanic to recent times and identify trends in this relationship suggesting that the primary factor behind the increasing population size of Northern Rio Grande Pueblo communities was not improvements in technology per se but changes in the social institutions required for coordinated farming efforts on this landscape. My results suggest that studies of past agricultural economies could be improved by paying greater attention to nonlinear input–output relationships and emphasizing various factors, including land productivity, labor productivity, and land utilization efficiency.

This paper is the first public finance study to provide a systematic evaluation of municipal dissolution in the context of U.S. Using local government annual financial statistics from 1996 to 2019 in the state of New York, I first employ an event study framework to analyze whether economies of scale are present when a municipal government is dissolved. Then, based on parcel-level property sales data in New York from 2000 to 2018, I combine propensity score matching (PSM) and difference-in-differences (DID) to provide an overall evaluation by investigating how much home buyers value dissolution, as measured by how much they are willing to pay to live in a municipality that has recently dissolved. Overall, I find that the dissolution of a municipal government does lead to short-term changes in revenue composition, but it does not have any significant impact on aggregate government size or house sales prices. The empirical findings suggest that the economies of scale, which is the claimed primary benefit behind centralization, may not be as large as typically expected or, at least, it does not substantially outweigh other values residents appreciate, such as decentralized service provision, policy agenda control, and local culture.

Significance Masting, or synchronous production of large seed crops, is widespread among plants. The predator satiation hypothesis states that masting evolved to overwhelm seed predators with an excess of food. Yet, this popular explanation faced few rigorous tests. We conducted a meta-analysis of studies that related the magnitude of seed production to the intensity of seed predation. Our results validate certain theoretical notions (e.g., that predator satiation is more effective at higher latitudes) but challenge others (e.g., that specialist and generalist consumers differ in the type of functional response to masting). We also found that masting is losing its ability to satiate consumers, probably because global warming affected masting patterns. This shift might considerably impair the reproduction of masting plants.

We assessed seed production by mature individuals of five dominant tree species in the strictly protected reserve of Białowieża National Park (Poland) from 2002 to 2013. Interannual variation in seed production was extreme, generally asynchronous among species. All species exhibited high variability in seed production, ranging from bumper crops in some years to no seeds in others. All species exhibited a typical “normal masting” pattern, which was most pronounced in Picea abies and Quercus robur, moderate in Carpinus betulus and least expressed in Acer platanoides and Tilia cordata. Within species, crop sizes were well synchronised among areas and individuals; seed production was most synchronised in P. abies and Q. robur and least synchronised in T. cordata and A. platanoides within a season. Among species, interannual variability was negatively correlated with seasonal synchrony among individuals. Besides a negative correlation between rainfall during the flowering period and seed crop in three deciduous species, variation in temperature and rainfall in periods critical to seed formation was uncorrelated with the variation in seed crops. Heavy defoliation by caterpillars coincided with a poor seed crop of deciduous trees in 2003. Generally, the variation in seed crops was much higher than the variability of environmental factors. Deciduous species could produce bumper crops in consecutive years and were not necessarily forced to “switch” to non-reproduction by resource depletion. It appears that trees could apparently assess when and how intensively to reproduce. We discuss adaptive benefits of masting reproduction that include pollination efficiency, predator satiation and seed dispersal.

A generic model is introduced that represents the combined sewer infrastructure of a settlement quantitatively. A catchment area module first calculates the length and size distribution of the required sewer pipes on the basis of rain patterns, housing densities and area size. These results are fed into the sewer-cost module in order to estimate the combined sewer costs of the entire catchment area. A detailed analysis of the relevant input parameters for Swiss settlements is used to identify the influence of size on costs. The simulation results confirm that an economy of scale exists for combined sewer systems. This is the result of two main opposing cost factors: (i) increased construction costs for larger sewer systems due to larger pipes and increased rain runoff in larger settlements, and (ii) lower costs due to higher population and building densities in larger towns. In Switzerland, the more or less organically grown settlement structures and limited land availability emphasise the second factor to show an apparent economy of scale. This modelling approach proved to be a powerful tool for understanding the underlying factors affecting the cost structure for water infrastructures.

This paper analyzes a general equilibrium economy featuring input-output connections, imperfect competition, and external economies of scale owing to entry and exit. The interaction of input-output networks with industry-level market structure affects the amplification of shocks and the pattern of diffusion in the model, generating cascades of firm entry and exit across the economy. In this model, sales provide a poor measure of the systemic importance of industries. Unlike the relevant notions of centrality in competitive constant-returns-to-scale models, systemic importance depends on the industry's role as both a supplier and a consumer of inputs, as well as the market structure of industries. A basic calibration of the model suggests that aggregate output is three times more volatile in response to labor productivity shocks when compared to a perfectly competitive model.

Mast seeding is a widespread and widely studied phenomenon. However, the physiological mechanisms that mediate masting events and link them to weather and plant resources are still debated. Here, we explore how masting is affected by plant resource budgets, fruit maturation success, and hormonal coordination of cues including weather and resources. There is little empirical support for the commonly stated hypothesis that plants store carbohydrates over several years to expend in a high-seed year. Plants can switch carbohydrates away from growth in high-seed years, and seed crops are more probably limited by nitrogen or phosphorus. Resources are clearly involved in the proximate mechanisms driving masting, but resource budget (RB) models cannot create masting in the absence of selection because some underlying selective benefit is required to set the level of a ‘full’ seed crop at greater than the annual resource increment. Economies of scale (EOSs) provide the ultimate factor selecting for masting, but EOSs probably always interact with resources, which modify the relationship between weather cues and reproduction. Thus, RB and EOS models are not alternative explanations for masting – both are required. Experiments manipulating processes that affect mast seeding will help clarify the physiological mechanisms that underlie mast seeding.