A Model of Inter-Regional Trade in Grains with Storage

When there is spatial arbitrage between food markets, the price differential between the markets should equal the cost of transfer. This simple arbitrage rule has formed the basis of many empirical tests of the performance of developing countries’ food markets. Here, a more complex structure to regional food markets is hypothesised. By including commodity storage into a model of inter-regional trade, it is shown that, in an optimal dynamic program, trade is intermittent. The possibility of periods without trade casts doubt on the validity of using tests for correlation in market prices as indicators of market performance.Food markets, optimal control, storage, spatial equilibrium.

Opening access to administrative data for evaluating public services: the case of the Justice Data Lab

As government administrative data sets are increasingly made available for new (non-administrative) purposes, there is a need to improve access to such resources for voluntary and community organizations, social enterprises and private businesses for statistical analysis and evaluation purposes. The Justice Data Lab set up by the Ministry of Justice in the UK presents an innovative case of how administrative data can be linked to other data held by organizations delivering public services. The establishment of a unit within a secure setting holding evaluation and statistical expertise has enabled providers of programmes aimed at reducing re-offending to obtain evidence on how the impact of their interventions differs from that of a matched comparison group. This article explores the development of the Justice Data Lab, the methodological and other challenges faced, and the experiences of user organizations. The article draws out implications for future development of Data Labs and the use of administrative data for the evaluation of public services

Data use externatilies: Report to department for digital, culture, media and sport by Belmana with the University of the West of England

This study was commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to:● Identify the likely positive and negative externalities of data use (that is, the wider social impacts of data use) and● Provide an assessment of the viability of methods that could be used to value them.The study is primarily based on a literature review. This was substantiated by interviews with a range of relevant policy, academic and practitioner experts

Changing factor market conditions in South Africa: The capital market - a sectoral description of the period 1970-97

This article explores changing conditions in South African real capital markets. Noteworthy is the evidence of strong restructuring in this market during the 1990s. Whereas the 1970s and 1980s showed the best investment performance among primary commodity sectors and sectors with strong parastatal involvement, the highest investment rates of the 1990s have been associated with the manufacturing industry. We show that the real user cost of capital and capital productitivity contribute plausible determinants of investment rates in South Africa. The extent to which market forces are allowed to bring in line marginal cost and marginal return on capital appears to influence the sustainability of investment.