A Resilient Power Capital Scan: How Foundations Could Use Grants and Investments to Advance Solar and Storage in Low-Income Communities

This report, one in a series of reports by Clean Energy Group and Meridian Institute on advancing resilient power in low-income communities, seeks to address how foundations can best develop a portfolio of capital interventions—from grants to impact investments—that together would successfully scale up the solar+storage/resilient power market to benefit low-income populations and to advance their missions. It provides a capital scan of foundation opportunities and actions to guide foundation financial support for this market

An introduction to financial and economic modeling for utility regulators

The most effective regulators in developing countriesare following remarkably similar approaches. The main common element across"best practice"countries is the use of relatively simple quantitative models of operators'behavior and constraints to measure the impact of regulatory decisions on some key financial and economic indicators of concern to the operators, the users, and the government. The authors provide an introduction to the design and use of these models. They draw on lessons from international experience in industrial and developing countries in ordinary or extraordinary revisions and in the context of contract renegotiations. Simplifying somewhat, these models force regulators to recognize that, in the long run, private operators need to at least cover their opportunity cost of capital, including the various types of risks specific to the country, the sector, or the projects with which they are involved. Because these variables change over time, scheduled revisions are needed to allow for adjustments in the key determinants of the rate of return of the operator. These revisions are a recognition of the fact that all these determinants-tariffs, subsidies, quality, investments, and other service obligations-are interrelated and jointly determine the rate of return. At every revision, the rules of the game for the regulator are exactly the same: to figure out the changes in the cost of capital and to adjust the variables driving the rate of return to ensure that it continues to be consistent with the cost of capital. If they can draw on reasonable data, these models do everything any financial model would do for the day-to-day management of a company but take a longer term view and include an explicit identification of the key regulatory instruments. They can monitor the consistency between cash flow generated by the business on the one hand and debt service and operational expense needs on the other to address the main concerns of the operators. They can also account for a large number of key policy factors including access and affordability concerns for various types of consumers. They generally account for the sensitivity of operators and users to various regulatory design options.Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Economic Theory&Research,Decentralization,Environmental Economics&Policies,Enterprise Development&Reform,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Financial Management

Alternative forms of external finance : a survey

The main purpose of this paper is to survey the existing literature on alternative finance (AF) and indicate the major research gaps. In this way, the survey may help to identify the factors influencing the flow of AF; provide analytical, and empirically supported underpinnings for policy work; and assess the amounts likely to be available. The focus of this survey is on aspects of country risks related to AF and the dispute settlement of international claims, domestic incentive schemes to attract foreign financing, the intermediation role of multinational firms and banks, and the supply side of AF.The survey thus investigates the incentives for individuals and firms, and, where necessary, takes into account the aggregate implications. The paper provides some descriptive statistics of AF and makes a comparison with traditional finance (TF). It identifies the key characteristics in which AF differs from TF and briefly reviews the factors motivating capital flows. The paper identifies the extent to which TF and AF differ in the factors motivating capital flows and to what extent the implications of these differences have been explored in the literature to date.Financial Intermediation,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research

User's Guide to the ROI Forecasting Calculator: Estimating ROI for Medicaid Quality Improvement Programs

Explains the online tool for state Medicaid agencies, health plans, and stakeholders to assess the cost-savings potential of quality improvement measures. Outlines analytical issues and best practices for each component and how to interpret the results

A Hedged Monte Carlo Approach to Real Option Pricing

In this work we are concerned with valuing optionalities associated to invest or to delay investment in a project when the available information provided to the manager comes from simulated data of cash flows under historical (or subjective) measure in a possibly incomplete market. Our approach is suitable also to incorporating subjective views from management or market experts and to stochastic investment costs. It is based on the Hedged Monte Carlo strategy proposed by Potters et al (2001) where options are priced simultaneously with the determination of the corresponding hedging. The approach is particularly well-suited to the evaluation of commodity related projects whereby the availability of pricing formulae is very rare, the scenario simulations are usually available only in the historical measure, and the cash flows can be highly nonlinear functions of the prices.Comment: 25 pages, 14 figure

