Economic and political aspects of negotiated rents in the Swedish housing market

The aim of this paper is to describe the rent control system in Sweden, evaluate the effects on consumption and production in the housing market, and provide a public choice explanation of the present rent control system.The first section of this paper contains introductory remarks and an overview of the rental market in Sweden. The Swedish rent control system and its prerequisites are described in section 2. Attention is given to two important prerequisites: the existence of a large municipal housing sector and a strong tenants' movement. As a result, a rent system has been developed with all rents set by negotiations. The rent structure is determined by a fairness principle, which has some resemblance to market adapted rents. The rent level will be determined by a non-profit condition in municipal housing companies.In section 3 the effects of the existing rent control system are discussed with the municipality of Stockholm as a test case. Effects on rent level and rent structure are evaluated, and the relation between rent policy in municipal housing companies and resulting rents in private housing is analyzed. Gains and losses to tenants and landlords are evaluated as well as effects on construction and maintenance.In section 4 a political perspective is discussed. The aim is to explain why the system is not implemented in the market adapted way it was intended. Finally, the future of the rent system is discussed.     

From Plan to Market: A Comparison of Health and Old Age Care Policies in the UK and Sweden

This article reviews changes in the organization, delivery and financing of health care and old age services in the UK and Sweden over the past 25 years. User autonomy has become a more important policy objective than equity of access or equality of opportunity, with a greater reliance on market mechanisms for delivering services. The public and politicians seem to be prepared to accept that competition, choice and decentralization may result in a widening of regional and geographical inequalities, and the erosion of the universal character of the welfare state. These developments reflect broader normative shifts in both societies, and are likely to continue and become more widespread in the future, as they will be strongly influenced by demographic and social factors, fiscal constraints and the policies of supranational bodies such as the European Union.     

From Plan to Market: A Comparison of Health and Old Age Care Policies in the UK and Sweden

This article reviews changes in the organization, delivery and financing of health care and old age services in the UK and Sweden over the past 25 years. User autonomy has become a more important policy objective than equity of access or equality of opportunity, with a greater reliance on market mechanisms for delivering services. The public and politicians seem to be prepared to accept that competition, choice and decentralization may result in a widening of regional and geographical inequalities, and the erosion of the universal character of the welfare state. These developments reflect broader normative shifts in both societies, and are likely to continue and become more widespread in the future, as they will be strongly influenced by demographic and social factors, fiscal constraints and the policies of supranational bodies such as the European Union.     

论国有资产管理变革的客观路径--公共选择理论的一个应用

国有资产管理改革的路径是由客观环境制约下的公共选择机制所决定的 ,清醒地认识这一点 ,并因势利导 ,平衡好利益矛盾 ,使之迂回渐进地趋近符合公共财政要求的规范目标 ,是我们的必然选择。     

租金激励、行动团体与土地产权演化

本文认为租金是推动土地产权制度变迁的根本动力,正是由于各种租金的存在,使地方政府成为了初级行动团体。本文在对传统的土地产权特征作初步分析的基础上,指出传统土地产权就蕴含了改革自身的矛盾。在改革的过程中,租金又分化为试点租金、双轨租金和漏洞租金,分别给不同的相关主体以不同强度的激励,导致多种合力共同促使土地产权制度的演化。     

Price and income elasticities of demand for modern health care: the case of infant delivery in the Philippines.

