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According to current environmental policy theory, under perfect competition the firmʼs optimal level of emissions reduction is determined at the intersection of the marginal abatement cost (MAC) curve and the tax rate line. Behind these models, however, there are serious problems regarding market equilibrium theory and the definition of abatement cost.This paper sheds light on these points, reexamines the concept of a firmʼs MAC, and proposes the newMAC. Using this newanalysis implement, it shows that the direct regulation is always not inefficient. We confirm that the environmental policy in China which used direct regulation and taxation based on this theoretical result can realize economic efficiency.

Two experiments were performed to examine how apparent depth of a subjective contour letter is affected by location and form of shading attatched to the letter. Twenty participants rated a list of letters with shading in various (bottom, lower left, left, upper left, top, upper right, right, and lower right) according to apparent depth in Experiment 1, while 56 participants rated letters consisted of lines varying in symmetry in Experiment 2. Experiment 1 showed that the rating of apparent depth was higher with the letters shaded in positions diagonal to the letter than in vertical or horizontal position. Experiment 2 reproduced the effect of the position of shading obtained in Experiment 1, and showed that the rating was different between the letters reversed vertically. The rating of form for each letters were compatible with that of the apparent depth in both experiments. The results indicate that apparent depth is affected by position and form of a shading.

The purpose of this paper is to treat the differences in the use of the Japanese "-te" and "-to" complex sentences. For this study, a survey was first prepared on the improper use of "-te" and "-to" among Japanese language learners in China; it demonstrates the difficulty for Chinese learners to properly use these constructions. Subsequently, in this paper, the transposition of "-te" and "-to" are classified into three cases, which clarifies the conditions for their transposition.