RARE EARTH ELEMENT DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS IN SHETLAND STEATITE - CONSEQUENCES FOR ARTIFACT PROVENANCING STUDIES

An attempt has been made to relate steatite artifacts to the source of rock from which they were manufactured, using the distribution patterns of rare earth elements. Radiochemical- and instrumental-neutron activation analyses of Shetland steatites suggest that the use of rare earth elements in artifact provenancing may be unreliable. Concentrations of rare earth elements in many Shetland steatites are too low to be measured reliably by a cost effective method. The relative importance of primary igneous and secondary metasomatic processes in controlling steatite rare earth element geochemistry is discussed and geological arguments against the existence of unique rare earth ‘fingerprints’ for steatite are presented.     

ON THE RELATION BETWEEN USERS' BENEFITS AND THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF TRANSPORTATION ACTIVITIES

ABSTRACT. The addition of output variation benefits to the users' surplus generated by transportation improvements has been subject to debate, and no agreement has been reached. In this paper, the problem is restated at the level of the origins of transportation demand, which can be derived from the information provided by the economic activity. It is shown that a competitive productive environment makes the transportation consumers' surplus exactly equal to the net economic benefits provoked in the products' markets; however, when monopolistic production prevails, the users' surplus may not reflect the benefits to the economy with accuracy. Mixed conditions are also explored and the role of final products' demand elasticity is highlighted. Different styles of welfare analysis are recommended for different market conditions.