In the Philippines most women choose to deliver at home despite the presence of modern facilities. Policy-making requires a knowledge of the factors that determine that choice, especially in terms of variables like price and location, which are amenable to policy intervention. Over 2/3 of the babies born in low-income countries are delivered by traditional birth attendants who are uneducated and have no formal training. They are, however, available in rural areas, whereas 70-90% of the modern practitioners are in the cities. Recently efforts have been made to expand modern obstetrical services in developing countries, but few surveys are available documenting the impact of modern facilities on delivery patterns. The present survey collected data from 3075 women who had singleton births on the island of Cebu between 1983 and 1984, as well as data from 48 modern public and private health facilities and 88 modern and traditional health practitioners. For the analysis of these data an economic demand model was built, using the mixed multinomial logit technic to estimate relationships between delivery characteristics, mothers' characteristics, and delivery choice. Money prices were not a significant factor in the choices, but time prices were a significant consideration for the rural sample. Hours of availability were a significant factor for both urban and rural mothers, and availability of drugs was significant for the urban sample. Both rural and urban women preferred delivery by a midwife, trained or not, to delivery by a combination of doctors, nurses, and midwives. With few exceptions, income was not a significant factor, and having insurance (10% of the sample) increased the probability of choosing a modern private practitioner. Money price effects were inelastic; i.e., a price increase by modern facilities would not have much effect on the choice of these facilities, and lowering the price of modern public delivery services would do little to increase demand for them. Locating more public practitioners and facilities in rural areas could effectively increase the use of modern facilities by rural women. Both urban and rural women would increase their use of modern public away-from-home facilities if these facilities would increase their hours of operation. Having drugs available would also increase the use of the public away-from-home facilities. In both urban and rural samples, trained midwives were the practitioners of choice. Among rural women a rise in income would increase the likelihood of their choosing public and private away-from-home deliveries and home deliveries by private practitioners. From the point of view of public policy, the most significant implications of the study are: 1) decreasing travel time for rural women by locating modern facilities and practitioners in rural areas would increase the use of modern delivery services; 2) increasing hours of operation, increasing the availability of drugs, and providing trained midwives at public facilities would increase the use of modern delivery services; 3) decreasing money prices would not increase use of modern public delivery services; and 4) increasing the price for cost recovery would not decrease the use of modern public delivery services.     

Housing Vouchers,Tenant Quality,and Apartment Values

Landlords face unique concerns in maximizing profits when they accept subsidized as well as unsubsidized tenants. Subsidized tenants come with lower rental collection risk because part or all of the rent is paid by a public agency and accepting subsidized tenants may widen the potential tenant market. But subsidized tenants tend to reduce overall tenant quality and to impose higher operating costs. By accepting subsidies, landlords may also subject themselves to periodic site inspections that may increase capital costs. Further, subsidized tenants may eventually crowd out unsubsidized tenants, lowering the average quality of the resident mix. Tests from Washington, DC apartments on accepting and advertising for Section 8 tenants support these qualitative predictions. Accepting Section 8 tenants enhances revenues, but advertising for them lowers revenues. More aggressive solicitation of subsidized tenants leads to a crowding out or displacement risk that dominates over any diminished collection risk.     

Explaining the choice of accounting standards in municipal corporations: Positive accounting theory and institutional theory as competitive or concurrent theories

Municipal corporations exist in an institutional twilight area, being both private and public, a characteristic, which presumably would be reflected in their choice of accounting standards. The literature of accounting choice does not, however, live in a twilight area, but is fragmented into two main divisions: positive accounting theory (PAT) and institutional theory (IT); only in a very few cases do the theories meet or cross-fertilize. We use both theories in this paper and derive hypotheses from them to explain accounting choices made by municipal corporations. Through testing the hypotheses on a sample of 545 Swedish municipal corporations, we indicate the empirical relevance of both PAT and IT. We conclude by suggesting an integrative approach of PAT and IT in an eclectic alternative.     

我国小微企业金融服务的考核评价

本文借鉴美国CRA法案的考核评价方法,提出完善我国小微企业金融服务水平考核评价的相关建议：完善小微企业金融服务监管数据的系统支持和共享机制;建立分区域的小微企业金融服务考核评价机制;根据被监管机构规模分类制定考核评价内容：增强对被监管对象考核评价的软约束。     

Renting versus Owning and the Role of Human Capital: Evidence from Germany

In a world with complete markets, the decision whether to rent or buy a home is not influenced by risks related to human capital. If markets are incomplete and have frictions, however, this may change. Renting should become more likely the more mobile a household has to be and the more income risk can be diversified. Using household panel data from Germany, we test both predictions. We find that mobility requirements have a positive effect on the probability of renting. This effect is robust even after controlling for state dependence, unobserved heterogeneity and other factors known to influence the tenure mode choice. Our data, however, does not support the hypothesis that the potential to diversify net income risk when renting affects the tenure mode choice.     

"经济人"假定的范围界定——关于"经济人"用于公共管理领域的评析

“经济人”假定只适用于在市场经济中从事经济活动的人,政府公共部门的人性假定应当是社会人而非经济人。公共选择理论套用“经济人”利益最大化假定,从理论上是以单一人性代替双重人性,以人的单一需求代替多重需求,以私人物品代替公共产品;从方法论上看,由于陷入分析的表面化和片面性,得出的结论与客观现实难以吻合,犯了以现象代替本质的形而上学错误。公共选择学派的经济人假定易于得出政府干预失灵的结论,使理论与实践陷入新自由化思潮而危及经济发展。     

IPO waves, product market competition, and the going public decision: Theory and evidence

