3,988 research outputs found
Welfarism in economic domains
In economies with public goods, and agents with quasi-linear preferences, we give a characterization of the welfare egalitarian correspondence in terms of three axioms: Pareto optimality, symmetry, and solidarity. This last property requires that an increase in the willingness to pay for the public goods of some of the agents should not decrease the welfare of any of them.Publicad
Analytic solution of the algebraic equation associated to the Ricci tensor in extended Palatini gravity
In this work we discuss the exact solution to the algebraic equation
associated to the Ricci tensor in the quadratic extension of Palatini
gravity. We show that an exact solution always exists, and in the general case
it can be found by a simple matrix diagonalization. Furthermore, the general
implications of the solution are analysed in detail, including the generation
of an effective cosmological constant, and the recovery of the and
theories as particular cases in their corresponding limit. In addition,
it is proposed a power series expansion of the solution which is successfully
applied to the case of the electromagnetic field. We show that this power
series expansion may be useful to deal perturbatively with some problems in the
context of Palatini gravity.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1101.3864, arXiv:1306.6537,
arXiv:1112.2223 by other author
Efficiency, Monotonicity and Rationality in Public Goods Economies
In economies with public goods, we provide a necessary and sufficient condition
for the existence of cost monotonic selections from the set of Pareto optimal
and individualIy ratiollal allocations. Such selections exist if and only if the
preCerences of the agents satisfy what we call the equal ordering property. This
requirement is very restrictive in the context of more than one public good. However, whenever it holds any such mechanism must choose an egalitarian equivalent allocation
In what circumstances is investment in HR worthwhile?
INTRODUCTION
By High Speed Rail (HSR) we normally mean rail technologies capable of speeds of the order of 300km ph on new dedicated track. Such systems offer journey times that are more competitive with other modes, and particularly air, than traditional train services, and very high capacity. But their capital cost is also high. The proposals of the European Commission for the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T) envisage expenditure of 600b euros, of which 250b euros is for priority projects, and a large part of this expenditure is for high speed rail. Thus it is extremely important to have a robust appraisal methodology for these huge investments. It is not clear that this has happened in the case of the Trans European Networks. Individual projects are suggested by, and appraised by, member state governments, even though they are applying to the European Commission for assistance with funding. Research for the European Commission has appraised the TEN-T network as a whole, but has not appraised the individual elements of the programme to ensure that they are all worthwhile (TML, 2005).
The aim of this paper is to consider the methodology for the appraisal of high speed rail proposals, and to produce some indication of the circumstances in which such proposals might be worthwhile. In the next section we present an overview of the principal costs and benefits which need to be taken into account in an HSR appraisal. Then we illustrate the process for two particular contrasting examples – the study of HSR proposals in Great Britain, and an ex post evaluation of the Madrid-Seville line in Spain. In section four of the paper we formulate a model to incorporate the principal parameters influencing the outcome of an appraisal and in section five we use this model to draw conclusions on the circumstances in which high speed rail may be justified
In what circumstances is investment in HR worthwhile?
INTRODUCTION
By High Speed Rail (HSR) we normally mean rail technologies capable of speeds of the order of 300km ph on new dedicated track. Such systems offer journey times that are more competitive with other modes, and particularly air, than traditional train services, and very high capacity. But their capital cost is also high. The proposals of the European Commission for the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T) envisage expenditure of 600b euros, of which 250b euros is for priority projects, and a large part of this expenditure is for high speed rail. Thus it is extremely important to have a robust appraisal methodology for these huge investments. It is not clear that this has happened in the case of the Trans European Networks. Individual projects are suggested by, and appraised by, member state governments, even though they are applying to the European Commission for assistance with funding. Research for the European Commission has appraised the TEN-T network as a whole, but has not appraised the individual elements of the programme to ensure that they are all worthwhile (TML, 2005).
The aim of this paper is to consider the methodology for the appraisal of high speed rail proposals, and to produce some indication of the circumstances in which such proposals might be worthwhile. In the next section we present an overview of the principal costs and benefits which need to be taken into account in an HSR appraisal. Then we illustrate the process for two particular contrasting examples – the study of HSR proposals in Great Britain, and an ex post evaluation of the Madrid-Seville line in Spain. In section four of the paper we formulate a model to incorporate the principal parameters influencing the outcome of an appraisal and in section five we use this model to draw conclusions on the circumstances in which high speed rail may be justified
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