Serbian Silver at the Venetian Mint in the First Half of the Fifteenth Century

This paper is an attempt to learn more about the inflow of Serbian silver into the Venetian mint based on three account statements sent from Venice to the Kabužić (Caboga) brothers in Ragusa (Dubrovnik) and on the sets of contemporary data published and discussed by Alan M. Stahl. A reference to the Venetian mint occurs in 1431 in a letter of Christophore Alberto, a citizen of Ragusa, but it is only the fourth page of an extensive account statement drawn by the Venetian Nicolo Grioni in 1435 that refers almost entirely to the mint’s mode of operation. It contains the name of ser Aluvisse, whose responsibility was to add an alloy to silver bullion, and of ser Rafael Barisson maser ala zecha, a mint master. An account statement presented by Marco di Stai to the Kabužić brothers in 1435 mentions the name of the same mint master and refers to some steps in the operation of the mint but without specifying their sequence. Relying on the data contained in the accounting books of Guglielmo Condulmer, a Venetian merchant, Alan M. Stahl has singled out some fifteen or so names of the persons whose supplies of silver to the mint exceeded 70 kg each, notably Marin di Gradi (165 kg), a member of a well-known noble family of Ragusa. Apart from him, eight more Ragusans may be identified, four from the ranks of nobility and four from the citizen class, who supplied a total of 891 kg of silver to the mint. Serbian silver made its way to the Venetian mint through Ragusan middlemen, which may explain why the silver that largely came from Serbian mines tends to be classified as Ragusan silver in European historiography

Les catalans dans les affaires de la compagnie Caboga (1426-1433)

Cet article se propose d’élargir nos connaissances sur les affaires des Catalans à Dubrovnik (Raguse) et ce sur la base de sources n’ayant pas été prises en compte par les recherches antérieures. Il s’agit en l’occurrence des livres de comptes des frères Kabu ic (Caboga) 1426-1433, le plus ancien exemplaire de double comptabilité sur l’espace des Slaves du Sud, conservé dans les Archives de Dubrovnik

The Effects of Privatization of Water Services

Politika novog javnog menadžmenta u upravljanju javnim vodnim uslugama na prijelazu iz 20. u 21. stoljeće nije polučila pozitivne rezultate kao kod privatizacije velikih mrežnih industrija poput javnog prijevoza, opskrbe energentima ili telekomunikacijskih usluga, koja je korisnicima donijela smanjenje cijena i poboljšanje kvalitete. Razlozi tome su tehničke i ekonomske osobitosti djelatnosti vodnih usluga: osobitosti procesa zahvaćanja, pročišćavanja i distribucije vode za piće te odvodnje i pročišćavanja otpadnih voda, osobitosti cijene vodnih usluga te prirodni monopol na uslužnom području. Privatni isporučitelji prisutni su u 10% svjetske isporuke vodnih usluga i nema empirijskih dokaza da su efikasniji od javnih. Načela upravljanja vodnim uslugama su upravljanje vodom kao socijalnim dobrom, primjena ekonomskih pravila i osiguranje jakog regulacijskog i nadzornog sustava. Rad analizira osobitosti javnih vodnih usluga koje ograničavaju uspostavu tržišta, kao i moguću privatizaciju vodnih usluga. Rezultati analize upućuju na uzroke ograničenog dosega privatizacije vodnih usluga.The policy of new public management in water services management at the turn of the century did not bring about positive results as was the case with the privatisation of large network industries, such as public transport, energy supply, and telecommunication services, which ensured lower prices and increased quality. The reasons for that are technical and economic particularities of water supply industry – the particularities of the processes of abstraction, treatment, and distribution of drinking water and drainage and treatment of wastewater; particularities of the prices of water services, and natural monopoly on the service area. Private suppliers are present in 10 per cent of the world’s water supply services and there is no evidence that they are more successful than public suppliers are. The principles of water services management include managing water as public good, applying economic rules, and ensuring a strong regulatory and control system. The paper analyses the particularities of public water services which limit the establishment of a market as well as their possible privatisation. The results of the analysis have suggested the causes of limited privatisation of water services

Water Management as an Issue in the Territorial Integration of Local Units

Početkom 21. stoljeća promjene u dostupnosti vodnih resursa i zahtjevi njihove zaštite utjecali su na promjenu radijusa funkcije upravljanja vodnih usluga – od tradicionalno lokalnih poslova one postaju natkomunalna djelatnost. Promjene u upravljanju vodnim uslugama pretpostavljaju integraciju vodnih usluga opskrbe vodom za piće i odvodnje otpadnih voda u jednu uslugu prema načelu upravljanja zahvaćenom vodom od izvorišta do korisnika i od korisnika do upuštanja u okoliš na funkcionalno optimalnom području formiranom prema hidrogeološkoj teritorijalnoj cjelini vodnog podsliva sukladno prirodnim granicama razvođa vodnih područja (uslužno područje). Tako formirana uslužna područja u pravilu obuhvaćaju velik broj lokalnih jedinica te će zahtjevi za efikasnim upravljanjem vodnim uslugama nužno utjecati na teritorijalnu integraciju lokalnih jedinica na pojedinom uslužnom području.Since the beginning of the 21st century, changes in the availability of water resources and protection requirements have brought about changes in the sphere of water services management. Once a traditionally local responsibility, it has moved beyond being merely a communal service. Changes in water services management are reflected in the integration of supplying drinking water and disposing of wastewater into a single service. This is based on the principle of managing the water supply from the source to the user, and from the user up to the point of discharge into the environment in an area which is found to be most functional, and is formed on the basis of the hydrogeological territory of sub-drainage basins, which follow the natural boundaries of drainage divides – these are called service areas. Such service areas generally comprise a large number of local units, which is why demands for efficient water services management will have an impact on the territorial integration of local units in individual service areas