The Impact of Policy Drivers on the Logistics Supply Chain.

This report is designed to highlight the impact of policy drivers on the freight logistics supply chain. This section will define the term policy drivers and outline the different types of impacts the can have upon the logistics supply chain. In Section Two a list of policy drivers is presented, along with associated policy levers. An attempt to assess what impact each policy lever has on the logistics supply chain is made in Section Three and in Section Four a number of policies levers are selected to take forward as possible scenarios to be evaluated in the University of Leeds cost modelling work. Policy drivers are defined as broad aims, targets or statements that are considered to be desirable by the various bodies of government or non-government organisations in satisfying their overall goals such as “maximising social welfare”, “staying in power” etc... The types of policy drivers vary by organisation and may be complimentary or contradictory. They may also change over time as new doctrine is implemented or new research findings put into practise. In the Government’s, ‘Transport 2010 - The 10 Year Plan’ (DFT, 2000) the policy drivers are outlined under the heading ‘Vision’ and are presented below, · Fully integrated public transport information, booking and ticketing systems; · Safer and more secure transport accessible to all; and, · A transport system that makes less impact on the environment. Policy levers are the policy instruments used to attain policy drivers and can be used to achieve more than one Both policy drivers and policy levers can be categorised under two headings as outlined below, a) Fiscal Drivers; and, b) Physical & Regulatory Drivers The implementation of these policies leads to both direct and indirect outcomes that will make some contribution to achieving the policy drivers set out by the government. The policy levers will impact upon the freight industry in a positive, negative or neutral manner and for the purposes of the next section three definitions have been formulated which have been related to the impact of policy levers on costs and externalities. In Section Four a broader range of impacts are discussed for the policy levers that have been selected as possible scenarios. A Positive Impact - Any outcome that, 1) Lowers operating cost without increasing externalities, and/or; 2) Lowers externalities without increasing costs. A Neutral lmpact – Any outcome that, 1) Maintains defacto operating costs without changing externalities, and/or; 2) Maintains defacto externalities with out changing operating costs. A Negative Impact – Any outcome that, 5 1) Increases operating costs, and/or; 2) Increases externalities. Making a judgement as to whether any one policy is beneficial or not is difficult in the absence of any data and will differ depending upon who you are. The judgements that will be made in this paper will apply to the freight logistics industry only and the externalities they produce. It is stressed that they are not exact. The next section will outline in more detail some of the possible policy drivers that either currently apply to or could be applied to the freight logistics industry. The likely policy levers that could arise from the policy drivers are then discussed along with the possible transport outcomes and their impact

Country-level Business Performance and Policy Asymmetries in Great Britain

The HM Treasury identifies key ‘drivers’ of business performance and productivity differentials, which include skills, investment and competition. This paper presents an empirical investigation into the effects of these drivers on business-level productivity per employee across England, Scotland and Wales in order to identify whether spatial differences in the influence of these drivers exist. We adopt the Cobb-Douglas production function approach and our results suggest that, after taking account of sector specific effects, productivity differentials do exist between businesses across Great Britain and that policy instruments do potentially enhance productivity. The results indicate that these key drivers are equally applicable across countries of Great Britain. However, there is evidence to suggest that scale effects for labour and capital do differ across England, Wales and Scotland and that policy makers should be aware of these asymmetries.Productivity per employee; HM Treasury’s key drivers; scale effects

Review of EU, national and regional innovation drivers

A policy review of innovation drivers in support of the development of the Regional Innovation Strategy

Is small-scale agriculture really the main driver of deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon? Moving beyond the prevailing narrative

A key premise underlying discussion about deforestation in Amazonian Peru is that small-scale or so-called migratory agriculture is the main driver of deforestation. This premise has been expressed in government documents and public outreach events. How the Peruvian government understands drivers of deforestation in the Amazon has profound implications for how it will confront the problem. It is therefore important to critically revisit assumptions under-lying this narrative. We find that the narrative is based on remote sensing of deforestation patch sizes but not on field data, potentially conflating distinct drivers of deforestation under the umbrella of “migratory,” “small-scale,” or “subsistence” agriculture. In fact, small patches of deforested land may indicate any number of processes, including sustainable fallow management and agroforestry. Moreover, the data underlying the narrative tell us little about the actors driving these processes or their motivations. Different pro-cesses have distinct implications for environmental sustainability and require targeted policy responses. We unpack these diverse actors, geographies, and motivations of small-patch deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon and argue that differentiating among these drivers is necessary to develop appropriate policy responses. We call for researchers to revisit assumptions and critically assess the motivations of observed deforestation to appropriately target policy action

