A SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF THE ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL EFFICACY OF LAND RETIREMENT

Most land management policies, such as land retirement, have multiple objectives. This study uses a cellular automata simulation model to explore how various spatial characteristics of land parcels on a hypothetical landscape contribute to the efficacy of land retirement in the presence of multiple retirement objectives- hydrological improvement, habitat improvement, and cost. Statistical analysis of the simulation results is used to tie particular spatial characteristics back to achievement of the three distinct objectives. In order to combine the three objectives into a measure that allows decision-makers to rank the desirability of different retirement strategies, linear and nonlinear goal programming frameworks are introduced. These frameworks are explored to determine what each implies about the tradeoffs that must be made among objectives and among the spatial land parcel characteristics that contribute to those objectives.Land Economics/Use,

Modeling Recreational Amenities in an Urban Setting: Location, Congestion, and Substitution Effects

In this article, we introduce a recreational amenity—a greenbelt park—into a simple urban economic model. For multiple possible park placements, we solve for the associated equilibrium urban structure, including the equilibrium rent gradient, city boundary, total number of park visits, the overall utility level, and total vehicle miles traveled. We examine how these change with alternative park placement sites. We then show how two modifications of the basic model—allowing congestion at the site to affect site quality, and introducing the possibility of a substitute site at the city’s periphery—affect our conclusions about how greenbelt location influences urban structure.urban structure, greenbelt, congestion, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

URBAN PLANNING AND THE LOCATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AMENITIES

In this paper, we use a simple urban economic model to study how choosing park locations within a city might contribute towards urban planning goals. For multiple possible park placements, we solve for the associated equilibrium urban structure, including the equilibrium rent gradient, city boundary, total number of park visits, the overall utility level, and total vehicle miles traveled. We then examine how these change with alternative park placement sites. We find that, as a prescription for reducing urban sprawl, park provision has mixed results. When placed close to the central business district, the park can result in an increase in inner city housing density; such placement could help ameliorate problems of commuter traffic congestion related to urban sprawl. Parks placed further out toward the periphery, although consistent with improved accessibility and utility maximization, have the opposite effect pulling residents away from the central business district and thereby likely worsening the congestion problem related to commuter traffic.Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy,

USING OPTIMAL CONTROL TO CHARACTERIZE THE ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF SPATIAL EXTERNALITIES

This study uses optimal control theory to examine the dynamic features of agricultural landscapes characterized by spatial externalites. A stylized system of agricultural production and groundwater flow is used to illustrate how spatial externalities affect land use decisions over time. Policy alternatives are also considered.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Semantics in the wild : a digital assistant for Flemish citizens

Public service fragmentation across more than 800 digital channels of government administrations in the region of Flanders (Belgium), causes administrative burden and frustrations, as citizens expect a coherent service. Given the autonomy of the various entities, the fragmentation of information and budget constraints, it is not feasible to rewire the entire e-gov ecosystem to a single portal. Therefore, the Flemish Government is building a smart digital assistant, which supports citizens on the governmental portals, by integrating status information of various transactions. This paper outlines our ongoing research on a method for raising semantic interoperability between different information systems and actors. In this approach, semantic agreements are maintained and implemented end-to-end using the design principles of Linked Data. The lessons learned can speed-up the process in other countries that face the complexity of integrating e-government portals

Instrument development, data collection, and characteristics of practices, staff, and measures in the Improving Quality of Care in Diabetes (iQuaD) Study

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Home-ownership as a social norm and positional good: subjective well-being evidence from panel data

Much attention has been devoted to examining the absolute benefits of home-ownership (e.g. security and autonomy). This paper by contrast is concerned with conceptualising and testing the relative benefits of homeownership; those benefits that depend on an individual’s status in society. Home-ownership has previously been analysed as a social norm, implying that the relative benefits (costs) associated with being an owner (renter) are positively related to relevant others’ home-ownership values. The theoretical contribution of this paper is to additionally conceptualise home-ownership as a positional good, implying that the status of both home-owners and renters is negatively related to relevant others’ home-ownership consumption. The empirical contribution of this paper is to quantitatively test for these relative benefits in terms of subjective well-being. We run fixed effects regressions on three waves of the British Household Panel Study. We find that i) a strengthening of relevant others’ home-ownership values is associated with increases (decreases) in the subjective well-being of home-owners (renters), and ii) an increase in relevant others’ home-ownership consumption decreases the life satisfaction of owners but has no effect for renters. Overall our findings suggest that i) the relative benefit of home-ownership are both statistically significant and of a meaningful magnitude, and ii) homeownership is likely to be both a social norm and a positional good. Without explicitly recognising these relative benefits, policymakers risk overestimating the contribution of home-ownership to societal well-being

Cooperation, Norms, and Revolutions: A Unified Game-Theoretical Approach

Cooperation is of utmost importance to society as a whole, but is often challenged by individual self-interests. While game theory has studied this problem extensively, there is little work on interactions within and across groups with different preferences or beliefs. Yet, people from different social or cultural backgrounds often meet and interact. This can yield conflict, since behavior that is considered cooperative by one population might be perceived as non-cooperative from the viewpoint of another. To understand the dynamics and outcome of the competitive interactions within and between groups, we study game-dynamical replicator equations for multiple populations with incompatible interests and different power (be this due to different population sizes, material resources, social capital, or other factors). These equations allow us to address various important questions: For example, can cooperation in the prisoner's dilemma be promoted, when two interacting groups have different preferences? Under what conditions can costly punishment, or other mechanisms, foster the evolution of norms? When does cooperation fail, leading to antagonistic behavior, conflict, or even revolutions? And what incentives are needed to reach peaceful agreements between groups with conflicting interests? Our detailed quantitative analysis reveals a large variety of interesting results, which are relevant for society, law and economics, and have implications for the evolution of language and culture as well

Attitudes Toward Organizational Change among Public Middle Managers

Positive attitudes toward change (PATC) are an important current issue in public organizations facing profound financial and managerial reforms. This study aims to identify social and organizational antecedents of PATC. The investigated population is composed of middle managers working in Swiss public hospitals (N = 720), which are currently being confronted by major reforms. Partial mediation effects of organizational commitment (OC) in the relationships between independent variables and PATC are also controlled. The findings show that perceived social support (work relationships with colleagues and supervisors) as well as perceived organizational support (employee voice and participation, information and communication, work-life balance) are positively and significantly related to PATC. Stress perception is shown to have a negative impact on PATC. This article provides valuable contributions with respect to antecedents of attitudes toward change in a population of public middle managers