Tourism and urban revitalization a case study of Pore , Yugoslavia

This article emphasizes the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach to revitalization of old urban areas through tourism. Historical urban values require special multidisciplinary care when transformed to suit the needs of both tourists and local population. The case study of the old urban area in Pore illustrates how this can be done. The study was aimed at identifying reasons for which tourists and local population visit Pore 's old urban core. It also intended to analyze the visitors' reactions to and expectations of old urban areas. The findings were to help make revitalization decisions and introduce new measures into the revitalization process itself, which in turn aimed at contributing to both future tourism developments and preservation of the area's historical and cultural heritage.     

The Phillips Curve, the IS Curve and Monetary Transmission: Evidence for the US and the Euro Area

In this paper we assess the empirical performance of commonlyused empirical specifications of the baseline New Keynesianmodel for the US and the euro area. We estimate standard specificationsof the model and extended specifications also including non-standarddeterminants of aggregate supply and demand. The results suggestthat based on the standard specifications it is often not possibleto establish a significant link between the monetary policyinstrument and output and inflation. Based on the extended specificationsof the model, which take into account the significant effectof commodity prices on inflation and of house prices on theoutput gap, we are generally able to restore a significant monetarytransmission channel. (JEL E3, E52, C22)     

Technical efficiency analysis correcting for biases from observed and unobserved variables: an application to a natural resource management project

This article brings together the stochastic frontier framework with impact evaluation methodology to compare technical efficiency (TE) across treatment and control groups using cross-sectional data associated with the MARENA Program in Honduras. A matched group of beneficiaries and control farmers is determined using propensity score matching techniques to mitigate biases stemming from observed variables. In addition, possible self-selection arising from unobserved variables is addressed using a selectivity correction model for stochastic frontiers recently introduced by Greene (J Prod Anal 34:15?C24, 2010). The results reveal that average TE is consistently higher for beneficiary farmers than the control group while the presence of selectivity bias cannot be rejected. TE ranges from 0.67 to 0.75 for beneficiaries and from 0.40 to 0.65 for the control depending on whether biases were controlled or not. The TE gap between beneficiaries and control farmers decreases by implementing the matching technique and the sample selection framework decreases this gap even further. The analysis also suggests that beneficiaries do not only exhibit higher TE but also higher frontier output.     

Continuity Under a Different Name: The Outcome of Privatisation in Serbia

Normally, privatisation is seen as beneficial. This paper considers the case of Serbia – a latecomer in the matter – where privatisation was partly a result of exogenous pressures and where the process has been deemed a failure. In Serbia, a sizeable number of privatised firms were bought by bureaucrats and politicians and all firms were subjected to a period of supervision. We argue that the design of this process allowed rent-seekers to conserve their privileges through asset-stripping, which explains the failure. In order to do so, we perform an empirical analysis of the determinants of liquidation, merger and bankruptcy of privatised firms from 2002 to 2015. We construct a novel data set from primary sources, free of the ‘survivorship bias’ and containing proxies for various types of owners, indirect signs of asset-stripping strategy and a broad range of controls. Our results indicate that firms owned by politicians faced significantly higher risks of bankruptcy, especially after the end of supervision.     

TECHNICAL,ECONOMIC, AND ALLOCATIVE EFFICIENCY IN PEASANT FARMING: EVIDENCE FROM THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

This paper presents measures of technical (TE), economic (EE), and allocative (AE) efficiency for a sample of sixty peasant farmers in the Dajabon region of the Dominican Republic. Maximum likelihood techniques are used to estimate a Cobb-Douglas production frontier, which is then used to derive its corresponding dual cost frontier. These frontiers are the basis for obtaining farm level efficiency estimates. The results reveal average levels of TE, AE, and EE equal to 70 per cent, 44 per cent, and 31 per cent, respectively. In a second step analysis, two-limit tobit regression techniques are used to estimate three separate equations where TE, EE, and AE are expressed as functions of the following farm/farmer characteristics: contract farming, agrarian reform status, farm size, schooling, producer's age, and household size.     

Technical efficiency and metatechnology ratios for dairy farms in three southern cone countries: a stochastic meta-frontier model

This paper compares technical efficiency (TE) and metatechnology ratios (MTR) for dairy farms from Argentina, Chile and Uruguay using the meta-frontier (MF) approach. The estimated average MTRs for Argentina, Chile and Uruguay are 83.8, 79.6 and 91.4%, respectively, and these results are significantly different from each other. The TEs estimated with respect to the MF are 72.8, 65.8 and 73.4% for Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, respectively. The average TEs for Argentina and Uruguay are not significantly different from each other but are significantly higher than the value for Chile. The production frontiers for Argentina and Uruguay are relatively close to the MF, which suggests that these two countries might need to increase investments to promote local research to generate new technologies and/or search for technologies to adapt from more distant areas. By contrast, Chile could benefit from adaptive research, designed to make borrowed technology from Argentina and/or Uruguay applicable to local conditions, which could be a cost effective way to improve dairy farm performance.