Drivers of success in implementing sustainable tourism policies in urban areas

The existing literature in the field of sustainable tourism highlights a number of barriers that impede the implementation of policies in this area. Yet, not many studies have so far considered the factors that would contribute to putting this concept into practice, and few address the case of urban areas. The concept of sustainability has only received limited attention in urban tourism research, even though large cities are recognised as one of the most important tourist destinations that attract vast numbers of visitors. Adopting a case study approach, this paper discusses a number of drivers of success identified by policy-makers in London to contribute to the implementation of sustainable tourisms policies at the local level, and briefly looks at the relationship between these drivers and the constraints perceived by the respondents to hinder the implementation of such policies in practice. These findings may help policy-makers in other large cities to successfully develop and implement policies towards sustainable development of tourism in their area

Key drivers of 'good' corporate governance and the appropriateness of UK policy responses : final report

The DTI’s Corporate Law and Governance strategy aims to promote and deliver an effective framework for corporate governance in the UK, giving confidence to investors, business, and other stakeholders to underpin the relationship between an organisation and those who hold future financial claims against that organisation. However, corporate governance involves various problems of asymmetric information and incomplete contracts that generate a need for public policy responses to mitigate market failures and ensuring that companies moves towards ‘good’ corporate governance. Since the early 1990s, the UK has been very active in undertaking policy reforms that includes a number of corporate governance codes, expert reports, a high level review of company law, and new regulations and legislation. These policy initiatives need to be monitored and evaluated in terms of their success in influencing the key drivers of ‘good’ corporate governance. This Report undertaken for the DTI has several aims: to identify key drivers of good corporate governance based on a review of social science literature; to describe the content of UK regulatory initiatives with regard to those drivers; and to evaluate gaps in the content and implementation of UK policy regarding corporate governance, using those drivers as benchmarks. In addition, some further implications of this study are discussed for future policy and research on UK corporate governance. The Report identifies key drivers of good corporate governance based on extensive review of the broad social science literature. Good corporate governance is defined here with regard to the rights and responsibilities of company stakeholders, and the wealth-creating and wealthprotecting functions of corporate governance within this context. Based on this definition, a detailed review of the theoretical and empirical social science literature on corporate governance was undertaken across seven broad areas: boards of directors, shareholder activism, information disclosure, auditing and internal controls, executive pay, the market for corporate control, and stakeholders. The result was the identification of 18 key ‘drivers’ or governance mechanisms, which promote ‘good’ corporate governance. An internet-based survey of international corporate governance experts was conducted in order to confirm and further specify these drivers in relation to the UK context. Next, key gaps in the UK regulatory framework are explored with reference to the drivers of good corporate governance. A comprehensive review was undertaken to evaluate corporate governance-related developments in UK regulation since 1990. Policy initiatives were analysed with regard to both their content and effectiveness in promoting each of the identified drivers. Several potential gaps in coverage were identified in the areas of executive pay and employees stakeholders. A number of potential gaps in effectiveness were also identified with regard to other key drivers such as boards, shareholder involvement, information disclosure, auditing, and the market for corporate control. The analysis was supported by feedback from a Focus Group of expert practitioners that took place at the DTI in January 2006. The Report also emphasises that the effectiveness of corporate governance regulation depends very much on balancing different governance demands and regulatory trade-offs. Corporate governance is shaped by a number of contingencies, complementarities, and costs. Various organisational contingencies may place different demands on corporate governance drivers, and their implementation is also associated with different sorts of costs. Looking more generally, different drivers may act as complements or substitutes for one another. Better appreciation of such interdependencies is crucial to formulating a coherent regulatory strategy and balancing important regulatory trade-offs between the following - mandatory regulation (uniform requirements) and more flexible forms of soft-law such as codes based on comply-or-explain principles and self-regulatory norms of professional groups. This analysis suggests a number of areas for future research. Bearing in mind the depth and breadth of the UK regulatory initiatives, it is important to verify whether they were followed by behavioural changes of the participants in corporate governance mechanisms, including unintended consequences such as the development of ‘gaming’ practices. Further research is needed on a potential ‘gatekeeper failure’ in situations where reliance on ‘reputational intermediaries’, such as auditors, securities analysts, attorneys, and other professionals, is not fully justified. Other research recommendations are related to wealth creation and performance trade-offs. It is important to go beyond the question of maximizing shareholder returns and consider to what extent different corporate governance configurations promote long-term, value-creating economic production in a fashion that benefits not only shareholders but also other groups that make specific investments in corporations. Finally, a more holistic approach to the effectiveness of corporate governance drivers requires further research on such aspects as stakeholder involvement, contingencies, complementarities, and cost aspects that may affect the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms. The authors would like to point out that, since the report was written, there have been various developments, not least changes in UK law, which have overtaken some of the details in our analysis. However, the basic review of the evidence basis and the perspectives offered remain very much current

