An Inventory Evaluation Approach for Common Use Stock Range Units in British Columbia

Beef ranchers in British Columbia rely upon Crown range for a large proportion of their summer and fall grazing needs. Any improvement in the management policies for this resource can enhance the economic viability of the beef sector. The objective of this study is to evaluate the stocking levels of stock ranges administered by range agrologists and to compare their assessment with that derived using a more formal planning procedure. The report details the stocking capacity for the Punchaw Stock Range in the Prince George range district. Capacities for other stock ranges are also estimated. When rotational uses are defined and examined, the optimal use pattern results in carrying capacities that are approximately double that of current or recommended stocking levels. Les producteurs de bovins de Colombie-Britannique dépendent des parcours de la Couronne pourune grande partie de leurs besoins en pâturages ?été et ?automne. Toute amélioration des politiques de gestion de cette ressource risque ?avoir un effet salutaire sur la viabilité économique du secteur des bovins. La présente étude avait pour objectif ?évaluer ?intensity de pâturage sur les parcours gérés par des agronomes et de comparer leur évaluation à celle obtenue au moyen ?une méthode de planification répondant à des critères plus officiels. Nous fournissons des données détaillées sur la capacité de charge correspondant du parcours Punchaw, dans le district Prince George. Nous procédons en outre à ?évaluation de la capacité de charge ?autres parcours. Lorsque ?exploitation en rotation est définie et examinée, le calcul de ?utilisation optimale donne une capacité de charge correspondant approximativement au double des valeurs actuelles ou recommandées.     

Derivative mortgage securities: An overview

Derivative mortgage securities have proliferated since planned amortization and floating rate CMO classes were introduced in late 1986. Other recently created derivative securities include reverse floaters and deep-discount bonds of CMOs, CMO residuals, and stripped and senior/subordinated passthroughs. These securities, which are derived from fixed-rate mortgages, were created to meet investor demands for maturity certainly, interest rate and prepayment hedging, and enhanced credit. The rapid growth of derivative securities reflects expansion of the investor base for fixed-rate mortgages. It also suggests that these mortgages will continue to be a viable housing finance instrument in a volatile interest rate environment. For the future, the increased creation of derivative securities will make the secondary mortgage market more efficient, facilitating the funding of fixed-rate mortgage originations.The substance of this paper was originally written in late 1987 and many of the specific data reflect that time period.     

Personal and nonpersonal incentives in mail surveys: Immediate versus delayed inducements

A mail survey was conducted to empirically investigate contributions to charity as a method of stimulating responses to a mail survey. The research design included a control group and four experimental groups with the following treatments: a prepayment of $1.00 enclosed with the questionnaire (immediate personal reward), $1.00 promised upon return of the questionnaire with the respondent identified (delayed personal reward, no anonymity), $1.00 promised upon return of the questionnaire with no identification of the respondent (delayed personal reward, anonymity), and the promise of $1.00 contribution to a respondent-selected charity (delayed non-personal reward). The $1.00 prepayment yielded a statistically significant higher response rate than the $1.00 promised to charity or $1.00 promised upon return of the questionnaire. This study generally supports existing empirical foudnations of equity theory. An immediate personal reward yields a higher response rate than a delayed personal or non-personal reward.     

Public Choice and Urban Water Quality*

Abstract . It is the purpose of this paper to examine critically the choice of “zero discharge” as me ultimate goal of our federal water pollution policy and to demonstrate that a goal of 90 percent removal of pollutants from effluents of urban areas will be more economically efficient. Our results indicate that in reaching “Zero discharge,” there is a minimal return in water quality for urban areas which are located on large bodies of water. The final conclusion is that the substantial resources, which would be required to surpass the level of 90 percent removal of pollutants, could be employed more effectively in other social programs.     

A simulation-based methodology for optimization of ambulance service policies

A simulation-based methodology for the evaluation of the emergency ambulance system in the Vancouver, Canada, metropolitan area has been created. Outputs from the simulation of the system are utilized in the creation of the objective function of a branch and bound optimization procedure. The solutions are thus obtained at a significantly lower cost than if only simulation were used. The final solutions were verified by simulation runs.