The Internal and External Impact of Historical Designation on Property Values

Designation of historic properties and historic districts is increasingly used as a means to revive central-city neighborhoods and to promote urban economic development. While preservation activities are thought to generate positive externalities for surrounding neighborhoods, these external effects have been difficult to quantify. Using a database of tax-appraisal records for residential properties in Abilene, Texas, this study demonstrates that there are significant, positive externalities associated with historic designation. We perform simple cost-benefit calculations and find that the internal and external benefits more than outweigh the (nonzero) costs associated with historical designation. Moreover, from the city of Abilene's perspective the property-tax incentives provided to historic reinvestment are outweighed by the added property-tax revenue created by the increased value.     

The Costs and Benefits of Long-Distance Entry: Regulation and Non-Price Discrimination

A primary goal of the 1996 Telecommunications Act isto encourage competition in long-distance telephonemarkets. Four years after passage of thislegislation, Bell Operating Companies (``BOCs') havebeen granted permission to offer long-distanceservices in only one state. The regulatory barrier toentry is justified on grounds that the BOCs have theability to discriminate against incumbentlong-distance carriers in the provision of essentialaccess services. We take this premise as given andquantify the critical level of discrimination requiredto offset the positive consumers' surplus gainsassociated with the enhanced competition resultingfrom BOC entry into long-distance markets.     

A useful scope for marketing

The debate over the nature and scope of marketing is far from settled, but the desire for change among marketers is apparent. It is urgent that marketers determine what the scope of their field should become as a necessary first step in developing an adequate definition. The effort so far has been somewhat haphazard with a variety of authors-extolling the virtues of their viewpoint. This article represents an attempt to add order to the search for a useful scope for marketing. To achieve this purpose, four norms are developed which seem suitable for testing the scope and definition of marketing. They include the level of abstraction norm, the norm of correspondence, the pragmatic norm, and the norm of simplicity. These four norms are first used to test two extreme positions and then to test a third compromise definition of marketing.     

The pregnant applicant: normal alterations in physiologic parameters and testing

Pregnancy affects virtually every organ system, and "baseline" normal laboratory test levels change throughout gestation.     

Cocaine revisited

Insurance companies often test applicants for the presence of cocaine. Because a positive test may automatically preclude further consideration, such cases often never reach the medical director. The negative impact of cocaine use on insurability is reviewed.     

Corporate social performance, financial performance and institutional ownership in Canadian firms

This study examines the relationship of corporate social performance (CSP) to financial performance (FP) and institutional ownership. We perform our empirical analyses on a large-sample of publicly held Canadian firms and use a novel independent measure of CSP. Based on tests utilizing four years of panel data, we found no significant relationship between a composite measure of firms’ CSP and FP. However, we found significant relationships between individual measures of firms’ CSP regarding environmental and international activities and FP. Our findings indicate a significant relationship between firms’ composite CSP measure and the number of institutions investing in firms’ stock. In addition, we found significant relationships between firms’ CSP ratings regarding their international activities and product quality and the number of institutions investing in firms’ stock. These findings, while subject to the limitations inherent in the use of specific CSP measures, provide mixed support for the business case for CSP.