Efficiency and the effect on the overall economy matter.

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For efficiency's sake and because of the likely positive spillover effect for a whole village, FXB takes on 80 to 100 families in a single area at one time.

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Upgrading the grid would also have a direct effect on consumers by saving families money through increased efficiency and reliability, while also helping utilities avoid blackouts and restore power quicker when they occur.

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The theorem says that the distribution of property rights, provided they are clearly assigned and transactions costs are low, has no effect on economic efficiency, because people can negotiate their way to the efficient position.

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"In terms of energy efficiency and conservation, just installing a smart meter isn't going to have much effect, " says Greg Guthridge, a smart-grid consultant with Accenture.

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More generally, efforts to excessively streamline processes in the name of efficiency must be balanced against some respect for the possibility of unintended consequences, and an appreciation for the robustifying effect of redundancies and inefficiencies (in moderation).

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"Russia will have the right to opt out of the treaty if qualitative and quantitative parameters of the U.S. strategic missile defense begin to significantly effect the efficiency of Russian strategic nuclear forces, " Mr. Lavrov told the AP.

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This, in effect, is what many companies end up doing, though it is often framed as increasing efficiency and cutting costs.

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