• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.637-661
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• 2003

This paper analyzes the impact of import liberalization of petroleum product market in 1997 on the behavior of a domestic industry, regarded as a typical oligopoly. Based on the theory of implicit cartel, two regression equations were formulated and estimated for domestic production and refinery margin using monthly data for the period from Jan. 1994 to June 2003. Estimation results show that not only did domestic production rise sharply but also the refining cost fell substantially throughout 1996 before the actual liberalization of imports, Such a response is clearly consistent with the implicit cartel theory, which suggests that once the difficulty of maintaining a cartel in the future is recognized, the cartel immediately collapses and anticipation of import liberalization can cause immediately lowering market price as well as an immediate expansion of the supply by a domestic industry. However, the significant reduction of refinery cost accompanied by a large contraction in domestic output after the actual implementation of import liberalization can be explained by the collapse of implicit cartel caused by the anticipated liberalization of imports. Thus, import liberalization in the sense of allowing entry of foreign producers into domestic market has seemed to be an effective means to weaken market power and induce more competitive conduct of domestic firms.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.22-28
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• 2015

In order to keep the competitiveness of LPG fuel for transportation fuel, the difference in fuel consumption with gasoline and cost for an aftertreatment system should be reduced with continuous development of technology for LPG engine. In the present study, spray-guided type direct injection combustion system, whose configuration is composed of direct injector in the vicinity of spark plug, was employed to realize stable lean combustion. A certain level of nitrogen oxides($NO_x$) emits due to a locally rich mixture regions in the stratified mixture. With the application of EGR system for the reduction of $NO_x$, 15% of $NO_x$ reduction was achieved whereas fuel consumption and hydrocarbon emission increased. By the application of EGR, the combustion speed reduced especially appeared at initial flame development period and peak heat release rates and increasing rates for heat release rate decreased as EGR rate increased due to the dilution effect of intake air.