On the cost-benefit of the regionalisation of the National Health Service

In this paper we analyse in formal terms the desirability of the regionalisation of a National Health Service. The policy consists of a devolution process, i.e. the increase in the health services provision to be decided by a region and financed by an increase in its revenues. The change is a marginal one, as it regards the part of supply of the health services exceeding a minimum standard, which for purposes of equity is maintained uniform in the national territory. As the central government is responsible for this component of the provision of health care (a federal “mandate”), the level of the said component is chosen by this authority and financed by federal taxation. Moreover, the government also applies an equalisation scheme based on the difference between a standard level of tax revenues and the revenues which the region is deemed able to raise for this purpose. Within the theoretical context of welfare improving reforms with distortionary taxation, we derive two conditions which focus on the regional, as well as the social, convenience of regionalisation. Received: May 5, 1999 / Accepted: January 21, 2000     

国债税收平滑路径、我国国债与税收关系背景和取向分析

本分析了税收平滑在我国的适用情况，通过我国国债和税收政策的演变和背景，我们认为税收平滑在我国一直没有存在的可能性，因此，当期不能简单地将国债增发和减税作为积极财政政策的两个互为补充手段。我国税收征收空间分析应侧重税收经济效应自身，财政税收政策的调整可平稳过渡为国债税收平滑路径的建立做准备。     

国民经济优先发展行业排序方法

为优化经济发展途径 ,筛选出经济中的优势行业给予重点支持 ,是宏观经济学的重要任务。本文首先应用统计学中的主成分分析法 ,针对湖北省情况 ,对国民经济 4 0个 1级行业进行排序 ,取得符合实际的结果 ,筛选出消费优势部门及生产优势部门。     

我国国家助学制度的问题分析与财政对策选择

国家助学制度是解决大学生入学机会公平的一种有效的手段,在我国已有50多年的历史,目前已形成了多元混合的制度体系,为我国教育改革和发展提供了前提条件,但也存在不足和缺陷。本文从我国国家助学制度现行状况入手,对存在的问题进行了剖析,提出了若干可行的解决建议。     

在西部民族地区完善财政生态补偿机制的对策建议

我国目前已经形成中央政府主导的对西部民族地区生态环境建设的财政补偿机制,但现行补偿机制具有很大的不稳定性、补偿不充足性、非长期高效性的特点,本文探讨如何为生态环境建设建立一种长效、稳定的兼容政府纵向和省区际间、流域间政府横向的财政补偿机制.     

National culture and R&D and marketing integration mechanisms in new product development: A cross-cultural study between Singapore and New Zealand

The integration of R&D and marketing in new product development (NPD) is an important contributor to NPD performance. Of the mechanisms developed to aid functional integration, many have been developed in western cultural environments and may not have applicability in other national cultural settings. Using a sample of NPD workgroup personnel in New Zealand (NZ), the western cultural environment, and Singapore, quantitative and qualitative data have been used to measure national culture and determine the applicability of different organization integration mechanisms. Results show key differences between the two samples, indicating a link between formalization, centralization, role flexibility and interfunctional climate mechanisms with the Hofstede dimensions of Power Distance, Masculinity and Uncertainty Avoidance of national culture. Managerial implications are that national cultural values and settings of the respondents are important when determining best integration mechanisms.     

Where to park? A behavioural comparison of bus Park and Ride and city centre car park usage in Bath,UK

Integrating car parking facilities with public transport in Park and Ride (P&R) facilities has the potential to shorten car trips, contributing to more sustainable mobility. There is an ongoing debate about the actual effects of P&R on the transport system at the subregional level. A key issue is the relative attractiveness of city centre car parks (CCCP), P&R and public transport. The paper presents the findings of a comparative empirical case-study based on a field survey of CCCP and P&R users conducted in the city of Bath, UK. Spatial and statistical analyses are applied. Radial distance to parking, availability of P&R sites in the direction of travel, gender, age, income and party-size are found to be important factors in a binary logistic regression model, explaining the revealed-preference of parking type. Stated analysis of foregone parking alternatives suggests more use of public transport and walking/cycling would likely occur without first-best parking alternatives. The policy implications and possible planning alternatives to P&R at the urban fringes for achieving greater sustainability goals are also discussed.     

Assessing preferences of potential visitors for nature-based experiences in protected areas

Visitor experiences have been identified as critical for the sustainable management of tourism destinations. However, researchers have given limited attention to how to measure visitor preferences for different, newly proposed experiences, especially in nature-based tourism contexts. This paper aims to capture potential visitors' preferences for nature-based visitor experiences that would alleviate pressure on the iconic summit of Mount Warning, Australia. Findings reveal a preference for passive rather than active experiences. Consistency between the four measurement approaches used was high. Future studies should consider adopting multiple measures to underpin evidence-based management that informs the design of nature-based tourism experiences.     

Conservation finance and sustainable tourism: the acceptability of conservation fees to support the Tambopata National Reserve,Peru

Protected areas are key to the conservation of global biodiversity and ecosystem services; however, their success is contingent upon adequate funding. One possibility to increase funding for park management is to “sell” a wider suite of ecosystem services “produced” by protected areas, such as carbon sequestration. We conducted 420 tourist surveys to analyze willingness to pay (WTP) for ecosystem service benefits via a conservation fee in the Tambopata National Reserve in Peru. We also interviewed eight tour operators about their perceptions of the proposed fee. The average stated WTP was 15 USD. Sixty-six percent of tourists stated they would pay 10 USD or more, which, if actually paid, would have resulted in 318,000 USD for park management in 2015. Most respondents stated they would pay an additional fee if it supported biodiversity conservation or local ecosystem services, such as water, but less than 10% of tourists were motivated by carbon sequestration as a reason to pay the fee. Most tour operators supported the additional fee. Our findings suggest that tourists are willing to pay higher fees to support conservation but that interest in paying for additional ecosystem services from parks may not extend to global and intangible benefits such as carbon sequestration.     

The role of consumers' attitude towards economic climate in their reaction to ‘PL-only’ assortments: Evidence from the United States and Spain

Retailers’ assortment rationalisation strategies have found an “ally” in the current global economic crisis. Indeed, retail boycotts of individual brands in economic recession contexts are not uncommon in the CPG industry. In fact, many of the consumers who began buying PLs during the economic recession are continuing their PL behaviour post-recession. So, what is the role of the economic climate in consumers’ reaction– in terms of store loyalty – to retailers’ NB delisting decisions? Is it so relevant? This paper examines how consumers’ attitude towards the economic climate influences his/her reaction to retailers’ strategy of offering ‘PL-only’ assortments in the context of an economic slump (Spain) compared to a context of economic recovery (U.S.). To do so, we have designed a controlled online experiment for two large consumer panels in the Spanish and the U.S. markets. Our results suggest that consumers’ acceptance of ‘PL-only’ assortments is a separate phenomenon rather than merely being a “consequence” of the current economic situation. Nevertheless, in an economic recovery, such ‘PL-only’ assortments do not appear to be the best strategy.