(WP 2010-11) The Benefits of Environmental Improvement: Estimates From Space-time Analysis

This paper develops estimates of environmental improvement based on a two-stage hedonic price analysis of the single family housing market in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. The analysis — which focuses specifically on several EPA-designated environmental hazards and involves 226,918 transactions for 177,303 unique properties that took place between January 2001 and September 2009 — involves four steps: (i) ten hedonic price functions are estimated year-by-year, one for each year of the 2000s; (ii) the hedonic estimates are used to compute the marginal implicit price of distance from air release, superfund, and toxic release sites; (iii) the marginal implicit prices, which vary through time, are used to estimate a series of implicit demand functions describing the relationship between the price of distance and the quantity consumed; and, finally (iv) the demand estimates are compared to those obtained in other research and then used evaluate the potential scale of benefits associated with some basic environmental improvement scenarios. Overall, the analysis provides further evidence that it is possible to develop a structural model of implicit demand within a single housing market and suggests that the benefits of environmental improvement are substantial

Going global : a comparison of the relative attractiveness of global sourcing locations

Domestic organizations in competitive markets are often reliant on the sourcing of low-cost goods and services from suppliers located offshore, often located in China. History has shown that location advantages are not fixed, and evolve over time, creating a shift in when and when global sourcing opportunities present themselves. With the future success of so many organizations tied to low-cost China sourcing, China’s future competitiveness as a sourcing location is of critical importance. If China does indeed lose their competitive advantage, how will the potential reduction in China’s cost competitiveness impact those organizations reliant on China sourcing to compete in their marketplace?The purpose of this research is to determine what location factors drive the global sourcing decision-making process, the relative weights of these factors in making global sourcing decisions, and how different sourcing locations (including China) currently score in relative comparison to each other with regards to these factors. An understanding of these factors and how they effect the global sourcing decision-makers will allow organizations to understand which global locations might present opportunities for both their current and future global sourcing activities.The methodology used in this research is based on a mixed methods approach, grounded in an explanatory sequential design, with a focus in the basic qualitative research methodology. A quantitative survey was utilized to identify potential decision-making factors and weights, supplemented by semi-structured interviews to understand why the relevant factors are indeed relevant, and to provide trustworthiness, credibility, and dependability in the findings.Semi-structured interviews of two distinct populations (global sourcing practitioners and business advisors) were conducted, as was a survey of supply chain practitioners from the Supply Chain Management Association. This approach provided an opportunity to understand what factors are deemed important for practitioners making global sourcing decisions, and the relative factor weights these factors hold in the decision-making process. The methodology also provides insight into the potential differences between those who do (the practitioners), andthose who advise (the business advisors).The research findings indicate that China is not necessarily the most attractive global sourcing location for all global sourcing, and that results are dependent on where the organization is sourcing from, the competitive make-up of their industry, and the organization’s tolerance for risk.The practical implication and originality of this work is to provide a foundation for the subsequent building of a model analyzing the current state of comparative attractiveness with regards to which global sourcing locations are likely to provide the largest opportunities for organizations, given the organization’s location, global sourcing strategy, and organizational risk profile

A new Janet Hamilton holograph manuscript discovered

Describes and illustrates a newly-identified short poem in the distinctive hand of the Scottish working-class poet Janet Hamilton (1795-1873), discovered tipped into a volume of The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine (1852 [1853]), in University of Glasgow Library, with information on the provenance of the volume

A New Janet Hamilton Manuscript

Describes and illustrates a newly-identified short poem in the distinctive hand of the Scottish working-class poet Janet Hamilton (1795-1873), discovered tipped into a volume of The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine (1852 [1853]), in University of Glasgow Library, with information on the provenance of the volume

Rapid appraisal to improve canal irrigation performance: experience and options

As more priority is given to improving performance on existing canal irrigation systems, it becomes more important to understand and improve the process of identifying precisely what to do. Many types and combinations of actions are possible, but how to identify which are best has been neglected. Each irrigation system is unique and requires a specially tailored program. Detailed appraisals of the large numbers of existing projects impose impossible demands for high-level specialists and lead to long delays in the delivery of information. Cost-effective approaches and methods are needed which make manageable demands on staff and lead to implementable actions with early benefit. This paper assists in the search for such methods. It draws on experience with rapid rural appraisal (RRA) in other fields1 and on experience with canal irrigation mainly in Asia. Appraisal is used in the general sense to mean investigation and analysis. Primary attention is given to practical investigation, i.e., finding out about existing canal irrigation systems. Diagnostic analytical approaches are treated in detail in a separate paper (Chambers and Carruthers 1985)

A new Janet Hamilton holograph manuscript discovered

Describes and illustrates a newly-identified short poem in the distinctive hand of the Scottish working-class poet Janet Hamilton (1795-1873), discovered tipped into a volume of The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine (1852 [1853]), in University of Glasgow Library, with information on the provenance of the volume

The Benefits of Environmental Improvement: Estimates From Space-time Analysis

This paper develops estimates of environmental improvement based on a two-stage hedonic price analysis of the single family housing market in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. The analysis — which focuses specifically on several EPA-designated environmental hazards and involves 226,918 transactions for 177,303 unique properties that took place between January 2001 and September 2009 — involves four steps: (i) ten hedonic price functions are estimated year-by-year, one for each year of the 2000s; (ii) the hedonic estimates are used to compute the marginal implicit price of distance from air release, superfund, and toxic release sites; (iii) the marginal implicit prices, which vary through time, are used to estimate a series of implicit demand functions describing the relationship between the price of distance and the quantity consumed; and, finally (iv) the demand estimates are compared to those obtained in other research and then used evaluate the potential scale of benefits associated with some basic environmental improvement scenarios. Overall, the analysis provides further evidence that it is possible to develop a structural model of implicit demand within a single housing market and suggests that the benefits of environmental improvement are substantial.Hedonic housing model, benefits, environmental improvement

Universal features of the off-equilibrium fragmentation with the Gaussian dissipation

We investigate universal features of the off-equilibrium sequential and conservative fragmentation processes with the dissipative effects which are simulated by the Gaussian random inactivation process. The relation between the fragment multiplicity scaling law and the fragment size distribution is studied and a dependence of scaling exponents on the parameters of fragmentation and inactivation rate functions is established.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure