The impact of higher education finance on university participation in the UK (BIS research paper no.11)

In this paper we estimate the separate impacts of upfront fees, grants and maintenance loans on UK higher education participation. We use the panel data element of Labour Force Survey data on the university participation decisions of 18 year olds, covering the period 1992-2007, which saw great variation in HE finance, most importantly the introduction of up-front tuition fees and the abolition of student maintenance grants in 1998 and major reforms of 2004 in which maintenance grants were re-instated and up-front fees were replaced with deferred fees of £3000. To test the robustness of the results, and to help deal with potential measurement error, we create a pseudo-panel of participation by UK region over time and test a number of specifications. Our findings show that the impact of upfront tuition fees in 1998 had a small negative impact on participation among high income groups, while the package of reforms introduced in 2006 had no impact on participation, largely because tuition fees were accompanied by large increases in loans and grants

Municipal Energy Management: Best Practices from DVRPC's Direct Technical Assistance Program

This guide highlights best practices and lessons learned from municipal energy management projects in southeastern Pennsylvania. In 2013 and 2014, DVRPC worked with nine municipalities in southeastern Pennsylvania to provide direct technical assistance with measuring, analyzing, and developing implementation strategies for energy management in municipal buildings. The goal of energy management is to identify opportunities for improving how energy is being used at a facility and to develop analyses that support decision making on how best to prioritize and implement these improvements. These improvements can remedy various problems -- high energy and maintenance costs due to malfunctioning, poorly installed or aging equipment, poor occupant comfort due to a lack of weatherization, or poorly controlled equipment. This guide will illustrate several best practices for identifying and implementing energy management opportunities that save money and improve building comfort

Too Good to be True?: The Opportunity and Cost of the $1 Building

A study commissioned by The Kresge Foundation's Arts & Culture Program finds that arts organizations have experienced a wide range of outcomes when acquiring low-cost or free buildings, also known as "$1 buildings." In many cases, the actual costs of acquiring such buildings were much higher than organizations anticipated, according to the study, conducted by Boston-based Technical Development Corp

A Property Rights Approach to Preserving Subsidized Multifamily Rural Housing with Cooperatives

Community/Rural/Urban Development, Agribusiness,

Business models to support content commons

The application of conventional, 'scarce resource' economics to content has been mistaken and harmful. More appropriate forms of economic analysis highlight the critical role that accessibility to information plays in the process of innovation. Meanwhile, down at the micro-economic level, there is an all-too-common perception that open content approaches are unsustainable and bad for business, and reflect naïve idealism on the part of their proponents. This paper identifies a range of suitable business models, and thereby demonstrates that the content commons is sustainable and appropriate for profit-oriented business enterprises