The impact of bargaining delays under the threat of eminent domain

Developers seeking to assemble complementary parcels of land will likely encounter strategic behavior by landowners. Using a property‐level data set from Florida's Department of Transportation covering the period January 2000 to July 2014, I test whether bargaining delays lead to higher final transaction prices. Given the nature of the data, I can compare properties within the same roadway project to estimate the effect of delayed negotiations. My empirical estimates indicate that bargaining delays lead to increased final transaction prices. The magnitude of this effect is approximately 7 percent for the average holdout, however, the effect is nonlinear and diminishes over time.     

Internal borders and external factors in outermost island regions. The case of the Canary Islands

The defining element of island regions is their isolation, the separation of the islands from the mainland; there is an inherent notion of natural border. This condition has preserved ecosystems and protected against outside threats, stimulating ‘coevolution’ between man and the environment, a fundamental ingredient of sustainability. But insularity also means the evident added costs of access to markets which, together with territorial limits and the scarcity of basic resources, especially on small islands, hinders their socioeconomic development. These costs are even greater in the case of outlying islands, which suffer from a ‘double insularity’ in the form of both external and internal borders. For this reason, it is common for governments to establish various forms of support, from tax exemptions to the creation of permanent aid funds, like those implemented by the European Union for the outermost regions. This article discusses these aspects in the case of the Canary Islands, an example of a European outermost island region. The findings show that the support measures have not always been favourable for all the islands.     

Quantitative analysis of two low-cost aerial photography platforms: A case study of the site of Zagora,Andros, Greece

Aerial photography provides a valuable recording method for archaeological sites and is often underutilized. In the past, aerial photographic platforms were expensive and often required highly specialized equipment. However, with new technology a variety of different platforms are now available. This paper will analyze two low cost aerial photographic platforms used at the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens/University of Sydney's project at Zagora, on the island of Andros, Greece. Over two years, both kites and drones were used with relative success. Through a review of the application of both systems on the project, along with a quantitative analysis of the cost, transportability, operation and quality of photographs, the strengths and weaknesses of both platforms will be discussed.     

关于控制我国行政成本的思考

控制行政成本,提高行政效率,是实现行政管理体制改革的核心问题。要降低行政成本,必须注重行政成本宣传,强化行政成本意识;转变政府职能,控制政府机构规模;优化政府管理流程,提高工作效率;控制公务人员膨胀,规范职务消费行为;建立科学决策机制,提高领导决策水平;增强财政预算的刚性约束,健全财政预算管理机制;改革行政部门业绩考核方式,建立科学的绩效评估制度;健全社会监管体系,加大社会监督力度。     

乾隆初滇省代京铸钱失败原因浅析

文章通过对乾隆初年滇省代京铸钱之具体情况的考察,认为滇省代京铸钱是清政府为扭转铸钱严重亏损而采取的一项铸币政策。但滇省代京铸钱较之京局直接鼓铸反而增加了铸钱成本。实行滇省代京铸钱后,清政府铸钱开始盈利,但这并非滇省代京铸钱所致,而是清政府对云南铜矿实行垄断经营、压低铜价,即钱局使用滇铜鼓铸的结果。实际上,在使用滇铜为原料的前提下,京局直接鼓铸较之滇省代京铸钱更能节省成本,这是清政府停止滇省代京铸钱的基本原因。同时也说明清政府于乾隆初年实行滇省代京铸钱存在着决策性失误。     

论饭店业的"一对一"营销

竞争加剧,需求变化和全球化趋势越来越要求饭店业快速贴近客户,满足其个性化需求。信息技术的发展为饭店业直面客户提供了契机。本从技术基础,整合顾客等方面讨论了如何构建“一对一”营销,以及如何将差异化和低成本融入其中。     

Do municipal unions improve cost efficiency for the social function? A quasi-experimental endogenous stochastic frontier approach

Homogeneous national policies can generate heterogeneous effects on the territory. This paper aims to verify the impact of the entry of single Italian municipalities into an inter-municipal association on the unitary costs of the social services supplied to the local communities. Panel cost stochastic frontier model in the presence of endogeneity has been introduced based on two pillars: a counterfactual setting to verify the aggregation effects concerning a set of similar municipalities and the use of a cost efficiency estimation methodology which considers the endogeneity of output with respect to cost. The results of our analysis show that the effects of adopting associated forms of service delivery can be very multifaceted and diversified according to the typology and the degree of implementation of the Municipal Union itself. The analysis sheds light on the effects of municipalities' organisational choices, addressing the consolidation of small municipalities not in binary terms but also—and above all—suggesting that it is the type of union that impacts the possibility of convergence towards greater cost efficiency.     

NORWEGIAN SUBSIDIZED THEATRES – FAILURE OR FUTURE?

During the period 1972–1999, the number of Norwegian subsidized theatres was more than doubled, while attendance was largely unchanged. Mainly due to new institutions established during this period, the number of performances increased by about 45%. With about the same total attendance, this means that the attendance per performance decreased by about the same percentage. The number of employees (not counting engaged persons) increased by about 60%. All in all this led to an almost trebling of both costs and public support in real terms. This study deals with possible explanations of this distressing development. Contrary to what is commonly assumed, the new theatres, with cost‐disadvantages of small scale, are only part of the explanation. We provide two main explanations: the crowding out of the subsidized theatres by AV‐media and other performing art institutions, like private theatres and independent performing arts groups, and by other entertainment institutions. In addition, costs have increased substantially due to slow adjustment to reduction in demand, costly arrangements to counter the crowding out effects, and institutional sclerosis. The latter seems to be due to various cost‐increasing arrangements commonly found in public institutions with soft budget constraints, as well as in private monopolies and private firms sheltered by regulations of various kinds.     

The Genesis of Economic Cooperation in the Stories of Joseph: A Constitutional and Institutional Economic Reconstruction

Abstract

The paper analyzes in constitutional and institutional economic terms Joseph’s economic policies, such as changes to property rights arrangements for farming, the introduction of a barter tax on crop production, and the multi-layered bureaucratic hierarchies of Egypt. Utilizing Buchanan’s approach to constitutional economics, I argue that these policies lowered attack/defense costs as they arise, when a group attempts to escape from the natural distribution state (the “war of all”, as Hobbes called it). A key thesis is that this encouraged interacting parties, already on the grounds of selfinterested choice, to engage in societal contracting out of the “war of all,” thereby reaping mutual gains.

Complementary to this strand of analysis, I have drawn on other institutional economic concepts, particularly those that were introduced by Williamson, and by North and Weingast. The paper argues in this respect that Joseph’s policies credibly and more reliably guaranteed property rights, which in turn lowered transaction costs of the interacting parties, i.e. Egypt and Israel. This ultimately yielded mutual gains and high economic performance for the society depicted in Genesis. In this way, cooperation was generated in economic terms.     

水电施工企业的工程项目成本管理

水电施工企业成本管理的重点在于工程项目成本管理。水电工程项目成本管理具有综合性、超前性、全员性、动态性的特点,工程项目必须从目标控制、组织措施、技术措施、经济措施三方面加强成本控制。