Housing supply price elasticities revisited: Evidence from international, national, local and company data

This paper re-examines one of the key parameters in housing economics – the price elasticity of housing supply. In the international literature, there is little agreement on its value or even on the appropriate methodology for its measurement. The paper argues that different spatial scales capture different aspects of the problem and, therefore, there is merit from comparing results at international, national, local and firm level. Using standardised models, there is evidence that the responsiveness of housing supply to market conditions is lower in Britain than in the US or Australia. However, supply is more responsive to the change in house prices than their level. With exceptions, most past research on supply in Britain concentrates on the national or regional dimensions. The paper finds that there are also insights to be obtained from examining local and firm level data. Local estimation across the Thames Gateway shows the importance of planning constraints on supply elasticities, but historical patterns of land use and geography are also important. Firm level data indicate that supply elasticities are greater for large firms than for small firms.     

Cross-country agricultural TFP convergence and capital deepening: evidence for induced innovation from 17 OECD countries

Journal of Productivity Analysis - Using a newly constructed panel dataset for agriculture in 17 OECD countries over the 1973–2011 period, we investigate the role of capital deepening in...     

Transaction cost economics applied? – consortia within process plant contracting

An increasing development in the competition for large engineering projects overseas is the formation by engineering contractors of consortia, which this article examines through the transaction cost economics paradigm. Consortia are contract specific governance structures designed to meet the particular requirements of individual clients. Hence, such governance modes are analysed through the comparative institutional approach. This approach leads to the conclusion that a consortium is a hybrid of institutional types. The major critical conclusions suggest that consortia are viewed by industry members as efficient, but for individual reasons. Also, efficiency considerations appear to be underpinned by the authority of capitalist market relations. In combination these conclusions suggest that in the conceptual hybrid of overall ‘efficiency’ motivations for consortia design or membership are individual, being based on relative power positions of industry members.     

Risk management and consumer safety

Abstract

Risk assessment and risk management techniques are being developed in many fields as an aid to safety investment decision making. Already these techniques are having impacts upon aspects of consumer safety which overlap with other sectors where safety is important and where these methods are being applied. Recent examples where this has happened range from public transportation to the safety of children's playgrounds. This paper reports on progress in risk management in some of these sectors. Key elements include the notion of ‘acceptabl’ and ‘tolerabl’ risk, the optimisation of safety according to principles known as ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable) or ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable), and the use of quantitative methods such as cost-benefit analysis as an aid to decision making. Attention is drawn to a number of factors which consumer safety practitioners may wish to consider should it be decided to follow the trend towards a risk-based approach to the management of consumer safety.     

Short Reports

As the US population ages, more older adults will face transportation and mobility challenges. This study examines the characteristics and contributing circumstances of nonfatal older adult pedestrian injuries. Data were obtained from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Programme (NEISS-AIP) for the years 2001 through 2006. Cases included persons aged 65 years and older who were nonfatally injured on a public roadway. The results indicated that on average, an estimated 52,482 older adults were treated in emergency departments each year for nonfatal pedestrian injuries. Falling and being hit by a motor vehicle were the leading mechanisms of injury, resulting in 77.5% and 15.0% of older adult pedestrian injuries, respectively. More than 9000 older pedestrian fall-related injuries each year involved a kerb. It is concluded that the growth in the older adult population could add to the overall burden of these nonfatal pedestrian injuries. Making transportation and mobility improvements, including environmental modifications, is important for preventing these injuries.     

Ships in the night and the quest for safety

Injury prevention, by its nature, is a highly multidisciplinary field and so is of direct or indirect interest to an exceptionally wide professional as well as lay audience. Although a safer society likely constitutes a common vision for most of those concerned with injury prevention, the concept of safety, when scrutinised, can be seen to be perceived and effected in different ways by different professional groups. In extreme cases, divergent approaches may continue to co-exist by becoming cocooned in worlds of their own, setting their own injury prevention priorities without much heed for what happens elsewhere. This diversity, because it is often only tacitly acknowledged if at all, can give rise to misunderstanding and even conflict between those with otherwise shared goals, and may also account for much of the public controversy frequently associated with safety issues. A further consequence of the existence of discrete and contrasting notions of safety is the introduction of an element of randomness into the overall societal process of achieving safety, which may dilute and, in some cases, even subvert the primary intention. This arises because of the unpredictability of the outcome where competing concepts are engaged. It is argued here that inter-professional discord is an impediment to the pursuance of safety, and that greater communication between professional disciplines and agencies organised along professional lines, and between professionals and the wider public, about the fundamental choices involved in injury prevention would enable safety to be pursued in a more effective manner, and that this should be in everyone’s interest.     

Short reports

In this study, we assessed the epidemiological patterns of suicide terrorism in the civilian population of Pakistan. Information about suicide terrorism-related events, deaths and injuries was extracted from the South-Asian Terrorism Portal (SATP) for the period from 2002 to October 2009. Of 198 events, civilians were involved in 194 events. Civilians accounted for 74.1% (N = 2017) of those who died and 93.8% (N = 6129) of those who were injured. In nine districts, mortality rates were more than one death per 100,000 inhabitants per year. The yearly trend showed a shift of attack targets from foreigners and sectarian targets in 2002–2005 to security forces or general public in 2006–2009. Attacks on public installations (mosques) or political gatherings resulted in a significantly greater (P ≤ 0.02) number of deaths (22 vs. 8) and injuries (59 vs. 24) per event compared with security installations. These results show that prevention might focus on political negotiation with armed groups and that appropriate measures should be taken to protect mosques and political gatherings.     

The Use of Co-ordination Theory to Improve Service Quality in Executive Search

This article considers service quality in a business service industry - execirtive search. It uses co-ordination theory to idtentify the ‘service garps’ which occur in the use of executive search consultancies and considers the ways in which these gaps can be closed. The use of an executive search consultant turns the recruitment process into a three-way relationship -between client, consultant and candidate -and raises the possibility of further service gaps than those identified in the service quality literature. This article finds that there are gaps in expectations evident in all three arms of the relationship but that they are much wider where the candidate is involved. The use of a consultant introduces uncertainty into the process (especially on the part of the candidate), the issue of who has responsibility for what within this relationship is not satisfactorily resolved or communicated. Ways in which the process can be managed to reduce the size of the expectations gaps are considered.     

Local authorities, tourism and competition

Tourism development has become a popular pursuit for local authorities seeking to generate new economic horizons. This requires the existence of some special attraction or package, something to distinguish an area from the basic diet of potentials that everywhere else can offer, or a strong competitive edge in what might be labelled as conventional markets. Unfortunately, new ways of nurturing tourism activity are increasingly hard to find and the tourism development scene is an increasingly competitive arena. Yet, competition is an unspoken word within the realms of tourism professionals, and a matter that is rarely confronted in any overt way by researchers.