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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Richard Arnott; Eren Inci (Boston College) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a downtown parking model that integrates traffic congestion and saturated on-street parking. We assume that the stock of cars cruising for parking adds to traffic congestion. Two major results come out from the model, one of which is robust. The robust one is that, whether or not the amount of on-street parking is optimal, it is efficient to raise the on-street parking fee to the point where cruising for parking is eliminated without parking becoming unsaturated. The other is that, if the parking fee is fixed at a sub-optimal level, it is second-best optimal to increase the amount of curbside allocated to parking until cruising for parking is eliminated without parking becoming unsaturated. |
| Keywords: | traffic congestion, cruising for parking, on-street parking |
| JEL: | R41 |
| Date: | 2005–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boc:bocoec:608&r=ure |
| By: | Angel De la Fuente; Juan F. Jimeno |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a comprehensive framework for the quantitative analysis of the private and fiscal returns to schooling and of the effect of public policies on private incentives to invest in education. This framework is applied to 14 member states of the European Union. For each of these countries, we construct estimates of the private return to an additional year of schooling for an individual of average attainment, taking into account the effects of education on wages and employment probabilities after allowing for academic failure rates, the direct and opportunity costs of schooling, and the impact of personal taxes, social security contributions and unemployment and pension benefits on net incomes. We also construct a set of effective tax and subsidy rates that measure the effects of different public policies on the private returns to education, and measures of the fiscal returns to schooling that capture the long-term effects of a marginal increase in attainment on public finances under conditions that approximate general equilibrium. |
| JEL: | I20 I22 I28 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_1392&r=ure |
| By: | Ellen Moons (K.U.Leuven-Center for Economic Studies); Bert Saveyn (K.U.Leuven-Center for Economic Studies); Stef Proost (K.U.Leuven-Center for Economic Studies); Martin Hermy (K.U.Leuven-Laboratory for Forest, Nature and Landscape Research) |
| Abstract: | This paper looks for the optimal location of new forests in a suburban area under area constraints. The GIS-based methodology takes into account timber, hunting, carbon sequestration, non-use and recreation benefits and opportunity costs of converting agricultural land, as well as planting and management costs of the new forest. The recreation benefits of new forest sites are estimated using function transfer techniques. We show that the net social benefit of new forest combinations respecting the area constraints may differ up to a factor 21. The substitution effect between forests, both new and existing, turned out to be the dominant factor in the benefit estimation. |
| Keywords: | Benefit transfer, travel cost analysis, cost-benefit analysis, forest recreation, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) |
| JEL: | Q23 Q24 Q26 R14 |
| Date: | 2005–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ete:etewps:ete0502&r=ure |
| By: | J. CHRISTIAENS; P. WINDELS; S. VANSLEMBROUCK |
| Abstract: | Since the last years many governments have undergone an accounting and management reform, being strongly inspired by the New Public Management (NPM) philosophy. This research note provides a methodology to explain the success (if any) of such reforms, by examining the level of compliance with prescribed accounting and management legislation and regulations. To measure the level of adoption of a reform, two compliance indices are constructed. Furthermore, this research note reaches a method to explain the cross-sectional differences in the level of compliance based on factors derived from previous research. After the formulation and explanation of the research questions and the derived hypotheses, this note introduces the concept of the compliance indices in local governments and clarifies the purpose and construction of the accounting and management index. The next section is devoted to an explanation of the research methodology. Finally, the conclusion summarizes the main findings and further research possibilities. |
| Date: | 2004–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:04/277&r=ure |
| By: | Niall O’Higgins (CELPE- DISES, Università degli Studi di Salerno.) |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses the nature and characteristics of the youth labour market in Europe and Central Asia. The central concern is with the policy response to the substantial youth unemploymen problem emerging with the transition to the market in Central & Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA). After looking at general trends in youth labour markets, in particular the impact of the recessions and the rapid industrial restructuring which accompanied transition, the paper outlines recent developments in youth employment policy at national and international levels and reviews findings on the contributions of policy to both improving youth employment prospects (education and ALMP) and, potentially, reducing them (minimum wages and employment protection legislation). |
| Keywords: | Transition, youth employment, ALMP |
| JEL: | J13 J23 P27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sal:celpdp:85&r=ure |
| By: | Weiping Wu |
| Abstract: | Wu focuses on how urban policies and the clustering of creative industries has influenced urban outcomes. The set of creative industries include those with output protectable under some form of intellectual property law. More specifically, this subsector encompasses software, multimedia, video games, industrial design, fashion, publishing, and research and development. The cities that form the basis for the empirical investigations are those where policy-induced transitions have been most evident, including Boston; San Francisco; San Diego; Seattle; Austin; Washington, D.C.; Dublin (Ireland); Hong Kong (China); and Bangalore (India). The key research questions are: • What types of cities are creative? • What locational factors are essential? • What are the common urban policy initiatives used by creative cities? The author explores the importance of the external environment for innovation and places it in the larger context of national innovation systems. Based on a study of development in Boston and San Diego, he isolates the factors and policies that have contributed to the local clustering of particular creative industries. In both cities, universities have played a major role in catalyzing the local economy by generating cutting-edge research findings, proactively collaborating with industries, and supplying the needed human capital. In addition, these two cities benefited from the existence of anchor firms and active industry associations that promoted fruitful university-industry links. Many cities in East Asia are aspiring to become the creative hubs of the region. But their investments tend to be heavily biased toward infrastructure provision. Although this is necessary, the heavy emphasis on hardware can lead to underinvestment in developing the talents and skills needed for the emergence of creative industries in these cities. This paper—a product of the Development Research Group—was prepared for the East Asia Prospect Study. |
| Keywords: | Education; Industry; Private Sector Development; Urban Development |
| Date: | 2005–02–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3509&r=ure |