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on Project, Program and Portfolio Management |
| By: | Oto-Peralías, Daniel (Universidad Pablo de Olavide); Cuberes, David; Lacuesta, Aitor; Moreno, Carlos |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the relationship between land ownership concentration and the likelihood of hosting large green energy facilities, specifically mega-photovoltaic (PV) plants, defined as those exceeding 50 hectares. Focusing on Spain, we find that municipalities with a higher proportion of agricultural land concentrated in large farms are significantly more likely to accommodate mega PV plants. This effect remains robust after accounting for key factors influencing PV deployment, including terrain ruggedness, solar potential, and proximity to transmission lines and urban centers. To further neutralize unobserved factors that jointly influence land concentration and PV plant location, we leverage cadastral (parcel) data to conduct an intra-municipal analysis at the 0.5×0.5 km grid-cell level. Our findings reveal that grid cells with larger cadastral parcels have a substantially higher probability of being part of a mega PV facility. A simple theoretical model explains this pattern by highlighting the coordination challenges faced by small landowners. Unlike large ones, fragmented landholders struggle to meet developers’ land requirements, which are necessary to cover fixed project costs. Consistent with this mechanism, we also show that areas with irrigated agriculture are less likely to host mega PV plants and exhibit more unequal distributions of plant locations by land size. Finally, we provide external validity by confirming a similar positive association between mega PV plants and land concentration across U.S. counties. These findings underscore the implications of land inequality for the spatial distribution of renewable energy projects, shedding light on the limited local benefits of such investments and the growing opposition from rural communities. |
| Date: | 2025–03–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:hakt5_v2 |
| By: | Celli, Viviana; Crescenzi, Riccardo; de Blasio, Guido; Giua, Mara |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the role of governance in policy implementation, using the European Union (EU) Cohesion Policy as a case study. Leveraging a quasi-natural experiment in Italy, where certain projects were shifted from EU to national management, we evaluate the impact of governance structures on financial execution. Using a non-parametric generalization of the difference-in-differences estimator, we find that otherwise identical projects achieve better financial execution under EU governance. Projects reassigned to national management experience a significant slowdown in financial execution within ten months, with delays reaching nearly 20% after 24 months. These delays are particularly pronounced when projects are managed at the sub-national level rather than by the national government. Our findings contribute to the broader policy debate on the effectiveness of multi-level governance structures in public investment programs. |
| Keywords: | institutional quality; European Union; place-based policies; regional transfers; governance |
| JEL: | C21 O40 H54 R11 |
| Date: | 2025–02–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:127393 |
| By: | Marco Di Cataldo; Elena Renzullo; Andrés Rodríguez-Pose |
| Abstract: | This paper provides the first analysis of how local institutional quality affects the distribution of EU funds across private beneficiaries, public entities, and local governments. Using high-quality Italian administrative data on city council dismissals due to collusion with organised crime, we examine whether corruption affects municipal control over EU resources. Applying a staggered difference-in-differences model and event studies, we find that corrupt local governments receive significantly fewer EU funds for their own operations, particularly in transport infrastructure and essential public services. However, this is not a consequence of efficient corruption detection, but rather a strategic choice. Corrupt administrations avoid larger EU projects to sidestep stricter anti-mafia regulations. This distortion weakens Cohesion Policy’s impact, deprives communities of critical investment, and hampers local economic growth. While Italy’s anti-mafia laws appear effective in blocking criminal access to EU funds, our findings expose the adaptability of organised crime, which simply switches its operations below existing regulatory thresholds. The takeaway is clear: good institutions matter. Where corruption thrives, EU funds do not disappear entirely, but they flow differently: less to infrastructure, more to smaller, more opaque projects. Stronger oversight is essential to ensure that Cohesion Policy delivers on its promise. |
| Keywords: | Quality of institution, EU Cohesion Policy, city council dismissals, organised crime |
| JEL: | H7 H11 H77 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2510 |
| By: | Harvey, John; Buscheck, Jeffrey; Yu, Justin; Butt, Ali; Deng, Hanyu; Rahman, Mohammad; Guada, Irwin; Bowman, Michael; Brotschi, Julian; Mateos, Angel |
| Abstract: | This report presents data and analysis of a new mix type that has 100% replacement of aggregate and asphalt binder with reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and the addition of a recycling agent. The data were collected from construction of a pilot project on Interstate 40 in San Bernardino County, which included the new mix , HyRAP® (a registered trademark owned by Brooks Construction Company, Inc. and licensed to Manhole Adjusting Inc. but produced under a non-proprietary Caltrans Non- Standard Special Provision), the control gap-graded rubberized hot mix asphalt (RHMA-G), and a dense-graded polymer- modified mix (HMA-M) that was used in wheelpath digouts on the project. The report includes performance-related testing, a life cycle assessment, and a summary of observations from the construction of the pilot project. It also includes deflection testing results for the test sections and outside the test sections to check if they have similar underlying support. The life cycle assessment includes identification of the primary sources of greenhouse gas and other emissions in the mix production. A comparison is made between the early field performance of the test sections for rutting and the performance-related laboratory rutting tests. Recommendations are that further development of HyRAP be done on projects with less risk and that they aim to demonstrate the ability to achieve mix consistency during production. It is also recommended that approaches for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from the oxidizer used to reduce volatile organic compounds be explored. |
| Keywords: | Engineering, reclaimed asphalt pavement, recycled asphalt shingles, performance-related, life cycle assessment |
| Date: | 2025–05–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt5877p48t |
| By: | Liam Welsh; Udit Grover; Sebastian Jaimungal |
| Abstract: | Climate change is a major threat to the future of humanity, and its impacts are being intensified by excess man-made greenhouse gas emissions. One method governments can employ to control these emissions is to provide firms with emission limits and penalize any excess emissions above the limit. Excess emissions may also be offset by firms who choose to invest in carbon reducing and capturing projects. These projects generate offset credits which can be submitted to a regulating agency to offset a firm's excess emissions, or they can be traded with other firms. In this work, we characterize the finite-agent Nash equilibrium for offset credit markets. As computing Nash equilibria is an NP-hard problem, we utilize the modern reinforcement learning technique Nash-DQN to efficiently estimate the market's Nash equilibria. We demonstrate not only the validity of employing reinforcement learning methods applied to climate themed financial markets, but also the significant financial savings emitting firms may achieve when abiding by the Nash equilibria through numerical experiments. |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2504.11258 |
| By: | Larsen, Kai; , Roman |
| Abstract: | Researchers must ensure that the claims about the knowledge produced by their work are valid. However, validity is neither well-understood nor consistently established in design science, which involves the development and evaluation of artifacts (models, methods, instantiations, and theories) to solve problems. As a result, it is challenging to demonstrate and communicate the validity of knowledge claims about artifacts. This paper defines validity in design science and derives the Design Science Validity Framework and a process model for applying it. The framework comprises three high-level claim and validity types—criterion, causal, and context—as well as validity subtypes. The framework guides researchers in integrating validity considerations into projects employing design science and contributes to the growing body of research on design science methodology. It also provides a systematic way to articulate and validate the knowledge claims of design science projects. We apply the framework to examples from existing research and then use it to demonstrate the validity of knowledge claims about the framework itself. |
| Date: | 2025–04–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:nbj9d_v1 |