During abattoir meat inspection pig carcasses are partially or fully condemned upon detection of disease that poses a risk to public health or welfare conditions that cause animal suffering e.g. fractures. This incurs direct financial losses to producers and processors. Other health and welfare-related conditions may not result in condemnation but can necessitate 'trimming' of the carcass e.g. ...

The OIE Welfare Standards on slaughter transport, and killing of animals for disease control are basic minimum standards that every country should follow. The OIE, European Union, and many private standards used by commercial industry have an emphasis on animal based outcome standards instead of engineering based standards. Numerical scoring is used by both private industry and some governments...

In recent years, 'private standards' in animal health and welfare have become increasingly common, and are often incorporated into quality assurance (QA) programmes. Here, we present an overview of the use of private animal health and welfare standards in QA programmes, and propose a generic framework to facilitate critical programme review. Private standards are being developed in direct respo...

This paper presents both criticism and suggested changes to boiler efficiency standards associated with fossil-fired steam generators. These standards include the widely used ASME PTC 4.1 and DIN 1942, and their replacements ASME PTC 4:2008 and the European EN 12952-15. For these standards it is useful to review both old and new. The chief criticism lies with inconsistent application of thermod...

We investigate the role of energy efficiency in rate-based emissions intensity standards, a particularly policy relevant consideration given the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan allows crediting of electricity savings as a means of complying with state-specific emissions standards. We show that for perfectly inelastic energy services demand, crediting efficiency measures can r...

Within a two-sector-two-country model of trade with aggregate scale economies and unionisation, a move to a more generous welfare state in one country increases welfare in that country and can have positive spill-over effects on the other. Furthermore, synchronised expansions of social security are more welfare enhancing than unilateral ones. Our results counter the fears that a race to the bot...