Some Fundamentals of the Economic Role of Government
The objective of this chapter is to answer the question, ‘What are the most fundamental things that can be said about the economic role of government?’ The question should be understood, first, to ask what can be said of government at the truly most fundamental level and, second, to require a positive, non-normative answer. The chapter constitutes a precis, as it were, of my answer. The answer is subjective, but it is intended to be non-normative.
An Essay on the Nature and Significance of the Normative Nature of Economics
It is conventional in economics to distinguish between the normative and the positive. The normative has to do with goodness and badness, and with what ought and ought not to be done;1 and the positive has to do with objective description and/or explanation, with what is and with what is necessary given some normative end. The normative has to do with desirability; the positive has to do with truth (in the sense of either descriptive accuracy or serviceability of a means to a given end).2
Effect of antioxidants, on deterioration by partial discharge in LDPE and XLPE [insulation materials]
The effect of antioxidants in low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) on deterioration by partial discharge (PD) was investigated. Experiments were conducted using LDPE and XLPE samples containing phenolic antioxidants. Samples subjected to the PD were analyzed using atomic force microscopy and Fourier transform infrared analysis (AFM and FTIR). AFM images demonstrated that the magnitude of pits created in the sample containing antioxidants was smaller than that in samples containing no antioxidant. FTIR showed that oxidative degradation occurred on LDPE and XLPE surfaces when they were subjected to PD. These results confirmed that the amount of oxidized substances was smaller in samples containing phenolic antioxidants than in those containing no antioxidant. This report elucidates the mechanism of antioxidant action on deterioration by PD.