Increasing Inequality in the United States

This report traces the increase in U.S. inequality over the last quarter-century. It outlines the myriad drivers of this trend, including deliberate policy decisions on trade, immigration, interest rates, and health care costs. The paper was published and distributed in Germany through the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (IB200611A)

Monetary and macroprudential policies

We use a dynamic general equilibrium model featuring a banking sector to assess the interaction between macroprudential policy and monetary policy. We find that in "normal" times (when the economic cycle is driven by supply shocks) macroprudential policy generates only modest benefits for macroeconomic stability over a "monetary-policy-only" world. And lack of cooperation between the macroprudential authority and the central bank may even result in conflicting policies, hence suboptimal results. The benefits of introducing macroprudential policy tend to be sizeable when financial or housing market shocks, which affect the supply of loans, are important drivers of economic dynamics. In these cases a cooperative central bank will "lend a hand" to the macroprudential authority, working for broader objectives than just price stability in order to improve overall economic stability.macroprudential policy, monetary policy, capital requirements

An Exploration of the Offset Hypothesis Using Disaggregate Data:The Case of Airbags and Antilock Brakes

The offset hypothesis predicts consumers adapt to innovations that improve safety by becoming less vigilant about safety. Previous tests have used aggregate data that may confound the effect of a safety policy with those consumers who are most affected by it. We test the hypothesis using disaggregate data to analyze the effects of airbags and antilock brakes on automobile safety. We find that safety-conscious drivers are more likely than other drivers to acquire airbags and antilock brakes but these safety devices do not have a significant effect on collisions or injuries, suggesting drivers trade off enhanced safety for speedier trips.

Not Just an Ache: Examining the Rate of Musculoskeletal Pain in City Bus Drivers

This paper examines the rates of musculoskeletal discomfort in a sample of 957 city bus drivers at King County Metro, a public transportation agency serving the greater Seattle area. It also examines how often such pain prevented drivers from doing their normal work, needed treatment from a medical professional, or incited one or more worker’s compensation claims. To assess the level of musculoskeletal discomfort in city bus drivers, an anonymous survey was distributed to drivers at King County Metro, a public transportation agency serving the greater Seattle area. This survey consisted of a Nordic Questionnaire asking drivers whether or not they experienced pain in certain areas of the body in the past twelve months, along with a small section asking for basic information such as age, hours per week worked, and gender. The results of the survey demonstrate that bus drivers experience very high rates of musculoskeletal pain, with 85% of respondents indicating pain in at least one area of the body. Comparisons to CDC data show higher rates of musculoskeletal pain in this sample than in the general population. Female and full-time drivers showed consistently higher rates of pain across all areas of the body then their male and part-time counterparts, while variables such as BMI and age showed less influence. Rates of pain in the lower back, shoulders, and knees were especially elevated. Of those experiencing pain in at least one area of the body, more than 50% were prevented from doing their normal work and visited a medical professional. For all drivers experiencing pain, there were large gaps in the rates of medical visits and worker’s compensation claims. Policy recommendations include the provision of active-suspension seats in the agency’s fleet of buses and better placement of key controls in the drivers’ workstation, two goals potentially attainable through increased participation of drivers in the bus-procurement process. The role of different route types, stop placement patterns, and road surfaces in addressing rates of musculoskeletal pain in bus drivers should also be investigated