Citizen Participation,the -Knowledge Problem- and Urban Land Use Planning: An Austrian Perspective on Institutional Choice

At the forefront of the argument for government-directed land use planning is the notion that -citizen participation- in urban land use decisions can avoid the problems associated with bureaucratic governance and tackle widespread instances of -market failure-. Using illustrations from the British land use planning system this paper argues that participatory planning models are insufficiently attuned to the problems of social co-ordination generated by the absence of market prices and of the importance of private property rights in facilitating -experiments in urban living-.     

STRUCTURED OBSERVATION OF MANAGERIAL WORK: A REPLICATION AND SYNTHESIS*

This study uses structured observation categories to investigate the relationship between managerial behaviour, performance, and environmental and demographic variables. We found significant differences in managerial behaviour related to environmental and demographic variables but not to performance. Our replication and synthesis of other studies generally supports earlier conclusions regarding the brief, varied, fragmented and interpersonal nature of managerial work. The results also point to the important relationship between the environment and managerial behaviour. Implications for managerial practice and research are discussed.     

Selling to Socially Responsible Consumers: Competition and The Private Provision of Public Goods

We model firms as competing for socially responsible consumers by linking the provision of a public good (environmentally friendly or socially responsible activities) to sales of their private goods. In many cases, too little of the public good is provided, but under certain conditions, competition leads to excessive provision. Further, there is generally a trade-off between more efficient provision of the private and the public good. Our results indicate that the level of private provision of the public good varies inversely with the competitiveness of the private-good market and that the types of public goods provided are biased toward those for which consumers have high participation value.     

Bayesian stochastic frontier analysis using WinBUGS

Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods have become a ubiquitous tool in Bayesian analysis. This paper implements MCMC methods for Bayesian analysis of stochastic frontier models using the WinBUGS package, a freely available software. General code for cross-sectional and panel data are presented and various ways of summarizing posterior inference are discussed. Several examples illustrate that analyses with models of genuine practical interest can be performed straightforwardly and model changes are easily implemented. Although WinBUGS may not be that efficient for more complicated models, it does make Bayesian inference with stochastic frontier models easily accessible for applied researchers and its generic structure allows for a lot of flexibility in model specification.      

An Empirical Analysis of Electricity Regulation on Technical Change in Texas

To evaluate the impact of regulation on the innovativeness of firms, this studyconsiders the unusual case of electric utilities in the state of Texas. In the currentera of deregulation, the electric utility industry in Texas is unique because itsregulation was relatively limited until 1975, after which time Texas legislatorsimposed rate-of-return regulation. Utilizing a translog cost framework on annualdata covering the years 1965 to 1985, this study is thus able to compare the rateof technological change both before and after the imposition of rate-of-returnregulation. The findings indicate that before the implementation of rate-of-returnregulation, costs decreased significantly because of technological progress. Afterthe implementation, however, the findings indicate that costs increased significantlydue to technological regress brought on by regulation.     

How Representative Are Firms That Are Cross‐Listed in the United States? An Analysis of Accounting Quality

We provide evidence on the characteristics of local generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) earnings for firms cross‐listing on U.S. exchanges relative to a matched sample of foreign firms currently not cross‐listing in the United States to investigate whether U.S. listing is associated with differences in accounting data reported in local markets. We find that cross‐listed firms differ in terms of the time‐series properties of earnings and accruals, and the degree of association between accounting data and share prices. Cross‐listed firms appear to be less aggressive in terms of earnings management and report accounting data that are more conservative, take account of bad news in a more timely manner, and are more strongly associated with share price. Furthermore, the differences appear to result partially from changes around cross‐listing and partially from differences in accounting quality before listing. We do not observe a similar pattern for firms cross‐listed on other non‐U.S. exchanges or on the U.S. over‐the‐counter market, suggesting a unique quality to cross‐listing on U.S. exchanges.     

Inter-Center Retail Externalities

This paper empirically examines inter-center externalities in regional shopping centers. Specifically, we use a non-linear retail share model to measure the impact that department store size and image in subject and competitive centers have on subject center in-line retail sales. Our findings reveal that department store size and image attributes have a significant and non-linear impact on subject center sales. More importantly, the results show that the effect of department store fashion image dominates that of department store size.     

The Role of Tax Subsidies in the Market for Health Insurance

This paper investigates the role of tax subsidies in linking the market for health insurance to the employment relationship. Using both American and Canadian data, it investigates how these subsidies influence whether health insurance coverage is offered in different sized firms and whether it is offered through an employer versus the individual private market. The findings indicate that tax subsidies encourage the provision of insurance in smaller firms. Removal of the subsidies would cause the level of insurance in small firms to decline significantly, but would not cause a large change in the level of insurance in larger firms. Part of this decline would be offset by increases in the market for individually purchased insurance.     

SeMS and sensibility: Security management systems and the management of risk in the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority

Following International Air Transportation Association requirement for all member airlines and airports to have a security management system (SeMS) beginning 1 March 2007, many organizations are looking to learn from safety and quality management systems. Without specific guidelines or best practices, organizations are forced to imitate these processes designed for different goals. Since safety, quality, and security environments operate on radically different principles, SeMS implementation must take a different tack. The case of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority illustrates the importance of a custom-designed program that meets public and corporate needs. The Authority is responsible for security screening of passengers, non-passengers, and baggage within selected airports. As a crown corporation with a precise statutory mandate and regulatory environment, the development of a SeMS illustrates some of the key problems for the application of SeMS to larger organizations.