Emerging infrastructure policy issues in developing countries - a survey of the recent economic literature

The author reviews the recent economic research on emerging issues for infrastructure policies affecting poor people in developing countries. His main purpose is to identify some of the challenges the international community, and donors in particular, are likely to have to address over the next few years. He addresses six main issues: (1) the necessity of infrastructure in achieving the Millennium Development Goals; (2) the various dimensions of financing challenges for infrastructure; (3) the debate on the relative importance of urban and rural infrastructure needs; (4) the debate on the effectiveness of infrastructure decentralization; (5) what works and what does not when trying to target the needs of the poor, with an emphasis on affordability and regulation challenges; and (6) the importance of governance and corruption in the sector. The author concludes by showing how the challenges identified define a relatively well integrated agenda for both researchers and the international infrastructure community.Health Economics&Finance,Decentralization,Banks&Banking Reform,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Health Economics&Finance,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Poverty Assessment

International Trade and Factor Movements in Development Theory, Policy, and Experience

International Relations/Trade,

New quality of financial institutions and business management

Economic processes in the world are characterized by a high level of dynamism, change and innovative approaches to addressing key issues in nowadays. In a context of globalization and European integration of Ukraine into a high-tech competitive environment in order to financing innovative projects, it is necessary to use Blockchain technology as an effective tool for digital economy. Purpose of scientific research is to find out key priorities and functionalities of Blockchain’s application for solving business and government tasks. The object of scientific research is the latest financial technology Blockchain and a system of cult-technologies: crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, crowdinvesting. Methodology. In the process of re-search, the following methods are used: generalization – in studying the nature, pre-conditions and principles of Blockchain technologies; formalization – when compar-ing characteristics of the latest forms of financing, such as crowdsourcing, crowd-funding, crowdinvesting. In the course of scientific research, key qualitative charac-teristics of digital economy are described and the dominant components of its devel-opment are investigated. The result of the article. The priorities, new principles of business management and possibilities of Blockchain technology as an effective digi-tal economy tool for solving business and government tasks are revealed. Future pro-spects from the implementation of crowd-technologies as an effective management tool in progress for solving the problems of innovative business are substantiated. Interconnection in the latest financial institution of creative initiatives realization is presented. The comparative analysis of management of new institutes of innovative development for Ukrainian economy in the course of doing business is carried out. The result of the research is presentation of the relationship in the latest financial in-stitution implementing creative initiatives and a comparative analysis of new insti-tutes of innovative development in the sphere of finance for the Ukrainian economy. Practical implications. The components of digital economy identified by the authors in the article are accelerators of the socio-economic life of Ukrainian society in the modern world and are capable of rapidly increasing Ukraine’s GDP. The described new forms of financing of Ukrainian start-ups (crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, crowdsourcing) are today quite interesting and effective tool for solving business problems in the financial, economic, innovative, marketing and marketing spheres. Value/originality. Blockchain technology, as an effective tool for Ukraine’s digital economy, is able to address the challenges of business and government, uncover the relationship between crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, crowdsourcing, and explain the content of innovative financial institutions for Ukraine’s economy

Valuation of real estate investments through Fuzzy Logic

This paper aims to outline the application of Fuzzy Logic in real estate investment. In literature, there is a wide theoretical background on real estate investment decisions, but there has been a lack of empirical support in this regard. For this reason, the paper would fill the gap between theory and practice. The fuzzy logic system is adopted to evaluate the situations of a real estate market with imprecise and vague information. To highlight the applicability of the Possibility Theory, we proceeded to reconsider an example of property investment evaluation through fuzzy logic. The case study concerns the purchase of an office building. The results obtained with Fuzzy Logic have been also compared with those arising from a deterministic approach through the use of crisp numbers