Business & Economics
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 5-Jul-2025 17:10 ET (5-Jul-2025 21:10 GMT/UTC)
UT AgResearch Dean Recognized by agInnovation South for Excellence in Leadership
University of Tennessee Institute of AgricultureGrant and Award Announcement
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture dean of AgResearch, Hongwei Xin, has been awarded the Excellence in Leadership Award from agInnovation South, the coalition of directors of state agricultural experiment stations in Southern states. The group is a regional coalition of the national Association for Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU).
At the UT Institute of Agriculture, Xin is responsible for the research programs of approximately 530 agricultural and natural resource faculty and professional scientists that study disciplines spanning seven academic departments and one School of Natural Resources from agricultural and resource economics to plant sciences, animal sciences, and biosystems engineering and soil sciences. Xin also oversees the management of ten research and education centers that conduct field research, demonstrations and education programs in strategic locations across Tennessee.
Plastic bag policies are effective in reducing shoreline litter in the US
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Peer-Reviewed Publication
Plastic bag regulations – bans and consumer fees – have led to meaningful reductions in plastic litter on U.S. shorelines, according to a new study. Plastic pollution has become a pervasive environmental issue; plastic debris comprises most of the marine litter worldwide and has been shown to pose serious threats to ocean life, ecosystems, and coastal economies. Much of this pollution originates from land and enters the ocean via rivers, wastewater, or wind. Among the most problematic items entering marine systems are single-use plastic shopping bags, which has prompted the implementation of a variety of policies – ranging from fees to outright bans – to curb this pollution. Although these policies are being increasingly used worldwide, their effectiveness in reducing plastic waste in the environment remains unknown. To address this gap, Anna Papp and Kimberly Oremus evaluated the effects of plastic bag bans and fees in the United States on the prevalence of plastic bag litter on shorelines. Papp and Oremus analyzed crowdsourced data from more than 45,067 U.S. shoreline cleanups alongside 611 local and state-level plastic bag regulations enacted between 2017 and 2023. By applying robust causal inference methods, the authors found that plastic bag policies led to a 25–47% reduction in the proportion of plastic bags among total litter collected during cleanups compared to locations without such regulations. According to the findings, policies involving consumer fees potentially have the largest impact on reducing litter. While complete bag bans also reduced litter, partial bans, which often allow exceptions for thicker “reusable” bags, appeared to be the least effective. Moreover, the largest reductions in plastic litter occurred in places that had the highest baseline levels of plastic bag pollution, suggesting that these policies are most effective where the problem is most severe. Papp and Oremus also suggest that plastic bag policies may reduce wildlife entanglement by 30 to 37%, though they note that these estimates are imprecise due to data limitations.
A segment of Science's weekly podcast with Anna Papp, related to this research, will be available on the Science.org podcast landing page after the embargo lifts. Reporters are free to make use of the segments for broadcast purposes and/or quote from them – with appropriate attribution (i.e., cite "Science podcast"). Please note that the file itself should not be posted to any other Web site.
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- Science
Plastic bag bans: Study finds up to 47% drop in shoreline bag litter
University of DelawarePeer-Reviewed Publication
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- Science
Most Medicare beneficiaries may pay more for drugs under the IRA
University of Southern CaliforniaReports and Proceedings
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- Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics
Environment: Offsetting fossil fuel reserves by planting trees faces ‘unsurmountable challenges’
Springer NaturePeer-Reviewed Publication
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- Communications Earth & Environment
China’s bike-sharing boom: how two wheels drive urban consumption
KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Peer-Reviewed Publication
Using population sample survey data, this study shows bike-sharing boosts household consumption by up to 6.8% and dining by 4.9%, as a catalyst for local development. The positive externalities are driven by reduced commuting time, increased leisure, and lower rental costs.
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- China Economic Quarterly International
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- National Natural Science Foundation of China