Estimating Mortality and Economic Costs of Particulate Air Pollution in Developing Countries: The Case of Nigeria

The value of statistical life is an essential parameter used in ascribing monetary values to the mortality costs of air pollution in health risk analyses. However, this willingness to pay estimate is virtually non-existent for most developing countries. In the absence of local estimates, two major benefit transfer approaches lend themselves to the estimation of the value of statistical life: the value transfer method and the meta-regression analysis. Using Nigeria as a sample country, we find that the latter method is better tailored than the former for incorporating many characteristics that vary between study sites and policy sites into its benefit transfer application. It is therefore likely to provide more accurate value of statistical life predictions for very low-income countries. Employing the meta-regression method, we find Nigeria's value of statistical life estimate to be $489,000. Combining this estimate with dose response functions from the epidemiological literature, it follows that if Nigeria had mitigated its 2006 particulate air pollution to the World Health Organisation standards, it could have avoided at least 58,000 premature deaths and recorded an avoided mortality related welfare loss of about$28 billion or 19 % of the nation's GDP for that year. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

Performance, labour flexibility and migrant workers in hotels: An establishment and departmental level analysis

© 2015. This paper analyses flexible working, and the employment of migrants, as determinants of performance in hotels, utilising a highly disaggregated data set of actual hours worked and outputs, on a monthly basis, over an 8 year period for 25 establishments within a single firm. It examines not only inter-establishment, but also intra-establishment (departmental) variations in performance. The analysis also systematically compares the findings based on financial versus physical measures, against a background where existing research has utilised diverse and, sometimes, hybrid measures of performance and productivity. While generally confirming significant relationships between performance and flexible working and migrant employment, the findings also emphasise that the types of flexible working practices are important. It also identifies complex variations at the departmental level: substantially different relationships between flexibility and migrant employment, and performance are identified for rooms versus food and beverage departments, reflecting different operating conditions

Demand Fluctuations, Labour Flexibility and Productivity

There is a dearth of studies analysing the relationship between demand variations, productivity and flexible working in the face of variable demand challenges confronting the tourism industry. This investigation is needed to inform important firm and industry specific labour management strategies for improving productivity. Using data for 43 medium sized hotels owned by two chains in the UK, this paper analyses productivity in relation to external (demand variations) and internal (labour management) conditions over an 8 year period from 2005-2013. The paper’s findings show that demand variation is the principal determinant of productivity. Numerical, functional and zero-contract hour flexible labour management also contributes to labour productivity. Significant differences in findings between establishment and departments indicate the importance of disaggregated analyses

Demand Fluctuations, Labour Flexibility and Productivity

There is a dearth of studies analysing the relationship between demand variations, productivity and flexible working in the face of variable demand challenges confronting the tourism industry. This investigation is needed to inform important firm and industry specific labour management strategies for improving productivity. Using data for 43 medium sized hotels owned by two chains in the UK, this paper analyses productivity in relation to external (demand variations) and internal (labour management) conditions over an 8 year period from 2005-2013. The paper’s findings show that demand variation is the principal determinant of productivity. Numerical, functional and zero-contract hour flexible labour management also contributes to labour productivity. Significant differences in findings between establishment and departments indicate the importance of disaggregated analyses

Performance, labour flexibility and migrant workers in hotels: An establishment and departmental level analysis

© 2015. This paper analyses flexible working, and the employment of migrants, as determinants of performance in hotels, utilising a highly disaggregated data set of actual hours worked and outputs, on a monthly basis, over an 8 year period for 25 establishments within a single firm. It examines not only inter-establishment, but also intra-establishment (departmental) variations in performance. The analysis also systematically compares the findings based on financial versus physical measures, against a background where existing research has utilised diverse and, sometimes, hybrid measures of performance and productivity. While generally confirming significant relationships between performance and flexible working and migrant employment, the findings also emphasise that the types of flexible working practices are important. It also identifies complex variations at the departmental level: substantially different relationships between flexibility and migrant employment, and performance are identified for rooms versus food and beverage departments, reflecting different operating conditions