Safey in Transportation: The Role of Government

Stora samhällsförändringar och ökande komplexitet inom välfärdsområdet ställer allt högre krav på verksamhets- och kunskapsutveckling. Denna utveckling tillsammans med krav från staten om samverkan mellan forskning och samhälle (Högskoleverket 2003; Statskontoret 2011) medför ett ökande behov av att tydligare knyta samman forskning och praktik. Kapitlets syfte är dels att argumentera för behovet av att knyta samman forskning inom välfärdsområdet med utvecklingsarbete i kommunernas verksamheter och dels att diskutera hur den internationellt etablerade forskningstraditionen praktikforskning kan erbjuda ett förhållningssätt och ett verktyg i detta arbete. Texten utgör ett exempel på kommunstrategisk forskning med fokus på socialtjänstens område, men resonemanget torde vara relevant för stora delar av välfärdsområdet

CAFE Increases: Missing the Elephant in the Living Room

In a Joint Center paper, Kleit and Lutter identify externalities of about $0.08 per mile for driving light duty vehicles. Rather than recognize the huge externalities from current driving, they focus on a tiny increment that would come from increasing CAFE standards. A first best policy would tax congestion, pollution emissions and gasoline, and increase safety. If that policy is not politically feasible, a second best policy would increase gasoline taxes$1.75 per gallon. Contrary to Kleit and Lutter, we find sound economic reasons for CAFE.

Efficient bidding for hydro power plants in markets for energy and ancillary services

In order to preserve stability of electricity supply generators must provide ancillary services in addition to energy production. Hydroelectric resources have significant ancillary service capability because of their dynamic flexibility. This paper suggests a solution for optimal bidding for hydro units operating in simultaneous markets for energy and ancillary services by estimating water shadow price from operating parameters of the hydro unit, expectations on prices of energy and ancillary services, and water availability. The model implications are illustrated on a numerical example of a hydro unit operating in markets of New York Independent System Operator. Participation in ancillary services market increases or decreases water shadow price depending on water availability. As a result of participation in ancillary services markets, a unit with water availability given by a capacity factor of 0.6 increases the value of existing generating capacity by 25% and nearly doubles the value of incremental generating capacity

Is There a Role for Benefit-Cost Analysis in Environmental, Health, and Safety Regulation?

Benefit-cost analysis has a potentially important role to play in helping inform regulatory decision-making, although it should not be the sole basis for such decision-making. This paper offers eight principles on the appropriate use of benefit-cost analysis.Environment, Health and Safety, Regulatory Reform

Benefit-Cost Analysis in Environmental, Health, and Safety Regulation: A Statement of Principles

Benefit-cost analysis can play a very important role in legislative and regulatory policy debates on improving the environment, health, and safety. It can help illustrate the tradeoffs that are inherent in public policymaking as well as make those tradeoffs more transparent. It can also help agencies set regulatory priorities. Benefit-cost analysis should be used to help decisionmakers reach a decision. Contrary to the views of some, benefit-cost analysis is neither necessary nor sufficient for designing sensible public policy. If properly done, it can be very helpful to agencies in the decisionmaking process. Decisionmakers should not be precluded from considering the economic benefits and costs of different policies in the development of regulations. Laws that prohibit costs or other factors from being considered in administrative decisionmaking are inimical to good public policy. Currently, several of the most important regulatory statutes have been interpreted to imply such prohibitions. Benefit-cost analysis should be required for all major regulatory decisions, but agency heads should not be bound by a strict benefit-cost test. Instead, they should be required to consider available benefit-cost analyses and to justify the reasons for their decision in the event that the expected costs of a regulation far exceed the expected benefits. Agencies should be encouraged to use economic analysis to help set regulatory priorities. Economic analyses prepared in support of particularly important decisions should be subjected to peer review both inside and outside government. Benefits and costs of proposed major regulations should be quantified wherever possible. Best estimates should be presented along with a description of the uncertainties. Not all benefits or costs can be easily quantified, much less translated into dollar terms. Nevertheless, even qualitative descriptions of the pros and cons associated with a contemplated action can be helpful. Care should be taken to ensure that quantitative factors do not dominate important qualitative factors in decisionmaking. The Office of Management and Budget, or some other coordinating agency, should establish guidelines that agencies should follow in conducting benefit-cost analyses. Those guidelines should specify default values for the discount rate and certain types of benefits and costs, such as the value of a small reduction in mortality risk. In addition, agencies should present their results using a standard format, which summarizes the key results and highlights major uncertainties.

Workplace Learning in Dual Higher Professional Education

Workplace learning is considered an effective strategy for the development of vocation, career and professional identity. Dual training programs, in which learning at a vocational school and learning at work in a company are combined, are seen as strong carriers for skill formation processes. In this study we explore workplace learning in dual training programs in Dutch higher professional education. To gain an understanding of these learning environments and processes, a qualitative multiple case study was conducted in seven sectors. The findings show substantial differences in learning environments between and within sectors. However, cooperation between school and practice is minimal in all of the cases. Although students develop personal and job-related competencies that are useful for daily work routines, they acquire hardly any profound theoretical knowledge at the workplace. School fails to direct workplace learning. Given the considerable share of workplace learning in dual training programs, and the demands to higher professional education graduates in terms of being able to solve complex problems and develop new knowledge during their career as reflective practitioners, it is important that these shortcomings are resolved. More promising alternatives for workplace learning environments and questions for further research to improve workplace learning in higher professional education are discussed

Controlling emissions from motor vehicles. by Lester B. Lave

This article reports the results of a benefit-cost analysis of alternative strategies for controlling emissions from hydrocarbon refueling and evaporative emissions from cars and LDTs. Provided by MICAH, Canberra