A CGE assessment of a university's effects on a regional economy - supply-side versus demand-side effects

In recent years many universities have commissioned studies of the effect of their institution on the local economy. Typically these impact studies have concentrated on the demand-side stimuli to the regional economy that the university generates. Normally, the studies are undertaken with comparative-static input-output models. The present study employs a dynamic multiregional computable general equilibrium model to investigate supply-side as well as demand-side effects. There are a range of supply-side effects that have been investigated in the spatial econometrics literature. The supply-side impacts of the university that we examine in particular are a rise in the average skill level of the local workforce, and successful R&D outcomes. CGE modelling allows simulation of the associated productivity effects, while the dynamic features of the model allow for consequent effects on the region's population and capital stock growth rates to be taken into account.

Competition reforms and collaborative federalism: a dynamic multiregional applied general equilibrium analysis

In 1995 all Australian state and territory governments entered into an agreement with the federal government to introduce a comprehensive program of national competition policy (NCP) reforms. A number of studies have attempted to assess the benefits of these reforms by (i) estimating, via data envelopment analysis or similar techniques, the productivity gap between Australian industries affected by the reforms and their foreign counterparts, and (ii) then modelling the long-run effects of bringing the relevant Australian industries to world-best-practice levels of efficiency. These studies have been criticised for having severely overestimated the efficiency gains from NCP, and for ignoring the associated labour market adjustments. In this paper we take advantage of FEDERAL-F's historical modelling and forecasting capabilities to take a new approach to the problem. First, to measure the efficiency gains from NCP, we use the observed changes in efficiency in one of the sectors subject to NCP reforms (utilities) immediately after the introduction of NCP (rather than following the earlier approach of making a comparison between actual and best-practice levels of productivity). The changes in the utilities sector's primary factor productivity pre- and post- the introduction of NCP are calculated during historical simulations with FEDERAL-F. We investigate the impacts that the changes in observed productivity improvements have had on regional indicators of aggregate economic activity, with particular attention to indices of regional labour market adjustment costs. The changes in these indices provide measures of the value of labour inputs that are lost as implementation of the NCP alters the flow of people between different labour market categories.

Real Options Methodology Applied to the ICT Sector: A Survey

This survey focuses on the application of real options methodology to the information and communications technology (ICT) industries. It examines the development of the methodology to areas as diverse as wireless cell site investments to dynamic pricing issues. In addition to aiding the reader in understanding the breadth of the applications, it demonstrates the importance of the topic. It provides a guide to the reader who is interested in exploring the topic in greater depth.Discounted cash flow, economic methodology, information and communications technology (ICT), investment, investment under uncertainty, options, present discounted value, real options, valuations.

Solid phase surfactants and micellar catalysis

The thesis describes an investigation into the use of functionalised polymers and surfactant molecules to influence the rate, regiochemistry and stereochemistry of some carbon-carbon bond forming reactions in aqueous and organic media. To this end, a series or polymer-supported and non-polymer-supported surfactants (e.g. A and B) were synthesised. For comparative purposes these differ from each other in two ways: i) the type/length of the alkyl chain and ii) the type of head group used, i.e. large/small, homochiral/non-chiral, anionic/cationic. Compounds related to these have been reported in the literature and used to induce high enantioselectivity and rate enhancement in the addition of diethyl zinc to aldehydes.1.2,3 The compounds described in the thesis - both polymer-supported and non-polymer- supported - contain a neutral/charged moiety and can be used in aqueous or organic media. Non-polymer-supported surfactants generate micelles in water and reverse micelles in organic media. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of each non-polymer-supported surfactant in H2O and hexane has been determined and the surfactants are then used at the CMC in reaction systems. Some Diels-Alder cycloaddition reactions are described using aqueous suspensions of the polymer-supported surfactants and aqueous solutions of the non-polymer-supported surfactants. Different yields and product selectivities have been observed compared to the use of water, or conventional organic solvents. The Michael addition and the addition of diethyl zinc to aldehydes in the presence of the polymer-supported and the non-polymer-supported surfactants are investigated. Enantioselectivity has been observed in both cases. The surfactant and the polymer- supported surfactant are both recoverable and reusable