We develop a new rationale for initial public offering (IPO) waves based on product market considerations. Two firms, with differing productivity levels, compete in an industry with a significant probability of a positive productivity shock. Going public, though costly, not only allows a firm to raise external capital cheaply, but also enables it to grab market share from its private competitors. We solve for the decision of each firm to go public versus remain private, and the optimal timing of going public. In equilibrium, even firms with sufficient internal capital to fund their new investment may go public, driven by the possibility of their product market competitors going public. IPO waves may arise in equilibrium even in industries which do not experience a productivity shock. Our model predicts that firms going public during an IPO wave will have lower productivity and post-IPO profitability but larger cash holdings than those going public off the wave; it makes similar predictions for firms going public later versus earlier in an IPO wave. We empirically test and find support for these predictions.     

公共受托责任、政府会计边界与政府财务报告的理论定位

公共受托责任的复杂性与会计系统的固有缺陷决定了单一的会计系统难以满足公共受托责任多元化的信息需求。会计系统在公共领域是该保持固有属性并优化其功能,还是应扩展功能以满足公共领域复杂的信息需求,必须进行抉择。政府会计边界概念在考虑公共受托责任复杂性的前提下,运用成本效益分析,结合系统设计原理界定了政府会计功能选择的范围,并明确了政府财务报告的理论定位。     

Ownership and Production Costs: Choosing between Public Production and Contracting‐Out in the Case of Swedish Refuse Collection

Many comparisons of public and private firms use a public/private ownership dummy variable to capture cost differences. If, however, public and private firms use different production technologies, the dummy‐variable approach is misspecified. Data from public and private firms should not be pooled. Secondly, selectivity bias may arise, making it more difficult to identify cost differentials that actually exist. Thirdly, if data should be pooled, the resulting empirical model may be logically inconsistent. This paper compares public and private firms using the refuse collection costs of 170 firms in 115 Swedish municipalities. First, public production costs were 6 per cent lower than private production costs. Secondly, cost differences did not affect producer choice. It is crucial to adjust for selectivity. Data for private and public firms should not be pooled. The dummy‐variable model is misspecified.     

“Actuarial Issues in the Novels of Jane Austen”, Daniel D. Skwire,January 1997

Social security systems for old age have been explicitly studied in a public choice framework for more than 30 years. They illustrate extremely well the problems of allocating economic resources through a system of voting. Despite actuarial interest in state pension systems and despite the actuarial calculations that are needed to understand long-term public choice trends, there is almost no reference to public choice economics in the actuarial pensions literature. It can be argued that pension systems currently provide some of the most significant threats to the long-term budget positions of developed countries, a point that was made in the Nobel Laureate lecture of Professor James Buchanan over 24 years ago. In this article, we look at the costs and benefits that will be faced by different groups of voters as a result of state pension reform in the United Kingdom. The results of this analysis suggest that a majority of the electorate will have a strong financial interest in opposing state pension reform except where reform involves raising retirement ages. These results are in accordance not just with theoretical work but with other empirical work and practical observations.     

Changing Governance, Changing Equality? New Labour, Modernization and Public Services

This article explores the implications for issues of equality and diversity in the Labour government's programme of public service modernization. Networks and partnerships are viewed as a response to the increasing complexity and ambiguity of the public realm. But in the new knowledge-based and networked economy, 'who you know', and whether you can access the crucial networks, is becoming highly significant. As the site of action shifts, so equality agendas must be renegotiated.     

Performance auditing—addressing real or perceived expectation gaps in the public sector

The growth of performance auditing in Australia (and in many other countries) has led to a range of seemingly conflicting observations about their contribution to better public administration, which basically reflect differing political and public expectations of such audits. Confusion also revolves around the question of just what value is being assessed, reflecting differing perceptions of assurance and performance and of the coverage of administrative and policy effectiveness. A better understanding of what needs to be achieved by those responsible and acceptance of accountability for the required results would improve confidence in public administration and in the value that it delivers.     

Empirical research on accounting choice

We review research from the 1990s that examines the determinants and consequences of accounting choice, structuring our analysis around the three types of market imperfections that influence managers’ choices: agency costs, information asymmetries, and externalities affecting non-contracting parties. We conclude that research in the 1990s made limited progress in expanding our understanding of accounting choice because of limitations in research design and a focus on replication rather than extension of current knowledge. We discuss opportunities for future research, recommending the exploration of the economic implications of accounting choice by addressing the three different reasons why accounting matters.