New development: Exploring public service markets

The authors explain why public service markets are fundamentally different from regulated utilities markets by looking at the product characteristics, market structure, funding oversight and legal arrangements in such markets. They highlight the issues which will be important as marketized delivery becomes increasingly mainstream in public services provision

Micromorfología y anatomía foliar de Myrceugenia rufa (Myrtaceae). Un arbusto costero endémico de la zona centro-norte de Chile

Species of fleshy-fruited Myrtaceae are generally associated with humid environments and their vegetative anatomy is mainly mesophytic. Myrceugenia rufa is an endemic and rare species from arid zones of the coast of central Chile and there are no anatomical studies regarding its leaf anatomy and environmental adaptations. Here we describe the leaf micromorphology and anatomy of the species using standard protocols for light and scanning electron microscopy. The leaf anatomy of M. rufa matches that of other Myrtaceae, such as presence of druses, schizogenous secretory ducts and internal phloem. Leaves of M. rufa exhibit a double epidermis, thick cuticle, abundant unicellular hairs, large substomatal chambers covered by trichomes and a dense palisade parenchyma. Leaf characters of M. rufa confirm an anatomical adaptation to xerophytic environments.Las especies con frutos carnosos de Myrtaceae están generalmente asociadas a ambientes húmedos y su anatomía vegetativa es principalmente mesofítica. Myrceugenia rufa es una especie rara y endémica de lugares secos de la costa de Chile central y no hay estudios anatómicos de sus hojas en términos de adaptaciones ambientales. En este artículo describimos la micromorfología y anatomía foliar de la especie usando protocolos estándar para microscopia óptica y electrónica de barrido. La anatomía foliar de M. rufa es similar a otras especies de Myrtaceae, en lo que respecta a presencia de drusas, canales secretores esquizógenos y floema interno. Las hojas de M. rufa tienen una epidermis doble, cutícula gruesa, pelos unicelulares abundantes, cavidades subestomáticas amplias y cubiertas por tricomas, y un denso parénquima en empalizada. Los caracteres foliares de la especie confirman una afinidad morfoanatómica a ambientes xerofíticos

Public Service Markets: Their Economics, Oversight and Regulation

This paper has three aims. Firstly, it aims to show that the language of markets can help to frame arguments about how effectively public services are achieving their intended outcomes. Using ‘market’ language and concepts may not always be comfortable for those from a traditional policy-making background. This paper suggests that thinking in these terms can nevertheless be very useful when designing investigations of the effectiveness of public services, whenever those services entail a degree of personalisation or user choice – as is currently the case, for example, in large parts of health, social care and education in England. Secondly, the paper aims to show that public service markets (public services that involve choice on the part of service users) differ quite fundamentally from private markets. Hence the conditions for the success, or failure, of public service markets to achieve public policy intentions may be different from the conditions that are necessary to foster successful (well functioning) markets in the private sector. Although there are analogies between private and public markets, some of which are discussed, the introduction of ‘market mechanisms’ into public service provision does not necessarily mean that the public service markets thus created will behave like private markets, or that policy intentions will be achieved simply by ‘leaving it to the market’. This, of course, has implications for how public service markets are overseen, managed, and regulated. In particular, the nature of the ‘goods’ that are ‘traded’ in public service markets is often very different from those in many private markets. This paper argues that not only are public services typically merit goods (characterised by positive externalities in their consumption), but that there is an important distinction between ‘choice’ merit goods, such as education or social care, and ‘compulsory’ merit goods, such as probation services or welfare-to-work programmes. Choice merit goods could in principle be provided through vouchers or direct payments to users, although doing so would not necessarily achieve other policy objectives such as universality or equity, even if all conditions were in place for the public market to operate efficiently (in practice, this latter requirement is also unlikely to be met). There may also be conflicts between how service users actually make choices, and how the state would ‘like’ them to (for example, hospital patients may value proximity of the hospital to their home more highly than its results on clinical performance measures). The ‘users’ of compulsory merit goods, on the other hand, may not wish to consume them, but it may be welfare-enhancing for society to coerce them to do so. The commissioning or direct provision by the state of such goods may meet public policy objectives more effectively than the market mechanism alone, as users are not able to internalise the full social benefits of their actions. Finally, building on these foundations, the paper discusses when public service markets are likely to be an effective method of achieving public policy objectives, and when they may not be. Issues that arise frequently in public service markets are discussed, such as principal-agent relationships; determining the quality of complex experience goods; the existence of local or regional monopolies of provision, and monopsonies of funding; the operation of competition law in the public sector; and how to deal with provider failure. The paper concludes with some suggestions for what this all means for those charged with overseeing public service markets in practice, based both on the preceding considerations, and on empirical evidence and experience to date

Variation in leaf morphology of the invasive cat's claw creeper Dolichandra unguis-cati (Bignoniaceae)

Abstract. The invasive liana cat's claw creeper Dolichandra unguis-cati (L.) L.G. Lohmann (syn. Macfadyena unguis-cati (L.) A.H. Gentry) exhibits intraspecific variation in leaf morphology, but this is rarely noted in the published literature. The present study documents variation in leaf morphology in two forms of the species that occur in Australia (long pod and short pod). Leaf morphology is compared between the two forms and the position of the shoots (trunk and ground) at the only two sites in which they co-occur. Leaves were categorised on the basis of leaflet number and the presence or absence of tendrils. Simple leaves were produced mainly on shoots growing along the ground and were more abundant in the short-pod form. Long-pod plants were dominated by bifoliate leaves with tendrils. Cat's claw creeper exhibits considerably wider variation in leaf morphology than recorded previously. Variations in leaf morphology may be linked to differences in the genotype, developmental stage and plastic responses of the plants. Understanding these variations may have implications for taxonomic delimitation and improved management, particularly biological control involving leaf-feeding insects

Quadratic reciprocity via resultants

We give a simple inductive proof of quadratic reciprocity using resultants

Note on the number of divisors of reducible quadratic polynomials

DOI: 10.1017/S000497271800073